碎石颗粒形状测量与评定的初步研究

颗粒形状是影响碎石料密实特性及力学、渗流特性的因素之一。选取粒径为2～5 mm和5～10 mm的两组灰岩碎石颗粒样本作为研究对象,采用影像测量仪和特制夹具,获取不同旋转角度下的颗粒轮廓影像;使用图形处理软件获得颗粒几何尺寸测值;计算获得各旋转角度下常用颗粒形状评定参数值,运用其平均值进行统计分析,避免了依据单一角度测值评定伴随的人为因素影响。结果表明,灰岩碎石颗粒与标准圆有较大差异, 且粒径大者差异性更明显;两组样本颗粒形状参数均服从偏态分布;长宽比、扁平度和球形度能够更敏感地反映颗粒偏离球形颗粒的程度,而长宽比和球形度便于获取,因而更具优势。     

Aerodynamic grain‐size distribution of blown sand

Aeolian sand entrainment, saltation and deposition are important and closely related near surface processes. Determining how grains are sorted by wind requires a detailed understanding of how aerodynamic sand transport processes vary within the saltating layer with height above the bed. Grain‐size distribution of sand throughout the saltation layer and, in particular, how the associated flux of different grain size changes with variation in wind velocity, remain unclear. In the present study, a blowdown wind tunnel with a 50 cm thick boundary layer was used to investigate saltating sand grains by analyzing the weight percentage and transport flux of different grain‐size fractions and the mean grain size at different wind velocities. It was found that mean grain size decreases with height above the sand bed before undergoing a reversal. The height of the reversal point ranges from 4 to 40 cm, and increases with wind velocity following a non‐linear relationship. The content of the finer fractions (very fine and fine sand) initially increases above the sand bed and then decreases slightly with height, whereas that of the coarser fractions (medium and coarse sand) exhibits the opposite trend. The content of coarser grains and the mean grain size of sand in the saltation layer increase with wind velocity, indicating erosional selectivity with respect to grains in multi‐sized sand beds; but this size selectivity decreases with increasing wind velocity. The vertical mass flux structure of fine sand and very fine sand does not obey a general exponential decay pattern under strong wind conditions; and the coarser the sand grain, the greater the decrease rate of their transport mass with height. The results of these experiments suggest that the grain‐size distribution of a saltating sand cloud is governed by both wind velocity and height within the near‐surface boundary layer.     

砂土颗粒形状量化及其对力学指标的影响分析

砂作为一种特殊的散体材料,其宏观物理力学性质,如密实度、剪切特性（临界状态角,剪胀角）、压缩性及颗粒破碎特征等均受到颗粒形状的影响,目前为止,对于砂粒土颗粒形状的量化工作,未到达成熟阶段。试验采用普通光学显微镜获取3种不同砂颗粒及一种相似材料（玻璃球）数字图像,利用ImageJ图形软件对其进行黑白二值化处理,获取颗粒形状轮廓边界;从3个层次定义颗粒形状参数,并利用java语言编制形状量化插件程序,计算砂粒各形状参数值,最后通过相对密度试验、直剪试验测试不同砂样的极限孔隙比、剪切强度指标。试验结果表明：整体轮廓系数、球形度、棱角度3项形状参数可作为不同砂粒形状鉴别和量化的关键参数,且与剪胀角、临界状态摩擦角均具有良好的相关性,试验提供了一种量化砂颗粒形状的有效方法,并可将得到的关键量化参数应用到宏观力学性质分析与数值模拟工作中     

昌黎海岸风成沙丘砂组构特征及其与海滩砂的比较

对昌黎海岸沙丘砂进行薄片统计,重砂矿物分析,电镜扫描,粒度分析及与海滩砂的对比研究发现,沙丘砂在物质组成、颗粒形态、石英砂表面结构特征和粒度特征方面均继承了海滩砂特征,不过,海滩砂中也有沙丘砂的某些特征,反映了两者沉积的混合。这是由于向岸风和离岸风共同作用的结果。     

Magnetic mineral transport and sorting in the swash‐zone: northern Lake Erie,Canada

A combined field and laboratory study in northern Lake Erie has provided new insights into the origin and dynamics of heavy mineral placer deposits on beaches consisting primarily of non‐magnetic sediment. Work was conducted on the cross‐shore and longshore transport of heavy magnetic minerals using magnetic susceptibility and fluorescent paints to trace the movement, in the field, of samples of magnetic (magnetite) and non‐magnetic (quartz and calcite) grains, respectively. Laboratory experiments examined how the burial of small, dense magnetic minerals is affected by the grain size of the non‐magnetic host material, and how grain burial affects magnetic susceptibility measurements at the surface. The field experiments demonstrated that the magnetic mineral tracers were buried rapidly beneath coarser, non‐magnetic grains under low to moderate wave conditions, and subsequently were unable to move in the longshore or cross‐shore directions. The laboratory experiments showed that the magnetic susceptibility rapidly decreased with the rate and depth of burial of the magnetic minerals, and that magnetic grain burial was most effective beneath coarser rather than finer non‐magnetic sand and, for the latter sediments, under less rather than more energetic conditions. The results imply that magnetic mineral concentrations develop in this area through magnetic grain burial under fairly mild conditions, and subsequent settling, exposure and concentration in the upper swash zone during more energetic periods, when the non‐magnetic grains are eroded. It is probably during these erosional periods, when the magnetic minerals are exposed in fairly homogeneous deposits, that longshore and cross‐shore transport takes place.     

Experiments on the entrainment threshold of well-sorted and poorly sorted carbonate sands

Few studies have examined the hydrodynamic behaviour of carbonate sediments. The data presented here are the result of preliminary research on entrainment in well- and poorly sorted carbonate sands. Experiments were performed using naturally occurring sediments in a tilting, recirculating freshwater flume. Results indicate that when of similar size, shape and density, the transport threshold of carbonate sands is similar to that of quartz. However, owing to their lower density and often platy or irregular shape, skeletal sands require a lower shear stress to initiate transport. Because the density of carbonate particles may increasingly vary with grain size, the threshold of motion in coarse carbonate grains may differ more markedly from that of quartz. In poorly sorted samples, results show that the coarse-grained constituents move before the finer-grained components. Grain properties and boundary-layer dynamics are believed to explain this phenomenon. Rollability of the larger grains combined with physical trapping and immersion within a low velocity sublayer are believed to prevent finer particles from moving. Given the appropriate sediments and flow conditions, it may therefore be possible to deposit and preserve fine-grained sediments in a flow regime typically thought to transport such materials.     

Influence of the saffman force,lift force,and electric force on sand grain transport in a wind–sand flow

Quasi-horizontal trajectories of salting sand grains were found using high-speed video-recording in the desertified territory of the Astrakhan region. The sizes and displacement velocities of the saltating sand grains were determined. A piecewise logarithmic approximation of the wind profile in a quasi-stationary wind–sand flow is suggested, which is consistent with the data of observations and modeling. It was established that, in the regime of stationary saltation, the wind profile in the lower saltation layer of the wind–sand flow depends only slightly on the wind profile variations in the upper saltation layer. The vertical profiles of the horizontal wind component gradient in a quasi-stationary wind–sand flow were calculated and plotted. It was shown using high-speed video recording of the trajectory of a sand grain with an approximate diameter of 95 μm that the weightlessness condition in the desertified territory of the Astrakhan region in a stationary wind–sand flow is satisfied at a height of approximately 0.15 mm. The electric parameters of a wind–sand flow, which can provide for compensation of the force of gravity by the electric force, were estimated. In particular, if the specific charge of a sand grain is 100 μC/kg, the force of gravity applied to the sand grain can be compensated by the electric force if the vertical component of the electric field in a wind–sand flow reaches approximately 100 kV/m. It was shown that the quasi-horizontal transport of sand grains in the lower millimeter saltation layer observed in the desertified territory can be explained by the joint action of the aerodynamic drag, the force of gravity, the Saffman force, the lift force, and the electric force.     

Estimation of some aeolian saltation transport parameters: a re-analysis of Williams' data

A new method for analysing observed aeolian sand transport rate profiles of the kind obtained by Williams is presented. The method involves a mathematical model of aeolian saltation. Detailed information about the saltation process can be calculated from the transport rate profile by means of this model. The method is used to perform a re-analysis of Williams' trap data. Among the main findings of this analysis is that the grain borne shear stress appears to be a smaller fraction of the total shear stress than assumed by Bagnold & Owen in their theories of aeolian saltation. Other findings are that the probability distribution of the jump height of the grains does not depend much on the wind speed once the saltation is established, and that the vertical component of the mean launch velocity decreases with the grain size. It is approximately inversely proportional to the grain diameter. Our estimates of the landing angles indicate that estimates of the impact angles obtained from photographically recorded trajectories are too small due to biased sampling. The influence of grain shape on the transport characteristics is mainly due to changes in the grains' ability to jump when hitting the bed. It is found that angular grains have a lower mean jump height than spherical grains.     

克里雅河沿线沙丘沉积物石英砂表面特征分析

对沙漠内部典型河流沿线沙丘石英颗粒表面微形态特征的系统研究尚少。沿塔里木盆地南缘克里雅河下游丹丹乌里克、喀拉墩、圆沙古城、北方墓地及其北部塔里木河一带的沙丘顶部采到5件表沙样品。扫描电镜观察172颗经能谱挑选的石英颗粒表面微形态,筛析法测定5件样品的粒度。结果表明:1）丹丹乌里克样品以极细沙为主,其余均以细沙为主,各样品几乎不含黏土;2）样品磨圆度特征以次棱和次圆状为主,圆状很少,未见棱状特征,次棱状与次圆状特征之间消长关系显著,沙漠南北边缘样品的次棱状特征出现频率较腹地高;3）颗粒中V形坑频率呈现出沙漠边缘较高腹地低的特征,而沙漠边缘的化学作用结构特征低于腹地。石英砂表面特征结构以机械作用为主,同时伴生化学环境作用特征,可认为克里雅河下游沙物质包括了河流、冰川与戈壁成因及风输送而来的颗粒;颗粒表面特征总体新鲜,沙丘应较年轻。纵穿塔克拉玛干沙漠沉积物样品的表面微形态观察与粒度测定,为该地区沉积环境分析与沙丘砂溯源研究增添了新数据。     

Shape effects in aeolian grain transport

Wind tunnel experiments are reported, the results of which show that grain transport rate is responsive to characteristic grain shape. It is relatively less sensitive to changes of sorting unless these involve the fraction smaller than 50μm. A cubic relationship between transport rate and velocity gradient appears to be valid only for well worked natural grains having high sphericity.     

An enhanced constitutive model for crushable granular materials

Studies in the past have tried to reproduce the mechanical behaviour of granular materials by proposing constitutive relations based on a common assumption that model parameters and parameters describing the properties, including gradation of individual grains are inevitably linked. However successful these models have proved to be, they cannot account for the changes in granular assembly behaviour if the grains start to break during mechanical loading. This paper proposes to analyse the relation between grading change and the mechanical behaviour of granular assembly. A way to model the influence of grain breakage is to use a critical state‐based model. The influence of the amount of grain breakage during loading, depending on the individual grain strength and size distribution, can be introduced into constitutive relations by means of a new parameter that controls the evolution of critical state with changes in grain size distribution. Experimental data from a calcareous sand, a quartz sand, and a rockfill material were compared with numerical results and good‐quality simulations were obtained. The main consequences of grain breakage are increased compressibility and a gradual dilatancy disappearance in the granular material. The critical state concept is also enriched by considering its overall relation to the evolution of the granular material. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multi-scale characterisation of coastal sand aquifer media for contaminant transport using X-ray computed tomography

To be able to predict contaminant transport in groundwater, an accurate conceptual and physical understanding of aquifer properties at multiple scales is required. In this study, physical and hydraulic properties of a coastal sand aquifer were derived using micro and macro X-ray computed tomography (XCT) techniques. Qualitative and quantitative data improved conceptualisation of the aquifer structure at micro and macro scale. At the macro scale (50-mm diameter by 1,500-mm long core) XCT images of undisturbed drill core identified coarse grained laminae (not obvious to the naked eye) of increased porosity and permeability, variations in mineral assemblage and particulate organic matter distribution within the core. Micro-XCT analysis (16-mm diameter cores) of the three main aquifer layers provided quantitative micro-scale data on permeability, porosity, grain, pore and throat size distribution statistics, and grain sphericity. Ratios of mean pore to grain diameter were ~0.65–0.75 and ratios of mean throat to mean grain diameter were ~0.2. Multiple permeability and porosity values were derived from micro domains (~4.35 mm³) within each micro-XCT core. Permeability values varied between and within micro-XCT core samples reflecting the heterogeneity at the millimetre core scale in these sediments. Sphericity values were similar for all three layers (average ~0.4) which reflected SEM observations of the semi-spherical nature of the dominant quartz and feldspar grains. The results of this study indicate that models based on the assumptions of homogeneity in depositional structure below centimetre scale may not suitably address factors affecting flow and transport of contaminants.     

图门江下游沙丘粒度分布与石英表面结构研究

图门江下游沙丘粒度频率累积曲线形态全部为双峰,负偏态,粒度变化范围大,平均粒度数值小,标准偏差平均值为0.61;粒度分布特征方法判断沙丘沉积环境以河流成因为主。通过扫描电镜研究其石英颗粒表面结构,机械作用以贝壳状断口、V形坑和次棱角状形态组合为主,化学作用为中等-强烈溶蚀特征;石英颗粒表面结构特征表明沙丘为河口沉积;热释光测年结果表明沙丘受全新世海平面变化的影响,经历海水及风力改造。     

Thin section grain size analysis revisited

Existing proposals for converting thin section data to their sieve equivalents are all flawed in various ways, while questions concerning the significance of the grain size of spherical grains measured on a volume frequency basis in thin section using φ units, and of non-spherical (ellipsoidal) grains using both millimetres and φ units, have not been -satisfactorily resolved in the literature. It can be shown mathematically that the mean thin section diameters of spherical grains, or axis lengths of a series of parallel sections through ellipsoidal grains, will underestimate the dimensions of the corresponding central section (i.e. one passing through the grain centre) by 0.2023 φ when measured on a volume frequency basis. In order to approximate the effect of measuring particle size on random cuts through ellipsoidal grains, the dimensions of a series of sections cut in 49 unique directions, symmetrically arranged and evenly spread with respect to the ellipsoidal axes, were calculated. This calculation was carried out for five different ellipsoids which between them covered the mean sphericity and thin section axial ratio values normally encountered among naturally occurring quartz grain populations. The data indicated that the mean true nominal diameters (D̄) of ellipsoidal quartz grains can be obtained in thin sections from the mean nominal sectional diameters (d̄′) and major axes (ā′) of the central sections (derived from the observed values by multiplying the millimetre means by 1·1318 and subtracting 0·2023 from the φ means) using the following equations: A rough estimate (to within c. 5%) of both the mean nominal diameters and the mean long axes of ellipsoidal quartz grains can be arrived at by applying a simple correction factor to the mean long axis lengths as measured in thin section using either millimetres or φ units.     

Microfabric analyses applied to the Witwatersrand gold- and uranium-bearing conglomerates: constraints on the provenance and post-depositional modification of rock and ore components

Microfabrics of detrital quartz grains and quartz cement of four gold- and uranium-bearing conglomerates of various goldfields of the Witwatersrand Basin, South Africa, were investigated by optical and cathodoluminescence microscopy. The study revealed that the vast majority of quartz grains (<5 mm) originate from felsic magmatic source rocks. Cherts and polymineralic mineral grains, pointing to greenschist to amphibolite facies metasedimentary rocks, follow in abundance, whereas diagenetic to weakly metamorphosed quartzites are subordinate. Material from hydrothermal vein quartz is almost completely lacking, both in the sand and in the pebble fraction. No obvious relationships are discernible between the varying proportions of detrital siliciclastic components of the different reefs and their ore grades. Assuming a sedimentological control of gold distribution, this finding supports multiple sources for the detrital components, which were thoroughly mixed during transport. The post-depositional history of the sediments is characterized by a complex polyphase succession of deformation, cementation and hydrothermal alteration events. Both fragmentation and pressure solution features within detrital quartz, quartz cement and round grains of pyrite, zircon, chromite and uraninite demonstrate that these materials were present in the conglomerates during diagenesis, and, thus, are true detrital grains with abraded, rounded grain morphologies. By analogy, it is assumed that gold is also a detrital component, although most of the gold grains display characteristics of hydrothermal overprinting. During subsequent metamorphism, micro-shear zones are developed, and brittle-ductile crystal-plastic deformation and limited quartz recrystallization occur. Maximum temperatures of about 350 °C were reached on the prograde metamorphic path. Recrystallization and redistribution of detrital siliciclastic and ore minerals took place, and various hydrothermal/metamorphic minerals including chlorite, sericite, pyrophyllite and chloritoid were formed. These redistribution processes involved existing detrital minerals only and were generally isochemical because little evidence exists for the development of a secondary porosity and permeability that would allow major external inputs into the Witwatersrand conglomerates. Most of the gold grains have hydrothermal characteristics, as evidenced by their authigenic, crystalline shapes and their chemical compositions. However, these features are regarded to result from overprinting. Most likely, the gold grains experienced more drastic modifications relative to other ore components because of the ductile and mobile nature of gold. The retrograde metamorphic path is characterized by percolating radioactive fluids at T<300 °C, recorded by radiation damage indicated by cathodoluminescence alteration rims along quartz grain boundaries and microcracks. The degrees of radiation damage observed are proportional to the uranium contents of the conglomerate ores. The collective evidence of our study supports the modified placer model for the genesis of the Witwatersrand ores. This model explains most of the observations on the detrital mineral assemblage and its post-depositional modification elegantly and in a satisfactory manner.     

西藏札达盆地沉积物的石英砂表面特征及其环境意义

在扫描电镜下对札达盆地香孜组、古格组和托林组地层中的石英砂表面结构特征进行观察, 三个组中石英颗粒外形磨圆度均不好, 以棱角和次棱角状为主, 结合区域地质认为, 盆地的沉积物源距离盆地沉降区很近, 为盆地周围的山地。其中香孜组的上部和中部冰川砂粒表面特征明显, 认为是水体较浅冰缘区河湖相沉积环境; 香孜组下部为湖泊水体较深的冰缘区河湖相沉积环境。古格组石英砂颗粒表面具有溶蚀坑和沟, 属于低化学能的湖相沉积。托林组则表现出河流相沉积的特点。     

Physical controls on sand composition and relative durability of detrital minerals during ultra‐long distance littoral and aeolian transport (Namibia and southern Angola)

Sediment in coastal Namibia to southern Angola is supplied dominantly from the Orange River with minor additional fluvial input and negligible modifications by chemical processes, which makes this a great test case for investigating physical controls on sand texture and composition. This study monitored textural, mineralogical and geochemical variability in beach and aeolian‐dune sands along a ca 1750 km stretch of the Atlantic coast of southern Africa by using an integrated set of techniques, including image analysis, laser granulometry, optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and bulk‐sediment geochemistry. These results contrast with previous reports that feldspars and volcanic detritus break down during transport, that sand grains are rounded rapidly in shallow‐marine environments, and that quartzose sands may be produced by physical processes. Mechanical wear is unable to modify the relative abundance of detrital components, including pyroxene and mafic volcanic rock fragments traditionally believed to be destroyed rapidly. The sole exceptions are poorly lithified or cleaved sedimentary/metasedimentary rock fragments, readily lost at the transition to the marine environment, and slow‐settling flaky micas, winnowed and deposited offshore. Coastal sediments tend to be depleted in relatively mobile amphibole, preferentially entrained offshore or re‐deposited in sheltered beaches, while less mobile garnet is retained onshore. No detrital mineral displays a significant increase in grain roundness after 300 to 350 km of longshore transport in high‐energy littoral environments from the Orange mouth to south of the Namib Erg, but all minerals get rapidly rounded after passing into the dunefield. Pyroxene and opaques get rounded faster than harder quartz and garnet, but sand mineralogy remains unchanged. Excepting strong transient selective‐entrainment effects, physical processes are unable to modify sand composition significantly. Selective mechanical breakdown can be largely neglected in quantitative provenance analysis of sand and sandstone even in the case of ultra‐long‐distance transport in high‐energy environments dominated by strong persistent winds and waves.     

Incipient vertical traction carpets within collapsed sinkhole fills

Small vertically oriented traction carpets are reported from the collapsed sandy fills of 100 m deep Devonian limestone sinkholes underlying the Lower Cretaceous Athabasca oil sands deposit in north‐eastern Alberta, Western Canada. Dissolution of 100 m of underlying halite salt beds caused cataclysmic collapse of the sinkhole floors and water saturated sinkhole sand fills to descend very rapidly. Turbulent currents flushed upper sinkhole fills of friable sandstone blocks and disaggregated sand and quartz pebble for tens of metres. Laminar deposits with inverse grading accumulated as many as six to eight curvilinear entrained pebble streaks, 10 to 30 cm long, vertically impinged against the sides of descending collapse blocks. These deposits were initiated as vertically oriented early stage traction carpets that interlocked fine sand grains and inversely graded overlying pebbles entrained below the dilute overlying turbulent flows. Vortexes that flushed these sinkhole fills and induced these depositional processes may have lasted only seconds before the very rapid descents abruptly halted. Some of the fabrics were suspended vertically in‐place and preserved from unlocking and obliteration. These small fabrics provide insight into the instability and ephemeral character of the transition from strong gravity‐driven grain falls to very early stages of traction carpet formation. These short‐lived deposits of very thin sand layers resulted from sufficient incipient frictional freezing that grain interlocking overcame, however briefly, the strong gravity drives of the vertical falls that would have otherwise dispersed grains and obliterated any organized fabric patterns. Tenuous frictionally locked grains were also suspended at the centres of hyperbolic grain fall flows that briefly developed between turbulent flow eddies, some of which were fortuitously preserved. Some of these suspended grain locking zones passed downward onto the relatively more stable surfaces of the rapidly descending block surfaces. The morphogenesis of these early stage traction carpets differ from more fully developed deposits elsewhere because of their short‐lived transport, dynamic instability and vertical orientation.     

钙质砂一维冲击响应及吸能特性试验

钙质砂为海相沉积的多孔介质,是防护工程分配层的理想填充材料。利用改进的铝制分离式霍普金森压杆（split Hopkinson pressure bar,简称SHPB）,分别对颗粒级配以及相对密实度相同的南海钙质砂和福建石英砂进行了83组一维冲击试验,得到了应力波透射率、冲击响应和吸能效率曲线,分析了应变率、相对密实度和含水率对两种砂冲击特性的影响。结果表明,相同的荷载和边界条件下,钙质砂的刚度仅为石英砂的1/10。由于内孔隙的存在,钙质砂对冲击波的衰减作用大于石英砂,在承载性能允许的情况下,适当减小相对密实度、增加含水率可有效提高分配层消能效果。     

A mechanism of shape-transformation of quartz inclusions in albite of regional metamorphic rocks

The process of shape-transformation of quartz inclusions from polyhedral to spherical grains in albite single crystals during metamorphism is mainly controlled by the grain boundary diffusion of oxygen along the quartz/albite interface to reduce the interfacial free energy. The rate of the process, which is represented by the growth rate of the curvature of the edge surface of the grain, depends significantly on temperature and on the grain size of the quartz inclusion. The relations between temperature, T, the time, t_r, and the critical radius, R_c, which is equal to the radius of maximum spherical grains, are given by log R_c = −0.11E_b/RT + 0.25log t_r + C, in which E_b is the activation energy of the grain boundary diffusion of oxygen along the quartz/albite interface and C is a material constant.

The mean critical radius of spherical quartz inclusions in albite is 5 μm for the upper chlorite zone and garnet zone, 10 μm for the lower biotite zone, and 20 μm for the upper biotite zone in the Sambagawa metamorphic terrain. The mean values of the critical radii of spherical quartz inclusions in oligoclase of the Ryoke metamorphic rocks is about 5 μm for the chlorite zone and about 10–20 μm for the sillimanite zone.

Assuming temperatures of about 350°C for the upper chlorite and garnet zones, 400°C for the lower biotite zone, 550°C for the upper biotite zone, and 700°C for the sillimanite zone, the activation energy for the grain boundary diffusion of oxygen along the quartz/plagioclase interfase is estimated to be about 30 kcal/mol.