Publications

Journal article

Abolghasemi M, Piggott MD, Spinneken J, Vire A, Cotter CJ, Crammond Set al., 2016,

Simulating tidal turbines with multi-scale mesh optimisation techniques

, Journal of Fluids and Structures, Vol: 66, Pages: 69-90, ISSN: 1095-8622

Embedding tidal turbines within simulations of realistic large-scale tidal flows is a highly multi-scale problem that poses significant computational challenges. Here this problem is tackled using actuator disc momentum (ADM) theory and Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) with, for the first time, dynamically adaptive mesh optimisation techniques. Both k-ω and k-ω SST RANS models have been developed within the Fluidity framework, an adaptive mesh CFD solver, and the model is validated against two sets of experimental flume test results. A brief comparison against a similar OpenFOAM model is presented to portray the benefits of the finite element discretisation scheme employed in the Fluidity ADM model. This model has been developed with the aim that it will be seamlessly combined with larger numerical models simulating tidal flows in realistic domains. This is where the mesh optimisation capability is a major advantage as it enables the mesh to be refined dynamically in time and only in the locations required, thus making optimal use of limited computational resources.

Journal article

Stafford PJ, Sullivan TJ, Pennucci D, 2016,

Empirical correlation between inelastic and elastic spectral displacement demands

, Earthquake Spectra, Vol: 32, Pages: 1419-1448, ISSN: 8755-2930

Inelastic spectral displacement demand is arguably one of the most effective, simplified means of relating earthquake intensity to building damage. However, seismic hazard assessment is typically conducted using empirical ground-motion prediction equations (GMPEs) that only provide indications of elastic spectral response quantities, which an engineer subsequently relates to inelastic demands using empirical relationships such as the equal-displacement rule. An alternative approach is to utilize relationships for the inelastic spectral displacement demand directly within the seismic hazard assessment process. Such empirical relationships are developed in this work, as a function of magnitude, distance, building period and yield strength coefficient, for four different hysteretic models that are representative of a wide range of possible structural typologies found in practice. The new relationships are likely to be particularly useful for performance-based seismic design and assessment.

Journal article

Funke SW, Kramer SC, Piggott MD,

Design optimisation and resource assessment for tidal-stream renewable energy farms using a new continuous turbine approach

, Renewable Energy, ISSN: 1879-0682

This paper presents a new approach for optimising the design of tidal stream turbine farms. In this approach, the turbine farm is represented by a turbine density function that specifies the number of turbines per unit area and an associated continuous locally-enhanced bottom friction field. The farm design question is formulated as a mathematical optimisation problem constrained by the shallow water equations and solved with efficient, gradient-based optimisation methods. The resulting method is accurate, computationally efficient, allows complex installation constraints, and supports different goal quantities such as to maximise power or profit. The outputs of the optimisation are the optimal number of turbines, their location within the farm, the overall farm profit, the farm's power extraction, and the installation cost.We demonstrate the capabilities of the method on a validated numerical model of the Pentland Firth, Scotland. We optimise the design of four tidal farms simultaneously, as well as individually, and study how farms in close proximity may impact upon one another.

Journal article

Reeve MT, Jackson CA-L, Bell RE, Magee C, Bastow IDet al., 2016,

The Stratigraphic Record of Pre-breakup Geodynamics: Evidence from the Barrow Delta, offshore Northwest Australia

, Tectonics, Vol: 35, Pages: 1935-1968, ISSN: 1944-9194

The structural and stratigraphic evolution of rift basins and passive margins has been widely studied, with many analyses demonstrating that delta systems can provide important records of post-rift geodynamic processes. However, the apparent lack of ancient syn-breakup delta systems and the paucity of seismic imaging across continent-ocean boundaries means the transition from continental rifting to oceanic spreading remains poorly understood. The Early Cretaceous Barrow Group of the North Carnarvon Basin, offshore NW Australia was a major deltaic system that formed during the latter stages of continental rifting, and represents a rich sedimentary archive, documenting uplift, subsidence and erosion of the margin. We use a regional database of 2D and 3D seismic and well data to constrain the internal architecture of the Barrow Group. Our results highlight three major depocentres: the Exmouth and Barrow sub-basins, and southern Exmouth Plateau. Over-compaction of pre-Cretaceous sedimentary rocks in the South Carnarvon Basin, and pervasive reworking of Permian and Triassic palynomorphs in the offshore Barrow Group, suggests that the onshore South Carnarvon Basin originally contained a thicker sedimentary succession, which was uplifted and eroded prior to breakup. Backstripping of sedimentary successions encountered in wells in the Exmouth Plateau depocentre indicate anomalously rapid tectonic subsidence (≤0.24 mm yr-1) accommodated Barrow Group deposition, despite evidence for minimal, contemporaneous upper crustal extension. Our results suggest that classic models of uniform extension cannot account for the observations of uplift and subsidence in the North Carnarvon Basin, and may indicate a period of depth-dependent extension or dynamic topography preceding breakup.

Journal article

Kramer SC, Piggott MD, 2016,

A correction to the enhanced bottom drag parameterisation of tidal turbines

, Renewable Energy, Vol: 92, Pages: 385-396, ISSN: 0960-1481

Hydrodynamic modelling is an important tool for the development of tidal stream energy projects. Many hydrodynamic models incorporate the effect of tidal turbines through an enhanced bottom drag. In this paper we show that although for coarse grid resolutions (kilometre scale) the resulting force exerted on the flow agrees well with the theoretical value, the force starts decreasing with decreasing grid sizes when these become smaller than the length scale of the wake recovery. This is because the assumption that the upstream velocity can be approximated by the local model velocity, is no longer valid. Using linear momentum actuator disc theory however, we derive a relationship between these two velocities and formulate a correction to the enhanced bottom drag formulation that consistently applies a force that remains close to the theoretical value, for all grid sizes down to the turbine scale. In addition, a better understanding of the relation between the model, upstream, and actual turbine velocity, as predicted by actuator disc theory, leads to an improved estimate of the usefully extractable energy. We show how the corrections can be applied (demonstrated here for the models MIKE 21 and Fluidity) by a simple modification of the drag coefficient.

Conference paper

Skiada E, Kontoe S, Stafford P, Potts DMet al., 2016,

Canyon Depth Effect on Surface Ground Motion

, 1st International Conference on Natural Hazards & Infrastructure

Topographic effects are rarely accounted for in seismic design codes, despite their potential to significantly modify surfaceground motions. This paper investigates the influence of a canyon’s slope height on the surface ground motion through aparametric time-domain Finite Element (FE) study. A two-dimensional plane-strain model of an idealised canyon isconsidered for vertically propagating SV waves, using wavelets as input excitation. The model consists of two step-likeslopes with slope height (H), in a homogeneous linear elastic soil layer overlying rigid bedrock. The analysis results showthat the distribution of topographic aggravation at the ground surface varies significantly with normalized canyon depthover the input wavelength (H/λ) and it does not necessarily reach a maximum at a specific H/λ ratio, as has been suggestedin previous studies. The validity of this conclusion is investigated for different depths to bedrock and soil layer properties.

Journal article

Schmidt L, Fouxon I, Krug D, van Reeuwijk M, Holzner Met al., 2016,

Clustering of particles in turbulence due to phoresis

, Physical Review E, Vol: 93, ISSN: 1539-3755

We demonstrate that diffusiophoretic, thermophoretic, and chemotactic phenomena in turbulence lead to clustering of particles on multifractal sets that can be described using one single framework, valid when the particle size is much smaller than the smallest length scale of turbulence l0. To quantify the clustering, we derive positive pair correlations and fractal dimensions that hold for scales smaller than l0. For scales larger than l0 the pair-correlation function is predicted to show a stretched exponential decay towards 1. In the case of inhomogeneous turbulence we find that the fractal dimension depends on the direction of inhomogeneity. By performing experiments with particles in a turbulent gravity current we demonstrate clustering induced by salinity gradients in conformity to the theory. The particle size in the experiment is comparable to l0, outside the strict validity region of the theory, suggesting that the theoretical predictions transfer to this practically relevant regime. This clustering mechanism may provide the key to the understanding of a multitude of processes such as formation of marine snow in the ocean and population dynamics of chemotactic bacteria.

Conference paper

Jacobs CT, Piggott MD, Kramer SC, Funke SWet al., 2016,

On the validity of tidal turbine array configurations obtained from steady-state adjoint optimisation

, VII European Congress on Computational Methods in Applied Sciences and Engineering, Publisher: ECCOMAS Proceedia, Pages: 8247-8261

Extracting the optimal amount of power from an array of tidal turbines requires an intricate understanding of tidal dynamics and the effects of turbine placement on the local and regional scale flow. Numerical models have contributed significantly towards this understanding, and more recently, adjoint-based modelling has been employed to optimise the positioning of the turbines in an array in an automated way and improve on simple man-made configurations (e.g. structured grids of turbines) [1]. Adjoint-based optimisation of high-resolution and ideally 3D transient models is generally a very computationally expensive problem. Multiple approaches are therefore used in practice to obtain feasible runtimes: using high viscosity values to obtain a steady-state solution, or a sequence of steady-state solutions for "time-varying" setups; limiting the number of adjoint computations; or reformulating the problem to allow for coarser mesh resolution to make it feasible for resources assessment (e.g. [2] , [3]). However, such compromises may affect the reliability of the modelled turbines, their wakes and interactions, and thus bring into question the validity of the computed optimal turbine positions. This work considers a suite of idealised simulations of flow past tidal turbine arrays in a two-dimensional channel. It compares four regular array configurations, detailed by Divett et al. [4] , with the configuration found through adjoint optimisation in a steady-state, high-viscosity setup. The optimised configuration produces considerably more power than the other configurations (approximately 40% more than the best man-made configuration). The same configurations are then used to produce a suite of transient simulations that do not use constant high-viscosity, and instead use large eddy simulation (LES) to parameterise the resulting turbulent structures. All simulations are performed using OpenTidalFarm [1]. It is shown that the 'low background viscosity'/LES simu

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Journal article

Ortiz-Karpf A, Hodgson DM, Jackson CA-L, McCaffrey WDet al., 2016,

Mass-Transport Complexes as Markers of Deep-Water Fold-and-Thrust Belt Evolution: Insights From the Southern Magdalena Fan, Offshore Colombia

, Basin Research, Vol: 30, Pages: 65-88, ISSN: 1365-2117

Mass-wasting of tectonically active margins is an important process in the degradation of deep-water fold-and-thrust belts. However, tectono-stratigraphic links between mass-transport complexes (MTCs), the evolution of MTC basal surfaces, and the timing, and spatial progression of deformation have not been extensively studied. This study uses high-quality, 3D seismic reflection data from the southern Magdalena Fan, offshore Colombia to investigate how the growth of a deep-water fold-and-thrust belt (the southern Sinú Fold Belt) is reflected in the source, distribution and size of MTCs. At least 11 distinct, but now-coalesced MTCs, overlie this surface. Their size and source location changed through time: the oldest, ‘detached’ MTCs are relatively small (10-160 km2) and sourced from the flanks of growing anticlines; the younger, ‘shelf-attached’ MTCs are considerably larger (200-400 km2), are sourced from the shelf and post-date the main phase of active thrusting and folding. Changes in the source, distribution and size of MTCs are tied to the sequential nucleation, amplification and along-strike propagation of individual structures showing that MTCs can be used to constrain the timing and style of deformation, and seascape evolution in time and space. The basal surface of the largest MTC was created by multiple syn-tectonic and post-tectonic mass-wasting events, is highly diachronous and represents an extended period of slope instability. Thus, the geometry and extent of MTC basal surfaces can evolve through time, and the deposits that overlie them do not necessarily record the processes that led to their creation. These insights complicate assessments of the anatomy and genesis of MTC basal surfaces and could be applied at deeper burial depths where seismic resolution may be poor.

Journal article

Adam A, Pavlidis D, Percival J, Salinas P, Xie Z, Fang F, Pain C, Muggeridge A, Jackson Met al., 2016,

Higher-order conservative interpolation between control-volume meshes: Application to advection and multiphase flow problems with dynamic mesh adaptivity

, Journal of Computational Physics, Vol: 321, Pages: 512-531, ISSN: 1090-2716

A general, higher-order, conservative and bounded interpolation for the dynamic and adaptive meshing of control-volume fields dual to continuous and discontinuous finite element representations is presented. Existing techniques such as node-wise interpolation are not conservative and do not readily generalise to discontinuous fields, whilst conservative methods such as Grandy interpolation are often too diffusive. The new method uses control-volume Galerkin projection to interpolate between control-volume fields. Bounded solutions are ensured by using a post-interpolation diffusive correction. Example applications of the method to interface capturing during advection and also to the modelling of multiphase porous media flow are presented to demonstrate the generality and robustness of the approach.

Journal article

Massart BYG, Jackson MD, Hampson GJ, Johnson HD, Legler B, Jackson CA-Let al., 2016,

Effective flow properties of heterolithic, cross-bedded tidal sandstones: Part 1. Surface-based modeling

, AAPG Bulletin, Vol: 100, Pages: 697-721, ISSN: 0149-1423

Tidal heterolithic sandstones are commonly characterized by millimeter- to centimeter-scale intercalations of mudstone and sandstone. Consequently, their effective flow properties are poorly predicted by (1) data that do not sample a representative volume or (2) models that fail to capture the complex three-dimensional architecture of sandstone and mudstone layers. We present a modeling approach in which surfaces are used to represent all geologic heterogeneities that control the spatial distribution of reservoir rock properties (surface-based modeling). The workflow uses template surfaces to represent heterogeneities classified by geometry instead of length scale. The topology of the template surfaces is described mathematically by a small number of geometric input parameters, and models are constructed stochastically. The methodology has been applied to generate generic, three-dimensional minimodels (9 m3 volume) of cross-bedded heterolithic sandstones representing trough and tabular cross-bedding with differing proportions of sandstone and mudstone, using conditioning data from two outcrop analogs from a tide-dominated deltaic deposit. The minimodels capture the cross-stratified architectures observed in outcrop and are suitable for flow simulation, allowing computation of effective permeability values for use in larger-scale models. We show that mudstone drapes in cross-bedded heterolithic sandstones significantly reduce effective permeability and also impart permeability anisotropy in the horizontal as well as vertical flow directions. The workflow can be used with subsurface data, supplemented by outcrop analog observations, to generate effective permeability values to be derived for use in larger-scale reservoir models. The methodology could be applied to the characterization and modeling of heterogeneities in other types of sandstone reservoirs.

Journal article

Sosa Gonzalez V, Bierman PR, Fernandes NF, Rood DHet al., 2016,

Long-term background denudation rates of southern and southeastern Brazilian watersheds estimated with cosmogenic 10Be

, Geomorphology, Vol: 268, Pages: 54-63, ISSN: 1872-695X

In comparison to humid temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, less is known about the long-term (millennial scale) background rates of erosion in Southern Hemisphere tropical watersheds. In order to better understand the rate at which watersheds in southern and southeastern Brazil erode, and the relationship of that erosion to climate and landscape characteristics, we made new measurements of in situ produced 10Be in river sediments and we compiled all extant measurements from this part of the country.New data from 14 watersheds in the states of Santa Catarina (n = 7) and Rio de Janeiro (n = 7) show that erosion rates vary there from 13 to 90 m/My (mean = 32 m/My; median = 23 m/My) and that the difference between erosion rates of basins we sampled in the two states is not significant. Sampled basin area ranges between 3 and 14,987 km2, mean basin elevation between 235 and 1606 m, and mean basin slope between 11 and 29°. Basins sampled in Rio de Janeiro, including three that drain the Serra do Mar escarpment, have an average basin slope of 19°, whereas the average slope for the Santa Catarina basins is 14°. Mean basin slope (R2 = 0.73) and annual precipitation (R2 = 0.57) are most strongly correlated with erosion in the basins we studied. At three sites where we sampled river sand and cobbles, the 10Be concentration in river sand was greater than in the cobbles, suggesting that these grain sizes are sourced from different parts of the landscape.Compiling all cosmogenic 10Be-derived erosion rates previously published for southern and southeastern Brazil watersheds to date (n = 76) with our 14 sampled basins, we find that regional erosion rates (though low) are higher than those of watersheds also located on other passive margins including Namibia and the southeastern North America. Brazilian basins erode at a pace similar to escarpments in southeastern North America. Erosion rates in southern and southeastern Brazil are directly and positively relat

Journal article

Bora SS, Scherbaum F, Kuehn N, Stafford PJet al., 2016,

On the relationship between Fourier and response spectra: Implications for the adjustment of empirical ground-motion prediction equations (GMPEs)

, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Vol: 106, ISSN: 1943-3573

The functional form of empirical response spectral ground-motion predictionequations (GMPEs) is often derived using concepts borrowed from Fourier spectralmodeling of ground motion. As these GMPEs are subsequently calibrated with empiricalobservations, this may not appear to pose any major problems in the prediction ofground motion for a particular earthquake scenario. However, the assumption that Fourierspectral concepts persist for response spectra can lead to undesirable consequenceswhen it comes to the adjustment of response spectral GMPEs to represent conditions notcovered in the original empirical data set. In this context, a couple of important questionsarise, for example, what are the distinctions and/or similarities between Fourier andresponse spectra of ground motions? And, if they are different, then what is the mechanismresponsible for such differences and how do adjustments that are made to Fourieramplitude spectrum (FAS) manifest in response spectra? The present article explores therelationship between the Fourier and response spectrum of ground motion by usingrandom vibration theory (RVT). With a simple Brune (1970, 1971) source model, RVTgeneratedacceleration spectra for a fixed magnitude and distance scenario are used. TheRVT analyses reveal that the scaling of low oscillator-frequency response spectral ordinatescan be treated as being equivalent to the scaling of the corresponding Fourierspectral ordinates. However, the high oscillator-frequency response spectral ordinatesare controlled by a rather wide band of Fourier spectral ordinates. In fact, the peakground acceleration, counter to the popular perception that it is a reflection of the highfrequencycharacteristics of ground motion, is controlled by the entire Fourier spectrumof ground motion. Additionally, this article demonstrates how an adjustment made toFAS is similar or different to the same adjustment made to response spectral ordinates.For this purpose, two cases: adjustments to the stres

Journal article

Maguire R, Ritsema J, van Keken PE, Fichtner A, Goes Set al., 2016,

P- and S-wave delays caused by thermal plumes

, Geophysical Journal International, Vol: 206, Pages: 1169-1178, ISSN: 0956-540X

Many studies have sought to seismically image plumes rising from the deep mantle in order to settle the debate about their presence and role in mantle dynamics, yet the predicted seismic signature of realistic plumes remains poorly understood. By combining numerical simulations of flow, mineral-physics constraints on the relationships between thermal anomalies and wave speeds, and spectral-element method based computations of seismograms, we estimate the delay times of teleseismic S and P waves caused by thermal plumes. Wave front healing is incomplete for seismic periods ranging from 10 s (relevant in traveltime tomography) to 40 s (relevant in waveform tomography). We estimate P-wave delays to be immeasurably small (<0.3 s). S-wave delays are larger than 0.4 s even for S waves crossing the conduits of the thinnest thermal plumes in our geodynamic models. At longer periods (>20 s), measurements of instantaneous phase misfit may be more useful in resolving narrow plume conduits. To detect S-wave delays of 0.4–0.8 s and the diagnostic frequency dependence imparted by plumes, it is key to minimize the influence of the heterogeneous crust and upper mantle. We argue that seismic imaging of plumes will advance significantly if data from wide-aperture ocean-bottom networks were available since, compared to continents, the oceanic crust and upper mantle are relatively simple.

Journal article

Toms E, Mason PJ, Ghail RC, 2016,

Drift-filled hollows in Battersea: investigation of the structure and geology along the route of the Northern Line Extension, London

, Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, Vol: 49, Pages: 147-153, ISSN: 1470-9236

Drift filled hollows (DFHs) are a major subsurface hazard for engineering in London. They are characterised by a steeply inclined cone-shaped hollow into (sometimes through) the London Clay Formation, filled with unconsolidated fine to coarse-grained drift and often covered by terrace gravels, making them difficult to identify at the surface. Their origin remains uncertain but most likely formed towards the end of glacial epochs by meltwater scouring, perhaps of collapsed pingos. Usually associated with tributaries to the Thames, DFHs are particularly prevalent in the Battersea area, through which the Northern Line Extension (NLE) is to be built. This study uses 283 public borehole records and site reports to build a 3D geological ground model of two known DFHs in the Battersea area to develop a more complete understanding of their origin. We show that DFHs are likely older than previously assumed, dating from the end Anglian [MIS 12], ~300 ka ago, before the deposition of the River Terrace Deposits. The two DFHs modelled fall into distinct types: a small shallow DFH that is probably a purely scour feature in origin, and a larger, deeper DFH which probably formed by the scouring of a perhaps fault controlled pingo. It is unclear whether the faults controlled pingo formation passively by acting as a conduit for water, or in a more active sense by driving ground movements. Both DFHs represent a significant hazard for the NLE and require more detailed investigations to properly constrain their extent.

Journal article

Mannie AS, Jackson CA-L, Hampson GJ, Fraser AJet al., 2016,

Tectonic controls on the spatial distribution and stratigraphic architecture of a net-transgressive shallow-marine syn-rift succession in a salt-influenced rift basin: Middle-to-Upper Jurassic, Norwegian Central North Sea

, Journal of the Geological Society, Vol: 173, Pages: 901-915, ISSN: 0016-7649

Syn-depositional deformation in salt-influenced rift basins is complex, being driven by a combination of normal faulting and the growth of salt structures such as diapirs. Due to a lack of data with which to simultaneously constrain basin structure and syn-rift stratigraphic architecture, we have a poor understanding of how these processes control shallow marine deposition in such settings. To improve our understanding we here use seismic reflection and borehole data from the Norwegian Central North Sea to investigate the role that syn-depositional fault growth and salt movement played in controlling the sub-regional stratigraphic architecture of a net-transgressive shallow-marine syn-rift succession (Middle-to-Late Jurassic). The rift-related structural framework, which is usually dominated by normal fault-bound horst and graben, is strongly modified where an Upper Permian salt layer (Zechstein Supergroup) is sufficiently thick and mobile to act as an intra-stratal detachment, giving rise to decoupled rift-related basement and cover structural styles. Furthermore, cover extension allows the salt to rise diapirically, resulting in the formation of large salt diapirs and supra-salt normal faults formed due to late-stage salt withdrawal and diapir collapse. Rift-related normal faulting and the growth of salt structures had a dual control on the depositional thickness and facies distribution within the net-transgressive, predominantly shallow-marine, Middle-to-Upper Jurassic syn-rift succession. The resulting facies architecture reflects a delicate balance between fault- and salt flow-driven accommodation creation and intra- and extra-basinal sediment supply. Where sediment supply and accumulation rate exceeded accommodation, little or no change in facies is observed across syn-depositional structures. In contrast, where accommodation outpaced sediment supply and accumulation rate, footwall-attached shorelines locally developed adjacent to large, thick-skinned normal f

Journal article

Gonzalez VS, Bierman PR, Nichols KK, Rood DHet al., 2016,

Long-term erosion rates of Panamanian drainage basins determined using in situ 10Be

, Geomorphology, Vol: 275, Pages: 1-15, ISSN: 1872-695X

Erosion rates of tropical landscapes are poorly known. Using measurements of in situ-produced 10Be in quartz extracted from river and landslide sediment samples, we calculate long-term erosion rates for many physiographic regions of Panama. We collected river sediment samples from a wide variety of watersheds (n = 35), and then quantified 24 landscape-scale variables (physiographic, climatic, seismic, geologic, and land-use proxies) for each watershed before determining the relationship between these variables and long-term erosion rates using linear regression, multiple regression, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). We also used grain-size-specific 10Be analysis to infer the effect of landslides on the concentration of 10Be in fluvial sediment and thus on erosion rates.Cosmogenic 10Be-inferred, background erosion rates in Panama range from 26 to 595 m My− 1, with an arithmetic average of 201 m My− 1, and an area-weighted average of 144 m My− 1. The strongest and most significant relationship in the dataset was between erosion rate and silicate weathering rate, the mass of material leaving the basin in solution. None of the topographic variables showed a significant relationship with erosion rate at the 95% significance level; we observed weak but significant correlation between erosion rates and several climatic variables related to precipitation and temperature. On average, erosion rates in Panama are higher than other cosmogenically-derived erosion rates in tropical climates including those from Puerto Rico, Madagascar, Australia and Sri Lanka, likely the result of Panama's active tectonic setting and thus high rates of seismicity and uplift. Contemporary sediment yield and cosmogenically-derived erosion rates for three of the rivers we studied are similar, suggesting that human activities are not increasing sediment yield above long-term erosion rate averages in Panama.10Be concentration is inversely proportional to grain size in landslide and f

Journal article

Han B, Zdravkovic L, Kontoe S, 2016,

Numerical and analytical investigation of compressional wave propagation in saturated soils

, Computers and Geotechnics, Vol: 75, Pages: 93-102, ISSN: 0266-352X

In geotechnical earthquake engineering, wave propagation plays a fundamental role in engineering applications related to the dynamic response of geotechnical structures and to site response analysis. However, current engineering practice is primarily concentrated on the investigation of shear wave propagation and the corresponding site response only to the horizontal components of the ground motion. Due to the repeated recent observations of strong vertical ground motions and compressional damage of engineering structures, there is an increasing need to carry out a comprehensive investigation of vertical site response and the associated compressional wave propagation, particularly when performing the seismic design for critical structures (e.g. nuclear power plants and high dams). Therefore, in this paper, the compressional wave propagation mechanism in saturated soils is investigated by employing hydro-mechanically (HM) coupled analytical and numerical methods. A HM analytical solution for compressional wave propagation is first studied based on Biot’s theory, which shows the existence of two types of compressional waves (fast and slow waves) and indicates that their characteristics (i.e. wave dispersion and attenuation) are highly dependent on some key geotechnical and seismic parameters (i.e. the permeability, soil stiffness and loading frequency). The subsequent HM Finite Element (FE) study reproduces the duality of compressional waves and identifies the dominant permeability ranges for the existence of the two waves. In particular the existence of the slow compression wave is observed for a range of permeability and loading frequency that is relevant for geotechnical earthquake engineering applications. In order to account for the effects of soil permeability on compressional dynamic soil behaviour and soil properties (i.e. P-wave velocities and damping ratios), the coupled consolidation analysis is therefore recommended as the only tool capable of accura

Journal article

Magee C, Muirhead JD, Karvelas A, Holford SP, Jackson CA-L, Bastow ID, Schofield N, Stevenson CTE, McLean C, McCarthy W, Shtukert Oet al., 2016,

Lateral magma flow in mafic sill complexes

, Geosphere, Vol: 12, Pages: 809-841, ISSN: 1553-040X

The structure of upper crustal magma plumbing systems controls the distribution of volcanism and influences tectonic processes. However, delineating the structure and volume of plumbing systems is difficult because (1) active intrusion networks cannot be directly accessed; (2) field outcrops are commonly limited; and (3) geophysical data imaging the subsurface are restricted in areal extent and resolution. This has led to models involving the vertical transfer of magma via dikes, extending from a melt source to overlying reservoirs and eruption sites, being favored in the volcanic literature. However, while there is a wealth of evidence to support the occurrence of dike-dominated systems, we synthesize field- and seismic reflection–based observations and highlight that extensive lateral magma transport (as much as 4100 km) may occur within mafic sill complexes. Most of these mafic sill complexes occur in sedimentary basins (e.g., the Karoo Basin, South Africa), although some intrude crystalline continental crust (e.g., the Yilgarn craton, Australia), and consist of interconnected sills and inclined sheets. Sill complex emplacement is largely controlled by host-rock lithology and structure and the state of stress. We argue that plumbing systems need not be dominated by dikes and that magma can be transported within widespread sill complexes, promoting the development of volcanoes that do not overlie the melt source. However, the extent to which active volcanic systems and rifted margins are underlain by sill complexes remains poorly constrained, despite important implications for elucidating magmatic processes, melt volumes, and melt sources.

Journal article

Davison TM, Collins G, Bland P, 2016,

Mesoscale Modeling Of Impact Compaction Of Primitive Solar System Solids

, Astrophysical Journal, Vol: 821, ISSN: 1538-4357

We have developed a method for simulating the mesoscale compaction of early solar system solids in low velocity impact events, using the iSALE shock physics code. Chondrules are represented by nonporous disks, placed within a porous matrix. By simulating impacts into bimodal mixtures over a wide range of parameter space (including the chondrule-to-matrix ratio, the matrix porosity and composition and the impact velocity), we have shown how each of these parameters influences the shock processing of heterogeneous materials. The temperature after shock processing shows a strong dichotomy: matrix temperatures are elevated much higher than the chondrules, which remain largely cold. Chondrules can protect some matrix from shock compaction, with shadow regions in the lee side of chondrules exhibiting higher porosity that elsewhere in the matrix. Using the results from this mesoscale modelling, we show how the ε − α porous compaction model parameters depend on initial bulk porosity. We also show that the timescale for the temperature dichotomy to equilibrate is highly dependent on the porosity of the matrix after the shock, and will be on the order of seconds for matrix porosities of less than 0.1, and on the order of 10’s to 100’s seconds for matrix porosities of ~ 0.3–0.5. Finally, we have shown that the composition of the post-shock material is able to match the bulk porosity and chondrule-to-matrix ratios of meteorite groups such as carbonaceous chondrites and unequilibrated ordinary chondrites.

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Canyon Depth Effect on Surface Ground Motion