Use of driven piles in rammed holes during construction in soils prone to slump-type settlement

Conclusions The experiment with the use of piles cast in rammed holes in lieu of continuous foundations placed on a bed compacted by tamping produced positive results and will be expanded upon further, since the strength properties of the materials in the foundations and the soils in the foundation beds can be more fully utilized, the reliability of the structure increased, the volume of earthwork reduced, labor and material outlays diminished, and the rate of construction and the level of the industrial nature of the work increased.State Institute for the Projection of the Greenhouse Industry. Translated from Osnovaniya, Fundamenty i Mekhanika Gruntov, No. 2, p. 10, March–April, 1977.     

Observations on the changes in nitrate concentrations along streams in seven upland moorland catchments in Northeast Scotland

River water has been sampled under baseflow conditions in both summer and winter at c. 250-m intervals along the length of each of seven rivers in northeast Scotland, and the nitrate contents have been determined. The resultant data have been examined in the context of the nitrogen saturation hypothesis. Capacity of the catchment soils to retain nitrate was generally minimal in winter. Although biological uptake of nitrate was evident in summer, in the upper part of each catchment substantial nitrate leaching still occurred. The phenomenon was most marked in water draining from hill peats, except where these were conspicuously waterlogged. The results are discussed in the context of possible nitrogen saturation effects on upper catchment slopes.     

Oxygen consumption and activity of the white sucker (Catostomus commersoni), in lethal and nonlethal levels of the organochlorine insecticide, methoxychlor

The survival, oxygen consumption and spontaneous activity of suckers were determined at 15°C in water containing different concentrations of methoxychlor in ethanol, ethanol, and no added substances. A dynamic bioassay was used to estimate the 96 h LC50, which was found to be 0·0345 ppm. Routine oxygen consumption was determined in a continuous-flow respirometer, and the activity was recorded in separate experiments by measuring the water disturbance using silver wire electrodes.After 24 h fish exposed to untreated, ethanol-treated and 0.01 ppm methoxychlor-treated water had oxygen uptake rates which were relatively constant and near standard levels. At 0.10 ppm methoxychlor (lethal to all fish within 85 h), oxygen consumption rates were 2–3.5 × as high as those of control fish. Activity also greatly increased. The fish lost their balance along with the coordination between opercular and locomotor movements. Suckers that died in 0.04 ppm methoxychlor showed oxygen uptake rates and poisoning symptoms similar to 0.10 ppm treated fish, while those that survived this treatment had rates similar to control fish. The increase in ventilation which accompanies this hyperactivity may result in increased uptake of insecticide and thereby explain the irreversible nature of the response.     

Boston harbor outfall tunnel: An environmental imperative

In February 1989, the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA) began the design and construction of a 15.3-km subsea tunnel and ocean riser system to discharge effluent in conjunction with the design and construction of a large secondary treatment plant. The court-mandated schedule required the tunnel and risers to be completed in July 1995. The paper discusses the project from the viewpoints of management, concept design and construction methods, including the ocean riser system. Key to th success of the project is the accuracy of the location of the risers. The design calls for a final tunnel alignment to be driven within 10 m of the riser shafts, beginning at a distance of 13.1 km from shore.     

Radiocesium in muscle tissue of reindeer and pike from northern Sweden before and after the Chernobyl accident. A retrospective study on tissue samples from the Swedish Environmental Specimen Bank.

After the Chernobyl accident in April 1986, considerable deposition of radionuclides occurred regionally in eastern, central and northwestern Sweden. Locally, the fallout of radiocesium exceeded the remainder from atmospheric nuclear weapons tests by several magnitudes. Since the end of the 1960s samples of organs from various plant and animal species, annually collected at different localities, have been preserved in the Swedish Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB). In this work samples from the ESB have been used for retrospective studies of radioactive pollution. The activities of Cs-134 and Cs-137 in muscle tissues from reindeer, Rangifer tarandus, and pike, Esox lucius, preserved in the ESB, were measured. The samples were collected annually; the reindeer at three localities in northern Sweden and the pike at one of them. In material collected prior to the Chernobyl accident, the levels of Cs-137 were 57-180 Bq/kg in reindeer and 14-24 Bq/kg in pike, fresh weight basis. These levels relate to earlier nuclear bomb tests. A significant decrease was found in pike during the pre-Chernobyl period (1971-86). In post-Chernobyl samples the burden of Cs-137 varied from amounts equal to the former levels in the northernmost locality and up to 80 times higher for the maximum values in the southernmost locality. The highest value recorded was 18,425 Bq/kg in reindeer. The geographic variations in reindeer from Chernobyl fallout were in accordance with the pattern of deposition estimated by aircraft surveys performed in May 1986. The ratio between 'new' and 'old' radiocesium burdens in pike, caught in 1987, approached the corresponding ratio for reindeer grazing in the precipitation area of the lake; 33 and 19, respectively.     

Geomechanical model simulation for the varied rock formations of the Kadana dam foundation,Gujarat, India

Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment - Precambrian layered rocks consisting of quartzites, phyllites and metagreywackes of the Aravallis having a large variation in thickness,...     

Dynamic analysis and optimal feedback control synthesis applied to biological waste treatment

The dynamics and optimal feedback control of biological waste treatment processes are examined. Modern feedback control theory is applied and results are obtained for both proportional and proportional plus integral control. A dynamic mathematical model of the system is developed by employing a Monod kinetic model, which is modified to account for endogenous metabolism, and a complete mixing flow model in the growth chamber. The feedback control is implemented via the flow rate so as to maintain desired effluent concentrations. External disturbances which cause changes in substrate concentration and/or cell concentration are considered and optimal control effort is applied. Results are also presented for impulse and step changes in the influent substrate concentration. It is found that by changing the values of the weighting factors in the objective function, it is possible to obtain good control of either the effluent substrate concentration or cell concentration.     

A large-scalein situ permeability test at Presenzano (Italy)

Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment - Soil permeability had to be carefully determined in order to decide whether or not the whole lower reservior (750.000 m2) of the Presenzano...     

A semiautomated procedure for the determination of phosphorus in water, waste waters and particulates

Improved procedures for the determination of total dissolved phosphorus (TDP), particulate phosphorus (PP) and dissolved inorganic orthophosphate (DP) are described. Organic particulate material is solubilized in 5 n NaOH, and phosphorus compounds are oxidized and mineralized to orthophosphate by persulfate digestion. DP is determined by an improved automated molybdenum blue procedure that does not require sample pH adjustment or a correction for silicate interference in the 0–50 mg Si 1^?1 range. The use of 36-position digestion racks allows 32 TDP or PP samples to be digested in ca. 1 and 4 h respectively. Detection limits in μg of phosphorus 1^?1 are DP, 2; TDP, 5; and PP. 1. Waste water samples were analyzed for TDP and PP by the nitric acid-sulfuric acid procedure and by the proposed method. There was no significant difference between the two sets of data (P > 0.45).