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    <title>Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)</title>
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    <language>en-us</language>
    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
    <image>
      <title>Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)</title>
      <url>https://trid.trb.org/Images/PageHeader-wTitle.jpg</url>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/</link>
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    <item>
      <title>Deformation Mechanism and Influence of Surface Pumping Control in Shallow-Buried Tunnel in Water-Rich Fully Weathered Granite</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2640203</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Fully weathered granite exhibits high water sensitivity and poor water stability, making tunnel construction in water-rich fully weathered granite formations challenging. This study analyzes the water sensitivity of fully weathered granite and the impact of surface pumping on the deformation of shallow-buried, water-rich fully weathered granite tunnels, focusing on the Beitouling Tunnel in China. Geotechnical tests and numerical simulations are used to investigate these effects. The key findings are as follows: 1) The fully weathered granite in the project shows significant water sensitivity, with mechanical strength parameters decreasing as moisture content increases. Despite this, the stress-strain characteristics at various moisture levels exhibit strain-hardening behavior, and the failure mode is consistently “waisted drum-shaped.” The granite’s particle and compositional characteristics also contribute to surge disasters; 2) As the water level drops, groundwater moves toward the bottom of the “pumping funnel” along the pumping curve. Below this curve, intense seepage is observed around the tunnel lining, causing sidewall convergence and invert heaving. A “preventive layer” forms beneath the tunnel, reducing groundwater seepage toward the unsupported face; and 3) When pumping reaches the first excavation stage’s bottom, crown settlement decreases by more than 50% compared with the initial water level, providing the best control. However, sidewall convergence increases by 9% to 13%, and invert uplift rises by 23% to 36% when pumping reaches the tunnel invert.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 15 Dec 2025 09:25:55 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2640203</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Study on the physical and mechanical properties of recycled weathered rock materials in expressway subgrade in permafrost areas</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2379306</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In view of the specialized climatic conditions in high-cold and high-altitude regions, the direct, repeated freeze-thaw and freezing processes resulting from diurnal and seasonal temperature changes pose a significant threat to the integrity of the roadbed stones in these areas. Weathering and fragmentation constitute a form of rock damage. Rock damage negatively impacts the air convection within the rock subgrade, rendering it incapable of safeguarding frozen soil. The objective of this study is to investigate the mechanical properties and the constitutive model for freeze-thaw damage of three recycled weathered rock materials subjected to varying freeze-thaw cycles. Additionally, it aims to examine the damage and degradation mechanism of recycled weathered rock materials under the combined influence of freeze-thaw and load. The model is then employed to validate the experimental data. Research indicates that with an increase in the number of freeze-thaw cycles, the quality of the three types of recycled weathered rock samples exhibits a gradual decrease, accompanied by a corresponding reduction in P-wave speed. The elastic modulus and compressive strength of the three recycled weathered rock materials show an increase with rising confining pressure and a decrease with a growing number of freeze-thaw cycles. The types of damage include splitting and shear damage. The presented damage model can elucidate the pattern of damage evolution in the specimen under varying confining pressures and freeze-thaw cycles. The expansion of internal micro-cracks is influenced differently by freeze-thaw cycles and loads; moreover, the coupling effect of damage exhibits pronounced nonlinear characteristics. Substantiated by experimental results, the damage constitutive model demonstrates both reasonability and feasibility.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 12 Jun 2024 11:08:02 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2379306</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Road performance of ordinary Portland cement improvement of strongly weathered phyllite filler</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2015775</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Phyllite is widely disseminated in China, to solve the problems of the shortage of filling soil and using farmland soil or deserted soil from other places, and to protect the environment and save investment, the strongly weathered phyllites were used to the fill the roadbed. This paper takes the strongly weathered phyllite in the Nanchang area as the research object. Based on both the physics and mechanics experiments and the engineering properties tests of the phyllite, the fillers that do not meet the mechanical properties of the first-class highway roadbed filler were improved with cement. The effects of different particle gradation characteristics (20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, and 60%) on the performance of the improved phyllite roadbed filler were analyzed, and the finite element software was used to verify the suitability of the improved strongly weathered phyllite as the roadbed filler. The results show that the unconfined compressive strength of the strongly weathered phyllite filler first increases and then decreases with the increase of the stone content, and the permeability first decreases and then increases with the increase of the stone content. After the improvement of cement content of 25%, moisture content of 25%, and stone content of 50%, the mechanical properties and permeability of strongly weathered phyllite fillers have reached the optimal values, which can greatly reduce the settlement of roadbeds and prolong the life cycle of highways.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 12 Oct 2022 09:03:31 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2015775</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Static Load Capacity of H-Pile Installed with a Pilot Hole in Weathered Rock</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1929417</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Pile foundations for bridges are sometimes constructed by placing a pile in a pilot hole which is pre-drilled into rock. In such cases, dynamic testing is typically not performed, and the geotechnical capacity of the pile should be estimated based on static analysis methods. In this case study, the load capacity of an H-pile installed in a pilot hole in a weathered rock was analyzed. The pile was a production pile for a bridge and was tested by a static load test. A numerical model was used to simulate the general load-displacement behavior of the pile. Four static analysis methods were used to determine the geotechnical capacity of the rock. In general, these static analysis methods provided a wide range of the calculated load capacity. Both the numerical model and the static analysis showed that the generalized Hoek-Brown failure criterion and its parameters produced a reasonable estimation of the load capacity for this pile.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 24 May 2022 10:08:10 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1929417</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Comprehensive Ahead Prospecting of Tunnels in Severely Weathered Rock Mass Environments with High Water Inrush Risk: A Case Study in Shaanxi Province</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1749791</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The ahead geological prospecting of severely weathered surrounding rock in a tunnel is challenging due to complex geological conditions. Hence, the best approach is to use a variety of geophysical exploration methods. In this study, the authors have applied seismic, electrical resistivity (ER), and transient electromagnetic (TEM) methodologies for ahead prospecting of the highly weathered and complex surrounding rock at the diversion tunnel of the Hongyan River to Stone River Water Transfer Project in Shaanxi Province, China. The seismic method was employed to detect structural information for an area of 100 m from the front of the tunnel, the TEM method was used to obtain the resistivity information within 60 m, and the ER method was conducted to obtain detailed resistivity information over a range of 30 m. The integrated results generated a comprehensive interpretation of the geological body located within 100 m of the front of the tunnel. The authors divided this geological area into intact, severely weathered, and slightly weathered sections. Information on the water content of each section was also produced. The results of subsequent excavations are consistent with the authors' results, proving the effectiveness and feasibility of a comprehensive approach for analyzing highly weathered and complex surrounding rock.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 19 Nov 2020 14:23:52 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1749791</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>3D Rotational Failure Mechanism of Tunnel Face in Weathered and Saturated Hoek-Brown Rock Masses</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1607048</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This paper aims to assess the face stability for tunnels excavated in weathered and saturated rock masses using the Hoek-Brown failure criterion. With resort to the upper bound theorem of limit analysis, a 3D rotational failure mechanism is constructed in which the rate of work done by pore water pressure is calculated as a part of external work by introducing the pore water pressure coefficient. To verify the validity of the proposed approach, comparisons with the previous studies are performed considering the case of Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion. Subsequently, numerical trials are done to investigate the nonlinear responses of the normalized critical support force against tunnel face based on the Hoek-Brown failure criterion. Accordingly, several normalized design charts are provided for a quick assessment of tunnel face stability. To further improve the proposed approach, the main error sources are discussed as a reminder in engineering application which is followed by the candidate schemes reported by other authors. The merit and demerit of these schemes are roughly described for reference. Conclusively, the proposed approach is tightly linked to practical engineering and provides more reliable assessment of tunnel face stability below water table without much expensive numerical simulations.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 28 Jun 2019 11:41:56 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1607048</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Load Transfer Mechanism of Micropiles in Weathered Rock</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1593939</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The load transfer mechanism of micropiles was examined for a bridge during construction in the Foothills Parkway of the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. The bridge is supported on four piers and each rests on a circular pile cap with 20 micropiles socketed into rock with varying depths. The ground is characterized by 4 to 50-ft of sand and gravel overlying metaconglomerate and metasandstone rock. The load transfer of the piers was monitored using strain gages installed along the micropiles cased and bond zones, as well as in the pile cap. In addition, a 3D numerical model was developed using ABAQUS to understand the behavior. Using the collected data from the instrumentation and the numerical simulations, it was found that the weathered rock in the cased zone of the micropiles transfers a significant load (&gt;70% of the total load) despite the small friction at the interface.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 02 Apr 2019 15:00:19 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1593939</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Overcoming Obstacles on Trabuco Creek with Physical Modeling</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1407989</link>
      <description><![CDATA[One of the barriers to Steelhead recovery on Trabuco Creek in San Juan Capistrano, CA is at the Metrolink Rail Crossing where a grouted rock drop structure has been installed to protect existing utility crossings and bridge piers and now impedes upstream passage for adult and juvenile fish. The elevation drop at the barrier has increased by 20 feet since 1940 and continues to grow, requiring frequent repairs to the grouted riprap. An engineered fishway and a replacement drop structure and flood channel have been proposed to provide sustainable protection to existing infrastructure and provide passage for the southern California Steelhead, a federally listed endangered species. The fishway design uses a combination of natural rock materials and concrete and because of its configuration, length, and drop height would be the first of its kind in California. The design of the fishway, flood channel, and diversion is critical to ensure fish passage over a wide range of creek flows, prevent sediment from clogging the fishway, and force large flood flows into the floodway. A 1:6 and 1:20 scaled physical hydraulic model were constructed of the proposed fishway and flood channel which allowed designers and stakeholders to verify the stability of the proposed channels over a wide range of flows, optimize the diversion between the fishway and floodway, and adjust the fishway design to improve passage characteristics for juvenile and adult fish. The physical models were used to identify modifications that resulted in significant improvements to the hydraulic performance of the design.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 28 Jun 2016 16:22:08 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1407989</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Experimental Study on Unconfined Compressive Strength of Completely Weathered Granite Improved Soil</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1316603</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In this paper, mechanics characteristics of whole weathered granite improved soil is studied through an indoor experiment. The changes of the fluid plasticity index before and after improvement in different compaction conditions are analyzed. The full weathering granite is improved through adding different proportions of lime and cement. By liquid plastic limit test, the rules of changes on improved soil's liquid plastic limit are analyzed in different mixed ratio conditions. It can be concluded that the improved soil's plasticity index decreases with lime or cement dosage increasing and changes over the time. The liquid limit, plastic limit and the plasticity index of improved soil changes with the addition of lime and cement dosage. The relationship of unconfined compressive strength with the lime and cement dosage, plastic limit, and the plasticity index is the polynomial relationship.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 02 Sep 2014 09:06:19 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1316603</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Analysis on Environmental Impact of Deep Excavation in Shenzhen, China</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1310329</link>
      <description><![CDATA[A 30-m-deep foundation pit is excavated into 10-m-thick weathered granite strata in Shenzhen, China. The upper ground over weathered granite is a 20-m strata composed of loose sandy soil and clayey soil with high water content. To evaluate the impact on the surroundings caused by the excavation of the pit, a numerical simulation is performed by finite element method (FEM). Taking account of the interaction of excavation process, retaining structures and soil, simulation is conducted for the process of progressive excavation, support system assembling, and disassembling. Simulation results agree well with measured values and meet the requirements of construction criterion. The FEM model offers an available analysis method for the deformation prediction and design of similar ultra-deep excavation in Shenzhen.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 25 Jul 2014 16:16:51 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1310329</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Seismic Response of Twin Tunnels in Weathered Rocks</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1272434</link>
      <description><![CDATA[With rapid urbanization and wide use of underground space, the behaviour of underground structures under various conditions has gained significant attention. Twin tunnels are two closely constructed tunnels. Underground structures are generally supported by the surrounding medium like soil or rock. Due to this additional constraint from the ground, the underground structures are not as vulnerable as compared to the surface structures during an earthquake event. But recent earthquakes have shown that these structures are also prone to damages. Unlike surface structures, the soil-structure interaction is very important in the seismic analysis of underground structures. Moreover, in the case of structures like tunnels, rather than inertial forces the deformation behaviour is controlling the seismic behaviour. The various waves generated during an earthquake event generate additional forces and moments, which may jeopardize the stability of tunnels/underground structures. Among the different types of ground instability associated with seismic loading, the upward and downward movement of the ground due to seismic waves is studied here. In this study, a two dimensional numerical simulation using finite element method is done to understand the response of twin tunnels in weathered type of rock. The dynamic load is applied in the form of earthquake loading. The effect of relative spacing between tunnels is studied when they are subjected to earthquake loading. The results show that due to the dynamic loading the effects on ground settlement is significant especially when the relative spacing between the tunnels is less.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 14 Jul 2014 16:50:05 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1272434</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>High Capacity Micropiles in Intermediate Geomaterials: Partial versus Full Length Casing</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1272091</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Micropiles were used to support air quality control structures and equipment at a Southeast U.S. electric power plant in areas where construction equipment access for other types of deep foundations was very limited. The plant is located within the Piedmont physiographic province. The subsurface profile consists of upper medium dense silty and clayey sands, underlain by partially weathered rock (PWR), of varying thickness. The PWR is underlain by Gneiss bedrock with a relatively reduced degree of weathering, grading to a relatively unweathered rock. Due to the varying thickness of the PWR, the first Phase of the project included installation of two verification test piles to evaluate the contribution of PWR to pile capacity. Both test piles were installed with a partial length casing to stabilize the hole within the top portion of the sandy soils.The results of these tests indicated that PWR with sufficient thickness could be used as a load bearing stratum for micropile design; and that the surface casing could be used only as a means to stabilize the top of the drill hole. By using the PWR layer as a load bearing stratum and installing only partial length casing, the project team was able to considerably reduce the Phase 1 installation costs. However, due to variable subsurface conditions encountered during production, it was difficult to ascertain the depth to which the casing should be extended to stabilize the hole. Hence, a decision was made to install full-length casing for a Phase 2 test pile and subsequent production piles. The results of the Phase 2 verification test indicated side shear values within the Gneiss layer comparable to the Phase 1 test findings. The casing was found to contribute primarily as a borehole stabilizing mechanism and to have no significant effect on the load distribution within the bond zone.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 01 Jul 2014 17:28:23 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1272091</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Newport Dock Remediation and Geotechnical Risk Mitigation in Variably Weathered Rock Conditions</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1302898</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In 1948, the Port of Newport sank two reinforced-concrete cargo ships on the north shore of Yaquina Bay to serve as wharves for cargo handling. Over time, the ships cracked and moved up to 3 ft toward the bay, resulting in ground settlement, damage to structures near the ships, and an increased risk of releasing petroleum contaminants stored inside the ships into the bay. Through an extensive analysis of alternatives to make the best use of available funds, the selected alternative was to construct a temporary cofferdam and remove the western ship, stabilize the eastern ship with anchors and ballast, and construct a new 800-ft-long, 40-ft-wide dock with an anchored bulkhead wall. The presence of variably weathered siltstone and sandstone at shallow depths below the site presented significant design and construction challenges for installation of the cofferdam, sheet pile bulkheads, and dock pipe piles. This paper discusses the scope, successes, and challenges of the geotechnical site investigation, design alternatives, and construction engineering used to minimize construction risks and overall project costs. Specific challenges and innovative construction techniques used to remove the contaminated buried hull of one of the ships is also discussed.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 29 May 2014 10:18:02 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1302898</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Foundation Design in Weathered Limestone - Where Will the Piles End?</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1302934</link>
      <description><![CDATA[A new pile-supported pier was designed to provide cruise ship access to an onshore resort in Labadee, on the north side of Haiti. The project consisted of an access trestle connecting to a pier with mooring dolphins extending offshore to support berthing and mooring. The structures were supported on steel pipe piles and designed to resist compression loads due to operations, horizontal loads from waves and seismic activity, and uplift loads from wave forces and as a result of the horizontal loads in multi-pile groups. The initial design was based on the results of a limited field exploration. However, during construction it was found that the site conditions varied from the initial field exploration, and a more detailed exploration was undertaken during construction to better evaluate the site conditions. The primary bearing layer for much of the structure was found to be a limerock (i.e., weathered limestone), which was noted to have voids and clay-filled cavities that provided minimal pile resistance. Pile Dynamic Analysis (PDA) testing was conducted along with CAse Pile Wave Analysis Program (CAPWAP) analysis to estimate as-driven pile capacities. The results of the testing indicated unit skin resistance values much lower than values typically reported for materials with similar blowcounts. Though it was expected that this material would have low unit resistance values given the literature on pile behavior in calcareous soils, the resistance values were still much lower than anticipated. The final design consisted of using a combination of splicing and driving the piles deeper, as well as drilling out the inside of the piles and backfilling with concrete to force a plug in the pile as well as provide additional uplift resistance due to the dead weight of the concrete.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 15 May 2014 11:35:23 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1302934</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Prediction of resilient modulus of compacted saprolitic soils by CBR approach for road pavement subgrade: a re-examination</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1249559</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The scope of the study as presented in this paper is to re-examine the prediction of resilient modulus (M R) by the classical California Bearing Ratio (CBR) approach, specifically for compacted saprolitic subgrade soils. Through the extensive experiments carried out for this research, a more precise model yielded to estimate M R based on CBR values and the relative degrees of soil compaction. Likewise, comments are also made critically for the suitability of using the well-known models which were developed during the past decades. In addition to the core results, this study has produced a number of other important findings: (1) the influence of soil compaction densities on CBR and M R is relatively significant when soil is relatively dry, whereas saturation ratio becomes a dominant factor while the soil is in wetter condition; (2) when the saturation ratio becomes dominant, the soil material could rarely reach a CBR of 5% or above, which was often regarded as competent materials by many design standards; (3) the moisture ratio (R m) of the saprolitic subgrade materials is one of the useful parameters in estimating M R and (4) the distinctive behaviours of saprolitic subgrade soils under CBR, unconfined compressive strength and repeated load tests are considered to be related to the degree of freedom of volume change for soil samples during the tests.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2013 08:59:38 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1249559</guid>
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