Ground improvement using SPVD and RPE

Excessive total and differential settlement at the intersection of a surcharged prefabricated vertical drain (SPVD) and a rigid piled embankment on soft ground during the post-construction period leads to considerable time and costs being spent on repetitive remedial works in the future. This paper presents a sustainable design approach for high and long embankment filling on soft clay at the approach to the structure by introducing the intersection of an SPVD at the transition to a rigid piled embankment in order to regulate the differential settlement between the two conventional ground treatment approaches. This paper also presents a full-scale field study to validate the performance of the intersection of the SPVD at the transition to the rigid piled embankment. By introducing the intersection ground treatment, post-construction settlement and differential settlement are minimised significantly, while the post-construction total settlement at the rigid transition piled embankment (TPE) zone is reduced significantly by about 80 to 95% of the total settlement, as compared to a conventional TPE.     

Preservation of organic matter in soils of a climo-biosequence in the Main Range of Peninsular Malaysia

Limited information is available about factors of soil organic carbon(SOC) preservation in soils along a climo-biosequence. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of soil texture and mineralogy on preservation of SOC in the topsoil and subsoil along a climo-biosequence in the Main Range of Peninsular Malaysia. Soil samples from the A and B-horizons of four representative soil profiles were subjected to particle-size fractionation and mineralogical analyses including X-ray diffraction and selective dissolution. The proportion of SOC in the 250-2000 μm fraction(SOC associated with coarse sand) decreased while the proportion of SOC in the 53 μm fraction(SOC associated with clay and silt)increased with depth. This reflected the importance of the fine mineral fractions of the soil matrix for SOC storage in the subsoil. Close relationships between the content of SOC in the 53 μm fraction and the content of poorly crystalline Fe oxides [oxalate-extractable Fe(Fe_o) – pyrophosphate-extractable Fe(Fe_p)] and poorly crystalline inorganic forms of Al [oxalateextractable Al(Al_o) – pyrophosphate-extractable Al(Al_p)] in the B-horizon indicated the importance of poorly crystalline Fe oxides and poorly crystalline aluminosilicates for the preservation of SOC in the Bhorizon. The increasing trend of Fe_o-Fe_p and Al_o-Al_p over elevation suggest that the importance of poorly crystalline Fe oxides and poorly crystalline aluminosilicates for the preservation of SOC in the Bhorizon increased with increasing elevation. This study demonstrates that regardless of differences in climate and vegetation along the studied climobiosequence, preservation of SOC in the subsoil depends on clay mineralogy.     

Physico-Chemical and Shrinkage Properties of Highly Organic Soil Treated with Non-traditional Additives

The changes in the shrinkage and physicochemical properties of untreated and treated organic soil using several chemical additives were investigated. In order to evaluate the effect of each chemical solution on the peaty soil environment different experiments namely; shrinkage limit, unconfined compressive strength (UCS), pH test, and water content were undertaken. The results of the laboratory experiments are further proved and interpreted using the X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy tests. The result unveils the structure of the treated soil significantly changed depending upon the used additive type and concentrations. The rate of shrinkage largely decreased when sodium silicate additives are used. In addition, it was observed that UCS value increased up to 500% and water content reduced up to 50% in comparison with untreated samples, depend on the amount of used non-traditional additives. The SEM micrographs of the sample before and after treatment validate the results obtained and analyzed from experiments.     

A new rating system approach for risk analysis of rock slopes

In this paper, an approach is presented to analyze the stability risk of rock slopes based on a new rating system. Three factors are used to estimate the risk level of rock slopes: (1) failure probability, (2) element at risk rating, and (3) vulnerability rating. Element at risk and vulnerability ratings are both given a range from 0 to 10, and the probability of failure is varied between 0 and 1, so the risk rating ranges between 0 and 100. This risk rating can be used to determine both the quantitative and qualitative risk levels of slopes at the same time. The method is tested on the western sector of the slopes facing Songun copper plant phase III, Iran, to clarify its procedures and assess its validity. Deterministic kinematic analyses showed that the slope has a potential for circular failure. Risk assessments revealed that the risk levels of the slope in both static and pseudo-static conditions are “very low” and “high,” respectively.

     

Pedodiversity and pedogenesis in Zayandeh-rud Valley, Central Iran

A geomorphic hierarchical downscaling method was used to decompose the forms and processes forming the landscapes and their subdivisions in the main region of Zayandeh-rud Valley. The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of soil heterogeneity and to check if K-entropy would be a good measure of soil evolution. Soil diversity analyses were performed considering soil families as individuals of soil entities in each geomorphic or taxonomic category level. Pedodiversity indices were used to follow the trend of soil and landscape evolution. The relationships between K-entropy (Shannon diversity index) and pedo-richness versus increasing area were analyzed to find out the effects of soil–landscape evolution on complexity of soil patterns in different geomorphic surfaces. Entropy–age relationship was studied to check the pedogenetic pathways responsible for soil landscape evolution. The soil diversity increases as geomorphic and taxonomic hierarchy levels decrease. The diversity indices were high when the sequence of soil horizons in a homogeneous family was also investigated. An increase in K-entropy of soil and landscape during time confirms the hypothesis of soil divergence evolution, whereby differences in initial conditions or local perturbations, and dynamic instability appear to have produced more variable soils and landscapes in the study area.     

Landslide susceptibility mapping using AHP and fuzzy methods in the Gilan province,Iran

GeoJournal - Landslides are natural destructive phenomena that can cause great damage to property and life loss. One of the fundamental proceedings to reduce the possible damage is identifying...     

Pressuremeter Modulus and Limit Pressure of Clayey Soils Using <Emphasis Type="Italic">GMDH</Emphasis>-Type Neural Network and Genetic Algorithms

Pressuremeter modulus (\(E_{M}\)) and limit pressure (\(P_{L}\)) are used for the calculation of the settlement and bearing capacity of foundation respectively. As the determination of these parameters from pressuremeter test (PMT) is relatively time-consuming and expensive, various empirical correlations have been proposed to correlate the \(E_{M}\) and \(P_{L}\) to other soil parameters. For the existing equations are incapable of estimating these PMT parameters well, in present research group method of data handling type neural network is used to estimate the \(E_{M}\) and \(P_{L}\) of clayey soils. The \(E_{M}\) and \(P_{L}\) were modeled as a function of three variables including the moisture content (\(\omega\)), plasticity index and corrected SPT blow counts (\(N_{60}\)). A database containing 51 data sets have been used for training and testing of the models. The performances of proposed models are compared with those of existing empirical equations. The results demonstrate that appreciable improvement with respect to the other correlations has been achieved. At the end, sensitivity analysis of the obtained models has been performed to study the influence of input parameters on model outputs and shows that the \(N_{60}\) is the most influential parameter on the PMT parameters.     

Geology and Mineral Chemistry of Gold Mineralization in Mirge‐Naqshineh Occurrence (Saqez,NW Iran): Implications for Transportation and Precipitation of Gold

The Mirge-Naqshineh gold district is situated at northwest of Iran with a NW-trending brittleductile shear zone. It is hosted by Precambrian meta-sedimentary and meta-volcanic units traversed by mineralized quartz veins. In terms of cross-cutting relationships and sulfide content three types of quartz veins are identified in the region. Among those, parallel to bedding quartz vein(type Ⅰ) is the main host for gold mineralization. Gold is found in three different forms: 1) submicrometer-size inclusions of gold in arsenian pyrite, 2) as electrum and 3) in the crystal lattice of sulfides(pyrite, galena and chalcopyrite). Six types of pyrite(Py1-Py6) were identified in this ore reserve. Py3 coexists with arsenopyrite and contains the greatest As-Au concentrations. There is a negative correlation between the As and S contents in Py2 and Py3, implying the substitution of sulfur by arsenic. Pyrites and mineralized quartz veins were formed via metamorphic-hydrothermal fluid and reflect the gold-transportation as Au(HS)_2~- under reducing and acidic conditions. The gold precipitation mainly controlled by crystallization of arsenian pyrite during fluid/rock interactions and variation of fO_2. The volcanic host rock has played an important role in gold concentration, as Py3 in this rock contains inclusion of gold particles, but gold is within the lattice of pyrite in phyllite or other units.     

Surface irrigation performance of date palms under water scarcity in arid irrigated lands

In this paper, a study on the performance of surface irrigation of date palms in a Tunisian arid area (Douz oasis) is presented. The study is conducted in 16 plots with various sizes and soil textures over a 4-year period (2012–2015). In the first step, an assessment of total water requirements of the date palms is carried out. Then, the surface irrigation performance is analyzed using three indicators, i.e., the relative water supply (RWS) indicator, the uniformity index of water distribution (D _U ), and the water application efficiency (E _a ). Finally, the irrigation management problems are identified. The results indicate that in the arid Tunisian Saharan oases, the soil texture, plot size, and farmers’ practices (especially irrigation duration) have significant effects on surface irrigation performance. The average annual net irrigation requirements of date palms are about 2400 mm. The RWS increases from 1.8 in the smaller plots (0.5 ha) to 3.6 in the largest plots (2.5 ha), implying that the increase in the plot size requires an excessive water supply. D _U decreases from 80.7 in the 0.5 ha plots to 65.4 in the 2.5 ha plots; however, no significant difference in the E _a is observed. The results show that the soil texture has no influence on the RWS and D _U , but the E _a is significantly higher in the loamy-sand soils (46.7%) compared to the sandy soils (36.3%). Overall, RWS indicator is higher than 1 (RWS?=?2.6) implying excessive irrigation supply to the system. Although D _U is relatively uniform (>?60%), E _a is relatively low (<?50%) indicating that the current irrigation management is inefficient. These findings have a paramount importance for improving irrigation water management in the Tunisian Saharan oases.     

Predicting the expansion of an urban boundary using spatial logistic regression and hybrid raster–vector routines with remote sensing and GIS

This paper presents an urban growth boundary model (UGBM) which utilizes spatial logistic regression (SLR), remote sensing, and GIS to simulate the differentially expanding geometry of a dynamic urban boundary over decadal time periods. SLR is used as the core algorithm in a UGBM quantifying how biophysical factors influence the rate at which all edges of an urban boundary expand over time. Spatial drivers selected from a raster-based environment are used as input predictor variables to the SLR UGBM, the output response variable being the distance between time-separated urban boundary intersections along arcs extending radially from a point centered at the urban core relative to the maximum distance. Percent area match (PAM) quantity and location goodness-of-fit metrics, fit of the predicted distance versus observed distance, and the sensitivity of the SLR UGBM to the contribution of each predictor variable are used to assess the agreement between predicted and observed urban boundaries. The model is built, tested, and validated using satellite images of the city of Las Vegas, United States of America, collected in 1990, 2000, and 2010. We compare urban boundary simulation of full and reduced SLR UGBMs to a null UGBM lacking in specificity of predictor variables. Results indicate that the SLR UGBM has a better goodness of fit compared to a null UGBM using PAM quantity and location goodness-of-fit metrics. Then, we use the SLR UGBM to predict urban boundary expansion between the years 2000 and 2010 and describe how this model can be used to plan ahead for future boundary expansions given what is known about current edge conditions.