Determination of full-scale pore size distribution of Gaomiaozi bentonite and its permeability prediction

Gaomiaozi(GMZ)bentonite is a potential buffer/backfill material for a deep geological disposal of highlevel radioactive waste.It has a wide pore size distribution(PSD)with sizes ranging from several nanometers to more than one hundred microns.Thus,properly characterizing the pore structures of GMZ bentonite is a challenging issue.In this study,pressure-controlled porosimetry(PCP),ratecontrolled porosimetry(RCP),and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)were used to investigate the PSD of GMZ bentonite,The results indicate that each method has its limitation,and a combined use of PCP and RCP is suitable to obtain the full-scale PSD of GMZ bentonite.Moreover,we also compared the full-scale PSD with nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)result.It is found that there is no significant difference in the range of PSD characterization between NMR and mercury intrusion method(PCP and RCP).However,in a ce rtain range,the detection accuracy of NMR is higher than that of mercury injection method.Finally,permeability prediction based on PCP and SEM data was conducted,and both of the two methods were found to be able to predict the permeability.The combined method is effective to obtain the full-scale PSD of GMZ bentonite,which is the key to estimation of the sealing ability of bentonite buffer.     

中国经济技术开发区建设的生态学理论研究

Introducing ecology and sustainable development concept into Development Zone planning has now been an unavoidable issue for us. The ecological urban planning must be based on the sustainable development theory. In the Development Zone construction, People are inclined to think that the city represents the most terrible aspects. If people do not underpin the relationship between human and the environment in a specific manner, this spiritual relationship will finally break down. The development of a city is a dynamic process, and it is impossible to get the urban planning done once and forever. Thus, enough space should be set aside for the sound development of a city.     

Width design for gobs and isolated coal pillars based on overall burst-instability prevention in coal mines

An investigation was conducted on the overall burst-instability of isolated coal pillars by means of the possibility index diagnosis method(PIDM). First, the abutment pressure calculation model of the gob in side direction was established to derive the abutment pressure distribution curve of the isolated coal pillar. Second, the overall burst-instability ratio of the isolated coal pillars was defined. Finally, the PIDM was utilized to judge the possibility of overall burst-instability and recoverability of isolated coal pillars.The results show that an overall burst-instability may occur due to a large gob width or a small pillar width. If the width of the isolated coal pillar is not large enough, the shallow coal seam will be damaged at first, and then the high abutment pressure will be transferred to the deep coal seam, which may cause an overall burst-instability accident. This approach can be adopted to design widths of gobs and isolated coal pillars and to evaluate whether an existing isolated coal pillar is recoverable in skip-mining mines.     

Ground reaction curves for circular excavations in non-homogeneous,axisymmetric strain-softening rock masses

Fast methods to solve the unloading problem of a cylindrical cavity or tunnel excavated in elasto-perfectly plastic, elasto-brittle or strain-softening materials under a hydrostatic stress feld can be derived based on the self-similarity of the solution. As a consequence, they only apply when the rock mass is homogeneous and so exclude many cases of practical interest. We describe a robust and fast numerical technique that solves the tunnel unloading problem and estimates the ground reaction curve for a cylindrical cavity excavated in a rock mass with properties depending on the radial coordinate, where the solution is no longer self-similar. The solution is based on a continuation-like approach(associated with the unloading and with the incremental formulation of the elasto-plastic behavior), fnite element spatial discretization and a combination of explicit sub-stepping schemes and implicit techniques to integrate the constitutive law, so as to tackle the diffculties associated with both strong strain-softening and elasto-brittle behaviors. The developed algorithm is used for two practical ground reaction curve computation applications. The frst application refers to a tunnel surrounded by an aureole of material damaged by blasting and the second to a tunnel surrounded by a ring-like zone of reinforced(rock-bolted) material.     

利用改进的DDA进行边坡上落石运动的数值模拟

The reasonable design of protective structures to mitigate the hazards from rock fall depends on the knowledge of motion behaviors of falling stones,such as the falling paths,velocities,jump heights and distances.Numerical simulation is an effective way to gain such kind of knowledge,In this paper,the discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) is applied to rock fall analysis.In order to obtain more reliable results,the following improvements and extensions are made on the original DDA.(1)Solve the problem of block expansions due to rigid body rotation error.(2) Add the function of modeling the drag resistance from air and plants so that the velocities of falling stones obtained by simulations are good enough in agreement with those by experiments in situ.(3)Add the capability to consider energy loss due to block collisions so that the jumping heights and distances obtained by simulations are good enough in agreement with thos by experiments even for the slope with very soft layer on its surface.One of application examples is presented to show that the extended DDA is very effective and useful in rock fall analysis.Therefore,the presented method is expected to be put into wide use in slop stability analysis.     

Investigation in Mathematical Models of Chloride Diffusion Coefficient in Concrete Exposed to Marine Environment

Degradation of RC （reinforced concrete） in maritime structures has become a worldwide problem due to its excessive costs of maintenance, repair and replacement in addition to its environmental impacts and safety issues. Degradation of both concrete and steel which is the main reason of reduction in the service life of RC structures strongly depends on the diffusion process of moisture and aggressive species. In this paper, the major and popular mathematical models of diffusion process in concrete are surveyed and investigated. Predominantly in these models, the coefficient of chloride diffusion into the concrete is assumed to be constant. Whereas, experimental records indicate that diffusion coefficient is a function of time. Subsequently, data analysis and comparisons between the existing analytical models for predicting the diffusion coefficient with the existing experimental database are carried out in this study. Clearly, these comparisons reveal that there are gaps between the existing mathematical models and previously recorded experimental results. Perhaps, these gaps may be interpreted as influence of the other affecting parameters on the diffusion coefficient such as temperature, aggregate size and relative humidity in addition to the water cement ratio. Accordingly, the existing mathematical models are not adequate enough to predict the diffusion coefficient precisely and further studies need to be performed.     

Mechanical properties of rock under coupled static-dynamic loads

Rock drilling machine,INSTRON testing system,and SHPB device are updated to investigate the characteristics of rocks at great depth,with high loads from overburden,tectonic stresses and dynamic impacts due to blasting and boring.It is verified that these testing systems can be used to study the mechanical properties of rock material under coupled static and dynamic loading condition and give useful guidance for the deep mining and underground cavern excavation.Various tests to determine the rock strength,fragmentation behavior,and energy absorption were conducted using the updated testing systems.It is shown that under coupled static-dynamic loads,if the axial prestress is lower than its elastic limit,the rock strength is higher than the individual static or dynamic strength.At the same axial prestress,rock strength under coupled loads rises with the increasing strain rates.Under coupled static and dynamic loads,rock is observed to fail with tensile mode.While shear failure may exist if axial prestress is high enough.In addition,it is shown that the percentage of small particles increases with the increasing axial prestress and impact load based on the analysis of the particle-size distribution of fragments.It is also suggested that the energy absorption ratio of a specimen varies with coupled loads,and the maximum energy absorption ratio for a rock can be obtained with an appropriate combination of static and dynamic loads.     

Analysis of the Antenna＇s Setup Errors at the Global Navigation Satellite System Measurements

Today, the GNSS （global navigation satellite system） is used for more complicate and accurate applications such as monitoring or stake out works. The truth lies in the fact that in the most of the times not enough attention is paid to the antenna＇s setup. Usually, gross errors are found in the antenna＇s centering, leveling and in the measurement of its height, which are significant. In this paper, a thoroughly analysis of the above mentioned errors is carried out. The influence of these errors in the calculation of the X, Y, Z Cartesian geocentric coordinates and the ~, 2, h ellipsoid geodetic coordinates of a point P on the earth＇s surface, is analyzed and is presented in several diagrams. Also a new convenient method for the accurate measurement of the antenna＇s height is presented and it is strongly proposed. The conclusions outline the magnitude of these errors and prove the significance of the antenna＇s proper setup at the accurate GNSS applications.     

Analysis of hydro-mechanical processes in a ventilated tunnel in an argillaceous rock on the basis of different modelling approaches

In this paper, a modelling benchmark exercise from the DECOVALEX-2011 project is presented. The bench-mark is based on the performance and results of a laboratory drying test and of the ventilation experiment (VE) carried out in the Mont Terri Underground Rock Laboratory (URL). Both tests involve Opalinus clay. The work aims at the identification, understanding and quantification of mechanisms taking place during the ventilation of a gallery in argillaceous host rocks on one hand and at investigating the capacity of different codes and individuals to reproduce these processes on the other hand. The 4-year in situ VE took place in a 1.3 m diameter unlined tunnel and included two resaturation-desaturation cycles. The test area was equipped with over one hundred sensors (including the global water mass balance of the system, relative humidity (RH), water content, liquid pressure, relative displacement and concentration of some chemical species) to monitor the rock behaviour during ventilation. The laboratory drying experiment, carried out before the VE, was designed to mimic the in situ conditions. The work was organized in a progressive manner in terms of complexity of the computations to be performed, geared towards the full hydro-mechano-chemical (HMC) understanding of the VE, the final objective. The main results from the modelling work reported herein are that the response of the host rock to ventilation in argillaceous rocks is mainly governed by hydraulic processes (advective Darcy flow and non-advective vapour diffusion) and that the hydro-mechanical (TM) back coupling is weak. A ventilation experiment may thus be regarded as a large scale-long time pump test and it is used to determine the hydraulic conductivity of the rock mass.     

Landscape Planning: A History of Influential Ideas

My work as landscape planner, teacher and rescarcher is influenced by both European and American ideas, but part of my studies as a graduate studentincluded Chinese and Asian culture. I know enough about the world to know that European and American ideas were not always first. Furthermore, I amnot an historian. I am a landscape planner who looks toward the future. Even so, I know that most of the ideas that have shaped my work are old ideas.Two years ago I decided tu preparc a lecture tt) …