Effect of a submerged bay-mouth breakwater on tsunami behavior analyzed by 2D/3D hybrid model simulation

The hybrid numerical model had been developed to simulate a complicated 3D flow around structures generated by tsunami. In the model, the conventional 2D model is adopted for the wide region far from structures and the 3D non-hydrostatic pressure model is used in the limited region adjacent to structures. The applicability of the model is shown by comparisons of the numerical results with the experimental results of the laboratory model tests and the numerical analysis results of the conventional whole 2D simulation. In addition, the effect of a submerged structure at the opening of a breakwater is discussed from the numerical simulations by the hybrid model. The submerged structure improves the stability of the rubble mound and reduces the tsunami inflow into the bay, while it increases the water surface velocity around the opening of the breakwater. The increase of surface velocity causes the increases of impulsive forces by collision with drafts and so on.     

Atomistic calculations of structural and elastic properties of serpentine minerals: the case of lizardite

The physical properties of the hydrous phyllosilicate lizardite have been investigated by atomistic simulation using the GULP code based on transferable semi-empirical interatomic potentials. Lizardite behavior was first investigated during structure relaxation at room temperature. The Helmholtz free energy is minimum for an equilibrium structure that is in agreement with experiment. The bulk, shear, and Young modulii for lizardite were calculated along with the Poisson ratio. From the shear and bulk modulii, we also calculated translational and longitudinal acoustic wave velocities that are important quantities for tectonophysics models. As expected, lizardite is stiffer in the a direction parallel to the layers than in the c perpendicular direction; the variation of the unit cell parameters with pressure is in good agreement with experiment. The cohesive energy between two successive layers along c direction was calculated at 0.33 eV (i.e., 0.11 eV per OH bond) in good agreement with recent ab initio calculations. Upon pressure and temperature variations, we evidenced that structural changes are mainly pressure induced; pressure being accommodated by a decrease of the c parameter up to 10 GPa. We also found that the change of slope in the derivative of the c cell parameter with respect to pressure occurring around 2 GPa originates from the bending of the interlayer hydroxyl groups with respect to the layer normal direction.     

Water–rock interaction during the process of steam stimulation exploitation of viscous crude oil in Liaohe Shuguang Oil Field, Liaoning, China

In the process of steam stimulation exploitation of viscous crude oil, the injected water, at high temperature and under high pressure, reacts intensively with the host rock. This kind of water–rock interaction in Liaohe Shuguang Oil Field was studied on the basis of analysis of water composition changes, laboratory experiments, mineral saturation indices analysis, and mass balance calculation. Compared with the injected water, the changes of the composition of discharged water are mainly the distinct decrease of pH, Na⁺, SiO₂ and Cl⁻, as well as the increase of K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, SO ₄ ²⁻ and HCO ₃ ⁻ . Laboratory experiments under field conditions showed: the dissolution sequence of minerals quantitatively is quartz>potassium feldspar>albite, and the main change of clay minerals is the conversion of kaolinite to analcime. Mass balance calculation indicated during the process of steam stimulation, large quantities of analcime are precipitated with the dissolution of large amounts of quartz, kaolinite, potassium feldspar, and CO₂. These results correlated very well with the experimental results. The calculated results of Liaohe Shuguang Oil Field showed that during the steam stimulation for viscous crude oil, the amounts of minerals dissolved (precipitated) are huge. To control the clogging of pore spaces of oil reservoirs, increased study of water–rock interaction is needed.     

Assessment of sand encroachment in Kuwait using GIS

Assessment of sand encroachment in Kuwait using Geographical Information System (GIS) technology has been formulated as a Multi-Criteria Decision Making problem. The Delphi method and Analytical Hierarchy Process were adopted as evaluating techniques, in which experts’ judgments were analyzed for objectively estimating and weighting control factors. Seven triggering factors, depicted in the form of maps, were identified and ordered according to their priority. These factors are (1) wind energy; (2) surface sediment; (3) vegetation density; (4) land use; (5) drainage density; (6) topographic change and (7) vegetation type. The factor maps were digitized, converted to raster data and overlaid to determine their possible spatial relationships. Applying a susceptibility model, a map of sand encroachment susceptibility in Kuwait was developed. The map showed that the areas of very high and high sand encroachment susceptibility are located within the main corridor of sand pathway that coincides with the northwesterly dominant wind direction.     

Real Time Analysis and Forecasting of Strata Caving Behaviour during Longwall Operations

Summary. Discontinuous manual observations and irregular caving characteristics of roof rocks often lead to improper decisions resulting in accidents and production loss. Hence, systematic monitoring of the hanging roof behind the chock shields is necessary for safe and productive mining operations. A real-time application was successfully implemented in an Indian mine for forecasting of hanging roof behaviour to enhance safety and productivity. This paper reports the functioning of real-time TWAP (time weighted average pressure) analysis in the forecasting of hanging roof behaviour in real time.     

Experimental and numerical studies of rock salt strain hardening

The work presented in this paper comes as part of a research program dealing with the thermomechanical behaviour of rock salt. It aims to study laboratory and in-situ long-term behaviour by means of creep tests with deviator and temperature changes. The laboratory results, using a triaxial multi-stages creep tests, highlighted the strain hardening character of rock salt. Furthermore, the in-situ results, using a borehole dilatometer multi-step creep test, have shown that the drilling is carried out in a weakly stressed pillar. The interpretation of the laboratory results, using the J.LEMAITRE law, did not indicate full agreement with all the test results. As a result a ‘double’ J.LEMAITRE model, which takes into account a double strain hardening variable, has been put forward. The validation of this model on the laboratory creep tests is very satisfactory. Furthermore, the activation energy seems satisfactory to represent the influence of the temperature. The in-situ behaviour modelling is clearly more complex than the modelization based on laboratory tests. In fact, it seems that if the rock salt behaviour is maintained by J.LEMAITRE law, it is necessary to vary with the stress, at least, one of the parameters assumed constant in the basic law.     

A Bay–River Coupled Model for Storm Surge Prediction Along the Andhra Coast of India

The paper describes a two-dimensional bay–river coupled numerical model for storm surges along the Andhra coast of India. The effect of the Krishna and Godavari rivers on the surge development is analysed. A comparative study of the surge generated by a tropical cyclone with and without the inclusion of rivers is done in detail. Three cyclones that struck the Andhra coast in November 1977, May 1990 and November 1996 were used for the simulation studies. It is found that the idealized model without a river overestimates the sea-level elevation as compared to a more realistic bay–river coupled model. The temporal variation of surge values at the mouth of the rivers is also studied for all three cyclone cases. It is found that the effect of the presence of rivers depends on the strength of the cyclone, its point of landfall and the location of the rivers with respect to the landfall point.     

A Connectivity Index for Discrete Fracture Networks

Connectivity is an important measure for assessing flow transport in rock, especially through fractures. In this paper, rock fracture systems are modelled by a discrete fracture model simulated by a marked point process. A connectivity index is then introduced to quantify the connectivity between any two points in space. Monte Carlo simulation is used to evaluate the connectivity index for stationary cases and relationships between the connectivity index and the parameters of the discrete fracture model are analysed. The average number of intersections per fracture, X_f, and the fracture intensity, P12 (P32), are calculated and the relationships between these parameters and the connectivity index are investigated, concluding that X_f is the more suitable parameter for the classification of rock mass flow properties. The relationships between the connectivity index and the percolation state of the fractured medium are also discussed. An edge correction is briefly discussed and a practical example is used to demonstrate the method of computing the connectivity index.     

长江口水域多光谱遥感水深反演模型研究

利用Landsat-7 ETM 遥感影像反射率和实测水深值之间的相关性可以探测水深。该文介绍单波段、双波段比值和多波段3种线性回归模型以及动量BP人工神经网络水深反演模型。选择长江口北港河道上段作为研究区,利用上述模型,分两种情况进行水深反演:一是以河道全部历史样本建模;二是将河道按自然水深划分为浅水区和深水区分别建模。结果表明:神经网络模型预测精度高于线性回归模型;水深分区后线性回归和神经网络模型预测误差均有所减小。