Development and population growth have made using shallow buried pipes in urban areas, highways, and subways inevitable. In this study, the performance and behavior of shallow unplasticized polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) pipes buried in sand reinforced with PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles produced by the end consumer filled with soil under static loads were investigated. The bottle reinforcement mattress filled with soil was vertically installed above the buried uPVC pipe inside the soil bed at the required depth; after that, backfilling was performed. The effects of the relative density of soil, placement depth, and the width of the soil-filled bottle-reinforced block were examined. The increase in relative density has shown a noticeable decrease in footing surface settlement and load transferred to the buried pipe. The test results have shown significant improvement in the ultimate bearing capacity of bottle-reinforced soil with a reduction in surface settlement. The backfill reinforced with soil-filled bottle block has shown a 71% improvement in ultimate bearing capacity. Additionally, the improvement in bearing capacity increases as the placement depth decreases and width increases. The optimum depth of placement and width of the bottle-reinforced mattress were 0.50 and 2.08 B. The proposed soil reinforcement method may be a good and relatively inexpensive alternative to traditional geosynthetic reinforcement while providing geotechnical and environmental benefits.

The design of steel beam-column end-plate bolted connections is becoming increasingly popular owing to its simplicity of production. This requires knowledge of the full nonlinear resisting moment–rotation (M–Φ) behavior of the joint. To investigate the impact of various geometrical factors on the overall behavior of the connection, this work provides a three-dimensional finite element model (FEM) utilizing ABAQUS software. The suggested model accounts for the pretension force on the bolts, material and geometrical deviations from linearity, and the proximity of surfaces that are adjacent. The numerical model’s ability to simulate and process both the total and specific behavior of varieties of end-plate steel riveted connections is confirmed by calibrating the finite element findings with experimentally disclosed outcomes, which are reviewed in this study. The ultimate behavior was then investigated through a parametric study using the verified FEM with variations in the bolt pretension load, yield strength of the sections, and yield stress of the bolt considering the M–Φ curve. The results of the parametric study showed that as the bolt pretension load and yield stress of the column, beam, and plate materials increased, so did the connection’s moment ability. The yield tension of the bolts, however, had only a minor effect on the connection’s moment capacity.