Numerical efficiency assessment of energy dissipators for seismic protection of buildings

This paper presents a two-dimensional numerical study on the nonlinear seismic response of buildings equipped with two types of energy dissipators: Constant Friction Slip Braces (CFSB) and Adding Damping and Stiffness (ADAS). Three types of reinforced concrete buildings with 3, 7 and 15 storeys, representatives of the short-medium- and long-period ranges, are considered. Dissipators are placed in steel diagonal braces in all the floors. The sliding threshold (or yielding) forces for each mechanism are selected using two different criteria: (i) they are taken as 50, 75 and 100 per cent of those generated by the equivalent static lateral forces recommended by the UBC-91 for a ductile moment resisting frame and (ii) they are constant in the whole building (this constant value is chosen equal to the maximum forces obtained with the previous criterion). The input consists of ten recorded earthquakes (normalized with respect to their Housner intensity) corresponding to medium and stiff local soil conditions. Average values on the ten registers are given for the maximum horizontal displacement, the base shear, the energy dissipated and the interstorey drift. The possibility of failure in some devices has been numerically simulated to assess the robustness of the system. The obtained results show that both devices are useful to reduce the response compared to the bare frame and that CFSB is more efficient than ADAS; for 7- and 15-storey frames the lateral displacement with CFSB is even smaller than the one for the braced frame (rigid connections instead of dissipators). The conclusions are expected to provide simple design guidelines. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Differences in gravity‐dominated unsaturated flow during autumn rains and snowmelt

Five tracer experiments have been performed in a coarse‐textured soil near the new main airport at Gardermoen, Norway. In two lysimeter walls, 30 and 40 measuring points form the basis for spatial moment calculations. Although experiments were performed under different meteorological conditions (autumn and snowmelt) and at two different sites, the ratios of centres of vertical mass over cumulative infiltration were of the same order of magnitude, indicating a gravity‐dominated flow. Two‐dimensional transport simulations with SUTRA (Voss, 1984), with a priori estimated input parameters and random fields of soil hydraulic properties revealed a relatively good agreement with the experimental results. Three possible sources of heterogeneity affecting the vertical displacement of solute during snowmelt were identified: variability of soil physical properties, soil surface elevations and variability of ground frost during the melting period. To obtain accurate predictions, soil heterogeneity was the most important factor to characterize for the coarse‐textured soil under consideration. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seawall case studies and failure analysis of sloped concrete walls under static and dynamic loads

Concrete seawalls are structures in coastal facilities for shore and slope protections. Owing to several advantages of sloped or inclined walls such as minimum soil disturbance and less required earthworks, they can be considered as an appropriate alternative to vertical cantilever retaining walls. The combination of slab and strip semideep foundation instead of heel–toe slab foundations increases their capability for stability, erosion control, and storm wave energy dissipation. In this paper, three case studies from seawalls in which failure has occurred are presented and discussed. Technical performance of sloped walls against different internal and external instability factors is investigated, and comparisons are made between vertical and sloped (inclined) walls with respect to geotechnical and structural aspects through parametric study. Analysis indicates that the sloped retaining walls perform better from technical, practical, and economical standpoints. It was found that for identical static and dynamic loads, including earthquake and wave loads, inclined walls provide relatively higher safety factors against different criteria and exhibit more stable and practical performance compared with commonly used walls in practice. The case studies in this paper illustrate causes of failure in each case and gives suggestions for improving instability prevention of walls against static and dynamic loads.     

基于改进的参数活动轮廓模型的图像分割方法

参数活动轮廓模型（SNAKE模型）被广泛应用于医学图像分割中。传统的SNAKE模型对初始轮廓非常敏感,必须给定在图像边缘附近,否则容易陷入局部极小而无法收敛到真实轮廓处。提出一种基于距离变换的距离势能模型作为自适应外力,能很好地引导SNAKE逼近真实边界而不依赖于特定的初始轮廓的位置。实验结果表明：该算法快速有效,能在更大的范围内捕捉图像特征,是一种有效的图像分割的算法。     

Chaos and chaotic control in a relative rotation nonlinear dynamical system under parametric excitation

This paper studies the chaotic behaviours of a relative rotation nonlinear dynamical system under parametric excitation and its control. The dynamical equation of relative rotation nonlinear dynamical system under parametric excitation is deduced by using the dissipation Lagrange equation. The criterion of existence of chaos under parametric excitation is given by using the Melnikov theory. The chaotic behaviours are detected by numerical simulations including bifurcation diagrams, Poincaré map and maximal Lyapunov exponent. Furthermore, it implements chaotic control using non-feedback method. It obtains the parameter condition of chaotic control by the Melnikov theory. Numerical simulation results show the consistence with the theoretical analysis. The chaotic motions can be controlled to period-motions by adding an excitation term.     

基于光纤光参量放大的异步双波长全光再生技术研究

本文提出了一种新型的多波长全光再生方案,利用相位时钟光纤光参量放大,并采用相邻信道偏振正交的方法,实现对由异步信源产生的双波长信号全光再生.理论分析了参量放大中的增益饱和现象用于幅度噪声抑制,以及利用相位时钟及后续色散实现对信号定时的机理.在这个基础上,对两个独立信源产生的异步双波长10 Gbit/s信号进行再生实验,实验表明该方案有效的抑制了基于多波长3R再生系统中信道间的四波混频与交叉相位调制等非线性干扰.系统在单波长和双波长情况下分别将两路信号信噪比改善了至少6.5 dB与4.5 dB.误码率测试结     

Peaceful Nuclear Explosions and the Geography of Scientific Authority

From 1957 to 1973, scientists and engineers working under the direction of the United States Atomic Energy Commission and its Livermore laboratory investigated, experimented with, and promoted the idea of ‘peaceful’ uses of nuclear explosives through a program called Project Plowshare. Proponents confidently argued that the ‘geographical engineering’ (as it was called) of harbors, canals, dams, and mountain passes could be accomplished safely, economically, and scientifically by means of nuclear‐blasted excavation. But the nuclear earthmoving explosions also produced large amounts of radioactive fallout, and with it, significant challenges to the program on scientific grounds. This paper examines several moments from the contested career of nuclear earthmoving to show how scientific and technical research under the Plowshare program, developed out of the resources of Cold War American science, was structured by geographical variations in scientific authority.     

A MARITIME RESPONSE TO THE CRISIS IN AREA STUDIES

ABSTRACT. The area-studies model of global scholarship, based on dividing the world into a set number of large, quasi-continental regions, is under assault from a variety of intellectual and institutional forces. New, less rigid models of global scholarship are increasingly being called for by both scholars and funding agencies. One useful alternative, currently being explored at Duke University, reframes area studies around ocean and sea basins. Putting maritime interactions at the center of vision brings to light a set of historical regions that have largely remained invisible on the conventional map of the world.     

塔里木盆地轮台断裂封堵性研究与“雅南Ⅰ号”构造油气预测

根据轮台断裂的构造特征,提出了应用地球物理方法研究轮台断裂封堵性的技术思路和方法。在地震资料精细保幅处理的基础上,对地震资料进行速度反演,利用地震资料和测井资料计算出断层上、下盘附近地层的泥质含量、泥质涂抹量、孔隙度、地层压力等。通过研究并置接触关系、孔隙连通性、压力差异等判别断裂封堵能力,结合地震资料特殊处理并预测雅南１号构造的含油气性     

On the dispersion of two coexisting nongyrotropic ion species

Space observations in the solar wind and simulations of high Mach number bow-shocks have detected particle populations with two coexisting nongyrotropic ion species. We investigate the influence of these two sources of free energy on the stability of parallel (with respect to the ambient magnetic field) and perpendicular propagation. For parallel modes, we derive their dispersion equation in a magnetoplasma with protons and alpha particles that may exhibit stationary nongyrotropy (SNG) and discuss the characteristics of its solutions. Kinetic simulations study the behaviour of perpendicular electrostatic (Bernstein-like) waves in a plasma whose ion populations (positrons and fictitious singly-charged particles with twice the electron mass, for the sake of simulation feasability) can be time-varying nongyrotropic (TNG). The results show that the coexistence of two gyrophase bunched species does not significantly enhance the parallel SNG instability already found for media with only one nongyrotropic species, whereas it strongly intensifies the growth of Bernstein-like modes in TNG plasmas.