Long-Term Effect of TMD on Vibration Control of An MDOF Offshore Fixed Platform

A three-dimensional fixed offshore platform in deep water modeled by the finite element method is studied in this paper. Analysis of the dynamic response of the MDOF structure is realized taking the non-linearity of the wave drag force and the wave-structure interaction into account. The structural response statistics, which have Gaussian distributions, are used to evaluate the vibration effect of the structure without TMD and with TMD. And an optimal method to design TMD controlling the first mode of the multi-mode structure is proposed. Moreover, the probabilities of occurrence of sea states at the platform site are considered for prediction of the long-term effect of a TMD. Simulation results demonstrate that the long-term effect of a well-designed TMD is good and the practical use is possible due to the good stability of its optimal parameters under different sea states.     

Evidence for ocean water invasion into the Chicxulub crater at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary

Abstract The possibility of ocean water invasion into the Chicxulub crater following the impact at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary was investigated based on examination of an impactite between approximately 794.63 and 894.94 m in the Yaxcopoil‐1 (Yax‐1) core. The presence of cross lamination in the uppermost part of the impactite suggests the influence of an ocean current at least during the sedimentation of this interval. Abundant occurrence of nannofossils of late Campanian to early Maastrichtian age in the matrices of samples from the upper part of the impactite suggests that the carbonate sediments deposited on the inner rim margin and outside the crater were eroded and transported into the crater most likely by ocean water that invaded the crater after its formation. The maximum grain size of limestone lithics and vesicular melt fragments, and grain and bulk chemical compositions show a cyclic variation in the upper part of the impactite. The upward fining grain size and the absence of erosional contact at the base of each cycle suggest that the sediments were derived from resuspension of units elsewhere in the crater, most likely by high energy currents association with ocean water invasion.     

An experimental study on Fischer‐Tropsch catalysis: Implications for impact phenomena and nebular chemistry

Abstract— Fischer‐Tropsch catalysis, by which CO and H₂ are converted to CH₄ on the surface of transition metals, has been considered to be one of the most important chemical reactions in many planetary processes, such as the formation of the solar and circumplanetary nebulae, the expansion of vapor clouds induced by cometary impacts, and the atmospheric re‐entry of vapor condensate due to asteroidal impacts. However, few quantitative experimental studies have been conducted for the catalytic reaction under conditions relevant to these planetary processes. In this study, we conduct Fischer‐Tropsch catalytic experiments at low pressures (1.3 times 10^?4 bar ≤ P ≤ 5.3 times 10^?1 bar) over a wide range of H₂/CO ratios (0.25–1000) using pure iron, pure nickel, and iron‐nickel alloys. We analyze what gas species are produced and measure the CH₄ formation rate. Our results indicate that the CH₄ formation rate for iron catalysts strongly depends on both pressure and the H₂/CO ratio, and that nickel is a more efficient catalyst at lower pressures and lower H₂/CO ratios. This difference in catalytic properties between iron and nickel may come from the reaction steps concerning disproportionation of CO, hydrogenation of surface carbon, and the poisoning of the catalyst. These results suggest that nickel is important in the atmospheric re‐entry of impact condensate, while iron is efficient in circumplanetary subnebulae. Our results also indicate that previous numerical models of iron catalysis based on experimental data at 1 bar considerably overestimate CH₄ formation efficiency at lower pressures, such as the solar nebula and the atmospheric re‐entry of impact condensate.     

PDF orientations in shocked quartz grains around the Chicxulub crater

Abstract— We measured 852 sets of planar deformation features (PDFs) in shocked quartz grains in impactite samples of the Yaxcopoil (YAX‐1) core and from 4 Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) boundary deposits: the Monaca, the Cacarajícara, and the Peñalver formations in Cuba, and DSDP site 536, within 800 km of the Chicxulub crater, in order to investigate variations of PDF orientations in the proximity of the crater. Orientations of PDFs show a broad distribution with peaks at ω {101¯3}, π {101¯2}, and ω {111¯2}, plus r, z {1011¯} orientations with minor c(0001), s{112¯1}, t{224¯1} plus x{516¯1}, and m{101¯0} plus a{112¯0} orientations. Planar deformation features with c(0001) orientation are relatively more abundant in the proximity of the Chicxulub crater than in distal sites such as North America, the Pacific Ocean, and Europe. This feature indicates that in the proximity of the crater, part of the shocked quartz grains in the K/T boundary deposits were derived from the low shock pressure zones. Moreover, the orientations of PDFs with ω {112¯2} plus r, z {101¯1} are high in our studied sites, and frequencies of these orientations decrease with increasing distance from the crater. On the other hand, absence of c(0001) and the rare occurrence of PDFs with ?ω {112¯2} plus r, z {101¯1} orientations in the sample from the YAX‐1 core that was taken at the top of the impactite layer of the Chicxulub crater suggests that the sampling horizon that reflects a certain cratering stage is also an important factor for variations in shocked quartz.