Fully coupled elastoplastic hydro-mechanical analysis of unsaturated porous media using a meshfree method

This paper presents the first application of an advanced meshfree method, ie, the edge-based smoothed point interpolation method (ESPIM), in simulation of the coupled hydro-mechanical behaviour of unsaturated porous media. In the proposed technique, the problem domain is spatially discretised using a triangular background mesh, and the polynomial point interpolation method combined with a simple node selection scheme is adopted for creating nodal shape functions. Smoothing domains are formed on top of the background mesh, and a constant smoothed strain, created by applying the smoothing operation over the smoothing domains, is assigned to each smoothing domain. The deformation and flow models are developed based on the equilibrium equation of the mixture, and linear momentum and mass balance equations of the fluid phases, respectively. The effective stress approach is followed to account for the coupling between the flow and deformation models. Further coupling among the phases is captured through a hysteretic soil water retention model that evolves with changes in void ratio. An advanced elastoplastic constitutive model within the context of the bounding surface plasticity theory is employed for predicting the nonlinear behaviour of soil skeleton. Time discretisation is performed by adopting a three-point discretisation method with growing time steps to avoid temporal instabilities. A modified Newton-Raphson framework is designed for dealing with nonlinearities of the discretised system of equations. The performance of the numerical model is examined through a number of numerical examples. The state-of-the-art computational scheme developed is useful for simulation of geotechnical engineering problems involving unsaturated soils.     

Fast genetic mapping in barley: case studies of cuticle mutants using RNA-sequencing

Barley(Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the earliest domesticated crop species and ranked as the fourth largest cereal production worldwide. Forward genetic studies in barley have greatly advanced plant genetics during the last century; however, most genes are identified by the conventional mapping method. Array genotyping and exome-capture sequencing have also been successfully used to target the causal mutation in barley populations, but these techniques are not widely adopted because of associated costs and partly due to the huge genome size of barley. This review summarizes three mapping cases of barley cuticle mutants in our laboratory with the help of RNA-sequencing. The causal mutations have been successfully identified for two of them and the target genes are located in the pericentromeric regions. Detailed information on the mapping-by-sequencing, mapping-and-sequencing, and RNA-sequencing assisted linkage mapping are presented and some limitations and challenges on the mapping assisted by RNA sequencing are also discussed. The alternative and elegant methods presented in this review may greatly accelerate forward genetics of barley mapping, especially for laboratories without large funding.     

Multiple longshore sand bars in the upper Chesapeake Bay

In the upper Chesapeake Bay (Maryland, U.S.A.) field surveys were conducted at 18 multiple longshore sand bar sites. The multiple bar systems were found in water depths less than approximately 2 m (mean sea level), and exhibited mild bottom slopes of 0·0052 or less. The number of bars composing each system ranged from four to 17 and the spacing between the crests typically increased in the offshore direction, ranging from 12 to 70 m. Bar height also typically increased with distance offshore and ranged from 0·03 to 0·61 m. A grain size analysis of crest and trough sediment did not reveal any significant differences and the sediment was categorized as ‘fine sand’. A review of the literature data indicated that the Chesapeake Bay multiple bars possessed similar characteristics to those found in Gelding Bay (Baltic Sea); similarities in fetch, wave height and tidal range between the two bays may account for this finding. The surf-scaling parameter indicated that the multiple bar systems were extremely dissipative with regard to wave energy, and wave height appeared to be an important factor in controlling bar spacing and bar height. A multiple wave break point hypothesis was discussed as a possible mechanism for the formation of Chesapeake Bay multiple longshore bars, and limited observational evidence appeared to support such a mechanism.     

The efifect of wave breaking on surface wave imaging by Synthetic Aperture Radar

The effect of ocean wave breaking as a non-Bragg mechanism on backscattering cross-section and modulation transfer functions (MTF) of radar was investigated based on Bragg resonance theory and parametric method. The result showed that the additional effect of wave breaking on backscattering cross-section is not more than 20% except for the small incident angle of VV polarized electromagnetic (e.m.) wave but is significant for HH polarized e.m. wave. Breaking waves lead to increase in the modulus of tilt modulation MTF and the larger the wind speed, the faster the increase. For large incident angle, the modulus of tilt modulation MTF with wave breaking decreases quickly with incident angle for HH polarization and approach to that without wave breaking for VV polarization. The hydrodynamic MTF increases 30%-60% when considering wave breaking and the increase is larger for HH polarization than for VV polarization.     

上扬子地台震旦系铅锌矿床类型及找矿方向

上扬子地台含铅锌矿地层主要为震旦系。震旦系在上扬子地台主要发育上统灯影组,次有下统陡山沱组。将上扬子地台震旦系铅锌矿床成因划分为一级为叠生矿床,二级为层控矿床,三级为热水沉积改造矿床和热水沉积再造矿床四级类型,该类型按铅锌比例进一步划分为富铅型、富锌型、铅锌共生型。研究区内最重要的铅锌矿床成因类型为南郑马元、会东大梁子铅锌矿为代表的富锌型。陕西南郑、紫阳—镇坪地区,湖北武当、神农架、黄陵地区,以及地台西缘的安宁河、甘洛—小江、峨边—寻甸等地区的震旦系是寻找铅锌矿的最有利地段。     

Partial derivatives of surface wave phase velocities for flat anisotropic models

Summary. Surface wave behaviour in flat anisotropic structures is first illustrated by performing an exact computation on a simple two-layer model. The variational procedure of Smith & Dahlen is then used to compute the partial derivatives of surface wave phase velocities with respect to the elastic parameters in more realistic earth models. Linear relationships between the partial derivatives for a general anisotropic structure and those for a transversely isotropic structure are derived. When considering waves propagating in a fixed direction, there are only four independent derivatives for Rayleigh waves, and two for Love waves. To avoid the lack of resolution in an inverse method, we propose to use physically constrained models. These results are illustrated by using a model with hexagonal symmetry and a symmetry axis oriented either vertically or horizontally. Quasi-Love- and quasi-Rayleigh-wave partial derivatives are computed for both axis orientations. Modes up to the second overtone and periods ranging between 45 and 130 s have been considered. Finally, anomalies of phase velocity are computed in an oceanic model made of 1/6 oriented olivine crystals with horizontal or vertical preferred orientations of the a -axis.     

The Expansion of the Distance Between Two Arbitrary Gravitating Points as Applied to Specific Models of Celestial Bodies

For the complete system of biharmonic functions a suitable representation in spheroidal coordinates is found. It is used for expanding the distance between two arbitrary gravitating points and its inverse quantity in appropriate series. Such expansions can be of interest and useful in a number of problems of celestial mechanics and stellar dynamics.     

Application of stress release models to historical earthquakes from North China

Univariate and multivariate stress release models are fitted to historical earthquake data from North China. It is shown that a better fit is obtained by treating separately the Eastern part of the region, including the North China Plain and Bohai Sea, and the Western part of the region, including the Ordos Plateau and its Eastern boundary. Further improvement is obtained by fitting the large events (M7.6) and smaller events in the Western region by different stress release models. The comparisons are made by computing the likelihoods of the fitted models and discounting the number of parameters used by Akaike's AIC criterion. The models are used to develop long-term risk scenarios for the East and West regions.     

Crustal and upper mantle structures of the brazilian coast

The Rayleigh wave phase and group velocities in the period range of 24–39 sec, obtained from two earthquakes which occurred in northeastern brazil and which were recorded by the Brazilian seismological station RDJ (Rio de Janeiro), have been used to study crustal and upper mantle structures of the Brazilian coastal region. Three crustal and upper mantle models have been tried out to explain crustal and upper mantle structures of the region. The upper crust has not been resolved, due basically to the narrow period range of the phase and group velocities data. The phase velocity inversions have exhibited good resolutions for both lower crust and upper mantle, with shear wave velocities characteristic of these regions. The group velocity data inversions for these models have showed good results only for the lower crust. The shear wave velocities of the lower crust (3.86 and 3.89 km/sec), obtained with phase velocity inversions, are similar to that (=3.89 km/sec) found byHwang (1985) to the eastern South American region, while group velocity inversions have presented shear velocity (=3.75 km/sec) similar to that (=3.78 km/sec) found byLazcano (1972) to the Brazilian shield. It was not possible to define sharply the crust-mantle transition, but an analysis of the phase and group velocity inversions results has indicated that the total thickness of the crust should be between 30 and 39 km. The crustal and upper mantle model, obtained with phase velocity inversion, can be used as a preliminary model for the Brazilian coast.     

Wave Decay and Its Characteristics in Surf Zone

In accordance with the similarity between breaking waves and hydraulic jumps, the expressions for estimating wave decay and wave energy dissipation in the surf zone are derived based on the fundamental equations of fluid mechanics. Using the numerical solution of cnoidal wave theory, the various kinematic properties of waves in the surf zone, including the relative wave crest height, wave energy, and radiation stress are discussed. The values calculated with the method proposed in this paper are in good agreement with the experimental data gained by other researchers. The present expressions can be used in the studies of sediment transport on gently sloping beaches, especially on muddy beaches.