Investigation of the effect of aggregate shape and surface roughness on the slake durability index using the fractal dimension approach

Argillaceous rocks cover about one thirds of the earth's surface. The major engineering problems encountered with weak- to medium-strength argillaceous rocks could be slaking, erosion, slope stability, settlement, and reduction in strength. One of the key properties for classifying and determining the behavior of such rocks is the slake durability. The concept of slake durability index (SDI) has been the subject of numerous researches in which a number of factors affecting the numerical value of SDI were investigated. In this regard, this paper approaches the matter by evaluating the effects of overall shape and surface roughness of the testing material on the outcome of slake durability indices.

For the purpose, different types of rocks (marl, clayey limestone, tuff, sandstone, weathered granite) were broken into chunks and were intentionally shaped as angular, subangular, and rounded and tested for slake durability. Before testing the aggregate pieces of each rock type, their surface roughness was determined by using the fractal dimension. Despite the variation of final values of SDI test results (values of I_d), the rounded aggregate groups plot relatively in a narrow range, but a greater scatter was obtained for the angular and subangular aggregate groups. The best results can be obtained when using the well rounded samples having the lowest fractal values. An attempt was made to analytically link the surface roughness with the I_d parameter and an empirical relationship was proposed. A chart for various fractal values of surface roughness to use as a guide for slake durability tests is also proposed. The method proposed herein becomes efficient when well rounded aggregates are not available. In such condition, the approximate fractal value for the surface roughness profile of the testing aggregates could be obtained from the proposed chart and be plugged into the empirical relation to obtain the corrected I_d value. The results presented herein represent the particular rock types used in this study and care should be taken when applying these methods to different type of rocks.     

Secular variations of the upper crust composition: Implication of geochemical data on the Upper Precambrian shales from the Southern Urals western flank and Uchur-Maya region

In the mid-1980s, it was concluded based on geochemical study that Th, Sc, La concentrations and ratios Th/Sc, La/Sc and Eu/Eu* did not wary significantly in the post-Archean time. It was impossible to judge about compositional variations of upper crust during the Riphean and Vendian, because data of that time characterized a limited number of samples from the post-Archean basins of Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctic. Considered in this work are variations of Eu/Eu*, LREE/HREE, Th/Sc, and La/Sc ratios in Upper Precambrian fine-grained siliciclastic rock of the Southern Urals western flank (Bashkirian meganticlinorium) and Uchur-Maya region (Uchur-Maya plate and Yudoma-Maya belt). As is established, only the Eu anomaly in the studied siliciclastic rocks is practically identical to this parameter of the average post-Archean shale. Three other parameters plot on the Riphean-Vendian variation curves with positive and negative excursions of diverse magnitude, which do not coincide always in time. It is assumed that these excursions likely mark stages of local geodynamic activity, destruction of pre-Riphean cratons, and progressing recycling of sedimentary material during the Riphean.     

Water–rock interaction during the process of steam stimulation exploitation of viscous crude oil in Liaohe Shuguang Oil Field, Liaoning, China

In the process of steam stimulation exploitation of viscous crude oil, the injected water, at high temperature and under high pressure, reacts intensively with the host rock. This kind of water–rock interaction in Liaohe Shuguang Oil Field was studied on the basis of analysis of water composition changes, laboratory experiments, mineral saturation indices analysis, and mass balance calculation. Compared with the injected water, the changes of the composition of discharged water are mainly the distinct decrease of pH, Na⁺, SiO₂ and Cl⁻, as well as the increase of K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, SO ₄ ²⁻ and HCO ₃ ⁻ . Laboratory experiments under field conditions showed: the dissolution sequence of minerals quantitatively is quartz>potassium feldspar>albite, and the main change of clay minerals is the conversion of kaolinite to analcime. Mass balance calculation indicated during the process of steam stimulation, large quantities of analcime are precipitated with the dissolution of large amounts of quartz, kaolinite, potassium feldspar, and CO₂. These results correlated very well with the experimental results. The calculated results of Liaohe Shuguang Oil Field showed that during the steam stimulation for viscous crude oil, the amounts of minerals dissolved (precipitated) are huge. To control the clogging of pore spaces of oil reservoirs, increased study of water–rock interaction is needed.     

Experimental and numerical studies of rock salt strain hardening

The work presented in this paper comes as part of a research program dealing with the thermomechanical behaviour of rock salt. It aims to study laboratory and in-situ long-term behaviour by means of creep tests with deviator and temperature changes. The laboratory results, using a triaxial multi-stages creep tests, highlighted the strain hardening character of rock salt. Furthermore, the in-situ results, using a borehole dilatometer multi-step creep test, have shown that the drilling is carried out in a weakly stressed pillar. The interpretation of the laboratory results, using the J.LEMAITRE law, did not indicate full agreement with all the test results. As a result a ‘double’ J.LEMAITRE model, which takes into account a double strain hardening variable, has been put forward. The validation of this model on the laboratory creep tests is very satisfactory. Furthermore, the activation energy seems satisfactory to represent the influence of the temperature. The in-situ behaviour modelling is clearly more complex than the modelization based on laboratory tests. In fact, it seems that if the rock salt behaviour is maintained by J.LEMAITRE law, it is necessary to vary with the stress, at least, one of the parameters assumed constant in the basic law.     

A Connectivity Index for Discrete Fracture Networks

Connectivity is an important measure for assessing flow transport in rock, especially through fractures. In this paper, rock fracture systems are modelled by a discrete fracture model simulated by a marked point process. A connectivity index is then introduced to quantify the connectivity between any two points in space. Monte Carlo simulation is used to evaluate the connectivity index for stationary cases and relationships between the connectivity index and the parameters of the discrete fracture model are analysed. The average number of intersections per fracture, X_f, and the fracture intensity, P12 (P32), are calculated and the relationships between these parameters and the connectivity index are investigated, concluding that X_f is the more suitable parameter for the classification of rock mass flow properties. The relationships between the connectivity index and the percolation state of the fractured medium are also discussed. An edge correction is briefly discussed and a practical example is used to demonstrate the method of computing the connectivity index.     

Spontaneous Structural Reform in Australian Local Government: the case of the Gilgandra Co-operative Model in New South Wales

Dire financial constraints and the threats of forced structural reform have had the unforeseen effect of forcing municipal councils across Australia to reconsider their operational activities and organisational arrangements. With considerable ingenuity, numerous municipalities have proposed and sometimes adopted new structural formations that embody various forms of co-operative service provision. This remarkable development has unfortunately been largely ignored in the scholarly literature on Australian local government. In a modest effort aimed at remedying this neglect, the present paper seeks to outline the small, rural New South Wales Gilgandra Shire Council's (2004) ‘Co-operative/Local Government Service Company’ model, place it in the broader context of alternative models of local governance suitable for Australian conditions, and evaluate its characteristics.     

采矿引起的边坡倾倒滑移变形机理与变形安全性分析研究—以抚顺西露天矿边坡为例

在矿山开发、水电建设过程中倾倒变形问题日渐突出。倾倒变形边坡一般具有反倾边坡结构,变形的过程和机理比较复杂、涉及的变形岩体范围较大、危害严重。论文以抚顺西露天矿边坡为例,通过岩体位移监测资料的跟踪分析、底面摩擦模拟试验,以岩体力学、松散介质力学原理为理论基础,探讨了采矿影响下边坡倾倒滑移体的变形机理,分析认为采矿引起的倾倒滑移变形问题是在特定的地质构造和采矿工程条件下产生的,并提出了岩体变形安全性分析方法。通过工程实例,验证了方法的实用性,并针对实际问题提出了变形整治对策。     

邢台矿区山字型构造的发现及其地质意义

邢台山字型构造位于河北省邯邢煤田内，其前弧向ES突出，脊柱呈ES-WN走向。分别分析了山字型构造脊柱及其东、西翼反射弧构造形迹特征，对研究区找矿具有重要意义。