Effects of sedimentary material on the response of concrete gravity dams

The transient response of a concrete gravity dam to a selected earthquake record is determined in order to evaluate the significance of the sedimentary material accumulating on the bottom of the reservoir. The sediment is modelled as a two-phase medium (fluid-filled, poroelastic solid), and the analysis is carried out accounting for all interactions between system components (dam, water, sediment, foundation).     

The hydro geochemical characterization of ground waters in Tunisian Chott’s region.

Tunisian Chott’s region is one of the most productive artesian basins in Tunisia. It is located in the southwestern part of the country, and its groundwater resources are developed for water supply and irrigation. The chemical composition of the water is strongly influenced by the interaction with the basinal sediments and by hydrologic characteristics such as the flow pattern and time of residence. The system is composed of an upper unconfined “Plio-Quaternary” aquifer with a varying thickness of 20–200 m, an intermediate confined/unconfined “Complex Terminal” aquifer about 100 m in thickness and a deeper “Continental Intercalaire” aquifer about 150 m in thickness separated by thick clay and marl layers. The dissolution of evaporites and carbonates explains part of the contained Na⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, K⁺, SO₄²⁻ and Cl^-, but other processes, such carbonate precipitation, also contributes to the water composition. The stable isotope composition of waters establishes that the deep groundwater (depleted as compared to present corresponding local rainfall) is ancient water recharged probably during the late Pleistocene and the early Holocene periods. The relatively recent water in the Plio-Quaternary aquifer is composed of mixed waters resulting presumably from upward leakage from the deeper groundwater.     

Chemical Fractionation of Aluminium in the Sediments of El-Burullus Lagoon of Nile Delta,Egypt

A five step sequential extraction technique, following Tessier’s protocol has been applied to determine the chemical association of aluminium with major sedimentary phases (exchangeable, carbonate, manganese and iron oxides, organic and residual fraction) in four short sediment cores collected from El-Burullus lagoon of the Nile delta, Egypt. This study is a first approach of chemical fractionation of aluminium in one of the protective areas of the Mediterranean Sea of Egypt. The total metal content was also determined. The results of the fractionation study indicated that aluminium was mainly associated with the residual fraction (>95%). The organic and Fe–Mn oxide fractions were the next important phases. The exchangeable and carbonate fractions were less than 1%, limiting its potential toxicity as a pollutant. The geochemical analysis of aluminium forms reflected the lithogenic origin of this metal in the study area.     

Spectral properties of the accretion discs around rotating black holes

We study the radiation properties of an accretion disc around a rotating black hole. We solve the hydrodynamic equations and calculate the transonic solutions of accretion disc in the presence of shocks. Then we use these solutions to generate the radiation spectrum in the presence of radiative heating and cooling processes. We present the effect of spin parameter of the black hole on the emitted radiation spectrum. In addition, attention has also been paid to the variation in energy spectral index with Kerr parameter and accretion rate. We find that spectral index becomes harder as the spin parameter changes from negative (accretion disc is counter-rotating with respect to the black hole spin) to a positive value. Finally, we compute and compare the spectral characteristics due to a free-fall flow and a transonic flow. We notice significant differences in high energy contributions from these two solutions.     

Ecological Quality Status of the soft-bottom communities on the algerian coast: General patterns and diagnosis

Between 1995 and 2001, the soft-bottom communities along the 1180 km of the Algerian coast were sampled in nine gulfs and 12 harbours, providing a total of 655 samples. Eight macrozoobenthos-based biotic indices (S, N, H′, BQI, AMBI, BENTIX, BO2A and ITI) were selected to describe the general patterns of the coastal water quality status and to establish a quality diagnosis for the different zones subjected to anthropogenic pressure (e.g., harbour construction, industrial and urban pollution). Reference values were determined for each of the eight indices selected by analyzing the indices’ parameter distribution. The Ecological Quality Ratio (EQR) was estimated for each index, resulting in an EQR Mean Score and an EQR Bad Score. From these EQR, we defined an EQS for each sample. The agreement between these EQS was analysed using the Kappa method in order to propose a survey strategy for the Algerian coastal waters that would take into account the soft-bottom biological compartment. The results clearly indicate that high and good quality assessments are prevalent in the gulfs, while quality assessments in harbours vary greatly from bad to good. The effect of pollution observed in the harbours can be classified in two main groups, according to when they were constructed and their relative degree of openness to the sea, which permits better water circulation and probably dilutes the pollution.     

Formulation of reference solutions for compaction process in sedimentary basins

This paper is devoted to the development of semianalytical solutions for the deformation induced by gravitational compaction in sedimentary basins. Formulated within the framework of coupled plasticity–viscoplasticity at large strains, the modeling dedicates special emphasis to the effects of material densification associated with large irreversible porosity changes on the stiffness and hardening of the sediment material. At material level, the purely mechanical compaction taking place in the upper layers of the basin is handled in the context of finite elastoplasticity, whereas the viscoplastic component of behavior is intended to address creep-like deformation resulting from chemo-mechanical that prevails at deeper layers. Semianalytical solutions describing the evolution of mechanical state of the sedimentary basin along both the accretion and postaccretion periods are presented in the simplified oedometric setting. These solutions can be viewed as reference solutions for verification and benchmarks of basin simulators. The proposed approach may reveal suitable for parametric analyses because it requires only standard mathematics-based software for PDE system resolution. The numerical illustrations provide a quantitative comparison between the derived solutions and finite element predictions from an appropriate basin simulator, thus showing the ability of the approach to accurately capture essential features of basin deformation.     

A plane strain yield design approach to stability analysis of a column‐reinforced soil foundation under inclined loading

The ultimate bearing capacity problem of column‐reinforced foundations under inclined loading is investigated within the framework of static and kinematic approaches of yield design theory. The configuration of a native soft clayey soil reinforced by either a group of purely cohesive columns (lime‐column technique) or a group of purely frictional columns (stone‐column technique) is analyzed under plane strain conditions. First, lower bound estimates are derived for the ultimate bearing capacity by considering statically admissible piecewise linear stress distributions that comply with the local strength conditions of the constitutive materials. The problem is then handled by means of the yield design kinematic approach of limit analysis through the implementation of several failure mechanisms, allowing the formulation of upper bound estimates for the ultimate bearing capacity. A series of finite element limit load solutions obtained from numerical elastoplastic simulations suggests that the predictions derived from the kinematic approach appear to be more accurate than the estimates obtained from the static approach. Comparison with available results obtained in the context of yield design homogenization demonstrates the accuracy of the proposed direct analysis, which may therefore be viewed as complementary approach to homogenization‐based approaches when a small number of columns is involved. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.