Paweł Dobak

Stability conditions of the Vistula Valley attained by a multivariate approach – a case study from the Warsaw Southern Ring Road

Abstract Localised landslide activity has been observed in the area of the plateau slope analysed, in the vicinity of the planned Warsaw Southern Ring Road. Using calculation models quantitative and qualitative evaluations of the impact of natural and anthropogenic load factors on slope stability (and hence, safety) are made. The present paper defines six stages of slope stability analysis, leading to an indication of optimum slope design in relation to the development planned. The proposed procedure produces a ranking of factors that affect slope stability. In the engineering geological conditions under consideration, the greatest factors impacting degradation and failure of slope stability are changes in soil strength due to local, periodic yielding and the presence of dynamic loads generated by intensification of road traffic. Calculation models were used to assess the impact of destabilisation factors and to obtain mutual equivalence with 3D-visualisation relations. Based on this methodology, various scenarios dedicated to specific engineering geological conditions can be developed and rapid stability evaluations of changing slope loads can be performed.

Contemporary overview of soil creep phenomenon

Abstract Soil creep deformation refers to phenomena which take place in many areas and research in this field of science is rich and constantly developing. The article presents an analysis of the literature on soil creep phenomena. In light of the complexity of the issues involved and the wide variety of perspectives taken, this attempt at systematization seeks to provide a reliable review of current theories and practical approaches concerning creep deformation. The paper deals with subjects such as definition of creep, creep genesis, basic description of soil creep dynamics deformation, estimation of creep capabilities, various fields of creep occurrence, and an introduction to creep modeling. Furthermore, based on this analysis, a new direction for research is proposed.

Preliminary Investigations of Creep Strain of Neogene Clay from Warsaw in Drained Triaxial Tests Assisted by Computed Microtomography

Abstract The study concerns soil creep deformation in multistage triaxial stress tests under drained conditions. High resolution X-ray computed microtomography (XμCT) was involved in structure recognition before and after triaxial tests. Undisturbed Neogene clay samples, which are widespread in central Poland, were used in this study. XμCT was used to identify representative sample series and informed the detection and rejection of unreliable ones. Maximum deviatoric stress for in situ stress confining condition was equal 95.1 kPa. This result helped in the design of further multistage investigations. The study identified the rheological strain course, which can be broken down into three characterizations: decreasing creep strain rate, transitional constant creep velocity, and accelerating creep deformation. The study found that due to multistage creep loading, the samples were strengthened. Furthermore, there is a visibly “brittle” character of failure, which may be the consequence of the microstructure transformation as a function of time as well as collapse of voids. Due to the glacial tectonic history of the analyzed samples, the reactivation of microcracks might also serve as an explanation. The number of the various sizes of shear planes after failure is confirmed by XμCT overexposure.