Influence of Foundation Rigidity on the Structural Response of Mat Foundation

A mat is a type of shallow foundation that is appropriate for structures supported on soil having relatively low bearing capacity or excessive settlement. Structural analysis of a mat foundation can be accomplished by either assuming the mat to be perfectly rigid or by considering the soil-structure interaction. This study researches the relationship between the mat-soil rigidity and structural response in terms of the soil bearing pressure, bending moment, and shear within the mat. To accomplish the objective of the study, 70 different mats are analyzed using a linearly elastic finite element approach. The variables that are considered in the analysis are the number of bays in each direction, center-to-center column spacing, mat thickness, panel aspect ratio, column cross section dimensions, soil modulus of subgrade reaction, and modulus of elasticity of concrete. A dimensionless mat rigidity measure was developed that determines whether a given mat can be reasonably analyzed by assuming it to be infinitely rigid. The developed rigidity factor takes into consideration all parameters that significantly affect the mat structural response. Results of the analysis indicate that there is strong correlation between the developed rigidity factor and critical soil bearing pressure and maximum internal bending moment within the mat. No correlation was observed between the mat rigidity and critical shear force. Relationships between the rigidity factor and the critical soil bearing pressures and bending moments, relative to the response of the infinitely rigid mat, are proposed. A parametric study is included to demonstrate the impact of the variables that affect the rigidity index on the response of the mat.

The Thickness Effect of PSF Nanofibrous Mat on Fracture Toughness of Carbon/Epoxy Laminates

The geometrical features of nanofibers, such as nanomat thickness and the diameter of nanofibers, have a significant influence on the toughening behavior of composite laminates. In this study, carbon/epoxy laminates were interleaved with polysulfone (PSF) nanofibrous mats and the effect of the PSF nanomat thickness on the fracture toughness was considered for the first time. For this goal, the nanofibers were first produced by the electrospinning method. Then, double cantilever beam (DCB) specimens were manufactured, and mode-I fracture tests were conducted. The results showed that enhancing the mat thickness could increase the fracture toughness considerably (to about 87% with the maximum thickness). The toughening mechanism was also considered by presenting a schematic picture. Micrographs were taken using a scanning electron microscope (SEM).

Improved Surface Loading Stress Analysis Method Considering Protection Measures

This paper presents a methodology to evaluate pipe stress induced by surface vehicle loading at uncased road crossings that are protected by mat or bridging. When vehicles cross an existing pipeline, additional circumferential and longitudinal pipe stresses induced by surface vehicle loadings should be comprehensively considered to ensure pipe integrity and safe operation. Surface protection measures are sometimes installed to distribute the surface loading away from pipe centerline and reduce “footprint pressure”. A modified CEPA equation was proposed to calculate the radius of relative stiffness (or effective length) of mat and was validated by comparing with results from continuum FEA. The effective length calculated by the modified equation demonstrates good consistency with the FEA-predicted effective length. An approach was proposed to evaluate the pipe stress with user-defined free span of bridging, which provide flexibility for optimizing bridging protection in the field. A tool was developed to facilitate the assessment of surface loading stress of pipeline with mat or bridging protection. Case studies were presented to demonstrate the application of the proposed methods and the effect of mat thickness or bridging free span on the reduction of live load stress. The proposed methods will benefit pipeline operators with derived cost-effective protection measures for vehicle crossing while assuring safety of pipeline operation.

Parametric Study on Behaviour of Retrofitted Piled Raft Foundation

Mat supported on piles is being increasingly used for high-rise buildings with basements in poor soils. Very little is known about the exact behaviour of piled raft foundations in service. However behaviour of retrofitted piled rafts, which are a hybrid foundation of mat provided as retrofitting solution and failed pile foundations, is non-identical. In order to model the mat for retrofitting, engineer needs to analyze the sensitivity of different parameters to their behaviour. In this paper, a numerical analysis has been carried out to investigate the influence of mat thickness and soil subgrade modulus of uniform and varying values to the behaviour of mat foundation rendered to retrofit a short felled pile foundation executed for a high-raised building in Kerala, by using finite element software SAFE v 16. The soil and the piles are modeled as spring element at discrete position below the mat and the mat foundation is modeled using elastic plate element. The results of the study show that mat thickness and soil subgrade modulus are found to be the governing parameters in designing a safe and economical retrofitting mat foundation. Furthermore, it is recommended to provide exact soil subgrade properties under the mat to perceive actual behaviour of foundation.

Novel methods for monitoring the sludge dewatering operation of a belt filter: a mill study

During recent decades the quality of pulp and paper mill sludge has changed. This has awakened the need for an applicable means to observe the sludge dewatering process diversely and accurately. To maximize the solids content and energy efficiency of board mill sludge dewatering, different process monitoring options were studied. Novel methods for monitoring the sludge dewatering operation of a belt filter were tested. Continuous run-time measurements and test response experiments were carried out at a board mill site. IR transmittance measurement through the filter web and sludge mat thickness measurement using a light curtain turned out to be very promising techniques. IR transmittance responded to the polymer content of the sludge without a notable time lag, while the solid content measurement of the filtrate did not give a measurable response.

Effect of Electrospun Fiber Mat Thickness and Support Method on Cell Morphology

Electrospun fiber mats (EFMs) are highly versatile biomaterials used in a myriad of biomedical applications. Whereas some facets of EFMs are well studied and can be highly tuned (e.g., pore size, fiber diameter, etc.), other features are under characterized. For example, although substrate mechanics have been explored by several groups, most studies rely on Young’s modulus alone as a characterization variable. The influence of fiber mat thickness and the effect of supports are variables that are often not considered when evaluating cell-mechanical response. To assay the role of these features in EFM scaffold design and to improve understanding of scaffold mechanical properties, we designed EFM scaffolds with varying thickness (50–200 µm) and supporting methodologies. EFM scaffolds were comprised of polycaprolactone and were either electrospun directly onto a support, suspended across an annulus (3 or 10 mm inner diameter), or “tension-released” and then suspended across an annulus. Then, single cell spreading (i.e., Feret diameter) was measured in the presence of these different features. Cells were sensitive to EFM thickness and suspended gap diameter. Overall, cell spreading was greatest for 50 µm thick EFMs suspended over a 3 mm gap, which was the smallest thickness and gap investigated. These results are counterintuitive to conventional understanding in mechanobiology, which suggests that stiffer materials, such as thicker, supported EFMs, should elicit greater cell polarization. Additional experiments with 50 µm thick EFMs on polystyrene and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) supports demonstrated that cells can “feel” the support underlying the EFM if it is rigid, similar to previous results in hydrogels. These results also suggest that EFM curvature may play a role in cell response, separate from Young’s modulus, possibly because of internal tension generated. These parameters are not often considered in EFM design and could improve scaffold performance and ultimately patient outcomes.

Wet Relaxation of Electrospun Nanofiber Mats

Electrospinning can be used to produce nanofiber mats. One of the often used polymers for electrospinning is polyacrylonitrile (PAN), especially for the production of carbon nanofibers, but also for a diverse number of other applications. For some of these applications—e.g., creation of nano-filters—the dimensional stability of the nanofiber mats is crucial. While relaxation processes—especially dry, wet and washing relaxation—are well-known and often investigated for knitted fabrics, the dimensional stability of nanofiber mats has not yet been investigated. Here we report on the wet relaxation of PAN nanofiber mats, which are dependent on spinning and solution parameters such as: voltage, electrode distance, nanofiber mat thickness, and solid content in the solution. Our results show that wet relaxation has a significant effect on the samples, resulting in a dimensional change that has to be taken into account for nanofiber mats in wet applications. While the first and second soaking in pure water resulted in an increase of the nanofiber mat area up to approximately 5%, the dried sample, after the second soaking, conversely showed an area reduced by a maximum of 5%. For soaking in soap water, small areal decreases between approximately 1–4% were measured.