Spatial and temporal variations in subsidence due to the natural consolidation and compaction of sediment in the yellow river delta,china

ABSTRACT

The Yellow River Delta, which is the second-largest delta in China, has experienced varying degrees of land subsidence since the late 1970s. Although recent studies have identified the natural consolidation and compaction of sediment among the most important contributors to geologic processes, their processes have rarely been quantified. We estimated the sediment compaction over different time ranges to determine the temporal evolution of subsidence parameters (i.e., cumulative compaction). Estimates of primary consolidation, secondary consolidation, and the degree of consolidation in 152 boreholes revealed the spatial–temporal characteristics of sediment compaction and consolidation using geotechnical parameters collected from 152 boreholes, soil mechanics equations and the Kriging interplolation method. In addition, these estimates were partially constrained and cross-validated using the interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) results from early 2007 to late 2010 which were provided in a previous study. By performing a comparison analysis between theoretical evaluations of compaction for borehole data and InSAR observations, we were able to quantify subsidence due to sediment compaction. The comparison results suggest that the theoretical solutions agreed well with the measurements recorded by the well-validated, advanced InSAR method and that the deviations between the InSAR technique and geotechnical evaluations ranged from ?22 to 3?mm. The results reveal that the land subsidence of the chosen borehole sites during the investigative period was dominated by the primary consolidation and compaction of sediment. The underprediction of subsidence may be explained by fluid withdrawal, oil exploitation and engineering construction. To speculate, more geological disasters may occur if the current subsidence condition extends into the future.     

Seismic centrifuge modelling of earth dams

Three dynamic centrifuge models were tested to obtain data for safety evaluation of the Jen-Yi-Tan Dam in Taiwan subject to a strong earthquake. In these tests, recorded 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake ground motions were modified and used on the electro-hydraulic shaking table mounted on the 400 g-ton centrifuge at the University of Colorado at Boulder. All tests were conducted under centrifugal acceleration of 150 g, and the input acceleration was scaled accordingly in order to simulate the given earthquake. A rigid container and water as pore fluid were used in the tests. In both Models 2 and 3, no sign of soil liquefaction was observed in the tests although a noticeable amount of settlements were found from the earth dam cross-section profile after testing.     

Physical Modeling of Landslide Mechanism in Oblique Thick-Bedded Rock Slope: A Case Study

The Jiweishan landslide illustrates the failure pattern of an apparent dip slide of an oblique thick-bedded rockslide. Centrifugal modeling was performed using a model slope consisting of four sets of joints to investigate the landslide initiation mechanism. Crack strain gauges pasted between the slide blocks and the base failed in sequence from the rear to the front as the centrifugal acceleration increased. When the acceleration reached 16.3g, the instantaneous failure of the key block in the front triggered the apparent dip slide of all blocks. The physical modeling results and previous studies suggest that the strength reduction in the weak layer and the failure of the key block are the main reasons for the Jiweishan landslide. The centrifuge experiment validated the previously proposed driving-blocks–key-block model of apparent dip slide in oblique with inclined bedding rock slopes. In addition, the results from limit equilibrium method and centrifuge test suggest that even though the failure of the key block in the front is instantaneous, a progressive stable–unstable transition exists.     

Spatial variation of cone tip resistance for the clay site at Texas A&M University

The cone tip resistance data available for the clay site at Texas A&M University, USA (one of the National Geotechnical Experimentation Sites) are used to show how the spatial variation of a soil property can be quantified. It is suggested that the first step in quantifying the spatial variation of a soil property should be the identification or selection of the statistically homogeneous soil layers. A new simple procedure is suggested to identify statistically homogeneous layers in a soil profile. Through examples it is shown that the procedure works extremely well in identifying the statistically homogeneous layers. For the chosen statistically homogeneous layers, the spatial variation of cone tip resistance with depth is quantified in terms of a constant mean or a mean trend, variance/standard deviation/coefficient of variation or a variance around the mean trend, and a correlation or variogram function. Correlation distances in the depth direction were found to be between 0.1 and 0.5m for the two soil layers investigated. It was shown that the correlation distance decreases in the presence of a global mean trend for the soil property. In such cases, it is important to note that a part of the correlation is automatically included in the mean trend function.     

A Study of Piles during Earthquakes: Issues of Design and Analysis

The seismic response of pile foundations is a very complex process involving inertial interaction between structure and pile foundation, kinematic interaction between piles and soils, seismically induced pore-water pressures (PWP) and the non-linear response of soils to strong earthquake motions. In contrast, very simple pseudo-static methods are used in engineering practice to determine response parameters for design. These methods neglect several of the factors cited above that can strongly affect pile response. Also soil–pile interaction is modelled using either linear or non-linear springs in a Winkler computational model for pile response. The reliability of this constitutive model has been questioned. In the case of pile groups, the Winkler model for analysis of a single pile is adjusted in various ways by empirical factors to yield a computational model for group response. Can the results of such a simplified analysis be adequate for design in all situations?The lecture will present a critical evaluation of general engineering practice for estimating the response of pile foundations in liquefiable and non-liquefiable soils during earthquakes. The evaluation is part of a major research study on the seismic design of pile foundations sponsored by a Japanese construction company with interests in performance based design and the seismic response of piles in reclaimed land. The evaluation of practice is based on results from field tests, centrifuge tests on model piles and comprehensive non-linear dynamic analyses of pile foundations consisting of both single piles and pile groups. Studies of particular aspects of pile–soil interaction were made. Piles in layered liquefiable soils were analysed in detail as case histories show that these conditions increase the seismic demand on pile foundations. These studies demonstrate the importance of kinematic interaction, usually neglected in simple pseudo-static methods. Recent developments in designing piles to resist lateral spreading of the ground after liquefaction are presented. A comprehensive study of the evaluation of pile cap stiffness coefficients was undertaken and a reliable method of selecting the single value stiffnesses demanded by mainstream commercial structural software was developed. Some other important findings from the study are: the relative effects of inertial and kinematic interactions between foundation and soil on acceleration and displacement spectra of the super-structure; a method for estimating whether inertial interaction is likely to be important or not in a given situation and so when a structure may be treated as a fixed based structure for estimating inertial loads; the occurrence of large kinematic moments when a liquefied layer or naturally occurring soft layer is sandwiched between two hard layers; and the role of rotational stiffness in controlling pile head displacements, especially in liquefiable soils. The lecture concludes with some recommendations for practice that recognize that design, especially preliminary design, will always be based on simplified procedures.     

Stratovolcano stability assessment methods and results from Citlaltépetl,Mexico

Citlaltépetl volcano is the easternmost stratovolcano in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Situated within 110 km of Veracruz, it has experienced two major collapse events and, subsequent to its last collapse, rebuilt a massive, symmetrical summit cone. To enhance hazard mitigation efforts we assess the stability of Citlaltépetl's summit cone, the area thought most likely to fail during a potential massive collapse event. Through geologic mapping, alteration mineralogy, geotechnical studies, and stability modeling we provide important constraints on the likelihood, location, and size of a potential collapse event. The volcano's summit cone is young, highly fractured, and hydrothermally altered. Fractures are most abundant within 5–20-m wide zones defined by multiple parallel to subparallel fractures. Alteration is most pervasive within the fracture systems and includes acid sulfate, advanced argillic, argillic, and silicification ranks. Fractured and altered rocks both have significantly reduced rock strengths, representing likely bounding surfaces for future collapse events. The fracture systems and altered rock masses occur non-uniformly, as an orthogonal set with N–S and E–W trends. Because these surfaces occur non-uniformly, hazards associated with collapse are unevenly distributed about the volcano. Depending on uncertainties in bounding surfaces, but constrained by detailed field studies, potential failure volumes are estimated to range between 0.04–0.5 km³. Stability modeling was used to assess potential edifice failure events. Modeled failure of the outer portion of the cone initially occurs as an "intact block" bounded by steeply dipping joints and outwardly dipping flow contacts. As collapse progresses, more of the inner cone fails and the outer "intact" block transforms into a collection of smaller blocks. Eventually, a steep face develops in the uppermost and central portion of the cone. This modeled failure morphology mimics collapse amphitheaters present at many of the world's stratovolcanoes that have experienced massive failure events.Editorial responsibility: H. Shinohara     

Electric imaging and laboratory resistivity testing for geotechnical investigation of Pusan clay deposits

Large-scale reclamation works for new land development in the Nakdong River plain have been extensively carried out on soft clays. Several geotechnical characteristics of the clays could not be well evaluated, partly due to easy disturbance during drilling and sampling. Consequently, geophysical methods, seen as nondestructive testing tools, have been applied in geotechnical investigation of Pusan clays for the first time. In this study, the 2D electric imaging technique was employed to map the thick soft clay deposits in four reclamation sites. The Pusan clay deposit was very well mapped. Electric resistivity of Pusan clays was measured on over 50 core samples in the laboratory, and then correlated with other geotechnical parameters such as salinity, organic content, water content, plasticity, unit weight and sampling depth. Additionally, electric resistivity of about 20 natural clays collected worldwide was measured and compared to that of the Pusan clays as an initial effort in creating a database of clay electric resistivity to help further application of electric imaging in geotechnical investigation of clayey soils.     

Gelifluction: viscous flow or plastic creep?

This paper reports results from two scaled centrifuge modelling experiments, designed to simulate thaw‐related geli?uction. A planar 12° prototype slope was modelled in each experiment, using the same natural ?ne sandy silt soil. However two different scales were used. In Experiment 1, the model scale was 1/10, tested in the centrifuge at 10 gravities (g) and in Experiment 2, the scale was 1/30, tested at 30 g. Centrifuge scaling laws indicate that the time scaling factor for thaw consolidation between model and prototype is N², where N is the number of gravities under which the model was tested. However, the equivalent time scaling for viscous ?ow is 1/1. If geli?uction is a viscosity‐controlled ?ow process, scaling con?icts will therefore arise during centrifuge modelling of thawing slopes, and rates of displacement will not scale accurately to the prototype. If, however, no such scaling con?icts are observed, we may conclude that geli?uction is not controlled by viscosity, but rather by elasto‐plastic soil deformation in which frictional shear strength depends on effective stress, itself a function of the thaw consolidation process. Models were saturated, consolidated and frozen from the surface downwards on the laboratory ?oor. The frozen models were then placed in the geotechnical centrifuge and thawed from the surface down. Each model was subjected to four freeze–thaw cycles. Soil temperatures and pore water pressures were monitored, and frost heave, thaw settlement and downslope displacements measured. Pore water pressures, displacement rates and displacement pro?les re?ecting accumulated shear strain, were all similar at the two model scales and volumetric soil transport per freeze–thaw cycle, when scaled to prototype, were virtually identical. Displacement rates and pro?les were also similar to those observed in earlier full‐scale laboratory ?oor experiments. It is concluded therefore that the modelled geli?uction was not a time‐dependent viscosity‐controlled ?ow phenomenon, but rather elasto‐plastic in nature. A ?rst approximation ‘?ow’ law is proposed, based on the ‘Cam Clay’ constitutive model for soils. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

扫描电镜在黄土湿陷及花岗岩古风化壳成生机理研究中的应用

本文利用扫描电镜对黄土湿陷变形机理及古风化花岗岩成生环境机理进行了研究, 分析了扫描电镜在工程岩土的变形与强度问题机理研究中的重要作用。