Experimental investigation of the time-dependent response of unreinforced and reinforced tunnel faces in cohesive soils

In spite of the increasing diffusion of tunnel boring machines, conventional tunnelling is still preferred for economic reasons in case of short tunnels, unconventional cross sections or irregular tunnel trajectories. In conventional tunnelling, the mechanical response of the tunnel front is a main concern and, when tunnels are excavated in cohesive soils, this is dominated by the time factor, related to geometry, to the mean excavation rate and to the hydro-mechanical properties of the materials involved. This is particularly evident during excavation standstill: front displacements progressively increase with time and, in many cases, the system response under long-term conditions becomes unstable. In conventional tunnelling, a common technique employed to improve the system response (under both short- and long-term conditions) is the installation of fibreglass tubes within the advance core. In this paper, the mechanical response of both unreinforced and reinforced deep tunnel fronts in cohesive soils is experimentally analysed. In particular, the results of a series of 1 g small-scale tests, taking into account both the influence of the excavation rate (the unloading time) on the system response and the evolution with time of the tunnel face displacements, induced by a rapid reduction in the horizontal stress applied on the tunnel face, are reported.     

On the assessment of the management priority of sediment source areas in a debris‐flow catchment

In many Alpine catchments the monitoring and hazard mitigation of debris‐flow events require enormous economic and social resources. To confront these problems, a subjective estimation of the most hazardous zones of the basin could be useful in the best, sustainable planning of protective measures. In this paper, a new methodology is proposed that develops a Management Priority Index (MPI) to rank sediment source areas by their quantitative capability to deliver debris‐flow volumes to a point of interest within the catchment. The MPI sets the intervention priority based on a combination of three sub‐indicators: a susceptibility indicator evaluating the overall catchment predisposition to generate debris flow, a triggering indicator and a volume budget indicator assessing the rate of deliverable volume to a selected outlet. MPI was applied to the basin of the Rio Gadria catchment (Venosta Valley, Bolzano, Italy), an alpine basin with an unlimited sediment supply that is characterized by multiple, very active, shallow landslides and bare soil zones. The proposed ranking method was successfully verified using post‐event surveys and through evidence from consolidation check dams built over many years in the basin. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modeling radar-rainfall estimation uncertainties using parametric and non-parametric approaches

There are large uncertainties associated with radar estimates of rainfall, including systematic errors as well as the random effects from several sources. This study focuses on the modeling of the systematic error component, which can be described mathematically in terms of a conditional expectation function. The authors present two different approaches: non-parametric (kernel-based) and parametric (copula-based). A large sample (more than six years) of rain gauge measurements from a dense network located in south-west England is used as an approximation of the true ground rainfall. These data are complemented with rainfall estimates by a C-band weather radar located at Wardon Hill, which is about 40 km from the catchment. The authors compare the results obtained using the parametric and non-parametric schemes for four temporal scales of hydrologic interest (5 and 15 min, hourly and three-hourly) by means of several different performance indices and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each approach.     

Layered amphibolite sequence in NE Sardinia,Italy: remnant of a pre-Variscan mafic silicic layered intrusion?

A banded amphibolite sequence of alternating ultramafic, mafic (amphibolite) and silicic layers, tectonically enclosed within Variscan migmatites, outcrops at Monte Plebi (NE Sardinia) and shows similarities with leptyno-amphibolite complexes. The ultramafic layers consist of amphibole (75–98%), garnet (0–20%), opaque minerals (1–5%) and biotite (0–3%). The mafic rocks are made up of amphibole (65–80%), plagioclase (15–30%), quartz (0–15%), opaque minerals (2–3%) and biotite (0–2%). The silicic layers consist of plagioclase (60–75%), amphibole (15–30%) and quartz (10–15%). Alteration, metasomatic, metamorphic and hydrothermal processes did not significantly modify the original protolith chemistry, as proved by a lack of K₂O-enrichment, Rb-enrichment, CaO-depletion, MgO-depletion and by no shift in the rare earth element (REE) patterns. Field, geochemical and isotopic data suggest that ultramafic, mafic and silicic layers represent repeated sequences of cumulates, basic and acidic rocks similar to macrorhythmic units of mafic silicic layered intrusions. The ultramafic layers recall the evolved cumulates of Skaergaard and Pleasant Bay mafic silicic layered intrusions. Mafic layers resemble Thingmuli tholeiites and chilled Pleasant Bay mafic rocks. Silicic layers with Na₂O: 4–6 wt%, SiO₂: 67–71 wt% were likely oligoclase-rich adcumulates common in many mafic silicic layered intrusions. Some amphibolite showing a strong Ti-, P-depletion and REE-depletion are interpreted as early cumulates nearly devoid of ilmenite and phosphates. All Monte Plebi rocks have extremely low Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf content and high LILE/HFSE ratios, a feature inherited from the original mantle sources. The mafic and ultramafic layers show slight and strong LREE enrichment respectively. Most mafic layer samples plot in the field of continental tholeiites in the TiO₂–K₂O–P₂O₅ diagram and are completely different from N-MORB, E-MORB and T-MORB as regards REE patterns and Nd, Sr isotope ratios but show analogies with Siberian, Deccan and proto-Atlantic rift tholeiites. Comparisons with Thingmuli, Skaergaard and Kiglapait rocks and with experimental data suggest that the Monte Plebi intrusion was an open-to-oxygen system with fO₂ FMQ. Mafic and ultramafic samples yielded _Nd(460)=+0.79 /+3.06 and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.702934–0.703426, and four silicic samples _Nd(460)=–0.53/–1.13; ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.703239–0.703653. Significant differences in Nd isotope ratios between mafic and silicic rocks prove that both groups evolved separately in deeper magma chambers, from different mantle sources, with negligible interaction with crustal material, and were later repeatedly injected within a shallower magma chamber. The spectrum of Sr and Nd isotope data is consistent with a slightly enriched mantle metasomatized during an event earlier than 460 Ma. The metasomatising component was represented by alkali-Th-rich fluids of crustal origin rather than by sedimentary materials, able to modify alkali and Sr–Nd isotope systematics. Monte Plebi layered amphibolites might represent the first example of a strongly metamorphosed fragment of an early Paleozoic mafic silicic layered intrusion emplaced in a thinning continental crust and then tectonically dismembered by Variscan orogeny.     

Development and testing of a physically based,three-dimensional model of surface and subsurface hydrology

We present a numerical, catchment-scale model that solves flow equations of surface and subsurface flow in a three-dimensional domain. Surface flow is described by the two-dimensional parabolic approximation of the St. Venant equation, using Manning’s equation of motion; subsurface flow is described by the three-dimensional Richards’ equation for the unsaturated zone and by three-dimensional Darcy’s law for the saturated zone, using an integrated finite difference formulation. The hydrological component is a dynamic link library implemented within a comprehensive model which simulates surface energy, radiation budget, snow melt, potential evapotranspiration, plant development and plant water uptake. We tested the model by comparing distributed and integrated three-dimensional simulated and observed perched water depth (PWD), stream flow data, and soil water contents for a small catchment. Additional tests were performed for the snow melting algorithm as well as the different hydrological processes involved. The model successfully described the water balance and its components as evidenced by good agreement between measured and modelled data.     

Evaluation of ecotoxicological effects of endocrine disrupters during a four-year survey of the Mediterranean population of swordfish (Xiphias gladius)

In this project we investigated the ecotoxicological effects of endocrine disrupters in a four-year survey of the Mediterranean population of swordfish (Xiphias gladius). In the Mediterranean environment, top predators, such as swordfish, accumulate high concentrations of polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (PHAHs) and toxic metals, potentially incurring high toxicological risk. The effects of organochlorines and trace elements (Hg, Cd and Pb) in 192 swordfish specimens, caught in the Strait of Messina, Sicily, Italy, were investigated using vitellogenin (Vtg), zona radiata proteins (Zrp) and CYP1A (BPMO, EROD) activities. Vtg and Zrp were found to be dramatically induced in some adult male specimens, suggesting that this species is highly exposed to estrogens in the Mediterranean Sea. A role of organochlorines in this induction phenomenon is suggested by the statistically significant correlations between Zrp in plasma and PCB concentrations in muscle (p<0.032) and Vtg in plasma and PCB concentrations in liver (p<0.034) of male specimens. Levels of trace elements in liver were in the following ranges: Hg 1-22, Cd 1-28 and Pb 0-1.6 ppm d.w. These data indicate potential reproductive alterations in large pelagic fish and suggest the need for continuous monitoring to avoid reductions in the population of this fish species of high commercial and ecological interest.     

Improved evaluation of inelastic displacement demands for short‐period masonry structures

This work discusses the simplified estimation of earthquake‐induced nonlinear displacement demands as required by nonlinear static procedures, with particular attention on short‐period masonry structures. The study focuses on systems with fundamental periods between 0.1 and 0.5 s, for which inelastic amplification of the elastic displacement demand is more pronounced; hysteretic force‐displacement relationships characteristic of masonry structures are adopted, because these structures are more commonly found within the considered period range. Referring to the results of nonlinear dynamic analyses of single‐degree‐of‐freedom oscillators, some limitations of the Eurocode 8 and Italian Building Code formulations are first discussed, then an improved equation is calibrated that relates inelastic and elastic displacement demands. Numerical values of the equation parameters are obtained, considering the amount of hysteretic energy dissipation associated with various damage mechanisms observed in masonry structures. Safety factors are also calculated to determine several percentiles of the displacement demand. It is shown that the proposed equation can be extended to more dissipative systems. Finally, the same formulation is adapted to the estimation of seismic displacements when elastic analysis procedures are employed. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.