The cyclic response in saturated sand is gaining increasing interest owing to the soil-structure interaction in seismic regions. The evolution of the pore water pressure in liquefiable soil can significantly reduce soil strength and impact the structural dynamic response. This paper proposes a semi-analytical solution for a cylindrical cavity subjected to cyclic loading in saturated sands, incorporating an anisotropic, non-associated SANISAND model. The problem is formulated as a set of first-order partial differential equations (PDEs) by combining geometric equations, equilibrium equations, stress-strain relationships and boundary conditions. Due to the non-self-similar nature of this problem, these PDEs are solved by the hybrid Eulerian-Lagrangian approach to determine the cyclic response of the cavity. Then finite-element simulations with a user-defined subroutine are performed to validate the proposed solution. Finally, parametric studies are presented with the focus on soil parameters and cyclic loading history. It is found that the cyclic responses of the cavity in saturated sands are sensitive to the initial void ratio, and the at-rest coefficient of earth pressure primarily affects the monotonic response but marginally affects the cyclic response. Cylindrical cavities are more likely to liquefy when the sands are compacted in a loose state and under lower displacement amplitudes. The proposed solution has potential use for future research on the cyclic response of the soil-structure interaction in geotechnical engineering.

A statistical Design of Experiment (DOE) is innovatively applied to assess the physical and mechanical properties of natural composite rods extracted from the proximal of the giant bamboo. The proximal section, roughly the first 2.4 m from the first useable culm above the soil, has the greatest wall thickness, allowing for the extraction of rods with larger transverse dimensions and sampling from different radial positions, resulting in composite rods with varying fibre volume fractions. A 31 x 21 full factorial design is conducted considering three levels of longitudinal position (base, middle, and top) along the proximal section, and two radial positions within the culms (inner and outer). The bulk density of the rods tends to increase (up to 12 %) from the base to the top levels and from the in-extracted to the out-extracted rods, while water absorption exhibits the opposite behaviour, but increasing up to 25 %. Tensile properties tend to increase up to 13 % from the base-extracted rods to those extracted from the middle and top parts of the proximal section, and up to 24 % from the in-extracted to the out-extracted specimens. Compressive properties increase up to 43 % from the base to middle and top levels, and up to 45 % from the in-extracted to the out-extracted rods. The impact resistance depends only on the longitudinal position, increasing by 11 % from the top to the base levels. Specific tensile stiffness and strength are similar for any extraction position, while the specific compressive properties follow similar behaviour as the absolute compressive properties. The failure mode under tension is mostly characterised by delamination, whilst for compression the type of damage appears to be random and does not follow any discernible pattern. The impact specimens undergo a full rupture of the bamboo structure. These findings contribute valuable insights into the multi-scale characterisation of giant bamboo, laying the groundwork for its potential application in rod- based structural designs employing rods extracted from the culms of the plant.

The shutdown of earth pressure balance (EPB) shield tunneling in gravel stratum can easily lead to significant unexpected ground deformation. In order to study the response of gravel strata during shield shutdown and the characteristic change of soil state in the chamber, this paper establishes a coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian finite element method (CEL-FEM) coupling analysis model that reflects the interaction between the spoiled soil and gravel strata. The plastic flow parameters of CEL spoiled soil are calibrated using the slump method, and a quantitative relationship between the slump value, plastic flow parameters, equivalent coefficient of loosening, and excavation face support pressure is established. The reliability and applicability of CEL method in the simulation of shield shutdown are verified by the field measurements. Results show that: (1) The chamber's soil equivalent loose coefficient is inversely proportional to the soil slump value which is related to soil's plastic flow parameters. (2) The shield shutdown in gravel strata has a more significant impact on the deep strata displacement than on the surface. (3) During the shield shutdown stage, the chamber pressure should be dynamically adjusted based on the soil deformation characteristics, and an increase of 16% could result in a stable rebalance.

南美巴塔哥尼亚高原位于大型温带冰块快速变化与洋-陆板块俯冲交汇的复杂地质构造区域，其现今冰川均衡调整(GIA)响应信号及地表抬升的机理有待进一步明确。基于重力恢复与气候实验卫星(GRACE)2003—2016年时变重力数据，分析该高原地区的质量变化特征，利用相关水文模型和遥感卫星数据完善该地区的水文模型并提取水文信息空间变化特征，从GRACE综合信号中扣除水文信号得到现今GIA响应信号，并进一步通过全球定位系统(GPS)数据分析GIA效应对地表抬升的贡献。结果表明：巴塔哥尼亚高原地区呈现出巴塔哥尼亚冰原(PIF)及周围区域质量亏损、高原南部和北部质量增加的空间分布特征；水文质量亏损则形成以PIF为中心向外辐射、负信号逐渐减弱的空间分布；GIA响应使高原整体隆升，尤其在PIF南部最为突出，最高达(1.97±0.35) cm/a,与GIA模型特征相似；在北巴塔哥尼亚冰原(NPI)和南巴塔哥尼亚冰原(SPI)GIA响应分别能够解释约69.25%和82.70%的地表抬升信号。

南美巴塔哥尼亚高原位于大型温带冰块快速变化与洋-陆板块俯冲交汇的复杂地质构造区域，其现今冰川均衡调整(GIA)响应信号及地表抬升的机理有待进一步明确。基于重力恢复与气候实验卫星(GRACE)2003—2016年时变重力数据，分析该高原地区的质量变化特征，利用相关水文模型和遥感卫星数据完善该地区的水文模型并提取水文信息空间变化特征，从GRACE综合信号中扣除水文信号得到现今GIA响应信号，并进一步通过全球定位系统(GPS)数据分析GIA效应对地表抬升的贡献。结果表明：巴塔哥尼亚高原地区呈现出巴塔哥尼亚冰原(PIF)及周围区域质量亏损、高原南部和北部质量增加的空间分布特征；水文质量亏损则形成以PIF为中心向外辐射、负信号逐渐减弱的空间分布；GIA响应使高原整体隆升，尤其在PIF南部最为突出，最高达(1.97±0.35) cm/a,与GIA模型特征相似；在北巴塔哥尼亚冰原(NPI)和南巴塔哥尼亚冰原(SPI)GIA响应分别能够解释约69.25%和82.70%的地表抬升信号。

南美巴塔哥尼亚高原位于大型温带冰块快速变化与洋-陆板块俯冲交汇的复杂地质构造区域，其现今冰川均衡调整(GIA)响应信号及地表抬升的机理有待进一步明确。基于重力恢复与气候实验卫星(GRACE)2003—2016年时变重力数据，分析该高原地区的质量变化特征，利用相关水文模型和遥感卫星数据完善该地区的水文模型并提取水文信息空间变化特征，从GRACE综合信号中扣除水文信号得到现今GIA响应信号，并进一步通过全球定位系统(GPS)数据分析GIA效应对地表抬升的贡献。结果表明：巴塔哥尼亚高原地区呈现出巴塔哥尼亚冰原(PIF)及周围区域质量亏损、高原南部和北部质量增加的空间分布特征；水文质量亏损则形成以PIF为中心向外辐射、负信号逐渐减弱的空间分布；GIA响应使高原整体隆升，尤其在PIF南部最为突出，最高达(1.97±0.35) cm/a,与GIA模型特征相似；在北巴塔哥尼亚冰原(NPI)和南巴塔哥尼亚冰原(SPI)GIA响应分别能够解释约69.25%和82.70%的地表抬升信号。

The giant reed, Arundo donax (A. donax) is a fast and naturally growing species in the Mediterranean Area indicated as one of the 15 invasive species with greatest impact by the European Commission within the Ecosystem Vulnerability Key Actrion. It is a greatly available but non-fully exploited material regarded as a problem both in agriculture and in watercourse management. This study explores the potential use of A. donax as an alternative material in the production of particleboard panels. The research, conducted in collaboration with the industrial sector, evaluates the mechanical and physical properties of sandwich particleboards in which part of the recycled wood chips are replaced with varying percentages of A. donax chips only in the core of the board. The work demonstrates the feasibility of such a board using industrial procedures and the capability of A. donax to improve the physical and mechanical performance of the recycled wood particleboard without altering the production process or adding resin. The particleboards were manufactured in three densities (550, 680 and 750 kg/m3) and tested for thickness swelling, surface soundness, internal bond and bending strength. The results reveal that particleboards containing 20-35 % of A. donax by mass, particularly for high densities, improved mechanical properties and reduced the thickness swelling, meeting the requirements for class P4 particleboards resulting in an upgrade of the wood recycled panel's classification. This investigation highlights the viability of integrating A. donax into particleboard production, potentially reducing reliance on imported wood, improving the mechanical properties of recycled wood particleboards and promoting sustainable and locally sourced materials.

The accurate calibration of snow parameters is necessary to establish an accurate simulation model of snow, which is generally used to study tire-snow interaction. In this paper, an innovative parameter inversion method based on in situ test results is proposed to calibrate the snow parameters, which avoids the damage to the mechanical properties of snow when making test samples using traditional test methods. A coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) model of plate loading in snow was established; the sensitivity of snow parameters to the macroscopic load-sinkage relationship was studied; a plate-loading experiment was carried out; and the parameters of snow at the experimental site were inverted. The parameter inversion results from the snow model were verified by the experimental test results of different snow depths and different plate sizes. The results show the following: (1) The material cohesive, angle of friction, and hardening law of snow have great influence on the load-sinkage relationship of snow, the elastic modulus has a great influence on the unloading/reloading stiffness of snow, and the influence of density and Poisson's ratio on the load-sinkage relationship can be ignored. (2) The correlation coefficient between the inversion result and the matching test data is 0.979, which is 0.304 higher than that of the initial inversion curve. (3) The load-sinkage relationship of snow with different snow depths and plate diameters was simulated by using the model parameter of inversion, and the results were compared with the experimental results. The minimum correlation coefficient was 0.87, indicating that the snow parameter inversion method in this paper can calibrate the snow parameters of the test site accurately.

Giant reed (Arundo donax L.) is a plant species with a high growth rate and low requirements, which makes it particularly interesting for the production of different bioproducts, including natural fibers. This work assesses the use of fibers obtained from reed culms as reinforcement for a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) matrix. Two different lignocellulosic materials were used: i) shredded culms and ii) fibers obtained by culms processing, which have not been reported yet in literature as fillers for thermoplastic materials. A good stress transfer for the fibrous composites was observed, with significant increases in mechanical properties; composites with 20% fiber provided a tensile elastic modulus of almost 1900 MPa (78% increase versus neat HDPE) and a flexural one of 1500 MPa (100% increase), with an improvement of 15% in impact strength. On the other hand, composites with 20% shredded biomass increased by 50% the tensile elastic modulus (reaching 1560 MPa) and the flexural one (up to 1500 MPa), without significant changes in impact strength. The type of filler is more than its ratio; composites containing fibers resulted in a higher performance than the ones with shredded materials due to the higher aspect ratio of fibers.

Recently, bio-inspired technology utilizing the anisotropy of friction between structure-soil has garnered significant attention. In particular, new pile designs not only enhance shaft friction but also gain prominence by reducing the use of cement, which has traditionally been a key material in ground treatment and improvement. Previous studies have quantitatively verified the increase in interface shear resistance through direct shear tests and cone penetration experiments. However, conventional finite element analysis methods face limitations in analyzing the shaft friction behavior between piles with scale and the surrounding soil. In this study, the Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) technique, a large deformation analysis method built-in ABAQUS, is employed to simulate the penetration of cone with textured shaft. Numerical analyses are conducted to investigate changes in cone penetration resistance according to the geometric characteristics of the surface scale. To minimize numerical errors occurring in the cone and surrounding soil meshes, a three-dimensional generalized mesh is proposed for the cone and its surrounding elements. A total of 13 cases, comprising seven different cone designs and two penetration direction conditions, are analyzed. The results showed that under the same penetration load, penetration depth decreased as the scale height increased, the scale length narrowed, and the scale tapered in height.