Numerical analysis of projectile penetration and perforation of plain and fiber reinforced concrete slabs

The research presented in this paper deals with the numerical analysis of projectile impact on regular strength concrete (RSC), high‐strength concrete (HSC), and engineered cementitious composites (ECC) using the Lattice Discrete Particle Model (LDPM). The LDPM is chosen in this study as it naturally captures the failure mechanisms at the length scale of coarse aggregate of concrete, and its capabilities include the accurate depiction of both intrinsic and apparent rate effects in concrete, as well as fiber reinforcement effects. The model is used to predict the experimental impact response performed by four independent testing laboratories, and for each data set the model parameters are calibrated and validated using a combination of uniaxial compression, triaxial compression, uniaxial strain compression, and dogbone tests. In the first study, perforation experiments on RSC and HSC for varied impact velocities are carried out, and the exit velocity is compared with the available experimental data. The second study focuses on ECC, where multiple impact of steel and plastic fiber reinforced concrete panels are explored. A third investigation is performed on four RSC panels with varied thicknesses and subjected to the same impact velocity. In this instance, the model is used to predict the penetration depths for the different cases. Finally, in the last study, the response of large‐thickness infinite panels of sizes ranging from 300 mm to 700 mm under projectile impact is considered. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical modelling of the effect of horizontal drains in centrifuge tests on soil-structure interaction in liquefiable soils

Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering - The research presented herein was carried out in the framework of the H2020 LIQUEFACT project ( http://www.LIQUEFACT.eu/ ). This paper presents the results of a...     

Subduction polarity reversal at the junction between the Western Alps and the Northern Apennines, Italy

The controversial relationship between the orogenic segments of the Western Alps and the Northern Apennines is here explored integrating recently published 3D tomographic models of subduction with new and re-interpreted geological observations from the eclogitic domain of the Voltri Massif (Ligurian Alps, Italy), where the two belts joint each other. The Voltri Massif is here described as an extensional domain accommodating the opposing outward migration of the Alpine and Apennine thrust fronts, since about 30–35 Ma. Using tomographic images of the upper mantle and paleotectonic reconstructions, we propose that this extensional setting represents the surface manifestation of an along strike change in polarity of the subducted oceanic slab whose polarity changed laterally in space and in time. Our tectonic model suggests that the westward shift of the Alpine thrust front from the Oligocene onward was the consequence of the toroidal asthenospheric flow induced by the retreat of the Apenninic slab.     

Wetlandscape hydrologic dynamics driven by shallow groundwater and landscape topography

Wetlands play an important role in watershed eco-hydrology. The occurrence and distribution of wetlands in a landscape are affected by the surface topography and the hydro-climatic conditions. Here, we propose a minimalist probabilistic approach to describe the dynamic behaviour of wetlandscape attributes, including number of inundated wetlands and the statistical properties of wetland stage, surface area, perimeter, and storage volume. The method relies on two major assumptions: (a) wetland bottom hydrologic resistance is negligible; and (b) groundwater level is parallel to the mean terrain elevation. The approach links the number of inundated wetlands (depressions with water) to the distribution of wetland bottoms and divides, and the position of the shallow water table. We compared the wetlandscape attribute dynamics estimated from the probabilistic approach to those determined from a parsimonious hydrologic model for groundwater-dominated wetlands. We test the reliability of the assumptions of both models using data from six cypress dome wetlands in the Green Swamp Wildlife Management Area, Florida. The results of the hydrologic model for groundwater-dominated wetlands showed that the number of inundated wetlands has a unimodal dependence on the groundwater level, as predicted by the probabilistic approach. The proposed models provide a quantitative basis to understand the physical processes that drive the spatiotemporal hydrologic dynamics in wetlandscapes impacted by shallow groundwater fluctuations. Emergent patterns in wetlandscape hydrologic dynamics are of key importance not only for the conservation of water resources, but also for a wide range of eco-hydrological services provided by connectivity between wetlands and their surrounding uplands.     

Origins and energetics of maar volcanoes: examples from the ultrapotassic Sabatini Volcanic District (Roman Province,Central Italy)

Maar volcanoes represent a common volcano type which is produced by the explosive interaction of magma with external water. Here, we provide information on a number of maars in the ultrapotassic Sabatini Volcanic District (SVD, Roman Province) as young as ∼90 ka. The SVD maars are characterised in terms of crater and ejecta ring morphologies, eruptive successions and magma compositions, in light of the local substrate settings, with the aim of assessing magma–water interaction conditions, eruption energetics and genetic mechanisms. Feeder magmas spanned the whole SVD differentiation trend from trachybasalts–shoshonites to phonolites. From the ejected lithic fragments from aquifer rocks, the range of depth of magma–water explosive interaction is estimated to have been mostly at ∼400–600 m below ground level, with a single occurrence of surficial interaction in palustrine–lacustrine environment. In particular, the interaction with external water may have triggered the explosive behaviour of poorly differentiated magmas, whereas it may have acted only as a late controlling factor of the degree of fragmentation and eruption style for the most differentiated magma batches during low-flux ascent in an incipiently fragmented state. Crater sizes, ejecta volumes and ballistic data allow a reconstruction of the energy budget of SVD maar-forming eruptions. Erupted tephra volumes from either monogenetic or polygenetic maars ranged 0.004–0.07 km³ during individual maar-forming eruptions, with corresponding total magma thermal energies of 8 × 10¹⁵–4 × 10¹⁷ J. Based on energy partitioning and volume balance of erupted magmas and lithic fractions vs. crater holes, we consider the different contributions of explosive excavation of the substrate vs. subsidence in forming the SVD maar craters. Following available models based on crater sizes, highly variable fractions (5–50%) of the magma thermal energies would have been required for crater excavation. It appears that subsidence may have played a major role in some SVD maars characterised by low lithic contents, whilst substrate excavation became increasingly significant with increasing degrees of aquifer fragmentation.     

Prof. & Ph. D Zhu Qing

Geo-spatial Information Science -     

Fast switch from extensional exhumation to thrusting of the Ronda Peridotites (South Spain)

The Alboran Domain, situated at the western end of the Mediterranean subduction system, is characterized by the Ronda Peridotites, one of the world's largest exposures of sub‐continental mantle. Using U–Pb (LA‐ICP‐MS) and Ar–Ar dating, we precisely dated two tectonic events associated with the Tertiary exhumation of the Ronda Peridotites. First, shearing along the Crust–Mantle Extensional Shear Zone caused, at ca. 22.5 Ma, mantle exhumation, local partial melting in the deep crust and coeval cooling in the upper crust. Second, the Ronda Peridotites Thrust triggered the final emplacement of the peridotites onto the continental crust at c. 21 Ma, as testified by granitic intrusions in the thrust hangingwall. The tectonic evolution of the western Alboran Domain is therefore characterized by a fast switch from continental lithospheric extension in a backarc setting, with sub‐continental mantle exhumation, to a rift inversion by thrusting driven by shortening of the upper plate.     

Trace-element and Sr–Nd isotopic evidence for the origin of the Sardinian fluorite mineralization (Italy)

The fluorite-bearing hydrothermal mineralization in Sardinia mainly occurs within Paleozoic volcanic and metasedimentary rocks. Only 3 occurrences are located in volcanic and siliciclastic Cenozoic rocks. Most Sardinian fluorites exhibit relatively high rare earth and Y (REY) contents, strong positive Y anomalies, slightly negative Ce and generally positive Eu anomalies. These features indicate that the REY were mobilized mainly from non-carbonate rocks. Neither Sr nor Nd isotopes can be used to date radiometrically the Sardinian fluorites. However, the measured Sr-isotope ratios of the fluorites hosted by Paleozoic rocks fit mixing lines in the 1000/Sr versus ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr plot once recalculated at 280 Ma, suggesting that the age inferred for the correction probably represents that of the formation of the fluorite mineralization. Mixing likely occurred between diluted surficial waters and brines circulating mainly through the Lower Paleozoic metasedimentary basement. The Cenozoic fluorites exhibit chemical and isotopic features similar to those of the Paleozoic fluorites, except the Nuraghe Onigu fluorite displaying a possible contribution of Sr from Cenozoic magmatic rocks. The initial ε_Nd values of the Paleozoic fluorites fit the age proposed for the formation of the deposits. Moreover, the values suggest that radiogenic Nd was provided to the fluids from the Ordovician siliciclastic basement, except for 3 deposits where the potential source rocks of Nd were mainly Ordovician acidic magmatic rocks. The initial ε_Nd values of the Cenozoic fluorites suggest a provenance of Nd essentially from the leaching of Variscan granitoids.