Random response analysis of a non-linear soil-suspension bridge pier

The structure analysed herein is a tower and pier system of a long-span suspension bridge. The tower shaft is modelled to allow classical normal modes decomposition in order to reduce higher modes. The pier is assumed to be rigid body free to translation as well as to rocking motion, being reacted by the surrounding soil compliance that is derived from a continuum mechanics approach. Linear and non-linear soil and structural dynamic interaction is dealt with by random vibration theory with use of the linearization technique and complex modal analysis. Primary interest is placed on the investigation of the dynamic characteristics of the total interaction system and the rms response with change of the soil condition and input excitation level. Also discussed is the approximate response analysis, using classical normal modes for the interaction system, for purposes of practical design.     

PBL similarity profiles determined from a level-2 turbulence-closure model

A diagnostic model for the determination of similarity profiles of turbulence and mean-wind gradient in the planetary boundary layer is developed. Vertical profiles of a turbulence length scale and the flux Richardson number are formulated through the extension of the relationships for the constant flux layer. These profiles together with a turbulence energy equation and a similarity profile empirically determined for heat or momentum flux are used to compute the turbulence energy. Relationships previously derived from a turbulence closure model are used to compute second moments of turbulence.     

Seismic damage estimation for low- and mid-rise buildings in japan

While much effort has been spent on analysis of individual structures, building class seismic damage estimators, of value in disaster planning, code-writing, city planning, national hazards policy formulation, etc., have been little investigated. Based largely on data from Sendai City, Japan in the 12 June, 1978 Miyagiken-oki earthquake (M_L = 7.4), estimators of seismic damage for low- and mid-rise buildings in urban Japan have been determined. For low-rise buildings, based on damage to over 60,000 buildings, damage ratios for onset of damage and collapse and for cost of damage are found to correlate best with response spectra at 0.75 s. Using published test data and average building properties, a seismic damage model explains the low-rise building behaviour and permits examination of the effect of structural changes on the estimated damage. For mid-rise buildings, damage states (0: none, 4: total) are determined as a function of maximum storey displacement, based on published natural period determinations (pre- and post-earthquake) for 189 mid-rise buildings in Sendai. The effects of structural changes on expected damage can also be estimated. With these two building class damage estimators, a large part of future seismic damage to urban Japan can be estimated, as well as the effects of various mitigation measures.     

Estimation of water requirement per unit carbon fixed by Eucalyptus camaldulensis in semi-arid land of Western Australia

Afforestation in arid land is a promising method for carbon fixation, but the effective utili-zation of water is highly important and required. Thus, the evaluation of the amount of water perunit carbon fixed with the tree growth is required to minimize the amount of water supplied to theplants. In this research, a tree is regarded as a carbon fixation reactor with inflows of water andnutrients from roots, and CO2 as the carbon source from leaves with outflow of water vapor fromleaves and accumulation in the tree itself. In the process of photosynthesis and respiration nutri-tional elements are dissolved in water flow in trees. They do not flow out by these reactions, butare accumulated in trees. Thus, we have treated the behaviour of nutrients as a marker to evaluatethe water/carbon ratio. Assuming that nutrient concentration is constant in sap, and the differences in the ratios ofnutrient to carbon in living trees and dead (i.e. litter fall, etc.) are negiected, the ratio of the usedwater to fixed carbon is given as the ratio of nutrient to carbon in the tree body divided by the ratioof nutrient to water in sap. However, some nutrients are translocated and concentrated within thetree and some may be discarded through litter fall. Thus it is important to examine which nutrientelement is the most suitable as the tracer. In this paper, the results of the above method applied to Eucalyptus camaldulensis in semi-arid land of Western Australia are shown. The value of water requirement per unit carbon fixationdetermined from potassium balance is between 421 kg-H2O/kg-C for mature trees and 285kg-H2O/k9-C for young trees, while the values from calcium balance are much larger than these.The cause of the discrepancy between these values is discussed based on the measured elementconcentrations in sap and trees and the plant physiology. Finally, the actual average value throughthe life of a tree is suggested to fall between the two values.     

Volcanic Sequences Related to Kuroko Mineralization in the Hokuroku District, Northeast Japan

Abstract. Kuroko deposits are a representative volcanic‐hosted massive sulfide deposit and the Hokuroku district is economically the most important Kuroko containing province in Japan. There are two cycles of the bimodal volcanic sequence in the Hokuroku district. The pre‐ore volcanism started with basaltic activity and was followed by intensive felsic hyaloclas‐tic activity under bathyal conditions. The post‐ore sequence also began with basaltic activity intercalated with mudstone and was followed by alternating beds of pumice tuff with several lava flows and mudstone. Kuroko deposits are situated in the final period of the pre‐ore felsic volcanic sequence of the first bimodal volcanic cycle. Based on a detailed investigation of existing age data, it was concluded that the felsic volcanic sequences in the pre‐and post‐Kuroko formation can be divided into a pre‐ore dacite group (16–13.5 Ma), a D2 dacite group (lower unit of the post‐ore volcanic sequence, 12.7±0.6～ ll Ma) and a Dl dacite group (upper unit of the post‐ore sequence including quartz‐porphyry and granitoid, 11sim;10 Ma) in ascending order. Field and microscopic observations show that the pre‐ore dacite is characterized by aphyric to plagioclase‐phyric lava and the post‐ore dacitic rocks are characterized by quartz‐plagioclase‐phyric aphanitic lava and dome. These three dacite groups are petrochemically discriminated by SiO₂‐Al₂O₃ and CaO‐TiO₂ diagrams, excluding altered specimens. The distribution of the normative compositions on the Q‐An‐Ab‐Or diagram suggests that the pre‐ore dacites trend on the 5 kb cotectic line (equilibrated to 10—15 km deep) and those of the post‐ore trend along the 1 kb line (a few km deep). The secular variation of the major elements indicates that the rhyolitic members genetically related to the Kuroko formation could be the most differentiated products in the pre‐ore felsic volcanism. The distribution of Nb against SiO₂ content in the pre‐ and post‐ore bimodal volcanic cycles indicates that these two volcanisms could have been generated by different magmatic origins. The difference would have been caused by the tectonic conversion from a back‐arc to an island‐arc setting.     

Summer Water Balance Characteristics of Koryto Glacier, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia

The daily water balance for the drainage basin of Koryto Glacier, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, was calculated during the period from August to September 2000. The result shows that 14×10⁶ m³ of meltwater and 2×10⁶ m³ of rainwater entered the basin, while 26×10⁶ m³ of water drained from the basin through proglacial streams. Thus, about ?9×10⁶ m³ of water storage reduction occurred in the basin. Vertical displacements of the glacier surface showed that the volume change due to contraction of subglacial cavities was nearly 20% of the total storage change. The remaining fraction of water storage during the period is thought to be stored in englacial and supraglacial locations. The estimate of water balance components in the early ablation season in 2000 indicates that meltwater was already stored within the glacier before the spring, even during the previous year, and that the stored water drained through the ablation season.     

A trial prediction of the values of some surface-layer turbulence constants using Schumann's method for promoting realizability

Based on a suggestion by Yamada (1986), values of the unknown constants in a particular second-order closure model are determined by applying Schumann's method (Schumann, 1977), using empirical data under neutral conditions. It is found that this closure model predicts favorably the Monin-Obukhov universal functions on both the stable and the unstable sides. It is likely that Schumann's method can be used as an expedient means of determining values of unknown model constants.     

Basinwide flood control system by combining prediction and reservoir operation

Japan has traditionally performed flood prevention through the construction and use of dikes, storage reservoirs, and basins which are costly and time consuming options. Another non-structural option is to operate the flood control system appropriately with a view to reducing flood damage. In this paper, a flood control system combining the runoff prediction model in the whole river basin with the reservoir operation is discussed. Different models of the runoff process are introduced in order to compare their accuracies and the computational time for the flood forecasting system. The reservoir operational rule is formulated in terms of fuzzy inference theory. Historical data are applied in a case study for verification of the proposed theories.     

Geochemistry of dissolved rare earth elements in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean

Seawater samples were collected from four locations in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean during the MR02-K06 cruise of the R/V Mirai and analyzed for dissolved rare earth elements (REEs) using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. According to variations of REE concentrations and Yb/La ratios, the results show that the river input of the Papua New Guinea islands may affect the compositions of REEs in the Equatorial Pacific surface water. The Yb/La values and the REE concentrations in the waters deeper than 3,000 m in the western South Pacific and the Equatorial Pacific Oceans, which represent the characteristics of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW), demonstrate similar variation trend with depth. This result also indicates that the REEs which originated from the South Pacific Ocean have entered the North Pacific Ocean across the equator with AABW intrusion.