Assessing the effectiveness of imperviousness on stormwater runoff in micro urban catchments by model simulation

Imperviousness, considered as a critical indicator of the hydrologic impacts of urbanization, has gained increasing attention both in the research field and in practice. However, the effectiveness of imperviousness on rainfall–runoff dynamics has not been fully determined in a fine spatiotemporal scale. In this study, 69 drainage subareas <1 ha of a typical residential catchment in Beijing were selected to evaluate the hydrologic impacts of imperviousness, under a typical storm event with a 3‐year return period. Two metrics, total impervious area (TIA) and effective impervious area (EIA), were identified to represent the impervious characteristics of the selected subareas. Three runoff variables, total runoff depth (TR), peak runoff depth (PR), and lag time (LT), were simulated by using a validated hydrologic model. Regression analyses were developed to explore the quantitative associations between imperviousness and runoff variables. Then, three scenarios were established to test the applicability of the results in considering the different infiltration conditions. Our results showed that runoff variables are significantly related to imperviousness. However, the hydrologic performances of TIA and EIA were scale dependent. Specifically, with finer spatial scale and the condition heavy rainfall, TIA rather than EIA was found to contribute more to TR and PR. EIA tended to have a greater impact on LT and showed a negative relationship. Moreover, the relative significance of TIA and EIA was maintained under the different infiltration conditions. These findings may provide potential implications for landscape and drainage design in urban areas, which help to mitigate the runoff risk. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The determination of potential difference by the joint application of measured and synthetical gravity data: a case study in Hungary

In an elementary approach every geometrical height difference between the staff points of a levelling line should have a corresponding average g value for the determination of potential difference in the Earth’s gravity field. In practice this condition requires as many gravity data as the number of staff points if linear variation of g is assumed between them. Because of the expensive fieldwork, the necessary data should be supplied from different sources. This study proposes an alternative solution, which is proved at a test bed located in the Mecsek Mountains, Southwest Hungary, where a detailed gravity survey, as dense as the staff point density (~1 point/34 m), is available along a 4.3-km-long levelling line. In the first part of the paper the effect of point density of gravity data on the accuracy of potential difference is investigated. The average g value is simply derived from two neighbouring g measurements along the levelling line, which are incrementally decimated in the consecutive turns of processing. The results show that the error of the potential difference between the endpoints of the line exceeds 0.1 mm in terms of length unit if the sampling distance is greater than 2 km. Thereafter, a suitable method for the densification of the decimated g measurements is provided. It is based on forward gravity modelling utilising a high-resolution digital terrain model, the normal gravity and the complete Bouguer anomalies. The test shows that the error is only in the order of 10⁻³mm even if the sampling distance of g measurements is 4 km. As a component of the error sources of levelling, the ambiguity of the levelled height difference which is the Euclidean distance between the inclined equipotential surfaces is also investigated. Although its effect accumulated along the test line is almost zero, it reaches 0.15 mm in a 1-km-long intermediate section of the line.     

利用SEM照片获取土的孔隙结构参数

以土工实验和计算机图像处理技术为基础, 探讨利用SEM照片获取土的孔隙结构参数的方法, 并以重塑粘性土为例进行实证分析.为获取孔隙结构参数, 首先分3个步骤对土样的SEM照片进行图像处理: 即照片格式转换、颗粒边际线探测和颜色充填; 然后针对黑白二元图像测算孔隙结构参数.从设计制备的重塑粘性土的三轴试验样品中, 选择了12个不同水分状态和密度状态的样品, 经风干和烘干后, 进行SEM测试, 每个样品拍摄了3个尺度的SEM照片, 放大倍数依次为500倍、1000倍、2000倍.之后, 对所获得的SEM照片进行了图像处理分析, 计算了相应的平面孔隙比和平面孔隙率.数据分析表明: SEM照片测算的孔隙参数与通常三相图计算的孔隙参数有关联, 测算数据可以反映土的孔隙结构特征; 样品的不同脱水方式对SEM照片测算的孔隙参数有影响, 与三相图法计算数据相比, 风干土样测算的数据略有偏大, 烘干土样测算的数据偏小; 同一土样不同比例尺的SEM照片测算出的孔隙参数有所不同, 邻近三相图法计算结果上下波动; 利用SEM照片提取土的结构信息是可行的, 对SEM照片进行图像处理分析是获取土的孔隙结构参数的有效办法.      

Control of Aptian palaeobathymetry on turbidite distribution in the Buchan Graben,Outer Moray Firth,Central North Sea

It is widely recognised that palaeobathymetry is a key control on the distribution of turbidite deposits. Thus, the utilisation of palaeobathymetric surfaces as an input for numerical turbidity current modelling offers a potentially powerful method to predict the distribution of deep marine sands in ancient (subsurface or outcrop) successions. Such an approach has been tested on an Aptian turbidite deposit from the Buchan Graben, UK Central North Sea, where modelled sand distributions could be quality controlled against available well data.     

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.     

孔隙压变化对岩石错动面滑动行为影响的实验研究

应用摩擦实验装置，在法向压力σ＿ｎ＝１０～１２０ＭＰａ下研究了孔隙压变化速率对岩石错动面滑动行为的影响。当孔隙压增压速率较大时，具粘滑振荡特性的岩石错动面仍将发生粘滑振荡，当孔隙压增压速率较小时，错动面发生稳定滑动，当增压速率介于上述两者之间时，错动面则呈粘滑－稳滑转化。以上结果对地震前兆和地震控制研究有重要意义     

鲜水河断裂带大震复发机制和时空分布原因

岩石接触面在高温高围压下经过几天便烧结起来而有很高但低于原岩的剪切强度。烧结面与主压应力方向夹角大于55—65°时,便不再断裂而沿其它方向剪断。实验最低温压相当地壳10km深,这应是地壳大断裂的上部裂面与下部烧结层的界限深度,受力后便向下延裂,在下部形成震源。这可能是鲜水河断裂带震源在10—25km深重复发生的原因。由带内大震机制解P轴方向与地球自转速率变化趋势的关系、区域残余应力场水平主压应力分布方向与断裂带走向的关系,讨论了带内大震活动时段的原因。由带内裂面烧结条件、残余和现今应力高值区、岩体低强度区及储存弹性应变能高值区的分布,研究了带内大震空间分布原因。     

Time effects on dynamic soil properties under random excitation conditions

Two types of clayey soils, a kaolinite and a bentonite, were tested using a resonant column apparatus under random excitation conditions. The concept of root mean square (rms) strain was utilized for the purpose of strain calculations during random loading. The conventional estimator of the transfer function was used for random vibration analysis. The effect of confinement duration (at a constant pressure) on dynamic soil properties, namely damping and shear modulus, was evaluated. The results indicate that for both cohesive soils, the effect of time was less pronounced during random vibration than sinusoidal loading at the same rms strain. This effect is however more pronounced when the peak shearing strain of sinusoidal loading is considered. Furthermore, time effects were more pronounced at low strain levels than at high strain levels.     

A device for measuring downwearing rates on cohesive shore platforms

The device described in this paper, known as the traversing erosion beam, is believed to be the first to be designed specifically for measuring rates of downwearing of cohesive foreshores, such as clay shore platforms, under high‐energy wave conditions. It is primarily constructed of Flexlink Aluminium Structural System components and consists of a horizontal beam with a main leg and two further support legs. A sliding ‘dolly’ module is moved along the beam at precise intervals using a longitudinal scale as a reference. The topographic profile of the measurement surface is transferred to the dolly by a vertical sliding steel alloy rod, from which the relative height differences are measured by a separate engineer's digital height gauge placed on the dolly. The main leg of the device fits into a marine grade stainless steel box, which is deeply embedded into the foreshore or shore platform to act a permanent datum. The box is robust and can be expected to have a lifetime of at least a year, and possibly even five years or more. Sample data are provided from a clay shore platform at Warden Point in the Isle of Sheppey, Kent (UK), which demonstrate that the TEB can provide information on seasonal as well as annual rates of downwearing. The device has also been tested successfully on a peat and clay foreshore at Pett Level in Sussex and on a shore platform cut in glacial till at Easington, Yorkshire. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimation Of Sensible Heat Flux From The Surface Temperature Wave And One-Time-Of-Day Air Temperature Observation, Part Ii – Heterogeneous Surfaces

By means of the algorithm presented in Part I of this study, the temporal course H(t) and the daily mean H of the sensible heat flux H can be determined from measurements of the thermodynamic surface temperature (as a function of time) and from a one-time-of-day air temperature observation. Inaddition to these temperatures, one needs estimates of daily mean wind speed,of the roughness lengths of momentum and heat transfer, and of the displacementheight. In Part I, the algorithm was derived for areas with homogeneous surfaces,i.e., with uniform surface temperature, and the method was verified with measurements taken during several field campaigns. The root mean square error for the temperature difference between surface and air, in the comparison between measurement and model, amounted to one or two kelvin, and the error of H was 10 to 25 per cent. The method can be used to determine the sensible heat flux from measurements of surface temperatures by satellites, but can also be applied to ground based measurements.In Part II, the procedure is generalized for areas that consist of various surface types (sub-regions) with different surface temperatures, and can be usedwhen only a few (at least one) air temperature measurements per day are available over only one of the different sub-regions. This generalization should allow improvements to the estimates for H(t) by means of temperature measurements from, e.g., NOAA/AVHRR or LANDSAT/TM, taking into account the heterogeneity of the area contained in one METEOSAT pixel. Criteria are given as to whether effective (areal mean) surface temperatures and roughness lengths may be used for the computation of H or if the above mentioned generalized procedure has to be applied. The new algorithm is verified by measurements sampled during the field campaigns EFEDA 91 (Spain) and HIBE 89 (Hildesheimer Börde in Germany), and by using synthetic data (due to the lack of measured data) for one further combined surfacetype [soil and water (lakes)].