Wave drift enhancement effects in multi column structures

A theoretical assessment is made of mean wave drift forces on groups of vertical circular cylinders, such as the columns of a floating offshore platform. A complete analytical solution is obtained for two cylinders extending from seabed to free surface, and a long wave approximation is found to provide reliable predictions of the drift force in line with the waves at low frequencies. For moderate separation between the two cylinders, this force is found to tend at low frequencies to a value four times the force on an isolated cylinder.A numerical method is employed to study two surface piercing cylinders truncated below the free surface, and an arrangement of four vertical cylinders characteristic of a floating offshore platform. The mean vertical drift force is found to be reasonably well approximated, over the frequency range of practical interest, by the force on an individual cylinder considered in isolation multiplied by the number of cylinders in the group. Interaction effects, however, have a profound influence on the total horizontal drift force. At low frequencies this force is found to tend to the force on an isolated cylinder multiplied by the squate of the number of cylinders in the group.     

A fast intensity-hue-saturation fusion technique with spectral adjustment for IKONOS imagery

Among various image fusion methods, intensity-hue-saturation (IHS) technique is capable of quickly merging the massive volumes of data. For IKONOS imagery, IHS can yield satisfactory "spatial" enhancement but may introduce "spectral" distortion, appearing as a change in colors between compositions of resampled and fused multispectral bands. To solve this problem, a fast IHS fusion technique with spectral adjustment is presented. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach can provide better performance than the original IHS method, both in processing speed and image quality.     

Estimating coefficients of volume compressibility from compression of strata and piezometric changes in a multiaquifer system in west Taiwan

This paper estimates the coefficients of volume compressibility from variation in compressible layer thickness and changes in piezometric heads by using detail ground surface surveys and a multilayer monitoring well at a selected site (Shigang) within the Choshui River alluvial fan in west Taiwan. The paper integrates various types of in situ monitoring tools, including leveling surveys, continuous global position system (GPS) stations, multilevel layer compression and groundwater pressure head-monitoring wells, to investigate the situation and progress of the subsidence problem in the region. The results from the cross-analyses of the measured data show that surface settlement caused by the compression of strata is between the depths of 60 and 210 m where the clayey stratum within 120-180 m was most pronounced and contributes up to 53% of the total compression. The results indicate that the clayey stratum is under normal consolidation. The results also reflect the fact that 20% of settlement contribution comes from the sandy stratum within 90-120 m; the elasto-plastic behavior of this sandy stratum is clear. The coefficients of volume compressibility of the clayey and sandy stratum analysed from the stratum's compression records; they were 6.38×10⁻⁸ and 5.71×10⁻⁹ m²/N, respectively. Ultimately, this parameter estimation would permit to control and predict land subsidence based on change in pressure head which are related to groundwater extraction.     

精密工程测量仪器及数据处理

从精密工程测量的定义出发,指出其测量的特点,对精密工程测量的仪器如:马达全站仪、激光跟踪测量系统、数字摄影测量系统、测量机人和高程测量系统的发展和应用进行介绍;引用了某大堤作为工程实例,指出了在数据处理中利用自由网拟稳平差的优点,以及对它的适用性和网形布局对它的影响程度做了讨论.     

Analysis of village accessibility and its impact on land use dynamics in a mountainous province of northern Vietnam

Surveys carried out in mountainous areas of northern Vietnam at research sites selected across a gradient of market integration, revealed strong relationships between the location of the village with respect to the national road network and the nature of its land-use systems, its poverty level and more generally its potential for development. We developed and tested in Bac Kan province a method to give an objective and quantitative definition of accessibility over a large geographic area. Accessibility maps integrated in a provincial GIS showed that despite recent improvements to the road network, some remote areas do not benefit from recent development.     

Impact of the thermal state of the tropical western Pacific on onset date and process of the South China Sea summer monsoon

Since the early or late onset of the South China Sea summer monsoon （SCSM） has a large impact on summer monsoon rainfall in East Asia, the mechanism and process of early or late onset of the SCSM are an worthy issue to study. In this paper, the results analyzed by using the observed data show that the onset date and process of the SCSM are closely associated with the thermal state of the tropical western Pacific in spring. When the tropical western Pacific is in a warming state in spring, the western Pacific subtropical high shifts eastward, and twin cyclones are early caused over the Bay of Bengal and Sumatra before the SCSM onset. In this case, the cyclonic circulation located over the Bay of Bengal can be early intensified and become into a strong trough. Thus, the westerly flow and convective activity can be intensified over Sumatra, the Indo-China Peninsula and the South China Sea （SCS） in mid-May. This leads to early onset of the SCSM. In contrast, when the tropical western Pacific is in a cooling state, the western Pacific subtropical high anomalously shifts westward, the twin cyclones located over the equatorial eastern Indian Ocean and Sumatra are weakened, and the twin anomaly anticyclones appear over these regions from late April to mid-May. Thus, the westerly flow and convective activity cannot be early intensified over the Indo-China Peninsula and the SCS. Only when the western Pacific subtropical high moves eastward, the weak trough located over the Bay of Bengal can be intensified and become into a strong trough, the strong southwesterly wind and convective activity can be intensified over the Indo-China Peninsula and the SCS in late May. Thus, this leads to late onset of the SCSM. Moreover, in this paper, the influencing mechanism of the thermal state of the tropical western Pacific on the SCSM onset is discussed further from the Walker circulation anomalies in the different thermal states of the tropical western Pacific.     

A multi-model ensemble of downscaled spatial climate change scenarios for the Dommel catchment, Western Europe

Regional or local scale hydrological impact studies require high resolution climate change scenarios which should incorporate some assessment of uncertainties in future climate projections. This paper describes a method used to produce a multi-model ensemble of multivariate weather simulations including spatial–temporal rainfall scenarios and single-site temperature and potential evapotranspiration scenarios for hydrological impact assessment in the Dommel catchment (1,350 km²) in The Netherlands and Belgium. A multi-site stochastic rainfall model combined with a rainfall conditioned weather generator have been used for the first time with the change factor approach to downscale projections of change derived from eight Regional Climate Model (RCM) experiments for the SRES A2 emission scenario for the period 2071–2100. For winter, all downscaled scenarios show an increase in mean daily precipitation (catchment average change of +9% to +40%) and typically an increase in the proportion of wet days, while for summer a decrease in mean daily precipitation (−16% to −57%) and proportion of wet days is projected. The range of projected mean temperature is 7.7°C to 9.1°C for winter and 19.9°C to 23.3°C for summer, relative to means for the control period (1961–1990) of 3.8°C and 16.8°C, respectively. Mean annual potential evapotranspiration is projected to increase by between +17% and +36%. The magnitude and seasonal distribution of changes in the downscaled climate change projections are strongly influenced by the General Circulation Model (GCM) providing boundary conditions for the RCM experiments. Therefore, a multi-model ensemble of climate change scenarios based on different RCMs and GCMs provides more robust estimates of precipitation, temperature and evapotranspiration for hydrological impact assessments, at both regional and local scale.     

Reverse fault slip through soft rock and sand strata by centrifuge modeling tests

The devastating damage after the 1999 Chi-Chi and 1999 Izmit earthquakes has greatly motivated soil–reverse fault interaction studies. However, most centrifuge modeling studies have employed a single homogeneous soil layer during testing, which does not represent in situ conditions. Indeed, while geological conditions vary spatially, engineering soils are often underlain by soft rocks. Therefore, four centrifuge models were developed to evaluate the effect of soft rock layers on the ground surface and subsurface deformation. Sand–cement mixtures of varying thicknesses with a uniaxial compressive strength of 0.975 MPa, simulating extremely soft rock, were overlain by pluviated sandy soil. The model thickness was 100 mm, corresponding to 8 m in the prototype scale when spun at 80 g. Every model was subjected to a vertical offset of 50 mm/4 m (0.5 H; H: total sedimentary deposit thickness) along a reverse fault with a 60° dip. The results indicate that the presence of a soft rock stratum results in the creation of a horst profile at the ground surface. Additionally, the thinner the soil layer on top of the soft rock stratum is, the longer and higher the horst created at the ground surface. Consequently, the fault deformation zone lengthens proportionally with the increasing thickness ratio of the soft rock. Furthermore, the presence of soft rock as an intermediary stratum between bedrock and soil causes the deformation zone boundary on the hanging wall side to move in the direction of fault movement.

     

A neural network approach for structural identification and diagnosis of a building from seismic response data

This work presents a novel procedure for identifying the dynamic characteristics of a building and diagnosing whether the building has been damaged by earthquakes, using a back‐propagation neural network approach. The dynamic characteristics are directly evaluated from the weighting matrices of the neural network trained by observed acceleration responses and input base excitations. Whether the building is damaged under a large earthquake is assessed by comparing the modal parameters and responses for this large earthquake with those for a small earthquake that has not caused this building any damage. The feasibility of the approach is demonstrated through processing the dynamic responses of a five‐storey steel frame, subjected to different strengths of the Kobe earthquake, in shaking table tests. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.