Book review

Ocean Floor Mining by John S. Pearson. Noyes Data Corporation, Park Ridge, New Jersey, 1975. 201 pp., $24.00.

Offshore Drilling Technology by Frank R. Carmichael. Noyes Data Corporation, Park Ridge, New Jersey, 1975. 392 pp., $36.00.     

High-resolution model of Asteroid 4179 Toutatis

A model of the shape of Toutatis based on “high-resolution” radar images obtained in 1992 and 1996 consists of 39,996 triangular facets of roughly equal area, defined by the locations of 20,000 vertices. These define the average spatial resolution of the model as approximately 34 m, significantly finer than Hudson and Ostro’s (1995, Science 270, 84-86) model (1600 vertices, resolution 84 m). The high-resolution model reveals complex linear features as well as circular crater-like structures down to the resolution limit. There is a dichotomy between the gravitational slope distributions on the asteroid’s two lobes. The noncraterlike features may be the manifestation of complex interior configurations involving monolithic fragments with various sizes and shapes, presumably due to collisions in various energy regimes. However, it may be impossible to decipher the interior structure and responsible collisional history of Toutatis and other small objects without extended, intensive, direct examination.     

Laboratory validation of lattice Boltzmann method for modeling pore-scale flow in granular materials

Characteristics of fluid flow through various engineering structures, such as granular filters and asphalt pavements, influence their design life. Numerical simulation of fluid flow is useful for evaluating the hydraulic characteristics of these materials. Among various techniques, the lattice Boltzmann (LB) method is widely accepted due to the ease of implementing boundary conditions and the numerical stability in a wide variety of flow conditions. It has proven to be extremely efficient in the simulation of fluid flow through the complex geometries of granular materials. In this study, two-dimensional and three-dimensional LB models were developed to represent pore-scale monophasic Newtonian incompressible fluid flow in granular materials. Three-dimensional geometries of compacted aggregates and asphalt specimens were generated from X-ray Computed Tomography technique and used as input for the LB model. The accuracy of the models was verified by comparing the results with analytical solutions of simple geometries and hydraulic conductivity measurements on the compacted aggregates and hot mix asphalt specimens. The results of LB simulations were in excellent agreement with those obtained from analytical calculations and laboratory measurements.     

The influence of foliation on the fragility of granitic rocks, image analysis and quantitative microscopy

Fabric-dependent anisotropy is important in understanding the mechanical behaviour of foliated rocks because the foliation creates mechanically weak discontinuities. Using optical microscopy, a foliation index (FIX) was calculated for a group of granitic rocks in southern Sweden that displays a range of textures from foliated to nonfoliated. Image analysis from scanning electron microscope with backscattered detector (SEM/BSE) images was used in order to measure the rock texture of these samples. The analyses were compared with the Los Angeles (LA) test, which measures resistance of rock aggregate to fragmentation. The results demonstrate that the measured grain size, shape and spatial arrangement are important parameters controlling the fragility of the rock. Both the texture and foliation must be taken into account to obtain a significant relationship with the mechanical analyses. We suggest that this alternative method could be a helpful tool for predicting a rock's suitability as an aggregate as it gives a better understanding of the material properties compared to mechanical testing.     

Landslide susceptibility mapping of the slopes in the residual soils of the Mengen region (Turkey) by deterministic stability analyses and image processing techniques

The aim of the present study is to prepare a landslide susceptibility map of a region of about 120 km², between Gökcesu and Pazarköy (around Mengen, NW Turkey) at approximately 10 km north of the North Anatolian Fault Zone, where frequent landslides occur. For this purpose, mechanisms of the landslides were studied by two-dimensional stability analyses together with field observations, and the parameters controlling the development of such slides were identified. Field observations indicated that the failures generally developed within the unconsolidated and/or semiconsolidated soil units in forms of rotational, successive shallow landslides within the weathered zone in Mengen, Cukurca and Sazlar formations. Although consisting of residual soils, Capak and Gökdag formations do not exhibit landslides as the natural slopes formed on these, do not exceed the critical slope angles. Statistical evaluations and distribution of the landslides on the topographical map showed that such parameters as cohesion, angle of internal friction, slope, relative height, orientation of slopes, proximity to drainage pattern, vegetation cover and proximity to major faults were the common features on the landslides. Digital images were obtained to represent all these parameters on gray scale on the SPOT image and on the digital elevation model (DEM) of the area using image processing techniques. Soil mechanics tests were carried out on 36 representative samples collected from different units, and parameters were determined for two-dimensional stability analyses basing on “sensitivity approach” and for the preparation of digital shear strength map. In order to determine the critical slope angle values for the residual soils, a series of sensitivity analyses were realized by using two-dimensional deterministic slope stability analyses techniques for varying values of cohesion, angle of internal friction and slope height along with varying saturation conditions. According to the results of the sensitivity analyses, the Mengen formation was found to be most susceptible unit to landslides, covering about 33.5% of the region studied in terms of surface area. The distribution of the critical slopes were determined by superimposing the critical slope values from sensitivity analyses on slope map of the study area. On the other hand, iso-cohesion and iso-friction maps were produced by locating the values of cohesion and internal friction angles in a geographic coordinate system such that they coincide with sample locations on the DEM and by further interpolation of the values concerned. The pixel values were evaluated in gray scale from 0 to 255, 0 representing the lowest pixel value and 255 representing the highest. Sensitivity analyses on cohesion and angle of internal friction to investigate the effects of these parameters only on stability, revealed that cohesion was effective at a rate of 70% by itself, while angle of internal friction alone controlled the stability by a rate of 30%. The iso-cohesion and iso-friction maps previously obtained were digitally combined in these rates and a “shear strength map” was prepared. The geographic setting of the study area is such that northern slopes usually receive dense precipitation. In relation to this fact, about 42% of the landslides are due north. Thus, a slope orientation map was prepared using the DEM, and slopes facing north were evaluated as being more susceptible to sliding. Proximity to the drainage pattern was another important factor in the evaluation, as streams could adversely affect the stability by either eroding the toe or saturating the slope, or both. When considered together, in conjunction with the field observations, faults and landslides showed a close association. In the area, about 88% of the landslides were detected within an area closer than 250 m to major faults, therefore, a main discontinuity map was produced using the SPOT image of the region, and “proximity to major faults” was evaluated as a parameter as most of the landslides developed in areas where the vegetation was rather sparse. A vegetation cover map was therefore obtained from the SPOT image, and the areas with denser vegetation were considered to be less susceptible to sliding with respect to the areas with less or no vegetation. Having prepared the maps accounting for the distribution of critical slopes, shear strength properties, relative height, slope angle, orientation of the slopes, vegetation cover, proximity to the drainage pattern, geographic corrections were carried on each of these, and a potential failure map was obtained for the residual soils by superimposing all these maps. Next, a classification was performed on the final map and five relative zones of susceptibility were defined. When compared with this map, all of the landslides identified in the field were found to be located in the most susceptible zone. The performance of the method used in processing the images appears to be quite high, the zones determined on the map being the zones of relative susceptibility.     

铀矿地质勘探中的多元地学信息复合分析技术途径探讨

本文论述了以通用计算机系统为基础,专用图家处理系统为辅助,探索一套适用于铀矿地质研究的多元地学信息综合分析方法,包括在通用机内编制一系列应用软件,进行遥感、地质、物化探数据的数字化输入、资料间的空间几何配准、线环形体密度统计分析乃至复合处理,并借助磁带传输手段,使得数据与专用图象的处理系统共享。这样充分利用了现有通用计算机资源,且符合建立专业信息系统的发展要求。同时通过与专用图象处理系统沟通,提高了再处理能力,改善了输出效果。利用本文设计的方法在460和外国铀矿地质研究及其它研究区里均获得了满意的应用效果。     

Experiments on vision guided docking of an autonomous underwater vehicle using one camera

This paper introduces an underwater docking procedure for the test-bed autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) platform called ISiMI using one charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. The AUV is optically guided by lights mounted around the entrance of a docking station and a vision system consisting of a CCD camera and a frame grabber in the AUV. This paper presents an image processing procedure to identify the dock by discriminating between light images, and proposes a final approach algorithm based on the vision guidance. A signal processing technique to remove noise on the defused grabbed light images is introduced, and a two-stage final approach for stable docking at the terminal instant is suggested. A vision-guidance controller was designed with conventional PID controllers for the vertical plane and the horizontal plane. Experiments were conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the vision-guided docking system of the AUV.     

多因素严重干扰区成矿围岩蚀变信息的计算机图像处理──以加拿大西北某地找金实践为例

本文从分析ＴＭ各波段图像信息特征入手，在冰雪和植被等环境因素干扰严重的地区，试验应用了图像掩膜、波段比值、主成分分析等技术，成功地从ＴＭ图像中提取了与金成矿有关的蚀变围岩信息。在此基础上，进一步研究了蚀变与断裂构造和围岩类型的关系，确定了金矿找矿远景区。     

图形图像处理方法图示航空物探数据的有效性研究

本文在介绍航空物探微机图形图像处理系统的基础上，通过不同地区实测航空物探资料的处理，对用图形图像处理技术处理和图示航空物探数据的有效性进行了探讨。总结出适用于地质填图、突出局部弱异常及与矿化有关的弱信息等不同地质任务的有效方法组合。分析了各种航空物探图示方法的特点，并就如何发挥图形图像处理技术在航空物探资料的解释处理中的作用提出了建议。认为图形图像处理技术是一种图示航空物探数据的有效方法，可以作为等值线图的补充和改进形式推广应用。     

Influence of volume/mass on grain-size curves and conversion of image-analysis size to sieve size

Image analysis of aggregates does not measure the same size as sieve analysis. The size of aggregates, determined by sieve analysis, is presented with respect to the percent cumulative mass, whereas image analysis does not measure mass. Results are often presented in percent particles or percent area. Several researchers have claimed that more accurate volume and mass determinations are necessary for accurate construction of grain-size curves. In the present work, several methods for reconstructing volume and thus mass of aggregates from image analysis (IA) have been tested to see how they influence the grain-size distribution curves. The actual mass of the individual particles was found to have little or no influence on the grain-size distribution curve, which is normalized and thus insensitive to mass. Accurate conversion of image-analysis size to sieve size is dependent upon how particles pass through sieves. Most existing methods base their conversion of image-analysis size to sieve size on the intermediate axis, multiplied by some factor. The present work shows that there is no direct correlation between the intermediate axes and sieve size. A universal conversion of image-analysis size to sieve size has been developed, using the minimum-bounding square around the minimum projected area. This measure yields very good correlation with sieve-analysis results.