Geometrical Design and Hydraulic Feasibility of Inner-Reinforced Girders in Hydropower Bifurcations

Inner-reinforced girders, also known as ribs, are widely used in hydropower bifurcations. However, while they strengthen structures, they also cause energy loss. This work aims to develop an appropriate geometry form for ribs that can diminish head loss in hydropower bifurcations. The term rib/breadth ratio(RBR) is defined to describe the geometrical form of ribs. An investigation is conducted to study the flow and performance characteristics of bifurcations with ribs using computational fluid dynamics. The dependence of the head loss coefficient on the RBR is given in six working conditions. Results show that the ribs change the local flow patterns and slightly increase the water head loss in some cases. In other cases,however, the ribs make the flow smooth. An appropriate RBR is the key to improve the flow patterns in hydropower bifurcations. The head loss varies with the RBR and reaches the minimum when the RBR is 0.3.

Stability and reinforcement analysis of rock slope based on elasto-plastic finite element method

The rigid body limit equilibrium method(RBLEM) and finite element method(FEM) are two widely used approaches for rock slope's stability analysis currently. RBLEM introduced plethoric assumptions; while traditional FEM relied on artificial factors when determining factor of safety(FOS) and sliding surfaces. Based on the definition of structure instability that an elasto-plastic structure is not stable if it is unable to satisfy simultaneously equilibrium condition, kinematical admissibility and constitutive equations under given external loads, deformation reinforcement theory(DRT) is developed. With this theory, plastic complementary energy(PCE) can be used to evaluate the overall stability of rock slope, and the unbalanced force beyond the yield surface could be the identification of local failure. Compared with traditional slope stability analysis approaches, the PCE norm curve to strength reduced factor is introduced and the unbalanced force is applied to the determination of key sliding surfaces and required reinforcement. Typical and important issues in rock slope stability are tested in TFINE(a three-dimensional nonlinear finite element program), which is further applied to several representatives of high rock slope's stability evaluation and reinforcement engineering practice in southwest of China.

The mechanism of barrier river reaches in the middle and lower Yangtze River

Alluvial channel has always adjusted itself to the equilibrium state of sediment transport after it was artificially or naturally disturbed. How to maintain the equilibrium state of sediment transport and keep the river regime stable has always been the concerns of fluvial geomorphologists. The channel in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River is characterized by the staggered distribution of the bifurcated river and the single-thread river. The change of river regime is more violently in the bifurcated river than in the single-thread river. Whether the adjustment of the river regime in the bifurcated river can pass through the single-thread river and propagate to the downstream reaches affects the stabilities of the overall river regime. Studies show that the barrier river reach can block the upstream channel adjustment from propagating to the downstream reaches; therefore, it plays a key role in stabilizing the river regime. This study investigates 34 single-thread river reaches in the mid- dle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. On the basis of the systematic summarization of the fluvial process of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the control factors of barrier river reach are summarized and extracted： the planar morphology of single-thread and meandering; with no flow deflecting node distributed in the upper or middle part of the river reach; the hydraulic geometric coefficient is less than 4; the longitudinal gradient is greater than 12‰, the clay content of the concave bank is greater than 9.5%, and the median diameter of the bed sediment is greater than 0.158 mm. From the Navier-Stokes equation ,the calculation formula of the bending radius of flow dynamic axis is deduced and then the roles of these control factors on restricting the migration of the flow dynamic axis and the formation of the barrier river reach are analyzed. The barrier river reach is considered Such. When the ratio of the migration force of the flow dynamic boundary is less than 1 under different flow levels axis to the constraint force of the channel boundary is less than 1 under different flow levels.The mechanism of the barrier river reach is such that even when the upstream river regime adjusts, the channel boundary of this reach can always constrain the migration amplitude of the flow dynamic axis and centralize the planar position of the main stream line under different upstream river regime conditions, pro- viding a relatively stable incoming flow conditions for the downstream reaches, thereby blocking the upstream river regime adjustment from propagating to the downstream reaches.

The barrier river reach identification and classification in the Middle Yangtze River

Adjustments of upstream river regimes are one of the main factors affecting downstream fluvial processes. However, not all adjustments of river regimes will propagate downstream. There are some distinctive river reaches where upstream and downstream adjustments have no relevance. However, the irrelevance is neither caused by different river types nor by the different conditions of water and sediment;but rather, the channel boundaries and riverbed morphologies block the propagation effect. These are referred to here as the barrier river reach phenomena. The migration of the thalweg line is the essential reason for causing the propagation effect. Numerous influencing factors for thalweg migration exist, including 1) the average flow rate above the critical bankfull discharge, the average flow rate below the critical bankfull discharge, and their ratio, 2) the ratio of the duration of the aforementioned two periods, 3) the thalweg displacement at the entrance of the river reach, 4) the deflecting flow intensity of the node, 5) the ratio of the river width to water depth, 6) the relative width of the floodplain, and 7) the Shields number. In this study, the correlativity between the measured distances and the restricting indicators of thalweg migration in the Middle Yangtze River over the years was established. The barrier degree of 27 singlethread river reaches was subsequently assessed. These reaches included 4 barrier river reaches;5 transitional reaches transforming from barrier to non-barrier;10 transitional reaches transforming from non-barrier to barrier;and 8 non-barrier river reaches. Barrier river reaches were found to be important for maintaining the stability of the river regime and the transverse equilibrium of sediment transport in the downstream reaches. To some extent, the barrier river reaches may protect the natural dynamical properties from being destroyed by artificial river regulation works. Thus, they are of great significance for river management.

长江中下游阻隔性河段作用机理

阻隔性河段能够阻隔上游河势调整向下游的传递,对稳定河势起到关键性作用。本文以长江中下游34个单一河段为研究对象,在系统总结长江中下游河道演变规律的基础上,归纳出阻隔性河段控制要素包括:单一微弯的河道平面形态、河段中上部无挑流节点;河相系数小于4;河道纵比降大于1.2?;凹岸黏粒含量高于9.5%;床沙中值粒径大于0.158 mm等。从Navier-Stokes方程出发,推导出河湾水流动力轴线弯曲半径的表达式,进而分析了各控制要素对水流动力轴线摆动及阻隔性河段形成的作用。阻隔性河段的判别条件为:不同流量级下水流动力轴线摆动力与河道边界条件约束力的比值始终小于1;阻隔性河段作用机理在于:即便上游河势发生调整,本河段的河道边界始终能约束主流摆动幅度,归顺上游不同河势条件下的主流平面位置,为下游河道提供了相对稳定的入流条件,从而阻隔上游河势调整向下游传递。