Behavior of Weak Soils Reinforced with End-Bearing Soil-Cement Columns Formed by the Deep Mixing Method

This article reports on a series of small-scale, plane strain, 1 g physical model tests designed to investigate the bearing capacity and failure mechanics of end-bearing soil-cement columns formed via Deep Mixing (DM). Pre-formed soil-cement columns, 24 mm in diameter and 200 mm in length, were installed in a soft clay bed using a replacement method; the columns represented improvement area ratios, a_p, of 17%, 26%, and 35% beneath a rigid foundation of width 100 mm. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) was implemented in conjunction with close-range photogrammetry in order to track soil displacement during loading, from which the failure mechanisms were derived. Bearing capacity performance was verified using Ultimate Limit State numerical analysis, with the results comparing favorably to the analytical static and kinematic solutions proposed by previous researchers. A new equation for bearing capacity was derived from this numerical analysis based on the improvement area ratio and cohesion ratio of the soil column and ground model.     

Morphotectonic and lithostratigraphic analysis of intermontane Karewa Basin of Kashmir Himalayas, India

Morpho-tectonic study plays an important role in deciphering the effects of tectonic activity in the geomorphic evolution of the drainage basins.Romushi watershed forms one of the major watersheds of the intermontane Karewa Basin of Kashmir Valley.The Karewa sediments are characterized by glacio-fluvio-lacustrine deposits capped by the aeolian loess.The geomorphic,morphometric and lithostratigraphic studies of these cap deposits have been carried out to elucidate the effect of tectonics on the geomorphic evolution of Romushi Watershed.Geomorphic mapping was carried out using GPS measurements,DEM at 30m resolution,Topographic Position Index(TPI) model,topographic maps,LANDSAT TM Imagery and field data.Morphometric and morphotectonic analyses in GIS environment were used to calculate various geomorphic indices(Mountain Front Sinuosity Index,Bifurcation Ratio,Asymmetry Factor,River Profile,etc).These indices reveal that the tectonic uplift observed in the region due to Himalayan orogeny coupled with mass movement and aeolian deposition have dominated the landscape evolution of intermontane Karewa Basin of Kashmir throughout the Late Quaternary Period.Additional data from lithostratigraphic measurements were analyzed to understand the geomorphic evolution of intermontane Karewa Basin.The data revealed that the basin has experienced differential uplift and erosion rates from time to time in the geological past.This was corroborated by the results from the morphometric and morphotectonic analysis.     

Characterization of spatial patterns in river water quality using chemometric pattern recognition techniques

This study employed three chemometric data mining techniques (factor analysis (FA), cluster analysis (CA), and discriminant analysis (DA)) to identify the latent structure of a water quality (WQ) dataset pertaining to Kinta River (Malaysia) and to classify eight WQ monitoring stations along the river into groups of similar WQ characteristics. FA identified the WQ parameters responsible for variations in Kinta River's WQ and accentuated the roles of weathering and surface runoff in determining the river's WQ. CA grouped the monitoring locations into a cluster of low levels of water pollution (the two uppermost monitoring stations) and another of relatively high levels of river pollution (the mid-, and down-stream stations). DA confirmed these clusters and produced a discriminant function which can predict the cluster membership of new and/or unknown samples. These chemometric techniques highlight the potential for reasonably reducing the number of WQVs and monitoring stations for long-term monitoring purposes.     

Agrobiodiversity of Muda Rice Agroecosystem:A case Study in Largest Granary Area of Malaysia

A survey was carried out at the largest rice cultivation area in Peninsular Malaysia,the Muda rice agroecosystem.The main objective of this study was to document the overall biodiversity associated with this unique agroecosystem by using a combination of sampling techniques in order to record different groups of fauna and flora.The total number of biota recorded and identified from the rice field ecosystem during the study period consisted of 46 species of zooplankton,81 species of aquatic insects,5 species of rodents,7 species of bats,87 species of birds,11 species of fishes and 58 species of weeds.A long-term study should be carried out as more species are expected to be recorded when more of the Muda rice agroecosystem area has been sampled to obtain sufficient information on the Muda rice agrobiodiversity.     

Integrated petrographic,mineralogical, and geochemical study of the upper Kaimur Group of rocks,Son Valley,India: Implications for provenance,source area weathering and tectonic setting

The upper Kaimur Group (UKG) of the Vindhyan Supergroup in central India, primarily consists of three rock types-Dhandraul sandstone, Scarp sandstone and Bijaigarh shale. The present study aims to reconstruct the parent rock assemblages, their tectonic provenance, mineralogy, weathering intensity, hydraulic sorting and depositional tectonic setting. Samples from the UKG rocks representing the Dhandraul sandstone, Scarp sandstone and Bijaigarh shale were studied using a combination of petrographic, mineralogical, and geochemical techniques. Texturally, medium to coarse grained UKG sandstones are mature and moderate to well sorted. Deficiency of feldspars in these sandstones indicates that the rocks are extensively recycled from distant sources. Their average modal composition for Scarp (avg. Qt₉₉ F₀.₂L_0.8) and Dhandraul (avg. Qt₉₉ F_0.1L_0.8) sandstones, classifies them as quartz arenite to sub-litharenite types, which is consistent with geochemical study. Major element concentrations revealed that sandstones have high SiO₂, K₂O < Na₂O, and low Fe₂O₃, which are supported by the modal data. On the other hand, sandstone samples are enriched in most trace elements such as Ce, Sr, V, Sc and Zr and depleted in U and Th. The CIA values (43.17–76.48) of the UKG rocks indicate low to moderate weathering, either of the original source or during transport before deposition, which may have related to low-relief and humid climatic conditions in the source area. Further, petrographic and geochemical interpretations indicate that they are derived from craton interior to quartzose recycled sedimentary rocks and deposited in a passive continental margin. Therefore, granitic and low grade metamorphic rocks of Mahakoshal Group and Chotanagpur granite-gneiss, situated on the southern and south-eastern side of the Vindhyan basin are suggested as possible provenance for the UKG rocks.     

Statistical landslide susceptibility assessment of the Mansehra and Torghar districts,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province,Pakistan

This paper presents laboratory experiments and numerical simulations of effects of submerged obstacles on tsunami-like solitary wave and its run-up. This study was carried out for the breaking and non-breaking solitary waves on 1:19.85 uniform slope which contains a submerged obstacle. New laboratory experiments are performed to describe the mitigation of tsunami amplitude and run-up under the effect of submerged obstacles. We are based on experimental results obtained to validate the numerical model. The numerical modeling using COULWAVE aims essentially to show the effect of the obstacle on the shape of solitary wave and the limit of this effect. Using a multiple nonlinear regression, we have determined a model to estimate height of run-up according to the amplitude of the wave and the obstacle peak depth.     

3D inversion of DC data using artificial neural networks

In this paper, we investigate the applicability of artificial neural networks in inverting three-dimensional DC resistivity imaging data. The model used to produce synthetic data for training the artificial neural network (ANN) system was a homogeneous medium of resistivity 100 Ωm with an embedded anomalous body of resistivity 1000 Ωm. The different sizes for anomalous body were selected and their location was changed to different positions within the homogeneous model mesh elements. The 3D data set was generated using a finite element forward modeling code through standard 3D modeling software. We investigated different learning paradigms in the training process of the neural network. Resilient propagation was more efficient than any other paradigm. We studied the effect of the data type used on neural network inversion and found that the use of location and the apparent resistivity of data points as the input and corresponding true resistivity as the output of networks produces satisfactory results. We also investigated the effect of the training data pool volume on the inversion properties. We created several synthetic data sets to study the interpolation and extrapolation properties of the ANN. The range of 100–1000 Ωm was divided into six resistivity values as the background resistivity and different resistivity values were also used for the anomalous body. Results from numerous neural network tests indicate that the neural network possesses sufficient interpolation and extrapolation abilities with the selected volume of training data. The trained network was also applied on a real field dataset, collected by a pole-pole array using a square grid (8 ×8) with a 2-m electrode spacing. The inversion results demonstrate that the trained network was able to invert three-dimensional electrical resistivity imaging data. The interpreted results of neural network also agree with the known information about the investigation area.     

Cd(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II) Removal from Contaminated Water by Biosorption Using Activated Sludge Biomass

Biosorption using activated sludge biomass (ASB) as a potentially sustainable technology for the treatment of wastewater containing different metal ions (Cd(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II)) was investigated. ASB metal uptake clearly competed with protons consumed by microbial biomass compared with control tests with non‐activated sludge biomass. Biosorption tests confirmed maximum exchange between metal ions and protons at pH 2.0–4.5. It was revealed by the study that the amount of metal ions released from the biomass increased with biomass sludge concentration. The result showed that maximum absorption of metal ions was observed for Cd(II) at pH 3.5, Pb(II) at pH 4.0, and pH 4.5 for Zn(II) ions. The maximum absorption capacities of ASB for Cd(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II) were determined to be 59.3, 68.5 and 86.5%, respectively. The biosorption of heavy metals was directly proportional to ASB stabilization corresponding to a reduction in heavy metals in the order of Cd < Pb < Zn. The order of increase of biosorption of metal ions in ASB was Zn(II) < Pb(II) < Cd(II), and this was opposite to that of non active sludge. The results indicate that ASB is a sustainable tools for the bioremediation of Cd(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II) ions from industrial sludge and wastewater treatment plants.