Theoretical Risk Formulation for Degree-day Calculations

Summary Energy consumption, agricultural activities and comfort in building design are all related to temporal temperature variations. Truncation of the temperature series at a constant base temperature level leads to surpluses and deficits as deviations. Surpluses are instances for cooling and deficits for heating. In meteorology and heat engineering these are referred to as cooling and heating degree-days, respectively. Since the temperature records are random in character their future predictions are necessary through statistical and probabilistic methods. In this paper, the degree-days are assumed to have a normal probability distribution function and therefore, their averages and standard deviations are considered sufficient for modeling cooling and heating degree-day amounts. Theoretical derivations are presented for degree-day risk calculations in their general forms and a simple implementation is given for two cities in Turkey. Received January 23, 1998 Revised June 16, 1998     

A new approach to time-load-deformation-stress hypersurface of rocks to stability analysis of underground openings

The most important developments in rock engineering are about time-dependent deformation behavior of rocks under different loads. Many studies have been done for the purpose of identifying mathematically time-load-deformation (TLD) characteristics of the rocks. These studies have made an important contribution to the research on the stability of constructions built in rock masses, and rock material is the main part of the rock mass in which the engineering constructions. When considered from this point of view, the time-dependent deformation behavior of the rocks under different loads is important to determine unstable conditions of the rock constructions in the long term. Researches in rock masses use surfaces based on TLD data. On the other hand, the strength of the rock is also part of these analyzes. The new model developed in this study has four variables such as time, load, deformation, and strength. Therefore, TLD surfaces developed for time-load-deformation has been associated with another variable and three-component (TLD) surfaces eventually transformed into four-component (time-load-deformation-strength; TLDS) hypersurfaces. Hypersurfaces, which illustrate new TLDS behaviors of the rocks, developed in underground openings in different rock constructions in different areas. It is thought that the TLDS hypersurfaces will especially be contributed to the numerical modeling studies of rock construction analysis.     

Improvement of an Extremely Highly Plastic Expansive Clay with Hydrated Lime and Fly Ash

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - In this study, extremely highly plastic soil samples were collected from clay deposits in the Akyurt district of Ankara (Turkey), near Esenbo?a...     

Earthquake risk assessment for the building inventory of Muscat,Sultanate of Oman

Little Andaman, the fourth largest island in the Andaman group of islands of India, was severely affected by the December 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami generated by massive earthquake of moment magnitude 9.3 Mw which devastated the Andaman and Nicobar group of islands causing heavy damage to life and property. Due to hostile terrain conditions not much information was available on the extent of inundation and run-up along the island except for Hut Bay region. In order to study the vulnerability of the island to tsunami hazard, the inundation in the island due to the 2004 tsunami was studied using TUNAMI N2 numerical model and ENVISAT ASAR datasets. The extent of inundation derived from the SAR imagery was compared using the RTK-GPS field survey points collected in the Hut Bay regions immediately after the 2004 tsunami. The extent of inundation obtained from SAR images for the entire island was compared with inundation obtained from model. It was observed that the inundation obtained from the model matched well with inundation extent from SAR imagery for nearshore regions, while for low-lying areas and creeks large deviations were observed. In the absence of field datasets, the inundation derived from SAR imagery would be effective in providing ground data to validate the numerical models which can then be run for multiple scenarios for disaster mitigation and planning operation in areas that have hostile terrain conditions.     

Vibration characteristics of a suspension bridge under traffic and no traffic conditions

This paper presents the variations of vibration under different traffic conditions on the Fatih Sultan Mehmet suspension bridge in Istanbul, Turkey.The main intention is to determine the vibration amplifications under heavy-traffic as opposed to no-traffic conditions. This is the first study in this particular area that has been performed on this bridge, over which an average of 200,000 cars pass daily. Two full-scale ambient vibration surveys were carried out on two different days to determine the response of the bridge to diverse traffic conditions. Initial measurements were taken as the bridge experienced heavy stress conditions caused by rush-hour traffic. Secondary measurements were recorded after closing the bridge to traffic. The data were analyzed to gauge the vibration effects of heavy-traffic conditions on the bridge and to determine the effects of different traffic conditions on the free vibration characteristics of the bridge. The analyses were performed utilizing different amplification methods. Results show that there are important differences in the amplifications of the vibration amplitudes. Especially heavy-traffic on the bridge causes the vibration response of the bridge to be intensified in comparison to no-traffic conditions. Additionally, predominant frequencies are shifted as a direct result of traffic load acting on the bridge. Even more importantly and is probably analogous for all long-span bridges, is the fact that any movement causing vibration on the bridge is carried and amplified along its length. These significant amplifications indicate the important effect of varying traffic loads and how the bridge responds to the diverse movements it experiences. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lateral variations of coda Q and attenuation of seismic waves in Southwest Anatolia

The seismic quality factor (Q _c) and the attenuation coefficient (δ) in the earth’s crust in southwest (SW) Anatolia are estimated by using the coda wave method based on the decrease of coda wave amplitude by time on the seismogram. The quality factor Q _o, the value of Q _c at 1 Hz, and its frequency dependency η are determined from this method depending on the attenuation properties of scattered coda waves. δ is determined from the observations of amplitude variations of seismic waves. In applying the coda wave method, firstly, a type curve representing the average pattern of the individual coda decay curves for 0.75, 1.5, 3.0, 6.0, 12.0, and 24.0 Hz values was estimated. Secondly, lateral variation of coda Q and the attenuation coefficients for three main tectonic patterns are estimated. The shape of the type curve is controlled by the scattering and attenuation in the crustal volume sampled by the coda waves. The Q _o and η values vary from 30 to 180 and from 0.55 to 1.25, respectively for SW Anatolia. In SW Anatolia, coda Q–f relation is described by and δ = 0.008 km⁻¹. These results are expected to help in understanding the degree of tectonic complexity of the crust in SW Anatolia.     

Deliniation of Weathering in the Çatalca Granite Quarry with the Very Low Frequency (VLF) Electromagnetic Method

Faulting and weathering can endanger quarry operations by decreasing the total reserve, quarry’s useful life and production value. We investigated weathering and faulting problems in the Çatalca granite quarry at Istanbul in Turkey, using the Very Low Frequency (VLF) method. VLF method is an electromagnetic method which is very successful in locating vertical discontinuities such as faults and fracture zones. This method measures the apparent resistivity of the rocks in the region, besides the electromagnetic parameters such as tilt angle and ellipcity. Apparent resistivity is a very sensitive parameter to water presence inside the pores and fractures of the rocks. This feature enables the VLF method to map the boundaries between the fresh and cracked granite and altered zones in the quarry. In this work we mapped the faults and weathered zones within the granite in Çatalca quarry and found a high resistivity zone at the central part of the survey area which may be suitable for production. This study also shows the efficiency of the VLF method in understanding the structural and textural features of a quarry and estimating zones with high quality rocks for production planning.     

Characteristics of the frequency spectra of wind-waves in Eastern Black Sea

Spectral information for wind-waves in the Black Sea is extremely limited. Knowledge on spectral characteristics of wind-waves would contribute to scientific, engineering, and operational coastal and marine activities in the Black Sea, and would allow a better understanding of the nature of the waves occurring in this enclosed basin. Frequency spectra obtained from the directional buoys deployed offshore Sinop and Hopa in Turkey, and Gelendzhik in Russia were utilized as the three sets of data to investigate characteristics of wind-waves frequency spectra for the Eastern Black Sea. Records were firstly analyzed to identify them as uni-modal or multi-modal spectra. Single-peaked spectra were then identified as belonging to fully arisen or developing sea states. Parameters of the JONSWAP and PM model spectra were estimated for the corresponding sea state by using a least square error method. Finally, the records of developing seas were further analyzed to select the ones belonging to stable wind conditions. ECMWF analysis wind fields were utilized as the wind information corresponding to the wave records. Fetch dependencies of non-dimensional spectral variables (variance and peak frequency) and α parameter of the JONSWAP model spectrum were investigated for this data sub-set.