Time-sensitivity mechanism of rock stress memory properties under tensile stress

In deep underground engineering,understanding of time-related stress memory properties is critical to evaluate the in situ stress conditions of a rock mass.In this study,the time-sensitivity mechanism of the rock stress memory properties under tensile stress was investigated.It was found that the material property(Poisson’s ratio)and crack angle were the controlling factors of the Kaiser effect(KE)under tensile stress.In particular,the time-sensitivity of the stress memory properties was closely related to the crack growth path.When the failure of the rock specimen was dominated by tensile microcracks and the crack development direction was deflected by up to 30°in the successive loading process,the stress memory capacity was likely to be time-independent for a sandstone specimen.The distribution of the Felicity ratio in a Brazilian test was more discrete than that in a three-point bending test It also showed that the changes in the crack path,rather than the time interval between successive loading cycles,led to inaccuracy of the detected KE.This study provides insights into stress memory-related issues under uniaxial or more complex stress conditions and thus facilitates development of methods for testing in situ mechanical behaviors of rocks with acoustic emission(AE)technology.

Study on Safety and Stability Evaluation of Waste Disposal Field of a Hydropower Station Based on <i>In Situ</i>Monitoring

Reasonable site selection, blocking to meet design standards, interception and drainage and other protective measures are the basic conditions for not causing disaster in slag disposal site. A hydropower station is located in mountainous area, the amount of slag abandoned is large, the grade of slag disposal field is high, and the site selection is difficult. On the basis of in Situ deformation monitoring, the slope stability of slag disposal site is calculated by Swedish arc method through the analysis of the scale, grade, site selection, surrounding environment, cut and discharge, blocking and protection design standards of slag disposal site. Under normal and abnormal operating conditions, the slope stability of slag disposal site meets the requirements of the code, and the results of in Situ deformation monitoring verify the calculation results of slope stability of slag disposal site by Swedish circular arc method.

Semi-automated detection of rangeland runoff and erosion control berms using high-resolution topography data

An inventory of topographic modifications is essential to addressing their impacts on hydrological and morphological processes in human-altered watersheds.However,such inventories are generally lacking.This study presents two workflows for semi-automatic detection of linear earthen runoff and erosion control berms in rangelands using high-resolution topographic data.The workflows consist of initial object identification by applying either morphological grayscale reconstruction(MGR)or the Geomorphon(GEO)method,followed by identification refinements through filters based on objects’horizontal and vertical information.Three sites were selected within the Altar Valley,Arizona,in the southwestern United States.One site was used for developing workflows and optimizing filter thresholds,and the other two sites were used to validate workflows.The results showed that:1)The MGR-based workflow methodology could produce final precision and detection rates of up to 92%and 75%,respectively,and take less than 5 s for a 10.1 km^(2) site;2)The workflow based on the MGR method yielded greater identification accuracy than did the GEO workflow;3)Object length,orientation,and eccentricity were important characteristics for identifying earthen berms,and are sensitive to general channel flow direction and berm shape;4)Manual interrogation of topographic data and imagery can significantly improve identification precision rates.The proposed workflows will be useful for developing inventories of runoff and erosion control structures in support of sustainable rangeland management.

Wind erosion from crusted playa surfaces by no saltation and with saltation:A comparison through laboratory wind tunnel experiments

Playas are common in many arid regions and recognized as a major source of hypersaline particles.A better understanding of wind erosion on crusted playas has significant implications for land management and pollution control practices.We hypothesized that wind erosion rates of crusted playas were complicated and controlled by the interactions between playa crust and wind-induced saltation conditions.However,comparisons regarding the effects of different playa crusts on wind erosion under no saltation(NS)and with saltation(WS)conditions were lacking.In this study,laboratory wind tunnel experiments were carried out to simulate both NS and WS conditions,to investigate the erosion rates of different crust types(Salt,Takyr,and Puffic crust)at different wind speeds.Results showed that:1)Salt crust had greater crust strengths than did Takyr crust and Puffic crust;2)wind erosion rates under the WS condition were up to 60 times greater than those under the NS condition,suggesting that sand bombardment was the dominant mechanism responsible for removal of fine material from crusted playa surfaces;3)both sand bombardment rate and wind erosion rate of the playa crusts increased with increasing wind speed under the WS conditions;4)Puffic crust exhibited a greater rate of wind erosion compared to both the Takyr and Salt crusts under the Ns condition,yet tended to have a lower rate of wind erosion compared to both the Takyr and Salt crusts under the WS condition.This difference can be attributed to the fact that soft Puffic crusts are pliable and can dissipate the force of impacting grains under the Ws conditions.Our results indicated that wind erosion processes on crusted playas are complicated and are affected by wind-induced saltation and crust type,specifically crust strength and elasticityofthesurface.