Conservatism in summation rules for closely spaced modes

It is shown that the method recommended by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to be used to combine spectral response in the case of closely spaced modes is unnecessarily conservative for certain systems. Closely spaced modes arise in structures from symmetry and where there is a light appendage with a frequency close to one of the natural frequencies of the structure. In the former case, the closely spaced modes do not involve significant interaction between components of the system and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Guide is reasonable. The latter case, that is when there are closely spaced modes where interaction of components occurs as in the examples of light appendages and torsionally unbalanced buildings, must be treated by consideration of the interacting components. The approach proposed here is that the modes that are not closely spaced be treated by modal analysis and the closely spaced modes, in the case of two closely spaced modes, be treated as a coupled two-degree-of-freedom system. If this is done, the beat phenomenon, the most important characteristic of the interaction, is evident, as is the associated result that the peak response of the coupled system is developed much later than the peak responses obtained in the individual modes. It is shown that the square root of the sum of the squares procedure underestimates, as expected, the response for undamped and very lightly damped systems, but for damped systems the square root of the sum of the squares method can be extremely conservative. It follows that the other methods specified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for closely spaced modes must be even more conservative.     

Cave sites,faunal analysis,and Big-Game Hunters of the Great Basin: A caution

Deposits of inferred natural origin excavated at Mineral Hill Cave, north-central Nevada, exhibit a similarity to the reported evidence for “Big-Game Hunters” from cave sites in the Great Basin. Split bone and charcoal were observed throughout the deposits. In addition, the remains of a number of animal taxa including several Pleistocene genera, which are considered to have been of economic importance, were recovered from the deposits. These findings suggest that the role of natural processes in cave deposition is of crucial importance in understanding cave-site archaeology.     

Isotopic constraints on the genesis and age of autochthonous glaucony in the Oligo-Miocene Torquay Group, south-eastern Australia

The Oligo‐Miocene Torquay Group at Bird Rock in south‐eastern Australia comprises a sequence of fine‐grained skeletal carbonates and argillaceous and glauconitic sandstones, deposited in a cool‐water, mid‐shelf environment. The Bird Rock glaucony is autochthonous and consists predominantly of randomly interstratified glauconitic smectite, which constitutes bioclast infills and faecal pellet replacements. The results of Rb–Sr and oxygen isotopic analysis of samples taken from a single glauconitic horizon (the BW horizon) indicate that the glaucony developed through a series of simultaneous dissolution–crystallization reactions, which occurred during very early diagenesis in a closed or isochemical system, isolated from the ambient marine environment. The constituent ions of the glaucony were derived primarily from terrigenous clay minerals, but considerable potassium may have been sourced indirectly from sea water, through potassium enrichment of clay precursors. The pore fluids associated with glauconitization were marine derived, but progressively modified by the dissolution–crystallization of detrital clay minerals and autochthonous glaucony. Rb–Sr data for the BW horizon indicate that dating glauconies may be somewhat problematic, as co‐genetic glauconitic minerals can show a range of initial strontium compositions, which reflect the incorporation of strontium derived from mineralogical precursors and/or contemporaneous sea water. Rb–Sr isochrons indicate that the glaucony of the BW horizon formed at 23 ± 3 Ma. This age is in good agreement with both the established biostratigraphy and a ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr age for the horizon (23 ± 1 Ma), but could only be determined using the independent age constraint and the estimate of the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio of contemporaneous sea water provided by analysis of associated biogenic carbonate.     

Dynamic parameter identification for non-linear isolation systems in response spectrum analysis

The response spectrum method has been widely used in earthquake engineering design, but cannot be directly applied to non-linear systems such as the lead-filled rubber bearing used in base isolation systems. An appraoch to determine the equivalent linearized stiffness and damping coefficient of the lead-filled rubber bearing by use of the results of shaking table tests is developed. Comparisons of time histories for the equivalent linear systems and the actual model show the method gives accurate maxima for displacement and acceleration and at the appropriate times. It is found that the identified parameters vary with the maximum deformation and the simplified formulae that can optimally describe the variations are derived. Using these formulae, an iterative algorithm using the response spectrum method to calculate the dynamic response of buildings isolated by lead-filled rubber bearings is also presented.     

Predictive control of base-isolated structures

A control design for absolute motion reduction of base-isolated structures subjected to earthquake excitation is presented herein. The control objective is to provide a vibration-free environment for sensitive equipment protection. Predictive control theory is used for the control design. This theory allows the designer to handle time delays generated by the dynamics of actuators. The study reported herein demonstrates, by numerical simulation, the efficacy of this controller in reducing acceleration response in the superstructure in the presence of delays. Stability analysis, frequency response and response to ground motion excitation are developed to assess the characteristics of the controller.     

Similarities in the behaviour of Chernobyl derived Ru-103, Ru-106 and Cs-137 in two freshwater lakes

Measurements of the concentrations of Ru-103 and Ru-106 in the water column and sediments of two productive temperate lakes were made during an eight month period following the Chernobyl accident. Ru-103 accumulation in the sediments began simultaneously with that of Cs-134 and a constant ratio (approx. 2.0 on a decay corrected basis) of Ru-103/Cs-137 was observed in surface waters and sediments throughout the measurement period. The ratio is not statistically different from that reported for atmospheric input and for epilimnetic water. The results suggest that the processes of removal of radioactive ruthenium and caesium from the mixed water column to the sediments are the same.Enhancement of Cs, compared with Ru, in the isolated bottom waters of one of the lakes in the summer months provided evidence for Cs release from the sediments during a period of hypolimnetic anoxia.     

Impacts of acid emissions from Nevado del Ruiz volcano, Colombia, on selected terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems

Emissions of acidic gases and thermal waters from Nevado del Ruiz volcano have recently increased in concert with the November 13, 1985 eruption. This study examines the downwind and downstream effects of these emissions on alpine ecosystems high on the slopes of the volcano (4100 m) and on coffee plantations at lower elevations (< 2000 m) and greater distances from the active vent (> 30 km). Samples of bulk deposition, rain, soils, soil solutions, and streams were collected over a six-month period (January–July, 1987) to examine the impacts of this volcanogenic acidity.Bulk deposition falling on the higher slopes of the volcano is usually acidified; however, deposition reaching the distal coffee plantations seldom is acidic. The sources of the acids are hydrogen chloride and sulfur dioxide in the plume of the volcano. Although sulfur dioxide is by far the more abundant gas, hydrogen chloride is most responsible for acidification of rain falling on the slopes of the volcano. With distance from the vent, the chloride/sulfate ratio drops exponentially. The only major influence on regional precipitation chemistry in addition to the volcano appears to be land-use-related activities around the coffee plantations. Deposition on these areas is enriched by an order of magnitude in nitrate and base cations, compared to all other stations.Throughfall chemistry in the coffee plantations shows a dramatic response to occasional acid-rain events. A base-leaching process on coffee plant leaves is triggered by acid rain. For each equivalent of hydrogen ion in rain on the leaf surface, over 23 equivalents of potassium ion are leached from the leaf.In spite of this dramatic response by the vegetation, the plantation soils appear relatively unaffected by acidic deposition. In contrast, the alpine soils on the volcano exhibit low pHs, high sulfate and chloride concentrations in soil solutions, and high extractable sulfate concentrations. All of these factors indicate that these soils have undergone significant acid loading.While the deposition of the region is acidified by hydrogen chloride, the streams flowing off the volcano are apparently acidified by sulfuric acid in thermal waters discharging into the streams. The acidity of these streams decreases downstream, while the silica concentrations increase downstream. The composition of stream water is most influenced by thermal-water discharges as well as equilibrium dissolution of amorphous silica glass and non-equilibrium leaching of unweathered ash.The impacts of acid gases and thermal water released from the volcano appear to be restricted to ecosystems on the slope of the volcano. The only impact of Nevado del Ruiz on surrounding coffee plantations appears to be potassium leaching of coffee leaves from occasional acid-deposition events.     

Application of fractional derivatives to seismic analysis of base-isolated models

The concept of fractional derivatives is employed in the formulation of a stress-strain relationship for elastomers. An oscillator consisting of a mass and a ‘fractional’ Kelvin element is used to model elastomeric bearings used in base isolation systems. Efficient numerical multi-step schemes are developed for the dynamic analysis of a single-degree-of-freedom ‘fractional oscillator’ in the time domain. Numerical examples show that these multi-step schemes are in good agreement with the Laplace and Fourier solutions. When applied to shaking table tests of a base-isolated bridge deck, the fractional derivative model is found to agree well with the experimental results.