Experimental study on blocking and self-cleaning behaviors of beam dam in debris flow hazard mitigation

Blocking is one of the important features when a beam dam intercepts debris flow, while self-cleaning is another when managing suspended debris flow. Both features determine the debris flow control benefits of beam dam but the latter often is not considered in practical engineering design. In this paper, a series of specially designed flume experiments were done to simulate blocking and self-cleaning processes. The blocking ratio and deposition features were measured to contrast the blocking and self-cleaning performance before and after artificial self-cleaning. The experimental results reveal that the beam dam net opening, particle diameter of sediment, sediment concentration, and gradient of the channel are the main factors affecting blocking performance. A new criterion of blocking performance of beam dams that considers the interaction of multiple factors and can provide guidance to practical project design is proposed. For all three types of blocking, sediment deposited upstream of a beam dam can be effectively transported downstream by erosion from post-debris-flow floods, Self-cleaning performance is most efficient for temporary blocking, followed by partial-blocking, and total-blocking. The efficiency of self-cleaning largely depends on the change of the sediment deposit due to erosion. Finally, a discussion is given for the optimal design of an open-type check dam and the feasibility of synergistic effects of self-cleaning in combination with artificial cleaning. Some supporting artificial silt-cleaning should be implemented in practice. A beam dam will, thus, have more storage capacity with which to control the next debris flow event.     

Earthquake response of a multiblock nuclear reactor graphite core: Experimental model vs simulations

The complex dynamics of a quarter‐scale model of a graphite nuclear reactor core, representative of the second generation of British advanced gas‐cooled nuclear reactors, is investigated numerically and experimentally. Advanced gas‐cooled nuclear reactor cores are polygonal, multilayer, arrays of graphite bricks, with each brick allowed to rock by design relative to each other in accordance with the boundary conditions. A 35 000 DOF, nonlinear finite element model of the core created by Atkins Nuclear, was analysed on a high performance computing facility at the University of Bristol, and a corresponding 8 t physical model, equipped with 3200 data acquisition channels, was built and tested on the University of Bristol 6‐DOF shaking table. In this paper, the two models are subjected to a series of (1) synthetic earthquake and (2) idealised harmonic input motions. The experimental data are used to compare and verify the two models and explore the dynamics of the core. A kinematic model of the response is also developed based solely on geometric constraints. The results are presented in the form of response maps and graphs. Important conclusions are drawn as to the dynamics and earthquake response of such systems, which inform numerical model validation. It is found that contrary to the case of a small number of rocking blocks that exhibit highly complex response patterns, the behaviour of the model at hand is both smooth and repeatable. An analogy between the response of the core and that of dense granular matter exhibiting particle interlocking and dilatancy is highlighted.     

基于模拟优化与正交试验的库塘联合灌溉系统水资源调控

依托灌溉试验站田间降水-作物耗水-土壤水相互转化的长序列试验成果,构建灌区田间尺度水量蓄-耗-灌-排全过程的水资源模拟模块,结合系统仿真方法,建立库塘联合灌溉系统水量分配仿真模拟模型,以保障灌区基本需水(包括农村生活需水与生态环境需水)供水安全前提下的经济效益最大化为目标,运用正交试验选优原理,构建了库塘联合灌溉系统水资源优化调控模型,形成了基于仿真模拟与正交试验优化的库塘联合灌溉系统水资源优化调控技术体系,并应用于巢湖流域大官塘水库灌区,明确了灌区合理的工程布局规格与规模,确定了适宜的节水灌溉技术模式与灌溉制度,制定了塘坝和水库科学的调度规则,提出了具有可操作性的作物种植结构调整规则,提高了灌区径流拦蓄利用率,提升了塘坝和水库年际调蓄供水能力,增强了抗旱减灾能力,为巢湖流域水库灌区综合治理、库塘联合灌区水量分配方案、水库和塘坝调度规则及作物灌溉制度等地制定提供理论依据.     

秀丽白虾(Exopalaemon modestus)对亚热带湖库春夏季水体营养水平和浮游生物群落的影响——基于微宇宙模拟实验

秀丽白虾(Exopalaemon modestus)是我国大型淡水湖库的重要经济渔获对象,也是水体中浮游动物的捕食者之一.以往的研究从渔业的角度揭示了秀丽白虾的生物学特征与食性,但少有研究探讨秀丽白虾这一无脊椎动物捕食者对春、夏季浮游生物群落的影响.本研究设计了一个单因素户外微宇宙实验,比较了春季—初夏(4-6月)时期,有无秀丽白虾条件下水体氮、磷浓度以及浮游生物生物量和群落结构的变化.结果 表明:1)秀丽白虾的存在显著降低了春季水体总氮(TN)浓度,增加了水体总磷(TP)浓度,降低了水体TN∶TP比值;2)秀丽白虾的捕食减少了大型枝角类Daphnia pulex和浮游动物总生物量,D.pulex在浮游动物群落中的优势度被轮虫取代,浮游动物群落趋于小型化;3)秀丽白虾显著增加了春季水体叶绿素a浓度,但对浮游植物群落结构的影响不明显.研究表明在大型湖库中,秀丽白虾等无脊椎动物捕食者可能是影响浮游生物群落变化的因素之一,在春季浮游生物研究中应予以关注.     

Shake table tests of unattached,asymmetric, dual‐body systems

Systems of unattached, or freestanding, structures are highly vulnerable to damage and/or collapse during an earthquake, as evidenced during numerous past events. This class of structural system includes statue–pedestal systems, multidrum columns, radiation shields, unreinforced masonry walls, and other mechanical and electrical equipment. While a number of studies have analyzed the response of the single rocking block, very few have tested the response of multiple block systems subjected to earthquakes. Therefore, this paper details an extensive shake table testing campaign in which the seismic response of a pair of stiff, unattached blocks, herein referred to as a dual‐body system, was evaluated. Experimental variables include the geometry, including asymmetry, of both top (tower) and bottom (pedestal) bodies, input motion, and the coefficient of friction beneath the system. Furthermore, the tower structures were tested both in dual‐body configurations as well as in single‐body configurations allowing an understanding of the effect of the pedestal. The tests indicate that the presence of a pedestal increases the likelihood of collapse and amplitude of rocking demands, in general. However, certain geometric and interface combinations yield a more stable tower in a dual‐body configuration compared to a single‐body configuration, because of the dependence of the pedestal response on the geometry of the tower. Furthermore, a low‐friction interface beneath the pedestal reduces demands on the tower. However, this low‐friction interface may still transfer long‐period contributions of the input motion to the tower, which may be detrimental to its response. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adjustment processes of mountainous rivers affected by tilting uplift: Laboratory experiments and a case study of Yakushima Island,Japan

Mountainous river basins are one of the main sources of sediment. Over long time scales, sediment production is sustained by the persistent dissection of river basins, which is promoted by tectonic activity. The response or adjustment of rivers to forcing factors such as uplift is based on the concept of the graded river and a feedback mechanism between the incision and uplift. Although the development of graded rivers under natural circumstances has been discussed for a long time, knowledge about the transition of river basins under heterogeneous uplift is not enough. To understand the development of a river basin with a non‐uniform uplift rate, two simple cases are examined: landward and seaward tilting uplift, where the uplift rate varies linearly in space. For our study, laboratory experiments were conducted and the results were compared with those of natural river basins; two river basins in Yakushima Island were selected for this purpose. In both the laboratory and Yakushima, the longitudinal profile of the river basin under landward‐tilting uplift has a convex‐up zone and a specific knickpoint is formed at the upstream end of this zone. This knickpoint is inactive with respect to migration and incision owing to the insufficient cumulative uplift to the equilibrium state. It was also observed in both the experimental and natural cases that the profile of the river basin under seaward tilting is unlikely to have such a convex‐up zone in the long term, and will instead have a smooth concave profile. Therefore, the spatiotemporal pattern of dissection differs depending on the type of tilting uplift, which suggests that sediment production also varies in time and space according to the type of uplift.     

深部隧道围岩分区破裂颗粒流模拟研究

深部岩体处于"三高"环境下,表现出不同于浅埋岩体的性质,其变形破裂规律更为复杂(分区破裂、片帮、塑性流动、岩爆等),为了准确描绘深部隧道围岩变形破裂规律,采用PFC从微观角度研究深部岩体的宏观响应。研究发现:随着隧道埋深增加,压力增大,由浅部围岩表面塑性破坏变为深部围岩破裂扩展,破裂区域呈交替分区破裂向深部发展,破裂区的间距与岩性和埋深有关;从横断面看,拱腰先出现破裂,然后拱脚出现破裂,最后贯通形成破裂区;若围岩表面施加外力,破裂区域减小,分区向深部移动,因此预应力锚杆有效地改善了围岩承载特性;研究结果与模型试验吻合,符合深部岩体卸荷作用下的变形破坏规律。结论可为深部岩体工程设计施工提供参考。     

应力主轴往返旋转条件下砂土变形规律试验研究

在已有空心圆柱扭剪仪上开发新的控制模块,实现应力主轴以任意初始方向角开始并以任意角度幅值进行往返旋转。在此基础上,对丰浦砂开展系列应力主轴往返旋转试验。试验结果表明:1应力主轴往返旋转角度幅值和初始主应力方向角均对砂土变形有不可忽视的影响;2不同于应力主轴连续循环旋转的情形,应力主轴往返旋转时砂土由于"楔入效应"可能出现体胀。     

Significance of boulder shape,shoreline configuration and pre-transport setting for the transport of boulders by tsunamis

Research on tsunami-induced coarse-clast transport is a field of rising interest since such deposits have been identified as useful proxies for extreme-wave events (tsunamis, storm waves) that provide crucial information for coastal hazard assessment. Physical experiments are, beside in-situ observations, the foundation of our understanding of how boulders are transported by tsunamis and provide clues to the development of empirical equations and numerical models describing the processes and fundamental mechanics. Nevertheless, investigating tsunami-induced boulder transport is a comparatively young discipline and only a few experimental studies focusing on this topic have been published so far. To improve the knowledge on nearshore tsunami hydrodynamics, physical experiments utilizing real-world boulder shapes have been carried out simulating three different shore types in a wave flume. Crucial insights were gained into boulder transport hydrodynamics and data resulting from the experiments were analysed in an empirical, statistical, quantitative and qualitative manner. The regular cuboid boulder – one of the specific shapes used in the experiments – showed the longest transport distances compared to a complex, natural boulder and a flat cuboid boulder, but also significant fluctuations regarding the total transport distance. The experiments indicate a strong influence of the shore shape on boulder transport behaviour. Experimental setups of increased mean transport distances also led to a higher spreading of results. This spreading was further amplified between the idealized-shaped cuboid and the complex-shaped boulder, which is associated with a lower drag coefficient. Due to the highly sensitive boulder reaction to divergent experimental setups, the need to recognize boundary conditions overcoming commonly considered parameters (e.g. roughness or Flatness Index) in field studies and numerical models is underlined. Beside the strong influence of initial boulder submergence and alignment, both the boulder shape and shore type influence the boulder transport pattern, increasing the total transport distance by more than 350% in some cases. © 2020 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

Erosion characteristics of loess tunnels on the Loess Plateau: A field investigation and experimental study

Loess tunnels are a common geo-hazard in the Loess Plateau and not only cause considerable soil and water loss, but also aggravate and even induce the occurrence and development of other disasters such as ground fissures, mudflows, collapses, and landslides. To date, research on the hydrological characteristics and erosion behaviour of loess tunnel systems has focused on field investigation data and limited river basin observation data, whereas field test information and data are very scarce. In this study, field surveys, observations, field scouring experiments, and laboratory-based sediment percentage tests were conducted to analyse the erosion characteristics, spatial distribution, and hydrological characteristics of a large-scale loess tunnel system in the hilly Loess Plateau southeast region of northern China. The results showed that the loess tunnel erosion exhibited periodicity. Tunnel erosion in each period shows a similar erosion process, that is, thin-layer water flow erosion and lateral expansion, tunnel wall collapse and deposit due to the loss of support from the lateral erosion, and erosion and transport of deposits by water flow. Waterfall erosion, lateral erosion, headward erosion, and the resulting collapses were the main forms of tunnel erosion. Besides this, the base level of erosion significantly affects the erosion characteristics of the loess tunnel. The hydrological characteristics during field scouring experiments exhibited three different stages: a lag effect, attributed to the temporary loss of water velocity in the first stage; small water flow fluctuations in the second stage; and an increase in total seepage loss with increased water injection flow in the third stage. The erosion rate was positively correlated with the flow quantity. The results of this study not only provide valuable reference data for research on the mechanism and velocity of erosion events in loess, but also provide a theoretical basis for the prevention of loess tunnel disasters in engineering construction. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.