Inelastic displacement demands in steel structures and their relationship with earthquake frequency content parameters

This paper deals with the estimation of peak inelastic displacements of SDOF systems, representative of typical steel structures, under constant relative strength scenarios. Mean inelastic deformation demands on bilinear systems (simulating moment resisting frames) are considered as the basis for comparative purposes. Additional SDOF models representing partially‐restrained and concentrically‐braced (CB) frames are introduced and employed to assess the influence of different force‐displacement relationships on peak inelastic displacement ratios. The studies presented in this paper illustrate that the ratio between the overall yield strength and the strength during pinching intervals is the main factor governing the inelastic deformations of partially‐restrained models and leading to significant differences when compared with predictions based on bilinear structures, especially in the short‐period range. It is also shown that the response of CB systems can differ significantly from other pinching models when subjected to low or moderate levels of seismic demand, highlighting the necessity of employing dedicated models for studying the response of CB structures. Particular attention is also given to the influence of a number of scalar parameters that characterise the frequency content of the ground motion on the estimated peak displacement ratios. The relative merits of using the average spectral period T_aver, mean period T_m, predominant period T_g, characteristic period T_c and smoothed spectral predominant period T_o of the earthquake ground motion, are assessed. This paper demonstrates that the predominant period, defined as the period at which the input energy is maximum throughout the period range, is the most suitable frequency content scalar parameter for reducing the variability in displacement estimations. Finally, noniterative equivalent linearisation expressions based on the secant period and equivalent damping ratios are presented and verified for the prediction of peak deformation demands in steel structures. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Topographic predictors of susceptibility to alluvial fan flooding,Southern Apennines

The flooding susceptibility of alluvial fans in the Southern Apennines has long been neglected. To partly address this oversight, we focus on the region of Campania which contains highly urbanized piedmont areas particularly vulnerable to flooding. Our findings are based on stratigraphic analysis of the fans and morphometric analysis of the basin‐fan systems. Using geomorphological analysis we recognized active alluvial fans while stratigraphic analysis together with statistical analysis of the morphometric variables was used to classify the fans in terms of the transport process involved. The results indicate that in the geological context examined, the best discrimination between debris flow (Df) and water flood (Wf) processes is achieved by means of two related variables, one for the basin (feeder channel inclination, Cg) and one for the fan (fan length, Fl). The probability that an unclassified fan belongs to group Wf is computed by applying a logistic function in which a P value exceeding 0.5 indicates that a basin/fan system belongs to group Wf. This important result led to the classification of the entire basin/fan system data. As regards process intensity, debris flow‐dominated fans are susceptible to the occurrence of flows with high viscosity and hence subject to more severe events than water flood‐dominated fans. Bearing this in mind, the data gathered in this study allow us to detect where alluvial fan flooding might occur and give information on the different degrees of susceptibility at a regional scale. Regrettably, urban development in recent decades has failed to take the presence of such alluvial fans into account due to the long recurrence time (50–100 years) between floods. This paper outlines the distribution of such susceptibility scenarios throughout the region, thereby constituting an initial step to implementing alluvial fan flooding control and mitigation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of spatial resolution on regionalization of hydrological model parameters

Lack of availability of historical data series is one of the major hindrances in hydrological modelling. Regionalization of hydrological model parameters is one of the solutions to obtain the parameters for ungauged basins. Recently, lots of methodologies have been developed. They can be categorized as model calibration then fitting regression between model parameters and catchments characteristics, using some kind of transfer function. The aim of this study was to compare different regionalization methods as well as to look how the spatial resolution affects regionalization. In this study, a modified Lipschitz and monotony condition was used for regionalization. To identify the effect of the model resolution, the parameters of a distributed and semi‐distributed version of the Hydrologiska Byråns Vattenbalansavdelning (HBV) model were regionalized. The study was conducted at the upper Neckar catchment of southwest Germany. It has been found that the combination of Lipschitz and monotony condition has performed reasonably. It has been seen that the distributed model structure has outperformed the semi‐distributed model structure. It shows under present data conditions that higher model resolution can describe processes of ungauged basins reasonably. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The exotic aquatic mud snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Hydrobiidae, Mollusca): state of the art of a worldwide invasion

Biological invasions represent a relevant ecological and economic problem of our globalized world. While a few species have been classified as invasive due to their ecological and economic impacts on the invaded ecosystems (e.g., zebra mussel), others show contrasting invasive potential, depending on the invaded ecosystem and/or the traits of the exotic species. This paper reviews the worldwide distribution, ecological impacts and the reasons that explain the invasive success of the aquatic mud snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum Gray (Hydrobiidae, Mollusca), which is native to New Zealand. This review shows that most studies on P. antipodarum distribution have been conducted in Europe, North America and Australia, and few studies in Asia. The distribution of this snail is still unknown in other parts of the world (e.g., Africa, South and Central America). The range of invaded aquatic ecosystems varies from fresh to salt water and from lentic to lotic ecosystems. The ecological impact of this species is due to the fast population growth rate and to the extremely high densities that it can reach, leading to altered C and N cycles in invaded ecosystems. However, at low densities mud snails have been shown to enhance secondary production. Additionally, P. antipodarum has been found to overcome the negative effects of predators and parasites (e.g., it survives the pass through the digestive tracts of fish). This review contributes to assess the magnitude and ecological risk of P. antipodarum invasion throughout the world.     

A Comprehensive Method for Fractionating Soil Organic Matter Not Protected and Protected from Decomposition by Physical and Chemical Mechanisms

The objective of this work was to describe a method for isolating meaningful and measurable soil organic matter (SOM) pools that differ in the mechanisms by which they are protected from decomposition. The proposed method is appropriate for soil C stabilization and sequestration studies. Unlike previous fractionation schemes, this procedure allows free SOM located between aggregates (unprotected C pool) and SOM occluded within both macroaggregates and microaggregates (C weakly and strongly protected by physical mechanisms, respectively) to be recovered separately, freed from the soil mineral matrix and the mineral‐associated SOM pool (C pool protected by chemical mechanisms) and thus well suited to advanced chemical characterization by ¹³C‐NMR. Briefly, free SOM is isolated by an initial density separation. Stable macroaggregates are broken up into stable microaggregates and intra‐macroaggregate SOM, which is then separated by density. Finally, intra‐microaggregate SOM is isolated from mineral‐associated SOM by a third density separation after ultrasonic disruption. The SOM dissolved during the fractionation procedure is also recovered. Results obtained on soil samples with contrasting textures suggested that clay content induces a decrease of the proportion of free organic C and an increase of mineral‐associated organic C content. Free SOM is characterized by a marked presence of undecayed organic material and biologically labile substances, such as carbohydrates and proteins. In contrast, SOM occluded within aggregates, especially within microaggregates, represents a more decomposed fraction, relatively enriched in unsubstituted‐aliphatic material, most probably lipid biopolymers.     

Influence of afforestation on water regime in Jizera Catchments,Czech Republic

This paper studies the influence of afforestation on the water regime in two catchments in the Jizera Mountains that are similar in size and altitude but have different afforestation pattern. In this paper a range of different modelling tools is used to establish whether the differences in catchment water regime can be quantified and attributed to differences in catchment characteristics. Frequency analysis of low and high flows and a number and duration of flows over a threshold value are used to look for the differences in flow regime in both catchments. Low flow conditions are modelled using the Wittenberg nonlinear store approach. A rainfall-runoff process is modelled using a Data Based Mechanistic approach. The results indicate that the differences in the catchment response to external climatic factors outweigh the influence of land use apart from the low flows, where the changes in the response might be attributed to afforestation.     

Coherent structure dynamics and sediment particle motion around a cylindrical pier in developing scour holes

Recent investigations on the dynamics of the turbulent horseshoe vortex system (THV) around cylindrical piers have shown that the rich coherent dynamics of the vortical structures is dominated by low-frequency bimodal fluctuations of the velocity field. In spite of these advances, many questions remain regarding the changes of the flow and sediment transport dynamics as scour progresses. In this investigation we carry out laboratory experiments to register the development of the scour hole around a cylindrical pier in a fine-sand bed (d ₅₀ = 0.36 mm). We use the bathymetry measured in the experiment to simulate the flow field employing the detached-eddy simulation approach (DES), which has shown to resolve most of the turbulent stresses around surface-mounted obstacles. From these simulations we compare the dynamics of the THV to the flat-bed case, and analyze the effects on particle transport and sediment flux using the Lagrangian particle model of Escauriaza and Sotiropoulos (2011b) to study the impact of the changes of the flow on the sediment dynamics.     

Foundation conditions of buildings in undermined areas: An example of evaluation

Evaluation of a set of individual geological and petrophysical parameters is necessary in many geoscientific studies or those with constructional purposes. However, correlation and mutual evaluation of these parameters are very complicated. Our methodology, which is part of the expert evaluation, is based on compilation of four significant effects: local subsurface geology, groundwater table (and accumulation of surface water), deformation of the surface due to mining (subsidence), and landslides. Different values of specified significances were assigned to all four selected effects. The class of foundation conditions was selected according to the summary of values of specified significances for a given point. This value describes how the selected parameters influence vibration effect on the surface and resistance of buildings to this seismic loading. The pilot map of foundation conditions, which was elaborated as part of the evaluation of Stonava area in 2008, is presented.