INELASTIC SEISMIC RESISTANCE OF REINFORCED CONCRETE STACK-LIKE STRUCTURES

A method is presented to quantify the inelastic seismic resistance of reinforced concrete stack-like structures by non-linear earthquake analysis. The deformed configuration of stack is idealized as an assemblage of beam elements and actual stress–strain relationships of concrete and reinforcing steel are used to evaluate element matrices. Repeated non-linear analyses are performed by gradually increasing the intensity of acceleration time histories to a level where collapse of the stack is observed in primary stresses. The set of time histories thus obtained are then used to define the ultimate intensity of ground motion that the stack can sustain if inelastic deformations are permitted. A procedure is presented to quantify the difference between inelastic seismic resistance and elastic seismic resistance in terms of displacement ductility capacity factors. For seismic design using available inelastic resistance, values of curvature ductility factor demand for the cross-sections of stacks are also presented. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

(Re)surveying the uses of Geographical Information Systems in Health Authorities 1991–2001

This paper provides a comparative analysis of two separate national surveys of the uptake and use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) by Health Authorities (HAs) in England and Wales. The surveys were undertaken at two different time points (1991 and 2001), and the intervening period has been characterized by major (and continuing) health sector restructuring. The substantial number of HA mergers between 1991 and 2001 provide a methodological challenge in attempting to make comparisons. A pragmatic approach is adopted and the presentation of results has to be restricted solely to English and Welsh HA data. Our findings show that there has been a considerable increase in the use of GIS since the early 1990s, and there is some evidence of more sophisticated uses for a wider range of policy-related and application tasks. However, we conclude that there is still considerable scope for the wider uptake and use of GIS within the NHS. In addition, our findings provide a baseline with which to monitor the impacts of future organizational restructuring on the uses of GIS within the NHS. We suggest that this is important given the replacement of 95 English HAs with 28 new Strategic HAs (StHAs) from April 2002, and the repercussions of the anticipated shift in GIS responsibility to Primary Care Trusts.     

Metamorphic reactions in dry and aluminous granulites: a Perple_X <Emphasis Type="Italic">P–T</Emphasis> pseudosection analysis of the influence of effective reaction volume

In high-Mg, Al metapelites, monophase sapphirine corona occur around spinel–corundum aggregates in monomineralic cordierite layers, and bi-phase orthopyroxene–sillimanite aggregates replace locally warped sapphirine in polygonized cordierite aggregates. P–T phase topologies computed (Perple_X software) using compositions of cordierite-rich layers that host the reaction textures did not match the assemblages for the discontinuous reactions spinel + corundum + cordierite → sapphirine and sapphirine + cordierite → orthopyroxene + sillimanite. Instead, the reaction assemblages were reproduced using P–T pseudosection analysis for micro-domain reaction volumes estimated from compositions of product phases in the volume proportion they occur. The results are consistent with known phase relations deduced using Schreinmakers P–T grids. Apparently, the compositions of cordierite-rich layers that hosted the reaction textures were inadequate chemical proxies for determining P–T–X relations of phase-boundary controlled reactions influenced by compositions of the nearest-neighbor minerals in the proportion they react (effective composition), and not in the proportion they existed in the layer/bulk rock. In other words, P–T–X phase topologies and reconstructed P–T paths in dry and aluminous rocks may be best understood by thermodynamic modeling of reactions using effective reaction volume compositions rather than the bulk composition of the rock or the mineralogical layer that host the reaction textures.     

Evaluation of urban thermal environments in commercial and residential spaces in Okayama City, Japan, using the wet-bulb globe temperature index

We estimated wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) using measured meteorological data to understand the bioclimates of human living spaces during the summer season. Our research focused on commercial and residential areas of Okayama City, Japan (population ～700,000). The commercial spaces (CO) mainly consisted of multi-story office buildings, whereas the residential spaces (RE) consisted of one- or two-story residential buildings. On a fine day with southeast winds, the spatially averaged WBGT measured in the CO was higher than that in the RE. The difference was statistically significant and would have caused noticeable discomfort and a high risk of heat disorder for occupants of the CO over the long term. For instance, at 1900 Japan Standard Time (JST), the maximum difference in the WBGT between the CO and RE sites was 2.0°C (23.5°C for the CO and 21.5°C for the RE). From 1800 to 1900 JST, the wet-bulb temperature in the CO was still 1.5–2.0°C higher than that in the RE, even though both areas had the same dry-bulb temperature. This indicates that the CO retained greater amounts of water vapor for longer periods compared to the RE. The wet-bulb temperature in the CO increased rapidly at most observation points when the southeast sea breeze arrived. In contrast, in the RE, the wet-bulb temperature decreased until evening. This difference was caused by moist air transported from a river about 1 km upwind from the CO. The moist air forced an increase in the WBGT and elevated the risk of heat disorder in the CO. The spatially averaged globe temperature of the CO at 1500 JST was 6.2°C lower than that at the RE, causing the WBGT of the CO to decrease. The results suggest that the higher WBGT in the CO was caused by higher wet-bulb temperatures. On a day with southwest winds, the CO and RE showed no difference in WBGT because the river was not included in the upwind source area.     

Partitioning of Ru, Rh, Pd, Re, Ir, and Au between Cr-bearing spinel, olivine, pyroxene and silicate melts

A series of high temperature experiments was undertaken to study partitioning of several highly siderophile elements (HSE; Ru, Rh, Pd, Re, Os, Ir, Pt and Au) between Cr-rich spinel, olivine, pyroxene and silicate melt. Runs were carried out on a Hawaiian ankaramite, a synthetic eucrite basalt, and a DiAn eutectic melt, at one bar, 19 kbar, and 20 kbar, respectively, in the temperature range of 1200 to 1300°C, at oxygen fugacities between the nickel-nickel oxide (NNO) and hematite-magnetite (HM) oxygen buffers. High oxygen fugacities were used to suppress the formation of HSE-rich “nuggets” in the silicate melts. The resulting oxide and silicate crystals (<100 μm) were analyzed using both SIMS and LA-ICP-MS, with a spatial resolution of 15 to 50 μm. Rhenium, Au and Pd were all found to be incompatible in Cr-rich spinel (D_Re^sp/melt = 0.0012-0.21, D_Au^sp/melt = 0.076, D_Pd^sp/melt = 0.14), whereas Rh, Ru and Ir were all found to be highly compatible (D_Rh^sp/melt = 41-530, D_Ru^sp/melt = 76-1143, D_Ir^sp/melt = 5-22000). Rhenium, Pd, Au and Ru were all found to be incompatible in olivine (D_Re^oliv/melt = 0.017-0.073, D_Pd^oliv/melt = 0.12, D_Au^oliv/melt = 0.12, D_Ru^oliv/melt = 0.23), Re is incompatible in orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene (D_Re^opx/melt = 0.013, D_Re^cpx/melt = 0.18-0.21), and Pt is compatible in clinopyroxene (D_Pt^cpx/melt = 1.5). The results are compared to and combined with previous work on HSE partitioning among spinel-structured oxides, and applied to some natural magmatic suites to demonstrate consistency.     

Landscape planning in the Transcaucasia

We have developed the planning documents for model territories of a different dimension: the landscape program of Adzharia (Georgia), the landscape structure plan for the Lake Sevan watershed basin (Armenia), and the landscape plan for the Shirvan National Park (Azerbaijan). Variants of the solution of regional natural-ecological problems are proposed, and the measures for implementation of the target concepts are substantiated.