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.     

Estimation of dispersion in estuaries by a self-consistent method

Longitudinal and transverse dispersion in estuaries may be determined in principle by measuring the change in time of the concentration field of a water soluble dye. In practice, measurements may take the form of several sampling runs crossing the dye patch. The coefficients of dispersion are usually estimated from the second moments of the concentration field; the use of second moments, in particular, introduces errors because measurements at long times or distance are unduly emphasized.A self-consistent method, free of the disadvantages inherent in the use of higher moments, is described in which the distribution of concentration in space is related to the zeroth spatial moment of concentration. In this formulation, based upon sampling runs across the dye patch, the concentration field in the estuary may be directly and simply related to the dispersion coefficients in both the intercept and gradient of a linear graph.The methods are illustrated by the characterization of a series of experiments in the Inner Estuary of Milford Haven.     

Centrifugal test of a road embankment built after new dredger fill on thick marine clay

Abstract

The construction of a 100-km road network is planned on a land reclamation area in the Oujiang Estuary in China. The embankment had a height of 4 m and a base width of 60 m. The reclamation area is newly filled by a 3-m dredger fill on a 48-m thick layer of marine clay. Estimation of the settlement of the future road network is difficult. To guide the construction of the road network, a 1/100-scale centrifuge model test was performed with a marine clay sample from the construction site to simulate the layered settlements and evaluate the drainage effect of prefabricated vertical drains in the dredger fill in the following 10 years. The results of the centrifuge modeling test are verified by 10-month in situ monitoring, which shows agreement between the centrifuge modeling test results and the in situ results. The test results indicate that additional time is needed to reinforce the newly added dredger fill by the surcharge preloading method to uplift the elevation of the reclamation area with dredger fill.     

Seasonally Hypersaline Estuaries in Mediterranean-climate Regions

Data collected in three Californian estuaries indicate that hypersaline conditions exist during the dry summers typical of a Mediterranean climate. The generalised seasonal and longitudinal hydrographic structures are described and explained. It is argued that this seasonal hypersalinity is common and that it represents a major class of estuaries. The observed accumulation of salt indicates surprisingly long residence times in small basins which have free exchange with the ocean. This semi-isolation of the inner basin leads to a large build-up or severe depletion of nutrients, pollutants and plankton in these systems. Of concern are the trends to increase pollutant loading in the same systems that are experiencing an increase in residence times owing to freshwater extraction in the watershed.     

Strength Analysis of Turret Mooring Productive/Storage Tanker

The longitudinal strength of turret mooring productive/storage tanker is studied.A numeri-cal example has been implemented according to the method presented in this paper to give practical il-lustration.From the results of the numerical example,it is concluded that the turret hole located near theforward of the amidships has small effect on the longitudinal strength of the ship hull.As for design ex-treme value of wave bending moment of storage tanker,statistic method is a more reasonablemethodology,especially with the consideration of the servere environmental conditions.The primary esti-mation of design section modulus of turret storage tanker can be determined by this design bending mo-ment.     

Neoproterozoic trace fossils vs. microbial mat structures: Examples from the Tandilia Belt of Argentina

The Tandilia Belt in northeast Argentina includes a Neoproterozoic sequence of sediments (Sierras Bayas Group), in which the Cerro Largo Formation, ca. 750 Ma in age, forms a siliciclastic, shallowing upward succession of subtidal nearshore to tidal flat deposits. Trace fossils Palaeophycus isp. and Didymaulichnus isp. have been described from the upper part of this succession. Specific sedimentary structures consisting of round-crested bulges, arranged in a reticulate pattern, and networks of curved cracks are associated with the trace fossils. These structures are considered to be related to epibenthic microbial mats that once colonized the sediment surface. They reflect stages of mat growth and mat destruction, if compared to analogous structures in modern cyanobacterial mats of peritidal, siliciclastic depositional systems. Also the trace fossils are interpreted as mat-related structures, partly forming components of networks of shrinkage cracks, partly representing the upturned and involute margins of shrinkage cracks or circular openings in desiccating and shrinking, thin microbial mats.

The definition of Didymaulichnus miettensis Young as a Terminal Proterozoic trace fossil is questioned, and it may be considered to interpret the ‘bilobate’ structure as the upturned, opposite margins of microbial shrinkage cracks which have been brought back into contact by compaction after burial.     

Scattering of elastic waves by a fracture zone containing randomly distributed cracks

We theoretically study the scattering ofP, SV andSH waves by a zonal distribution of cracks, which simulates a fault fracture zone. An investigation is conducted how the geometrical properties of the crack distribution and the frictional characteristics of the crack surface are reflected in the attenuation and dispersion of incident waves, as well as in the amplitudes of the transmitted and reflected waves from the zone. If the crack distribution within the fault zone changes temporally during the preparation process of the expected earthquake, it will be important for earthquake prediction to monitor it, utilizing the scattering-induced wave phenomena.We consider the two-dimensional problem. Aligned cracks with the same length are assumed to be randomly distributed in a zone with a finite width, on which elastic waves are assumed to be incident. The distribution of cracks is assumed to be homogeneous and sparse. The crack surface is assumed to be stress-free, or to undergo viscous friction; the latter case simulates fluid-filled cracks. The opening displacement of the crack is assumed to be negligibly small. The idea of the mean wave formalism is employed in the analysis, and Foldy's approximation is assumed.When the crack surface is stress-free, it is commonly observed for every wave mode (P, SV andSH) that the attenuation coefficientQ ^–1 peaks aroundka1, the phase velocity is almost independent ofk in the rangeka<1 and it increases monotonically withk in the rangeka>1, wherek is the intrinsicS wavenumber anda is the half length of the crack. The effect of the friction is to shift the peak ofQ ^–1 and the corner of the phase velocity curve to the low wavenumber range. The high wavenumber asymptote ofQ ^–1 is proportional tok ^–1 independently of model parameters and the wave modes. If the seismological observation thatQ ^–1 ofS waves has a peak at around 0.5 Hz in the earth's crust is combined with our results, the upper limit of crack size within the crust is estimated about 4 km. The information regarding the transmitted and reflected waves, such as the high wavenumber limit of the amplitude of the transmitted wave etc., allows estimation of the strength of the friction.     

库姆塔格沙漠"羽毛状沙丘"形态的示量特征

通过卫星照片判读和实地观测,库姆塔格沙漠的“羽毛状沙丘”由两种风沙地貌构成：东北-西南走向的新月形“沙垄”为“羽轴”；垄间分布的波状微起伏的“大沙波”为“羽枝”,“大沙波”与沙垄的夹角为75°～103°。二者组合成类似“羽毛”的风沙地貌。新月形“沙垄”由单个新月形沙丘的前一沙丘的迎风坡与后一沙丘东翼相连构成“沙垄”。组成“沙垄”的新月形沙丘的两翼平均长37．5m,翼间距30～66m,沙丘高3～19m；在所观测区域内,沙丘沙的分选性由南向北变差。新月形“沙垄”长为3～22km,垄间距为1～3km,其问分布浅色和暗色相间的波状微地貌,暗色部分平均宽24．3m,浅色部分的平均宽11．6m。暗色部分表层沙粒的粒径有60%在1．00～0．25mm之间,以暗色矿物为主,而浅色部分表层沙粒的粒径的90%在1．00～0．25mm之间,分选性相对暗色部分较好,以石英等浅色矿物为主。暗色和浅色微地貌成对出现,相对高差约7cm。这种波状微地貌在库姆塔格沙漠中北部重复出现,类似于风沙地貌分类的沙波,暂称其为“大沙波”。     

青藏高原清水河多年冻土区铁路路基沉降变形特征研究

通过埋设在青藏铁路路基中两个断面内的6条沉降观测管3 a来的地基沉降变形资料,研究了高原多年冻土区铁路路基的沉降变形特征,分析了填筑铁路路基对下伏多年冻土融化变形的影响。研究表明,由于受到填筑路基时赋存在路基填料内的热量的影响,铁路路基下伏多年冻土上限在施工初期会有一个明显的下移沉降,铁路路基也随之有一个较大幅度的工后下沉变动,随着时间的推移,路基下降速率会逐渐下降,但在短时间内不会停止下来,而且由于太阳辐射和路基边坡形状的影响,路基向阳面与背阴面的变形有较大的差别,且在近南北向展布的路基上表现最为明显。     

西南某电站右岸倾坡内夹泥裂隙成因探讨

西南某拟建大型水电站的右岸岩体中存在倾向坡内的夹泥裂隙，通过对其的发育情况以及所处的地质环境进行系统的研究和认真剖析，认为该区内的倾坡内夹泥裂隙的成因并非正常卸荷引起，而是在构造的基础上，穹隆挽近期隆起的结果，为右岸坝肩稳定性评价提供了可靠的依据。