Reliability assessment of slopes with three-dimensional rotated transverse anisotropy in soil properties

The influence of soil variability on three-dimensional (3D) probabilistic slope stability analysis has been previously investigated for soils that display isotropic spatial variability features or anisotropic horizontal fabric patterns. However, due to various soil deposition processes, weathering, filling or tectonic movements, the assumptions of isotropy or horizontal layering may not always be realistic. This study presents 3D analyses of slopes with spatially variable soils associated with rotated transverse anisotropy features. The results show that for cross-dip slopes where the strike direction of soil strata is perpendicular to the out-of-plane direction of the slope, the reliability depends on various factors including strata rotation angle and autocorrelation distances, and differs significantly from slopes with horizontally deposited soil fabric. The influence of strata orientation is also pronounced for dip slopes and reverse dip slopes, and these are presented in terms of reliability indices of the slopes and statistics of the length of sliding mass, and elaborated by considering the failure mechanism under different scenarios. Through these analyses, this paper discusses the key features of slope reliability considering rotated transverse anisotropy in soil properties, and their major differences from situations involving horizontal soil layers or two-dimensional probabilistic assessments.

Study on Attenuation Properties of Surface Wave of AE Simulation Source Based on OPCM Sensor Element

It is of great significance to grasp the ultrasonic attenuation characteristics of materials for the nondestructive testing of materials. The dynamic properties of a piezoelectric composite material (OPCM) with self-developed transverse anisotropy have been analyzed using the experiment in this work. The OPCM sensor is attached to the surface of the iron plate and concrete structures to sense the surface waves generated by acoustic emission (AE). The experiment results show that OPCM sensor elements have unique advantages compared to piezoelectric ceramic materials (PZT). Further, by comparing the signals of isotropic and anisotropic materials, the attenuation characteristics of surface waves propagating in different materials are studied, and a new method for measuring the attenuation coefficient of surface waves is demonstrated.