DEVEX-disdrometer evaluation experiment: Basic results and implications for hydrologic studies

Increasing our understanding of the small scale variability of drop size distributions (DSD), and therefore of several bulk characteristics of rainfall processes, has major implications for our interpretation of the remote sensing based estimates of precipitation and its uncertainty. During the spring and summer of 2002 the authors conducted the DEVEX experiment (disdrometer evaluation experiment) to compare measurements of natural rain made with three different types of disdrometers collocated at the Iowa City Municipal Airport in Iowa City, Iowa in the Midwestern United States. This paper focuses on the evaluation of the instruments rather than analysis of the hydrometeorological aspects of the observed events. The comparison demonstrates discrepancies between instruments. The authors discuss the systematic and random effects in terms of rainfall quantities, drop size distribution properties, and the observed drop size vs. velocity relationships. Since the instruments were collocated, the effects of the natural variability of rain are reduced some with time integration, isolating the instrumental differences. The authors discuss the status of DSD measurement technologies and the implications for a range of hydrologic applications from remote sensing of rainfall to atmospheric deposition to soil erosion and sediment transport in the environment. The data set collected during the DEVEX experiment is made available to the research community.     

预应力混凝土连续弯箱梁桥动力特性分析与试验研究

通过某预应力混凝土连续弯箱梁桥的有限元分析,并借助脉动试验和跑车试验,对预应力混凝土连续弯箱梁桥的动力特性进行研究.结果表明,该桥自振频率略高于理论计算值,结构动力刚度满足设计要求.为研究弯曲程度对连续弯箱梁桥动力特性的影响,对圆心角从0°到76°的弯桥进行计算,结果表明,随着圆心角的增大,该桥纵向频率逐渐增大,而横向频率逐渐减小.     

The solar occultation for ice experiment

The Solar Occultation For Ice Experiment (SOFIE) was launched onboard the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) satellite on 25 April 2007, and began science observations on 14 May 2007. SOFIE conducts solar occultation measurements in 16 spectral bands that are used to retrieve vertical profiles of temperature, O₃, H₂O, CO₂, CH₄, NO, and polar mesospheric cloud (PMC) extinction at wavelengths from 0.330 to 5.006 μm. SOFIE performs 15 sunset measurements at latitudes from 65° to 85°S and 15 sunrise measurements from 65° to 85°N each day. This work describes the SOFIE instrument, measurement approach, and retrieval results for the northern summer of 2007.     

A simulation experiment for optimal design hyetograph selection

The aim of this work is to assess the accuracy of literature design hyetographs for the evaluation of peak discharges during flood events. Five design hyetographs are examined in a set of simulations, based upon the following steps: (i) an ideal river basin is defined, characterized by a Beta distribution shaped unit hydrograph (UH); (ii) 1000 years of synthetic rainfall are artificially generated; (iii) a discharge time‐series is obtained from the convolution of the rainfall time‐series and the UH, and the reference T‐years flood is computed from this series; (iv) for the same return period T, the parameters of the intensity–duration–frequency (IDF) curve are estimated from the 1000 years of synthetic rainfall; (v) five design hyetographs are determined from the IDF curves and are convolved with the discrete UH to find the corresponding design hydrographs; (vi) the hydrograph peaks are compared with the reference T‐years flood and the advantages and drawbacks of each of the five approaches are evaluated. The rainfall and UH parameters are varied, and the whole procedure is repeated to assess the sensitivity of results to the system configuration. We found that all design hyetographs produce flood peak estimates that are consistently biased in most of the climatic and hydrologic conditions considered. In particular, significant underestimation of the design flood results from the adoption of any rectangular hyetograph used in the context of the rational formula. In contrast, the Chicago hyetograph tends to overestimate peak flows. In two cases it is sufficient to multiply the result by a constant scaling factor to obtain robust and nearly unbiased estimates of the design floods. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

油缸孔隙式粘滞阻尼器理论与性能试验

首先研究了双出杆油缸孔隙式粘滞阻尼器的构造,讨论了不同类型粘滞流体的特性;然后,在幂律流体本构关系的基础上,建立了相应粘滞阻尼器阻尼力计算模型;设计制作了一个油缸孔隙式粘滞阻尼器,并进行了详细的性能试验,通过试验结果的统计分析,得到了阻尼力计算的方法。     

A dense array experiment for the observation of waveform perturbations

We analyze observed three-component seismograms recorded by a dense array of 21 short-period receivers (f>2 Hz) installed on a homogeneous Quaternary plain with 1.5×3.5 km² horizontal dimensions. The experiment was conducted in the district of Caille, in SE France for 3 months. The observed waveform data are related to diffraction and refraction of the direct wavefield by different geological structures and topographic morphologies surrounding the array. The origin of the coda energy following the energetic Pg or Sg arrivals is either influenced by heterogeneities close to and inside of the valley, for instance thrust of Jurassic limestones over Cretaceous marls in the northern and southern limits of the valley, or by heterogeneities located outside of the valley such as the interface unconformity between crystalline basement and sedimentary cover in the northern border of the Maures–Tanneron ranges. The main energetic arrivals of the seismograms arrive at the array with a definite range of azimuths that is not correlated with the event back-azimuth. Moreover, these arrivals do not appear with azimuths related to the characteristic NS and EW valley orientations, and thus may be related to heterogeneities located outside of the valley.     

自由场典型液化特征数值模拟试验

应用FLAOD实现自由场液化数值模拟试验.试验结果验证了砂土液化典型特征:超静孔隙水压升高,有效应力降低,体积压缩积累增大.证实了液化的隔振作用:砂土在液化状态变为流体,不能传递剪力,液化时砂土位移、速度、加速度振幅显著降低,剪应力降低,动水向上渗流,土体向下沉降,水平残留不可恢复位移.球压应力、有效压应力、动水压力满...     

沙堆内小型管线的探地雷达模型实验研究

地质雷达作为一种新的探测技术,广泛应用于城市管线探测、特别是非金属管道(直径Φ为150～400 mm)探测,取得了良好的效果,但是对小口径管道的探测研究不多.本实验是对埋于中等湿度、均匀介质沙堆内的Φ为40～150 mm的管线不同组合模型,进行900 M、600 M、200 M雷达反射波图像观测,探讨单管、双管、三管的图像特征,研究探地雷达图像的影响因素.研究结果显示:雷达探测的实际分辨率达不到理论分辨率;高频率天线图像精细,适合探测浅小的管线;管道充填水后,多次波明显增强;路面街砖会削弱雷达的管线异常信号,出现类似倾斜岩层等干扰信号;利用多次反射波可求得管径.本实验有助于我们在城市地下管线探测中能够快速准确地识别各类地下异常体的探地雷达图像.     

High-resolution spectrometer for atmospheric studies

A high-resolution spectrometer (0.0014 nm at 313 nm) has been developed at the University of L’Aquila (Italy) for atmospheric spectroscopic studies. The layout, optics and software for the instrument control are described. Measurements of the mercury low-pressure lamp lines from 200 to 600 nm show the high performances of the spectrometer. Laboratory measurements of OH and NO₂ spectrums demonstrate that the system could be used for cross-section measurements and to detect these species in the atmosphere. The first atmospheric application of the system was the observation of direct solar and sky spectrums that shows a filling-in of the sky lines due to rotational Raman scattering. The measurements have been done with clear and cloudy sky and in both there was a strong dependence of the filling-in from the solar zenith angle whereas no dependence from the wavelengths was evident at low solar zenith angles (less than 85°).     

A vertical interpolation experiment

Summary Vertical interpolation of the data from the constant-pressure to the constant-density surfaces is discussed, and the results of an experiment given, wherein the data are interpolated to a constant-density surface using two different sets of the constant-pressure data. Comparison of the two results gives an estimate of the order of magnitude of the errors inherent in the interpolation.Hydrometeorological Institute of SR Serbia, Belgrade, Yugoslavia. The experiment reported here has been made while the author was visiting the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado.     

砖住宅楼系列模型地震模拟试验设计--多层砖房抗震性能三向振动台试验研究之一

为保障住户地震安全和进一步研究多层砖房的抗震性能,由企业出资与研究所合作,在三向振动台上进行以四幢砖住宅为一系列的模型试验.本文为其研究论文之一,着重阐述在系列模型的设计中和地震模拟试验中的关键技术以及试验的最终结果.     

A scaled experiment for the verification of the SeaBed Logging method

SeaBed Logging (SBL) is an application of the marine controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) method that is used to directly detect and characterize possible hydrocarbon-bearing prospects. Although the CSEM method has been used by academia for more than three decades, the application as a direct hydrocarbon indicator was first introduced about five years ago. The central idea of SBL is the guiding of electromagnetic energy in thin resistive layers within conductive sediments. Even if it has been well known for a long time that electromagnetic signals can propagate from a conductive region to another via resistive regions such as air or resistive parts of the lithosphere, the application to hydrocarbon exploration has not been developed until recently. This might be due to the uncertainty of getting any significant response from thin resistive layers such as hydrocarbon reservoirs since electromagnetic energy is highly attenuated in conductive sediments. Thus, during the early development phase of the SBL technique, a scaled laboratory experiment was performed to validate if a thin resistive layer (e.g. hydrocarbons) buried within conductive media (e.g. sediments) could be remotely detected by using electric dipoles as sources and receivers. Data from this experiment were compared to a forward modelling code for layered media, and the comparison showed good agreement between experimental and theoretical results. This suggested that thin resistive layers buried in conductive media are detectable due to the guiding of the electromagnetic field within the resistor. The successful results were vital for realizing the application of marine CSEM as a hydrocarbon exploration technique. We here present the results of the first scaled SBL experiment.     

Natural tracers for sediment transport studies

The use of natural differences in composition between marine and fluvial sediments makes it possible to determine their mixing ratio in estuarine deposits. Differences in chemical, mineralogical and isotope geochemical composition can be used as tracers, provided that three criteria are met: conservative behaviour during transport, with time, and after deposition. Examples of the utility of natural tracers are presented, including their use for the interpretation of pollutant patterns in estuaries. The application of natural tracers has shown that marine sediments may be transported past the freshwater boundary in estuaries, and thus contribute to the sedimentation in freshwater tidal areas.     

Instrumentation for induction studies on land

Instruments for recording the natural variations of the geomagnetic and geoelectric fields on land are reviewed, with emphasis on portable equipment suitable for the investigation of anomalies of electromagnetic induction within the earth. Examples of recently designed apparatus are shown, and the fundamental limitations of various types of sensors are discussed.     

A stream depletion field experiment

A field experiment was carried out to measure drawdowns in observation wells and stream depletion flows that occurred when water was abstracted from a well beside a stream. The field data is analyzed herein to determine the aquifer transmissivity, T, the aquifer storage coefficient, S, and a streambed leakage parameter, lambda, by comparing measurements with a solution obtained by Hunt (1999). The analysis uses early time drawdowns with a match-point method to determine T and S, and stream depletion measurements at later times are used to determine lambda. The final results are reasonably consistent for measurements taken in four observation wells. The advantages and disadvantages of this approach are discussed, and two alternative ways of estimating lambda are also discussed.     

Numerical simulations of shake-table experiment for dynamic soil-pile-structure interaction in liquefiable soils

A shake-table experiment on pile foundations in liquefi able soils composed of liquefi able sand and overlying soft clay is studied. A three-dimensional(3D) effective stress fi nite element(FE) analysis is employed to simulate the experiment. A recently developed multi-surface elasto-plastic constitutive model and a fully coupled dynamic inelastic FE formulation(u-p) are used to model the liquefaction behavior of the sand. The soil domains are discretized using a solid-fl uid fully coupled(u-p) 20-8 noded brick element. The pile is simulated using beam-column elements. Upon careful calibration, very good agreement is obtained between the computed and the measured dynamic behavior of the ground and the pile. A parametric analysis is also conducted on the model to investigate the effect of pile-pinning, pile diameter, pile stiffness, ground inclination angle, superstructure mass and pile head restraints on the ground improvement. It is found that the pile foundation has a noticeable pinning effect that reduces the lateral soil displacement. It is observed that a larger pile diameter and fi xed pile head restraints contribute to decreasing the lateral pile deformation; however, a higher ground inclination angle tends to increase the lateral pile head displacements and pile stiffness, and superstructure mass seems to effectively infl uence the lateral pile displacements.     

Hydraulic conditions for rill incision under simulated rainfall: A laboratory experiment

A series of controlled laboratory experiments were conducted in order to obtain precise data on the hydraulic and sediment transport conditions during rill formation. Tests were carried out using a crusting-prone binary mixed soil in a 15 m long flume at an average slope of 0·087 under simulated rainfall. Rainfall intensities varied from 30–35 mm h^?1 and developed about 70 per cent of the kinetic energy of natural rainfall of similar intensity. Runoff and sediment discharge measured at the downstream weir were strongly influenced by rill forming processes. Essentially, rill incision reduced runoff discharge as a result of increased percolation in rill channels but increased sediment discharge. Secondary entrainment processes, such as bank collapse, also increased sediment discharge at the weir. Knickpoint bifurcation and colluvial deposition, however, decreased sediment discharge. Rills always developed through the formation of a knickpoint. The critical condition for knickpoint initiation was the development of supercritical flow and waves which mould and incise the bed. Prior smoothing of the soil surface by entrainment and redistribution of sediment facilitated supercritical flow. Statistical analysis showed that hydraulic and sediment transport conditions differed significantly in rilled and unrilled flows. The relationship between sediment discharge, rill erosion, and flow hydraulics was found to be nonlinear, conforming to a standard power function in the form y = ax^b. Rills were also associated with significantly increased sediment transport capacities. However, rill initiation was not clearly defined by any specific hydraulic threshold. Instead, rilled and unrilled flows were separated by zones of transition within which both types of flow occur.     

Ground-water studies for earthquake prediction in China

This paper gives an outline of ground-water observation carried out in China for the purpose of earthquake prediction.     

A laboratory experiment on the role of grass for infiltration and runoff processes

Two lysimeters with the same dimensions were provided, and filled with the same loam clay. On the soil surface of one lysimeter, grass was planted to compare the hydrologic response of the grassed lysimeter with that of the other bare soil lysimeter.

About half of the runoff from the bare soil lysimeter occurred as overland flow, the rest being groundwater flow. Overland flow scarcely occurred from the grassed lysimeter. Grass roots that developed deep into the soil layer play an important role in increasing the infiltration rate as well as in drying the soil uniformly throughout the soil layer by evapotranspiration, preparing for high infiltration and large rainwater storage for the subsequent rainfall event. Accordingly, the total loss by evapotranspiration from the grassed soil amounts to almost twice that from the bare soil.

For an evaporation- and evapotranspiration-prohibited experiment, the recession characteristics from a saturation state showed similar features for the bare and grassed soils, indicating the same microstructure of high moisture reservability for both soils.

The well-developed grass root system reformed the soil structure considerably to produce the seemingly contradicting characteristics of high moisture conductivity and high moisture reservability; i.e. a high infiltration rate and prolonged groundwater discharge.

Finally, the importance of the initial soil moisture in the rainfall-runoff process, rainfall loss and runoff ratio is stressed.