Expansive soils can pose tough issues to civil engineering applications. In a typical year, expansive soils can cause a greater financial loss than earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes combined. Various means have been studied to tackle problems associated with expansive soils. The majority of the methods are based on treatment of the soils. While the methods may be effective in some cases, their limitations are also obvious: The treatment normally involves complex processes and may not be eco-friendly in the long run. In many cases, the effectiveness of the treatment is uncertain. A retaining system that maintains a constant lateral pressure is proposed, which consists of three components: the retaining sheet, the slip-force device and the bracing column. The retaining sheet bears the pressure exerted by expansive backfills and is not embedded into the soils. Placed between the retaining sheet and bracing column, the slip-force device permits displacement of the retaining sheet but keeps the force on the sheet and the bracing column constant. The governing equation of the motion of the piston in the slip-force device is derived and a numerical simulation of a practical case is conducted based on the derived governing equation. Numerical results show that as the expansive soil swell, the spring force will increase and the piston will move accordingly. When the pressure of the oil in chamber reach es the open threshold of the unidirectional relief valve, the valve will open and the spring force and the oil pressure in the chamber will keep constant. The results also show that some parameters, such as damping ratio, have very slight influences on the device behavior, say 2 × 10 -6 or even 4.8 × 10 -9 . Theoretical and numerical studies prove the effectiveness of the proposed retaining system.
Jie, L., Cameron, D.A. and Gang, R. (2014) Case Study and Back Analysis of a Residential Building Damaged by Expansive Soils. Computers & Geotechnics, 56, 89-99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2013.11.005
Snethen, D.R. (1975) A Review of Engineering Experiences with Expansive Soils in Highway Subgrades: Interim Report. Federal Highway Administration, Washington DC.
Okagbue, C.O. (1990) Expansive Soils in Engineering Construction: A Review of Practices. Journal of Mining and Geology, 2, 123-129.
Cokca, E. (1999) Effect of Fly Ash on Swell Pressure of an Expansive Soil. Electronic Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, 4, 14.
Fu, H. and Chen, F.H. (1975) Foundations on Expansive Soils.
Yitagesu, F.A., van der Meer, F., van der Werff, H. and Zigterman, W. (2009) Quantifying Engineering Parameters of Expansive Soils from Their Reflectance Spectra. Engineering Geology, 105, 151-160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2009.01.004
Aytekin, M. (1992) Finite Element Modeling of Lateral Swelling Pressure Distribution behind Earth Retaining Structures. Doctoral Dissertation, Texas Tech University, Lubbock.
Fourie, A.B. (1989) Laboratory Evaluation of Lateral Swelling Pressure. Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, 115, 1481-1486. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1989)115:10(1481)
Coulomb, C.A. (1776) Essai sur une application des règles de maximis et Minimis à quelques problèmes de statique, relatifs à l’architecture, Mémories de Mathématique et de Physique présentés à I’Académe Royale des Sciences, Paris.
Mohamed, O.Z., Taha, Y.K., El-Aziz, A. and El-Sharif, M. (2014) Experimental Study on the Effect of Lateral Swelling Pressure of Expansive Soil on Retaining Structure. Journal of Engineering Sciences, 42, 84-92. https://doi.org/10.21608/jesaun.2014.114283
Aytekin, M. (1997) Numerical Modeling of EPS Geofoam Used with Swelling Soil. Geotextiles and Geomembranes, 15, 133-146. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0266-1144(97)00010-1
Symons, I.F., Clayton, C.R.I. and Darley, P. (1989) Earth Pressures against an Experimental Retaining Wall Backfilled with Heavy Clays. Research Report No. 192, Transport and Road Research Lab., Crowthorne.
Viswanadham, B.V.S., Phanikumar, B.R. and Mukherjee, R.V. (2009) Swelling Behaviour of a Geofiber-Reinforced Expansive Soil. Geotextiles and Geomembranes, 27, 73-76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geotexmem.2008.06.002
Ertugrul, O.L. and Trandafir, A.C. (2013) Lateral Earth Pressures on Flexible Cantilever Retaining Walls with Deformable Geofoam Inclusions. Engineering Geology, 158, 23-33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2013.03.001
Fabian, K.J. and Fourie, A.B. (1988) Clay—Geotextile Interaction in Large Retaining Wall Models. Geotextiles and Geomembranes, 7, 179-201. https://doi.org/10.1016/0266-1144(88)90008-8
Skinner, G.D. and Rowe, R.K. (2005) Design and Behaviour of a Geosynthetic Reinforced Retaining Wall and Bridge Abutment on a Yielding Foundation. Geotextiles and Geomembranes, 23, 234-260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geotexmem.2004.10.001
Wankhade, S.R., Rajurkar, V.J. and Dahale, P. (2014) Improvement of Swelling-Shrinkage Behaviour of Expansive Soil Using EPS Beads. International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, 9, 223-228.
Petry, T.M. and Little, D.N. (2002) Review of Stabilization of Clays and Expansive Soils in Pavements and Lightly Loaded Structures—History, Practice, and Future. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 14, 447-460. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0899-1561(2002)14:6(447)
Ramaji, A.E. (2012) A Review on the Soil Stabilization Using Low-Cost Methods. Journal of Applied Sciences Research, 8, 2193-2196.
Xu, J.L. (2007) Study on Screening of Expansive Soil-Improving Strain and Condition Selection. Guangxi University, Nanning.
Ikizler, S.B., Aytekin, M. and Nas, E. (2008) Laboratory Study of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Geofoam Used with Expansive Soils. Geotextiles and Geomembranes, 26, 189-195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geotexmem.2007.05.005
Casciati, F., Rodellar, J. and Yildirim, U. (2012) Active and Semi-Active Control of Structures-Theory and Applications: A Review of Recent Advances. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, 23, 1181-1195. https://doi.org/10.1177/1045389X12445029
Yao, J.T. (1972) Concept of Structural Control. Journal of the Structural Division, 98, 1567-1574. https://doi.org/10.1061/JSDEAG.0003280
Korkmaz, S. (2011) A Review of Active Structural Control: Challenges for Engineering Informatics. Computers & Structures, 89, 2113-2132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruc.2011.07.010
Takamatsu, T., Tamai, H., Yamanishi, T. and Matsuo, A. (2005) Models of Restoring Force Characteristics for Exposed Column Base with Wedge Device. Third International Symposium on Steel Structure, Seoul, 11-15 March, 2005 ,497-504.
Takamatsu, T., Tamai, H., Yamanishi, T., et al. (2005) A Study on Self-Centering Performance of Non-Slip-Type Exposed Column Base. Journal of Constructional Steel, 13, 193-196.
Takamatsu, T., Tamai, H. and Yamanishi, T. (2005) Models of Restoring Force Characteristics of Non-Slip-Type Exposed Column Bases. Journal of Constructional Steel, 13, 51-56.
Takamatsu, T., Tamai, H., Yamanishi, T., et al. (2005) Rehabilitation Technique of Exposed-Type Column Bases in an Existing Gymnasium by Use of Wedge Device. IABSE Symposium 2005, Lisbon, 14-17 September 2005, 166-174. https://doi.org/10.2749/222137805796270342
Hong, G.T. (2008) Earth Pressures and Deformations in Civil Infrastructure in Expansive Soils. Texas A&M University, College Station.
Sahin, H. (2011) Characterization of Expansive Soil for Retaining Wall Design. Texas A & M University, College Station.
Mohamed, O.Z., Taha, Y.K. and El-Aziz, E.S.M.A. (2014) Field Study of the Distribution of Lateral Swelling Pressure of Expansive Soil on Retaining Structure. Journal of Engineering Sciences, 42, 289-302. https://doi.org/10.21608/jesaun.2014.114713
Headquarters, Department of the Army (1983) Foundations in Expansive Soils (TM 5-818-7). Headquarters, Department of the Army, Washington DC.
Wen, S.S. (2017) Experimental Study on the Expansive Force in the Expansive Soil in Ningming County of Guangxi. Guilin University of Technology, Guilin.
Bansal, R.K. (2014) A TextBook of Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulic Machines: (In S.I. Units, Revised Ninth Edition). Laxmi Publications, Telangana.
MSC.Software Corporation (2010) EASY5 2010, Quick Start Tutorial for Use with Windows. MSC.Software Corporation, Newport Beach.
Xu, Y.Q. (2001) Study of Optimum-Design Theory and Dynamic Displacement-Controlling of Deep Excavation. Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan.
Nagaraj, H.B., Munnas, M.M. and Sridharan, A. (2009) Critical Evaluation of Determining Swelling Pressure by Swell-Load Method and Constant Volume Method. Geotechnical Testing Journal, 32, 305-314. https://doi.org/10.1520/GTJ102051
Hou, Y., Shi, B., Xiao, C., Wang, H. and Guo, P. (2009) Dynamic Characteristics of Hydraulic Pipelines of Steering System of Articulated Vehicles. Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering, 25, 112-116.
Huang, C. and Tan, J. (2009) Response Characteristic of Fluid Pressure in Operating Cylinder for 300MN Die Forging Hydraulic Press. Machine Tool & Hydraulics, 27, 88-91. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICMTMA.2009.619