Assessing suitability of rural settlements using an improved technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution

Land suitability assessment is a prerequisite phase in land use planning; it guides toward optimal land use by providing information on the opportunities and constraints involved in the use of a given land area. A geographic information system-based procedure, known as rural settlement suitability evaluation (RSSE) using an improved technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), was adopted to determine the most suitable area for constructing rural settlements in different geographical locations. Given the distribution and independence of rural settlements, a distinctive evaluation criteria system that differed from that of urban suitability was established by considering the level of rural infrastructure services as well as living and working conditions. The unpredictable mutual interference among evaluation factors has been found in practical works. An improved TOPSIS using Mahalanobis distance was applied to solve the unpredictable correlation among the criteria in a suitability evaluation. Uncertainty and sensitivity analyses obtained via Monte Carlo simulation were performed to examine the robustness of the model. Daye, a resource-based city with rapid economic development, unsatisfied rural development, and geological environmental problems caused by mining, was used as a case study. Results indicate the following findings: 1) The RSSE model using the improved TOPSIS can assess the suitability of rural settlements, and the suitability maps generated using the improved TOPSIS have higher information density than those generated using traditional TOPSIS. The robustness of the model is improved, and the uncertainty is reduced in the suitability results. 2) Highly suitable land is mainly distributed in the northeast of the study area, and the majority of which is cultivated land, thereby leading to tremendous pressure on the loss of cultivated land. 3) Lastly, 12.54% of the constructive expansion permitted zone and 8.36% of the constructive expansion conditionally permitted zone are situated in an unsuitable area, which indicates that the general planning of Daye lacks the necessary verification of suitability evaluation. Guidance is provided on the development strategy of rural settlement patches to support decision making in general land use planning.     

岷江上游槽谷曲流段大型古滑坡成因与复活性分析——以松潘县元坝子古滑坡为例

岷江上游靠近分水岭部位的槽谷曲流河段,由于地壳抬升缓慢,河谷宽、岸坡缓,降雨量相对偏少,通常被认为发生大型滑坡的可能性较小。但通过笔者近年来的调查发现,在岷江上游红桥关至西宁关的槽谷曲流段两岸大型滑坡密集发育,且大多具有地震滑坡的特征,同时个别滑坡受后期江水冲刷、工程开挖等因素影响复活。文章选取其中较为典型的元坝子滑坡为例进行解剖,元坝子滑坡位于岷江曲流凹岸,长780 m,宽480 m,体积293×104 m3。通过地质分析、测年鉴定和数值模拟,认为该滑坡是历史地震引发的大型岩质古滑坡,其发展经历了斜坡裂缝、地震滑坡、河流下切和前缘复活等阶段。稳定性计算结果显示,目前滑坡整体天然工况下稳定性好,极端暴雨工况下欠稳定,受江水冲刷、降雨、融雪等因素影响,出现局部变形复活。建议应加强滑坡变形监测,避免整体滑动造成堵江、威胁成兰铁路安全。     

FLAC3D在边坡数值分析及位移监测中应用

以辽宁省岫岩县某山头边坡为例,通过槽探、钻探、大型剪切试验等多种手段,找出合理潜在滑动面。利用FLAC3D软件对该边坡进行三维数值模拟,分析应力应变关系,得出变形较大及应力集中区域,同时利用强度折减法得出边坡的安全系数,评价其稳定性。将从边坡后缘张拉裂隙上布设的位移监测点采集到的数据,与数值模拟结果进行对比分析,验证数值模拟的可靠性,为边坡抗滑设计提供依据。     

干湿循环作用下红土抗剪强度与微结构关系研究

针对云南红土型水库因水位升降引起库岸土体干湿循环的客观实际,研究干湿循环作用下库岸红土抗剪强度与其微结构的变化规律,揭示二者之间的内在联系,为研究红土型库岸失稳提供依据。通过红土试样的干湿循环试验,模拟水库蓄水和库水位反复升降引起的库岸红土干湿循环作用。结果表明:（1）在一定初始干密度条件下,红土的黏聚力、内摩擦角和抗剪强度均随干湿循环次数的增加而非线性减小,但在干湿循环次数约10次时趋于稳定。（2）干湿循环作用导致红土微结构发生变化。当初始干密度分别为1.2,1.3,1.4 g/cm3、干湿循环次数达10次时,试样红土颗粒数量降幅依次为45.4%,38.2%,35.7%;孔隙率增幅依次为52.6%,45.9%,40.4%;孔隙面积增幅依次为64.4%,58.2%,50.8%。（3）在干湿循环作用下,红土黏聚力与红土颗粒的定向度和平均圆形度呈正相关关系,相关系数R分别为0.985和0.923。内摩擦角与孔隙率和孔隙面积呈反相关关系,相关系数R分别为-0.936和-0.912。干湿循环作用导致红土微结构的改变,从而引起红土宏观力学性质的变化。     

包气带反硝化强度空间分布规律的整合分析

依据1970~2017年间发表的3955篇包气带反硝化强度相关论文,筛选出197组反硝化强度数据,利用整合分析,重点研究了包气带反硝化强度在典型生态类型（水平）和不同采样深度（垂向）的空间分布规律,识别了包气带反硝化强度的主控因素并研究其函数关系。结果表明:水平空间上,包气带表层0~0.5 m反硝化强度的分布特征显著,由大到小排序为:森林（8.03±0.21 mg/（kg·d））、农田（3.54±0.08 mg/（kg·d））、草地（3.38±0.12 mg/（kg·d））、湿地（2.32±0.23 mg/（kg·d））、沙漠（2.15±0.56 mg/（kg·d））。垂向空间上（6 m内）,各生态类型反硝化强度随深度的增加均呈“S”型变化规律。不同生态类型和不同采样深度下包气带反硝化强度的主控因素存在一定差异,主要为黏粒、有机质、全氮、硝态氮、有效磷,并给出了包气带反硝化强度与主控因素的回归方程。     

Residual-state creep of clastic soil in a reactivated slow-moving landslide in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region,China

We study the creep properties of clastic soil in residual state. The intact samples are taken from a reactivated slow-moving landslide in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, China. Firstly, the patterns of the landslide movement are analysed based on recent monitoring data, which indicate that the soil within the shear zone is undergoing two deformation processes: a creep phase, characterised by different creep rates, and a dormant phase. We then study the creep behaviour of the soil samples through a series of ring shear creep tests under various shear stress conditions. The creep response depends strongly on the ratio of the shear stress to the residual strength, and the normal effective stress, whereas the creep rate decreases due to strength regain. The long-term strength of the clastic soil is close to the residual strength. Therefore, the residual strength obtained from conventional shear test, which is less time consuming than creep test, can be used in long-term stability analyses of creeping landslides.     

Soil column infiltration tests on biomediated capillary barrier systems for mitigating rainfall-induced landslides

Rainfall-induced landslide is a common geohazard in tropical and humid regions. Capillary barrier system (CBS) is a popular and widely studied mitigating measure for rainfall-induced landslides. However, several previous studies have shown that the performance of the conventional CBS under intense rainfalls has not been particularly convincing. This paper aims to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of a newly proposed system, known as “biomediated capillary barrier system” (B-CBS) in minimizing water infiltration into soil. A one-dimensional soil column was used to investigate the infiltration characteristics of the proposed system. The results showed that the B-CBS of biomediated residual soil overlying original residual soil (Test IV) could effectively control the infiltration into soil by taking advantage of the less-permeable biomediated soil cover. The B-CBS of biomediated residual soil overlying gravelly sand (Test V) and the three-layered B-CBS of fine sand overlying gravelly sand and biomediated residual soil (Test VI) showed the best performance in terms of minimizing the water infiltration. A suction of about 5 kPa still remained in the soil column after 60 min of infiltration from the ponded water on the soil surface.     

Characterization of shale matrix pore structure via experiment and model

Shale gas reservoirs develop multi-scale pores ranging in size from nanometer to micrometer, the characteristics of gas transport involve the multi-scale pore space which divided into organic and inorganic matrix pores. This paper reveals the shale pore structure with large amounts of organic mesoporous based on the techniques of focused ion beam scanning electron microscopes (FIB-SEM), high-pressure mercury intrusion (MICP), and low-pressure adsorption (LPA), which also shows the size and distribution of these pores. Then the research characterizes effective pore scale via circular tube bundle model with due regard for gas adsorption layer thickness on the walls of organic pores and water film thickness on the walls of inorganic pores, and the investigation of shale pore geometry is significant for designing and developing shale gas reservoirs. This work shows that the widely existing shale mesoporous volume with diameter of 2~50 nm accounts for 81% based on experimental testing, then it reduces to about 76% via effective diameter model calculation.     

Using landscape indicators and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to determine the optimum spatial scale of urban land use patterns in Wuhan,China

Quantifying land use patterns and functions is critical for modeling urban ecological processes, and an emerging challenge is to apply models at multiple spatial scales. Methods of determining the optimum scale of land use patterns are commonly considered using landscape metrics. Landscape metrics are quantitative indicators for analyzing landscape heterogeneity at the landscape level. In this study, due to their widespread use in urban landscape analyses and well-documented effectiveness in quantifying landscape patterns, landscape metrics that represent dominance, shape, fragmentation and connectivity were selected. Five metrics include Patch Density, Contagion, Landscape Shape Index, Aggregation Index and Connectivity. Despite a wide application of landscape metrics for land use studies, the majority mainly focuses on the qualitative analysis of the characteristics of landscape metrics. The previous models are limited in exploring the optimum scale of land use patterns for their lack of quantitation. Therefore, taking the City of Wuhan as an example, the land use unit was treated as a patch, and the landscape pattern metrics at different spatial scales were calculated and compared so as to find the optimum one. Furthermore, a mathematical model of landscape metrics was proposed to quantify the scale effect of urban land use patterns, generating a complementary tool to select the optimum scale. In addition, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was introduced to determine the respective weights of the chosen landscape metrics in this model. Fractal dimension was ultimately applied to verify the chosen optimum scale of our study region. The results indicated that 60 m is confirmed to be the optimum scale for capturing the spatial variability of land use patterns in this study area.     

Mechanical behavior and micro-structure of cement kiln dust-stabilized expensive soil

In this study, the effects of cement kiln dust (CKD) on the swelling properties, strength properties, and microstructures of CKD-stabilized expansive soil were investigated. Samples were prepared and stabilized with different CKD content ratios, ranging from 0 to 18% by dry mass. The results obtained show that the maximum swelling pressures decrease exponentially with increases in CKD content. Both the cohesion and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) increase at ratios below 10% CKD and then decrease slightly, above that ratio. CKD can also improve the strength of saturated, expansive soil. There is no visible change of UCS for soil without CKD when cured, while the UCS of a sample with 10% CKD content after curing for 90 days is higher than that after curing for only 1 day. This indicates that CKD can improve the long-term strength of expansive soil. Finally, microstructure analysis reveals that the addition of CKD reduces the montmorillonite content of expansive soil and decreases its swelling properties. The addition of CKD also changes the pore volume distribution, both the size and amount of macro-pores and micro-pores decrease with increase in CKD content. For saturated samples, the size of macro-pores is obviously reduced, while that of micro-pores is slightly increased for both treated and untreated soils. Hydration and saturation processes make the soil structure become dispersive which results in a lower strength, and adding CKD can restrain this process. The suggested optimal CKD content is between 10 and 14% and with a curing time of more than 27 days.