A simple LMS‐based approach to the structural health monitoring benchmark problem

A structure's health or level of damage can be monitored by identifying changes in structural or modal parameters. However, the fundamental modal frequencies can sometimes be less sensitive to (localized) damage in large civil structures, although there are developing algorithms that seek to reduce this difficulty. This research directly identifies changes in structural stiffness due to modeling error or damage using a structural health monitoring method based on adaptive least mean square (LMS) filtering theory. The focus is on computational simplicity to enable real‐time implementation. Several adaptive LMS filtering based approaches are used to analyze the data from the IASC–ASCE Structural Health Monitoring Task Group Benchmark problem. Results are compared with those from the task group and other published results. The proposed methods are shown to be very effective, accurately identifying damage to within 1%, with convergence times of 0.4–13.0 s for the twelve different 4 and 12 degree of freedom benchmark problems. The resulting modal parameters match to within 1% those from the benchmark problem definition. Finally, the methods developed require 1.4–14.0 Mcycles of computation and therefore could easily be implemented in real time. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Residues of toxaphene decrease in estuarine fish after removal of contaminated sediments

To determine if toxaphene residues in edible fish tissue decreased after removal of contaminated sediments from an estuarine site in 1999, 51 composite samples representing six finfish species were collected in 2001 and analyzed using gas chromatography with electron capture and negative ion mass spectrometric detection. The grand mean total toxaphene residue concentration on a wet weight basis (ΣTOX_wet) was 1,400 ± 3,500 ng g⁻¹ (range: < 18 to 18,000 ng g⁻¹) and was positively correlated with extractable lipid. On a lipid basis, the mean ΣTOX_lip was 26 ± 33 μg g¹, which decreased with increasing distance from the study site. Although benthically-oriented species, such as spot (Leiostomus xanthurus) and striped mullet (Mugil cephalus), exhibited higher mean ΣTOX_wet than those of higher trophic level fish, mean ΣTOX_lip were not significantly different among species. The grand mean ΣTOX for 2001 was 3.8 (wet) and 2.6 (lipid) times less than corresponding preremedial action (1997) concentrations, suggesting that bioavailable toxaphene residues in this system have been reduced. Forage species, such as croaker (Micropogonias undulatus), mullet, and spot, preferentially accumulate toxaphene residues in this system and may serve as vectors of organochlorine contaminants in the estuarine and coastal ocean food web.     

Tidal-induced buoyancy flux and mean transverse circulation

A weakly nonlinear model is used to examine the mean transverse circulation (cross-isobath) driven by tidal-induced buoyancy flux. The mean Eulerian flows driven by both the barotropic and baroclinic tide are presented for a semi-infinite wedge. The mean flow driven by the barotropic tide is significant only near the apex where the thickness of the frictional boundary layer is comparable to the water depth. The mean flow there is characterized by a single-cell circulation with offshore flow near the bottom, and its magnitude can reach a few percentage or a significant fraction of the tidal velocity in oceanic applications. The mean flow driven by the baroclinic tide, on the other hand, is characterized by pairs of half-open (on the seaward side) counter-rotating cells, the number of which equals the vertical mode number. For a baroclinic tide propagating onshore, the mean flow near the top and bottom surfaces is always directed offshore and its magnitude can reach a large fraction of the tidal velocity. Taken together, the model thus predicts a mean offshore flow near the bottom while higher up in the water column the mean flow direction is less definite due to the contribution from different tidal components. The model results are consistent with some current measurements over the Georges Bank.     

Geology and geochemistry of Jurassic pelagic sediments, Scisti silicei Formation, southern Apennines, Italy

A better understanding of genesis and palaeoenvironmental setting of the Scisti silicei Formation (Lagonegro units, southern Italy) was achieved by means of geochemical analysis integrated with new stratigraphic information. Data show that major and trace element geochemistry of ancient clay-rich beds and banded cherts add new insights into the Mesozoic evolution of the Lagonegro basin. Sedimentary contributions to Jurassic shales sampled during this study were mainly derived from two major sources: (i) a dominant terrigenous fine-grained component, having affinity with average upper continental crust that had not undergone intense weathering and (ii) biogenic siliceous material. The latter component occurs in clay-rich layers from the “basal member” of the Scisti silicei Formation.

Composition varies up section and accounts for changes in the detrital supply due to bathymetric oscillations. The compositional variations from the basal to the overlying member are consistent with a distal source passing in time to a more “proximal” source, as indicated by sharp changes in the concentrations of detrital elements (Ti, Zr and Nb). It is likely that increased detrital input occurred through turbidity current deposition. Finally, the chemical features of the clay-rich layers from the upper cherty portion of the studied succession imply a progressive deepening of the basin.

The lack of any mafic and hydrothermal contributions in the Jurassic shales as well as the continental nature of detrital input suggests that the Lagonegro basin was located between two carbonate platforms, in accordance with the classical restoration of the African–Apulian palaeomargin. Thus, the basin acted as a preferential sink connected to the African cratonic areas through a southern entry point.     

Late Holocene local vegetation dynamics in the marsh of Gravgaz(southwest Turkey)

Late Holocene local vegetation succession is reconstructed in twodifferent sites in a small-scale open marsh ecosystem in southwest Turkey.This is done by comparison of the fossil local pollen assemblage zones in twocores with the local pollen data of 40 surface samples from the marsh. Thepollen data are supplemented with sedimentological and archaeological data. Theinsertion of the mean pollen data of the local pollen zones as passive samplesinto the canonical correspondence analysis triplot of the modern samples allowsus to detect modern analogues for the fossil pollen zones. From this numericalcomparative approach it is concluded that the marsh area was relatively dryuntil ca 2500 BP. After 2500 BP the area shifts towards a wet area dominated bySparganium and/or Typha angustifolia. A diversification of the marsh vegetationstarts at ca 2400/2300 BP. The area around one core site seems to have beensituated in an area with slowly flowing source water, whereas the other coresite is likely to have been characterised by damp conditions. The steadilyincreasing dryness of the marsh area starts after ca 680 BP. The drying upappears to be associated with recent agricultural and grazing pressure.     

A comparative analysis of three habitat suitability models for commercial yield estimation of Tapes philippinarum in a North Adriatic coastal lagoon (Sacca di Goro, Italy)

Habitat Suitability (HS) models have been extensively used by conservation planners to estimate the spatial distribution of threatened species and of species of commercial interest. In this work we compare three HS models for the estimation of commercial yield potential and the identification of suitable sites for Tapes philippinarum rearing in the Sacca di Goro lagoon (Italy) on the basis of six environmental factors. The habitat suitability index (HSI) is based on expert opinion while the habitat suitability conditional (HSC) is calibrated on observational data. The habitat suitability mixed (HSM) model is a two-part model combining expert knowledge and regression analysis: the first component of the model uses logistic regression to identify the areas in which clams are likely to be present; the second part applies the same parameter-specific suitability functions of the HSI model only in the areas previously identified as productive by the logistic component.The HS models were validated on an independent data set and estimates of potential yield of the Goro lagoon were compared. The effectiveness of the three approaches is then discussed in terms of predicted yield and identification of suitable sites for farming.     

Solar abundance determination from ultraviolet emission lines

The intensities of far ultraviolet emission lines from the solar corona are analyzed to determine relative coronal abundances for oxygen, silicon, and iron. Dielectronic recombination is included in the formulation of ionization equilibrium. Observations of solar radio emission are used to obtain abundances relative to hydrogen. The absolute coronal abundances appear to be in agreement with their respective photospheric values. General properties of the structure of the chromosphere and corona are deduced from the analysis of observed emission in the ultraviolet and radio wavelength regions.     

A new analytical model to study the influence of weld on the vertical dynamic response of prestressed pipe pile

This investigation is concerned with the mathematical analysis of a viscoelastic prestressed pipe pile embedded in multilayered soil under vertical dynamic excitation. The pile surrounding soil is governed by the plane strain model, and the soil plug is assumed to be an additional mass connected to the pipe pile shaft by applying the distributed Voigt model. Meanwhile, the prestressed pipe pile is assumed to be a vertical, viscoelastic, and hollow cylinder governed by the one‐dimensional wave equation. Then, analytical solutions of the dynamic response of the pipe pile in the frequency domain are derived by means of the Laplace transform and impedance function transfer method. Subsequently, the corresponding quasi‐analytical solution in the time domain for the case of the prestressed pipe pile undergoing a vertical semi‐sinusoidal exciting force applied at the pile top is obtained by employing the inverse Fourier transform. Utilizing these solutions, selected results for the velocity admittance curve and the reflected wave curve are presented for different heights of the soil plug to examine the influence of weld properties on the vertical dynamic response of prestressed pipe pile. The reasonableness of the theoretical model is verified by comparing the calculated results based on the presented solutions with measured results. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Role of the shale tectonics on the evolution of the Eastern Venezuelan Cenozoic thrust and fold belt

This paper presents a structural and stratigraphic analysis of the foreland-fold-belt of the Eastern Venezuelan Basin and the main conclusions about shale tectonic mechanisms in the area. The deformation of the foreland-fold-belt has been investigated analyzing the growth strata architecture preserved on the structure fold limbs. Three contractional episodes are proposed for the Eastern Venezuelan Basin: 1) Oligocene to middle Miocene, 2) late Miocene to Pliocene and 3) Pleistocene. The first episode produced contractional listric faults inside the shale and long displacement blind thrusts in the underlying Cretaceous units. The second episode produced the deformation of the Cenozoic strata into overlapping east-west-trending, convex northward anticlines that covers more than 200 kilometers in length and 40 kilometers wide, break-through normal faults product of a high sedimentary load that overcomes contraction and the formation of short-displacement blind thrusts in the underlying Cretaceous units. The last episode is related to an oblique compression and the formation of high angle extensional faults with dextral movement and NW-SE strike. The role of the shale tectonics in the evolution implies that shale deforms in two stages: 1) folding and 2) normal faulting of the crest of the anticline (Break through normal faulting). Folding controlled the sediment distribution during most of the Neogene strata, while the normal faulting of the anticlines represent basin potential for hydrocarbon. The best potential hydrocarbon plays in the basin are related to oblique-collision restricted basins and controlled by break-through normal faults and the presence of NW-SE strike faults that connect the HC source with the reservoirs. Results from this research imply that the role of sedimentation is fundamental for the overburden sand distribution and tectonic constrain of the folds.