This paper presents results recently obtained for generating site-specific ground motions needed for design of critical facilities. The general approach followed in developing these ground motions using either deterministic or probabilistic criteria is specification of motions for rock outcrop or very firm soil conditions followed by adjustments for site-specific conditions. Central issues in this process include development of appropriate attenuation relations and their uncertainties, differences in expected motions between Western and Eastern North America, and incorporation of site-specific adjustments that maintain the same hazard level as the control motions, while incorporating uncertainties in local dynamic material properties. For tectonically active regions, such as the Western United States (WUS), sufficient strong motion data exist to constrain empirical attenuation relations for M up to about 7 and for distances greater than about 10–15 km. Motions for larger magnitudes and closer distances are largely driven by extrapolations of empirical relations and uncertainties need to be substantially increased for these cases.
For the Eastern United States (CEUS), due to the paucity of strong motion data for cratonic regions worldwide, estimation of strong ground motions for engineering design is based entirely on calibrated models. The models are usually calibrated and validated in the WUS where sufficient strong motion data are available and then recalibrated for applications to the CEUS. Recalibration generally entails revising parameters based on available CEUS ground motion data as well as indirect inferences through intensity observations. Known differences in model parameters such as crustal structure between WUS and CEUS are generally accommodated as well. These procedures are examined and discussed. 相似文献
A large reinforced concrete structure supported on piles extending to bedrock is evaluated using a seismic soil–structure interaction analysis. The physical structure, the supporting pile system, analysis model and analytical methodology used are described. Important considerations in the design of the foundation pile system using the seismic analysis loadings and deformations are discussed. 相似文献
This study presents spatiotemporally-resolved measurements of surface shear-stress τs in live plant canopies and rigid wooden cube arrays to identify the sheltering capability against sediment erosion of these
different roughness elements. Live plants have highly irregular structures that can be extremely flexible and porous resulting
in considerable changes to the drag and flow regimes relative to rigid imitations mainly used in other wind-tunnel studies.
Mean velocity and kinematic Reynolds stress profiles show that well-developed natural boundary layers were generated above
the 8 m long wind-tunnel test section covered with the roughness elements at four different roughness densities (λ = 0, 0.017, 0.08, 0.18). Speed-up around the cubes caused higher peak surface shear stress than in experiments with plants
at all roughness densities, demonstrating the more effective sheltering ability of the plants. The sheltered areas in the
lee of the plants are significantly narrower with higher surface shear stress than those found in the lee of the cubes, and
are dependent on the wind speed due to the plants ability to streamline with the flow. This streamlining behaviour results
in a decreasing sheltering effect at increasing wind speeds and in lower net turbulence production than in experiments with
cubes. Turbulence intensity distributions suggest a suppression of horseshoe vortices in the plant case. Comparison of the
surface shear-stress measurements with sediment erosion patterns shows that the fraction of time a threshold skin friction
velocity is exceeded can be used to assess erosion of, and deposition on, that surface. 相似文献
This paper presents a review of recent experimental and numerical studies which deal with the analysis of form-induced stress
in rough wall turbulent boundary layers. The aim of the paper is to assess the importance of this stress for various rough
wall geometries and flow conditions. Analysis of the significance of form-induced stress is first performed by comparing its
magnitude with the magnitude of Reynolds stress for each data set available in literature. Then, by selecting a special set
of data, we analyze the comparison between the gradients of both stresses. We point out that the comparison of stress gradients
gives a different perspective on the role of form-induced stress in rough wall boundary layers. 相似文献
AbstractPreferential flow pathways in a fractured aquifer may yield abrupt reductions of the water velocity in a well. We propose a new device for measuring low (5–13 cm d-1) velocities in wells originating from fractures at different depths. The presented flowmeter has been applied in a well in the Bari (southern Italy) fractured aquifer. In the same well, the horizontal flowmeter velocity (9.6 cm d-1) at 0.5 m depth was compared with velocity (8 cm d-1) derived from a field tracer test, providing a value 16.5% higher. Moreover, the flowmeter measurements at 1.5 m depth gave a horizontal velocity of 7.2 cm d-1, which is 11% less than water flow velocity estimated from the field test. The new flowmeter implements the tracer point-dilution method in a plastic (PVC) pipe by causing the water flow to pass through an artificial filter. Laboratory calibration tests have confirmed the good performance of the proposed flowmeter technique, even for water flow up to 300 cm d-1. The flowmeter was sensitive to 0.1 cm d-1, with a detection limit of 1.5 cm d-1, i.e. half the measurable flow velocity of existing flowmeters in wells.Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor S. Grimaldi 相似文献
Experimental studies have been carried out in a fractured coastal aquifer of the Salento region (Nardò, Italy), which has been subjected to 12,000 m3/day of treated municipal waste water injected into a natural sinkhole since 1991. The analytical parameters of ground water sampled in 30 monitoring wells in the area down gradient from the sinkhole, taking into account the direction of ground water flow, have been compared before and after injection. The water table mound (1.5 m), the reduction of sea water extent (2 km), and the spreading of injected pollutants were evaluated by means of a mathematical model. The predicted values in the monitoring wells were adjusted to inorganic nitrogen biodegradation using transformation rates developed in laboratory tests. After 10 years, the injection has increased the volume of the available resource for agricultural and drinking water use, without any notable decrease in the preexisting ground water quality. Moreover, to preserve water resources from pollution, the mathematical model allowed the maximum constituent concentrations (standards) in waste water reclamation for recharge to be identified. A precautionary area around the sinkhole was also defined so that withdrawal prohibition could be implemented to avoid risks to human health. 相似文献
This study presents the results from a series of wind-tunnel experiments designed to investigate the aerodynamic roughness length z0 of fresh snow under no-drift conditions. A two-component hot-film anemometer was employed to obtain vertical profiles of velocity statistics in a zero pressure gradient turbulent boundary layer for flow over naturally deposited snow surfaces. The roughness of these snow surfaces was measured by means of digital photography to capture characteristic length scales that can be related to z0. Our results show that, under aerodynamically rough conditions, the mean value of the roughness length for fresh snow is \({\langle{z}_{0}\rangle= 0.24}\) mm with a standard deviation σ(z0) = 0.05 mm. In this study, we show that variations in z0 are associated with variations in the roughness geometry. The roughness measurements suggest that the estimated values of z0 are consistent with the presence of irregular roughness structures that develop during snowfalls that mimic ballistic deposition processes. 相似文献
Up to now, field studies set up to measure field-saturated hydraulic conductivity to evaluate contamination risks, have employed
small cylinders that may not be representative of the scale of measurements in heterogeneous media. In this study, a large
adjustable ring infiltrometer was designed to be installed on-site directly on rock to measure its field-saturated hydraulic
conductivity. The proposed device is inexpensive and simple to implement, yet also very versatile, due to its large adjustable
diameter that can be fixed on-site. It thus allows an improved representation of the natural system’s heterogeneity, while
also taking into consideration irregularities in the soil/rock surface. The new apparatus was tested on an outcrop of karstic
fractured limestone overlying the deep Murge aquifer in the South of Italy, which has recently been affected by untreated
sludge disposal, derived from municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants. The quasi-steady vertical flow into the
unsaturated fractures was investigated by measuring water levels during infiltrometer tests. Simultaneously, subsurface electrical
resistivity measurements were used to visualize the infiltration of water in the subsoil, due to unsaturated water flow in
the fractures. The proposed experimental apparatus works well on rock outcrops, and allows the repetition of infiltration
tests at many locations in order to reduce model uncertainties in heterogeneous media. 相似文献
A series of experiments have been made in a wind tunnel to investigate the ventilation of snow by shear. We argue that the
zero-plane displacement can be used as a convenient indicator of ventilation, and that this can be obtained from measurements
of mean velocity profiles in conditions of zero pressure gradient. Measurements made over a natural snow surface show a zero-plane
displacement depth of less than 5 mm, but practical considerations preclude extensive use of snow for these measurements.
Instead, the influence of permeability is investigated using reticulated foams in place of snow. We demonstrate that the foam
and snow have similar structure and flow-relevant properties. Although the surface of the foam is flat, the roughness lengths
increase by two orders of magnitude as the permeability increases from 6 × 10−9 to 160 × 10−9 m2. The zero-plane displacement for the least permeable foams is effectively zero, but more than 15 mm for the most permeable
foams. Our data compare well to the few studies available in the literature. By analogy to conditions over snow surfaces,
we suggest that shear-driven ventilation of snow is therefore limited to the upper few millimetres of snow surfaces. 相似文献