A Note on Soil Structure Resistance of Natural Marine Deposits

It has been well documented that natural normally-consolidated marine soils are generally subjected to the effects of soil structure. The interpretation of the resistance of soil structure is an important issue in the theory study and engineering practice of ocean engineering and geotechnical engineering. It is traditionally considered that the resistance of soil structure gradually disappears with increasing stress level when the applied stress is beyond the consolidation yield stress. In this study, however, it is found that this traditional interpretation of the resistance of soil structure can not explain the strength behavior of natural marine deposits with a normally-consolidated stress history A new interpretation of the resistance of soil structure is proposed based on the strength behavior. In the preyield state, the undrained strength of natural marine deposits is composed of two components: one developed by the applied stress and the other developed by the resistance of soil structure. When the applied stress is beyond the consolidation yield stress, the strength behavior is independent of the resistance of soil structure.     

Fuzzy Optimum Model of Semi-Structural Decision for Lectotype Optimization of Offshore Platforms

In the process of concept design of offshore platforms, it is necessary to select the best from feasible alternatives through comparison and filter. The criterion set, used to evaluate and select the satisfying alternative, consists of many qualitative and quantitative factors. Therefore, the selection is a problem of multicriteria and semi- structural decision- making. Different from traditional methods in semi- structural decision- making, a new framework and methodology is presented in this paper for evaluation of offshore platform alternatives. First, the criterion set is established for the evaluation of alternatives. Next, the approach is studied to construct the relative membership degree matrix, in which both qualitative and quantitative factors are consistent with the uniform calculating standard. And then a new weight-assessing method is developed for calculation of the weights based on the relative membership degree matrix. Finally, a multi-hierarchy fuzzy optimum model is adopted to select t     

Computation of Viscous Uniform and Shear Flow over A Circular Cylinder by A Finite Element Method

The incompressible viscous uniform and shear flow past a circular cylinder is studied. The two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations are solved by a finite element method. The governing equations are discretized by a weighted residual method in space. The stable three-step scheme is applied to the momentum equations in the time integration. The numerical model is firstly applied to the computation of the lid-driven cavity flow for its validation. The computed results agree well with the measured data and other numerical results. Then, it is used to simulate the viscous uniform and shear flow over a circular cylinder for Reynolds numbers from lO0 to lO00. The transient time interval before the vortex shedding occurs is shortened considerably by introduction of artificial perturbation. The computed Strouhal number, drag and lift coefficients agree well with the experimental data. The computation shows that the finite element model can be successfully applied to the viscous flow problem.     

Fatigue Behavior of Plain Concrete Under Biaxial Compression: Experiments and Theoretical Model

The effects of different lateral confinement stress on the fatigue behavior of and cumulative damage to plain concrete are investigated experimentally. Eighty 100 mm x 100 mm x 100 mm specimens of ordinary strength concrete are tested under constant- or variable-amplitude fatigue loading and lateral confinement pressure in two orthogonal directions. A fatigue equation is developed by modifying the classical Aas-Jakobsen S-N equation for taking into account the effect of the confined stress on fatigue strength of plain concrete. The results of variable-amplitude fatigue tests indicate that the linear damage theory proposed by Palmgren and Miner is unreasonable in the biaxial stress state. A nonlinear cumulative damage model that could model the effects of the magnitude and sequence of variable-amplitude fatigue loading and lateral confinement pressure is proposed on the basis of the evolution laws of the residual strains in the longitudinal direction during fatigue tests. The residual fatigue life predic     

An Experimental Study of Several Special Issues Regarding the Ice Force on Conical Structures

The effect of the cone spacing of a conieal structure on the ice force is studied by model experiments. The ice force reduction coefficient presented in this paper expresses the relationship between the ice force and the arrangement of cones. The experiments prove that the mode of the ice failure before the boundary of upward-downward bending cone (UDBC) is crushing. A conclusion can also be drawn from the experiments that the ice force on the boundary of UDBC is by far less than that on a vertical pile with the same diameter. Moreover, the ice force frequencies on upright and inve-rted cones are obtained under the field condition of the platform JZ20-2, respectively. The results show that the alterna-tion of the ice force on UDBC can hardly induce resonance of platform JZ20-2.     

Relationship between the depth of visibility of Secchi disk and biooptical characteristics of the Black-Sea waters

We present the parameters of empirical relationships between the depth of visibility of Secchi disk and optical and biological characteristics of the Black-Sea surface waters. Translated by Peter V. Malyshev and Dmitry V. Malyshev     

Geological structure of the Curonian Spit (of the Baltic Sea) and its evolution history (revised)

The origin and evolution history of the Curonian Spit in the Baltic Sea are discussed based on geological and geomorphologic data. Evidence of the correlation between the spit formation stages and the Holocene sea level oscillations is presented. The ledges of moraine basement and marine accumulative features formed a single barrier. Its subsequent transformation occurred under the influence of the wave-related lithodynamic and eolian processes.     

Estimating the underwater light field from remote sensing of ocean color

We present a new approach that incorporates two models to estimate the underwater light field from remote sensing of ocean color. The first employs a series of analytical, semi-analytical, and empirical algorithms to retrieve the spectrum of inherent optical properties (IOPs), including the absorption and the backscatter coefficients, from the spectrum of remote sensing reflectance. The second model computes the profile of photosynthetically available radiation E _0,PAR (z) for a vertically homogeneous water column using the information of the retrieved IOPs and the ambient optical environment. This computation is based on an improved look-up table technology that possesses high accuracy, comparable with the full solution of the radiative transfer equation, and meets the computational requirement of remote sensing application. This new approach was validated by in situ measurements and an extensive model-to-model comparison with a wide range of IOPs. We successfully mapped the compensation depth by applying this new approach to process the SeaWiFS imagery. This research suggests that E _0,PAR (z) can be obtained routinely from ocean-color data and may have significant implications for the estimation of global heat and carbon budget.     

Diagnosis of the interaction of tropical cyclones

At present the mutual influence of tropical cyclones (TCs) has been investigated to a much lesser extent than the cyclones themselves. Most frequently, such investigations are restricted to the study of the influence of the interaction of two TCs on their motion. However, actually, the mutual influence of TCs is much more diverse. For example, each cyclone alters the state of the medium (in particular, decreases the heat store of the upper ocean layer), i.e., affects the subsequent cyclones. Under conditions of a limited energy resource of the medium, cyclones, existing simultaneously, “compete,” to a degree, with each other. These and other similar circumstances have made it practical to consider tropical cyclones and the environment as interdependent elements of a complex open system. This study considers two versions of nonlinear models describing the interaction of TCs with the upper ocean layer and with one another similarly to a number of well-known and verified models of synergetics (interaction of populations, dynamics of optical quantum generators). It is shown that the models reproduce some very important qualitative features of the evolution of TC intensity.     

Mach Effect of Oblique Nonlinear Irregular Waves Interacting with Vertical Walls

Based on Hong‘s theory, previous random models, and a generalized expression suitable for FIT calculation, the interaction between irregular waves and vertical walls is numerically simulated. The results of simulation demonstrate that the wave energy changes with the incidence angle and the distance from the wall. Particularly, the Mach effect and the combined wave spectrum characteristics are analyzed in detail, which are significant in both theory and practice.