The single antenna interferometer (open access)

The single antenna interferometer

Air and space borne platforms using synthetic aperture radars (SAR) have made interferometric measurements by using either two physical antennas mounted on one air-frame or two passes of one antenna over a scene. In this paper, a new interferometric technique using one pass of a single-antenna SAR system is proposed and demonstrated on data collected by the NASA-JPL AirSAR. Remotely sensed L-band microwave data are used to show the sensitivity of this technique to ocean surface features as well as a baseline for comparison with work by others using two-antenna systems. 7 refs., 3 figs.
Date: January 15, 1990
Creator: Fitch, J.P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Analysis of spherical geometry finite element transport solutions in the thick diffusion limit (open access)

Analysis of spherical geometry finite element transport solutions in the thick diffusion limit

An asymptotic analysis if performed on a family of discontinuous finite element methods (DFEMs) for spherical geometry transport. It is found that transport methods of this type transition into discrete versions of the spherical geometry diffusion equation in the thick diffusion limit with boundary conditions that may, in general, be inaccurate. A linear DFEM method has been designed such that its asymptotic diffusion boundary conditions are accurate. In a related development, the asymptotic diffusion equation is used to accelerate the transport calculation and the iterative scheme is fully described. The results of the analysis are confirmed by numerical testing of the specific case of linear elements. 5 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab.
Date: January 15, 1991
Creator: Palmer, T.S. (Michigan Univ., Ann Arbor, MI (USA). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering) & Adams, M.L. (Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA))
System: The UNT Digital Library
Mutagenic activity and heterocyclic amine content of the human diet (open access)

Mutagenic activity and heterocyclic amine content of the human diet

The mutagenic activity and the mass amount of heterocyclic amines responsible for the mutagenic activity have been measured in some cooked foods. Cooked meats are the predominant source of mutagenic activity in the diet with values ranging from 0 to 10,000 revertants per gram reported in the Ames/Salmonelia test with strain TA98. Several heterocyclic amines are present and have been quantified using solid-phase extraction followed by HPLC. Frying at higher temperatures and for longer times produces the greatest mutagenic response, and concomitantly, the largest amounts of heterocyclic amines. Most of the mutagenic activity in fried meat samples can be accounted for by MelQx, DiMelQx and IQ, although other heterocylic amines are present and PHIP mutagenic activity becomes significant at higher temperatures. Non-meat products such as baked breads can also form significant mutagenic activity, particularly when overcooked. Commercially prepared hamburgers made from meat substitutes such as tofu, wheat gluten or tempeh and fried at 210{degrees}C have up to 10% of the mutagenic activity of a fried beef patty cooked under the same conditions. When detected, amounts of heterocyclic amines in fried beef patties range from a total of 0.35 ng/g for commercial beef hamburgers to 142 ng/g for a beef patty …
Date: January 15, 1993
Creator: Knize, M. G.; Dolbeare, F. A.; Cunningham, P. L. & Felton, J. S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A lattice gas automata model for heterogeneous chemical reactions at mineral surfaces and in pore networks (open access)

A lattice gas automata model for heterogeneous chemical reactions at mineral surfaces and in pore networks

A lattice gas automata (LGA) model is described, which couples solute transport with chemical reactions at mineral surfaces and in pore networks. Chemical reactions and transport are integrated into a FHP-I LGA code as a module so that the approach is readily transportable to other codes. Diffusion in a box calculations are compared to finite element Fickian diffusion results and provide an approach to quantifying space-time ratios of the models. Chemical reactions at solid surfaces, including precipitation/dissolution, sorption, and catalytic reaction, can be examined with the model because solute diffusion and mineral surface processes are all treated explicitly. The simplicity and flexibility of the LGA approach provides the ability to study the interrelationship between fluid flow and chemical reactions in porous materials, at a level of complexity that has not previously been computationally possible. 20 refs., 8 figs.
Date: January 15, 1990
Creator: Wells, J. T.; Janecky, D. R. & Travis, Bryan J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Heterocyclic amine mutagenicity/carcinogenicity: Influence of repair, metabolism, and structure (open access)

Heterocyclic amine mutagenicity/carcinogenicity: Influence of repair, metabolism, and structure

Cooking, heat processing, and pyrolysis of protein-rich foods induce the formation of structurally related heterocyclic aromatic amines that have been found to be mutagenic in bacteria, mammalian cells in culture and mice. All these compounds are potent mutagens and most are active below 1 ng/plate, in Ames/Salmonella tester strain TA1538 in the presence of S9 liver microsomal preparations from rat, mouse, or hamster. They are also potent in strains TA98, TA97, moderately active in TA1537, weakly active in TA100, and virtually inactive in TA1535 and TA102. Thus, they show powerful frameshift activity in reverting specific GC-rich sequences, but do not cause base substitution mutations or revert an AT-rich sequence. They are 100-fold less active in the uvrB+, repair-proficient strain TA1978, and in the case of IQ, cause insertions and large deletions not seen in TA1538.
Date: January 15, 1993
Creator: Felton, J. S.; Wu, R.; Knize, M. G.; Thompson, L. H. & Hatch, F. T.
System: The UNT Digital Library
String duality and novel theories without gravity (open access)

String duality and novel theories without gravity

We describe some of the novel 6d quantum field theories which have been discovered in studies of string duality. The role these theories (and their 4d descendants) may play in alleviating the vacuum degeneracy problem in string theory is reviewed. The DLCQ of these field theories is presented as one concrete way of formulating them, independent of string theory.
Date: January 15, 1998
Creator: Kachru, Shamit
System: The UNT Digital Library
Precise tests of x-ray scattering theories in the Compton regime. (open access)

Precise tests of x-ray scattering theories in the Compton regime.

The authors report two experiments intended to test the accuracy of state-of-the-art theoretical predictions for x-ray scattering from low-Z atoms. The first one deals with the differential x-ray scattering cross sections in Ne and He from 11-22 keV and the Ne Compton-to-Rayleigh scattering ratio in this energy range. It was found that, in order to be consistent with the experimental results, an accurate description at low Z must include nonlocal exchange, electron correlation, and dynamic effects. The second experiment concerns the ratio of helium double-to-single ionization for Compton scattering in the 8-28 keV energy range where published experimental and theoretical results so far fail to give a consistent picture. The progress of the experiment and the data analysis is reported.
Date: January 15, 1999
Creator: Dunford, R. W.; Gemmell, D. S.; Kanter, E. P.; Krassig, B.; Southworth, S. H. & Young, L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Recycling of water in bleached kraft pulp mills by using electrodialysis. (open access)

Recycling of water in bleached kraft pulp mills by using electrodialysis.

Conservation of water in bleached kraft pulp mills by recycling the bleach plant effluent directly without treatment will cause accumulation of inorganic ''non-process elements'' (NPEs) and serious operational problems. In this work, an electrodialysis process is being developed for recycling the acidic bleach plant effluent of bleached kraft pulp mills. In this process, electrodialysis functions as a selective kidney to remove inorganic NPEs from bleach plant effluents, before they reach the recovery cycle. Acidic bleach plant effluents from several mills using bleaching sequences based on chlorine dioxide were characterized. The total dissolved solids were mostly inorganic NPEs. Sodium was the predominant cation and chloride was present at significant levels in all these effluents. In laboratory electrodialysis experiments, selective removal of chloride and potentially harmful cations, such as potassium, calcium, and magnesium, were removed efficiently. Rejection of organic compounds was up to 98%. Electrodialysis was shown to be resistant to membrane fouling and scaling, in a 100-hour laboratory experiment. Based on a model mill with 1,000 ton/day pulp production, the economic analysis suggests that the energy cost of electrodialysis is less than $200/day, and the capital cost of the stack is about $500,000.
Date: January 15, 1999
Creator: Fracaro, A. T.; Henry, M. P.; Pfromm, P. & Tsai, S.-P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
New experiments elucidating the current limiting mechanisms of Ag-sheathed (Bi,Pb){sub 2}Sr{sub 2}Ca{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub x} tapes. (open access)

New experiments elucidating the current limiting mechanisms of Ag-sheathed (Bi,Pb){sub 2}Sr{sub 2}Ca{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub x} tapes.

Multiple current limiting mechanisms exist from the nanometer to millimeter scale in Ag-sheathed (Bi,Pb)-2223 tapes. Recent studies of the zero-field critical current density (J{sub c} (0T, 77K)), the irreversibility field (H*) and the crack microstructure elucidate these properties. We show that H*(77K) can vary significantly over the range {approximately}120-260 mT, independently of J{sub c} (0T, 77K). Cracks, actual or incipient, exist on the sub to several hundred micron scale. Surface magneto optical imaging of whole tapes, correlated to subsequent ultrasonic fracture analysis of. the bare 2223 filaments extracted by dissolving away the Ag shows that even composites having J{sub c} (0T, 77K) values of 60 kA/cm{sup 2} exhibit strong signs of unhealed rolling damage. These combined studies show that today's very best 2223 tapes are still far from full optimization.
Date: January 15, 1999
Creator: Anderson, J. W.; Babcock, S. E.; Cai, X. Y.; Dorris, S. E.; Feldmann, M.; Jiang, J. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Definition of neutron lifespan and neutron lifetime in MCNP4B (open access)

Definition of neutron lifespan and neutron lifetime in MCNP4B

MCNP4B was released in early 1997. In this new version, several major changes were made to the underlying theory used to estimate the non-adjoint-weighted removal, fission, capture, and escape prompt-neutron lifetimes. These four lifetimes are now being calculated in accordance to the neutron-balance theory described by Spriggs et al. in which the non-adjoint-weighted lifetime for a particular type of reaction (i.e., fission, capture, escape, removal, etc.) is defined as the total neutron population in the system divided by that reaction rate.
Date: January 15, 1997
Creator: Busch, R. D.; Spriggs, G. D. & Hendricks, J. S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Predicting Electronic Failure from Smoke (open access)

Predicting Electronic Failure from Smoke

Smoke can cause electronic equipment to fail through increased leakage currents and shorts. Sandia National Laboratories is studying the increased leakage currents caused by smoke with varying characteristics. The objective is to develop models to predict the failure of electronic equipment exposed to smoke. This requires the collection of data on the conductivity of smoke and knowledge of critical electrical systems that control high-consequence operations. We have found that conductivity is a function of the type of fuel, how it is burned, and smoke density. Video recordings of highly biased dc circuits exposed in a test chamber show that during a fire, smoke is attracted to high voltages and can build fragile carbon bridges that conduct leakage currents. The movement of air breaks the bridges, so the conductivity decreases after the fire is extinguished and the test chamber is vented. During the fire, however, electronic equipment may not operate correctly, leading to problems for critical operations dependent on electronic control. The potential for electronic failure is highly dependent on the type of electrical circuit, and Sandia National Laboratories plans to include electrical circuit modeling in the failure models.
Date: January 15, 1999
Creator: Tanaka, T. J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Insitu-Impregnated Capacitor for Pulse-Discharge Applications (open access)

Insitu-Impregnated Capacitor for Pulse-Discharge Applications

Capacitor designs for DOE and/or DoD applications are now driven by two major factors; first, the need to reduce component volumes (attain higher energy density) to permit inclusion of additional components and/ or sensors in systems and second, the continuing budget constraints. The reduced volume and cost must be achieved with no sacrifices in functionality, reliability and safety. Since this study was initiated, we have seen a general, continuous increase in resulting short-time breakdown (STB) values, with particular improvements noted on thermal cycled capacitors. Process and results support our prediction that a 50Y0-650A volume reduction can be achieved with no reduction in performance and reliability.
Date: January 15, 1999
Creator: Brooks, R. A.; Harris, J. O. & Pollard, J. R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Thermodynamic Model for Acetate, Lactate, and Oxalate Complexation with Am(III), Th(IV), Np(V), and U(VI) Valid to High Ionic Strength (open access)

A Thermodynamic Model for Acetate, Lactate, and Oxalate Complexation with Am(III), Th(IV), Np(V), and U(VI) Valid to High Ionic Strength

The organic ligands acetate, lactate, oxalate and EDTA have been identified as components of wastes targeted for disposal in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) located in Southeastern New Mexico. The presence of these ligands is of concern because complexation of the actinides with the ligands may increase dissolved actinide concentrations and impact chemical retardation during transport. The current work considers the complexation of Am(III), Th (IV), Np(V), and U(W) with two of the organic ligands, acetate and lactate, in NaCl media from dilute through high concentration. A thermodynamic model for actinide complexation with the organic ligands has been developed based on the Pitzer activity coefficient formalism and the Harvie-Moller-Weare, Felmy-Weare database for describing brine evaporite systems. The model was parameterized using first apparent stability constant data from the literature. Because of complexation of other metal ions (Fe, Mg, Ni, Pb, etc.) present in the WIPP disposal room with the organic ligands, preliminary results from model calculations indicate the organic ligands do not significantly increase dissolved actinide concentrations.
Date: January 15, 1999
Creator: Bynaum, R.V.; Free, S.J. & Moore, R.C.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Design of a Carousel Process for Removing Cesium from SRS Waste Using Crystalline Silicotitanate Ion Exchanger (open access)

Design of a Carousel Process for Removing Cesium from SRS Waste Using Crystalline Silicotitanate Ion Exchanger

Designs of a three-column carousel process based on crystalline silicotitanate (CST) ion exchanger have been developed for removing radioactive 137Cs+ from Savannah River Site's (SRS) nuclear wastes. A multicomponent ion exchange equilibrium model (Zheng et al., 1997) from Texas A&M University, which is based on batch data obtained from CST powder, is used to generate cesium loading data at different cesium concentrations for various types of SRS wastes. These loading data are fit to the Langmuir equation to obtain effective single-component cesium isotherm parameters. The predictions are in reasonable agreement with batch test data obtained from CST powder, an early CST pellet batch (38B), and a later batch (IE911) using two SRS waste simulants. The ratios between experimental cesium distribution coefficients and predicted values are between 0.56 and 1.0. The variation appears to be due to inadequate equilibration time in some of the batches. Mass transfer parameters are estimated by analyzing column data of a simulated SRS waste and Melton Valley Storage Tank W29 (MVST-W29) waste. The intraparticle diffusivity estimated for the two wastes can be well correlated by means of the Stokes-Einstein equation.Simulations are performed to determine the length of the mass transfer zone for given feed compositions, Cs+ …
Date: January 15, 1999
Creator: Walker, D. D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Experimental and modeling studies of the micro-structures of opposed flow diffusion flames: Methane (open access)

Experimental and modeling studies of the micro-structures of opposed flow diffusion flames: Methane

The micro-structure of an atmospheric pressure, opposed flow, methane diffusion flame has been studied using heated micro-probe sampling and chemical kinetic modeling. Mole fraction profiles of major products as well as trace aromatic, substituted aromatic, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH up to C{sub 16}H{sub 10}, e.g. pyrene) were quantified by direct gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis of samples withdrawn from within the flame without any pre-concentration. Mole fractions range from 0.8 to 1.0 {times} 10{sup {minus}7}. The experimental measurements are compared to results from a newly-developed chemical kinetic model that includes chemistry for the production and consumption of aromatics and PAH species. The model predictions are in reasonable agreement with the experimental data for the major species profiles and for the peak concentrations of many of the trace aromatics and PAH species. 36 refs.
Date: January 15, 1996
Creator: Vincitore, A. M.; Senkan, S. M.; Marinov, N.; Pitz, W. J.; Westbrook, C. K. & Melius, C. F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
High Energy Electrons, Nuclear Phenomena and Heating in Petawatt Laser-Solid Experiments (open access)

High Energy Electrons, Nuclear Phenomena and Heating in Petawatt Laser-Solid Experiments

The Petawatt laser at LLNL has opened a new regime of laser-matter interactions in which the quiver motion of plasma electrons is fully relativistic with energies extending well above the threshold for nuclear processes. In addition to -few MeV ponderomotive electrons produced in ultra-intense laser-solid interactions, we have found a high energy component of electrons extending to -100 MeV apparently from relativistic self-focusing and plasma acceleration in the underdense pre-formed plasma. The generation of hard bremsstrahlung, photo-nuclear reactions, and preliminary evidence for positron-electron pair production will be discussed.
Date: January 15, 1999
Creator: Cowan, T. E.; Perry, M. D.; Key, M. H.; Ditmire, T. R.; Hatchett, S. P.; Henry, E. A. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Optimization of soil mixing technology through metallic iron addition. (open access)

Optimization of soil mixing technology through metallic iron addition.

Enhanced soil mixing is a process used to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from soil. In this process, also known as soil mixing with thermally enhanced soil vapor extraction, or SM/TESVE, a soil mixing apparatus breaks up and mixes a column of soil up to 9 m (30 ft) deep; simultaneously, hot air is blown through the soil. The hot air carries the VOCs to the surface where they are collected and safely disposed of. This technology is cost effective at high VOC concentrations, but it becomes cost prohibitive at low concentrations. Argonne National Laboratory-East conducted a project to evaluate ways of improving the effectiveness of this system. The project investigated the feasibility of integrating the SM/TESVE process with three soil treatment processes--soil vapor extraction, augmented indigenous biodegradation, and zero-valent iron addition. Each of these technologies was considered a polishing treatment designed to remove the contaminants left behind by enhanced soil mixing. The experiment was designed to determine if the overall VOC removal effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the SM/TESVE process could be improved by integrating this approach with one of the polishing treatment systems.
Date: January 15, 1999
Creator: Moos, L. P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
High-brightness electron beams for production of high intensity, coherent radiation for scientific and industrial applications. (open access)

High-brightness electron beams for production of high intensity, coherent radiation for scientific and industrial applications.

Relativistic electron beams with high six-dimensional phase space densities, i.e., high-brightness beams, are the basis for efficient generation of intense and coherent radiation beams for advanced scientific and industrial applications. The remarkable progress in synchrotrons radiation facilities from the first generation to the current, third-generation capability illustrates this point. With the recent development of the high-brightness electron gun based on laser-driven rf photocathodes, linacs have become another important option for high-brightness electron beams. With linacs of about 100 MeV, megawatt-class infrared free-electron lasers can be designed for industrial applications such as power beaming. With linacs of about 10 GeV, 1-{angstrom} x-ray beams with brightness and time resolution exceeding by several orders of magnitude the current synchrotrons radiation sources can be generated based on self-amplified spontaneous emission. Scattering of a high-brightness electron beam by high power laser beams is emerging as a compact method of generating short-pulse, bright x-rays. In the high-energy frontier, photons of TeV quantum energy could be generated by scattering laser beams with TeV electron beams in future linear colliders.
Date: January 15, 1999
Creator: Kim, K. J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Magnetic imaging of interlayer Josephson vortices. (open access)

Magnetic imaging of interlayer Josephson vortices.

The authors have magnetically imaged interlayer Josephson vortices emerging parallel to the planes of single crystals of the organic superconductor {kappa}-(BEDT-TTF){sub 2} Cu(NCS){sub 2}, and the single layer cuprate high-T{sub c} superconductors Tl{sub 2}Ba{sub 2}CuO{sub 6+{delta}} (Tl-2201) and (Hg,Cu)Ba{sub 2}CuO{sub 6+{delta}} (Hg-1201), using a scanning Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) microscope. These images provide a direct measurement of the interlayer penetration depth, which is approximately 63 {micro}m for {kappa}-(BEDT-TTF){sub 2} Cu(NCS){sub 2}, 18 {micro}m for Tl-2201 and 8 {micro}m for Hg-1201. The lengths for the cuprates are about a factor of 10 larger than originally predicted by the interlayer tunneling model for the mechanism of superconductivity in layered compounds, indicating that this mechanism alone cannot account for the high critical temperatures in these materials.
Date: January 15, 1999
Creator: Kirtley, J. A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Thermal management in heavy vehicles : a review identifying issues and research requirements. (open access)

Thermal management in heavy vehicles : a review identifying issues and research requirements.

Thermal management in heavy vehicles is cross-cutting because it directly or indirectly affects engine performance, fuel economy, safety and reliability, engine/component life, driver comfort, materials selection, emissions, maintenance, and aerodynamics. It follows that thermal management is critical to the design of large (class 6-8) trucks, especially in optimizing for energy efficiency and emissions reduction. Heat rejection requirements are expected to increase, and it is industry's goal to develop new, innovative, high-performance cooling systems that occupy less space and are lightweight and cost-competitive. The state of the art in heavy vehicle thermal management is reviewed, and issues and research areas are identified.
Date: January 15, 1999
Creator: Wambsganss, M. W.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Deployment of an innovative thermally enhanced soil mixing process augmented with zero-valent iron. (open access)

Deployment of an innovative thermally enhanced soil mixing process augmented with zero-valent iron.

An innovative in-situ soil treatment process, referred to as soil mixing/thermally enhanced soil vapor extraction (SM/TESVE), was used to remediate the 317 Area of Argonne National Laboratory-East (i.e., Argonne), which is contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Following the initial soil treatment, polishing was required to reduce residual concentrations of contaminants. A study of polishing methods was conducted. It determined that injecting metallic iron particles into the soil, in conjunction with soil mixing, would reduce residual VOC concentrations more effectively than the original conventional soil ventilation approach. After the effectiveness of iron injection was verified, it replaced the soil ventilation step. The modified process involved mixing the soil while hot air and steam were injected into it. Off-gases were captured in a hood over the treatment area. During this process, an iron slurry, consisting of up to 50% iron particles in water with guar gum added as a thickening agent, was injected and mixed into the soil by the mixing equipment. Approximately 6,246 m{sup 3} (8, 170 yd{sup 3}) of soil was treated during this project. Confirmatory samples were then collected. In these samples, VOC concentrations were usually reduced by more than 80%.
Date: January 15, 1999
Creator: Lynch, P. L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The impact of thermal loading on repository performance at Yucca Mountain (open access)

The impact of thermal loading on repository performance at Yucca Mountain

In the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain, liquid flow along preferential fracture pathways is the only credible mechanism capable of bringing water to waste packages and transporting radionuclide to the water table. Three categories of features or mechanisms will mitigate the impact of flow along preferential fracture pathways: (1) discontinuity in fracture pathways, (2) liquid-phase dispersion in fracture networks, and (3) fracture-matrix interaction. For repository areal power densities (APDs) that are too low to result in significant boiling or rock dry-out effects, the primary mode of fracture-matrix interaction is matrix imbibition. For high APDs, boiling and enhanced matrix imbibition due to rock dry-out significantly add to the capacity of the unsaturated zone to retard fracture-dominated flow. With the use of V-TOUGH code, hydrothermal flow calculations are made for a range of APDs and spent fuel ages. For APD > 20 kW/acre, repository-heat-generated flow of vapor and liquid in fractures is found to dominate the ambient hydrological system. For high APDs, boiling conditions can persist for 10,000 yr or longer and rock-dry benefits for at least 100,000 yr.
Date: January 15, 1992
Creator: Buscheck, T. A. & Nitao, J. J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Charge Transport in Synthetic Metals (open access)

Charge Transport in Synthetic Metals

The phenomenology of charge transport in synthetic metals is reviewed. It is argued that the conventional quasiparticle picture and Boltzmann transport theory do not apply to these materials. The central ideas of Fermi liquid theory are reviewed, and the significant corrections produced by quasiparticle scattering from ferromagnetic spin fluctuations in liquid {sup 3}He are described. It is shown that Sr{sub 2}RuO{sub 4} does not display the symptoms of a nearly-ferromagnetic Fermi liquid, so the source of its odd angular momentum pairing remains to be understood. The solution of an assisted-tunneling model of charge transport in quasi-one dimensional materials is described. This model has a quantum critical point and gives a resistivity that is linear in temperature or frequency, whichever is greater.
Date: January 15, 1999
Creator: Emery, V. J.; Kivelson, S. A. & Muthukumar, V. N.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Comparing geophysical measurements to theoretical estimates for soil mixtures at low pressures (open access)

Comparing geophysical measurements to theoretical estimates for soil mixtures at low pressures

The authors obtained good estimates of measured velocities of sand-peat samples at low pressures by using a theoretical method, the self-consistent theory of Berryman (1980), using sand and porous peat to represent the microstructure of the mixture. They were unable to obtain useful estimates with several other theoretical approaches, because the properties of the quartz, air and peat components of the samples vary over several orders of magnitude. Methods that are useful for consolidated rock cannot be applied directly to unconsolidated materials. Instead, careful consideration of microstructure is necessary to adapt the methods successfully. Future work includes comparison of the measured velocity values to additional theoretical estimates, investigation of Vp/Vs ratios and wave amplitudes, as well as modeling of dry and saturated sand-clay mixtures (e.g., Bonner et al., 1997, 1998). The results suggest that field data can be interpreted by comparing laboratory measurements of soil velocities to theoretical estimates of velocities in order to establish a systematic method for predicting velocities for a full range of sand-organic material mixtures at various pressures. Once the theoretical relationship is obtained, it can be used to estimate the soil composition at various depths from field measurements of seismic velocities. Additional refining of the …
Date: January 15, 1999
Creator: Wildenschild, D.; Berge, P. A.; Berryman, K. G.; Bonner, B. P. & Roberts, J. J.
System: The UNT Digital Library