Influence of features of natural soft clay on behaviour of embankment

The influence of different features of natural soft clays,namely anisotropy,destructuration and viscosity,on modelling the time-dependent behaviour of Murro embankment was investigated.The newly developed elasto-viscoplastic models were enhanced for determining viscosity parameters in a straightforward way and adopted for the finite element analysis.The same set of common parameters determined from conventional triaxial and oedometer tests was employed for all models,with additional parameters required for representing different soil features.The finite element predictions by using models coupled with BIOT's consolidation theory were compared with each other and with field data for settlement,horizontal displacement and excess pore pressures.In addition,the stress paths under the embankment loading were also compared with each other to improve the understanding of the effect of different soil features.All simulations demonstrate that all three features significantly influence the predictions.As a consequence,accounting for soil features needs to be carefully considered when they are applied to a construction site.

Micromechanical analysis of the behavior of stiffclay

Cementations formed in geological timescale are observed in various stiff clays.A micromechanical stress strain model is developed for modeling the effect of cementation on the deformation behavior of stiff clay.The proposed approach considers explicitly cementations at intercluster contacts,which is different from conventional model.The concept of inter-cluster bonding is introduced to account for an additional cohesion in shear sliding and a higher yield stress in normal compression.A damage law for inter-cluster bonding is proposed at cluster contacts for the debonding process during mechanical loading.The model is used to simulate numerous stress-path tests on Vallericca stiff clay.The applicability of the present model is evaluated through comparisons between the predicted and the measured results.In order to explain the stress-induced anisotropy arising from externally applied load,the evolution of local stresses and local strains at inter-cluster planes are discussed.

Informational Structure of the Living Systems: From Philosophy to Informational Modeling

In this paper,there are discussed the informational functions of the living structures,analyzing the properties of the simplest eukaryotic cell as an example of a structural unit of the living unicellular and multicellular systems.The initiation of this analysis starts from an older example of an imaginary mechanism,particularly that described by the Maxwell’s demon experiment,which along the history of the information development concepts accompanied the philosophic vision on the structuration of matter and of the living entities,showing that these are actually the result of the intervention of information on the matter available substrate.Particularly,it is shown that the deoxyribonucleic acid(DNA)structure is appropriate to store a large quantity of structural information,allowing the transfer of this information by transcription and translation mechanisms to proteins,which act as(re)structuration/transmission informational agents,or the generation of a new cellular daughter structure by a replication process.On the basis of the theory of information in communication channels,applicable also in biological systems,it was discussed the followed line for the evaluation of the quantity of structural information in various cells,demonstrating the evolution of organism complexity by the increase of the structural information quantity from unicellular(bacterium)to human cell.Applying a natural strategy of entropy lowering mainly by heat elimination,folding protein structuration and compartmentalization on the evolutionary scale,the living structures act as dynamic entities assuring their self-organizational structure by a permanent change of matter,energy and information with the environment in an efficient way,following a negative entropic process by internal structuration,similarly with Maxwell’s demon work.It is shown that to assure such a communication with external and internal intracellular structure,it was necessary the development of an own info-operational system of communication and decision,in which the operational“Yes/No”decisional binary(Bit)unit is essential.These revolutionary results show that the cell unit complies with the similar informational functions like the multicellular structure of the human body,organized in seven-type informational components,allowing the informational modeling of the activity of the living biologic structures and the opening of a shortcutting way to mimic the biologic functions in artificial cells.

Stone column settlement performance in structured anisotropic clays:the influence of creep

The recently developed elasto-viscoplastic Creep-SCLAY1S model has been used in conjunction with PLAXIS 2D to investigate the effectiveness of vibro-replacement in a creep-prone clay. The Creep-SCLAY1S model accounts for anisotropy, bonding, and destructuration, and uses the concept of a constant rate of viscoplastic multiplier to calculate creep strain rate. A comparison of settlement improvement factors with and without creep indicates that ‘total’ settlement improvement factors （primary plus creep） are lower than their ‘primary’ counterparts （primary settlement only）. The lowest settlement improvement factors arise for analyses incorporating the effect of bonding and destructuration. Examination of the variations of vertical stress with time and depth has indicated that vertical stress is transferred from the soil to the column as the soil creeps. This results in additional column yielding. In addition, the radial and hoop stresses in the soil are lower for the ‘creep’ case. The reduced radial stresses lead to additional column bulging and hence more settlement, whereas the hoop stress reductions appear to be a secondary effect, caused by additional plastic deformation for the ‘creep’ case.

Evolution and Development of the Information Concept in Biological Systems: From Empirical Description to Informational Modeling of the Living Structures

With the purpose to smooth the way of a correct understanding of information concepts and their evolution,in this paper,is discussed the evolution and development of the concept of information in biological systems,showing that this concept was intuitively perceived even since ancient times by our predecessors,and described according to their language level of that times,but the crystallization of the real meaning of information is an achievement of our nowadays,by successive contribution of various scientific branches and personalities of the scientific community of the world,leading to a modern description/modeling of reality,in which information plays a fundamental role.It is shown that our reality can be understood as a contribution of matter/energy/information and represented/discussed as the model of the Universal Triangle of Reality(UTR),where various previous models can be suggestively inserted,as a function of their basic concern.The modern concepts on information starting from a theoretic experiment which would infringe the thermodynamics laws and reaching the theory of information and modern philosophic concepts on the world structuration allow us to show that information is a fundamental component of the material world and of the biological structures,in correlation with the structuration/destructuration processes of matter,involving absorption/release of information.Based on these concepts,is discussed the functionality of the biologic structures and is presented the informational model of the human body and living structures,as a general model of info-organization on the entire biological scale,showing that a rudimentary proto-consciousness should be operative even at the low-scale biological systems,because they work on the same principles,like the most developed bio-systems.The operability of biologic structures as informational devices is also pointed out.

The v_P Velocity Structures of Sub-blocks in the North China Craton from Active Source Waveform Modeling and Tectonic Implications

We present the 1-D crustal velocity structure of the major tectonic blocks of the North China Craton(NCC)along 36°N based on synthetic seismogram modeling of long-range wide-angle reflection/refraction data.This profile extends from southwest Yan’an of central Shaanxi Province of China(109.47°E),across the southern Trans-North China Orogen(TNCO),the southwestern part of the North China Plain(NCP),the Luxi Uplift(LU)and the Sulu Orogen(SLO),ending at Qingdao City of Shandong Province,the eastern margin of China(120.12°E)along 36°N.We utilized reflectivity synthetic seismogram modeling of the active source data to develop 1-D velocity structures of the sub-blocks of the NCC.Our final model shows that the NCC crust varies remarkably among the tectonic units with different velocity structure features.Higher lower crustal velocity and Moho depth^42 km is a major feature of the crust beneath southern Ordos Blockt.The TNCO which is composed of Lyuliangshan Mountains(LM),Shanxi Graben(SXG)and Taihangshan Mountains(TM)shows dominant trans-orogenic features.The NCP shows a dominant thickening of sediments,sharp crust thinning with Moho depth^32 km and significant lower average velocity.The SLO and the LU shows a stratified crust,higher average velocity and crust thinning with Moho depth of^35 km.Our model shows the coincidence between the deep structure and the surface geology among all the tectonic sub-blocks of the NCC.

Information-Body Relation and Information as a Solution of the Consciousness Problem in the Biological Structures

This paper approaches two main philosophical questions concerning the biological structures,from unicellular to multicellular organisms:one of them(i),referred to the information-body relation,as an extension of the mind-body relation at human,and another one(ii),to the consciousness problem,concerning the existence and nature of consciousness(if any),at the inferior organisms on the complexity scale,as this concept is known at humans.As philosophy benefits of the privilege to use data/concepts from other sciences to obtain philosophical conclusions,there were included detailed descriptions of some key biologic mechanisms,analyzed from informational perspective,necessary just to support/demonstrate/reinforce the informational nature/substrate of the mentioned relations.The analysis of the close relation between information and body,related to the structuration and functional properties of the biological organisms,from cells to multicellular structures,shows that all of them are able to“embody/disembody”information during/by structuration/destructuration processes of matter,in particular that of DNA/RNA/proteins,their functions appearing as a result of their informational capabilities to internally manage the inter-connection with environment,primarily due to their permanent dependence on the food resources and adaptation/survival needs.The experimental and theoretical studies,revealing/documenting on one hand the automatic management of maintenance metabolic processes,the reproduction,and growth/development,and on the other hand the adaptive decision-making/sentient processes as a responsive reaction to the environmental cues,show/support the consistency of the informational model of the human body and living structures on the entire biological scale,providing support to the informational solution of the stated problems(i)and(ii).A distinct attention is paid to plants,which are organisms without nervous system,but which show/manifest also informational capabilities to detect/react to information and to modulate their behavior accordingly.The question if the living organisms possess a pseudo/proto-consciousness level as a consequence of the informational activity of their body,distinct from human,but active in any biological structure under certain conditions is furthermore discussed,and a reliable definition of rudimentary pseudo/proto-consciousness level is given/described and compared with other empirical/theoretical concepts.

A one-dimensional strain-rate based model for soft structured clays

The paper aims to investigate the destructuration effect on the time-dependent behaviour of soft structured clays.Viscosity coupled with destructuration is analysed based on experimental observations.A strain-rate based model is developed to de-scribe the mechanical behaviour for both unstructured and structured clays under one-dimensional loading.The advantage of the proposed model lies in the determination of model parameters in a straightforward way,which leads to an easy use of the model for practical problems.Coupled with consolidation,the model is used to simulate oedometer tests at constant rate of strain and long-term creep oedometer tests on two structured clays.All comparisons between predicted and measured results demonstrate that the proposed model can reasonably describe the effect of destructuration on the time-dependent behaviour of soft structured clay under one-dimensional condition.Although the model is proposed for one-dimensional analysis,it can be a good base for developing a more general 3D model.

Crustal P-and S-Wave Velocity Structure of the North China Craton at 36°N from Active-Source Seismic Data and Its Tectonic Implications

We present crustal models for seismic P-waves(Vp),S-waves(Vs)and the Vp/Vs ratio across the southern North China Craton along latitude 36°N.Our results are based on inverse and forward modeling of long-range wide-angle reflection/refraction data.The crust of the southern Ordos Block has high lower crustal velocity(7.0 km/s)and a Moho depth of~42 km.In contrast,thick sediments and a lower average velocity(compared with the Ordos block)found underneath the Shanxi Graben are likely to be the products of rifting that has occurred since the Cenozoic.Steep Moho dips,exposed basement rock and higher average crustal velocity beneath the Lüliang Mountain and the Taihang Mountain are characteristic of an orogenic belt.The Tanlu fault and the Liaocheng-Lankao fault show sharp crustal velocity variations and a Moho offset.This seismic profile sampled the entire region of the Eastern North China Craton where the cratonic root has been destroyed and the unique crustal structure is correlated with the substantially modified lithosphere.Our crustal seismic velocity model shows a strong correspondence between surface geology,local tectonics and the deep crustal structure.