Nonlinear Behaviour of an Embankment on Floating Stone Columns

This paper describes a benchmark problem for a floating stone columns supported embankment. In the 3D model, a thick soft subsoil deposit represented by Singapore marine clay was treated by floating stone columns to support a 2.0 m high embankment. The 3D numerical results were compared among different constitutive models such as the hardening soil model, soft soil model, modified Cam-clay model and Mohr-Coulomb model, highlighting the effect of non-linearity in the overall performance of the ground structure. The advanced constitutive soil models allow more realistic soil response to be investigated. From the numerical results, the Mohr-Coulomb model with elastic-perfectly plastic stress-strain response was able to give comparable total settlements but failed to demonstrate some intrinsic behaviours obtained with advanced soil models. These intrinsic behaviours include the mode of failure, displacements profile, stress transfer mechanism and rate of consolidation. This benchmark example has given us an improved understanding of the performance of floating stone columns when a more realistic soil behaviour is modelled.     

The propagation of solar cosmic-ray bursts

A model is presented in which we show analytically the three phases of anisotropy which occur during solar cosmic-ray events observed in the 7.5 MeV to 21 MeV kinetic-energy interval and reported by McCracken et al. (1971): (i) a highly anisotropic, near field-aligned, initial phase, (ii) a convective phase, and (iii) a late-time phase in which the anisotropy is approximately perpendicular to the mean interplanetary magnetic field. The model is based on the cosmic-ray particles being convectively transported out from the Sun, undergoing anisotropic diffusion along the interplanetary magnetic-field lines, and losing energy by adiabatic deceleration or by collision processes. The event is seen simply as a pulse moving outward from the Sun after a cosmic-ray burst with a negative density-gradient in front of it and a positive gradient behind. The convective phase (ii) occurs as the spatial peak moves past the observer and has a propagation speed V _d associated with it; the anisotropy vector late in the decay phase (iii) is the result of a residual balance between the radial outward convection and the inward radial component of the anisotropic diffusion. The mathematical solutions are based upon a diffusion coefficient proportional to heliocentric radius and independent of energy and are thus rather special. However they yield formulae for the propagation speed of the convective phase and the direction in space of the long-time anisotropy which are useful as a guide to the dependence of these quantities on the solar wind speed V, the diffusion coefficient and the spectral index . In this model V _d increases with V, , and ; and , the angle between the anisotropy vector at infinite time and the outward radial direction increases with /V and decreases as is increased. These predictions of the dependence of and V _d upon V, , and are open to observational verification.     

Aquifer Treatment of Sea Water to Remove Natural Organic Matter Before Desalination

An investigation of a sea water reverse osmosis desalination facility located in western Saudi Arabia has shown that aquifer treatment of the raw sea water provides a high degree of removal of natural organic matter (NOM) that causes membrane biofouling. The aquifer is a carbonate system that has a good hydraulic connection to the sea and 14 wells are used to induce sea water movement 400 to 450 m from the sea to the wells. During aquifer transport virtually all of the algae, over 90% of the bacteria, over 90% of the biopolymer fraction of NOM, and high percentages of the humic substance, building blocks, and some of the low molecular weight fractions of NOM are removed. Between 44 and over 90% of the transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) are removed with a corresponding significant reduction in concentration of the colloidal fraction of TEP. The removal rate for TEP appears to be greater in carbonate aquifers compared to siliciclastic systems. Although the production wells range in age from 4 months to 14 years, no significant difference in the degree of water treatment provided by the aquifer was found.     

Gamma emitters in Hong Kong water

Water samples, representing seawater, river water, reservoir water, drinking water, and underground water were studied through gamma-ray spectral analysis. Only gamma emitters in the²³⁸U and²³²Th series and⁴⁰K were detected. No fission product was detected with specific activity above 0.1 Bq/kg. The present data could be the baseline for future monitoring of the radioactivity released from a nuclear plant being built at a 50-km distance from Hong Kong. The variation of detected specific activities may be due to geological differences and the effect of plants.     

Centrifuge modelling of the effects of root geometry on transpiration-induced suction and stability of vegetated slopes

Shallow landslides (i.e. 1–2-m depth) on both man-made and natural slopes are of major concern worldwide that has led to huge amount of socio-economical losses. The use of vegetation has been considered as an environmentally friendly means of stabilising slopes. Existing studies have focused on the use of plant roots with different geometries to mechanically stabilise soil slopes, but there are little data available on the contribution of transpiration-induced suction to slope stability. This study was designed to quantify both the hydrological and mechanical effects of root geometry on the stability of shallow slopes. Centrifuge tests were conducted to measure soil suction in slope models supported by newly developed artificial roots. These artificial roots exhibit three different representative geometries (i.e. tap, heart and plate) and could simulate the effects of transpiration. The measured suction was then back-analysed through a series of finite element seepage-stability analyses to determine the factor of safety (FOS). It is revealed that after a rainfall event with a return period of 1000 years, the slope supported by heart-shaped roots retained the highest suction within the root depth, and thus, this type of root provided the greatest stabilisation effects. The FOS of the slope supported by the heart-shaped roots, through both mechanical reinforcement and transpiration-induced suction, is 16 and 28 % higher than that supported by the tap- and plate-shaped roots, respectively.     

A diatom model for inferring sea level change in the coastal waters of Hong Kong

Diatoms were identified and enumerated from surface sediments of 25 sites in Double Haven, Hong Kong. The relationship between diatom species distribution and 14 environmental variables was examined using Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) and Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA). Water depth was identified as the most important environmental variable influencing the distribution of diatoms in Double Haven. Subsequently a Weighted Average (WA) calibration model was developed to infer water depth. The reliability of the model was evaluated by the error of prediction (RMSE_boot= 3.479) and the correlation (r ²= 0.7342) between observed and diatom-inferred values. This predictive calibration model has the potential to infer past sea level change in Hong Kong and the adjacent coastal areas.     

Comparison of a 3‐D DEM simulation with MRI data

This paper presents a comparison of a granular material studied experimentally and numerically. Simple shear tests were performed inside the magnetic core of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment. Spherical pharmaceutical pills were used as the granular material, with each pill's centre location determined by MRI. These centre locations in the initial assembly were then used as the initial configuration in the numerical simulation using the discrete element method. The contact properties between pharmaceutical pills used in the numerical simulation were obtained experimentally. The numerical predication was compared with experimental data at both macroscopic and microscopic levels. Good agreement was found at both levels. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.