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.     

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.     

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.     

地震折射波的虚拟射线理论及其应用

本文提出了一种地震折射液的虚拟射线理论,根据该理论,只要已知地表层的速度,即可直接由折射波信息提取地震参数,从而可实现折射界面的反演。 文中通过实际介质模型的计算机实验结果,验证了该理论的正确性。     

Action of Cnoidal Waves on Vertical Walls

Based on the 2nd order cnoidal wave theory, the characters of shallow water standing waves and their action on vertical walls are studied in this paper. The theoretical expressions of the wave surface elevation in front of and the wave pressure on the vertical wall are obtained. In order to verify the theoretical results, model tests were made in the State Key Laboratory of Coastal and Offshore Engineering at DUT. For the wave surface elevation in front of the wall and the wave forces on the wall at the moment when the wave surface at the wall surface goes down to the bottom of the wave trough, the calculated results coincide quite well with the experimental results. For the wave forces on the wall at the moment when the wave surface at the wall surface goes up to the top of the wave crest, the theoretical expressions are modified by the experimental results. For the convenience of practical use, calculations are made for the wave conditions which usually occur in enginering practice by use of the inves     

The wave transformation and breaking phenomena in shallow water

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