Investigation of measurement data of low-coherence interferometry at tilted surfaces in the 3D spatial frequency domain

The 3D transfer characteristics of interference microscopes and their effect on the interference signals occurring at surface slopes are studied. The interference image stacks acquired during a depth scan are 3D Fourier transformed. This allows a comprehensive frequency domain analysis of the interferograms. The double foil model introduced in a previous publication enables the interpretation of the signal spectra and the underlying transfer behavior of the interferometer using the concept of the Ewald sphere, which is limited by the numerical aperture (NA) of the imaging system. Analysis in the 3D spatial frequency domain directly discloses that the lateral dimensions of the transfer function depend on the axial spatial frequency. In this contribution we investigate measuring objects produced by Nanoimprint-Lithography. The corresponding signal spectra bear information that can be utilized to optimize the subsequent signal processing algorithms. These include envelope and phase evaluation procedures of the interference signals. A narrow bandpass filter is used to actively select certain frequency components in order to improve the robustness of the estimation of the envelope position. Although the shape and width of the envelope are affected, this procedure increases the reliability of the evaluation process and improves the accuracy of the measured topography especially at steeper surface slopes.

Many-Objective Optimization of Sustainable Drainage Systems in Urban Areas with Different Surface Slopes

Sustainable urban drainage systems are multi-functional nature-based solutions that can facilitate flood management in urban catchments while improving stormwater runoff quality. Traditionally, the evaluation of the performance of sustainable drainage infrastructure has been limited to a narrow set of design objectives to simplify their implementation and decision-making process. In this study, the spatial design of sustainable urban drainage systems is optimized considering five objective functions, including minimization of flood volume, flood duration, average peak runoff, total suspended solids, and capital cost. This allows selecting an ensemble of admissible portfolios that best trade-off capital costs and the other important urban drainage services. The impact of the average surface slope of the urban catchment on the optimal design solutions is discussed in terms of spatial distribution of sustainable drainage types. Results show that different subcatchment slopes result in non-uniform distributional designs of sustainable urban drainage systems, with higher capital costs and larger surface areas of green assets associated with steeper slopes. This has two implications. First, urban areas with different surface slopes should not have a one-size-fits-all design policy. Second, spatial equality must be taken into account when applying optimization models to urban subcatchments with different surface slopes to avoid unequal distribution of environmental and human health co-benefits associated with green drainage infrastructure.

Deformation Characteristics of Tianjiaba Landslide Induced by Surcharge

The Tianjiaba landslide on the Hang Rui expressway was located in the south of Sinan County, Tongren City, Guizhou Province. From the night of 2 July to the morning of 3 July 2011, numerous house cracks, foundation subsidence, and surface cracks suddenly occurred in the Tudiwan and Tianjiaba villages on the north and south sides of the management area. Based on the field geological survey, drilling, pit exploration, surface displacement, fracture observation, and deep displacement monitoring data analysis the deformation characteristics and causes of the Tianjiaba landslide were comprehensively analyzed. In this study, the landslide was divided into three areas, in which fracture group 3 was the most severe. Among the ten inclinometer holes, the sliding surface displacement of No.8 inclinometer hole was the largest, i.e., 25 mm. The sliding surface slopes of fracture groups 1, 2, and 3 were small, i.e., 12.25°, 4.97° and 6.62° to 4.64°, respectively. The results showed that the displacement values of different positions of the landslide were different, and the ground displacement value was larger than the sliding surface displacement value. The maximum displacement of the ground was 242.68 mm, which is larger than the maximum displacement of the inclinometer hole. Because the displacement of the upper part was greater than that of the lower part, bulging cracks formed in the lower part of the landslide. When the displacement of the upper part was less than that of the lower part, tension cracks formed in the lower part of the landslide. According to the surface cracks and displacement values of inclinometer holes on the sliding surface, the landslide was in the initial sliding stage and filling the platform of the management area on the hillside was the main cause of the landslide.

Numerical modeling of lander interaction with a low-gravity asteroid regolith surface

Context. The JAXA asteroid sample return mission Hayabusa2 reached its target (162173) Ryugu in June 2018 and released the European (CNES-DLR) lander MASCOT in October 2018. MASCOT successfully landed on the surface, and the Hayabusa2 Optical Navigation Camera system has been able to image parts of the MASCOT trajectory. Aims. This work builds on our previous study of interactions between a landing package and a granular material in the context of MASCOT on Ryugu. The purpose is to expand our knowledge on this topic and to help constrain physical properties of surfaces by considering the actual trajectory of MASCOT and observations of Ryugu from Hayabusa2. Methods. We ran a new campaign of numerical simulations using the N-body code pkdgrav with the soft-sphere discrete element method by expanding the parameter space to characterize the actual landing scenario of MASCOT on Ryugu. The surface was modeled as a granular medium, but we also considered a large boulder in the bed at various depths and a rigid wall representing a cliff. MASCOT was faithfully modeled as the actual lander, and we considered different impact angles, speeds, and surface slopes. We were particularly interested in the outgoing-to-incoming speed ratio of MASCOT during the landing process. Results. We found that a boulder in the bed generally increases both the stochasticity of the outcomes and the speed ratio, with larger increases when the boulder sits closer to the surface. We also found that the surface slope does not affect our previous results and that the impact speed does not affect the speed ratio for moderate-friction granular material. Finally, we found that a speed ratio as low as 0.3, as estimated in the actual scenario, can occur with a solid-rock surface, not only with a soft surface, because the geometry of the lander is nonspherical. This means that we must infer the physical properties of the surface from outcomes such as the speed ratio with caution: it depends on the lander geometry.

3D modelling of Isbræ-type glaciers and temperate-zone processes

<p>The majority of Greenland’s outlet glaciers are Isbræ-type, with high driving stresses, steep surface slopes, flow through deep channels, and with a basal layer of temperate ice theorised to thicken towards the coastal margin. Understanding the formation processes and thermodynamic influence of this temperate ice is important as limited laboratory testing indicates temperate ice has a viscosity 5-10 times lower than cold ice with no liquid phase. Furthermore, limited field data suggests lower rates of deformation within basal temperate ice than in the cold ice directly overlying it, which is presently unexplained. Here, we present preliminary results from a 3D finite-element model of an idealised Isbrae-type glacier built with Elmer/Ice, incorporating water-content-dependent ice viscosity, basal melting, and a parameterization of basal crevassing, and use it to investigate the formation and thermodynamic behaviour of temperate ice in response to varying bedforms and model parameters. We find that the observed decrease in strain in temperate ice close to the glacier base can be explained by a high strain area close to the cold-temperate transition zone. We further compare our model results to temperate ice variability observed at Sermeq Kujalleq (Store Glacier) to determine key temperate ice parameters requiring further investigation. These results provide a more complete understanding of the heterogeneous ice deformation behind the fast movement of Greenland’s Isbræ-type glaciers and can therefore help to improve predictions of future glacier flow.</p>

Optimization of performance in multi-cell beams with different surface slopes for use in vehicle structure using a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm based on decomposition

This study examined the effect of the upper surface slope and the number of cells in the side beams on the collapse properties using experimental and numerical tests. The numerical studies were conducted with LS-DYNA software, and the accuracy of numerical results was investigated by experimental tests. Using MATLAB software, the second-degree polynomial functions were obtained for the collapse properties of the specimens. Also, after the optimization by the decomposition method, the best mode was introduced for the specimens. The studies on collapse properties showed that increasing the number of cells leads to a decrease in all collapse properties, and increasing the upper surface slope leads to an increase in the collapse properties. Moreover, the optimization results by decomposition method showed that this method could suggest the most optimal model for multi-cell and sloping beams.

Along-strike variations in protothrust zone characteristics at the Nankai Trough subduction margin

Significant along-strike changes in the protothrust zone at the toe of the Nankai Trough accretionary prism were imaged in new high-resolution seismic reflection data. The width of the protothrust zone varies greatly along strike; two spatially discrete segments have a wide protothrust zone (∼3.3–7.8 km, ∼50–110 protothrusts), and two segments have almost no protothrust zone (∼0.5–2.8 km, <20 protothrusts). The widest protothrust zone occurs in the region with the widest and thickest sediment wedge and subducting turbidite package, both of which are influenced by basement topography. The trench wedge size and lithology, the lithology of the subducting section, and the basement topography all influence the rate of consolidation in the trench wedge, which we hypothesize is an important control over the presence and width of the protothrust zone. We conclude that protothrusts are fractures that form from shear surfaces in deformation band clusters as the trench fill sediment is consolidated. Strain localization occurs at sites with a high density of protothrusts, which become the probable locations of future frontal thrust propagation. The frontal thrust may propagate forward with a lower buildup of strain where it is adjacent to a wide protothrust zone than at areas with a narrow or no protothrust zone. This is reflected in the accretionary prism geometry, where wide protothrust zones occur adjacent to fault-propagation folds with shallow prism toe surface slopes.