Introduction and Prospects of Gravity-1 Launch Vehicle’s Sea-Based Three Verticals Testing and Launch Mode

Gravity-1 was the world's first carrier rocket to adopt the sea-based “three vertical” testing launch mode. This article introduces the overall layout of the launch site and the workflow of rocket testing and launch for its maiden flight mission. The process of vertical assembly, vertical testing, vertical transportation, and sea-based hot launches are explained. Additionally, it provides an outlook on the improved “three vertical” testing and launch mode for future missions, such as land-based launches, rapid launches, and remote sea launches.

Pumping-induced Well Hydraulics and Groundwater Budget in a Leaky Aquifer System with Vertical Heterogeneity in Aquitard Hydraulic Properties

In groundwater hydrology,aquitard heterogeneity is often less considered compared to aquifers,despite its significant impact on groundwater hydraulics and groundwater resources evaluation.A semi-analytical solution is derived for pumping-induced well hydraulics and groundwater budget with consideration of vertical heterogeneity in aquitard hydraulic conductivity(K)and specific storage(S_(s)).The proposed new solution is innovative in its partitioning of the aquitard into multiple homogeneous sub-layers to enable consideration of various forms of vertically heterogeneous K or S_(s).Two scenarios of analytical investigations are explored:one is the presence of aquitard interlayers with distinct K or S_(s) values,a common field-scale occurrence;another is an exponentially depth-decaying aquitard S_(s),a regional-scale phenomenon supported by statistical analysis.Analytical investigations reveal that a low-K interlayer can significantly increase aquifer drawdown and enhance aquifer/aquitard depletion;a high-S_(s) interlayer can noticeably reduce aquifer drawdown and increase aquitard depletion.Locations of low-K or high-S_(s) interlayers also significantly impact well hydraulics and groundwater budget.In the context of an exponentially depth-decaying aquitard S_(s),a larger decay exponent can enhance aquifer drawdown.When using current models with a vertically homogeneous aquitard,half the sum of the geometric and harmonic means of exponentially depth-decaying aquitard S_(s) should be used to calculate aquitard depletion and unconfined aquifer leakage.

Study on the vertical deformations induced by terrestrial water storage changes in Huang-Huai-Hai river basin

Terrestrial water storage(TWs)variations are associated with water mass movements,which may cause the deformation displacements of the Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS)stations.This study investigates the spatio-temporal Tws variations and addresses the relationship between deformation variations observed in the Huang-Huai-Hai River Basin(HHHRB)and local hydrological features.Results indicate that the vertical velocities at the GNSS stations induced by TWS changes are relatively small,and the impacts of the terrestrial water storage changes are mainly reflected in the changes of seasonal characteristics.Although there is a downward TWS trend from 2011 to 2022 in most HHHRB areas,velocities from the vertical displacements of both Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment(GRACE)and GRACE Follow-On(GFO)and the GNSS reflect that the HHHRB is undergoing an uplift process,while the magnitude of the GRACE/GFO derived velocities is much smaller than that of the GNSS solutions.Common hydrological deformations estimated from GRACE/GFO and GNSS measurements reveal that the TWS-derived displacements can explain 54.5%of the GNSS seasonal variations,with the phases of terrestrial water storage advancing by about one month relative to GNss common signal phases.Moreover,the decrease of the groundwater storage in the HHHRB has been accelerating since 2008.After reaching its lowest level around mid-2020,it began to rise rapidly,which might be closely related to the implementation of the South-North Water Transfer Central Project.

Performance characteristics of the airlift pump under vertical solid-water-gas flow conditions for conveying centimetric-sized coal particles

In this study,the installation of an airlift pump with inner diameter of 102 mm and length of 5.64 m was utilized to consider the conveying process of non-spherical coal particles with density of 1340 kg/m3 and graining 25-44.5 mm.The test results revealed that the magnitude of increase in the solid transport rate due to the changes in the three tested parameters between compressed air velocity,submergence ratio,and feeding coal possibility was not the same,which are stand in range of 20%,75%,and 40%,respectively.Hence,creating the optimal airlift pump performance is highly dependent on submergence ratio.More importantly,we measured the solid volume fraction using the method of one-way valves in order to minimize the disadvantages of conventional devices,such as fast speed camera and conductivity ring sensor.The results confirmed that the volume fraction of the solid phase in the transfer process was always less than 12%.To validate present experimental data,the existing empirical correlations together with the theoretical equations related to the multiphase flow was used.The overall agreement between the theory and experimental solid delivery results was particularly good instead of the first stage of conveying process.This drawback can be corrected by omitting the role of friction and shear stress at low air income velocity.It was also found that the model developed by Kalenik failed to predict the performance of our airlift operation in terms of the mass flow rate of the coal particles.

Detection and analysis of landslide geomorphology based on UAV vertical photogrammetry

High-resolution landslide images are required for detailed geomorphological analysis in complex topographic environment with steep and vertical landslide distribution.This study proposed a vertical route planning method for unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs),which could achieve rapid image collection based on strictly calculated route parameters.The effectiveness of this method was verified using a DJI Mavic 2 Pro,obtaining high-resolution landslide images within the Dongchuan debris flow gully,in the Xiaojiang River Basin,Dongchuan District,Yunnan,China.A three-dimensional(3D)model was constructed by the structure-from-motion and multi-view stereo(SfM-MVS).Micro-geomorphic features were analyzed through visual interpretation,geographic information system(GIS),spatial analysis,and mathematical statistics methods.The results demonstrated that the proposed method could obtain comprehensive vertical information on landslides while improving measurement accuracy.The 3D model was constructed using the vertically oriented flight route to achieve centimeter-level accuracy(horizontal accuracy better than 6 cm,elevation accuracy better than 3 cm,and relative accuracy better than 3.5 cm).The UAV technology could further help understand the micro internal spatial and structural characteristics of landslides,facilitating intuitive acquisition of surface details.The slope of landslide clusters ranged from 36°to 72°,with the majority of the slope facing east and southeast.Upper elevation levels were relatively consistent while middle to lower elevation levels gradually decreased from left to right with significant variations in lower elevation levels.During the rainy season,surface runoff was abundant,and steep topography exacerbated changes in surface features.This route method is suitable for unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)landslide surveys in complex mountainous environments.The geomorphological analysis methods used will provide references for identifying and describing topographic features.

Tree species identity and interaction determine vertical forest structure in young planted forests measured by terrestrial laser scanning

Vertical forest structure is closely linked to multiple ecosystem characteristics,such as biodiversity,habitat,and productivity.Mixing tree species in planted forests has the potential to create diverse vertical forest structures due to the different physiological and morphological traits of the composing tree species.However,the relative importance of species richness,species identity and species interactions for the variation in vertical forest structure remains unclear,mainly because traditional forest inventories do not observe vertical stand structure in detail.Terrestrial laser scanning(TLS),however,allows to study vertical forest structure in an unprecedented way.Therefore,we used TLS single scan data from 126 plots across three experimental planted forests of a largescale tree diversity experiment in Belgium to study the drivers of vertical forest structure.These plots were 9–11years old young pure and mixed forests,characterized by four levels of tree species richness ranging from monocultures to four-species mixtures,across twenty composition levels.We generated vertical plant profiles from the TLS data and derived six stand structural variables.Linear mixed models were used to test the effect of species richness on structural variables.Employing a hierarchical diversity interaction modelling framework,we further assessed species identity effect and various species interaction effects on the six stand structural variables.Our results showed that species richness did not significantly influence most of the stand structure variables,except for canopy height and foliage height diversity.Species identity on the other hand exhibited a significant impact on vertical forest structure across all sites.Species interaction effects were observed to be site-dependent due to varying site conditions and species pools,and rapidly growing tree species tend to dominate these interactions.Overall,our results highlighted the importance of considering both species identity and interaction effects in choosing suitable species combinations for forest management practices aimed at enhancing vertical forest structure.

Enhancement of vertical phase separation in sequentially deposited organic photovoltaics through the independent processing of additives

Herein,the impact of the independent control of processing additives on vertical phase separation in sequentially deposited (SD) organic photovoltaics (OPVs) and its subsequent effects on charge carrier kinetics at the electron donor-acceptor interface are investigated.The film morphology exhibits notable variations,significantly depending on the layer to which 1,8-diiodooctane (DIO) was applied.Grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering analysis reveals distinctly separated donor/acceptor phases and vertical crystallinity details in SD films.Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis is employed to obtain component distributions in diverse vertical phase structures of SD films depending on additive control.In addition,nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy shows that DIO control significantly affects the dynamics of separated charges in SD films.In SD OPVs,DIO appears to act through distinct mechanisms with minimal restriction,depending on the applied layer.This study emphasizes the significance of morphological optimization in improving device performance and underscores the importance of independent additive control in the advancement of OPV technology.

Wind-sand flow simulation and radius optimization of highway embankment under different vertical curve radius

It is of great practical value to explore the correlation between the vertical curve radius of desert highway and the increase of sand accumulation in local lines,and to select the appropriate vertical curve radius for reducing the risk of sand accumulation.In this study,three-dimensional models of desert highway embankments with different vertical curve radii were constructed,and Fluent software was used to simulate the wind-sand flow field and sand accumulation distribution of vertical curve embankments.The results show that:(1)Along the direction of the road,the concave and the convex vertical curve embankments have the effect of collecting and diverging the wind-sand flow,respectively.When the radius of the concave vertical curve is 3000 m,5000 m,8000 m,10000 m and 20000 m,the wind velocity in the middle of the vertical curve is 31.76%,22.58%,10.78%,10.53%and 10.44%,higher than that at both ends.When the radius of the convex vertical curve is 6500 m,8000 m,10000 m,20000 m and 30000 m,the wind velocity at both ends of the vertical curve is 14.06%,9.99%,6.14%,3.22%and 2.41%,higher than that in the middle.The diversion effect also decreases with the increase of the radius.(2)The conductivity of the concave and convex vertical curve embankments with different radii is greater than 1,which is the sediment transport roadbed.The conductivity increases with the increase of radius and gradually tends to be stable.When the radius of the concave and convex vertical curves reaches 8000 m and 20000 m respectively,the phenomenon of sand accumulation is no longer serious.Under the same radius condition,the concave vertical curve embankment is more prone to sand accumulation than the convex one.(3)Considering the strength of the collection and diversion of the vertical curve embankment with different radii,and the sand accumulation of the vertical curve embankment in the desert section of Wuma Expressway,the radius of the concave vertical curve is not less than 8000 m,and the radius of the convex vertical curve is not less than 20000 m,which can effectively reduce the sand accumulation of the vertical curve embankment.In the desert highway area,the research results of this paper can provide reference for the design of vertical curve to ensure the safe operation of desert highway.

Modelling smear effect of vertical drains using a diameter reduction method

Vertical drains are used to accelerate consolidation of clays in ground improvement projects.Smear zones exist around these drains,where permeability is reduced due to soil disturbance caused by the installation process.Hansbo solution is widely used in practice to consider the effects of drain discharge capacity and smear on the consolidation process.In this study,a computationally efficient diameter reduction method(DRM)obtained from the Hansbo solution is proposed to consider the smear effect without the need to model the smear zone physically.Validated by analytical and numerical results,a diameter reduction factor is analytically derived to reduce the diameter of the drain,while achieving similar solutions of pore pressure dissipation profile as the classical full model of the smear zone and drain.With the DRM,the excess pore pressure u obtained from the reduced drain in the original un-disturbed soil zone is accurate enough for practical applications in numerical models.Such performance of DRM is independent of soil material property.Results also show equally accurate performance of DRM under conditions of multi-layered soils and coupled radial-vertical groundwater flow.

Predicting bathymetry based on vertical gravity gradient anomaly and analyses for various influential factors

The prediction of bathymetry has advanced significantly with the development of satellite altimetry.However,the majority of its data originate from marine gravity anomaly.In this study,based on the expression of vertical gravity gradient(VGG)of a rectangular prism,the governing equations for determining sea depths to invert bathymetry.The governing equation is solved by linearization through an iterative process,and numerical simulations verify its algorithm and its stability.We also study the processing methods of different interference errors.The regularization method improves the stability of the inversion process for errors.A piecewise bilinear interpolation function roughly replaces the low-frequency error,and numerical simulations show that the accuracy can be improved by 41.2%after this treatment.For variable ocean crust density,simulation simulations verify that the root-mean-square(RMS)error of prediction is approximately 5 m for the sea depth of 6 km if density is chosen as the average one.Finally,two test regions in the South China Sea are predicted and compared with ship soundings data,RMS errors of predictions are 71.1 m and 91.4 m,respectively.

Experimental Investigation on Vertical Hydraulic Transport of Ores in Deepsea Mining

Deepsea mining has been proposed since the 1960s to alleviate the lack of resources on land.Vertical hydraulic transport of collected ores from the seabed to the sea surface is considered the most promising method for industrial applications.In the present study,an indoor model test of the vertical hydraulic transport of particles was conducted.A noncontact optical method has been proposed to measure the local characteristics of the particles inside a vertical pipe,including the local concentration and particle velocity.The hydraulic gradient of ore transport was evaluated with various particle size distributions,particle densities,feeding concentrations and mixture flow velocities.During transport,the local concentration is larger than the feeding concentration,whereas the particle velocity is less than the mixture velocity.The qualitative effects of the local concentration and local fluid velocity on the particle velocity and slip velocity were investigated.The local fluid velocity contributes significantly to particle velocity and slip velocity,whereas the effect of the local concentration is marginal.A higher feeding concentration and mixture flow velocity result in an increased hydraulic gradient.The effect of the particle size gradation is slight,whereas the particle density plays a crucial role in the transport.

Physical insights into trapping effects on vertical GaN-on-Si trench MOSFETs from TCAD

Vertical GaN power MOSFET is a novel technology that offers great potential for power switching applications.Being still in an early development phase,vertical GaN devices are yet to be fully optimized and require careful studies to foster their development.In this work,we report on the physical insights into device performance improvements obtained during the development of vertical GaN-on-Si trench MOSFETs(TMOS’s)provided by TCAD simulations,enhancing the dependability of the adopted process optimization approaches.Specifically,two different TMOS devices are compared in terms of transfer-curve hysteresis(H)and subthreshold slope(SS),showing a≈75%H reduction along with a≈30%SS decrease.Simulations allow attributing the achieved improvements to a decrease in the border and interface traps,respectively.A sensitivity analysis is also carried out,allowing to quantify the additional trap density reduction required to minimize both figures of merit.

Seismic control of multi-degrees-of-freedom structures by vertical mass isolation method using MR dampers

Vertical mass isolation(VMI)is one of the novel methods for the seismic control of structures.In this method,the entire structure is assumed to consist of two mass and stiffness subsystems,and an isolated layer is located among them.In this study,the magnetorheological damper in three modes:passive-off,passive-on,and semi-active mode with variable voltage between zero and 9 volts was used as an isolated layer between two subsystems.Multi-degrees-of-freedom structures with 5,10,and 15 floors in two dimensions were examined under 11 pairs of near field earthquakes.On each level,the displacement of MR dampers was taken into account.The responses of maximum displacement,maximum inter-story drift,and maximum base shear in controlled and uncontrolled buildings were compared to assess the suggested approach for seismic control of the structures.According to the results,the semi-active control method can reduce the response by more than 12%compared to the uncontrolled mode in terms of maximum displacement of the mass subsystem of the structures.This method can reduce more than 16%and 20%of the responses compared to the uncontrolled mode in terms of maximum inter-story drift and base shear of the structure,respectively.

Survey on performance of vertical slot and nature-like fishways at Angu hydropower station, Southwest China

To restore dam-blocked natural fish migratory passages,a growing number of artificial fishways have been built in water conservancy and hydropower projects in China.The Angu hydropower station involved diverse important fish habitats in the lower reaches of the Daduhe River in Southwest China.Therefore,a vertical slot fishway(VSF)and a nature-like fishway(NLF)were built near the backwater area of the reservoir to connect the upstream and downstream habitats.Hydrodynamic and aquatic ecological surveys were conducted after the completion of the project to estimate the fish passing effect of the two fishways.The results indicated that both fishways were in effective operation and could maintain the desired hydrodynamic conditions and be used by several local fish species.During the survey,149 fish from 15 species and 111 fish from 17 species were captured by the traps in the VSF and NLF,respectively,while 1263 fish from 27 species were found in the downstream area.Some species captured in the VSF were not found in the NLF,and vice versa,which implied the different preferences of fish.Meanwhile,3789 signals including 2099 upward ones and 1690 downward ones were monitored with an ultrasonic fish detector at the inlet of the VSF.These findings revealed the characteristics of fish species observed in and near the fishways and provided valuable insights into the different fish passing capabilities of VSFandNLF.

Monitoring absolute vertical land motions and absolute sea-level changes from GPS and tide gauges data over French Polynesia

In this study,we estimate the absolute vertical land motions at three tidal stations with collocated Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS)receivers over French Polynesia during the period 2007-2020,and obtain,as ancillary results,estimates of the absolute changes in sea level at the same locations.To verify our processing approach to determining vertical motion,we first modeled vertical motion at the International GNSS Service(IGS)THTI station located in the capital island of Tahiti and compared our estimate with previous independent determinations,with a good agreement.We obtained the following estimates for the vertical land motions at the tide gauges:Tubuai island,Austral Archipelago-0.92±0.17 mm/yr,Vairao village,Tahiti Iti:-0.49±0.39 mm/yr,Rikitea,Gambier Archipelago-0.43±0.17 mm/yr.The absolute variations of the sea level are:Tubuai island,Austral Archipelago 5.25±0.60 mm/yr,Vairao village,Tahiti Iti:3.62±0.52 mm/yr,Rikitea,Gambier Archipelago 1.52±0.23 mm/yr.We discuss these absolute values in light of the values obtained from altimetric measurements and other means in French Polynesia.

Adaptive Robust Servo Control for Vertical Electric Stabilization System of Tank and Experimental Validation

A tracking stability control problem for the vertical electric stabilization system of moving tank based on adaptive robust servo control is addressed.This paper mainly focuses on two types of possibly fast timevarying but bounded uncertainty within the vertical electric stabilization system:model parameter uncertainty and uncertain nonlinearity.First,the vertical electric stabilization system is constructed as an uncertain nonlinear dynamic system that can reflect the practical mechanics transfer process of the system.Second,the dynamical equation in the form of state space is established by designing the angular tracking error.Third,the comprehensive parameter of system uncertainty is designed to estimate the most conservative effects of uncertainty.Finally,an adaptive robust servo control which can effectively handle the combined effects of complex nonlinearity and uncertainty is proposed.The feasibility of the proposed control strategy under the practical physical condition is validated through the tests on the experimental platform.This paper pioneers the introduction of the internal nonlinearity and uncertainty of the vertical electric stabilization system into the settlement of the tracking stability control problem,and validates the advanced servo control strategy through experiment for the first time.

A vertical track nonlinear energy sink

Eliminating the effects of gravity and designing nonlinear energy sinks(NESs)that suppress vibration in the vertical direction is a challenging task with numerous damping requirements.In this paper,the dynamic design of a vertical track nonlinear energy sink(VTNES)with zero linear stiffness in the vertical direction is proposed and realized for the first time.The motion differential equations of the VTNES coupled with a linear oscillator(LO)are established.With the strong nonlinearity considered of the VTNES,the steady-state response of the system is analyzed with the harmonic balance method(HBM),and the accuracy of the HBM is verified numerically.On this basis,the VTNES prototype is manufactured,and its nonlinear stiffness is identified.The damping effect and dynamic characteristics of the VTNES are studied theoretically and experimentally.The results show that the VTNES has better damping effects when strong modulation responses(SMRs)occur.Moreover,even for small-amplitude vibration,the VTNES also has a good vibration suppression effect.To sum up,in order to suppress the vertical vibration,an NES is designed and developed,which can suppress the vertical vibration within certain ranges of the resonance frequency and the vibration intensity.

Limit load and failure mechanisms of a vertical Hoek-Brown rock slope

The problem considered in this short note is the limit load determination of a vertical rock slope.The classical limit theorem is employed with the use of adaptive finite elements and nonlinear programming to determine upper and lower bound limit loads of a Hoek-Brown vertical rock slope.The objective function of the mathematical programming problem is such as to optimize a boundary load,which is known as the limit load,resembling the ultimate bearing capacity of a strip footing.While focusing on the vertical slope,parametric studies are carried out for several dimensionless ratios such as the dimensionless footing distance ratio,the dimensionless height ratio,and the dimensionless rock strength ratio.A comprehensive set of design charts is presented,and failure envelopes shown with the results explained in terms of three identified failure mechanisms,i.e.the face,the toe,and the Prandtl-type failures.These novel results can be used with great confidence in design practice,in particularly noting that the current industry-based design procedures for the presented problem are rarely found.

Longitudinal vibration characteristics of a tapered pipe pile considering the vertical support of surrounding soil and construction disturbance

This research is concentrated on the longitudinal vibration of a tapered pipe pile considering the vertical support of the surrounding soil and construction disturbance.First,the pile-soil system is partitioned into finite segments in the vertical direction and the Voigt model is applied to simulate the vertical support of the surrounding soil acting on the pile segment.The surrounding soil is divided into finite ring-shaped zones in the radial direction to consider the construction disturbance.Then,the shear complex stiffness at the pile-soil interface is derived by solving the dynamic equilibrium equation for the soil from the outermost to innermost zone.The displacement impedance at the top of an arbitrary pile segment is obtained by solving the dynamic equilibrium equation for the pile and is combined with the vertical support of the surrounding soil to derive the displacement impedance at the bottom of the upper adjacent segment.Further,the displacement impedance at the pile head is obtained based on the impedance function transfer technique.Finally,the reliability of the proposed solution is verified,followed by a sensitivity analysis concerning the coupling effect of the pile parameters,construction disturbance and the vertical support of the surrounding soil on the displacement impedance of the pile.

Accuracy assessment of global vertical displacement loading tide models for the equatorial and Indian Ocean

The three-dimensional displacements caused by ocean loading effects are significant enough to impact spatial geodetic measurements on sub-daily or longer timescales,particularly in the vertical direction.Currently,most tide models incorporate the distribution of vertical displacement loading tides;however,their accuracy has not been assessed for the equatorial and Indian Ocean regions.Global Positioning System(GPS)observations provide high-precision data on sea-level changes,enabling the assessment of the accuracy and reliability of vertical displacement tide models.However,because the tidal period of the K_(2) constituent is almost identical to the orbital period of GPS constellations,the estimation of the K_(2) tidal constituent from GPS observations is not satisfactory.In this study,the principle of smoothness is employed to correct the systematic error in K_(2) estimates in GPS observations through quadratic fitting.Using the adjusted harmonic constants from 31 GPS stations for the equatorial and Indian Ocean,the accuracy of eight major constituents from five global vertical displacement tide models(FES2014,EOT11a,GOT4.10c,GOT4.8,and NAO.99b)is evaluated for the equatorial and Indian Ocean.The results indicate that the EOT11a and FES2014 models exhibit higher accuracy in the vertical displacement tide models for the equatorial and Indian Ocean,with root sum squares errors of 2.29 mm and 2.34 mm,res-pectively.Furthermore,a brief analysis of the vertical displacement tide distribution characteristics of the eight major constituents for the equatorial and Indian Ocean was conducted using the EOT11a model.