Coal forming environments and their relationship to tectonic activity in the Cévennes Stephanian coal basin

Coal forming environments in the tectonically controlled intermontane Stephanian Cévennes coal basin (Massif central, France) show a complex interelationship between structural and sedimentological features. The study of the general structural features and the geometry of the coal beds developed during the different stages in the evolution of the basin, and the spatial relation of the lithofacial units to the early tectonic activities, lead the authors to suggest the following model. The synsedimentary faults that occurred as both intrabasinal and marginal faults controlled not only the spatial distribution, shape and thickness of the detrital rock units and coal seams, but also caused the inversion of the tectonic style. The marginal faults exercised important controls on the geometry of the basin and the distribution of lithofacial units. However due to the subsidence of the central part of the basin and the depocenter, and the to differences in the timing and intensity of the displacement the coal enrichment zones shifted both vertically and laterally. This eventually resulted in the inversion of the whole tectonic framework from semi graben through graben to a new semi graben. The style and rate of the tectonic movement and basin filling that occurred in the Stephanian Cévennes coal basin were in turn closely linked with the tectonic movement in the surrounding area. Therefore the authors propose that the environment and processes of coal formation in this basin are closely linked to its tectonic evolution.

The Design of a Graphical User Environment for Numerical Simulation of Powder Forming Processes

As computer simulation increasingly supports engine er ing design and manufacture, the requirement for a computer software environment providing an integration platform for computational engineering software increas es. A key component of an integrated environment is the use of computational eng ineering to assist and support solutions for complex design. Computer methods fo r structural, flow and thermal analysis are well developed and have been used in design for many years. Many software packages are now available which provi de an advanced capability. However, they are not designed for modelling of powde r forming processes. This paper describes the powder compaction software (PCS_SU T), which is designed for pre- and post-processing for computational simulatio n of the process compaction of powder. In the PCS_SUT software, the adaptive analysis of transient metal powder forming process is simulated by the finite element method based on deformation theories . The error estimates and adaptive remeshing schemes are applied for updated co -ordinate analysis. A generalized Newmark scheme is used for the time domain di scretization and the final nonlinear equations are solved by a Newton-Raphson p rocedure. An incremental elasto-plastic material model is used to simulate the compaction process. To describe the constitutive model of nonlinear behaviour of powder materials, a combination of Mohr-Coulomb and elliptical yield cap model is applied. This model reflects the yielding, frictional and densification char acteristics of powder along with strain and geometrical hardening which occurs d uring the compaction process. A hardening rule is used to define the dependence of the yield surface on the degree of plastic straining. A plasticity theory for friction is employed in the treatment of the powder-tooling interface. The inv olvement of two different materials, which have contact and relative movement in relation to each other, must be considered. A special formulation for friction modelling is coupled with a material formulation. The interface behaviour betwee n the die and the powder is modelled by using an interface element mesh. In the present paper, we have demonstrated pre- and post-processor finite elem ent software, written in Visual Basic, to generate the graphical model and visua lly display the computed results. The software consist of three main part: · Pre-processor: It is used to create the model, generate an app ropriate finite element grid, apply the appropriate boundary conditions, and vie w the total model. The geometric model can be used to associate the mesh with th e physical attributes such as element properties, material properties, or loads and boundary conditions. · Analysis: It can deal with two-dimensional and axi-symmetric applications for linear and non-linear behaviour of material in static and dyna mic analyses. Both triangular and quadrilateral elements are available in the e lement library, including 3-noded, 6-noded and 7-noded (T6B1) triangles and 4 -noded, 8-noded and 9-noded quadrilaterals. The direct implicit algorithm bas ed on the generalized Newmark scheme is used for the time integration and an aut omatic time step control facility is provided. For non-linear iteration, choice s among fully or modified Newton-Raphson method and quasi-Newton method, using the initial stiffness method, Davidon inverse method or BFGS inverse method, ar e possible. · Post-processor: It provides visualization of the computed resu lts, when the finite element model and analysis have been completed. Post-proce ssing is vital to allow the appropriate interpretation of the completed results of the finite element analysis. It provides the visual means to interpret the va st amounts of computed results generated. Finally, the powder behaviour during the compaction of a multi-level component is numerically simulated by the PCS_SUT software, as shown in Fig.1. The predict ive compaction forces at different displacements are computed and compared with the available experimental

On the Paleogene coal-measure distribution over the China sea area

The Paleogene coal accumulation basins of China are part of the global Tertiary coal-accumulated zone of the Pacific Rim located in the eastern coastal provinces and areas. Although the coal-bearing basins of the China Sea area are faults and depressed basins, they come up in groups. The overall structures are suitable for the development of coal-bearing deposition. The continuity of basin groups are good, and the coal-bearing depositions are thick. For example, the coal-bearing deposi- tion is more than a kilometer thick at the Qiongdongnan Basin and Xihu Sag in the East China Sea, which the continental Pa- leogene coal basins cannot reach. Research shows that the coal accumulation basins in the sea area consist of many sags. There are two types of coal accumulation sags： half-graben sag and graben sag. In terms of water depth, coal accumulation sags can also be classified as deep-water half-graben sag and shallow-water half-graben sag; the graben sag is the deep-water sag. There are two distinct coal-accumulated zones in the basin： gentle slope and steep slope, with the gentle slope being the dominant one. The marshes of the supratidal zone and intertidal zone in a tidal flat system is favorable for the coal accumulation process widely taking place. There are two types of peat accumulation： autochthonous accumulation and allochthonous accumulation. Because of tectonic activities in the basins, allochthonous accumulations may be the more important form of coal-forming ac- tivities in the sea area. The very thick coal-bearing deposition in the sea area provides a rich material base for the assemblage of coal-related gas. Also, as a result of the deep burial depth, the degree of coal metamorphism is relatively high, so the coal-bearing strata become good hydrocarbon source rocks.

Waterlogging risk assessment for winter wheat using multi-source data in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River

Waterlogging is a serious agro-meteorological disaster caused by excessive soil water,which usually causes tremendous crop yield losses.The region of middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River in China is an important production base of winter wheat,and is an area prone to waterlogging.The risk assessment of winter wheat waterlogging can provide more thorough understanding about the risk-prone environment related with food safety in this region.This study combined a variety of environmental and agricultural factors and assessed the waterlogging risk of winter wheat from the aspects of sensitivity of hazard formative environments,hazard risk,and vulnerability of hazard-affected body using multi-source data.Furthermore,it constructed a compound waterlogging risk assessment model to classify the study area into high,relatively high,moderate,and low risky areas,respectively.The results showed that the proposed model could more comprehensively reflect the occurrence mechanism of winter wheat waterlogging by synchronizing geographical,agricultural,and meteorological factors.The waterlogging regionalization based on the model could reasonably represent the spatial distribution and differentiate regional characteristics of winter wheat waterlogging in the study area.