Mass transport deposits and processes in the north slope of the Xisha Trough,northern South China Sea

Triple mass-transport deposits （MTDs） with areas of 625, 494 and 902 km^2, respectively, have been identified on the north slope of the Xisha Trough, northern South China Sea margin. Based on high-resolution seismic reflection data and multi-beam bathymetric data, the Quaternary MTDs are characterized by typical geometric shapes and internal structures. Results of slope analysis showed that they are developed in a steep slope ranging from 5° to 35°. The head wall scarps of the MTDs arrived to 50 km in length （from headwall to termination）. Their inner structures include well developed basal shear surface, growth faults, stepping lateral scarps, erosion grooves, and frontal thrust deformation. From seismic images, the central deepwater channel system of the Xisha Trough has been filled by interbedded channel-levee deposits and thick MTDs. Therefore, we inferred that the MTDs in the deepwater channel system could be dominated by far-travelled slope failure deposits even though there are local collapses of the trough walls. And then, we drew the two-dimensional process model and three- dimensional structure model diagram af the MTDs. Combined with the regional geological setting and previous studies, we discussed the trigger mechanisms of the triple MTDs.

Numerical Simulations of Coastal Overwash Using A Phase-Averaged Wave−Current−Sediment Transport Model

Coastal overwash is a natural phenomenon that commonly occurs during storm events and can cause considerable changes in nearshore morphology within a short time.In this study,a complete set of empirical overwash transport algorithms is developed and introduced into a phase-averaged wave-current-sediment transport coupling model that integrates the Finite-Volume Community Ocean Model(FVCOM)and the Simulating Waves Nearshore(SWAN)model.The resulting morphological evolution model can simulate coastal overwash.Validation against the data obtained from multiple sets of laboratory overwash experiments demonstrates that the model performs relatively well in simulating morphological changes caused by runup overwash and inundation overwash under different hydrodynamic and beach profile conditions.The sensitivity of each empirical coefficient in the overwash transport algorithms is comprehensively analyzed.The effects of each coefficient on the output of the model are discussed,and a recommended value range is provided for each coefficient.

Road Charging in the Czech Republic and EU and External Costs of Transport

In the paper the Czech toll system and its future are presented. E-toll Czech project： Facts and Figures （today） are included and the next steps in the process of developing microwave infrastructure are mentioned. In the event of possible system extension of the roads of the 1st, 2rid and 3rd class （ca 55,000 km）, the satellite technology will be used. The feasibility of such a combination of these two technologies, microwave and satellite, is subject to the compatibility of both systems in terms of the control equipment. For the microwave toll system, economic analyses according to EU directives were prepared for the Czech Ministry of Transport. Special attention is paid to the problems of traffic congestion, noise and damage to the environment, on the basis of the ＂user pays＂ and ＂polluter pays＂ according to the Eurovignette Directive principles. A complete survey of the EU toll system is included in the list of information sources.

Effects of Atmospheric Pressure on Developmental Characteristics and the Stability of Air Entraining Agent for Concrete

In order to ascertain the effects of atmospheric pressure on developmental characteristics and the stability of AEA(air-entraining agent)solution bubbles,AEA solution experiments and AEA solution bubble experiments were,respectively,conducted in Peking(50 m,101.2 kPa)and Lhasa(3,650 m,63.1 kPa).Surface tensions and inflection-point concentrations were tested based on AEA solutions,whilst developmental characteristics,thicknesses and elastic coefficients of liquid films were tested based on air bubbles of AEA solutions.The study involved three types of AEAs,which were TM-O,226A,and 226S.The experimental results show that initial sizes of TM-O,226A,and 226S are,respectively,increased by 43.5%,17.5%,and 3.8%.With the decrease of ambient pressure,the drainage rate and the drainage index of AEA solution bubbles increase.Interference experiments show that the liquid film thicknesses of all tested AEA solution bubbles are in micron scales.When the atmospheric pressure decreases from 101.2 to 63.1 kPa,the liquid film thicknesses of three types of AEA solutions decrease in various degrees;and film elasticities at critical thicknesses increase.Liquid film of 226S solution bubbles is the most stable,presenting as a minimum thickness variation.It should be noted that elastic coefficient of liquid film only represents the level at critical thickness,thus it can not be applied as the only evaluating indicator of bubble stability.For a type of AEA,factors affecting the stability of its bubbles under low atmospheric pressure include initial bubbles size,liquid film thickness,liquid film elasticity,ambient temperature,etc.

Micro-structure and Macro-performance:Surface Layer Evolution of Concrete under Long-term Exposure in Harsh Plateau Climate

We conducted a series tests on surface layers of plateau concrete at the ages of 180 and 540 days,including the most superficial cement paste,the 5 mm thick surface mortar,and the 50 mm thick surface concrete.Thermogravimetry and nitrogen absorption porosimetry on cement past,mercury intrusion porosimetry on mortar,and microhardness test on interface transition zone between mortar and coarse aggregate were conducted to evaluate the hydration degree and characterize the micro-structure.Whilst,tests for the rebound strength,abrasion resistance,and chloride ion impenetrability of concrete were conducted to assess the macro-performance.The experimental results show that,affected by the harsh plateau climate,outward surfaces have lower hydration degrees and worse pore structure than inward surfaces.As the hydration of concrete surface is ongoing after the age of 180 days,both the micro-structure and the macro-performance are continuously improved.In the long-term,either the orientation or the depth towards surface does not significantly affect concrete performance.Surface carbonation brings positive effects on mechanical properties but negative effects on the durability.Additionally,standard test result of chloride ion impenetrability is found significantly affected by the atmospheric pressure.For a same batch of concrete,charge passed in plateau regions is obviously lower than that in common regions.

Effect of Wave Nonlinearity on the Instantaneous Seabed Liquefaction

The nonlinear variation of wave is commonly seen in nearshore area,and the resulting seabed response and liquefaction are of high concern to coastal engineers.In this study,an analytical formula considering the nonlinear wave skewness and asymmetry is adopted to provide wave pressure on the seabed surface.The liquefaction depth attenuation coefficient and width growth coefficient are defined to quantitatively characterize the nonlinear effect of wave on seabed liquefaction.Based on the 2D full dynamic model of wave-induced seabed response,a detailed parametric study is carried out in order to evaluate the influence of the nonlinear variation of wave loadings on seabed liquefaction.Further,new empirical prediction formulas are proposed to fast predict the maximum liquefaction under nonlinear wave.Results indicate that(1)Due to the influence of wave nonlinearity,the vertical transmission of negative pore water pressure in the seabed is hindered,and therefore,the amplitude decreases significantly.(2)In general,with the increase of wave nonlinearity,the liquefaction depth of seabed decreases gradually.Especially under asymmetric and skewed wave loading,the attenuation of maximum seabed liquefaction depth is the most significant among all the nonlinear wave conditions.However,highly skewed wave can cause the liquefaction depth of seabed greater than that under linear wave.(3)The asymmetry of wave pressure leads to the increase of liquefaction width,whereas the influence of skewedness is not significant.(4)Compared with the nonlinear waveform,seabed liquefaction is more sensitive to the variation of nonlinear degree of wave loading.

A Combination Prediction Model for Short Term Travel Demand of Urban Taxi

This study proposes a prediction model considering external weather and holiday factors to address the issue of accurately predicting urban taxi travel demand caused by complex data and numerous influencing factors.The model integrates the Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Adaptive Noise(CEEMDAN)and Convolutional Long Short Term Memory Neural Network(ConvLSTM)to predict short-term taxi travel demand.The CEEMDAN decomposition method effectively decomposes time series data into a set of modal components,capturing sequence characteristics at different time scales and frequencies.Based on the sample entropy value of components,secondary processing of more complex sequence components after decomposition is employed to reduce the cumulative prediction error of component sequences and improve prediction efficiency.On this basis,considering the correlation between the spatiotemporal trends of short-term taxi traffic,a ConvLSTM neural network model with Long Short Term Memory(LSTM)time series processing ability and Convolutional Neural Networks(CNN)spatial feature processing ability is constructed to predict the travel demand for urban taxis.The combined prediction model is tested on a taxi travel demand dataset in a certain area of Beijing.The results show that the CEEMDAN-ConvLSTM prediction model outperforms the LSTM,Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average model(ARIMA),CNN,and ConvLSTM benchmark models in terms of Symmetric Mean Absolute Percentage Error(SMAPE),Root Mean Square Error(RMSE),Mean Absolute Error(MAE),and R2 metrics.Notably,the SMAPE metric exhibits a remarkable decline of 21.03%with the utilization of our proposed model.These results confirm that our study provides a highly accurate and valid model for taxi travel demand forecasting.

Contribution of Surface Waves to Sea Surface Temperatures in the Arctic Ocean

The aim of our study was to examine the contribution of surface waves from WAVEWATCH-III(WW3)to the variation in sea surface temperature(SST)in the Arctic Ocean.The simulated significant wave height(SWH)were validated against the products from Haiyang-2B(HY-2B)in 2021,obtaining a root mean squared error(RMSE)of 0.45 with a correlation of 0.96 and scatter index of 0.18.The wave-induced effects,i.e.,wave breaking and mixing induced by nonbearing waves resulting in changes in radiation stress and Stokes drift,were calculated from WW3,ERA-5 wind,SST,and salinity data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction and were taken as forcing fields in the Stony Brook Parallel Ocean Model.The results showed that an RMSE of 0.81℃ with wave-induced effects was less than the RMSE of 1.11℃ achieved without the wave term compared with the simulated SST with the measurements from Argos.Considering the four wave effects and sea ice freezing,the SST in the Arctic Ocean decreased by up to 1℃ in winter.Regression analysis revealed that the SWH was linear in SST(values without subtraction of waves)in summer and autumn,but this behavior was not observed in spring or winter due to the presence of sea ice.The interannual variation also presented a negative relationship between the difference in SST and SWH.

Analysis of Sea Surface Temperature Cooling in Typhoon Events Passing the Kuroshio Current

The aim of this study is to investigate the sea surface temperature(SST) cooling as typhoons pass the Kuroshio Current.A numerical circulation model,denoted as the Stony Brook Parallel Ocean Model(sbPOM),was used to simulate the SST,which includes four wave-induced effect terms(i.e.,radiation stress,nonbreaking waves,Stokes drift,and breaking waves) simulated using the third-generation wave model,called WAVEWATCH-Ⅲ(WW3).The significant wave height(SWH) measurements from the Jason-2 altimeter were used to validate the WW3-simulated results,yielding a root mean square error(RMSE) of less than 0.50 m and a correlation coefficient(COR) of approximately 0.93.The water temperature measured from the Advanced Research and Global Observation Satellite was applied to validate the model simulation.Accordingly,the RMSE of the SST is 0.92℃ with a COR of approximately 0.99.As revealed in the sbPOM-simulated SST fields,a reduction in the SST at the Kuroshio Current region was observed as a typhoon passed,although the water temperature of the Kuroshio Current is relatively high.The variation of the SST is consistent with that of the current,whereas the maximum SST lagged behind the occurrence of the peak SWH.Moreover,the Stokes drift plays an important role in the SST cooling after analyzing four wave-induced terms in the background of the Kuroshio Current.The sensitivity experiment also showed that the accuracy of the water temperature was significantly reduced when including breaking waves,which play a negative role in the inside part of the ocean.The variation in the mean mixing layer depth(MLD) showed that a typhoon could enhance the mean MLD in the Kuroshio Current area in September and October,whereas a typhoon has little influence on the mean MLD in the Kuroshio Current area in May.Moreover,the mean MLD rapidly decreased with the weakening of the strong wind force and wave-induced effects when a typhoon crossed the Kuroshio Current.

Analysis of strength characteristics of loess before and after freezing using a hollow cylinder torsional shear apparatus

This paper aims to comprehensively analyze the influence of the principal stress angle rotation and intermediate principal stress on loess's strength and deformation characteristics. A hollow cylinder torsional shear apparatus was utilized to conduct tests on remolded samples under both normal and frozen conditions to investigate the mechanical properties and deformation behavior of loess under complex stress conditions. The results indicate significant differences in the internal changes of soil particles, unfrozen water, and relative positions in soil samples under normal and frozen conditions, leading to noticeable variations in strength and strain development.In frozen state, loess experiences primarily compressive failure with a slow growth of cracks, while at normal temperature, it predominantly exhibits shear failure. With the increase in the principal stress angle, the deformation patterns of the soil samples under different conditions become essentially consistent, gradually transitioning from compression to extension, accompanied by a reduction in axial strength. The gradual increase in the principal stress axis angle(α) reduces the strength of the generalized shear stress and shear strain curves.Under an increasing α, frozen soil exhibits strain-hardening characteristics, with the maximum shear strength occurring at α = 45°. The intermediate principal stress coefficient(b) also significantly impacts the strength of frozen soil, with an increasing b resulting in a gradual decrease in generalized shear stress strength. This study provides a reference for comprehensively exploring the mechanical properties of soil under traffic load and a reliable theoretical basis for the design and maintenance of roadbeds.

Numerical Simulation on Hydraulic Performances of Quarter Circular Breakwater

Quarter circular breakwater （QCB） is a new-type breakwater developed from senti-circular breakwater （SCB）. The superstructure of QCB is composed of a quarter circular front wall, a horizontal base slab and a vertical rear wall. The width of QCB＇ s base slab is about half that of SCB, which makes QCB suitable to be used on relatively finn soil foundation. The numerical wave flume based on the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations for impressible viscosity fluid is adopted in this paper to simulate the hydraulic performances of QCB. Since the geometry of both breakwaters is similar and SCB has been studied in depth, the hydraulic performances of QCB are given in comparison with those of SCB.

Prototype observation and influencing factors of environmental vibrationinduced by flood discharge

Due to a wide range of field vibration problems caused by flood discharge at the Xiangjiaba Hydropower Station, vibration characteristics and influencing factors were investigated based on prototype observation. The results indicate that field vibrations caused by flood discharge have distinctive characteristics of constancy, low frequency, small amplitude, and randomness with impact, which significantly differ from the common high-frequency vibration characteristics. Field vibrations have a main frequency of about 0.5-3.0 Hz and the characteristics of long propagation distance and large-scale impact. The vibration of a stilling basin slab runs mainly in the vertical direction. The vibration response of the guide wall perpendicular to the flow is significantly stronger than it is in other directions and decreases linearly downstream along the guide wall. The vibration response of the underground turbine floor is mainly caused by the load of unit operation. Urban environmental vibration has particular distribution characteristics and change patterns, and is greatly affected by discharge, scheduling modes, and geological conditions. Along with the increase of the height of residential buildings, vibration responses show a significant amplification effect. The horizontal and vertical vibrations of the 7th floor are, respectively, about 6 times and 1.5 times stronger than the corresponding vibrations of the 1st floor. The vibration of a large-scale chemical plant presents the combined action of flood discharge and working machines. Meanwhile, it is very difficult to reduce the low-frequency environmental vibrations. Optimization of the discharge scheduling mode is one of the effective measures of reducing the flow impact loads at present. Choosing reasonable dam sites is crucial.

Possibilities and challenges of expanding dimensions of waterway downstream of Three Gorges Dam

The waterway in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River has long been known as the Golden Waterway and has served as an important link in the construction of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.Therefore,expanding its dimensions is a significant goal,particularly given the long-range cumulative erosion occurring downstream of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD),which has been concentrated in the dry river channel.With the regulation of the volume from upstream reservoirs and the TGD,the minimum discharge and water level of the river downstream are increasing,and creating favorable conditions for the increase of the depth of the waterway.The discharge compensation effect during the dry season offsets the decline in the water level of the river channel caused by the down-cutting of part of the riverbed,but the minimum navigable water level of the segment near the dam still shows a declining trend.In recent years,several waterway remediation projects have been implemented in the downstream reaches of the TGD and although the waterway depth and width have been increased,the channel dimensions are still insufficient in the Yichang-Anqing reach (with a total length of 1026 km),as compared to the upstream reservoir area and the deep water channel in the downstream tidal reaches.A comprehensive analysis of the water depth and the number and length of shoals in the waterway indicates that its dimensions can be increased to 4.5 m ×200 m and 6.0 m×200 m in the Yichang-Wuhan and Wuhan-Anqing reaches,respectively.This is also feasible given the remediation technologies currently available,but remediation projects need to be coordinated with those for flood prevention and ecological protection.

Field measurement of strain response for typical asphalt pavement

In order to reveal the changing law of the mechanical response of asphalt pavements under the action of vehicle load and provide references for the design of durable pavements,three typical asphalt pavement structures with flexible base(S1),combined base(S2),and semi-rigid base(S3)were selected to perform field strain tests under static and dynamic load using the fiber Bragg grating optical sensing technology.The changing characteristics of the strain field along the horizontal and depth directions of pavements were analyzed.The results indicate that the most unfavorable asphalt pavement layers were the upper-middle surface layer and the lower base layer.In addition,the most unfavorable loading positions on the surface layer and the base layer were the center of wheel load and the gap center between two wheels,respectively.The most unfavorable layer of the surface layers gradually moved from the lower layer to the upper layer with the increase of base layer modulus.The power function relationships between structural layer strain and vehicle speed were revealed.The semi-rigid base asphalt pavement was the most durable pavement type,since its strain value was lower compared to those of the other structures.

Experimental Study on Wear Performance and Oil Film Characteristics of Surface Textured Cylinder Liner in Marine Diesel Engine

It is of a vital importance to reduce the frictional losses in marine diesel engines. Advanced surface textures have provided an e ective solution to friction performance of rubbing pairs due to the rapid development of surface engineering techniques. However,the mechanisms through which textured patterns and texturing methods prove beneficial remains unclear. To address this issue,the tribological system of the cylinder liner?piston ring(CLPR) is investigated in this work. Two types of surface textures(Micro concave,Micro V?groove) are processed on the cylinder specimen using di erent processing methods. Comparative study on the friction coe cients,worn surface texture features and oil film characteristics are performed. The results demonstrate that the processing method of surface texture a ect the performance of the CLPR pairs under the specific testing conditions. In addition the micro V?groove processed by CNCPM is more favorable for improving the wear performances at the low load,while the micro?con?cave processed by CE is more favorable for improving the wear performances at the high load. These findings are in helping to understand the e ect of surface texture on wear performance of CLPR.

Evaluation on Self-healing Mechanism and Hydrophobic Performance of Asphalt Modified by Siloxane and Polyurethane

In order to inhibit and remove the thin ice and extend the lifetime of the damaged bridge, the self-healing mechanism and hydrophobic performance of asphalt modified by siloxane and polyurethane (ASP) were studied by dynamic shear rheology (DSR), fluorescence microscope (FM), atomic force microscope (AFM), the fracture-healing-re-fracture test and molecular simulations. The experimental results indicated that the selfhealing capability of ASP increased with increasing heating time and temperature. Furthermore, the addition of siloxane could improve the reaction energy barrier and complex modulus, and it is believed that the self-healing is a viscosity driven process, consisting of two parts namely crack closure and properties recovery. Contact angle of ASP increased with the increasing siloxane content and it deduced that the siloxane could improve the hydrophobic performance of ASP and the ASP molecule model could simulate well the self-healing mechanism and hydrophobic performance of ASP.

A Simplified Nonlinear Model of Vertical Vortex-Induced Force on Box Decks for Predicting Stable Amplitudes of Vortex-Induced Vibrations

Wind-tunnel tests of a large-scale sectional model with synchronous measurements of force and vibration responses were carried out to investigate the nonlinear behaviors of vertical vortex-induced forces （VIFs） on three typical box decks （i.e., fully closed box, centrally slotted box, and semi-closed box）. The mechanisms of the onset, development, and self-limiting phenomenon of the vertical vortex-induced vibration （VlV） were also explored by analyzing the energy evolution of different vertical VIF components and their contributions to the vertical VIV responses. The results show that the nonlinear components of the vertical VIF often differ from deck to deck; the most important components of the vertical VIF, governing the stable amplitudes of the vertical VIV responses, are the linear and cubic components of velocity contained in the self-excited aerodynamic damping forces. The former provides a constant negative damping ratio to the vibration system and is thus the essential power driving the development of the VIV amplitude, while the latter provides a positive damping ratio proportional to the square of the vibration velocity and is actually the inherent factor making the VIV amplitude self-limiting. On these bases, a universal simplified nonlinear mathematical model of the vertical VIF on box decks of bridges is presented and verified in this paper; it can be used to predict the stable amplitudes of the vertical VIV of long-span bridges with satisfactory accuracy.

Probabilistic analysis of embankment slope stability in frozen ground regions based on random finite element method

Prediction on the coupled thermal-hydraulic fields of embankment and cutting slopes is essential to the assessment on evolution of melting zone and natural permafrost table, which is usually a key factor for permafrost embankment design in frozen ground regions. The prediction may be further complicated due to the inherent uncertainties of material properties. Hence, stochastic analyses should be conducted. Firstly, Karhunen-Loeve expansion is applied to attain the random fields for hydraulic and thermal conductions. Next, the mixed-form modified Richards equation for mass transfer （i.e., mass equation） and the heat transport equation for heat transient flow in a variably saturated frozen soil are combined into one equation with temperature unknown. Furthermore, the finite element formulation for the coupled thermal-hydraulic fields is derived. Based on the random fields, the stochastic finite element analyses on stability of embankment are carried out. Numerical results show that stochastic analyses of embankment stability may provide a more rational picture for the distribution of factors of safety （FOS）, which is definitely useful for embankment design in frozen ground regions.

Transportation Development Transition in China

Scientific development is an invaluable asset to a country.Policies and development modes should be carried out based on scientific findings not only in industry,but also in transportation infrastructure construction.Building an integrated transportation system,which is in line with the national requirements of China and supports sustainable socio-economic development,is a key strategic issue related to building a moderately prosperous society and achieving realistic goals of a medium-level developed country.Based on a systematic review of the advances in China's transportation infrastructure over the last 60 years,this paper explores the main drivers of transportation development,including national policy,transportation structure,investment efficiency,and technological innovation.Analysis shows that China's comprehensive transportation infrastructure construction since 1949 can be divided into five stages initiated by these drivers,which correspond to four transition modes:policy transition,structural transition,efficiency transition,and technology transition.The transition path of China's transportation development shows that the dominant factors have changed,and the interval for each transition has shortened.With the implementation of the '12th Five-Year Plan',China's transportation infrastructure construction is showing some new characteristics and facing a new development transition.Finally,this paper analyzes the trends in transportation development in China and concludes that technological innovation will be the main driving force to increase the transportation supply and service area in the future.

Study on Wave Dissipation of the Structure Combined by Baffle and Submerged Breakwater

This paper proposes a structure combined by baffle and submerged breakwater （abbreviated to SCBSB in the following texts）. Such a combined structure is conducive to the water exchange in the harbor, and has strong capability on wave dissipation. Our paper focuses on the discussion of two typical structures, i.e., the submerged baffle and rectangular breakwater combined with the upper baffle respectively, which are named as SCBSB 1 and SCBSB2 for short. The eigenfunction method corrected by experimental results is used to investigate the wave dissipation characteristics. It shows that the calculated results agree well with the experimental data and the minimum value of the wave transmission coefficient can be obtained when the distance between the front and rear structures is from 1/4 to 1/2 of the incident wave length.