Unified numerical study of shallow foundation on structured soft clay under unconsolidated and consolidated-undrained loadings

Abstract

Based on a new elasto-plastic constitutive model, this paper presents a soil–water coupled numerical prediction of the bearing capacity for shallow foundation constructed on Ballina soft clay for unconsolidated undrained (UU) and consolidated undrained (CU) conditions. This elasto-plastic constitutive Shanghai model has an advantage of describing the mechanical behaviour of over-consolidated and structured soil under different loading and drainage conditions, by using one set of material parameter. In this paper, the Shanghai model used for both UU and CU conditions has the same initial parameters obtained from laboratory test results. The loading conditions and consolidation stages vary based on construction details. The predicted bearing pressure-settlement responses for UU and CU, approves the field observation. The phenomenon of gaining the bearing capacity due to consolidation is captured and explained by the use of soil–water coupled numerical analysis with a new elasto-plastic model. The stress strain behaviour, stress paths and the decay of the structure of elements at different depths presented in this study, reveal the mechanism for the difference between UU and CU conditions to understand the foundation behaviour. Effect of the initial degree of soil structure on the bearing capacity is also addressed. Overall, this approach provides the integrated solution for the shallow foundation design problems under short and long-term loadings.     

Late Pleistocene to Holocene sedimentation and hydrocarbon seeps on the continental shelf of a steep,tectonically active margin,southern California,USA

Small, steep, uplifting coastal watersheds are prolific sediment producers that contribute significantly to the global marine sediment budget. This study illustrates how sedimentation evolves in one such system where the continental shelf is largely sediment-starved, with most terrestrial sediment bypassing the shelf in favor of deposition in deeper basins. The Santa Barbara–Ventura coast of southern California, USA, is considered a classic area for the study of active tectonics and of Tertiary and Quaternary climatic evolution, interpretations of which depend upon an understanding of sedimentation patterns. High-resolution seismic-reflection data over >570 km² of this shelf show that sediment production is concentrated in a few drainage basins, with the Ventura and Santa Clara River deltas containing most of the upper Pleistocene to Holocene sediment on the shelf. Away from those deltas, the major factor controlling shelf sedimentation is the interaction of wave energy with coastline geometry. Depocenters containing sediment 5–20 m thick exist opposite broad coastal embayments, whereas relict material (bedrock below a regional unconformity) is exposed at the sea floor in areas of the shelf opposite coastal headlands. Locally, natural hydrocarbon seeps interact with sediment deposition either to produce elevated tar-and-sediment mounds or as gas plumes that hinder sediment settling. As much as 80% of fluvial sediment delivered by the Ventura and Santa Clara Rivers is transported off the shelf (some into the Santa Barbara Basin and some into the Santa Monica Basin via Hueneme Canyon), leaving a shelf with relatively little recent sediment accumulation. Understanding factors that control large-scale sediment dispersal along a rapidly uplifting coast that produces substantial quantities of sediment has implications for interpreting the ancient stratigraphic record of active and transform continental margins, and for inferring the distribution of hydrocarbon resources in relict shelf deposits.     

Radiation condensation instability in a plasma with ionization and recombination

In this work, we consider radiation (thermal) instability in a weakly ionized plasma with continuous ionization and recombination. The situation can be visualized in the case of envelopes of planetary nebulae, which are envelopes of ionized plasmas surrounding red giant stars. Various observations report continuous photoionization of these plasmas by the highly energetic streams of photons emanating from the parent star. Recently, it has been shown that thermal instability can be a probable candidate in such plasmas for the existence of small scale structures (viz., striations) whose kinematic age is much smaller than that of the parent nebula. We therefore report a systematic study of these plasmas with photoionization and determine the instability domain. We have shown that the continuous ionization and recombination may lead to modification of the underlying instability, which may limit the size of the small structures that are believed to form from these instabilities, and may thus provide an explanation of the physical processes responsible for the existence of these structures. We further show that in many cases the system bifurcates to an ovserstable (growing wave) state from a condensation instability (monotonic) and vice versa.     

Effects of salinity fluctuation amplitudes on growth, osmolarity, Na＋-K＋-ATPase activity and Hsp70 of juvenile Chinese shrimp Fenneropenaeus chinensis Osbeck

The effects of various salinity fluctuation amplitudes (2, 4, 6 and 8) on the growth, osmolarity, Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase activity and Hsp70 of juvenile Fenneropenaeus chinensis cultured in seawater with a salinity of 20 were studied. The results show that weight gain in the salinity fluctuation treatments was better than that in control; in particular, the weight gain of treatments S4 and S0, at 231.8% and 196.3%, respectively, was significantly different (P<0.05). The hemolymph osmolarity of treatments S0, S2, S4, S6 and S8 was 635.4, 630.8, 623.6, 614.4 and 600.3 mOsm/kg, respectively, and decreased with increasing salinity fluctuation amplitude. The level of Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase activity in gills of F. chinensis was higher than that in hepatopancreas, but there were no significant differences among all treatments, either in gills or hepatopancreas (P>0.05). The relative level of Hsp70 in treatment S4 was 48.4% and 40.4% higher than control in muscle and eyestalks, respectively, with the highest values being recorded under a salinity fluctuation amplitude of 4.     

FUZZY COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION OF CONTAINER TRANSPORTATION MODES ALONG THE CHANGJIANG RIVER MAIN LINE AND ITS DELTA AREA

The Changjiang River (Yangtze) is one of the fastest growth areas of container transportation in Chi-na. Rail, road and water transportation have competed against each other for container transportation in the Chang-jiang River main line and its delta area. It is of significance to assess these different transportation modes scientifi-cally in order to organize container transportation efficiently in this area and make decision for integral plan and construction of transportation system in this area. This paper outlines application of fuzzy comprehensive evaluation to appraise different modes of typical direction of containers. Twelve assessment indexes were decided. Membership functions were formulated. Evaluation results indicated that road transportation was optimal mode in the Changjiang River delta area, however water transportation was the primary way in the Changjiang River main line.     

Soil nutrients in relation to vertical roots distribution in the riparian zone of Three Gorges Reservoir,China

Since the impoundment of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR), the riparian zone has been subjected to numerous environmental changes. This study was conducted to recognize the distribution of grass roots and its impacts on soil nutrients in the water level fluctuation zone of TGR. Roots of four predominant herbaceous plants in the study area, specifically, Cynodon dactylon, Hemarthria altissima, Hemarthria compressa, and Paspalum paspaloides, and their corresponding relation with soil nutrient contents were investigated. Root surface area density was determined with WinRHIZO, and the relationships of root distribution with soil depths and soil nutrient contents were studied. The results indicates that most roots are distributed in the top soil layer of 0–10 cm. Estimated root surface area density for the selected grass species ranges from 0.16 to 13.44 cm2/cm3, and decreases exponentially with an increase in soil depth. Soil organic matter and total nitrogen contents are significantly lower on bare control area than the corresponding values on the grasslands. Total nutrient contents on grasslands of C. dactylon and H. compressa are higher than those of other grass areas. Root length density and root surface area density are significantly correlated with soil organic matter and total nitrogen content for the four grasslands. The present results suggests that plant roots have significant effects on the distribution of soil nutrients in soil profiles in the riparian zone along the TGR. Nevertheless, additional investigations are needed to reveal the specific interactions between plant roots distribution, soil nutrients and water level fluctuations.     

The X10 Flare on 29 October 2003: Was It Triggered by Magnetic Reconnection between Counter-Helical Fluxes?

Vector magnetograms taken at Huairou Solar Observing Station (HSOS) and Mees Solar Observatory (MSO) reveal that the super active region (AR) NOAA 10486 was a complex region containing current helicity flux of opposite signs. The main positive sunspots were dominated by negative helicity fields, while positive helicity patches persisted both inside and around the main positive sunspots. Based on a comparison of two days of deduced current helicity density, pronounced changes associated with the occurrence of an X10 flare that peaked at 20:49 UT on 29 October 2003 were noticed. The average current helicity density (negative) of the main sunspots decreased significantly by about 50%. Accordingly, the helicity densities of counter-helical patches (positive) were also found to decay by the same proportion or more. In addition, two hard X-ray (HXR) “footpoints” were observed by the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) during the flare in the 50 – 100 keV energy range. The cores of these two HXR footpoints were adjacent to the positions of two patches with positive current helicity that disappeared after the flare. This strongly suggested that the X10 flare on 29 October 2003 resulted from reconnection between magnetic flux tubes having opposite current helicity. Finally, the global decrease of current helicity in AR 10486 by ∼50% can be understood as the helicity launched away by the halo coronal mass ejection (CME) associated with the X10 flare. Electronic Supplementary Material The online version of this article () contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Resolving the landfill siting impasse: modelling technocratic and indigenous perspectives using GIS multicriteria approach

Increase in waste generation calls for an effective waste management as this has become a necessity for environmental sustainability. Several methods are adopted in managing waste, which include waste reduction, reuse, thermal treatment, recycling and landfilling. The landfill method is recognised as the most used of all the waste management methods in developing countries such as Ghana. However, the selection of a suitable landfill site is very difficult and tedious. This is because it involves a consideration of many factors such as environmental, topographic, economic, socio-cultural and civil engineering. This research sought to identify a suitable landfill site by applying GIS multicriteria and weighted overlay approach in the Bongo District of Northern Ghana. The analysis relied on criteria and weights provided by the technocrats and the indigenes in the district as a way of demonstrating how landfill siting impasse can be resolved by incorporating the various stakeholders. The results obtained provided clear areas for landfill sites in the study area from the technocratic and the indigenous perspectives. However, the technocratic perspective failed to include an important cultural criterion, sacred groves, as a factor. The indigenous perspective also compromised on the factor related to nearness to residential areas, and is equally not sufficient on its own. The optimal landfill sites, which meets the expectations of both the technocrats and indigenes, was identified. This perspective has produced technically favourable and socio-culturally acceptable landfill site. However, it is recommended an environmental impact assessment (EIA) be conducted to identify the full environmental and social cost of the site. It is concluded that in landfill site selection much attention be given to cultural factors in the same way as the technical factors.     

Characteristic of Gravity and Magnetic Anomalies in the Daba Shan and the Sichuan basin, China: Implication for Architecture of the Daba Shan

The Dabashan nappe structural belt links the Hannan block to the west with the Huangling block to the east between Yangxian and Xiangfan. The Dabashan arc-shaped fold belt formed during late Jurassic and was superposed on earlier Triassic folds. To achieve an improved understanding of the deep tectonics of the Dabashan nappe structural belt, we processed and interpreted the gravity and magnetic data for this area using new deep reflection seismic and other geophysical data as constraints. The results show that the Sichuan basin and Daba Mountains lie between the Longmenshan and Wulingshan gravity gradient belts. The positive magnetic anomalies around Nanchong-Tongjiang-Wanyuan-Langao and around Shizhu result from the crystalline basement. Modeling of the gravity and magnetic anomalies in the Daba Mountains and the Sichuan basin shows that the crystalline basement around Nanchong-Tongjiang-Wanyuan-Langao extends to the northeast underneath the Wafangdian fault near Ziyang. The magnetic field boundary in the Zhenba-Wanyuan-Chengkou-Zhenping area is the major boundary of the Dabashan nappe thrusting above the Sichuan Basin. This boundary might be the demarcation between the south Dabashan and the north Dabashan structural elements. The low gravity anomaly between Tongjiang and Chengkou might be partly caused by thickened lower crust. The local low gravity anomaly to the south of Chengkou-Wanyuan might result from Mesozoic strata of low density in the Dabashan foreland depression area.     

非线性半参数模型最小二乘核估计的直接解法

基于非线性半参数模型最小二乘核估计,给出了其参数分量和非参数分量估计的构造式,导出了参数分量和非参数分量顾及二次项直接解法的计算公式。用实测数据进行计算,证明了对于非线性半参数模型最小二乘核估计,可采用顾及二次项的直接解法。