The Construction Countermeasures of Shallow-Buried Small Spacing Tunnel Undercrossing Cultural Relic Buildings: A Case Study

Based on the background of the reconstruction project from Changqing Chenzhuang-Pingyin section of G220 east-deep line in China, a special tunnel structure and construction plan was carried out according to the construction measures of the shallow-buried small spacing tunnel passing underneath cultural relic buildings, and a comprehensive deformation control scheme of “CRD construction method single-arm excavation + surface grouting prereinforcement + advanced large pipe shed presupport” was put forward. The results of numerical simulation and on-site construction monitoring showed that the overall deformation of aqueduct foundation generally increases first, then decreases and increases again, and finally tends to be stable. The effects of surface grouting prereinforcement and advance large pipe shed presupport are obvious. The comprehensive deformation control scheme can ensure the safety of the existing construction and meet the safety prevention and control requirements.

Configuration of Non-Pumping Reactive Wells Considering Minimum Well Spacing

A non-pumping reactive well (NPRW) is a subsurface structure that prevents contaminant spread using many non-pumping wells containing reactive media. For the construction of an effective NPRW, a sufficiently small spacing between wells is an important design factor to prevent contaminant leakage. However, close well construction is not recommended because of concerns about the decreased stability of adjacent wells under field conditions. In this research, we proposed a sawtooth array of NPRW as a practical configuration to minimize well spacing while meeting stability requirements in the field. To evaluate the performance of the novel NPRW configurations, a numerical modeling was conducted considering different well diameters and well spacings and their performance was compared taking into account the number of wells and the mass of the reactive material. The comparison results showed that the sawtooth configuration was more practical than a line of wells. The performance curve of NPRWs with the saw-toothed configuration was constructed from the relationship between the contaminant removal and configuration components (diameter and spacing of the well). This can be used to predict the contaminant removal performance of NPRWs with a sawtooth array.

Wake-body interaction Noise Simulations by Coupling CFD and BEM

In many engineering applications, the wake-body interaction or body-vortex interaction (BVI) occurs. In the wake-body interaction, vortices shed from an upstream obstacle interact with downstream obstacle and generate noise, for example blades in a turbomachinery, tubes in a heat exchanger, rotating blades like a helicopter and wind turbine and so on. The rod-airfoil and airfoil-airfoil configurations are typical models for the wake-body interaction. A rod and an airfoil are immersed upstream of the airfoil. In this paper, we reviewed the noise mechanism generated by the wake-body interaction and show the numerical results obtained by the coupling method using commercial CFD and acoustic BEM codes. The results shows that depending on the spacing between the rod or airfoil and the airfoil, the flow patterns and noise radiation vary. With small spacing, the vortex shedding from the upstream obstacle is suppressed and it results in the suppression of the sound generation. With large spacing, the shear layer or the vortices shed from the upstream obstacle impinge on the downstream obstacle and it results in the large sound generation. The dominant peak frequency of the generated sound varies with increasing of the spacing between the two obstacles.

Numerical Investigation on Shape Optimization of Small-Spacing Twin-Well for Salt Cavern Gas Storage in Ultra-Deep Formation

Small-spacing twin-well (SSTW) salt caverns have an extensive application prospect in thin or bedded rock salt formations due to their good performance, while they are rarely used in ultra-deep formations. The target strata depth of Pingdingshan salt mine is over 1700 m, and it is planned to apply an SSTW cavern to construct the underground gas storage (UGS). A 3D geomechanical model considering the viscoelastic plasticity of the rock mass is introduced into Flac3D to numerically study the influence of internal gas pressure, cavern upper shape and well spacing on the stability of an SSTW salt cavern for Pingdingshan UGS. A set of assessment indices is summarized for the stability of gas storage. The results show that the minimum internal gas pressure is no less than 14 MPa, and the cavern should not be operated under constant low gas pressure for a long time. The cavern with an upper height of 70 m is recommended for Pingdingshan gas storage based on the safety evaluation and maximum volume. The well spacing has a limited influence on the stability of the salt cavern in view of the volume shrinkage and safety factor. Among the values of 10 m, 20 m and 30 m, the well spacing of 20 m is recommended for Pingdingshan gas storage. In addition, when the cavern groups are constructed, the pillar width on the short axis should be larger than that on the long axis due to its greater deformation in this direction. This study provides a design reference for the construction of salt cavern gas storage in ultra-deep formations with the technology of SSTW.

Seismic Behavior and Finite Element Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Short Columns Impacted by Oblique Earthquakes

This study evaluates the seismic behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) short columns with a high axial compression ratio under oblique earthquake conditions. The studied parameters include the loading angle, axial compression ratio, the high-strength stirrups with small spacing, and the carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) wrapped column end or outer steel plate mesh at the end of the column. Low-cycle repeated loading tests were used to analyze the specimens’ seismic performance indices of hysteretic behavior, strength, stiffness, deformation capacity, and energy dissipation capacity. Results suggest that the OpenSees finite element program can sufficiently simulate the nonlinear response of the specimen. Oblique loading led to the increase of damage to the specimens and the deterioration of stiffness of the specimens, which was especially seen with the increase of the axial compression ratio. Accordingly, arranging high-strength stirrups with small spacing and the column end outer steel plate mesh both transform the failure mode from shear failure to bending shear failure. Additionally, wrapping the CFRP at the end of columns improves their strength but does not improve their deformation capacity. The demonstrated success of these strategies in improving the seismic performance of RC short columns under diagonal loads with high axial compression ratios can inform practical engineering applications.