Interpretation of tectonic versus magmatic processes for resetting apatite fission track ages in the Niğde Massif, Turkey

A network of 10 OBS operating in continuous recording mode was deployed in June 2003 in the Galicia passive Margin, surrounding the sinking zone of the ‘Prestige’ oil tanker. The OBSs recorded very different signals, including air-gun shots, seismic events, whale vocalizations or noise associated to ships, as well as two sets of atypical seismic signals that are the object of this contribution and can be described as harmonic tremors and short-duration events. Harmonic tremors appear in most sites as intense monochromatic signals lasting for up to 4 h, with coherent polarization and a wide range of amplitudes. Even if they may be recorded at different sites within a time interval, their envelopes are not correlated, suggesting a source origin at the vicinity of each receiver. A time periodicity close to 6 h is observed, suggesting a correlation with the tidal variation. Most OBSs show also a large number of impulsive events of short-duration, between 1 and 2 s, a very regular decrease of amplitude in the signal coda and characteristic frequency spectrum with one or two narrow peaks. As for the tremors, those events are detected only in individual sites, suggesting very local source zones. We favor the interpretation of both seismic features as coming from the resonance of fluid-filled cracks induced by impulsive pressure transients, in agreement with the theoretical model of Chouet [Chouet, B. 1988. Resonance of a fluid-driven crack: radiation properties and implications for the source of long-period events and harmonic tremor. J. Geophys. Res., 93, 4375–4400.]. The observed harmonic tremors would be the result of sustained pressure fluctuations, probably related to the stress variations induced by the tidal change of the oceanic load, while the short duration events are interpreted as the impulse response to the tremor-generating system.     

Effect of the development of notches and tension cracks on instability of limestone coastal cliffs in the Ryukyus, Japan

Notches cut by waves are currently developing at the base of vertical coastal limestone cliffs in Okinawa, Japan. The cliff height varies from 3.0–22.1 m, and the maximum notch depth is 8.8 m. Many rectangular or cubic blocks, which appear to have originated from cliff failures, are found on platforms in front of the cliffs. On the flat top surface of the cliff, tension cracks often run parallel to the cliff face. The vertical face of the cliffs displays small undulations but no sliding striation, suggesting that cliff failures have been caused by toppling rather than by shearing or sliding. We use slope stability analysis to determine the critical condition for toppling failure. Physical and mechanical properties of the cliff material were first obtained from laboratory tests. The results indicate that the strength of limestone shows a scale effect, such that the strength decreases with increasing size of the test specimens. Based on this result, we estimated the strength of a rock mass corresponding to the size of the coastal cliff. Cliff stability was then analyzed using a cantilever beam model. Comparison of the stability analysis and the dimension of fallen blocks indicates that toppling failure is strongly associated with the development of notches and tension cracks.     

可控式大裂缝堵漏工具研制及应用

在钻井过程中出现的大裂缝或小型溶洞漏失,这些恶性漏失采用堵漏材料难以见效,利用可控式堵漏工具进行封堵是一种行之有效的堵漏手段。针对这类恶性漏失,我们设计了一种可以容易操控并能够准确将拦截袋和不同类型堵漏材料送到钻孔内漏失位置的堵漏工具。该工具能有效避免堵漏材料被水稀释或者被水流冲走,在漏失位置能形成有效封堵,从而实现对大裂缝的堵漏。     

Fatigue crack growth investigation on offshore pipelines with three-dimensional interacting cracks

Due to high cost of full-scale experimental setup, this study presents a numerical model on fatigue behaviours of offshore pipeline with multiple coplanar cracks under cyclic tensile loadings. The validation on numerical results is made by other researchers' experimental results, and significant parameters affecting fatigue crack growth are studied.     

程潮铁矿地下开采引起岩层移动机制初探

在对矿区地质条件、采矿情况以及监测资料分析的基础上,提出了悬臂梁的力学模型。该悬臂梁是由NWW向节理切割下盘的花岗岩岩体而产生。地下采矿引起的岩层移动分为两个阶段,筒状破坏延伸到地表之前为第1阶段;筒状破坏延伸到地表后,则进入第2阶段。筒状破坏延伸到地表使水平构造应力释放,悬臂梁受力发生变化,而发生弯曲折裂变形和破坏,从而形成了深部岩体破坏的4个区:破裂岩体区、破裂过渡带、变形区和未扰动岩体区。通过对矿区地表测点所测数据进行分析,结合上述岩层移动机制和裂缝产生过程,将变形区域划分为:变形累积区、裂缝产生区、裂缝扩展区和裂缝闭合区。随着采矿的进行,深部岩体4区将逐渐向下延伸,地表4区将逐渐向外扩展。     

三维裂隙间距对砂浆材料力学特性的影响

采用刚性伺服试验机和声发射仪器,研究了预置三维裂隙间距对砂浆材料力学特性的影响,总结了含裂隙试件的破坏过程。综合分析单轴压缩应力-应变曲线和声发射数据可知,含三维裂隙试件的破坏主要由预置裂隙扩展、贯通造成,破坏过程可以分为微裂纹萌生、预置裂隙起裂、扩展、贯通几个基本阶段,试件最终破坏型式为单斜面剪切破坏。裂隙间距d与椭圆形裂隙长轴2c之比(d/2c)在0～1范围内,随着d/2c值增大,试件起裂应力σi和峰值强度σp有降低的趋势。当d/2c值从1/3增至2/3时,σi和σp发生突降,可见此范围为影响强度的敏感区间。d/2c值为1的试件σi和σp最低,相对完整(无预置裂隙)试件分别降低了22.48%和18.60%。裂隙间距不同的试件σi和σp之比变化范围为83.1%～78.9%,且随d/2c值增大,σi/σp有下降趋势。可见裂隙间距越大,从起裂应力到峰值应力的承载空间越大,这对工程实践有一定参考价值。     

Influencing factors of geometrical structure of surface shrinkage cracks in clayey soils

In order to investigate the effects of temperature, thickness of soil layer, wetting and drying cycles and soil types on geometrical structure of surface shrinkage cracks in clayey soils, special software Crack Image Analysis System (CIAS) for analyzing shrinkage crack patterns was developed. Eight groups of soil samples were prepared and subjected to drying to crack in laboratory. The number of crack segments and intersections, average crack length, width and aggregate area, crack intensity factor (CIF), and the corresponding probability density functions (PDF) of these parameters were determined by analyzing several crack patterns derived from different experimental conditions. The results show that the soil cracking behavior and the geometrical structure of crack patterns are significantly influenced by these considered factors. There is a tendency of crack length, width, aggregate area and their most probable value (MPV) related to the PDF increases with temperature increase. With thicker soil layers, the average crack length, width, aggregate area and CIF are increased, and the main distribution ranges of crack length, width and aggregate area are increased also. When the soil is subjected to multiple wetting–drying cycles, the soil surface generates more irregular and coarse cracks. The number of short and narrow crack segments increases significantly, and the CIF decreases with an increase in wetting–drying cycles. It is also observed that the extent of cracking is directly related to the soil fines fraction and its plasticity index (I_P). The greatest CIF and crack width are observed in the soils with the largest fines fraction and highest I_P. In addition, the ratio of numbers of crack segments to intersections ranges from 1.5 to 2, and cracking mainly takes place in three stages: main-cracks initiation stage; sub-cracks initiation stage; terminal stable stage.     

沁水盆地南部煤层气储层压裂过程数值模拟研究

储层改造是煤层气井提高产能的重要措施,水力压裂是煤层气储层改造的重要方法.为研究煤层气储层压裂过程及其天然裂缝对煤储层压裂时破裂压力的影响,本文以山西沁水盆地南部高煤级煤矿区为研究区,运用有限元数值模拟方法,计算不同地应力条件下、裂缝处于不同位置时煤储层的破裂压力.结果表明:(1)不同类型地应力场对破裂压力的影响不同.对于均匀应力场,破裂压力随着围压的增大而增大,其增幅约为围压的两倍;对于非均匀应力场,当一个水平主应力不变时,破裂压力会随着水平主应力差的增加而减少;(2)如果地应力条件不变,煤储层破裂压力随着天然裂缝与最大水平主应力方向夹角的增加而增加,水平主应力差越大煤储层破裂压力增幅也越大;(3)在有天然裂隙的地层中进行压裂,当天然裂缝的方位不同时压裂裂缝既可能是沿着天然裂缝扩展的裂缝,也可能是压裂过程中产生的新裂缝,因此天然裂缝的方位对破裂压力具有一定的影响.     

Investigating the impact of sample desiccation on Itrax XRF core scanner signal reproducibility

Sediment samples tend to dry out during storage and are, therefore, stored refrigerated at about 4°C after wrapping in plastic foil. During XRF core scanning however, the samples must be taken out of their cover, increasing the risk of drying and formation of desiccation cracks on the surface. Because scan times can often amount to several hours and at highest resolution may take over a day to complete, the core will progressively dry out during scanning. With this study we aim to increase our understanding of how this slow drying of the samples during scanning and storage influences the XRF signal because of changes in water content, sediment surface topography, and the development of small, but slowly expanding cracks in the sediment core. Results show that the desiccation of samples during scanning and storage influence the XRF measurements in several ways. Most importantly, slow desiccation of the cores results in both a general lowering of the sample surface, and a shortening of the core due to shrinkage. Larger distance between sediment surface and detector leads to increased noise levels and poor reproducibility for many elements, while the shrinking of cores may shift individual data points between runs, resulting in poor reproducibility and offsets between datasets obtained at different times. Moreover, the loss of light elements, such as hydrogen and oxygen, can influence the matrix effect, especially for organic-rich sediment. Because the XRF signals of individual elements are affected to different degrees, these changes may induce artificial shifts and biases in many elemental ratios commonly used for paleoenvironmental reconstruction.