Publication Date

8-2024

Date of Final Oral Examination (Defense)

5-3-2024

Type of Culminating Activity

Thesis

Degree Title

Master of Science in Civil Engineering

Department Filter

Civil Engineering

Department

Civil Engineering

Supervisory Committee Chair

Nick Hudyma, Ph.D., P.E.

Supervisory Committee Member

Bhaskar Chittoori, Ph.D., P.E.

Supervisory Committee Member

Yang Lu, Ph.D., P.E.

Abstract

Dry-stacked stone has been used throughout the history of humankind as property dividers, retention walls, fortifications, temples, and other structures of significance. Many of these historical structures have been designated as culturally significant. In modern infrastructure, dry-stacked stone is often limited to retaining walls and is used more for its aesthetic appeal as opposed to its quality as a building material. The aim of this thesis is to add to engineering knowledge of how these structures behave. Specifically, on how in-plane differential settlement affects shear stress redistribution and vertical displacement within a structure as well as determining how block characteristics influence these reactions. UDEC was used to create the models, and Surfer was used to quantify the disturbance zones and generate contour plots displaying the disturbance zones from the data extracted from UDEC. Variables used to analyze their effect on the disturbance zones were block length, settlement length, settlement location, normal and shear stiffness, and joint friction angle. The resulting disturbance zones were compared to each other to determine the effects of the parameters of this study. Analyzing the results between the created models showed that settlement location, block length, and settlement length all affected the disturbance zone, while joint properties were found to have a negligible effect within the confines of this study.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.18122/td.2261.boisestate

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