Field Test Research on Embankment Supported by Plastic Tube Cast-in-place Concrete Piles

The plastic tube cast-in-place concrete pile (TC pile) with a small diameter consists of pre-driven plastic tube filled with concrete. Based on the case of TC pile-reinforced embankment on soft ground, and according to the monitoring data of the TC pile-reinforced embankment system, the treatment effect and reinforcement characteristics for this system were analyzed. The field monitoring results indicates that the critical height of embankment is about 1.1 times the pile net spacing, and the small-spacing arranged TC piles can be applied to low embankment engineering; the load share rate can reflect the degree of soil arching more better and steadily and exceeds 70 % at the end of monitoring period; the settlements of pile cap and soil between piles mainly occurs in the embankment construction period; the different settlement between pile cap and soil approaches the maximum and then reduces gradually when the embankment height is about 2.2 times the pile net spacing. The variation of layered settlement and pore water pressure illustrates that the embankment settlement is mainly caused by the compression of soils within pile length, which is about 90 % of the total settlement; the influence depth of pore water pressure is about 1/3 pile length.     

Dust-acoustic wave modulation in the presence of q-nonextensive electrons and/or ions in dusty plasma

A study is presented of the nonlinear self-modulation of low-frequency electrostatic dust acoustic waves (DAWs) propagating in a dusty plasma, within the theoretical framework of the nonextensive statistics proposed by Tsallis. Using the reductive perturbation method (RPM), the nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) which governs the modulational instability (MI) of the DAWs is obtained. The presence of the nonextensive electron/ion distribution is shown to influence the MI of the waves. Furthermore it is observed that nonextensive distributed ions has more effect on the MI of the DAW than electrons.     

Gamma emitters in Hong Kong water

Water samples, representing seawater, river water, reservoir water, drinking water, and underground water were studied through gamma-ray spectral analysis. Only gamma emitters in the²³⁸U and²³²Th series and⁴⁰K were detected. No fission product was detected with specific activity above 0.1 Bq/kg. The present data could be the baseline for future monitoring of the radioactivity released from a nuclear plant being built at a 50-km distance from Hong Kong. The variation of detected specific activities may be due to geological differences and the effect of plants.     

Centrifuge modelling of the effects of root geometry on transpiration-induced suction and stability of vegetated slopes

Shallow landslides (i.e. 1–2-m depth) on both man-made and natural slopes are of major concern worldwide that has led to huge amount of socio-economical losses. The use of vegetation has been considered as an environmentally friendly means of stabilising slopes. Existing studies have focused on the use of plant roots with different geometries to mechanically stabilise soil slopes, but there are little data available on the contribution of transpiration-induced suction to slope stability. This study was designed to quantify both the hydrological and mechanical effects of root geometry on the stability of shallow slopes. Centrifuge tests were conducted to measure soil suction in slope models supported by newly developed artificial roots. These artificial roots exhibit three different representative geometries (i.e. tap, heart and plate) and could simulate the effects of transpiration. The measured suction was then back-analysed through a series of finite element seepage-stability analyses to determine the factor of safety (FOS). It is revealed that after a rainfall event with a return period of 1000 years, the slope supported by heart-shaped roots retained the highest suction within the root depth, and thus, this type of root provided the greatest stabilisation effects. The FOS of the slope supported by the heart-shaped roots, through both mechanical reinforcement and transpiration-induced suction, is 16 and 28 % higher than that supported by the tap- and plate-shaped roots, respectively.     

Chemical Zone of Nephrite in Alamas,Xinjiang, China

The Hetian deposit, located south of the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang, China, is one of the world's largest dolomite-related nephrite deposits. In the Alamas orebody of the deposit, nephrite occurs as veins or lenses along faults or fissures of the adjacent dolomitic marble. Chemical analyses using electronic microscope probe analysis and X-ray fluorescence spectroscope were carried out on nephrite and dolomitic marble samples collected from a cross section in Alamas to investigate zonal structure of the orebody. The nephrite in Alamas is predominately composed of tremolite with minor calcite, titanite and phlogopite, and that dolomitic marble is relatively pure with a FeO content less than 0.20 wt. %. Contents of color-inducing elements, such as Fe, Mn, and Cr, increase gradually as color changes from white through white-green and then to green, resulting in the formation of color-distinctive zones. Tremolite grain size increases as color changes from white through white-green to green. The trend may be consistent with temperature changes from dolomitic marble to granodiorite, which, in turn, suggests that both change in color from white to green and variations of grain size with increasing temperature resulting in formation of the nephrite zonal structure. Both nephrite zonal structure and minor minerals, such as calcite, titanite and phlogopite found in the contact, indicate that this dolomite-related nephrite orebody is of a metasomatic origin under assumed pressure of 100–200 MPa and temperature <550°C.     

The gravitational field of a disk

This note gives the gravitational potential of the disk {(x, y, z):x ² +y ² p ² , z=0} and the gravitational field at the point (x, y, z). Formulas for a ring can be obtained as the difference of our results for two different values ofp. Results are obtained in terms of elliptic integrals and we indicate how these functions can be computed efficiently. Formulas necessary for the computation of partial derivatives are also given.This paper presents the results of one phase of research carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under Contract NAS7-100, sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.