Physical modelling and scale effects of air-water flows on stepped spillways

During the last three decades, the introduction of new construction materials (e.g. RCC (Roller Compacted Concrete), strengthened gabions) has increased the interest for stepped channels and spillways. However stepped chute hydraulics is not simple, because of different flow regimes and importantly because of very-strong interactions between entrained air and turbu- lence. In this study, new air-water flow measurements were conducted in two large-size stepped chute facilities with two step heights in each facility to study experimental distortion caused by scale effects and the soundness of result extrapolation to pro- totypes. Experimental data included distributions of air concentration, air-water flow velocity, bubble frequency, bubble chord length and air-water flow turbulence intensity. For a Froude similitude, the results implied that scale effects were observed in both facilities, although the geometric scaling ratio was only Lr=2 in each case. The selection of the criterion for scale effects is a critical issue. For example, major differences (i.e. scale effects) were observed in terms of bubble chord sizes and turbulence levels al- though little scale effects were seen in terms of void fraction and velocity distributions. Overall the findings emphasize that physical modelling of stepped chutes based upon a Froude similitude is more sensitive to scale effects than classical smooth-invert chute studies, and this is consistent with basic dimensional analysis developed herein.

PHYSICAL MODELLING OF ISOTHERMAL DIE FORGING PROCESS OF Ti-ALLOY STRUCTURAL AIR-FRAME PART WITH ETYPE CROSS-SECTION AND VARYING THICKNESS RIB

Isothermal flashless die forging process of Ti - alloy structural air - frame part with varying thickness rib has been modelled in this paper.The results of present study show that a upside - down trapezoid rib would be formed and buckling would occure as blank is reduced,if the thickness of billet is maller than or equal to the thickness of rib. During modelling process of structural air frame part with E type cross - section rib, the saddle or lap would be formed finally at the middle of transverse rib between ribs with increase in deformation.If metal is allowed to flow out at confluence of longitudinal and transverse rib, the lop defect would be eliminated,, but a pipe cavity is obvious on corresponding loca- tion of blank. of defect formation depends on distance of metal flow ,friction,temperature homoge- neity of the blank and complexity of the part.

COUPLED PHYSICAL-ECOLOGICAL MODELLING OF THE CENTRAL PART OF JIAOZHOU BAY I. PHYSICAL MODELLING

Sharples's 1-D physical model, employing tide-wind driven turbulence closure and surface heating-cooling physics, was used to simulate the evolution of seawater temperature in the central part of Jiaozhou Bay. The results were consistent with observation after application of a large value of vertical eddy diffusivity to the upper layer in the case of rainy season. The simulated bottom seawater temperature varies regularly in sinusoidal pattern. The simulated surface seawater temperature clearly indicates that stratification begins in the middle of April, lasting about 6 days, and ends in later August, lasting only 2 days; and that the strongest stratification occurs in June, when the surface net heat flux is close to zero. Since the rainfall process not considered in the present model could cause very strong vertical mixing in the upper layer of bay water, the physical meaning of applying a larger vertical eddy diffusivity is supposed to be a parametrization of the rainfall created mixing in the upper layer. To prove this hypothesis more complex models have to be used and more observations have to be made in future study. Key words physical modelling - rainfall created mixing in the upper sea - the central part of Jiaozhou Bay Contribution No. 3773 from the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.Project 39630060 supported by NSFC.

Physical Modelling of the Drained Flow on a Suction Box of a Papermachine

Suction boxes are used in the paper industry to simultaneously drain a pulp suspension and form a fibre mat （or filter cake）. This research addresses the modelling of fibre deposition in the forming unit of an industrial papermachine, assuming a filtration process, and that of the flowing suspension drained through the building fibre mat and the wire on a suction box. From experimental data of the cumulative drained V volume, per unit surface area, for two vacuum pressures △P and 6 dwell times t, an extension of the classical law （t/V） versus V is proposed, validated and applied. This relation enables determining the average specific filtration resistance of the fibre mat over the box and the mass of solids deposited before and over the suction box. The model obtained is as precise as 1% and can be used to limit and reduce the energy consumption of drainage vacuum assisted devices such as suction boxes in the forming unit of industrial papermachines.

Displacement field reconstruction in landslide physical modeling by using a terrain laser scanner e Part 2:Application and large strain/displacement and water effect analysis

Deformation analysis is fundamental in geotechnical modeling.Nevertheless,there is still a lack of an effective method to obtain the deformation field under various experimental conditions.In this study,we introduce a processebased physical modeling of a pileereinforced reservoir landslide and present an improved deformation analysis involving large strains and water effects.We collect multieperiod point clouds using a terrain laser scanner and reconstruct its deformation field through a point cloud processing workflow.The results show that this method can accurately describe the landslide surface deformation at any time and area by both scalar and vector fields.The deformation fields in different profiles of the physical model and different stages of the evolutionary process provide adequate and detailed landslide information.We analyze the large strain upstream of the pile caused by the pile installation and the consequent violent deformation during the evolutionary process.Furthermore,our method effectively overcomes the challenges of identifying targets commonly encountered in geotechnical modeling where water effects are considered and targets are polluted,which facilitates the deformation analysis at the wading area in a reservoir landslide.Eventually,combining subsurface deformation as well as numerical modeling,we comprehensively analyze the kinematics and failure mechanisms of this complicated object involving landslides and pile foundations as well as water effects.This method is of great significance for any geotechnical modeling concerning large-strain analysis and water effects.

A data and physical model dual-driven based trajectory estimator for long-term navigation

Long-term navigation ability based on consumer-level wearable inertial sensors plays an essential role towards various emerging fields, for instance, smart healthcare, emergency rescue, soldier positioning et al. The performance of existing long-term navigation algorithm is limited by the cumulative error of inertial sensors, disturbed local magnetic field, and complex motion modes of the pedestrian. This paper develops a robust data and physical model dual-driven based trajectory estimation(DPDD-TE) framework, which can be applied for long-term navigation tasks. A Bi-directional Long Short-Term Memory(Bi-LSTM) based quasi-static magnetic field(QSMF) detection algorithm is developed for extracting useful magnetic observation for heading calibration, and another Bi-LSTM is adopted for walking speed estimation by considering hybrid human motion information under a specific time period. In addition, a data and physical model dual-driven based multi-source fusion model is proposed to integrate basic INS mechanization and multi-level constraint and observations for maintaining accuracy under long-term navigation tasks, and enhanced by the magnetic and trajectory features assisted loop detection algorithm. Real-world experiments indicate that the proposed DPDD-TE outperforms than existing algorithms, and final estimated heading and positioning accuracy indexes reaches 5° and less than 2 m under the time period of 30 min, respectively.

Displacement field reconstruction in landslide physical modeling by using a terrain laser scanner e Part 1:Methodology,error analysis and validation

Laser scanning technology has been widely used in landslide aspects.However,the existing deformation analysis based on terrain laser scanners can only provide limited information,which is insufficient for understanding landslide kinematics and failure mechanisms.To overcome this limitation,this paper proposes an automated method for processing point clouds collected in landslide physical modeling.This method allows the acquisition of quantitative three-dimensional(3D)deformation field information.The results show the organized and spatially related point cloud segmentation in terms of spherical targets.The segmented point clouds can be fitted to determine the locations of all preset targets and their corresponding location changes.The proposed method has been validated based on theoretical analysis and numerical and physical tests,which indicates that it can batch-process massive data sets with high computational efficiency and good noise resistance.Compared to existing methods,this method shows a significant potential for understanding landslide kinematics and failure mechanisms and advancing the application of 3D laser scanning in geotechnical modeling.

Physical model test and application of 3D printing rock-like specimens to laminated rock tunnels

Weak structural plane deformation is responsible for the non-uniform large deformation disasters in layered rock tunnels,resulting in steel arch distortion and secondary lining cracking.In this study,a servo biaxial testing system was employed to conduct physical modeling tests on layered rock tunnels with bedding planes of varying dip angles.The influence of structural anisotropy in layered rocks on the micro displacement and strain field of surrounding rocks was analyzed using digital image correlation(DIC)technology.The spatiotemporal evolution of non-uniform deformation of surrounding rocks was investigated,and numerical simulation was performed to verify the experimental results.The findings indicate that the displacement and strain field of the surrounding layered rocks are all maximized at the horizontal bedding planes and decrease linearly with the increasing dip angle.The failure of the layered surrounding rock with different dip angles occurs and extends along the bedding planes.Compressive strain failure occurs after excavation under high horizontal stress.This study provides significant theoretical support for the analysis,prediction,and control of non-uniform deformation of tunnel surrounding rocks.

Rainfall-triggered waste dump instability analysis based on surface 3D deformation in physical model test

Landslide is the second largest natural disaster after earthquake. It is of significance to study the evolution laws and failure mechanism of landslides based on its surface 3D deformation information. Based on the rainfall-triggered waste dump instability model test, we studied the failure mechanisms of the waste dump by integrating surface deformation and internal slope stress and proposed novel parameters for identifying landslide stability. We developed a noncontact measurement device, which can obtain millimeter-level 3D deformation data for surface scene in physical model test;Then we developed the similar materials and established a test model for a waste dump. Based on the failure characteristics of slope surface, internal stress of slope body and displacement contours during the whole process, we divided the slope instability process in model test into four stages: rainfall infiltration and surface erosion, shallow sliding, deep sliding, and overall instability. Based on the obtained surface deformation data, we calculated the volume change during slope instability process and compared it with the point displacement on slope surface. The results showed that the volume change can not only reflect the slow-ultra acceleration process of slope failure, but also fully reflect the above four stages and reduce the fluctuations caused by random factors. Finally, this paper proposed two stability identification parameters: the volume change rate above the slip surface and the relative velocity of volume change rate. According to the calculation of these two parameters in model test, they can be used for study the deformation and failure mechanism of slope stability.

Seismic rock physical modelling for gas hydrate-bearing sediments

There are ambiguities and uncertainties in the recognition of gas hydrate seismic reflections and in quantitative predictions of physical information of natural gas hydrate reservoirs from seismic data. Rock physical modelling is a bridge that transforms the seismic information of geophysical observations into physical information, but traditional rock physics models lack descriptions of reservoir micro-structures and pore-filling materials. Considering the mineral compositions and pore microstructures of gas hydrates, we built rock physical models for load-bearing and pore-filling gas hydrate-bearing sediments,describe the mineral compositions, pore connectivity and pore shape using effective media theory, calculated the shear properties of pore-filling gas hydrates using Patchy saturation theory and Generalized Gassmann theory, and then revealed the quantitative relation between the elastic parameters and physical parameters for gas hydrate-bearing sediments. The numerical modelling results have shown that the ratios of P-wave and S-wave velocities decrease with hydrate saturation, the P-wave and S-wave velocities of load-bearing gas hydrate-bearing sediments are more sensitive to hydrate saturation, sensitivity is higher with narrower pores, and the ratios of the P-wave and S-wave velocities of pore-filling gas hydrate-bearing sediments are more sensitive to shear properties of hydrates at higher hydrate saturations. Theoretical analysis and practical application results showed that the rock physical models in this paper can be used to calculate the quantitative relation between macro elastic properties and micro physical properties of gas hydrate-bearing sediments, offer shear velocity information lacking in well logging, determine elastic parameters that have more effective indicating abilities, obtain physical parameters such as hydrate saturation and pore aspect ratios, and provide a theoretical basis and practical guidance for gas hydrate quantitative predictions.

Flow Characteristics and Inclusion Removal in a Ten-strand Continuous Casting Tundish:Physical Modelling and Industrial Trials

The flow characteristics and inclusion removal in a ten-strand continuous casting tundish were investigated with physical modelling and industrial trials. The results show that, among the strands, the strand with the mini mum dimensionless time of the first appearance of tracer at the tundish exit appears to be the worst one for inclusion removal, while the strand with the maximum dimensionless mean residence time shows the best inclusion removal efficiency. The inclusion number decreases with increasing inclusion size for all strands. The inclusion number distri bution among strands is the same for all inclusion sizes and the descending order of inclusion number is basically con sistent with the ascending order of dimensionless mean residence time among individual strands. However, when the strand with the minimum dimensionless time of the first appearance of tracer at the tundish exit is not the same one with the minimum dimensionless mean residence time, the former seems to be inferior to the latter for inclusion re moval.

Physical modelling of particle transport phenomenon and vibration behavior of converter with bottom powder injection

A cold model of top-bottom blown converter was set up to study the particle transport phenomenon and vibration performance of converter with bottom powder injection.The effect of bottom blowing flow rates,tuyere diameters,arrangements,and powder to gas mass ratios on powder distribution and furnace body vibration was investigated.The results show that the bottom injection parameters and modes have significant effects on the particle transport behavior and furnace vibration.The powder dispersion uniformity and furnace vibration increase with the increase in bottom blowing tuyere diameters.In the lower range of bottom blowing flow rates and powder to gas mass ratios,the powder dispersion uniformity is improved with the increase in them.However,in the higher range,the excessive furnace vibration leads to reduction in uniformity in powder dispersion.When the bottom blowing tuyeres arrange at double arrangement of 0.5R(R refers to the radius of the bottom)distance between tuyere and center of bath bottom,the converter has optimal particle transport behavior and vibration performance.The vibration law of converter with bottom powder injection was revealed by deducing the empirical formulas of furnace vibration maximum amplitude.The vibration intensity is affected by Froude number,powder to gas mass ratio,and tuyere arrangement.

Physical model investigation on effects of drainage condition and cement addition on consolidation behavior of tailings slurry within backfilled stopes

Estimation of stressses within the tailings slurry during self-weight consolidation is a critical issue for cost-effective barricade design and efficient backfill planning in underground mine stopes.This process requires a good understanding of self-weight consolidation behaviors of the tailings slurry within practical stopes,where many factors can have significant effects on the consolidation,including drainage condition and cement addition.In this paper,the prepared tailings slurry with different cement contents(0,4.76wt%,and 6.25wt%)was poured into1.2 m-high columns,which allowed three drainage scenarios(undrained,partial lateral drainage near the bottom part,and full lateral drainage boundaries)to investigate the effects of drainage condition and cement addition on the consolidation behavior of the tailings slurry.The consolidation behavior was analyzed in terms of pore water pressure(PWP),settlement,volume of drainage water,and residual water content.The results indicate that increasing the length of the drainage boundary or cement content aids in PWP dissipation.In addition,constructing an efficient drainage boundary was more favorable to PWP dissipation than increasing cement addition.The final stable PWP on the column floor was not sensitive to cement addition.The final settlement of uncemented tailings slurry was independent of drainage conditions,and that of cemented tailings slurry decreased with the increase in cement addition.Notably,more pore water can drain out from the cemented tailings slurry than the uncemented tailings slurry during consolidation.

Physical and Numerical Modelling Applied to a Major New Port Development and Impacts of Its Deep Navigational Channel

This paper describes the use of a numerical and physical modelling study in the design of large breakwaters for a new port and dry dock complex on the southern coast of Oman. The numerical modelling was carried out to optimise the entrance channel layout with respect to wave penetration into the port and to refine design conditions for the sizing of the primary armour on the breakwaters. Wave conditions inside and outside of the port have been assessed using the 2-dimensional numerical wave penetration model MIKE21 EMS （Elliptic Mild-Slope）. As part of the design process, 3D physical modelling studies were also undertaken at Delft Hydraulics in the Netherlands to confirm the stability of the armour on the trunk and roundhead of the breakwaters and to verify the influence of the deep approach channel on stability. The opportunity was taken to extend the physical model tests to assess the influence of the deep channel on wave penetration through the port entrance. The paper focuses on the influence of the deep channel on wave conditions in the entrance to the port and compares the results from the numerical and physical modelling.

Hydrodynamic Performance of a Newly-Designed Pelagic and Demersal Trawls Using Physical Modeling and Analytical Methods for Cameroonian Industrial Fisheries

This study proposed the newly-designed Pelagic and demersal trawls for the fishing vessels operating in Cameroonian waters in pelagic and demersal fishing grounds. The engineering performances of both trawls were investigated using physical modelling method and analytical method based on the predicted equations. In a flume tank, a series of physical model tests based on Tauti’s law were performed to investigate the hydrodynamic and geometrical performances of both trawls and to assess the applicability of the analytical methods based on predicted equations. The results showed that in model scale, the working towing speed and door spread for the pelagic trawl were 3.5 knots and 1.85 m, respectively, and for the bottom trawl net they were 4.0 knots and 1.8 m. At that speed and door spread, the drag force, net opening height, and wing-end spread of the pelagic model trawl were 36.73 N, 0.89 m, and 0.86 m, respectively, and the swept area was 0.76 m2. Bottom trawl speed and door spread were 30.43 N, 0.38 m, and 0.45 m, respectively, and the swept area was 0.25 m2. The maximum difference between the experimental and analytical results of hydrodynamic performances was less than 56.22% and 41.45%, respectively, for pelagic and bottom trawls, the results of the geometrical performances obtained using predicted equations were close to the experimental results in the flume tank with a maximum relative error less than 12.85%. The newly developed pelagic and bottom trawls had advanced engineering performance for high catch efficiency and selectivity and could be used in commercial fishing operations in Cameroonian waters.

Large-scale complex physical modeling and precisionanalysis

Large-scale 3D physical models of complex structures can be used to simulate hydrocarbon exploration areas. The high-fidelity simulation of actual structures poses challenges to model building and quality control. Such models can be used to collect wideazimuth, multi-azimuth, and full-azimuth seismic data that can be used to verify various 3D processing and interpretation methods. Faced with nonideal imaging problems owing to the extensive complex surface conditions and subsurface structures in the oil-rich foreland basins of western China, we designed and built the KS physical model based on the complex subsurface structure. This is the largest and most complex 3D physical model built to date. The physical modeling technology advancements mainly involve 1） the model design method, 2） the model casting flow, and 3） data acquisition. A 3D velocity model of the physical model was obtained for the first time, and the model building precision was quantitatively analyzed. The absolute error was less than 3 mm, which satisfies the experimental requirements. The 3D velocity model obtained from 3D measurements of the model layers is the basis for testing various imaging methods. Furthermore, the model is considered a standard in seismic physical modeling technology.

The influence of inter-band rock on rib spalling in longwall panel with large mining height

In order to improve rib stability,failure criteria and instability mode of a thick coal seam with inter-band rock layer are analysed in this study.A three-dimensional mechanical model is established for the rib by considering the rock layer.A safety factor is defined foy the rib,and it is observed that the safety factor exhibits a positive correlation with the thickness and strength of the inter-band rock.A calculation method for determining critical parameters of the rock layer is presented to ensure the rib stability.It is revealed that incomplete propagation of the fracture at the hard rock constitutes a fundamental prerequisite for ensuring the rib stability.The influence of the position of the inter-band rock in the coal seam on failure mechanism of the rib was thoroughly investigated by developing a series of physical models for the rib at the face area.The best position for the inter-band rock in the coal seam is at a height of 1.5 m away from the roof line,which tends to provide a good stability state for the rib.For different inter-band rock positions,two ways of controlling rib by increasing supports stiffness and flexible grouting reinforcement are proposed.

The analysis of frequency-dependent characteristics for fluid detection: a physical model experiment

According to the Chapman multi-scale rock physical model, the seismic response characteristics vary for different fluid-saturated reservoirs. For class I AVO reservoirs and gas-saturation, the seismic response is a high-frequency bright spot as the amplitude energy shifts. However, it is a low-frequency shadow for the Class III AVO reservoirs saturated with hydrocarbons. In this paper, we verified the high-frequency bright spot results of Chapman for the Class I AVO response using the frequency-dependent analysis of a physical model dataset. The physical model is designed as inter-bedded thin sand and shale based on real field geology parameters. We observed two datasets using fixed offset and 2D geometry with different fluid- saturated conditions. Spectral and time-frequency analyses methods are applied to the seismic datasets to describe the response characteristics for gas-, water-, and oil-saturation. The results of physical model dataset processing and analysis indicate that reflection wave tuning and fluid-related dispersion are the main seismic response characteristic mechanisms. Additionally, the gas saturation model can be distinguished from water and oil saturation for Class I AVO utilizing the frequency-dependent abnormal characteristic. The frequency-dependent characteristic analysis of the physical model dataset verified the different spectral response characteristics corresponding to the different fluid-saturated models. Therefore, by careful analysis of real field seismic data, we can obtain the abnormal spectral characteristics induced by the fluid variation and implement fluid detection using seismic data directly.

Physical Modeling of Localized Scour for the Yangtze Estuary Waterway Improvement Project,Phase Ⅰ

In order to examine the effectiveness of engineering protection against localized scour in front of the south groin-group of the Yangtze Estuary Waterway Improvement Project, Phase I , an undistort-ed physical model on a geometric scale of 1:250 is built in this study, covering two groins and their adacent estuarine areas. By use of rinsing fix-bed model as well as localized mobile-bed model, the experiment is undertaken under bi-directional steady flow. According to the experimental results, waterway dredging leads to the increase in steram velocity, the increase being larger during the ebb than during the flood. Construction of the upstream groin has some influence on the flow patterns near the downstream groin. Localized scour in front of the groin-heads is controlled mainly by ebb flow. In the case of a riverbed composed entirely of silt, the depths of localized scour in front of the two groin- heads are 27 m and 29 m, respectively. In reality, the underneath sediment of the prototype riverbed is clay whose threshold velocity is much higher than the stream velocity in the Yangtze Estuary; therefore, the depths of localized scour will not be much larger than the thickness of the silt layer, i. e. 7.4 m and 4.7 m, respectively. The designed aprons covering the riverbed in fron of the groin-heads are very effective in scour control. Aprons of slightly smaller size can also fulfill the task of protection, but the area of localized scour increases significantly.

Quantitative characterizations of anisotropic dynamic properties in organic-rich shale with different kerogen content

Understanding the quantitative responses of anisotropic dynamic properties in organic-rich shale with different kerogen content(KC)is of great significance in hydrocarbon exploration and development.Conducting controlled experiments with a single variable is challenging for natural shales due to their high variations in components,diagenesis conditions,or pore fluid.We employed the hot-pressing technique to construct 11 well-controlled artificial shale with varying KC.These artificial shale samples were successive machined into prismatic shape for ultrasonic measurements along different directions.Observations revealed bedding perpendicular P-wave velocities are more sensitive to the increasing KC than bedding paralleling velocities due to the preferential alignments of kerogen.All elastic stiffnesses except C_(13)are generally decreasing with the increasing KC,the variation of C_(1) and C_(33)on kerogen content are more sensitive than those of C_(44)and C_(66).Apparent dynamic mechanical parameters(v and E)were found to have linear correlation with the true ones from complete anisotropic equations independent of KC,which hold value towards the interpretation of well logs consistently across formations,Anisotropic mechanical parameters(ΔE and brittlenessΔB)tend to decrease with the reducing KC,withΔB showing great sensitivity to KC variations.In the range of low KC(<10%),the V_(P)/V_(S) ratio demonstrated a linearly negative correlation with KC,and the V_(P)/V_(S) ratio magnitude of less than 1.75may serve as a significant characterization for highly organic-rich(>10%)shale,compilation of data from natural organic rich-shales globally verified the similar systematic relationships that can be empirically used to predict the fraction of KC in shales.