Fundamental yet simplified model for liquefaction instability

A fundamental procedure is proposed for the identification of liquefaction in saturated soils based on the instability in the material's microstructure. The disturbed state concept (DSC) provides a unified constitutive model for the characterization of entire stress–strain behaviour under cyclic loading, and the values of disturbance at threshold states in the deforming microstructure provides the basis for the identification of liquefaction. The procedure is verified with respect to laboratory behaviour of two sands, saturated Ottawa and Reid Bedford. A mathematical analysis of the DSC constitutive matrix is also performed. Procedures for the application of the DSC for simplified analysis and design, and in finite element procedures are presented. It is believed that the proposed model can provide a fundamental yet simplified procedure for liquefaction analysis, and as a result, it is considered to be an improvement over the available empirical and energy-based procedures. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

青藏高原中部扎布耶茶卡142 ka以来石英砂表面特征及环境意义

石英抗风化能力强,表面特征保留了许多环境信息,用扫描电镜方法对石英砂表面结构进行了研究.结果表明: 扎布耶茶卡的石英颗粒以次棱角状、次圆状为主,撞击坑、贝壳状断口、平行解理和水下磨光面等机械特征出现频率较高;化学特征有二氧化硅沉淀、蜂窝状溶蚀面、硅质球和蚀坑/洞.石英颗粒经历冲洪积作用,搬运至湖泊后又经历了水下机械和化学作用.在142～60 ka BP扎布耶茶卡湖区气候寒冷,但无冰川作用存在,石英颗粒搬运距离近,机械特征主要是强烈的物理风化与冲洪积作用形成的,化学特征与弱的水动力条件有关;8.5～3.7 ka BP湖区气候温暖,但变化频繁,湖水进一步咸化、退缩,山坡后退变缓,机械特征主要由物理风化及搬运中的碰撞造成,化学特征则与弱的水动力条件和高盐环境有关.     

Sedimentary processes controlling ultralong cells of littoral transport: Placer formation and termination of the Orange sand highway in southern Angola

This study focuses on the causes, modalities and obstacles of sediment transfer in the longest cell of littoral sand drift documented on Earth so far. Sand derived from the Orange River is dragged by swell waves and persistent southerly winds to accumulate in four successive dunefields in coastal Namibia to Angola. All four dunefields are terminated by river valleys, where aeolian sand is flushed back to the ocean; and yet sediment transport continues at sea, tracing an 1800 km long submarine sand highway. Sand drift would extend northward to beyond the Congo if the shelf did not become progressively narrower in southern Angola, where drifting sand is funnelled towards oceanic depths via canyon heads connected to river mouths. Garnet–magnetite placers are widespread along this coastal stretch, indicating systematic loss of the low‐density feldspatho‐quartzose fraction to the deep ocean. More than half of Moçamedes Desert sand is derived from the Orange River, and the rest in similar proportions from the Cunene River and from the Swakop and other rivers draining the Damara Orogen in Namibia. The Orange fingerprint, characterized by basaltic rock fragments, clinopyroxene grains and bimodal zircon‐age spectra with peaks at ca 0·5 Ga and ca 1·0 Ga, is lost abruptly at Namibe, and beach sands further north have abundant feldspar, amphibole‐epidote suites and unimodal zircon‐age spectra with a peak at ca 2·0 Ga, documenting local provenance from Palaeoproterozoic basement. Along with this oblique‐rifted continental margin, beach placers are dominated by Fe–Ti–Cr oxides with more monazite than garnet and thus have a geochemical signature sharply different from beach placers found all the way along the Orange littoral cell. High‐resolution mineralogical studies allow us to trace sediment dispersal over distances of thousands of kilometres, providing essential information for the correct reconstruction of ‘source to sink’ relationships in hydrocarbon exploration and to predict the long‐term impact of man‐made infrastructures on coastal sediment budgets.     

Early Jurassic Soft-Sediment Deformation Interpreted as Seismites in the Wuqia Pull-Apart Basin and the Strike-Slip Talas–Ferghana Fault, Xinjiang, China

The early Jurassic soft-sediment deformation occurring within lacustrine sandstone is distributed mainly in the Wuqia region of SW Tianshan Mountains, Xinjiang, western China. Triggered by earthquakes, such deformation was found to occur in three beds overlying the lower Jurassic Kangsu Formation. The main styles of deformation structures comprise load cast, ball-and-pillow, droplet, cusps, homogeneous layer, and liquefied unconformity. The deformation layers reflect a series of three strong earthquakes at the end of early Jurassic in the Wuqia region. The differences of deformation mechanisms undergone might represent the varying magnitudes of the earthquake events. During the early Jurassic, the Wuqia region was located in a pull-apart basin controlled by the significant Talas-Ferghana strike-slip fault in central Asia, which initiated the soft-sediment deformation induced by earthquakes. Our research suggests that the paleoseismic magnitudes could have ranged from Ms 6.5 to 7.     

东帝汶帝力市珊瑚砂地基的工程性质

珊瑚砂属珊瑚礁碎屑土,是一种特殊的地质体,具有典型的疏松多孔、硬度低、易碎的特点,由于珊瑚礁仅分布在热带海域,往往位于远离大陆的礁岛,当前对珊瑚礁岩土的勘察研究较少,相关规范也尚未涉及。以实际工程为对象,对东帝汶某珊瑚砂场地的工程性质进行了一些探讨,从标准贯人试验和钻孔剪切波速试验等原位试验结果进行分析,借鉴了目前石英砂工程性质的评价方法作为对珊瑚砂工程性质判断的参考,对珊瑚砂的强度特性和地震液化特性进行了讨论。相对石英砂的一般性质而言,珊瑚砂的标贯击数较低而相应的剪切波速相对较大,珊瑚砂在地震作用下液化的可能性较大。     

陆源碎屑细粒沉积岩中收缩裂隙形成机制研究进展及地质意义

陆源碎屑细粒沉积岩收缩裂隙广泛发育（湖）海陆过渡相中,其成因机制对古环境研究具有重要指示意义,也是震积岩和微生物成因沉积构造领域的研究热点。通过调研国内外收缩裂隙的相关研究,系统总结了收缩裂隙的形态特征、成因机制及其研究的地质意义。结果表明：收缩裂隙主要发育在（湖）海陆过渡相粉砂岩与黏土岩互层的陆源碎屑细粒沉积岩中,通常发育在粉砂岩层的底面,向下逐渐尖灭于下部黏土岩层,呈肠状、脉状或蠕虫状的粉砂质充填,其层面形态可分为纺锤形裂隙、不规则裂隙、多边形裂隙等多种类型,反映了不同的沉积环境。收缩裂隙的成因包括与盐度变化相关的合气作用、地震作用、风暴作用、微生物席破裂作用等。收缩裂隙对沉积环境、事件性沉积、高频（湖）海退—（湖）海侵界面具有重要指示意义。根据收缩裂隙的形态特征及其组合可以指示沉积相带,根据收缩裂隙的发育特征及其伴生现象可以指示地震、风暴、重力流等事件性沉积;微生物成因的收缩裂隙具有沉积物暴露的指示作用,能够指示不同级次的（湖）海退—（湖）海侵界面及古（湖）海平面变化。     

PASSIVE PRESSURE DETERMINATION BY METHOD OF SLICES

A method of slices satisfying all the conditions of statical equilibrium has been developed to deal with the problem of determination of passive earth pressure over a retaining wall in sand. A method similar to that of Morgenstern and Price, which was used to solve the stability of slopes, has been followed. The earth pressure coefficients with the proposed methodology have been computed for a vertical retaining wall for both positive and negative wall friction angle. Also examined is the variation of the interslice shear force between the retaining wall and the Rankine Passive boundary. Due to complete satisfaction of the equilibrium conditions, the method generates exactly the same earth pressure coefficients as computed by using Terzaghi's overall limit equilibrium approach. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Role of fluvial and structural processes in the formation of the Wahiba Sands, Oman: A remote sensing perspective

The Wahiba Sands in northeastern Oman are bordered on the north, south and west by highlands. Remote sensing data are used to characterize the region between 19–23.5°N and 56.5–60°E by mapping surface and near-surface drainage, faults and fractures and aeolian features. It is suggested that the sands were originally deposited with surface runoff from the principal wadis and fluvially reworked fault zones, which define the northeastern and southwestern margins. These fluvial processes resulted in the accumulation of the vast groundwater resources now stored there. During dry climates, wind became the principal modification regime and it began to sort and shape the sediments into the dune forms that characterize today's Wahiba region. The thickness of the sands reflects the depth of the basin in which they lie. The center of the basin is filled with the thickest sand (the High Sands) and contains the highest groundwater concentrations. Presently, aeolian reworking dominates in the Wahiba region, although the Low and the Peripheral Sands continue to experience some fluvial action from occasional, seasonal rainfall. Even though dry conditions dominate today, it is clear that similar to the Sahara of North Africa, the surface sands of the Wahiba basin are indicators of groundwater occurrence.     

钙质砂中模型桩的试验研究

根据钙质砂中桩基工程的现状,针对取自南沙群岛永暑礁的钙质砂,设计一个室内模型试验装置来研究钙质砂中钢管桩的承载和变形性能以及影响因素,并进行了石英砂中的对比试验。试验结果表明,钢管桩在钙质砂和石英砂中的表现有着显著差异。钙质砂中钢管桩承载能力很低,仅为石英砂的66%～70%,钙质砂中桩身轴力衰减速率缓慢,桩侧摩阻力远远小于石英砂的,仅为石英砂的20%～27%,并具有深度效应,开口钢管桩和闭口钢管桩的桩侧摩阻力相差不大。同时表明,钙质砂中桩侧摩阻力对相对密度的变化没有石英砂敏感,受相对密度影响很小。由颗粒破碎引起的桩周水平有效应力的大幅降低是造成钙质砂中钢管桩桩侧摩阻力低的主要原因。