New basis for the constitutive modelling of aggregated soils

Natural and compacted soils are usually characterized by aggregation of particles. The mechanical behaviour of these materials depends on soil structure. The oedometric compression tests performed on aggregated samples presented here showed that these materials exhibit a yield limit depending not only on stress history and stress state but also on soil structure. Evidence is provided using the neutron tomography technique. These results revealed that soil structure modification occurs together with plastic deformations. The experimental results are used to propose a new state parameter to quantify the soil structure. Based on pore-scale experimental observations, an evolution law for this parameter is proposed as a function of associated plastic strains. Considering both soil fabric and inter-particle bonding effects, a new yield limit depending on stress state, stress history and soil structure is introduced for the aggregated soils. Accordingly, a new constitutive framework consistent with strain hardening plasticity is proposed to consider soil structure effects in the modelling of aggregated soils.     

Geochemical Characterization and Controlling Factors of Chemical Composition of Spring Water in a Part of Eastern Himalaya

This paper focuses on the suitability of spring water for drinking and irrigation purposes in a part of eastern Himalaya, south Sikkim. There are many anthropogenic and geogenic factors contributing as a source of major cations and anions in the spring water. The spring water chemistry show a variation in EC, pH, TDS, Temperature, Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Fe²⁺, Pb, Mn, Cu, HCO₃^-, Cl^-, PO₄^3-, NO₃^-, F^- and SO₄^2-. Mainly two types of water quality indexing has been used, one for suitability of spring water for drinking purposes and the other for irrigation purposes. For drinking purposes, Piper diagram used for determination of water type, water quality index (WQI) for quality monitoring and saturation index for mineral dissolution in water. % Na, RSC (Residual Sodium Carbon) and SAR (sodium absorption ratio) have been used for irrigation suitability. Piper diagram shows that CaHCO₃ type of water was dominant in the study area. The WQI depicted excellent category and SAR, percent sodium and RSC (Residual Sodium Carbon) depict excellent, good and permissible category for irrigation purposes. Principle component analysis (PCA) was used to determine the major influencing factor responsible for the variability in the parameters analysed of spring water.     

Water Flows Toward Power: Socioecological Degradation of Lake Urmia,Iran

Water is an invaluable resource, and equitable access to it is a fundamental human right. Disenfranchised groups often lose access to water resources because their interests are not well represented by decision makers. Excluding these groups from resource management policy often results in myopic decisions that contribute to further ecosystem damage. We describe the ecological degradation of Lake Urmia in Iran, which has recently experienced increased salinity and declining water quantity. The lake is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and Ramsar site, and supports unique biodiversity in the region. The lake's decline is driven by the destruction of Zagros forests and the government's water policies, which diverted water to more politically connected agricultural land users, increasing social inequity and prompting more deforestation. The most straightforward restoration solution is to discontinue the diversions and allow critical inflows to recharge Lake Urmia, preserving the lake and wetlands for migratory birds, tourists, and local communities.     

Alpha power exponentiated Teissier distribution with application to climate datasets

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - In the global warming era, discovering new probability distribution for modelling the meteorological parameters is highly desirable. Particularly, in some...     

Development of detachable replaceable links for eccentrically braced frames

Eccentrically braced frames (EBFs) can be repaired after a major earthquake by replacing the links. The link replacement is not a straightforward process and is influenced by the type of the link and the amount of residual frame deformations. The past decade has witnessed the development of different types of replaceable links such as end-plated links, web connected links, bolted flange and web spliced links, and collector beam and brace spliced links. All of the developed replaceable link details, except the web connected links, are not suitable for link replacement under residual frame drift. In this paper, a detachable replaceable link detail which is based on splicing the link at its mid-length is proposed. The detail is well suited for installation under residual frame drifts. In addition, the weight and size of the members to be transported and erected are reduced significantly, thereby facilitating the replacement procedure. Performance of this proposed replaceable link is studied by conducting six nearly full scale EBF tests under quasi-static cyclic loading. The link length ratio, type of end-plated mid-splice connection, and the amount of residual drift are considered as test variables. The test results revealed that the inelastic rotation capacity of the detachable replaceable links exceeds the requirements of the AISC Seismic Provisions for Structural Steel Buildings. No failures are observed in the end-plated mid-splice connections demonstrating the potential of the proposed details. The detachable replaceable links are investigated by numerical analysis as well to further validate their applicability and to develop design recommendations.     

Left-lateral active deformation along the Mosha–North Tehran fault system (Iran): Morphotectonics and paleoseismological investigations

The Mosha and North Tehran faults correspond to the nearest seismic sources for the northern part of the Tehran megacity. The present-day structural relationships and the kinematics of these two faults, especially at their junction in Lavasanat region, is still a matter of debate. In this paper, we present the results of a morphotectonic analysis (aerial photos and field investigations) within the central part of the Mosha and eastern part of the North Tehran faults between the Mosha valley and Tehran City. Our investigations show that, generally, the traces of activity do not follow the older traces corresponding to previous long-term dip–slip thrusting movements. The recent faulting mainly occurs on new traces trending E–W to ENE–WSW affecting Quaternary features (streams, ridges, risers, and young glacial markers) and cutting straight through the topography. Often defining en-echelon patterns (right- and left-stepping), these new traces correspond to steep faults with either north- or south-dipping directions, along which clear evidences for left-lateral strike–slip motion are found. At their junction zone, the two sinistral faults display a left-stepping en-echelon pattern defining a positive flower structure system clearly visible near Ira village. Further west, the left-lateral strike–slip motion is transferred along the ENE–WSW trending Niavaran fault and other faults. The cumulative offsets associated with this left-lateral deformation is small compared with the topography associated with the previous Late Tertiary thrusting motion, showing that it corresponds to a recent change of kinematics.     

Comments on revisiting the classical electron model in general relativity

We point out here that all the solutions presented in Rahaman et al. (Astrophys. Space Sci. 331:191–197, 2011) are incorrect and do not satisfy the system of governing Einstein-Maxwell field equations.     

Comparison of Factorial Kriging Analysis Method and Upward Continuation Filter to Recognize Subsurface Structures — A Case Study: Gravity Data from a Hydrocarbon Field in the Southeast Sedimentary Basins of the East Vietnam Sea

To interpret geophysical anomaly maps, it is necessary to filter out regional and sometimes noise components. Each measured value in a gravity survey consists of different components. Upward continuation (UC) is one of the most widely used filters. The shortcoming of this filter is not to consider the spatial structure of the data, and also the fact that the trial and error approach and expert’s judgment are needed to adjust it. This study aims to compare the factorial kriging analysis (FKA) and UC filters for separation of local and regional anomalies in the gravity data of a hydrocarbon field in the southeast sedimentary basins of the East Vietnam Sea. As shown in this paper, FKA method permits to filter out all of the identified structures, while the UC filter does not possess this capability. Therefore, beside general and classic filtering methods, the FKA method can be used as a strong method in filtering spatial structures and anomaly component.     

Syncline contribution to mountain peak building: examples from Western Zagros,Kurdistan Region,Northeastern Iraq

The current study focuses on roles of the synclines in building mountains of the Zagros Fold-Thrust Belt from Northeastern Iraq, Kurdistan Region. The studied area is located in the Imbricated Zone, which is a continuation of Simply Folded Zone of Iran. In some parts of this zone, the synclines contribute to building nearly half of the mountains and increase the relief contrast of the landscapes. The role of syncline in building mountains is opposite to its apparent intrinsic shape which is located in low land and normally forms synclinal valleys. In studied area, this phenomenon is observable in the areas that are complexly deformed, deeply exhumed, and predominately composed of the carbonate rocks. In these areas, exhumation and stream erosion have removed high thickness of overburden rocks and the tectonic stresses have crenulated carbonate rocks in the synclines. Due to these processes, these synclines are observable on the peak of the mountains now. The contribution of synclines in mountain building is related to three properties: the first is folding of synclines in confined condition (relative to anticlines) by which they have transformed to highly compact and stiff rocks. The second is accumulation of hydrothermal or meteoric water in the synclines due to its downward bending which aids precipitation of minerals and heals the possible tectonically and lithostatically induced fractures. The third is ductile deformation of synclines in confined and deeper level as compared to brittle deformation of anticlines in relatively shallower level and unconfined condition during deformation. Consequently, these factors result in an inversion of topography by which synclines are remained as mountains (high topography) above surface during exhumation while erosion removes anticlines. The result of this study is applicable for geological, geomorphological, and structural mapping in highly deformed and deeply exhumed terrains. The possible prediction of geomorphological position of synclines and anticlines on the mountain peaks and valley bottoms respectively is the applicable result in the above terrains.     

Dynamic buckling of braces in concentrically braced frames

Axially loaded members might experience compressive forces above their static buckling capacity because of dynamic buckling under rapid shortening. Although the subject is studied in the context of engineering mechanics, it has not been thoroughly investigated in the field of earthquake engineering. Such dynamic overshoots in the compressive capacity can also be observed for braces of concentrically braced frames (CBFs) during earthquakes. Consequently, a comprehensive investigation is conducted in this study regarding the effects of dynamic buckling of braces on the seismic behavior of steel CBFs. After providing a theoretical background, recent dynamic experiments on braces and CBFs are simulated and discussed to investigate the occurrence of dynamic overshoot during these tests. Eight archetype CBFs are then designed, modeled, and subjected to a large set of ground motions to provide a quantified insight on the frequency and anticipated level of dynamic overshoot in the compressive capacity of braces during earthquakes. Results of a total of 1600 nonlinear time history analyses revealed that dynamic overshoots occur frequently in braces and affect the behavior of CBFs notably. Considerable increases are recorded in forces transmitted to other members of CBFs as a consequence of such dynamic overshoots. Importance of incorporating these dynamic overshoots in the capacity design procedure of columns, beams, and gusset plates is highlighted. Furthermore, results of a parametric study are presented and summarized in the form of a simple formula that can be used as a guide for estimating the level of dynamic overshoot.