Search results for "MECHANICS"
showing 10 items of 9361 documents
The effect of plasticity in crumpling of thin sheets
2008
Bridging the gap between theoretical and experimental work to understand the effect of plasticity on the crumpling of thin sheets into a small volume has proved difficult. A realistic numerical model now makes a distinction between elastic and elasto-plastic behaviour. Crumpling a thin sheet of material into a small volume requires energy for creating a network of deformations such as vertices and ridges1,2. Scaling properties of a single elastic vertex3,4,5 or ridge have been analysed theoretically6,7,8, and crumpling of a sheet by numerical simulations1,9,10. Real materials are however elasto-plastic11,12,13,14,15 and large local strains induce irreversible plastic deformations. Hence, a …
Spatial response spectra and site amplification effects
2002
A simplified analysis of local site amplification effects on the seismic response of multi-support structures is presented. The site effects are modeled by considering reflections and transmission of vertically propagating shear waves from bedrock to the surface through a soil layer. A random vibration-based response spectrum of a simple oscillator on two supports, one of which is founded on rock outcrop and the other on soil layer, is formulated in order to study the influence of non-uniform excitations on multi-support structures. Joint inertial and pseudo-static effects in the overall response are studied in detail. The resulting response spectra are formulated as displacement and force …
The percolation threshold and permeability evolution of ascending magmas
2017
Abstract The development of gas permeability in magmas is a complex phenomenon that directly influences the style of a volcanic eruption. The emergence of permeability is linked to the concept of percolation threshold, which is the point beyond which gas bubbles are connected in a continuous network that allows gas escape. Measurements of the percolation threshold, however, range from ∼30 to 78 vol%. No known combination of parameters can explain such a wide range of threshold values, which affects our understanding of the relationship between percolation and permeability. We present permeability calculations on bubble-bearing rhyolitic melts that underwent experimental decompression. Sampl…
Scattering and absorption imaging of a highly fractured fluid-filled seismogenetic volume in a region of slow deformation
2020
Regions of slow strain often produce swarm-like sequences, characterized by the lack of a clear mainshock-aftershock pattern. The comprehension of their underlying physical mechanisms is challenging and still debated. We used seismic recordings from the last Pollino swarm (2010–2014) and nearby to separate and map seismic scattering (from P peak-delays) and absorption (from late-time coda-wave attenuation) at different frequencies in the Pollino range and surroundings. High-scattering and high-absorption anomalies are markers of a fluid-filled fracture volume extending from SE to NW (1.5–6 Hz) across the range. With increasing frequency, these anomalies approximately cover the area where t…
On the Rifting Dynamics of Plate Divergence and Magma Accumulation at Oceanic Ridge Axes
1995
Rifting dynamics at spreading axes is governed by two processes: the large-scale plate divergence and the local magma accumulation in the crust-mantle transition layer. Both evolve simultaneously. A model is developed particularly for the situation in Iceland where a well studied rifting episode occurred in the Krafla volcanic system 1975–1984. Both the divergence and the buoyant rise of magma create tensile deviatoric stress in the axial region, but while divergence generates an altogether extensional stress field, uprising of buoyant melt produces tension only near the axis but compression of the sides. The buoyant rise is driven by the differential pressure gradient in rock and melt. The…
Speciation and interactions of plutonium with humic substances and kaolinite in aquifer systems
2007
Abstract The speciation of plutonium (Pu) in contact with humic substances (HS) and kaolinite has been performed in aquifer systems. Mainly the redox behavior, complexation, and sorption of plutonium are discussed here. The redox behavior of Pu(VI) in contact with HS was studied and it was found that Pu(VI) is reduced to Pu(III) and Pu(IV) within a couple of weeks. The complexation constants (log β LC ) of Pu(III) and Pu(IV) with HS have been determined by means of the ultrafiltration method. Furthermore, the sorption of Pu(III) and Pu(IV) onto kaolinite has been investigated as a function of pH by batch experiments under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.
The effects of post-orogenic extension on different scales: an example from the Apennine-Maghrebide fold-and-thrust belt, SW Sicily
2003
Many structures produced under one single deformation regime, namely extensional, contractional or strike-slip, exhibit remarkable geometrical analogies when analysed at different scales. By contrast, field examples that illustrate the scale effects on structures resulting from superimposed deformations, which were produced under different tectonic regimes, are rare. Yet the change from contraction to extension is known to occur often in the most thickened portions of the continental crust. The Apennine–Maghrebide fold-and-thrust belt of Sicily shows many examples of post-orogenic extensional deformations. Composite structures, resulting from late normal faults that offset folds and thrusts…
Interference between shallow and deep-seated structures in the Sicilian fold and thrust belt.
2010
Abstract: The fold and thrust belt in western Sicily is characterized by the presence and interference of shallow and deep-seated compressional structures, which were generated and developed at different structural levels. The shallow structures consist of imbricated thrusts and asymmetric folds, with a typical wavelength of 2 km, involving relatively thin deep-water units. These units are superimposed on thick platform carbonate units, along a wide and originally almost flat floor thrust. The axial trend of the folds is variable, as multi-phase folding often occurred, producing a characteristic interference pattern, reflecting continuous variations of the apparent transport direction durin…
Clastic injection dynamics during ice front oscillations: A case example from Sólheimajökull (Iceland).
2015
18 pages; International audience; Soft-sediment deformation structures are being increasingly used as a tool for reconstructing palaeoenvironments and porewater pressure conditions in glacial settings. However, the potential of hydrofractures and clastic injections in the reconstruction of ice dynamics remains poorly constrained. This paper presents the results of a detailed study of a clastic injection network outcropping in the Sólheimajökull forefield (South Iceland). Sedimentological descriptions are combined with microscopic to macroscopic analyses of clastic injection geometries, sediment-fills, and cross-cutting relationships. The 250 m long and 20 m high exposure observed along the …
Rapid conversion of elastic energy into plastic shear heating during incipient necking of the lithosphere
1998
An important and novel mechanism for ductile failure of the lithosphere is identified here, which is intrinsic to the thermal-mechanical feedback in a temperature dependent plastic body with coupled elastic fields. Both a temperature-dependent power-law visco-elasto-plastic rheology and a temperature-dependent elasto-plastic rheology are employed to study in a self-consistent fashion the deformation of the lithosphere subject to extension by means of a two-dimensional, finite-element code. A structural perturbation initially localizes elasto-plastic deformation only in its immediate vicinity. However, after 800,000 years have elapsed the localized zone of deformation takes off in a ‘crack-l…