Die neue EG‐Wasserrahmenrichtlinie: Bewertung der chemischen und ökologischen Qualität von Oberflächengewässern

The New EC Framework Water Directive: Assessment of the Chemical and Ecological Status of Surface Waters The main objective of the draft EC Framework Water Directive is the good quality of all surface waters. The directive provides for an assessment of the chemical status of surface waters (EU‐wide valid environmental quality standards for approximately 30 priority substances) and a five‐stage ecological classification of waters, comprising the stages high, good, moderate, poor, and bad. The starting point for the assessment are the reference conditions, which are defined as corresponding to high water quality and characterising a water status with no significant anthropogenic impact. The reference sites in the various water body types are to be selected using hydromorphological and physico‐chemical parameters and subsequently characterised by means of biological parameters. For surface waters, three groups of characteristics are provided for, namely: 1. with priority the biology – in the case of surface waters – with the four elements phytoplankton, macrophytes/phytobenthos, benthic invertebrate fauna, and fish fauna; 2. supporting the hydromorphology, e.g. flowing waters with the three elements hydrological regime, river continuity, and morphological conditions and 3. supporting the physico‐chemical conditions with the three elements general conditions, specific synthetic pollutants, and specific non synthetic pollutants (other than the priority substances of the chemical status).     

Non‐linear seismic response of arch dams with contraction joint opening and joint reinforcements

A comprehensive study of non‐linear seismic response of arch dams with contraction joint opening and joint reinforcements has been conducted. A numerical model of contraction joint reinforcements is presented for optimization control of the joint opening. The objective of this control is to reduce the joint opening and expectantly to balance the sustained loads between the horizontal and the vertical components of the dam, thus avoiding an overstress in the cantilever while retaining the release of arch tensile stresses to some extent. Several parameter studies such as critical element size and required number of joints to be simulated for convergence are also performed. As an engineering application, a 292‐m high arch dam (the Xiaowan arch dam) and the Big Tujunga dam are analysed in detail. The results demonstrate that the joint opening and the corresponding load transfer from the arch to cantilever components of the dam during strong earthquakes are substantial. It is also evident that by providing sufficient strength and reinforcement flexibility, the joint opening can be controlled to some extent. However, the stress redistribution due to reinforcement control is not sufficient to avoid the overstress in the cantilever for the Xiaowan arch dam. Thus, alternative measures are discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modeling of an actively braced full‐scale building considering control–structure interaction

Recently, the application of active control to seismic‐excited buildings has attracted international attention. To demonstrate the practical applicability of active control, we have conducted experimental tests using a full‐scale three‐storey building equipped with active bracing systems on the shake table at the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE), Taiwan. Experimental results indicate that the control–structure interaction (CSI) effect is significant. A state‐space analytical model of this actively controlled building taking into account the CSI effect is established in this paper using a system identification technique based on curve‐fitting of transfer functions. To verify the accuracy of the analytical model for simulating the controlled response, four sets of linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) controllers using acceleration feedback are designed and further experimental tests are conducted for comparison. It is demonstrated that the correlations between the simulation and experimental results are remarkable. The construction of an accurate analytical model is important for active control, and such an analytical model can be used for future benchmark studies of different control algorithms based on numerical simulations. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Establishing absorbed energy spectra—an attenuation approach

For energy‐based seismic design, energy demand in the form of absorbed energy spectra was established by an attenuation relationship. The absorbed energy is proposed for evaluating the energy demand in an inelastic system because the absorbed energy is directly related to the pseudo‐velocity in the elastic case. Based on a total of 273 ground motion records from 15 significant earthquakes in California, an attenuation relationship of the absorbed energy was established from a two‐stage non‐linear regression analysis. This relationship was established for a given earthquake magnitude, source‐to‐site distance, site class, and ductility factor. A similar expression for the normalized absorbed energy was also developed. This study showed that the absorbed energy for near‐field ground motions can be significantly larger than that predicted by the attenuation relationship for normal ground motions. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A superposition scheme to obtain fundamental boundary element solutions in multi‐layered elastic media

A superposition scheme is proposed to obtain a fundamental solution for boundary elements in multi‐layered elastic media. A three‐layered elastic region is obtained by superposing two sets of bonded half‐planes and subtracting one infinite plane. Therefore, the solution for an element in a layered media can be expressed in terms of bonded half‐plane solutions and an infinite‐plane solution. The major advantages of this superposition scheme are: (1) it is unnecessary to introduce elements at the interface, (2) it can be extended to higher‐order element, and (3) it may be applicable to three dimensions easily. The accuracy and performance of the developed model is illustrated by two examples. For the problem of a pressurized two‐dimensional crack within a three‐layered system, the comparison with other numerical results shows the model is quite accurate and efficient. The model is also used for a study of a practical two‐dimensional mining problem in South Africa, i.e. stoping through a dyke with material properties different from the host rock. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

General elastic analysis of piles and pile groups

This paper describes the development of a boundary element analysis for the behaviour of single piles and pile groups subjected to general three‐dimensional loading and to vertical and lateral ground movements. Each pile is discretized into a series of cylindrical elements, each of which is divided into several sub‐elements. Compatibility of vertical, lateral and rotational movements is imposed in order to obtain the necessary equations for the pile response. Via hierarchical structures, 12 non‐zero sub‐matrices in a global matrix are derived for the basic influence factors. Solutions are presented for a series of cases involving single piles and pile groups. In each case, the solutions are compared with those from more simplified existing pile analyses such as those developed by Randolph and by Poulos. It is shown that for direct loading effects (e.g. the settlement of piles due to vertical loading), the simplified analyses work well. However, for ‘off‐line’ response (such as the lateral movement due to vertical loading) the differences are greater, and it is believed that the present analysis gives more reliable estimates. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interaction between a circular opening and fractures originating from its boundary in a piecewise homogeneous plane

The complex variables boundary element method (CVBEM) is used to study interaction between a circular opening and fractures originating from its boundary in a piecewise homogeneous plane. A new complex hypersingular equation for piecewise homogeneous media with a circular opening is obtained. The equation is solved using the CVBEM technique with circular and straight boundary elements and polynomial approximations (with square root asymptotics for crack tip elements) for the unknown functions. The algorithm is verified through comparison with known semi‐analytical and numerical solutions that involve interaction between a circular opening and specific systems of cracks or other openings. New numerical results concerning the interaction of the circular opening with the cracks and circular inclusions are presented. The method is applied to an important problem in the petroleum industry: modelling propagation of hydraulic fractures in the vicinity of a borehole. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of wind effects on a supertall building based on full‐scale measurements

This paper describes the results obtained from the full‐scale measurements of wind effects on a 70‐storey building in Hong Kong. The building which has a height of approximately 370 m is the second tallest structure in Hong Kong. The field data such as wind speed, wind direction and wind‐induced acceleration responses have been measured since 1995 including the close passage of two typhoons; typhoon Sally and typhoon Kent. Detailed analysis of the field data is conducted. The full‐scale measurements are compared with the wind tunnel results obtained in the Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Laboratory at Western Ontario University. The amplitude‐dependent characteristics of damping and natural frequency that were obtained by using the random decrement technique are investigated. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

ROSAT HRI observations of P Cyg and surrounding area

We present a detailed analysis of deep ROSAT HRI observations of the luminous blue variable P Cyg and its surrounding radio nebula. The HRI image provides a point source at the position of P Cyg. However, we show that this emission can be attributed to the ultraviolet leak of the ROSAT HRI. The X‐ray flux upper limit derived from the HRI data of this star is discussed in the context of X‐ray emission from hot stars. Furthermore, we present a search for diffuse X‐ray emission possibly associated with the radio nebula surrounding P Cyg. We compare our results to model predictions and X‐ray fluxes observed for shells around other hot stars. Additionally, we detect 10 X‐ray sources in the field of view. All but one of these X‐ray emitters have stellar counter parts in the Palomar Sky Survey. We suggest that they are active late‐type stars possibly belonging to Cyg OB1.     

Determination of Radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr and Stable δ88/86SrSRM987 Isotope Values of Thirteen Mineral,Vegetal and Animal Reference Materials by DS‐TIMS

This work presents new ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and δ^88/86Sr_SRM987 isotopic values of thirteen mineral, vegetal and animal reference materials. Except for UB‐N, all our results are consistent with previously published data. Our results highlight intermediate precisions among the best presently published and a non‐significant systematic shift with the calculated δ^88/86Sr_SRM987 mean values for the three most analysed reference materials in the literature (i.e., IAPSO, BCR‐2 and JCp‐1). By comparison with the literature and between two distinct digestions, a significant bias of δ^88/86Sr_SRM987 values was highlighted for two reference materials (UB‐N and GS‐N). It has also been shown that digestion protocols (nitric and multi‐acid) have a moderate impact on the δ^88/86Sr_SRM987 isotopic values for the Jls‐1 reference materials suggesting that a nitric acid digestion of carbonate can be used without significant bias from partial digestion of non‐carbonate impurities. Different δ^88/86Sr_SRM987 values were measured after two independent Sr/matrix separations, according to the same protocol, for a fat‐rich organic reference material (BCR‐380R) and have been related to a potential post‐digestion heterogeneity. Finally, the δ^88/86Sr_SRM987 value differences measured between animal‐vegetal and between coral‐seawater reference materials agree with the previously published results, highlighting an Sr isotopic fractionation along the trophic chain and during carbonate precipitation.