Comparison of xylo-oligosaccharides production by autohydrolysis of fibers separated from ground corn flour and DDGS

Xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) are known to have beneficial health properties, and are considered to be functional food ingredients. The objective of this study is to compare corn fibers separated from ground corn flour and distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) for XOS yield and optimum autohydrolysis conditions. Based on the initial xylan content, the fiber separated from ground corn flour (FC) resulted in higher XOS yield (71.5%) than the fiber separated from DDGS (FD) (54.6%) at the maximum XOS production conditions. XOS produced were mainly xylobiose and xylotriose. Based on total initial material also, FC resulted in higher XOS yield (8.9%) than FD (8.0%), based on total original masses. Thus, fiber separated from ground corn flour would be a better feedstock for production of XOS than fiber separated from DDGS. The conditions for maximum XOS production from FD and FC were 180 °C with 20 min hold-time and 190 °C with 10 min hold-time, respectively.     

Analysis of roof and pillar failure associated with weak floor at a limestone mine

A limestone mine in Ohio has had instability problems that have led to massive roof falls extending to the surface. This study focuses on the role that weak, moisture-sensitive floor has in the instability issues.Previous NIOSH research related to this subject did not include analysis for weak floor or weak bands and recommended that when such issues arise they should be investigated further using a more advanced analysis. Therefore, to further investigate the observed instability occurring on a large scale at the Ohio mine, FLAC3 D numerical models were employed to demonstrate the effect that a weak floor has on roof and pillar stability. This case study will provide important information to limestone mine operators regarding the impact of weak floor causing the potential for roof collapse, pillar failure, and subsequent subsidence of the ground surface.     

Correction of GPR wave velocity at different oblique angles between traverses and alignment of line objects in a common offset antenna setting

Estimation of ground penetrating radar's wave velocity in materials is a critical step to accurately estimate depth of embedded line objects in concrete structures, and wetness of material. Errors of velocity are defined as the deviations between the velocities obtained in various oblique angles and those obtained in the traverse normal to the object orientation in a common offset antenna setting. In this paper, we quantified and corrected the errors of such estimation. GPR traverses were designed to travel in various oblique angles θ (90°, 75°, 60° and 45°) relative to the steel bars at 5 cover depths (55 mm, 85 mm, 115 mm, 145 mm and 175 mm). GPR wave velocity at any position within the lateral detection range of steel bars was measured with simple trigonometry in a semi-automated in-house program. It was found that reduction of oblique angles (i.e. θ<90°) causes flatter hyperbolic reflections and the associated errors of velocity can be as much as 30% in the case of an oblique angle 45° before correction. Such errors were corrected after re-scaling the horizontal travel distance with a multiplication factor of sin θ.     

Effects of Near-Fault Ground Shaking on Sliding Systems

A numerical study is presented for a rigid block supported through a frictional contact surface on a horizontal or an inclined plane, and subjected to horizontal or slope-parallel excitation. The latter is described with idealized pulses and near-fault seismic records strongly influenced by forward-directivity or fling-step effects (from Northridge, Kobe, Kocaeli, Chi-Chi, Aegion). In addition to the well known dependence of the resulting block slippage on variables such as the peak base velocity, the peak base acceleration, and the critical acceleration ratio, our study has consistently and repeatedly revealed a profound sensitivity of both maximum and residual slippage: (1) on the sequence and even the details of the pulses contained in the excitation and (2) on the direction (+ or ?) in which the shaking of the inclined plane is imposed. By contrast, the slippage is not affected to any measurable degree by even the strongest vertical components of the accelerograms. Moreover, the slippage from a specific record may often be poorly correlated with its Arias intensity. These findings may contradict some of the prevailing beliefs that emanate from statistical correlation studies. The upper-bound sliding displacements from near-fault excitations may substantially exceed the values obtained from some of the currently available design charts.     

The Hybrid Finite Element Mixing Cell Method: A New Flexible Method for Modelling Mine Ground Water Problems

Dewatering operations often stop at mine closure. The ground water rebound can have undesirable consequences, which numerical models can help one understand and manage. However, classical modelling techniques are relatively unsuitable to these contexts. While spatially distributed and physically based models suffer difficulties due to the lack of data and the complexity of geological and hydrogeological conditions, black-box models are too simple to deal with the problems effectively. A new modelling method is proposed to simulate ground water environments in which water flows through mined (exploited) and unmined (unexploited) areas. Exploited zones are simulated using a group of mixing cells possibly interconnected by pipes. Unexploited zones are simultaneously simulated using classical finite elements. This combined approach allows explicit calculation of ground water flows around the mine and mean water levels in the exploited zones. Water exchanges between exploited zones and unexploited zones are simulated in the model using specifically defined internal boundary conditions. The method is tested on synthetic cases of increasing complexity, and first results from a real case study are presented.     

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分析和评述了从30年代以来国内外关于复杂地层套管破坏机理研究的发展过程和动态,提出目前尚未解决的问题就是“复杂空间力学系统地层”与套管破坏的各种耦合的数学、力学问题。因此提出首先要解决复杂地层数学模型、力学模型、以及地层与水泥环及套管之间的力学耦合问题,并且必须研究复杂地层遇水膨胀、地层滑动、地层蠕动、地表地层升降使套管破坏与地应力场状态关系,根据复杂地层套管破坏井段地质构造图、地震资料、测井资料及套管破坏特征,反演出整个研究地层区块现代地应力场。同时提出了用计算机数值模拟技术为主要研究手段及对现代地应力场的研究是今后复杂地层套管坏机理与预防措施研究的发展方向。该研究是一门综合性的、学科间大跨度交叉的边缘学科研究,将对地应力理论和推动地球科学、数理科学的发展具有重大的科学意义。     

Characterization of structural effects from above-ground explosion using coupled numerical simulation

The response of a building structure to a nearby explosion is complicated by the drastic spatial and time variation of the blast load. Existing studies on the structural responses to explosion effects often employ simplified structural model with assumed loading patterns, such as element-based (beam-column, slab) models, single degree of freedom or lumped mass systems. The validity of a simplified approach depends on whether the governing response and failure mechanisms are well represented in the simplified scheme. For such validation more sophisticated models are required. This paper presents a numerical simulation study aiming to characterize the various structural effects of above-ground explosions. A coupled numerical approach with combined Lagrangian and Eulerian methods is adopted to allow for the incorporation of the essential processes, namely the explosion, shock wave propagation, shock wave-structure interaction and structural response, in the same model. The computational domain extends to the soil around the base of the structure, allowing also for an evaluation of the significance of the ground vibration effect. Results show that for a typical above-ground explosion scenario, the critical structural damage is dominated by air shock loading, while the ground shock induces only some additional vibration whose structural effect is minor. The distribution of structural damage tends to be governed by member level effects on the front face of the structure, whereas the global dynamic response of the system appears to be insignificant. Similar modeling approach may be applied to explore other blast-induced complex response phenomena.     

冻结壁发育状况的地质雷达探测研究

根据冻结工程中冻土和未冻土之间介电常数和电阻率的差异，研究了地质雷达探测冻结壁发育状况．采用时域有限差分法模拟冻结不同阶段的冻结壁的发育状况，获取冻结壁在雷达剖面上的反映特征，据此指导工程实测．计算结果和探测实例均表明，地质雷达可用于冻结壁发育状况的探测，查明其中的缺陷，便于及时处置冻结工程中可能出现的问题，是确保冻结工程安全的有效手段。     

Seismic Site Response for Near-Fault Forward Directivity Ground Motions

Forward directivity effects in the near-fault region produce pulse-type motions that differ significantly from ordinary ground motions that occur at greater distances from the causative fault. Current code site factors are based on empirical observations and analyses involving less intense nonpulse ordinary ground motions. Nonlinear site response analyses with bidirectional shaking are performed using representative site profiles to quantify seismic site response effects for intense near-fault motions resulting from forward directivity. Input rock motions are represented with simplified velocity pulses that characterize the amplitude and period of forward directivity motions. Results indicate that site response affects both the amplitude and period of forward directivity pulses, and hence, local site conditions should be considered when evaluating seismic designs in the near-fault region. Stiff soil sites tend to amplify the peak ground velocity and increase the period of pulse-type motions, particularly, when the period of the rock motion coincides with the degraded period of the site. Amplification is limited at soft soil sites by the dynamic strength of the weak soil, so attenuation occurs for intense input motions. This nonlinearity is not reflected in the site factors in current building codes. Guidance is provided for estimating the amplitude and pulse period for velocity pulses at soil sites.     

浅谈综合布线系统接地设计

综合布线系统作为建筑智能化不可缺少的基础设施，其接地系统的好坏将直接影响到综合布线系统的运行质量，故而显得尤为重要。本文介绍了综合布线系统接地的结构及设计要求，并提出在接地设计中应注意的几个问题．