Experimental study of a stiff wave barrier in gelatine

Railway induced vibrations and re-radiated noise in buildings can be mitigated by means of wave barriers in the soil. Numerical simulations demonstrate that a stiff wave barrier, consisting of a material that is stiffer than the surrounding medium, can be very effective if the stiffness contrast between the barrier and the medium is sufficiently large. This paper presents results of a lab experiment that has been carried out to validate these findings, using gelatine instead of soil in order to reduce the wavelengths and thus the scale of the test setup. An expanded polystyrene beam is employed as wave barrier, while a non-contact measurement procedure is applied for visualizing the waves in the gelatine, based on reflections of a grid of laser rays. The experimental results are found to be in line with the numerical predictions, confirming the vibration reduction effectiveness of stiff wave barriers.     

Asymptotic analysis of hard wave barriers in soil

A simple analytical model is developed to predict the vibration isolation of a hard wave barrier (e.g. filled trench, screen of piles, etc.). The model is, moreover, restricted to asymptotic conditions of high frequencies and soft soils. While the soil's surface wavelength is therefore short, ‘barrier hardness’ implies much longer wavelengths downward along the barrier itself. These conditions permit a number of approximations: the distributed excitation of the barrier by the surface waves is replaced by a concentrated force; the energy passing underneath the barrier is ignored in favor of that re-radiated by the barrier motion itself; and that radiation is approximated as if the barrier were rigid and semi-infinite. Subsurface soil-barrier interaction is accounted for in the barrier dynamic stiffness; both single degree-of-freedom and flexible models are considered. Successful comparisons are made to numerical results from the literature, as well as field measurements near a railway track.     

Direct evaluation of effectiveness of prefabricated vertical drains in liquefiable sand

A dynamic full scale testing program was performed to quantitatively assess the effectiveness of prefabricated vertical drains as a liquefaction countermeasure. The testing program involved a new in situ liquefaction testing technique, which uses a large hydraulic vibrator to generate waves propagating through an embedded instrumentation area to measure the coupled soil-pore water response. The effectiveness of prefabricated vertical drains is assessed experimentally by comparing the pore pressure generation, pore pressure dissipation, and settlement from two reconstituted soil specimens; one without a drain in place and the other with a single drain installed. Because the prefabricated drain was installed during the specimen preparation process, no accompanying densification during installation occurred. Therefore, the effect of drainage alone was evaluated. The testing results show that the drainage provided by prefabricated drains can significantly reduce pore pressure generation, accelerate post-shaking pore pressure dissipation, and limit associated settlement. The outcome also shows that the new developed in situ liquefaction testing technique can be an alternative to quantitatively evaluate the effects of various liquefaction remediation techniques.     

Experimental analysis of track-ground vibrations on a stretch of the Portuguese railway network

This paper presents a comprehensive experimental campaign developed on a stretch of the Portuguese railway network. The experimental work includes three fundamental and complementary components: the characterization of the ground, the characterization of the track and the measurement of the vibrations generated by railway traffic. The characterization of the ground was performed using a combination of conventional and geophysical tests (cross-hole and SASW). The mechanical characterization of the track was performed through receptance tests and the rail unevenness profile was accurately measured. The vibrations due to the passage of more than 20 trains were measured. First, a selection of the results is presented and analysed in detail; later, the variability of the responses is briefly discussed. The presented data may be used by other researchers (e.g. in the validation of their prediction models), since it can be downloaded from www.fe.up.pt/~csf/DataCarregado.zip.     

Experimental study on phosphorus release from sediments of shallow lake in wave flume

Influence of wave on sediment resuspension and nutrients release from sediments, collected from Lake Taihu and Lake Chaohu, was studied in flume experiments. Under strong-wave conditions, concentrations of suspended solids (SS), total phosphorus (TP) and dissolved total phosphorus (DTP) in overlying water were increased significantly following the sediments re-suspension. During the experiments on sediments of Lake Taihu and Lake Chaohu, TP concentrations increased 6 times and 3 times, and DTP concentration increased 100% and 70% more than it in presuspension, respectively. Concentration of soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) of experiment on sediment of Lake Taihu increased 25%. During the massive sediment suspension, the dissolved phosphorus in pore water and much of the phosphorus adsorbed by the sediment particles were released into overlying water. The phenomena in this wave flume experiment are quite similar to the situation observed in situ of Lake Taihu. The critical wave stresses of sediment re-suspension are nearly equal. The change of concentrations of SS, TP, and SRP was the same as that in situ situation. This study showed that concentrations of TP and SRP in lake water could be increased significantly by wave disturbance. Phosphorus release was significantly enhanced by wave disturbance at the beginning of massive sediment re-suspension, but decreased later.     

Experimental study on the relation between the water content of surface soil and theacoustic wave

Introduction Earthquake is not an isolated event. The focal region is not a closed system either. It is able to exchange energy or material with the medium outside this region. These kinds of exchange may cause various physical and chemical effects, so it is possible to get precursory signals by using space remote sensing technology. Many scholars (QIANG, et al, 1990; GENG, et al, 1992; XU, et al, 1995) have carried out some preliminary researches and experiments on the mechanism of therm…     

饱和地基中空沟近场隔振的现场试验与二维半解析边界元分析

动力机器运行和车辆行驶等会产生振动污染,危及邻近建筑物安全和干扰精密仪器设备正常运行等。这些振动污染可通过在地基中设置空沟的方式来降低或消除。针对饱和地基上明置动力机器基础的环境振动影响及空沟近场隔振问题,进行了饱和地基上空沟近场隔振的现场试验,并对试验结果进行了无量纲化分析;基于饱和土半解析边界元法,分别推导了动力机器基础环境振动影响和空沟近场隔振的边界元方程;在此基础上,详细研究了空沟对动力机器基础振动影响的隔振效果,分析了空沟深度、宽度和距振源距离对其隔振效果的影响。结果表明:空沟能够有效的降低动力机器基础的环境振动影响;空沟宽度对其隔振效果影响相对较小,而空沟深度对其隔振效果影响较大,为获得较好的隔振效果,空沟深度建议取1倍Rayleigh波波长;空沟距振源距离对其隔振效果也有较大影响,距离越远则隔振效果也越好,当被保护建筑距振源较远时,建议空沟在被保护建筑附近设置。此外,在某些特殊情况下,空沟隔振系统会由于共振现象而出现隔振效果劣化的现象,在工程设计中应予以注意。     

Local amplification of deep mining induced vibrations part.2: Simulation of ground motion in a coal basin

This work investigates the impact of deep coal mining induced vibrations on surface constructions using numerical tools. An experimental study of the geological site amplification and of its influence on mining induced vibrations has already been published in the previous paper (Part 1: Experimental evidence for site effects in a coal basin). Measurements have shown the existence of an amplification area in the southern part of the basin where drilling data have shown the presence of particularly fractured and soft stratigraphic units. The present study, using the boundary element method (BEM) in the frequency domain, first investigates canonical geological structures in order to get general results for various sites. The amplification level at the surface is given as a function of the shape of the basin and of the velocity contrast with the bedrock. Next, the particular coal basin previously studied experimentally (Driad-Lebeau et al. [1]) is modeled numerically by BEM. The amplification phenomena characterized numerically for the induced vibrations are found to be compatible with the experimental findings such as: amplification level, frequency range and location. Finally, the whole work was necessary to fully assess the propagation and amplification of mine induced vibrations. The numerical results quantifying amplification can also be used to study other coal basins or various types of alluvial sites.     

煤巷小构造Rayleigh型槽波超前探测数值模拟

对煤巷小构造地震波场进行了数值模拟研究,分析了层状煤层中地震波的传播特征.研究表明:(1)在煤巷迎头前方煤层内以纵波震源激发的Rayleigh型槽波相对于体波能量较强,波列较长,波速较低.(2)沿煤层传播的Rayleigh型槽波在小构造面上产生Rayleigh型槽波反射波,反射Rayleigh型槽波垂直分量相对于水平分量能量较强.沿煤层反向传播的反射Rayleigh型槽波在煤巷迎头面上转换为沿煤巷底板传播的Rayleigh面波.沿煤巷底板可以接收到能量较强的反射Rayleigh型槽波产生的Rayleigh面波,其可以作为超前探测小构造面的特征波.在地震记录上反射Rayleigh型槽波产生的Rayleigh面波波至最迟,在时间域与其他波列时间间隔较大,其垂直分量能量相对于水平分量较强,在地震记录上容易识别.(3)在相同的地质条件下应用反射地震超前探测方法,标志煤巷迎头前方存在小构造面的反射地震波能量较弱,受煤巷顶、底板界面和采煤迎头面的强反射波干扰,在地震记录中难以识别.     

Impact of sea-level rise and coral mortality on the wave dynamics and wave forces on barrier reefs

A one-dimensional wave model was used to investigate the reef top wave dynamics across a large suite of idealized reef-lagoon profiles, representing barrier coral reef systems under different sea-level rise (SLR) scenarios. The modeling shows that the impacts of SLR vary spatially and are strongly influenced by the bathymetry of the reef and coral type. A complex response occurs for the wave orbital velocity and forces on corals, such that the changes in the wave dynamics vary reef by reef. Different wave loading regimes on massive and branching corals also leads to contrasting impacts from SLR. For many reef bathymetries, wave orbital velocities increase with SLR and cyclonic wave forces are reduced for certain coral species. These changes may be beneficial to coral health and colony resilience and imply that predicting SLR impacts on coral reefs requires careful consideration of the reef bathymetry and the mix of coral species.     

Prediction of railway ground vibrations: Accuracy of a coupled lumped mass model for representing the track/soil interaction

Recent advances in railway-induced ground vibrations showed that the track/soil interaction plays an important role in the low frequency range. This paper contributes to the numerical analysis of train/track/foundation dynamics by presenting the accuracy of a coupled lumped mass (CLM) model devoted to the railway foundations and to the track/soil coupling. Following a summary of the background and the advantages of the CLM model, the coupling strategy is quantified through two application cases. Firstly, the dynamic track deflection is calculated for different railway lines considering various degrees of complexities of foundations. Then, the foundation responses are compared depending on whether detailed coupling is introduced or not. The benefit of the proposed model is emphasized by presenting free-field ground vibration responses generated by a tram and a high-speed train, obtained by a revisited two-step prediction model developed by the authors.     

Local amplification of deep mining induced vibrations Part 1: Experimental evidence for site effects in a coal basin

The work presented in this paper lies under the scope of a research program aiming to assess the impact of deep coal mining induced vibrations on the surface constructions. The concerned section of the program is dedicated to the study of geological site effects and their influence on the mining induced vibrations for which the experimental investigations have been carried out and developed in this paper (Part 1). The empirical methods based on H/V spectral ratios have been applied on data sets provided from mining induced vibrations recorded within private residences above the deep coalmine as well as complementary measurements of ambient noise. The results evidence an amplified zone in the southern part of the Gardanne basin where drilling data confirmed the presence of particularly fractured and soft stratigraphic units. This joint analysis of induced seismicity and ambient noise enabled to validate the method based on H/V ratios applied to the mining context.     

Characterisation of shear wave velocity profiles of non-uniform bi-layer soil deposits: Analytical evaluation and experimental validation

A crucial aspect of physical geotechnical model tests (under both 1-g and n-g conditions) is the evaluation of the initial (low-strain) stiffness of the soil layers of the sample test deposit, especially in the case of coarse materials. While for uniform soil deposits this issue can be addressed in a straightforward manner, e.g. by determining the fundamental frequency through the transfer function of an applied white-noise excitation, the problem becomes cumbersome for multi-layered deposits. After reviewing a number of available theoretical solutions, this paper illustrates a simplified yet reliable analytical procedure for determining the shear wave velocity profile (V_s) in a single or bi-layer deposit, taking into account the inhomogeneity of the individual soil layers, under the hypothesis of vanishing shear modulus at ground surface. The fundamental natural frequency of the inhomogeneous bi-layer deposit is analysed using the Rayleigh quotient procedure. The associated shape function is evaluated by considering the equilibrium of the soil column under a pseudo-static lateral inertial excitation imposed at its base, accounting for both layering and inhomogeneity. A validation of the proposed method is provided by comparing numerical results obtained from both time- and frequency- domain analyses against experimental data on Leighton Buzzard sand, from a recently-completed research project conducted on the shaking table facility at BLADE Laboratory, University of Bristol (UK).     

Three-dimensional numerical modeling of cohesive sediment transport and wind wave impact in a shallow oxbow lake

It was observed that in some closed inland lakes sediment transport was dominated by wind-induced currents, and the sediment resuspension was primarily driven by wind-induced waves. This paper presents the development and application of a three-dimensional numerical model for simulating cohesive sediment transport in water bodies where wind-induced currents and waves are important. In the model, the bottom shear stresses induced by currents and waves were calculated, and the processes of resuspension (erosion), deposition, settling, etc. were considered. This model was first verified by a simple test case consisting of the movement of a non-conservative tracer in a prismatic channel with uniform flow, and the model output agreed well with the analytical solution. Then it was applied to Deep Hollow Lake, a small oxbow lake in Mississippi. Simulated sediment concentrations were compared with available field observations, with generally good agreement. The transport and resuspension processes of cohesive sediment due to wind-induced current and wave in Deep Hollow Lake were also discussed.     

地震波时域数值优化研究及应用

将最小二乘拟合法与单自由度地震动力反应递归法相结合来解决地震观测和人工模拟地震波过程中速度、位移的基线漂移问题。首先以3次多项式来拟合加速度的均值线(一次优化);再对一次优化后的积分速度、位移时程仍存在的长周期基线波动问题,运用单自由度地震动力反应递归法进行二次优化。文中通过3个数值算例体现出优化算法的优越性,并将优化后的地震波加速度时程应用到江坪河水电站溢洪道控制段三维有限元动力计算分析中。结果表明,该算法消除了积分基线漂移影响,具有较好的可行性、数值稳定性和易操作性。     

地震横波勘探及其在浅层岩土分层中的应用

简单论述了横波的基本特点,指出在松散层勘探中,横波勘探的优势主要在于探测精度高且不受饱水度的影响.因此,可以选择地震横波勘探进行第四纪松散层层序划分及厚度探测.并以广州市城市地质调查项目为例,介绍了地震横波勘探在浅层地层勘测中的数据采集方法,分析了地质解释依据,并结合波速测井方法对地层层面进行了划分.分析结果表明了多数岩土层与反射界面有较好的对应关系,用地震横波勘探结合波速测井进行第四纪松散层层序划分及厚度探测是可行的.     

Inverse determination of soil density and stress state using dispersion wave measurements and cone penetration tests in a non-layered soil

The determination of the void ratio and stress state distribution in undisturbed soil is still an ambitious aim which cannot be reached by sampling from bore holes. Therefore, an alternative method is proposed to determine soil density and stress state using dispersion wave measurements and cone penetration tests. Dispersion wave measurements and resonant-column tests are carried out to measure the shear wave velocity and shear modulus distribution with depth. Using finite element calculations a relationship between cone penetration resistance, stress state and void ratio is derived. From these results the void ratio distribution and the stress state can be calculated inversely. The inverse method is applied to real test data. The results of the inverse parameter determination are shown and assessed regarding the possibilities and the limitations of the presented method.     

Local and global shape functions in a boundary element formulation for the calculation of traffic induced vibrations

This paper compares the use of local and global shape functions in a boundary element method that is used in a prediction model for traffic induced vibrations. The boundary element formulation describes the interaction problem between a linear elastic layered half-space and a longitudinally invariant structure representing a road or a railway track. The boundary element formulation in the frequency–wavenumber domain is obtained by means of a weighted residual method. Constant element shape functions, as well as Legendre and Chebyshev shape functions are considered. Their effect on both accuracy and computational effort is investigated. The presence of a singularity in the Chebyshev based shape functions allows to obtain a better approximation for the soil tractions. The theory is applied to road traffic induced vibrations where the response is calculated in a large number of output points.     

Finite element equations and numerical simulation of elastic wave propagation in two—phase anisotropic media

Based on Biot theory of two-phase anisotropic media and Hamilton theory about dynamic problem,finite element equations of elastic wave propagation in two-phase anisotopic media are derived in this paper.Numerical solution of finite element equations is given.Finally,properties of elastic wave propagation are observed and analyzed through FEM modeling.