Stability analysis of tunnels driven in jointed rocks by means of a homogenized limit analysis approach

Conceived as a potential alternative to the classical design methods employed for analyzing the stability of underground structures driven in jointed rocks, the homogenization approach stems from the heuristic idea that, from a macroscopic point of view, a rock mass cut by a network of joints may be perceived as a homogenized continuum. The strength properties of the latter can be theoretically obtained from the failure conditions of its individual constituents: rock matrix and joint interfaces. At the material level, the limit analysis reasoning is used in the context of homogenization to formulate the homogenized strength criterion of a jointed rock mass in the particular situation of a single set of parallel joints. As it could be expected, the obtained closed‐form expressions show the strength anisotropy induced by joint preferential orientation. The support functions (π functions) associated with the homogenized strength criterion are also determined in both plane strain and three‐dimensional cases. This criterion is then applied to the investigation of stability analysis of a tunnel excavated in a jointed rock mass. Upper bounds estimated of the stability factor are derived from the implementation of the kinematic approach directly on the homogenized underground structure. Finally, the approach is applied to analyze and discuss the collapse of the Pinheiros subway station (São Paulo, Brazil). Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Why asymptotic limit of the acid dissolution capacity can lead to a sharp dissolution front in chemical dissolution of porous rocks?

The use of the asymptotic limit can greatly simplify the theoretical analysis of chemical dissolution front instabilities in fluid‐saturated rocks and therefore make it possible to obtain mathematical solutions, which often play a crucial role in understanding the propagation behavior of chemical dissolution fronts in chemical dissolution systems. However, there has been a debate in recent years that the asymptotic limit of the acid dissolution capacity (i.e., the acid dissolution capacity number approaching zero) alone cannot lead to a sharp dissolution front of the Stefan type in the acidization dissolution system, in which the dissolvable minerals of carbonate rocks are chemically dissolved by the injected acid flow. The acid dissolution capacity number is commonly defined as the ratio of the volume of the carbonate rock dissolved by an acid to that of the acid. In this paper, we use four different proof methods, including (i) direct use of the fundamental concepts; (ii) use of the mathematical governing equations of an acidization dissolution system; (iii) use of the different time scaling approach; and (iv) use of a moving coordinate system approach, to demonstrate that the asymptotic limit of the acid dissolution capacity can indeed lead to sharp dissolution fronts of the Stefan type in acidization dissolution systems on a much larger time scale (than the dissolution time scale). Our new finding is that on the reaction time scale, the condition of the conventional time derivative of porosity approaching zero alone can ensure that the acidization dissolution front has a sharp shape of the Stefan type. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

X射线衍射技术应用于宝石鉴定-合成及晶体结构研究进展

因宝石检测常附带无损要求、宝石评价具科学性和不确定性等特点,X射线衍射(XRD)在宝石学这门矿物学的分支学科中的应用具有特殊性,其应用领域主要集中在三个方面。①宝石鉴定领域:对单晶宝石和多晶宝石进行物相鉴定、宝石产地特征研究以及宝石矿物多型的种类划分等。例如根据XRD图谱,可将品种繁多的微晶石英隐晶质变种玉髓中不同的SiO₂质矿物相精确区分;通过黏土矿物成分及其含量可将鸡血石中"地"的种类进行划分。②宝石矿物的晶体结构研究:对成分复杂的单晶宝石进行晶体化学分析、获取矿物类质同象替代情况、利用结晶度划分宝石品质。例如晶格参数中的c/a比值可将绿柱石的Al八面体类质同象替代和Be四面体类质同象替代进行区分;软玉中通过XRD数据计算出的结晶度与软玉的品质关系密切。③宝石学研究技术的开发:对宝石的优化处理过程进行监测,在宝石合成过程中检验矿物晶形大小、结晶质量及内应力等,以有机宝石的晶体结构为基础的人工养殖技术研究。例如尖晶石在热处理过程中,Mg离子由四面体中的T位迁移至八面体中的M位,导致M-O和T-O键长随温度变化,并反映在尖晶石的色调中;在托帕石合成过程中,XRD数据显示770~800℃时形成含氟托帕石(与天然托帕石结构相同),而在950℃和1000℃出现含氟托帕石离解成刚玉和莫来石。目前,我国在宝石学的XRD应用方面起步较晚,国外在宝石鉴定、优化与合成方面的应用相对成熟。本文认为,该技术与扫描电镜、质子探针等分析技术的联用仍有很大发展空间。     

A novel method to estimate mineral compositions of mudrocks: A case study for the Canadian unconventional petroleum systems

The mineral composition of mudrocks is an essential attribute in controlling the reservoir quality of unconventional petroleum systems. The present study introduces a semi-quantitative method to estimate mineral phases of mudrocks in various Canadian unconventional hydrocarbon systems using total elemental analysis (inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)) and Rock-Eval data (total organic carbon (TOC) and mineral carbon (MinC)).This method involves statistical analysis based on a sound knowledge of hydrocarbon source rock inorganic geochemistry. The workflow can be divided into four steps: (i) converting major elements (Si, Al, Fe, K, Na, Ca, Mg, Ti, and P) to their oxides, (ii) inferring modes of occurrence of elements using statistical analysis of geochemical data (major elements, TOC, and MinC), (iii) identifying the mineral types (oxide, aluminosilicates, carbonates, sulfide, and phosphate) according to elemental occurrences and calculating mineral phase concentrations, and (iv) verifying the results by comparing to XRD data on selected samples. The results, especially for brittle minerals such as quartz, carbonates (e.g. calcite, dolomite, and ankerite), and pyrite, show that the estimated mineral compositions correspond closely and consistently with measured mineralogy obtained from XRD. This method takes advantage of bulk geochemical data already available for hydrocarbon potential and chemostratigraphic studies, without devoting additional samples and cost for XRD analysis.     

Factors influencing undrained strength of fine-grained soils at high water contents

Understanding the undrained strength of fine-grained soils has been of interest to geotechnical researchers from many practical considerations. In several civil engineering applications, water content of soil is quite high being near or above the liquid limit of soils, and understanding the factors responsible for imparting the strength of soil at high water contents is of great significance. Recently, it has been reported in the literature that the shear strength of soils at these limiting water contents has significant variation. However, the reasons and the factors that probably influence for this variation have not been reported in the literature. This experimental investigation is an attempt in the direction of understanding the reasons for the variation in the undrained strength at higher limiting water content, namely liquid limit considering the various influencing factors like clay mineralogy and fine-sand content present in soil used for determining liquid limit. The results from this study are quite revealing and have been explained based on the mechanisms controlling the undrained strength at liquid limit.     

丹阳天王寺边坡稳定性评价及防治措施

针对苏南地区典型露采边坡的地层岩性及地质构造特点,以极限平衡理论为基础,运用GeoStudio软件中的SLOPE/W模块和VADOSE/W模块计算分析江苏丹阳天王寺边坡在天然工况、暴雨工况及地震工况下的稳定性。结果表明:天然工况下,潜在滑动面分布范围最小,稳定性最高,存在滑动的危险性;暴雨工况下,潜在滑动面分布范围有所增大,稳定性降低,边坡滑动的可能性较大;地震工况下,潜在滑动面分布范围最广,稳定性最低,边坡滑动的可能性很大。基于上述结果,提出防治措施。     

祁连山区多年冻土空间分布模拟

祁连山区位于青藏高原东北边缘,是亚洲水塔重要的组成部分,多年冻土的变化对生态系统和水资源平衡有着重要影响。基于青藏高原第二次综合科学考察、道路勘察钻孔点以及前人所获得的多年冻土下界资料,回归得出祁连山区多年冻土下界统计模型,借助ArcGIS平台在DEM数据的支持下,模拟出祁连山区多年冻土空间分布图。结果表明：祁连山区多年冻土分布的下界具有良好的地带性规律,表现为随经纬度增加而降低的规律;祁连山区多年冻土在空间分布上呈现出以哈拉湖为中心向四周扩散的分布格局;祁连山区总面积约为16.90×10⁴ km²,其中多年冻土面积约为8.03×10⁴ km²,占总面积约47.51%。多年冻土区与季节冻土区之间存在着有不连续多年冻土分布的过渡区,过渡区面积约1.43×10⁴ km²,占总面积约8.46%。