A non‐coaxial critical state soil model and its application to simple shear simulations

The yield vertex non‐coaxial theory is implemented into a critical state soil model, CASM (Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech. 1998; 22 :621–653) to investigate the non‐coaxial influences on the stress–strain simulations of real soil behaviour in the presence of principal stress rotations. The CASM is a unified clay and sand model, developed based on the soil critical state concept and the state parameter concept. Without loss of simplicity, it is capable of simulating the behaviour of sands and clays within a wide range of densities. The non‐coaxial CASM is employed to simulate the simple shear responses of Erksak sand and Weald clay under different densities and initial stress states. Dependence of the soil behaviour on the Lode angle and different plastic flow rules in the deviatoric plane are also considered in the study of non‐coaxial influences. All the predictions indicate that the use of the non‐coaxial model makes the orientations of the principal stress and the principal strain rate different during the early stage of shearing, and they approach the same ultimate values with an increase in loading. These ultimate orientations are dependent on the density of soils, and independent of their initial stress states. The use of the non‐coaxial model also softens the shear stress evolutions, compared with the coaxial model. It is also found that the ultimate shear strengths by using the coaxial and non‐coaxial models are dependent on the plastic flow rules in the deviatoric plane. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Finite element formulation and algorithms for unsaturated soils. Part I: Theory

This paper presents a complete finite‐element treatment for unsaturated soil problems. A new formulation of general constitutive equations for unsaturated soils is first presented. In the incremental stress–strain equations, the suction or the pore water pressure is treated as a strain variable instead of a stress variable. The global governing equations are derived in terms of displacement and pore water pressure. The discretized governing equations are then solved using an adaptive time‐stepping scheme which automatically adjusts the time‐step size so that the integration error in the displacements and pore pressures lies close to a specified tolerance. The non‐linearity caused by suction‐dependent plastic yielding, suction‐dependent degree of saturation, and saturation‐dependent permeability is treated in a similar way to the elastoplasticity. An explicit stress integration scheme is used to solve the constitutive stress–strain equations at the Gauss point level. The elastoplastic stiffness matrix in the Euler solution is evaluated using the suction as well as the stresses and hardening parameters at the start of the subincrement, while the elastoplastic matrix in the modified Euler solution is evaluated using the suction at the end of the subincrement. In addition, when applying subincrementation, the same rate is applied to all strain components including the suction. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Processing map and well log data for geological and soil surveys

Design of a system which accepts geological maps or soil maps, together with corresponding well logs and produces interpretation maps, is described. The major aim was to get a processing program that would be useful at an operational scale that avoids the use of special purpose graphics hardware. This was achieved by using segment encoding of lines and by treatment of mapped units as basic graphical units (atoms). The system operation was split into an input phase and a processed phase. Input- and file-building require some technical experience, but are a one-time affair, whereas subsequent processing requires less (graphical) resources and experience, but is of a repetitive nature. When writing processing programs, emphasis was placed on ease of adding options. Clever improvements of efficiency (e.g., disk traffic) were not deemed worthwhile or even wise. Two driving forces behind the project required the programs reported here. First was the observation that digital data can be used only if appropriate programs are readily available to produce required results without need for large investments in hardware. Second was the idea that digital tools could be most effective if they allow the end-user (customer) to interact directly with the full base of data without recourse to technical experts. The resulting system is operational and running on a VAX 11/750, coded in FORTRAN.     

Ca-H-Al exchanges and aluminium mobility in two Chinese acidic forest soils: a batch experiment

Exchange reactions between Ca²⁺, H⁺ and Al species and their effects on the aluminium mobility in two Chinese acidic forest soils were studied. The study was based on a batch experiment using extractant solutions with different base cation (calcium) concentrations and pH. The experimental data showed that increased Ca²⁺ concentrations increased the release of soil hydrogen—and aluminium ions, especially from the more acid soil. In agreement with a cation exchange process, the treatment with Ca²⁺ extracts gave significantly decreased soil aluminium saturation (AlS) and increased calcium saturation (CaS) on the ion exchanger. Geochemical calculation using AlCHEMI program showed that activities of Al³⁺ in the extracts were all strongly under-saturated with respect to any gibbsite mineral in the studied pH region (i.e. below 4.1). There were instead apparently two different mechanisms controlling the activities of Al³⁺ in extracts. At pH between about 4.1 and 3.7, the Al³⁺ activity did not change significantly with pH. This is especially the case in the more acid soil. Apparently there are no sizeable pools available to release Al in this pH region. At pH below 3.7 (induced by higher Ca²⁺concentration) the activity of Al³⁺ increased with H⁺ though not in a pattern that complies with a gibbsite solubility control. An increase of base cation deposition would therefore mainly enhance the release of hydrogen ions between pH 4.1 and 3.7 and aluminium ions below pH 3.7 from Chinese mature acidic soils. This will cause an increased acidity of soil water in the short term and a decrease in the soil acidity in the long term. More attention should be paid to this fact in Chinese acid rain studies and control options.     

SHORT COMMUNICATION­­A field experiment of cusp formation on a coarse clastic beach using a suspended video‐camera system

Cusp formation was continuously monitored on a manually flattened, plane section of a coarse clastic, microtidal, pocket beach on the Pacific coast of Japan using a CCD camera suspended in the air. Vertical video pictures enabled the examination of the temporal change in foreshore morphologies and swash pattern. Boulders on the beach face appeared to have triggered the formation of beach cusps, which gradually and successively grew up alongshore. In 2·5 h, two well defined beach cusps had developed with a spacing of 2·2 and 2·5 m, respectively. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THE CONTRASTING EFFECTS OF WILDFIRE AND CLEARFELLING ON THE HYDROLOGY OF A SMALL CATCHMENT

A wildfire in an afforested research catchment presented the rare opportunity to compare the hydrological effects of wildfire with the effects of clearfelling in the same catchment in the Jonkershoek Valley, in the south-western Western Cape Province of South Africa. The timber plantation, which occupies 57% of the 2 km² catchment, had been clearfelled and re-planted to Pinus radiata roughly five years before the fire. The effects of the two treatments on total flow, storm-flow and quick-flow volumes, peak discharge and storm response ratio were determined by means of multiple regression analysis, employing the dummy variable method to test for the significance of treatments. Both clearfelling and wildfire caused significant increases in all the stream-flow variables analysed. But the clearfelling effect was dominated by large increases in total flow (96% over three years), of which storm-flow and quick-flow volumes formed only minor parts. After the wildfire, by contrast, increases in total flow were small (12%) but the storm flow increases were three- to four-fold in the first year and roughly double in the second year. The wildfire caused fire-induced water repellency in the soils which led to overland flow on mid-slope sites, where soil infiltrability normally far exceeds local rainfall intensities. It is argued that these results support the hypothesis that stream-flow generation processes were changed by the wildfire in that overland flow made a direct contribution to storm flows, but that clearfelling had no such effect. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Integrated geophysical surveys on railroads in permafrost areas

The zones of thawed ground in the permafrost area are most dangerous from engineer-geologist effect point of view. Detection of such zones, as making forecast of their movement is the main task of engi...     

黄土高原多沙粗沙区侵蚀模型探讨

国内外曾研究出不同类型的坡面侵蚀计算模型,但还没有一个成熟的流域侵蚀计算模型,至今流域侵蚀量仍以输沙量替代。本文充分利用黄河中游不同区域具有大量淤地坝的条件,再通过侵蚀影响因素机理的分析、在侵蚀形态类型区的划分等基础上探讨侵蚀变权模型的建设。首先选择了155个“闷葫芦”淤地坝,采集每个坝的年均淤积量,以及相应流域的侵蚀影响因素：植被盖度、降雨量、沟谷密度、切割深度、地表组成物质、>15°的坡耕地面积比等资料,采用变权形式,建立侵蚀强度宏观估算模型。最后用年降水量与年输沙量的关系对模型进行改进。