Large capacity multi-float configurations for the wave energy converter M4 using a time-domain linear diffraction model

The moored three-float line absorber WEC M4 has been developed to optimise power capture through experiments and linear diffraction modelling. With the progression down wave from small to medium to large floats, the device heads naturally into the wave direction. The bow and mid floats are rigidly connected by a beam and a beam from the stern float is connected to the hinge point above the mid float for power take off (PTO). Increasing the bow to mid float spacing to be more than 50% greater than the mid to stern float spacing has been found to improve power capture. To increase power capture further and potentially reduce electricity generation cost the number of mid floats and stern floats is increased while maintaining a single bow float for mooring connection. The bow and mid floats still form a rigid body while the stern floats may respond independently. A time domain linear diffraction model based on Cummins method has been applied to configurations of 121, 123, 132, 133, and 134 floats where the numbers indicate the number of floats: bow, mid, stern. This shows how power capture is increased while response remains similar. We only consider uni-directional (long-crested) waves with narrow band width typical of swell. By considering scatter diagrams for various offshore sites capacities may range from 3.7 MW to 17.3 MW for the eight float system with a capacity factor of 1/3 while the cost of electricity assuming capital cost to be a fixed multiple of steel cost is reduced from that for the three-float system.     

Mineral carbon MinC(%) from Rock-Eval analysis as a reliable and cost-effective measurement of carbonate contents in shale source and reservoir rocks

The abundance of carbonate minerals in rocks is an important element for petroleum geochemists, geologists and engineers to consider during hydrocarbon exploration and production. Carbonate minerals can be related to the depositional environments of the source rocks and hence the type of organic matter that can be subsequently modified through diagenetic processes. The total carbonate content in shales can also be used to deduce their fracability as reservoir rock for shale gas/oil extraction. At present, mineralogical analysis by X-ray diffraction (XRD) is the most widely used technique in the oil and gas-related petrophysical and geochemical laboratories for identifying and quantifying carbonate minerals in rock samples. In contrast, the use of the total mineral carbon content parameter MinC (%) from Rock-Eval analysis has been limited despite (1) the parameter's effectiveness as demonstrated through instrument and methodology development; and (2) the presence of a large volume of Rock-Eval results due to its widespread use in the oil and gas industry.In this study, we acquired XRD and Rock-Eval analytical results on over nine hundred rock samples ranging from Ordovician to Cretaceous age from four petroleum sedimentary basins in Canada. Least-squares regression analyses produce empirical equations with R² values greater than 0.92 for the correlations between XRD total carbonate contents and the Rock-Eval MinC (%) values of six different suites of samples. This indicates that the MinC (%) values generated by Rock-Eval 6 and other instruments of similar capability can be used with confidence for estimating the amounts of total carbonates in sedimentary rock samples. While the correlation between the two types of carbonate content measurements is geology-specific, a global linear regression model (R² of 0.97) based on the large combined data set has been proposed for approximating the total carbonate abundances based on Rock-Eval MinC (%) values.     

A new procedure for ground response curve (GRC) in strain-softening surrounding rock

A new procedure for the ground response curve (GRC) is investigated in strain-softening surrounding rock for a circular opening. The procedure started each step with a radius increment and the analytical solutions of stress and strain in each annulus were presented. The plastic region is divided into a finite number of concentric annuli, whose thickness is uniformly determined by a small radius increment. Combining the equilibrium equation and failure criterion, stress for each annulus can be obtained analytically. The displacement for each step can be calculated analytically through solving the differential equation by invoking flow rule and Hooke’s law. The strains for each annulus can be obtained by the strain-displacement relationship. In the successive manner, the distributions of stress and displacement can be found. It should be noted that the finial stress and displacement at radial direction are the internal support pressure and deformation at the excavation surface, respectively. By assuming different plastic radii (using a plastic radius increment), GRC, the evolution curve of plastic radii and internal support pressure can be obtained analytically. Some numerical and engineering examples are performed to demonstrate the validity of the proposed procedure. It is shown that the results of the proposed procedure at the tunnel crown are basically consistent with field measuring data. The influence of the annulus number, plastic radius increment and dilation on the accuracy of the proposed approach is investigated. Results show that the solutions are more accurate and the calculation efficiency is higher.     

基于核函数主分量的维纳滤波方法研究

针对强随机噪声地震资料背景下经典维纳滤波方法在信号的保幅及高维数据空间求解过程中产生病态矩阵的问题,提出利用核函数主分量维纳滤波压制强地震勘探随机噪声.首先利用线性核函数将地震信号映射到特征空间,再通过主分量分析方法提取地震数据主分量进行数据降维,并得到核主分量维纳滤波因子,从而进行核主分量维纳滤波（K-WPC）.正演仿真及对实际地震资料处理表明,该方法对随机噪声有较好的压制作用,保幅效果也令人满意.     

用于弹性波方程数值模拟的有限差分系数确定方法

有限差分方法是波场数值模拟的一个重要方法,交错网格差分格式比规则网格差分格式稳定性更好,但方法本身都存在因网格化而形成的数值频散效应,这会降低波场模拟的精度与分辨率.为了缓解有限差分算子的数值频散效应,精确求解空间偏导数,本文把求解波动方程的线性化方法推广到用于求解弹性波方程交错网格有限差分系数;同时应用最大最小准则作为模拟退火(SA)优化算法求解差分系数的数值频散误差判定标准来求解有限差分系数.通过上述两种方法,分别利用均匀各向同性介质和复杂构造模型进行了数值正演模拟和数值频散分析,并与传统泰勒展开算法、最小二乘算法进行比较,验证了线性化方法和模拟退火方法都能有效压制数值频散,并比较了各个算法的特点.     

蒙自地区蒸发折算系数分析

利用始于1953年的蒙自气候站小型蒸发器和始于1986年的E-601B型蒸发器蒸发量观测资料,计算两种蒸发器蒸发量的折算系数,并与相关分析及线性拟合的结果进行对比分析。结果表明：蒙自站小型蒸发器与E-601B型蒸发器蒸发量的时程分配基本一致,两者之间具有较好的相关关系,线性拟合的线性系数与折算系数较为一致,且检验结果较为接近,推算出该地区两种仪器年蒸发量的折算系数为0.65。研究结果可用于本地区的气候评价、水量平衡分析、水资源调查等。     

Landslides impacting linear infrastructure in west central British Columbia

Destructive landslides are common in west central British Columbia. Landslides include debris flows and slides, earth flows and flowslides, rock falls, slides, and avalanches, and complex landslides involving both rock and soil. Pipelines, hydrotransmission lines, roads, and railways have all been impacted by these landslides, disrupting service to communities. We provide examples of the destructive landslides, their impacts, and the climatic conditions associated with the failures. We also consider future landsliding potential for west central British Columbia under climate change scenarios.     

GIS-based analysis of foundation repairs and soil conditions in the Dallas-Fort Worth region,Texas

The Dallas-Fort Worth region is subject to a severe expansive soils hazard, resulting in costly damage to many thousands of residential foundations each year. A GIS is used to examine relationships between a sample of approximately 10,000 foundation repair addresses and geologic and soil conditions. The study results show that foundation repairs are concentrated in areas underlain by bedrock, surficial deposits and soils that promote high shrink–swell potentials. A linear extensibility index, designed as an index of overall shrink–swell potential explains about 48% of the variation in the prevalence of repairs. Repairs are concentrated on soils that underlay many areas of new urban growth in the DFW region, suggesting that the incidence of foundation repairs in these areas will probably increase in the future. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Estimation of Sill Matrices in the Linear Model of Coregionalization

When using least squares to fit the linear model of coregionalization to multivariate geostatistical data, the sill matrices for the different regions must be estimated, subject to the constraint that they be non-negative definite. In 1992, Goulard and Voltz proposed and empirically examined an iterative algorithm for doing this. Although no proof was given for its convergence or for the uniqueness of the solution to the problem, the algorithm has subsequently been extensively and successfully used. In this paper, we prove that the minimization problem, in fact, has a unique solution and that the algorithm is guaranteed to converge to it from any starting point. We also discuss the effect of the starting point on the speed of convergence.     

Overcoming the problem of locking in linear elasticity and poroelasticity: an heuristic approach

In this paper, we examine heuristically the reasons for locking in poroelasticity. As a first step, we first reexamine the problem of locking in linear elasticity. From this, we discover how the problem arises in the poroelasticity setting and how the problem might be overcome.