Considerations on the European Standard EN 14157 Test Methods: Abrasion Resistance of Natural Stones Used for Flooring in Buildings

In Europe, the Wide Wheel abrasion (WWA) test and the B?hme abrasion (BA) test are among the most widely used standard test methods for determining abrasion resistance of natural stones, the former being the reference test method in EN 14157 Standard. However, it is stated in the Annex-A (Informative) of EN 14157 Standard that very limited data are available to provide correlations between these two test methods. To be able to fill this gap, in this study, 25 different natural stones belonging to sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous groups were tested for their abrasion resistance as well as physico-mechanical properties. Also, for a better interpretation of abrasion resistance characteristics of the tested stone materials, relationships between abrasion resistance and physico-mechanical properties were statistically examined. A statistically significant linear correlation (R ² = 0.85; P value = 0.000) was established between the WWA test and the BA test, which could be used in practice for converting the measured abrasion resistance values from one testing method to another. It was also found that the correlation between these two test methods improved significantly (R ² = 0.93; P value = 0.001) when relatively high-porosity stone materials (porosity ≥1%) were separately evaluated. Both methods of abrasion resistance employed in the present study showed statistically significant linear correlations with uniaxial compressive strength and Brazilian tensile strength, the former proving to be a more influencing parameter on resistance to abrasion. Also, from the point view of representing actual abrasion mechanism of stone materials in practice, the necessity of simulating multi-directional foot traffic in abrasion testing methods was discussed. In this respect, the reference test method in the EN 14157 Standard was criticized for not fully meeting this requirement. It was also pointed out that the reference method could have some drawbacks when applied to coarse-grained granitic rocks having cleavable minerals such as plagioclase and orthoclase feldspars.     

东胜区污染状况分析

文章利用东胜区主要污染源排放情况以及2005年9月1日-2007年8月31日每日SO2、NO2、PM10浓度监测值和2005-2007年SO2、NO2、PM10平均值,分析了东胜区主要污染类型、污染物来源以及东胜区近3年SO2、NO2、PM10监测值日、月、季、年分布特征和变化规律;提出了消减大气污染物排放的对策。     

Titanium Isotope Analysis of Igneous Reference Materials using a Double-spike MC-ICP-MS Method

Ti separation was achieved by ion-exchange chromatography using Bio-Rad AG 1-X8 anion-exchange and DGA resins. For high-Fe/Ti and high-Mg/Ti igneous samples, a three-column procedure was required, whereas a two-column procedure was used for low-Fe/Ti and low-Mg/Ti igneous samples. The Ti isotopes were analysed by MC-ICP-MS, and instrumental mass bias was corrected using a 47Ti-49Ti double-spike technique. The 47Ti-49Ti double-spike and SRM 3162a were calibrated using SRM 979-Cr, certificated value 53Cr/52Crtrue = 0.11339. Isobaric interference was evaluated by analysing Alfa-Ti doped with Na, Mg, Ca, and Mo, and results indicate that high concentrations of Na and Mg have no significant effect on Ti isotope analyses; however, Ca and Mo interferences lead to erroneous δ49/47Ti values when Ca/Ti and Mo/Ti ratios exceed 0.01 and 0.1, respectively. Titanium isotopic compositions were determined for 12 igneous reference materials, BCR-2, BHVO-2, GBW07105, AGV-1, AGV-2, W-2, GBW07123, GBW07126, GBW07127, GBW07101, JP-1, and DTS-2b. Samples yield δ49/47Ti (‰) of ?0.035 ± 0.022, ?0.038 ± 0.031, 0.031 ± 0.022, 0.059 ± 0.038, 0.044 ± 0.037, 0.000 ± 0.015, 0.154 ± 0.044, ?0.044 ± 0.018, 0.010 ± 0.022, 0.064 ± 0.043, 0.169 ± 0.034, and ?0.047 ± 0.025 (relative to OL-Ti, ±2SD), respectively; of which isotopic compositions of DTS-2b, JP-1, GBW07101, GBW07105, GBW07123, GBW07126, and GBW07127 are reported for the first time. Standard Alfa-Ti was analysed repeatedly over a ten-month period, indicating a reproducibility of ±0.047 (2SD) for δ49/47Ti, similar to the precisions obtained for geochemical reference materials.     

Possible effect of ENSO on annual sediment discharge of debris flows in the Jiangjia Ravine based on Morlet wavelet transforms

The multi-time-scale structures of an annual sediment discharge series of debris flow in the Jiangjia Ravine and the Southern Oscillation index are analysed using the method of Morlet wavelet transformations. The possible effects of E1 Nirio episodes on the annual sediment discharge are discussed by comparing the period variations of ENSO and the discharge. The results show that the annual sediment discharge series of debris flow is related to E1 Nifio episodes. Generally, the annual sediment discharge of debris flow is less than usual during an E1 Nifio episode and debris flow is less active. On the contrary, the annual sediment discharge of debris flows is greater than usual during a La Nifia episode and debris flows are more frequent. There is a relationship between the annual sediment discharges of debris flow in the Jiangjia Ravine and the summer Southern Oscillation index, with both having quasi-periodic variations of 2 and 5-6 years.     

水汽和潜热释放对背风波影响的数值试验

利用中尺度数值模式ARPS进行了理想场的数值模拟,分析研究了水汽和潜热释放对大气层结稳定度的影响以及其在背风波的发展和演变过程中的作用,研究发现,潜热释放对大气层结分布的影响要远大于水汽对大气层结分布的直接影响,如果没有潜热的释放,水汽对背风波的发展和演变的作用非常小,而潜热释放可以使湿层结稳定度急剧下降,迅速破坏原有的层结分布,使这个区域出现非拦截的强烈的垂直运动,波动的崩溃更加迅速和明显。但需要说明的是在试验中,将数值模式里控制潜热释放的参数设为:0、1/2、2的假定情况,则在实际的大气运动过程中是不可能存在的。     

Absorption properties of urban/suburban aerosols in China

The broadband diffuse radiation method is improved to retrieve the aerosol refractive index imaginary part （AIP） and broadband （400-1000 nm mean） single scattering albedo （SSA）. In this method, four sets of SSA selection criteria are proposed for quality control. The method is used to retrieve AIP, SSA and absorptive optical thickness （AbOT） from routine hourly-exposed pyrheliometer and paranometer measurements over 11 sites （meteorological observatories） in China during 1998-2003. Apart from one suburban site （Ejin Qi）, the other urban sites are all located around big or medium cities. As shown in the retrieval results, annual mean SSA during 1998-2003 changes from 0.941 （Wuhan） to 0.849 （Lanzhou）, and AIP from 0.0054 to 0.0203. The 11-site average annual mean SSA and AIP are 0.898 and 0.0119, respectively. SSA during winter is smaller for most sites. There is an evidently positive correlation between SSA and aerosol optical thickness （AOT） for all sites. There is also a positive correlation between SSA and relative humidity for most sites, but a negative correlation for a few sites, such as Kashi and ǚrǚmqi in Northwest China.     

Climatic change and Chinese population growth dynamics over the last millennium

The climate–population relationship has long been conceived. Although the topic has been repeatedly investigated, most of the related works are Eurocentric or qualitative. Consequently, the relationship between climate and population remains ambiguous. In this study, fine-grained temperature reconstructions and historical population data sets have been employed to statistically test a hypothesized relationship between temperature change and population growth (i.e., cooling associated with below average population growth) in China over the past millennium. The important results were: (1) Long-term temperature change significantly determined the population growth dynamics of China. However, spatial variation existed, whilst population growth in Central China was shown to be responsive to both long- and short-term temperature changes; in marginal areas, population growth was only sensitive to short-term temperature fluctuations. (2) Temporally, the temperature–population relationship was obscured in some periods, which was attributable to the factors of drought and social buffers. In summary, a temperature–population relationship was mediated by geographic factors, the aridity threshold, and social factors. Given the upcoming threat posed by climate change to human societies, this study seeks to improve our knowledge and understanding of the climate–society relationship.     

UV attenuation in the cloudy atmosphere

Ultraviolet (UV) energy absorption plays a very important role in the Earth–atmosphere system. Based on observational data for Beijing, we suggest that some atmospheric constituents utilize or transfer UV energy in chemical and photochemical (C&P) reactions, in addition to those which absorb UV energy directly. These constituents are primarily volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from both vegetative and anthropogenic sources. The total UV energy loss in the cloudy atmosphere for Beijing in 1990 was 78.9 Wm⁻². This attenuation was caused by ozone (48.3 Wm⁻²), other compounds in the atmosphere (26.6 Wm⁻²) and a scattering factor (4.0 Wm⁻²). Our results for a cloudy atmosphere in the Beijing area show that the absorption due to these other compounds occurs largely through the mediation of water vapor. This fraction of energy loss has not been fully accounted for in previous models. Observations and previous models results suggest that 1) a cloudy atmosphere absorbs 25∼30 Wm⁻² more solar shortwave radiation than models predict; and 2) aerosols can significantly decrease the downward mean UV-visible radiation and the absorbed solar radiation at the surface by up to 28 and 23 Wm⁻², respectively. Thus, quantitative study of UV and visible absorption by atmospheric constituents involved in homogeneous and heterogeneous C&P reactions is important for atmospheric models.     

Estimation of Surface-Layer Scaling Parameters in the Unstable Boundary Layer: Implications for Orographic Flow Speed-Up

A method is proposed for estimating the surface-layer depth \((z_s)\) and the friction velocity \((u_*)\) as a function of stability (here quantified by the Obukhov length, L) over the complete range of unstable flow regimes. This method extends that developed previously for stable conditions by Argaín et al. (Boundary-Layer Meteorol 130:15–28, 2009), but uses a qualitatively different approach. The method is specifically used to calculate the fractional speed-up \((\varDelta S)\) in flow over a ridge, although it is suitable for more general boundary-layer applications. The behaviour of \(z_s \left( L\right) \) and \(u_*\left( L\right) \) as a function of L is indirectly assessed via calculation of \(\varDelta S\left( L\right) \) using the linear model of Hunt et al. (Q J R Meteorol Soc 29:16–26, 1988) and its comparison with the field measurements reported in Coppin et al. (Boundary-Layer Meteorol 69:173–199, 1994) and with numerical simulations carried out using a non-linear numerical model, FLEX. The behaviour of \(\varDelta S\) estimated from the linear model is clearly improved when \(u_*\) is calculated using the method proposed here, confirming the importance of accounting for the dependences of \(z_s\left( L \right) \) and \(u_*\left( L \right) \) on L to better represent processes in the unstable boundary layer.