Application of micropolar plasticity to post failure analysis in geomechanics

A micropolar elastoplastic model for soils is formulated and a series of finite element analyses are employed to demonstrate the use of a micropolar continuum in overcoming the numerical difficulties encountered in application of finite element method in standard Cauchy–Boltzmann continuum. Three examples of failure analysis involving a deep excavation, shallow foundation, and a retaining wall are presented. In all these cases, it is observed that the length scale introduced in the polar continuum regularizes the incremental boundary value problem and allows the numerical simulation to be continued until a clear collapse mechanism is achieved. The issue of grain size effect is also discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A qualitative and quantitative evaluation of experimental model catchment evolution

Due to the geological time scales required for observation of catchment evolution, surrogates or analogues of field data are necessary to understand long‐term processes. To investigate long‐term catchment behaviour, two experimental model catchments that developed without rigid boundaries under controlled conditions are examined and a qualitative and quantitative analysis of their evolution is presented. Qualitatively, the experimental catchments have the visual appearance of field scale data. Observation demonstrates that changes in catchment shape and network form are conservative. Quantitative analysis suggests that the catchments reach an equilibrium form while a reduction in the channel network occurs. While the catchments are laboratory scale models, the results provide insights into field scale behaviour. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

PROPAGATION OF 30—60 DAY LOW FREQUENCY OSCILLATIONS AND THEIR INFLUENCE UPON THE SUBTROPICAL WESTERLIES JET STREAM DURING NORTHERN HEMISPHERE WINTER

Based on daily ECMWF gridpoint data of two winters during 1981—1983 including an ENSOyear,propagation of low frequency oscillations(LFO)during Northern Hemisphere winters andtheir influences upon 30—60 day oscillations of the subtropical jet stream are studied with the sta-tistical methods as complex empirical orthogonal function(CEOF)and so on.Results show that inthe winter of a normal year(1981—1982),30—60 day oscillations in the subtropical zone aremainly in the northern and southern flanks of exit region of jet stream.In the ENSO year(1982—1983),they are mainly in the vicinity of entrance and exit regions of jet stream.Intraseasonalchanges of subtropical jet stream manifested themselves as latitudinal fluctuation or longitudinalprogression or regression of about 40 day period.There are marked differences between propagat-ing passages of low frequency modes responsible for changes of subtropical jet stream in the normalyear(1981—1982)and in the ENSO year(1982—1983).Changes of oscillation amplitude showobvious phases.In general,the one in late winter is stronger than that in early winter,strongestone occurs in February.     

A note on turbulent perturbations of salinity in a partially mixed estuary

Measurements of salinity perturbations in a partially mixed estuary have been used to evaluate the usefulness of an inductive salinometer and to determine some of the characteristics of the salinity perturbations. The salinometer performed satisfactorily under most conditions. Although internal wave like effects were present, the turbulence fluctuations were dominant. The salinity fluctuations and the turbulent fluxes $\text{sw}$ and $\text{su}$ were found to behave in a manner similar to the density fluctuations in a thermally stratified atmospheric boundary layer and a laboratory open channel flow. A quadrant analysis suggested that the contribution of each quadrant to the turbulent flux changed with Ri. The turbulence parameters ν and c_γ were found to decrease and increase respectively as Ri increases.     

图象的模型及其统计特性

本文对图象的统计特性及其适用模型作了分析。讨论了以前常用的平稳图象模型的缺陷,对实际图象的统计特性作了分析,认为它是非平稳的,不满足各态历经性,同时在空间上是高度相关的;讨论了相应的随机参数统计模型和描述性统计模型。指出作用于整幅图象的“全局”图象复原算法比每次只独立计算单个象元的“点”图象复原算法更为优越。     

Discrimination of sedimentary facies by association analysis

The ability of association analysis to discriminate sedimentary facies was tested on Purdy's modal analyses of modern sediments of the Great Bahama Bank. Purdy's data set has served in the past as a standard reference for evaluating various multivariate classification algorithms. In order to adapt Purdy's data to association analysis, the percent abundance of the 12 constituents was converted to binary form by dichotomizing each variable on its mean value. The results obtained by association analysis are virtually identical to those obtained by Purdy and other authors. The same four main sedimentary facies were discriminated; 86% of the samples were identically classified (97% when misclassified borderline cases are counted as matches); the total partition variance of the classification is only negligibly greater (4%); and the grouping of the variables yielded the same four groups. The rank order of the three division-attributes responsible for the sample classification is fines, oolites, and corals. Association analysis has been employed by other authors to differentiate meaningful facies groups in studies of ancient reef carbonates, modern reef sediments, and heavy minerals in stream sediments. In all these studies, the results were found to be compatible with those obtained by using the continuous quantitative measurements, indicating that qualitative binary data may often be sufficient for the purpose of facies discrimination in many branches of geology and that association analysis is an effective method for this purpose.     

Contribution of storms to groundwater recharge in the semi‐arid region of Karnataka,India

This paper describes the application of environmental isotopes and injected tracer techniques in estimating the contribution of storms as well as annual precipitation to groundwater recharge and its circulation, in the semi‐arid region of Bagepalli, Kolar district, Karnataka. Environmental isotopes ²H, ¹⁸O and ³H were used to study the effect of storms on the hydrological system, and an isotope balance was used to compute the contribution of a storm component to the groundwater. Some of the groundwater samples collected during the post‐storm periods were highly depleted in stable isotope content with higher deuterium excess relative to groundwater from the pre‐storm periods. Significant variation in deuterium excess in groundwater from the same area, collected in two different periods, indicates the different origin of air masses. The estimated recharge component of a storm event of 600 mm to the groundwater was found to be in the range of 117–165 mm. There was no significant variation in environmental tritium content of post‐storm and pre‐storm groundwater, indicating the fast circulation of groundwater in the system. After completion of the environmental isotope work, an injected radiotracer ³H technique was applied to estimate the direct recharge of total precipitation to the groundwater. The estimated recharge to the groundwater is 33 mm of the 550 mm annual precipitation during 1992. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Statistical Analysis of Migration of Strong Earthquakes-Taking the North China Region as an Example

The migration of strong earthquakes is an important research topic because the migration phenomena reflect partly the seismic mechanism and involve the prediction of tendency of seismic activity. Research on migration of strong earthquakes has mostly focused on finding the phenomena. Some attempts on getting regularity were comparatively subjective. This paper suggests that there should be indices of migration in earthquake dataset and the indexes should have statistical meaning if there is regularity in the migration of strong earthquakes. In this study, three derivative attributes of migration, i.e., migration orientation, migration distance and migration time interval, were statistically analyzed. Results in the North China region show that the migration of strong earthquakes has statistical meaning. There is a dominant migration orientation (W by S to E by N), a dominant distance (≤100km and on the confines of 300～700km), and a dominant time interval (≤1a and on the confines of 3～4a). The results also show that the migration will differ slightly with different magnitude range or earthquake activity phase.