Monitoring of heat transmission from buildings into geological environment and evaluation of soil deformation consequences in foundation engineering

In engineering geology a number of factors affecting foundation conditions are taken into consideration during engineering-geological investigations. This article deals with the factor of heat sourced from a structure (brick kiln) as a restrictive factor in foundation engineering in clay soils and introduces a documentation of soil deformation observations as an impact of the heat transmission into the geological environment. It was carried out in Southern Moravia in the Czech Republic, where the dominant foundation soils are Neogeneous clays where differential settlements of a tunnel kiln structure occurred as a result of ignoring the boundary conditions of temperature changes in the soil environment. The brick kilns caused heterogeneous spatial changes in the subsoil temperatures. This consequently resulted in differential settlements due to temperature changes originating from the kilns. The differential settlements reached as much as 150 mm. The major objective of the article is to highlight the importance of the heat transmission from buildings into the geological environment as a factor which should be considered in engineering geology and its application in planning. A new procedure for reducing or elimination of ground movements sourced from underlying clayey soils depending on the heat changes was also suggested in this context.     

Volles Gewicht einer im Refraktionsmilieu gemessenen Grösse (Teil I)

Summary As regards the concept of complete weight p with which an observed quantity (e.g., the direction of theA–G net) should enter the net adjustment, according to Eq.(1), apart from the fundamental weight p ₀ ), determined by the number of repetitions, it should also contain the time parameter p_t according to Eq.(11), where c>1 is a constant, and t is the number of days of observation, and also the refraction factor p_r according to Eqs(17, 18), where q is the structural weight of the direction. The condition for being able to determine p_r with the directions is observation by means of the three-directional vertex method[2], because it is not possible to localize lateral refraction by angular methods. The theory of complete weight is in favour of observations with a high fundamental weight p ₀ which automatically yield higher values of t, and also of p_t. The introduction of the complete weight into the experimental directional net in Fig. 2 caused the mean value of the uneliminated refraction error to decrease from 0.24 to 0.12, the mean square error of the adjusted direction being 0.17. The value of the constant c was investigated and the method of determining the parameter p_r was derived also for lengths measured electro-optically. Mention is made of the effect of complete weights on the length adjustment of a net in[6].     

Poynting-Robertson effect II. Perturbation equations

The problem of the complete set of perturbation equations of celestial mechanics in application to the Poynting-Robertson effect is discussed. Differential equations and initial conditions for them are justified. Sudden beginning of operation of the Poynting-Robertson effect (e.g., sudden release of dust particle from comet) is taken into account.     

A determination of the parameters of the level surface of lunar gravity

The spectral coefficients of the selenoid have been obtained by inverting the potential series for lunar gravity. The reference value of the lunar level surface has been determined on the base of the mean radius of lunar topography. This enables to evaluate the parameters of the tri-axial reference ellipsoid best fitted to the lunar level surface.     

Study of groundwaters using the environmental tritium and hydrochemical data in the Belgrade region

A study of tritium content and some physicochemical parameters has been performed in order to investigate interconnection between surface and atmospheric waters and underground waters in Belgrade area. Samples of the precipitation at Zeleno Brdo-Belgrade meteorological station, the Danube and the Sava river water, and underground water (Ranney wells and piezometers) have been analyzed. The³H content, the content of dissolved ions, total hardness, and electrical conductivity have been measured. The tritium data show existence of two water strata in the aquifer. The upper stratum (about 16 m thick) contains older water (mean monthly³H concentration of 17 TU) and has weak interaction with the river and the precipitation. Below this stratum lies the principal water bearing stratum, strongly connected with the river with the³H concentration similar to that of surface water (mean monthly³H concentration of 50 TU) and spreading out through the entire aquifer. The contribution of the Sava river water and the two water layers at the Ranney well are calculated starting with the hydrological aquifer model, which supposes that three water components are mixed in the pumped Ranney well water. According to calculation results using the³H concentration and physicochemical characteristics as parameters, more than 70 percent of the water pumped by the Ranney well (in 1983) comes from the Sava with a time delay of less that 15 days.Properties of tritium distribution in precipitation, river waters, and underground water in the Belgrade region are established from the results of measurements of³H concentrations in the period 1976–1983.     

Lyrids 1994 observed by a forward scatter system

Radio observations of the Lyrid meteor shower obtained by a forward scatter radio system (Bologna-Lecce) in 1994 are analysed and discussed. The shower maximum appeared at solar longitude 31.0°(1950.0) and a distinct displacement between the maxima of the short-duration (< 1s) and long-duration ( 1s) echoes is observed. The shower has displayed a high activity, but no exceptional burst similar to that one observed in 1982, was recorded. It has been shown that the shower activity continues down to the smallest particle size of which existence in a meteoroid stream means their recent origin.     

Solar flare X-ray spectra

Spectra of 3 large flares on 24 Oct., 5 Nov. and 16 Nov. 1970 in the region = 1.75–1.95 Å, obtained with the help of the Intercosmos-4 satellite during solar activity maximum are given. The physical conditions at the initial and final (decaying) phases are mainly studied. The line spectra are compared with hard continuum in the region 8–80 keV and results of polarization measurements, obtained simultaneously aboard the same satellite.     

P-T stability of the lazulite-scorzalite solid-solution series

Summary The stability of members of the lazulite-scorzalite solid-solution series, (Mg,Fe)Al₂ (OH)₂(PO₄)₂, was investigated as a function of T (505 to 675 °C), P (0.1 to 0.3 GPa) and Fe/Mg ratio in hydrothermal synthesis experiments. The oxygen fugacity was controlled by means of the Ni/NiO buffer. It was found that starting from end-member lazulite the stability of the solid-solution members strongly decreases with increasing content of scorzalite component. At 0.2 GPa pure lazulite decomposes at about 660 °C whereas at the same pressure a solid-solution with 80% of lazulite component is only stable up to 590 °C under the oxygen fugacity of the Ni/NiO buffer. The members of the lazulite-scorzalite solid-solution series with limiting composition coexist with an Fe-richer member of the (Mg,Fe)Al(PO₄)O series and berlinite. The mixing behaviour of both the lazulite-scorzalite and the (Mg,Fe)Al(PO₄)O solid-solution series disregarding small amounts of Fe³⁺ is interpreted in terms of a model on the basis of a simple mixture for the lazulite-scorzalite system and of an ideal mixture for the (Mg,Fe)Al(PO₄)O series. With this model the interaction parameter which expresses the non-ideality of the lazulite-scorzalite solid-solution series amounts to . Zusammenfassung P-T Stabilit?t von Lazulith-Scorzalith Mischkristallen Die Stabilit?t der Glieder der Lazulith-Scorzalith Mischkristallreihe, (Mg, Fe)Al₂(OH)₂(PO₄)₂ wurde als Funktion der Temperatur (505 bis 675 °C), des Druckes (0.1 bis 0.3 GPa) und des Fe/Mg-Verh?ltnisses in hydrothermalen Syntheseversuchen untersucht. Die Sauerstoffugazit?t wurde mittels eines Ni/NiO-Puffer kontrolliert. Es konnte festgestellt werden, da? ausgehend vom Lazulith-Endglied die Stabilit?t der Mischkristalle mit zunehmendem Scorzalith-Gehalt stark abnimmt. Reiner Lazulith, MgAl₂(OH)₂(PO₄)₂ zerf?llt unter 0.2 GPa bei 660 °C, w?hrend ein Mischkristall mit 80 mol% Gehalt an Lazulith-Komponente nur bis 590 °C unter der Sauerstoffugazit?t des Ni/NiO-Puffers stabil ist. Hierbei koexistieren die Lazulith-Scorzalith Mischkristalle mit Grenzzusammensetzung mit eisenreicheren Mischphasen des Systems (Mg,Fe)Al(PO₄)₂O und Berlinit. Das Mischungsverhalten sowohl der Lazulith-Scorzalith- als auch der (Mg,Fe)Al(PO₄)₂O-Reihe wurde mit Hilfe eines quantitativen Modelles auf der Basis einer symmetrischen Mischung für Lazulith-Scorzalith und einer idealen Mischung für das System (Mg,Fe)Al(PO₄)₂O interpretiert. Mit Hilfe dieses Modelles wurde der Wechelwirkungsparameter , der die Nichtidealit?t der Lazulith-Scorzalith Mischreihe ausdrückt zu bestimmt. Received August 26, 1998; revised version accepted July 30, 1999