Some additional results on vibrating, simply supported rectangular plates with free, rectangular cut-outs

The present study deals with numerical experiments performed using the doublesine Fourier expansion and the Ritz method to determine natural frequencies of vibration of simply supported rectangular plates with free rectangular holes parallel to the plate sides.The problem is of basic structural interest in naval and ocean engineering systems since holes are frequently practiced in plate-type structural elements to allow for the passage of ducts, elevators, etc…     

A low-cost fiber-optic system for monitoring the state of structural health of a mechanical cable

Methods for evaluating the structural health of mechanical cables and detecting their imminent failure could prevent the loss of valuable equipment and, more importantly, the possible loss of human life.The non-destructive test methods available are: thorough visual examination and measurement of the external diameter; X-rays; (induced) wave propagation; acoustic emission; magnetostrictive sensors; infrared detection.A new method which employs a commercial optical fiber for detecting the breakage of individual wires in a rope is proposed in the present paper.     

Natural frequencies of a vibrating repaired panel in an ocean structure

The present work arose from the need of repairing steel plates badly damaged by corrosion in a portion of the structural element of the naval vehicle. The possibility of removing the portion and replacing it by a patch of a composite material was considered. Its dynamic behavior is altered by the introduction of the patch and the prediction of its new behavior is of great interest in many situations. This condition would appear in other real-life situations like as a localized orthotropic effect caused in the panel by a welding procedure or a metallurgical process. The first four natural frequency coefficients of the composite repaired panel with different types of boundary conditions are determined by means of a variational approach. The displacement function is approximated making use of complete sets of beam functions. The eigenvalues have been computed from (225×225) secular determinants. An independent solution is obtained using the finite element method and a reasonably good agreement with the analytical solution is encountered.     

The morphology and tectonics of the Mark area from Sea Beam and Sea MARC I observations (Mid-Atlantic Ridge 23° N)

High-resolution Sea Beam bathymetry and Sea MARC I side scan sonar data have been obtained in the MARK area, a 100-km-long portion of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge rift valley south of the Kane Fracture Zone. These data reveal a surprisingly complex rift valley structure that is composed of two distinct spreading cells which overlap to create a small, zero-offset transform or discordant zone. The northern spreading cell consists of a magmatically robust, active ridge segment 40–50 km in length that extends from the eastern Kane ridge-transform intersection south to about 23°12′ N. The rift valley in this area is dominated by a large constructional volcanic ridge that creates 200–500 m of relief and is associated with high-temperature hydrothermal activity. The southern spreading cell is characterized by a NNE-trending band of small (50–200 m high), conical volcanos that are built upon relatively old, fissured and sediment-covered lavas, and which in some cases are themselves fissured and faulted. This cell appears to be in a predominantly extensional phase with only small, isolated eruptions. These two spreading cells overlap in an anomalous zone between 23°05′ N and 23°17′ N that lacks a well-developed rift valley or neovolcanic zone, and may represent a slow-spreading ridge analogue to the overlapping spreading centers found at the East Pacific Rise. Despite the complexity of the MARK area, volcanic and tectonic activity appears to be confined to the 10–17 km wide rift valley floor. Block faulting along near-vertical, small-offset normal faults, accompanied by minor amounts of back-tilting (generally less than 5°), begins within a few km of the ridge axis and is largely completed by the time the crust is transported up into the rift valley walls. Features that appear to be constructional volcanic ridges formed in the median valley are preserved largely intact in the rift mountains. Mass-wasting and gullying of scarp faces, and sedimentation which buries low-relief seafloor features, are the major geological processes occurring outside of the rift valley. The morphological and structural heterogeneity within the MARK rift valley and in the flanking rift mountains documented in this study are largely the product of two spreading cells that evolve independently to the interplay between extensional tectonism and episodic variations in magma production rates.     

A curious case of agreement between conventional thermobarometry and phase equilibria modelling in granulites: New constraints on P–T estimates in the Antarctica segment of the Musgrave–Albany–Fraser–Wilkes Orogen

The Windmill Islands region in Wilkes Land, east Antarctica, preserves granulite facies metamorphic mineral assemblages that yield seemingly comparable P–T estimates from conventional thermobarometry and mineral equilibria modelling. This is uncommon in granulite facies terranes, where conventional thermobarometry and phase equilibria modelling generally produce conflicting P–T estimates because peak mineral compositions tend to be modified by retrograde diffusion processes. In situ U–Pb monazite geochronology and calculated metamorphic phase diagrams show that the Windmill Islands experienced two phases of high thermal gradient metamorphism during the Mesoproterozoic. The first phase of metamorphism is recorded by monazite ages in two widely separated samples and occurred at c. 1,305 Ma. This event was regional in extent, involved crustally derived magmatism and reached conditions of ~3.2–5 kbar and 690–770°C corresponding to very high thermal gradients of >150°C/kbar. The elevated thermal regime is interpreted to reflect a period of extension or increased extension in a back‐arc setting that existed prior to c. 1,330 Ma. The first metamorphic event was overprinted by granulite facies metamorphism at c. 1,180 Ma that was coeval with the intrusion of charnockite. This event involved peak temperatures of ~840–850°C and pressures of ~4–5 kbar. A phase of granitic magmatism at c. 1,250–1,210 Ma, prior to the intrusion of the charnockite, is interpreted to reflect a phase of compression within an overall back‐arc setting. Existing conventional thermobarometry suggests conditions of ~4 kbar and 750°C for M₁ and 4–7 kbar and 750–900°C for M₂. The apparent similarities between the phase equilibria modelling and existing conventional thermobarometry may suggest either that the terrane cooled relatively quickly, or that the P–T ranges obtained from conventional thermobarometry are sufficiently imprecise that they cover the range of P–T conditions obtained in this study. However, without phase equilibria modelling, the veracity of existing conventional P–T estimates cannot be evaluated. The calculated phase diagrams from this study allow the direct comparison of P–T conditions in the Windmill Islands with phase equilibria models from other regions in the Musgrave–Albany–Fraser–Wilkes Orogen. This shows that the metamorphic evolution of the Wilkes Land region is very similar to that of the eastern Albany–Fraser Orogen and Musgrave Province in Australia, and further demonstrates the remarkable consistency in the timing of metamorphism and the thermal gradients along the ~5,000 km strike length of this system.     

Multiproxy record for the last 4500 years from Lake Shkodra (Albania/Montenegro)

A multi‐proxy record is presented for approximately the last 4500 cal a BP from Lake Shkodra, Albania/Montenegro. Lithological analyses, C/N ratio and δ¹³C of the organic and inorganic carbon component suggest that organic matter and bulk carbonate are predominantly authigenic. The δ¹⁸O record of bulk carbonate indicates the presence of two prominent wet periods: one at ca. 4300 cal a BP and one at ca. 2500–2000 cal a BP. The latter phase is also found in southern Spain and Central Italy, and represents a prominent event in the western and central Mediterranean. In the last 2000 years, four relatively wet intervals occurred between ca. 1800 and 1500 cal a BP (150–450 AD), 1350–1250 (600–700 AD), 1100–800 (850–1150 AD), and at ca. 90 cal a BP (1860 AD). Between ca. 4100 and 2500 cal a BP δ¹⁸O values are relatively high, with three prominent peaks indicating drier conditions at ca. 4100–4000 cal a BP, ca. 3500 and at ca. 3300 cal a BP. Four additional drier events are identified at 1850 (ca. 100 AD), 1400 (ca. 550 AD), 1150 (800 AD) and ca.750 cal a BP (1200 AD). The pollen record does not show changes in accordance with these episodes owing to the poor sensitivity of vegetation in this area, which is dominated by an orographic rainfall effect and where changes in altitudinal vegetation belts do not affect the pollen rain in the lake catchment. However, since ca. 900 cal a BP a significant decrease in the percentage arboreal pollen and in pollen concentrations suggest major deforestation produced by human activities. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The importance of incorporating diurnally fluctuating stream discharge in stream temperature energy balance models

Although stream temperature energy balance models are useful to predict temperature through time and space, a major unresolved question is whether fluctuations in stream discharge reduce model accuracy when not exactly represented. However, high‐frequency (e.g., subdaily) discharge observations are often unavailable for such simulations, and therefore, diurnal streamflow fluctuations are not typically represented in energy balance models. These fluctuations are common due to evapotranspiration, snow pack or glacial melt, tidal influences within estuaries, and regulated river flows. In this work, we show when to account for diurnally fluctuating streamflow. To investigate how diurnal streamflow fluctuations affect predicted stream temperatures, we used a deterministic stream temperature model to simulate stream temperature along a reach in the Quilcayhuanca Valley, Peru, where discharge varies diurnally due to glacial melt. Diurnally fluctuating streamflow was varied alongside groundwater contributions via a series of computational experiments to assess how uncertainty in reach hydrology may impact simulated stream temperature. Results indicated that stream temperatures were more sensitive to the rate of groundwater inflow to the reach compared with the timing and amplitude of diurnal fluctuations in streamflow. Although incorporating observed diurnal fluctuations in discharge resulted in a small improvement in model RMSE, we also assessed other diurnal discharge signals and found that high amplitude signals were more influential on modelled stream temperatures when the discharge peaked at specific times. Results also showed that regardless of the diurnal discharge signal, the estimated groundwater flux to the reach only varied from 1.7% to 11.7% of the upstream discharge. However, diurnal discharge fluctuations likely have a stronger influence over longer reaches and in streams where the daily range in discharge is larger, indicating that diurnal fluctuations in stream discharge should be considered in certain settings.     

Urban stream temperature patterns: Spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the Philadelphia region,Pennsylvania, USA

Stream temperature is a critical water quality parameter that is not fully understood, particularly in urban areas. This study explores drivers contributing to stream temperature variability within an urban system, at 21 sites within the Philadelphia region, Pennsylvania, USA. A comprehensive set of temperature metrics were evaluated, including temperature sensitivity, daily maximum temperatures, time >20°C, and temperature surges during storms. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were the strongest driver of downstream temperature variability along 32 km in Wissahickon Creek. WWTP effluent temperature controlled local (1–3 km downstream) temperatures year-round, but the impacts varied seasonally: during winter, local warming of 2–7°C was consistently observed, while local cooling up to 1°C occurred during summer. Summer cooling and winter warming were detected up to 12 km downstream of a WWTP. Comparing effects from different WWTPs provided guidelines for mitigating their thermal impact; WWTPs that discharged into larger streams, had cooler effluent, or had lower discharge had less effect on stream temperatures. Comparing thermal regimes in four urban headwater streams, sites with more local riparian canopy had cooler maximum temperatures by up to 1.5°C, had lower temperature sensitivity, and spent less time at high temperatures, although mean temperatures were unaffected. Watershed-scale impervious area was associated with increased surge frequency and magnitude at headwater sites, but most storms did not result in a surge and most surges had a low magnitude. These results suggest that maintaining or restoring riparian canopy in urban settings will have a larger impact on stream temperatures than stormwater management that treats impervious area. Mitigation efforts may be most impactful at urban headwater sites, which are particularly vulnerable to stream temperature disruptions. It is vital that stream temperature impacts are considered when planning stormwater management or stream restoration projects, and the appropriate metrics need to be considered when assessing impacts.