Effects of different types of guardrails on sand transportation of desert highway pavement

Guardrail,an important highway traffic safety facility,is mainly used to prevent vehicles from accidentally driving off the road and to ensure driving safety.Desert highway guardrails hinder the movement of wind-blown sand,resulting in the decline of sand transportation by the pavement and the deposition of sand gains on the pavement,and endangering traffic safety.To reveal the influence of guardrails on sand transportation of desert highway pavement,we tested the flow field and sand transport volume distribution around the concrete,W-beam,and cable guardrails under different wind velocities through wind tunnel simulation.Wind velocity attenuation coefficients,sand transportation quantity,and sand transportation efficiency are used to measure sand transportation of highway pavement.The results show that the sand transportation of highway pavement was closely related to the zoning characteristics of flow field and variation of wind velocity around the guardrails.The flow field of the concrete guardrail was divided into deceleration,acceleration,and vortex zones.The interaction between the W-beam guardrail and wind-blown sand was similar to that of lower wind deflector.Behind and under the plates,there were the vortex zone and acceleration zone,respectively.The acceleration zone was conducive to transporting sand on the pavement.The cable guardrail only caused wind velocity variability within the height range of guardrail,and there was no sand deposition on the highway pavement.When the cable,W-beam,and concrete guardrails were used,the total transportation quantities on the highway pavement were 423.53,415.74,and 136.53 g/min,respectively,and sand transportation efficiencies were 99.31%,91.25%,and 12.84%,respectively.From the perspective of effective sand transportation on the pavement,the cable guardrail should be preferred as a desert highway guardrail,followed by the W-beam guardrail,and the concrete guardrail is unsuitable.The study results provide theoretical basis for the optimal design of desert highway guardrails and the prevention of wind-blown sand disasters on the highway pavement.

A Quantitative Method for Evaluating the Transporting Capacity of Oil-Source Faults in Shallow Formation of Oil-Rich Sags

Objective Oil-source faults have an important effect on reservoir formation and distribution in shallow formations with non- hydrocarbon generation in oil-rich fault-related basins （Jiang Youlu et al., 2015）. However, the fault transporting capacity cannot be evaluated quantitatively at present. Taking the Zhanhua Sag in the Bohai Bay Basin as an example, this work analyzed the factors influencing the transporting capacity of the oil-source faults and proposed a quantitative method for evaluating their transporting capacity.

Calculation of railway transport capacity in an emergency based on Markov process

A method is proposed to calculate the railway transport capacity in an emergency to support the dispatching work of control centers. The effect of an emergency on section transport capacity is analyzed and the basic method to calculate the transport capacity is presented. The results show that the situation-changing process in emergency is actually a Markov process. The calculation rule is presented based on division of the time segment during which the emergency lasts. The algorithm is designed to calculate the transport capacity of each time segment. The pessimistic strategy and the fuzzy strategy are proposed to determine the computing value of the transport capacity of each time segment, to satisfy the calculating requirements in different occasions. Our study shows that the method is reasonable and practical and the method can be embedded in the train dispatching system to support the operation work in an emergency.

Numerical study of geyser events in rainstorm systems at different scales

Considering that we still do not fully understand the behavior of air pockets trapped in rainstorm systems and water flow changes inside pipes,the study of actual geysers presents many challenges.In this study,three-dimensional numerical models were developed to investigate the mechanisms of geyser events triggered by rapid filling flows at different scales.The results showed that,in the first stage of the water–air mixture of the prototype model,a large amount of air was released quickly,and the subsequent overflow lasted for a more extended period.The transport capacity of the downstream pipe,as a critical factor,significantly influenced the water–air interaction of the geyser.Restricting the outlet area and increasing the outlet pressure simultaneously resulted in a stronger geyser.The equivalent density of the water–air mixture increased as the scale decreased during the geyser event.

Comparison of the influences of vegetation stem parameters on hydraulic variables and sediment transport capacity

The hydraulic variables(Hv)and sediment transport capacity(Tc)of overland flow have changed immensely due to large-scale revegetation.However,research comparing the influences of stem pa-rameters(diameter,cover,and arrangement)on Hv and Tc is limited.The objectives of this study were to explore and compare the influences of stem parameters on Hv and Tc.Data on three treatment groups with varying stem diameters,covers,arrangements,flow discharges and slopes were collected in this study.With increasing stem diameter,Hv and Tc increased;Hv included the Reynolds and Froude numbers,flow velocity(v),shear stress(τ),stream power(Ω),and unit stream power(ω).However,the trend of the Darcy-Weisbach friction coefficient(f)was opposite.Hv and Tc were significantly influenced by stem diameter and cover.The effect of stem diameter on Hv and Tc was greater than the effects of cover and arrangement.Stem cover as a variable could not be used to adequately estimate the Tc when there were various stem diameters.A new exponential equation involving stem cover and stem diameter was demonstrated to be an appropriate predictor of Tc.Stem diameter and arrangement had no obvious influence on the relationship between Tc and v,and v as an indicator could explain the effect of stem parameters on Hv and Tc.This result could illustrate why the variables,including v,were able to predict Tc under vegetation stem and litter cover.

Preface for the special issue on "Driver behavior,highway capacity and transportation resilience"

Transportation plays a vital role both in urban economy and usuallives, which is recognized as one of the major functions of a city, along with dwelling, work, and recreation. As an organic system, urban traffic has attracted increased attention during recent years. However, the majority of studies focused on roadways and vehicular technologies, and limited research has been conducted to address the driver characteristics and their impact. A major possible reason is the scarcity of reliable data. In fact, traditional traffic data obtained from cross-sectional detectors as well as video capture devices are not sufficient to fully capture driver behavior. Only in the recent years, with the availability of transportation-related ＂big data＂ and particu- larly the overwhelming information onboard and from road- side facilities, the impacts of driver behavior may be investigated in more detail. In general, driver behavior in microscopic level may include car-following, lane-changing, and gap acceptance models, which are believed largely to affect roadway capacity. Furthermore, safety concerns especially when drivingin an urban environment due to the interaction of different modes, also increase the complexity of quantifying the quality of service of various transportation facilities. These potential complexities in driver behavior challenge academia to develop supporting models and methods of analysis.

Effects of sediment characteristics on the sediment transport capacity of overland flow

The transport of sediments is a crucial part of soil erosion.Accurately calculating the sediment transport capacity is key to the construction of soil erosion process models.Research on Tc has focused mainly on the dynamics of a single particle of sediment and hydraulic variables.There have been few studies of the impact of soil aggregates on the Tc.To clarify how sediment characteristics,including those for single particles and aggregates,affect the Tc of overland flow with no raindrop import,flume experiments were implemented at slope gradients varying from 5.24%to 26.80%and flow discharges ranging from 0.68 to 5.41×10^(-3)m^(2)s^(-1).The experimental materials were five typical soils in China.The results indicated that the correlation between the measured Tc and sediment mechanical composition indexes of the five soils was indistinctive in this study.The sediment settling velocity with aggregates has a significant corre-lation with the measured Tc.New equations,including for the sediment settling velocity with aggregatesωud75,were established to calculate the Tc.The empirical equation that includedωud75,slope gradient and unit discharge performed greatly in predicting Tc(R^(2)=0.93,NSE=0.90).ωud75 can effectively improve the calculation accuracy of Tc.The new equation including flow and sediment properties obtained through dimensional analysis performed well in predicting Tc(R^(2)=0.99,NSE=0.91),and the calculation accuracy was better than that of the empirical model derived in this study.These findings indicate that the sediment settling velocity is an important variable in the equation for predicting sediment transport capacity of overland flow.

Experimental determination of sediment transport capacity of rill flow over sandified loess slope

Rill erosion is affected by the sand particle content in soil,especially in the wind and water erosion transition region of the Loess Plateau.The sediment transport capacity(STC)is a key parameter in rill erosion research,assessing the impact of aeolian sand intrusion on the STC of rill flow is of importance for a better understanding of rill erosion.This study aimed to assess the effect of aeolian sand intrusion on the STC on sandified loess slopes,with typical slopes and flow discharges,using a flume system which consisting of a sediment-feeding and a sediment-supply/settlement flume.The sediment feeding flume was jointed by 10°higher than that of the sediment measurement flume section.Three flow discharges(2,4,and 8 L min^(-1))and four slope gradients(5°,10°,15°,and 25°)were used to represent the natural hydrological conditions under three intrusion rates(SIR)of aeolian sands(10%,20%,and 50%).The results show that STC increased with slope gradient and flow discharge,and the relationship between the STC and the SIR was significantly affected by the slope gradient;the STCs decreased with the SIR on a slope of 5°but increased with the SIR on steep slopes of 15°-25°,implying a significant impact of slope gradient on the relationship between SIR and STC.The SIR of 50%resulted in the highest sediment concentration nearly 1200 kg m^(-3)on slopes of 25°.On sandified loess slopes of 10%,20%,and 50%SIR,the STC were about 30%,46%,and 57%higher than on loess slopes,indicating an increased erosion rate by sand particle intrusion into loess soil.These results highlight the impact of sand intrusion on STC of rill flow and provide deeper insights into the soil loss process on the sandified loess slope.

Adaptation strategies of juvenile grass carp(Ctenopharyngodon idella)facing different dissolved oxygen concentrations in a recirculating aquaculture system

Fishes exposed to different dissolved oxygen concentrations over prolonged time periods have different susceptibility and adaptation mechanisms.In this study,healthy grass carp with an average weight of 214.6±18.7 g were selected for long-term culture in recirculating aquaculture systems at three different dissolved oxygen concentrations,i.e.,3.00 mg/L[(2.57±0.33)mg/L,DO_(2.57)),5.00 mg/L[(4.61±0.11)mg/L,DO_(4.61)],which was the control group,and 7.00 mg/L[(6.50±0.48)mg/L,DO_(6.50)].Blood,gill,muscle,and liver samples were collected after 60 days.Using hematoxylin-eosin(HE),alcian blue periodic acid Schiff(AB-PAS)staining,determination of respiratory metabolism enzyme activity,and fluorescent quantitative PCR,the adaptability of juvenile grass carp facing different dissolved oxygen levels were explored.The results showed that the respiration rate increased,and hemoconcentration and hemoglobin(Hb),electrolyte and pH changed at DO2.57.Furthermore,gill lamellae became thinner and longer,the distance between them increased,the mucus on them decreased and the interstitial cell mass decreased.In addition,the relative expression of apoptosis-related genes bcl-2 and bcl-xl in gill tissue decreased,while caspase-3 and bax increased.In muscles and liver tissues,lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)activity and lactic acid content(LA)increased,pyruvate dehydrogenase(PDH)activity decreased,and genes related to the respiratory metabolic enzymes PDH-A4 and PDH-E1α also changed accordingly.The oxygen consumption rate decreased significantly(P<0.05).At DO_(6.50),the distance between gill lamellae,numbers of red blood cells(RBC)and the content of hemoglobin decreased wheras the mucus on gill lamellae increased.The activity of PDH,the expression of PDH-E1a in liver and oxygen consumption rate increased.Different dissolved oxygen concentrations affected the respiratory behavior,gill tissue structure,blood transport capacity and tissue enzyme activity of juvenile grass carp.In summary,juvenile grass carp showed different adaptation strategies when facing different dissolved oxygen concentrations over prolonged periods in recirculating aquaculture systems.

由规定变窄更低的黄河能导致搜索的 non-siltation 甚至隧道吗？

This study considered whether the narrowing of the upper （broad and wandering） reaches of the Lower Yellow River could result in a reduction in sedimentation and even an increase in channel erosion in both the upper and the lower （narrow and meandering） reaches. Analysis of field data and numerical modeling results both justify the proposal to narrow the channel. A positive correlation was found between channel eroded-area and the channel width. Therefore narrowing under conditions of low flow will reduce the amount of erosion in the reach, which, in turn, will reduce the amount of sediment transported into the lower channel. This will reduce the amount of siltation in the lower reaches of the river. However, narrowing under conditions of high flow with a low concentration of sediment will reduce both the extent of flood attenuation along the narrowed channel and the amount of lateral channel bank collapse, which results in increased flows and less sedimentation in the lower channel, leading to increased erosion. When flows with a high concentration of sediment are released from the Xiaolangdi Reservoir, both the lower narrow channel and the upper channel can transport a large amount of the sediment load. It is concluded that the narrowing of the upper broad channel will result in a reduction in sedimentation, or even in channel erosion, in both the upper and the lower channels if the reservoir is operated such that the volume of sediment added during low flows is balanced by the volume eroded during high flows with a low concentration of sediment.