Kinematical analysis of 3D passive earth pressure with nonlinear yield criterion

Conventional methods for calculation of passive earth pressure were mainly based on the assumptions of the linear Mohr‐Coulomb yield condition and plane strain failure mechanism. However, both theoretical and experimental studies have shown that such assumptions are not satisfied in some geotechnical projects. Herein, a novel method incorporating a kinematically admissible 3‐dimensional (3D) rotational failure mechanism and the nonlinear power‐law yield criterion is proposed to compute the passive earth pressure acting on the inclined retaining walls. Instead of using the nonlinear yield criterion directly, a straight line tangential to the nonlinear yield curve is employed to represent the strength of soils, and therefore, the nonlinear problem is transformed into the traditional linear problem. The 3D failure mechanism is generated through rotating a circle defined by 2 log‐spirals, and a plane strain block is inserted into the mechanism to consider the retaining walls with different widths. Earthquake effects are taken into account by using quasi‐static representation, and the horizontal seismic coefficient concept is adopted for the estimation of passive earth pressure under seismic conditions. An analytical expression about the 3D passive earth pressure is educed by means of the upper bound theorem of limit analysis. Numerical results for different practical parameters are obtained from an optimization scheme where the minimum of passive earth pressure is sought. Compared with available 2‐dimensional and 3D solutions, the proposed method is validated. A parametric study is conducted to investigate the effects of different parameters on the 3D static and seismic passive earth pressure.     

Numerical upper bounds to the ultimate load bearing capacity of three-dimensional reinforced concrete structures

This contribution is addressing the ultimate limit state design of massive three-dimensional reinforced concrete structures based on a finite-element implementation of yield design theory. The strength properties of plain concrete are modeled either by means of a tension cutoff Mohr Coulomb or a Rankine condition, while the contribution of the reinforcing bars is taken into account by means of a homogenization method. This homogenization method can either represent regions of uniformly distributed steel rebars smeared into the concrete domain, but it can also be extended to model single rebars diluted into a larger region, thereby simplifying mesh generation and mesh size requirements in this region. The present paper is mainly focused on the implementation of the upper bound kinematic approach formulated as a convex minimization problem. The retained strength condition for the plain concrete and homogenized reinforced regions are both amenable to a formulation involving positive semidefinite constraints. The resulting semidefinite programming problems can, therefore, be solved using state-of-the-art dedicated solvers. The whole computational procedure is applied to some illustrative examples, where the implementation of both static and kinematic methods produces a relatively accurate bracketing of the exact failure load for this kind of structures.     

Forests and water in South America

South America is experiencing rapid change in forest cover, of both native and planted forest. Forest cover loss is primarily attributable to fire, logging, and conversion of native forest to agriculture, pasture, and forest plantations, and types of change vary within and among the many diverse types of forests in South America. Major changes in forest cover and growing policy concerns underscore an urgent need for research on sustainable forest management and water ecosystem services in South America. Differences in land ownership and management objectives create trade‐offs between wood production and water ecosystem services from forests. Work is needed to quantify how forest change and management affect ecosystem services, such as wood production versus water provision. Current scientific understanding of forest management effects on water ecosystem services in South America has important limitations, including a scarcity of long‐term records and few long‐term integrated watershed studies. Industry, government, universities, and local communities should collaborate on integrated applied studies of forests and water. Data archiving and publically available data are required. The creation of national networks and a multi‐country South America network to identify and implement common water research protocols, share results, and explore their implications would promote common and well‐supported policies. Hydrologists working in South America are well placed to tackle the challenges and opportunities for collaborative research that will maintain the intrinsic values and water ecosystem services provided by South America's forests.     

Effect of combined translation and torsion on undrained uplift capacity of plate anchors: Plastic limit analysis (PLA) solution

Uplift capacity of plate anchors has been the focus of numerous studies, because anchor plates are designed for pull‐out in normal operating conditions. However, the response of plate anchors under 6‐degrees‐of‐freedom loading caused during extreme loading conditions is poorly understood. The purpose of this study is to propose a simple yet sufficiently accurate analytical solution to investigate the behavior of plate anchor under combined in‐plane translation and torsion and to evaluate its effect on the plate uplift bearing capacity. To this end, a modified plastic limit analysis (PLA) approach is introduced and compared with limit equilibrium and simplified upper bound baseline solutions. The proposed method is verified with 3‐dimensional finite element. The variables considered in this study include plate aspect ratio, plate thickness, as well as load direction and eccentricity. Results of analytical solutions indicate the insensitivity of the “shape” of the shear‐torsion yield envelope to plate thickness. This finding facilitates the use of simplified yet reasonable yield envelope for infinitely thin plate obtained from simplified PLA approach for other plate thicknesses. The “size” of the failure envelope (controlled by pure torsional and translational capacity) could be predicted fairly accurately by PLA and limit equilibrium methods. Combination of these analytical methods offers a simple yet reasonably accurate solution to describe shear‐torsion response of anchor plate. The obtained shear‐torsion yield envelope is then fitted in the generalized 6‐degrees‐of‐freedom yield surface which describes the reducing effect of moment, torsion, and planar forces on the uplift capacity of plate.     

应变软化模拟与圆形隧道衬砌分析

在岩土工程中,有许多类岩体呈现应变软化特性。在应变软化过程中,如果多个材料强度参数分析发生变化,就很难给出软化问题的解析解。已有的文献研究表明,在经典的弹塑性理论框架下,模拟岩土介质的应变软化过程依然值得深入研究。利用应变软化材料强度参数随塑性应变增加而弱化的特点,提出了将应变软化过程简化为一系列的脆性应力跌落与塑性流动过程的思想,应变软化行为的模拟转化为一系列脆塑性过程的分析。将这种模拟应变软化过程的思想方法用于求解均匀初始应力场中应变软化介质内的圆形隧道开挖问题,研究了衬砌对减少岩土开挖扰动的作用以及考虑应变软化对衬砌内力的影响。数值结果表明,对于应变软化岩土材料,忽略其强度软化的行为是偏于危险的。     

不同施肥对黑河中游边缘绿洲沙地农田玉米产量及土壤硝态氮积累影响的初步研究

在黑河中游边缘绿洲的沙地农田进行不同施肥对玉米产量及土壤硝态氮积累的试验研究表明,有机肥与化肥配合施用增加作物产量。不同肥料处理,玉米籽粒产量由高到低的顺序依次为NPK3M1（高量氮磷钾肥低量有机肥配施:N-P2O5-K2O-M,300-225-225-15 000 kg·hm-2）>NPK2M2（中量氮磷钾肥中量有机肥配施:N-P2O5-K2O-M,225-135-135-22 500 kg·hm-2）>NPK3（高量氮磷钾肥配施:N-P2O5-K2O-M,300-225-225-0 kg·hm-2）>NP1M3（低量氮磷肥高量有机肥配施:N-P2O5-K2O-M,150-90-0-30 000 kg·hm-2）>NP3（高量氮磷肥配施:N-P2O5-K2O-M,300-225-0-0 kg·hm-2)>NPK1M3（低量氮磷钾肥高量有机肥配施:N-P2O5-K2O-M,150-90-90-30 000 kg·hm-2）>NPK2（中量氮磷钾肥配施:N-P2O5-K2O-M,225-135-135-0 kg·hm-2）>NPK1（低量氮磷钾肥配施:N-P2O5-K2O-M,150-90-90-0 kg·hm-2）>M3（单施有机肥:N-P2O5-K2O-M,0-0-0-30 000 kg·hm-2）。高量氮磷钾肥配合低量有机肥处理玉米产量最高,单施有机肥处理产量最低。与只施有机肥处理相比,各处理产量分别增加37.68%、33.43%、28.32%、25.10%、24.60%、23.84%、21.46%、11.30%。在不施有机肥的3个氮磷钾施肥处理中,玉米产量和氮肥农学利用效率（AE）随施肥量的增加而增加,但当施肥量超过225-135-135 kg·hm-2（N-P2O5-K2O）时,玉米产量和AE不再随施肥量的增加而增加。与不施有机肥处理不同,在氮磷钾配施有机肥的3个处理中,AE随化肥施用量的增加而减少,有机肥的施用使得化肥利用效率增加。不同施肥处理对土壤硝态氮的积累与分布有显著的影响,土壤硝态氮受土壤质地影响主要分布于0~40 cm土壤层次内,与化肥单施相比,有机肥导致土壤中硝态氮的积累。因此,从持续农业发展及保护生态环境等方面考虑,有机无机肥配合施用是增加绿洲农田土壤生产力,维持和提高土壤质量的有效途径,与当地农户普遍采用的施肥量相比,有机无机配施的情况下,适度减少化肥投入33%是合理的施肥对策。     

基于岩石统一能量屈服准则的硬岩损伤模型

为了更准确、便捷地确定深埋地下工程中硬岩的力学行为,开展了如下研究：根据损伤与塑性演化存在相似机制,假设损伤阈值与初始屈服采用相同的确定方法,将岩石统一能量屈服准则作为损伤阈值的判定准则;基于Rabotnov对损伤变量的定义和Lemaitre应变等效性假设,并考虑未损伤部分的应力-应变关系符合广义虎克定律,提出了简化形式的硬岩损伤本构方程;为了更好地表达硬岩从低围压到高围压条件下的脆-延转化特性,提出了改进的Mazars损伤演化方程;基于锦屏T2b大理岩常规三轴压缩试验结果,对损伤模型参数进行求解,并分别与基于Mazars损伤演化方程和Mohr-Coulomb准则为损伤阈值判定准则的损伤模型进行对比,结果表明：提出的损伤模型可更好地表达硬岩从低围压的脆性到高围压的延性转变过程,特别是对损伤阈值后岩石的损伤演化过程的模拟更为精确,对硬脆性岩石的工程计算有一定的借鉴意义。     

Surface runoff and soil erosion under eucalyptus and oak canopy

To assess potential differences in stormwater runoff and sediment yield between plots of blue gum eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus) and coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia), we measured runoff, sediment yield, water repellency and soil moisture at eight paired sites. Eucalyptus has been associated in many studies worldwide with elevated soil water repellency and increased runoff, a likely contributor to soil erosion. To better understand these connections and their relationship to land cover, there is a need for studies employing either rainfall simulators or natural rainfall. Our research employs the latter, and was subject to contrasting hydrologic conditions in the two years of the study. Fieldwork was conducted from October 2006 to February 2008 in the San Francisco Bay Area of central California. During the 2006–2007 winter wet season, runoff was significantly higher under eucalypts than at paired oak sites, and in the early phases of the season was connected with elevated water repellency. However, sediment yield at all sites during the 2006–2007 hydrologic year was below the detection limit of the Gerlach sediment collection traps, possibly due to a limited wet season, and only appeared as suspended sediment captured in overflow buckets. Intensive rainfall events in January 2008 however created substantial runoff of sediment and litter with significantly greater yield at oak sites compared to paired eucalyptus sites. Water repellency likely had little effect on runoff during these events, and the primary cause of greater erosion under oaks is the thinner cover of leaf litter in comparison to eucalyptus. Our study is limited to undisturbed sites with intact litter cover that have not experienced recent wildfires; if disturbed, we would expect a different picture given the propensity for crown fires of eucalypts, enhancement of rainsplash erosion, and the likely greater potential for stream‐connected sediment yield from post‐disturbance soil erosion events.     

悬臂式抗滑桩加固黏土边坡地震永久位移算法

为了有效地确定悬臂式抗滑桩加固的黏土边坡地震永久位移,基于极限分析上限定理,针对圆弧滑动式土坡破坏模式,通过对设置抗滑桩条件下土坡进行外力功率和内能耗散率的计算,按严格力学定义推导出坡体在地震作用下的安全系数,进而导出与安全系数相对应的边坡地震屈服加速度计算公式,并结合Newmark滑块位移法对边坡产生的转动加速度进行二次积分,推导出与边坡设计安全系数密切相关的坡体地震永久位移的详细计算公式。以5.12汶川地震卧龙测站东向地震波为例,通过对一算例边坡进行分析,给出了边坡永久位移时程曲线以及不同设计安全系数与永久位移的关系,分析了算法与Ambraseys算法的结果,验证了所提计算方法的有效性,并得到不同设计安全系数时边坡土体黏聚力和内摩擦角对坡体永久位移的影响规律。研究结果表明,坡体永久位移随着设计安全系数的增加逐渐呈指数函数式减小变化,在较低设计安全系数下,坡体永久位移受土体抗剪强度参数影响较为敏感,随着设计安全系数的提高,这种敏感性则逐渐降低。     

青海省气象干旱对粮食产量的影响及其评估方法研究

气象干旱是青海省发生最为频繁的气象灾害之一, 具有出现频率高、 持续时间长、 影响范围广等特点, 对农业生产造成极大的影响, 严重的干旱少雨之年常使农业大幅度减产, 甚至绝收. 为了研究气象干旱对青海省粮食产量产生的影响, 根据拉格朗日插值方法给出了青海省无干旱时"期望产量"的确定方法, 并据此求算出历年干旱对青海省粮食产量的损失量值, 然后依据农作物不同生育期所发生的干旱的强度、 范围以及作物对干旱的敏感度等关系, 建立了干旱损失量的统计和评估模式. 在2006-2010年青海省粮食产量评估中进行应用, 5 a中有4 a误差小于5%, 仅2006年误差百分率达到-9.38%; 由此, 证明了运用干旱损失评估方法, 可以评估出干旱对粮食产量的损失量, 从而评估出青海省的实际粮食产量, 效果较好, 可以在青海省今后的粮食产量预报和评估中推广应用.