Influences of Spillway Section Morphologies on Landslide Dam Breaching

Spillway excavation is often adopted as a precautionary engineering measure for disaster mitigation before landslide dam breaching. Based on the landslide dam breach mechanisms, this paper focuses on developing a numerical model to comprehensively discuss the issue based on three documented landslide dam failures, such as Tangjiashan, Xiaogangjian, and Baige landslide dams. The spillway cross section morphologies were modeled with different sizes under common shape (i.e., an inverted trapezoid) and slope conditions. The influence of cross section on dam breach processes was analyzed under conditions of different depth, bottom width, slope ratio in the cross and longitudinal sections, with/without spillway. The following conclusions can be drawn: 1) excavation of a spillway can effectively reduce the peak breach flow, therefore delay the time to peak; 2) the peak breach flow dramatically decreases and the time to peak delays as the spillway depth increases; 3) the peak breach flow changes little and the time to peak occurs earlier with the increment in spillway bottom width; 4) the peak breach flow decreases and the time to peak delays with the decrease of slope ratio in cross section in the spillway; 5) the slope ratio in the longitudinal section has little influence on the breach process. Hence, if conditions permit, the spillway with large spillway depth, small bottom width, and gentle slope ratio in the cross section is the preferable section morphology for the emergency disposal of the landslide dam.

Hydrodynamic characteristics of lateral withdrawal with effects of the slope ratio

Lateral withdrawal is widely performed in water transfer and water supply projects. Hydrodynamic characteristics of intake are crucial to safe and stable operation. In this study, a 3-D numerical volume of fluid model was established and validated through experimental tests. Hydrodynamic characteristics and secondary flow were investigated under scenarios with the vertical slope and different slope ratios. The helix-shaped recirculation and surface vortex are generated, and the secondary flow near the surface layer is more serious. Adding a slope ratio is beneficial to improve the flow patterns and recirculation, while the surface vortex width increases. Additionally, with the decrease in the slope ratio, recirculation width and the ratio of recirculation to the width of the layer decrease, and the minimum values are 9.19 cm and 22.97%, respectively. However, the lower the slope ratio is, the greater recirculation inhibition affects are, and the more serious the surface vortex is. With the decrease in the slope ratio, the widest surface vortex width and the ratio of the widest surface vortex to the width of the layer increase from 6.1 to 12 cm and from 7.82 to 17.14%, respectively. This research represents an advance in lateral withdrawal and provides support for further designs.

Model Test Study on Stability Factors of Expansive Soil Slopes with Different Initial Slope Ratios under Freeze-Thaw Conditions

Expansive soil is widely distributed in seasonally frozen areas worldwide. Due to the special expansion and shrinkage characteristics of expansive soil related to water content, there are potential engineering disasters in the subgrade and slope engineering. To investigate the physical and mechanical changes within the expansive soil slope, four freeze-thaw cycles tests were performed on expansive soil slope models in an environmental chamber with slope ratios 1:1.5, 1:1 and 1:0.5. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology is used to explain the pore changes in expansive soil during freezing and thawing. Model tests were carried out to monitor the changes in cracks, moisture content, temperature, displacement and soil pressure of the slope model. The results show an increase in the slope ratio may give rise to more intense temperature changes, promote the development of cracks in the model, and increase the temperature gradient and moisture migration rate during freezing and thawing. Following freeze-thaw cycling, the soil structure is destroyed and reassembled, and the soil pressure decreases as the slope ratio increases. Combined with the displacement of slope model and NMR test results, the slope can maintain a stable state after multiple freezing–thawing cycles under a specific moisture content ωs.

RF and microwave variable waveform generator based on photonics with an integrated 49GHz FSR Kerr micro-comb source

We report a photonic-based radio frequency (RF) arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) using a soliton crystal micro-comb source with a free spectral range (FSR) of 48.9 GHz. The comb source provides over 80 wavelengths, or channels, that we use to successfully achieve arbitrary waveform shapes including square waveforms with a tunable duty ratio ranging from 10–90%, sawtooth waveforms with a tunable slope ratio of 0.2 to 1, and a symmetric concave quadratic chirp waveform with an instantaneous frequency of sub GHz. We achieve good agreement between theory and experiment, validating the effectiveness of this approach towards realizing high-performance, broad bandwidth, nearly user-defined RF waveform generation.

On the Slope Stability of the Submerged Trench of the Immersed Tunnel Subjected to Solitary Wave

Wave is a common environmental load that often causes serious damages to offshore structures. In addition, the stability for the submarine artificial slope is also affected by the wave loading. Although the landslide of submarine slopes induced by the waves received wide attention, the research on the influence of solitary wave is rare. In this study, a 2-D integrated numerical model was developed to investigate the stability of the foundation trench under the solitary wave loading. The Reynolds-averaged Stokes (RANS) equations were used to simulate the propagation of a solitary wave, while the current was realized by setting boundary inlet/outlet velocity. The pore pressure induced by the solitary wave was calculated by Darcy’s law, and the seabed was characterized by Mohr–Coulomb constitutive model. Firstly, the wave model was validated through the comparison between analytical solution and experimental data. The initial consolidation state of slope under hydrostatic pressure was achieved as the initial state. Then, the factor of stability (FOS) for the slope corresponding to different distances between wave crest and slope top was calculated with the strength reduction method. The minimum of FOS was defined as the stability index for the slope with specific slope ratio during the process of dynamic wave loading. The parametric study was conducted to examine the effects of soil strength parameters, slope ratio, and current direction. At last, the influence of upper slope ratio in a two-stage slope was also discussed.

Bioavailability of the DL-methionine and the calcium salt of DL-methionine hydroxy analog compared with L-methionine for nitrogen retention in starter pigs

Two nitrogen balance studies were conducted to evaluate the relative bioavailability values (RBV) of DL-Methionine (DL-Met) and DL-Methionine hydroxy analog calcium salt (MHA-Ca) to L-Methionine (L-Met) as Met sources fed to pigs. In Exp. 1, 42 pigs were assigned to 7 treatments feeding with basal diet (BD) formulated to be deficient in Met (0.22% standardized ileal digestible basis) but adequate in other amino acids. Diets included (1) BD, (2) BD + 0.025% DL-Met, (3) BD + 0.050% DL-Met, (4) BD + 0.075% DL-Met, (5) BD + 0.025% L-Met, (6) BD + 0.050% L-Met, and (7) BD + 0.075% L-Met. Increasing levels of L-Met and DL-Met enhanced N retained (g/d) and N retention (% of intake) linearly (P < 0.01). Using a linear slope-ratio procedure, a product-to-product RBV of DL-Met compared to L-Met was 94% (95% confidence limits: 65 to 123%) based on N retained expressed as g/d and 99% (95% confidence limits: 70 to 128%) for N retention expressed as % of intake. In Exp. 2, 42 pigs were allotted to 7 treatments in another N-balance trial. Diets included (1) BD, (2) BD + 0.025% L-Met, (3) BD + 0.050% L-Met, (4) BD + 0.075% L-Met, (5) BD + 0.030% MHA-Ca, (6) BD + 0.060% MHA-Ca, and (7) BD + 0.089% MHA-Ca. An increase in dietary inclusion rates of L-Met increased (P < 0.01) N retained (g/d) linearly while increasing levels of MHA-Ca had no effects (P > 0.05) on N retained (g/d) and N retention (% of intake). Using linear slope-ratio regression, the RBV of MHA-Ca compared to L-Met was 70% (95% confidence limits: 59 to 81%) on a product-to-product basis or 83% on equimolar basis based on N retained expressed as g/d. Overall, the mean RBV of DL-Met to L-Met of 97% (95% confidence limits cover 100%) indicated that DL-Met and L-Met are equally bioavailable as Met sources in pigs. Compared to L-Met, the RBV of MHA-Ca was lower at 70% (95% confidence limits: 59 to 81%) on a product-to-product basis or 83% on equimolar basis in starter pigs.

Laboratory Model Tests on Flow Erosion Failure Mechanism of a Slope Consisting of Anqing Group Clay Gravel Layer

The Anqing group clay gravel layer is a special geological body composed of gravel and clay. In excavation projects, involving this soil, such a gravel layer, is prone to slope collapse and instability under the influence of rainfall. To clearly understand the failure mechanism and influencing factors of clay gravel slopes, an indoor artificial rainfall erosion model testing was carried out to analyse the effect of various slope ratios, gravel contents, and rainfall intensities. The slope erosion damage form, runoff rate, infiltration rate, scoured material, and slope stability of the clay gravel slope were studied. The test results show that sloping surfaces of the gentle slope were mainly damaged by erosion, and the degree of damage gradually increased from the top to the bottom of the sloping surface; however, the stability of the surface was good. In the case of the sloping surface layer of the steep slope, large-scale landslides occurred, and the stability of the surface was poor. When the gravel content was small, the surface failure was manifested as a gully failure. When the gravel content was large, it was manifested as a “layer-by-layer sliding” failure. The degree of influence of different conditions on the stable runoff rate was as follows: rainfall intensity>slope ratio>gravel content. The degree of influence of the parameters on the stable infiltration rate was as follows: slope ratio>rainfall intensity>gravel content. On gentle slopes, the total mass of the scoured material was inversely proportional to the gravel content and directly proportional to the rainfall intensity; on a steep slope, the total mass of the scoured material increased with an increase in the rainfall intensity and gravel content. Moreover, the slope ratio was the key influencing factor to decide whether there was gravel in the scoured material.