Channel response to a dam-removal sediment pulse captured at high-temporal resolution using routine gage data

In this study, we captured how a river channel responds to a sediment pulse originating from a dam removal using multiple lines of evidence derived from streamflow gages along the Patapsco River, Maryland, USA. Gages captured characteristics of the sediment pulse, including travel times of its leading edge (~7.8 km yr⁻¹) and peak (~2.6 km yr⁻¹) and suggest both translation and increasing dispersion. The pulse also changed local hydraulics and energy conditions, increasing flow velocities and Froude number, due to bed fining, homogenization and/or slope adjustment. Immediately downstream of the dam, recovery to pre-pulse conditions occurred within the year, but farther downstream recovery was slower, with the tail of the sediment pulse working through the lower river by the end of the study 7 years later. The patterns and timing of channel change associated with the sediment pulse were not driven by large flow or suspended sediment-transporting events, with change mostly occurring during lower flows. This suggests pulse mobility was controlled by process-factors largely independent of high flow. In contrast, persistent changes occurred to out-of-channel flooding dynamics. Stage associated with flooding increased during the arrival of the sediment pulse, 1 to 2 years after dam removal, suggesting persistent sediment deposition at the channel margins and nearby floodplain. This resulted in National Weather Service-indicated flood stages being attained by 3–43% smaller discharges compared to earlier in the study period. This study captured a two-signal response from the sediment pulse: (1) short- to medium-term (weeks to months) translation and dispersion within the channel, resulting in aggradation and recovery of bed elevations and changing local hydraulics; and (2) dispersion and persistent longer-term (years) effects of sediment deposition on overbank surfaces. This study further demonstrated the utility of US Geological Survey gage data to quantify geomorphic change, increase temporal resolution, and provide insights into trajectories of change over varying spatial and temporal scales.     

Effects of riverbed incision on the hydrology of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta

The hydrogeomorphology of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) has been significantly altered by natural and anthropogenic drivers. In this study, the spatiotemporal changes of the flow regime were examined by analysing the long-term daily, monthly, annual and extreme discharges and water levels from 1980 to 2018, supported by further investigation of the long-term annual sediment load (from the 1960s to 2015), river bathymetric data (in 1998, 2014 and 2017) and daily salinity concentration (from the 1990s to 2015) using various statistical methods and a coupled numerical model. Then, the effects of riverbed incision on the hydrology were investigated. The results show that the dry season discharge (i.e., in March–June) of the Tien River increased by up to 23% from the predam period (1980–1992) to the postdam period (1993–2018) but that the dry season water level at My Thuan decreased by up to −46%. The annual mean and monthly water levels in June at Tan Chau and in January and June–October at My Thuan in the Tien River decreased statistically, even though the respective discharges increased significantly. These decreased water levels instead of the increased discharges were attributed to the accelerated riverbed incision upstream from My Thuan, which increased by more than three times, from a mean rate of −0.16 m/year (−16.7 Mm³/year) in 1998–2014 to −0.5 m/year (−52.5 Mm³/year) in 2014–2017. This accelerated riverbed incision was likely caused by the reduction in the sediment load of the VMD (from 166.7 Mt/year in the predam period to 57.6 Mt/year in the postdam period) and increase in sand mining (from 3.9 Mm³ in 2012 to 13.43 Mm³ in 2018). Collectively, the decreased dry season water level in the Tien River is likely one of the main causes of the enhanced salinity intrusion.     

Risk analysis for clustered check dams due to heavy rainfall

Check dams are commonly constructed around the world for alleviating soil erosion and preventing sedimentation of downstream rivers and reservoirs.Check dams are more vulnerable to failure due to their less stringent flood control standards compared to other dams.Determining the critical precipitation that will result in overtopping of a dam is a useful approach to assessing the risk of failure on a probabilistic basis and for providing early warning in case of an emergency.However,many check dams are built in groups,spreading in several tributaries in cascade forms,comprising a complex network.Determining the critical precipitation for dam overtopping requires a knowledge of its upstream dams on whether they survived or were overtopped during the same storm,while these upstream dams in turn need the information for their upstream dams.The current paper presents an approach of decomposing the dam cluster into(1)the heading dam,(2)border dams,and(3)intermediate dams.The algorithm begins with the border dams that have no upstream dams and proceeds with upgraded maps without the previous border dams until all the dams have been checked.It is believed that this approach is applicable for small-scale check dam systems where the time lag of flood routing can be neglected.As a pilot study,the current paper presents the analytical results for the Wangmaogou Check Dam System that has 22 dams connected in series and parallel.The algorithm clearly identified 7 surviving dams,with the remaining ones being overtopped for a storm of 179.6 mm in 12 h,which is associated with a return period of one in 200 years.     

不同跨高比对多层钢框架内填混凝土深梁结构抗震性能影响

为了研究不同跨高比多层钢框架内填混凝土深梁结构的抗震性能,在钢框架内填混凝土深梁滞回性能试验的基础上,利用ABAQUS对六层纯钢框架（结构一）、钢框架内填跨高比为2混凝土深梁结构（结构二）和钢框架内填跨高比为0.75混凝土深梁结构（结构三）进行弹塑性时程分析。结果表明:内填混凝土深梁使结构整体刚度明显增大;在地震波的作用下,结构二的最大顶点位移降低可达58.3%,结构三的最大顶点位移降低可达89.3%,内填混凝土深梁,结构的抗侧移性能得到了极大改善,且随着深梁跨高比的减小而大幅度提升;结构二滞回曲线饱满,呈现纺锤形,混凝土深梁充分起到了第一道防线作用。经济合理的钢框架内填混凝土深梁结构具有一定的工程应用价值。     

高拱坝施工初-中期导流风险模型及应用

面向工程设计阶段,采用高拱坝施工动态仿真技术获取施工初-中期挡水度汛面貌数据,综合考虑水文、水力随机性因素,构建高拱坝施工初-中期导流风险模型,提出采用Monte Carlo方法耦合挡水度汛面貌数据和主要随机因素进行风险模型求解的方法。基于风险分析原理提出了导流洞设计的风险判别方法,给出导流洞尺寸设计优化的数学模型和具体步骤。通过金沙江上游某高拱坝工程案例分析的结果表明:所提风险模型及求解方法是适用的、有效的,该模型能够得到整个施工初-中期导流风险率,较为客观地反映高拱坝施工中期度汛可能存在的两种挡水情况,克服了初期导流风险模型的局限性;施工中期导流风险率随导流洞尺寸增大而减小,导流洞尺寸设计的可行方案集存在界限,即优化方案。研究成果可为高拱坝施工导流的风险决策和设计优化提供理论支撑。     

混凝土徐变对抗滑桩结构的影响分析

混凝土徐变作用能够增大桩身弯曲变形,占用设计冗余。增大受拉侧混凝土裂缝宽度,降低结构耐久性。由于抗滑桩嵌固段属于隐蔽工程,无法及时发现此类问题,故将会对防治工程造成安全隐患。本文采用在抗滑桩埋设应变计,定期监测桩身应变数值的方法,研究了悬臂式抗滑桩在成桩后至一定时期内的实际受力变形情况。特别是对工程运行初期混凝土徐变作用下的桩身变形情况,进行了分析与总结,最后提出了抗滑桩设计时注意事项。     

物探方法在水库坝基渗漏勘探中的应用

近年来物探方法在坝基勘探、活断层探测、溶洞探测和基础检测等工程中得到广泛应用,并取得了令人瞩目的成绩。本文介绍了在某水库坝基渗漏勘探开展物探工作的情况,取得了满意的结果,表明应用多种物探方法对解决工程问题具有较好的效果。     

薄壁结构砼的裂缝与处理

分析了万年闸船闸砼工程结束后薄壁砼结构墙体出现大面积贯通性裂缝的发生原因,提出了修复裂缝的工艺方案,总结了预防此类裂缝发生的有效措施。     

大体积混凝土表面质量通病的防治

大体积混凝土是指最小断面尺寸大于1m的混凝土结构,而且其尺寸已经大到必须采取相应的技术措施妥善处理温度差和合理解决温度应力问题并控制裂缝扩展,因此,大体积模注混凝土的表面质量通病的防治是施工质量控制的一项重要内容。对大体积混凝土表面质量通病的形成原因和防治措施进行了探讨。     

Numerical evaluation of soft inter‐slab joint in concrete‐faced rockfill dam with dual mortar finite element method

Recently constructed concrete‐faced rockfill dams (CFRDs) often use soft inter‐slab joints to prevent axial compression‐induced extrusion damage in the concrete face. Due to the complexity of the multibody contact and the lack of information on the actual behavior of soft joints, it is highly challenging to numerically assess the effect of soft joints in CFRDs. In this paper, we present a numerical approach for the three‐dimensional modeling of CFRDs with hard and soft joints. A dual mortar finite element method with Lagrange multiplier is developed to treat the multibody contact in hard joints with impenetrability condition. The soft joint slab‐filler‐slab contact system is modeled using an equivalent contact interface approach, where the soft contact constraints are imposed using a perturbed Lagrange formulation. Through a series of laboratory tests, the mechanical behavior of soft joint is investigated. An extrusion model for the soft joint is presented and implemented in the dual mortar finite element method. The proposed numerical method is applied to the three‐dimensional analysis of Tianshengqiao‐1 CFRD. Despite the complex multibody contact and strong material and geometry nonlinearities in the CFRD, the proposed method is stable and capable of capturing salient characteristics of the CFRD. Numerical results show that in Tianshengqiao‐1, the employment of soft joints can effectively reduce the axial compression stress, thus greatly alleviating the risk of extrusion damage in the concrete face.