On the simulation of multidimensional cyclic loading with intergranular strain

A sample of soil is subjected to multidimensional cyclic loading when two or three principal components of the stress or strain tensor are simultaneously controlled to perform a repetitive path. These paths are very useful to evaluate the performance of models simulating cyclic loading. In this article, an extension of an existing constitutive model is proposed to capture the behavior of the soil under this type of loading. The reference model is based on the intergranular strain anisotropy concept and therefore incorporates an elastic locus in terms of a strain amplitude. In order to evaluate the model performance, a modified triaxial apparatus able to perform multidimensional cyclic loading has been used to conduct some experiments with a fine sand. Simulations of the extended model with multidimensional loading paths are carefully analyzed. Considering that many cycles are simulated (\(N>30\)), some additional simulations have been performed to quantify and analyze the artificial accumulation generated by the (hypo-)elastic component of the model. At the end, a simple boundary value problem with a cyclic loading as boundary condition is simulated to analyze the model response.     

Suprathermal ions in quiescent periods at 1 AU in the 23rd and 24th solar-activity cycles

The relative abundances of suprathermal (with energies ～0.04–2 MeV/nucleon) ³He, ⁴He, C, O, and Fe ions and the energy spectra of 3He and Fe ions in near-Earth space during quiescent periods of solar activity are studied. Measurements obtained with the ULEIS instrument onboard the ACE spacecraft during the 23rd and 24th solar cycles are used. Substantial differences in the energy spectra of suprathermal ions in the 23rd and 24th solar cycles are observed for the selected quiescent periods. Appreciable differences in the energy dependences of the relative ion abundances are also found. One possible explanation for the results obtained is that the background ions were accelerated to suprathrmal energies under different conditions in the solar corona in these two cycles.     

Structure and crystal chemistry of a dense polymorph of tricalcium phosphate Ca3 (PO4)2: A host to accommodate large lithophile elements in the earth's mantle

A phase of Ca₃ (PO₄)₂, synthesized at 12GPa and 2300° C, is structurally analyzed by the single crystal X-ray diffraction method. This Ca₃(PO₄)₂ is found to be a dense polymorph of tricalcium phosphate isostructural with Ba₃ (PO₄)₂ and named γ-Ca₃ (PO₄)₂. In the structure of Ca₃ (PO₄)₂, a phosphorus atom is tetrahedrally coordinated by oxygen atoms and calcium atoms occupy two types of large metal sites. The Ca(1) site has twelve oxygen neighbours with the mean bond length of 2.739 Å while the other Ca(2) site is coordinated by ten oxygen atoms with the mean Ca-O distance of 2.588Å. The structure is characterized by the translationally interconnected polyhedral sequence PO₄-Ca(2)O₁₀-Ca (1)O₁₂-Ca (2)O₁₀-PO₄ in the direction of the c axis. This dense phase of Ca₃(PO₄)₂ with two large metal sites may be an important host for very large lithophile elements in the deep upper mantle of the earth.     

Lightning-strike fusion of gabbro and formation of magnetite-bearing fulgurite, Cornone di Blumone, Adamello, Western Alps, Italy

The Adamello gabbro exposed on the summit of Cornone di Blumone, Western Alps, Italy, has been fused by lightning strikes to form magnetite-rich fulgurites produced by melting of magnetite, hornblende, calcic plagioclase and minor clinopyroxene. The composition of quench magnetite in the fulgurite is 44.4 Fe₃O₄; 27.5 MgFe₂O₄; 15.1 FeAl₂O₄; 7.9 Fe₂TiO₄; 2.5 Fe₂SiO₄; 1.9 CaFe₂O₄; 0.8 MnFe₂O₄ and is inferred to have crystallized from a low-Si, Fe-rich melt under high oxidation conditions of about 1 log unit below the log₁₀?O₂ of hematite–magnetite. The low Si, Fe-rich melt is considered to have been produced from fusion of magnetite + hornblende-rich areas of the host gabbro and/or possible separation of an immiscible high Fe₂O₃/FeO Fe-rich, low-Si melt from a more siliceous glass during superheating. Skeletal-dendritic morphologies of magnetite in the fulgurite indicate crystallization under conditions of extreme supercooling. Juxtaposition of areas exhibiting different growth habits and crystal sizes of magnetite may reflect compositionally different local melt domains and/or small differences in the delicate balance between nucleation and growth in domains that had slightly different, although ultrafast, cooling rates.     

Electrical resistivity imaging of hydrologic flow through surface coal mine valley fills with comparison to other landforms

Surface coal mining has altered land cover, near‐surface geologic structure, and hydrologic processes of large areas in central Appalachia, USA. These alterations are associated with changes in water quality such as elevated total‐dissolved solids, which is usually measured via its surrogate, specific conductance (SC). The SC of valley fill effluent streams is a function of fill construction methods, materials, and age; yet hydrologic studies that relate these variables to water quality are sparse due to the difficulty of conducting traditional hydrologic studies in mined landscapes. We used electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) to visualize the subsurface geologic structure and hydrologic flow paths within a valley fill. ERI is a noninvasive geophysical technique that maps spatiotemporal changes in resistivity of the subsurface. We paired ERI with artificial rainfall experiments to track infiltrated water as it moved through the valley fill. Results indicate that ERI can be used to identify subsurface geologic structure and track advancing wetting fronts or preferential flow paths. Our results suggest that the upper portion of the fill contains significant fines, whereas the deeper profile is primarily large rocks and void spaces. Water tended to pond on the surface of compacted areas until it reached preferential flow paths, where it appeared to infiltrate quickly down to >15 m depth in 75 min. ERI applications can improve understanding of how fill construction techniques influence subsurface water movement, and in turn may aid in the development of valley fill construction methods to reduce water quality effects.     

Fisheries mismanagement

We analysed the extent to which European politicians have adhered to scientific recommendations on annual total allowable catches (TACs) from 1987 to 2011, covering most of the period of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). For the 11 stocks examined, TACs were set higher than scientific recommendations in 68% of decisions. Politically-adjusted TACs averaged 33% above scientifically recommended levels. There was no evidence that the 2002 reform of the CFP improved decision-making, as was claimed at the time. We modelled the effects of such politically-driven decision-making on stock sustainability. Our results suggest that political adjustment of scientific recommendations dramatically increases the probability of a stock collapsing within 40 years.In 2012 European fisheries policy will undergo a once-a-decade reform. Ten years ago radical reforms were promised but the changes failed to improve sustainability. It is likely that the 2012 reform will be similarly ineffective unless decision-making is changed so that catch allocations are based on science rather than politics.     

ON THE IMPROVEMENT IN PENETRATIO ACHIEVED BY USING EXTENDED MARINE SOURCE ARRAYS*

In dealing with the problem of large amplitude multiple reflections arising from a hard water-bottom, it has been found that the use of extended source array techniques resulted in a considerably better penetration than that obtained using either computer simulated long arrays or the conventional air-gun array systems. The purpose of this paper is to use the concept of the array directivity factor in discussing the reason for the improvement in penetration achieved by using extended marine source arrays. Examples are given showing that the low frequency power radiated within the so called “penetration window” can be increased by a factor of two by choosing the correct spacing of the point sources forming the extended array. It is concluded that to ensure that most of the low frequency energy is concentrated within the penetration window to achieve deep penetration, a source array with spacing comparable with the wavelength is required.     

ON THE BREMMER SERIES DECOMPOSITION: EQUIVALENCE BETWEEN TWO DIFFERENT APPROACHES*

A Bremmer Series decomposition of the solution y(t) to the lossless wave equation in layered media is where the y_j(t) are physically meaningful constituents (i.e., y₁(t) are primaries, y₂(t) are secondaries, etc.). This paper reviews Mendel's state space models for generating the constituents; reviews Bremmer's integral equation models for generating the constituents; and demonstrates how Mendel's state space models can be obtained by a careful decomposition of Bremmer's integral equation models. It shows that Mendel's equations can be viewed as approximate numerical solutions of Bremmer's integral equations. In a lossless homogeneous medium, the approximations become exact.     

Reliability level III method in design of square pillar resting on weak floor stratum

Summary Current methods of design of pillars resting on weak floor strata involve only a deterministic, conventional safety factor calculation, based on material parameters treated as the mean values taken from observations. In a case where high parameters variability occurs, these methods may lead to fatal design errors resulting in excessive pillar settlement and roof falls. Therefore, to include the influence of parameters quality, the new approach based on reliability level III method was developed. Consideration was given to the identification of the system parameters importance, and to density function for the safety factor treated as a random variable. Design procedure involving floor probability of failure was illustrated by numerical examples.     

Structural controls of lode-gold mineralization by mafic dykes in late-Paleozoic granitoids of the Kochkar district, southern Urals, Russia

The Kochkar gold district in the East Uralian Zone of the southern Urals is located in late-Paleozoic granite gneisses of the Plast massif. Gold mineralization is associated with tabular quartz lodes that are preferentially developed along the margins of easterly trending mafic dykes. Fabric development indicates that dykes had a profound influence on the development of shear zones in granitoids. ENE- and SE-trending dykes have been reactivated as dextral and sinistral oblique strike-slip shear zones, respectively, forming a set of approximately conjugate shear zones related to the Permian, regional-scale E-W directed shortening. Dyke-shear zone relationships in the Plast massif are the result of strain refraction due to the presence of biotite-rich, incompetent dykes in more competent granite-gneisses. Deformation and the formation of associated gold-quartz lodes occurred close to peak-metamorphic, upper-greenschist to lower-amphibolite facies conditions. Strain refraction has resulted in partitioning of the bulk strain into a component of non-coaxial mainly ductile shear in mafic dykes, and a component of layer-normal pure shear in surrounding granitoids where deformation was brittle-ductile. Brittle fracturing in granitoids has resulted in the formation of fracture permeabilities adjacent to sheared dykes, that together with the layer-normal dilational component, promoted the access of mineralizing fluids. Both ore-controlling dykes and gold-quartz lodes were subsequently overprinted by lower greenschist-facies, mainly brittle fault zones and associated hydrothermal alteration that post-date gold mineralization. Received: 15 October 1998 / Accepted: 18 August 1999