A 3D finite element simulation model for TBM tunnelling in soft ground     

Thomas Kasper  Günther Meschke 《国际地质力学数值与分析法杂志》2004,28(14):1441-1460

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Overbreak and underbreak in underground openings Part 2: causes and implications   总被引：7，自引：0，他引：7  

J. A. Ibarra  N. H. Maerz  J. A. Franklin 《Geotechnical and Geological Engineering》1996,14(4):325-340

Summary The newly developed light sectioning method has been used to investigate some of the causes and costs of overbreak and underbreak. Investigations at the Aquamilpa Hydroelectric Project in Mexico have shown decreased overbreak and increased underbreak as a result of increased rock quality and decreased explosive energy. A new measure of explosive energy, the perimeter powder factor (PPF), has been defined and shown to be useful in the context of tunnel-wall rock damage. Tentative results indicate that explosive energy (PPF) may be a more important factor in producing underbreak, whereas rock quality may be a greater factor in producing overbreak. A site-specific equation is given for predicting overbreak or underbreak as a function of rock quality and explosive energy, with an evaluation of the cost of underbreak and overbreak.  相似文献   

Analyzing CO2 emissions mitigation by technology improvement in Central and Eastern Europe     

Diana Ürge-Vorsatz  Adam Szeszler 《GeoJournal》2002,57(3):211-226

As a legacy of the centrally planned economy, the economies in transition of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have a unique potential to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions through the improvement in their high energy intensities. Since much of this `low-hanging fruit' in energy-efficiency improvements can be highly cost-effective, many developed countries facing difficulties in meeting their greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets domestically are eager to find such opportunities in the CEE region. Therefore, studies analysing the potentials and costs of carbon dioxide reduction through technology improvement in the region have come into the limelight. While there are a few excellent studies in the region aimed at analysing climate change abatement potentials, they all embark on different assumptions, methodologies and boundary conditions. It is hence difficult, if not impossible, to compare and analyse the results of these studies across different authors, countries or time horizons. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to place four leading studies on GHG mitigation through technology improvement from the CEE region into an internationally comparable framework. Four studies were selected from three countries, Poland, Hungary and Estonia, which are all the results of major national and international efforts to assess costs and potentials of GHG reduction. The paper places their assumptions, methods and final results into a framework which enables policy-makers and project designers to compare these across geographical and technological boundaries. Since other studies from around the globe have been analysed in this framework in the literature, this paper provides a vehicle for the findings of these four studies to be compared to others worldwide. In addition, the paper highlights a few areas where similar studies to be completed in the future in the region may be enhanced by incorporating features used in GHG mitigation research in other parts of the world. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.  相似文献   

Some Aspects of Resource Uncertainty and Their Economic Consequences in Assessment of the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge     

Attanasi  Emil D.  Schuenemeyer  John H. 《Natural Resources Research》2002,11(2):109-120

Natural Resources Research - Exploration ventures in frontier areas have high risks. Before committing to them, firms prepare regional resource assessments to evaluate the potential payoffs. With...  相似文献   

Ethanol Fuels: Energy Balance, Economics, and Environmental Impacts Are Negative   总被引：13，自引：0，他引：13  

David Pimentel 《Natural Resources Research》2003,12(2):127-134

Several studies suggest that the $1.4 billion in government subsidies are encouraging the ethanol program without substantial benefits to the U.S. economy. Large ethanol industries and a few U.S. government agencies, such as the USDA, support the production of ethanol. Corn-farmers receive minimal profits. In the U.S. ethanol system, considerably more energy, including high-grade fossil fuel, is required to produce ethanol than is available in the energy-ethanol output. Specifically about 29% more energy is used to produce a gallon of ethanol than the energy in a gallon of ethanol. Fossil energy powers corn production and the fermentation/distillation processes. Increasing subsidized ethanol production will take more feed from livestock production, and is estimated to currently cost consumers an additional $1 billion per year. Ethanol production increases environmental degradation. Corn production causes more total soil erosion than any other crop. Also, corn production uses more insecticides, herbicides, and nitrogen fertilizers than any other crop. All these factors degrade the agricultural and natural environment and contribute to water pollution and air pollution. Increasing the cost of food and diverting human food resources to the costly inefficient production of ethanol fuel raise major ethical questions. These occur at a time when more than half of the world's population is malnourished. The ethical priority for corn and other food crops should be for food and feed. Subsidized ethanol produced from U.S. corn is not a renewable energy source.  相似文献   

Geomechanical Properties of Shear Zones in the Eastern Aar Massif,Switzerland and their Implication on Tunnelling     

S. Laws  E. Eberhardt  S. Loew  F. Descoeudres 《Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering》2003,36(4):271-303

Summary ¶Rock zones containing a high fracture density and/or soft, low cohesion materials can be highly problematic when encountered during tunnel excavation. For example in the eastern Aar massif of central Switzerland, experiences during the construction of the Gotthard highway tunnel showed that heavily fractured areas within shear zones were responsible for overbreaks in the form of chimneys several metres in height. To understand and estimate the impact of the shear zones on rock mass behaviour, knowledge concerning the rock mass strength and deformation characteristics is fundamental. A series of laboratory triaxial tests, performed on samples from granite- and gneiss-hosted shear zones revealed that with increasing degree of tectonic overprint, sample strength decreases and rock behaviour shows a transition from brittle to ductile deformation. These trends may be explained by increasing fracture densities, increasing foliation intensity, increasing thickness of fine-grained, low cohesion fracture infill, and increasing mica content associated with the increasing degree of tectonic overprint. As fracture density increases and the influence of discrete, persistent discontinuities on rock mass strength decreases, behaviour of the test samples becomes more and more representative of rock mass behaviour, i.e. that of a densely fractured continuum. For the purpose of numerical modeling calculations, the shear zones may be subdivided with respect to an increasing fracture density, foliation intensity and mica content into a strongly foliated zone, a fractured zone and a cohesionless zone, which in turn exhibit brittle, brittle-ductile and ductile rock mass constitutive behaviour, respectively.Received December 17, 2001; accepted January 9, 2003 Published online April 29, 2003  相似文献   

Ecosystem services assessment and compensation costs for installing seaweed farms     

《Marine Policy》2016

In a global context of promotion and expansion of blue growth initiatives, the development of activities such as aquaculture calls for the assessment of the potential impacts on biodiversity at different levels and associated services. This paper presents an assessment of the potential impact of the installation of seaweed farms on ecosystem services and the induced compensation costs. Biophysical and socioeconomic indicators have been developed for helping decision makers to select the most suitable locations. The approach considers a multi-criteria approach based on Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Habitat Equivalency Analysis (HEA). The former is used to obtain biophysical ecosystem services and socioeconomic indicators and the latter to evaluate the costs required to compensate the loss of cultural and provisioning ecosystem services. A case-study in the Normand-Breton (Saint Malo) Gulf, France, illustrates this method through the analysis of hypothetical locations of seaweed farms. Results highlight the differences between alternative locations regarding biophysical constraints (in terms of distance and depth), potential risks of conflicts with existing uses, impacts on habitats and the ecosystem services delivered, and compensation costs. This case-study illustrates the flexibility of this approach which can be further adapted to include other indicators in order to deliver integrated information to coastal planners.  相似文献   

Compliance costs and the small fisher: A study of exiters from the New Zealand fishery     

James Stewart  Kim Walshe 《Marine Policy》2008

Over 3000 predominantly small-scale fishers have exited the New Zealand's quota management system (QMS) between its inception in 1986 and 2000. This study, based on the Ministry of Fisheries database and a questionnaire sent to the exiters, establishes that compliance costs in general, and those specifically related to the QMS, were one of the most consistent reasons for exit. Uncertainty about future QMS policy and the high cost of quota were also significant factors. It appears that the small fishers’ perception of high compliance cost can be supported by industry data.  相似文献   

The stability of underground workings in the soft rocks of the Coal Measures   总被引：2，自引：1，他引：2  

A. H. Wilson 《Geotechnical and Geological Engineering》1983,1(2):91-187

Summary The characteristics of soft rocks typical of the British Coal Measures are defined and a series of working hypotheses are developed to provide improved design methods for underground roadway and face supports and pillars in coal mines. Proposed design equations are tested against case history data.  相似文献   

Ethanol Production: Energy and Economic Issues Related to U.S. and Brazilian Sugarcane   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

David Pimentel  Tad Patzek 《Natural Resources Research》2007,16(3):235-242

For a thorough and up-to-date evaluation of all the fossil energy costs of ethanol production from sugarcane in both the U.S. and Brazil, every energy input in the biomass production and ultimate conversion process must be included. In this study, more than 12 energy inputs in average U.S. and Brazilian sugarcane production are evaluated. Then in the fermentation/distillation operation, nine more fossil fuel inputs are identified and included. Some energy and economic credits are given for the bagasse to reduce the energy inputs required for steam and electricity. Based on all the fossil energy inputs in U.S. sugarcane conversion process, a total of 1.12 kcal of ethanol is produced per 1 kcal of fossil energy expended. In Brazil a total of 1.38 kcal of ethanol is produced per 1 kcal of fossil energy expended. Some pro-ethanol investigators have overlooked various energy inputs in U.S. and Brazilian sugarcane production, including farm labor, farm machinery, processing machinery, and others. In other studies, unrealistic low energy costs were attributed to such energy inputs, as nitrogen fertilizer, insecticides, and herbicides. Both the U.S. and Brazil heavily subsidize ethanol production. Thus billions of dollars are invested in subsidies and this significantly increases the costs to the consumers. The environmental costs associated with producing ethanol in the U.S. and Brazil are significant but have been generally overlooked. The negative environmental impacts on the availability of cropland and freshwater, as well as on air pollution and public health, have yet to be carefully assessed. These environmental costs in terms of energy and economics should be calculated and included in future ethanol analyses so that sound assessments can be made. In addition, the production of ethanol in the U.S. and Brazil further confirms that the mission of converting biomass into ethanol will not replace oil. This mission is impossible. General concern has been expressed about taking food crops to produce ethanol for burning in automobiles instead of using these crops as food for the many malnourished people in the world. The World Health Organization reports that more than 3.7 billion humans are currently malnourished in the world—the largest number of malnourished ever in history.  相似文献