Modelling spatial variations in dissolved oxygen in fine‐grained streams under uncertainty

This paper presents a novel triple‐layer model, called VART DO‐3L, for simulation of spatial variations in dissolved oxygen (DO) in fine‐grained streams, characterized by a fluid mud (fluff or flocculent) layer (an advection‐dominated storage zone) as the interface between overlying stream water and relatively consolidated streambed sediment (a diffusion‐dominated storage zone). A global sensitivity analysis is conducted to investigate the sensitivity of VART DO‐3L model input parameters. Results of the sensitivity analysis indicate that the most sensitive parameter is the relative size of the advection‐dominated storage zones (A_s/A), followed by a lumped reaction term (R) for the flocculent layer, biological reaction rate (μ_o) in diffusive layer and biochemical oxygen demand concentration (L) in water column. In order to address uncertainty in model input parameters, Monte Carlo simulations are performed to sample parameter values and to produce various parameter combinations or cases. The VART DO‐3L model is applied to the Lower Amite River in Louisiana, USA, to simulate vertical and longitudinal variations in DO under the cases. In terms of longitudinal variation, the DO level decreases from 7.9 mg l at the Denham Springs station to about 2.89 mg l^?1 at the Port Vincent station. In terms of vertical variation, the DO level drops rapidly from the overlying water column to the advection‐dominated storage zone and further to the diffusive layer. The DO level (C_F) in the advective layer (flocculent layer) can reach as high as 40% of DO concentration (C) in the water column. The VART DO‐3L model may be applied to similar rivers for simulation of spatial variations in DO level. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamic response of a pile considering the interaction of pile variable cross section with the surrounding layered soil

Assuming that the pile variable cross section interacts with the surrounding soil in the same way as the pile toe does with the bearing stratus, the interaction of pile variable cross section with the surrounding soil is represented by a Voigt model, which consists of a spring and a damper connected in parallel, and the spring constant and damper coefficient are derived. Thus, a more rigid pile–soil interaction model is proposed. The surrounding soil layers are modeled as axisymmetric continuum in which its vertical displacements are taken into account and the pile is assumed to be a Rayleigh–Love rod with material damping. Allowing for soil properties and pile defects, the pile–soil system is divided into several layers. By means of Laplace transform, the governing equations of soil layers are solved in frequency domain, and a new relationship linking the impedance functions at the variable‐section interface between the adjacent pile segments is derived using a Heaviside step function, which is called amended impedance function transfer method. On this basis, the impedance function at pile top is derived by amended impedance function transfer method proposed in this paper. Then, the velocity response at pile top can be obtained by means of inverse Fourier transform and convolution theorem. The effects of pile–soil system parameters are studied, and some conclusions are proposed. Then, an engineering example is given to confirm the rationality of the solution proposed in this paper. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modeling deepwater seabed steady-state thermal fields around buried pipeline including trenching and backfill effects

Deepwater pipelines are designed to transport mixtures of oil and gas, and their associated impurities at wellhead temperatures that can be in excess of 149 °C (∼300 °F or 422 K) while the external temperature maybe in the range of 5 °C (∼41 °F or 278 K). Depending on the circumstances these pipelines may be buried for physical protection or for additional thermal insulation using robotic trenching equipment. This results in a complex cut and backfill geometry in the seafloor in addition to altering the thermal properties of the backfill. A two-dimensional boundary element model was developed specifically to address to investigate the local steady-state thermal field in the near field of the pipeline. The model allows one to account for the complex geometries in the near field associated with this burial technique, site-specific multi-layered soil conditions and the seawater adjacent to the seafloor. A parametric study was preformed to evaluate effects of the thermal power loss, burial depth, pipe diameter and soil thermal conductivity on the thermal field in the near field of a buried pipeline. The numerical examples illustrate the influence of the backfill thermal property on the temperature at the pipe wall, that the pipe diameter controls the required output thermal power needed to maintain the desired pipe wall temperature, and the importance of pipeline burial depth on seabed temperature distribution above the pipeline.     

Critical Top Tension for Static Equilibrium Configuration of A Steel Catenary Riser

This paper aims to present the critical top tension for static equilibrium configurations of a steel catenary riser（SCR） by using the finite element method. The critical top tension is the minimum top tension that can maintain the equilibrium of the SCR. If the top tension is smaller than the critical value, the equilibrium of the SCR does not exist. If the top tension is larger than the critical value, there are two possible equilibrium configurations. These two configurations exhibit the nonlinear large displacement. The configuration with the smaller displacement is stable, while the one with larger displacement is unstable. The numerical results show that the increases in the riser＇s vertical distances, horizontal offsets, riser＇s weights, internal flow velocities, and current velocities increase the critical top tensions of the SCR. In addition, the parametric studies are also performed in order to investigate the limit states for the analysis and design of the SCR.     

A probabilistic approach for computing water retention of particulate systems from statistics of grain size and tessellated pore network

The paper offers an analytical determination of the hydraulic properties of an unsaturated soil with reference to its retention curve, which describes the relationship between the volumetric water content and capillarity through matric suction. The analysis combines a particulate approach focused on the physics at the pore scale, including microstructural aspects, with a probabilistic approach where the void space and grain size are considered as random variables. In the end, the soil water characteristic curve of an unsaturated granular medium along a drying path can be derived analytically based on the sole information of particle size distribution. The analysis hinges on the tessellation of a wet granular system into an assemblage of tetrahedral unit cells revealing a pore network upon which capillary physics are computed with respect to pore throat invasion by a non-wetting fluid with evolving pendular capillary bridges. The crux of the paper is to pass from particle size probability distribution to a matching void space distribution to eventually reveal key information such as void cell and solid volume statistics. Making reasonable statistically based assumptions to render calculations tractable, the water retention curve can be readily constructed. Model predictions compare quite favourably with experimental data available for actual soils, especially in the high saturation range. Having a sound scientific basis, the model can be made amenable to address a variety of soils with a wider range of particle sizes.     

Improved algorithms for generalized finite element simulations of three-dimensional hydraulic fracture propagation

This paper reports improvements to algorithms for the simulation of 3-D hydraulic fracturing with the Generalized Finite Element Method (GFEM). Three optimizations are presented and analyzed. First, an improved initial guess based on solving a 3-D elastic problem with the pressure from the previous step is shown to decrease the number of Newton iterations and increase robustness. Second, an improved methodology to find the time step that leads to fracture propagation is proposed and shown to decrease significantly the number of iterations. Third, reduced computational cost is observed by properly recycling the linear part of the coupled stiffness matrix. Two representative examples are used to analyze these improvements. Additionally, a methodology to include the leak-off term is presented and verified against asymptotic analytical solutions. Conservation of mass is shown to be well satisfied in all examples.     

A new numerical approach to the hyperstatic reaction method for segmental tunnel linings

This paper proposes a numerical approach to the hyperstatic reaction method (HRM) for the analysis of segmental tunnel linings. The influence of segmental joints has been considered directly using a fixity ratio that is determined on the basis of the rotational stiffness. The parameters necessary for the calculation are presented. A specific implementation has been developed using a FEM framework. This code is able to consider the three‐dimensional (3D) effect of segment joints in successive rings on the tunnel lining behaviour. The present HRM allows one to take an arbitrary distribution of segment joints along the tunnel boundary into consideration. In addition, the rotational stiffness of segment joints has been simulated using nonlinear behaviour, as it is closer to the true behaviour of a joint than linear or bilinear behaviour. The numerical results of three hypotheses on ring interaction, which allow the 3D effect of a segmental tunnel lining to be taken into account, have been compared with data obtained from the shield‐driven tunnel of the Bologna–Florence high‐speed railway line project. The numerical results presented in the paper show that the proposed HRM can be used to effectively estimate the behaviour of a segmental tunnel lining. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Granular element method for three‐dimensional discrete element calculations

This paper endows the recently‐proposed granular element method (GEM) with the ability to perform 3D discrete element calculations. By using non‐uniform rational B‐Splines to accurately represent complex grain geometries, we proposed an alternative approach to clustering‐based and polyhedra‐based discrete element methods whereby the need for complicated and ad hoc approaches to construct 3D grain geometries is entirely bypassed. We demonstrate the ability of GEM in capturing arbitrary‐shaped 3D grains with great ease, flexibility, and without excessive geometric information. Furthermore, the applicability of GEM is enhanced by its tight integration with existing non‐uniform rational B‐Splines modeling tools and ability to provide a seamless transition from binary images of real grain shapes (e.g., from 3D X‐ray CT) to modeling and discrete mechanics computations.Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

New graphical methods for estimating aquifer hydraulic parameters using pumping tests with exponentially decreasing rates

Actual pumping tests may involve continuously decreasing rates over a certain period of time, and the hydraulic conductivity (K) and specific storage (S_s) of the tested confined aquifer cannot be interpreted from the classical constant‐rate test model. In this study, we revisit the aquifer drawdown characteristics of a pumping test with an exponentially decreasing rate using the dimensionless analytical solution for such a variable‐rate model. The drawdown may decrease with time for a short period of time at intermediate pumping times for such pumping tests. A larger ratio of initial to final pumping rate and a smaller radial distance of the observation well will enhance the decreasing feature. A larger decay constant results in an earlier decrease, but it weakens the extent of such a decrease. Based on the proposed dimensionless transformation, we have proposed two graphical methods for estimating K and S_s of the tested aquifer. The first is a new type curve method that does not employ the well function as commonly done in standard type curve analysis. Another is a new analytic method that takes advantage of the decreasing features of aquifer drawdown during the intermediate pumping stage. We have demonstrated the applicability and robustness of the two new graphical methods for aquifer characterization through a synthetic pumping test.     

Modelling landslides in unsaturated slopes subjected to rainfall infiltration using material point method

This paper presents a dynamic fully coupled formulation for saturated and unsaturated soils that undergo large deformations based on material point method. Governing equations are applied to porous material while considering it as a continuum in which the pores of the solid skeleton are filled with water and air. The accuracy of the developed method is tested with available experimental and numerical results. The developed method has been applied to investigate the failure and post‐failure behaviour of rapid landslides in unsaturated slopes subjected to rainfall infiltration using two different bedrock geometries that lie below the top soil. The models show different failure and post‐failure mechanisms depending on the bedrock geometry and highlight the negative effects of continuous rain infiltrations. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.