Numerical Prediction of Induced Pressure and Lift of the Planing Surfaces

This paper discusses the numerical prediction of the induced pressure and lift of the planing surfaces in a steady motion based on the potential flow solver as well as the spray drag by use of the practical method.The numerical method for computation of the induced pressure and lift is potential-based boundary element method.Special technique is identified to present upwash geometry and to determine the spray drag.Numerical results of a planing flat plate and planing craft model 4666 are presented.It is shown that the method is robust and efficient and the results agree well with the experimental measurements with various Froude humors.     

Direct CPT and CPTu methods for determining bearing capacity of helical piles

Helical piles are structural deep foundation elements, which can be categorized as torque-driven piles without any limitations to implement in marine situations. Different methods are used to predict the axial capacity of helical piles, such as static analysis, but have some limitation for this type of piles on marine conditions. In situ testing methods as supplement of static analysis have been rarely used for helical piles. In geotechnical engineering practice, the most common in situ tests particularly applicable for coastal or offshore site investigation are cone penetration test (CPT) and piezocone penetration test (CPTu). The CPT is simple, repeatable, and prepares the continuous records of soil layers. In this paper, a data bank has been compiled by collecting the results of static pile load tests on thirty-seven helical piles in ten different sites including CPT or CPTu data. Axial capacities of thirty-seven helical piles in different sites were predicted by direct CPT methods and static analysis. Accuracy estimation of ten direct CPT methods to predict the axial capacity of helical piles was investigated in this study. Comparisons have been made among predicted values and measured capacity from the pile load tests. Results indicated that the recently developed methods such as NGI-05 (2005), ICP-05 (2005), and UWA-05 (2005) predicted axial capacity of helical piles more accurately than the other methods such as Meyerhof (1983), Schmertmann (1978), Dutch (1979), LCPC (1982), or Unicone (1997). However, more investigations are required to establish better correlation between CPT data and axial capacity of helical piles.     

Free Vibration Analysis of Symmetrically Laminated Composite Plates on Elastic Foundation and Coupled with Stationary Fluid

Free vibration analysis of symmetrically laminated composite plates resting on Pasternak elastic support and coupled with an ideal, incompressible and inviscid fluid is the objective of the present work. The fluid domain is considered to be infinite in the length direction but bounded in the depth and width directions. In order to derive the eigenvalue equation, Rayleigh-Ritz method is applied for the fluid-plate-foundation system. The efficiency of the method is proved by comparison studies with those reported in the open literature. At the end, parametric studies are carried out to examine the impact of different parameters on the natural frequencies.     

Gulmarg,Kashmir, India: Potential Site for Optical Astronomical Observations

The site characteristics of Gulmarg, Kashmir at an altitude of about 2743.2 m above sea level is based on analysis of meteorological conditions, cloud cover, temperature, wind speed, wind direction, relative humidity and atmospheric pressure, etc. Analysis and characterization of meteorological conditions suggest that Gulmarg, Kashmir is a potential site for carrying out photometric as well as spectroscopic observations of celestial objects.     

Modeling three‐dimensional hydraulic fracture propagation using virtual multidimensional internal bonds

Propagation of fractures, especially those emanating from wellbores and closed natural fractures, often involves Mode I and Mode II, and at times Mode III, posing significant challenges to its numerical simulation. When an embedded inclined fracture is subjected to compression, the fracture edge is constrained by the surrounding materials so that its true propagation pattern cannot be simulated by 2D models. In this article, a virtual multidimensional internal bond (VMIB) model is presented to simulate three‐dimensional (3D) fracture propagation. The VMIB model bridges the processes of macro fracture and micro bond rupture. The macro 3D constitutive relation in VMIB is derived from the 1D bond in the micro scale and is implemented in a 3D finite element method. To represent the contact and friction between fracture surfaces, a 3D element partition method is employed. The model is applied to simulate fracture propagation and coalescence in typical laboratory experiments and is used to analyze the propagation of an embedded fracture. Simulation results for single and multiple fractures illustrate 3D features of the tensile and compressive fracture propagation, especially the propagation of a Mode III fracture. The results match well with the experimental observation, suggesting that the presented method can capture the main features of 3D fracture propagation and coalescence. Moreover, by developing an algorithm for applying pressure on the fracture surfaces, propagation of a natural fracture is also simulated. The result illustrates an interesting and important phenomenon of Mode III fracture propagation, namely the fracture front segmentation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Neuro-fuzzy models employing wavelet analysis for suspended sediment concentration prediction in rivers

Abstract

The study of sediment load is important for its implications to the environment and water resources engineering. Four models were considered in the study of suspended sediment concentration prediction: artificial neural networks (ANNs), neuro-fuzzy model (NF), conjunction of wavelet analysis and neuro-fuzzy (WNF) model, and the conventional sediment rating curve (SRC) method. Using data from a US Geological Survey gauging station, the suspended sediment concentration predicted by the WNF model was in satisfactory agreement with the measured data. Also the proposed WNF model generated reasonable predictions for the extreme values. The cumulative suspended sediment load estimated by this model was much higher than that predicted by the other models, and is close to the observed data. However, in the current modelling, the ANN, NF and SRC models underestimated sediment load. The WNF model was successful in reproducing the hysteresis phenomenon, but the SRC method was not able to model this behaviour. In general, the results showed that the NF model performed better than the ANN and SRC models.

Citation Mirbagheri, S. A., Nourani, V., Rajaee, T. & Alikhani, A. (2010) Neuro-fuzzy models employing wavelet analysis for suspended sediment concentration prediction in rivers. Hydrol. Sci. J. 55(7), 1175–1189.     

Isotopic analysis to quantify the role of the Indian monsoon on water resources of selected river basins in the Himalayas

Western disturbances (WDs) and Indian summer monsoon (ISM) led precipitation play a central role in the Himalayan water budget. Estimating their contributions to water resource is although a challenging but essential for hydrologic understanding and effective water resource management. In this study, we used stable water isotope data of precipitation and surface waters to estimate the contribution of ISM and WDs to the water resources in three mountainous river basins - Indus, Bhagirathi and Teesta river basins of western, central and Eastern Himalayas. The study reveals distinct seasonality in isotope characteristics of precipitation and surface waters in each river basin is due to changes in moisture source, hydrometeorology and relief. Despite steady spatial variance in the slope and intercept of regression lines from the Teesta to Indus and the Bhagirathi river basins, the slope and intercept are close to the global meteoric water line and reported local meteoric water line of other regions in the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. The two-component end-member mixing method using d-excess as tracer were used to estimate the contribution from ISM and WD led precipitation to surface water in aforementioned river basins. The results suggest that the influence of the ISM on the water resources is high (>72% to annual river flow) in Teesta river basin (eastern Himalayas), while as the WDs led precipitation is dominantly contributing (>70% average annual river flow) to the surface waters in the Indus river basin (western Himalayas). The contribution of ISM and WD led precipitation in Bhagirathi river basin is 60% and 40%, respectively. The findings demonstrate that the unusual changes in the ISM and WD moisture dynamics have the potential to affect the economy and food security of the region, which is dependent on the availability of water resources. The obtained results are of assistance to policy makers/mangers to make use of the information for better understanding hydrologic response amid unusual behaviour of the dual monsoon system over the region.     

Dynamic vertical compliance of strip foundations in layered soils

In this paper, results of a detailed investigation on the dynamic response of rigid strip foundations in viscoelastic soils under vertical excitation are presented. An advanced boundary element algorithm developed by incorporating isoparametric quadratic elements and a sophisticated self-adapting numerical integration scheme has been used for this investigation. Foundations supported on three types of soil profiles, namely, homogeneous half-space, stratum-over-half-space and stratum-over-bedrock are considered. The influence of material properties like Poisson's ratio and material damping as well as the influence of geometrical properties such as depth of embedment and layer thickness are studied. The effect of the type of contact at the soil-foundation interface is also investigated.     

Stiffness identification of a tall building during construction period using ambient tests

Ambient response measurements were made on an eighteen-storey building at three different stages of construction to detect any changes in the frequencies, mode shapes and stiffness with construction. The first nine frequencies and corresponding mode shapes for each stage of construction are found. A comparison is made among these mode shapes and frequencies and with the mode shapes and frequencies of an analytical model incorporating beams, columns, shear walls, panels and diagonal elements. The added effects, on frequencies and mode shapes, of non-structural elements such as stairs, elevators, claddings and partition walls are studied. Using Improved Statistical Structural Identification, an attempt is made to study the stiffening effect of non-structural elements by updating the stiffness matrix of the building.