Browsing by Author "Akis, Ebru"

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The Effect of Group Behavior on the Pull-Out Capacity of Model Soil Nails in High Plasticity Clay
(Springer int Publ Ag, 2024) Akis, Ebru; Bakir, Bahadir Sadik; Yilmaz, Mustafa Tolga; Civil Engineering
Soil nailing technique is widely used in stabilizing roadway and tunnel portal cut excavations. The key parameter in the design of soil nail systems is the pull-out capacity. The pull-out capacity of soil nails can be estimated either from the studies involving similar soil conditions or from the empirical formulas available in the literature. Particularly, it has been documented placing nails closer than a certain minimum distance results in a reduction in the pull-out resistance of a nail placed in sand. However, this requirement has not been discussed for the nail groups located within clay formations. In order to investigate the influence of nail spacing on the pull-out resistance of nails, a series of laboratory pull-out experiments were performed in clay of high plasticity. The results of these experiments showed a remarkable trend. Specifically, there was a significant reduction in the pull-out capacity of a nail when the spacing between nails two times the nail diameter (2 & Oslash;). In contrast, the pull-out capacity of a nail embedded in clay remained unaffected by neighboring nails, provided the spacing was maintained at six times the nail diameter (6 & Oslash;). In addition, during the conducted pull-out tests, it was observed that the failure mode of a single nail and 6 & Oslash; spaced group nails near the surface results as heaving around the single nail. However, in the case of closely positioned (2 & Oslash; spaced) nails, the affected area following nail failure exhibits distinct characteristics, which operate as a group. This leads to the occurrence of failure in the form of heaving around the group of nails.
The Estimation of the Residual Shear Strength of High Plastic Clays Based on Direct Shear Test Results
(Gazi Univ, 2021) Akis, Ebru; Civil Engineering
Landslides are the most common incidents with a rate of 45% considering the distribution of natural disaster numbers to disaster types. In order to make remedial measures for the landslides, the residual shear strength parameters formed in the shear plane during the landslide must be estimated as close to the reality as possible. These parameters can be determined by multi-reversal direct shear, ring shear tests, back calculations, correlations in the literature by means of physical properties of the soil. The difficulty of predicting the groundwater conditions during landslide is obvious and it directly affects the residual shear strength values when shear strength parameters are determined using the back analysis method. On the other hand, residual shear strength parameters obtained from the literature can give a wide range. Besides, ring shear tests are not commonly performed in laboratories and depending on the type of soil, multi reveral direct shear tests may need to be performed at very low speeds. Relatively long test time adversely affects the practical use of the multi reversal direct shear tests. In this study, the relationship between peak and residual shear strength in normally consolidated high plastic clays was studied within the framework of the above restrictions. Firstly, the empirical correlation between the residual shear strength and the index porperties and peak shear strength was predicted by evaluating the results of the studies in our country's literature. Then, the results obtained from the multi reversal direct shear tests with remoulded high plastic clay samples and the predicted values were compared.
Citation - WoS: 3
Citation - Scopus: 4
Investigation of the Effect of Shearing Rate on Residual Strength of High Plastic Clay
(Springer Heidelberg, 2020) Akis, Ebru; Mekael, Ahmad; Yilmaz, Mustafa Tolga; Civil Engineering
The residual shear strength on failure plane is a crucial parameter to be estimated for analysis of an active landslide. This strength must be determined precisely to build a reliable theoretical model for calculations. The multi-reversal direct-shear test is a practical method to determine this shear strength in laboratory due to wider availability of apparatus. The shearing rate is among the factors that significantly affect the precision of test results for clay specimens. However, limits for this rate are yet to be clarified to shorten the duration of multi-reversal direct-shear tests. In this study, two tests series at different shearing rates were performed to investigate the effect of shearing rate on the residual strength of highly plastic clay sample recovered from a landslide area in Northern Turkey. The shearing rates were set to 0.024 mm/min which was decreased to 0.001 mm/min during the last forward shearing phase for the first test series, whereas the rate was fixed to 0.0007 mm/min for the second test series. The residual friction angle determined by these tests was interpreted by using a theoretical analysis of the landslide, and they were compared with the estimations due to empirical relationships given in the literature. It is concluded that, although the rate of 0.024 mm/min is consistent with the recommendations in literature, this rate can yield overestimation of residual shear strength determined in multi-reversal direct-shear tests.
Citation - Scopus: 1
Optimum Cost Prediction of Reinforced Concrete Cantilever Retaining Walls
(Mdpi, 2023) Akis, Ebru; Civil Engineering
Reinforced concrete cantilever retaining walls (RCCRWs) are widely used in civil engineering projects as a common type of retaining structure. The design of these structures focuses on ensuring safety against various failure scenarios and compliance with standard building code requirements. This research aims to enhance the design process of RCCRWs by developing a specific code and optimizing it through a metaheuristic-based algorithm. In this study, the cost prediction of RCCRWs is also investigated through a parametric study involving key variables such as wall height, seismic zone, backfill material properties, and backfill inclination angle. To achieve this, non-linear regression analysis is employed to establish an empirical correlation, enabling cost estimation for optimized RCCRWs. The resulting prediction equation is simple to use, requiring only limited inputs. Therefore, it can be applied during the initial stages of a project, making a valuable contribution in determining approximate costs for RCCRW projects.