Characteristics of In-Situ Soil Water Hysteresis Observed through Multiple-Years Monitoring

A soil water retention curve (SWRC) is an essential soil physical property for analyzing transport and retention of water in a soil layer. A SWRC is often described as a single-valued function that relates the soil water potential ψ to volumetric water content θ of the soil. However, an in-situ ψ − θ relation should show soil water hysteresis, though this fact is often neglected in analyses of field soil water regimes while long-term in-situ soil water hysteresis is not well characterized. This study aimed at probing and characterizing in-situ ψ − θ relations. The developments of large hysteresis in the in-situ ψ − θ relations were observed only a few times during the study period of 82 months. Any of the large hysteretic behaviors in the ψ − θ relations began with an unusually strong continual reduction in ψ. The completion of a hysteresis loop required a recorded maximum rainfall. Because the study field had very small chances to meet such strong rainfall events, it took multiple years to restore the fraction of soil water depleted by the unusually strong continual reduction in ψ. While wetting-drying cycles had occurred within a certain domain of ψ, hysteretic behaviors tended to be so small that the in-situ ψ − θ relation can be approximated as a single-valued function of θ(ψ). These observed patterns of the in-situ ψ − θ relations were characterized by kinds of difference in dθ/dψ between a drying process and a wetting process at a given ψ. Thus, more amounts of experimental facts about wetting SWRCs in parallel with drying SWRCs should be needed for correct modelling, analyzing, and predicting soil water regimes in fields. It is also necessary to increase our understandings about the long-term trends of occurrences of extreme weather conditions associated with possible change in climate.

Rapid testing and prediction of soil–water characteristic curve of subgrade soils considering stress state and degree of compaction

The subgrade soil is generally in saturated or unsaturated condition. To analyze complex thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical (THMC) behaviors of subgrade, it is essential to determine the soil–water characteristic curve (SWCC) that represents the relationship between matric suction and moisture content. In this study, a full-automatic rapid stress-dependent SWCC pressure-plate extractor was developed. Then, the influences of overburden stress and degree of compaction on the SWCC of subgrade soil such as high liquid limit silt (MH) and low liquid limit clay (CL) were analyzed. Accordingly, a new model taking into account the influences of overburden stress and degree of compaction based on the well-known Van Genuchten (VG) SWCC fitting model was presented and validated. The results show that with the increase of the degree of compaction and overburden stress, the saturated moisture content of subgrade soil decreases, while the air-entry value increases and the transition section curve becomes flat. The influences of the degree of compaction and overburden stress on the SWCC of MH is greater than that of CL. Meanwhile, there was a satisfactory agreement between the prediction and measurement, indicating a good performance of the new model for predicting the SWCC.

Simplified Method and Influence Factors of Vibration Characteristics of Isolated Curved Girder Bridge

The isolated curved girder bridge's vibration characteristics play a major part in the seismic responses of structures and anti-seismic properties.A clear analytic relationship between design parameters and the system's vibration characteristics could be established by its simplified dynamic analysis model,making it convenient for providing a reference to the optimization of design and safety analysis.A double-mass six-degree-of-freedom model for curved girder bridges with isolation bearings installed at the top of the bridge piers is built and a simplified analysis method for the vibration characteristics of the system is provided.Combined with the Matlab programming,the influences of radius of curvature,central angle,bridge deck width and damping ratio of the isolation layer and circular frequency of the isolation layer of isolated curved girder bridges on the pseudo-undamped natural circular frequency(called pseudo-frequency for short)and system damping ratio are systematically analyzed,and the sensitivity of vibration characteristics of isolated curved girder bridges is studied.The results show that the vibration characteristics of isolated curved girder bridges can be reflected well with this simplified model and calculation method.The pseudo-frequency of curved girder and system damping ratios increases with the increase of the isolation layer.The third-order vibration characteristic is more sensitive to the parameters of a curved girder,and the first-order vibration characteristic is sensitive to both central angle and radius of curvature to some extent while insensitive to the width of the bridge deck.Furthermore,the second-order vibration characteristic is not sensitive to the parameters of a curved girder.

Prediction of Abdominal Visceral Obesity From Body Mass Index,Waist Circumference and Waist-hip Ratio in Chinese Adults:Receiver Operating Characteristic Curves Analysis

Objective To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) measurements in diagnosing abdominal visceral obesity. Methods BMI, WC, and WHR were assessed in 690 Chinese adults (305 men and 385 women) and compared with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements of abdominal visceral adipose tissue (VA). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated and used to determine the threshold point for each anthropometric parameter. Results 1) MRI showed that 61.7% of overweight/obese individuals (BMI≥25 kg/m2) and 14.2% of normal weight (BMI<25 kg/m2) individuals had abdominal visceral obesity (VA≥100 cm2). 2) VA was positively correlated with each anthropometric variable, of which WC showed the highest correlation (r=0.73-0.77, P<0.001). 3) The best cut-off points for assessing abdominal visceral obesity were as followed: BMI of 26 kg/m2, WC of 90 cm, and WHR of 0.93, with WC being the most sensitive and specific factor. 4) Among subjects with BMI≥28 kg/m2 or WC≥95 cm, 95% of men and 90% of women appeared to have abdominal visceral obesity. Conclusion Measurements of BMI, WC, and WHR can be used in the prediction of abdominal visceral obesity, of which WC was the one with better accuracy.

Determination of site-specific soil-water characteristic curve from a limited number of test data-A Bayesian perspective

Determining soilewater characteristic curve(SWCC) at a site is an essential step for implementing unsaturated soil mechanics in geotechnical engineering practice, which can be measured directly through various in-situ and/or laboratory tests. Such direct measurements are, however, costly and timeconsuming due to high standards for equipment and procedural control and limits in testing apparatus. As a result, only a limited number of data points(e.g., volumetric water content vs. matric suction)on SWCC at some values of matric suction are obtained in practice. How to use a limited number of data points to estimate the site-specific SWCC and to quantify the uncertainty(or degrees-of-belief) in the estimated SWCC remains a challenging task. This paper proposes a Bayesian approach to determine a site-specific SWCC based on a limited number of test data and prior knowledge(e.g., engineering experience and judgment). The proposed Bayesian approach quantifies the degrees-of-belief on the estimated SWCC according to site-specific test data and prior knowledge, and simultaneously selects a suitable SWCC model from a number of candidates based on the probability logic. To address computational issues involved in Bayesian analyses, Markov Chain Monte Carlo Simulation(MCMCS), specifically Metropolis-Hastings(M-H) algorithm, is used to solve the posterior distribution of SWCC model parameters, and Gaussian copula is applied to evaluating model evidence based on MCMCS samples for selecting the most probable SWCC model from a pool of candidates. This removes one key limitation of the M-H algorithm, making it feasible in Bayesian model selection problems. The proposed approach is illustrated using real data in Unsaturated Soil Database(UNSODA) developed by U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is shown that the proposed approach properly estimates the SWCC based on a limited number of site-specific test data and prior knowledge, and reflects the degrees-of-belief on the estimated SWCC in a rational and quantitative manner.

Predicting the entire soil-water characteristic curve using measurements within low suction range

The soil-water characteristic curve(SWCC) is widely used in the design and evaluation in the practice of geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering such as the slope stability under the influence of environmental factors. The SWCC has distinct features in the capillary and adsorption zones due to different physical mechanisms. Measurements of the SWCC are typically limited within the capillary zone(i.e., low suction range). It is cumbersome and time-consuming to measure the SWCC in the adsorption zone(i.e., high suction range). This study presents a simple method to predict the entire SWCC within both the capillary and adsorption zones, using measured data only from low suction range(e.g., from 0 to 500 kPa). Experimental studies were performed on a completely weathered granite residual soil to determine its entire SWCC from saturated to dry conditions. The resultant SWCC, along with the SWCC measurements of 14 soils reported in the literature, were used to validate the proposed method. The results indicate that the proposed method has good consistency with a wide array of measured data used in this study. The proposed method is easy to use as it only requires a simple parameter calibration for a commonly used SWCC model. It can be used to improve the reliability in the prediction of the SWCC over the entire suction range when measurements are limited within the low suction range.

Soil freezing process and different expressions for the soil-freezing characteristic curve

The soil-freezing characteristic curve(SFCC),which represents the relationship between unfrozen water content and subfreezing temperature(or suction at ice-water interface)in a freezing soil,can be used for understanding the transportation of heat,water,and solute in frozen soils.In this paper,the soil freezing process and the similarity between the SFCC of saturated frozen soil and soil-water characteristic curve(SWCC)of unfrozen unsaturated soil are reviewed.Based on similar characteristics between SWCC and SFCC,a conceptual SFCC is drawn for illustrating the main features of soil freezing and thawing processes.Various SFCC expressions from the literature are summarized.Four widely used expressions(i.e.,power relationship,exponential relationship,van Genuchten 1980 equation and Fredlund and Xing 1994 equation)are evaluated using published experimental data on four different soils(i.e.,sandy loam,silt,clay,and saline silt).Results show that the exponential relationship and van Genuchten(1980)equation are more suitable for sandy soils.The simple power relationship can be used to reasonably best-fit the SFCC for soils with different particle sizes;however,it exhibits limitations when fitting the saline silt data.The Fredlund and Xing(1994)equation is suitable for fitting the SFCCs for all soils studied in this paper.

Prediction of loess soil-water characteristic curve by mercury intrusion porosimetry

Mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP)is a simple and fast way to obtain the pore distribution of soil and can be used to estimate the soil-water characteristic curve(SWCC).In previous studies,soil was assumed to be a perfect wettability material,and the contact angle(CA)of the soil-water interface was taken as zero in the SWCC prediction method.However,the CA has proved to be much greater than zero even for hydrophilic soils according to some soil wettability experiments,and it has a significant effect on predicting the SWCC.In this research,a method for predicting the SWCC by MIP,which takes the CA as a fitting coefficient,is proposed.The pore size distribution curves are measured by MIP,and the SWCCs of two loess soils are measured by pressure plate and filter paper tests.When the CA is taken as70°and 50°for the wetting and drying process,respectively,the SWCCs predicted by the pore size distribution curves agree well with the measured SWCCs.The predicted suction range of the proposed method is 0-105 k Pa.The consistency of the results suggests that utilizing the MIP test to predict the SWCC with a proper CA is effective for loess.

Water infiltration and soil-water characteristics of compacted loess under applied vertical stress

Additional stress formed by postconstruction buildings in loess-filling areas affects water infiltration in soil and causes soil deformation.To investigate this effect,under constant water head,vertical infiltration tests on compacted loess with two initial dry densities for different applied vertical stresses were developed using vertical stresscontrollable one-dimensional soil columns.The timehistory curves of vertical deformation,wetting front depth,cumulative infiltration depth,volumetric water content(VWC)and suction were measured,and the soil-water characteristic curves(SWCCs)were determined.The results showed that:(1)the infiltration ability of the soil column weakens with increasing applied vertical stress and initial dry density;(2)vertical deformation increases rapidly at first and then tends to be stable slowly at the consolidation and wetting-induced deformation stage,and is positively correlated with applied vertical stress and is negatively correlated with initial dry density.The stability time of wetting-induced deformation and the corresponding wetting front depth increase with the increase of applied vertical stress,while they decrease obviously when initial dry density increases;(3)the influence of applied vertical stress on soilwater characteristics in soil columns with various initial dry densities is related to the deformation depth of soil column.The VG(Van Genuchten)model is suitable for fitting the SWCCs at different monitoring positions.A normalized SWCC model introducing the applied vertical stress was proposed for each initial dry density using the mathematical relationship between the fitting parameters and the applied vertical stress.

Stress response characteristics of BFRP anchors on loess mudstone slope under rainfall conditions

To investigate the stress response characteristics and shear stress transfer mechanism of BFRP(basalt fiber reinforced plastics)anchors under rainfall conditions and to explore the reinforcement effect of BFRP anchors,a comparative indoor physical model test was conducted in this study using loess mudstone slope as a typical case,and multi-attribute response data,such as slope displacement,BFRP anchor strain and axial force,were obtained.Based on the variation law of slope displacement,it can be concluded that the deformation displacement of the slope on the side reinforced by BFRP anchors is smaller than that of slopes reinforced with steel anchors;the bearing capacity of BFRP anchor is given priority in time,and the anchoring effect of BFRP anchor at the top of the slope is given priority,and the axial force value of anchor is characterized by a surface amplification effect in space;the axial force is higher around the anchor head and tends to decay as a negative exponential function as the anchor extends in the direction of the interior of the slope;the shear stress of BFRP anchor and anchorage body are unevenly distributed along the axial direction,with the maximum value occurring in the free section near the slope surface and decreases as the BFRP anchor extends towards the interior of the slope.These results can provide a theoretical basis for the optimal design of BFRP anchors.

Effects of sample dimensions and shapes on measuring soil-water characteristic curves using pressure plate

It is well known that soilewater characteristic curve （SWCC） plays an important role in unsaturated soil mechanics, but the measurement of SWCC is inconvenient. In laboratory it requires days of testing time. For fine-grained clays, it may last for a couple of months using pressure plate tests. In this study, the effects of sample dimensions and shapes on the balance time of measuring SWCCs using pressure plate tests and the shape of SWCCs are investigated. It can be found that the sample dimensions and shapes have apparent influence on the balance time. The testing durations for circular samples with smaller diameters and annular samples with larger contact area are significantly shortened. However, there is little effect of sample dimensions and shapes on the shape of SWCCs. Its mechanism is explored and discussed in details through analysing the principle of pressure plate tests and microstructure of the sample. Based on the above findings, it is found that the circular samples with smaller dimensions can accelerate the testing duration of SWCC using the pressure plate.

Effects of geometrical and physical factors on light particles dispersion by agitation characteristic curve

In this study,the effects of geometrical and physical factors on light particles dispersion in stirred tank were investigated by agitation characteristic curve.The experiments and CFD simulations with discrete phase model(DPM)and volume of fluid model(VOF)were conducted in this paper.Five factors,which include four geometrical factors(submergence,impeller-to-tank ratio,number of impeller blades and baffling mode)and a physical factor(liquid viscosity)were considered.For each factor,the power consumption curve and agitation characteristic curve were drawn to compare the power consumption and mixing results in the stirred tank.Characteristics of the agitation characteristic curves were compared with the previous published literatures and theories.It is found that the agitation characteristic curves reflect the tendency of power consumption and particles distribution well in stirred tank.The good agreement indicates the applicability of the agitation characteristic curves for the study of light particles distribution in stirred tank.

Residual oil evolution based on displacement characteristic curve

The purpose of this study was to determine the displacement and dynamic distribution characteristics of the remaining oil in the two development stages of water flooding and subsequent alkaline surfactant polymer(ASP) flooding. The well pattern types in the water and ASP flooding stages are a longdistance determinant well pattern and short-distance five-point well pattern, respectively. The type A displacement characteristic curve can be obtained using the production data, and the slope of the straight-line section of the curve can reflect the displacement strength of the oil displacement agent. A numerical simulation was carried out based on the geological model. The results revealed that the injected water advances steadily with a large-distance determinant water-flooding well pattern. The single-well water production rate increases monotonically during water flooding. There is a significant positive correlation between the cumulative water-oil ratio and the formation parameter. Differential seepage between the oil and water phases is the main factor causing residual oil formation after water flooding, while the residual oil is still relatively concentrated. The effect of the chemical oildisplacement agent on improving the oil-water two-phase seepage flow has distinct stages during ASP flooding. The remaining oil production is extremely sporadic after ASP flooding.

Analytical computation of support characteristic curve for circumferential yielding lining in tunnel design

Circumferential yielding lining is able to tolerate controlled displacements without failure,which has been proven to be an effective solution to large deformation problem in squeezing tunnels.However,up to now,there has not been a well-established design method for it.This paper aims to present a detailed analytical computation of support characteristic curve(SCC)for circumferential yielding lining,which is a significant aspect of the implementation of convergence-confinement method(CCM)in tunnel support design.Circumferential yielding lining consists of segmental shotcrete linings and highly deformable elements,and its superior performance mainly depends on the mechanical characteristic of highly deformable element.The deformation behavior of highly deformable element is firstly investigated.Its whole deforming process can be divided into three stages including elastic,yielding and compaction stages.Especially in the compaction stage of highly deformable element,a nonlinear stress-strain relationship can be observed.For mathematical convenience,the stress-strain curve in this period is processed as several linear sub-curves.Then,the reasons for closure of circumferential yielding lining in different stages are explained,and the corresponding accurate equations required for constructing the SCC are provided.Furthermore,this paper carries out two case studies illustrating the application of all equations needed to construct the SCC for circumferential yielding lining,where the reliability and feasibility of theoretical derivation are also well verified.Finally,this paper discusses the sensitivity of sub-division in element compaction stage and the influence of element length on SCC.The outcome of this paper could be used in the design of proper circumferential yielding lining.

Experimental study on characteristic curves of restoring forces of Populus alba var. pyramidalis

Static tests under cyclic loading were carried out on Populus alba var. pyramidalis to determine its characteristic curves of restoring forces. The results show that P alba var. pyramidalis had good elastic performance. There was degradation of strength and stiffness under cyclic loading and unloading, where characteristic curves of restoring forces ofP. alba var. pyrarnidalis assumed a ＂flat and contrary S-shape＂ form. Simultaneously, P alba vat. pyramidalis showed typical characteristics of brittle destruction under large high peak loading and unloading. Furthermore, dynamic tests were carried out under wind loads to obtain dynamic displacement curves and dynamic strain curves. P alba var. pyramidalis reflected its stochastic dynamic performance in building up its resistance to the stochastic wind loads and its dynamically hysteretic properties. The dynamic response of this species was random and fuzzy under stochastic wind loads. This study has theoretical significance and reference value to research on the static characteristics and wind-induced dynamic performance of forests.

Influences affecting the soil-water characteristic curve

The soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) is the primary partially saturated soil information as its behavior and properties can be derived from it. Although there have been many studies of unsaturated soils and the SWCC, there is still no combined constitutive model that can simulate soil characteristics accurately. In cases when hydraulic hysteresis is dominant (e.g. under cyclic loading) it is particularly important to use the SWCC. In the past decades, several mathematical expressions have been proposed to model the curve. There are various influences on the SWCC as a source of information, so the curves obtained from conventional tests often cannot be directly applied; and the mathematical expressions from one scenario cannot be used to simulate another situation. The effects of void ratio, initial water content, stress state and high suction were studied in this work revealing that water content and stress state are more important than the other effects; but that the influences tend to decrease when suction increases. The van Genuchten model was modified to simulate better the changes in the degree of saturation at low values of suction. Predictions were compared with experimental results to determine the simulation capability of the model.

Optimization of ITO/V_(2)O_(5)/Alq3/TPBi/BPhen/LiF/Al Layers Configuration for OLED and Study of Its Optical and Electrical Characteristics

Nowadays,OLEDs have shown aesthetic potential in smart cards,sensor displays,other electronic devices,sensitive medical devices and signal monitoring etc.due to their wide range of applications like low power consumption,high contrast ratio,speed highly electroluminescent,wide viewing angle and fast response time.In this paper,a highly efficient organic LED ITO/V_(2)O_(5)/Alq3/TPBi/BPhen/LiF/Al with low turn-on voltage and high optically efficiency is presented including electrical and optical characteristics.The simulation of electrical characteristics like current versus applied voltage,current density versus applied voltage,recombination prefactor versus excess carrier density characteristics and optical characteristics like light flux versus current density,light flux versus applied voltage and optical efficiency versus applied voltage has been explained.The physical design,working principle and thickness of different layers along with the process of formation of singlet and triplet excitons are discussed in detail.Here double electron transport layer(ETL),cathode layers are used to enhance the electrical and optical efficiency of OLED.The operating voltage is found to be~3.2 V for the ITO/V_(2)O_(5)/Alq3/TPBi/BPhen/LiF/Al heterostructure based OLED.The designed organic LED has achieved the maximum optical efficiency at 3 V.

Determining endemic values of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Iranian Fars province by retrospectively detected clusters and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis

Objective: To determine the endemic values of cutaneous leishmaniasis in different cities of Fars province, Iran. Methods: Totally, 29 201 cases registered from 2010 to 2015 in Iranian Fars province were selected, and the endemic values of cutaneous leishmaniasis were determined by retrospective clusters derived from spatiotemporal permutation modeling on a time-series design. The accuracy of the values was assessed using receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve. SPSS version 22, Arc GIS, and ITSM 2002 software tools were used for analysis. Results: Nine statistically significant retrospective clusters(P<0.05) resulted in finding seven significant and accurate endemic values(P<0.1). These valid endemic scores were generalized to the other 18 cities based on 6 different climates in the province. Conclusions: Retrospectively detected clusters with the help of ROC curve analysis could help determine cutaneous leishmaniasis endemic values which are essential for future prediction and prevention policies in the area.

Algorithm design and application of novel GM-AGC based on mill stretch characteristic curve

As the spring equation is limited to the accuracy of mill stiffness and the linearity of the mill spring curve, the traditional gaugemeter automatic gauge control(GM-AGC) system based on spring equation cannot meet the requirements of practical production. In allusion to this problem, a kind of novel GM-AGC system based on mill stretch characteristic curve was proposed. The error existing in calculating strip thickness by spring equation were analyzed first. And then the mill stretch characteristic curve which could effectively eliminate the influence of mill stiffness was described. The novel GM-AGC system has been applied successfully in a hot strip mill, the application results show that the thickness control precision is improved significantly, with the novel GM-AGC system, over 98.6% of the strip thickness deviation of 3.0 mm class can be controlled within the target tolerances of ±20 μm.

Soil Water Characteristic Curve of an Unsaturated Soil under Low Matric Suction Ranges and Different Stress Conditions

Accurate evaluation of unsaturated soil properties is critical for the design of geotechnical and geo-environmental structures such as road pavements, foundations, and earth dams. Water retention activity in soils which is used to predict the stability or seepage problems in the ground is one of the key features in unsaturated soil mechanics. Thus, many experimental works have reported on the unsaturated soil properties, and the soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) test has contributed significantly to the interpretation of matric suction. Since traditional instruments cannot apply stress in SWCC tests, some researchers have developed suction controlled triaxial apparatus, by which SWCC tests are performed under different stress states. Determination of SWCCs under stress conditions similar to those in the field is key for interpretation of the hydro-mechanical behavior of unsaturated soils. This study conducted SWCC tests of unsaturated silt soil in low matric suction ranges under both drying and wetting conditions. The SWCCs were measured under one-dimensional and isotropic confining stresses ranging from 50 to 450 kPa. The micro porous membrane method was used instead of high air entry ceramic disk for controlling relatively low matric suction. The range of matric suction controlled was from 0 to 20 kPa. The study revealed that the measured SWCC in low matric suction ranges seems to be affected by the influence of stress conditions. Isotropic confining stress caused the void structure of the specimen to become dense and consequently, soil moisture flow movement also decreased. The water retention activity was obviously high, and the point regard to air entry value was larger. The study further suggests that the current methods adopted for estimating unsaturated soil properties require further development to take into account the effect of different stress conditions.