A new numerical approach to the hyperstatic reaction method for segmental tunnel linings

This paper proposes a numerical approach to the hyperstatic reaction method (HRM) for the analysis of segmental tunnel linings. The influence of segmental joints has been considered directly using a fixity ratio that is determined on the basis of the rotational stiffness. The parameters necessary for the calculation are presented. A specific implementation has been developed using a FEM framework. This code is able to consider the three‐dimensional (3D) effect of segment joints in successive rings on the tunnel lining behaviour. The present HRM allows one to take an arbitrary distribution of segment joints along the tunnel boundary into consideration. In addition, the rotational stiffness of segment joints has been simulated using nonlinear behaviour, as it is closer to the true behaviour of a joint than linear or bilinear behaviour. The numerical results of three hypotheses on ring interaction, which allow the 3D effect of a segmental tunnel lining to be taken into account, have been compared with data obtained from the shield‐driven tunnel of the Bologna–Florence high‐speed railway line project. The numerical results presented in the paper show that the proposed HRM can be used to effectively estimate the behaviour of a segmental tunnel lining. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Trends,drivers and impacts of changes in swidden cultivation in tropical forest-agriculture frontiers: A global assessment

This meta-analysis of land-cover transformations of the past 10–15 years in tropical forest-agriculture frontiers world-wide shows that swidden agriculture decreases in landscapes with access to local, national and international markets that encourage cattle production and cash cropping, including biofuels. Conservation policies and practices also accelerate changes in swidden by restricting forest clearing and encouraging commercial agriculture. However, swidden remains important in many frontier areas where farmers have unequal or insecure access to investment and market opportunities, or where multi-functionality of land uses has been preserved as a strategy to adapt to current ecological, economic and political circumstances. In some areas swidden remains important simply because intensification is not a viable choice, for example when population densities and/or food market demands are low. The transformation of swidden landscapes into more intensive land uses has generally increased household incomes, but has also led to negative effects on the social and human capital of local communities to varying degrees. From an environmental perspective, the transition from swidden to other land uses often contributes to permanent deforestation, loss of biodiversity, increased weed pressure, declines in soil fertility, and accelerated soil erosion. Our prognosis is that, despite the global trend towards land use intensification, in many areas swidden will remain part of rural landscapes as the safety component of diversified systems, particularly in response to risks and uncertainties associated with more intensive land use systems.     

Ensemble rainfall forecasting with numerical weather prediction and radar‐based nowcasting models

The overall objective of this study is to improve the forecasting accuracy of the precipitation in the Singapore region by means of both rainfall forecasting and nowcasting. Numerical Weather Predication (NWP) and radar‐based rainfall nowcasting are two important sources for quantitative precipitation forecast. In this paper, an attempt to combine rainfall prediction from a high‐resolution mesoscale weather model and a radar‐based rainfall model was performed. Two rainfall forecasting methods were selected and examined: (i) the weather research and forecasting model (WRF); and (ii) a translation model (TM). The WRF model, at a high spatial resolution, was run over the domain of interest using the Global Forecast System data as initializing fields. Some heavy rainfall events were selected from data record and used to test the forecast capability of WRF and TM. Results obtained from TM and WRF were then combined together to form an ensemble rainfall forecasting model, by assigning weights of 0.7 and 0.3 weights to TM and WRF, respectively. This paper presented results from WRF and TM, and the resulting ensemble rainfall forecasting; comparisons with station data were conducted as well. It was shown that results from WRF are very useful as advisory of anticipated heavy rainfall events, whereas those from TM, which used information of rain cells already appearing on the radar screen, were more accurate for rainfall nowcasting as expected. The ensemble rainfall forecasting compares reasonably well with the station observation data. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Environmental health impacts of mobility and transport in Hai Phong, Vietnam

Traffic is an essential part of modern society and mobility is part of its socio-economic setting. However, signs of counter productivity arise as the current mobility patterns substantially affect our health, including the consequences from traffic accidents, air pollution—which causes even more victims than traffic accidents—and traffic-noise. The use of private motorised vehicles also contributes to sedentarism, climate change and psychological effects. This paper reviews these mobility related health effects and applies them to the situation in Hai Phong, a Vietnamese port-city in fast development and facing growing mobility patterns. In his Master Plan the city developed a view on its development together with the transportation infrastructure up to 2020. Together with the fast changing mobility patterns, such as a modal change from bicycles to motorcycles and cars, this lead to an increase in motorized vehicles and non-negligible environmental health risks. Applying the methodology of a Health Impact Assessment as used in previous studies the current health burden is estimated, focussing on particulate matter (PM) and noise. For PM₁₀ 1287 deaths per year were calculated for the current situation, where the estimated number of deaths by 2020 doubled up to 2741. Hospital admissions due to PM₁₀ raised from 44,954 now to 51,467 in 2020 and for PM_2.5 the restricted-activity days were calculated, accounting for 852,352 per year. For noise only calculations for the current state (2007) were performed. The total estimated DALYs due to noise was 4758.     

Simulation of acid water movement in canals

An attempt to tackle the problem of the propagation of acid water in canals is described, and a mathematical model to simulate the acid water movement is developed, in which the jurbanite equilibrium is found to prevail. The processes of settling owing to sedimentation, precipitation and redissolution have been considered in the modelling. Data available from Tan Thanh, in the Plain of Reeds of the Mekong Delta in Viet Nam, are used as a case study.     

Biodiversity of meiofauna in the intertidal khe nhan mudflat,can gio mangrove forest,vietnam with special emphasis on free living nematodes

The ecological aspect of meiofaunal communities in Can Gio mangrove forest, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam has not been investigated before. The composition, distribution, density and biodiversity of meiofaunal communities were studied along an intertidal transect at the Khe Nhan mudflat. Each time, three replicate samples were collected in four stations along a transect following the water line from low tide level up to the mangrove forest edge. In total, 18 meiofaunal taxa were found with the dominant taxa belonging to Nematoda, Copepoda, Sarcomastigophora and Polychaeta. The densities of meiofauna ranged from 1156 inds/10 cm² to 2082 inds/10 cm². The increase in densities from the mangrove forest edge towards the low water line was significant. Along the mudflat transect, the biodiversity (expressed by different indices) was relatively high at different taxonomic levels but did not vary significantly along the mudflat except for taxa richness. Eighty nematode genera belonging to 24 families with Comesomatidae having the highest abundance 33.8 % were found.Theristus andNeochromadora decreased in densities from the lower water line towards the mangrove forest edge, whileParacomesoma andHopperia are typical and more abundant at the middle of the mudflat.Halalaimus increased from high on the mudflat to the low water line.     

Latitudinal effect on the growth dynamics of harvested stands of Typha: A modeling approach

A model was developed for Typha, to examine the effects of latitudinal changes in temperature and radiation on the partitioning of total biomass during the growing season into rhizomes, roots, flowering and vegetative shoots, and inflorescences.Regardless of initial rhizome biomass, both above and belowground biomasses converge on a equilibrium value, with the balance between total production and metabolic loss being latitude-specific. If aboveground biomass is harvested just once, then both above and belowground biomasses return to equilibrium values after several years. If the aboveground biomass is harvested annually, then both above and belowground biomasses converge on smaller equilibrium values, which are determined by the balance between the sum of production prior to harvesting and after harvesting, and the sum of annual metabolic losses and a loss due to harvesting.The model could be used in wetland management activities to predict the potential growth of Typha in given conditions as well as the responses of Typha stands to harvesting over a wide range of latitudes for times ranging from a season to several years.     

A k - *epsiv Turbulence Closure Model For The Atmospheric Boundary Layer Including Urban Canopy

A numerical model for the computation of the wind field,air temperature and humidity in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) including the urbancanopy was developed for urban climate simulation. The governing equations of the modelare derived by applying ensemble and spatial averages to the Navier–Stokes equation, continuityequation and equations for heat and water vapour transfer in the air. With the spatial averagingprocedure, effects of buildings and other urban structures in the urban canopy can be accounted for byintroducing an effective volume function, defined as the ratio between the volume of air in acomputational mesh over the total volume of the mesh. The improved k - model accounts for the anisotropyof the turbulence field under density stratification. In the improved k - model, the transportof momentum and heat in the vertical direction under density stratification is evaluated based onthe assumption of a near-equilibrium shear flow where transport effects on the stresses andheat fluxes are negligible. The heating processes at surfaces of buildings and ground are alsomodelled. The comparison of the computational results obtained with the present modeland existing observational data and numerical models shows that the present model is capableof predicting the structure of turbulence in the urban canopy layer under density stratification.Numerical experiments with the new model show that the flow behaviour of the air in the urbancanopy layer is strongly affected by the existence of buildings and density stratification.     

Correlating mass physical properties with ALOS reflectance spectra for intertidal sediments from the Ba Lat Estuary (northern Vietnam): an exploratory laboratory study

Characterization of the sediment composition of tidal flats and monitoring of their spatiotemporal changes has become an important part of the sustainable management of coastal environments. To accurately classify sediments through remote sensing, a comprehensive understanding of sediment reflectance spectra is indispensable. The present laboratory-based study explores the performance of the high spatial resolution (10?×?10 m) Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) launched in 2006. Relationships between reflectance spectra (bands 1 to 4) and four typical mass physical properties were investigated under wet and dry experimental conditions for intertidal sediments sampled near the Ba Lat Estuary in northern Vietnam. Reflectance in the near-infrared region corresponding to ALOS band 4 (0.76–0.89 μm) was found (1) to have a strong negative correlation with sand content (dry wt%) under both wet and dry conditions (linear correlation coefficient r?=?–0.7859 and –0.8094, respectively), (2) to increase with decreasing relative water content (%) in a given sediment type (r?=?–0.7748 to –0.9367 for mud, sandy mud, muddy sand, and sand), (3) to have a positive correlation with organic matter content (r?=?0.7610 and 0.6460 under wet and dry conditions for contents >0.20 dry wt%), and (4) to be insignificantly correlated with mineral composition assessed in terms of contents (wt%) of quartz, clay minerals, and mica group minerals. Positive relationships between reflectance and water content for the pooled data of all sediment types (r?=?0.6395) or organic matter content contrast with previous findings, and can be attributed to close interrelationships between these properties and the predominance of sand content as controlling factor of reflectance. This study clarifies that ALOS band 4 provides the most useful imagery for intertidal monitoring because its reflectance, as simulated using the laboratory data, shows the strongest correlation with sand content. In a next step, these experimental findings should be verified by identifying the reflectance relationships at satellite image scales, and also considering the effects of other tidal flat features on reflectance, such as microtopography and biological surface characteristics.     

Correcting the distortion of apparent resistivity pseudosection produced by 3D effect of the embankment geometry

Two-dimensional electrical resistivity tomography data acquired on the crest of the embankment are distorted by the 3D effect of the embankment geometry, reservoir water level and abutment. The distortion affects seriously the final solution of the 2D inverse problem. By comparing the apparent resistivity pseudosections from a 3D and 2D electrical resistivity model of the embankment, the distortion degrees of the apparent resistivity pseudosections along the axis on the crest were estimated for the cases of reservoir and which does not contain water. The obtained results indicate that the distortion degree acquired in the case of a reservoir that contains water was much less than that in the case of the reservoir that does not contain water. In the case of reservoir that contains water, the apparent resistivity pseudosections of the P–P and ED–ED arrays had the largest distortion degree and of D–D, W–S and P–D arrays had the smallest distortion degree. In the case of the reservoir that does not contain water, the apparent resistivity pseudosection of P–P array had the smallest distortion among all arrays. Through modeling investigation, a correction process to reduce the distortion of the apparent resistivity pseudosection was proposed. The correction process was tested in the embankment model, and two field works were carried out in the To Lich River in Hanoi and Khuan Cat embankment in Lang Son province, Vietnam. It is possible to bring the distortion of the apparent resistivity pseudosection down to 2.8–13.9%, depending on the type of electrode arrays and the type of reservoirs, containing or does not contain water. The distortion correction of the apparent resistivity pseudosection is strongly recommended before doing the 2D inverse interpretation.