Finite element formulation and algorithms for unsaturated soils. Part I: Theory

This paper presents a complete finite‐element treatment for unsaturated soil problems. A new formulation of general constitutive equations for unsaturated soils is first presented. In the incremental stress–strain equations, the suction or the pore water pressure is treated as a strain variable instead of a stress variable. The global governing equations are derived in terms of displacement and pore water pressure. The discretized governing equations are then solved using an adaptive time‐stepping scheme which automatically adjusts the time‐step size so that the integration error in the displacements and pore pressures lies close to a specified tolerance. The non‐linearity caused by suction‐dependent plastic yielding, suction‐dependent degree of saturation, and saturation‐dependent permeability is treated in a similar way to the elastoplasticity. An explicit stress integration scheme is used to solve the constitutive stress–strain equations at the Gauss point level. The elastoplastic stiffness matrix in the Euler solution is evaluated using the suction as well as the stresses and hardening parameters at the start of the subincrement, while the elastoplastic matrix in the modified Euler solution is evaluated using the suction at the end of the subincrement. In addition, when applying subincrementation, the same rate is applied to all strain components including the suction. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Reviewed in this article: Marine Resources of Kuwait: Their Role in the Development of Non-oil Resources . Fatimah H. Y. al -Abdul -Razzak Recollections of a Revolution: Geography as Spatial Science . Mark Billinge , Derek Gregory and Ron Martin Entre l'Eden et l'Utopie . Luc Bureau Developments in Political Geography . M. A. Busteed The Elements of Graphing Data . William S. Cleveland Rural Resource Management . Paul J. Cloke and Chris C. Park Third World Atlas . Ben Crow and Alan Thomas Exploitation, Conservation, Preservation: A Geographic Perspective on Natural Resource Use . Susan L. Cutter , Hilary Lambert Renwick, and William H. Renwick . Wine Regions of the Southern Hemisphere . Harm Jan de Blij Regional Development: Problems and Policies in Eastern and Western Europe . George Demko The Geographer at Work . Peter R. Gould Change in the Amazon Basin . John Hemming Geography Since the Second World War . R. J. Johnston and P. Claval Urbanization in China: Town and Countryside in a Developing Economy 1949–2000 A.D. , R. J. R. Kirkby Transport and Communications for Pacific Microstates: Issues in Organisation and Management . Christopher C. Kissling Fluvial Forms and Processes . David Knighton The Urban Millennium . Josef W. Konvitz Technological Transition in Cartography . Mark Stephen Monmonier Field Guide to Soils and the Environment: Applications of Soil Surveys . Gerald W. Olson Northern Australia: The Arenas of Life and Ecosystems on Half a Continent . Don Parkes A Killing Rain: The Global Threat of Acid Rain . Thomas Pawlick From the Family Farm to Agribusiness: The Irrigation Crusade in California and the West, 1850–1931 . Donald J. Pisani Hybrid Maize Diffusion in Kenya . Franz -Michael Rundquist Warning and Response to the Mount St. Helens Eruption . Thomas F. Saarinen and James L. Sell Coastal Geomorphology in Australia . B. G. Thom Tropical Rain Forests of the Far East , 2nd ed . T. C. Whitmore The Dark Side of the Earth . Robert Muir Wood Categorical Data Analysis for Geographers and Environmental Scientists , Neil Wrigley     

Experimental and numerical investigations of stresses in a fully grouted rock bolts

Rock bolts are widely used for rock reinforcement in hard-rock mining and civil engineering since a long time. However the use of fully grouted rock bolts and cable bolts is limited in coal mines. In order to improve performance of the rock bolts as a supplementary roof support system for any type of roof condition in coal measured formations, it is necessary to have a good understanding of the behavior of the bolt–grout and grout–rock interactions as well as the mechanism of load transfer in rock bolts.As the performance of grouted bolts depends on bond strength, extensive laboratory pullout as well as pushout tests were conducted in the present investigations with the variations in the bolt diameters, length and cement–water mixing ratios of grout. The load–displacement curves were developed and were verified with the numerical results obtained from finite element analysis using ALGOR software.Numerical models were validated for pushout tests and a detailed analysis was carried out to know the displacement, stress, strain distribution along the bolt.     

水平分层弹性粘弹性介质的静力响应

本文首先利用传播矩阵法构造出了水平分层弹性介质在表载、体力及内部力源联合作用下的一般模型。然后利用“对应原理”将弹性问题的一般模型推广到粘弹性问题的一般模型——粘弹性分层介质传播矩阵基本方程。最后用粘弹性分层介质传播矩阵方程对一个实际地学问题做了试算,计算结果说明,用传播矩阵法处理粘弹性问题是非常有效的。     

AGRICULTURAL DROUGHT ON SOUTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC ISLANDS *

A pilot study of spatial patterns of agricultural drought hazard in the south-central Pacific is presented. The durations of crop stress periods are estimated using a water balance approach. A rainfall approach is used to identify dry periods corresponding to different durations. Strong correlation between the results of the two methods indicates that monthly rainfall data are sufficient for estimating the patterns of agricultural drought hazard in the region. The simpler rainfall method is particularly useful for high islands where data required for the water balance approach are not sufficient to characterize the complex climatic patterns. Drought hazard is greatest in the eastern and southwestern parts of the study area. Great spatial variation in drought hazard is observed in a small area on the high islands of Western Samoa, where the range of values found within a few tens of kilometers is about the same as the range found across thousands of kilometers for low islands.     

Comparison of the dynamic response of a saturated soil between two models

The dynamic response of marine sediment to ocean surface waves is treated extremely by marine geotechnical and coastal engineers. In the area of conventional hydrodynamics, the assumption of im-permeable rigid seabed has been used as the boundary of water waves theories and the waves parameters de-duced from the theory have not referred to the interac-tion of water waves and seabed. In the area of soil mechanics, many engineers regard the response as slow loading according to the Zienkewiczs[1…     

高煤级煤储层煤层气产能“瓶颈”问题研究

基于山西沁水盆地高煤级煤储层宏观裂隙、显微裂隙的连续观测,孔隙的系统测量,结合应力渗透率、气-水相对渗透率、吸附膨胀等实验成果,分析了高煤级煤储层三级渗流特征,探讨了有效应力和煤基质收缩对高煤级煤储层渗透率的耦合作用,系统揭示了在地面排水降压开发煤层气的过程中,高煤级煤储层初期产气量高,数月后急剧衰减之“瓶颈”现象,找出了造成高煤级煤储层产气缺陷的根本原因。鉴于高煤级煤储层物性的特殊性,指出了高煤级煤储层煤层气开发的技术和措施。     

Comparison of the acid-base responses to CO2 and acidification in Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus)

To investigate whether the biological toxicity of aquatic hypercapnia is due to the direct effects of CO2 or to the effects of acidification of seawater by CO2, the Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) was subjected to seawater equilibrated with a gas mixture of air containing 5% CO2 (pH 6.18) or seawater acidified to the same pH with 1 N H2SO4. All the fish died within 72 h in the CO2 exposure group, whereas no mortality occurred in the acid group. Acid-base parameters as well as plasma ion concentrations were severely perturbed in the CO2 exposure group, whereas they were minimally affected in the acid group. These results clearly demonstrate that the mortality in the CO2 group is a direct result of the elevated levels of dissolved CO2 and not to the effects of the reduced water pH.     

Stress Changes Modelled for the Sequence of Strong Earthquakes in the South Iceland Seismic Zone Since 1706

The South Iceland seismic zone is, roughly speaking, situated between two sections of the mid-Atlantic ridge, i.e., the Reykjanes Ridge southwest of Iceland and the Eastern Volcanic Zone on the island. It is a transform zone, where earthquakes are expected to occur on E-W-trending left-lateral shear faults, equivalent to conjugate, N-S-oriented right-lateral, rupture planes. In fact, earthquakes take place on en-échelon N-S-oriented faults, which is indicated by the distribution of main shock intensities, aftershocks as well as by surface fault traces. The stress field continuously generated in the fault zone by opening of the adjacent ridges is computed and superimposed on the stress field changes induced by a series of 13 earthquakes (M 6) between 1706 and 2000. The level of the pre-seismic stress field is analysed as well as the size of the area under high stress. Finally, the post-seismic stress field of June 2000 is analysed, to see where high stresses might have accumulated. The modelling indicates that the rupture planes located on separated parallel N-S-striking zones are dense enough to lead to an area-wide stress release by the series of events. The obtained pre-seismic stress level for most events is high and stable with the exception of situations when several strong shocks occur over a time span of several days, i.e., display typical main shock-aftershock patterns. The size of areas under high stress aside from of the rupture plane, i.e., where no event occurs at the specific time, is of medium to small size.