Remarkable response amplification of building frames due to resonance with the surface ground

Seismic response of a building structure is influenced greatly by soil-structure interaction. This fact has been demonstrated in the past earthquakes. It is shown that tuning of the natural period of a building structure with that of a surface ground causes remarkable response amplification of the building structure. Introduction of an overall system as a building-pile-soil system is inevitable to investigate such a tuning effect. It is demonstrated to be essential to define a design earthquake at a bedrock level in order to guarantee the structural safety of building structures under seismic disturbances. Comparison of the response due to input of double the upward-propagating wave (an outcropping motion) into the bedrock without any viscous boundary with that due to input of an within motion into the bedrock without any viscous boundary is also shown in order to investigate the effect of input motions on the response of the superstructure.     

机器基础动力相互作用的研究

本文分别对单台、双台、联合基础与地基土相互作用体系在扰力作用下的振动特性进行了研究。在计算中考虑了外围土体的影响。通过算例,得到了单台、双台、联合基础的一些振动规律。     

Comparison of Galerkin-type discretization techniques for two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media

A comparison of Standard Galerkin, Petrov-Galerkin, and Fully-Upwind Galerkin methods for the simulation of two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media is presented. On the basis of the coupled pressure-saturation equations, a generalized formulation for all three finite element methods is derived and analysed. For flow in homogeneous media, the Petrov-Galerkin method gives excellent results. But this method fails miserably for problems with heterogeneous media. This is because it is not able to capture correctly processes that take place at interfaces when, for instance, the capillary pressure-saturation relationship after Brooks and Corey is assumed. The Fully-Upwind Galerkin method is superior to the Petrov-Galerkin approach because it is able to give correct results for flow in homogeneous and heterogeneous media for the two models of van Genuchten and Brooks-Corey. The widely used formulation which is correct for the homogeneous case cannot be used for heterogeneous media. Instead the straightforward approach of gradp_c in combination with a chord-slope technique must be utilized.     

Numerical simulation of NAPL flow in the subsurface

A three-dimensional, three-phase numerical model is presented for simulating the movement of immiscible fluids, including nonaqueous-phase liquids (NAPLs), through porous media. The model is designed to simulate soil flume experiments and for practical application to a wide variety of contamination scenarios involving light or dense NAPLs in heterogeneous subsurface systems. The model is derived for the three-phase flow of water, NAPL, and air in porous media. The basic governing equations are based upon the mass conservation of the constitutents within the phases. The descretization chosen to transform the governing equations into the approximating equations, although logically regular, is very general. The approximating equations are a set of simultaneous coupled nonlinear equations which are solved by the Newton-Raphson method. The linear system solutions needed for the Newton-Raphson method are obtained using a matrix of preconditioner/accelerator iterative methods. Because of the special way the governing equations are implemented, the model is capable of simulating many of the phenomena considered necessary for the sucessful simulation of field problems including entry pressure phenomena, entrapment, and preferential flow paths. The model is verified by comparing it with several exact analytic test solutions and three soil flume experiments involving the introduction and movement of light nonaqueous-phase liquid (LNAPL) or dense nonaqueous-phase liquid (DNAPL) in heterogeneous sand containing a watertable. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Runoff and erosion processes and rates in the Zin valley badlands,northern Negev,Israel

Badland areas are usually regarded as impermeable zones which generate high runoff and are very vulnerable to sheetwash and rainsplash. To test those considerations sprinkling experiments using two rainfall simulators were carried out on slopes of varying aspect in the northern Negev (Israel). For one unit 1·5 m² plots were used with rainfall of natural characteristics at 36 mm/hr intensity and 43–48 minute duration, runoff being recorded and water/sediment samples taken every 5 minutes. The second unit was used on 30–50 m² plots but rainfall energy production was below that of natural rainfall. Results show that due to the high stability and strong flocculation of clay-rich aggregates rainsplash is ineffective in surface sealing so that infiltration capacities remain high despite intense, prolonged rainfall. Aspect differences are reflected in variation of surface properties despite homogenous bed-rock, which cause marked differences in hydrological response. North-facing slopes respond more quickly, more frequently and produce more runoff than south-facing slopes. Non-uniform runoff generation is also seen within plots of one aspect reflecting subtle variations in surface properties. Comparison of rainfall intensity and duration used during the experiments with those prevailing under natural conditions shows that under present day conditions surface flow in the Zin valley badlands must be extremely infrequent and denudation rates very low.     

Grigg-Skjellerup彗星新生离子激发低频电磁波性质

本文运用磁场的最小方差分析法和磁场-电子密度的相关分析法分析了欧洲空间局Giotto飞船对P／Grigg-Skjellerup（简称G-S）彗星弓激波附近磁场和电子能流的部分观测数据．结果表明彗星附近存在大量的频率靠近新生水族离子回旋频率的波动,它们是由彗星新生水族离子环流激发的低频左旋电磁波．波在近似平行于磁场方向传播,斜传播角小于15°．电子数据和磁场数据相关分析表明即使在离彗星很远的地方仍然存在压缩波．     

Using regional regression within index flood procedures and an empirical Bayesian estimator

Studies have illustrated the performance of at-site and regional flood quantile estimators. For realistic generalized extreme value (GEV) distributions and short records, a simple index-flood quantile estimator performs better than two-parameter (2P) GEV quantile estimators with probability weighted moment (PWM) estimation using a regional shape parameter and at-site mean and L-coefficient of variation (L-CV), and full three-parameter at-site GEV/PWM quantile estimators. However, as regional heterogeneity or record lengths increase, the 2P-estimator quickly dominates. This paper generalizes the index flood procedure by employing regression with physiographic information to refine a normalized T-year flood estimator. A linear empirical Bayes estimator uses the normalized quantile regression estimator to define a prior distribution which is employed with the normalized 2P-quantile estimator. Monte Carlo simulations indicate that this empirical Bayes estimator does essentially as well as or better than the simpler normalized quantile regression estimator at sites with short records, and performs as well as or better than the 2P-estimator at sites with longer records or smaller L-CV.     

Momentum and energy balance equations for compacting sediments

Coupled energy and momentum balance equations are derived for a one-dimensional sequence of compacting sediments. These transient, nonlinear partial differential equations represent the one-dimensional equations of state for an accumulating sedimentary basin. A numerical solution is presented which provides a first-order approximation for porosity, temperature, and fluid pressures in the northern Gulf of Mexico. It seems that compaction disequilibrium is the primary mechanism for development of excess fluid pressures. Furthermore, the coupling of the equations demonstrates that temperature and pressure cannot be treated independently as may have been done in diagenetic studies. Some areas for further investigations are indicated.     

An analysis of change in alpine annual maximum discharges: implications for the selection of design discharges

The paper presents an analysis of 17 long annual maximum series (AMS) of flood flows for Swiss Alpine basins, aimed at checking the presence of changes in the frequency regime of annual maxima. We apply Pettitt's change point test, the nonparametric sign test and Sen's test on trends. We also apply a parametric goodness‐of‐fit test for assessing the suitability of distributions estimated on the basis of annual maxima collected up to a certain year for describing the frequency regime of later observations. For a number of series the tests yield consistent indications for significant changes in the frequency regime of annual maxima and increasing trends in the intensity of annual maximum discharges. In most cases, these changes cannot be explained by anthropogenic causes only (e.g. streamflow regulation, construction of dams). Instead, we observe a statistically significant relationship between the year of change and the elevation of the catchment outlet. This evidence is consistent with the findings of recent studies that explain increasing discharges in alpine catchments with an increase in the temperature controlling the portion of mountain catchments above the freezing point. Finally, we analyse the differences in return periods (RPs) estimated for a given flood flow on the basis of recent and past observations. For a large number of the study AMS, we observe that, on average, the 100‐year flood for past observations corresponds to a RP of approximately 10 to 30 years on the basis of more recent observation. From a complementary perspective, we also notice that estimated RP‐year flood (i.e. flood quantile (FQ) associated with RP) increases on average by approximately 20% for the study area, irrespectively of the RP. Practical implications of the observed changes are illustrated and discussed in the paper. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Derivation of a curve number and kinematic-wave based flood frequency distribution

Abstract

The physically-based flood frequency models use readily available rainfall data and catchment characteristics to derive the flood frequency distribution. In the present study, a new physically-based flood frequency distribution has been developed. This model uses bivariate exponential distribution for rainfall intensity and duration, and the Soil Conservation Service-Curve Number (SCS-CN) method for deriving the probability density function (pdf) of effective rainfall. The effective rainfall-runoff model is based on kinematic-wave theory. The results of application of this derived model to three Indian basins indicate that the model is a useful alternative for estimating flood flow quantiles at ungauged sites.