Calculation of Scale of Fluctuation and Variance Reduction Function

The scale of fluctuation is one of the vital parameters for the application of random field theory to the reliability analysis of geotechnical engineering. In the present study, the fluctuation function method and weighted curve fitting method were presented to make the calculation more simple and accurate. The vertical scales of fluctuation of typical layers of Tianjin Port were calculated based on a number of engineering geotechnical investigation data, which can be guidance to other projects in this area. Meanwhile, the influences of sample interval and type of soil index on the scale of fluctuation were analyzed, according to which, the principle of determining the scale of fluctuation when the sample interval changes was defined. It can be obtained that the scale of fluctuation is the basic attribute reflecting spatial variability of soil, therefore, the scales of fluctuation calculated according to different soil indexes should be basically the same. The non-correlation distance method was improved, and the principle of determining the variance reduction function was also discussed.

Quantitative assessment of the spatio-temporal correlations of seismic events induced by longwall coal mining

Rock failure process as a natural response to mining activities is associated with seismic events, which can pose a potential hazard to mine operators, equipment and infrastructures. Mining-induced seismicity has been found to be internally correlated in both time and space domains as a result of rock fracturing during progressive mining activities. Understanding the spatio-temporal(ST) correlation of mininginduced seismic events is an essential step to use seismic data for further analysis, such as rockburst prediction and caving assessment. However, there are no established methods to perform this critical task. Input parameters used for the prediction of seismic hazards, such as the time window of past data and effective prediction distance, are determined based on site-specific experience without statistical or physical reasons to support. Therefore, the accuracy of current seismic prediction methods is largely constrained, which can only be addressed by quantitively assessing the ST correlations of mininginduced seismicity. In this research, the ST correlation of seismic event energy collected from a study mine is quantitatively analysed using various statistical methods, including autocorrelation function(ACF), semivariogram and Moran’s I analysis. In addition, based on the integrated ST correlation assessment, seismic events are further classified into seven clusters, so as to assess the correlations within individual clusters. The correlation of seismic events is found to be quantitatively assessable, and their correlations may vary throughout the mineral extraction process.

Application of Random Process in Soil Profile Modeling

When using the random process in soil profile modeling, the stationary and ergodicity of the soil properties in the profile must be tested. This paper describes a procedure for stationary and ergodicity testing. Numerical examples were given for demonstration. A log-cosine function is suggested to simulate the correlation function, which has been proved to be good for soil profile modeling.