Reliability assessment of serviceability performance of braced retaining walls using a neural network approach

In urban environments, one major concern with deep excavations in soft clay is the potentially large ground deformations in and around the excavation. Excessive movements can damage adjacent buildings and utilities. There are many uncertainties associated with the calculation of the ultimate or serviceability performance of a braced excavation system. These include the variabilities of the loadings, geotechnical soil properties, and engineering and geometrical properties of the wall. A risk‐based approach to serviceability performance failure is necessary to incorporate systematically the uncertainties associated with the various design parameters. This paper demonstrates the use of an integrated neural network–reliability method to assess the risk of serviceability failure through the calculation of the reliability index. By first performing a series of parametric studies using the finite element method and then approximating the non‐linear limit state surface (the boundary separating the safe and ‘failure’ domains) through a neural network model, the reliability index can be determined with the aid of a spreadsheet. Two illustrative examples are presented to show how the serviceability performance for braced excavation problems can be assessed using the reliability index. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Convection flow over a uniform-flux vertical surface with variable viscosity

A regular perturbation analysis is presented for natural convection flow over an uniform flux vertical surface with temperature dependent viscosity. Numerical calculations are presented forP _r=6.7 which show that the first-order correction to the local temperature difference and to the local skin-fraction are negative whereas it is positive for the local Nusselt number. The effects of variable viscosity on the temperature, velocity profiles, the local temperature difference, the local Nusselt number and the local skin fraction are discussed.     

Paleostress-tensor analysis of late deformation events in the Odenwald Crystalline Complex and comparison with other units of the Mid-German Crystalline Rise, Germany

Summary Geometric data of fault planes and fault plane lineations, together with the observed sense of shear on the slip planes, were used to calculate paleostress tensors and fields responsible for the post metamorphic peak D3 and D4 deformation events in the four Odenwald units sensu Krohe (1991). The paleostress fields were calculated using the method of Will and Powell (1991). As inferred from the paleostress analysis, the D3 strike-slip deformation west of the Otzberg fault zone was caused by a, ± N-S directed, compressional regional stress field, with shallowly plunging σ₁ axes and σ₃ directions that plunge at shallow to moderate angles to the E or W; the calculated mean orientations are: σ₁ 06 → 350, σ₂ 77 → 234 and σ₃ 12 → 085. The B?llsteiner Odenwald east of the Otzberg fault zone was not affected by this stress field. This implies that the Bergstr?sser and B?llsteiner Odenwald were spatially separated and formed independent crustal blocks during D3. The D4 faulting event is recognised in all areas investigated, even though most prominently in units III and IV, and juxtaposed the Bergstr?sser and B?llsteiner Odenwald. This faulting episode was caused by a paleostress field with a steeply westerly plunging σ₁ axis and a shallowly southsoutheasterly plunging σ₃ axis. The orientations of the principal stresses are: σ₁ 52 → 270, σ₂ 38 → 085 and σ₃ 06 → 174. With continued deformation from D3 to D4, there was a progressive change in the orientation of the stress field indicating a change from a N-S compressional to extensional stress field, accompanied by the progressive development of strike-slip faults and late normal faults. Paleostress field orientations in the Pfalz Forest, SW of the Odenwald, determined by Fl?ttmann and Oncken (1992) are very similar to those obtained for the Odenwald region and indicate a regionally consistent stress pattern in the southwestern part of the Mid-German Crystalline Rise (MGCR) during strike-slip and normal faulting deformations.

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Zusammenfassung Paleostress-Tensor Analyse sp?ter Deformationsereignisse im Odenwald-Kristallin und ein Vergleich mit anderen Einheiten der Mitteldeutschen Kristallinzone, Deutschland Für die vier Odenwald-Einheiten im Sinne von Krohe (1991) wurden Pal?ostressfelder für die Blattverschiebungs- und Abschiebungsereignisse D3 und D4 mit der Methode von Will und Powell (1991) berechnet. Die Analyse ergibt, da? das regionale Spannungsfeld, das westlich der Otzberg-Zone im Bergstr?sser Odenwald zum D3-Ereignis führte, ein ± N-S gerichtetes kompressives Stresssfeld war. Die σ₁-Achse f?llt flach nach N bzw. S ein, die σ₃-Achse mit kleinen bis moderaten Winkeln nach E bzw. W; die berechneten Orientierungen der Hauptspannungsrichtungen sind: σ₁ 08 → 350, σ₂ 77 → 234 and σ₃ 12 → 085. Der B?llsteiner Odenwald, ?stlich der Otzberg-Zone, wurde von diesem Spannungsfeld nicht erfa?t. Dies impliziert, da? Bergstr?sser und B?llsteiner Odenwald w?hrend des D3-Ereignisses voneinander getrennt waren und separate Krusteneinheiten darstellten. Auswirkungen der D4-Deformation k?nnen im gesamten Untersuchungsgebiet erkannt werden, am st?rksten jedoch in den Einheiten III und IV. Dieses Ereignis wurde von einem Pal?ostressfeld mit einer steil nach W einfallenden σ₁- und einer flach nach SSE einfallenden σ₃-Achse verursacht und führte zum Zusammenschlu? von Bergstr?sser und B?llsteiner Odenwald. Die berechneten Orientierungen der Hauptspannungsrichtungen sind: σ₁ 52 → 270, σ₂ 38 → 085 und σ₃ 06 → 174. Die Rotation der Hauptspannungsrichtungen war mit einer ?nderung von einem kompressionalen N-S gerichteten (D3) hin zu einem extensionalen (D4) Stressfeld verbunden. Die erzielten Ergebnisse sind sehr ?hnlich mit Resultaten, die Fl?ttmann und Oncken (1992) im Pf?lzer Wald ermittelten. Dies weist auf ein regional übereinstimmendes Spannungsfeld im SW-Teil der Mitteldeutschen Kristallinzone hin.

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Received July 8, 1999; revised version accepted March 28, 2000     

Atomic data relevant to line formation in strongly magnetized white dwarf stars

The discovery of magnetic field strengths in the range of 500 million Gauss in the objects Grw+70°8247 and PG1031+224 has given enormous impetus to investigations of magnetic white dwarf stars. We have determined intensities of Balmer transitions for B>10⁸ Gauss as a function of field and find strong oscillations of the transitions strengths, which are of importance to the quantitative analysis of the observed spectra and the interpretation of polarimetric measurements in these objects.Paper presented at the IAU Colloquium No. 93 on Cataclysmic Variables. Recent Multi-Frequency Observations and Theoretical Developments, held at Dr. Remeis-Sternwarte Bamberg, F.R.G., 16–19 June, 1986.     

Realisation of a celestial system based on VLBI geodynamics programs

The relative orientations of various VLBI celestial reference frames are evaluated on the basis of coordinate differences of common sources. It is shown that an accuracy better than 0.001 can be achieved. Possible regional deformations in the different catalogues are investigated; they are found to reach a few 0.001 in some restricted zones. The application of these studies to the realisation of a combined celestial reference frame consistent with the BIH Terrestrial System is outlined.     

Unstable chromospheric dark features and type-III bursts association

The temporal association between the kinematic parameters of chromospheric dark features (DF) and the production of radio type-III bursts is investigated during a period of five months. The Doppler shifts inside six different DF are measured by means of the Meudon Multichannel Subtracting Double Pass Spectrograph (MSDP) during periods of some minutes around 24 type-III bursts. The position of the radio bursts has been checked to be associated with the same active region observed by MSDP, by using the Nançay Radioheliograph. It appears that 23 out of 24 bursts take place when the DF is totally or predominantly blue-shifted. In 18 out of 21 cases, a maximum of the outward velocity is observed in the optical image closest in time to the radio burst. The following peculiarities are also shown by the analyzed DF:

1. All of them present a lengthened shape, in most cases pointing toward a sunspot: a bright region coinciding with a parasitic polarity is observed in between.
2. Horizontal velocities along the DF major axis are often observed, always in a direction opposite to the sunspots.

This association is interpreted by assuming that a shock wave, generated by the moving chromospheric material, is able to accelerate coronal electrons (according to a mechanism proposed by Leroy and Mangeney, 1984) thus producing type-III bursts.     

Cyclic distribution of energetic X-ray flares

The Blackman-Tukey power spectrum of flare generated X-ray bursts X1 observed from 1970 to 1982 by satellite instrumentation (SOLRAD/SMS/GOES) shows prominent peaks at 156, 4.8, 2.8, and 1.1 months. According to a statistical test of the significance of the deviation of these peaks from Markov red noise, the peaks at 2.8 and 1.1 months are significant at the 99% confidence level while the peak at 4.8 months reaches the 95% level. A replication by means of the maximum entropy spectral analysis (MEM) yields the same prominent peaks at the same frequencies.