ALBERT

Notes: Abstract It is well known that the application of the principle of superposition in the service stress range yields an inaccurate prediction of concrete creep when unloading takes place. It appear that after a period of compression creep, the experimental creep recovery is significantly less than predicted by the principle of superposition. In the present study, this non-linear behaviour, attributed to the sustained compressive preload, is modelled by a two-function method. In this approach, a creep function is used for modelling the time-dependent deformations due to increasing stress and a separate creep recovery function represents the behaviour under decreasing stress. Good agreement with test data is achieved.

Notes: Abstract In order to study historical flood-frequency records we plot the log of the number of floods on a river per unit time in which the peak discharge exceeds a specified value against the log of that value. For ten benchmark stations we find good correlations with scale-invariant (fractal) statistics. We suggest that the underlying physical processes associated with the generation of floods are sufficiently scale invariant over time scales from one to one hundred years that they provide a rational basis for the application of scale-invariant statistics. Our results fall within the range of flood-frequency estimates made by other statistical techniques. We propose that the ratio of the ten-year peak discharge to the one-year peak discharge β is a quantitative measure of flood potential. With scale invariance β is also the ratio of the one-hundred year flood to the ten-year flood. We find that the values of β for ten stations on rivers throughout the country range from 2.04 to 8.11 and find strong regional variations that can be correlated in terms of climate. Our results are consistent with the observed fractal statistics in sedimentary sections. We have also carried out R/S analyses for the ten stations and have obtained values of the Hurst exponent. We find that the Hurst exponent cannot be used for flood-frequency forecasting.

Notes: Abstract A microstructural study of mortars prepared with a low-alkali, low-C3A cement and a Class F fly ash, both of Swedish origin, was carried out using the scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray analytical technique. Supplementary phase analyses were made by X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis. Normally, CH crystals in the transition zone grow with their c axis parallel (or the (0 0 1) cleavage plane perpendicular) to the aggregate surface. The encapsulation of the fly ash particles by the growing CH reduces the amount of orientated CH at the aggregate-paste interface. The growth mechanism of these crystals is discussed. The reduction of CH, most significant after 28 days of hydration, is mainly due to the reaction of CH with the fly ash glass phase. Initially, the replacement of cement by fly ash weakens the paste-aggregate interfacial zone due to reduction of contact points, and increases the local water-to-cement ratio. This, however, improves significantly when the fly ash has reacted. In order to enhance the reaction of fly ash, extra gypsum was added. The results show that gypsum can accelerate the fly ash reaction, but the products formed, and the beneficial effects of gypsum, are mainly determined by the total amount of gypsum in the paste.

Notes: Abstract The writers examine the effect of global climatic heating on the stability of engineering structures constructed on permafrost soils. They give evaluations of the reliability and durability of buildings in different regions of the cryolithozone and present recommendations for increasing the useful life of engineering structures under global heating conditions.

Notes: : Ten pairs of snow sensors were analyzed to investigate the feasibility of predicting snow water equivalent at high-elevation, telemetered snow sensor sites from lower-elevation sensors. The need for this analysis stems from an agreement between the California Department of Water Resources and the USDA Forest Service to temporarily allow snow sensors in California's wilderness areas so that a predictive relationship can be developed. After 10 or 15 years, the agreement calls for the sensors to be removed. Initial efforts to a priori select sensor pairs were based on proximity, colocation within a basin, and annual precipitation amount, but regression yielded poor fits (R2 〈 0.65) and high standard errors in eight of the ten cases. Analysis of the results suggested that eleva-tional similarity was the most important selection criteria, and that all available sensors near the target site should be analyzed via a regression screening. Using elevation for selection and the regression screening, five sensors that initially had poor fits were reanalyzed. Each of the five sensors was paired with between two and five new sensors, and R2 values improved between 27 and 46 percent. Various data smoothing and editing algorithms were evaluated, but they rarely resulted in improved fits.

Notes: : An integrated remotely sensed database was used as the basis for a hydrologic and sediment transport modeling effort for an agricultural area of western Puerto Rico. Classified spectral images of airborne radiance data provided ground cover information and were used in conjunction with topographic and soils data to guide model construction and provide input to the water balance and sediment yield simulations. Runoff and sediment discharge from hydrologically homogeneous regions were routed through the drainage network and combined at the basin outlet. The model was used to simulate four years of observed sediment discharge from the basin. Relative contributions to the total sediment yield of forested and agricultural areas were determined and compared.

Notes: : The environmental setting of the Red River of the North basin within the United States is diverse in ways that could significantly control the areal distribution and flow of water and, therefore, the distribution and concentration of constituents that affect water quality. Continental glaciers shaped a landscape of very flat lake plains near the center of the basin, and gently rolling uplands, lakes, and wetlands along the basin margins. The fertile, black, fine-grained soils and landscape are conducive to agriculture. Productive cropland covers 66 percent of the land area. The principal crops are wheat, barley, soybeans, sunflowers, corn, and hay. Pasture, forests, open water, and wetlands comprise most of the remaining land area. About one-third of the 1990 population (511,000) lives in the cities of Fargo and Grand Forks, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota. The climate of the Red River of the North basin is continental and ranges from dry subhumid in the western part of the basin to subhumid in the eastern part.From its origin, the Red River of the North meanders northward for 394 miles to the Canadian border, a path that is nearly double the straight-line distance. The Red River of the North normally receives over 75 percent of its annual flow from the eastern tributaries as a result of regional patterns of precipitation, evapotranspiration, soils, and topography. Most runoff occurs in spring and early summer as a result of rains falling on melting snow or heavy rains falling on saturated soils. Lakes, prairie potholes, and wetlands are abundant in most physiographic areas outside of the Red River Valley Lake Plain. Dams, drainage ditches, and wetlands alter the residence time of water, thereby affecting the amount of sediment, biota, and dissolved constituents carried by the water.Ground water available to wells, streams, and springs primarily comes from sand and gravel aquifers near land surface or buried within 100 to 300 feet of glacial drift that mantles the entire Red River of the North basin. Water moves through the system of bedrock and glacial-drift aquifers in a regional flow system generally toward the Red River of the North and in complex local flow systems controlled by local topography. Many of the bedrock and glacial-drift aquifers are hydraulically connected to streams in the region.The total water use in 1990, about 196 million gallons per day, was mostly for public supply and irrigation. Slightly more than one half of the water used comes from ground-water sources compared to surface-water sources. Most municipalities obtain their water from ground-water sources. However, the largest cities (Fargo, Grand Forks and Moorhead) obtain most of their water from the Red River of the North.The types and relative amounts of various habitats change among the five primary ecological regions within the Red River of the North basin. Headwater tributaries are more diverse and tend to be similar to middle-reach tributaries in character rather than the lower reaches of these tributaries for the Red River of the North.Concentrations of dissolved chemical constituents in surface waters are normally low during spring runoff and after thunderstorms. The Red River of the North generally has a dissolved-solids concentration less than 600 milligrams per liter with mean values ranging from 347 milligrams per liter near the headwaters to 406 milligrams per liter at the Canadian border near Emerson, Manitoba. Calcium and magnesium are the principal cations and bicarbonate is the principal anion along most of the reach of the Red River of the North. Dissolved-solids concentrations generally are lower in the eastern tributaries than in the tributaries draining the western part of the basin. At times of low flow, when water in streams is largely from ground-water seepage, the water quality more reflects the chemistry of the glacial-drift aquifer system.Ground water in the surficial aquifers commonly is a calcium bicarbonate type with dissolved-solids concentration generally between 300 and 700 milligrams per liter. As the ground water moves down gradient, dissolved-solids concentration increases, and magnesium and sulfate are predominant ions. Water in sedimentary bedrock aquifers is predominantly sodium and chloride and is characterized by dissolved-solids concentrations in excess of 1,000 milligrams per liter.Sediment erosion by wind and water can be increased by cultivation practices and by livestock that trample streambanks. Nitrate-nitrogen concentrations also can increase locally in surficial aquifers beneath cropland that is fertilized, particularly where irrigated. Nitrogen and phosphorous in surface runoff from cropland fertilizers and nitrogen from manure can contribute nutrients to lakes, reservoirs, and streams. Some of the more persistent pesticides, such as atrazine, have been detected in the Red River of the North. Few data are available to conclusively define the presence or absence of pesticides and their break-down products in Red River of the North basin aquifers or streams.Urban runoff and treated effluent from municipalities are discharged into streams. These point discharges contain some quantity of organic compounds from storm runoff, turf-applied pesticides, and trace metals. The largest releases of treated-municipal wastes are from the population centers along the Red River of the North and its larger tributaries. Sugar-beet refining, potato processing, poultry and meat packing, and milk, cheese, and cream processing are among the major food processes from which treated wastes are released to streams, mostly in or near the Red River of the North.

Notes: : A mathematical model is developed to optimally schedule long-term stormwater infrastructure rehabilitation activities. The model is capable of considering multiple rehabilitation projects and is driven by overall cost eensiderations. Rehabilitation activities are scheduled based on perceived reliabilities and future deterioration expected within the specified planning horizon. Future growth within the stormwater drainage basin is incorporated using chance constraints that limit the likelihood that a stormwater discharge exceeds system conveyance capacity. Model structure and development are discussed, and a hypothetical example using a drainage network is presented.