Relative displacement response spectra with pounding effect

To avoid unseating of a deck, an adequate seat width must be provided. The seat width is basically determined from maximum relative displacement between two bridge segments. Under a strong ground excitation, pounding between two decks may occur at a joint. The pounding will affect the response of two bridge segments. This research is conducted to investigate the effect of pounding on the relative displacement between two adjacent bridge segments. A simplified analytical model of two linear single‐degree‐of‐freedom systems is employed. To take into account the pounding, the laws of conservation of momentum and energy are applied. The analytical results are represented in the form of relative displacement response spectra with pounding effect. It is found that due to the pounding the relative displacement can be amplified, resulting in the requirement of a longer seat width to support a deck. The formulation of normalized relative displacement response spectra is presented together with an application example. It is found that the seat width determined from the relative displacement response spectra with pounding effect becomes close to the value specified in the Japanese design specifications for structures with large difference of natural periods. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Miocene pillowed sills in the Shimane Peninsula, SW Japan

Two Miocene basaltic andesite pillowed sills in the Shimane Peninsula, SW Japan, were intruded into wet marine sediments, plastically deforming them. The pillows are elongated, constricted, interconnected and relatively closely packed. Individual pillows have a poorly to moderately vesiculated, somewhat crystalline rind thinner than a few centimeters and a moderately to well vesiculated, more crystalline core; contraction cracks and spreading cracks are poorly developed. The pillows in the sills morphologically resemble pillow lava flows, and during sill intrusion, the magma bifurcated into pillow lobes in a manner similar to pillow lavas. Formation of pillows in sill probably occurs when the magma is intruded into wet sediments and protrudes fingers by the instability of the magma-sediment interface with little turbulence of magma flow.     

Theoretical and experimental dynamic behaviour of a curved model bridge structure

Correlations between analytical and experimental seismic responses of a curved model bridge structure, which was constructed to have the same features as a typical full-scale high curved highway bridge structure, are presented. Dynamic behaviour and seismic response of the experimental bridge model are examined with particular emphasis on the discontinuous behaviour of expansion joints. Modelling of Coulomb type friction with slippages and impacting at the expansion joints is described. Correlations of displacement response of the bridge model carried out for three seismic excitations are presented. Parameter studies conducted to assist in the interpretation of correlation results are presented and the characteristics of the dynamic behaviour of the bridge model are discussed.     

基于历史相似天气评估人工增雨效果

文章利用辽宁省1981～1990年10年无人工增雨作业的NCEP 500hPa高度场资料以及1996年、1997年有增雨作业的500hPa资料，对10年间无增雨日及两年中增雨日要素场采用“切比雪夫一傅立叶混合多项式”展开，以寻求两个要素场的最小相关值，藉此给出两年中不同增雨天气型的个例分析及23架次日增雨效果百分率。分析结果表明，在两个要素场达到最小相关值时，一方面两个要素场形势非常相似，另一方面在增雨日播撒区的降水量，大多明显地大于该区历史上非增雨日的降雨量，增雨基本上具有正效果；然而降水一般是由多因素相互作用产生的结果，在统计时也可能出现增雨的负效果或无效果，即“多异性”；但就总体而言，该方法有效地实现了一次增雨效果的评估。     

利用日中线法准确测定气象台站南北线

通过地球南北极的轴线所指的方向即为正南北方向,地面上任一点的南北方向线,称为该点的真子午线(或称南北线)。气象台站南北线的准确与否影响着辐射、日照、风等仪器的正确安装,从而影响着相关气象要素的正确采集。准确测定气象台站的南北线具有重要意义。测定南北线主要有北极     

Deformation structures in shale bed indicate flow direction of overlying Miocene subaqueous pyroclastic flow

Thrusts, pinch-and-swell structures and undulations are present within a 2-m-thick layered shale bed of Miocene age that is overlain by a rhyolite subaqueous pyroclastic flow deposit 2–3 m thick. The deformation structures were caused by loading and lateral compression by the subaqueous pyroclastic flow, probably analogous to those observed in layered muds deformed by a sand mass advancing across them. Prominent thrusts strike east-west and dip south, and the crests of undulations strike east-west, indicating that the subaqeuous pyroclastic flow moved northward.     

Earthquake response spectra taking account of number of response cycles

Proposed is a new definition of earthquake response spectra, which takes account of the number of response cycles N. The Nth largest amplitude of absolute acceleration response of a linear oscilator with natural period T and damping ratio h, which is subjected to ground motion at its base, is defined as S_A(T, h, N). By defining a reduction factor η(T, h, N) as S_A(T, h, N)/S_A(T, h, 1), characteristics of η(T, h, N) were investigated based on 394 components of strong motion records obtained in Japan. Two practical empirical formulae to assess the reduction factor η(T, h, N) are proposed.     

Ambient air measurements of six bifunctional carbonyls in a suburban area

Low-molecular-weight carbonyl compounds, generated by photochemical reactions in the atmosphere and found in the exhaust of motor vehicles, have recently come to the attention of researchers because some of them are suspected carcinogens or mutagens. Six bifunctional carbonyl compounds were detected and measured in a suburban site 30 km northwest of the Tokyo metropolitan area. Samples were taken on five sunny days between 2 August and 11 August 2003 with a low-volume denuder and three-filter tandem system using O-(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzyl)hydroxylamine (PFBHA) as a sorbent. Bifunctional carbonyls were measured by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry after two derivatization processes with PFBHA and N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA). The average total (gas plus particle) concentrations were 162.8 ng m^− 3 for pyruvic acid, 113.7 ng m^− 3 for methylglyoxal, 36.0 ng m^− 3 for glycolaldehyde and 58.6 ng m^− 3 for glyoxal.     

Hydraulic and numerical study on the generation of a subaqueous landslide-induced tsunami along the coast

By carrying out the hydraulic experiments in a one-dimensional open channel and two-dimensional basin, we clarified the process of how a landslide on a uniform slope causes the generation of a tsunami. The effect of the interactive force that occurs between the debris flow layer and the tsunami is significant in the generation of a tsunami. The continuous flow of the debris into the water makes the wave period of the tsunami short. The present experiments apply numerical simulation using the two-layer model with shear stress models on the bottom and interface, and the results are compared. The simulated debris flow shows good agreement with the measured results and ensures the rushing process into the water. We propose that the model use a Manning coefficient of 0.01 for the smooth slope and 0.015 for the rough slope, and a horizontal viscosity of 0.01 m²/s for the landslide; an interactive force of 0.2 for each layer is recommended. The dispersion effect should be included in the numerical model for the propagation from the shore.     

Latitudinal changes in larger benthic foraminiferal assemblages in shallow-water reef sediments along the Ryukyu Islands, Japan

Abstract The taxonomic diversity of hermatypic corals decreases with increasing latitude, which correlates with sea‐surface temperatures. However, little is known about latitudinal changes in the taxonomic diversity and biogeographic patterns of larger benthic foraminifera, although their physiological requirements are similar to those of hermatypic corals because of their symbiotic relationships with microalgae. The present study examined how the abundance and taxonomic composition of larger foraminiferal assemblages in shallow‐water reef sediments change with latitude along the Ryukyu Islands (Ryukyus), which are located near the northern limit of coral‐reef distributions in the western Pacific Ocean. Three islands from different latitudes in the Ryukyus were selected to investigate latitudinal changes in larger foraminiferal assemblages: Ishigaki Island (24°20′N, 124°10′E), Kudaka Island (26°09′N, 127°54′E) and Tane‐ga‐shima Island (30°20′N, 131°E). Four sediment samples were taken at each of three topographic sites (beach, shallow lagoon and reef crest) on the reef flat of each island. Foraminiferal tests of a 2.0‐ to 0.5‐mm size fraction were selected, identified and counted. The variations in foraminiferal abundance in reef sediments from three latitudinally different islands exhibit two contrasting trends along reef flats: a shoreward decrease on Ishigaki and Tane‐ga‐shima Islands and a shoreward increase on Kudaka Island. A total of 25, 24 and 13 foraminiferal taxa were identified in Ishigaki, Kudaka and Tane‐ga‐shima Islands, respectively. Baculogypsina sphaerulata, Neorotalia calcar and Amphistegina spp. were dominant (i.e. >3% of foraminiferal assemblages) in the three islands. Calcarina gaudichaudii and Calcarina hispida were common on Ishigaki and Kudaka Islands but were absent on Tane‐ga‐shima Island. Larger foraminiferal assemblages from three different reef‐flat environments on Ishigaki Island can be distinguished, whereas those from the three environments on Kudaka and Tane‐ga‐shima Islands are similar in composition. These latitudinal changes in larger foraminiferal assemblages in reef sediments may possibly be caused by variations in the topography of reef flats, distributions and standing crops of living foraminifers on reef flats, and the northern limit of some calcarinid species in the northern Ryukyus.