Centrifugal test of a road embankment built after new dredger fill on thick marine clay

Abstract

The construction of a 100-km road network is planned on a land reclamation area in the Oujiang Estuary in China. The embankment had a height of 4 m and a base width of 60 m. The reclamation area is newly filled by a 3-m dredger fill on a 48-m thick layer of marine clay. Estimation of the settlement of the future road network is difficult. To guide the construction of the road network, a 1/100-scale centrifuge model test was performed with a marine clay sample from the construction site to simulate the layered settlements and evaluate the drainage effect of prefabricated vertical drains in the dredger fill in the following 10 years. The results of the centrifuge modeling test are verified by 10-month in situ monitoring, which shows agreement between the centrifuge modeling test results and the in situ results. The test results indicate that additional time is needed to reinforce the newly added dredger fill by the surcharge preloading method to uplift the elevation of the reclamation area with dredger fill.     

Neoproterozoic trace fossils vs. microbial mat structures: Examples from the Tandilia Belt of Argentina

The Tandilia Belt in northeast Argentina includes a Neoproterozoic sequence of sediments (Sierras Bayas Group), in which the Cerro Largo Formation, ca. 750 Ma in age, forms a siliciclastic, shallowing upward succession of subtidal nearshore to tidal flat deposits. Trace fossils Palaeophycus isp. and Didymaulichnus isp. have been described from the upper part of this succession. Specific sedimentary structures consisting of round-crested bulges, arranged in a reticulate pattern, and networks of curved cracks are associated with the trace fossils. These structures are considered to be related to epibenthic microbial mats that once colonized the sediment surface. They reflect stages of mat growth and mat destruction, if compared to analogous structures in modern cyanobacterial mats of peritidal, siliciclastic depositional systems. Also the trace fossils are interpreted as mat-related structures, partly forming components of networks of shrinkage cracks, partly representing the upturned and involute margins of shrinkage cracks or circular openings in desiccating and shrinking, thin microbial mats.

The definition of Didymaulichnus miettensis Young as a Terminal Proterozoic trace fossil is questioned, and it may be considered to interpret the ‘bilobate’ structure as the upturned, opposite margins of microbial shrinkage cracks which have been brought back into contact by compaction after burial.     

Scattering of elastic waves by a fracture zone containing randomly distributed cracks

We theoretically study the scattering ofP, SV andSH waves by a zonal distribution of cracks, which simulates a fault fracture zone. An investigation is conducted how the geometrical properties of the crack distribution and the frictional characteristics of the crack surface are reflected in the attenuation and dispersion of incident waves, as well as in the amplitudes of the transmitted and reflected waves from the zone. If the crack distribution within the fault zone changes temporally during the preparation process of the expected earthquake, it will be important for earthquake prediction to monitor it, utilizing the scattering-induced wave phenomena.We consider the two-dimensional problem. Aligned cracks with the same length are assumed to be randomly distributed in a zone with a finite width, on which elastic waves are assumed to be incident. The distribution of cracks is assumed to be homogeneous and sparse. The crack surface is assumed to be stress-free, or to undergo viscous friction; the latter case simulates fluid-filled cracks. The opening displacement of the crack is assumed to be negligibly small. The idea of the mean wave formalism is employed in the analysis, and Foldy's approximation is assumed.When the crack surface is stress-free, it is commonly observed for every wave mode (P, SV andSH) that the attenuation coefficientQ ^–1 peaks aroundka1, the phase velocity is almost independent ofk in the rangeka<1 and it increases monotonically withk in the rangeka>1, wherek is the intrinsicS wavenumber anda is the half length of the crack. The effect of the friction is to shift the peak ofQ ^–1 and the corner of the phase velocity curve to the low wavenumber range. The high wavenumber asymptote ofQ ^–1 is proportional tok ^–1 independently of model parameters and the wave modes. If the seismological observation thatQ ^–1 ofS waves has a peak at around 0.5 Hz in the earth's crust is combined with our results, the upper limit of crack size within the crust is estimated about 4 km. The information regarding the transmitted and reflected waves, such as the high wavenumber limit of the amplitude of the transmitted wave etc., allows estimation of the strength of the friction.     

Assessment of Marine Clay Improvement Under Reclamation Fills by in-situ Testing Methods

In ground improvement projects with prefabricated vertical drains, the duration of the preloading period is set in advance based on the predetermined time rate of consolidation of the compressible layer. If prediction is accurately done, the required degree of consolidation is met at the pre-determined preloading time. As such, there is a requirement for in-situ tests to be carried out just prior to the removal of surcharge to assess the degree of consolidation of the improved ground. In-situ tests were carried out after 23 months of surcharge loading at the In-Situ Test Site within the Changi East Reclamation Project in the Republic of Singapore. In-situ testing works in this research study comprises the use of field vane shear, piezocone, flat dilatometer and self-boring pressuremeter. The in-situ tests were carried out to determine the shear strength and degree of consolidation of the Singapore marine clay at Changi after 23 months of surcharge loading. The In-Situ Test Site consisted of a Vertical Drain Area as well as an untreated Control Area. Both areas were located adjacent to each other and were surcharged simultaneously to the same level and surcharge left in place for a period of 23 months. Comparison was made between the in-situ test results of the Vertical Drain Area and the untreated Control Area.     

西南某电站右岸倾坡内夹泥裂隙成因探讨

西南某拟建大型水电站的右岸岩体中存在倾向坡内的夹泥裂隙，通过对其的发育情况以及所处的地质环境进行系统的研究和认真剖析，认为该区内的倾坡内夹泥裂隙的成因并非正常卸荷引起，而是在构造的基础上，穹隆挽近期隆起的结果，为右岸坝肩稳定性评价提供了可靠的依据。     

软土地基上静压预制桩承载力的工后增大效应

分析了软土地基上预制桩承载力的时效性机理，介绍了几种研究承载力时效性的经验回归公式，结合工程说明应充分认识承载力时效性的科学性和利用这种规律潜在的巨大经济效益。     

Dynamic nucleation process of shallow earthquake faulting in a fault zone

Two distinct phases are commonly observed at the initial part of seismograms of large shallow earthquakes: low-frequency and low-amplitude waves following the onset of a P wave ( P ₁) are interrupted by the arrival of the second impulsive phase P₂ enriched with high-frequency components. This observation suggests that a large shallow earthquake involves two qualitatively different stages of rupture at its nucleation.
We propose a theoretical model that can naturally explain the above nucleation behaviour. The model is 2-D and the deformation is assumed to be anti-plane. A key clement in our model is the assumption of a zone in which numbers of pre-existing cracks are densely distributed; this cracked zone is a model for the fault zone. Dynamic crack growth nucleated in such a zone is intensely affected by the crack interactions, which exert two conflicting effects: one tends to accelerate the crack growth, and the other tends to decelerate it. The accelerating and decelerating effects are generally ascribable to coplanar and non-coplanar crack interactions, respectively. We rigorously treat the multiple interactions among the cracks, using the boundary integral equation method (BIEM), and assume the critical stress fracture criterion for the analysis of spontaneous crack propagation.
Our analysis shows that a dynamic rupture nucleated in the cracked zone begins to grow slowly due to the relative predominance of non-coplanar interactions. This process radiates the P₁ phase. If the crack continues to grow, coalescence with adjacent coplanar cracks occurs after a short time. Then, coplanar interactions suddenly begin to prevail and crack growth is accelerated; the P₂ phase is emitted in this process. It is interpreted that the two distinct phases appear in the process of the transition from non-coplanar to coplanar interaction predominance.     

Transient electromagnetic responses in seafloor with triaxial anisotropy

Electrical anisotropy of young oceanic crust at mid-ocean ridges is detectable by observation of the rate and geometry of the diffusion of electromagnetic fields. The anisotropy in electrical properties arises from the presence of conductive seawater in an interconnected network of mostly ridge-parallel cracks. In this paper, we first justify the choice of a triaxial model to represent young oceanic crust, with three distinct electrical conductivities in the vertical, strike and spreading directions. We then present an algorithm to calculate the transient electromagnetic responses generated by an electric dipole source over such a triaxially anisotropic seafloor. We show that if the transient passages are measured with three distinct electric dipole-dipole configurations, it is possible to discern all three unknown conductivities independently of each other.