A multiscale work-analysis approach for geotechnical structures

This paper presents a second-order work analysis in application to geotechnical problems by using a novel effective multiscale approach. To abandon complicated equations involved in conventional phenomenological models, this multiscale approach employs a micromechanically-based formulation, in which only four parameters are involved. The multiscale approach makes it possible a coupling of the finite element method (FEM) and the micromechanically-based model. The FEM is used to solve the boundary value problem (BVP) while the micromechanically-based model is utilized at the Gauss point of the FEM. Then, the multiscale approach is used to simulate a three-dimensional triaxial test and a plain-strain footing. On the basis of the simulations, material instabilities are analyzed at both mesoscale and global scale. The second-order work criterion is then used to analyze the numerical results. It opens a road to interpret and understand the micromechanisms hiding behind the occurrence of failure in geotechnical issues.     

改进的边缘角度直方图在遥感图像检索中的应用

针对基于形状的遥感图像检索中区域分割困难这个问题,本文提出利用边缘角度直方图作为形状特征对遥感图像进行检索;针对遥感影像分辨率和颜色反差对检索性能的影响,本文提出采用多尺度分析的思想,提取图像在多个尺度上的边缘角度直方图特征进行检索。通过单一尺度边缘角度直方图特征和多尺度边缘角度直方图特征检索的对比实验,揭示了本文所提出的改进方案使遥感图像的检索精度提高了约31个百分点。     

Generalized Coarse Graining Procedures for Flow in Porous Media

This paper focuses on heterogeneous soil conductivities and on the impact their resolution has on a solution of the piezometric head equation: owing to spatial variations of the conductivity, the flow properties at larger scales differ from those found for experiments performed at smaller scales. The method of coarse graining is proposed in order to upscale the piezometric head equation on arbitrary intermediate scales. At intermediate scales large scale fluctuations of the conductivities are resolved, whereas small scale fluctuations are smoothed by a partialy spatial filtering procedure. The filtering procedure is performed in Fourier space with the aid of a low-frequency cut-off function. We derive the partially upscaled head equations. In these equations, the impact of the small scale variability is modeled by scale dependent effective conductivities which are determined by additional differential equations. Explicit results for the scale dependent conductivity values are presented in lowest order perturbation theory. The perturbation theory contributions are summed up with using a renormalisation group analysis yielding explicit results for the effective conductivity in isotropic media. Therefore, the results are also valid for highly heterogeneous media. The results are compared with numerical simulations performed by Dykaar and Kitanidis (1992). The method of coarse graining combined by a renormalisation group analysis offers a tool to derive exact and explicit expressions for resolution dependent conductivity values. It is, e.g., relevant for the interpretation of measurement data on different scales and for reduction of grid-block resolution in numerical modeling. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Spectral and Multiscale Signal-to-Noise Thresholding of Spherical Vector Fields

The basic concepts of spectral and multiscale selective reconstruction of (geophysically relevant) vector fields on the sphere from error-affected data is outlined in detail. The reconstruction mechanism is formulated under the assumption that spectral as well as multiscale approximation is well-representable in terms of only a certain number of expansion coefficients at the various resolution levels. It is shown that spectral denoising by means of orthogonal expansions in terms of vector spherical harmonics reflects global a priori information of the noise (e.g., in form of a covariance tensor field), whereas multiscale signal-to-noise thresholding can be performed under locally dependent noise information within a multiresolution analysis in terms of spherical vector wavelets. An application of the multiscale formalism to Earth's magnetic field determination is presented.     

A comparison of three image-object methods for the multiscale analysis of landscape structure

Within the conceptual framework of Complex Systems, we discuss the importance and challenges in extracting and linking multiscale objects from high-resolution remote sensing imagery to improve the monitoring, modeling and management of complex landscapes. In particular, we emphasize that remote sensing data are a particular case of the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP) and describe how image-objects provide a way to reduce this problem. We then hypothesize that multiscale analysis should be guided by the intrinsic scale of the dominant landscape objects composing a scene and describe three different multiscale image-processing techniques with the potential to achieve this. Each of these techniques, i.e., Fractal Net Evolution Approach (FNEA), Linear Scale-Space and Blob-Feature Detection (SS), and Multiscale Object-Specific Analysis (MOSA), facilitates the multiscale pattern analysis, exploration and hierarchical linking of image-objects based on methods that derive spatially explicit multiscale contextual information from a single resolution of remote sensing imagery. We then outline the weaknesses and strengths of each technique and provide strategies for their improvement.     

Granular element method for three‐dimensional discrete element calculations

This paper endows the recently‐proposed granular element method (GEM) with the ability to perform 3D discrete element calculations. By using non‐uniform rational B‐Splines to accurately represent complex grain geometries, we proposed an alternative approach to clustering‐based and polyhedra‐based discrete element methods whereby the need for complicated and ad hoc approaches to construct 3D grain geometries is entirely bypassed. We demonstrate the ability of GEM in capturing arbitrary‐shaped 3D grains with great ease, flexibility, and without excessive geometric information. Furthermore, the applicability of GEM is enhanced by its tight integration with existing non‐uniform rational B‐Splines modeling tools and ability to provide a seamless transition from binary images of real grain shapes (e.g., from 3D X‐ray CT) to modeling and discrete mechanics computations.Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Micromechanical approach to swelling behavior of capillary-porous media with coupled physics

A detailed multiscale analysis is presented of the swelling phenomenon in unsaturated clay-rich materials in the linear regime through homogenization. Herein, the structural complexity of the material is formulated as a three-scale, triple porosity medium within which microstructural information is transmitted across the various scales, leading ultimately to an enriched stress-deformation relation at the macroscopic scale. As a side note, such derived relationship leads to a tensorial stress partitioning that is reminiscent of a Terzaghi-like effective stress measure. Otherwise, a major result that stands out from previous works is the explicit expression of swelling stress and capillary stress in terms of micromechanical interactions at the very fine scale down to the clay platelet level, along with capillary stress emerging due to interactions between fluid phases at the different scales, including surface tension, pore size, and morphology. More importantly, the swelling stress is correlated with the disjoining forces due to electrochemical effects of charged ions on clay minerals and van der Waals forces at the nanoscale. The resulting analytical expressions also elucidate the role of the various physics in the deformational behavior of clayey material. Finally, the capability of the proposed formulation in capturing salient behaviors of unsaturated expansive clays is illustrated through some numerical examples.     

“东方之星”客轮翻沉事件周边区域风灾现场调查与多尺度特征分析

2015年6月1日21:30左右长江湖北监利段发生"东方之星"客轮翻沉特大事故。本文根据事发周边陆地区域现场天气调查结果,结合卫星和雷达观测资料分析认为,6月1日21:00-21:40左右事发江段和周边区域发生了下击暴流导致的强烈大风灾害,最强风力超过12级,并具有空间分布不连续、多尺度和强灾害时空尺度小等特征。事发周边区域北部受中气旋影响陆地区域(顺星村、老台深水码头、四台村养猪场附近、新沟子养鸡场附近等)灾情较南部阵风锋及其后侧下击暴流影响的陆地区域更为显著。综合雷达观测资料和现场调查资料分析判断多数调查点灾害为显著微下击暴流所致,其中老台深水码头有龙卷发生的可能。导致此次风灾的强对流风暴气流具有显著的多尺度性;事发周边区域北部的四台村养猪场附近树林中同时发生了多条相邻的微下击暴流条迹,呈现出辐散和辐合交替分布的特征,展示了此次强对流风暴中大气运动的复杂分布特点。虽然下击暴流会伴随中小尺度的涡旋特征,但此次现场调查发现的与下击暴流相联系的辐合特征水平尺度仅几十米,远小于弓形回波两端的书挡涡旋或者中涡旋等几千米级的水平尺度。     

一次自上向下发展的高原涡的多尺度动力学分析

高原涡作为经常给我国带来暴雨等灾害的天气系统,其形成一般认为是通过感热和潜热自下而上激发的,然而,2013年5月下旬发生的一次引发其下游灾害性强降水的高原涡却是由对流层高层天气尺度低涡诱发的。为此,基于新发展的多尺度子空间变换和多尺度能量涡度方法以及ERA5再分析资料对其动力学过程进行了详尽的探讨,先将原始场重构到三个尺度子空间,即背景环流尺度子空间、天气尺度子空间和高频尺度子空间,重构场上首次显示此次过程生成于青藏高原西北侧,其成因为对流层高层基本气流尺度向天气尺度的跨尺度动能正则传输,即正压失稳,并且表现为从高层向下。在发展阶段,其能量最终来源为基本气流向天气尺度的有效位能传输和非绝热加热,然而这些过程只发生于涡旋低层的西侧。进一步分析发现,天气尺度内存在一个能量再分配“路径”:首先,低层西侧获得的有效位能转换为动能,西侧垂直的气压梯度力做功将低层获得动能向高层分配;在高层,水平的气压梯度力做功进而将西侧获得的动能向东侧分配;东侧垂直的气压梯度力做功再将动能向低层分配;至此,低层西侧获得的能量被分配到整个涡旋空间中,使得涡旋能够均匀发展。     

冬季北半球风暴轴的多尺度能量变化特征及其可能机制

基于1971—2016年NCEP/NCAR(美国环境预报中心和国家大气研究中心)的逐日再分析资料及NCPC(美国国家海洋和大气管理局气候预报中心)的海温、大气环流及海洋指数等资料通过多尺度能量分析(MS-EVA)等方法,把冬季北半球风暴轴看做一整体,分析了风暴轴区域多尺度的能量变化特征及其可能机制。主要结论概括如下:(1)多年气候平均状态下,风暴轴的动能来源主要表现为在风暴轴中上游先由低频尺度向天气尺度输送有效位能,随后在风暴轴主体区再由天气尺度有效位能转换为天气尺度动能,其中风暴轴西端可直接由低频尺度向天气尺度输送动能。(2)北半球三大风暴轴联合EOF结果表明:第一模态下,主要体现了北西伯利亚风暴轴与北太平洋风暴轴强度的减弱(增强),同时伴随着北大西洋风暴轴位置北抬(南压);第二模态下,主要体现了北西伯利亚风暴轴强度减弱(增强),同时北太平洋风暴轴位置北抬(南压)中东部强度增强(减弱),而北大西洋风暴轴位置南压(北抬)。(3)回归分析表明:北半球风暴轴异常在不同模态下与低频尺度环流联系密切。低频尺度波动可通过海温及西风急流等异常变化先影响风暴轴区域多尺度间的能量转换,进而影响风暴轴整体的异常变化。