Due to the complexity of natural ground condition, consolidation settlement is usually difficult to predict. In this study, a Pareto multi-objective optimization based back analysis method for consolidation settlement is presented in this study. The model is a coupled flow and deformation model for unsaturated soil foundation which is implemented in the interactive multiphysics software environ...

The mechanical behavior of saturated soil is mainly governed by the interaction between the soil skeleton and the pore fluid, and this interaction may lead to significant loss of strength known as liquefaction under seismic loading conditions. The main objective of this paper is to implement a cyclic constitutive model based on fuzzy set plasticity theory, which is capable of modeling soil dila...

Caenorhabditis elegans strains carrying stress-reporter green fluorescent protein transgenes were used to explore patterns of response to metals. Multiple stress pathways were induced at high doses by most metals tested, including members of the heat shock, oxidative stress, metallothionein (mtl) and xenobiotic response gene families. A mathematical model (to be published separately) of the gen...

The aim of this study is to analyze the effects of forest gaps on the variations of soil properties in Castanopsis kawakamii natural forest. Soil physical and chemical properties in various sizes and development stages were studied in C. kawakamii natural forest gaps. The results showed that forest gaps in various sizes and development stages could improve soil pore space structure and water ch...

Two water treatment sludges (WTS-A, WTS-B), two red muds (RM), and red gypsum (RG), all rich in iron oxy-hydroxides, were added to a soil highly polluted with As and Cu at 2% (w/w) to reduce metal bioavailability. Because the amendments increased soil pH to approximately 6, a lime treatment to the same pH and an unamended treatment were included for comparison. All the amendments had significan...

A soil’s porosity and pore size distribution characterize its pore space, that portion of the soil’s volume that is not occupied by or isolated by solid material. The basic character of the pore space affects and is affected by critical aspects of almost everything that occurs in the soil: the movement of water, air, and other fluids; the transport and the reaction of chemicals; and the residen...

This paper presents the laboratory test results of vertical infiltration on two soil columns of finer over coarser soils subject to simulated rainfalls under conditions of no-ponding at the surface and constant head at the bottom. The main objectives were to evaluate the effect of rainfall intensity and duration; and to provide experimental evidence for soil water redistribution and hysteresis....

Within the scope of the interdisciplinary NASRI research project (Natural and Artificial Systems for Recharge and Infiltration) dealing with river bank filtration processes at Berlin water works, a semi-technical column experiment has been ongoing since January 2003 to simulate river bank filtration. Here a 30 m long group of 6 soil columns is operated by surface water sampled from lake Tegel (...

expansive soils are considered a worldwide problem as they cause extensive damage tocivil engineering structures. an important characteristic of expansive soils is theirsusceptibility to volume change due to the phenomenon of wetting and drying. this paperpresets the effect of pore water quality on the swelling and shrinkage behavior of anexpansive soil during wetting and drying cycles. thirty ...

Earthworms affect macro-pore structure of soils. However, some studies suggest that earthworm burrow walls and casts themselves differ greatly in structure from surrounding soils, potentially creating habitat for microbivorours nematodes which accelerate the decomposition and C and N mineralization. In this study aggregates were sampled from the burrow walls of the anecic earthworm Lumbricus te...