Particle-fluid two-phase flows in rock fractures and fracture networks play a pivotal role in determining the efficiency and effectiveness of hydraulic fracturing operations,a vital component in unconventional oil and...Particle-fluid two-phase flows in rock fractures and fracture networks play a pivotal role in determining the efficiency and effectiveness of hydraulic fracturing operations,a vital component in unconventional oil and gas extraction.Central to this phenomenon is the transport of proppants,tiny solid particles injected into the fractures to prevent them from closing once the injection is stopped.However,effective transport and deposition of proppant is critical in keeping fracture pathways open,especially in lowpermeability reservoirs.This review explores,then quantifies,the important role of fluid inertia and turbulent flows in governing proppant transport.While traditional models predominantly assume and then characterise flow as laminar,this may not accurately capture the complexities inherent in realworld hydraulic fracturing and proppant emplacement.Recent investigations highlight the paramount importance of fluid inertia,especially at the high Reynolds numbers typically associated with fracturing operations.Fluid inertia,often overlooked,introduces crucial forces that influence particle settling velocities,particle-particle interactions,and the eventual deposition of proppants within fractures.With their inherent eddies and transient and chaotic nature,turbulent flows introduce additional complexities to proppant transport,crucially altering proppant settling velocities and dispersion patterns.The following comprehensive survey of experimental,numerical,and analytical studies elucidates controls on the intricate dynamics of proppant transport under fluid inertia and turbulence-towards providing a holistic understanding of the current state-of-the-art,guiding future research directions,and optimising hydraulic fracturing practices.展开更多
BACKGROUND At present,China has become the country with the largest number of individuals with diabetes mellitus(DM)in the world,with a total of approximately 140 million patients,the majority of whom have type 2 DM(T...BACKGROUND At present,China has become the country with the largest number of individuals with diabetes mellitus(DM)in the world,with a total of approximately 140 million patients,the majority of whom have type 2 DM(T2DM).Based on conven-tional nursing methods,community home care has important clinical significance in controlling blood sugar and disease progression.AIM To explore the impact of community public health nursing on treatment effect,health cognition,and self-management in patients with T2DM.METHODS One hundred patients with T2DM were selected as the research subjects.The patients were divided into either a conventional nursing group or community nursing(CN)group using the random number table method.The conventional nursing group(50 cases)received routine care,while the CN group(50 cases)received community public health care in addition to routine care as that for the conventional nursing group.The rate of excellent and good blood glucose control,fasting blood glucose before and after care,2-h postprandial blood glucose,health cognition,and self-management ability,and patient satisfaction were compared between the two groups.RESULTS The CN group had a higher rate of excellent blood sugar control than the conventional nursing group(88%vs 70%,P<0.05).Before care,there was no significant difference in fasting blood glucose or 2-h postprandial blood glucose between the two groups of patients(P>0.05).After nursing,fasting blood glucose and 2-h postprandial blood glucose were reduced to varying degrees in both groups,and both blood glucose levels in the CN group were lower than those of the conventional nursing group(P<0.05).Compared with the scores before care,the cognitive level score for diabetes and self-management ability score improved after care in both groups.The cognitive level and self-management ability of patients in the CN group were higher than those of the conventional nursing group(P<0.05).The overall satisfaction of the CN group was better than that of the conventional nursing group(98%vs 86%,P<0.05).CONCLUSION Community public health care based on conventional care of T2DM can achieve better blood sugar control,and improve patients’health cognitive level and self-management ability.展开更多
The behavior of rigid piles in sandy soils under one-way cyclic oblique tensile loading represents a critical design consideration for floating renewable devices.These piles,when moored with catenary or taut moorings,...The behavior of rigid piles in sandy soils under one-way cyclic oblique tensile loading represents a critical design consideration for floating renewable devices.These piles,when moored with catenary or taut moorings,experience one-way cyclic tensile loads at inclinations ranging from 0°(horizontal)to 90°(vertical).However,the combined effects of cyclic loading and load inclination remain inadequately understood.This study presents findings from centrifuge tests conducted on rough rigid piles installed in dense sand samples.The results demonstrate that load inclinations significantly influence both cyclic response and ultimate capacity of the piles.Based on the observed cyclic response characteristics,the vertical cyclic load amplitude should not exceed 25%of the ultimate bearing capacity to maintain pile stability.A power expression(with exponent m values ranging from 0.055 to 0.065)is proposed for predicting cumulative pile displacement under unidirectional cyclic loading at inclinations from 0°to 60°.The cyclic response exhibits reduced sensitivity to horizontal cyclic load magnitude,with m-value increasing from 0.06 to 0.14 as load magnitude increases from 0.3 to 0.9.For piles maintaining stability under oblique cyclic loading,the average normalized secant stiffness exceeds 1 and increases with decreasing inclination,indicating enhanced pile stiffness under cyclic loading.For load inclinations below 30°,pile stiffness can be determined using logarithmic function.展开更多
This opinion article discusses the original research work of Yünkül et al.(the Authors)published in the Journal of Mountain Science 21(9):3108–3122.Employing non-linear regression,fuzzy logic and artificial...This opinion article discusses the original research work of Yünkül et al.(the Authors)published in the Journal of Mountain Science 21(9):3108–3122.Employing non-linear regression,fuzzy logic and artificial neural network modeling techniques,the Authors interrogated a large database assembled from the existing research literature to assess the performance of twelve equation rules in predicting the undrained shear strength(s_(u))mobilized for remolded fine-grained soils at different values of liquidity index(I_(L))and water content ratio.Based on their analyses,the Authors proposed a simple and reportedly reliable correlation(i.e.,Eq.9 in their paper)for predicting s_(u) over the I_(L) range of 0.15 to 3.00.This article describes various shortcomings in the Authors’assembled database(including potentially anomalous data and covering an excessively wide I_(L) range in relation to routine geotechnical and transportation engineering applications)and their proposed s_(u)=f(I_(L))correlation.Contrary to the Authors’assertions,their proposed correlation is not reliable for fine-grained soils with consistencies in the general firm to stiff range(i.e.,for 0.15<I_(L)<0.40),increasingly overestimating s_(u) for reducing I_(L),and eventually predicting s_(u)→+∞for I_(L)→0.15+(while producing mathematically undefined s_(u) for I_(L)<0.15),thus rendering their correlation unconservative and potentially leading to unsafe geotechnical designs.Exponential or regular-power type s_(u)=f(I_(L))models are more s_(u)itable when developing correlations that are applicable over the full plastic range(of 0<I_(L)<1),thereby providing reasonably conservative s_(u) predictions for use in the preliminary design for routine geotechnical engineering applications.展开更多
This study investigates the efficacy of sodium alginate(SA),xanthan gum(XG),guar gum(GG)and chitosan(CS)d each applied at five different solid biopolymer-to-water mass ratios(or dosages)and cured for 7 d and 28 d d on...This study investigates the efficacy of sodium alginate(SA),xanthan gum(XG),guar gum(GG)and chitosan(CS)d each applied at five different solid biopolymer-to-water mass ratios(or dosages)and cured for 7 d and 28 d d on the unconfined compressive strength(UCS)performance of a high plasticity clayey soil.Moreover,on identifying the optimum biopolymer-treatment scenarios,their performance was compared against conventional stabilization using hydrated lime.For a given curing time,the UCS for all biopolymers followed a riseefall trend with increasing biopolymer dosage,peaking at an optimum dosage and then subsequently decreasing,such that all biopolymer-stabilized samples mobilized higher UCS values compared to the unamended soil.The optimum dosage was found to be 1.5%for SA,XG and CS,while a notably lower dosage of 0.5%was deemed optimum for GG.Similarly,for a given biopolymer type and dosage,increasing the curing time from 7 d to 28 d further enhanced the UCS,with the achieved improvements being generally more pronounced for XG-and CS-treated cases.None of the investigated biopolymers was able to produce UCS improvements equivalent to those obtained by the 28-d soilelime samples;however,the optimum XG,GG and CS dosages,particularly after 28 d of curing,were easily able to replicate 7-d lime stabilization outcomes achieved with as high as twice the soil’s lime demand.Finally,the fundamental principles of clay chemistry,in conjunction with the soil mechanics framework,were employed to identify and discuss the clayebiopolymer stabilization mechanisms.展开更多
Magnesium(Mg)-based bioresorbable stents represent a potentially groundbreaking advancement in cardiovascular therapy;offering tem-porary vessel support and complete biodegradability—addressing limitations of traditi...Magnesium(Mg)-based bioresorbable stents represent a potentially groundbreaking advancement in cardiovascular therapy;offering tem-porary vessel support and complete biodegradability—addressing limitations of traditional stents like in-stent restenosis and long-term com-plications.However,challenges such as rapid corrosion and suboptimal endothelialisation have hindered their clinical adoption.This review highlights the latest breakthroughs in surface modification,alloying,and coating strategies to enhance the mechanical integrity,corrosion resistance,and biocompatibility of Mg-based stents.Key surface engineering techniques,including polymer and bioactive coatings,are ex-amined for their role in promoting endothelial healing and minimising inflammatory responses.Future directions are proposed,focusing on personalised stent designs to optimize efficacy and long-term outcomes,positioning Mg-based stents as a transformative solution in interventional cardiology.展开更多
Rapid determination of soil organic matter(SOM) using regression models based on soil reflectance spectral data serves an important function in precision agriculture. "Deviation of arch"(DOA)-based regressio...Rapid determination of soil organic matter(SOM) using regression models based on soil reflectance spectral data serves an important function in precision agriculture. "Deviation of arch"(DOA)-based regression and partial least squares regression(PLSR)are two modeling approaches to predict SOM.However,few studies have explored the accuracy of the DOA-based regression and PLSR models.Therefore,the DOA-based regression and PLSR were applied to the visible near-infrared(VNIR) spectra to estimate SOM content in the case of various dataset divisions.A two-fold cross-validation scheme was adopted and repeated 10 000 times for rigorous evaluation of the DOA-based models in comparison with the widely used PLSR model.Soil samples were collected for SOM analysis in the coastal area of northern Jiangsu Province,China.The results indicated that both modelling methods provided reasonable estimation of SOM,with PLSR outperforming DOA-based regression in general.However,the performance of PLSR for the validation dataset decreased more noticeably.Among the four DOA-based regression models,a linear model provided the best estimation of SOM and a cutoff of SOM content(19.76 g kg^(-1)),and the performance for calibration and validation datasets was consistent.As the SOM content exceeded 19.76 g kg^(-1),SOM became more effective in masking the spectral features of other soil properties to a certain extent.This work confirmed that reflectance spectroscopy combined with PLSR could serve as a non-destructive and cost-efficient way for rapid determination of SOM when hyperspectral data were available.The DOA-based model,which requires only 3 bands in the visible spectra,also provided SOM estimation with acceptable accuracy.展开更多
Mineral dissemination and pore space distribution in ore particles are important features that influence heap leaching performance.To quantify the mineral dissemination and pore space distribution of an ore particle,a...Mineral dissemination and pore space distribution in ore particles are important features that influence heap leaching performance.To quantify the mineral dissemination and pore space distribution of an ore particle,a cylindrical copper oxide ore sample(I center dot 4.6 mm x 5.6 mm)was scanned using high-resolution X-ray computed tomography(HRXCT),a nondestructive imaging technology,at a spatial resolution of 4.85 mu m.Combined with three-dimensional(3D)image analysis techniques,the main mineral phases and pore space were segmented and the volume fraction of each phase was calculated.In addition,the mass fraction of each mineral phase was estimated and the result was validated with that obtained using traditional techniques.Furthermore,the pore phase features,including the pore size distribution,pore surface area,pore fractal dimension,pore centerline,and the pore connectivity,were investigated quantitatively.The pore space analysis results indicate that the pore size distribution closely fits a log-normal distribution and that the pore space morphology is complicated,with a large surface area and low connectivity.This study demonstrates that the combination of HRXCT and 3D image analysis is an effective tool for acquiring 3D mineralogical and pore structural data.展开更多
This study aims to investigate the effect of mica content on the mechanical properties of clays.Commercially available ground mica was blended with a locally available clayey soil,at varying mica contents by mass of 5...This study aims to investigate the effect of mica content on the mechanical properties of clays.Commercially available ground mica was blended with a locally available clayey soil,at varying mica contents by mass of 5%,10%,15%,20%,25%and 30%,to artificially prepare various micaceous clay blends.The preliminary testing phase included consistency limits and standard Proctor compaction tests.The primary testing program consisted of unconfined compression(UC),direct shear(DS)and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)tests.The test results showed that the liquid and plastic limits exhibited a linear,monotonically increasing trend with increase in mica content.The rate of increase in the plastic limit,however,was found to be greater than that of the liquid limit,thereby leading to a gradual transition towards a non-plastic,cohesionless character.The soft,spongy fabric and high water demand of the mica mineral led to higher optimum water contents and lower maximum dry unit weights with increasing mica content.Under low confinement conditions,i.e.the UC test and the DS test at low normal stresses,the shear strength was adversely affected by mica.However,the closer packing of the clay and mica components in the matrix under high confinement conditions offsets the adverse effects of mica by inducing frictional resistance at the shearing interface,thus leading to improved strength resistance.展开更多
Increasing population in urban areas and limitations of suitable lands for developing houses and urban infrastructure have led to the vertical development in cities.However,these developments are managed by a cadastra...Increasing population in urban areas and limitations of suitable lands for developing houses and urban infrastructure have led to the vertical development in cities.However,these developments are managed by a cadastral system which is mainly two-dimensional and cannot efficiently represent Rights,Restrictions,and Responsibilities(RRRs)in complex scenarios.In fact,a three-dimensional cadastre is required for efficiently registering and representing RRRs.In this paper,a 3D proximity analysis was proposed and implemented to determine RRRs and associated easement rights in non-topology-based data structures.This method can be used to investigate the surrounding spaces of a subject apartment unit or storage in a high-rise.The performance of the developed method was evaluated in a large complex high-rise in Tehran,Iran.The results confirmed that the proposed method can correctly identify the neighbor spaces in complex scenarios.展开更多
The presence of sealed or semi-sealed,multiscale natural fracture systems appears to be crucial for the successful stimulation of deep reservoirs.To explore the reaction of such systems to reservoir stimulation,a new ...The presence of sealed or semi-sealed,multiscale natural fracture systems appears to be crucial for the successful stimulation of deep reservoirs.To explore the reaction of such systems to reservoir stimulation,a new numerical simulation approach for hydraulic stimulation has been developed,trying to establish a realistic model of the physics involved.Our new model successfully reproduces dynamic fracture activation,network generation,and overall reservoir permeability enhancement.Its outputs indicate that natural fractures facilitate stimulation far beyond the near-wellbore area,and can significantly improve the hydraulic conductivity of unconventional geo-energy reservoirs.According to our model,the fracture activation patterns are jointly determined by the occurrence of natural fractures and the in situ stress.High-density natural fractures,high-fluid pressure,and low effective stress environments promote the formation of complex fracture networks during stimulation.Multistage or multicluster fracturing treatments with an appropriate spacing also increase the stimulated reservoir area(SRA).The simulation scheme demonstrated in this work offers the possibility to elucidate the complex multiphysical couplings seen in the field through detailed site-specific modeling.展开更多
This study compares the calculated fracture apertures in a fragmented rock layer under different stress scenarios using two different approaches. Approach 1 is a simplified method using a two-dimensional(2 D) mapping ...This study compares the calculated fracture apertures in a fragmented rock layer under different stress scenarios using two different approaches. Approach 1 is a simplified method using a two-dimensional(2 D) mapping of the fracture network and projects the far-field stresses to individual fractures, and calculates the dilation, normal and shear displacements using experimental stiffnesses available in the literature. Approach 2 employs a three-dimensional(3 D) finite element method(FEM) for the mechanical analysis of the fragmented rock layer considering the interaction with the neighbouring rock layers, frictional interfaces between the rock blocks, stress variations within the fragmented rock layer,and displacements, rotations and deformations of rock blocks. After calculating the fracture apertures using either of the approaches, the permeability of the fragmented rock layer is calculated by running flow simulations using the updated fracture apertures. The comparison between the results demonstrates an example of the inaccuracies that may exist in methods that use simplified assumptions such as2 D modelling, ignoring the block rotations and displacements, projected far-field stresses on fractures,and the stress variations within the rock layer. It is found that for the cases considered here, the permeability results based on apertures obtained from the simplified approach could be 40 times different from the results from apertures calculated using a full mechanical approach. Hence, 3 D mechanical modelling implementing realistic boundary conditions, while considering the displacements and rotations of rock blocks, is suggested for the calculation of apertures in fragmented rocks.展开更多
Cadastral surveying plays an important role in defining legal boundaries of land and property.The current practice for recording cadastral survey data mainly relies on 2D digital or analog documents.This practice is e...Cadastral surveying plays an important role in defining legal boundaries of land and property.The current practice for recording cadastral survey data mainly relies on 2D digital or analog documents.This practice is efficient for simple land parcels but can be challenged in complex building developments.To address the issues stemmed from 2D methods of representing cadastral survey data,3D spatial information models can be considered as a viable solution for managing cadastral survey data.Building Information Modeling(BIM)enables colsslaborative 3D management of the design,construction,and operation of buildings.There have been extensive studies conducted to investigate the connectivity between BIM and 3D cadaster.Most of these studies focus on managing legal information,such as ownership boundaries and attributes,in BIM-based environments.However,there is limited investigation on how survey-ing measurements can be mapped into BIM.In this study,the proposed method for integrating the cadastral survey data into the BIM environment includes identifying cadastral survey requirements,using BIM entities relevant to cadastral survey data,enrichment of a BIM proto-type,and evaluation of the prototype.The major contribution of this study is to demonstrate the storage of cadastral survey data such as survey marks and traverse lines in the BIM environment.Therefore,this research contributes to the further enrichment of BIM with incorporating data elements related to cadastral surveying practices.It is confirmed that current BIM-based tools provide restricted capabilities for explicit management and visualiza-tion of cadastral survey data.This limitation can be addressed in the future enhancements of BIM in terms of supporting important elements for cadastral survey data.展开更多
The bearing behavior of suction caissons supporting offshore wind turbines under two-way cyclic lateral loading and dead load in clay was investigated with consideration of soil strength degradation and adhesive inter...The bearing behavior of suction caissons supporting offshore wind turbines under two-way cyclic lateral loading and dead load in clay was investigated with consideration of soil strength degradation and adhesive interface friction between caisson walls and heterogeneous clay using the finite-element package ABAQUS.An ABAQUS built-in user subroutine was programmed to calculate the adhesive interface friction between clay and caisson walls.The results of parametric studies showed that the degradation of bearing capacity could be aggravated by the decrease of the aspect ratio.The offset between the rotation point of the soil inside the caisson and the central axis of the caisson increased with the increasing vertical load and number of cycles.The linearly increasing strength profile and adhesive interface led to the formation of an inverted spoon failure zone inside the caisson.The settlement-rotation curves in each cycle moved downwards with increasing number of cycles due to the soil strength degradation.展开更多
Geotechnical classification is vital for site characterization and geotechnical design.Field tests such as the cone penetration test with pore water pressure measurement(CPTu)are widespread because they represent a fa...Geotechnical classification is vital for site characterization and geotechnical design.Field tests such as the cone penetration test with pore water pressure measurement(CPTu)are widespread because they represent a faster and cheaper alternative for sample recovery and testing.However,classification schemes based on CPTu measurements are fairly generic because they represent a wide variety of soil conditions and,occasionally,they may fail when used in special soil types like sensitive or quick clays.Quick and highly sensitive clay soils in Norway have unique conditions that make them difficult to be identified through general classification charts.Therefore,new approaches to address this task are required.The following study applies machine learning methods such as logistic regression,Naive Bayes,and hidden Markov models to classify quick and highly sensitive clays at two sites in Norway based on normalized CPTu measurements.Results showed a considerable increase in the classification accuracy despite limited training sets.展开更多
Climate change impacts on grasslands that cover a quarter of the global land area, have become unprecedented during the 21~(st) century. One of the important ecological realms, arid grasslands of northern China, which...Climate change impacts on grasslands that cover a quarter of the global land area, have become unprecedented during the 21~(st) century. One of the important ecological realms, arid grasslands of northern China, which occupy more than 70% of the region's land area. However, the impact of climate change on vegetation growth in these arid grasslands is not consistent and lacks corresponding quantitative research. In this study, NDVI(normalized difference vegetation index) and climate factors including temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, soil moisture, and meteorological drought were analyzed to explore the determinants of changes in grassland greenness in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region(northern China) during 1982–2016. The results showed that grasslands in Inner Mongolia witnessed an obvious trend of seasonal greening during the study period. Two prominent climatic factors,precipitation and soil moisture accounted for approximately 33% and 27% of grassland NDVI trends in the region based on multiple linear regression and boosted regression tree methods. This finding highlights the impact of water constraints to vegetation growth in Inner Mongolia's grasslands. The dominant role of precipitation in regulating grassland NDVI trends in Inner Mongolia significantly weakened from 1982 to 1996, and the role of soil moisture strengthened after 1996. Our findings emphasize the enhanced importance of soil moisture in driving vegetation growth in arid grasslands of Inner Mongolia, which should be thoroughly investigated in the future.展开更多
This study presented a novel circular cofferdam for offshore bridges consisting of ring segments and investigated its structural behaviors using ANSYS Mechanical. Because the bottom segment of the cofferdam which has ...This study presented a novel circular cofferdam for offshore bridges consisting of ring segments and investigated its structural behaviors using ANSYS Mechanical. Because the bottom segment of the cofferdam which has a double sleeve cross-section was installed by suction, contact behaviors of the cofferdam wall and the lid plate during installation are important for design and the behaviors were also analyzed. Prior to numerical investigation of the bottom segment and complete cofferdam after dewatering, a suction modeling for structural analysis was proposed and evaluate by seepage analysis. Hydrodynamic loads applied to the cofferdam were also evaluated using panel method based on the potential flow theory. Through numerical analyses, structural behaviors of the cofferdam during installation were then investigated. First, contact behaviors between the lid plate and the wall were analyzed using different contact conditions imposed on the interface. Sharp stress increases were shown while the stress jumps were limited to contact area. Next, structural behaviors were investigated by considering seepage pressure. Using an axisymmetric seepage model, the total water pressure considering seepage was estimated and applied to structural analysis. The analysis results showed that strong effects of seepage on the stress change in cofferdam occurred and the seepage effects are necessary to be considered in design of the cofferdam induced by suction.展开更多
Effective thermal conductivity of soils can be enhanced to achieve higher efficiencies in the operation of shallow geothermal systems.Soil cementation is a ground improvement technique that can increase the interparti...Effective thermal conductivity of soils can be enhanced to achieve higher efficiencies in the operation of shallow geothermal systems.Soil cementation is a ground improvement technique that can increase the interparticle contact area,leading to a high effective thermal conductivity.However,cementation may occur at different locations in the soil matrix,i.e.interparticle contacts,evenly or unevenly around particles,in the pore space or a combination of these.The topology of cementation at the particle scale and its influence on soil response have not been studied in detail to date.Additionally,soils are made of particles with different shapes,but the impact of particle shape on the cementation and the resulting change of effective thermal conductivity require further research.In this work,three kinds of sands with different particle shapes were selected and cementation was formed either evenly around the particles,or along the direction parallel or perpendicular to that of heat transfer.The effective thermal conductivity of each sample was computed using a thermal conductance network model.Results show that dry sand with more irregular particle shape and cemented along the heat transfer direction will lead to a more efficient thermal enhancement of the soil,i.e.a comparatively higher soil effective thermal conductivity.展开更多
Dear Editor,Pinus sylvestris L.is one of the most popular and predominant tree species in Central Europe and Scandinavia.Its cultivation depends on atmospheric conditions,soil fertility,use of fertilizers,and individu...Dear Editor,Pinus sylvestris L.is one of the most popular and predominant tree species in Central Europe and Scandinavia.Its cultivation depends on atmospheric conditions,soil fertility,use of fertilizers,and individual characteristics of the trees.Pinus sylvestris L.wood,roots,and needles are used for energy production.Pi-展开更多
This paper presents a novel method to estimate queue length at signalised intersections using connected vehicle(CV)data.The proposed queue length estimation method does not depend on any conventional information such ...This paper presents a novel method to estimate queue length at signalised intersections using connected vehicle(CV)data.The proposed queue length estimation method does not depend on any conventional information such as arrival flow rate and parameters pertaining to traffic signal controllers.The model is applicable for real-time applications when there are sufficient training data available to train the estimation model.To this end,we propose the idea of “k-leader CVs” to be able to predict the queue which is propagated after the communication range of dedicated short-range communication(the communication platform used in CV system).The idea of k-leader CVs could reduce the risk of communication failure which is a serious concern in CV ecosystems.Furthermore,a linear regression model is applied to weigh the importance of input variables to be used in a neural network model.Vissim traffic simulator is employed to train and evaluate the effectiveness and robustness of the model under different travel demand conditions,a varying number of CVs(i.e.CVs'market penetration rate)as well as various traffic signal control scenarios.As it is expected,when the market penetration rate increases,the accuracy of the model enhances consequently.In a congested traffic condition(saturated flow),the proposed model is more accurate compared to the undersaturated condition with the same market penetration rates.Although the proposed method does not depend on information of the arrival pattern and traffic signal control parameters,the results of the queue length estimation are still comparable with the results of the methods that highly depend on such information.The proposed algorithm is also tested using large size data from a CV test bed(i.e.Australian Integrated Multimodal Ecosystem)currently underway in Melbourne,Australia.The simulation results show that the model can perform well irrespective of the intersection layouts,traffic signal plans and arrival patterns of vehicles.Based on the numerical results,20%penetration rate of CVs is a critical threshold.For penetration rates below 20%,prediction algorithms fail to produce reliable outcomes.展开更多
基金the Australian Research Council Discovery Project(ARC DP 220100851)scheme and would acknowledge that.
文摘Particle-fluid two-phase flows in rock fractures and fracture networks play a pivotal role in determining the efficiency and effectiveness of hydraulic fracturing operations,a vital component in unconventional oil and gas extraction.Central to this phenomenon is the transport of proppants,tiny solid particles injected into the fractures to prevent them from closing once the injection is stopped.However,effective transport and deposition of proppant is critical in keeping fracture pathways open,especially in lowpermeability reservoirs.This review explores,then quantifies,the important role of fluid inertia and turbulent flows in governing proppant transport.While traditional models predominantly assume and then characterise flow as laminar,this may not accurately capture the complexities inherent in realworld hydraulic fracturing and proppant emplacement.Recent investigations highlight the paramount importance of fluid inertia,especially at the high Reynolds numbers typically associated with fracturing operations.Fluid inertia,often overlooked,introduces crucial forces that influence particle settling velocities,particle-particle interactions,and the eventual deposition of proppants within fractures.With their inherent eddies and transient and chaotic nature,turbulent flows introduce additional complexities to proppant transport,crucially altering proppant settling velocities and dispersion patterns.The following comprehensive survey of experimental,numerical,and analytical studies elucidates controls on the intricate dynamics of proppant transport under fluid inertia and turbulence-towards providing a holistic understanding of the current state-of-the-art,guiding future research directions,and optimising hydraulic fracturing practices.
文摘BACKGROUND At present,China has become the country with the largest number of individuals with diabetes mellitus(DM)in the world,with a total of approximately 140 million patients,the majority of whom have type 2 DM(T2DM).Based on conven-tional nursing methods,community home care has important clinical significance in controlling blood sugar and disease progression.AIM To explore the impact of community public health nursing on treatment effect,health cognition,and self-management in patients with T2DM.METHODS One hundred patients with T2DM were selected as the research subjects.The patients were divided into either a conventional nursing group or community nursing(CN)group using the random number table method.The conventional nursing group(50 cases)received routine care,while the CN group(50 cases)received community public health care in addition to routine care as that for the conventional nursing group.The rate of excellent and good blood glucose control,fasting blood glucose before and after care,2-h postprandial blood glucose,health cognition,and self-management ability,and patient satisfaction were compared between the two groups.RESULTS The CN group had a higher rate of excellent blood sugar control than the conventional nursing group(88%vs 70%,P<0.05).Before care,there was no significant difference in fasting blood glucose or 2-h postprandial blood glucose between the two groups of patients(P>0.05).After nursing,fasting blood glucose and 2-h postprandial blood glucose were reduced to varying degrees in both groups,and both blood glucose levels in the CN group were lower than those of the conventional nursing group(P<0.05).Compared with the scores before care,the cognitive level score for diabetes and self-management ability score improved after care in both groups.The cognitive level and self-management ability of patients in the CN group were higher than those of the conventional nursing group(P<0.05).The overall satisfaction of the CN group was better than that of the conventional nursing group(98%vs 86%,P<0.05).CONCLUSION Community public health care based on conventional care of T2DM can achieve better blood sugar control,and improve patients’health cognitive level and self-management ability.
基金supported by Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(Grant No.B200202050)Open Funds of Key Laboratory of Navigation Structure。
文摘The behavior of rigid piles in sandy soils under one-way cyclic oblique tensile loading represents a critical design consideration for floating renewable devices.These piles,when moored with catenary or taut moorings,experience one-way cyclic tensile loads at inclinations ranging from 0°(horizontal)to 90°(vertical).However,the combined effects of cyclic loading and load inclination remain inadequately understood.This study presents findings from centrifuge tests conducted on rough rigid piles installed in dense sand samples.The results demonstrate that load inclinations significantly influence both cyclic response and ultimate capacity of the piles.Based on the observed cyclic response characteristics,the vertical cyclic load amplitude should not exceed 25%of the ultimate bearing capacity to maintain pile stability.A power expression(with exponent m values ranging from 0.055 to 0.065)is proposed for predicting cumulative pile displacement under unidirectional cyclic loading at inclinations from 0°to 60°.The cyclic response exhibits reduced sensitivity to horizontal cyclic load magnitude,with m-value increasing from 0.06 to 0.14 as load magnitude increases from 0.3 to 0.9.For piles maintaining stability under oblique cyclic loading,the average normalized secant stiffness exceeds 1 and increases with decreasing inclination,indicating enhanced pile stiffness under cyclic loading.For load inclinations below 30°,pile stiffness can be determined using logarithmic function.
文摘This opinion article discusses the original research work of Yünkül et al.(the Authors)published in the Journal of Mountain Science 21(9):3108–3122.Employing non-linear regression,fuzzy logic and artificial neural network modeling techniques,the Authors interrogated a large database assembled from the existing research literature to assess the performance of twelve equation rules in predicting the undrained shear strength(s_(u))mobilized for remolded fine-grained soils at different values of liquidity index(I_(L))and water content ratio.Based on their analyses,the Authors proposed a simple and reportedly reliable correlation(i.e.,Eq.9 in their paper)for predicting s_(u) over the I_(L) range of 0.15 to 3.00.This article describes various shortcomings in the Authors’assembled database(including potentially anomalous data and covering an excessively wide I_(L) range in relation to routine geotechnical and transportation engineering applications)and their proposed s_(u)=f(I_(L))correlation.Contrary to the Authors’assertions,their proposed correlation is not reliable for fine-grained soils with consistencies in the general firm to stiff range(i.e.,for 0.15<I_(L)<0.40),increasingly overestimating s_(u) for reducing I_(L),and eventually predicting s_(u)→+∞for I_(L)→0.15+(while producing mathematically undefined s_(u) for I_(L)<0.15),thus rendering their correlation unconservative and potentially leading to unsafe geotechnical designs.Exponential or regular-power type s_(u)=f(I_(L))models are more s_(u)itable when developing correlations that are applicable over the full plastic range(of 0<I_(L)<1),thereby providing reasonably conservative s_(u) predictions for use in the preliminary design for routine geotechnical engineering applications.
基金supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program(RTP)scholarship.
文摘This study investigates the efficacy of sodium alginate(SA),xanthan gum(XG),guar gum(GG)and chitosan(CS)d each applied at five different solid biopolymer-to-water mass ratios(or dosages)and cured for 7 d and 28 d d on the unconfined compressive strength(UCS)performance of a high plasticity clayey soil.Moreover,on identifying the optimum biopolymer-treatment scenarios,their performance was compared against conventional stabilization using hydrated lime.For a given curing time,the UCS for all biopolymers followed a riseefall trend with increasing biopolymer dosage,peaking at an optimum dosage and then subsequently decreasing,such that all biopolymer-stabilized samples mobilized higher UCS values compared to the unamended soil.The optimum dosage was found to be 1.5%for SA,XG and CS,while a notably lower dosage of 0.5%was deemed optimum for GG.Similarly,for a given biopolymer type and dosage,increasing the curing time from 7 d to 28 d further enhanced the UCS,with the achieved improvements being generally more pronounced for XG-and CS-treated cases.None of the investigated biopolymers was able to produce UCS improvements equivalent to those obtained by the 28-d soilelime samples;however,the optimum XG,GG and CS dosages,particularly after 28 d of curing,were easily able to replicate 7-d lime stabilization outcomes achieved with as high as twice the soil’s lime demand.Finally,the fundamental principles of clay chemistry,in conjunction with the soil mechanics framework,were employed to identify and discuss the clayebiopolymer stabilization mechanisms.
文摘Magnesium(Mg)-based bioresorbable stents represent a potentially groundbreaking advancement in cardiovascular therapy;offering tem-porary vessel support and complete biodegradability—addressing limitations of traditional stents like in-stent restenosis and long-term com-plications.However,challenges such as rapid corrosion and suboptimal endothelialisation have hindered their clinical adoption.This review highlights the latest breakthroughs in surface modification,alloying,and coating strategies to enhance the mechanical integrity,corrosion resistance,and biocompatibility of Mg-based stents.Key surface engineering techniques,including polymer and bioactive coatings,are ex-amined for their role in promoting endothelial healing and minimising inflammatory responses.Future directions are proposed,focusing on personalised stent designs to optimize efficacy and long-term outcomes,positioning Mg-based stents as a transformative solution in interventional cardiology.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41201215)
文摘Rapid determination of soil organic matter(SOM) using regression models based on soil reflectance spectral data serves an important function in precision agriculture. "Deviation of arch"(DOA)-based regression and partial least squares regression(PLSR)are two modeling approaches to predict SOM.However,few studies have explored the accuracy of the DOA-based regression and PLSR models.Therefore,the DOA-based regression and PLSR were applied to the visible near-infrared(VNIR) spectra to estimate SOM content in the case of various dataset divisions.A two-fold cross-validation scheme was adopted and repeated 10 000 times for rigorous evaluation of the DOA-based models in comparison with the widely used PLSR model.Soil samples were collected for SOM analysis in the coastal area of northern Jiangsu Province,China.The results indicated that both modelling methods provided reasonable estimation of SOM,with PLSR outperforming DOA-based regression in general.However,the performance of PLSR for the validation dataset decreased more noticeably.Among the four DOA-based regression models,a linear model provided the best estimation of SOM and a cutoff of SOM content(19.76 g kg^(-1)),and the performance for calibration and validation datasets was consistent.As the SOM content exceeded 19.76 g kg^(-1),SOM became more effective in masking the spectral features of other soil properties to a certain extent.This work confirmed that reflectance spectroscopy combined with PLSR could serve as a non-destructive and cost-efficient way for rapid determination of SOM when hyperspectral data were available.The DOA-based model,which requires only 3 bands in the visible spectra,also provided SOM estimation with acceptable accuracy.
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.51304076)the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province,China(No.14JJ4064)
文摘Mineral dissemination and pore space distribution in ore particles are important features that influence heap leaching performance.To quantify the mineral dissemination and pore space distribution of an ore particle,a cylindrical copper oxide ore sample(I center dot 4.6 mm x 5.6 mm)was scanned using high-resolution X-ray computed tomography(HRXCT),a nondestructive imaging technology,at a spatial resolution of 4.85 mu m.Combined with three-dimensional(3D)image analysis techniques,the main mineral phases and pore space were segmented and the volume fraction of each phase was calculated.In addition,the mass fraction of each mineral phase was estimated and the result was validated with that obtained using traditional techniques.Furthermore,the pore phase features,including the pore size distribution,pore surface area,pore fractal dimension,pore centerline,and the pore connectivity,were investigated quantitatively.The pore space analysis results indicate that the pore size distribution closely fits a log-normal distribution and that the pore space morphology is complicated,with a large surface area and low connectivity.This study demonstrates that the combination of HRXCT and 3D image analysis is an effective tool for acquiring 3D mineralogical and pore structural data.
基金made possible through the provision of an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship
文摘This study aims to investigate the effect of mica content on the mechanical properties of clays.Commercially available ground mica was blended with a locally available clayey soil,at varying mica contents by mass of 5%,10%,15%,20%,25%and 30%,to artificially prepare various micaceous clay blends.The preliminary testing phase included consistency limits and standard Proctor compaction tests.The primary testing program consisted of unconfined compression(UC),direct shear(DS)and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)tests.The test results showed that the liquid and plastic limits exhibited a linear,monotonically increasing trend with increase in mica content.The rate of increase in the plastic limit,however,was found to be greater than that of the liquid limit,thereby leading to a gradual transition towards a non-plastic,cohesionless character.The soft,spongy fabric and high water demand of the mica mineral led to higher optimum water contents and lower maximum dry unit weights with increasing mica content.Under low confinement conditions,i.e.the UC test and the DS test at low normal stresses,the shear strength was adversely affected by mica.However,the closer packing of the clay and mica components in the matrix under high confinement conditions offsets the adverse effects of mica by inducing frictional resistance at the shearing interface,thus leading to improved strength resistance.
文摘Increasing population in urban areas and limitations of suitable lands for developing houses and urban infrastructure have led to the vertical development in cities.However,these developments are managed by a cadastral system which is mainly two-dimensional and cannot efficiently represent Rights,Restrictions,and Responsibilities(RRRs)in complex scenarios.In fact,a three-dimensional cadastre is required for efficiently registering and representing RRRs.In this paper,a 3D proximity analysis was proposed and implemented to determine RRRs and associated easement rights in non-topology-based data structures.This method can be used to investigate the surrounding spaces of a subject apartment unit or storage in a high-rise.The performance of the developed method was evaluated in a large complex high-rise in Tehran,Iran.The results confirmed that the proposed method can correctly identify the neighbor spaces in complex scenarios.
基金This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.U22A20166,51904190,12172230 and U19A2098)the Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province(No.2019ZT08G315)。
文摘The presence of sealed or semi-sealed,multiscale natural fracture systems appears to be crucial for the successful stimulation of deep reservoirs.To explore the reaction of such systems to reservoir stimulation,a new numerical simulation approach for hydraulic stimulation has been developed,trying to establish a realistic model of the physics involved.Our new model successfully reproduces dynamic fracture activation,network generation,and overall reservoir permeability enhancement.Its outputs indicate that natural fractures facilitate stimulation far beyond the near-wellbore area,and can significantly improve the hydraulic conductivity of unconventional geo-energy reservoirs.According to our model,the fracture activation patterns are jointly determined by the occurrence of natural fractures and the in situ stress.High-density natural fractures,high-fluid pressure,and low effective stress environments promote the formation of complex fracture networks during stimulation.Multistage or multicluster fracturing treatments with an appropriate spacing also increase the stimulated reservoir area(SRA).The simulation scheme demonstrated in this work offers the possibility to elucidate the complex multiphysical couplings seen in the field through detailed site-specific modeling.
文摘This study compares the calculated fracture apertures in a fragmented rock layer under different stress scenarios using two different approaches. Approach 1 is a simplified method using a two-dimensional(2 D) mapping of the fracture network and projects the far-field stresses to individual fractures, and calculates the dilation, normal and shear displacements using experimental stiffnesses available in the literature. Approach 2 employs a three-dimensional(3 D) finite element method(FEM) for the mechanical analysis of the fragmented rock layer considering the interaction with the neighbouring rock layers, frictional interfaces between the rock blocks, stress variations within the fragmented rock layer,and displacements, rotations and deformations of rock blocks. After calculating the fracture apertures using either of the approaches, the permeability of the fragmented rock layer is calculated by running flow simulations using the updated fracture apertures. The comparison between the results demonstrates an example of the inaccuracies that may exist in methods that use simplified assumptions such as2 D modelling, ignoring the block rotations and displacements, projected far-field stresses on fractures,and the stress variations within the rock layer. It is found that for the cases considered here, the permeability results based on apertures obtained from the simplified approach could be 40 times different from the results from apertures calculated using a full mechanical approach. Hence, 3 D mechanical modelling implementing realistic boundary conditions, while considering the displacements and rotations of rock blocks, is suggested for the calculation of apertures in fragmented rocks.
基金This work is supported by the Australian Research Council[grant number LP160100292].
文摘Cadastral surveying plays an important role in defining legal boundaries of land and property.The current practice for recording cadastral survey data mainly relies on 2D digital or analog documents.This practice is efficient for simple land parcels but can be challenged in complex building developments.To address the issues stemmed from 2D methods of representing cadastral survey data,3D spatial information models can be considered as a viable solution for managing cadastral survey data.Building Information Modeling(BIM)enables colsslaborative 3D management of the design,construction,and operation of buildings.There have been extensive studies conducted to investigate the connectivity between BIM and 3D cadaster.Most of these studies focus on managing legal information,such as ownership boundaries and attributes,in BIM-based environments.However,there is limited investigation on how survey-ing measurements can be mapped into BIM.In this study,the proposed method for integrating the cadastral survey data into the BIM environment includes identifying cadastral survey requirements,using BIM entities relevant to cadastral survey data,enrichment of a BIM proto-type,and evaluation of the prototype.The major contribution of this study is to demonstrate the storage of cadastral survey data such as survey marks and traverse lines in the BIM environment.Therefore,this research contributes to the further enrichment of BIM with incorporating data elements related to cadastral surveying practices.It is confirmed that current BIM-based tools provide restricted capabilities for explicit management and visualiza-tion of cadastral survey data.This limitation can be addressed in the future enhancements of BIM in terms of supporting important elements for cadastral survey data.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.52078483).
文摘The bearing behavior of suction caissons supporting offshore wind turbines under two-way cyclic lateral loading and dead load in clay was investigated with consideration of soil strength degradation and adhesive interface friction between caisson walls and heterogeneous clay using the finite-element package ABAQUS.An ABAQUS built-in user subroutine was programmed to calculate the adhesive interface friction between clay and caisson walls.The results of parametric studies showed that the degradation of bearing capacity could be aggravated by the decrease of the aspect ratio.The offset between the rotation point of the soil inside the caisson and the central axis of the caisson increased with the increasing vertical load and number of cycles.The linearly increasing strength profile and adhesive interface led to the formation of an inverted spoon failure zone inside the caisson.The settlement-rotation curves in each cycle moved downwards with increasing number of cycles due to the soil strength degradation.
基金the CONICYT Programa Formacion de Capital Humano Avanzado/Master Becas Chile(No.2017-73180687)。
文摘Geotechnical classification is vital for site characterization and geotechnical design.Field tests such as the cone penetration test with pore water pressure measurement(CPTu)are widespread because they represent a faster and cheaper alternative for sample recovery and testing.However,classification schemes based on CPTu measurements are fairly generic because they represent a wide variety of soil conditions and,occasionally,they may fail when used in special soil types like sensitive or quick clays.Quick and highly sensitive clay soils in Norway have unique conditions that make them difficult to be identified through general classification charts.Therefore,new approaches to address this task are required.The following study applies machine learning methods such as logistic regression,Naive Bayes,and hidden Markov models to classify quick and highly sensitive clays at two sites in Norway based on normalized CPTu measurements.Results showed a considerable increase in the classification accuracy despite limited training sets.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42101295)the Science and Technology Department of Jiangsu (BK20210657)the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions of China (21KJB170003)。
文摘Climate change impacts on grasslands that cover a quarter of the global land area, have become unprecedented during the 21~(st) century. One of the important ecological realms, arid grasslands of northern China, which occupy more than 70% of the region's land area. However, the impact of climate change on vegetation growth in these arid grasslands is not consistent and lacks corresponding quantitative research. In this study, NDVI(normalized difference vegetation index) and climate factors including temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, soil moisture, and meteorological drought were analyzed to explore the determinants of changes in grassland greenness in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region(northern China) during 1982–2016. The results showed that grasslands in Inner Mongolia witnessed an obvious trend of seasonal greening during the study period. Two prominent climatic factors,precipitation and soil moisture accounted for approximately 33% and 27% of grassland NDVI trends in the region based on multiple linear regression and boosted regression tree methods. This finding highlights the impact of water constraints to vegetation growth in Inner Mongolia's grasslands. The dominant role of precipitation in regulating grassland NDVI trends in Inner Mongolia significantly weakened from 1982 to 1996, and the role of soil moisture strengthened after 1996. Our findings emphasize the enhanced importance of soil moisture in driving vegetation growth in arid grasslands of Inner Mongolia, which should be thoroughly investigated in the future.
文摘This study presented a novel circular cofferdam for offshore bridges consisting of ring segments and investigated its structural behaviors using ANSYS Mechanical. Because the bottom segment of the cofferdam which has a double sleeve cross-section was installed by suction, contact behaviors of the cofferdam wall and the lid plate during installation are important for design and the behaviors were also analyzed. Prior to numerical investigation of the bottom segment and complete cofferdam after dewatering, a suction modeling for structural analysis was proposed and evaluate by seepage analysis. Hydrodynamic loads applied to the cofferdam were also evaluated using panel method based on the potential flow theory. Through numerical analyses, structural behaviors of the cofferdam during installation were then investigated. First, contact behaviors between the lid plate and the wall were analyzed using different contact conditions imposed on the interface. Sharp stress increases were shown while the stress jumps were limited to contact area. Next, structural behaviors were investigated by considering seepage pressure. Using an axisymmetric seepage model, the total water pressure considering seepage was estimated and applied to structural analysis. The analysis results showed that strong effects of seepage on the stress change in cofferdam occurred and the seepage effects are necessary to be considered in design of the cofferdam induced by suction.
文摘Effective thermal conductivity of soils can be enhanced to achieve higher efficiencies in the operation of shallow geothermal systems.Soil cementation is a ground improvement technique that can increase the interparticle contact area,leading to a high effective thermal conductivity.However,cementation may occur at different locations in the soil matrix,i.e.interparticle contacts,evenly or unevenly around particles,in the pore space or a combination of these.The topology of cementation at the particle scale and its influence on soil response have not been studied in detail to date.Additionally,soils are made of particles with different shapes,but the impact of particle shape on the cementation and the resulting change of effective thermal conductivity require further research.In this work,three kinds of sands with different particle shapes were selected and cementation was formed either evenly around the particles,or along the direction parallel or perpendicular to that of heat transfer.The effective thermal conductivity of each sample was computed using a thermal conductance network model.Results show that dry sand with more irregular particle shape and cemented along the heat transfer direction will lead to a more efficient thermal enhancement of the soil,i.e.a comparatively higher soil effective thermal conductivity.
文摘Dear Editor,Pinus sylvestris L.is one of the most popular and predominant tree species in Central Europe and Scandinavia.Its cultivation depends on atmospheric conditions,soil fertility,use of fertilizers,and individual characteristics of the trees.Pinus sylvestris L.wood,roots,and needles are used for energy production.Pi-
基金sponsored by the Australian Integrated Multimodal Eco System(AIMES)
文摘This paper presents a novel method to estimate queue length at signalised intersections using connected vehicle(CV)data.The proposed queue length estimation method does not depend on any conventional information such as arrival flow rate and parameters pertaining to traffic signal controllers.The model is applicable for real-time applications when there are sufficient training data available to train the estimation model.To this end,we propose the idea of “k-leader CVs” to be able to predict the queue which is propagated after the communication range of dedicated short-range communication(the communication platform used in CV system).The idea of k-leader CVs could reduce the risk of communication failure which is a serious concern in CV ecosystems.Furthermore,a linear regression model is applied to weigh the importance of input variables to be used in a neural network model.Vissim traffic simulator is employed to train and evaluate the effectiveness and robustness of the model under different travel demand conditions,a varying number of CVs(i.e.CVs'market penetration rate)as well as various traffic signal control scenarios.As it is expected,when the market penetration rate increases,the accuracy of the model enhances consequently.In a congested traffic condition(saturated flow),the proposed model is more accurate compared to the undersaturated condition with the same market penetration rates.Although the proposed method does not depend on information of the arrival pattern and traffic signal control parameters,the results of the queue length estimation are still comparable with the results of the methods that highly depend on such information.The proposed algorithm is also tested using large size data from a CV test bed(i.e.Australian Integrated Multimodal Ecosystem)currently underway in Melbourne,Australia.The simulation results show that the model can perform well irrespective of the intersection layouts,traffic signal plans and arrival patterns of vehicles.Based on the numerical results,20%penetration rate of CVs is a critical threshold.For penetration rates below 20%,prediction algorithms fail to produce reliable outcomes.
