Effects of the geometry of two‐dimensional fractures on their hydraulic aperture and on the validity of the local cubic law

Flow through rough fractures is investigated numerically in order to assess the validity of the local cubic law for different fracture geometries. Two‐dimensional channels with sinusoidal walls having different geometrical properties defined by the aperture, the amplitude, and the wavelength of the walls' corrugations, the corrugations asymmetry, and the phase shift between the two walls are considered to represent different fracture geometries. First, it is analytically shown that the hydraulic aperture clearly deviates from the mean aperture when the walls' roughness, the phase shift, and/or the asymmetry between the fracture walls are relatively high. The continuity and the Navier–Stokes equations are then solved by means of the finite element method and the numerical solutions compared to the theoretical predictions of the local cubic law. Reynolds numbers ranging from 0.066 to 66.66 are investigated so as to focus more particularly on the effect of flow inertial effects on the validity of the local cubic law. For low Reynolds number, typically less than 15, the local cubic law properly describes the fracture flow, especially when the fracture walls have small corrugation amplitudes. For Reynolds numbers higher than 15, the local cubic law is valid under the conditions that the fracture presents a low aspect ratio, small corrugation amplitudes, and a moderate phase lag between its walls.     

Experimental and computational validation and verification of the Stokes–Darcy and continuum pipe flow models for karst aquifers with dual porosity structure

In our previous study, we developed the Stokes–Darcy (SD) model was developed for flow in a karst aquifer with a conduit bedded in matrix, and the Beavers–Joseph (BJ) condition was used to describe the matrix–conduit interface. We also studied the mathematical well‐posedness of a coupled continuum pipe flow (CCPF) model as well as convergence rates of its finite element approximation. In this study, to compare the SD model with the CCPF model, we used numerical analyses to validate finite element discretisation methods for the two models. Using computational experiments, simulation codes implementing the finite element discretisations are then verified. Further model validation studies are based on the results of laboratory experiments. Comparing the results of computer simulations and experiments, we concluded that the SD model with the Beavers–Joseph interface condition is a valid model for conduit–matrix systems. On the other hand, the CCPF model with the value of the exchange parameter chosen within the range suggested in the literature perhaps does not result in good agreement with experimental observations. We then examined the sensitivity of the CCPF model with respect to the exchange parameter, concluding that, as has previously been noted, the model is highly sensitive for small values of the exchange parameter. However, for larger values, the model becomes less sensitive and, more important, also produces results that are in better agreement with experimental observations. This suggests that the CCPF model may also produce accurate simulation results, if one chooses larger values of the exchange parameter than those suggested in the literature. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

华北上地幔各向异性研究

对华北地震科学台阵的200个宽频带和甚宽带地震台站所记录的远震SKS(SKKS)波形资料作偏振分析,采用最小切向能量的网格搜索法和叠加分析方法求得每一个台站的SKS(SKKS)快波偏振方向和快、慢波的时间延迟,并结合已发表的固定台站的结果,获得了华北上地幔各向异性图像.从得到结果看,华北东部各向异性快波方向基本为NWW-SEE方向,而西部的快波方向转到NW-SE或NNW-SSE.快、慢波时间延迟范围是0.50~1.47 s,华北西部的平均快、慢波时间延迟小于华北东部.在华北东部,快波方向与绝对板块运动(APM)方向基本一致,预示了NWW向的软流圈地幔流是引起该区域上地幔各向异性的主要原因,它使得上地幔橄榄岩等晶体的晶格优势取向沿地幔物质流动方向,从而导致了NWW趋向的快波方向.然而,在稳定的西部,快波方向既不与绝对板块运动方向一致,也不与构造走向一致,这种弱各向异性很可能是遗留在古老克拉通的厚的岩石圈内的"化石"各向异性.     

承压含水层井流-盖层弯曲效应的解析理论

指出承压含水层盖层的弯曲变形与开采井周围的径向地下水运动存在相互作用, 而这一效应在传统的井流理论中没有被认识到.通过引入弹性薄板理论, 建立了无越流的承压含水层井流-顶板弯曲效应的解析模型, 同时考虑了含水层和水的压缩性, 结果表明Theis井流方程给出的抽水降深偏小.在此基础上推导了有越流承压含水层井流-盖层弯曲效应的偏微分方程, 求出了解析解, 并与传统理论的结果进行了对比, 表明Hantush-Jacob公式计算的降深也是偏小的.在抽水井附近和抽水初期, 传统理论可能导致显著的相对误差.      

Material flow analysis for an industry—A case study in packaging

The basic materials used in packaging are glass, metals (primarily aluminum and steel), an ever-growing range of plastics, paper and paperboard, wood, textiles for bags, and miscellaneous other materials (such as glues, inks, and other supplies). They are fabricated into rigid, semirigid, or flexible containers. The most common forms of these containers include cans, drums, bottles, cartons, boxes, bags, pouches, and wraps. Packaging products are, for the most part, low cost, bulky products that are manufactured close to their customers. There is virtually no import or export of packaging products. A material flow analysis can be developed that looks at all inputs to an industrial sector, inventories the losses in processing, and tracks the fate of the material after its useful life. An example is presented that identifies the material inputs to the packaging industry, and addresses the ultimate fate of the materials used.Correspondence should be directed to Earle B. Amey, U.S. Geological Survey, National Center 983, Reston, Virginia 20192.     

数值模拟法在张掖市东郊水源地保护区划分中的应用

根据张掖东盆地水文地质条件和水源地地下水开发利用现状,采用Visual Modflow4.1软件分别建立地下水水流和水质模型,通过计算污染物污染负荷值确定运移污染质及其初始浓度,在水流模型预测水源地未来开采形成的稳定流畅环境下运行水质模型,模拟计算该污染质在规定时间内到达水源地捕获带的位置,运移100天的范围划定为水源...     

Trend detection in river flow series: 1. Annual maximum flow / Détection de tendance dans des séries de débit fluvial: 1. Débit maximum annuel

Abstract

Results of a study on change detection in hydrological time series of annual maximum river flow are presented. Out of more than a thousand long time series made available by the Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC) in Koblenz, Germany, a worldwide data set consisting of 195 long series of daily mean flow records was selected, based on such criteria as length of series, currency, lack of gaps and missing values, adequate geographical distribution, and priority to smaller catchments. The analysis of annual maximum flows does not support the hypothesis of ubiquitous growth of high flows. Although 27 cases of strong, statistically significant increase were identified by the Mann-Kendall test, there are 31 decreases as well, and most (137) time series do not show any significant changes (at the 10% level). Caution is advised in interpreting these results as flooding is a complex phenomenon, caused by a number of factors that can be associated with local, regional, and hemispheric climatic processes. Moreover, river flow has strong natural variability and exhibits long-term persistence which can confound the results of trend and significance tests.     

Inverse reconstructions of ecosystem flows in investigating regime shifts: impact of the choice of objective function

Inverse analysis is increasingly used in ecosystem modelling to objectively reconstruct a large number of unknown flows or interactions from a small number of observations. This type of analysis may be useful in relating observed regime shifts in ecosystem structure to underlying processes. Inversions of ecosystem flow networks currently use a constrained least-squares solution which at the same time minimizes the squared norm (the sum of squares) of the reconstructed flows. This minimum norm (MN) inversion is thought to be a parsimonious solution to the ecosystem flow inverse problem, but it may well not reflect how ecosystems are organised. It has been proposed instead that ecosystems evolve to maximize energy/mass flows or that they maximize the information content of the network weighted by ecosystem flows (ascendancy). We used simulated inverse experiments, where inverse analyses are applied to simulations of flow networks, to explore objective functions different than the MN generally used. We could not compute inverse solutions that maximize ascendancy because the objective function is unbounded. We could calculate inversions that maximize flows; however, these generally overestimated the simulated flows, even though the simulations were designed to maximize flows. It appears that the ecosystem flow inverse problem is too under-determined (too few data relative to the number of unknowns) to allow the use of these maximizing goal functions. We introduce a new minimization that simultaneously minimizes the squared flows and the squared differences between flows. This smoothing minimization makes the inverse flows as even as possible and it helps with some technical issues with MN inversions. The simulated inverse experiments indicated that this smoothed norm (SM) is the most robust in comparative analyses of contrasting ecosystem states, such as those that can be associated with regime shifts. Like the MN inversion, the SM inversion has no ecological basis. However, it is a conservative norm that is less likely to produce false differences between the dynamics of regimes.     

Numerical Modeling of Sediment Mass Sliding and Tsunami Generation: The Case of February 7, 1963, in Corinth Gulf,Greece

Numerical modeling of a landslide process at the continental slope by taking into account slope parameters is performed for the tsunami event of February 7, 1963, reported in the Corinth Gulf, central Greece. A layered sediment structure was considered, and an initial external dynamic action at the landslide process was introduced. The results obtained were quite consistent with the observational runup data as well as with the results arrived at by conventional rigid-body and viscous-fluid models. However, this approach permits to describe in detail the formation of several wave groups and particular tsunami characteristics that are strongly dependent on the landslide model.     

A pleistocene mummified ostracod from the Wairarapa district

A mummified specimen of Scottia insularis Chapman is recorded from beds of Upper Nukumaruan age (Pleistocene) at Gladstone in the Wairarapa Valley. This is the first record of a mummified species from New Zealand.