Research Initiation: Transversely Isotropic Behavior and Constitutive Modeling of the Surface Clay Crust

在美国北部，各种各样的结构（小型建筑、公路路堤、储罐）都是在浅层的土壤沉积物上支撑的，这些沉积物是由一层地壳（1到5米厚）覆盖在一层很深的软粘土上。使用穿透软粘土到下面较硬层的深基础为结构提供支撑通常是不经济的。对于浅层支撑，进行包括坚硬地壳影响在内的分析的能力很重要。不幸的是，地壳的物理性质很难测量，对分层系统（不同性质的土层）的分析也很困难。这一建议为缅因州手工雕刻的干燥地壳样品的应力-应变特性提供了一套仔细的物理测量，并为分析工作提供了必要的条件，以便在理论分析中正确地模拟这些特性。研究结果应使基础设计更经济，并尽量减少失败的可能性。

In the Northern part of the United States, a variety of structures (small buildings, highway embankments, tanks) are supported at shallow depths on soil deposits composed of a crust (1 to 5 meters thick) overlying a deep layer of soft clay. It is often uneconomical to provide support for the structures using deep foundations which penetrate through the soft clay to harder layers underneath. For shallow support, the ability to perform analyses that include the effects of the stiff crust are important. Unfortunately, the physical properties of the crust are difficult to measure and analyses for a layered system (soil layers of varying properties) is difficult. This proposal provides for a careful set of physical measurements of the stress-strain properties of hand carved samples of a desiccated crust in Maine, and for analytical work needed to allow these properties to be modeled properly in theoretical analyses. The results of the study should make foundation design more economical and minimise the probabilities of failures.