Inelastic buildings with tuned mass dampers under moderate ground motions from distant earthquakes

The effectiveness of tuned mass dampers (TMD) in vibration control of buildings was investigated under moderate ground shaking caused by long‐distance earthquakes with frequency contents resembling the 1985 Mexico City (SCT) or the 1995 Bangkok ground motion. The elastic–perfectly plastic material behaviour was assumed for the main structure, with linear TMDs employed by virtue of their simplicity and robustness. The accumulated hysteretic energy dissipation affected by TMD was examined, and the ratio of the hysteretic energy absorption in the structure with TMD to that without it is proposed to be used, in conjunction with the peak displacement ratio, as a supplementary TMD performance index since it gives an indication of the accumulated damage induced in the inelastic structures. For the ground motions considered, TMD would be effective in reducing the hysteretic energy absorption demand in the critical storeys for buildings in the 1.8–2.8 s range. The consequence is reduction in damage of the buildings which would otherwise suffer heavy damage in the absence of TMD, resulting in economical restorability in the damage control limit state. This is of practical significance in view of the current trend toward performance‐based design. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The NO2 absorption spectrum. III: The 200–300 nm region at ambient temperature

Absorption cross-section measurements of NO₂ performed in our laboratory have been extended to the 200–300 nm region at ambient temperature. Low pressures have been used, limiting the effects of the dimer N₂O₄ which has an absorption cross-section from one to two orders of magnitude larger than that of NO₂ in this region. The results have been compared to those of previous authors and are now available for atmospheric purposes at 0.01 nm intervals.Unité de Recherche Associée au CNRS.     

偏岭石及煅烧高岭石的红外光谱研究

通过对偏岭石和相应煅烧高岭石的红外光谱测定,发现偏岭石同煅烧高岭石在结构上有很大的差异。在偏岭石中不存在非晶态SiO_2相,其中Si—O_4四面体同Al—O_6八面体是相互聚合的:煅烧高岭石(600～995℃)中则不同,其中Si大部分是以独立的非晶态SiO_2相存在,而同其中的Al_2O_3相分离。偏岭石同煅烧高岭石的关系是:对偏岭石进行一定温度的煅烧,它可以转变成像煅烧高岭石一样的结构状态。     

电吸附元素异常来源及找矿模式

电吸附元素异常来源于深部矿体,主要是在各种后期地质作用下溶解了矿体中的矿质成分,并扩散迁移至地表,形成能反映矿体的电吸附晕。电吸附找矿方法在金属矿上所捕获到的异常是在矿体中心垂直投影位置以块状异常出现的称“顶部晕”。在大红山铜矿和李坝金矿上异常也反映了这种异常特征。     

石墨炉原子吸收光谱法测定农业地质调查土壤样品中镉的不确定度评定

用实例对石墨炉原子吸收光谱法测定土壤样品中镉元素的不确定度进行评定,采用《测量不确定度评定与表示指南》对测量结果进行评估。分析了不确定度的主要来源,包括测量浓度的不确定度、体积的不确定度、称量不确定度及测量重复性引起的不确定度。评估了镉含量的合成标准不确定度和扩展不确定度。对于镉含量为0.42×10-6的土壤样品,其扩展不确定度为0.04×10-6。     

Damped Lyα absorbers from dwarf galaxy ejecta

It is argued that the formation of a dwarf galaxy causes a massive burst of star formation, resulting in the ejection of most of the available gas from the galaxy as a weakly collimated wind. The ejected gas can give rise to a damped Lyα absorber (DLA). Weakly collimated outflows naturally explain the asymmetric profiles seen in low-ionization absorption lines caused by heavy elements associated with DLAs, where absorption is strongest at one edge of the absorption feature. The shape of the distribution of column densities in the model agrees reasonably well with observations. In particular, the break in slope is caused by external photoionization of the wind. A semi-analytical model for galaxy formation is used to show that, for currently acceptable cosmological parameters, dwarf galaxy outflows can account for the majority of DLA systems and their distribution with redshift. This model also predicts a correlation between velocity structure and metallicity of DLA systems, in qualitative agreement with observations. DLAs do not require many large, rapidly rotating disc galaxies to have formed early on, as in other models for their origin.     

Migration and dispersion of trace elements in the rock–soil–plant system in areas underlain by black shales and slates of the Okchon Zone, Korea

The Okchon black shale in Korea provides a typical example of natural geological materials enriched with potentially toxic elements. The Chung-Joo, Duk-Pyung, Geum-Kwan, I-Won, Bo-Eun and Chu-Bu areas are underlain by these black shales and slates of the Guryongsan Formation or the Changri Formation, which are parts of the Okchon Group in the central part of the southern Korean Peninsula. In order to investigate the enrichment levels and dispersion patterns of potentially toxic elements in the rock–soil–plant system, environmental geochemical surveys were undertaken in the above six study areas in the Okchon Zone. After appropriate preparation, rock and soil samples were analyzed for potentially toxic elements by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), and plant samples by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). In particular, Ba, Cd, Mo, V and U in Okchon black shales are highly enriched, and their mean concentrations are significantly higher than those in black slates. These elements are geochemically associated, and might be enriched simultaneously. The highest mean concentrations of 42.0 μg g⁻¹ As, 2100 μg g⁻¹ Ba, 10.9 μg g⁻¹ Cd, 213 μg g⁻¹ Mo, 83 μg g⁻¹ U, 938 μg g⁻¹ V and 394 μg g⁻¹ Zn are found in black shales from the Duk-Pyung area. Mean concentrations of As, Mo and U in soils overlying black shales occurring in the Duk-Pyung area (30 μg g⁻¹ As, 24 μg g⁻¹ Mo and 50 μg g⁻¹ U) and Chu-Bu area (39 μg g⁻¹ As, 15 μg g⁻¹ Mo and 27 μg g⁻¹ U) are higher than the permissible level. Enrichment index values of the six study areas decrease in the order of Duk-Pyung > Chu-Bu > Bo-Eun > Chung-Joo > Geum-Kwan = I-Won areas. Relationships between trace element concentrations in soils and plants are significantly correlated, and the biological absorption coefficients (BAC) in plants are in the order of Cd > Zn = Cu > Pb, which suggests that Cd is more bioavailable to plants than the other elements. Cadmium concentrations in plant species decrease in the order of chinese cabbage > red pepper > soybean = sesame > rice stalk > corn > rice grain. From the result of sequential extraction analysis of soils, relatively high proportions of Cu, Pb and Zn are present as residual fractions, and that of Cd as non-residual fractions. Cadmium occurs predominantly as exchangeable/water-acid soluble phase in soils, and this is in agreement with the findings of high Cd concentrations in plants.     

Explicit solution of a free boundary problem for a nonlinear absorption model of mixed saturated-unsaturated flow

In wet soils, zones of saturation naturally develop in the vicinity of impermeable strata, surface ponds and subterranean cavities. Hydrology must be then concerned with transient flow through coexisting unsaturated and saturated zones. The models of advancing saturated zones necessarily involve a nonlinear free boundary problem.A closed-form analytic solution is presented for a nonlinear diffusion model under conditions of ponding at the surface. The soil water diffusivity is restricted to the special functional form D(θ) = a/(b − θ)², where θ is the water content field to be determined and a, b are positive constants. The explicit solution depends on a parameter C (determined by the data of the problem), according to two cases: 1 < C < C₁ or C ≥ C₁, where C₁ is a constant which is obtained as the unique solution of an equation. This result complements the study given in P. Broadbridge, Water Resources Research, 1990, 26, 2435–2443, in order to established when the explicit solution is available. The behavior of the bifurcation parameter C₁ as a function of the driving potential is studied with the corresponding limits for small and large values. Moreover, the sorptivity is proven to be continuously differentiable function of the variable C.