VORTEX FLOW FIELD IN A SCOUR HOLE AROUND ABUTMENTS

The three-dimensional flow field in a scour hole around different abutments under a clear water regime was experimentally measured in a laboratory flume, using the Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV). Three types of abutments used in the experiments were vertical-wall (rectangular section), 45° wing-wall (45° polygonal section) and semicircular. The three-dimensional time-averaged velocity components were detected at different vertical planes for vertical-wall abutment and azimuthal planes for wing-wall and semicircular abutments. The velocity components were also measured at different horizontal planes. In the upstream, presentations of flow field through vector plots at vertical / azimuthal and horizontal planes show the existence of a primary vortex associated with the downflow inside the scour hole. On the other hand, in the downstream, the flow field shows a reversed flow near the abutments having a subsequent recovery with a passage of flow as a part of the main flow. The data presented in this p     

Sediment deposition from flow at low gradients into a buffer strip—a critical test of re-entrainment theory

The spatial and size distribution of sediment deposited from short periods of overland flow due to the effect of a simulated grass buffer strip was measured for low slopes of 1.6, 3.4 and 5.1%. These data were analysed so as to critically evaluate two alternative models of the process of re-entrainment of recently deposited sediment. A model of re-entrainment, previously thought to be appropriate only for a steady-state or equilibrium situation, was found to give better agreement with experiments than did a model previously used in the literature on this subject.     

Drainage in finite-sized unsaturated zones

After the initiation of gravity drainage, water is often assumed to be either (a) draining under unit gradient, or (b) at capillary/gravity equilibrium. Both of these simplifications can be useful, but the regimes of validity of each assumption must be delineated. Water pressures are measured versus time and distance as water drains out of a 1.6 m long sand column to determine the relative effects of capillary and gravitational forces during drainage. For medium sized sands (0.15–0.3 mm in diameter), the capillary pressure is constant in space in a large region of the column for over 12 days, and the water continues to flow under unit gradient for relatively long time scales. Similar results are seen for finer sands, but with a much faster approach to equilibrium. Numerical simulations and analytical estimates are presented and compare favorably to the measurements. Together, the experimental, theoretical and analytical results are used to calculate when capillary/gravity equilibrium is reached as a function of porous media properties and length of the unsaturated zone. The ratio of the length of the unsaturated zone to the bubbling pressure is a key parameter in determining the drainage regime, and that even for relatively short unsaturated zones the equilibrium time scale can be on the order of years.     

Parameters affecting maximum fluid transport in large aperture fractures

We present results of laboratory experiments to study the behavior of liquids moving in unsaturated wide-aperture fractures. A 5-mm-thick glass plate cut with a 1.7-mm aperture was used as a fractured rock analog to study behavior of film and capillary droplet flow modes. Flow rates ranged between 0.6 and 6.0 ml/min. Variability in the ambient barometric pressure, resulting from weather conditions, seemed to play a role in the natural selection of flow mode. For droplet mode, constant input conditions resulted in highly variable transport properties within the fracture. The advancing meniscus exhibited a dynamic contact angle that was a function of the droplet speed and much larger than the static contact angle. Flow rate was reduced due to the larger contact angle. Analytical expressions for droplet velocity and flow capacity are presented as a function of the dynamic rather than the static contact angle.     

Laplace-transform analytic element solution of transient flow in porous media

A Laplace-transform analytic element method (LT-AEM) is described for the solution of transient flow problems in porous media. Following Laplace transformation of the original flow problem, the analytic element method (AEM) is used to solve the resultant time-independent modified Helmholtz equation, and the solution is inverted numerically back into the time domain. The solution is entirely general, retaining the mathematical elegance and computational efficiency of the AEM while being amenable to parallel computation. It is especially well suited for problems in which a solution is required at a limited number of points in space–time, and for problems involving materials with sharply contrasting hydraulic properties. We illustrate the LT-AEM on transient flow through a uniform confined aquifer with a circular inclusion of contrasting hydraulic conductivity and specific storage. Our results compare well with published analytical solutions in the special case of radial flow.     

Flow and fracture maps for basaltic rock deformation at high temperatures

Understanding how the strength of basaltic rock varies with the extrinsic conditions of stress state, pressure and temperature, and the intrinsic rock physical properties is fundamental to understanding the dynamics of volcanic systems. In particular it is essential to understand how rock strength at high temperatures is limited by fracture. We have collated and analysed laboratory data for basaltic rocks from over 500 rock deformation experiments and plotted these on principal stress failure maps. We have fitted an empirical flow law (Norton’s law) and a theoretical fracture criterion to these data. The principal stress failure map is a graphical representation of ductile and brittle experimental data together with flow and fracture envelopes under varying strain rate, temperature and pressure. We have used these maps to re-interpret the ductile–brittle transition in basaltic rocks at high temperatures and show, conceptually, how these failure maps can be applied to volcanic systems, using lava flows as an example.     

Earthen barriers to control lava flows in the 2001 eruption of Mt. Etna

Preceded by four days of intense seismicity and marked ground deformation, a new eruption of Mt. Etna started on 17 July and lasted until 9 August 2001. It produced lava emission and strombolian and phreatomagmatic activity from four different main vents located on a complex fracture system extending from the southeast summit cone for about 4.5 km southwards, from 3000 to 2100 m elevation (a.s.l.). The lava emitted from the lowest vent cut up an important road on the volcano and destroyed other rural roads and a few isolated country houses. Its front descended southwards to about 4 km distance from the villages of Nicolosi and Belpasso. A plan of intervention, including diversion and retaining barriers and possibly lava flow interruption, was prepared but not activated because the flow front stopped as a consequence of a decrease in the effusion rate. Extensive interventions were carried out in order to protect some important tourist facilities of the Sapienza and Mts. Silvestri zones (1900 m elevation) from being destroyed by the lava emitted from vents located at 2700 m and 2550 m elevation. Thirteen earthen barriers (with a maximum length of 370 m, height of 10–12 m, base width of 15 m and volume of 25 000 m³) were built to divert the lava flow away from the facilities towards a path implying considerably less damage. Most of the barriers were oriented diagonally (110–135°) to the direction of the flow. They were made of loose material excavated nearby and worked very nicely, resisting the thrust of the lava without any difficulty. After the interventions carried out on Mt. Etna in 1983 and in 1991–1992, those of 2001 confirm that earthen barriers can be very effective in controlling lava flows.     

Fluid flow and mineralization of Youjiang Basin in the Yunnan-Guizhou-Guangxi area, China

Comprehensive studies, based on isotope geochemistry of C, H, O, S and Sr, chronology, common element and trace element geochemistry of fluid inclusions for the epithermal Au, As, Sb and Hg deposits in the Youjiang Basin and its peripheral areas, suggested that the ore fluid was the basin fluid with abundant metallic elements and the large-scale fluid flow of the same source in the late Yenshan stage was responsible for huge epithermal mineralization and silicification. The ore fluid flowed from the basin to the platform between the basin and the platform and migrated from the inter-platform basin to the isolated platform in the Youjiang Basin. The synsedimentary faults and paleokast surface acted respectively as main conduits for vertical and lateral fluid flow.     

Velocity structure of uppermost mantle beneath North China from Pn tomography and its implications

20301 Pn arrival time data are collected from the seismological bulletins of both national and regional seismic networks. Pn travel time residuals are tomographically inverted for the Pn velocity structure of uppermost mantle beneath North China. The result indicates that the average Pn velocity in North China is 7.92 km/s, and the velocity varies laterally from ?0.21 to +0.29 km/s around the average. The approximately NNE trending high and low velocity regions arrange alternatively west-eastward. From west to east we can see high velocity in the middle Ordos region, the Shanxi graben low, the Jizhong depression high, the west Shandong uplift and Bohai Sea low, and the high velocity region to the east of the Tanlu fault. In the southern boundary zone of the North China block, except for the high velocity in the Qingling Mountains region, the velocity is generally lower than the average. Obvious velocity anisotropy is seen in the Datong Cenozoic volcanic region, with the fast velocity direction in NNE-SSW. Notable velocity anisotropy is also seen around the Bay of Bohai Sea, and the fast velocity directions seem to show a rotation pattern, possibly indicating a flow-like deformation in the uppermost mantle there. The Pn velocity variations show a reversed correlation with the Earth's heat flow. The low Pn velocity regions generally show high heat flow, e.g., the Shanxi graben and Bohai Sea region. While the high Pn velocity regions usually manifest low heat flow, e.g., the region of Jizhong depression. This indicates that the Pn velocity variation in the study region is mainly aroused by the regional temperature difference in the uppermost mantle. Strong earthquakes in the crust tend to occur in the region with the abnormal low Pn velocity, or in the transition zone between high and low Pn velocity regions. The earthquakes in the low velocity region are shallower, while that in the transition zone are deeper.     

沉积盆地异常低压与低压油气藏成藏机理综述

地下异常低压主要有两种成因：抬升—剥蚀反弹和在介质孔隙度、渗透率非均质性条件下的区域地下水稳态流动，而化学渗透与流体“冷却”在低压形成中只起次要作用。根据圈闭类型、储盖组合及成藏过程，将低压油气藏分为三种类型：①常规地层型(除砂岩透镜体外)低压油气藏，低渗透岩石通常起遮挡作用，底水与边水不发育；②砂岩透镜体低压油气藏，通常分布于盆地中心的深部，具有不含水、充满油气的特点，油气的充注和水的排出与构造抬升之前压实作用、超压引起的水驱裂缝和毛细管力的作用有关，抬升—剥蚀引起的异常低压导致水由砂岩向页岩的流动有助于油气藏中水的排出；③深盆区低渗透储层低压气藏，通常分布在含水层的下倾方向(气水倒置)，异常低压是由于构造抬升致使超压向低压演化的结果。实例研究表明，构造抬升盆地中的低压系统是一个水动力相对封闭的体系，有利于油气的聚集与保存。