Isolation of resonance in acoustic backscatter from elastic targetsusing adaptive estimation schemes

It has been shown that at certain frequencies the acoustic backscatter from elastic targets exhibits certain resonance behavior which closely relates to the physical properties of the target such as dimension, thickness, and composition. The purpose of this paper is to develop an automated approach for identifying the presence of resonance in the acoustic backscatter from an unknown underwater target by isolating the resonance part from the specular contribution. An adaptive transversal filter structure is used to estimate the specular part of the backscatter and consequently the error signal would provide an estimate of the resonance part. An important aspect of this scheme lies in the fact that it does not require an underlying model for the elastic return. The adaptation rule is based upon fast recursive least squares (RLS) learning. The approach taken in this paper is general in the sense that it can be applied to targets of unknown geometry and thickness and, further, does not require any a priori information about the target and/or the environment. Test results on acoustic data are presented which indicate the effectiveness of the proposed approach     

Spatial measurements of stream baseflow,a relevant method for aquifer characterization and permeability evaluation. Application to a hard‐rock aquifer,the Oman ophiolite

The structure, functioning and hydrodynamic properties of aquifers can be determined from an analysis of the spatial variability of baseflow in the streams with which they are associated. Such analyses are based on simple low‐cost measurements. Through interpreting the hydrological profiles (Q = f(A)) it is possible to locate the aquifer(s) linked to the stream network and to determine the type of interrelated flow, i.e. whether the stream drains or feeds the aquifer. Using an analytical solution developed for situations with a positive linear relationship, i.e. where the baseflow increases linearly with increasing catchment size, it is also possible to estimate the permeability of the aquifer(s) concerned at catchment scale. Applied to the hard‐rock aquifers of the Oman ophiolite, this method shows that the ‘gabbro’ aquifer is more permeable than the ‘peridotite’ aquifer. As a consequence the streams drain the peridotites and ‘leak’ into the gabbro. The hydrological profiles within the peridotite are linear and positive, and indicate homogeneity in the hydrodynamic properties of these formations at the kilometre scale. The permeability of the peridotite is estimated at 5 · 10^?7 to 5 · 10^?8 m/s. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cygnus A

Cygnus A was the first hyper-active galaxy discovered, and it remains by far the closest of the ultra-luminous radio galaxies. As such, Cygnus A has played a fundamental role in the study of virtually all aspects of extreme activity in galaxies. We present a review of jet theory for powering the double-lobed radio emitting structures in powerful radio galaxies, followed by a review of observations of Cygnus A in the radio, optical, and X-ray relevant to testing various aspects of jet theory. Issues addressed include: jet structure from pc- to kpc-scales, jet stability, confinement, composition, and velocity, the double shock structure for the jet terminus and the origin of multiple radio hotspots, the nature of the filamentary structure in the radio lobes, and the hydrodynamic evolution of the radio lobes within a dense cluster atmosphere, including an analysis of pressure balance between the various gaseous components. Also discussed are relativistic particle acceleration and loss mechanisms in Cygnus A, as well as magnetic field strengths and geometries both within the radio source, and in the intracluster medium. We subsequently review the classification, cluster membership, and the emission components of the Cygnus A galaxy. The origin of the activity is discussed. Concentrating on the nuclear regions of the galaxy, we review the evidence for an obscured QSO, also given the constraints on the orientation of the radio source axis with respect to the sky plane. We present an overview of models of central engines in AGN and observations of Cygnus A which may be relevant to testing such models. We conclude with a brief section concerning the question of whether Cygnus A is representative of powerful high redshift radio galaxies. Received October 10, 1995     

A continuum‐discrete hydromechanical analysis of granular deposit liquefaction

A coupled continuum‐discrete hydromechanical model was employed to analyse the liquefaction of a saturated loose deposit of cohesionless particles when subjected to a dynamic base excitation. The pore fluid flow was idealized using averaged Navier–Stokes equations and the discrete element method was employed to model the solid phase particles. A well established semi‐empirical relationship was utilized to quantify the fluid–particle interactions. The conducted simulations revealed a number of salient micro‐mechanical mechanisms and response patterns associated with the deposit liquefaction. Space and time variation of porosity was a major factor which affected the coupled response of the solid and fluid phases. Pore fluid flow was within Darcy's regime. The predicted response exhibited macroscopic patterns consistent with experimental results and case histories of the liquefaction of granular soil deposits. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Smeared crack approach: back to the original track

This paper briefly reviews the formulations used over the last 40 years for the solution of problems involving tensile cracking, with both the discrete and the smeared crack approaches. The paper focuses on the smeared approach, identifying as its main drawbacks the observed mesh‐size and mesh‐bias spurious dependence when the method is applied ‘straightly’. A simple isotropic local damage constitutive model is considered, and the (exponential) softening modulus is regularized according to the material fracture energy and the element size. The continuum and discrete mechanical problems corresponding to both the weak discontinuity (smeared cracks) and the strong discontinuity (discrete cracks) approaches are analysed and the question of propagation of the strain localization band (crack) is identified as the main difficulty to be overcome in the numerical procedure. A tracking technique is used to ensure stability of the solution, attaining the necessary convergence properties of the corresponding discrete finite element formulation. Numerical examples show that the formulation derived is stable and remarkably robust. As a consequence, the results obtained do not suffer from spurious mesh‐size or mesh‐bias dependence, comparing very favourably with those obtained with other fracture and continuum mechanics approaches. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reef exploration in the East Sengkang Basin,Sulawesi, Indonesia

Reconnaissance seismic shot in 1971/72 showed a number of well defined seismic anomalies within the East Sengkang Basin which were interpreted as buried reefs. Subsequent fieldwork revealed that Upper Miocene reefs outcropped along the southern margin of the basin. A drilling programme in 1975 and 1976 proved the presence of shallow, gas-bearing, Upper Miocene reefs in the northern part of the basin. Seismic acquisition and drilling during 1981 confirmed the economic significance of these discoveries, with four separate accumulations containing about 750 × 10⁹ cubic feet of dry gas in place at an average depth of 700 m. Kampung Baru is the largest field and contains over half the total, both reservoir quality and gas deliverability are excellent. Deposition in the East Sengkang Basin probably started during the Early Miocene. A sequence of Lower Miocene mudstones and limestones unconformably overlies acoustic basement which consists of Eocene volcanics. During the tectonically active Middle Miocene, deposition was interrupted by two periods of deformation and erosion. Carbonate deposition became established in the Late Miocene with widespread development of platform limestones throughout the East Sengkang Basin. Thick pinnacle reef complexes developed in the areas where reef growth could keep pace with the relative rise in sea level. Most reef growth ceased at the end of the Miocene and subsequent renewed clastic sedimentation covered the irregular limestone surface. Late Pliocene regression culminated in the Holocene with erosion. The Walanae fault zone, part of a major regional sinistral strike-slip system, separates the East and West Sengkang Basins. Both normal and reverse faulting are inferred from seismic data and post Late Pliocene reverse faulting is seen in outcrop.     

Microstructures of co-axially folded vein segments and crenulation cleavage： Evidence for dissolution phenomena in the Chamba Thrust Sheet, western Himalayas

The metasediments in the Chamba region experienced three phases of deformation: DF1, DF2 and DF3.Folded quartz veins are co-folded with the F2 crenulation folds. Their geometric and tectonic significance is studied by microstructures and shortening adjacent to the discrete crenulation cleavage, S2. Microstructures of folded vein segments, their geometric changes and truncation to cleavage (S2) are mainly due to pressure-solution phenomena and the estimated volume loss from reconstructed vein segments range from 16 to 25.5%,which is closely related to volume decrease (26%) calculated from the polydeformed slates of North Wales areas.     

A critical state model for sands dependent on stress and density

An elastoplastic model for sands is presented in this paper, which can describe stress–strain behaviour dependent on mean effective stress level and void ratio. The main features of the proposed model are: (a) a new state parameter, which is dependent on the initial void ratio and initial mean stress, is proposed and applied to the yield function in order to predict the plastic deformation for very loose sands; and (b) another new state parameter, which is used to determine the peak strength and describe the critical state behaviour of sands during shearing, is proposed in order to predict simply negative/positive dilatancy and the hardening/softening behaviour of medium or dense sands. In addition, the proposed model can also predict the stress–strain behaviour of sands under three-dimensional stress conditions by using a transformed stress tensor instead of ordinary stress tensor. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.