Structural safety assessment procedure for membrane-type LNG CCS considering hydroelasticity effect

As environmental regulations have become more onerous, the demand for LNG and LNG carriers has increased. The LNG cargo containment system (LNG CCS) is one of the most important facilities in LNG carriers, and many membrane types of LNG CCS have been developed so far. Traditionally, sloshing model tests are performed and a series of statistical approaches are used to obtain design sloshing pressures. Then, these design loads are utilized to analyze the structural safety of LNG CCS. In the sloshing model test, the flat and almost rigid plate is used as the LNG CCS instead of a real model, and thus, the hydroelasticity effect cannot be considered. In the present research, the effect of hydroelasticity on sloshing pressure was investigated in a fluid-structure interaction simulation. A wet drop simulation was conducted, and its results subsequently were compared with wet drop experimental test results to ensure their validity. Then, two types of structure model, namely a flat-rigid plate model and a flat-flexible CCS model, were generated to investigate the effect of hydroelasticity. Also, a fluid hitting analysis model was devised to realize the sloshing phenomenon, and the two generated structure models were applied as the structure domain in the analysis. In the fluid hitting simulations, it was found that the hydroelasticity effect on sloshing pressure is significant. Thus, correction factors, which are quantitative values of the effect of hydroelasticity, were derived (and are proposed herein). Finally, a structural safety assessment procedure for consideration of the hydroelasticity effect was derived (and is suggested herein).     

垃圾土力学特性及其路基填筑应用研究

将垃圾土应用于公路路基填筑是实现垃圾土大规模资源化利用的有效途径。本文首先对实际垃圾土进行筛分处理,制得适用于公路路基的垃圾筛余土(简称垃圾土);进而,通过室内试验研究了直接压实垃圾土和固化垃圾土的抗剪强度、CBR值等力学特性;以此为基础,修筑直接压实垃圾土路基试验段,并采用适宜的新型施工工艺修筑固化垃圾土路基试验段,监测路基的工后沉降随时间的变化规律,对比两种垃圾土路基的应用效果。结果表明:固化垃圾土与直接压实垃圾土相比,粘聚力提高1.6~1.9倍,内摩擦角提高30%以上,CBR值提高4.5~5.1倍;固化垃圾土路基的工后沉降比直接压实垃圾土路基降低64.7%,且能够更早地趋于稳定。以上结果证明:本文提出的固化垃圾土路基施工工艺和垃圾土资源化利用途径是可行的。     

Establishment of Community Managed Fisheries’ Closures in Kenya: Early Evolution of the Tengefu Movement

Community-based management (CBM) could be an essential tool to prevent the depletion of marine resources in the Western Indian Ocean region. In Kenya, political pressure to strengthen local governance, has led to adoption of CBM as a way of reducing over-exploitation and managing the competing uses and impacts on the marine environment. Several communities in Kenya have embraced CBM and have set aside or closed previously fished areas to enhance recovery of fisheries and biodiversity. These community fisheries closures (locally called tengefu), despite being degraded, may recover to finfish abundances and biodiversity levels similar to established MPAs or above thresholds for maintaining some ecological services. Communities see their direct involvement and control of these tengefu as more likely to result in benefits flowing directly to them. Community closures are also important for articulating and resolving community values and strengthening their management capacity. Here, we describe the evolution of the tengefu movement in Kenya and combine information from focus group discussions, interviews, underwater surveys and boundary marking to evaluate the current status, opportunities and challenges facing these tengefu. We show that in some cases community closures suffer from slow and incomplete national and local legislative processes, challenges to compliance, and weak management.     

铺缆船用电缆埋设犁土壤挖掘阻力计算

传统的计算埋设犁土壤挖掘阻力的方法一般采用经验公式计算。经验公式依赖丰富的试验数据，且只能适应特定形状和尺寸的埋设犁。由于埋设犁的形状和尺寸各不相同，基于经验公式计算土壤挖掘阻力的方法准确性不高。根据土力学基本原理，在力学分析的基础上，运用数学方法进行公式推导，得到用于计算不同形状尺寸埋设犁挖掘阻力的理论方法，解决依赖经验公式计算土壤挖掘阻力的局限性。     

Data dependent input control for origin–destination demand estimation using observability analysis

In this paper, we address the observability issue of static O–D estimation based on link counts. Unlike most classic observability analyses that relied only on network topological relationships, our analysis incorporates the actual values of input parameters, thus including network operational relations as well. We first analyze possible mathematical properties of an O–D estimation problem with different data input. We then propose a modeling approach based on mixed-integer program for selecting model input that ensures observability and estimation quality. Through establishing a stronger connection between observability analysis and the corresponding estimation problem, the proposed method aims to improve estimation quality while reducing reliance on erroneous data.     

Centrifuge modelling of pipe-soil interaction in clay with crust layer

Seabed in regions, such as the Gulf of Guinea and North West Shelf of Australia, may exhibit a crust layer where the undrained shear strength can be an order of magnitude higher than that of the immediately underlying sediment. This can complicate design of steel catenary risers, where fatigue depends on the cyclic vertical stiffness of the pipe-soil interaction. Potential punch-through of the riser into the underlying soft soil may invalidate design assumptions based on the pipe-soil stiffness within the crust layer. The long-term evolution of pipe-soil stiffness within the crust layer, which exhibits similar properties to an over-consolidated soil, is also poorly understood. This paper describes centrifuge model tests undertaken in a clay sample with a crust layer, simulating the punch-through process of a pipe under load control and investigating the pipe-soil stiffness during long-term cyclic loading tests under displacement control. Results confirm that the potential for punching-through the crust layer depends strongly on the relative ratio of pipe diameter to crust layer thickness. The long-term evolution of pipe-soil stiffness showed a steady increase after an initial remoulding stage in contractile soils (normally consolidated and lightly over-consolidated), but a steady reduction in the heavily over-consolidated, more dilatant, crust. The magnitude of pipe-soil stiffness changes (during both remoulding and reconsolidation) is governed by the over-consolidation ratio of the soil and the amplitude of the cyclic displacements. This study provides insights on the relevant cyclic stiffness to consider when assessing SCR fatigue life in over-consolidated soils and soils exhibiting a superficial crust layer.     

海上风电大直径单桩基础固有频率影响因素的数值分析

针对海上风电整机结构其低阶固有频率的控制问题,基于有限元分析技术开展小直径桩土相互作用的数值模拟分析,与试验结果、API规范计算结果进行对比,验证了数值模型的适用性,分析大直径单桩结构桩内土芯、冲刷深度、表层土置换措施对整机固有频率的影响,结果表明,基于有限元实体单元计算所得一、二阶整机固有频率要明显大于传统p-y方法计算结果;桩内土芯对一、二阶整机固有频率影响很小;在一定范围内,随着泥面冲刷深度的增加,一、二阶固有频率降低不明显,认为传统p-y方法对于大直径单桩的适用性有待研究;在实际工程设计中,桩内土芯的影响可忽略;对于大直径单桩,在一定范围内可以忽略冲刷的影响。     

Time-domain coupled dynamic simulation for SFT-mooring-train interaction in waves and earthquakes

In this study, Submerged Floating Tunnel (SFT)-mooring-train coupled dynamics is solved in the time domain to investigate their dynamic and hydro-elastic interactions under wave and earthquake excitations. The SFT is modeled by the rod-FE (finite element) theory, and it is connected to mooring lines through dummy-connection-mass and linear and rotational springs. A 3D rigid-multi-body dynamic model is developed for train dynamics that consists of seven rigid bodies. The tunnel-train interaction is taken into consideration based on the wheel-rail correspondence assumption and the simplified Kalker linear creep theory. The developed computer simulation program is validated through comparisons with commercial programs and published results when possible. In the case of earthquake-induced dynamics of the coupled system, the effects of soil conditions, tunnel length, mooring interval, seismic-wave propagation, and seaquake are investigated. The magnitudes of the SFT downward motions induced by the moving train are small compared with the motions induced by earthquakes. The earthquake causes transient SFT responses especially at their lowest wet natural frequencies while high-frequency motions are induced by seaquake effect. Structural damping and seismic propagation play an important role in dynamic responses. The interaction of the tunnel and moving train is also evaluated for various train speeds in terms of the derailment and offload factors and riding-comfort criterion. For the given SFT and train designs, the offload factor and riding-comfort criterion can slightly exceed their limits at certain earthquake conditions with the speed as high as 70 m/s, which can be adjusted by reducing train speed.     

Validating and improving public transport origin–destination estimation algorithm using smart card fare data

Smart card data are increasingly used for transit network planning, passengers’ behaviour analysis and network demand forecasting. Public transport origin–destination (O–D) estimation is a significant product of processing smart card data. In recent years, various O–D estimation methods using the trip-chaining approach have attracted much attention from both researchers and practitioners. However, the validity of these estimation methods has not been extensively investigated. This is mainly because these datasets usually lack data about passengers’ alighting, as passengers are often required to tap their smart cards only when boarding a public transport service. Thus, this paper has two main objectives. First, the paper reports on the implementation and validation of the existing O–D estimation method using the unique smart card dataset of the South-East Queensland public transport network which includes data on both boarding stops and alighting stops. Second, the paper improves the O–D estimation algorithm and empirically examines these improvements, relying on this unique dataset. The evaluation of the last destination assumption of the trip-chaining method shows a significant negative impact on the matching results of the differences between actual boarding/alighting times and the public transport schedules. The proposed changes to the algorithm improve the average distance between the actual and estimated alighting stops, as this distance is reduced from 806 m using the original algorithm to 530 m after applying the suggested improvements.     

Mode jumping in the lateral buckling of subsea pipelines

Unburied subsea pipelines under high-temperature conditions tend to relieve their axial compressive stress by forming localised lateral buckles. This phenomenon is traditionally studied under the assumption of a specific lateral deflection profile (mode) consisting of a fixed number of lobes. We study lateral thermal buckling as a genuinely localised buckling phenomenon by applying homoclinic (‘flat’) boundary conditions. By not having to assume a particular buckling mode we are in a position to study transitions between these traditional modes in typical loading sequences. For the lateral resistance we take a realistic nonlinear pipe-soil interaction model for partially embedded pipelines. We find that for soils with appreciable breakout resistance, i.e., nonmonotonicity of the lateral resistance characteristic, sudden jumps between modes may occur. We consider both symmetric and antisymmetric solutions. The latter turn out to require much higher temperature differences between pipe and environment for the jumps to be induced. We carry out a parameter study on the effect of various pipe-soil interaction parameters on this mode jumping. Away from the jumps post-buckling solutions are reasonably well described by the traditional modes whose analytical expressions may be used during preliminary design.