Seismic demands on secondary systems in base‐isolated nuclear power plants

Numerical models of a sample nuclear power plant (NPP) reactor building, both conventionally constructed and equipped with seismic protective systems, are analysed for both safe shutdown and beyond‐design‐basis earthquake shaking at two coastal sites in the United States. Seismic demands on secondary systems are established for the conventional and seismically isolated NPPs. The reductions in secondary‐system acceleration and deformation demands afforded by the isolation systems are identified. Performance spaces are introduced as an alternate method for evaluating demands on secondary systems. The results show that isolation systems greatly reduce both the median and dispersion of seismic demands on secondary systems in NPPs. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tsunami Assessment for Risk Management at Nuclear Power Facilities in Japan

The present study focuses on evaluation of the maximum and minimum water levels caused by tsunamis as risk factors for operation and management at nuclear power facilities along the coastal area of Japan. Tsunamis generated by submarine earthquakes are examined, basing literature reviews and databases of information on historical tsunami events and run-up heights. For simulation of water level along the coast, a numerical calculation system should be designed with computational regions covering a particular site. Also the calculation system should be verified by comparison of historical and calculated tsunami heights. At the beginning of the tsunami assessment, the standard faults, their locations, mechanisms and maximum magnitudes should be carefully estimated by considering historical earthquake-induced tsunamis and seismo-tectonics at each area. Secondly, the range of errors in the model parameters should be considered since earthquakes and tsunamis are natural phenomena that involve natural variability as well as errors in estimating parameters. For these reasons, uncertainty-induced errors should be taken into account in the process of tsunami assessment with parametric study of the tsunami source model. The element tsunamis calculated by the standard fault models with the errors would be given for the design. Then, the design tsunami can be selected among the element tsunamis with the most significant impact, maximum and minimum water levels, on the site, bearing in mind the possible errors in the numerical calculation system. Finally, the design tsunami is verified by comparison with the run-up heights of historical tsunamis, ensuring that the design tsunami is selected as the highest of all historical and possible future tsunamis at the site.     

Power Laws Governing Historical Earthquakes in the Apennine Chain (Southern Italy)

Rank-ordering analysis is applied to the intertimes between seismic events recorded in the Apennine belt between 40–42° N and 14–16° E from the 15th century onwards. It shows a power law capable of governing the intertimes between 1529 and 368 months and another power law which approximates a random simulation, for the intertimes shorter than 368 months. Only the first power law allows the computation of the return period of major events. Earthquakes with the same energy that are aligned according to different power laws imply the presence of two different populations, indicating, in turn, that the physics of seismic phenomena in the region examined is not straightforward, that the stress is probably not unidirectional and that it acts on a non-isotropic medium. The most probable estimated intertime value for the next event is found to be equal to 60 ± 20 years.     

试论构建铀矿地质工作的新格局

党中央、国务院作出调整电力结构,加快核电发展的决定,并对铀矿资源保障形势十分关注。据此,中核集团公司提出“铀资源大基地”战略设想。为实施这一战略,需要构建铀矿地质工作新格局,加强管理和队伍建设,深化改革,使我国铀矿地质事业不断迈向新高潮。     

保证地震前兆数字化设备正常运转的条件和方法

"九·五"期间,陕西省地震局对周至深井进行了数字化改造。该项目于2001年底通过验收,于2002年元月开始投入正式运行。从正式观测至今,周至深井的数字化公用设备一直正常运转,保持着近100%的运行率。笔者认为,保证前兆数字化观测设备正常运转,要有可靠的接地系统,合理的供电系统,高度的工作责任心,较强的工作技能等。     

Drag on non-spherical particles in power law non-Newtonian media

The free settling velocity of cylinders and disks falling in quiescent Newtonian and power law liquids has been measured over wide ranges of experimental conditions of the particle Reynolds number (10^− 5–∼300), power law flow behaviour index (0.31–1) and the length-to-diameter ratio, ∼0.4–∼14. The corresponding range of sphericity is 0.62 to 0.86. An existing drag expression which has been tested extensively for spherical particles falling in Newtonian and in power law fluids has been slightly modified here for non-spherical particles. In particular, the use of this drag expression necessitates a knowledge of an equal volume sphere diameter (to evaluate the Reynolds number and drag coefficient) and the ratio of the surface area to the projected area of a non-spherical particle. With these modifications, the approach outlined here reproduces the present and the literature data for a wide range of non-spherical particles including cones, prisms, needles, cylinders settling in both Newtonian and power law fluids with reasonable levels of accuracy.     

Comparative Study of the 2:3 and 3:4 Resonant Motion with Neptune: An Application of Symplectic Mappings and Low Frequency Analysis

The 2:3 and 3:4 exterior mean motion resonances with Neptune are studied by applying symplectic mapping models. The mappings represent efficiently Poincaré maps for the 3D elliptic restricted three body problem in the neighbourhood of the particular resonances. A large number of trajectories is studied showing the coexistence of regular and chaotic orbits. Generally, chaotic motion depletes the small bodies of the effective resonant region in both the 2:3 and 3:4 resonances. Applying a low frequency spectral analysis of trajectories, we determined the phase space regions that correspond to either regular or chaotic motion. It is found that the phase space of the 3:4 resonant motion is more chaotic than the 2:3 one.     

Heterogeneous growth of cordierite in low P/T Tsukuba metamorphic rocks from central Japan

This paper examines the spatial statistics of matrix minerals and complex patterned cordierite porphyroblasts in the low‐pressure, high‐temperature (low P/T) Tsukuba metamorphic rocks from central Japan, using a density correlation function. The cordierite‐producing reaction is sillimanite + biotite + quartz = K‐feldspar + cordierite + water. The density correlation function shows that quartz is distributed randomly. However, the density correlation functions of biotite, plagioclase and K‐feldspar show that their spatial distributions are clearly affected by the formation of cordierite porphyroblasts. These observations suggest that cordierite growth occurred through a selective growth mechanism: quartz adjacent to cordierite has a tendency to prevent the growth of cordierite, whereas other matrix minerals adjacent to cordierite have a tendency to enhance the growth of cordierite. The density correlation functions of complex patterned cordierite porphyroblasts show power‐law behaviour. A selective growth mechanism alone cannot explain the origin of the power‐law behaviour. Comparison of the morphology and fractal dimension of cordierite with two‐dimensional sections from a three‐dimensional diffusion‐limited aggregation (DLA) suggests that the formation of cordierite porphyroblasts can be modelled as a DLA process. DLA is the simple statistical model for the universal fractal pattern developed in a macroscopic diffusion field. Diffusion‐controlled growth interacting with a random field is essential to the formation of a DLA‐like pattern. The selective growth mechanism will provide a random noise for the growth of cordierite due to random distribution of quartz. Therefore, a selective growth mechanism coupled with diffusion‐controlled growth is proposed to explain the power‐law behaviour of the density correlation function of complex patterned cordierite. The results in this paper suggest that not only the growth kinetics but also the spatial distribution of matrix minerals affect the progress of the metamorphic reaction and pattern formation of metamorphic rocks.     

Power spectrum analysis of the timing noise in 18 southern pulsars

Power spectra of the timing noise observed in 18 southern pulsars have been derived using a novel technique, based on the CLEAN algorithm. Most of the spectra are well described by a single- or double-component power-law model. Some of these spectra can be interpreted in the context of one or more of the current timing noise models. The results combined with those obtained from the time-domain analyses of the timing activity in these pulsars are used to assess the viability of the various theoretical models of pulsar timing noise.     

成矿动力系统在混沌边缘分形生长——一种新的成矿理论与方法论(上)

“成矿动力系统在混沌边缘分形生长”理论是笔者将复杂性理论及非线性科学与矿床地质学相结合 ,对中国扬子古陆周缘六个矿集区的基本范式进行长期系统研究所取得的总结性成果。研究指出 ,成矿系统总体上是开放、远离平衡、时空延展的动力学系统。它们具有复杂性和自组织临界性的内禀基本属性 ,并且在混沌边缘分形生长。该理论以“地质作用与时 空结构是一切地质现象的本质与核心”的自然哲学理念作为根本立足点 ,建立起一种具有普适性的理论框架。然后进一步将其具体化为三大组成部分 ,即 ( 1)矿床的动力学属性 ,( 2 )矿床地质学场 ,( 3 )成矿系统的演化。体现了成矿作用 (其核心为成矿作用动力学 )、空间结构 (矿床地质学场 )和时间结构 (成矿系统的演化 )三位一体的整体耦合与交织 ,从而又使该理论具有包容性。在此基础上进而归纳出“成矿动力系统在混沌边缘分形生长”的 5项判定准则以及表征这些准则的 10项相应的动力学行为特征。最后笔者提出“矿质局部活化导致成矿的发生”的命题 ,拟定了“成矿的发生”的重要科学问题 ,以“元胞非线性网络”(CNN)作为复杂性的范式 ,定量揭示成矿的发生 ,并对矿床在混沌边缘作精确定位 ,对“成矿动力系统在混沌边缘”理论作进一步的延伸、深化与发展。该理论在矿?