Rheological behavior of dredged slurries at high water contents

Each year in the world, there is significant amount of dredged slurries generated during geotechnical jobs. In the slurry storage process, the rheological behavior is a key factor affecting the motion of dredged slurries. To gain better understanding on this behavior, experiments on dredged slurries with different liquid limits are conducted using rotary viscometer. It has been found that, as water content increases, slurry property can change from Bingham plastic fluids to Newtonian fluids. In log–log coordinates, their corresponding yield stress and plastic viscosity are in linear relationship with their water contents and the intersection of these two lines can be treated as the turning point which is 4.7 times the liquid limit. The yield stress and plastic viscosity of different dredged slurries can be normalized efficiently using normalized water content. So, in this paper, a new quantitative prediction method for yield stress and plastic viscosity is proposed, which is effective for use in alkined modes of motion, is proposed.     

Vertical dynamic impedance of pile considering the dynamic stress diffusion effect of pile end soil

A new analytical model is presented to analyze the dynamic stress diffusion effect of pile end soil on the vertical dynamic impedance of the pile. The surrounding soil of the pile is modeled by using the plane strain model and the pile is simulated by using one-dimensional elastic theory. Finite soil layers below the pile end are modeled as conical fictitious soil pile with stress diffusion angle which reflects the dynamic stress diffusion effect of pile end soil. By means of the Laplace transform and impedance function transfer method, the analytical solution of the vertical dynamic impedance at the pile head in frequency domain is yielded. Then, a comparison with other models is performed to verify the conical fictitious soil pile model. Finally, based on the proposed solution, the selected numerical results are compared to analyze the influence of dynamic stress diffusion effect for different design parameters of the soil-pile system on the vertical dynamic impedance at the pile head.     

Analysis of simple shear tests with cell pressure confinement

The high cost of offshore infrastructure provides continuous encouragement for optimisation of design practices. Development of a more rational method to interpret results from simple shear tests with cell pressure confinement can reduce costs and improve reliability of offshore infrastructure. This paper addresses a commonly overlooked issue affecting design parameter selection: specimen shape varies from right cylinder to oblique cylinder after loading along a single shearing direction. Thus, horizontal stresses are not always equal to the cell pressure and their magnitude varies throughout the specimen’s lateral surface. An analysis is proposed that accounts for changing specimen geometry and lateral surface area during shearing and for the actual effect of cell pressure during testing. The analysis also describes how the intermediate principal stress can be assessed. Test results for medium dense silica sand are interpreted following de Josselin de Jong’s alternative shearing mechanism hypothesis. Conventional interpretation methods yield conservative design parameters for this soil. Failure states develop when the intermediate principal effective stress is halfway between major and minor principal effective stresses. Typical results for the soil tested show equipment performance meets standard direct simple shear requirements for shear strain rate, vertical stress and specimen height control.     

2014年鲁甸6.5级地震成因、破裂特征和余震分布特征的库仑应力作用

根据2014年鲁甸M_S6.5地震的区域构造和余震共轭分布特征,本文首先计算了1733年小江断裂带北段M7.75地震,1850年则木河断裂带M7.5地震和1974年马边M_S7.1地震对鲁甸M_S6.5地震震源机制解两个节面的黏弹性库仑应力作用,结果显示NNW向发生主破裂的包谷垴-小河断裂受到这3次地震,尤其是1850年M7.5地震明显的库仑应力作用,我们认为则木河断裂的高速左旋走滑运动以及7级以上强震的重复发生对于包谷垴-小河断裂的强震孕育和断裂演化方面具有促进作用;然后分析了鲁甸6.5级地震的共轭破裂与余震分布特征,并分别计算了两个共轭破裂面单独破裂对另一破裂面的库仑应力作用,结果显示NEE向破裂促进NNW向破裂的发生,而NNW向破裂后则阻碍了NEE向破裂的进一步发展,最终发展成以NNW向破裂为主的共轭破裂事件;最后计算了共轭破裂产生的库仑应力变化对余震的影响,认为位于NEE向破裂面西侧的余震集中分布主要是由于应力触发作用而形成.     

大麻坪橄榄石冲击波实验研究与高压态物态方程参数的确定

利用冲击波进行的动高压实验对研究超高压下的物质性质也是十分有效的.本文报告了对大麻坪采集的橄榄石进行压力在10~45GPa范围的冲击波动高压实验结果.结合前人等温冷压实验结果,确定了实验过程的温度,对于冲击波实验压力从10GPa变化到30GPa时,温度在摄氏几十度到摄氏800多度之间.测量了岩石超高压下密度变化,在3.627~4.009g·cm~(-3)之间.通过回收实验和确定的温度,表明小于30GPa压力实验条件下,没有发生相变过程.同时也确定了状态方程的参数.最后,指出了实验结果在上地幔地球内部物质运动过程的含义,即冷板块中的亚临界橄榄岩可以存在地幔转换带中.     

利用重力/GPS联合观测数据计算地壳垂向构造应力的新方法

本文提出一种基于重力/GPS联合观测数据计算垂向构造应力的新方法.计算步骤如下:(1)通过重力/GPS联合观测数据计算布格重力异常;(2)依据布格重力异常数据推算莫霍面深度;(3)依据GPS观测数据,通过均衡理论计算均衡面深度;(4)依据莫霍面与均衡面之间剩余物质(壳幔物质密度差)所承受的附加浮力,计算地壳承载的垂向构造应力.本文利用上述构造应力新算法,计算了巴颜喀拉块体东边界及周边地区垂向构造应力分布,发现龙泉山断裂带以东地区垂向构造应力基本为零,龙泉山断裂带与龙门山断裂带之间地区垂向构造应力为正值,巴颜喀拉地块东部垂向构造应力为负值.鲜水河断裂带东南段周边蓄积了-40~-50 MPa的垂向构造应力,且梯度变化剧烈;松潘高原蓄积的垂向构造应力大约为-10~-20 MPa,相对较小.     

水平单轴应力与横波反射系数

地球物理勘探中,地下应力的估测是非常重要的.本文利用应力诱导的弱各向异性的各向异性参数,借助已有的具有水平对称轴横向各向同性介质顾及高阶小量的横波反射系数近似公式,针对下介质为各向同性受单轴应力作用情况随应力的增加求取应力精度降低的问题,从横波反射系数近似公式的推导出发,联合SH波与SV波反射系数给出新的改进的单轴应力与横波反射系数的直观表达式;计算并对比了受单轴应力作用的各向同性介质的横波近似和严格的反射系数,并利用理论得到的横波反射系数对应力进行了估值.结果表明,利用改进后横波反射系数与应力的直观表达式,当应力增加时,应力估值精度有了明显的改善,这为利用横波反射数据直观估测应力提供理论依据.     

2014年2月12日新疆于田MW7.0地震源区静态库仑应力变化和地震活动率

2014年2月12日新疆于田M_W7.0地震源区位于巴颜喀拉块体与西昆仑块体的连接部位,东西向拉张构造发育,距离2008年3月21日于田M_W7.1地震震中位置约100 km.根据有限断层地震破裂过程模型,计算了2008年新疆于田地震产生的静态库仑应力变化.此次地震的断层面呈北偏东方向,在断层两端出现3个应力加载区,2014年于田主震位于破裂前端的库仑应力加载区.这一结果表明,2008年于田地震可能对2014年地震事件起到了触发作用.2008和2014年新疆于田地震产生的静态库仑应力变化与余震事件的空间分布具有明显的相关性,大多数余震位于应力加载区,发生在卸载区的余震较少.静态库仑应力变化与余震序列吻合较好.2014年3月21日新疆于田地震之后40天,在北西方向发生M_W5.2强余震,其震中位置的应力增量达到0.63×10⁵Pa.通过比较,发现静态库仑应力变化和地震活动率之间具有较好的相关性.地震活动率较高的区域与静态库仑应力加载区相对应,如康西瓦断裂东段、贡嘎错断裂中段和东北段等区域.     

Ecology of water mite assemblages in Panama – First data on water mites (Acari,Hydrachnidia) as bioindicators in the assessment of biological integrity of neotropical streams

The ecological integrity of freshwater ecosystems is regularly examined through assessment of their macroinvertebrate assemblages. The various methods used in such biomonitoring all have one characteristic in common – the neglect of water mites. Even though this group perfectly fulfills all necessary requisites for successful bioindicators, these invertebrates are either completely ignored or lumped together as “Acari”.This study, for the first time, uses water mites (Hydrachnidia) as bioindicators in the Neotropics to compare the anthropogenic stress in 15 streams at three different levels of contamination (pristine, rural, urban). In total, 4371 water mite specimens, belonging to 31 genera and 14 families, were collected.Diversity, abundance, and richness of water mite assemblages were significantly reduced with increasing levels of contamination. These differences were clearest in the dry season. Atractidella turned out to be, by far, the most tolerant water mite genus, having the greatest abundance at the most contaminated sites. In contrast, Pseudotorrenticola was found only in pristine waters, while Hydrodroma, Limnesia, Koenikea, Torrenticola, Monatractides and the family Aturidae showed clear preferences for pristine waters.Our data show, that water mites, identified to genus level, are well suited for water quality assessment in neotropical lowland streams, clearly distinguishing different levels of contamination/anthropogenic stress.     

Markovian modeling of seismic damage accumulation

Analysis of civil structures at the scale of life‐cycle requires stochastic modeling of degradation. Phenomena causing structures to degrade are typically categorized as aging and point‐in‐time overloads. Earthquake effects are the members of the latter category this study deals with in the framework of performance‐based earthquake engineering (PBEE). The focus is structural seismic reliability, which requires modeling of the stochastic process describing damage progression, because of subsequent events, over time. The presented study explicitly addresses this issue via a Markov‐chain‐based approach, which is able to account for the change in seismic response of damaged structures (i.e. state‐dependent seismic fragility) as well as uncertainty in occurrence and intensity of earthquakes (i.e. seismic hazard). The state‐dependent vulnerability issue arises when the seismic hysteretic response is evolutionary and/or when the damage measure employed is such that the degradation increment probabilistically depends on the conditions of the structure at the time of the shock. The framework set up takes advantage also of the hypotheses of classical probabilistic seismic hazard analysis, allowing to separate the modeling of the process of occurrence of seismic shocks and the effect they produce on the structure. It is also discussed how the reliability assessment, which is in closed‐form, may be virtually extended to describe a generic age‐ and state‐dependent degradation process (e.g. including aging and/or when aftershock risk is of interest). Illustrative applications show the options to calibrate the model and its potential in the context of PBEE. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.