On the expansions of intermediate orbit for general planetary theory

Intermediate orbit for general planetary theory is constructed in the form of multivariate Fourier series with numerical coefficients. The structure and efficiency of the derived series are illustrated by giving various statistical properties of the coefficients.The ability of the recently proposed elliptic function approach to compress the Fourier series representing the intermediate orbit is investigated. Our results confirm that when mutual perturbations of a pair of planets are considered the elliptic function approach is quite efficient and allows one to compress the series substantially. However, when perturbations of three or more planets are under study the elliptic function approach does not give any advantages.     

Environmental effects on galaxy luminosity functions: the cluster Abell 496

We have derived the galaxy luminosity function in various regions of the cluster of galaxies Abell 496 from a wide field image in the I band. A Schechter function fit in the 17≤ I_AB ≤22(–19.5≤ M_IAB ≤ –14.5) magnitude interval gives a steep power law index, which is somewhat steeper in the outer regions than in the inner zones. This result agrees with previous findings obtained by several teams on the Coma cluster and can be interpreted as due to the fact that faint galaxies are accreted by large ones in the central regions. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Reliability assessment of granular filters in embankment dams

Empirical criteria have been used successfully to design filters of most embankment large dam projects throughout the world. However, these empirical rules are only applicable to a particular range of soils tested in laboratory and do not take into account the variability of the base material and filter particle sizes. In addition, it is widely accepted that the safety of fill dams is mainly dependent on the reliability of their filter performance. The work herein presented consists in a new general method for assessing the probability of fulfilling any empirical filter design criteria accounting for base and filter heterogeneity by means of first‐order reliability methods (FORM), so that reliability indexes and probabilities of fulfilling any particular criteria are obtained. This method will allow engineers to estimate the safety of existing filters in terms of probability of fulfilling their design criteria and might also be used as a decision tool on sampling needs and material size tolerances during construction. In addition, sensitivity analysis makes possible to analyse how reliabilities are influenced by different sources of input data. Finally, in case of a portfolio risk assessment, this method will allow engineers to compare the safety of several existing dams in order to prioritize safety investments and it is expected to be a very useful tool to evaluate probabilities of failure due to internal erosion. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于可靠度理论的黄土高边坡优化设计

对黄土高边坡进行可靠性分析，应用数学原理和优化原理，建立了黄土高边坡的优化模型，对铜黄一级公路黄土高边坡进行分析验证。结果表明，该方法计算的结果与实际较接近．应用中易操作。     

Obtaining basic simulation data for a heterogeneous field with stratified marine soils

Thinly stratified sedimentary deposits in a heterogeneous field were investigated to obtain basic physical data for the simulation of water flow. A procedure is described which translates a thinly stratified soil profile into a number of functional layers using functional hydrological properties. A functional layer is defined as a combination of one or more soil horizons and should (i) be recognizable during a soil survey using an auger and (ii) show significantly different functional hydrological properties when compared with another functional layer. This procedure gave three easily recognizable functional layers. Sets of hydrological characteristics of these three functional layers were obtained by physical measurements of the soil and by estimation, using textural data for classification into a standard Dutch series. The performance of several combinations of these sets was tested by comparing simulated and measured soil matric potentials for seven plots during one year. The best simulation results were obtained if measured soil hydraulic characteristics were used for relatively homogeneous functional layers and if the soil hydraulic characteristics were estimated at each location for the most heterogeneous layer.     

Reliability assessment of serviceability performance of braced retaining walls using a neural network approach

In urban environments, one major concern with deep excavations in soft clay is the potentially large ground deformations in and around the excavation. Excessive movements can damage adjacent buildings and utilities. There are many uncertainties associated with the calculation of the ultimate or serviceability performance of a braced excavation system. These include the variabilities of the loadings, geotechnical soil properties, and engineering and geometrical properties of the wall. A risk‐based approach to serviceability performance failure is necessary to incorporate systematically the uncertainties associated with the various design parameters. This paper demonstrates the use of an integrated neural network–reliability method to assess the risk of serviceability failure through the calculation of the reliability index. By first performing a series of parametric studies using the finite element method and then approximating the non‐linear limit state surface (the boundary separating the safe and ‘failure’ domains) through a neural network model, the reliability index can be determined with the aid of a spreadsheet. Two illustrative examples are presented to show how the serviceability performance for braced excavation problems can be assessed using the reliability index. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reliability-Based Optimal Design for Very Large Floating Structure

1 .ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＴｈｅａｐｐｒａｉｓａｌｏｆａｇｏｏｄｄｅｓｉｇｎｆｏｒａｖｅｒｙｌａｒｇｅｆｌｏａｔｉｎｇｓｔｒｕｃｔｕｒｅ(ＶＬＦＳ)ｔｈａｔｗｉｌｌｓｅｒｖｅｉｎａｓｐｅｃｉ ｆｉｅｄｏｃｅａｎａｒｅａｒｅｑｕｉｒｅｓｔｈａｔｔｈｅｓｔｒｕｃｔｕｒａｌｓｙｓｔｅｍｂｅｅｃｏｎｏｍｉｃａｌｌｙｄｅｓｉｇｎｅｄ ,ｔｈｅｒｅｑｕｉｒｅｍｅｎｔｓｆｏｒｉｔｓｆｕｎｃｔｉｏｎｂｅｓａｔｉｓｆｉｅｄａｎｄｔｈｅｓｔｒｕｃｔｕｒｅｋｅｅｐｓｓｔａｂｌｅｉｎｉｔｓｗｈｏｌｅｓｅｒｖｉｃｅｐｅｒｉｏ…     

Fuzzy Fatigue Reliability Analysis of Offshore Platforms in Ice-Infested Waters

1 .IntroductionTheBohaiGulfisinfestedbyiceinthewholewinter,andoffshorestructuresthereexperiencenotonlywind ,waves ,currentsandearthquake ,butalsoiceloadswhicharecomplicatedbecauseofthedynamicinteractionbetweenicesheetsandstructures.Duanetal.( 2 0 0 0 )hadacomprehensivere viewofthelatestadvancesonice inducedvibration ,fatigueandfractureofoffshorestructures ,payingmuchattentiontothedifferencesinicebreakingmodeanddynamicsofstructuresindifferentice in festedwaters .Theypresentedcriticallythelates…     

Semi-Probabilistic Evaluation of System Redundancy for Existing Offshore Structures

In this paper, a new definition of structure system redundancy is proposed in view of the various measures for structure redundancy. By introducing the terms of structure system failure at the mechanism level and equivalent reliability index, the safety for existing offshore platforms can be evaluated by the semi-probabilistic method presented in this paper. Some numerical examples are given and satisfactory results have been obtained.