Structural monitoring of offshore platforms using impulse and relaxation response

Monitoring offshore platforms, long span bridges, high rise buildings, TV towers and other similar structures is essential for ensuring their safety in service. Continuous monitoring assumes even greater significance in the case of offshore platforms, which are highly susceptible to damage due to the corrosive environment and the continuous action of waves. Also, since a major part of the structure is under water and covered by marine growth, even a trained diver cannot easily detect damage in the structure. In the present work, vibration criterion is adopted for structural monitoring of jacket platforms. Artificial excitation of these structures is not always practicable and ambient excitation due to wind and waves may not be sufficient for collecting the required vibration data. Alternate methods can be adopted for the same purpose, for example, the application of an impact or a sudden relaxation of an applied force for exciting the structure. For jacket platforms, impact can be applied by gently pushing the structure at the fender while relaxation can be accomplished by pulling the structure and then suddenly releasing it using a tug or a supply vessel in both cases. The present study is an experimental investigation on a laboratory model of a jacket platform, for exploring the feasibility of adapting vibration responses due to impulse and relaxation, for structural monitoring. Effects of damage in six members of the platform as well as changes in deck masses were studied. A finite element model of the structure was used to analyze all the cases for comparison of the results as well as system identification. A data acquisition and analysis procedure for obtaining the response signatures of the platform due to the impulse and relaxation procedure was also developed for possible adoption in on-line monitoring of offshore platforms. From the study, it has been concluded that both impulse and relaxation responses are useful tools for monitoring offshore jacket platforms. The present work forms the basis for the development of an automated, on-line monitoring system for offshore platforms, using neural networks.     

渭河下游河道调整过程中的复杂响应现象

应用系统复杂响应的原理研究三门峡水库上游渭河河道调整过程,表明上游河道河床形态对基面上升所作出的响应是复杂的,弯曲系数的变化为先减小而后增大,宽深比的变化是先增大后减小,比降由先减小而后增大,最后均趋于稳定.     

旧路改建高速公路中地基强夯效应测试与工艺参数分析

旧路改建高速公路遇到的最主要的问题是地基的不均匀沉降。数值分析表明,对新的天然地基进行处理是解决这一问题的关键。强夯是加固地基的一种有效措施,为了对强夯工艺参数进行优化研究,对夯锤冲击地面过程中产生的动孔隙水压力、动土应力以及夯后超静孔隙水压力的消散过程进行了跟踪测试与分析。结果表明,对以风化料为主的地基,最大夯击数不宜超过4击,而且铺底夯完成2d后就可进行满夯。     

Application of Spectral Decomposition to Detection of Fracture-Cavity Carbonate Reservoir Beds in the Tahe Oiifieid, Tarim Basin, NW China

Ordovician fracture-cavity carbonate reservoir beds are the major type of producing formations in the Tahe oilfield, Tarim Basin. The seismic responses of these beds clearly changes depending on the different distance of the fracture-cavity reservoir bed from the top of the section. The seismic reflection becomes weak or is absent when the fracture-cavity reservoir beds are less than 20 ms below the top Ordovician. The effect on top Ordovician reflection became weaker with deeper burial of fracture-cavity reservoir beds but the developed deep fracture-cavity reservoir beds caused stronger reflection in the interior of the Ordovician. This interior reflection can be divided into strong long-axis, irregular and bead string reflections, and was present 80 ms below the top Ordovician. Aimed at understanding reflection characteristics, the spectral decomposition technique, which uses frequency to ＂tune-in＂ bed thickness, was used to predict Ordovician fracture-cavity carbonate formations in the Tahe oilfield. Through finely adjusting the processing parameters of spectral decomposition, it was found that the slice at 30 Hz of the tuned data cube can best represent reservoir bed development. Two large N-S-trending strong reflection belts in the mid-western part of the study area along wells TK440- TK427-TK417B and in the eastern part along wells TK404-TK409 were observed distinctly on the 30 Hz slice and 4-D time-frequency data cube carving. A small N-S trending reflection belt in the southern part along wells T403-TK446B was also clearly identified. The predicted reservoir bed development area coincides with the fracture-cavities connection area confirmed by drilling pressure testing results. Deep karst cavities occur basically in three reservoir bed-development belts identified by the Ordovician interior strong reflection. Spectral decomposition proved to be a useful technique in identifying fracture-cavity reservoir beds.     

Time-dependent stress change during failure of rocks

The energy balance of a solid subject to fracture has been explored using heat and mass transfer equations with regard to the volumetric and superficial components. In the suggested model, brittle fracture of a cracked solid considered as a heterogeneous two-phase medium is described by an equation analogous to the Griffith’s criterion for propagation of a single crack. The derived equation is used, together with estimates of relative change in specific interface area, to study the respective change of free strain energy and pressure in rocks associated with failure.     

西藏札达盆地控盆断裂有限元数值模拟

札达盆地是喜马拉雅构造带中的一个山间断陷盆地,其演化过程与盆地两侧的控盆构造密切相关。对控盆断裂的构造应力场进行模拟计算,将有助于进一步深化对本区构造控盆的认识。因此,在对盆地构造地质进行详细调查的基础上,结合本区的深部地质与地球物理资料,对札达盆地控盆断裂的构造应力场进行了模拟。计算结果表明,札达盆地的演化明显受盆地两侧边界断裂的控制,札达盆地是在整体南北向挤压应力的作用下,不同块体差异隆升作用的结果。其南侧的控盆断裂为北倾的正断层,北侧的控盆断裂为南倾的逆断层,二者共同形成了南降北升的翘板式断陷盆地运动过程,是喜马拉雅地块在陆内汇聚挤压构造环境中构造应力场调整的一种方式。     

Characterizing heterogeneous permeable media with spatial statistics and tracer data using sequential simulated annealing

Characterizing heterogeneous permeable media using flow and transport data typically requires solution of an inverse problem. Such inverse problems are intensive computationally and may involve iterative procedures requiring many forward simulations of the flow and transport problem. Previous attempts have been limited mostly to flow data such as pressure transient (interference) tests using multiple observation wells. This paper discusses an approach to generating stochastic permeability fields conditioned to geologic data in the form of a vertical variogram derived from cores and logs as well as fluid flow and transport data, such as tracer concentration history, by sequential application of simulated annealing (SA). Thus, the method incorporates elements of geostatistics within the framework of inverse modeling. For tracer-transport calculations, we have used a semianalytic transit-time algorithm which is fast, accurate, and free of numerical dispersion. For steady velocity fields, we introduce a transit-time function which demonstrates the relative importance of data from different sources. The approach is illustrated by application to a set of spatial permeability measurements and tracer data from an experiment in the Antolini Sandstone, an eolian outcrop from northern Arizona. The results clearly reveal the importance of tracer data in reproducing the correlated features (channels) of the permeability field and the scale effects of heterogeneity.     

On the physical model of earthquake precursor fields and the mechanism of precursors＇timespace distribution──origin and evidences of the strong body earthquake──generating model

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中国三个大地震的震源参数及讨论

大地震的震源机制及地震矩、应力降等参数,不(又对认识地震的破裂过程,而且对预报强地面运动都是非常重要的。一些文章对板内地震应力降的特点、地震矩与高频源谱的关系及区域特征的讨论,使我们可直接由长周期体波或面波得出的地震矩M₀估计出不同地区中大地震的高频源谱,以供强地面运动预报参考。 由于对发生在中国板内的1976年11月6日盐源地震（M_s=6.5）和1976年11月15日宁河地震（M_s=6.3）的震源参数还没有详尽的报道;另外,对1973年7月14日     

Large eddy simulation of hydrocyclone—prediction of air-core diameter and shape

Hydrocyclones are widely used in the mining and chemical industries. An attempt has been made in this study, to develop a CFD (computational fluid dynamics) model, which is capable of predicting the flow patterns inside the hydrocyclone, including accurate prediction of flow split as well as the size of the air-core. The flow velocities and air-core diameters are predicted by DRSM (differential Reynolds stress model) and LES (large eddy simulations) models were compared to experimental results. The predicted water splits and air-core diameter with LES and RSM turbulence models along with VOF (volume of fluid) model for the air phase, through the outlets for various inlet pressures were also analyzed. The LES turbulence model led to an improved turbulence field prediction and thereby to more accurate prediction of pressure and velocity fields. This improvement was distinctive for the axial profile of pressure, indicating that air-core development is principally a transport effect rather than a pressure effect.