Effects of fundamental structure parameters on dynamic responses of submerged floating tunnel under hydrodynamic loads

This paper investigates the effects of structure parameters on dynamic responses of submerged floating tunnel (SFT) under hydrodynamic loads. The structure parameters includes buoyancy-weight ratio (BWR), stiffness coefficients of the cable systems, tunnel net buoyancy and tunnel length. First, the importance of structural damp in relation to the dynamic responses of SFT is demonstrated and the mechanism of structural damp effect is discussed. Thereafter, the fundamental structure parameters are investigated through the analysis of SFT dynamic responses under hydrodynamic loads. The results indicate that the BWR of SFT is a key structure parameter. When BWR is 1.2, there is a remarkable trend change in the vertical dynamic response of SFT under hydrodynamic loads. The results also indicate that the ratio of the tunnel net buoyancy to the cable stiffness coefficient is not a characteristic factor affecting the dynamic responses of SFT under hydrodynamic loads.

Study on the Capacity Degradation of Bucket Foundation in Liquefied Sand Layer under Cyclic Loads

The capacity degradation of bucket foundation in liquefied sand layer under cyclic loads such as equivalent dynamic ice-induced loads is studied. A simplified numerical model of liquefied sand layer has been presented based on the dynamic centrifuge experiment results. The ice-induced dynamic loads are modeled as equivalent sine cyclic loads, the liquefaction degree in different position of sand layer and effects of main factors are investigated. Subsequently, the sand resistance is represented by uncoupled, non-linear sand springs which describe the sub-failure behavior of the local sand resistance as well as the peak capacity of bucket foundation under some failure criterion. The capacity of bucket foundation is determined in liquefied sand layer and the rule of capacity degradation is analyzed. The capacity degradation in liquefied sand layer is analyzed comparing with that in non-liquefied sand layer. The results show that the liquefaction degree is 0.9 at the top and is only 0.06 at the bottom of liquefied sand layer. The numerical results are agreement well with the centrifugal experimental results. The value of the degradation of bucket capacity is 12% in numerical simulating whereas it is 17% in centrifugal experiments.

Numerical Study On Transient Flow In The Deep Naturally Fractured Reservoir With High Pressure

According to the experimental results and the characteristics of the pressure-sensitive fractured formation, a transient flow model is developed for the deep naturally-fractured reservoirs with different outer boundary conditions. The finite element equations for the model are derived. After generating the unstructured grids in the solution regions, the finite element method is used to calculate the pressure type curves for the pressure-sensitive fractured reservoir with different outer boundaries, such as the infinite boundary, circle boundary and combined linear boundaries, and the characteristics of the type curves are comparatively analyzed. The effects on the pressure curves caused by pressure sensitivity module and the effective radius combined parameter are determined, and the method for calculating the pressure-sensitive reservoir parameters is introduced. By analyzing the real field case in the high temperature and pressure reservoir, the perfect results show that the transient flow model for the pressure-sensitive fractured reservoir in this paper is correct.

Investigation of transient process and steady output of lasing without inversion

The transient evolution processes and steady outputs of continuous wave lasing without inversion (LWI) and self-pulsing LWI in a resonant open V type three-level system are studied. It was found that the two kinds of LWI have some obvious differences not only from the steady outputs but also from the transient evolution processes. The effects of the unsaturated gain coefficient, cavity loss coefficient, ratio of the atomic injection rates and atomic exit rate on the transient evolution processes and steady outputs are discussed.

Finding needles in the haystack : a search for AM CVn systems using the Palomar Transient Factory

The AM CVn systems are a rare class of ultra-compact astrophysical binaries. With orbital periods of under an hour and as short as five minutes, they are among the closest known binary star systems and their evolution has direct relevance to the type Ia supernova rate and the white dwarf binary population. However, their faint and rare nature has made population studies of these systems difficult and several studies have found conflicting results.

I undertook a survey for AM CVn systems using the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) astrophysical synoptic survey by exploiting the "outbursts" these systems undergo. Such events result in an increase in luminosity by a factor of up to two-hundred and are detectable in time-domain photometric data of AM CVn systems. My search resulted in the discovery of eight new systems, over 20% of the current known population. More importantly, this search was done in a systematic fashion, which allows for a population study properly accounting for biases.

Apart from the discovery of new systems, I used the time-domain data from the PTF and other synoptic surveys to better understand the long-term behavior of these systems. This analysis of the photometric behavior of the majority of known AM CVn systems has shown changes in their behavior at longer time scales than have previously been observed. This has allowed me to find relationships between the outburst properties of an individual system and its orbital period.

Even more importantly, the systematically selected sample together with these properties have allowed me to conduct a population study of the AM CVn systems. I have shown that the latest published estimates of the AM CVn system population, a factor of fifty below theoretical estimates, are consistent with the sample of systems presented here. This is particularly noteworthy since my population study is most sensitive to a different orbital period regime than earlier surveys. This confirmation of the population density will allow the AM CVn systems population to be used in the study of other areas of astrophysics.

Ultrafast transient ring-shaped population grating

We demonstrate an ultrafast transient, ring-shaped population grating induced by an ultrashort hollow Gaussian laser bullet by solving the three-dimensional full-wave Maxwell-Bloch equations. Through adjusting the beam waist and the area of the pulse, we can control the number of lines and the period of the grating. Based on this coherent control scheme, a door to produce gratings with complex transverse structure is opened.

Guiding and confining fast electrons by transient electric and magnetic fields with a plasma inverse cone

The fast electron propagation in an inverse cone target is investigated computationally and experimentally. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation shows that fast electrons with substantial numbers are generated at the outer tip of an inverse cone target irradiated by a short intense laser pulse. These electrons are guided and confined to propagate along the inverse cone wall, forming a large surface current. The propagation induces strong transient electric and magnetic fields which guide and confine the surface electron current. The experiment qualitatively verifies the guiding and confinement of the strong electron current in the wall surface. The large surface current and induced strong fields are of importance for fast ignition related researches.

Experimental Investigation of Thrust Fault Rupture Mechanics

Thrust fault earthquakes are investigated in the laboratory by generating dynamic shear ruptures along pre-existing frictional faults in rectangular plates. A considerable body of evidence suggests that dip-slip earthquakes exhibit enhanced ground motions in the acute hanging wall wedge as an outcome of broken symmetry between hanging and foot wall plates with respect to the earth surface. To understand the physical behavior of thrust fault earthquakes, particularly ground motions near the earth surface, ruptures are nucleated in analog laboratory experiments and guided up-dip towards the simulated earth surface. The transient slip event and emitted radiation mimic a natural thrust earthquake. High-speed photography and laser velocimeters capture the rupture evolution, outputting a full-field view of photo-elastic fringe contours proportional to maximum shearing stresses as well as continuous ground motion velocity records at discrete points on the specimen. Earth surface-normal measurements validate selective enhancement of hanging wall ground motions for both sub-Rayleigh and super-shear rupture speeds. The earth surface breaks upon rupture tip arrival to the fault trace, generating prominent Rayleigh surface waves. A rupture wave is sensed in the hanging wall but is, however, absent from the foot wall plate: a direct consequence of proximity from fault to seismometer. Signatures in earth surface-normal records attenuate with distance from the fault trace. Super-shear earthquakes feature greater amplitudes of ground shaking profiles, as expected from the increased tectonic pressures required to induce super-shear transition. Paired stations measure fault parallel and fault normal ground motions at various depths, which yield slip and opening rates through direct subtraction of like components. Peak fault slip and opening rates associated with the rupture tip increase with proximity to the fault trace, a result of selective ground motion amplification in the hanging wall. Fault opening rates indicate that the hanging and foot walls detach near the earth surface, a phenomenon promoted by a decrease in magnitude of far-field tectonic loads. Subsequent shutting of the fault sends an opening pulse back down-dip. In case of a sub-Rayleigh earthquake, feedback from the reflected S wave re-ruptures the locked fault at super-shear speeds, providing another mechanism of super-shear transition.

Transient population and polarization gratings induced by (1+1)-dimensional ultrashort dipole soliton

An ultrafast transient population grating induced by a (1+1)-dimensional, ultrashort dipole soliton is demonstrated by solving the full-wave Maxwell-Bloch equations. The number of lines and the period of the grating can be controlled by the beam waist and the area of the pulse. Of interest is that a polarization grating is produced. A coherent control scheme based on these phenomena can be contemplated as ultrafast transient grating techniques.

Model predictive control for deferrable loads scheduling

Real-time demand response is essential for handling the uncertainties of renewable generation. Traditionally, demand response has been focused on large industrial and commercial loads, however it is expected that a large number of small residential loads such as air conditioners, dish washers, and electric vehicles will also participate in the coming years. The electricity consumption of these smaller loads, which we call deferrable loads, can be shifted over time, and thus be used (in aggregate) to compensate for the random fluctuations in renewable generation.

In this thesis, we propose a real-time distributed deferrable load control algorithm to reduce the variance of aggregate load (load minus renewable generation) by shifting the power consumption of deferrable loads to periods with high renewable generation. The algorithm is model predictive in nature, i.e., at every time step, the algorithm minimizes the expected variance to go with updated predictions. We prove that suboptimality of this model predictive algorithm vanishes as time horizon expands in the average case analysis. Further, we prove strong concentration results on the distribution of the load variance obtained by model predictive deferrable load control. These concentration results highlight that the typical performance of model predictive deferrable load control is tightly concentrated around the average-case performance. Finally, we evaluate the algorithm via trace-based simulations.

The needle in the hundred square degree haystack: The hunt for binary neutron star mergers with LIGO and Palomar Transient Factory

The Advanced LIGO and Virgo experiments are poised to detect gravitational waves (GWs) directly for the first time this decade. The ultimate prize will be joint observation of a compact binary merger in both gravitational and electromagnetic channels. However, GW sky locations that are uncertain by hundreds of square degrees will pose a challenge. I describe a real-time detection pipeline and a rapid Bayesian parameter estimation code that will make it possible to search promptly for optical counterparts in Advanced LIGO. Having analyzed a comprehensive population of simulated GW sources, we describe the sky localization accuracy that the GW detector network will achieve as each detector comes online and progresses toward design sensitivity. Next, in preparation for the optical search with the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF), we have developed a unique capability to detect optical afterglows of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) detected by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM). Its comparable error regions offer a close parallel to the Advanced LIGO problem, but Fermi's unique access to MeV-GeV photons and its near all-sky coverage may allow us to look at optical afterglows in a relatively unexplored part of the GRB parameter space. We present the discovery and broadband follow-up observations (X-ray, UV, optical, millimeter, and radio) of eight GBM-IPTF afterglows. Two of the bursts (GRB 130702A / iPTF13bxl and GRB 140606B / iPTF14bfu) are at low redshift (z=0.145 and z = 0.384, respectively), are sub-luminous with respect to "standard" cosmological bursts, and have spectroscopically confirmed broad-line type Ic supernovae. These two bursts are possibly consistent with mildly relativistic shocks breaking out from the progenitor envelopes rather than the standard mechanism of internal shocks within an ultra-relativistic jet. On a technical level, the GBM--IPTF effort is a prototype for locating and observing optical counterparts of GW events in Advanced LIGO with the Zwicky Transient Facility.

Solar System Small-Body Demographics with the Palomar Transient Factory Survey

Observational studies of our solar system's small-body populations (asteroids and comets) offer insight into the history of our planetary system, as these minor planets represent the left-over building blocks from its formation. The Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) survey began in 2009 as the latest wide-field sky-survey program to be conducted on the 1.2-meter Samuel Oschin telescope at Palomar Observatory. Though its main science program has been the discovery of high-energy extragalactic sources (such as supernovae), during its first five years PTF has collected nearly five million observations of over half a million unique solar system small bodies. This thesis begins to analyze this vast data set to address key population-level science topics, including: the detection rates of rare main-belt comets and small near-Earth asteroids, the spin and shape properties of asteroids as inferred from their lightcurves, the applicability of this visible light data to the interpretation of ultraviolet asteroid observations, and a comparison of the physical properties of main-belt and Jovian Trojan asteroids. Future sky-surveys would benefit from application of the analytical techniques presented herein, which include novel modeling methods and unique applications of machine-learning classification. The PTF asteroid small-body data produced in the course of this thesis work should remain a fertile source of solar system science and discovery for years to come.