Factors affecting grassland succession retardation in the Juifang area

This study classifies the vegetation status to determine the factors affecting grassland succession retardation in the Juifang area. Data derived from Land Use Investigation of Taiwan, GIS techniques, multivariate analysis, and on-site investigation was applied in this research. Discriminant analysis shows that forests that have low human disturbance cannot be correctly identified and classified by the topography and soil depth. This indicates that the topography and soil depth in the Juifang area are not the limiting factors of forest growth. Grasslands are usually susceptible to periodic wildfires. This can be used as an environmental index for disturbed and/or polluted soils. Comparing the current vegetation status with the vegetation distribution derived from discriminant analysis, potential wildfire frequency can be estimated. Acid sulfate soils and copper-contaminated soils are the major polluted soils in the Juifang area. Because the Juifang area is an important coal field in northern Taiwan, acid sulfate can be easily found in the spoiled soils of several mining spots due to sulfur oxidation from the soil and/or rock layers dug out during mining operations. Copper-contaminated soils were detected at the sites near the Li-Lo Copper Refining Plant and Taiwan Metal Mining Company. Polluted soils and periodic wildfires inhibiting the invasion of trees are the major factors retarding the succession of grasslands in the Juifang area.     

Efficiency of Moso Bamboo Charcoal and Activated Carbon for Adsorbing Radioactive Iodine

Preventing radioactive pollution is a troublesome problem but an urgent concern worldwide because radioactive substances cause serious health‐related hazards to human being. The adsorption method has been used for many years to concentrate and remove radioactive pollutants; selecting an adequate adsorbent is the key to the success of an adsorption‐based pollution abatement system. In Taiwan, all nuclear power plants use activated carbon as the adsorbent to treat radiation‐contaminated air emission. The activated carbon is entirely imported; its price and manufacturing technology are entirely controlled by international companies. Taiwan is rich in bamboo, which is one of the raw materials for high‐quality activated carbon. Thus, a less costly activated carbon with the same or even better adsorptive capability as the imported adsorbent can be made from bamboo. The objective of this research is to confirm the adsorptive characteristics and efficiency of the activated carbon made of Taiwan native bamboo for removing ¹³¹I gas from air in the laboratory. The study was conducted using new activated carbon module assembled for treating ¹³¹I‐contaminated air. The laboratory results reveal that the ¹³¹I removal efficiency for a single‐pass module is as high as 70%, and the overall efficiency is 100% for four single‐pass modules operated in series. The bamboo charcoal and bamboo activated carbon have suitable functional groups for adsorbing ¹³¹I and they have greater adsorption capacities than commercial activated carbons. Main mechanism is for trapping of radioiodine on impregnated charcoal, as a result of surface oxidation. When volatile radioiodine is trapped by potassium iodide‐impregnated bamboo charcoal, the iodo‐compound is first adsorbed on the charcoal surface, and then migrates to iodide ion sites where isotope exchange occurs.     

Assessing effects of model complexity and structure on predictions of hydrological responses using serial and parallel model design

By utilizing functional relationships based on observations at plot or field scales, water quality models first compute surface runoff and then use it as the primary governing variable to estimate sediment and nutrient transport. When these models are applied at watershed scales, this serial model structure, coupling a surface runoff sub-model with a water quality sub-model, may be inappropriate because dominant hydrological processes differ among scales. A parallel modeling approach is proposed to evaluate how best to combine dominant hydrological processes for predicting water quality at watershed scales. In the parallel scheme, dominant variables of water quality models are identified based entirely on their statistical significance using time series analysis. Four surface runoff models of different model complexity were assessed using both the serial and parallel approaches to quantify the uncertainty on forcing variables used to predict water quality. The eight alternative model structures were tested against a 25-year high-resolution data set of streamflow, suspended sediment discharge, and phosphorous discharge at weekly time steps. Models using the parallel approach consistently performed better than serial-based models, by having less error in predictions of watershed scale streamflow, sediment and phosphorus, which suggests model structures of water quantity and quality models at watershed scales should be reformulated by incorporating the dominant variables. The implication is that hydrological models should be constructed in a way that avoids stacking one sub-model with one set of scale assumptions onto the front end of another sub-model with a different set of scale assumptions.     

Seismic retrofit of reinforced concrete frames using buckling‐restrained braces with bearing block load transfer mechanism

A new method of retrofitting reinforced concrete (RC) frames with buckling‐restrained braces (BRBs) to improve frame strength, stiffness and energy dissipation is proposed. Instead of typical post‐installed anchors, load is transferred between the BRB and RC frame through compression bearing between an installed steel frame connected to the BRB, and high‐strength mortar blocks constructed at the four corners of the RC frame. This avoids complex on‐site anchor installation, and does not limit the allowable brace force by the anchor strength. Cyclic displacements of increasing amplitudes were imposed on two RC frame specimens retrofitted with different BRB strength capacities. In one of the frames, the bearing blocks were reinforced with wire mesh to mitigate cracking. A third RC frame was also tested as a benchmark to evaluate the retrofit strength and stiffness enhancements. Test results indicate that the proposed method efficiently transferred loads between the BRBs and RC frames, increasing the frame lateral strength while achieving good ductility and energy‐dissipating capacity. When the bearing block was reinforced with wire mesh, the maximum frame lateral strength and stiffness were more than 2.2 and 3.5 times the RC frame without the BRB respectively. The BRB imposes additional shear demands through the bearing blocks to both ends of the RC beam and column member discontinuity regions (D‐regions). The softened strut‐and‐tie model satisfactorily estimated the shear capacities of the D‐regions. A simplified calculation and a detailed PISA3D analysis were shown to effectively predict member demands to within 13.8% difference of the measured test results. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Empirical relationships between natural vibration period and height of buildings in Singapore

Singapore is a classic case of a modern metropolis with low hazard but high exposure to the seismicity in Sumatra. Because of land shortage, more than 80% of the population lives in high‐rise residential buildings. As part of the efforts to assess the seismic performance of buildings in Singapore subjected to long‐distance Sumatran earthquakes, relationships between the natural vibration period and height of high‐rise public residential buildings in Singapore are derived empirically by conducting ambient vibration tests on 116 buildings. The measured buildings have a height ranging from 4 to 30 stories. The aspect ratio of buildings in plan is found to be insignificant in affecting the natural vibration period of the first mode of the buildings. The period‐height relationships are derived using regression analysis considering the site properties of a building. It is concluded that the vibration periods estimated from the proposed period‐height relationship for buildings located at soft‐soil site are about 40% longer than the vibration periods estimated for buildings located at firm‐soil site. Measurements are also conducted to study the influence of buildings on the measured frequency of the surrounding soil. For this purpose, two buildings with 25 and 30 stories located at firm‐soil site and soft‐soil site, respectively, are selected. It is found that the distance of building influence on the measured frequency of the surrounding soil may reach up to one building height for a firm‐soil site and two building heights for a soft‐soil site. Additional data of natural vibration periods of 19 instrumented residential buildings, which have height ranging from 9 to 30 stories, were obtained from the building response recorded during the September 30, 2009 Sumatran earthquake event. The natural vibration periods of these buildings are compared with those estimated using the proposed period‐height relationships, and the absolute differences are found to be less than 12%. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Response of tall buildings to weak long distance earthquakes

In the last decade, two tall buildings in Singapore were instrumented with accelerometers and anemometers for the original purpose of identifying the characteristics and effects of wind loading. During the monitoring it became clear that the largest acceleration responses should result from ground motions due to earthquakes having magnitudes between 6 and 8 and epicentres at least 350 km distant. The paper describes the strategy for identifying and capturing the signals from distant tremors, which depends on tracking the RMS response levels in the second vibration mode. Characteristics of some recorded signals are given. While response levels are generally small, the frequency content coincides with the range of fundamental mode frequencies for high rise residential buildings. The validity of using a tall building as a ‘weak‐motion’ seismograph is discussed by considering the mode shape of the building and the measured transfer function between basement and roof responses. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prediction of the maximum credible ground motion in Singapore due to a great Sumatran subduction earthquake: the worst‐case scenario

Although Singapore is located in a low‐seismicity region, huge but infrequent Sumatran subduction earthquakes might pose structural problems to medium‐ and high‐rise buildings in the city. Based on a series of ground motion simulations of potential earthquakes that may affect Singapore, the 1833 Sumatran subduction earthquake (M_w=9.0) has been identified to be the worst‐case scenario earthquake. Bedrock motions in Singapore due to the hypothesized earthquake are simulated using an extended reflectivity method, taking into account uncertainties in source rupture process. Random rupture models, considering the uncertainties in rupture directivity, slip distribution, presence of asperities, rupture velocity and dislocation rise time, are made based on a range of seismologically possible models. The simulated bedrock motions have a very long duration of about 250 s with a predominant period between 1.8 and 2.5 s, which coincides with the natural periods of medium‐ and high‐rise buildings widely found in Singapore. The 90‐percentile horizontal peak ground acceleration is estimated to be 33 gal and the 90‐percentile horizontal spectral acceleration with 5% damping ratio is 100 gal within the predominant period range. The 90‐percentile bedrock motion would generate base shear force higher than that required by the current design code, where seismic design has yet to be considered. This has not taken into account effects of local soil response that might further amplify the bedrock motion. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changes in river regime after the construction of upstream reservoirs

This article presents and analyses many years of investigations in China on the fluvial processes downstream of impounding and detention reservoirs. The study covers the change in hydrograph, the recovering of sediment concentration along the river course, the degradation of stream bed, the adjustment of longitudinal profile, the coarsening of bed material, the change in channel width, and the trend of channel pattern variation for alluvial streams downstream of impounding reservoirs. Without confluence of major tributaries, the degradation may extend to a great distance below the dam. In the process of reducing the sediment carrying capacity of the flow to match the diminished sediment supply, the coarsening of bed material is a factor of equal, if not greater, importance as compared with the flattening of channel gradient. In places where the flow has not been sufficiently cut down and the bank is erosive non-resistant, a receding of banklines may take place in concurrence with the deepening of the river bed. Below detention reservoirs, even if the total runoff and sediment supply remain essentially unchanged, the modification of the hydrograph is sufficient to enhance the deterioration of the downstream channel.     

Effects of infill walls and floor diaphragms on the dynamic characteristics of a narrow‐rectangle building

Most buildings in Singapore are lightly reinforced concrete structures, which are mainly designed for gravity loading only, because Singapore is an island country located in a low‐to‐moderate seismic region. The dynamic properties of a typical high‐rise residential building with a long, narrow rectangular floor plan are studied using both experimental and numerical methods. The effects of the brick infill walls and the flexible diaphragms on the dynamic characteristics of the building are discussed in detail. The results from the ambient vibration tests are correlated with the numerical results of three different finite element models with different levels of sophistication. They include a bare frame model, a frame model with brick infill walls, and a frame model with both brick infill walls and flexible diaphragms. The dynamic properties of the third model match very well with the measured results in terms of both the natural frequencies and the mode shapes. The correlation results demonstrate the respective effects of the brick infill walls and the flexible diaphragms on the dynamic characteristics of the narrow‐rectangle building structure. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The application of genetic algorithm in debris flows prediction

Debris flows caused serious loss of human lives and damages to properties in Taiwan for the past decades. A number of methods for prediction of debris flows have been studied including numerical method, statistic method, experiment method and neural network method in recent years. This study proposed a genetic algorithm (GA) model for occurrence prediction of debris flows. A total of 154 potential cases of debris flows collected in eastern Taiwan were fed into the GA for training and testing. The average ratio of successful prediction reaching 90.4% demonstrates that the presented GA model can provide a stable and reliable result for prediction of debris flows in the hazard mitigation and guarding system.