scholarly journals A model of glacial tectonics, applied to the ice­pushed ridges in the Central Netherlands

1985 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 55-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dick F. M. van der Wateren

During a detailed structural geological and geomorphological survey of ice-pushed ridges around the Gel­derse Vallei (centre of the Netherlands) several questions arose about the origin of these landforms. The Gelderse Vallei is a Saalian glacial basin filled with younger sediments, 40 km long and up to 20 km wide, running NNW-SSE. Thrust sheets which build up the ice-pushed ridges on either side of the valley were transported away from the centre of the basin. They are up to 25 m thick and are pushed to a level about 100 m above the decollement. The thrust sheets, mainly consisting of coarse sand layers, moved as rigid masses, while only the finegrained basal layers deformed by heterogeneous simple shear. Pore water pressure plays an important role by greatly reducing the sliding friction in the decollement layer. Once a glacial thrust sheet is formed, the weight of the upward moving frontal part (the toe) offers a resistance to movement, which can not be overcome by the basal shear stress of the glacier alone. Basal shear stresses in most glaciers are in the order of 0.1 MPa (1 bar) and appear to be incapable of lifting a toe of the size found in most ice-pushed ridges in the Netherlands. The article presents a model of a system ice lobe - substratum, which is to a large degree controlled by gravitational forces. The dilemma may be solved by the concept of the gradient stress field under the marginal area of an ice lobe. This concept was first formulated by Rotnicki (1976). Because ice thickness decreases towards the margin, the substratum is subjected to a decreasing load in the same direction. If the increments of stress difference under a slab of ice in the marginal zone are summed, a gradient stress is arrived at which is di­rected towards the ice edge. An estimate of the forces involved in the static equilibrium around the glacier margin indicates that the contribution by the gradient stress field is sufficient to move the toe. In the model proposed in the article, the energy to move and imbicate glacial thrust sheets around the margins of an ice lobe, is supplied by the continuous flow of ice into the ice lobe. The dimensions of ice­pushed ridges are thus to a high degree functions of the thickness of the ice lobe or icecap. The Gelderse Vallei ice lobe will have been at least 250 m thick to be able to form the ridges. The basal shear stress contributes less to the tectonic transport, the larger the thrust sheets and the high­er the ice-pushed ridges.

1979 ◽  
Vol 23 (89) ◽  
pp. 157-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. F. Budd ◽  
P. L. Keage ◽  
N. A. Blundy

AbstractAn experimental programme has been carried out for studying temperate-ice sliding over rock surfaces with a wide range of roughnesses, for normal and shear stresses comparable to those expected under real ice masses. The limiting static shear stress for acceleration has been found to be directly proportional to the normal load giving a constant limiting coefficient of static friction characteristic of the surface. For a constant applied normal stress N and shear stress τb, well below the limiting static shear, a steady velocity Vb results which increases approximately proportionally to τb and decreases with increasing N and the roughness of the surface. For high normal stress the velocity becomes approximately proportional to the shear stress cubed and inversely proportional to the normal stress. As the shear stress increases acceleration sets in, which, for different roughness and normal loads, tends to occur for a constant value of the product τbVb. For some surfaces at high normal loads this acceleration was retarded by erosion. For constant-applied-velocity tests a steady shear stress resulted, which tended to become constant with high velocities, and which increased with increasing normal stress but with a reduced coefficient of sliding friction. The relevance of the results to the sliding of real ice masses is discussed with particular reference to the importance of the effect of the relative normal stress, above basal water pressure, to the sliding rate.


1990 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 849-862 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. D. Mooers

Glacial thrust systems composed of blocks of drift and bedrock, associated with hummocky stagnation moraine along the margin of the Rainy lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in Minnesota, are used in conjunction with paleoecological studies to constrain a numerical model of the ice-marginal thermal regime. Subglacial meltwater production in the thawed-bed zone was at least two orders of magnitude greater than the amount that could refreeze to the base of the glacier near the margin. The excess water recharged a thick subglacial aquifer, and thrust-system development was enhanced by the presence of a frozen toe and high pore-water pressures beneath the outer 2 km the glacier. The pore-water pressure required for thrusting is calculated from overburden pressures and basal shear stresses determined by numerical modeling. The heat generated by flow of water through the subglacial aquifer substantially affects the ice-marginal thermal regime, making a steady-state frozen toe 1.0–2.0 km in width unstable. Thrusting apparently occurred during multiple oscillations, or surges, when the ice was advancing over permafrost.


1979 ◽  
Vol 23 (89) ◽  
pp. 157-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. F. Budd ◽  
P. L. Keage ◽  
N. A. Blundy

Abstract An experimental programme has been carried out for studying temperate-ice sliding over rock surfaces with a wide range of roughnesses, for normal and shear stresses comparable to those expected under real ice masses. The limiting static shear stress for acceleration has been found to be directly proportional to the normal load giving a constant limiting coefficient of static friction characteristic of the surface. For a constant applied normal stress N and shear stress τ b, well below the limiting static shear, a steady velocity Vb results which increases approximately proportionally to τ b and decreases with increasing N and the roughness of the surface. For high normal stress the velocity becomes approximately proportional to the shear stress cubed and inversely proportional to the normal stress. As the shear stress increases acceleration sets in, which, for different roughness and normal loads, tends to occur for a constant value of the product τ b Vb . For some surfaces at high normal loads this acceleration was retarded by erosion. For constant-applied-velocity tests a steady shear stress resulted, which tended to become constant with high velocities, and which increased with increasing normal stress but with a reduced coefficient of sliding friction. The relevance of the results to the sliding of real ice masses is discussed with particular reference to the importance of the effect of the relative normal stress, above basal water pressure, to the sliding rate.


2013 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 400-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Wichtmann ◽  
K.H. Andersen ◽  
M.A. Sjursen ◽  
T. Berre

The results of a study with undrained cyclic triaxial and direct simple shear (DSS) tests on high-quality undisturbed samples obtained from large blocks of a soft marine Norwegian clay are presented. Several tests with different average shear stresses, shear stress amplitudes, loading frequencies, and sample geometries have been performed on block samples taken from different depths. In tests with small average shear stresses, failure occurred due to large shear strain amplitudes, while large permanent shear strains were observed in tests with higher average shear stresses. Diagrams quantifying the undrained cyclic strength, permanent shear strain, shear strain amplitude, and permanent pore-water pressure dependent on average shear stress, shear stress amplitude, and number of cycles have been developed based on the test results. The undrained cyclic strength was found strongly dependent on loading frequency. Block samples from shallower depth showed a somewhat higher undrained cyclic strength. No influence of the height-to-diameter ratio of the samples (h/d = 1 and 2 were compared) could be found. A qualitative comparison of the test results with data for standard tube samples is provided.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kun Wang ◽  
Mingjun Wu ◽  
Peng Hu ◽  
Baoqun Wang

In order to study the mechanism of water damage of an asphalt pavement, the FLAC3D program was adopted to model and analyze the mechanical response of a saturated asphalt pavement under instantaneous vehicle load. The results show that the horizontal stress, vertical stress and shear stress of an asphalt concrete pavement increase with the increase of instantaneous load. The surfaces of asphalt pavement structural layers are most vulnerable to damage. The horizontal stress, vertical stress and shear stress decrease sharply with the instantaneous dynamic load decreasing to zero. The horizontal stress reaches maximum value at the interface between the base and the large stone porous mixture (LSPM) layer, while the maximum vertical and shear stresses occur on the surface layer of the saturated asphalt pavement. The deformation decreases almost linearly from the surface of the asphalt pavement to the subgrade, and the pore water pressure was little influenced by the transient load.


1992 ◽  
Vol 38 (128) ◽  
pp. 77-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jürg Schweizer ◽  
Almut Iken

AbstractThe classic sliding theories usually assume that the sliding motion occurs frictionlessly. However, basal ice is debris-laden and friction exists between the substratum and rock particles embedded in the basal ice. The influence of debris concentration on the sliding process is investigated. The actual conditions where certain types of friction apply are defined, the effect for the case of bed separation due to a subglacial water pressure is studied and consequences for the sliding law are formulated. The numerical modelling of the sliding of an ice mass over an undulating bed, including the effect of both the subglacial water pressure and the friction, is done by using the finite-clement method. Friction, seen as a reduction of the driving shear stress due to gravity, can be included in existing sliding laws which should contain the critical pressure as an important variable. An approximate functional relationship between the sliding velocity, the effective basal shear stress and the subglacial water pressure is given.


1979 ◽  
Vol 23 (89) ◽  
pp. 420-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. F. Budd ◽  
B. J. McInnes ◽  
I. Smith

Abstract It is difficult to deduce sliding properties from the numerical modelling of ordinary glaciers because the flow law of ice is still not known well enough to clearly differentiate sliding from internal deformation of the ice. For glaciers undergoing high-speed surges it appears that the majority of the total speed is due to sliding. Furthermore the average basal shear stress of the ice mass is lowered during the surge. This suggests that surging glaciers can be modelled by incorporating a sliding friction law which has the effective friction coefficient decreasing for high velocities. A relation of this type has been found for ice sliding on granite at −0.5°C by Barnes and others (1971) and has also been obtained for rough slabs with ice at the pressure-melting point by Budd and others (1979). A simple two-dimensional model was developed by Budd and McInnes (1974) and Budd (1975), which was found to exhibit the typical periodic surge-like characteristics of real ice masses. Since the sliding-stress relation for the low velocities and stresses was not known, and was not so important for the surges, it was decided to use the condition of gross equilibrium (i.e. that the ice mass as a whole does not accelerate) together with a single-parameter relation for the way in which the friction decreases with stress and velocity to prescribe the basal shear-stress distribution. The low-stress-velocity relation can thus be obtained as a result. This two-dimensional model has now been parameterized to take account of the three-dimensional aspects of real ice masses. A number of ice masses have since been closely matched by the model including three well-known surging ice masses: Lednik Medvezhiy, Variegated Glacier, and Bruarjökull. Since the flow properties of ice are so poorly known—especially for longitudinal stress and strain-rates—the model has been run with two unknown parameters: one a flow-law parameter (η) and the other a sliding parameter (ø). The model is run over a wide range of these two parameters to see if a good match can be made to the real ice masses and if so what the values of the parameters η and ø are for best fit. The matching of the three above ice masses gave very similar values for each of the two parameters η and ø, the value of η being within the range of values expected for the flow properties of temperate ice as determined by laboratory experiments. Using the same values of η and ø it is found that the ordinary glaciers modelled so far do not develop surging but that they could do if the value of ø were increased or if the mass-balance input were sufficiently increased. For Lednik Medvezhiy a detailed analysis of the friction coefficient with velocity was carried out and it was found that the values required for best fit showed a very close agreement to the sliding friction curve of Barnes and others (1971) at −0.5°C. It is concluded that this type of sliding relation can account for the major features of glacier surge phenomena. Finally it is apparent that the numerical modelling technique can be used very effectively to test any large-scale bulk sliding relation by the analysis of real surges of ice masses and in addition can provide further insight into the sliding relation in association with other stresses in the ice mass.


1977 ◽  
Vol 18 (78) ◽  
pp. 67-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. W. Morland ◽  
E. M. Morris

Abstract The stress field in an isotropic elastic hump representing a typical bedrock feature is obtained for plane strain conditions. Gravity effects are included and the applied load is a normal pressure distribution deduced from an idealized model of glacier flow. A Coulomb failure criterion is applied, including the effective stress change due to pore-water pressure, and stresses on the predicted failure planes determined for different pressure amplitudes and relative gravity contributions. The latter make little difference to the maximum “failure stress" but influence the regions where such stress levels occur. Levels of cohesive stress required to inhibit Coulomb failure are obtained, and are low in general, implying that coherent rock in the adopted hump profile, subject to the model pressure, would not fail. That is, this profile is stable unless jointing introduces an easier failure mechanism.


2001 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoxi Wu

A nonlinear effective stress finite element approach for dynamic analysis of soil structure is described in the paper. Major features of this approach include the use of a third parameter in the two-parameter hyperbolic stress-strain model, a modified expression for unloading–reloading modulus in the Martin–Finn–Seed pore-water pressure model, and an additional pore-water pressure model based on cyclic shear stress. The additional pore-water pressure model uses the equivalent number of uniform cyclic shear stresses for the assessment of pore-water pressure. Dynamic analyses were then conducted to simulate the seismically induced soil liquefaction and ground deformation of the Upper San Fernando Dam under the 1971 San Fernando Earthquake. The analyses were conducted using the finite element computer program VERSAT. The computed zones of liquefaction and deformation are compared with the measured response and with results obtained by others.Key words: effective stress method, finite element analysis, Upper San Fernando Dam, earthquake deformation, VERSAT.


2006 ◽  
Vol 324-325 ◽  
pp. 563-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Min Yu ◽  
Zhu Feng Yue ◽  
Yong Shou Liu

In this paper, a plate containing a central hole was used to simulate gas turbine blade with cooling hole. Numerical calculations based on crystal plasticity theory have been performed to study the elastic-plastic stress field near the hole under tension. Two crystallographic orientations [001] and [111] were considered. The distributions of resolved shear stresses and strains of the octahedral slip systems {110}<112> were calculated. The results show that the crystallographic orientation has remarkable influence on both von Mises stress and resolved shear stress distributions. The resolved shear stress distributions around the hole are different between the two orientations, which lead to the different activated slip systems. So the deformed shape of the hole in [001] orientation differs from that in [111] orientation.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document