Finite element formulation and algorithms for unsaturated soils. Part II: Verification and application

The finite‐element formulation and integration algorithms developed in Part I are used to analyse a number of practical problems involving unsaturated and saturated soils. The formulation and algorithms perform well for all the cases analysed, with the robustness of the latter being largely insensitive to user‐defined parameters such as the number of coarse time steps and error control tolerances. The efficiency of the algorithms, as measured by the CPU time consumed, does not depend on the number of coarse time steps, but may be influenced by the error control tolerances. Based on the analyses presented here, typical values for the error control tolerances are suggested. It is also shown that the constitutive modelling framework presented in Part I can, by adjusting one constitutive equation and one or two material parameters, be used to simulate soils that expand or collapse upon wetting. Treating the suction as a strain variable instead of a stress variable proves to be an efficient and robust way of solving suction‐dependent plastic yielding. Moreover, the concept of the constitutive stress is a particularly convenient way of handling the transition between saturation and unsaturation. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biological and granulometric controls on sedimentary organic matter of an intertidal mudflat

A variety of measures of organic matter concentration and quality were made on samples collected from the top few mm of intertidal mudflat sediment over the course of a year, in order to assess the relative importance of biological and sedimentological influences on sedimentary organic matter. Winter and summer were times of relatively fine-grained sediment accumulation, caused by biological deposition or stabilization processes and resulting in higher organic matter concentrations. Stable carbon isotope and Br:C ratios indicated a planktonic source of bulk organic matter. Ratios of organic carbon to specific surface area of the sediments were consistent with an organic monolayer coverage of sediment grains. Correction for changing grain size during the year showed no change in the organic concentration per unit surface area, in spite of organic matter inputs by in situ primary production, buildup of heterotroph biomass and mucus coatings, and biodeposition of organic-rich seston. There were also no indications of changes in bulk organic quality, measured as hydrolyzable carbohydrates and amino acids, in response to these biological processes. It is concluded that biological processes on a seasonal time scale affect the bulk organic matter of these sediments via a modulation of grain size rather than creation or decay of organic matter.     

多孔介质非饱和导水率预测的分形模型

多孔介质非饱和导水率是地下水污染预测与评价的重要参数。根据分形几何的基本原理和方法,推导出了与Campbell经验公式在形式上完全一致的多孔介质非饱和导水率的预测公式。公式中的幂指数为介质孔隙分维和随机行走分维的函数,分别体现了多孔介质的静态性质与动态性质对其中水分运动的影响,但静态性质的影响是主要的,即导水率主要受多孔介质的结构控制。根据文献中报道的大量数据,利用笔者推导的预测公式计算得到的幂指数的统计值与试验测定的幂指数的统计值基本一致,说明推导的理论公式预测多孔介质非饱和导水率是较为可靠的。     

微气候能量分析法在岩土工程分析中的应用

随气候条件而变化的边界条件的确定是岩土工程中非饱和土数值分析的一个难题。介绍了农业学中的土与大气相互作用分析中的一些应用较为广泛的方法,并采用空气动力学法和微气候能量平衡法相结合的方法确定土-气界面的边界状态,分析了法国鲁昂试验路堤的路堤填土与大气在2005年1月的能量交换,以及在此期间填土内的温度、含水率和吸力的变化,并与实测结果进行了对比。结果表明,农业学中所采用的能量平衡以及能量计算方法可以有效地应用于岩土工程非饱和土的数值分析中,解决随气候而变化的边界条件的确定问题。     

非饱和土三轴压缩应力路径试验的数值模拟研究

应力路径对土的强度和变形性质具有重要影响。相对于饱和土而言,控制吸力条件下的非饱和土三轴压缩状态的应力路径研究更加复杂。随着非饱和土本构理论的不断发展,理论和试验研究结果表明,非饱和土弹塑性本构模型可以用来近似地描述非饱和土的强度和变形性质。因而,运用非饱和土弹塑性本构模型对控制吸力条件下的3种非饱和土三轴压缩应力路径试验进行数值模拟是一种有效的理论研究手段。采用Barcelona模型能够对此类试验进行较好的数值模拟,其研究结果表明,在控制吸力条件的三轴压缩状态下应力路径对非饱和土的强度和变形性质具有重要影响。     

Anti-inflammatory and Immunomodulatory Effects of Marine n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids on Human Health and Diseases

The pharmaceutical effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids(n-3 PUFAs) as dietary nutrients on human health and diseases have gained much attention and are investigated for decades. Docosahexaenoic acid(DHA), eicosapentaenoic acid(EPA) and docosapentaenoic acid(DPA) are the three major n-3 PUFAs enriched in marine organisms, such as fish, shrimp, algae, and so on. It has been well known that n-3 PUFAs, especially DHA and EPA, are beneficial in reducing the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Accumulating evidence suggests that n-3 PUFAs might cure inflammatory diseases through several mechanisms, such as plasma membrane remodeling of lymphocytes, down-regulating pro-inflammatory cytokines, and alternating adhesion molecule expressions. Several molecular targets of n-3 PUFAs on immune-regulation have also been identified, such as GPR120(FFA4), protein kinase C(PKC), and PPAR-γ. However, it remains inconclusive if dietary n-3 PUFAs function the same both in vitro and in vivo based on cohort studies. This review will focus on the molecular targets and mechanisms of anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of n-3 PUFAs on human health and diseases, such as obesity, tumor, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases.     

原状非饱和黄土的三轴试验研究

利用特制的非饱和土三轴仪器,对不同含水量条件下原状非饱和黄土的强度和土-水特征曲线进行了试验研究。试验结果表明：非饱和黄土的抗剪强度随着含水量的不同而不同,含水量越大,非饱和黄土的基质吸力就越小,抗剪强度亦越小。含水量趋于饱和时,非饱和黄土的抗剪强度值逐渐接近于饱和黄土的强度值。原状非饱和黄土的抗剪强度均高于饱和黄土的抗剪强度。非饱和黄土的内摩擦角受含水量的影响不大。凝聚力受含水量的影响很大,含水率越大,基质吸力越小,总凝聚力越小。根据实验结果,提出了非饱和土的抗剪强度模型,该模型易于确定,与实测基本吻合,误差较小,满足非饱和黄土的强度计算要求。     

A Numerical Simulation Study of Temperature and Pressure Effects on the Breakthrough Pressure of CO2 in Unsaturated Low-permeability Rock Core

Gas breakthrough pressure is a key parameter to evaluate the sealing capacity of caprock, and it also plays important roles in safety and capacity of CO2 geological storage. Based on the published experimental results, we present numerical simulations on CO2 breakthrough pressure in unsaturated low-permeability rock under 9 multiple P-T conditions (which can keep CO2 in gaseous, liquid and supercritical states) and thus, a numerical method which can be used to accurately predict CO2 breakthrough pressure on rock-core scale is proposed. The simulation results show that CO2 breakthrough pressure and breakthrough time are exponential correlated with P-T conditions. Meanwhile, pressure has stronger effects on experimental results than that of temperature. Moreover, we performed sensitivity studies on the pore distribution index λ (0.6, 0.7, 0.8, and 0.9) in van Genuchten-Muale model. Results show that with the increase of λ, CO2 breakthrough pressure and breakthrough time both show decreasing trends. In other words, the larger the value of λ is, the better the permeability of the caprock is, and the worse the CO2 sealing capacity is. The numerical method established in this study can provide an important reference for the prediction of gas breakthrough pressure on rock-core scale and for related numerical studies.     

非饱和土中剪切S波的传播特性分析

基于对非饱和多孔介质的研究成果,考虑孔隙中的液相和气相的相互影响,研究非饱和土地基中剪切S波的传播特性。通过非饱和土中固相、液相和气相的质量平衡方程、动量平衡方程和非饱和土有效应力原理,建立问题的弹性波动方程,经过理论推导给出非饱和土中剪切S波的弥散特征方程。通过数值算例分析剪切S波的波速和衰减系数随饱和度、频率和固有渗透系数等因素的变化规律。结果表明,剪切S波的波速几乎不受饱和度的影响,但其随着频率的增大而减小,随着固有渗透系数的增大先不变后增大;剪切S波的衰减系数随着饱和度和频率的增加均增大,而随着固有渗透系数的增大先不变后增大最后减小。     

Extreme rainfall characteristics for surface slope stability in the Malaysian Peninsular

This paper discusses the results of an investigation on the influence of rainfall intensity and duration on the suction distribution within a soil mass. A series of numerical analyses were conducted on an infinite slope model to simulate the responses of the slope consisting of typical soil types to various rainfall intensities and durations from selected locations in the Malaysian Peninsular. The study showed that the critical duration was governed by three major factors: the saturated permeability of the soil, the geographical location, and the depth of the slip plane. The critical rainfall duration for highly permeable soil was 1 day, while 30 days of antecedent rainfall were required for the stability analysis of a slope made of soil with low saturated permeability. The critical duration of antecedent rainfall in soils with intermediate saturated permeability was found to vary with the rainfall pattern. A chart is proposed to determine the critical duration, critical intensity and critical suction for each type of soil.