A simple displacement model for response analysis of EPS geofoam seismic buffers

A simple displacement-type block model is proposed to compute the compression–load–time response of an idealized seismic buffer placed against a rigid wall and used to attenuate earthquake-induced dynamic loads. The seismic buffer is modelled as a linear elastic material and the soil wedge shear surface by a stress-dependent linear spring. The model is shown to capture the trends observed in four physical reduced-scale model shaking table tests carried out with similar boundary conditions up to a base excitation level of about 0.7g. In most cases, quantitative predictions are in reasonable agreement with physical test results. The model is simple and provides a possible framework for the development of advanced models that can accommodate more complex constitutive laws for the component materials and a wider range of problem geometry.     

A hybrid multiple criteria decision-making model for the sustainable management of aquifers

In this study, a hybrid multiple criteria decision-making (HMCDM) model was proposed for prioritizing scenarios for managing groundwater use from an aquifer. Three scenarios, including the construction of subsurface dams, the use of artificial recharge and reducing groundwater use by 5% and 10% were considered to assess the most sustainable development approach. The examined MCDM models were: simple additive weighting (SAW); and MTAHP which is a hybridization of the modified TOPSIS and the analytic hierarchy process models. The criteria proposed for determining the order preference of the scenarios included the sustainable development index (I_U) and a modified water exploitation index as well as economic, social and environmental indices. To assess the technical and economic impacts of the management scenarios, modeling of the aquifer was simulated for a 3-year period using these scenarios. The results of the assessment indicated that the scenario of water withdrawal reduction by 10% was the best scenario determined in MTAHP followed by a reduction in groundwater withdrawal by 5%, the use of artificial recharge and the construction of a subsurface dam, respectively. The difference between the results of MTAHP and SAW models was in their first and third ranks, in such a way artificial recharge scored the first rank in SAW model and the third rank in MTAHP model, also withdrawal reduction by 10% scored third rank in SAW model and first rank in MTAHP model. The results of these two models have demonstrated that the construction of a subsurface dam in Shahrekord aquifer is not an appropriate management option. According to the results of this study, MTAHP models can be applied for ranking feasible management scenarios in aquifers using the redefined sustainable development and modified groundwater exploitation indices introduced in this study.     

Potential Field,Geoelectrical and Reflection Seismic Investigations for Massive Sulphide Exploration in the Skellefte Mining District,Northern Sweden

Multi-scale geophysical studies were conducted in the central Skellefte district (CSD) in order to delineate the geometry of the upper crust (down to maximum ～ 4.5 km depth) for prospecting volcanic massive sulphide (VMS) mineralization. These geophysical investigations include potential field, resistivity/induced polarization (IP), reflection seismic and magnetotelluric (MT) data which were collected between 2009 and 2010. The interpretations were divided in two scales: (i) shallow (～ 1.5 km) and (ii) deep (～4.5 km). Physical properties of the rocks, including density, magnetic susceptibility, resistivity and chargeability, were also used to improve interpretations. The study result delineates the geometry of the upper crust in the CSD and new models were suggested based on new and joint geophysical interpretation which can benefit VMS prospecting in the area. The result also indicates that a strongly conductive zone detected by resistivity/IP data may have been missed using other geophysical data.     

Quantification of source-to-site distance uncertainty in ground motion models

Natural Hazards - Among different input data, source-to-site distance plays a major role in the results of ground motion models (GMMs). In order to determine the source-to-site distance, geometric...     

Simulating precipitation in the Northeast United States using a climate-informed K-nearest neighbour algorithm

Decadal prediction using climate models faces long-standing challenges. While global climate models may reproduce long-term shifts in climate due to external forcing, in the near term, they often fail to accurately simulate interannual climate variability, as well as seasonal variability, wet and dry spells, and persistence, which are essential for water resources management. We developed a new climate-informed K-nearest neighbour (K-NN)-based stochastic modelling approach to capture the long-term trend and variability while replicating intra-annual statistics. The climate-informed K-NN stochastic model utilizes historical data along with climate state information to provide improved simulations of weather for near-term regional projections. Daily precipitation and temperature simulations are based on analogue weather days that belong to years similar to the current year's climate state. The climate-informed K-NN stochastic model is tested using 53 weather stations in the Northeast United States with an evident monotonic trend in annual precipitation. The model is also compared to the original K-NN weather generator and ISIMIP-2b GFDL general circulation model bias-corrected output in a cross-validation mode. Results indicate that the climate-informed K-NN model provides improved simulations for dry and wet regimes, and better uncertainty bounds for annual average precipitation. The model also replicates the within-year rainfall statistics. For the 1961–1970 dry regime, the model captures annual average precipitation and the intra-annual coefficient of variation. For the 2005–2014 wet regime, the model replicates the monotonic trend and daily persistence in precipitation. These improved modelled precipitation time series can be used for accurately simulating near-term streamflow, which in turn can be used for short-term water resources planning and management.     

Development of duration‐dependent damage‐based inelastic response spectra

A simple relationship is proposed in this paper to construct damage‐based inelastic response spectra including the effect of ground motion duration that it can be used for damage control in seismic design of structures. This relation is established for three groups of ground motions with short‐duration, moderate‐duration, and long‐duration ranges. To develop the model, the duration effect is included in the cyclic ductility of structures by an energy‐based method, and then strength reduction factors are computed based on this modified ductility (named ). The strength reduction factors were calculated for 44 stiffness‐degrading oscillators having vibration periods between 0.05 and 4.0 s, four ultimate ductility capacities, and five damage levels subjected to 296 earthquake records. The results showed that ductility capacity, damage level, and ground motion duration are effective parameters in the energy dissipation of structures, which affect the spectra. The values of short‐period oscillators (e.g., low‐rise structures) under short‐duration records are generally greater than those under moderate‐duration and long‐duration records. Residual analysis has been made in terms of magnitude and distance to examine the validity of the proposed simple expression. Finally, the introduced spectra were compared with three previously published proposals. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new hybrid framework of site selection for groundwater recharge

Since incorrect site selection has sometimes led to the failure of artificial recharge projects,it is necessary to increase the effectiveness of such projects and minimize their failure by employing new techniques.Therefore,the present research used a combination of decision-making models,numerical groundwater modeling and clustering technique to determine suitable sites for implementation of an artificial recharge project.This hybrid approach was employed for the Yasouj aquifer located in southwestern Iran.In the first stage,by employing an AHP decision-making model,hydraulic conductivity,specific yield,slope,land use,depth to groundwater,and aquifer thickness were selected from 21 criteria used in previous research.The selected criteria were then entered as input into the classical k-means clustering model.Using the output,aquifer was divided into seven different regions or clusters.These clusters were then matched with the land use map,and some of the abandoned land areas were selected as the final option for implementing the artificial recharge project.Finally,the MODFLOW code in the GMS software was used to simulate the groundwater level and cluster the sites selected,with regards to increase in groundwater level.Results indicated that the most significant increases in groundwater level(43 and 27 cm) were those of Clusters 2 and 6 in the northern and western parts of the aquifer,respectively.Therefore,this approach can be used in other similar aquifers in arid and semi-arid regions to select the best sites for artificial recharge and to prevent loss of floodwaters.     

An effective procedure for seismic hazard analysis including nonlinear soil response

This paper presents probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) of Tehran, Iran, accounting the effect of nonlinear soil response. It is well-known that soil nonlinearity and its accurate prediction could play important role in seismic hazard study. For this purpose, two different approaches have been carried out for predicting the hazard curves by (1) applying site modifications to the ground motion prediction equation based on generic site classes and use of constant coefficients (2) using a close-form solution that modifies the hazard results at the rock level. Also, efficiency of the Monte Carlo method in modeling of amplification function for the six selected sites in the study area was examined. Results showed important effect of nonlinear soil response mainly for frequencies lower than 8?Hz, which should be considered properly in hazard estimation. As an interesting subject, influence of soil plasticity index (PI) on hazard estimation of clayey sites including the nonlinear soil response was evaluated.     

Predicting mechanical properties and ultimate shear strength of gypsum,limestone and sandstone rocks using Vipulanandan models

ABSTRACT

In this study, over 1000 data from the literature was used to characterize and compare the density, strengths, modulus, fracture toughness, porosity and the ultimate shear strengths of the gypsum, limestone and sandstone rocks. The compressive modulus and Mode-1 fracture toughness of the gypsum rock, limestone rock and sandstone rocks varied from 0.7 GPa to 70 GPa, and from 0.03 MPa.m^0.5 to 2.6 MPa.m^0.5  respectively. Vipulanandan correlation model was effective in relating the modulus of elasticity, fracture toughness with the relevant strengths of the rocks. A new nonlinear Vipulanandan failure criterion was developed to quantify the tensile strength, pure shear (cohesion) strength and to predict the maximum shear strength limit with applied normal stress on the gypsum, limestone and sandstone rocks. The Vipulanandan failure model predicts the maximum shear strength limit was, as the Mohr-Coulomb failure model does not have a limit on the maximum shear strength. With the Vipulanandan failure model based on the available data, the maximum shear strengths predicted for the gypsum, limestone and sandstone rocks were 64 MPa, 114 MPa and 410 MPa respectively.