A practical reliability assessment approach and its application for pile-stabilized slopes using FORM and support vector machine

Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment - Many uncertainties exist in pile-stabilized slopes which make their design substantially complicated. In this paper, a first-order reliability...     

How to promote energy transition in China: From the perspectives of interregional relocation and environmental regulation

This study investigates the impacts of interregional clean energy relocation and environmental regulation on energy transition with panel data of 30 provinces in China from 1997 to 2015. Instead of applying the production data of clean energy directly as prior studies did, we calculate the actual consumption of clean energy in each region to get more accurate and reliable conclusion. Applying linear, and further, non-linear panel data models, we derive the following conclusions: (1) Interregional electricity relocation (IRET) projects transmit electricity from sending areas to landing areas and have different impacts on energy transition in different areas. Specifically, in landing areas, IRET promotes energy transition but not as significantly as expected, which implies landing areas should try to be more self-sufficient in clean energy instead of relying on interregional relocation completely. In sending areas, IRET has a negative effect on energy transition. Furthermore, IRET impedes energy transition when energy intensity is higher than the threshold value. This suggests that energy efficiency improvement should be paid particular attention, especially in sending regions. (2) Energy-specific environmental regulation has a significant positive impact on energy transition in China. Meanwhile, environmental regulation's impact on energy transition is weakened by high energy intensity.     

The relationship between centrality and land use patterns: Empirical evidence from five Chinese metropolises

The relationship between location and land use patterns is one of the classic theoretical issues in urban studies. Classic models based on the monocentricity hypothesis have limitations in the interpretation of modern urban structure. China has experienced institutional transformation in recent decades, and the interaction of national government policy, market forces and the natural environment has influenced urban planning in Chinese metropolises, resulting in urban structures with special characteristics. This paper examines the distribution of location and land use intensity, and tested the Alonso model by the relationship between them in five Chinese metropolises using Point of Interest data, space syntax methodology, the grid weighted statistical method and the Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) model. Universal patterns about the scaling relation between intensity of land use types and the centrality of location are revealed. The elasticity of land use types to location, from high to low sensitivity, is commercial, residential then industrial land in most of the five metropolises studied. The sensitivity sequence of land use studied suggests that the hypothetical model based on the classical Alonso model can explain the spatial structure of modern metropolises in China to some extent, especially for the commercial land. But the order of sensitivity of residential land and industrial land to location does not conform to the model. The spatial heterogeneity in land use intensity and centrality were explored and the factors embedded were discussed. It can be found that the relation between centrality and land use intensity conforms to power law. In most of the metropolises studied, when the scaling relation between land use intensity and centrality is super linear, the sequence of the frequency value from high to low are commercial, residential and industrial land; when the scaling relation is sublinear, the sequence of the frequency value is industrial, residential and commercial land.     

Experimental research on dynamic response of PZT-5H under impact load

In order to improve the stability of PZT-based sensors, the mechanical, dielectric, ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of PZT-5H under impact load were studied experimentally by using the separated Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) with an electrical output measurement device. At the same time, the experimental study on the material properties of PZT-5H before and after the impact was carried out. The effect of impact cracks on the output voltage of PZT-5H was also analyzed. The results show that the dynamic piezoelectric constants of PZT-5H under low stress impact (10–50 MPa) are different from those under quasi-static state, and the empirical relationship between them and the peak stress is obtained through experiments. The dielectric properties of PZT-5H did not change under low stress impact, but micro-cracks occurred in the material and dielectric loss increased at high frequencies. Under short circuit, the residual polarization intensity of PZT-5H decreases sharply due to impact load. While the impact load causes the secondary polarization and the increase of the residual polarization intensity of PZT under open circuit. When the stress is over 45 MPa, the PZT-5H breaks. The formation of cracks causes abnormal discharge voltage and gap discharge.     

First-order modeling and stability analysis of illusory contours

In visual cognition, illusions help elucidate certain intriguing latent perceptual functions of the human vision system, and their proper mathematical modeling and computational simulation are therefore deeply beneficial to both biological and computer vision. Inspired by existent prior works, the current paper proposes a first-order energy-based model for analyzing and simulating illusory contours. The lower complexity of the proposed model facilitates rigorous mathematical analysis on the detailed geometric structures of illusory contours. After being asymptotically approximated by classical active contours, the proposed model is then robustly computed using the celebrated level-set method of Osher and Sethian [S. Osher, J.A. Sethian, Fronts propagating with curvature-dependent speed: algorithms based on Hamilton–Jacobi formulations, J. Comput. Phys., 79 (12) (1988) 12–49] with a natural supervising scheme. Potential cognitive implications of the mathematical results are addressed, and generic computational examples are demonstrated and discussed.     

Bond behaviour of CFRP reinforcement for torsional strengthening of solid and box-section RC beams

The economic and time constraints in the repair or upgrading of existing infrastructure have become a major issue, particularly extending the service lifespan of bridges. Fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) has shown great promise as a state-of-the-art material in flexural and shear strengthening as external reinforcement. However, little attention has been paid to torsional strengthening in terms of both experimental and numerical research. This paper focuses on the bond-behaviour of externally bonded CFRP in an overall investigation of torsional strengthening of solid and box-section reinforced concrete beams. Significant levels of debonding prior to failure by CFRP rupture were measured in experiments with photogrammetry. Numerical work was carried out using non-linear finite element (FE) modelling. Good agreement in terms of torque-twist behaviour, steel and CFRP reinforcement responses, and crack patterns was achieved. The addition of a bond-slip model between the CFRP reinforcement and concrete meant that the debonding mechanisms prior to and unique failure modes of all the specimens were modelled correctly as well.     

Good agricultural practices in a Brazilian produce plant

A Brazilian produce plant was evaluated according to good agricultural practices (GAPs) using a checklist. The agricultural water was sampled for total and faecal coliform and Escherichia coli counts. Equipment/handler sanitary facilities, the handling of agrochemicals and pesticides, records of the composting process, prior analysis of the irrigation water for the identification of heavy metals and pesticide residues, inadequate temperature control of the raw material storage room, qualified person to manage the operations and periodic training programmes on food manipulation, hygiene and microbiology, were the main critical points found during the inspection. Microbiological analyses of the irrigation water gave counts between 0.3 and 1.2 log MPN/ml for total and faecal coliforms, respectively and absence of E. coli. The results are discussed and the necessary corrections suggested in order to improve process safety.     

A new finite element formulation based on the velocity of flow for water hammer problems

The primary objective of this paper is to develop a simulation model for the fluid–structure interactions (FSI) that occur in pipeline systems mainly due to transient events such as rapid valve closing. The mathematical formulation is based on waterhammer equations, traditionally used in the literature, coupled with a standard beam formulation for the structure. A new finite element formulation, based on flow velocity, has been developed to deal with the valve closure transient excitation problems. It is shown that depending on the relative time-scales associated with the structure, fluid and excitation forces, there are situations where the structural vibration response increases with FSIs. This is in contrast to what is normally accepted in the literature, i.e. FSI reduces the structural displacements.     

可控的高度规整三角网格生成算法

本文提出了一种新的用户可控的高度规整三角网格生成算法.通过在网格表面上构造3个标量场,利用其等值线相交生成高度规整的三角网格.算法借助N-对称方向场来指导生成网格的边方向,在网格表面指定密度场来控制采样密度,同时还提供了特征对齐和对带边界模型的处理能力.所有的控制需求都被纳入标量场求解框架中统一优化.实验表明,本文的方法能够满足多种用户控制需求,生成高度规整的三角网格.     

边界对齐的平滑三维对称标架场

为了把广泛应用于网格四边形化和纹理合成的二维表面标架场拓展到三维,提出一种生成三维对称标架场的方法.不同于表面对称标架场(四对称方向场),二维标架场的对称性能用一个切平面的旋转角度来表示,而三维对称标架场的对称性却不能这样简单地表示.为了解决这个问题,利用球面函数来获得一个对称性表述,该表述对于绕任意一个轴的π/2旋转以及它们的复合是不变的.基于球面函数的表示可以获得一个有效的标架场光顺程度的度量,并以球面调和分析进行加速计算;基于一组边界约束,可以通过极小化这个度量函数来获得一个光顺的标架场,该标架场在表面上能很好地对齐法线.最后通过表面投影、流线追踪和奇异点来可视化这个标架场,并将这个光顺的标架场用于六面体网格生成,且讨论了它在生成高质量纯六面体网格方面的潜力,其与表面标架场在生成四边形网格方面的潜力是一致的.