Lateral Constraints Research Articles

Urban stream syndrome: Quantifying topographic variation along an urban-rural gradient.

Topographic variation within fluvial systems is essential for providing a mosaic of physical habitats and supporting the dynamic hydraulic, geochemical, and biological processes that determine both aquatic and riparian ecosystem function. In highly-modified rivers through both urban and rural settings, the physical heterogeneity of alluvial channels has been diminished by anthropogenic activities. As riparian areas are increasingly under pressure from agricultural and urban development, identifying the geomorphic controls on physical heterogeneity through these environments is critical. In this study, we use the bed coefficient of variation (CV) extracted from a high-resolution bathymetric LiDAR survey as a dimensionless metric for topographic variation and physical heterogeneity over 100km of the Boise River corridor that spans an urban-rural gradient. Our CV results for both the streambed and channel demonstrate that the average topographic variation of reaches in urban areas is 22-25% lower than reaches located in rural areas along the same river. While these results initially support the application of the urban stream syndrome hypothesis, CV values had similar magnitudes in both urban and rural reaches suggesting there is a dominant control on topographic variation that was not directly related to urban land use. Analysis of CV values relative to normalized levee width indicates that the causative driver of morphologic simplification in the channel was lateral constraints from levees. In the Boise River, topographic variation increased linearly with normalized levee widths that ranged between 50% and >300% of the average channel width. Further, topographic variation was maximized in reaches where flow expansion during high discharge inundated between 1 and 2 times the average channel width (approximately 65-70% of the available floodplain). Our simple and objective watershed-scale approach leverages high-resolution topography data to identify reaches of high physical heterogeneity for river conservation, as well as help guide environmental flow releases in managed rivers.

Development of autonomous vehicle lateral control using time-varying asymmetric barrier Lyapunov function via ADRC approach

In a surface vehicle ride, the passenger’s comfort is desirable, ensuring safety under various tight constraints. To consider this requirement, this article has proposed a lateral control for autonomous vehicle considering the lateral offset error constraints. A reduced-order dynamics of the vehicle has been considered for improving and easy implementation of backstepping. A nonlinear control has been developed by utilizing the Time-varying Asymmetric Barrier Lyapunov Function via the Active Disturbance Rejection Control (ADRC) approach. The Extended State Observer, a component of applied ADRC, estimates all unknown system states as well as the unknown disturbance. The desired trajectories (smooth and non-smooth) based on the yaw rate profile have been synthesized to test the performance of the vehicle. Simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed closed-loop control strategy. The vehicle performance has been compared using the proposed method, the conventional Quadratic Lyapunov Function and Symmetric Barrier Lyapunov Function based control. The proposed control provides a smoother control signal, small tracking error and robustness in presence of hard road constraints for smooth/non-smooth vehicle motion.

Inversion of airborne transient electromagnetic data based on reference point lateral constraint

The airborne transient electromagnetic method (ATEM) has become a popular tool in mineral and resource exploration due to its speed and high efficiency. The distance between two adjacent measured points is minuscule for a flight line because of the oversampling in the ATEM, which results in a sharp change in the horizontal direction. The conventional lateral constraint inversion method accumulates errors and has a significant calculation cost. Therefore, a laterally constrained, segmented inversion method based on a reference point is proposed to reduce errors and improve accuracy. Electrical information about the known logging data is employed as the lateral constraint of the reference point; alternatively, the inversion results of previous point can be used as lateral constraints, which guarantees a continuous inversion profile. The golden-section method is applied to solve the Lagrange multiplier to ensure a quick and effective convergence of inversions. Constraint inversions of a one-dimensional model show that the strategy converges quickly, and the inversion results are closer to the true resistivity of the model. Constraint inversion of a 2D model indicates that lateral constraints considerably reduce the discontinuity of a single-point inversion and smooths the inversion's resistivity pseudo-section. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is verified by the inversion of the airborne transient electromagnetic survey data in Xinjiang province.

Shear Behavior of Superposed Perfobond Connectors Considering Lateral Constraints

Superposed perfobond connectors are a type of connector used in composite structures. When the construction conditions are limited to increase the diameter of the opening, the shear capacity of the connector can be improved by enhancing the confining effect of the concrete dowel. In this study, 12 superposed perfobond connectors were fabricated to investigate the influence of lateral constraints on their shear behavior. The effects of hole area and holes’ number, diameter of the perforating rebar, concrete compressive strength, and the number of transverse reinforcements were investigated via the failure modes and load–slip curves. The results indicate that double-sided shear failure occurs in connectors with perfobond rib thicknesses exceeding 9 mm, and the connectors featuring strong lateral constraints not only exhibited higher bearing capacities but also superior load-holding capacities after peak load. Finally, an equation for the shear capacity of multi-hole perfobond connectors, considering lateral constraints, was proposed according to the double-sided shear theory.

Quantitative analysis of extra load-carrying mechanisms to prevent progressive collapse of reinforced concrete buildings

Occurrence of progressive collapse events invariably leads to significant economic and human-life losses. Progressive collapse analysis and design of building structures have become a research hotspot worldwide. Existing studies have proved that development of extra load-carrying mechanisms could significantly improve the resistance of structures to progressive collapse. However, limited research has been conducted to quantitatively analyze these mechanisms. This study proposed a new and unified division method for mechanisms for resisting progressive collapse; furthermore, it provides a basis for their quantitative analysis. In addition, the progressive collapse behavior of a 1/3-scaled two-story, one-bay-by-two-bay reinforced concrete (beam–slab–column) frame with an edge column lost was experimentally investigated. Additionally, a 3 D solid finite element model was established and validated based on the test results. The effects of different extensive parameters, including ideal lateral constraints, slab thickness, and beam–slab interaction, on each resisting mechanism were quantitatively investigated. Finally, a new simple method for predicting the first peak load was proposed based on the contribution of each mechanism. The results from the simple method were in agreement with the simulation results of beam–slab–column structures.

Active Safety Control of Automated Electric Vehicles at Driving Limits: A Tube-Based MPC Approach

To enhance the active safety performance for automated electric vehicles (AEVs) at driving limits, the collaborative control of four-wheel steering (4WS) and direct yaw-moment control (DYC) is adopted. To deal with external disturbance and modeling error, tube-based model predictive control (MPC) is applied to the control algorithm design, which takes the improvement of handling stability and path-tracking performance into considerations. Taking the constraints into account, including control vector constraints, lateral stability constraints, rollover prevention constraints, and path-tracking error constraints, the integrated controller is designed and worked out by addressing the optimization issue. To verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the integrated controller, two extreme driving conditions are conducted based on hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) tests. The test results indicate that the integrated controller can improve vehicle’s handling stability and path-tracking performance in unison at driving limits. Besides, the integrated controller shows strong robustness in extreme conditions.

Towards longitudinal and lateral coupling control of autonomous vehicles using offset free MPC

Model predictive control (MPC) is widely used in the motion control of autonomous vehicles. However, the conventional MPC relies on an accurate model and cannot achieve offset-free tracking in steady-state when the autonomous vehicle encounters external disturbance and parameter perturbation. Based on our recently designed C++ offset-free MPC (OF-MPC) solver, this paper uses MPC to solve the longitudinal and lateral coupling control problem directly. In the modeling stage, the constraints of the tire friction circle are approximated by the polygon. And then the polygon constraints are mapped into the state and control space. Finally, the tire friction circle constraints are approximated as convex linear inequality constraints, which are used as the vehicle stability boundary condition. Meanwhile, a convex optimization method is used to solve the reference value problem of MPC, and a systematic method that can prevent the reference value from being outside the feasible region is proposed. The real-time simulation and actual vehicle results show that the algorithm can solve both lateral and longitudinal disturbances problems. The algorithm achieves better tracking accuracy and high-speed stability due to consideration of the longitudinal and lateral coupling constraints. Benefiting from the proposed efficient solver, the average time to complete all calculations, including logic processing and input–output processing, is only about 5ms when the horizon length is 50.

Modulating the lateral migration of a gravel bed channel using the coarse tail of the bed material distribution

SummaryMost stream channels around the world have been, to some extent, laterally constrained by non‐erodible banks constructed of concrete or large angular boulders (called riprap). These lateral constraints generally have a negative impact on aquatic ecosystems by reducing stream channel complexity, and limiting the natural disturbance processes that are critical for renewing the physical habitat. In this paper, we test a novel approach to limiting stream channel instability by exploiting the stabilizing effects of the coarsest grains in the bed material distribution, which we call geomorphic river engineering. This approach modulates the rate of bank erosion rather than halting it altogether. It also exploits the geomorphic feedback between bank erosion, channel width, and mean boundary shear stress during a flood event to limit the potential for vertical incision into the stream bed. The basic premise of the geomorphic river engineering approach is to place the coarse sediment on the floodplain adjacent to the channel margins, and rely on bank erosion by the river to recruit the sediment, allowing the river to remain the architect of its own configuration. Our results suggest that the recruitment of a modest volume of coarse sediment to a coarse, gravel bed stream during a flood could potentially dramatically reduce the amount of lateral migration that would otherwise occur, and that the degree of stabilization could be modified by changing the volume of coarse sediment per unit area placed on the floodplain. More generally, our results confirm the fundamental role that the coarse tail of the bed material distribution plays in dictating the channel dynamics of gravel bed streams with cohesionless banks, and indicate the potential for future river stabilization projects to focus on the engineering that can be done by rivers, rather than to them.

Quasi-2-D Robust Inversion of Semi-Airborne Transient Electromagnetic Data With IP Effects

Semi-airborne transient electromagnetic (SATEM) method has been efficiently used recently in geophysical exploration due to its relatively portability compared to the standard airborne surveys. However, the SATEM data are often complicated by induced polarization (IP) effects manifesting as abnormal decay and sign reversal in the responses. The IP information can be extracted from SATEM data by joint inversion of the electromagnetic data into the electrical resistivity and IP parameters described in Cole-Cole model. In this paper, we introduce a quasi-two-dimensional inversion scheme to recover the resistivity and IP parameters from SATEM responses by (1) a fast semi-analytical method for Jacobian matrix calculation; and (2) a staged inversion strategy with lateral constraints. The methodology is examined on two synthetic polarized models. Our study indicates that the proposed scheme can improve inversion stability and recover the underground resistivity and IP property distributions.

A Born–WKBJ Pre-Stack Seismic Inversion Based on a 3-D Structural-Geology Model Building

Estimation of subsurface properties by using the scattering integral equation is a method that finds increasing use in near-surface and shallow oil/gas exploration, based on seismic, low-frequency electromagnetic, and surface-radar surveys. The method can accurately simulate physical realizations induced by small-scale perturbations, but its accuracy depends on a suitable low-frequency property model. We propose a 3-D geological-structure-guided model building to provide a reliable low-frequency model and combine it with the Born-Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin-Jeffreys (WKBJ)-approximation-based inversion algorithm. Instead of the traditional approach based on artificially interpreted horizons, we use 3-D seismic-slope attributes as lateral constraints, which contain more geological information. Plane-wave destruction (PWD) in 3-D is exploited to extract the 2-D slopes along the inline and crossline directions, which are the key factors in computing 3-D slopes. Then, by introducing the shaping regularization, we build low-frequency models by solving the inverse problem. Numerical analysis indicates that an appropriate background model is essential for seismic modeling with the Born-WKBJ approximation. The methodology is applied to synthetic and 3-D field data, and the examples show that it provides reliable background models and improves the inversion performance.

Lateral constrained wrinkling of the film with partial contact

This paper establishes three analytical models, including the interface bonded type (B-type), interface sliding type (S-type) and the lateral constrained type (C-type), to reveal the effects of the partial contact and lateral constraints on the film wrinkling behaviors. Due to the geometrical and contact nonlinearities, a numerical method is applied to solving the displacement and stress fields, and the shear-lag effect caused by contact is included. The deformation of the film can be characterized by 5 processes, firstly compressing (I), secondly wrinkling (II), then the growing of wrinkled part giving rise to point contact (III), line contact (IV), and finally mode transition(V), which are verified by a demonstrative experiment. Moreover, effects of the contact parameters, including the interfacial strength, interfacial stiffness and the initial contact region length, on the deformation of the film are analyzed. Finally, the established models are applied to characterize the wrinkling behaviors of a graphene contacting to the polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The minimum pre-existing defect size for graphene wrinkling is 7 nm, less than which the interface failure precedes the film wrinkling. The critical wrinkling strain shows significant size effect when the graphene length is less than 13μm, where all the interfaces participate the load transfer. The obtained results are consistent with the experimental and the numerical data given in the references, where the differences are also discussed detailly.

Numerical Investigation of the Influence of Constructive Aspects on the Structural Behaviour of Masonry Cross Vaults

ABSTRACT In this paper, the structural performance of masonry cross vaults is investigated with regard to the most common differential settlements occurring in historical constructions. Numerical parametric models are developed for vaults with different brick patterns and lateral constraints, in the presence/absence of infill. In particular, radial, diagonal and pitched brick patterns are taken into account and opening, shear and vertical settlements are analyzed. Moreover, the behaviour of laterally unconfined vaults is compared with the response of vaults restrained with rigid perimeter walls or with lateral masonry arches. The analyses highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each configuration, providing a scientific validation to some speculations found in historical technical literature on the most widespread use of some brick patterns. The outcomes of this research provide a deep knowledge of masonry vaults behaviour in view of more effective interventions on historical buildings, supplying the practitioners with a crack-pattern chart useful for better interpreting the damage pattern in historical vaults with different brick courses.

Lateral force–displacement response of buried pipes in slopes

A series of full-scale experiments was conducted to estimate lateral soil constraints on pipes buried in dense sandy slopes at different burial depths. The experimental data indicated that the soil force on the pipe increases with increase in the slope grade and burial depth ratio. The lateral soil force against relative pipe displacement response observed from the experiments is presented and compared to those arising from level ground conditions. The study was extended to larger burial depth ratios by simulating pipes under sloping ground conditions using a numerical (finite-element) model that was initially calibrated using the results from physical modelling. The findings from the study in terms of the variation of peak lateral soil restraint as a function of the slope grade and burial depth ratio are presented for consideration in pipeline design.

Study on progressive collapse resistance and mechanisms of beam-column sub-assemblages

Compressive arch action (CAA) and tensile catenary action (TCA) are the main resistance mechanisms against progressive collapse in reinforced concrete (RC) buildings. When the lateral constraints of beams are strong enough, CAA and TCA could be developed and obtain significant additional progressive collapse resistance. Lateral constraints of beams are key parameters affecting the CAA and TCA capacities. For a frame under a middle column lost scenario, the adjacent columns can carry much more loads than designed. Whether the adjacent column could provide adequate lateral constraints to beams need to be examined. Therefore, this article selected beam-column substructures as the research objects. Firstly, a new division method on resistance mechanisms was proposed considering the contributions of each action. Then a model of the beam-column substructure was established and verified with ABAQUS software. The effects of different lateral constraints and beam height on CAA and TCA capacities were investigated by changing the column dimensions and beam heights. Finally, a new theoretical model for predicting the BM capacity, CAA capacity, and TCA capacity of beam-column substructures under different lateral constraints was established. The interaction between the column and beam and the parameters of columns and beams are taken into consideration.

Microscopic piezoelectric behavior of clamped and membrane (001) PMN-30PT thin films

Bulk single-crystal relaxor-ferroelectrics, like Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 (PMN-PT), are widely known for their large piezoelectricity. This is attributed to polarization rotation, which is facilitated by the presence of various crystal symmetries for compositions near a morphotropic phase boundary. Relaxor-ferroelectric thin films, which are necessary for low-voltage applications, suffer a reduction in their piezoelectric response due to clamping by the passive substrate. To understand the microscopic behavior of this adverse phenomenon, we employ the AC electric field driven in-operando synchrotron x-ray diffraction on patterned device structures to investigate the piezoelectric domain behavior under an electric field for both a clamped (001) PMN-PT thin film on Si and a (001) PMN-PT membrane released from its substrate. In the clamped film, the substrate inhibits the field-induced rhombohedral (R) to tetragonal (T) phase transition resulting in a reversible R to Monoclinic (M) transition with a reduced longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient d33 < 100 pm/V. Releasing the film from the substrate results in recovery of the R to T transition and results in a d33 > 1000 pm/V. Using diffraction with spatial mapping, we find that lateral constraints imposed by the boundary between the active and inactive materials also inhibit the R to T transition. Phase-field calculations on both clamped and released PMN-PT thin films simulate our experimental findings. Resolving the suppression of thin film piezoelectric response is critical to their application in piezo-driven technologies.

The Postbuckling Behavior of Compressed Elastica Inside a Flexible Tube: Experimental and Numerical Investigation

Abstract The postbuckling behavior of an elastic fiber subjected to lateral constraints is of practical importance in a wide range of medical and engineering applications. The vast majority of existing studies have adopted the assumption that the lateral constrains are fixed in space and rigid. This assumption is often far from the reality of the physical complexity of the abovementioned systems. In this paper, we study analytically, numerically, and experimentally the behavior of an elastic fiber that is subjected to compressive force and constrained by a flexible tube. The latter marks a point of departure from available research. Our experiments provide quantitative information related to the overall behavior of the system, like force-shortening relation and deflection of the flexible tube. That information is complemented by finite-element simulations that enable in-depth analysis of the deformation of the fiber as well as contact characteristics between the fiber and the inner wall of the flexible tube. Finally, a simple mathematical model, aimed at providing analytical insights, is presented. Overall, the theoretical, numerical, and experimental results are in very good agreement. They highlight the fact that the behavior of a compressed fiber that is constrained by a deformable tube significantly deviates from that of a fiber constrained inside a rigid cylinder. Moreover, it is shown that the overall behavior as well as the evolution of contact between the fiber and the cylinder heavily depends on the ratio between the stiffness of the fiber and the lateral stiffness of the tube.

Behaviour of Concentrically Braced Steel Frames under Fire Loading

Knowing how a steel structure behaves under fire loading is of vital importance, given a large number of events in recent years have proved the vulnerability of steel structures under this type of hazard. Older concentrically braced frames have been widely used in buildings without observing seismic provisions and details. Although the vulnerability of this type of structural system, here referred to as non-seismic braced frames, has been studied under earthquake loading before, its behaviour under fire loading has not been investigated yet. This paper investigated the behaviour of global and local responses of the mentioned structural system under various uniform fire scenarios. The heating and cooling phases of fire were taken into account for different building stories using the finite element method. The results of analyses showed that the braces buckled at high temperatures due to the large compressive axial forces and expansion of lateral constraints. This phenomenon led to the early loss of lateral resistance of stories, which, in turn, resulted in the failure of columns. Consequently, the underlying floor collapsed under fire. The analysis results contribute to a better understanding of the behaviour of steel braced frames under fire conditions and the corresponding local and global responses.

How to Quantify the Dynamics of Single (Straight or Sinuous) and Multiple (Anabranching) Channels from Imagery for River Restoration

Since the 2000s, European rivers have undergone restoration works to give them back a little more ‘freedom space’ and consolidate the hydro-sedimentary continuum and biological continuity as required by the Water Framework Directive (WFD). In high-energy rivers, suppression of lateral constraints (embankment removal) leads to geomorphological readjustments in the modification of both the active-channel length and active-channel width. The article provides a new methodological development to overcome the shortcomings of traditional methods (based on diachronic cross-section analysis) unable to simultaneously take into account these geometric adjustments after active-channel restoration. It allows us to follow and precisely quantify the geomorphological changes of the active channel faced to the stakes (i.e., structures or urbanized, recreation or agricultural areas) in the floodplain. The methodology proposes three new indicators (distance from active channel to stakes or floodplain margins as indicator 1; distance from stakes to active channel as indicator 2; diachronic distance as indicator 3) and a metric analysis grid in the 2D Euclidean space. It is applied to the Clamoux River (order 4, Strahler; bankfull, specific stream power: 280 W/m2) in the Aude watershed (Mediterranean France). The paper shows the full potential of this methodological protocol to be able to meet managers’ expectations as closely as possible within the framework of the multi-annual active-channel monitoring.

Lateral Constrained Inversion of DC-Resistivity Data Observed at the Area North of Tenth of Ramadan City, Egypt for Groundwater Exploration

In the arid climate area north of Tenth of Ramadan City, southeast of the Nile Delta, Egypt, it is necessary to search for additional water resources for sustainable developments such as agricultural and industrial activities. Thirty two vertical electrical soundings (VES) of a electrical resistivity (DC) survey were carried out along four main profiles by using the Schlumberger array with electrode distances (AB/2) up to 500 m, to explore the shallow Pleistocene groundwater aquifer. The collected data was interpreted by a one-dimensional laterally constrained inversion (1D-LCI) and two-dimensional inversion algorithms to derive a best fit layered-earth resistivity model. The derived resistivity sections are geologically well interpreted based on information taken from the available water boreholes (P2-Well and P3-Well). The lateral constraints are part of the inversion where all data sets are inverted simultaneously, and consequently the output models are balanced between the constraints and the data-model fit. The 1D-LCI offers good analysis of the model parameters, which was successfully used to characterize a zone of groundwater aquifer, as it produces a laterally smooth model with sharp layer boundaries. The 1D-LCI inversion results show that the study area is subdivided into five geo-electrical layers of varied resistivity and thickness. In particular, the resistivity values of the last layer range between 9.3 and 110 Ωm representing the existing shallow Pleistocene aquifer located at depths between 134.5 and 118.4 m. Such results are tied and confirmed well with the results of the 2D inversion of the DC data. It reveals three interpreted geo-electric layers along the four profiles and shows that the area is affected by some normal faults striking nearly in the E–W direction. The very low resistivities of the groundwater aquifer beneath the agricultural part of the survey area probably indicates contamination due to the possible effect of irrigation operated in the cultivated lowlands. The results obtained could help the stakeholder to find additional information about the ground water aquifers in the newly reclaimed arid area and possible locations of new sites for drilling new water wells as additional water resources.

Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Flight Planning in Urban Environments

This work proposes a fast algorithm for generating obstacle-free and wind-efficient flight paths at a constant above-ground-level altitude in urban environments because a fast flight path planning algorithm is an essential function or service needed for enabling small unmanned aerial vehicle (sUAV) to operate in urban environments within Class G airspace. The proposed method first converts the 3D path planning problem to a 2D problem by constructing an obstacle map at a given above-ground-level altitude. A quad-tree decomposition is then used to build a search space in terms of obstacle occupancy and wind difference. The wind cost of traveling through each cell is defined based on energy consumption under various wind conditions. A repulsive potential is also adopted to make sure that the flight plans stay away from obstacles. The Theta* search algorithm, a variant of A* algorithm, is applied to mitigate the path angle change constraints introduced by grid-based graphs. With the Theta* and postsmoothing techniques, an obstacle-free, wind efficient, and constant above-ground-level flight plan can be quickly generated for sUAV operations in urban environments while meeting the lateral path angle constraints. The results showed that the path planning algorithm is efficient and can be finished within several seconds. With a proper choice of wind coefficient, the proposed path planning algorithm outperforms the multiple-shooting trajectory optimization method even in an obstacle-free environment. With the flexibility of incorporating other geo-related costs and computation efficiency, the proposed algorithm shows the potential for real-time flight path planning in complex urban environments.