Estimation of river discharge from non-trapezoidal open channel using QuickBird-2 satellite imagery/Utilisation des images satellites de Quickbird-2 pour le calcul des débits fluviaux en chenaux ouverts non-trapézoïdaux

Abstract

Abstract River discharge is traditionally acquired by measuring water stage and then converting the water stage to discharge by using a stage–discharge rating curve. The possibility of monitoring river discharge by satellite has not been adequately studied hitherto, because of the difficulty in making sufficiently precise measurements of the water surface. Since the successful launch of commercial satellites with very-high-resolution sensors, it has become possible to derive ground information from satellite data. To determine river discharge in a non-trapezoidal open channel, an efficient approach has been developed that uses mainly satellite data. The method, which focuses on the measurement of surface water width coupled with river width–stage and ?remote? stage–discharge rating curves, was applied to the Yangtze River (Changjiang) and an accurate estimate of river discharge was obtained. The method can be regarded as ancillary to traditional field measurement methods or other remote sensing methods.     

Developing a Web-based flood forecasting system for reservoirs with J2EE / Développement sur Internet avec J2EE d’un système de prévision de crue pour barrages

Abstract

Abstract A flood forecasting system is a crucial component in flood mitigation. For certain important large-scale reservoirs, cooperation and communication among federal, state, and local stakeholders are required when heavy flood events are encountered. The Web-based environment is emerging as a very important development and delivery platform for real-time flood forecasting systems. In this paper, the findings of a case study are presented of the development of a Web-based flood forecasting system for reservoirs using Java 2 platform Enterprise Edition (J2EE). J2EE of Sun Microsystems is chosen as the development solution for the Web-based flood forecasting system, Weblogic 6.0 of BEA as the container provider, and JBuilder 7.0 of Borland as the development tool. One of the key objectives in this project is to establish a collaborative platform for flood forecasting via Web technology in order to render hydrological models and data available to stakeholders and experts involved and thus offer an efficient medium for transferring and sharing information, knowledge and experiences among them. Compared with general Web-based query systems and traditional flood forecasting systems, the Web-based flood forecasting system is more focused on the on-line analysis of model-based forecasting of floods and provides opportunities for improving the transfer of information and knowledge from the hydrological scientists and managers to decision makers. Finally, a prototype system is used to demonstrate the system application.     

A closed form analytical solution for two‐dimensional plane strain consolidation of unsaturated soil stratum

This paper discusses the excess pore‐air and pore‐water pressure dissipations and the average degree of consolidation in the 2D plane strain consolidation of an unsaturated soil stratum using eigenfunction expansion and Laplace transformation techniques. In this study, the application of a constant external loading on a soil surface is assumed to immediately generate uniformly or linearly distributed initial excess pore pressures. The general solutions consisting of eigenfunctions and eigenvalues are first proposed. The Laplace transform is then applied to convert the time variable t in partial differential equations into the Laplace complex argument s. Once the domain is obtained, a simplified set of equations with variable s can be achieved. The final analytical solutions can be computed by taking a Laplace inverse. The proposed equations predict the two‐dimensional consolidation behaviour of an unsaturated soil stratum capturing the uniformly and linearly distributed initial excess pore pressures. This study investigates the effects of isotropic and anisotropic permeability conditions on variations of excess pore pressures and the average degree of consolidation. Additionally, isochrones of excess pore pressures along vertical and horizontal directions are presented. It is found that the initial distribution of pore pressures, varying with depth, results in considerable effects on the pore‐water pressure dissipation rate whilst it has insignificant effects on the excess pore‐air pressure dissipation rate. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stability of earth slopes. Part I: two‐dimensional analysis in closed‐form

A closed‐form solution (CFS) satisfying both equilibrium of moments and forces for the stability analysis of earth slopes in 2D is proposed. The sliding surface is assumed circular and treated as a rigid body, allowing the internal state of stress to be ignored. The proposed solution can be applied to both homogenous and non‐homogenous slopes of either simple or complex geometry, and can also deal with any kind of additional loading. The method is based on the fact that, all possible forces acting on the slope can be projected onto the failure surface where they are broken into driving and resisting ones. Comparison of the safety factors obtained by the proposed CFS and those obtained by traditional limit equilibrium methods, as applied to several test examples, indicates that the proposed method is more conservative, whereas moreover, it gives a more realistic point of view for the formation of tension crack in slopes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Groundwater response to tidal fluctuations in a leaky confined coastal aquifer with a finite length

The study on the hydraulic properties of coastal aquifers has significant implications both in hydrological sciences and environmental engineering. Although many analytical solutions are available, most of them are based on the same basic assumption that assumes aquifers extend landward semi‐infinitely, which does not necessarily reflect the reality. In this study, the general solutions for a leaky confined coastal aquifer have been developed that consider both finitely landward constant‐head and no‐flow boundaries. The newly developed solutions were then used to examine theoretically the joint effects of leakage and aquifer length on hydraulic head fluctuations within the leaky confined aquifer, and the validity of using the simplified solution, which assumes the aquifer is semi‐infinite. The results illustrated that the use of the simplified solution may cause significant errors, depending on joint effects of leakage and aquifer length. A dimensionless characteristic parameter was then proposed as an index for judging the applicability of the simplified solution. In addition, practical application of the general solution for the constant‐head inland boundary was used to characterize the hydraulic properties of a leaky confined aquifer using the data collected from a field site at the Seine River estuary, France, and the versatility of the general solution was further justified.     

Steady flow to a partially penetrating blind‐wall well in a confined aquifer

Wells in aquifers of loose collapsible sediment are cased so that they have a blind wall and gain water only from the bottom. The hydraulic gradient established at the bottom of these wells during pumping brings the aquifer materials in a quicksand state, which may cause abrasion of pipes and pumps and even the destruction of well structure. To examine the quicksand occurrence, an analytical solution for the steady flow to a partially penetrating blind‐wall well in a confined aquifer is developed. The validity of the proposed solution is evaluated numerically. The sensitivity of maximum vertical gradient along the well bottom in response to aquifer and well parameters is examined. The solution is presented in the form of dimensionless‐type curves and equations that can be easily used to design the safe pumping rate and optimum well geometry to protect the well against sand production. The solution incorporates the anisotropy of aquifer materials and can also be used to determine the hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analytical solution for 1D consolidation under haversine cyclic loading

Presented and discussed in this paper is an exact analytical solution of the nonhomogeneous partial differential equation governing the conventional one‐dimensional consolidation under haversine repeated loading. The derived analytical solution to the 1D consolidation equation is compared with the numerical solution of the same consolidation problem via FEM. The series solution takes into account the frequency of repeated loading through a dimensionless time factor T₀. The paper reveals that an increase in the frequency of imposed repeated haversine loading (a decrease in period of repeated loading) causes an increase in the number of cycles required to achieve the steady state, whereas the effect of frequency on the maximum excess pore water pressure at the bottom of a clay layer with permeable top and impermeable bottom for the range of frequencies studied is generally insignificant. The effective stress at the bottom of the clay deposit with permeable top and impermeable bottom increases with time but with some fluctuations without changing the sign. These fluctuations become more pronounced for increasing values of T₀. An increase in T₀ also causes an increase in maximum effective stress. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

2006年9月秭归泄滩极微震群初步研究

2006年 9月17～22日在秭归泄滩镇西侧发生了一次极微震群活动,其中最大地震为9月20日21时10分 ML1.8级.分析结果表明:本次震群的震中主要集中于泄滩镇老石门村至老泄滩一线,震源深度为海平面以上0.5 km范围内,为正倾滑机制解;该震群频谱最佳频率主要集中在2 Hz左右,初步推断该震群为地表层重力作用下矿塌型地震并伴有几次浅层微滑坡.     

Upper bound limit analysis of uplift failure in pressurized sealed rock tunnels

The rock around tunnels used for gas storage is subject to high pressures, reaching 30 MPa in the case of compressed air energy storage. Uplift failure of the overlaying rock mass up to the surface represents the main hazard scenario in such cases. The present paper investigates this problem by using the upper bound theorem of limit analysis assuming a continuum rock mass model obeying the Mohr Coulomb failure criterion with tension cut‐off. Tools of the calculus of variations are used to assess the geometry of the failure surface. The effects of geometrical and geotechnical parameters on uplift pressure are analyzed systematically. Charts are then provided, which enable a quick estimation of the upper bound of uplift pressure across a wide range of geotechnical and geometrical conditions.     

Analytical model for fully three‐dimensional radial dispersion in a finite‐thickness aquifer

Analytical solutions for contaminant transport in a non‐uniform flow filed are very difficult and relatively rare in subsurface hydrology. The difficulty is because of the fact that velocity vector in the non‐uniform flow field is space‐dependent rather than constant. In this study, an analytical model is presented for describing the three‐dimensional contaminant transport from an area source in a radial flow field which is a simplest case of the non‐uniform flow. The development of the analytical model is achieved by coupling the power series technique, the Laplace transform and the two finite Fourier cosine transform. The developed analytical model is examined by comparing with the Laplace transform finite difference (LTFD) solution. Excellent agreements between the developed analytical model and the numerical model certificate the accuracy of the developed model. The developed model can evaluate solution for Peclet number up to 100. Moreover, the mathematical behaviours of the developed solution are also studied. More specifically, a hypothetical convergent flow tracer test is considered as an illustrative example to demonstrate the three‐dimensional concentration distribution in a radial flow field. The developed model can serve as benchmark to check the more comprehensive three‐dimensional numerical solutions describing non‐uniform flow contaminant transport. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.