Formation of the Shuswap metamorphic core complex during late-orogenic collapse of the Canadian Cordillera: Role of ductile thinning and partial melting of the mid-to lower crust

Abstract

The early Tertiary evolution of the Shuswap metamorphic core complex is characterised by low-angle crustal detachments and nearly isothermal decompression followed by rapid cooling of rocks in the footwall of the detachments. Previous work as well as our own observations suggest that Paleogene late-orogenic extension produced the main tectonic features of the region. Furthermore, structural analysis of the migmatites and published geochronological data indicate that partial melting of the mid- to lower crust was coeval with extension in the upper crustal levels, suggesting that these two processes are linked genetically. Consequently, we propose that the formation of the Shuswap metamorphic core complex corresponds to late-orogenic gravitational collapse of the Canadian Cordillera accommodated by normal faulting of the brittle upper crust and by ductile thinning of the mid- to lower crust. The initiation and amplification of extension during the Paleocene in the Shuswap metamorphic core complex are tentatively related to partial melting of the thickened crust which caused drastic mechanical weakening of the crust.     

Continuous velocity fields for collapse and blowout of a pressurized tunnel face in purely cohesive soil

Face stability analysis of tunnels excavated under pressurized shields is a major issue in real tunnelling projects. Most of the failure mechanisms used for the stability analysis of tunnels in purely cohesive soils were derived from rigid block failure mechanisms that were developed for frictional soils, by imposing a null friction angle. For a purely cohesive soil, this kind of mechanism is quite far from the actual velocity field. This paper aims at proposing two new continuous velocity fields for both collapse and blowout of an air‐pressurized tunnel face. These velocity fields are much more consistent with the actual failures observed in undrained clays. They are based on the normality condition, which states that any plastic deformation in a purely cohesive soil develops without any volume change. The numerical results have shown that the proposed velocity fields significantly improve the best existing bounds for collapse pressures and that their results compare reasonably well with the collapse and blowout pressures provided by a commercial finite difference software, for a much smaller computational cost. A design chart is provided for practical use in geotechnical engineering. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

大宝山矿山采空区地面塌陷地质灾害预测及其防治措施

大宝山矿经过多年的地下开采及民采,形成大量不规则的、规模及空间位置不明的地下采空区群,对其后续采矿活动的矿工人身安全和矿山开采设施造成了极大危害。本文通过对大宝山采空区相关影响因素的研究,介绍了对该矿山采空区地面塌陷地质灾害的预测的基本思路和分析方法,对其有可能发生地面塌陷灾害的地段进行了预测评估,并探讨了相应的综合治理措施。     

河北矾山磷矿采空塌陷、地裂缝和含水层破坏评估与防治

矾山磷矿是华北地区大型磷矿生产矿山,为第四系孔隙水及基岩裂隙水充水矿区。本文在分析地质采矿条件基础上,对采空塌陷、地裂缝地质灾害和含水层破坏的成因进行了分析与评估,并提出了相应的防治措施。     

Compaction of coal wash to optimise its utilisation as water-front reclamation fill

The coal mining industry in and around Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, is responsible for producing an ever growing quantity of coal washery reject materials and other mine waste aggregates. Considerable effort is being undertaken to reuse, beneficially, these waste products in the immediate suburbs of Wollongong. In this paper, detailed laboratory investigations carried out on coal wash (i.e. coarse coal washery reject), produced at Dendrobium coal mine near Wollongong, are presented. Geotechnical tests were conducted to determine the particle size distribution, compaction characteristics, shear resistance and collapse potential. Compaction tests were performed under dry and submerged conditions to examine comprehensively the compactability and the strength properties of coal wash. The laboratory tests show that, if properly compacted, Dendrobium coal wash has a good potential as effective low-porosity fill for embankments and port reclamation.     

Effect of using transient polyaxial failure criterion in wellbore instability analysis

ABSTRACT

Wellbore instability is one of the major challenges facing the drilling industry and it shows itself in the form of wellbore collapse and/or fracture. The major reason for this challenge is the inability of the mud density to balance the weight of the excavated materials. While most drilling operations are carried out through shale formations, the complexities of drilling such wells are increased because of the tendency for shale to react with water-based mud. Moreover, the very low permeability of shale means that time-dependent effects may set in. The convention used to incorporate time-dependent effect is to couple the constitutive stress model and chemical diffusion, but in this study, we considered the effect of incorporating time variable into the rock failure criterion. The choice criterion used is the Mogi-Coulomb rock failure criterion, which was modified to incorporate the time effect. The results indicate that in an open-hole the mud density to prevent wellbore collapse increases with time while that to prevent wellbore fracture decreases, thus making the mud window reduce with time.     

层次分析法在滇西怒江河谷潞江盆地段崩塌与滑坡地质灾害危险性评价中的应用

以外动力地质灾害相对多发的滇西怒江河谷潞江盆地段为研究对象,基于该区的1∶5万地质灾害调查结果,在全面掌握该区崩塌与滑坡分布状况的基础上,利用层次分析法对该区地质灾害危险性程度进行综合分析和评价,获得了该区的崩塌和滑坡危险性评价图。可将该区崩塌和滑坡的危险性划分为稳定、基本稳定、不稳定3个等级的区域,稳定区主要是高黎贡山自然保护区,部分基本稳定和不稳定区域主要分布于人类活动相对频繁的地区。     

苏州小茅山矿山采空区勘查研究与应用

采空塌陷是地下开采矿山主要的地质灾害之一,矿山关闭后采空区土地资源如何开发利用至关重要。以苏州小茅山矿山采空区勘查研究与应用为实例,从采空区的地质环境条件特征分析入手,采用系统搜集资料,实地地质测绘,地球物理勘探验证,综合研究分析评价的"四步骤"方法,对采空区场地土地适宜性进行了评价。     

Seismic loss estimation of non‐ductile reinforced concrete buildings

Non‐ductile reinforced concrete buildings represent a prevalent construction type found in many parts of the world. Due to the seismic vulnerability of such buildings, in areas of high seismic activity non‐ductile reinforced concrete buildings pose a significant threat to the safety of the occupants and damage to such structures can result in large financial losses. This paper introduces advanced analytical models that can be used to simulate the nonlinear dynamic response of these structural systems, including collapse. The state‐of‐the‐art loss simulation procedure developed for new buildings is extended to estimate the expected losses of existing non‐ductile concrete buildings considering their vulnerability to collapse. Three criteria for collapse, namely first component failure, side‐sway collapse, and gravity‐load collapse, are considered in determining the probability of collapse and the assessment of financial losses. A detailed example is presented using a seven‐story non‐ductile reinforced concrete frame building located in the Los Angeles, California. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An efficient method for estimating the collapse risk of structures in seismic regions

Assessing the probability of collapse is a computationally demanding component of performance‐based earthquake engineering. This paper examines various aspects involved in the computation of the mean annual frequency of collapse (λ_c) and proposes an efficient method for estimating the sidesway collapse risk of structures in seismic regions. By deaggregating the mean annual frequency of collapse, it is shown that the mean annual frequency of collapse is typically dominated by earthquake ground motion intensities corresponding to the lower half of the collapse fragility curve. Uncertainty in the collapse fragility curve and mean annual frequency of collapse as a function of the number of ground motions used in calculations is also quantified, and it is shown that using a small number of ground motions can lead to unreliable estimates of a structure's collapse risk. The proposed method is shown to significantly reduce the computational effort and uncertainty in the estimate. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.