Boulder-induced form roughness and skin shear stresses in a gravel-bed stream

Boulder spacing in mountain rivers and near-wake flow zones within the boulder array is very useful for fish habitat and growth of aquatic organisms.The present study aims to investigate how the boulder array and spacing influence the near-bed flow structures in a gravel-bed stream.Boulders are staggered over a gravel-bed stream with three different inter-boulder spacing namely(a)large(b)medium and(c)small spacing.An acoustic Doppler velocimeter was used for flow measurements in a rectangular channel and the results were compared with those acquired from numerical simulation.The time-averaged velocity profiles at the near-wake flow zones of boulders experience maximum flow retardation which is an outcome of the boulder-induced form roughness.The ratio of velocity differences associated to form and skin roughness and its positive magnitude reveals the dominance of form roughness closest to the boulders.Form roughness computed is 1.75 to 2 times higher than the skin roughness at the near-wake flow region.In particular,the collective immobile boulders placed at different inter-boulder spacings developed high and low bed shear stresses closest to the boulders.The low bed shear stresses characterised by a secondary peak developed at the trough location of the boulders is attributed to the skin shear stress.Further,the spatial averaging of time-averaged flow quantities gives additional impetus to present an improved illustration of fluid shear stresses.The formation of form-induced shear stress is estimated to be 17%to 23%of doubleaveraged Reynolds shear stress and partially compensates for the damping of time-averaged Reynolds shear stress in the interfacial sub-layer.The quadrant analysis of spatial velocity fluctuations depicts that the form-induced shear stresses are dominant in the interfacial sub-layer and have no significance above the gravel-bed surface.

Experimental and simulation study on shear stress-induced erythrocyte damage based on vortex oscillator

Background:Shear stress-induced erythrocyte damage,namely hemolysis,is an important problem in the development of blood-contacting medical devices such as mechanical circulatory support devices.Computational fluid dynamics simulation combined with hemolysis prediction models have been widely used to predict hemolysis.With the development of hemolysis prediction models,the new hemolysis prediction model requires more experimental data to verify.In addition,the difference of in vitro blood-shearing device also affect the accuracy of hemolysis prediction.Methods:To address these problems,a new in vitro blood-shearing device(vortex oscillator)was used to further verify the accuracy of the hemolysis prediction models,and to guide the optimal design of blood-contacting medical devices such as mechanical circulatory support devices.Firstly,the flow field information such as wall stress and velocity of the vortex oscillator under different speeds was analyzed.Secondly,different hemolysis prediction models were used to calculate hemolysis,and the predicted data was compared with the experimental data.Results and Conclusion:In this study,the flow field information inside the vortex oscillator at high rotational speeds was systematically investigated,and the prediction of hemolysis was carried out.The results showed that the predicted data of hemolysis was significantly different from the experimental data,which indicated that it was urgent to establish a standardized in vitro blood-shearing platform to provide a reference for accurate hemolysis prediction.

Shear sliding of rough-walled fracture surfaces under unloading normal stress

Through high-precision engraving,self-affine sandstone joint surfaces with various joint roughness coefficients(JRC=3.21e12.16)were replicated and the shear sliding tests under unloading normal stress were conducted regarding various initial normal stresses(1e7 MPa)and numbers of shearing cycles(1 e5).The peak shear stress of fractures decreased with shear cycles due to progressively smooth surface morphologies,while increased with both JRC and initial normal stress and could be verified using the nonlinear Barton-Bandis failure criterion.The joint friction angle of fractures exponentially increased by 62.22%e64.87%with JRC while decreased by 22.1%e24.85%with shearing cycles.After unloading normal stress,the sliding initiation time of fractures increased with both JRC and initial normal stress due to more tortuous fracture morphologies and enhanced shearing resistance capacity.The surface resistance index(SRI)of fractures decreased by 4.35%e32.02%with increasing shearing cycles due to a more significant reduction of sliding initiation shear stress than that for sliding initiation normal stress,but increased by a factor of 0.41e1.64 with JRC.After sliding initiation,the shear displacement of fractures showed an increase in power function.By defining a sliding rate threshold of 5105 m/s,transition from“quasi-static”to“dynamic”sliding of fractures was identified,and the increase of sliding acceleration steepened with JRC while slowed down with shearing cycles.The normal displacement experienced a slight increase before shear sliding due to deformation recovery as the unloading stress was unloaded,and then enhanced shear dilation after sliding initiation due to climbing effects of surface asperities.Dilation was positively related to the shear sliding velocity of fractures.Wear characteristics of the fracture surfaces after shearing failure were evaluated using binary calculation,indicating an increasing shear area ratio by 45.24%e91.02%with normal stress.

Antiplane shear crack in a prestressed elastic medium based on the couple stress theory

A prestressed elastic medium containing a mode-Ⅲcrack is studied by means of the couple stress theory(CST).Based on the CST under initial stresses,a governing differential equation along with a mixed boundary value problem is established.The singularities of the couple stress and force stress near the crack tips are analyzed through the asymptotic crack-tip fields resulting from the characteristic expansion method.To determine their intensity,a hypersingular integral equation is derived and numerically solved with the help of the Chebyshev polynomial.The obtained results show a strong size-dependence of the out-of-plane displacement on the crack and the couple stress intensity factor(CSIF)and the force stress intensity factor(FSIF)around the crack tips.The symmetric part of the shear stress has no singularity,and the skew-symmetric part related to the couple stress exhibits an r^(-3/2)singularity,in which r is the distance from the crack tip.The initial stresses also affect the crack tearing displacement and the CSIF and FSIF.

Effects of temperature on critical resolved shear stresses of slip and twining in Mg single crystal via experimental and crystal plasticity modeling

Magnesium(Mg)single crystal specimens with three different orientations were prepared and tested from room temperature to 733 K in order to systematically evaluate effects of temperature on the critical resolved shear stress(CRSS)of slips and twinning in Mg single crystals.The duplex non-basal slip took place in the temperature range from 613 to 733 K when the single crystal samples were stretched along the<0110>direction.In contrast,the single basal slip and prismatic slip were mainly activated in the temperature range from RT to 733 K when the tensile directions were inclined at an angle of 45°with the basal and the prismatic plane,respectively.Viscoplastic self-consistent(VPSC)crystal modeling simulations with genetic algorithm code(GA-code)were carried out to obtain the best fitted CRSSs of major deformation modes,such as basal slip,prismatic slip,pyramidalⅡ,{1012}tensile twinning and{1011}compressive twinning when duplex slips accommodated deformation.Additionally,CRSSs of the basal and the prismatic slip were derived using the Schmid factor(SF)criterion when the single slip mainly accommodated deformation.From the CRSSs of major deformation modes obtained by the VPSC simulations and the SF calculations,the CRSSs for basal slip and{1012}tensile twinning were found to show a weak temperature dependence,whereas those for prismatic,slip and{1011}compressive twinning exhibited a strong temperature dependence.From the comparison of previous results,VPSC-GA modeling was proved to be an effective method to obtain the CRSSs of various deformation modes of Mg and its alloys.

Stiffness and Shear Stress Distribution of Glulam Beams in Elastic-Plastic Stage:Theory,Experiments and Numerical Modelling

Traditional methods focus on the ultimate bending moment of glulam beams and the fracture failure of materials with defects,which usually depends on empirical parameters.There is no systematic theoretical method to predict the stiffness and shear distribution of glulam beams in elastic-plastic stage,and consequently,the failure of such glulam beams cannot be predicted effectively.To address these issues,an analytical method considering material nonlinearity was proposed for glulam beams,and the calculating equations of deflection and shear stress distribution for different failure modes were established.The proposed method was verified by experiments and numerical models under the corresponding conditions.Results showed that the theoretical calculations were in good agreement with experimental and numerical results,indicating that the equations proposed in this paper were reliable and accurate for such glulam beams with wood material in the elastic-plastic stage ignoring the influence of mechanic properties in radial and tangential directions of wood.Furthermore,the experimental results reported by the previous studies indicated that the method was applicable and could be used as a theoretical reference for predicting the failure of glulam beams.

Rheological properties and concentration evolution of thickened tailings under the coupling effect of compression and shear

Cemented paste backfill(CPB)is a key technology for green mining in metal mines,in which tailings thickening comprises the primary link of CPB technology.However,difficult flocculation and substandard concentrations of thickened tailings often occur.The rheological properties and concentration evolution in the thickened tailings remain unclear.Moreover,traditional indoor thickening experiments have yet to quantitatively characterize their rheological properties.An experiment of flocculation condition optimization based on the Box-Behnken design(BBD)was performed in the study,and the two response values were investigated:concentration and the mean weighted chord length(MWCL)of flocs.Thus,optimal flocculation conditions were obtained.In addition,the rheological properties and concentration evolution of different flocculant dosages and ultrafine tailing contents under shear,compression,and compression-shear coupling experimental conditions were tested and compared.The results show that the shear yield stress under compression and compression-shear coupling increases with the growth of compressive yield stress,while the shear yield stress increases slightly under shear.The order of shear yield stress from low to high under different thickening conditions is shear,compression,and compression-shear coupling.Under compression and compression-shear coupling,the concentration first rapidly increases with the growth of compressive yield stress and then slowly increases,while concentration increases slightly under shear.The order of concentration from low to high under different thickening conditions is shear,compression,and compression-shear coupling.Finally,the evolution mechanism of the flocs and drainage channels during the thickening of the thickened tailings under different experimental conditions was revealed.

Shear band evolution and acoustic emission characteristics of sandstone containing non-persistent flaws

Direct shear tests were conducted on sandstone specimens under different constant normal stresses to study the coalescence of cracks between non-persistent flaws and the shear sliding characteristics of the shear-formed fault.Digital image correlation and acoustic emission(AE)techniques were used to monitor the evolution of shear bands at the rock bridge area and microcracking behaviors.The experimental results revealed that the shear stresses corresponding to the peak and sub-peak in the stressdisplacement curve are significantly affected by the normal stress.Strain localization bands emerged at both the tip of joints and the rock bridge,and their extension and interaction near the peak stress caused a surge in the AE hit rate and a significant decrease in the AE b value.Short and curvilinear strain bands were detected at low normal stress,while high normal stress generally led to more microcracking events and longer coplanar cracks at the rock bridge area.Furthermore,an increase in normal stress resulted in a higher AE count rate and more energetic AE events during friction sliding along the shearformed fault.It was observed that the elastic energy released during the crack coalescence at the prepeak stage was much greater than that released during friction sliding at the post-peak stage.More than 75%of AE events were located in the low-frequency band(0e100 kHz),and this proportion continued to rise with increasing normal stress.Moreover,more AE events of low AF value and high RA value were observed in specimens subjected to high normal stress,indicating that greater normal stress led to more microcracks of shear nature.

Evaluation of the coefficient of lateral stress at rest of granular materials under repetitive loading conditions

Although the internal stress state of soils can be affected by repetitive loading,there are few studies evaluating the lateral stress(or K_(0))of soils under repetitive loading.This study investigates the changes in K_(0) and directional shear wave velocity(V_(s))in samples of two granular materials with different particle shapes during repetitive loading.A modified oedometer cell equipped with bender elements and a diaphragm transducer was developed to measure the variations in the lateral stress and the shear wave velocity,under repetitive loading on the loading and unloading paths.The study produced the following results:(1)Repetitive loading on the loading path resulted in an increase in the K_(0) of test samples as a function of cyclic loading number(i),and(2)Repetitive loading on the unloading path resulted in a decrease in K_(0) according to i.The shear wave velocity ratio(i.e.V_(s)(HH)/V_(s)(VH),where the first and second letters in parentheses corresponds to the directions of wave propagation and particle motion,respectively,and V and H corresponds to the vertical and horizontal directions,respectively)according to i supports the experimental observations of this study.However,when the tested material was in lightly over-consolidated state,there was an increase in K_(0) during repetitive loading,indicating that it was the initial K_(0),rather than the loading path,which is responsible for the change in K_(0).The power model can capture the variation in the K_(0) of samples according to i.Notably,the K_(0)=1 line acts as the boundary between the increase and decrease in K_(0) under repetitive loading.

Assessment of Calf Skeletal Muscle Stiffness in Diabetic Nephropathy Patients with Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome by Two-Dimensional Shear Wave Elastography

Objective:To explore the feasibility of two-dimensional shear wave elastography in evaluating calf skeletal muscle stiffness in diabetic nephropathy patients with medial tibial stress syndrome.Methods:A total of 48 diabetic nephropathy patients with medial tibial stress syndrome from January 2020 to December 2022 were included as the study group,and 48 patients with diabetic nephropathy during the same period were included as the control group.Both groups were detected by two-dimensional shear wave elastography with ultrasonic equipment,and Young‘s modulus of the tibialis anterior muscle,tibialis posterior muscle,and gastrocnemius muscle were observed and analyzed in the two groups.Results:The Young‘s modulus values of tibialis anterior muscle,tibialis posterior muscle,and gastrocnemius muscle in the study group were significantly lower than those in the control group(P<0.05).Conclusion:Two-dimensional shear wave elastography is feasible for the evaluation of calf skeletal muscle stiffness in diabetic nephropathy patients with medial tibial stress syndrome,and has high accuracy and repeatability.This technique can be used to diagnose,treat and monitor muscle lesions in patients with diabetic nephropathy,and can also be used to assess muscle fatigue and exercise capacity,which has broad application prospects.

Shear behavior of coarse aggregates for dam construction under varied stress paths

Coarse aggregates are the major infrastructure materials of concrete-faced rock-fill dams and are consolidated to bear upper and lateral loads. With the increase of dam height, high confining pressure and complex stress states complicate the shear behavfor of coarse aggregates, and thus impede the high dam＇s proper construction, operation and maintenance. An experimental program was conducted to study the shear behavior of dam coarse aggregates using a large-scale triaxial shear apparatus. Through triaxial shear tests, the strain-stress behaviors of aggregates were observed under constant confining pressures： 300 kPa, 600 kPa 900 kPa and 1200 kPa. Shear strengths and aggregate breakage characteristics associated with high pressure shear processes are discussed. Stress path tests were conducted to observe and analyze coarse aggregate response under complex stress states. In triaxial shear tests, it was found that peak deviator stresses increase along with confining pressures, whereas the peak principal stress ratios decrease as confining pressures increase With increasing confining pressures, the dilation decreases and the contraction eventually prevails. Initial strength parameters （Poisson＇s ratio and tangent modulus） show a nonlinear relationship with confining pressures when the pressures are relatively low. Shear strength parameters decrease with increasing confining pressures. The failure envelope lines are convex curves, with clear curvature under low confining pressures. Under moderate confining pressures, dilation is offset by particle breakage. Under high confining pressures, dilation disappears.

Experimental Study on the Bed Shear Stress Under Breaking Waves

The object of present study is to investigate the bed shear stress on a slope under regular breaking waves by a novel instrument named Micro-Electro-Mechanical System （MEMS） flexible hot-film shear stress sensor. The sensors were calibrated before application, and then a wave flume experiment was conducted to study the bed shear stress for the case of regular waves spilling and plunging on a 1 ： 15 smooth PVC slope. The experiment shows that the sensor is feasible for the measurement of the bed shear stress under breaking waves. For regular incident waves, the bed shear stress is mainly periodic in both outside and inside the breaking point. The fluctuations of the bed shear stress increase significantly after waves breaking due to the turbulence and vortexes generated by breaking waves. For plunging breaker, the extreme value of the mean maximum bed shear stress appears after the plunging point, and the more violent the wave breaks, the more dramatic increase of the maximum bed shear stress will occur. For spilling breaker, the increase of the maximum bed shear stress along the slope is gradual compared with the plunging breaker. At last, an empirical equation about the relationship between the maximum bed shear stress and the surf similarity parameter is given, which can be used to estimate the maximum bed shear stress under breaking waves in practice.

Research on Measurement of Bed Shear Stress Under Wave-Current Interaction

The movement of sediment in estuary and on coast is directly restricted by the bed shear stress. Therefore, the research on the basic problem of sediment movement by the bed shear stress is an important way to research the theory of sediment movement. However, there is not a measuring and computing method to measure the bed shear stress under a complicated dynamic effect like wave and current. This paper describes the measurement and test research on the bed shear stress in a long launder of direct current by the new instrument named thermal shearometer based on micro-nanotechnology. As shown by the research results, the thermal shearometer has a high response frequency and strong stability. The measured results can reflect the basic change of the bed shear stress under wave and wave-current effect, and confirm that the method of measuring bed shear stress under wave-current effect with thermal shearometer is feasible. Meanwhile, a preliminary method to compute the shear stress compounded by wave-current is put forward according to the tested and measured results, and then a reference for further study on the basic theory of sediment movement under a complicated dynamic effect is provided.

Wave-current bottom shear stresses and sediment re-suspension in the mouth bar of the Modaomen Estuary during the dry season

On the basis of the measurement data pertaining to waves, current, and sediment in February 2012 in the mouth bar of the Modaomen Estuary, the Soulsby formulae with an iterative method are applied to calculating bottom shear stresses （BSS） and their effect on a sediment resuspension. Swell induced BSS have been found to be the most important part of the BSS. In this study, the correlation coefficient between a wavecurrent shear stress and SSC is 0.86, and that between current shear stresses and SSC is only 0.40. The peaks of the SSC are consistent with the height and the BSS of the swell. The swell is the main mechanism for the sediment re-suspension, and the tidal current effect on sediment re-suspension is small. The peaks of the SSC are centered on the high tidal level, and the flood tide enhances the wave shear stresses and the SSC near the bottom. The critical shear stress for sediment re-suspension at the observation station is between 0.20 and 0.30 N/m2. Tidal currents are too weak to stir up the bottom sediment into the flow, but a WCI （wave-current interaction） is strong enough to re-suspend the coarse sediment.

Mathematical Model and Experiment Validation of Fluid Torque by Shear Stress under Influence of Fluid Temperature in Hydro-viscous Clutch

The current design of hydro-viscous clutch（HVC） in tracked vehicle fan transmission mainly focuses on high-speed and high power. However, the fluid torque under the influence of fluid temperature can not be predicted accurately by conventional mathematical model or experimental research. In order to validate the fluid torque of HVC by taking the viscosity-temperature characteristic of fluid into account, the test rig is designed. The outlet oil temperature is measured and fitted with different rotation speed, oil film thickness, oil flow rate, and inlet oil temperature. Meanwhile, the film torque can be obtained. Based on Navier-Stokes equations and the continuity equation, the mathematical model of fluid torque is proposed in cylindrical coordinate. Iterative method is employed to solve the equations. The radial and tangential speed distribution, radial pressure distribution and theoretical flow rate are determined and analyzed. The models of equivalent radius and fluid torque of friction pairs are introduced. The experimental and theoretical results indicate that tangential speed distribution is mainly determined by the relative rotating speed between the friction plate and the separator disc. However, the radial speed distribution and pressure distribution are dominated by pressure difference at the lower rotating speed. The oil film fills the clearance and the film torque increases with increasing rotating speed. However, when the speed reaches a certain value, the centrifugal force will play an important role on the fluid distribution. The pressure is negative at the outer radius when inlet flow rate is less than theoretical flow, so the film starts to shrink which decreases the film torque sharply. The theoretical fluid torque has good agreement with the experimental data. This research proposes a new fluid torque mathematical model which may predict the film torque under the influence of temperature more accurately.

ANALYSIS OF SHEAR STRESS DISTRIBUTION IN HONEYCOMB AIRCRAFT WING STRUCTURE SUBJECTED TO (S.T.) TORQUE

Using the method of elasticity, an analytical approach is developed to analyze the shear stress in a honeycomb wing structure with a large aspect ratio under the condition of free torsion. The formulas of shear stress, warping and angle of twist are derived. These formulas are both useful and convenient from the point of view in the structure design.

Microstreaming velocity field and shear stress created by an oscillating encapsulated microbubble near a cell membrane

Sonoporation mediated by microbubbles is being extensively studied as a promising technology to facilitate gene/drug delivery to cells. However, the theoretical study regarding the mechanisms involved in sonoporation is still in its infancy.Microstreaming generated by pulsating microbubble near the cell membrane is regarded as one of the most important mechanisms in the sonoporation process. Here, based on an encapsulated microbubble dynamic model with considering nonlinear rheological effects of both shell elasticity and viscosity, the microstreaming velocity field and shear stress generated by an oscillating microbubble near the cell membrane are theoretically simulated. Some factors that might affect the behaviors of microstreaming are thoroughly investigated, including the distance between the bubble center and cell membrane（d）, shell elasticity（χ）, and shell viscosity（κ）. The results show that（i） the presence of cell membrane can result in asymmetric microstreaming velocity field, while the constrained effect of the membrane wall decays with increasing the bubble-cell distance;（ii） the bubble resonance frequency increases with the increase in d and χ, and the decrease in κ,although it is more dominated by the variation of shell elasticity; and（iii） the maximal microstreaming shear stress on the cell membrane increases rapidly with reducing the d, χ, and κ. The results suggest that microbubbles with softer and less viscous shell materials might be preferred to achieve more efficient sonoporation outcomes, and it is better to have bubbles located in the immediate vicinity of the cell membrane.

Effects of bottom shear stresses on the wave-induced dynamic response in a porous seabed:PORO-WSSI (shear) model

When ocean waves propagate over the sea floor,dynamic wave pressures and bottom shear stresses exert on the surface of seabed.The bottom shear stresses provide a horizontal loading in the wave-seabed interaction system,while dynamic wave pressures provide a vertical loading in the system.However,the bottom shear stresses have been ignored in most previous studies in the past.In this study,the effects of the bottom shear stresses on the dynamic response in a seabed of finite thickness under wave loading will be examined,based on Biot＇s dynamic poro-elastic theory.In the model,an ＂u-p＂ approximation will be adopted instead of quasi-static model that have been used in most previous studies.Numerical results indicate that the bottom shear stresses has certain influences on the wave-induced seabed dynamic response.Furthermore,wave and soil characteristics have considerable influences on the relative difference of seabed response between the previous model（without shear stresses） and the present model（with shear stresses）.As shown in the parametric study,the relative differences between two models could up to 10% of p0,depending on the amplitude of bottom shear stresses.

Wall shear stress in intracranial aneurysms and adjacent arteries

Hemodynamic parameters play an important role in aneurysm formation and growth. However, it is difficult to directly observe a rapidly growing de novo aneurysm in a patient. To investigate possible associations between hemodynamic parameters and the formation and growth of intracranial aneurysms, the present study constructed a computational model of a case with an internal carotid artery aneurysm and an anterior communicating artery aneurysm, based on the CT angiography findings of a patient. To simulate the formation of the anterior communicating artery aneurysm and the growth of the internal carotid artery aneurysm, we then constructed a model that virtually removed the anterior communicating artery aneurysm, and a further two models that also progressively decreased the size of the internal carotid artery aneurysm. Computational simulations of the fluid dynamics of the four models were performed under pulsatile flow conditions, and wall shear stress was compared among the different models. In the three aneurysm growth models, increasing size of the aneurysm was associated with an increased area of low wall shear stress, a significant decrease in wall shear stress at the dome of the aneurysm, and a significant change in the wall shear stress of the parent artery. The wall shear stress of the anterior communicating artery remained low, and was significantly lower than the wall shear stress at the bifurcation of the internal carotid artery or the bifurcation of the middle cerebral artery. After formation of the anterior communicating artery aneurysm, the wall shear stress at the dome of the internal carotid artery aneurysm increased significantly, and the wall shear stress in the upstream arteries also changed significantly. These findings indicate that low wall shear stress may be associated with the initiation and growth of aneurysms, and that aneurysm formation and growth may influence hemodynamic parameters in the local and adjacent arteries.

In search of potential earthquake source regions in the Chinese mainland in the light of ambient shear stress field

Earth media are incomplete media.There exist many cracks in it. The achievements of fracture mechanics showthat the strength of the incomplete materials will be much lower than that of the complete materials. We consider that earthquake occurrence is the result of unstable propagation of a crack in crust media in proper conditionand the earthquake rupture is the phenomenon of a failure by fast fracture under applied low shear stress. It hasalready been explained by fracture mechanics.The occurrence of failure by fast fracture is necessarily associated with the presence of high level concentration of local stress and strain. The elastic/plastic stress analysis in cracked pieces by Dugdale indicates that thestate of stress at the tip of a crack takes a very important role to crack propagation. A plastic zone has necessarilyformed in the tip of a crack due to stress concentration. Therefore, the dislocations st the tip of a crack are naturally a plastic displacement, rather than elastic one. The plastic displacement, where τ0 is appliedshear stress which is equivalent to initial or tectonic shear stress when the quake occurs, a is the half length of acrack, It is the rigidity,τy is the yield stresses in shear. The main seismic dislocations take place exactly at theends of the crack where the plastic zone had been formed. SO, a critical assumption is adopted, i. e. we assumethe dislocation D(1,,t) as formula (5) in text. The maximum earthquake dislocation, whereL is the fault length. If p is taken the value in the upper crust, μ=33 GPa; and τy is taken the average valuegiven from laboratories,τy= 30 MPa. Thus, according to observation values of Dmax and L, using the formula,one can estimate the initial shear stresses for large earthquakes. Computations show that the initial shear stressesfor large earthquakes all over the world are about 5-20 MPa which have some differences between regions.We further research the characteristics of source spectra and have derived the dependent relation of bodywave magnitude mb on the shear stress τ0 and seismic moment M, as formula (11)in text. Thus, the formulaprovides a POssibility of computation of large amount of tectonic shear stress values from seismic data. We consider that the tectonic shear stress field is a main factor which controls the earthquake occurrence. The regions withhigh tectonic shear stress values are considered to be prone to occur great earthquakes (Ms>6) and called earthquake hazard regions. Based on this criterion, τ0 values for all earthquakes with mb≥3. 8 all over China since1987 have been computed, and the great earthquake hazard regions with magnitude ranges have been zoned inthe Chinese mainland.During April 1992 -January 31, 1994, there were 9 Ms≥6 earthquakes which occurred in the Chinesemainland, 8 earthquakes of the 9 had fallen into the regions delineated by us prior to the earthquake occurrence,with only one failure. This new approach as a method for medium--term prediction of strong earthquakes hasbeen proved by practice to be an efficient one.It has good physical bases and bright prospect and worth furtherresearch. Received February 7,1994 1 Accepted February 10, 1995.Contribution No. 95A0061, Institute of Geophysics,SSB, China.