Discussion on the influence of truncation of ground motion residual distribution on probabilistic seismic hazard assessment

Recent studies on assessment of a very low annual probability of exceeding （APE） ground motions, 10-4 or less, have highlighted the importance of the upper bound of ground motions when very low probability results are acquired. The truncation level adopted in probabilistic seismic hazard analysis （PSHA） should be determined by an aleatory uncertainty model （i.e., distribution model） of ground motions and the possible maximum and minimum ground motion values of a specific earthquake. However, at the present time, it is impossible to establish the upper bound model for ground motions based on the source characteristics and/or ground motion propagation. McGuire suggested a truncation level be fixed at a number of = 6, or the distribution of residuals be truncated in such a manner that site intensity cannot be greater than the epicenter intensity. This study aims to find a reasonable and feasible truncation level to be used in PSHA when the physical mechanism is not available to find the extreme ground motion. A mathematical analysis of the influence of the truncation level on PSHA, case studies of sites in different seismotectonic settings, and a distribution analysis of ground motion residuals are conducted in this study. It is concluded that = 4 is the minimum acceptable value for engineering applications for APEs within 0.002 to 10-4, and for low APEs, such as 10-5 and 10-6, the value of should be no less than 5 in most regions of China.

Effect of proppant sizes and injection modes on proppant transportation and distribution in the tortuous fracture model

Particle-fluid transport and placement mechanism in tortuous fracture played a crucial role in uncon-ventional reservoirs.Currently,most studies focused on mono-size proppant with fluid transport pro-cesses in tortuous fractures.However,the mixture-size proppant with fluid movement mechanism in tortuous fracture was still uncommon.Therefore,this study designed and applied a series of experiments with a physical analog model of a tortuous fracture with 120°and 90°-angled bends and combined high-speed camera-based equipment.This experimental system was used to track different-mixture-sized proppant particle motion trajectories for a series of proppant injection schemes;The following conclu-sions were drawn from this study:1.The pile-up processes mechanism in all investigated schemes were similar and could be reduced to four main stages.2.The packing structure at both sides of the fracture wall had different variation rates,which were controlled by the mix ratio(change from 1∶1-1∶5)of proppant size.3.Some new packing patterns,such as Zebra Stripe,had occurred,controlled by the different proppant injection sequences.4.Small-sized mono-proppant(30/50 mesh)had the highest transport efficiency in the tortuous fracture,followed by the mixed-sized multi-proppant(10/20 mesh:30/50 mesh),large-sized proppant(10/20 mesh)was the worst.5.An optimized alternating in-jection mode was recommended as injecting small-sized proppant first(30/50 mesh)and followed by mixed-sized multi-proppant(10/20 mesh:30/50 mesh),which could contribute to obtaining the optimal both proppant packing height and travel distance in tortuous fracture.6.Two correlations were devel-oped for predicting the proppant packing height and transportation distance.

A New View of the Dynamics of Particle Structure

The new view denies the existence of fundamental particles in matter, and instead states that any particle and matter is a dynamic superposition of three natural elements, motion, force, and emptiness. This paper proposes a new theory of the structure of matter and the unification of the four forces. A correct understanding of the logic of material structure will enable atomic energy and nuclear physics to generate new manufacturing ideas. The dissertation expounds the natural distribution of dynamics and forces in space and the new deterministic theory of dynamic relationship. This theory solves problems such as the unity of the four forces and the dynamic laws of the material structure. In practical applications, it can provide new theoretical guidance for industrial manufacturing such as nuclear energy, fusion engineering, new energy, new materials, battery energy storage, new-generation reactors, etc., and then adopt effective means in line with the laws of natural power to make the substances needed by human beings. The supply of resources and energy is perfectly satisfied. Applying this theoretical model of material structure to all aspects of the manufacturing industry will surely open up a new era of material civilization for human beings.

Retainability of canonical distributions for a Brownian particle controlled by a time-dependent harmonic potential

The retainability of canonical distributions for a Brownian particle controlled by a time-dependent harmonic potential is investigated in the overdamped and underdamped situations, respectively. Because of different time scales, the overdamped and underdamped Langevin equations(as well as the corresponding Fokker-Planck equations) lead to distinctive restrictions on protocols maintaining canonical distributions. Two special cases are analyzed in details: First, a Brownian particle is controlled by a time-dependent harmonic potential and embedded in medium with constant temperature; Second, a Brownian particle is controlled by a timedependent harmonic potential and embedded in a medium whose temperature is tuned together with the potential stiffness to keep a constant effective temperature of the Brownian particle. We find that the canonical distributions are usually retainable for both the overdamped and underdamped situations in the former case. However, the canonical distributions are retainable merely for the overdamped situation in the latter case. We also investigate general time-dependent potentials beyond the harmonic form and find that the retainability of canonical distributions depends sensitively on the specific form of potentials.