The Effect of Faults on the Behaviour of the Earth Dam – Case Study of the Ourkiss Dam

The analysis of the failure due to the effect of the propagation of normal and reversed faults with different angles of inclination and by sliding through the Ourkiss dam isstudied numerically. Mainly at the end of construction and at the highest water level, for this purpose the non-linear finite difference method is used considering four fault angles of inclination, activated at the center of the base of the embankment.The results of the study show that the shear stress values increase with the increase of the vertical base displacement imposed in both conditions of the dam state, and this for both normal and overturned faults.

Late Holocene Sedimentation on the Southern Kāpiti Coast

<p>The Kāpiti Coast is a broad low lying coastal plain on the western coast of New Zealand’s North Island. The coastal plain has formed over the last 6500 years through rapid progradation of coastal sediment, developing a distinct cuspate foreland. With numerous coastal communities across the low coastal plain, recent coastal erosion of the southern coastal plain combined with forecast sea level rise has drawn attention to coastal hazards. However, understanding these hazards has been hampered by a lack of information on the Holocene tectonic and sedimentary development of the coastal plain. This study focuses on the southern portion of the Kāpiti Coast using a geological approach to document coastal outcrops and drillcores. Using detailed sedimentological analysis including description, grainsize, composition and shape, in addition to observation of the modern environment, a detailed facies scheme and depositional model for the southern Kāpiti Coast are produced. Combining the interpreted depositional environments and age control provided by C14, OSL and well-dated pumice deposition, progressive coastal progradation and a transition from marine to terrestrial environments is reconstructed for the southern Kāpiti Coast. Records from this study reveal rapid sedimentation, at rates of up to 12.6m/1000 years within this southern limb, slowing dramatically with coastal retreat beginning within the last 400 years. Recognising the vertical offset of the beach/dune boundary as a marker of past sea level recorded in the cores and outcrops, a 1m uplift is recognised at the southernmost point of the coastal plain. In addition to constraining the penultimate movement of the Ohariu Fault, it contrasts with the tectonic stability of the central part of the coastal plain and subsidence further north. Such insight into vertical base level change across the coastal plain has implications for future coastal hazard identification.</p>

Late Holocene Sedimentation on the Southern Kāpiti Coast

<p>The Kāpiti Coast is a broad low lying coastal plain on the western coast of New Zealand’s North Island. The coastal plain has formed over the last 6500 years through rapid progradation of coastal sediment, developing a distinct cuspate foreland. With numerous coastal communities across the low coastal plain, recent coastal erosion of the southern coastal plain combined with forecast sea level rise has drawn attention to coastal hazards. However, understanding these hazards has been hampered by a lack of information on the Holocene tectonic and sedimentary development of the coastal plain. This study focuses on the southern portion of the Kāpiti Coast using a geological approach to document coastal outcrops and drillcores. Using detailed sedimentological analysis including description, grainsize, composition and shape, in addition to observation of the modern environment, a detailed facies scheme and depositional model for the southern Kāpiti Coast are produced. Combining the interpreted depositional environments and age control provided by C14, OSL and well-dated pumice deposition, progressive coastal progradation and a transition from marine to terrestrial environments is reconstructed for the southern Kāpiti Coast. Records from this study reveal rapid sedimentation, at rates of up to 12.6m/1000 years within this southern limb, slowing dramatically with coastal retreat beginning within the last 400 years. Recognising the vertical offset of the beach/dune boundary as a marker of past sea level recorded in the cores and outcrops, a 1m uplift is recognised at the southernmost point of the coastal plain. In addition to constraining the penultimate movement of the Ohariu Fault, it contrasts with the tectonic stability of the central part of the coastal plain and subsidence further north. Such insight into vertical base level change across the coastal plain has implications for future coastal hazard identification.</p>

ADAMS model validation for an all-terrain vehicle using test track data

MD ADAMS® is widely used for vehicle suspension modeling. In this article, we present modeling, simulation, and test track evaluation of an all-terrain recreational vehicle. Our intention is to study the degree to which simplified ADAMS modeling actually matches human-driven vehicle response. For suspension model validation, a vehicle is generally tested on a four-poster test rig and base excitation is applied at four ground-wheel contacts. However, actual driving experience does not match idealized testing conditions. In this work the vehicle is manually driven on a variety of tracks at different speeds, and the vertical accelerations at four axle locations and four body points are measured. The same are then compared in detail against predictions from ADAMS simulation with vertical base excitation. The contribution of this article is in identifying those aspects of the simulation results that match experiments well and identifying possible sources for the observed mismatch, especially under more severe test conditions.

Fatigue strength of S355JC steel under harmonic and random bending-torsion loading by a tri-axis shaker: Preliminary experimental results

A new testing system for applying coupled/uncoupled bending-torsion loading in vibratory tests by a tri-axis shaker has been recently developed at the Department of Engineering of University of Ferrara. The system is composed of a cylindrical specimen with eccentric tip masses, excited by horizontal and/or vertical base accelerations. A special design of the gripping system for specimen constraint allows torsional and bending deformations to be produced and controlled independently, when vertical and horizontal base accelerations are applied simultaneously by the shaker. The values of accelerations and strains in the tested specimens can be monitored continuously. This paper presents a first set of experimental results under harmonic bending and torsion, and under narrow-band combined random loading. Estimations from two frequency-domain approaches are also discussed.

OPTIMAL TRANSVERSE VIBRATIONS DAMPING OF A CONSOLE BEAM

The multicriteria problem of transverse vibrations damping of a console beam is colved by the active and passive damping methods. The mathematical model of beam is provided by Bernoulli-Euler's hypotheses with the linear viscosity. Perturbation acting on the beam belongs to a class L2 of functions. The beam mode is described by Krylov functions. The normal form method is used to convert to the main coordinates. A model of active vibration isolation applied along the entire length of the console beam and a model connected to a vertical base at one point were constructed. The task of transverse vibrations damping is a state feedback control problem with two controlled outputs. Two criteria are introduced: the level of the control force and the maximum deflection of the beam. The generalized H2-norm is used as a measure of functional evaluation in the synthesis of optimal regulators. The search for optimal feedback is based on the use of linear matrix inequalities and efficient algorithms for solving, implemented in the MATLAB package. Synthesis of Pareto optimal control is implemented on the basis of Germeyer convolution. The optimal values of the functional under distributed and concentrated vibration isolations are given with respect to two criteria for active and passive damping methods. The paper includes a comparison of vibration isolation for different damping methods.

Active drag reduction of a high-drag Ahmed body based on steady blowing

Active drag reduction of an Ahmed body with a slant angle of $25^{\circ }$, corresponding to the high-drag regime, has been experimentally investigated at Reynolds number $Re=1.7\times 10^{5}$, based on the square root of the model cross-sectional area. Four individual actuations, produced by steady blowing, are applied separately around the edges of the rear window and vertical base, producing a drag reduction of up to 6–14 %. However, the combination of the individual actuations results in a drag reduction 29 %, higher than any previous drag reductions achieved experimentally and very close to the target (30 %) set by automotive industries. Extensive flow measurements are performed, with and without control, using force balance, pressure scanner, hot-wire, flow visualization and particle image velocimetry techniques. A marked change in the flow structure is captured in the wake of the body under control, including the flow separation bubbles, over the rear window or behind the vertical base, and the pair of C-pillar vortices at the two side edges of the rear window. The change is linked to the pressure rise on the slanted surface and the base. The mechanisms behind the effective control are proposed. The control efficiency is also estimated.

An innovative system for uncoupled bending/torsion tests by tri-axis shaker: numerical simulations and experimental results

This work describes a new testing system for applying a coupled/uncoupled bendingtorsion loading in vibratory tests by a tri-axis shaker. The system is composed of a cylindrical specimen with eccentric tip masses, excited by horizontal and/or vertical base accelerations. The specimen tip is constrained by a lateral thin and flexible plate which impedes any bending when the specimen is excited horizontally, but which permits the specimen torsional rotation. This layout then allows torsional and bending deformations to be produced and controlled independently, when vertical and horizontal base accelerations are applied simultaneously. A finite element model is first used to estimate the system dynamic response and the stresses in the notched specimen section. The model is then validated through experimental tests under harmonic base accelerations. The strains at clamping system are also monitored to indirectly estimate the bending and torsion moment in the specimen. Comparison of numerical and experimental results showed a close correlation and proved that bending-torsion loading are truly uncoupled. Preliminary fatigue tests with harmonic bending loading (vertical base excitation) are finally compared to the constant amplitude S-N curve, showing a quite satisfactory agreement.