An experimental study of the liquefaction strength of silty sands in terms of the state parameter

An elaborate program of monotonic and cyclic triaxial laboratory tests on mixtures of sand and silt with fines content 0%, 15% and 25% was performed to investigate the effect of density, consolidation stress and non-plastic fines on the liquefaction strength. The monotonic tests illustrated that the critical state lines of all mixtures do not cross each other, and are, approximately, parallel to each other. The results of the cyclic tests illustrated that the relationship between the cyclic strength and the state parameter does not depend on the consolidation stress, the soil density and the silt content. Analysis in terms of the state parameter showed that: (i) as the consolidation stress increases, the cyclic strength decreases and this effect is more pronounced as the specimens become denser, especially as the fines content increases and (ii) the cyclic strength decreases as the fines content increases and this effect is more pronounced as the specimens become denser.     

Torsional response of a rigid circular foundation on a saturated half-space to SH waves

An analytical approach is used to study the torsional vibrations of a rigid circular foundation resting on saturated soil to obliquely incident SH waves. Biot’s poroelastic dynamic theory is considered to characterize the saturated soil below the foundation, which is solved by Hankel transform later. In order to consider the scattering phenomena caused by the existence of the foundation, the total wave field in soil is classified into free-field, rigid-body scattering field and radiation scattering field. According to the classification of wave field and the mixed boundary-value conditions between the soil and the foundation, torsional vibrations of the foundation are formulated in two sets of dual integral equations. Then, the dual integral equations are reduced to Fredholm integral equation of the second kind to be solved. Combining with the dynamic equilibrium equations of the foundation, the expressions for the torsional vibrations of the foundation are obtained. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the influence of excitation frequency, incident angle, the torsional inertia moment of the foundation and permeability of the saturated half-space on the torsional vibrations of the foundation.     

饱和砂土液化特性的可视化试验研究

针对目前散粒体液化细观机制研究的局限性,对C.K.C型动态三轴仪进行改进,研制了可用于研究散粒体细观组构特征的动三轴可视化试验系统。利用该系统对循环荷载作用下标准砂的颗粒运动规律及细观组构特征进行初步探讨,从颗粒的运动规律、定向性、配位数和孔隙率等细观角度分析了循环荷载作用下饱和砂土发生液化的细观机制,认为液化的发生是土体在循环荷载作用下颗粒不断运动、重新排列的结果,指出颗粒长轴方向、配位数和孔隙率等细观组构参量是反映循环荷载作用下饱和砂土液化宏观响应的重要参量     

Planning for growth in a natural resource boomtown: challenges for urban planners in Fort McMurray,Alberta

Between 2000 and 2010, the population of the city of Fort McMurray, Alberta increased by 80%, mainly due to the expansion of oil extraction projects and subsidiary industries. Population growth of this magnitude has significant consequences for city planning. While Fort McMurray struggles to keep up with enormous numbers of in-migrants, the cost of living in the city has skyrocketed. Using interviews with city planners and field experience in the city, in this paper I examine the current challenges faced by urban planners in Fort McMurray against the backdrop of global economic decision-making, corporate influence, and commodity dynamics. While the recession of 2008 gave city planners some breathing room, they still struggle with gathering accurate census information and predicting population growth, providing affordable housing, and balancing short-range planning with their long-term goals. Attempts by city planners to address these challenges could provide a contemporary model for urban planning in rapidly growing, resource-dependent communities.     

柴达木盆地石炭系油气资源调查评价进展

柴达木盆地是我国大型含油气盆地之一,已经发现的油气主要来自中新生界地层。作者通过近年来对柴达木盆地石炭系油气资源的调查研究,证实柴达木盆地内石炭系地层分布广泛,厚度大。石炭系分布范围达10万km2。厚度大于1000m的范围达5.71万km2。盆地石炭系发育良好的烃源岩,石炭系地层普遍发育厚层油砂,显示石炭系具有很好生烃能力和油气运移过程。石炭系构造变形主要发生在新近纪末,之前的构造变形较弱,有利于石炭系油气保存。初步评价柴达木盆地石炭系油气资源量为6.14×108～7.23×108t。显示柴达木盆地石炭系油气资源潜力很大,是油气资源战略突破的新领域。     

The tectono-magmatic evolution of the West Junggar terrane (NW China) unravelled by U–Pb ages of detrital zircons in modern river sands

ABSTRACT

The West Junggar terrane (WJT) is an outstanding laboratory for studying the tectonic evolution of the Junggar–Balkhash Ocean, because it contains widespread Paleozoic magmatism in different tectonic settings. We attempt to reconstruct the tectono-magmatic evolution of WJT through U–pb analysis of detrital zircons from three modern river sand samples from the Harabura, Baibuxie, and Aletengyemule rivers in the Barleik Mountains of the central WJT. A total of 232 concordant spots show Th/U ratios of 0.14–1.69, typical of igneous origin, and they contain abundant Paleozoic (96%) and few Precambrian (4%) ages, with major age populations at 450–530, 400–430, 320–380, and 265–320 Ma. The first two groups may be derived from the early subduction- and accretion-related magmatic rocks of the WJT, whereas the third group is congruent with magmatic activities related to the final subduction and basin-filling processes within a framework of the remnant Junggar–Balkhash Ocean. By combining with the regional data, the last group of magmatic events is referred to as post-subduction magmatism. The missing Mesozoic–Cenozoic magmatism clearly indicates a pre-Permian closure for the Junggar–Balkhash Ocean, nearly coeval with the closure of other oceans in the southwestern Palaeo-Asian Ocean.     

吐哈盆地巴喀气田八道湾组致密砂岩储层分析及孔隙度演化定量模拟

在吐哈盆地巴喀气田八道湾组砂岩储层特征及控制因素分析的基础上,以地史时间和埋藏深度为变量,以现今孔隙度为约束条件,紧密结合埋藏阶段分析和关键成岩阶段窗口分析,分阶段建立了巴喀气田八道湾组储层从埋藏初始直至现今的孔隙度演化定量模型,动态体现了整个孔隙度演化过程。定量模拟结果表明：研究区储层总孔隙度演化是一个七段式分段函数,各个阶段孔隙度演化或遵循减小模型或遵循减小与增大的叠加模型;机械压实阶段的孔隙度减小模型是以埋深为自变量的函数,压实和胶结综合作用阶段则是以埋深和埋藏时间为变量的函数;孔隙增大模型适用于Ro值范围为0.6～1.0的溶蚀作用窗口内;早期的纯机械压实作用使八道湾组储层已接近致密,溶蚀作用之前的压实和胶结综合作用导致储层致密化,而后期溶蚀作用仅在一定程度上提高了孔隙空间。     

Trace element and REE geochemistry of fine- and coarse-grained sands in the Ordos deserts and links with sediments in surrounding areas

In addition to mineral analyses, REE and trace element geochemical characteristics of fine- and coarse-grained sands in the Ordos deserts and other sediments in surrounding areas are investigated.Commonly the samples consist of quartz, feldspar and muscovite and less clinochlore, dolomite and ankerite. In few samples muscovite is absent.REE and trace compositions are spatially uniform for the same grain-size sands, suggesting that they could have the same sources or/and were well homogenized. However, fine- and coarse-grained sands in the Ordos deserts show different REE and trace element compositions. Fine-grained sands show higher contents of REE and trace elements than those of coarse-grained sands. They differ in Eu anomalies and (La/Yb)_N ratios although both fractions are characterized by the steep LREE and smooth HREE patterns. The fine- and coarse-grained sands are also distinct in some characteristic element ratios (e.g., Th/Co, La/Sc, Th/Sc and Y/Ni).REE and trace element patterns of the two different grain-size fractions are closely associated with geological properties of individual sources rather than the mineralogical differentiation induced by wind sorting. The coarse-grained sands mainly resulted from sandstone weathering in the Ordos deserts and movements of coarse particles by wind. REE and trace element patterns of fine-grained sands in the Ordos deserts differ from those of sandstones in the Ordos deserts, the alluvial sands in the surrounding mountains and the coarse fluvial sands in the Yellow River. They resemble the fine fluvial sands in the Yellow River. In addition, arid areas of Northwest China such as the Tarim Basin and the Alxa Plateau should not be ruled out as the source of the fine-grained sands in the Ordos deserts because these arid areas reserve plenty of fine-grained sediments and also located in the upwind directions of the Ordos deserts.     

Application of Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) to inverse problems in saturated groundwater flow

We develop a new Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) reduced order model for saturated groundwater flow, and apply that model to an inverse problem for the hydraulic conductivity field. We use sensitivities as the POD basis. We compare the output when the optimizer uses the reduced order model against results obtained with a full PDE based model. The solutions generated using the POD reduced model are comparable in residual norm to the solutions formed using only the full-scale model. The material parameters are similarly comparable. The time to solution when using the reduced model is reduced by at least an order of magnitude, as are the number of calls to the full model.     

盾构过富水砂层对地表建筑物影响的研究

结合深圳地铁2号线盾构过富水砂层施工实际,考虑流-固藕合水土本构关系,用FLAC3D软件建立了盾构施工数值分析模型。计算结果与工程实测数据对比验证了数值模型的合理性。进一步研究了盾构过富水砂层对地表不同位置建筑的影响:建筑物基础在隧道正上方时产生沉降最大且较均匀,水平位移最小;盾构机开挖下穿时建筑物差异沉降最大,建筑物倾向盾构开挖方向;建筑物基础横向上离隧道中心一倍隧道埋深时,建筑物水平移动最大,易受剪切破坏,倾向垂直盾构开挖方向,周边地表沉降差最大;建筑物离隧道中心横向距离超过两倍隧道埋深时,盾构开挖对建筑物基础沉降的影响较小,建筑物沉降与其周边地表沉降较均匀。