Multigene genetic programming for sediment transport modeling in sewers for conditions of non-deposition with a bed deposit

It is known that construction of large sewers based on consideration of flow with non-deposition without a bed deposit is not economical. Sewer design based on consideration of flow with non-deposition with a bed deposit reduces channel bed slope and construction cost in which the presence of a small depth of sediment deposition on the bed increases the sediment transport capacity of the flow. This paper suggests a new Pareto-optimal model developed by the multigene genetic programming (MGGP) technique to estimate particle Froude number (Fr_p) in large sewers with conditions of sediment deposition on the bed. To this end, four data sets including wide ranges of sediment size and concentration, deposit thickness, and pipe size are used. On the basis of different statistical performance indices, the efficiency of the proposed Pareto-optimal MGGP model is compared to those of the best MGGP model developed in the current study as well as the conventional regression models available in the literature. The results indicate the higher efficiency of the MGGP-based models for Fr_p estimation in the case of no additional deposition onto a bed with a sediment deposit. Inasmuch as the Pareto-optimal MGGP model utilizes a lower number of input parameters to yield comparatively higher performance than the conventional regression models, it can be used as a parsimonious model for self-cleansing design of large sewers in practice.     

Neo-deterministic seismic hazard scenarios for India—a preventive tool for disaster mitigation

Current computational resources and physical knowledge of the seismic wave generation and propagation processes allow for reliable numerical and analytical models of waveform generation and propagation. From the simulation of ground motion, it is easy to extract the desired earthquake hazard parameters. Accordingly, a scenario-based approach to seismic hazard assessment has been developed, namely the neo-deterministic seismic hazard assessment (NDSHA), which allows for a wide range of possible seismic sources to be used in the definition of reliable scenarios by means of realistic waveforms modelling. Such reliable and comprehensive characterization of expected earthquake ground motion is essential to improve building codes, particularly for the protection of critical infrastructures and for land use planning. Parvez et al. (Geophys J Int 155:489–508, 2003) published the first ever neo-deterministic seismic hazard map of India by computing synthetic seismograms with input data set consisting of structural models, seismogenic zones, focal mechanisms and earthquake catalogues. As described in Panza et al. (Adv Geophys 53:93–165, 2012), the NDSHA methodology evolved with respect to the original formulation used by Parvez et al. (Geophys J Int 155:489–508, 2003): the computer codes were improved to better fit the need of producing realistic ground shaking maps and ground shaking scenarios, at different scale levels, exploiting the most significant pertinent progresses in data acquisition and modelling. Accordingly, the present study supplies a revised NDSHA map for India. The seismic hazard, expressed in terms of maximum displacement (Dmax), maximum velocity (Vmax) and design ground acceleration (DGA), has been extracted from the synthetic signals and mapped on a regular grid over the studied territory.     

A new model order reduction strategy adapted to nonlinear problems in earthquake engineering

Earthquake dynamic response analysis of large complex structures, especially in the presence of nonlinearities, usually turns out to be computationally expensive. In this paper, the methodical developments of a new model order reduction strategy (MOR) based on the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) method as well as its practical applicability to a realistic building structure are presented. The seismic performance of the building structure, a medical complex, is to be improved by means of base isolation realized by frictional pendulum bearings. According to the new introduced MOR strategy, a set of deterministic POD modes (transformation matrix) is assembled, which is derived based on the information of parts of the response history, so‐called snapshots, of the structure under a representative earthquake excitation. Subsequently, this transformation matrix is utilized to create reduced‐order models of the structure subjected to different earthquake excitations. These sets of nonlinear low‐order representations are now solved in a fractional amount of time in comparison with the computations of the full (non‐reduced) systems. The results demonstrate accurate approximations of the physical (full) responses by means of this new MOR strategy if the probable behavior of the structure has already been captured in the POD snapshots. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Correction to: Geochemical Prospectivity Mapping Through a Feature Extraction–Selection Classification Scheme

Natural Resources Research - The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake in the second part of Table 3. The data in last four rows of Table 3, i.e.,...     

An Improved Data-Driven Multiple Criteria Decision-Making Procedure for Spatial Modeling of Mineral Prospectivity: Adaption of Prediction–Area Plot and Logistic Functions

Natural Resources Research - Assigning realistic weights to targeting criteria in order to synthesize various geo-spatial datasets is one of the most important challenging tasks for mineral...     

Climatology of dust days in the Central Plateau of Iran

Natural Hazards - Dust storms are a major natural hazard to human health. Severe erosive storms in parts of the Central Plateau of Iran have made the situation very difficult for the inhabitants,...     

Assessment of Various Fuzzy c-Mean Clustering Validation Indices for Mapping Mineral Prospectivity: Combination of Multifractal Geochemical Model and Mineralization Processes

This paper describes the application of an unsupervised clustering method, fuzzy c-means (FCM), to generate mineral prospectivity models for Cu?±?Au?±?Fe mineralization in the Feizabad District of NE Iran. Various evidence layers relevant to indicators or potential controls on mineralization, including geochemical data, geological–structural maps and remote sensing data, were used. The FCM clustering approach was employed to reduce the dimensions of nine key attribute vectors derived from different exploration criteria. Multifractal inverse distance weighting interpolation coupled with factor analysis was used to generate enhanced multi-element geochemical signatures of areas with Cu?±?Au?±?Fe mineralization. The GIS-based fuzzy membership function MSLarge was used to transform values of the different evidence layers, including geological–structural controls as well as alteration, into a [0–1] range. Four FCM-based validation indices, including Bezdek’s partition coefficient (V_Pc) and partition entropy (V_Pe) indices, the Fukuyama and Sugeno (V_FS) index and the Xie and Beni (V_XB) index, were employed to derive the optimum number of clusters and subsequently generate prospectivity maps. Normalized density indices were applied for quantitative evaluation of the classes of the FCM prospectivity maps. The quantitative evaluation of the results demonstrates that the higher favorability classes derived from V_FS and V_XB (N_d?=?9.19) appear more reliable than those derived from V_Pc and V_Pe (N_d?=?6.12) in detecting existing mineral deposits and defining new zones of potential Cu?±?Au?±?Fe mineralization in the study area.

     

Modeling relationships between the network distance and travel time dynamics for assessing equity of accessibility to urban parks

Static models of accessibility are usually based on the fixed distance or Average Travel Time (ATT) models. Because of ignoring the traffic as a dynamic process affecting the accessibility through the change of Travel Time (TT), these models lead to unperceived temporal inequities. In contrast to the consideration of the temporal Variation of TT (VTT) in the previous studies, the variation of traffic- related TT and its relations with network distance has not been considered. In this study, relations between VTT and network distance to access urban parks in Tehran megacity has been modeled. Traffic maps at five times of day are used to produce TT maps of Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZs) to their 3-closest parks. Comparison of the Gini coefficients of accessibility show significant inequities of accessibility at different times of day. Relations between the distance, ATT, and TTmax are modeled by statistical analysis. Results show both TT and TTmax have significant positive relations with distance and traffic and reach their maximum at 6 p.m. Observation of significant relations between distance, ATT, TTmax, and VTT provides interesting knowledge for the conversion of temporal measures of equity (TT) to a physical measure of equity (distance). A simple application of these findings for effective management of the spatiotemporal inequities is the definition of critical distances from public services. As an example, to decrease the TTmax of TAZs to less than 12 min, their maximum distance to the closest parks should be less than 4 km. The developed approach can be adopted for the accessibility evaluation of the other public services, particularly the health and education centers.     

Development of water management strategies in southern Mesopotamia during the fourth and third millennium B.C.E.

The last two decades witnessed increasing scholarly interest in the history of water management in southern Mesopotamia. Thanks to many geoarchaeological research projects conducted throughout the central and southern Iraqi floodplains, a general understanding of the macrophases of anthropogenic manipulation of this vast hydraulic landscape has been achieved. However, current narratives mostly rely on studies at a regional scale and are based on excessively long chronological phases (often spanning a whole millennium). A finer-tuned analysis at a submillennial scale is needed to better appreciate the dynamics that led to the development of artificial canals and irrigation systems and the creation of harbours in cities and other navigation-related facilities. The Iraqi-Italian QADIS project is addressing this issue through a systematic geoarchaeological investigation in the south-eastern area of the Qadisiyah province. We aim to update the current narrative by analysing case studies involving specific periods of occupation. We performed 17 boreholes to propose a date on the functioning period of the hydraulic works in five selected archaeological sites of this region. This approach allowed us to understand changes in water management strategies in both the short and the medium term (i.e., on a scale of centuries). In this paper, we present the results for the fourth and third millennia B.C.E. This period witnessed a crucial passage from the basic exploitation of natural watercourses for irrigation and occasional navigation to the emergence of the first system of artificial canals and intraurban harbours.     

Salinization of groundwater in arid and semi-arid zones: an example from Tajarak,western Iran

Study of the groundwater samples from Tajarak area, western Iran, was carried out in order to assess their chemical compositions and suitability for agricultural purposes. All of the groundwaters are grouped into two categories: relatively low mineralized of Ca–HCO₃ and Na–HCO₃ types and high mineralized waters of Na–SO₄ and Na–Cl types. The chemical evolution of groundwater is primarily controlled by water–rock interactions mainly weathering of aluminosilicates, dissolution of carbonate minerals and cation exchange reactions. Calculated values of pCO₂ for the groundwater samples range from 2.34 × 10⁻⁴ to 1.07 × 10⁻¹ with a mean value of 1.41 × 10⁻² (atm), which is above the pCO₂ of the earth’s atmosphere (10^−3.5). The groundwater is oversaturated with respect to calcite, aragonite and dolomite and undersaturated with respect to gypsum, anhydrite and halite. According to the EC and SAR the most dominant classes (C3-S1, C4-S1 and C4-S2) were found. With respect to adjusted SAR (adj SAR), the sodium (Na⁺) content in 90% of water samples in group A is regarded as low and can be used for irrigation in almost all soils with little danger of the development of harmful levels of exchangeable Na⁺, while in 40 and 37% of water samples in group B the intensity of problem is moderate and high, respectively. Such water, when used for irrigation will lead to cation exchange and Na⁺ is adsorbed on clay minerals while calcium (Ca²⁺) and magnesium (Mg²⁺) are released to the liquid phase. The salinity hazard is regarded as medium to high and special management for salinity control is required. Thus, the water quality for irrigation is low, providing the necessary drainage to avoid the build-up of toxic salt concentrations.