Energetic Particles Observed in the CUSP Region During a Storm Recovery Phase

In this paper we report energetic ion behavior and its composition variations observed by the Cluster/RAPID instrument when the spacecraft was travelling in the high latitude magnetospheric boundary region on the day of the 31 March, 2001, strongest magnetic storm in the past 50 years. The Dst index reached −360 nT at about 09:00 UT. During its early recovery phase, large amounts of oxygen and helium ions were observed; the ratio of oxygen to hydrogen in the RAPID energy range reached as high as 250%, which suggests that the observed energetic particles might be of magnetospheric origin. The observations further show that enhanced energetic electron fluxes are confined in a very narrow region, while protons have occupied a larger region, and heavy ions have been observed in an even larger region. The flux of energetic electrons show a slight enhancement in a region where the magnetic field magnitude is around zero. These observed energetic ions could be quasi-trapped by the current sheet in the stagnation region of the cusp.     

The influence of particle composition on thorium scavenging in the NE Atlantic ocean (POMME experiment)

²³⁰Th, ²³²Th and ²³⁴Th were analyzed in sinking particles collected by moored and drifting sediment traps in the NE Atlantic Ocean (POMME experiment) in order to constrain the phase(s) carrying Th isotopes in the water column. It reveals a contrasted behaviour between ²³⁴Th and ²³⁰Th. ²³⁴Th is correlated to the particulate organic carbon suggesting that it is primarily scavenged by organic compounds in the surface waters. ²³⁰Th_xs is correlated with Mn, Ba and the lithogenic fraction that are enriched in small suspended particles and incorporated in the sinking particulate flux throughout the water column. The lack of correlation between ²³⁰Th_xs and CaCO₃ or biogenic silica (bSi) indicates that CaCO₃ and bSi are not responsible for ²³⁰Th scavenging in the deep waters of this oceanic region. ²³⁰Th is generally correlated with the lithogenic content of the trapped material but this correlation disappears in winter during strong atmospheric dust inputs suggesting that lithogenic matter is not directly responsible for ²³⁰Th scavenging in the deep waters or that sufficient time is required to achieve particle–solution equilibration. MnO₂ could be the prevalent ²³⁰Th_xs-bearing phase. The narrow range of K_{d_MnO2}^Th obtained for very contrasted oceanic environments supports a global control of ²³⁰Th_xs scavenging by MnO₂ and raises the possibility that the ²³⁰Th–²³¹Pa fractionation is controlled by the amount of colloidal MnO₂ in seawater.     

High-Altitude CUSP: The Extremely Dynamic Region in Geospace

The high-altitude dayside cusps (both northern and southern) are extremely dynamic regions in geospace. Large diamagnetic cavities with significant fluctuations of the local magnetic field strength have been observed there. These cusp diamagnetic cavities are always there day after day and are as large as 6 R_E Associated with these cavities are charged particles with energies from 20 keV up to 10 MeV. The intensities of the cusp energetic ions have been observed to increase by as much as four orders of the magnitude when compared with regions adjacent to the cusp which includes the magnetosheath. Their seed populations are a mixture of ionospheric and solar wind particles. The measured energetic ion fluxes in the high-altitude cusp are higher than that in both the regions upstream and downstream from the bow shock. Turbulent electric fields with an amplitude of about 10 mV/m are also present in the cusp, and a cusp resonant acceleration mechanism is suggested. The observations indicate that the dayside high-altitude cusp is a key region for transferring the solar wind mass, momentum, and energy into the Earth’s magnetosphere.     

Geochemical characteristics of mineral air particles emitted inside a clay atomisation plant which introduces waste recycling processes

The objective of this work is to assess the concentrations of three factions of air particles (settable particles, TSP and PM10) and the levels of several toxic elements in a clay atomisation industry through aerosol sampling at several points inside an industrial plant. Mechanical activities, which produce diffuse emissions, are the main process of discharge of particles in both indoor and outdoor workplace environments in the atomisation plant. The levels of As, Cd, Pb, Zn, Ba and Ni increase in the zones with higher concentrations of particles and lower ventilation. The concentrations of As and F are not influenced by the recycling processes. The levels of Cd and Pb do not show great enrichment in air particles collected inside the atomisation plant although the content of both elements is associated with ceramic muck recycling. Finally, the content of B in waste water is mainly transferred in gaseous phase to the atmosphere during the process of drying by atomisation.     

Refined modeling and movement characteristics analyses of irregularly shaped particles

Irregularly shaped (IRS) particles widely exist in many engineering and industrial fields. The macro physical and mechanical properties of the particle system are governed by the interaction between the particles in the system. The interaction between IRS particles is more complicated because of their complex geometric shape with extremely irregular and co‐existed concave and convex surfaces. These particles may interlock each other, making the sliding and friction of IRS particles more complex than that of particles with regular shape. In order to study the interaction of IRS particles more efficiently, a refined method of constructing discrete element model based on computed tomography scanning of IRS particles is proposed. Three parameters were introduced to control the accuracy and the number of packing spheres. Subsequently, the inertia tensor of the IRS particle model was optimized. Finally, laboratory and numerical open bottom cylinder tests were carried out to verify the refined modeling method. The influence of particle shape, particle position, and mesoscopic friction coefficient on the interaction of particles was also simulated. It is noteworthy that with the increase of mesoscopic friction coefficient, the fluidity of IRS particle assembly decreases, and intermittent limit equilibrium state may appear. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of Column Diameter on Setting Behavior of Dredged Slurry in Sedimentation Experiments

This article investigates the influence of dimensions of a settling column on the settling mode and the settling rate. End conditions of the settling stage in the hindered settling were also analyzed. It was found that the settling mode in a column with a smaller diameter tends to be consolidation settling. The effect of a settling column wall decreases with increasing column diameter, and it can be ignored provided the column diameter is larger than 14.5 centimeters. For the difference in initial water content, the settling behavior of the slurry develops a different sensitivity to the diameter effect. The influence of column diameter reduces as the initial water content of the slurry becomes higher. It is suggested that the internal diameter of the column used in a sedimentation experiment should be 14.5 centimeters.     

94/220 GHz星载雷达双波长比对非球形冰晶云参数敏感性分析

利用不同形状冰晶的散射特性,获得了非球形冰晶云的94/220 GHz测云雷达双波长比,探讨了非球形冰晶云的双波长比与云内微物理参数的关系,分析了衰减前后的星载雷达反射率因子及双波长比的垂直廓线。结果表明:（1）双波长比可以反映小到0.1 mm中值尺度的冰粒子,对粒子总数、谱的形状参数不敏感,对粒子大小、形状、云衰减较敏感。（2）雷达灵敏度一定时,星载雷达可测云厚与雷达波长、冰含水量（IWC）的垂直分布、云厚及衰减有关;没有进行衰减订正时,双波长比和衰减有关,冰含水量越大,波长越短,衰减越大,双波长比最大值与可探测云厚有关。两部雷达可探测冰含水量为0.001—0.1 g/m3、厚2 km的冰云;当云厚5 km、冰含水量垂直分布在0.001—0.2 g/m3时,云厚的94%基本可以被220 GHz云雷达探测到。（3）如果两部雷达气象方程中用水的介电因子,测量回波强度应进行介电因子的订正后再计算双波长比。      

大型桥梁钢沉井下沉过程局部冲刷研究

钢沉井下沉过程中局部冲刷的研究是同类桥墩设计和施工十分关心的重要课题,它对保证钢沉井安全有效施工、桥梁设计中施工期桥墩最大冲深、失稳和安全计算有重要参考价值。通过室内试验研究了钢沉井下沉过程中的局部冲刷机理和冲刷形态,探讨了桥墩下部钢沉井基础施工的相对高程对局部冲刷的变化规律,并将试验研究所获得的局部冲刷规律和影响因素,采用墩型系数方法引入局部冲刷计算中,给出了计算公式。研究成果补充了国家行业规范内容,对同类工程的设计、施工具有借鉴和指导意义。     

江苏大丰潮滩悬沙级配特征及其动力响应

根据2002和2003年夏季在江苏大丰潮滩的现场观测资料,详细分析了悬沙级配的时空分布特征、影响因素及其对再悬浮、沉降和流速的响应.研究结果表明,悬沙颗粒较细,以粉砂为主,悬沙级配在潮周期内的变化模式有两种类型:一是稳定型,悬沙级配的时空(垂向和平面)变化很小;二是双峰型,悬沙级配的时空变化显著,粗细峰高度不断变化.再悬浮、沉降、涨潮时输入潮滩的悬沙和底质级配是影响悬沙级配的重要因子.再悬浮使粗颗粒悬沙的含量增加,悬沙与底质级配不断接近,沉降对悬沙级配的影响与再悬浮相反.再悬浮发生时悬沙级配对流速有明显响应.在没有再悬浮和沉降影响的情况下,潮滩不同部位、不同时间的悬沙级配趋于稳定和相同,对这种状态下的悬沙级配可称为背景悬沙级配,大丰潮滩背景悬沙级配的平均粒径为7μm.     

青藏铁路填土路基热-力耦合离散元研究

多年冻土是含有冰的特殊土体,在自然环境变化及工程扰动下易发生冻胀融沉变形,严重威胁着青藏高原工程建筑物的安全稳定,特别对青藏铁路的畅通运营提出了严峻挑战.以青藏铁路五道梁地区路基断面为研究对象,采用颗粒离散单元法,通过建立热-力离散元计算模型,对路基的温度场和变形进行了计算和预测.结果表明:离散单元法克服了有限元方法无...