Drained direct and simple shear tests are analyzed assuming an isotropic elastoplastic constitutive law and plane strain conditions. The stress and strain distributions within the sample are examined. The numerical analyses are interpreted as if they were actual tests, using the computed stresses and displacements on the top boundary of the sample. Stiffness and strength results for the direct shear are then compared with simple shear results based on computations over the whole top boundary (average) and over the middle third (core). With the ideal simple shear as a reference state, simple shear results based on average measurements underestimate initial stiffness and peak strength by as much as 20% while core measurements give a better but not perfect agreement. Direct shear tests overestimated the initial stiffness and in most cases the peak strength by as much as 7.5%. Stress and strain distribution in the simple shear test become highly nonuniform as peak conditions are approached. The findings agree in general with some reported experimental observations. Analyses where strain softening was modeled did not develop any significant progressive failure, despite the nonuniform stresses and strains.

This paper presents two methods of analysis of data obtained from an uplift loading test on an instrumented bored pier reinforced only by a central steel angle to which the uplift load was applied. The objective of the analyses was to estimate the unit shaft resistance profile along the length of the pier at pull‐out. The analysis methods consisted of a load‐movement matching technique to obtain the unit shaft resistance profile down the pier in conjunction with a stability plot to determine pier integrity, and an iterative method to determine the mobilized unit shaft resistance down the pier from measured strains. Iteration was required because the uplift load caused cracking in the concrete of the pier, resulting in a loss of structural compatibility between the concrete and the steel angle. The two methods of analysis resulted in unit shaft resistance profiles that were in good agreement, giving confidence in the results.

This paper is concerned with the application of a numerical technique, known as the rational polynomial approximation, to the first‐order second‐moment method for calculating statistical moments of a performance function in reliability analysis. The approach is used for slope reliability analysis within the framework of limit equilibrium considering two recognized methods of analysis (i.e. the 1965 generalized procedure of slices of Morgenstein and Price and the 1979 Sarma method). It is shown that the rational polynomial technique works well for the first‐order second‐moment method of slope reliability analysis based on two rigorous methods of limit equilibrium involving nonexplicit performance functions. The calculation can always be made with confidence whether the performance function is explicit or inexplicit, linear or nonlinear. Two illustrative examples are presented in this paper: one for a homogeneous slope and the other for a slope in layered soil. The results for the reliability index are compared with two other methods, the point‐estimate method and Monte Carlo simulation method. In the past, such comparisons have generally been made only for slope‐stability models involving explicit performance functions.

This paper examines the problem of the flexural interaction between a long‐distance buried pipeline embedded in a soil medium that experiences differential frost heave. The modeling takes into consideration the interaction at a transition zone between a frozen region and a frost‐susceptible region that experiences a time‐dependent growth of a frost bulb around the buried pipeline. The heave that accompanies the development of a frost bulb induces the soil‐pipeline interaction process. The analysis focuses on the development of a computational scheme that addresses the three‐dimensional nature of the soil‐pipeline interaction problem, the creep susceptibility of the frozen region, and a prescribed time‐ and stress‐dependent heave in an evolving frost bulb zone. The numerical results presented in the paper illustrate the influence of the heave process and the creep behavior of the frozen soil on the displacements and stresses in the buried pipeline.

In most soil types, it is generally assumed that the shaft capacity of a pile is identical under both tensile and compressive loading. However, there is widespread experimental evidence that in sand the shaft capacity is significantly lower for tensile loading, or uplift, than for compressive loading. This paper describes the results of a parametric study that was conducted to explore the theoretical basis for such differences. It is shown that the primary cause of lower tensile capacity is due to a Poisson's ratio effect, and that the ratio of tensile to compressive shaft capacity may be expressed as a function of the relative compressibility of the pile and the slenderness ratio. Design recommendations are proposed, and corroborated with results from high‐quality field tests.

An approach using the minimum factors of safety against local failures is presented. The state of the effective stresses in a slope is calculated by the finite element method with the Drucker‐Prager nonlinear stress‐strain relationship. The shear strength of soil is estimated based on the Mohr‐Coulomb failure criterion. A critical slip surface is defined by connecting those local failure points in a slope along their directions of slippage. The factor of safety obtained by the proposed method is in good agreement with that determined by Bishop's and Sarma's methods. The locations of the critical slip surfaces, however, deviate slightly from Bishop's method due possibly to the assumptions made in the formulation of each method.

Two bearing‐capacity theories are used to predict cone‐penetration tip resistance and sleeve friction in weakly cemented sands. These theories use the rigid‐plastic assumption for stress‐deformation behavior of soils. Both theories provided good predictions of tip resistance when compared with experimental values obtained in limited penetration tests conducted in the laboratory. Laboratory tests were conducted on artificially cemented specimens of Monterey No. 0/30 sand prepared in rigid molds. A curing period of 14 days was used. The confinement was due only to the self‐weight, rendering very low confining stresses. Predicting sleeve friction with bearing‐capacity theories necessitated an estimate of the lateral earth pressures. The recorded sleeve‐friction values implied higher lateral pressures than the $K_o$ state of stress. Tip resistance and friction resistances predicted by these theories are used to propose a preliminary classification, identification, and analysis scheme for cemented sand deposits. It is necessary to evaluate the reliability of the proposed scheme at higher confining stresses in calibration chambers. In‐situ penetration tests in cemented deposits would be needed to assess the accuracy of the proposed scheme.