Nonsmooth dynamics prediction of measured bridge response involving deck‐abutment pounding

Earthquake‐induced deck‐abutment contact alters the boundary conditions at the deck level and might activate a different mechanical system than the one assumed during the design of the bridge. Occasionally this discrepancy between the assumed and the actual seismic behavior has detrimental consequences, for example, pier damage, deck unseating, or even collapse. Recently, an insightful shake‐table testing of a scaled deck‐abutment bridge model 1 , showed unexpected in‐plane rotations even though the deck was straight. These contact‐induced rotations produced significant residual displacements and damage to the piers and the bents. The present paper utilizes that experimental data to examine the validity and the limitations of a proposed nonsmooth dynamic analysis framework. The results show that the proposed approach satisfactorily captures the planar rigid‐body dynamics of the deck which is characterized by deck‐abutment contact. The analysis brings forward the role of friction on the physical mechanism behind the rotation of the deck, and underlines the importance of considering the frictional contact forces during deck‐abutment interaction even for straight bridges, which typically are neglected. Finally, the paper investigates the sensitivity of the rotation with respect to macroscopic contact parameters (i.e., the coefficient of friction and the coefficient of restitution). Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Extreme behavior in a triple friction pendulum isolated frame

While isolation can provide significantly enhanced performance compared to fixed‐base counter parts in design level or even maximum considered level earthquakes, there is still uncertainty over the performance of isolation systems in extreme events. Researchers have looked at component level stability of rubber bearings and on the effect of moat impact on behavior of structures isolated on general bilinear isolators. However, testing of triple friction pendulum (TFP) sliding bearings has not been done dynamically or incorporated into a building system. Here, one‐third scale laboratory tests were conducted to on a 2‐story 2‐bay TFP‐isolated structure. Input motions were increasingly scaled until failure occurred at the isolation level. As the superstructure was designed with a yield force equivalent to the force of the bearing just at their ultimate displacement capacity, there was minimal yielding. A numerical model is presented to simulate the isolated building up to and including bearing failure. Forces transferred to the superstructure in extreme motions are examined using both experimental and numerical data. Additionally, the effect of the hardening stage of the TFP bearing is evaluated using the numerical model, finding slight benefits.     

A wind tunnel investigation of particle segregation,ripple formation and armouring within sand beds of systematically varied texture

This paper reports on a wind tunnel investigation of particle segregation, ripple formation and surface armouring within sand beds of systematically varied particle size distribution, from coarsely skewed to bimodal. By design, the system was closed with no external inputs of mass from an external particle feed. Particles too coarse to travel in saltation for the given range in wind speed were dyed red in order to distinguish them in optical images from finer sand particles, which could be entrained into the unidirectional airflow. A 3D laser scanner measured the changing bed topography at regular time intervals during 18 experiments involving varied combinations of wind speed and bed texture. Image classification techniques were used to investigate the coincident self‐organization of the two populations of particles, as distinguished by their colour. As soon as saltation commenced, some of the red particles segregated into thin discontinuous patches. Particle trapping and sheltering on these rough patches was strongly favoured, causing them to grow preferentially. During the earliest stages of formation, bedform growth coincided with: (i) rapid coarsening of the surface texture; and (ii) the merging of proto‐ripple ‘crests’ to generate larger rhythmic bedforms of lower frequency. Consistent with previous work, ripple size was observed to increase under stronger winds when not exceeding the threshold for entrainment of the coarse‐mode or red particles from the crest. With declining rates of mass transport and particle segregation as the bed surface armoured, and the consequent deceleration of ripple propagation through to the end of each experiment, all surfaces eventually attained a steady‐state morphometry. At saturation, the largest ripples developed on beds having the lowest initial concentration of red particles. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sediment transport in high‐speed flows over a fixed bed: 2. Particle impacts and abrasion prediction

Single bed load particle impacts were experimentally investigated in supercritical open channel flow over a fixed planar bed of low relative roughness height simulating high‐gradient non‐alluvial mountain streams as well as hydraulic structures. Particle impact characteristics (impact velocity, impact angle, Stokes number, restitution and dynamic friction coefficients) were determined for a wide range of hydraulic parameters and particle properties. Particle impact velocity scaled with the particle velocity, and the vertical particle impact velocity increased with excess transport stage. Particle impact and rebound angles were low and decreased with transport stage. Analysis of the particle impacts with the bed revealed almost no viscous damping effects with high normal restitution coefficients exceeding unity. The normal and resultant Stokes numbers were high and above critical thresholds for viscous damping. These results are attributed to the coherent turbulent structures near the wall region, i.e. bursting motion with ejection and sweep events responsible for turbulence generation and particle transport. The tangential restitution coefficients were slightly below unity and the dynamic friction coefficients were lower than for alluvial bed data, revealing that only a small amount of horizontal energy was transferred to the bed. The abrasion prediction model formed by Sklar and Dietrich in 2004 was revised based on the new equations on vertical impact velocity and hop length covering various bed configurations. The abrasion coefficient k_v was found to be vary around k_v ~ 10⁵ for hard materials (tensile strength f_t > 1 MPa), one order of magnitude lower than the value assumed so far for Sklar and Dietrich's model. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Long‐term sediment yield from a small catchment in southern Brazil affected by land use and soil management changes

Sediments produced from eroding cultivated land can cause on‐site and off‐site effects that cause considerable economic and social impacts. Despite the importance of soil conservation practices (SCP) for the control of soil erosion and improvements in soil hydrological functions, limited information is available regarding the effects of SCP on sediment yield (SY) at the catchment scale. This study aimed to investigate the long‐term relationships between SY and land use, soil management, and rainfall in a small catchment. To determine the effects of anthropogenic and climatic factors on SY, rainfall, streamflow, and suspended sediment concentration were monitored at 10‐min intervals for 14 years (2002–2016), and the land use and soil management changes were surveyed annually. Using a statistical procedure to separate the SY effects of climate, land use, and soil management, we observed pronounced temporal effects of land use and soil management changes on SY. During the first 2 years (2002–2004), the land was predominantly cultivated with tobacco under a traditional tillage system (no cover crops and ploughed soil) using animal traction. In that period, the SY reached approximately 400 t·km^?2·year^?1. From 2005 to 2009, a soil conservation programme introduced conservation tillage and winter cover crops in the catchment area, which lowered the SY to 50 t·km^?2·year^?1. In the final period (2010–2016), the SCP were partially abandoned by farmers, and reforested areas increased, resulting in an SY of 150 t·km^?2·year^?1. This study also discusses the factors associated with the failure to continue using SCP, including structural support and farmer attitudes.     

Model for multiblock columns subjected to base excitation

A new model is presented for multiblock columns subjected to earthquakes, which contains an impact and an opening model. Both in the impact and in the opening model, all the possible opening configurations are investigated because it was found that in many practical cases, unexpected patterns may occur. The model is purely mechanical: assuming rigid blocks and classical (inelastic) impact. The effect of energy dissipation during impact was investigated. Using our model in accordance with the literature, it was found that monolithic blocks are more vulnerable to overturning than multiblock systems.     

Effects of rainfall,overland flow and their interactions on peatland interrill erosion processes

Interrill erosion processes on gentle slopes are affected by mechanisms of raindrop impact, overland flow and their interaction. However, limited experimental work has been conducted to understand how important each of the mechanisms are and how they interact, in particular for peat soil. Laboratory simulation experiments were conducted on peat blocks under two slopes (2.5° and 7.5°) and three treatments: Rainfall, where rainfall with an intensity of 12 mm h^?1 was simulated; Inflow, where upslope overland flow at a rate of 12 mm h^?1 was applied; and Rainfall + Inflow which combined both Rainfall and Inflow. Overland flow, sediment loss and overland flow velocity data were collected and splash cups were used to measure the mass of sediment detached by raindrops. Raindrop impact was found to reduce overland flow by 10 to 13%, due to increased infiltration, and reduce erosion by 47% on average for both slope gradients. Raindrop impact also reduced flow velocity (80–92%) and increased roughness (72–78%). The interaction between rainfall and flow was found to significantly reduce sediment concentrations (73–85%). Slope gradient had only a minor effect on overland flow and sediment yield. Significantly higher flow velocities and sediment yields were observed under the Rainfall + Inflow treatment compared to the Rainfall treatment. On average, upslope inflow was found to increase erosion by 36%. These results indicate that overland flow and erosion processes on peat hillslopes are affected by upslope inflow. There was no significant relationship between interrill erosion and overland flow, whereas stream power had a strong relationship with erosion. These findings help improve our understanding of the importance of interrill erosion processes on peat. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

圆柱形支撑大跨度建筑结构强震冲击分析模型仿真

圆柱形支撑大跨度建筑稳定性较差,不能在强震冲击下保持稳定的结构状态。为解决此问题,设计圆柱形支撑大跨度建筑结构强震下冲击分析仿真模型,通过圆柱分析法则的确定、有限元支撑模拟分析与监测、圆柱形支撑体系承载能力分析以完成模型的仿真分析与监测。基于此对大跨度建筑结构强震冲击进行静力分析,调整强震冲击下模型的结构,完成模型的搭建。模拟强震冲击环境,设计对比实验结果表明,应用圆柱形支撑大跨度建筑结构强震下冲击分析仿真模型,可明确圆柱形支撑大跨度建筑薄弱点,发现稳定性较差建筑结构单元,达到提升圆柱形支撑大跨度建筑在强震冲击下稳定性的目的。     

旅游活动对鼎湖山生物圈保护区植被的影响

以鼎湖山生物圈保护区为例,采用敏感水平、群落景观重要值、物种多样性信息指数、阴生种比例、伴人植物比例和旅游影响系数等指标,对旅游活动与植被环境的关系和景区管理水平进行了分析评价。研究表明:(1)旅游影响系数与植被环境质量评价指标之间、植被环境质量各项评价指标之间、旅游影响系数内部各因子之间均存在不同程度的相关性。敏感水平值越大,群落景观重要值、阴生种比例值越小,物种多样性信息指数、伴人植物比例、旅游影响系数值越大;旅游影响系数越大,敏感水平、物种多样性信息指数、伴人植物比例越大,群落景观重要值、阴生种比例越小;旅游影响系数与其各影响因子均呈正相关,即旅游影响系数越大,枯枝落叶层越薄、草本层盖度越小、幼苗量越小、折枝数量越多、垃圾量越大。研究结果与鼎湖山旅游发展的实践基本相符,客观上揭示了旅游活动对植被影响的规律和特点;(2)根据旅游影响系数分级标准,鼎湖山景区质量管理水平总体可定为中上水平,但个别地段存在环境隐患,有必要进一步提高管理水平。     

济南新火车东站及轨道交通建设对济南白泉泉群的影响分析

近年来,随着经济的快速发展和城市的大规模建设,济南市的泉水保护与经济建设产生了一些矛盾。根据规划,济南市拟在白泉泉域的周边建设济南新火车东站、地下轨道交通等项目,项目建设将会对白泉泉群的喷涌产生影响,根据野外实际调查成果,从白泉泉群的补、径、排角度分析了项目建设对泉群产生的影响,提出在保护泉群的前提下进行新火车站及轨道交通建设的合理化建议。