Groundwater circulation in the allochthonous limestone units between Lake Girdev and Kazanpınarı Spring, Antalya, southwestern Turkey

 The aim of the study is to investigate the interaction between waters of Lake Girdev and groundwater in the allochthonous limestone units exposed in the area between Lake Girdev and Kazanpınarı Spring, southwestern Turkey. The features analyzed include the flow direction and apparent groundwater velocity, their relationship with Lake Girdev, and the effect of lithological and structural features on the groundwater circulation. The results of a fluorescein tracer test indicate that groundwater flows east-northeast and the apparent flow velocity ranges from 26.2 to 35.6 m h^–1 between the injection site and various observation points. Tritium data suggest that the water of Lake Girdev and groundwater are probably similar in age, and oxygen-18 isotope data indicate that water derived from Lake Girdev is the main source of recharge to the aquifer. The aquifer is fed not only by Lake Girdev but also by rainfall percolating through allochthonous limestones; together, these provide the discharge of springs in Elmalı Polje. The permeability of the allochthonous limestone aquifer has been enhanced as a result of jointing and faulting. Received, June 1997 / Revised, June 1998, March 1999 / Accepted, July 1999     

DNA tracers with information capacity and high detection sensitivity tested in groundwater studies

 In order to investigate the usefulness of unique synthetic DNA tracers in groundwater, a field experiment was conducted in Norway. DNA tracers and a sodium-chloride tracer were injected into an aquifer. The transport of DNA molecules was interpreted by comparing with the plume of chloride ions under forced-gradient steady-state flow conditions. Spatial concentration moments described the migration of conservative tracers. Mobility and migration of DNA in groundwater demonstrate that DNA tracers can be detected by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequence analysis. The results indicate that DNA tracers can be valuable tools as tracers in groundwater investigations. Received, June 1997 / Revised, July 1998, December 1998 / Accepted, January 1999     

Determining concentration fields of tracer plumes for layered porous media in flow-tank experiments

 In the laboratory, computer-assisted image analysis provides an accurate and efficient way to monitor tracer experiments. This paper describes the determination of detailed temporal concentration distributions of tracers in a flow-tank experiment by analyzing photographs of plumes of Rhodamine dye through the glass wall of the tank. The methodology developed for this purpose consists of four steps: (1) digitally scanning black and white negatives obtained from photographs of the flow–tank experiment; (2) calibrating and normalizing each digitized image to a standard optical-density scale by determining the relation between the optical density and pixel value for each image; (3) constructing standard curves relating the concentration in an optical density from five experimental runs with predetermined concentrations (2–97 mg/L); and (4) converting the optical density to concentration. The spatial distribution of concentration for two photographs was determined by applying these calibration and conversion procedures to all pixels of the digitized images. This approach provides an efficient way to study patterns of plume evolution and transport mechanisms. Received, March 1998 Revised, September 1998 Accepted, October 1998     

Stress–strain behaviour of a loosely compacted volcanic-derived soil and its significance to rainfall-induced fill slope failures

The stress–strain behaviour of a soil is crucial to the recognition of the mechanism of slope failure. Triaxial tests, composed of isotropically consolidated drained (ICD) and undrained compression (ICU) tests and anisotropically consolidated constant deviatoric stress path (CQD) tests, were carried out with the aim of investigating the stress–strain behaviour of loosely compacted volcanic-derived soils. The fact that the critical states are the same for ICU, ICD and CQD tests may show that the critical state is independent of the above three stress paths. The critical state line, as defined in critical state soil mechanics, is obtained from the e–log p′ and q–p′ plots based on the results of the above tests. The initial state of the consolidated specimens at initiation of failure may be classified as dilative or contractive in the light of the locations of the soil state relative to the critical state line. For contractional soils, the increased pore water pressure generated by rainfall infiltration leads to a contractive failure in a drained manner, giving rise to high excess pore water pressure. The excess pore water pressure caused by contraction cannot be dissipated instantly, resulting in a decrease in the shear resistance of the soil. The failure process is rapid. The failed soil mass is prone to flow after failure under the action of gravity due to its high moisture content and inflow of surface runoff and rainwater. For dilational soils, the increased pore water pressure resulting from infiltration leads to dilation, which reduces pore water pressure and thus increases the shear resistance of the soil. However, continued rainfall infiltration may be able to equilibrate the reduction in pore water pressure caused by dilation and, therefore, the dilation or displacement can continue. In Hong Kong, volcanic-derived soil is characterized by high permeability. Both the high permeability of volcanic-derived soil and a shallow failure surface make it possible for the reduction in pore pressure to equilibrate relatively quickly. Therefore, the failure is also rapid, at least for poorly compacted fill slopes.     

Shake table investigation on the seismic performance of hospital equipment supported on wheels/casters

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the seismic response of medical equipment supported on wheels and/or casters. Two pieces of equipment were tested: a large ultrasound machine and a cart carrying smaller medical equipment. In the first phase, the resistance of the wheels and casters of the equipment was characterized through a controlled‐displacement procedure on the shake table. In the second phase, an extensive shake table test program was carried out to investigate the seismic response of the equipment. The input signals for the shake table tests included floor motions of a four‐story steel braced‐frame hospital designed to satisfy seismic requirements of a site in the Los Angeles area. The results of 96 shake table tests reported in this study include the seismic performance of the equipment under both unlocked and locked conditions, located on various floor levels of the building. It was observed that engaging the casters' locking mechanism does not necessarily decrease the relative displacement. The displacement response was sensitive to the excitation intensity and the orientation of the equipment with respect to the input excitation. Based on the experimental observations, appropriate structural engineering demand parameters associated with the relative displacement and relative velocity demands of the equipment are proposed and used to develop conditional probability curves. Finally, in an effort to extend the results of this experimental study to similar equipment on wheels/casters, the performance of a simple numerical model in predicting the peak seismic demands is evaluated. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

铁路路基粗粒土填料临界动应力试验研究

粗粒土填料被广泛应用于铁路基床填料中,直接承受轨道结构传递的列车动循环荷载的长期作用,研究其在列车动荷载作用下的动力行为特征及塑性变形特性可为路基状态评估、沉降控制提供思路。采用GDS动三轴试验系统对铁路基床表层的粗粒土填料动力响应开展研究,通过引入塑性应变率和安定理论,将不同频率、围压、循环动应力比等条件下路基填料的轴向塑性应变的发展规律划分为塑性安定、塑性蠕变和增量塑性破坏3种类型,并确定了塑性安定和塑性蠕变状态的临界动应力水平。研究表明：粗粒土填料的临界循环应力比随着围压的增大而增大,随着荷载频率的增加而减小。通过对试验结果的拟合分析,提出了以围压为变量的临界动应力经验公式,为合理评估列车荷载作用下路基任意深度的动力稳定提供了理论依据。     

插拔桩靴对临近桩靴承载力的影响研究

自升式钻井船桩靴的插拔过程将会对临近井口平台的桩靴基础产生不利影响。开展了室内模型试验研究,将试验结果与理论分析结果相结合,得到了桩靴插拔的影响范围及影响范围内土体强度的变化规律,并推导了桩靴插拔影响区内临近桩靴承载力的计算方法,与模型试验结果进行了对比验证。研究表明,桩靴插拔后砂土相对密实度降低,其降低程度随距桩靴距离的增加而逐渐减小,影响范围约为1倍桩靴直径。受桩靴插拔影响,临近桩靴的承载力下降,降低比例随两桩靴相对间距的增大而减小,随桩靴相对插深的增加而增加。当两桩靴相对间距大于2倍插拔桩靴直径时,可认为桩靴插拔对临近桩靴基础承载力无影响。     

钙质砂抗剪强度特性的环剪试验

珊瑚礁沉积的钙质砂与石英砂的物理力学性质有较大差别。对取自南海岛礁的钙质砂进行了单次往返环剪试验以分析钙质砂的抗剪强度特性,试验中考虑了相对密实度和竖向应力对结果的影响,并与相同级配和试验条件下的石英砂进行对比分析。结果表明：钙质砂正向剪切时应力-位移曲线为软化型,具有明显的残余强度特性,而反向剪切时则表现为硬化型,正向和反向剪切强度基本一致;石英砂正向剪切和反向剪切均表现为软化型。钙质砂正向剪切和反向剪切残余强度与峰值强度的比值在0.75～0.93之间;石英砂正向剪切和反向剪切残余强度与对应峰值强度的比值在0.89～0.96之间。相同级配和试验条件下,钙质砂残余强度均大于石英砂,且强度比值基本保持在1.05～1.3之间。在100、200 kPa竖向荷载作用下,钙质砂0.5～2.0 mm的颗粒发生了破碎,破碎率分别为4%和6%。     

考虑钙质砂细观颗粒形状影响的液体拖曳力系数试验

钙质砂作为南海岛礁填筑常用的岩土材料,其渗透性很大程度上决定着填筑后土体的固结和沉降。拖曳力系数是表达流体对土体颗粒表面力的参数,也是表征颗粒状土体渗透能力的一个重要参数,目前国内外对钙质砂拖曳力系数的研究十分有限。首先引入一个修正的三维参数 对钙质砂这种天然非规则颗粒材料的形状进行定量描述,然后开展一系列单个钙质砂颗粒在液体中沉降试验,利用高速相机记录颗粒沉降过程,结合图像处理技术获得颗粒沉降平衡速度Ut,进而计算出拖曳力系数CD和雷诺数Re,最后拟合出包含CD、Re及 三个参数的钙质砂拖曳力系数半经验模型。结果发现,在相同雷诺数条件下钙质砂的形状系数 越大,拖曳力系数越小。通过与其他研究结果对比发现,其表面微孔隙越发育,拖曳力系数越小的规律。该模型能够考虑不规则颗粒形状对拖曳力系数的影响,从而提高对土体渗透性预测的精度,对南海岛礁填筑工程中钙质砂固结和沉降的计算也具有重要意义。     

Experimental analysis on the risk of vortex ventilation and the free surface ventilation of marine propellers

The paper presents a discussion of the ventilation inception and air drawing prediction of ships propellers, aiming to predict under what conditions ventilation will happen, and the actual physical mechanism of the ventilation.Three different types of ventilation inception mechanisms are included in our discussion: free surface vortex ventilation, ventilation by sucking down the free surface without forming a vortex as well as ventilation by propeller coming out of the water. Ventilation prediction is based on a series of model tests, where the propeller is tested in different levels of intermittent ventilation. The use of underwater video gives a visual understanding of the ventilation phenomena.Ventilation by vortex formation has analogies with other phenomena, such as the inlet vortex in pump sumps, ground vortex at the inlet of the aircraft engines and the Propeller Hull Vortex Cavitation (PHVC). The paper includes comparison between Propeller Hull Vortex Cavitation (PHVC) and Propeller Free Surface Vortex Ventilation (PFSVV) as well as comparison between PFSVV and vortex formations of aero engines during high power operation near a solid surface.Experimental data based on several different model tests shows the boundary between the vortex forming, non-vortex forming and free surface ventilation flow regimes. For comparison the following parameters, which determined the intensity of the hydrodynamic interaction between the propeller and free surface have been used: propeller load coefficient c_T, tip clearance ratio c/D, propeller submergence ratio h/R, ambient velocity V_i and flow cavitation/ventilation number σ_cav/σ_vent.