Masters Theses

Date of Award

12-1989

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Civil Engineering

Major Professor

Eric C. Drumm

Committee Members

William F. Kane, Richard M. Bennet

Abstract

In the geotechnical field, common problems can become very complicated and usually difficult to solve directly. One such problem is the occurrence of surface subsidence due to high extraction or longwall methods of coal mining. This surface subsidence can cause serious damage to structures and agricultural areas. Concern about longwall-induced surface subsidence has prompted research aimed at minimizing or preventing the structural damage. Such research is concerned with designing a new foundation system able to withstand the effects of surface subsidence. To design such a system, several important areas must be analyzed. These areas include the behavior of foundation itself, the foundation-soil contact and the soil beneath the foundation.

To analyze such a system using simplified hand calculations is very inefficient and will probably yield poor results. In such cases, a numerical analysis may provide the engineer with a method of solution. However, numerical analysis methods that do account for the behavior usually associated with geologic materials involve an advanced constitutive model and may require extensive laboratory testing to determine the model parameters. The properties selected to represent the highly nonlinear, inelastic soil can be expected to significantly affect the analysis results. It is the purpose of this thesis to determine the Sandier cap model parameters (DiMaggio and Sandier, 1971) for a soil from Sesser, Illinois that will be used in this numerical analysis and to suggest an alternate method or simplified procedure by which these parameters can be determined.

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