Non-linear finite element analysis of cone penetration in layered sandy loam soil – Considering precompression stress state

Axisymmetric finite element (FE) method was developed to simulate cone penetration process in layered granular soil. The FE was modeled using ABAQUS/Explicit, a commercially available package. Soil was considered as a non-linear elastic plastic material which was modeled using variable elastic parameters of Young’s Modulus and Poisson’s ratio and Drucker–Prager criterion with yield stress dependent material hardening property. The material hardening parameters of the model were estimated from the USDA-ARS National Soil Dynamics Laboratory – Auburn University (NSDL-AU) soil compaction model. The stress–strain relationship in the NSDLAU compaction model was modified to account for the different soil moisture conditions and the influence of precompression stress states of the soil layers. A surface contact pair (‘slave-master’) algorithm in ABAQUS/Explicit was used to simulate the insertion of a rigid cone (RAX2 ABAQUS element) into deformable and layered soil medium (CAX4R ABAQUS element). The FE formulation was verified using cone penetration data collected on a soil chamber of Norfolk sandy loam soil which was prepared in two compaction treatments that varied in bulk density in the hardpan layer of (1) 1.64 Mg m⁻³ and (2) 1.71 Mg m⁻³. The FE model successfully simulated the trend of cone penetration in layered soils indicating the location of the sub-soil compacted (hardpan) layer and peak cone penetration resistance. Modification of the NSDL-AU model to account for the actual soil moisture content and inclusion of the influence of precompression stress into the strain behavior of the NSDL-AU model improved the performance of FE in predicting the peak cone penetration resistance. Modification of the NSDL-AU model resulted in an improvement of about 42% in the finite element-predicted soil cone penetration forces compared with the FE results that used the NSDL-AU ‘virgin’ model.     

Force and pressure distribution under vibratory tillage tool

Experiments were conducted to study the force requirement and pressure distribution under vibratory tillage tools in a soil bin with a sandy loam soil. The tool was oscillated sinusoidally in the direction of soil bin travel. An octagonal ring transducer and pressure sensors were used to measure the forces and soil pressure on the blade. The tool was operated at oscillating frequency of 4.5–15.6 Hz and amplitude of 11–26 mm. The soil bin travel speed was varied from 0.05 to 0.224 m/s. The test results obtained showed both the horizontal force and the vertical force decreased with increase in oscillating frequency. The normal pressure on the blade surface varied considerably. The peak normal pressure was found to increase with increase in oscillating frequency, oscillating amplitude and soil bin travel speed. The change in average normal pressure with change in oscillating frequency and amplitude was also investigated.     

基于DEM的推土机铲刀曲面参数化设计分析

为合理地选择推土机铲刀曲面参数,本文利用基于离散单元法(DEM)的EDEM软件模拟铲运过程．模拟中选用三种形状的石块混合物料作为被铲运介质,对三种曲率半径的圆弧面铲刀和两种形式的直线-圆弧复合式铲刀在水平铲运工作时所受的工作阻力进行了对比分析,发现不同曲面参数的铲刀在水平铲运时的工作阻力主要来自于水平前进方向,圆弧面铲刀的水平阻力随曲率半径的减小而增大,而竖直向阻力会随着曲率半径增大而由向上逐渐转变为向下;直线在上-圆弧在下复合式铲刀所受的水平阻力始终大于直线在下-圆弧在上复合式铲刀所受的水平阻力,铲刀曲面几乎不受侧向力．     

Determination of the soil pressure distribution around a cone penetrometer

The objective of this paper was to investigate the pressure distribution around a cone penetrometer using a pressure sensing mat under laboratory conditions. The investigation was conducted under (1) constrained conditions using cylindrical split pipe molds and (2) unconstrained conditions using a soil box. These tests were conducted in Capay clay and Yolo loam soil containing two different moisture conditions and two compaction levels.In the constrained tests, a maximum radial pressure of 111 kPa was observed in the Capay clay soil with 3.4–4.3% d.b. moisture content and three blows of compaction (cone index value of 2040 kPa) when using the 41 mm diameter split pipe mold. These pressure levels decreased to 82 and 22 kPa, respectively, when 65 and 88 mm diameter molds were used. In both the Capay clay and Yolo loam tests, the average radial pressure and average cone index values showed similar trends.In the unconstrained tests, a maximum pressure of 9.0 kPa was observed in the Capay clay with 4.5% d.b. moisture content and three blows of compaction (cone index value of 550 kPa) at a horizontal distance of 25.4 mm from the vertical axis of the cone penetrometer and minimum pressure levels in the range of 0.2–0.3 kPa when the horizontal distance of the penetrometer was in the range of 56.8–66 mm. The pressure levels are much smaller than the ones obtained in the constrained tests and may suggest that the pressure distribution under field conditions is small at a distance of 25.4 mm or higher from the tip of the cone.The experimental data were statistically analyzed to identify significant factors. The results of the analysis for the constrained test indicated that the mold diameter and number of blows significantly increased the pressure readings within the soil mass. Increasing the mold diameter led to a decrease in the average radial pressure and increasing the number of blows contributed to an increase in the average radial pressure. In the unconstrained test, the average radial pressure distribution at a given point were significantly influenced by the horizontal distance of the point from the vertical axis passing through the center of the penetrometer shaft, soil type, and soil moisture content. Higher pressure values were obtained in the Capay clay tests compared to the Yolo loam tests. In all cases, the pressure levels were greater for the drier soil than for the moist soil.     

民机翼型跨音速风洞颤振模型的模态分析

民用飞机在跨音速区的颤振特性是其设计的关键限制之一,与飞机的安全性息息相关．跨音速颤振的计算会遇到激波、流动分离等高度非线性的气动问题,因此在计算跨音速颤振问题时往往把注意力放在气动力的计算精度上．但是,如果模态分析的计算精度不够,同样无法获得可靠的颤振计算结果．本文采用HyperMesh软件进行有限元建模,主要结构件均保留了原始结构的几何信息,通过设置材料密度模拟结构的质量分布．由NASTRAN软件的Lanczos求解器完成模态分析并给出主要关注的四阶模态,经过简单的有限元模型修正,使四阶模态的计算频率与试验频率一致,计算和试验的固有振型一致,为后续的跨音速颤振分析打下基础．     

Discrete element method study of parameter optimization and particle mixing behaviour in a soil mixer

Soil mixing is an emerging research in the field of construction resource recovery. In this study, the mixing behaviour of soil particles in a mixer is numerically simulated by the discrete element method (DEM). A four-factor, three-level orthogonal experiment is designed to optimize the mixer design by selecting the fly-cutter speed, spindle speed, number of blades and fly-cutter diameter, using Lacey mixing index and power consumption as evaluation indicators. Then, the impact of soil cohesion and type on the mixing behaviour is investigated. The results show that the optimal parameter combination of this experiment is 280 rpm fly-cutter speed, 40 rpm spindle speed, 4 blades and 250 mm fly-cutter diameter. This optimal combination reaches a comparatively uniform state mix in 5.9 s with an average power consumption of 704.11 W. In addition, the wear and tear of the mixer increases as soil cohesion increases, while the mixing quality of materials declines, resulting in a “shaft hugging” phenomenon. The mixing efficiency varies greatly among different soil types, but the radial and tangential velocities have a similar law. This work can provide some guidance for the optimization design of a mixer and study of soil mixing.     

3-D DEM simulation of cohesive soil-pushing behavior by bulldozer blade

A numerical simulation based on discrete element method (DEM) was conducted on the excavation and pushing processes of soil by a bulldozer blade. Soil contains water and the resistance acting on the bulldozer blade is largely influenced by the cohesive force due to liquid bridges formed among soil particles. In the present study, a cohesive bond force model proposed by Utili and Nova [5] was introduced in which the microscopic behavior of cohesive force was modeled analogously with macroscopic shear failure characteristics. The dependency on the magnitude of microscopic cohesive force was verified. The behavior of particles changed greatly by taking into account the cohesive bond force. The characteristic behavior of excavated soil aggregates, such as rolling motion and intermittent collapsing, were observed in front of the blade surface.     

Study of direct force measurement and characteristics on blades of Savonius rotor at static state

Experiments were conducted to measure and to clarify quantitative variations of fluid force on three kinds of setting blade configuration on a Savonius rotor at the static state in the steady uniform flow. In the experiments, by splitting both the end-disks of the blades into two half parts, the two blades were independent on each other and the one blade attached to both the half end-disks was only connected to the axis rod of the rotor, and the other blade connecting to the other half end-disks was free from the axis rod. Hence, the drag and lift forces acting on the former blade were directly measured in a short time at every phase angle and every overlap ratio of the two blades using the force balance meter. The experiment for the rotor of the diameter 160 mm and the height 160 mm was conducted in the steady wind flow of the Reynolds number, about 0.64 × 10⁵ which based on the rotor diameter and the upstream velocity. From the experiment, value of the drag coefficient of the one blade in two blades with the overlap ratio of zero was taken from about −0.3 to 1.6, and the lift coefficient of it from about −1.0 to 1.4 in a cycle. The minus value of drag only appears in the setting of one blade in two blades, however the minus value does not exist in the distribution of tangential force on every overlap. And it was shown that the force distributions on the one blade in a cycle were very different in the first and second half cycle and interfered by the other blade, and strongly dependent on the overlap ratio between the blades.     

Tractive performance of a tread design for improved flexibility

The tractive performance of an 18.4R38 radial-ply tractor tire with increased flexibility in the tread area was compared to that of a standard tread design. Normal soil-tire interface stresses were measured at four locations on the lug surfaces of both tires operating on Decatur clay loam and Norfolk sandy loam soils. There was a tendency for the increased flexibility in the tread area to provide a higher net traction ratio at the same tractive efficiency as the standard tread design, especially on Decatur clay loam soil. The more flexible tread design reduced the magnitude of peak normal contact stresses across the tire width, which may have implications for reducing soil compaction without compromising tractive performance. The more flexible tire reduced the average normal contact stress by approximately 15% in the sandy loam soil and 23% in the clay loam soil for the range of operating conditions investigated.     

Suitability of rubber track as traction device for power tillers

Suitability of using rubber tracks as traction device in power tillers replacing pneumatic tires was studied using an experimental setup consisting of a track test rig for mounting a 0.80 m × 0.1 m rubber track and a loading device for applying different drawbar pulls. Tests were conducted in the soil bin filled with lateritic sandy clay loam soil at an average soil water content of 9% dry basis by varying the cone index from 300 to 1000 kPa. Data on torque, pull and Travel Reduction Ratio (TRR) were acquired using sensors and data acquisition system for evaluating its performance. Maximum tractive efficiency of the track was found to be in the range of 77–83% corresponding to a TRR of 0.12–0.045. The Net Traction Ratio (NTR) at maximum tractive efficiency was found to be between 0.49 and 0.36.Using non-linear regression technique, a model for Gross Traction Ratio (GTR) was developed and it could predict the actual values with a maximum variation of 6% as compared to an average variation of 50% with Grisso’s model. Based on this model, tractive efficiency design curves were plotted to achieve optimum tractive performance of track for any given soil condition.     

Spatial distribution of soil forces on moldboard plough and draft requirement operated in silty-clay paddy field soil

Spatial distribution of soil forces on the surface of plough is an important aspect that can help engineers for improving efficiency of tillage implement. It was analyzed at eleven different points of the moldboard plough with the help of sensors accompanied with the virtual instrument developed in LabView software with the aid of other supporting instruments. It was observed that soil forces increased with an increase in speed and depth. Depth changed soil forces more at upper parts than lower parts whereas speed affected rear parts more than the front part of the plough. Draft forces followed almost similar trend and least value of 308.17 N experimental draft force was found at 1 m/s speed and 5 cm depth under 33% moisture content. Cumulative soil forces found too smaller than the draft as they represented the force spatial distribution of specific parts of plough. It was observed that sensor technology provided real time picture of force variation during tillage process that could save time and effort.     

Deformation processes below a plate sinkage test on sandy loam soil: theoretical approach

Mathematical models to predict the mode and extent of deformation occurring below sinkage plates are presented in the first part of this paper which encompasses the theoretical approach to the subject. These models are based on previous work by Earl (Earl R. Assessment of the behaviour of field soils during compression. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research 1997;68:147–57)who developed a procedure to predict the likely mode of deformation using confined compression tests carried out alongside plate sinkage tests. This work suggested that soil behaviour, during increasing compression under a sinkage plate, is governed by three processes; (i) compaction below the plate with constant lateral stress, (ii) compaction with increasing lateral stress, and (iii) displacement and compaction of soil laterally. The aim of this second part to the paper is to observe soil deformation processes occurring below a circular sinkage plate to examine (i) whether the three phases of deformation referred to above occur in practice, and (ii) the accuracy of the models for predicting the soil deformation processes that occur. Tests were carried out on sandy loam soil under controlled conditions in a soil bin. Observations of deformation processes, recorded using long-exposure photography, revealed that during the initial stages of sinkage (a few millimetres), the corresponding disturbance of soil below the plate extended disproportionately further and was cylindrical in form. As sinkage progressed, the deformation process went through a transitional stage before reaching the more widely recognised form of the development of an inverted cone of compacted soil directly below the plate which moved with the plate causing lateral soil movement and compaction. Predictions for a medium density sandy loam were found to be in broad agreement with soil behaviour under a semi-circular sinkage plate observed behind a sheet of tempered glass under controlled conditions in a soil tank.     

Prediction of draft forces in cohesionless soil with the Discrete Element Method

The Discrete Element Method (DEM) is applied to predict draft forces of a simple implement in cohesionless granular material. Results are compared with small-scale laboratory tests in which the horizontal force is measured at a straight blade. This study is focused on the case of cohesionless material under quasi-static conditions.The DEM requires the calibration of the local contact parameters between particles to adjust the bulk material properties. The most important bulk property is the angle of internal friction ?. In the DEM, the shear resistance is limited in the case of spherical particles due to excessive particle rotations. This is cured by retaining rotations of the particles. Although this is known to prevent the material from developing shear bands, the model still turns out to be capable of predicting the reaction force on the blade.In contrast to empirical formulas for this kind of application, the DEM model can easily be extended to more complex tool geometries and trajectories. This study helps to find a simple and numerically efficient setup for the numerical model, capable of predicting draft forces correctly and so allowing for large-scale industrial simulations.     

叶轮机中振动叶片非定常气动力的研究

采用“单一叶片振动方法”代替传统的“全部叶片振动方法”，用线性化的方法推导出计算振动叶片非定常气动力（引起叶片弯曲振动）及力矩（引起叶片扭转振动）方程。通过输入叶型及气流参数，它可以方便有效地估计出作用在振动叶片上的非定常气动力和力矩，以及振动叶片不稳定工况发生的条件和范围。并在氟里昂超音速风洞上进行了实验测量，结果表明，理论计算结果与实验测试结果符合较好。     

Effect of different size and orientation of rectangular rotary blades on quality of puddling

The effect of different combinations of size and orientation of rectangular blades of a wet land puddler, on puddling index, force requirement and performance index was investigated under controlled conditions in a soil-bin from the study. It was observed with the blade size of 15-cm width × 8.5-cm depth and a blade angle of 30° with respect to shaft gave better performance than other combinations in terms of minimum puddling index, minimum horizontal force, vertical force, specific energy and maximum performance index. The values are, respectively, 67.95%, 105.12 N, 33.85 N, and 9.71 kJ/m³ and 6.69. The above-mentioned parameters of the blade were found to be very close to the predicted values obtain through MREG computer programme for optimization of size and orientation of puddler blades.     

Measurement of soil parameters useful in predicting tractive ability of off-road vehicles using an instrumented portable device

An instrumented portable device that measures soil sinkage, shear, and frictional parameters in situ was developed to investigate the complexity of soil-traction device interaction process. The device was tested to determine its ability to measure soil frictional and shear characteristics. Extensive laboratory tests were conducted using dry and moist Capay clay and Yolo loam soils. In addition, field tests were also conducted in a Yolo loam field located at the UC Davis Agricultural Experiment Station. The Cohron sheargraph was also tested under the same laboratory experimental conditions to determine adhesion, soil-metal friction, cohesion, and angle of internal friction of soil. The analysis of experimental data indicated that soil adhesion and soil-metal friction were found to be functions of the intercept and slope values of cone torque versus cone index plot (r² = 0.94 and 0.95, respectively). Moreover, soil cohesion was found to be related to adhesion by the constrained adhesion relationship, and soil angle of internal friction was proportional to soil-metal friction as reported by Hettiaratchi [7] and [8]. These results imply that a simpler device consisting of a rotating cone can be developed to measure soil frictional and shear characteristics. Preliminary results showed that the soil parameters determined using this device predicted the maximum net traction developed by four different radial ply tires tested by Upadhyaya et al. [18] under similar soil conditions quite well. These results indicate that the parameters obtained from the device could be useful in obtaining traction related parameters of a soil-tractive device interaction process.     

Establishment of safe axle loads for sugarcane soils under varying moisture content

Studies were conducted for the establishment of safe axle loads for sugarcane hauling vehicles beyond which detrimental soil compaction would be induced. The treatments involved running a loaded test vehicle in field strips previously chosen at random. Safe loads were established by testing the level of significance of the difference in induced soil compaction between treated and non-treated sections. Working under soil moisture contents of 21.4–27.1% (dry basis), safe axle loads for two 18.4 × 30 tires were found to be 55.6 and 60.0 kN for sandy clay loam and sandy loam soils with initial dry bulk density about 1.434 g/cm³. These corresponded to ground contact pressures of 111 and 120 kPa, respectively.     

Performance of coated floats in different soils

Experiments were conducted in a laboratory soil bin to evaluate the performance of coated floats in different soils. Two coating materials were studied, namely enamel and Teflon, and three soil types, namely clay, loam and sandy soil were used for testing. The forces required to overcome the drag of the floats and pull them over the soil surface were measured. The normal loads were varied to 25, 44 and 64 N. The effect of moisture content (db) was evaluated by varying the soil moisture from 21.2 to 62.4% for clay soil, 16.6 to 36.1% for loam soil and 0.7 to 13.8% for sandy soil. All tests were conducted at a constant speed of 0.20 m/s. The performance of the enamel coated float was superior to Teflon and uncoated floats in all soil conditions. In clay and loam soils, the drag force increased initially until the soil moisture content reached the plastic limit. The drag forces showed a decreasing trend once soil moisture exceeded the plastic limit. In sandy soil, the drag force increased with increase in moisture content. The overall reductions for the enamel coated float compared to uncoated float were from 4 to 64% in clay soil, 16 to 46% in loam soil and 26 to 45% in sandy soil. Besides this superior performance, the enamel coated float compared to the other floats showed excellent resistance to wear due to abrasion and superior scouring.     

Force transmitted below the soil surface by human gait

A force platform, which can provide three dimensional forces and moments on its top surface, was used to study force transmitted by human gait below the soil surface in order to understand detonation of antipersonnel landmines. Soils of varying depth were packed on the top surface of the platform to measure the forces transferred from the soil surface. Experimental variables included subjects (people), soil depth, soil type, moisture content, and compaction level. Soils used in this study were sand and sandy loam. There were medium and high two compaction levels for each soil. Sandy loam soil included two moisture contents; sand tested involved two moisture contents and dry sand. Soil depth varies from 0 (bare platform) to 200 mm. Five subjects with different weights were selected and used in this study.The subsoil force and its duration were measured for different subjects at a depth up to 200 mm. The impulse in subsoil was then calculated and used in evaluating the effect of different subjects on the force transfer in soil. The results indicated that loose soil can transfer larger force to subsoil than dense soil; test results showed that heavier subjects also created larger subsoil forces than lighter ones. Whether the effect of soil depth on subsoil impulse was significant was depended on the soil conditions. For the sand with 5.5% moisture content and bulk density of 1800 kg/m³, soil depth significantly affected subsoil impulses. For the sandy loam soil, the mass of subject increased from 50 to 100 kg resulted in 100% increase in subsoil impulses at all four depths; for the sand, the mass of subject increased from 55 to 100 kg approximately. This resulted in 80% increase in subsoil impulses under all four depths regardless of moisture content and bulk density. The results of this study will helpful for designing new equipment and evaluating existing machines for neutralizing landmines.     

Effect of multiple passes of tractor with varying normal load on subsoil compaction

A field experiment was conducted on alluvial soil with sandy loam texture, in a complete randomized design, to determine the compaction of sub-soil layers due to different passes of a test tractor with varying normal loads. The selected normal loads were 4.40, 6.40 and 8.40 kN and the number of passes 1, 6, 11 and 16. The bulk density and cone penetration resistance were measured to determine the compaction at 10 equal intervals of 5 cm down the surface. The observations were used to validate a simulation model on sub-soil compaction due to multiple passes of tractor in controlled conditions. The bulk density and penetration resistance in 0–15 cm depth zone continuously increased up to 16 passes of the test tractor, and more at higher normal loads. The compaction was less in different sub-soil layers at lower levels of loads. The impact of higher loads and larger number of passes on compaction was more effective in the soil depth less than 30 cm; for example the normal load of 8.40 kN caused the maximum bulk density of 1.53 Mg/m³ after 16 passes. In 30–45 cm depth layer also, the penetration resistance increased with the increase in loads and number of passes but to a lesser extent which further decreased in the subsoil layers below 45 cm. Overall, the study variables viz. normal load on tractor and number of passes influenced the bulk density and soil penetration resistance in soil depth in the range of 0–45 cm at 1% level of significance. However, beyond 45 cm soil depth, the influence was not significant. The R² calculated from observed and predicted values with respect to regression equations for bulk density and penetration resistance were 0.7038 and 0.76, respectively.