Changing grading of soil: effect on critical states

Examples of situations are presented where the grading of a soil changes during its lifetime either by crushing of particles leading to an increase of fine material or by slow transport of fine particles with seepage leading to a decrease of fine material. Such grading changes influence the basic constitutive properties of the soil, in particular properties such as critical states which are dependent on the available range of densities of packing. Discrete element modelling is used to show the dependence of critical state conditions on grading and the way in which the particle assembly seeks out new critical state conditions as the grading changes.     

Environmental geochemistry of the River Gomti: A tributary of the Ganges River

Water and sediment samples collected from the Gomti River, a tributary of the Ganges River system, during the postmonsoon season have been analyzed to estimate major elemental chemistry. Water chemistry of the River Gomti shows almost monotonous spatial distribution of various chemical species, especially because of uniform presence of alluvium Dun gravels throughout the basin. The river annually transports 0.34×10⁶ tonnes of total suspended material (TSM) and 3.0×10⁶ tonnes of total dissolved solids (TDS), 69 percent of which is accounted for by bicarbonate ions only. Samples collected downstream of the city of Lucknow show the influence of anthropogenic loadings for a considerable distance in the river water. Na⁺, Cl^–, and SO₄ ^2– concentrations build up downstream. The bed sediment chemistry is dominated by Si (36 percent), reflecting a high percentage of detrital quartz, which makes up about 74 percent of the mineralogy of the bed sediments in the River Gomti. The average Kjeldahl nitrogen concentration (234 g/g) indicates indirectly the amount of organic matter in the sediments. The Hg concentration in sediments has been found to be higher (average 904 ppb) than the background value. The suspended sediments are well sorted, very finely skewed, and extremely leptokurtic, indicating a low energy condition of flow in the Gomti River. The influence of chemical loads in the Gomti has been found to be small or nonexistent on the Ganges River, perhaps because the water discharge of the Gomti (1.57 percent) to the Ganges is quite low.     

随钻测录井地质导向二维分解实时绘图方法

根据随钻测录井实时地质导向和大斜度、水平井评价成图技术需求，针对传统绘图方法存在的弊端，提出了将测录井信息、井眼轨迹和地质模型进行二维分解的实时绘图方法。针对二维分解绘图方法绘图时空复杂度较高的问题，给出了不同事件驱动下的局部实时计算和拷屏重绘算法，控制了对CPU和内存的消耗、提高了绘图效率，消除了实时绘图的闪烁和卡顿现象。应用实例表明，二维分解实时绘图方法能够实现大尺度随钻测录井地质导向图形的流畅、无卡顿实时绘图，可提高大斜度、水平井储层模型评价的刻画精度和时效。     

A Practical Procedure for the Measurement of Fragmentation by Blasting by Image Analysis

Summary. The operation of a digital image analysis system in a limestone quarry is described. The calibration of the system, required in order to obtain moderately reliable fragmentation values, is done from muckpile sieving data by tuning the image analysis software settings so that the fragmentation curve obtained matches as close as possible the sieving. The sieving data have also been used to extend the fragment size distribution curves measured to sizes below the system’s optical resolution and to process the results in terms of fragmented rock, discounting the material coming from a loose overburden (natural fines) that is cast together with the fragmented rock. Automatic and manual operation modes of the image analysis are compared. The total fragmentation of a blast is obtained from the analysis of twenty photographs; a criterion for the elimination of outlier photographs has been adopted using a robust statistic. The limitations of the measurement system due to sampling, image processing and fines corrections are discussed and the errors estimated whenever possible. An analysis of consistency of the results based on the known amount of natural fines is made. Blasts with large differences in the amount of fines require a differentiated treatment, as the fine sizes tend to be the more underestimated in the image analysis as they become more abundant; this has been accomplished by means of a variable fines adjustment factor. Despite of the unavoidable errors and the large dispersion always associated with large-scale rock blasting data, the system is sensitive to relative changes in fragmentation.     

深部找铀及湘南-桂北地区深部找铀潜景分析

概述了国内外深部找矿的研究成果,指出深部找矿是当今发展的趋势。国内外重大矿产的成功发掘,其深度均在千米以上,铀矿化垂向分布深度可达4 km以上。综合介绍了国内外勘查深大矿床的特点和条件,认为岩石-构造条件是深部矿化定位的重要因素,复式岩体、成矿系统的垂向变化、构造地球物理-地球化学异常模型是深部找矿的关键依据。综述了中国南方湘南—桂北地区深部找铀的有利地质构造条件和潜力,成矿流体是该区铀矿化的根源,白垩—第三纪重大地质事件是该区深部铀成矿的重要前提,重大地质事件引发的NE-NNE,NW向深大断裂及断陷盆地是铀矿化赋存的重要场所和勘查靶区。在已知铀矿田、成矿带勘查范围基础上,在该区进行深部探索将会获得重大突破。探讨了湘南—桂北地区深部找铀的勘查思路和方法。     

土屋铜矿上方覆盖层元素分布规律研究

通过对土屋铜矿上方覆盖层不同层位样品进行分析发现，成矿元素Cu在覆盖层底部靠近基岩的原地风化残积层和地表弱胶结层中富集，而在地衰弱胶结层中又倾向于向两“极”富集，即在最粗粒级和最细粒级含量较高．考虑到采样效率和成本等综合因素，在区域调查中，以采集弱胶结层（5～40cm）、细粒级样品（-160目）为最佳采样介质．     

Particle size dependent response of aerosol counters

During an international workshop at the Institute for Experimental Physics of the University of Vienna, Austria, which was coordinated within the Committee on Nucleation and Atmospheric Aerosols (IAMAS-IUGG), 10 instruments for aerosol number concentration measurement were studied, covering a wide range of methods based on various different measuring principles. In order to investigate the detection limits of the instruments considered with respect to particle size, simultaneous number concentration measurements were performed for monodispersed aerosols with particle sizes ranging from 1.5 to 50 nm diameter and various compositions.The instruments considered show quite different response characteristics, apparently related to the different vapors used in the various counters to enlarge the particles to an optically detectable size. A strong dependence of the 50% cutoff diameter on the particle composition in correlation with the type of vapor used in the specific instrument was found. An enhanced detection efficiency for ultrafine hygroscopic sodium chloride aerosols was observed with water operated systems, an analogous trend was found for n-butanol operated systems with nonhygroscopic silver and tungsten oxide particles.     

Electrical aerosol spectrometer of Tartu University

The electrical aerosol spectrometer (EAS) of the parallel measuring principle at Tartu University is an efficient instrument for rapid measurement of the unstable size spectrum of aerosol particles. The measuring range from 10 nm to 10 μm is achieved by simultaneously using a pair of differential mobility analyzers with two different particle chargers. The particle spectrum is calculated and measurement errors are estimated in real time by using a least-squares method. Experimental calibration ensures reliability of measurement. The instrument is well suited for continuous monitoring of atmospheric aerosol.     

Elemental particle size distributions. Measured and estimated dry deposition in Sfax region (Tunisia)

Mass size distribution of the crustal elements (Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, Si, Ti), anthropogenic elements (Zn, Mn, Cr, Cu, K, P, Pb) and sea elements (Na, Cl) were obtained from measurements carried out with an inertial cascade impactor in Sfax. A fitting procedure by data inversion was applied to those data. This procedure yields accurate size distributions of aerosols in the diameter range 0.1–25 μm in two different sites. In a coastal industrial site, the mass distribution of the aerosol showed a bimodal structure; and in urban area, the lower particle mode cannot be observed. The elemental dry deposition flux was calculated as a function of particle size. The element flux size distribution increased rapidly with particle size. The modelling results indicate that the majority of the crustal and anthropogenic elements flux (>90%) was due to particles larger than 3 μm in diameter.