甘东南农村民居抗震性能现状调查与分析

为了解甘东南地区农村民居抗震性能现状,分析农村民居抗震薄弱环节,从而科学、合理地提高农村民居的抗震能力.结合当地调研资料数据,对甘东南地区农村民居进行现场调查,获取民居各类属性数据,划分甘东南民居主要结构类型及其分布特征与所占比例,针对不同类型的民居结构,对其进行抗震性能评价,分析其抗震薄弱环节及潜在危害.研究区现存五种典型房屋结构类型:土木结构、砖木结构、砖混结构、木架结构和窑洞,以前三种结构类型为主,其中有抗震构造措施的新建砖混结构和砖木结构抗震性能最佳,木架结构、老旧砖混结构和砖木结构次之,土木结构和窑洞抗震性能最差.研究结果对提高甘东南地区农村民居的抗震设防水平具有科学参考价值,也可为其他地区农村民居抗震性能的提升提供参考依据.     

Open cluster membership probability based on K-means clustering algorithm

In the field of galaxies images, the relative coordinate positions of each star with respect to all the other stars are adapted. Therefore the membership of star cluster will be adapted by two basic criterions, one for geometric membership and other for physical (photometric) membership. So in this paper, we presented a new method for the determination of open cluster membership based on K-means clustering algorithm. This algorithm allows us to efficiently discriminate the cluster membership from the field stars. To validate the method we applied it on NGC 188 and NGC 2266, membership stars in these clusters have been obtained. The color-magnitude diagram of the membership stars is significantly clearer and shows a well-defined main sequence and a red giant branch in NGC 188, which allows us to better constrain the cluster members and estimate their physical parameters. The membership probabilities have been calculated and compared to those obtained by the other methods. The results show that the K-means clustering algorithm can effectively select probable member stars in space without any assumption about the spatial distribution of stars in cluster or field. The similarity of our results is in a good agreement with results derived by previous works.     

GIS-based multi-criteria land suitability analysis for sustainable agriculture in the northeast area of Tadla plain (Morocco)

Assessment of soil suitability for sustainable intensive agriculture is an appropriate tool to select the land suitable for agricultural production with the least economic and environmental costs. This study was conducted to evaluate the agricultural soil quality in the northeast area of Tadla plain (Morocco) using geographic information system (GIS) and analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Six soil quality indicators, i.e., pH, organic carbon, cation exchange capacity, texture, salinity and slope were considered and performed in 60 subsurface soil samples. AHP method was utilized to identify the weight of each indicator from the pairwise comparison matrix. The weighted sum overlay analysis was then used to generate the soil quality map in a GIS environment, by overlaying both indicator weights and sub-indicator weights. The studied area was classified into four soil quality categories, i.e., poor, medium, good, and excellent, the percentage of each category is 1.12, 20.98, 61.07 and 16.83%, respectively. The results indicated that 1.12% of the study area has poor suitability for sustainable intensive agriculture due to their unsuitable texture and low salinity, while about 77% of cultivated soils are adapted to agricultural production. The above results could be useful for the management of agricultural activity.     

Fines adsorption on nanoparticle-coated surface

Fluid flow through porous media is inherently associated with the detachment and migration of fine particles. The migration of fine particles and ensuing clogging is the main reason of flow rate decrease in porous media. Nanoparticle coating can be a promising method to prevent fines’ detachment and migration by changing electrical surface forces between the pore wall surface and the fine particles. In this study, the attraction and adhesion forces of the nanoparticle-coated surface are measured by atomic force microscope. The effect of the nanoparticle coating on the fines adsorption efficiency is then investigated. The results show that there is an increase in the adhesion force on the nanoparticle-coated surface and the significant improvement of the fines adsorption capacity by the nanoparticle coating. The research results are relevant to other research areas whenever migrating fines cause engineering problems.     

The effect of pumice as aggregate on the mechanical and thermal properties of foam concrete

Pumice is a porous rock, which is formed as a result of volcanic activity and does not include any crystal water. Its porous structure makes it lightweight and provides advantage for heat and sound isolation. Foam concrete is a type of lightweight concrete. Foam concrete is obtained by adding the foam obtained from the agent to the mixture of cement, water, and aggregate. Foam concrete is an environmentally friendly structure and insulation material which provides light, heat, and impact sound insulation that can be used in place of the building elements used in the interior-exterior walls and floors of all buildings. Because of the lack of coarse aggregate in the foam concrete mix, it has some structural problems and this limits its usage area. In this study, four different types of pumice aggregates and stone powder were used to overcome the structural problems of foam. The cement dosages (250 kg/m³), aggregate amounts (250 kg/m³), fresh concrete densities and w/c ratio (0.45) were kept constant in all foamed concrete mixtures. Then, physical, mechanical, and thermal conductivity properties of the resulting foam concretes were investigated. When the findings were evaluated, the most suitable type of lightweight aggregates for use in foam concrete have been determined in terms of compressive strength and thermal conductivity properties. In all aggregate groups, Nevsehir Pumice has the highest compressive strength while Karaman Pumice has the lowest thermal conductivity. However, when both properties were evaluated together, it was determined that the most favorable lightweight aggregate was Nevsehir Pumice.     

Effect of using multiple stream gauging stations on calibration of hydrologic parameters and estimation of hydrograph of ungauged neighboring basin

In this study, Hydrologic Engineering Center-Hydrologic Modeling System is used to simulate hydrologic processes in a watershed in Western Black Sea Region that frequently experiences flooding. The region is mountainous with steep hill slopes and receives high precipitation throughout the year. There are three stream gauging stations in the basin whose data are available for calibration and validation of hydrologic parameters. Simulations are performed for different scenarios to investigate the effect of using multiple stream gauging stations’ data on catchment wide calibration and validation of hydrologic parameters. Furthermore, performance of using calibrated internal stream gauging stations’ flow data in the estimation of hydrologic parameters in an assumed neighboring ungauged basin was assessed. It is found that using data of multiple stream gauging stations for calibration and validation gives satisfactory results for direct runoff hydrograph but the peak discharge predictions are not improved. The study results suggest that using data of internal stream gauging stations enables improved understanding of internal dynamics and transport in the basin and better predicted direct runoff hydrograph for the assumed neighboring ungauged basin.     

Leachability of radium-226 from industrial phosphogypsum waste using some simulated natural environmental solutions

This study investigated the leaching of radium-226 from phosphogypsum (PG) waste produced from the fertilizer industry by synthetic solutions that replicate water that may contact the waste in natural conditions. The results indicated that the activity concentration of Ra-226 in the PG was 461 ± 12 Bq kg^?1 and compared with other studies carried out worldwide. The leached percentage of Ra-226 represents the exchangeable fraction loosely bounded in the matrix of the PG waste. The leached fraction of Ra-226 was 6.5 ± 0.6 and 9.0 ± 0.5% when the waste was exposed to rainwater and saline solution, respectively. It is also found that the leaching fraction increased 10–12 ± 0.4% when the waste was exposed to the admixture of saline solution containing Sr²⁺ or Ba²⁺ cations, whereas it was lowered to 4–5 ± 0.5% in the presence of carbonate or sulfate anions. When the PG is used as an economic fertilizer, the irrigation water can leach 7.8 ± 0.6% of Ra-226 that could contribute to plant uptake, thereby to animal and/or human consumption. The primary tests of the drinking water (well and tap resources) consumed by the populations surround the PG facility showed that the activity concentration of Ra-226 was below the minimum detectable activity.     

Numerical heat and fluid flow modeling of the Hercynian Draa Sfar polymetallic (Zn–Pb–Cu) massive sulfide deposit,Central Jbilets,Morocco

Draa Sfar is a polymetallic (Zn–Pb–Cu) volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit with an actual resource of 13 Mt at 4.0% Zn and 1.3% Pb. It is part of the central Jbilets area known for its several Cu–Zn ore deposits. The ore is hosted in the upper Visean-Namurien sedimentary formation. Owing to the complexity of the geology of the ore deposits, numerical simulation approach was attempted to shed light into the temperature distribution, the circulation of the hydrothermal fluid and the genesis of massive sulfide ore bodies by evaluating the permeability, porosity, and thermal conductivity. On the basis of this simulation approach, the ore is predicted to be deposited at a temperature ranging between 230 and 290 °C. This temperature range is dependent on the pre-existing temperature of the discharge area where a metal-rich fluid precipitated the ore. The duration of the Draa Sfar ore body formation is predicted to be 15, 000 to 50, 000 years. Based on geological studies of Draa Sfar deposit together with the aforementioned results of the simulation approach, an ore genetic model for the massive sulfide ore bodies is proposed. In this model, the supply of ore-forming fluids is ensured by the combination of seawater and magmatic waters. Magma that generated rhyodacite dome acted as the heat source that remobilized the circulation of these ore-bearing fluids. The NW-SE trending faults acted as potential pathways for both the downward and upward migration of the ore-forming fluids. Due to their high permeability, the ignimbritic facies, host rocks of Draa Sfar ore bodies, have favored the circulation of the fluids. The mixing between the ore-forming fluids of magmatic origin and the descending seawaters and/or in situ pore waters led to the formation the ore bodies in 35,000 years. The position and size of the ore body, determined by the simulation approach, is consistent with the actual field geological data.     

From the plutonic root to the volcanic roof of a continental magmatic arc: a review of the Neoproterozoic Araçuaí orogen,southeastern Brazil

International Journal of Earth Sciences - The Araçuaí-West Congo orogen (AWCO) is one of the various components of the Brasiliano/Pan-African orogenic network generated during the...     

Mapping of slow landslides on the Palos Verdes Peninsula using the California landslide inventory and persistent scatterer interferometry

Extremely slow landslides, those with a displacement rate <16 mm/year, may be imperceptible without proper instrumentation. These landslides can cause infrastructure damage on a long-term timescale. The objective is to identify these landslides through the combination of information from the California landslide inventory (CLI) and ground displacement rates using results from persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI), an interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) stacking technique, across the Palos Verdes Peninsula in California. A total of 34 ENVISAT radar images (acquired between 2005 and 2010) and 40 COSMO-SkyMed radar images (acquired between 2012 and 2014) were processed. An InSAR landslide inventory (ILI) is created using four criteria: minimum PS count, average measured ground velocity, slope angle, and slope aspect. The ILI is divided into four categories: long-term slides (LTSs), potentially active slides (PASs), relatively stable slopes (RSSs), and unmapped extremely slow slides (UESSs). These categories are based on whether landslides were previously mapped on that slope (in the CLI), if persistent scatterers (PSs) are present, and whether PSs are unstable or stable. The final inventory includes 263 mapped landslides across the peninsula, of them 67 landslides were identified as UESS. Although UESS exhibit low velocity and are relatively small (average area of 8865 m² per slide), their presence in a highly populated area such as the Palos Verdes Peninsula could lead to destruction of infrastructure and property over the long term.