Dust pollution during shotcrete process in high-altitude tunnel based on numerical simulation

The surrounding rock needs shotcrete support after drilling and blasting excavation in the tunnel;the high concentration of dust generated in the process will endanger workers'occupational health.Therefore,to ensure the cleanness and safety of the tunnel construction process,a full-scale model of the tunnel was established based on field data of a high-altitude tunnel of the Sichuan-Tibet railway.The dust production mechanism is summarized by combing the whole process of shotcrete.The Computa-tional Fluid Dynamics(CFD)method was used to study the diffusion and transport of dust under different conditions.The grey relational analysis was applied to investigate the correlation values of the influ-encing factors on dust diffusion in the shotcrete operation area.The results show that the dust gener-ation mechanism of shotcrete includes the sudden change of particle velocity in the jet area leading to escape and particle impact dust generation,where fine dust is easily dispersed in the tunnel.During continuous dust production,the dust concentration is higher near the wet spraying machine and on the backflow side of the working face.Increasing the air supply volume and shortening the distance between the air duct and the working face is conducive to diluting the dust concentration in the tunnel.In the high-altitude environment,the dust concentration in the tunnel decreases,the diffusion distance be-comes smaller,the settlement proportion of dust particles increases,and the risk of secondary pollution increases.The simulation results and the field measurement data are consistent,which can provide theoretical support for the construction site dust control.

Major and trace element composition of surface sediments from the Southwest Indian Ridge:evidence for the incorporation of a hydrothermal component

Hydrothermal materials in deep-sea sediments provide a robust tracer to the localized hydrothermal activity at mid-ocean ridges. Major, trace and rare earth element（REE） data for surface sediments collected from the ultraslow spreading Southwest Indian Ridge are presented to examine the existence of hydrothermal component.Biogenic carbonate oozes dominate all the sediment samples, with CaO content varying from 85.5% to 89.9% on a volatile-free basis. The leaching residue of bulk sediments by ~5% HCl is compositionally comparable to the Upper Continental Crust（UCC） in SiO_2, Al_2O_3, CaO, MgO, alkali elements（Rb, Cs） and high field strength elements（Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf, Ti）. These detritus-hosted elements are inferred to be prominently derived from the Australian continent by means of eolian dust, while the contribution of local volcaniclastics is insignificant. In addition, the residual fraction shows a clear enrichment in Fe, Mn, and Ba compared with the UCC. Combining the positive Eu anomaly of residual fraction which is opposed to the UCC but the characteristic of hydrothermal fluids and associated precipitates occurred at mid-ocean ridges, the incorporation of localized hydrothermal component can be constrained. REE mixing calculations indicate that more than half REE within the residual fraction（~55%–60%） are derived from a hydrothermal component, which is inferred to be resulted from a diffuse fluid mineralization. The low-temperature diffuse flow may be widely distributed along the slow-ultraslow spreading ridges where crustal faults and fissures abound, and probably have a great mineralization potential.