Engineering characteristics and uses of duricrusts in Australia

The uses and shortcomings of duricrusts (ferricrete, calcrete and silcrete) in engineering construction (as used for road‐base, aggregate, foundation materials and aquifers) are reviewed. Australian production of these materials represents about one‐third of all unprocessed road‐base and they are especially important as pavement courses for lightly trafficked, low‐cost rural and outback roads. However, duricrusts are regarded as marginal materials at best because of their typically poor grading, particle unsoundness, high fines plasticity, and absorption of water and bitumen. These materials are used because they are available locally in areas that are otherwise lacking in hard rock materials, such as deeply weathered and sedimentary rock terrains. The weathering profiles of which they form part are characterized by high permeability (despite being clay‐rich), variable cementation, low compressibility and a tendency to become weaker with depth. Although the more indurated layers are unrippable, they are also difficult to blast. Pedogenic (nodular) duricrusts were formerly sought for natural road‐base, because they occur widely and require only rudimentary processing. However, well‐cemented groundwater (vadose) duricrusts are now the preferred deposits, even though they require crushing and screening. Ferricrete is the most widely exploited of the duricrusts for engineering purposes, especially in northern and southwestern Australia, although calcrete is important in South Australia and in the Murray Basin. Silcrete is only a minor source of aggregate and road‐base, mainly in western Queensland.     

Nonlinear analysis of laterally loaded rigid piles in cohesive soil

This article presents a method for the nonlinear analysis of laterally loaded rigid piles in cohesive soil. The method considers the force and the moment equilibrium to derive the system equations for a rigid pile under a lateral eccentric load. The system equations are then solved using an iteration scheme to obtain the response of the pile. The method considers the nonlinear variation of the ultimate lateral soil resistance with depth and uses a new closed‐form expression proposed in this article to determine the lateral bearing factor. The method also considers the horizontal shear resistance at the pile base, and a bilinear relationship between the shear resistance and the displacement is used. For simplicity, the modulus of horizontal subgrade reaction is assumed to be constant with depth, which is applicable to piles in overconsolidated clay. The nonlinearity of the modulus of horizontal subgrade reaction with pile displacement at ground surface is also considered. The validity of the developed method is demonstrated by comparing its results with those of 3D finite element analysis. The applications of the developed method to analyze five field test piles also show good agreement between the predictions and the experimental results. The developed method offers an alternative approach for simple and effective analysis of laterally loaded rigid piles in cohesive soil. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Accounting for sparsely observed rainfall space—time variability in a rainfall—runoff model of a semiarid Tunisian basin/Prise en compte d'observations peu denses de la variabilité spatiotemporelle de la pluie dans une modélisation pluie—débit d'un bassin semi-aride Tunisien

Abstract

The management of water excesses and deficits is a major task in semiarid Mediterranean regions, where the variability of rainfall inputs is high at different time and space scales. Thus intense hydrometeorological events, which generate both potential resource and hazards, are of major interest. A simple method is proposed, with the example of the Skhira basin (192 km²) in central Tunisia, to account for the event space–time variability of rainfall in a rainfall–runoff model, in order to check its influence on the shape, magnitude and timing of resulting hydrographs. The transfer function used is a geomorphology-based unit hydrograph with an explicit territorial significance. Simulations made for highly variable events show the relevance of this method, seen as the first step of a downward approach, and its robustness with respect to the quality and the density of rainfall data.     

A revised approach to the UKIH method for the calculation of baseflow / Une approche améliorée de la méthode de l'UKIH pour le calcul de l'écoulement de base

Abstract

A revised approach to the calculation of baseflow using the method originally proposed by the United Kingdom Institute of Hydrology is presented. The revisions resolve two aspects of the method that lead to less than optimal results; that is, the calculation of values of baseflow that exceed the corresponding values of streamflow and the dependence of the calculated values on the origin of the five-day segmentation of the input streamflow data. The approach is illustrated using streamflow monitoring information that is typical for areas of southern Ontario, Canada, where baseflow is primarily the result of groundwater discharge.     

华北晚古生代聚煤盆地造盆构造述略

本文从盆地基底、盆地基盘及盆地发育期构造演化三个层次讨论了华北晚古生代聚煤盆地的造盆构造特征。文中提出了盆地基盘概念，阐述释了华北地台晚古生代积活动肇始的构造机理，对华力西阶段华北板块板缘活动及其板内地层记录进行了对应研究。     

Nonseismic phenomena in the generation and augmentation of tsunamis

While earthquakes generate about 90% of all tsunamis, volcanic activity, landslides, explosions, and other nonseismic phenomena can also result in tsunamis. There have been 53 000 reported deaths as a result of tsunamis generated by landslides and volcanoes. No death tolls are available for many events, but reports indicate that villages, islands, and even entire civilizations have disappeared. Some of the highest tsunami wave heights ever observed were produced by landslides. In the National Geophysical Data Center world-wide tsunami database, there are nearly 200 tsunami events in which nonseismic phenomena played a major role. In this paper, we briefly discuss a variety of nonseismic phenomena that can result in tsunamis. We discuss the magnitude of the disasters that have resulted from such events, and we discuss the potential for reducing such disasters by education and warning systems.     

离子刻蚀全息光栅的研究

利用国产的光刻胶和国产离子刻蚀机在蒸镀的铝基衬底上进行刻蚀全息光栅,在国内是一项较新的技术。本文介绍和论述了该试验工作的工艺过程、参数计算和测试方法,得出了试验结果和参数计算值基本吻合的结论,并指出了进一步改善质量的方向。     

地震台实用数据库软件的建立及应用

该软件主要用于地震台站的大量数据处理及行政管理，全部用关系式数据库ＤＢＡＳＥⅢ编写，在主菜单的控制下，根据各个工作性质及需要选择适合自己的子菜单。它主要包括两大部分：（１）台站行政管理系统，（２）观测资料管理系统，以及每部分下相应的分支。     

江西冷水坑斑岩类型及其矿化特征

冷水坑斑岩杂岩体中产有Ag~-多金属矿床。该杂岩体可以划分出6种斑岩岩石和3种火山岩岩石。根据这些岩石的主化学成分、微量和稀土元素特点,该杂岩体具有S-型的特征。矿化作用具有斑岩型的特征:矿化发生在岩体内,为浸染和细脉浸染状,矿化作用和蚀变作用为渐变的环带状分布。矿床形成在中高温和高盐度的热液条件下。     

地球数字产品的空间数学基础

在分析当前地球数字产品空间数学基础局限性的基础上,将地图投影概念由传统的曲面到平面的变换扩展为曲面到曲面的变换,提出一套适合于大型GIS和地球数字产品的“地图投影”模型的实用模型,该模型的视图采用等距离切圆柱投影,度量空间是椭球面几何系统,符合计算机环境下GIS视图与度量空间分离的特性。鉴于全球多分辨率连续可视化,精密可视化量算,三维、多维地球数据统一,标准的空间定位框架和只有在统一的空间系统内全球资源、生态环境数据才能进行精确的地理分析等四个方面的需要,从地图投影进到本模型将是方向和技术趋势。