Engineering Commons^™

Bi-Directional Cyclic Behaviour And Liquefaction Analysis Of A Silica-Carbonate Sand, Keyvan Mirbaha

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The cyclic behavior and liquefaction behavior of reconstituted samples of a local silica-carbonate sand are examined by performing monotonic and cyclic simple shear tests in addition to bender element shear wave velocity measurements. Shear wave velocity was found to vary with effective overburden stresses by an average power of 0.25. Maximum shear modulus (G_max) was also computed from the shear wave velocity measurements and a correlation was developed between G_max, effective stress and void ratio. Small strain and cyclic strain dependent shear modulus of the soil were determined, and shear modulus reduction curves were obtained. The …

Seismic Performance Of Steel Helical Piles, Moustafa K. El-Sawy

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Recent earthquakes have highlighted the need for safe and efficient construction of earthquake resilient structures. Meanwhile, helical piles are gaining popularity as a foundation for new structures and retrofitting solution for existing deficient foundations due to their immense advantages over conventional driven pile alternatives. In addition, helical pile foundations performed well in recent earthquakes, proving they can be a suitable foundation option in seismic regions. The objective of this thesis is to evaluate the seismic performance of helical piles by conducting full-scale shaking table tests and nonlinear three-dimensional numerical modeling using the computer program ABAQUS/Standard. The experimental setup involved installing …

A Study On Hydraulic Conductivity Of Fine Oil Sand Tailings, Mingyue Liu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In oil sand waste tailings pond, the gravity segregation takes place, where coarse particles settle relatively more quickly than fine particles, and a stable suspension, known as the mature fine tailings (MFT), is formed. Compression of MFT appears to be very slow, and MFT remains suspended in tailings pond for decades due to the low permeability. Large volumes of MFT continually accumulate in tailings ponds, and therefore MFT storage requires a large containment pond, which generates environmental concerns and leads to MFT management challenges. Hydraulic conductivity is one of the most important properties of MFT because it controls consolidation behaviors. …

Static And Dynamic Properties Of Controlled Low-Strength Materials Incorporating Treated Oil Sands Waste, Ahmed Mneina

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Controlled Low-Strength Materials (CLSM) is a self-compacted self-leveling cementitious material with compressive strength of 8.3 MPa or less. It is used as an alternative of soil backfill materials in geotechnical and infrastructure applications. This study investigates the effects of incorporating treated oil sand wastes (TOSW) as a partial replacement of sand or fly ash on fresh and hardened properties of CLSM. In addition, the environmental impact of the proposed new mixtures was evaluated. The results show that CLSM mixtures incorporating TOSW had satisfied the limits and requirements of ACI committee 229 for CLSM with no environmental hazards. The incorporation of …

Liquefaction Susceptibility Analysis Of Fraser River Sand In Miniature Cone Penetration Tests And Cyclic Direct Simple Shear Tests, Stephen Jones

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The cone penetration test (CPT) and, its geophone-equipped form, the seismic cone penetration test (SCPT) are increasingly used site investigation techniques to determine in-situ geotechnical properties of soil profiles as well as liquefaction susceptibility in seismically active locations. The use of experimental techniques, most notably miniature cone penetration testing (MCPT), can be used to recreate these in-situ tests in a controlled laboratory setting.

In this study, MCPT tests are completed using Fraser River sand to determine cone tip and sleeve frictional resistances as well as shear wave velocity measurements and are validated using in-situ SCPT tests and existing soil classification …

Liquefaction Assessment Of Carbonate-Silica Silty Sands Using Energy, State Parameter And Shear Wave Velocity, Naemeh Naghavi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The liquefaction behaviour and dynamic properties of reconstituted natural carbonate-silica silty sand samples were investigated in a series of monotonic and cyclic triaxial tests. The critical state parameters of the mixtures with different levels of fines were obtained through monotonic triaxial compression tests. Bender element tests were performed at the consolidation stage to characterize soil’s initial state and small strain properties. The results demonstrated that soil contraction capacity, liquefaction potential and undrained brittleness increase by increasing the state parameter. A general correlation between shear wave velocity and state parameter was established. The susceptibility and triggering of liquefaction under cyclic loading …

Comparative Investigation Of Bored And Continuous Flight Auger Piles With Consideration Of Green Concrete, Mahmoud Kassem

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Bored and continuous flight auger (CFA) piles are two widely used cast in place reinforced concrete pile types that are constructed employing different techniques, which affect their performance and capacity. However, both are classified as non-displacement piles and are designed accordingly using the same method. Therefore, the objective of this work is to comparatively investigate the axial and lateral performance of bored and CFA piles installed in sand. In addition, the potential of constructing sustainable piles utilizing green concrete mixture that incorporates treated oil sand waste (TOSW) was investigated. Fresh and hardened properties along with durability performance of CFA concrete …

Electrokinetic Consolidation Of Oil Sands Tailings: An Experimental And Numerical Study, Yu Guo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The management of fine oil sands tailings, known as mature fine tailings (MFT), is a major challenge for the oil industry in the Northern Alberta, Canada. Dewatering and consolidation of MFT are slow and time consuming due to high water content and low permeability of MFT. The electrokinetic (EK) dewatering treatment has shown to be effective on oil sands tailings based on the results of previous researches. Therefore, this thesis is focusing on experimental and numerical studies of EK dewatering of oil sands tailings. The thesis includes three parts, i.e., EK dewatering of oil sands tailings and kaolinite slurry, EK …