Slow mass movement in the Kangchenjunga area, eastern Nepal Himalaya

Abstract   The rates of the accumulated and continuous displacement of solifluction lobes in the Kangchenjunga area, eastern Nepal Himalaya, were determined using glass fiber tubes and a strain probe. Ground temperature, precipitation and soil moisture were monitored at two sites, whose altitude differed by approximately 100 m, to understand the solifluction process. The average movement rate of the glass fiber tubes on a 31° slope at altitudes of 5412–5414 m a.s.l. was approximately 11 mm/year, being almost threefold greater than that observed on a 22° slope at 5322–5325 ma.s.l. There was no significant difference in the depth of displacement at these sites. The continuous displacement measurement near the ground surface at 5414 m showed permanent downslope movement from early July. Such movement may be attributed to additional moisture supply during the monsoon season. The amplitude of the displacement cycle was highest at the ground surface, and decreased to virtually zero at and below 20 cm in depth. Probable factors leading to the relatively slow rates of downslope displacement at the surface and depth at the studied altitudes are the lack of concurrence of the freeze–thaw cycles and the high moisture condition in the soil, and the low moisture retention capacity of the soil because of steep slopes and superficial desiccation. The rate of displacement may be more pronounced at altitudes above 5600 m because of the freeze–thaw cycles during the summer season.     

Dynamic theory of rigid-plasticity

This paper deals with an analysis method for the response and motion of soil-like rigid-plastic bodies under seismic loading conditions. A continuity condition to determine the acceleration distribution within the rigid-plastic body when the failure occurs during seismic motions is proposed. Combining this continuity condition of acceleration and the ‘Generalized Limit Equilibrium Method (GLEM)’, the responses of the earth structure during seismic motions as well as the permanent displacements can be obtained, where GLEM is one of the limit equilibrium methods proposed by the authors for static problems and providing the approximate solution for Kötter's equation. The theoretical formulation of the method, the illustrative examples, and some comparisons between the analytical and experimental results are demonstrated.     

Real-time simulation of ground displacement by digital accelerograph record

Introduction The observation records of strong ground motion previously, on the one hand, supplied basicdata both to research on earthquake engineering and to constitute the criterion of aseismatic de-signing of all project structures; on the other hand, it provided important information for the re-search on the process of epicenter burst in seismology. With the development of research on strongground motion observation, especially the development of the new generation accelerograph,which…     

The impact of epistemic uncertainty on an earthquake loss model

Models capable of estimating losses in future earthquakes are of fundamental importance for emergency planners, for the insurance and reinsurance industries, and for code drafters. Constructing a loss model for a city, region or country involves compiling databases of earthquake activity, ground conditions, attenuation equations, building stock and infrastructure exposure, and vulnerability characteristics of the exposed inventory, all of which have large associated uncertainties. Many of these uncertainties can be classified as epistemic, implying—at least in theory—that they can be reduced by acquiring additional data or improved understanding of the physical processes. The effort and cost involved in refining the definition of each component of a loss model can be very large, for which reason it is useful to identify the relative impact on the calculated losses due to variations in these components. A mechanically sound displacement‐based approach to loss estimation is applied to a test case of buildings along the northern side of the Sea of Marmara in Turkey. Systematic variations of the parameters defining the demand (ground motion) and the capacity (vulnerability) are used to identify the relative impacts on the resulting losses, from which it is found that the influence of the epistemic uncertainty in the capacity is larger than that of the demand for a single earthquake scenario. Thus, the importance of earthquake loss models which allow the capacity parameters to be customized to the study area under consideration is highlighted. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical Modeling of Basin-Range Tectonics Related to Continent-Continent Collision

Continent-continent collision is the most important driving mechanism for the occurrence of various geological processes in the continental lithosphere. How to recognize and determine continent-continent collision,especially its four-dimensional temporal-spatial evolution, is a subject that geological communities have long been concerned about and studied. Continent-continent collision is mainly manifested by strong underthrnsting (subduction) of the underlying block along an intracontinental subduction zone and continuous obduction (thrusting propagation) of the overlying block along the intracontinental subduction zone, the occurrence of a basin-range tectonic framework in a direction perpendicular to the subduction zone and the flexure and disruption of the Moho. On the basis of numerical modeling, the authors discuss in detail the couplings between various amounts and rates of displacement caused by basin subsidence, mountain uplift and Moho updoming and downflexure during obduction (thrusting propagation) and subduction and the migration pattern of basin centers. They are probably indications or criteria for judgment or determination of continent-continent collision.     

Modelling load–displacement response of driven piles in cohesionless soils under tensile loading

A new methodology for deriving the uplift load–displacement response of long driven piles in cohesionless soils is proposed. This method accounts for the effects of the friction fatigue processes during pile driving and the existence of locked-in residual stresses at the end of pile driving before commencing the pile load test. A hyperbolic formulation is utilized to simulate the nonlinear load transfer curves (the so-called t–z curves). The utility of this technique is demonstrated for a field pullout load test on a driven pile in sand. Predicted and measured load–displacement curves showed good agreement, indicating that this approach yields reasonable results as long as representative input parameters are employed.     

深圳市某建筑深基坑支护滑塌事故剖析

以深圳某建筑深基坑滑塌为例,在现场实物和相关资料调查的基础上,从基坑支护的设计、施工、监测以及质量安全管理等方面对基坑滑塌事故的原因进行了较为全面的分析和探讨,认为导致该基坑支护工程滑塌的主要原因是土钉和锚索抗拔力不足.最后针对目前深基坑工程中普遍存在的问题提出了加强设计方案的审查、加强施工管理、加强土钉墙研究的建议.     

指数平滑技术在斜坡位移预测中的应用

应用趋势型数据指数平滑模型预测了链子崖危岩体监测点GA的位移量.根据其观测数据呈线性趋势的特点,选取趋势型二次指数平滑的线性预测公式和合适的平滑常数值进行了计算预测.预测结果表明位移预测值与实际观测值之间的误差很小,说明该模型可很好地应用于斜坡变形位移的预测.     

滑坡变形立体监测网建设

论文简要介绍了滑坡监测工作内容和监测方法，对现有技术方法在实际工作中的优缺点进行了简要评述。认为在滑坡稳定性监测工作中应该建立全方位、多种手段的立体监测网，仅仅运用某一种或者某一单方面的监测方法是不行的，是片面的，无法准确了解滑坡的动态。所说的立体监测网既有水平位移监测又有垂直位移监测，既有滑坡地表表层变形监测又有滑体深部变形监测，既有专业监测又有群测群防体系。同时监测有可能准确地掌握使滑坡失稳的各种因素（自然因素和人为因素）。因此建议在滑坡监测中建立全方位、多种手段的立体监测网，并提出了立体监测网建设的主要内容。