Time-History Dynamic Characteristics of Reinforced Soil-Retaining Walls

Given the complexities of reinforced soil materials’constitutive relationships,this paper compares reinforced soil composite materials to a sliding structure between steel bars and soil and proposes a reinforced soil constitutive model that takes this sliding into account.A finite element dynamic time history calculation software for composite response analysis was created using the Fortran programming language,and time history analysis was performed on reinforced soil retaining walls and gravity retaining walls.The vibration time histories of reinforced soil retaining walls and gravity retaining walls were computed,and the dynamic reactions of the two types of retaining walls to vibration were compared and studied.The dynamic performance of reinforced earth retaining walls was evaluated.

Two-flow model for piping erosion based on liquid-solid coupling

Previous studies have indicated that piping erosion greatly threatens the safe operation of various hydraulic structures. However, few mathematical models are available to perfectly describe the erosion process due to the complexity of piping. The focus of the present work is to propose a new fluid solid coupling model to eliminate the shortcomings of existing work. A 'pseudo-liquid' assumption is suggested to simulate the particle movement in the erosion process. Then, based on the mass and momentum conservations of the moving particles and flowing water, a new two-flow model is established by using the continuity equations and motion equations. In the model, the erosion rate of soil is determined with a particle erosion law derived from tests results of STERPI. And ERGUN's empirical equation is used to determine the interaction forces between the liquid and the solid. A numerical approach is proposed to solve the model with the finite volume method and SIMPLE algorithm. The new model is validated with the tests results of STERPI. And the soil erosion principles in piping are also explored.

Experimental Study on Influencing Factors of Motion Responses for Air-Floating Tetrapod Bucket Foundation

Air floating transport is one of the key construction technologies of bucket foundation.The influences of draft,water depth and bucket spacing on the motion response characteristics of tetrapod bucket foundation(TBF)during air-floating transportation were studied by models tests.The results showed that with the increase of draft,the natural periods of heave motion increased,while the maximum amplitudes of oscillating motion decreased.The maximum amplitudes of heave motion decreased while pitch motion increased with the increasing of water depth;further,the period range of oscillating amplitude close to the maximum amplitude was expanded due to shallow water effect.With increasing bucket spacing,the maximum amplitudes of heave motion first increase and then decreased,whereas the maximum amplitudes of pitch motion decreased.Therefore,the favorable air-floating transportation performance can be achieved by choosing a larger bucket spacing under the condition of meeting the design requirements and reducing the draft under shallower water.

A Modification to Vertical Distribution of Tidal Flow Reynolds Stress in Shallow Sea

Tidal flow is a periodic movement of unsteady and non-uniform, which has acceleration and deceleration process obviously, especially in coastal shallow waters. Many researches show that vertical distribution of tidal flow Reynolds stress deviated from linear distribution. The parabolic distribution of the tidal flow Reynolds stress was proposed by Song et al. （2009）. Although the model fills better with field observations and indoor experimental data, it has the lower truncated series expansion of tidal flow Reynolds stress, and the description of the distribution is not very comprehensive By introducing the motion equation of tidal flow and improving the parabolic distribution established by Song et al. （2009）, the cubic distribution of the tidal flow Reynolds stress is proposed. The cubic distribution is verified well by field data （Bowden and Fairbairn, 1952; Bowden et al., 1959; Rippeth et al., 2002） and experimental data （Anwar and Atkins, 1980）, is consistent with the numerical model results of Kuo et al. （1996）, and is compared with the parabolic distribution of the tidal flow Reynolds stress. It is shown that this cubic distribution is not only better than the parabolic distribution, but also can better reflect the basic features of Reynolds stress deviating from linear distribution downward with the tidal flow acceleration and upward with the tidal flow deceleration, for the foundation of further study on the velocity profile of tidal flow.

Experimental Study on the Influencing Factors of Motion Responses on an Air-Floating Caisson with Multiple Compartments

The structure of an air-floating caisson is suitable for the major structure of caisson-type artificial islands.Thus,it has been rapidly developed and widely used in the exploration and development of oil and gas fields in shallow sea and intertidal zones.Air-floating transportation technology is one of the key technologies employed in this structure.In this paper,the factors influencing the dynamic response characteristics of air-floating caisson with multi-compartments(AFCMC)were studied using model tests.The length and the height of each air-floating structure in the model were 1.0 and 0.1 m,respectively.In addition,the 1:100 models with 6,8,and 10 compartments under regular waves were tested in the wave flume,respectively.In the experiments,the respective water depths were set at 0.2,0.3,and 0.4 m,and the corresponding drafts were 0.05,0.06,and 0.07 m.Results show that with the increase of draft,the heave natural period increased and the maximum amplitude of the heave motion decreased.Meanwhile,the pitch motion decreased at 6 and 8 compartments and increased at 10 compartments.As the water depth increased,the maximum amplitude and amplitude change of heave and pitch motions first increased and then decreased.However,several amplitudes close to the maximum amplitude appeared in the measured period at shallower water depth,thereby indicating the vertical movements of the structure enhanced under shallow water.The increase in the number of compartments reduced the vertical movements under 6.0 m draft,but it increased the vertical movements under 5.0 and 7.0 m draft.Thus,increasing the number of compartments has a limited capacity to improve the motion performance of the structure.

Impact of backwater on water surface profile in curved channels

Owing to extensive construction of dams, the impact of backwater on flow may lead to navigation or flood control issues in curved channels. To date, the impact of backwater on the water surface profile in curved channels remains unknown and requires investigation. In this study, experiments were conducted in a glass-walled recirculating flume with a length of 19.4 m, a width of 0.6 m, and a depth of 0.8 m, and the impact of backwater on the water surface profile in a 90° channel bend was investigated. The experimental results showed that the backwater degree had a significant impact on the transverse and longitudinal flow depth distributions in the bend. The transverse slope of the flow (Jr) increased linearly with an increase in the Froude number of the approach flow upstream of the bend. Jr increased with the longitudinal location parameter ξ when −0.2 < ξ < 0.5, and decreased with ξ when 0.5 < ξ < 1.2. Furthermore, the results showed that Jr asymptotically decreased to zero with an increase in the degree of backwater. An equation was formulated to estimate the transverse slope of the flow in a 90° bend in backwater zones.

Ported wall extension hydraulics

Ported wall extensions are important hydraulic structures used to reduce crosscurrents in upper approaches to locks.The effect of such extensions located upstream of a solid guard wall on flow characteristics depends on many factors,including geometric and hydraulic parameters.In this study,the hydraulic performance of ported wall extensions was experimentally investigated in terms of the permeability coefficient,expanding angle,extension length,and flow depth.The results demonstrate that the dimensionless maximum transverse velocity is closely related to the permeability coefficient,expanding angle,and flow depth.By contrast,the dimensionless eddy length mainly depends on the permeability coefficient,expanding angle,and extension length.Furthermore,the optimum permeability coefficient increases with the expanding angle or flow depth,and it is approximately constant for different extension lengths.These results have the potential to provide direct guidance for the design of effective ported wall extensions in upper approaches to locks.

Self-similarity of spanwise rotational motions’population trends in decelerating open-channel flow

Decelerating open-channel flow is a type of flow that gradually moves forward with decreasing velocity and increasing water depth.Although all flow parameters change along the streamwise direction,previous studies have revealed that these parameters’vertical distributions at different sections can be universally described with a single profile when being nondimensionalised by appropriate scales.This study focuses on the population trends of spanwise rotational motions at various sections along the main flow direction by particle imaging velocimetry(PIV)measurement.The wall-normal population distributions of density,radius,swirling strength,and convection velocity of the prograde and retrograde motions show similar trends in uniform open-channel flows.The dimensionless representation is invariant along the main flow direction.This study’s results indicate the self-similar characteristic of population trends of spanwise rotational motions prevails in decelerating open-channel flow.

Relationship between the Classification of Rock Surrounding Underground Chambers and the Initial Damage Variations in Rock Masses

On the basis of the relationship between each classification index for underground chambers and the elastic wave velocity of rock mass, a corresponding relationship between the classification of rock surrounding underground chambers and the initial damage variable is established by using the wave velocity definition of the initial damage variable of rock masses. Calculation and analysis of relevant data from a hydropower dam located in Southwest China show that the initial damage variable obtained by means of surrounding rock classification has a close relationship with that calculated by wave velocity, which verifies the rationality of the relationship of the two classification indices. This study establishes a foundation for further damage mechanics and stability analysis on the basis of surrounding rock classification.

Stability and Influence Factors Analysis of Wharf Slope on Slippery Stratum

With the growing tension of port shoreline resource in Three Gorges Reservoir area, many wharfs can only be constructed on slippery stratum with poor geological condition, which means buckling failure occurs easily. FEM strength reduction method is used in analyzing slope stability of a wharf in Chongqing, and its accuracy is verified by comparing the acquired results with the computation of traditional limit equilibrium method. On this basis, the influences of reservoir water level variation, overload and backfill material behind the retaining wall, and soil share strength of wharf slope on slippery stratum are analyzed. Analysis shows that, there＇ s a most adverse water level in wharf slope, and the engineering proposals with a certain practical significance such as improve the drainage behind retaining wall, controll overload and improve the strength of backfill soil and subsoil are suggested.

A meshless method by using radial basis function for numerical solutions of wave shoaling equation

In this present study,a numerical method is proposed for solving the wave shoaling differential equations with turbulent and laminar boundary layers by using the meshless method based on the radial basis function.The numerical solutions are compared with those of the finite difference method to see the accuracy,the validity and the applicability of the methodology developed in this paper.The meshless method by using the radial basis function can effectively improve the computational efficiency.The findings in this paper provide a significant support for the study of wave shoaling problems.

Co_(3)O_(4)-ZnO/rGO catalyst preparation and rhodamine B degradation by sulfate radical photocatalysis

The development of a combined photocatalytic system with peroxymonosulfate (PMS) has great potential applications in the degradation and treatment of aqueous organic pollutants. Herein, a Co_(3)O_(4)-ZnO/rGO was prepared by a hydrothermal method using cobalt acetate, zinc acetate, and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as the main raw materials. The physical and chemical characteristics of the obtained catalyst were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS),scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR). The photocatalytic features and capacities of the catalytic materials to activate PMS were investigated. Co_(3)O_(4)-ZnO/rGO exhibited stronger photocatalytic activity and ability to activate PMS than Co_(3)O_(4)/rGO or ZnO/rGO, and significantly improved the ability of PMS and photocatalysis to synergistically degrade rhodamine B (RhB), with a degradation rate of 90.40% within 40 min. The mechanism of RhB degradation was proposed based on characterization of materials, evaluation of RhB degradation efficiency, and analysis of the active species involved. The unique particle/sheet structure of Co_(3)O_(4)-ZnO/rGO provides a large number of active sites, and the formation of heterojunctions between Co_(3)O_(4) and ZnO improves carrier separation and transport in the reaction system. Our study offers a reference for designing more effective heterojunction catalysts based on the combination of PMS and photocatalytic technology.