Effect of Particles Shape on the Hydraulic Conductivity of Stokesian Flow in Granular Materials

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - The hydraulic conductivity of a granular porous medium depends on parameters such as the porosity, particles shape and fluid viscosity. Although other...     

Natural Clinopyroxene Reference Materials for In Situ Microanalysis

Two clinopyroxene megacrysts, DMP-2 and DMP-3, were collected from Cenozoic alkali basalts in the Hannuoba region of China. They were characterised for major and trace element compositions for in situ microanalysis. EPMA and LA-ICP-MS analyses indicate homogeneity in the element mass fractions in both clinopyroxene samples. Bulk analyses using various techniques (XRF, ICP-OES and solution ICP-MS) also reveal good consistency in their major and trace element data. They, thus, can be used as potential reference materials for elemental in situ microanalysis. Accordingly, element mass fractions are recommended for thirty-two elements.     

Stochastic Analysis of Core Discing for Estimation of In Situ Stress

Extraction of diamond-drilled core from high stress environments can result in the core breaking into discs. Through four decades of research, a variety of computational tools and experimental approaches have been used to analyze the details of the failure processes leading to core-discing-type breakage of diamond-drilled cores. One motivation for this research is to use these calculations for stress estimation based on, for example, the disc length (i.e., thickness) measured in a particular core. This application requires that the core discs lengths do not deviate much from an average or typical value. This paper presents a stochastic approach, based on analyzis of the entire distribution of disc lengths, that provides a basis for application of existing core discing models even when it is unclear how to define a typical disc length, for example when the disc length distribution is highly non-Gaussian. The viability of the stochastic approach is demonstrated by comparison with data collected from 900 m of core extracted from a South Australian granite formation.     

Estimation of Material Variation In Powdered Materials

Measures of material variation (state of homogeneity) for reference materials of powdered rocks, minerals, and ores are examined critically.
It is shown that the customary analysis of variance concluding with the F-test is not a satisfactory method for the analysis of the analytical data obtained in a homogeneity experiment. It is argued that an estimation approach is more appropriate.
Examples are given of values calculated from reference-material data, together with an explanation of how the results can be interpreted.     

Thermal Conductivity of Argillaceous Rocks: Determination Methodology Using In Situ Heating Tests

This study focuses on the characterisation of thermal conductivity for three potential host rocks for radioactive waste disposal. First, the heat conduction process is reviewed on the basis of an analytical solution and key aspects related to anisotropic conduction are discussed. Then the existing information on the three rocks is summarised and a broad uncertainty range of thermal conductivity is estimated based on the mineralogical composition. Procedures to backanalyse the thermal conductivity on the basis of in situ heating tests are assessed and a methodology is put forward. Finally, this methodology is used to estimate the impact of experimental uncertainties and applied to the four in situ heating tests. In the three potential host rocks, a clear influence of the bedding planes was identified and anisotropic heat conduction was shown to be necessary to interpret the observed temperature field. Experimental uncertainties were also shown to induce a larger uncertainty on the anisotropy ratio than on the equivalent thermal conductivity defined as the geometric mean of the thermal conductivity in the three principal directions.     

Experimental Set-up for Determining Soil Water Retention Curves for Granular Soils During Drying

Abstract: Soil water retention curves (SWRCs) provide an important means of describing the response of unsaturated soils during drying / wetting processes in terms of variations of degree of saturation, water content or void ratio with suction. A key consideration in generating these curves is how to measure the suction. Frequently the filter paper technique is adopted, especially when high suctions are developed, e.g. with plastic clays. As each measurement takes at least a week with this technique, it can take months or years to generate a full SWRC in drying and wetting. Developments in laboratory tensiometers now allow matrix suctions up to about 1.5 MPa to be measured. With such a device it is possible to develop SWRCs for granular soils such as silts and clays in hours or days by continuous measurement. This paper describes an experimental set-up that was developed to measure changes in volume, water content and matrix suction during drying of three granular soils. Limitations of the apparatus and usefulness of the curves are discussed.     

Development of Synthetic Clinopyroxene Reference Materials for In Situ Lithium Isotope Measurement by LA-MC-ICP-MS

The isotopic composition of lithium (Li) in clinopyroxene (Cpx), determined via in situ micro-analysis, has been employed as a potential geochemical tool for studying various geological processes such as crust-mantle recycling, silicate weathering and fluid-rock interaction. To obtain precise and accurate Li isotopic compositions in Cpx by LA-MC-ICP-MS, synthetic Cpx matrix-matched reference materials (RMs) were prepared in this study. Six Cpx-matrix RMs were prepared by mixing metallic oxides with GSP-2 (granodiorite) or pure L-SVEC solution and melting them into glasses (GSP-2 + oxide; L-SVEC + oxide). Two representative synthetic glasses, CPXA01 and CPXB01, were subjected to a series of analyses to investigate the possible qualification of the RMs for in situ Li isotope measurement by LA-MC-ICP-MS, including elemental homogeneity analysis (elemental mapping analysis and spot analysis), Li isotopic homogeneity analysis and accurate Li isotopic determination. The applicability of the synthetic Cpx-matrix RMs was highlighted by comparing the δ⁷Li values of three natural Cpx calibrated against the synthetic Cpx-matrix RMs and other commonly used RMs with different matrices (NIST SRM 612, BCR-2G, GOR128-G, StHs6/80-G, KL2-G and T1-G), respectively. Additionally, CPXB01-05 RMs with the same matrix but different Li contents were prepared to explore the Li content mismatch effect, which is significant for accurate determination of in situ Li isotopic composition by LA-MC-ICP-MS. The results of the cross-calibration of Li isotopes in CPXA01 and CPXB01 suggested no obvious Li isotopic fractionation between the two types of glasses (GSP-2 + oxide; L-SVEC + oxide). Thus, the two methods of producing Cpx-matrix RMs are suitable for preparing the matrix-matched RMs for in situ microanalysis for Li isotopes.     

江汉平原第四系弱透水层渗透系数求算方法

弱透水层的渗透系数是区域地下水流系统划分和关键带水-土-生作用的重要参数.结合江汉平原关键带调查采集1:5万杨林尾-陆溪口图幅钻孔52组不同深度、不同岩性的原状土样,利用改进的渗透仪进行室内渗透实验,对粘性土样的渗透系数和粒度特征参数进行经验公式修正.发现研究区沉积物渗透系数与含水岩组埋深和岩性有关.浅层孔隙潜水含水岩组以粉质粘土、粘土为主,沉积环境稳定,渗透系数约10-9 m/s,变异系数为1.56;中深层承压含水岩组夹有多层粘土和粉砂,呈现多旋回分布的典型河湖交互作用的沉积环境,渗透系数为10-10~10-6 m/s,变异系数为2.04,变异性较大.利用有效孔隙比e_u与黏粒含量P的显著二项式关系,修正预测粘性土渗透系数的太沙基经验公式,预测值与室内实测数据基本吻合,二者比值均小于10,验证了太沙基修正公式在河湖相平原区的适用性.      

Potential Orthopyroxene,Clinopyroxene and Olivine Reference Materials for In Situ Lithium Isotope Determination

Over 1400 electron probe and 700 ion probe microanalyses were performed on eleven mineral separates to evaluate their potential as reference materials for in situ Li isotopic determination. Our results suggest the homogenous distributions of major elements, Li and its isotopes for each sample. Hence, these samples are suitable to be used as reference materials for in situ measurements of Li abundance and Li isotopes by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) or laser ablation‐inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS). These samples have the advantage of mitigating probable matrix effects during calibration owing to the wide range of compositions. The effect of composition on the δ⁷Li of olivine measured by SIMS is a linear function of composition, with δ⁷Li increasing by 1.0‰ for each mole per cent decrease in forsterite component.     

青藏铁路涵洞试验工程研究

通过青藏铁路涵洞试验工程的修筑和地温、变形、气温等相关项目的测试, 经过对一个冻融循环过程观测数据以及针对试验工程中出现相关问题的综合分析, 基本掌握了涵洞工程冻土问题的关键所在, 提出了合理的建议和处理措施.     

A Preliminary Appraisal of Seven Natural Zircon Reference Materials for In Situ Hf Isotope Determination

There is a growing need for new zircon reference materials for in situ Hf-isotope analysis by laser ablation-multicollector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS). In this contribution we document the results of a preliminary investigation of seven natural zircons, conducted in order to test their suitability in this regard. Solution MC-ICP-MS data on separated Lu and Hf fractions provided reference compositional data while the results of ca. 750 in situ LA-MC-ICP-MS analyses allowed assessment of potential micrometre-scale heterogeneity. On the basis of these analyses and additional relevant considerations such as availability, size and (Lu)Yb/Hf ratio, we suggest that, of the currently available zircons, Temora-2 and Mud Tank are most likely to provide robust reference materials for Hf isotope determinations both at the present time and into the future. The former has the advantage of also being well-characterised for U-Th-Pb systematics and suitable for in situ age determination, while the latter is the most readily available and is of very large grain size. Additional materials such as BR266, and 91500, although limited in supply, show more consistent Lu/Hf ratios and are thus of use in monitoring elemental fractionation during ICP-MS analysis.     

Tourmaline Reference Materials for the In Situ Analysis of Oxygen and Lithium Isotope Ratio Compositions

Three tourmaline reference materials sourced from the Harvard Mineralogical and Geological Museum (schorl 112566, dravite 108796 and elbaite 98144), which are already widely used for the calibration of in situ boron isotope measurements, are characterised here for their oxygen and lithium isotope compositions. Homogeneity tests by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) showed that at sub‐nanogram test portion masses, their ¹⁸O/¹⁶O and ⁷Li/⁶Li isotope ratios are constant within ± 0.27‰ and ± 2.2‰ (1s), respectively. The lithium mass fractions of the three materials vary over three orders of magnitude. SIMS homogeneity tests showed variations in ⁷Li/²⁸Si between 8% and 14% (1s), which provides a measure of the heterogeneity of the Li contents in these three materials. Here, we provide recommended values for δ¹⁸O, Δ’¹⁷O and δ⁷Li for the three Harvard tourmaline reference materials based on results from bulk mineral analyses from multiple, independent laboratories using laser‐ and stepwise fluorination gas mass spectrometry (for O), and solution multi‐collector inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectroscopy (for Li). These bulk data also allow us to assess the degree of inter‐laboratory bias that might be present in such data sets. This work also re‐evaluates the major element chemical composition of the materials by electron probe microanalysis and investigates these presence of a chemical matrix effect on SIMS instrumental mass fractionation with regard to δ¹⁸O determinations, which was found to be < 1.6‰ between these three materials. The final table presented here provides a summary of the isotope ratio values that we have determined for these three materials. Depending on their starting mass, either 128 or 512 splits have been produced of each material, assuring their availability for many years into the future.     

基于多尺度遥感数据估算地表通量的方法及其验证分析

地表水热通量(显热通量、潜热通量)的遥感估算在全球气候变化、水资源、生态环境等研究领域具有重要的应用价值.MODIS数据的空间分辨率较低(热红外波段星下点为1 km),而地球表面的几何物理属性又具有高度非均匀性,因而在实际应用中面临较严重的尺度问题.探讨了多源卫星数据(中高分辨率Landsat TM与中低分辨率MODIS)相结合佑算像元通量的2种方法,分别利用高分辫率的地表分类及植被指数信息在混合像元内部进行亚像元处理,以提高非均匀地表混合像元的通量估算精度.研究数据来自于2008年黑河流域综合实验获取的遥感数据和辅助数据,验证数据来自于实验期间获取的不同下垫面的地表通量数据,包括涡度相关(EC)数据,以及大孔径闪烁仪(LAS)数据.计算结果表明,2种方法皆可在下垫面不均匀或者地表类型较复杂的情况下得到比较明显的纠正效果,纠正后的通量与观测更加接近.相比之下,利用植被指数分解温度的方法适用性更广,纠正效果更好.在地面验证中,对比分析了EC和LAS数据在TM尺度和MO-DIS尺度通量验证的适用性.LAS数据测量尺度与MODIS卫星像元尺度相匹配,可以直接验证MODIS通量计算结果,EC数据虽然可以直接验证TM计算的通量,但与MODIS数据对比,还需要进行尺度转换,即先用EC验证TM通量,然后将TM通量降尺度,与MODIS进行对比.最后对利用LAS验证通量的不确定性进行了分析,发现图像中LAS测点的几何定位误差以及LAS测量路径中像元的选取都对验证结果有一定影响.     

Estimation of Hydraulic Conductivity and Its Uncertainty from Grain-Size Data Using GLUE and Artificial Neural Networks

Various approaches exist to relate saturated hydraulic conductivity (K _s) to grain-size data. Most methods use a single grain-size parameter and hence omit the information encompassed by the entire grain-size distribution. This study compares two data-driven modelling methods??multiple linear regression and artificial neural networks??that use the entire grain-size distribution data as input for K _s prediction. Besides the predictive capacity of the methods, the uncertainty associated with the model predictions is also evaluated, since such information is important for stochastic groundwater flow and contaminant transport modelling. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are combined with a generalised likelihood uncertainty estimation (GLUE) approach to predict K _s from grain-size data. The resulting GLUE-ANN hydraulic conductivity predictions and associated uncertainty estimates are compared with those obtained from the multiple linear regression models by a leave-one-out cross-validation. The GLUE-ANN ensemble prediction proved to be slightly better than multiple linear regression. The prediction uncertainty, however, was reduced by half an order of magnitude on average, and decreased at most by an order of magnitude. This demonstrates that the proposed method outperforms classical data-driven modelling techniques. Moreover, a comparison with methods from the literature demonstrates the importance of site-specific calibration. The data set used for this purpose originates mainly from unconsolidated sandy sediments of the Neogene aquifer, northern Belgium. The proposed predictive models are developed for 173 grain-size K _s-pairs. Finally, an application with the optimised models is presented for a borehole lacking K _s data.     

水力层析法与克立金法估算非均质含水层渗透系数场比较

含水层非均质性空间分布特征的识别,是准确模拟地下水流和污染物运移的前提.基于室内非均质含水层砂箱实验,分别利用水力层析法和克立金插值法刻画了非均质含水层渗透系数场.研究结果表明:(1) 水力层析法与克立金法相比,不仅可以更好地刻画非均质含水层渗透系数场,还可以更高精度地预测地下水流过程;(2) 水力层析抽水实验中,通过增加抽水实验组数可以有效地提高水力层析参数反演的精度,但是抽水实验组数增加到一定程度以后,再增加抽水组数不会显著提升参数反演的效果.后续需要进一步研究水力层析抽水实验合适的组数,进一步对抽水井进行优化布设.