Time-dependent stress change during failure of rocks

The energy balance of a solid subject to fracture has been explored using heat and mass transfer equations with regard to the volumetric and superficial components. In the suggested model, brittle fracture of a cracked solid considered as a heterogeneous two-phase medium is described by an equation analogous to the Griffith’s criterion for propagation of a single crack. The derived equation is used, together with estimates of relative change in specific interface area, to study the respective change of free strain energy and pressure in rocks associated with failure.     

均匀设计与灰色理论在边坡稳定性分析中的应用

采用均匀设计安排试验,运用灰色理论中的灰色关联分析考察边坡稳定性影响因素的主次.结果表明,边坡稳定性影响因素的敏感性由大到小依次为:粘聚力、内摩擦角、重度、预应力、锚索间排距、锚索长度、锚固段长度、锚固角.可见,岩体的抗剪强度指标是影响边坡稳定性的最重要参数,其次是岩体的容重,而预应力锚索的设计参数对边坡的稳定性也有一定影响.这一分析结果为边坡开挖设计和加固方案的优化提供了重要依据.     

Non-Linear Theory and Power-Law Models for Information Integration and Mineral Resources Quantitative Assessments

Singular physical or chemical processes may result in anomalous amounts of energy release or mass accumulation that, generally, are confined to narrow intervals in space or time. Singularity is a property of different types of non-linear natural processes including cloud formation, rainfall, hurricanes, flooding, landslides, earthquakes, wildfires, and mineralization. The end products of these non-linear processes can be modeled as fractals or multifractals. Hydrothermal processes in the Earth’s crust can result in ore deposits characterized by high concentrations of metals with fractal or multifractal properties. Here we show that the non-linear properties of the end products of singular mineralization processes can be applied for prediction of undiscovered mineral deposits and for quantitative mineral resource assessment, whether for mineral exploration or for regional, national and global planning for mineral resource utilization. In addition to the general theory and framework for the non-linear mineral resources assessment, this paper focuses on several power-law models proposed for characterizing non-linear properties of mineralization and for geoinformation extraction and integration. The theories, methods, and computer system discussed in this paper were validated using a case study dealing with hydrothermal Au mineral potential in southern Nova Scotia, Canada.     

中强地震前后能量分布的自仿射特性

根据简化的地震波传播理论,“漫化”地震能量在空间的分配,减弱能量空间分布概率的极端情形及消除统计域为“空”的情形,由此构造类似于二维ｆＢｍ的地震能量空间分布概率曲面。与起伏不平的地形相似,由于基在水平方向及垂直方向的变化不是等比例的,因而这一分形曲面可能是统计自仿射的。     

Extreme value analysis of diamond-size distributions

Extreme value analysis provides a semiparametric method for analyzing the extreme long tails of skew distributions which may be observed when handling mining data. The estimation of important tail characteristics, such as the extreme value index, allows for a discrimination between competing distribution models. It measures the thickness of such long tailed distributions, if only a limited sample is available. This paper stresses the practical implementation of extreme value theory, which is used to discriminate a lognormal from a mixed lognormal distribution in a case study of size distributions for alluvial diamonds.     

Towards a nonperturbation transport theory in hetereogeneous aquifers

A large body of existing theories of flow and contaminant transport in aquifers ignore the presence of recharge, eliminate the boundary conditions, neglect transient conditions in groundwater flow, conceive hydraulic gradients as linear, and require parameter variability to be stationary and Gaussian. The most outstanding and difficult to justify assumption is the subjective small size of the stochastic terms (i.e., small perturbation methods), which usually is forced by considering the logarithm of the hydraulic conductivity. Several problems in flow and contaminant subsurface hydrology, such as the enhanced dispersion parameters with plume size or time after injection, remain to be observed in the light of a stochastic theory that allows a more realistic consideration of physical and hydrologic properties. In this article, an attempt is made to reformulate a contaminant transport equation (the variable dispersion equation, VDE) with transport parameters in terms of regional hydrologic and aquifer hydraulic properties, such as recharge rate, spatially random transmissivity, hydraulic gradient, aquifer thickness, and soil porosity. Subsequently, a general analytic procedure, the method of decomposition, is used to derive a solution to the VDE. This procedure does not require small perturbation, logarithmic transformations, or specific probability law assumptions. Comparison tests with existing theoretical and field results are given. The tests illustrate the enhanced dispersion and shifting concentration effects produced by the variable dispersion equation. Finally a generalization of the method to nonstationary dispersion in three-dimensional domains is proposed.     

Laboratory simulation of geogas microbubble flow

Preliminary laboratory tests provided first data on the behavior of gas microbubbles through porous media in the framework of the geogas theory. Under experimented conditions with laboratory equipment arranged for pressure controlled gas-tracer injection and sampling, gas microbubbles moved up to ten times faster than singlephase flow in dry media under the same injection pressure. Microbubbles were determined to be very sensitive to changes in injection pressure and their terminal velocity seems to be described with good approximation by the Stokes formula. The capability of microbubbles to pick up and transport upward for short distances solid ultra-small particles (metallic and radionuclide compounds) has been proved. Results are consistent with a time-dependent process linked to the transport properties of microbubbles (e.g., flotation), such as that reported by some authors.     

SOME NEW UNDERSTANDINGS OF LAND-SURFACE PROCESSES IN ARID AREA FROM THE HEIFE*

The survey for the HEIFE(Atmosphere-Land Surface Processes Experiment at Heihe River Basin,Western China) is given in the paper.The following basic subjects for land-surface processes in arid areas are studied:(1) the general characteristics of the energy budget on ground surface in arid areas;(2) the parameterization of the land surface processes;(3) the interaction between oasis and its desert circumstances,a special phenomenon in arid areas.The analysis shows that the sensible heat flux in the surface energy budget is in the majority,and the latent heat flux may be neglected.The influence of atmospheric stratification stability on the turbulent transfer of energy and substance must be considered in parameterization of land surface processes in arid areas.The "cold island effect" phenomenon in oasis and the "humidity inversion" phenomenon in desert near oasis are the result of the interaction between them.The results would improve the understanding of land surface processes in arid areas.     

Energy balance of simple elastodynamic sources

Complete relations are derived for energy and energy flux of elastic waves generated by an isotropic and double-couple source in a perfectly elastic, homogeneous, isotropic, and unbounded medium. In the energy balance of elastodynamic sources near-field waves play an essential role, transforming static energy into wave energy, andvice versa. For explosive and dislocation sources, the sources surface radiates a positive wave energy that is partially distributed to the medium transforming into static energy. For implosive and antidislocation sources, the source surface generates elastic waves, but it does not necessarily imply that it also radiates a positive wave energy. The energy transported by waves can originate in gradual transformation of the static-to-wave energy during propagation of waves through a stressed medium.On leave from Geophysical Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Boní II/1401, 41 31, Praha 4 Czech Republic     

Textural segmentation of digital rock images into bedding units using texture energy and cluster labels

The texture of digital rock images, as recorded, for instance, with borehole imaging devices, is shown to reflect different bedding types. Textural segmentation of borehole images, therefore, subdivides the recorded sequence into bedding units. We show that a textural segmentation algorithm based on the concept of texture energy achieves good results when compared with synthetic as well as real data in which petroleum geologists have performed zonations on cores. Texture energy involves filtering of the original image with a set of texture sensitive masks. The filtering is done as a finite convolution over the size of the masks. On the resulting images the variance is computed over a relatively large sliding window, which, in its practical implementation, covers the full width of the image. The resulting nine one-dimensional curves are then clustered hierarchically into a user-determined number of image texture or lithological bedding classes. Principal component analysis previous to clustering can be used to reduce redundancy in the data. A recurring and relatively ill-defined problem in this field are macro-textures, i.e., the cyclic interbedding of two or more bedding types. We show that sliding Fourier transforms and variable mask scale can successfully address the zonation of macro-textures. In general, the method gives best results with mask sizes equivalent to 2–4 centimeters, reflecting the length scale at which the investigated geological bedding seems to have its highest variation.