Prediction of ground vibration due to quarry blasting based on gene expression programming: a new model for peak particle velocity prediction

Blasting is a widely used technique for rock fragmentation in opencast mines and tunneling projects. Ground vibration is one of the most environmental effects produced by blasting operation. Therefore, the proper prediction of blast-induced ground vibrations is essential to identify safety area of blasting. This paper presents a predictive model based on gene expression programming (GEP) for estimating ground vibration produced by blasting operations conducted in a granite quarry, Malaysia. To achieve this aim, a total number of 102 blasting operations were investigated and relevant blasting parameters were measured. Furthermore, the most influential parameters on ground vibration, i.e., burden-to-spacing ratio, hole depth, stemming, powder factor, maximum charge per delay, and the distance from the blast face were considered and utilized to construct the GEP model. In order to show the capability of GEP model in estimating ground vibration, nonlinear multiple regression (NLMR) technique was also performed using the same datasets. The results demonstrated that the proposed model is able to predict blast-induced ground vibration more accurately than other developed technique. Coefficient of determination values of 0.914 and 0.874 for training and testing datasets of GEP model, respectively show superiority of this model in predicting ground vibration, while these values were obtained as 0.829 and 0.790 for NLMR model.     

A spatiotemporal calculus for reasoning about land-use trajectories

Earth observation images are a powerful source of data about changes in our planet. Given the magnitude of global environmental changes taking place, it is important that Earth Science researchers have access to spatiotemporal reasoning tools. One area of particular interest is land-use change. Using data obtained from images, researchers would like to express abstractions such as ‘land abandonment’, ‘forest regrowth’, and ‘agricultural intensification’. These abstractions are specific types of land-use trajectories, defined as multi-year paths from one land cover into another. Given this need, this paper introduces a spatiotemporal calculus for reasoning about land-use trajectories. Using Allen’s interval logic as a basis, we introduce new predicates that express cases of recurrence, conversion and evolution in land-use change. The proposed predicates are sufficient and necessary to express different kinds of land-use trajectories. Users can build expressions that describe how humans modify Earth’s terrestrial surface. In this way, scientists can better understand the environmental and economic effects of land-use change.     

Interannual variability of rainfall over the Sahel based on multiple regional climate models simulations

We analyse the interannual variability of the averaged summer monsoon rainfall over the Sahel from multiple regional climate models driven by the ERA-interim reanalysis and seek to provide effective information for future modelling work. We find that the majority of the models are able to reproduce the rainfall variability with correlation coefficient exceeding 0.5 compared with observations. This is due to a good representation of the dynamics of the main monsoon features of the West African climate such as the monsoon flux, African Easterly Jet (AEJ) and Tropical Easterly Jet (TEJ). Among the models, only HIRHAM fails to reproduce the rainfall variability exhibiting hence a correlation coefficient of ?0.2. This deficiency originates from the fact that HIRHAM does not properly capture the variability of monsoon flow and the relationship between rainfall and the AEJ dynamic. We conclude that a good performance of a regional climate model in simulating the monsoon dynamical features variability is of primary importance for a better representation of the interannual variability of rainfall over the Sahel.     

Effects of seismic devices on transverse responses of piers in the Sutong Bridge

The Sutong Bridge in China opened to traffic in 2008, and is an arterial connection between the cities of Nantong and Suzhou. It is a cable-stayed bridge with a main span of 1,088 m. Due to a tight construction schedule and lack of suitable seismic devices at the time, fixed supports were installed between the piers and the girder in the transverse direction. As a result, significant transverse seismic forces could occur in the piers and foundations, especially during a return period of a 2500-year earthquake. Therefore, the piers, foundations and fixed bearings had to be designed extraordinarily strong. However, when larger earthquakes occur, the bearings, piers and foundations are still vulnerable. The recent rapid developments in seismic technology and the performance-based design approach offer a better opportunity to optimize the transverse seismic design for the Sutong Bridge piers. The optimized design can be applied to the Sutong Bridge(as a retrofit), as well as other bridges. Seismic design alternatives utilizing viscous fluid dampers(VFD), or friction pendulum sliding bearings(FPSB), or transverse yielding metallic dampers(TYMD) are thoroughly studied in this work, and the results are compared with those from the current condition with fixed transverse supports and a hypothetical condition in which only sliding bearings are provided on top of the piers(the girder can move "freely" in the transverse direction during the earthquake, except for frictional forces of the sliding bearings). Parametric analyses were performed to optimize the design of these proposed seismic devices. From the comparison of the peak bridge responses in these configurations, it was found that both VFD and TYMD are very effective in the reduction of transverse seismic forces in piers, while at the same time keeping the relative transverse displacements between piers and the box girder within acceptable limits. However, compared to VFD, TYMD do not interact with the longitudinal displacements of the girder, and have simpler details and lower initial and maintenance costs. Although the use of FPSB can also reduce seismic forces, it generally causes the transverse relative displacements to be higher than acceptable limits.     

Environmental isotope investigation for the identification of source of springs observed in the hillock on the left flank of Gollaleru Earthen Dam,Andhra Pradesh,India

A hydrometric, hydrochemical and environmental isotopic study was conducted to identify the source and origin of observed springs on the foot of the hillock abutting the left flank of the Gollaleru earthen dam, Nandyal, Andhra Pradesh, India. Water samples (springs, reservoir water and groundwater) in and around the dam area were collected and analyzed for environmental isotopes (\(\updelta ^{18}\!\hbox {O}\), \(\updelta ^{2}\hbox {H}\) and \(^{3}\hbox {H}\)) and hydrochemistry. Reservoir level, spring discharges and physico-chemical parameters (temperature, electrical conductivity, pH, etc.) were monitored in-situ. Isotopic results indicated that the source of springs is from the Owk reservoir and groundwater contribution to the springs is insignificant. Based on hydrometric observations, it is inferred that the springs might be originated from the reservoir level of 209 m amsl. It is found that the lower spring discharges were derived from diffuse sources (seepage) which could be a mixture of reservoir water and the groundwater, while the relatively higher spring discharges were resulted from concentrated sources (leakage) from the reservoir. Thus, the study portraits the usefulness of isotope techniques in understanding the dam seepage/leakage related problems.     

Appraisal of soft computing techniques in prediction of total bed material load in tropical rivers

This paper evaluates the performance of three soft computing techniques, namely Gene-Expression Programming (GEP) (Zakaria et al 2010), Feed Forward Neural Networks (FFNN) (Ab Ghani et al 2011), and Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) in the prediction of total bed material load for three Malaysian rivers namely Kurau, Langat and Muda. The results of present study are very promising: FFNN (R ² = 0.958, RMSE = 0.0698), ANFIS (R ² = 0.648, RMSE = 6.654), and GEP (R ² = 0.97, RMSE = 0.057), which support the use of these intelligent techniques in the prediction of sediment loads in tropical rivers.     

A study of Brans-Dicke theory in FRW-model

In FRW space time Brans-Dicke theory is developed for two cases: (i) the vacuum and (ii) the perfect fluid model. The field equations are transformed into a much simpler form under a change of time co-ordinates and then the solutions are determined for the above cases. An equation of statep =/3 (radiation) is assumed in the case of perfect fluid.