Experimental and numerical analysis of container stack dynamics using a scaled model test

This paper describes an approach to simulate a seven-tier stack consisting of scaled model of a 20 ft ISO freight container and its linking connectors, denominated twist locks, subjected to dynamical load induced by its base. The physical (dimensions, mass, and moments of inertia) and structural (longitudinal, transversal and torsional stiffness) characteristics of the scaled models were decided based on two dimensionless numbers: ratios between gravity force and inertia force, and elastic force divided by inertia force, through experimental and numerical analysis. A series of experiments with controlled parameters were performed using a shaking table test to understand the effects of each variable in the container stack dynamics and present enough data to validate the numerical model. The results of this study indicate that the numerical model built is a promising tool for further study. Moreover, the model is able to predict conditions close to real situations faced by container stacks while storage on a ship's deck.     

Cohesive zone length of metagabbro at supershear rupture velocity

We investigated the shear strain field ahead of a supershear rupture. The strain array data along the sliding fault surfaces were obtained during the large-scale biaxial friction experiments at the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience. These friction experiments were done using a pair of meter-scale metagabbro rock specimens whose simulated fault area was 1.5 m?×?0.1 m. A 2.6-MPa normal stress was applied with loading velocity of 0.1 mm/s. Near-fault strain was measured by 32 two-component semiconductor strain gauges installed at an interval of 50 mm and 10 mm off the fault and recorded at an interval of 1 MHz. Many stick-slip events were observed in the experiments. We chose ten unilateral rupture events that propagated with supershear rupture velocity without preceding foreshocks. Focusing on the rupture front, stress concentration was observed and sharp stress drop occurred immediately inside the ruptured area. The temporal variation of strain array data is converted to the spatial variation of strain assuming a constant rupture velocity. We picked up the peak strain and zero-crossing strain locations to measure the cohesive zone length. By compiling the stick-slip event data, the cohesive zone length is about 50 mm although it scattered among the events. We could not see any systematic variation at the location but some dependence on the rupture velocity. The cohesive zone length decreases as the rupture velocity increases, especially larger than \( \sqrt{2} \) times the shear wave velocity. This feature is consistent with the theoretical prediction.     

Possible variation in methane flux caused by gas hydrate formation on the northeastern continental slope off Sakhalin Island, Russia

The Sakhalin Slope Gas Hydrate Project (SSGH) is an international collaborative effort by scientists from Japan, Korea, and Russia to investigate natural gas hydrates (GHs) that have accumulated on the continental slope off Sakhalin Island, Okhotsk Sea. From 2009 to 2011, field operations of the SSGH-09, -10, and -11 projects were conducted. GH-bearing and -free sediment cores were retrieved using steel hydro- and gravity corers. The concentrations of sulfate ions in sediment pore waters were measured to investigate sulfate concentration–depth profiles. Seventeen cores showed linear depth profiles of sulfate concentrations. In contrast, eight cores and two cores showed concave-up and -down profiles plausibly explained by sudden increase and decrease in methane flux from below, respectively, presumably caused by the formation of gas hydrate adjacent to the core sampling sites.     

Responses of polar mesospheric cloud brightness to stratospheric gravity waves at the South Pole and Rothera,Antarctica

We present the first observational proof that polar mesospheric cloud (PMC) brightness responds to stratospheric gravity waves (GWs) differently at different latitudes by analyzing the Fe Boltzmann lidar data collected from the South Pole and Rothera (67.5°S, 68.0°W), Antarctica. Stratospheric GW strength is characterized by the root-mean-square (RMS) relative density perturbation in the 30–45 km region and PMC brightness is represented by the total backscatter coefficient (TBC) in austral summer from November to February. The linear correlation coefficient (LCC) between GW strength and PMC brightness is found to be +0.09 with a 42% confidence level at the South Pole and ?0.49 with a 98% confidence level at Rothera. If a PMC case potentially affected by a space shuttle exhaust plume is removed from the Rothera dataset, the negative correlation coefficient and confidence level increase to ?0.61 and 99%, respectively. The Rothera negative correlation increases when shorter-period waves are included while no change is observed in the South Pole correlation. Therefore, observations show statistically that Rothera PMC brightness is negatively correlated with the stratospheric GW strength but no significant correlation exists at the South Pole. A positive correlation of +0.74 with a confidence level of 99.98% is found within a distinct subset of the South Pole data but the rest of the dataset exhibits a random distribution, possibly indicating different populations of ice particles at the South Pole. Our data show that these two locations have similar GW strength and spectrum in the 30–45 km region during summer. The different responses of PMC brightness to GW perturbations are likely caused by the latitudinal differences in background temperatures in the ice crystal growth region between the PMC altitude and the mesopause. At Rothera, where temperatures in this region are relatively warm and supersaturations are not as large, GW-induced temperature perturbations can drive subsaturation in the warm phase. Thus, GWs can destroy growing ice crystals or limit their growth, leading to negative correlation at Rothera. Because the South Pole temperatures in the mesopause region are much colder, GW-perturbed temperature may never be above the frost point and have less of an impact on crystal growth and PMC brightness. The observed phenomena and proposed mechanisms above need to be understood and verified through future modeling of GW effects on PMC microphysics and ray modeling of GW propagation over the South Pole and Rothera.     

Modeling interaction of fluid and salt in an aquifer/lagoon system

To simulate the dynamic interaction between a saline lagoon and a ground water system, a numerical model for two-dimensional, variable-density, saturated-unsaturated, and coupled flow and solute transport (saltwater intrusion by finite elements and characteristics [SIFEC]) was modified to allow the volume of water and mass of salt in the lagoon to vary with each time step. The modified SIFEC allows the stage of a lagoon to vary in accordance with a functional relation between the stage and water volume of the lagoon, and also allows the salt concentration of the lagoon to vary in accordance with the salt budget of the lagoon including chemical precipitation and dissolution of salt. The updated stage and salt concentration of the lagoon are in turn used as transient boundary conditions for the coupled flow and solute transport model. The utility of the modified model was demonstrated by applying it to the eastern Mediterranean coastal region of Turkey for assessing impacts of climate change on the subsurface environment under scenarios of sea level rise, increased evaporation, and decreased precipitation.     

Photoluminescence properties of thenardite from Ai-Ding Salt Lake,Xinjiang, China

The photoluminescence (PL) spectra, excitation spectra, and PL decay curves of natural, heat-treated, and γ-ray-irradiated thenardites from Ai-Ding Salt Lake, Xinjiang, China, were studied. The natural thenardite under 300 nm excitation showed milk-white luminescence, and the PL spectrum consisted of an extremely broad band with a peak located at approximately 509 nm, spreading over a wide range of UV and visible wavelengths. The excitation spectra, obtained by monitoring the luminescence at 530 nm, consisted of a broad band with a peak located at approximately 235 nm and a flat band spreading over a wide range of UV and visible wavelengths. The PL decay curve of natural thenardite consisted of a fast-decay component with a lifetime of less than 0.1 μs and a slow-decay component with a half-decay time of approximately 0.4 s. The heat treatment of thenardite at 900°C for 20 min reduced the luminescence efficiency to 1/100. The γ-ray irradiation of thenardite reduced the luminescence efficiency to approximately half.     

Structure and dynamics of water on muscovite mica surfaces

The structure and dynamics of water on muscovite mica (0 0 1) surfaces have been investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. X-ray reflectivity profiles highly reflecting the interfacial structure are directly calculated and compared with those of experiments. The direct comparison has validated the usefulness of MD simulations to understand the real interfacial structure of the mica−water system. We observed five distinguished peaks in the density profile of oxygen present in water, and these peaks are attributable to the water molecules directly adsorbed on mica, hydrated to the K⁺ ions on the mica surface, and ordered due to hydrogen bonds between hydrated K⁺ ions. The hydrated K⁺ ions make an inner-sphere complex and have an explicit first hydration shell with a radius of 3.6 Å and a hydration number of 2.9. The change of the viscosity of water located above 1 nm apart from the mica surface was not observed. This feature is in good agreement with a recent experimental study in which the shear measurement was conducted using a surface forces apparatus. The increase of the viscosity by a factor of ca. 2-3 relative to that of the bulk water was observed at water located within 1 nm from the isolated mica surface.     

Preliminary health risk assessment for polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans in seafood from Guangzhou and Zhoushan, China

Dietary intake is one of the important routes of human exposure to brominated flame retardants (BFRs) such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). The use of PBDEs may also result in exposure to polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PBDDs/DFs), as these compounds are impurities in technical mixtures of BFRs and can also be formed unintentionally by the same processes that generate chlorinated dioxins. This study determined the concentrations of polybrominated compounds in common seafood in Guangzhou and Zhoushan, and assessed the health risks of these chemicals via consumption of contaminated seafood. Seafood samples (fish, bivalves, shrimp, crab, and cephalopods) purchased from local markets in 2003 and 2004 were analyzed for PBDEs and PBDDs/DFs. The highest concentration of total PBDEs (46.3 ng g(-1) lipid wt.) was detected in fish from Guangzhou, in which BDEs 47 and 209 were the two predominant congeners. The total daily intakes of PBDEs, PBDDs, and PBDFs were, 946, 6.39, and 6.54 pg kg(-1) body weight (bw) in Guangzhou, and 489, 4.99, and 7.65 pg kg(-1) bw in Zhoushan, respectively. The hazard ratios for PBDDs and PBDFs were both greater than unity, indicating that these compounds may pose some health risks to the local population.     

Variation of the partial pressure of CO2 in surface water from Kuroshio to Oyashio and the relation between environmental factors and the partial pressure at 144°E off Sanriku, northwestern North Pacific in May, 1997

Partial pressure of CO₂ in surface sea water (pCO₂) was measured continuously off Sanriku in May, 1997 by a new pCO₂ measurement system. We have examined the relation of pCO₂ to physical factors such as temperature, salinity and density, chemical and biological factors such as nutrients and carbonate system and chlorophylla. In the Kuroshio region pCO₂ was not correlated to physical, chemical and biological factors in the range of 260 to 290 μatom. In transition water (Tr1) between Kuroshio and the Oyashio second branch, pCO₂ was weakly correlated to physical factors and strongly correlated to nutrients. In transition water (Tr2) between the Oyashio first and second branches, pCO₂ was highly correlated to temperature (SD: 10.9 μatom) and salinity (SD: 8.6 μatom) and also to nutrients. In transition water (Tr1+Tr2), pCO₂ was highly multivariately correlated to temperature (T), salinity (S), chlorophylla (CH) (or nitrate+nitrite (N)) as follows, pCO₂(μatom)= 10.8×T(°C)+27.7×S+2.57CH(μg/1) −769, R²= 0.86, SD = 20.9, or pCO₂(μatom)= 3.9×T(°C)+25.5×S+16.0NO₃(μM) −686, R²= 0.99, SD = 6.4. Moreover, pCO₂ was predicted by only two factors, one physical (S) and the other chemical/biological (N) as follows: pCO₂ (μatom)=32.8×S+19.4N−908, R²=0.97, SD=8.4. The pH measured at 25°C was well correlated with normalized pCO₂ at a fixed temperature. In the Oyashio region pCO₂ was decreased to 160 μatom, probably because of spring bloom, but was not correlated linearly to chlorophylla. The results obtained showed the possibility of estimating pCO₂ of the Oyashio and transition regions in May by satellite remote sensing of SST, but the problem of estimation of pCO₂ in Kuroshio water remains to be solved.     

Storm surge simulation using wind-wave-surge coupling model

Simulation of a storm surge caused by Typhoon 9918 in the Yatsushiro Sea, Kyushu, Japan was hindcasted by the synchronous coupled wind-wave-surge model composed of a Meso-scale meteorological model (MM5) for the wind and sea surface pressure, a spectral third-generation wind-wave model (Wavewatch III) for waves, and the coastal ocean model (Princeton Ocean Model). Inclusion of the whitecap wave breaking stresses (whitecap dissipation stress) in the coastal ocean model made it possible to reproduce the extreme surge height in the extremely shallow bay.