Relict sand wedges in soliflucted London Clay at Wimbledon, London, UK

Exposures on Wimbledon Hill, SW London, in the Palaeogene London Clay Formation, are described. The 3° slopes are mantled by clayey solifluction (head) deposits, comprising two superimposed sheets, each around 1.2 m thick. The lower sheet exhibits relict sand wedges forming polygons 1.0-1.5 m across, up to 50 mm wide and 1.25 m deep. These have no surface expression. The wedges are sand-filled and modify significantly the hydrogeology and properties of the solifluction mantle. There are no sand wedges in the upper solifluction sheet.The mechanics of emplacement of the lower solifluction sheet are explored and the high initial water content estimated. Subsequent desiccation and consolidation have reduced the thickness of this sheet by at least 35%, thus distorting contained features such as the wedges. An active layer about 0.4 m thick is inferred to have formed in the top of the lower solifluction sheet. No direct dating was undertaken but, by analogy with relevant dated sites in southern Britain and the Netherlands it is inferred that the lower solifluction sheet was emplaced during the first part of the Loch Lomond Stadial and frost-cracked during a subsequent, colder and more arid part. On this basis, following filling of the cracks by sand, emplacement of the upper solifluction sheet would have occurred in the later part of the Loch Lomond Stadial.     

裂纹端部的力学研究

本文计算并讨论了忽视旋转的传统理论所不能给出的裂纹端部场与场源的相互作用，首先利用弹性力学方法计算了共线裂纹组端部的应力场及位移场，然后应用旋转理论给出共线裂纹组端部的扭转力通解，对单裂纹和双裂纹情形做了重点讨论．     

Prediction of tension crack location and riverbank erosion hazards along destabilized channels

Riverbank erosion, associated sedimentation and land loss hazards are a land management problem of global significance and many attempts to predict the onset of riverbank instability have been made. Recently, Osman and Thorne (1988) have presented a Culmann-type analysis of the stability of steep, cohesive riverbanks; this has the potential to be a considerable improvement over previous bank stability theories, which do not account for bank geometry changes due to toe scour and lateral erosion. However, in this paper it is shown that the existing Osman-Thorne model does not properly incorporate the influence of tension cracking on bank stability since the location of the tension crack on the floodplain is indirectly determined via calculation or arbitrary specification of the tension crack depth. Furthermore, accurate determination of tension crack location is essential to the calculation of the geometry of riverbank failure blocks and hence prediction of land loss and bank sediment yield associated with riverbank instability and channel widening. In this paper, a rational, physically based method to predict the location of tension cracks on the floodplain behind the eroding bank face is presented and tested. A case study is used to illustrate the computational procedure required to apply the model. Improved estimates of failure block geometry using the new method may potentially be applied to improve predictions of bank retreat and floodplain land loss along river channels destabilized as a result of environmental change.     

Scattering of elastic waves by a fracture zone containing randomly distributed cracks

We theoretically study the scattering ofP, SV andSH waves by a zonal distribution of cracks, which simulates a fault fracture zone. An investigation is conducted how the geometrical properties of the crack distribution and the frictional characteristics of the crack surface are reflected in the attenuation and dispersion of incident waves, as well as in the amplitudes of the transmitted and reflected waves from the zone. If the crack distribution within the fault zone changes temporally during the preparation process of the expected earthquake, it will be important for earthquake prediction to monitor it, utilizing the scattering-induced wave phenomena.We consider the two-dimensional problem. Aligned cracks with the same length are assumed to be randomly distributed in a zone with a finite width, on which elastic waves are assumed to be incident. The distribution of cracks is assumed to be homogeneous and sparse. The crack surface is assumed to be stress-free, or to undergo viscous friction; the latter case simulates fluid-filled cracks. The opening displacement of the crack is assumed to be negligibly small. The idea of the mean wave formalism is employed in the analysis, and Foldy's approximation is assumed.When the crack surface is stress-free, it is commonly observed for every wave mode (P, SV andSH) that the attenuation coefficientQ ^–1 peaks aroundka1, the phase velocity is almost independent ofk in the rangeka<1 and it increases monotonically withk in the rangeka>1, wherek is the intrinsicS wavenumber anda is the half length of the crack. The effect of the friction is to shift the peak ofQ ^–1 and the corner of the phase velocity curve to the low wavenumber range. The high wavenumber asymptote ofQ ^–1 is proportional tok ^–1 independently of model parameters and the wave modes. If the seismological observation thatQ ^–1 ofS waves has a peak at around 0.5 Hz in the earth's crust is combined with our results, the upper limit of crack size within the crust is estimated about 4 km. The information regarding the transmitted and reflected waves, such as the high wavenumber limit of the amplitude of the transmitted wave etc., allows estimation of the strength of the friction.     

裂纹间动态相互作用的实验观测与理论分析──以共线剪切裂纹归并为例

本文以共线剪切裂纹的归并为例,研究裂纹系的动态相互作用．实验结果表明：在张破裂的意义上,小间距共线剪切裂纹的内端部实际上是阻碍结构,通过迂回弯曲的张破裂归并．本文提出一种估计张破裂扩展途径的近似方法,利用张应力破裂判据找出了潜在的破裂扩展途径的第一近似,较好地模拟了共线裂纹的破裂途径,和现有的数值模拟方法比较,可以大大缩短机时,简化计算程序,保证精确度．本研究结出了岩石剪切破裂“隧道效应”（即破裂跳过障碍体,而障碍体本身不破坏）的机理,还给出了脆性介质在摩擦、磨损过程中碎屑产生的机理．     

花岗岩张拉和压剪裂隙渗透率演化研究

地下工程开挖造成围岩破坏,其破坏方式可归纳分析为两类：张拉型破坏和压剪型破坏,这两种破坏导致的裂隙面的细观形态并不相同,这种不同的细观形态导致张拉和压剪型裂隙的渗透率表现出不同的演化规律。为此,对花岗岩进行了不同围压下三轴压缩试验,产生张拉和压剪型裂隙,进行含裂隙岩样在静水压力加载条件下渗透系数试验。试验表明,相比于含压剪裂隙试样,含张拉裂隙试样的渗透率对静水压力更敏感。进而,分别对不同围压条件下的三轴压缩试验获得的张拉和压剪裂隙面进行扫描电镜试验,获得张拉和压剪裂隙面的细观形态,花岗岩单轴压缩试验所产生的裂隙面表现为典型的张拉型裂隙,破裂面比较光滑;随着围压的不断增大,破裂面的细观形态发生明显的变化,从破裂面上可以明显地观察到逐渐增多的压剪型裂隙,破裂面比较粗糙。在静水压力的作用下,张拉裂隙较快闭合;而压剪裂隙的锯齿能够一定程度上阻止裂隙的闭合。张拉和压剪裂隙面的不同细观结构决定了含张拉和压剪裂隙岩样的不同渗透率演化规律。研究结果对于地下工程分析中确定围岩的渗透率具有一定的意义。     

Soil cracking effects on hydrological and erosive processes: a study case in Mediterranean cultivated vertisols

Shrink–swell soils, such as those in a Mediterranean climate regime, can cause changes in terms of hydrological and erosive responses because of the changing soil water storage conditions. Only a limited number of long‐term studies have focused on the impacts on both hydrological and erosive responses and their interactions in an agricultural environment. In this context, this study aims to document the dynamics of cracks, runoff and soil erosion within a small Mediterranean cultivated catchment and to quantify the influence of crack processes on the water and sediment supplied to a reservoir located at the catchment outlet using water and sediment measurements at a cultivated field outlet as baseline. Detailed monitoring of the presence of topsoil cracks was conducted within the Kamech catchment (ORE OMERE, Tunisia), and runoff and suspended sediment loads were continuously measured over a long period of time (2005–2012) at the outlets of a field (1.32 ha) and a catchment (263 ha). Analysis of the data showed that topsoil cracks were open approximately half of the year and that the rainfall regime and water table level conditions locally control the seasonal cracking dynamics. Topsoil cracks appeared to seriously affect the generation of runoff and sediment concentrations and, consequently, sediment yields, with similar dynamics observed at the field and catchment outlets. A similar time lag in the seasonality between water and sediment delivery was observed at these two scales: although the runoff rates were globally low during the presence of topsoil cracks, most sediment transport occurred during this period associated with very high sediment concentrations. This study underlines the importance of a good prediction of runoff during the presence of cracks for reservoir siltation considerations. In this context, the prediction of cracking effects on runoff and soil erosion is a key factor for the development of effective soil and water management strategies and downstream reservoir preservation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

多裂纹扩展的扩展有限元法分析

建立了求解多裂纹扩展的扩展有限元法。引入裂纹交叉汇合加强函数以分析多裂纹交叉汇合过程;在裂纹附近区域使用广义形函数,并引入线增函数消除混合单元,可有效地提高裂纹附近的精度;用砂浆法（线段-线段接触法）结合增广型Lagrange乘子法处理裂纹段的接触条件,可以精确地模拟裂纹面约束,并方便地求解控制方程。算例分析了两方面内容：（1）计算交叉裂纹体的应力强度因子,结果表明提出的方法精度高;（2）模拟多裂纹扩展及交叉汇合过程,模拟的裂纹扩展路径与试验结果吻合得较好,表明了方法的可靠性。     

Dynamic nucleation process of shallow earthquake faulting in a fault zone

Two distinct phases are commonly observed at the initial part of seismograms of large shallow earthquakes: low-frequency and low-amplitude waves following the onset of a P wave ( P ₁) are interrupted by the arrival of the second impulsive phase P₂ enriched with high-frequency components. This observation suggests that a large shallow earthquake involves two qualitatively different stages of rupture at its nucleation.
We propose a theoretical model that can naturally explain the above nucleation behaviour. The model is 2-D and the deformation is assumed to be anti-plane. A key clement in our model is the assumption of a zone in which numbers of pre-existing cracks are densely distributed; this cracked zone is a model for the fault zone. Dynamic crack growth nucleated in such a zone is intensely affected by the crack interactions, which exert two conflicting effects: one tends to accelerate the crack growth, and the other tends to decelerate it. The accelerating and decelerating effects are generally ascribable to coplanar and non-coplanar crack interactions, respectively. We rigorously treat the multiple interactions among the cracks, using the boundary integral equation method (BIEM), and assume the critical stress fracture criterion for the analysis of spontaneous crack propagation.
Our analysis shows that a dynamic rupture nucleated in the cracked zone begins to grow slowly due to the relative predominance of non-coplanar interactions. This process radiates the P₁ phase. If the crack continues to grow, coalescence with adjacent coplanar cracks occurs after a short time. Then, coplanar interactions suddenly begin to prevail and crack growth is accelerated; the P₂ phase is emitted in this process. It is interpreted that the two distinct phases appear in the process of the transition from non-coplanar to coplanar interaction predominance.