Probabilistic assessment for seismic performance of port structures

Past experience has shown that ports are often susceptible to severe damage during earthquakes. From field damage data of 1995 Kobe earthquake, it is observed that the seismic behavior of port structures shows significant variability. In this study, a 2D numerical model, representing PC1 berth located in Port Island, Kobe and damaged in the 1995 Kobe earthquake, has been developed and used to simulate seismic behavior. It has been found that the uncertainties in the friction angle and the shear modulus of reclaimed soil contribute most to the variability of the residual horizontal displacement (RHD) response of the quay wall of port structures. To investigate the propagation of uncertainties of soil–structure system to the quay wall, a tornado diagram and a first-order second-moment analysis are used. Uncertainty of ground motions has also been investigated. Based on the results, design considerations have been provided.     

A Raman spectroscopic study of shock-wave densification of vitreous silica

The densification processes in SiO₂ glass induced by shock-wave compression up to 43.4 GPa are investigated by Raman spectroscopy. At first, densification increases with increasing shock pressure. A maximum densification of 11% is obtained for a shock pressure of 26.3 GPa. This densification is attributed to the reduction of the average Si−O−Si angle, which occurs first by the collapse of the largest ring cavities, then by further reduction of the average ring size. For higher shock pressures, a different structural modification is observed, resulting in decreasing densification with increasing shock pressure. Indeed, the recovered densification becomes very small, with values of 1.8 and 0.5% at 32 and 43.4 GPa, respectively. This is attributed to partial annealing of the samples due to high after shock residual temperatures. The study of the annealing process of the most densified glass by in situ high temperature Raman spectroscopy confirms that relaxation of the Si−O−Si angle starts at a lower temperature (about 800 K) than that of the siloxane rings (about 1000 K), thus explaining the high intensity of the siloxane defect bands in the samples schocked at compressions of 32 and 43.4 GPa. The large intensity of the siloxane bands in the nearly undensified samples shocked by compressions above 30 GPa may be explained by the relaxation during decompression of five- and six-fold coordinated silicon species formed at high pressure and high temperature during the shock event. Received: March 30, 1998 / Revised, accepted: August 21, 1998     

Seasonal appearance ofProchlorococcus in Suruga Bay,Japan in 1992–1993

Seasonal appearance ofProchlorococcus was studied by flow cytometry in Suruga Bay, Japan in 1992–1993.Prochlorococcus cells were in high concentrations (>1×10⁴ cells ml^–1) from July to October 1992 and September 1993, when the water temperature was over 20°C. The 16S rRNA of the isolated cells showed 98.5% sequence homology with that ofP. marinus (Sargasso strain), indicating that they are the same species. The former has a high divinyl-chlorophyll (DV-Chl.)a/b ratio similar to the Mediterranean strain and different from the Sargasso strain. Maximum concentration ofProchlorococcus at the surface water was 2.5×10⁴ cells ml^–1 in August 1992 and their DV-Chl.a accounted for 4.0% of the total chlorophylla. A decrease in cell density to less than 5×10³ cells ml^–1 was observed from December to May with an exceptional rise in January 1993. WhileProchlorococcus showed a maximum concentration of 3.6×10⁴ cells ml^–1 at 10 m depth in September 1992, phycoerythrin (PE)-richSynechococcus spp. were dominant with their maximum concentration of 2.2×10⁵ cells ml^–1 in the same water body. On the other hand, phycocyanin (PC)-richSynechococcus spp. and the larger phytoplankters showed maximum concentrations in the surface waters in May and June. BothProchlorococcus and PE-richSynechococcus showed their lowest concentrations in April. A significant positive correlation was obtained between cell concentrations of the PE-richSynechococcus andProchlorococcus.     

Case study of wind jet transition and localized responses of wind wave along the pacific coast of Northern Japan by synergetic use of satellite and in situ observations

We present a case study of low-level wind jets induced in sequence by orographic effects off the Pacific coast of northern Japan during 7–11 June 2003, and demonstrate that the transition of the wind jets causes areal differences of wave height variations along the coast. First, we describe evolution and structure of the wind jet by analyzing SeaWinds scatterometer wind measurements. Under the easterly wind, a strong wind jet formed after passing by Cape Erimo. As the wind shifted to the southeast, the wind jet started to decay. In turn, the southerly wind along the coast led to another wind jet in the lee of the easternmost tip of the Sanriku coast. We then identify onsets and decays of the wind jets from time series of wind speed at meteorological stations. Finally, we demonstrate that the transition of the wind jets has local impacts on wave height variations. Significant wave heights measured by altimeters were correlated positively with local wind energy, i.e., squares of wind speeds. Accompanying the wind jet formation/decline, significant differences of wave height variations became marked among wave observation stations located along the coast at intervals of up to 50 km.     

Pi-SAR极化数据与K分布指数估算森林生物量与实验验证

用2002年和2003年日本Pi-SAR全极化数据,研究日本北海道苫小牧森林地区的森林生物量.雷达后向散射系数随森林生物量的增大而增大并迅速达到饱和,L波段雷达数据饱和点约为40t/hm2,X波段仅约为20t/hm2.在SAR数据统计分布中,K分布的指数参数在饱和点以上仍随生物量的增大而增大,并且HV极化方式时相关性最高.根据交叉极化数据K分布的指数参数与森林生物量的关系,本文估算了23个观测点的森林生物量,结果表明平均准确率为85%.因此该算法可以作为一种新的估算森林生物量的手段.     

Stability of goaf-side entry driving in 800-m-deep island longwall coal face in underground coal mine

Goaf-side entry driving in underground coal mines could greatly improve coal recovery rates. However, it becomes more difficult to maintain stability, especially in deep coal mines. Pillar width plays a pivotal role in the stability of goaf-side entry driving. To obtain a reasonable and appropriate narrow pillar width, theoretical calculations of the widths of mining-damaged zone and limit equilibrium zone in the pillar are derived according to limit equilibrium theory. Based on the stability issues of goaf-side entry driving in the first island longwall coal face (LCF) at a depth of 800 m below the surface in Guqiao Coal Mine in China, a numerical model is established by FLAC software to analyze the stability of the surrounding rock of goaf-side entry driving during excavation, using various coal pillar widths and support schemes. The results obtained from theoretical calculations, numerical simulation, and engineering practice indicate that an 8-m-wide coal pillar is relatively reasonable, appropriate, and feasible. Field measurements show that deformations of the surrounding rock could be efficiently controlled 31 days after the support schemes were implemented in goaf-side entry driving with an 8-m-wide narrow pillar along the adjacent goaf side with a compaction duration of 10 months. The mining influence range of the overlying LCF on the stability of goaf-side entry driving is found to be the area from 50 m ahead of the LCF to 70 m behind the LCF as it passes over the measurement point.     

Groundwater age rejuvenation caused by excessive urban pumping in Jakarta area,Indonesia

Rapid urbanization in the Jakarta area has become a severe subsurface environmental issue as it entails groundwater level decline and land subsidence caused by excessive groundwater pumping. In this study, apparent groundwater age rejuvenation in the deep aquifer under DKI Jakarta was found by comparing ¹⁴C activities between 1985 and 2008. We discussed the use of a numerical groundwater flow model to evaluate the rejuvenation process in this urbanized area. When considering the deep aquifer in the DKI Jakarta area, we can assume six direction fluxes toward the aquifer: two vertical fluxes (downward and upward flux) and four horizontal fluxes (northern, southern, western, and eastern flux). Results of model calculations show that the greatest groundwater flux among six flux directions became ‘vertical downward flux’, which means that shallower groundwater intrudes into the deep one because of excessive groundwater pumping from the mid‐1980s. This flux grows about 50% during the 2000s. This result is consistent with the detection of CFC‐12 and SF₆, which functions as an indicator of young groundwater even in the deep groundwater. The rejuvenation ratio ‘R’ was determined using ¹⁴C activity in the groundwater; R increases with the CFC‐12 concentration and both show good correlation. Furthermore, we estimated the ‘vertical downward flux’ at each well's screen depth using model estimation. Results show that this flux is greater in the urban groundwater depression area and especially at shallower parts of the deep aquifer, and that it affects the magnitude of the shallow groundwater intrusion. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of Coal Extraction Operation on Shaft Lining Stability in Eastern Chinese Coal Mines

In order to find the relationship between the shaft lining stability and the coal extraction operation, a 3D numerical model of strata layers and shaft lining was established for simulating the influence of coal extraction operation on shaft lining. Certain factors including mining depth, safety pillar width, mining width and mining height were taken as the influence factors in the simulation. The results indicated that the coal extraction could lead to the initiation of the failure in the aquifer and rock layers. As the mining depth increases, the shear strain increment in aquifer becomes small. In this case, the distance between mining panel and aquifer should be larger than 220 m and the safety pillar width should not <70 m. The maximum principal stress in aquifer had a little relation to mining operations. The mining panel width should not exceed 50 m without any support.     

Study of a Bistatic Radar System Using VLBI Technologies for Detecting Space Debris and the Experimental Verification of its Validity

Space debris are increasing around the Earth. The observation of space debris is a key issue for the investigation and monitoring of space environment. But the observation opportunities and the detection ability are limited in existing monostatic radar systems. This paper proposes a bistatic radar which is composed of a transmitting station and a receiving-only station. A carrier wave modulated by PN-PSK signals is used in combination with a VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry) recorder for range measurement between space debris and stations. The receiving radio wave is processed on the basis of VLBI techniques. Accordingly, the system is shown to have significant advantages over a monostatic radar. We actually formed a bistatic radar system, and observed a satellite in order to experimentally verify the validity. The configuration of the system, data analysis and the experimental results are described.