Inelastic displacement ratios for evaluation of existing structures

Results of a detailed statistical study of constant relative strength inelastic displacement ratios to estimate maximum lateral inelastic displacement demands on existing structures from maximum lateral elastic displacement demands are presented. These ratios were computed for single‐degree‐of‐freedom systems with different levels of lateral strength normalized to the strength required to remain elastic when subjected to a relatively large ensemble of recorded earthquake ground motions. Three groups of soil conditions with shear wave velocities higher than 180m/s are considered. The influence of period of vibration, level of lateral yielding strength, site conditions, earthquake magnitude, distance to the source, and strain‐hardening ratio are evaluated and discussed. Mean inelastic displacement ratios and those associated with various percentiles are presented. A special emphasis is given to the dispersion of these ratios. It is concluded that distance to the source has a negligible influence on constant relative strength inelastic displacement ratios. However, for periods smaller than 1s earthquake magnitude and soil conditions have a moderate influence on these ratios. Strain hardening decreases maximum inelastic displacement at a fairly constant rate depending on the level of relative strength for periods of vibration longer than about 1.0s while it decreases maximum inelastic displacement non‐linearly as the period of vibration shortens and as the relative‐strength ratio increases for periods of vibration shorter than 1.0s. Finally, results from non‐linear regression analyses are presented that provide a simplified expression to be used to approximate mean inelastic displacement ratios during the evaluation of existing structures built on firm sites. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of sediment specific gravity and availability on cluster evolution

The objective of this experimental study was to account for the role of sediment availability and specific gravity on cluster formation and cluster geometric characteristics (spacing and size). To isolate the effects of sediment availability and specific gravity on cluster evolution, mono‐sized spheres were used to simulate the cluster evolutionary cycle. Overall, twelve experimental runs were carried out in the laboratory flume. Six of these tests were performed by using glass spheres (specific gravity, SG = 2·58) and the other six by employing an equal combination of glass and Teflon spheres (SG = 2·12) of the same diameter to evaluate the role of specific gravity on cluster evolution. The three sediment availability conditions that were investigated here simulated isolated gravel elements, pool–riffle sequences and densely packed gravel‐bed. An advanced image analysis technique was employed to track the evolution of cluster microforms and provide quantitative information about the size and shape of clusters and the number of clusters per unit area. The results of this study showed that: (1) sediment availability affects the architecture and size of cluster microforms; and (2) clusters consisting of mono‐sized sediments start disintegrating at twice the incipient conditions. By performing complementary tests for the isolated gravel elements case, it was found that the evolutionary cycle of individual clusters could be described as follows, in order of increasing stress: no cluster→two particle cluster→comet→triangle→rhomboid→break up. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geomechanical Properties of Shear Zones in the Eastern Aar Massif,Switzerland and their Implication on Tunnelling

Summary ¶Rock zones containing a high fracture density and/or soft, low cohesion materials can be highly problematic when encountered during tunnel excavation. For example in the eastern Aar massif of central Switzerland, experiences during the construction of the Gotthard highway tunnel showed that heavily fractured areas within shear zones were responsible for overbreaks in the form of chimneys several metres in height. To understand and estimate the impact of the shear zones on rock mass behaviour, knowledge concerning the rock mass strength and deformation characteristics is fundamental. A series of laboratory triaxial tests, performed on samples from granite- and gneiss-hosted shear zones revealed that with increasing degree of tectonic overprint, sample strength decreases and rock behaviour shows a transition from brittle to ductile deformation. These trends may be explained by increasing fracture densities, increasing foliation intensity, increasing thickness of fine-grained, low cohesion fracture infill, and increasing mica content associated with the increasing degree of tectonic overprint. As fracture density increases and the influence of discrete, persistent discontinuities on rock mass strength decreases, behaviour of the test samples becomes more and more representative of rock mass behaviour, i.e. that of a densely fractured continuum. For the purpose of numerical modeling calculations, the shear zones may be subdivided with respect to an increasing fracture density, foliation intensity and mica content into a strongly foliated zone, a fractured zone and a cohesionless zone, which in turn exhibit brittle, brittle-ductile and ductile rock mass constitutive behaviour, respectively.Received December 17, 2001; accepted January 9, 2003 Published online April 29, 2003     

Are catch-up reefs an artefact of coring?

Drill cores through modern coral reefs commonly show a time lag in reef initiation followed by a phase of rapid accretion to sea level from submerged foundations – the so-called ‘catch-up response’. But because of the difficulty of drilling in these environments, core distribution is usually restricted to accessible areas that may not fully represent reef history, especially if the reef initiated in patches or developed with a prograde or retrograde geometry. As a consequence, core data have the potential to give a misleading impression of reef development, particularly with respect to the timing of initiation and response to sea-level rise. Here, we use computer models to simulate keep-up reef development and, from them, quantify variations in the timing of reef initiation and accretion rate using mock cores taken through the completed simulations. The results demonstrate that cores consistently underestimate the timing of reef initiation and overestimate the reef accretion rate so that, statistically, a core through a keep-up reef will most likely produce a catch-up pattern – an initiation lag followed by a phase of rapid accretion to sea level. This implies that catch-up signatures may be an artefact of coring and that keep-up reefs are significantly more common than previous core studies claim.     

封丘县夏蝗发生与气候条件的关系

利用1980～200l午封丘县夏蝗发生资料和同期该地区气候资料，采用合成分析法，分析了气候条件对夏蝗发生的影响，并找出了一些预测夏蝗发生的定性预报因子。     

对波达波夫和Pride震电波方程组的对比分析

用Biot介质参数说明了波达波夫震电波方程组中弹性动力学 参数的含义，解释了第一类和第二类震电效应的意义，在忽略第一类震电效应条件下将该方 程组与Pride方程组进行比较，说明了二者在描述第二类震电效应方面的异同点. 同时指出 ：波达波夫方程组忽略了流体与固体的耦合质量；方程中的黏性耗散项丢掉了一个孔隙度因 子，依据该方程组计算出的弹性波和转换电场的幅度将偏大；边界条件之一存在错误，会影 响对波在界面上的反射透射规律的描述.     

ω循环型边界条件

通过利用预条件共轭梯度法对对称正定Toeplitz 矩阵系统进行分析，重点介绍了一种新的嵌入式预条件矩阵构造方法，证明了以前的预条件矩阵构造方法大都是这种方法的特例.提出了ω循环型边界条件，并将其与普通循环型及螺旋型边界条件作了分析、比较后得到了一种新的边界条件即混合型边界条件.     

一类热流问题解的存在性

热敏半导体器件中电位与温度满足的方程组，是一个椭圆－抛物耦合组，并带有混合边界条件。利用不动点定理可证明该问题解的存在性。     

徐淮地区冬小麦产量形成的穗粒结构模式

依据数学生态学理论，采用非线性密度制约形式，将主要气象条件的影响以指标形式引入模式参数，设计并研究了冬小麦穗粒结构产量模式，从穗粒结构途径研究了产量形成过程。     

包头市工业资源的生态开发利用与持续发展

本文从生态经济和持续发展的观点出发，论述了包头市工业资源的优势与劣势，指出发展的根本出路在于对工业资源的生态开发和持续发展，对工业资源的生态开发和无围绕太 导产业群本进行，文章分别指出农产品加工业，能源工业，材料工业和机械工业的资源生态开发和问题，并提出其共同的指导性措施。