Continuous characterization of dynamic soil behavior by Digital Image Correlation in a transparent shear laminar box

This work characterizes and analyzes the dynamic behavior of a sandy soil due to one-dimensional propagation of mechanical waves into a transparent laminar shear box. The outstanding char acteristic of this laminar box is a transparent front glass, which allows monitoring the soil behavior by a high-speed and high-resolution camera, and then computing the displacement field in the soil by the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique. The response of the laminar container was evaluated using ambient vibrations, harmonic signals and Ricker wavelets. Afterward, dynamic soil properties derived from DIC analysis are compared against theoretical and laboratory results. Finally, a numerical simulation is carried out using the finite element method, where the influence of the lateral friction of the glass on the motion is assessed and discussed. It is concluded that the transparent laminar shear box provides a useful tool for studying the continuous dynamic soil behavior; additionally, the transparent boundary has a minor impact on the results and a minimum observable cyclic shear strain of about 10–4 was reached.

     

Weighting of Parts in Compositional Data Analysis: Advances and Applications

Mathematical Geosciences - It often occurs in practice that it is sensible to give different weights to the variables involved in a multivariate data analysis—and the same holds for...     

The effect of natural disasters on FDI attraction: a sector-based analysis over time and space

Natural Hazards - Extensive research has addressed the question of why some countries are able to attract a large amount of foreign direct investment (FDI), while others are not. Until now, this...     

Aridity indices to assess desertification susceptibility: a methodological approach using gridded climate data and cartographic modeling

Natural Hazards - Desertification is a land degradation phenomenon with dire and irreversible consequences, affecting different regions of the world. Assessment of spatial climate susceptibility to...     

Glacial Cirques in the Southern Side of the Cantabrian Mountains of Southwestern Europe

A total of 156 glacial cirques located on two different areas in the Cantabrian Mountains (NW Spain) were identified and measured in order to continue and expand the study of these large‐scale erosional forms in European mountains. Environmental variables that may explain cirque distribution (altitude, aspect and lithology), and their most important morphometric features (area, length (L), width (W), headwall height (H), and L/W, L/H and W/H indices), are analysed. Statistical analysis has been applied as indicators of contrast (ANOVA) and association (correlation and regression). Conglomerate analysis (CLUSTER) has been used to discriminate cirque groups based on their morphometric variables. Results show that cirques occur at lower altitudes in the Upper Sil River basin area than in the Montaña Central area due to a lower former equilibrium line altitude (ELA) position. In the Upper Sil River basin, environmental variables appear to have had a strong influence on the location and size of cirques: the largest cirques are located in quartzite rocks at elevations above 2000 m and face N or NE. In Montaña Central, the influence of these factors was more limited as a consequence of higher geological structure control. Cirque sizes generally are modest compared with cirques present in other mountain ranges globally, most likely due to shorter glacial occupancy in the Cantabrian Mountains.