Preprints

Filtering by Subject: Geotechnical Engineering

2-D P-SV and SH spectral element modelling of seismic wave propagation in non-linear media with pore-pressure effects

Elif Oral, Celine Gelis, Luis Fabian Bonilla

Published: 2021-01-06
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Engineering, Geophysics and Seismology, Geotechnical Engineering

It has long been recognized that the effects of superficial geological layers, or site effects, can play a major role on the seismic ground motion at the free surface. In this study, we compute wave propagation in a 2-D asymmetrical basin considering both soil non-linearity and pore- pressure effects. Equations of elastodynamics of wave propagation are solved using the spectral element method [...]

Spectral element modelling of seismic wave propagation in visco-elastoplastic media including excess-pore pressure development

Elif Oral, Celine Gelis, Luis Fabian Bonilla

Published: 2021-01-06
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Engineering, Geophysics and Seismology, Geotechnical Engineering

Numerical modelling of seismic wave propagation, considering soil nonlinearity, has become a major topic in seismic hazard studies when strong shaking is involved under particular soil conditions. Indeed, when strong ground motion propagates in saturated soils, pore pressure is another important parameter to take into account when successive phases of contractive and dilatant soil behaviour are [...]

Coordination numbers in natural beach sand

Vashan Wright, Amy Ferrick, Michael Manga

Published: 2020-12-03
Subjects: Geophysics and Seismology, Geotechnical Engineering, Sedimentology

Coordination number controls elastic moduli, seismic velocity, and force transmission in sands and is thus a critical factor controlling the resistance of sands to deformation. Previous studies quantified relationships between coordination number, porosity, grain size, sphericity, and effective stress in pluviated or modeled sands. Here, we determine if these relationships hold in [...]

Future magnitude 7.5 earthquake offshore Martinique: Spotlight on the main source features controlling ground motion prediction

Elif Oral, Claudio Satriano

Published: 2020-11-18
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Geophysics and Seismology, Geotechnical Engineering

The eastern offshore of Martinique is one of the active areas of the Lesser Antilles Subduc tion Zone (LASZ). Although its seismicity is moderate compared to other subduction zones, LASZ is capable of generating a M 7+ interplate earthquake and recent studies and historical events, such as the M8 1839 and M 7-7.5 1946 earthquakes, confirm this possibility. Given the high risk that Martinique can [...]

Laboratory experiments and grain based discrete element numerical simulations investigating the thermo-mechanical behaviour of sandstone

James Woodman, Audrey Ougier-Simonin, Anastasios Stavrou, et al.

Published: 2020-05-30
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Thermo-mechanical loading can occur in numerous engineering geological environments, from both natural and anthropogenic sources. Different minerals and micro-defects in rock cause heterogeneity at a grain scale, affecting the mechanical and thermal properties of the material. Changes in strength and stiffness can occur from exposure to elevated temperatures, with the accumulation of localised [...]

60 YEARS OF AIRBORNE AFMAG METHOD EVOLUTION

Alexander Prikhodko, Petr Valentinovich Kuzmin, Andrei Bagrianski

Published: 2020-05-25
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Geophysics and Seismology, Geotechnical Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Development and following commercial use of the airborne electromagnetic method based on natural fields in the audio-frequency band (AFMAG) started in late 50s of the last century. After several decades of the development downtime, limitations inherent to the method were resolved in 80s by adapting the tensor analysis, remote reference noise bias removal techniques and computation of the tippers. [...]

On the thermo-poro-mechanics of chemically active faults

Emmanouil Veveakis

Published: 2020-05-21
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Geophysics and Seismology, Geotechnical Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Shear zones in outcrops and core drillings on active faults commonly reveal two scales of localization, with centimeter to tens of meters thick deformation zones embedding much narrower zones of mm- to cm-scale. The narrow zones are often attributed to some form of fast instability such as earthquakes or slow slip events. Surprisingly, the double localisation phenomenon seem to be independent of [...]

High Attenuation Recycled Materials as landfill liners (the HARM project) – A new concept for improved landfill liner design

Mercedes Regadío, Alex Cargill, Jonathan A. Black, et al.

Published: 2020-01-28
Subjects: Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Education, Engineering, Engineering Science and Materials, Environmental Public Health, Environmental Sciences, Geochemistry, Geotechnical Engineering, Hydrology, Medicine and Health Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Public Health, Soil Science

A new approach in landfill liner design which combines hydraulic containment of leachate with contaminant attenuation to improve the performance of these environmental control systems at landfills is described. The idea is to re-use readily available industrial waste residues (construction and biomass waste) as additives for natural clay liners, wherein the additives have specific properties [...]

The role of natural clays in the sustainability of landfill liners

Mercedes Regadío, Jonathan A. Black, Steven F Thornton

Published: 2020-01-10
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Geotechnical Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Engineered synthetic liners on their own are not the ideal solution to protect land, water and living beings against landfill leachate pollution. Despite their impermeability, engineered liners are susceptible to fail during installation and after a few years of landfill operation, and have no attenuation properties. Conversely, natural clay liners can attenuate leachate pollutants by reactions [...]

The interplay between clay fabric and mechanical response of deep-seated landslides

Carolina Seguí, Esperanca Tauler, Xavier Planas, et al.

Published: 2019-12-05
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Geology, Geotechnical Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Deep-seated landslides are amongst the most devastating natural hazards on earth, typically involving a rigid rock mass sliding over a weak, clayey shear-band. The mechanical response of this shear-band to the loading of the overburden is therefore critical for the stability of a landslide. We hereby show that this mechanical response is strongly linked to the mineralogy and microstructure of the [...]

Effects of off-fault inelasticity on near-fault directivity pulses

Yongfei Wang, Steven M. Day

Published: 2019-11-27
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering

Near-fault motion is often dominated by long-period, pulse-like particle velocities with fault-normal polarization that, when enhanced by directivity, may strongly excite mid- to high-rise structures. We assess the extent to which plastic yielding may affect amplitude, frequency content, and distance scaling of near-fault directivity pulses. Dynamic simulations of 3D strike-slip ruptures reveal [...]

Simulating Electropulse Fracture of Granitic Rock

Stuart Duncan Christopher Walsh, Daniel Vogler

Published: 2019-11-23
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Geology, Geotechnical Engineering, Mining Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Electropulse treatments employ a series of high-voltage discharges to break rock into small fragments. As these methods are particularly suited to fracturing hard brittle rocks, electropulse treatments can serve to enhance or substitute for more traditional mechanical approaches to drilling and processing of these materials. Nevertheless, while these treatments have the potential to improve [...]

Does a damaged fault zone mitigate the near-field landslide risk during supershear earthquakes?—Application to the 2018 magnitude 7.5 Palu earthquake.

Elif Oral, Huihui Weng, Jean Paul Ampuero

Published: 2019-10-03
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics

The impact of earthquakes can be severely aggravated by cascading secondary hazards. The 2018 Mw 7.5 Palu, Indonesia earthquake led to devastating tsunamis and landslides, while triggered submarine landslides possibly contributed substantially to generate the tsunami. The rupture was supershear over most of its length, but its speed was unexpectedly low, between the S-wave velocity Vs and [...]

Global resource potential of seasonal pumped-storage

Julian Hunt, Edward Byers, Yoshihide Wada, et al.

Published: 2019-06-21
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Hydraulic Engineering

The risk of seasonal mismatches between electricity supply and demand is increasing due to expanded use of wind, solar and hydropower resources. Power system planners are thus in search of low-cost seasonal energy storage options. Seasonal Pumped-Storage (SPS) can provide short, medium and long-term energy storage at a relatively low-cost and provides co-benefits in the form of freshwater storage [...]

Technical note: Limitations on the use of space borne differential SAR interferometry for systematic monitoring and failure forecast of alpine landslides

Andrea Manconi

Published: 2019-06-16
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Geology, Geotechnical Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Recent advances on satellite geodesy have boosted our capabilities to map and monitor landslides globally with unprecedented resolutions. In this scenario, differential interferometry of space borne synthetic aperture radar imagery (DInSAR) plays a major role in identifying surface displacements associated to slope instabilities and in monitoring their spatial and temporal evolution. However, [...]

search

You can search by:

  • Title
  • Keywords
  • Author Name
  • Author Affiliation