Limit analysis method for active earth pressure on laggings between stabilizing piles

Stabilizing pile is a kind of earth shoring structure frequently used in slope engineering. When the piles have cantilever segments above the ground,laggings are usually installed to avoid collapse of soil between piles. Evaluating the earth pressure acting on laggings is of great importance in design process.Since laggings are usually less stiff than piles,the lateral pressure on lagging is much closer to active earth pressure. In order to estimate the lateral earth pressure on lagging more accurately,first,a model test of cantilever stabilizing pile and lagging systems was carried out. Then,basing the experimental results a three-dimensional sliding wedge model was established. Last,the calculation process of the total active force on lagging is presented based on the kinematic approach of limit analysis. A comparison is made between the total active force on lagging calculated by the formula presented in this study and the force on a same-size rigid retaining wall obtained from Rankine's theory. It is found that the proposed method fits well with the experimental results.Parametric studies show that the total active force on lagging increases with the growth of the lagging height and the lagging clear span; while decreases asthe soil internal friction angle and soil cohesion increase.

Interaction analysis of back-to-back mechanically stabilized earth walls

Back-to-back mechanically stabilized earth walls （BBMSEWs） are encountered in bridge approaches, ramp ways, rockfall protection systems, earth dams, levees and noise barriers. However, available design guidelines for BBMSEWs are limited and not applicable to numerical modeling when back-to-back walls interact with each other. The objective of this paper is to investigate, using PLAXIS code, the effects of the reduction in the distance between BBMSEW, the reinforcement length, the quality of backfill material and the connection of reinforcements in the middle, when the back-to-back walls are close. The results indicate that each of the BBMSEWs behaves independently if the width of the embankment between mechanically stabilized earth walls is greater than that of the active zone. This is in good agreement with the result of FHWA design guideline. However, the results show that the FHWA design guideline underestimates the lateral earth pressure when back-to-back walls interact with each other. Moreover, for closer BBMSEWs, FHWA design guideline strongly overestimates the maximum tensile force in the reinforcement. The investigation of the quality of backfill material shows that the minor increase in embankment cohesion can lead to significant reductions in both the lateral earth pressure and the maximum tensile force in geosynthetic. When the distance between the two earth walls is close to zero, the connection of reinforcement between back-to-back walls significantly improves the factor of safety.

Rare earth market analysis in November 2017

Rare earth prices kept falling down since August, 2017. Prices of most rare earth products dropped largely. For example, price of didymium oxide fell by 40% and price of dysprosium oxide by nearly 30%.

Scanning Analysis of REE in Bastnaesite with Synchrotron Radiation X－Ray Fluorescence Microprobe

The content of REE(La.Ce.Pr.Nd.Sm) in bastnaesite was measured by synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence microprobe.Scanning analysis makes use of excitation of the REE K lines between 33 and 50 keV.SR white beam from a Wiggler source at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider(BEPC) of the National Laboratory,in order to excite the REE.The bastnaesite from the same mineral area was powdered to particle size≤300 mesh.It was then divided into two parts.One portion was used to be determined by XRF after depositing with oxalate and transforming into oxide.The other was pressed into disk without any binder as the reference sample.The weight and the diamieter of the disk were 15 g and 26 mm respectively.

Earth orientation parameters from VLBI determined with a Kalman filter

This paper introduces the reader to our Kalman filter developed for geodetic VLBI（very long baseline interferometry） data analysis. The focus lies on the EOP（Earth Orientation Parameter） determination based on the Continuous VLBI Campaign 2014（CONT14） data, but also earlier CONT campaigns are analyzed. For validation and comparison purposes we use EOP determined with the classical LSM（least squares method） estimated from the same VLBI data set as the Kalman solution with a daily resolution. To gain higher resolved EOP from LSM we run solutions which yield hourly estimates for polar motion and dUTl = Universal Time（UT1）-Coordinated Universal Time（UTC）. As an external validation data set we use a GPS（Global Positioning System） solution providing hourly polar motion results.Further, we describe our approach for determining the noise driving the Kalman filter. It has to be chosen carefully, since it can lead to a significant degradation of the results. We illustrate this issue in context with the de-correlation of polar motion and nutation.Finally, we find that the agreement with respect to GPS can be improved by up to 50% using our filter compared to the LSM approach, reaching a similar precision than the GPS solution. Especially the power of erroneous high-frequency signals can be reduced dramatically, opening up new possibilities for highfrequency EOP studies and investigations of the models involved in VLBI data analysis.We prove that the Kalman filter is more than on par with the classical least squares method and that it is a valuable alternative, especially on the advent of the VLBI2010 Global Observing System and within the GGOS frame work.

Thermodynamic analysis of inclusion in weld

The metallurgical effect of light rare earth on inclusion in weld metal has been investigated by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray energy dispersion spectrometer (EDAX), micro particle analyzer (MPA), electon probe microscope (EPMA),and thermodynamic analysis. The results have shown that the light rare earth alloys have a cleaning and modifying action after transferred into the weld metal through coating electrode. Besides, their action of deoxidization is stronger that of desulphuration.

Weekly inter-technique combination of SLR,VLBI,GPS and DORIS at the solution level

Constructing and maintaining a stable terrestrial reference frame （TRF） is one of the key objectives of fundamental astronomy and geodesy. The datum realization for all the global TRF versions, such as ITRF2014 and its predecessor ITRF2008, assumes linear time evolution for transformation parameters and then imposes some conditions on these Helmert transformation parameters. In this paper, we investigate a new approach, which is based on weekly estimation of station positions and Helmert transformation parameters from a combination of the solutions of four space-geodetic techniques, i.e., Satellite Laser Ranging （SLR）, Very Long Baseline Interferometry （VLBI）, Global Positioning System （GPS） and Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite （DORIS）. For this study, an interval of one week is chosen because the arc length of the SLR solutions is seven days. The major advantage of this weekly estimated reference frame is that both the non-linear station motions and the non-linear origin motion are implicitly taken into account. In order to study the non-linear behavior of station motions and physical parameters, ITRF2008 is used as a reference. As for datum definition of weekly reference frame, on one hand SLR is the unique technique to realize the origin and determine the scale together with VLBI, and on the other hand the orientation is realized via no net rotation with respect to ITRF2005 on a subset of core stations. Given the fact that without enough collocations an inter-technique combined TRF could not exist, the selection and relative weight of local ties surveyed at co-location sites are critical issues. To get stable results, we first assume that, if there were no events such as equipment changes between the measurement epoch of the local tie and that of the space- geodetic solution, the relative position between the two co-located stations should be invariant and this local tie could be used for computing the inter-technique combined reference flame in those weeks during the stable period of this tie. The resulting time series of both station positions and transformation parameters are studied in detail and are compared with ITRF2008. The residual station positions in the weekly combined reference frame are usually in the range of two millimeters without any periodic characteristic, but the residual station positions, when subtracting the regularized station position in ITRF2008, may reach a magnitude of a few centimeters and seem to have a significant annual signal. The physical parameter series between the weekly reference frame and ITRF2008 also show the obvious existence of an annual signal and reach a magnitude of one centimeter for origin motion and two parts per billion （ppb） for scale.

Analysis and Suggestion to the Development of the Rare Earth Industry in China

China’s rare earth resource dominates othercountries.The rare earth industry is also anemerging industry worldwide.Rare earth materialis a strategic advanced material in the21st century and plays an important role inthe renovation of traditional industries andthe development of high-tech industries.Thedevelopment of the rare earth industry includingresource development and utilization,technical research and industrial restructuringhas therefore received great attention from

Kinetics of fluorescence properties of Eu^(3+) ion in strontium-aluminiumbismuth-borate glasses

Eu3＋ doped strontium-aluminium-bismuth-borate glasses with the chemical composition（50–x）B2O3＋20Bi2O3＋7Al F3＋ 8Sr O＋15Sr F2＋x Eu2O3（where x=0.1 mol.%, 0.5 mol.%, 1.0 mol.% and 1.5 mol.%） were prepared by the conventional melt quenching technique.Structural properties of the prepared glasses were analysed through X-ray diffraction（XRD）, scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, energy dispersive spectroscopy（EDS） and Raman spectral techniques.Thermal stability of glass was analysed by differential thermal analysis（DTA） curve.Photoluminescence characteristics were studied using excitation, emission spectra and decay curves of Eu3＋ doped strontium-aluminium-bismuth-borate glasses.The Judd-Ofelt（J-O） intensity parameters, Ωλ（λ=2, 4 and 6） were obtained using emission spectra and was used to identify the nature of Eu3＋ ions with their surrounding ligands.Using J-O parameters the transition probabilities（A）, stimulated emission cross-sections σE p, branching ratios（βR） and radiative lifetimes（τmeas and τcal） were evaluated for the 5D0→7F J（J=0, 1, 2, 3 and 4） transition of Eu3＋ ions in the present glasses.The decay profiles were found to be non exponential for all the concentrations and the measured lifetimes（τmeas） were obtained from the decay profiles.The higher values of A, σE p, βR and quantum efficiency（η） for 5D0→7F2 emission transition at 617 nm confirmed the present glass was as active medium for red laser emission applications.

Surface composition change of chlorine-doped catalyst Ni(Clx)/CeO2 in methanation reaction

The oxide sample NiO/CeO_2 with feed atomic ratio of Ni/Ce at 40%, prepared by co-precipitation method and calcination at 500 oC for 2 h, was impregnated by aqueous solution of NH_4Cl to dope chlorine ions. After the impregnated samples were dried and calcined at 400 oC for 2 h, the calcined samples NiO（Cl_x）/CeO_2（x=0.1–0.5） were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction（XRD） and temperature programmed reduction（TPR） techniques. It was comfirmed that the doped chlorine ions hindered reduction of Ni^（2＋） ions in the calcined samples, and suppressed adsorption of CO_2 and CO on the reduced sample Ni（Cl_（0.3））/CeO_2. The reduced samples Ni（Cl_x）/CeO_2（x=0.0–0.5） were used as catalysts for selective methanation of CO in H_2-rich gas. When chlorine ions were doped at the feed atomic ratio of Cl/Ce（x） equal to 0.3–0.5, CO in the H_2-rich gas could be removed to below 10 ppm with a high selectivity more than 50% in a wide reaction temperature range of 220–280 oC. However, the selectivity of CO methanation decreased with reaction time in the durability tests over the catalyst Ni（Cl_（0.3））/CeO_2 at the reaction temperature of 260 oC and even at 220 oC. The lowering of the selectivity was found to be related with the surface composition change of the catalyst in the catalytic reaction.

Density of Na3AIF6-AIF3-LiF-MgF2-Al2O3-Sm2O3 molten salt melt for Al-Sm alloy

Samarium（Sm） has been widely used in making aluminum（Al）-Sm magnet alloy materials. The research team for this study developed a molten salt electrolyte system which directly produces AI-Sm alloy to replace the energy intensive conventional distillation technology. In this study, molten melt density was measured and operation conditions were optimized to separate AI-Sm alloy product from the fluoride molten melt electrolysis media based on density differences, Archimedes＇ principle was applied to measure density for the basic molten fluoride system（BMFS： Na_3 AlF_6-AlF_3-LiF-MgF_2）electrolysis media in the temperature range from 905 to 1055 ℃.The impact of temperature（t） and the Al_2O_3 and Sm_2O_3 addition ratio（w_（（Al2O3））,w_（（Sm2O3）） in the basic fluoride system on molten melt density was examined. The fluoride molten melt density relationship was determined to be：ρ=3.11701-0.00802 w_（（Al2O3））＋0.027825 w_（（Sm2O3））-0.00117 t. The test results showed that molten density decreases with increase in temperature and Al_2O_3 addition ratio, and increases with the addition of Sm_2O_3, and/or Al_2O_3＋Sm_2O_3. The separation of Al-Sm（density 2.3 g/cm^3） product melt from the BMFS melt is achieved by controlling the BMFS density to less than 2.0 g/cm3. It is concluded that the optimal operation conditions to control the BMFS molten salt density to less than 2.0 g/cm^3 are：maintain addition of Al_2O_3＋Sm_2 O_3（w_（（Al2O3））＋w_（（Sm2O3））〈9% of Na_3AlF_6,Al_2O_3/Sm_2O_3 ratio（w_（（Al2O3））：w_（（Sm2O3）））〉 7：3, and temperature between 965 and 995 ℃.

Self-polymerization and co-polymerization kinetics of gadolinium methacrylate

Gadolinium methacrylate（Gd（MAA）3） was synthesized by using gadolinium oxide and methacrylic acid as the starting materials and its self-polymerization kinetic was studied based on non-isothermal and isothermal analysis. Moreover, the monomer reactivity ratios of methyl methacrylate（MMA） and Gd（MAA）3 were evaluated by using Kelen-Tiidos method. The thermal neutron shielding properties of PMMA and poly（MMA-co-Gd（MAA）3） were calculated by MCNP program. The results show that the selfpolymerization of Gd（MAA）3 can be initiated by thermal and free radical and its activation energy is103.35 kJ/mol or 58.55 kJ/mol correspondingly in the solid state or aqueous solution. The polymerization rate,Rp,under low conversion at 65 ℃ is expressed as Rp = K[M]^（1.05）[I]^（0.60）. The reactivity ratios of r1（MMA） and r2（Gd（MAA）3） are 0.225 and 1.340, respectively. The ability of thermal neutron shielding of poly（MMA-co-Gd（MAA）3） is increased by gadolinium contents and is far better than PMMA.

Identifying AMSR-E radio-frequency interference over winter land

Satellite microwave emission mixed with signals from active sensors is referred to as radio- frequency interference （RFI）. RFI affects greatly the quality of data and retrieval products from space-bome microwave radiometry. An accurate RFI detection will not only enhance geophysical retrievals over land but also provide evidence of the much-needed protection of the microwave frequency band for satellite remote sensing technologies. It is difficult to detect RFI from space-borne microwave radiometer data over winter land, because RFI signals are usually mixed with snow in mid-high latitudes. A modified principal component analysis （PCA） method is proposed in this paper for detecting microwave low frequency RFI signals. Only three original variables, one RFI index （sensitive to RFI signal） and two scattering indices （sensitive to snow scattering）, are included in the vector for principal component analysis in this modified method instead of the nine or seven RFI index original variables used in a normal PCA algorithm. The principal component with higher correlation and contribution to the original RFI index is the RFI-related principal component. In the absence of a reliable validation data set of the ＂true＂ RFI, the consistency in the identified RFI distribution obtained from this method compared to other independent methods, such as the spectral difference method, the normalized PCA method, and the double PCA method, give confidence to the RFI signals＇ identification over land. The simple and reliable modified PCA method could successfully detect RFI not only in summer but also in winter AMSR-E data.

Influence of oxygen non-stoichiometry on physical properties of NdSr_2Mn_2O_(7±δ)

Nd Sr2Mn2O7＋δ compounds were synthesized by ceramic method under three different cooling conditions. The Nd Sr2Mn2O7＋δ samples were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction（XRD）. Oxygen non-stoichiometry data for the studied powders were determined by using gravimetric and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS） methods. The correlation of cooling method and oxygen as non-stoichiometry was established. The electroconductivity in samples was studied by using four-point probe method, and the strong correlation with non-stoichiometry was found out. Magnetization measurements were carried out. It was found that the magnetic and transport properties of the samples were also influenced by oxygen non-stoichiometry. The evolution of the magnetic properties could be explained by the formation of magnetic clusters in the vicinity of oxygen vacancies（OV） and strong competition between the superexchange and double exchange interactions.

Spectroscopic studies of gel-grown lanthanum malonate crystals

Lanthanum malonate crystals were grown by single tube ionic diffusion through silica gel. The crystallinity of the grown crystals was analyzed by powder X-ray diffraction studies. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR） and fourier transform （FT） Raman studies confirmed the presence of functional groups in the title compound. The optical band gap energy of the material was extracted from diffuse reflectance spectrum.