Structural, metamorphic and geochronological relations between the Zanskar Shear Zone and the Miyar Shear Zone (NW Indian Himalaya): Evidence for two distinct tectonic structures and implications for the evolution of the High Himalayan Crystalline of Zanskar

The geologic structures and metamorphic zonation of the northwestern Indian Himalaya contrast significantly with those in the central and eastern parts of the range, where the high-grade metamorphic rocks of the High Himalayan Crystalline (HHC) thrust southward over the weakly metamorphosed sediments of the Lesser Himalaya along the Main Central Thrust (MCT). Indeed, the hanging wall of the MCT in the NW Himalaya mainly consists of the greenschist facies metasediments of the Chamba zone, whereas HHC high-grade rocks are exposed more internally in the range as a large-scale dome called the Gianbul dome. This Gianbul dome is bounded by two oppositely directed shear zones, the NE-dipping Zanskar Shear Zone (ZSZ) on the northern flank and the SW-dipping Miyar Shear Zone (MSZ) on the southern limb. Current models for the emplacement of the HHC in NW India as a dome structure differ mainly in terms of the roles played by both the ZSZ and the MSZ during the tectonothermal evolution of the HHC. In both the channel flow model and wedge extrusion model, the ZSZ acts as a backstop normal fault along which the high-grade metamorphic rocks of the HHC of Zanskar are exhumed. In contrast, the recently proposed tectonic wedging model argues that the ZSZ and the MSZ correspond to one single detachment system that operates as a subhorizontal backthrust off of the MCT. Thus, the kinematic evolution of the two shear zones, the ZSZ and the MSZ, and their structural, metamorphic and chronological relations appear to be diagnostic features for discriminating the different models. In this paper, structural, metamorphic and geochronological data demonstrate that the MSZ and the ZSZ experienced two distinct kinematic evolutions. As such, the data presented in this paper rule out the hypothesis that the MSZ and the ZSZ constitute one single detachment system, as postulated by the tectonic wedging model. Structural, metamorphic and geochronological data are used to present an alternative tectonic model for the large-scale doming in the NW Indian Himalaya involving early NE-directed tectonics, weakness in the upper crust, reduced erosion at the orogenic front and rapid exhumation along both the ZSZ and the MSZ.

Profile Following for Inspection of Underwater Structures

We present a seabed profile estimation and following method for close proximity inspection of 3D underwater structures using autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). The presented method is used to determine a path allowing the AUV to pass its sensors over all points of the target structure, which is known as coverage path planning. Our profile following method goes beyond traditional seabed following at a safe altitude and exploits hovering capabilities of recent AUV developments. A range sonar is used to incrementally construct a local probabilistic map representation of the environment and estimates of the local profile are obtained via linear regression. Two behavior-based controllers use these estimates to perform horizontal and vertical profile following. We build upon these tools to address coverage path planning for 3D underwater structures using a (potentially inaccurate) prior map and following cross-section profiles of the target structure. The feasibility of the proposed method is demonstrated using the GIRONA 500 AUV both in simulation using synthetic and real-world bathymetric data and in pool trials

Characterization of phosphate structures in biochar from swine bones

The objective of this work was to develop an alternative methodology to study and characterize the phosphate crystalline properties, directly associated with solubility and plant availability, in biochar from swine bones. Some phosphate symmetry properties of pyrolyzed swine bones were established, using solid state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, principal component analysis, and multivariate curve resolution analysis, on four pyrolyzed samples at different carbonization intensities. Increasing carbonization parameters (temperature or residence time) generates diverse phosphate structures, increasing their symmetry and decreasing the crossed polarizability of the pair ¹H-31P, producing phosphates with, probably, lower solubility than the ones produced at lower carbonization intensity. Additionally, a new methodology is being developed to study and characterize phosphate crystalline properties directly associated with phosphate solubility and availability to plants.

General electromagnetic simulation tool to predict the microwave nonlinear response of planar, arbitrarily-shaped HTS structures

This work describes a simulation tool being developed at UPC to predict the microwave nonlinear behavior of planar superconducting structures with very few restrictions on the geometry of the planar layout. The software is intended to be applicable to most structures used in planar HTS circuits, including line, patch, and quasi-lumped microstrip resonators. The tool combines Method of Moments (MoM) algorithms for general electromagnetic simulation with Harmonic Balance algorithms to take into account the nonlinearities in the HTS material. The Method of Moments code is based on discretization of the Electric Field Integral Equation in Rao, Wilton and Glisson Basis Functions. The multilayer dyadic Green's function is used with Sommerfeld integral formulation. The Harmonic Balance algorithm has been adapted to this application where the nonlinearity is distributed and where compatibility with the MoM algorithm is required. Tests of the algorithm in TM010 disk resonators agree with closed-form equations for both the fundamental and third-order intermodulation currents. Simulations of hairpin resonators show good qualitative agreement with previously published results, but it is found that a finer meshing would be necessary to get correct quantitative results. Possible improvements are suggested.

Projets de coopération universitaire : l'émergence de nouvelles structures de gouvernance

Depuis le début des années quatre-vingt-dix, le modèle classique de l'université est fortement remis en question: pénétration accrue des acteurs privés, attentes de la société civile, contractualisation et «horizontalisation» des relations, etc. L'université bouge et doit s'adapter à un environnement en mutation. En Suisse, les projets de coopération inter universités semblent être une des réponses privilégiées par les acteurs dominants du système pour faire face à ces changements. Toutefois, la mise en place de nouveaux arrangements institutionnels notamment sous la forme de réseaux d'enseignement et de recherche ne va pas sans soulever de nombreuses interrogations. Premièrement, et notamment du fait de bases légales peu développées, les collaborations institutionnalisées n'ont pas toutes la même configuration. Nous devons donc nous questionner sur les formes concrètes prises par ces réseaux d'enseignement et de recherche et sur les raisons qui ont conduit à l'adoption d'un type particulier de structure de coopération. Ensuite, comme ces structures ne viennent pas remplacer, mais plutôt se superposer à celles préexistantes, il convient de comprendre la redistribution du pouvoir au sein de formes institutionnelles complexes. Plus précisément, l'analyse de la nouvelle répartition des compétences entre les institutions hiérarchiques (les universités) et les coopérations (réseaux) en particulier sous l'angle de l'autonomie dont ces dernières disposent, se révèle être un angle d'approche fructueux. Finalement, la question de l'évaluation de ces nouvelles formes de gouvernance va se poser. Outre les formes prises par ces structures, une discussion doit être menée autour des limites démocratiques de cette nouvelle forme du secteur public. Ce working paper présente dans un premier temps quelques facteurs qui ont contraints les universités à une remise en cause de leurs structures de gouvernance. Il introduit ensuite quelques éléments théoriques faisant référence aux théories portant sur les réseaux et plus particulièrement à l'approche institutionnelle de ceux-ci. La troisième partie de ce papier présente brièvement les structures de gouvernance du système universitaire helvétique ainsi que les récentes pressions au changement ayant favorisé la mise en place de ces réseaux. Finalement, la quatrième partie étudie, au travers de six cas de coopérations inter-universitaires suisses, la forme prise par ces réseaux, essentiellement sous l'angle de leur degré d'autonomie.

Artificial evolution on network structures : how time and space influence dynamics

Abstract The main objective of this work is to show how the choice of the temporal dimension and of the spatial structure of the population influences an artificial evolutionary process. In the field of Artificial Evolution we can observe a common trend in synchronously evolv¬ing panmictic populations, i.e., populations in which any individual can be recombined with any other individual. Already in the '90s, the works of Spiessens and Manderick, Sarma and De Jong, and Gorges-Schleuter have pointed out that, if a population is struc¬tured according to a mono- or bi-dimensional regular lattice, the evolutionary process shows a different dynamic with respect to the panmictic case. In particular, Sarma and De Jong have studied the selection pressure (i.e., the diffusion of a best individual when the only selection operator is active) induced by a regular bi-dimensional structure of the population, proposing a logistic modeling of the selection pressure curves. This model supposes that the diffusion of a best individual in a population follows an exponential law. We show that such a model is inadequate to describe the process, since the growth speed must be quadratic or sub-quadratic in the case of a bi-dimensional regular lattice. New linear and sub-quadratic models are proposed for modeling the selection pressure curves in, respectively, mono- and bi-dimensional regu¬lar structures. These models are extended to describe the process when asynchronous evolutions are employed. Different dynamics of the populations imply different search strategies of the resulting algorithm, when the evolutionary process is used to solve optimisation problems. A benchmark of both discrete and continuous test problems is used to study the search characteristics of the different topologies and updates of the populations. In the last decade, the pioneering studies of Watts and Strogatz have shown that most real networks, both in the biological and sociological worlds as well as in man-made structures, have mathematical properties that set them apart from regular and random structures. In particular, they introduced the concepts of small-world graphs, and they showed that this new family of structures has interesting computing capabilities. Populations structured according to these new topologies are proposed, and their evolutionary dynamics are studied and modeled. We also propose asynchronous evolutions for these structures, and the resulting evolutionary behaviors are investigated. Many man-made networks have grown, and are still growing incrementally, and explanations have been proposed for their actual shape, such as Albert and Barabasi's preferential attachment growth rule. However, many actual networks seem to have undergone some kind of Darwinian variation and selection. Thus, how these networks might have come to be selected is an interesting yet unanswered question. In the last part of this work, we show how a simple evolutionary algorithm can enable the emrgence o these kinds of structures for two prototypical problems of the automata networks world, the majority classification and the synchronisation problems. Synopsis L'objectif principal de ce travail est de montrer l'influence du choix de la dimension temporelle et de la structure spatiale d'une population sur un processus évolutionnaire artificiel. Dans le domaine de l'Evolution Artificielle on peut observer une tendence à évoluer d'une façon synchrone des populations panmictiques, où chaque individu peut être récombiné avec tout autre individu dans la population. Déjà dans les année '90, Spiessens et Manderick, Sarma et De Jong, et Gorges-Schleuter ont observé que, si une population possède une structure régulière mono- ou bi-dimensionnelle, le processus évolutionnaire montre une dynamique différente de celle d'une population panmictique. En particulier, Sarma et De Jong ont étudié la pression de sélection (c-à-d la diffusion d'un individu optimal quand seul l'opérateur de sélection est actif) induite par une structure régulière bi-dimensionnelle de la population, proposant une modélisation logistique des courbes de pression de sélection. Ce modèle suppose que la diffusion d'un individu optimal suit une loi exponentielle. On montre que ce modèle est inadéquat pour décrire ce phénomène, étant donné que la vitesse de croissance doit obéir à une loi quadratique ou sous-quadratique dans le cas d'une structure régulière bi-dimensionnelle. De nouveaux modèles linéaires et sous-quadratique sont proposés pour des structures mono- et bi-dimensionnelles. Ces modèles sont étendus pour décrire des processus évolutionnaires asynchrones. Différentes dynamiques de la population impliquent strategies différentes de recherche de l'algorithme résultant lorsque le processus évolutionnaire est utilisé pour résoudre des problèmes d'optimisation. Un ensemble de problèmes discrets et continus est utilisé pour étudier les charactéristiques de recherche des différentes topologies et mises à jour des populations. Ces dernières années, les études de Watts et Strogatz ont montré que beaucoup de réseaux, aussi bien dans les mondes biologiques et sociologiques que dans les structures produites par l'homme, ont des propriétés mathématiques qui les séparent à la fois des structures régulières et des structures aléatoires. En particulier, ils ont introduit la notion de graphe sm,all-world et ont montré que cette nouvelle famille de structures possède des intéressantes propriétés dynamiques. Des populations ayant ces nouvelles topologies sont proposés, et leurs dynamiques évolutionnaires sont étudiées et modélisées. Pour des populations ayant ces structures, des méthodes d'évolution asynchrone sont proposées, et la dynamique résultante est étudiée. Beaucoup de réseaux produits par l'homme se sont formés d'une façon incrémentale, et des explications pour leur forme actuelle ont été proposées, comme le preferential attachment de Albert et Barabàsi. Toutefois, beaucoup de réseaux existants doivent être le produit d'un processus de variation et sélection darwiniennes. Ainsi, la façon dont ces structures ont pu être sélectionnées est une question intéressante restée sans réponse. Dans la dernière partie de ce travail, on montre comment un simple processus évolutif artificiel permet à ce type de topologies d'émerger dans le cas de deux problèmes prototypiques des réseaux d'automates, les tâches de densité et de synchronisation.

Automated formulation of optimisation models for steel beam structures

Over 70% of the total costs of an end product are consequences of decisions that are made during the design process. A search for optimal cross-sections will often have only a marginal effect on the amount of material used if the geometry of a structure is fixed and if the cross-sectional characteristics of its elements are property designed by conventional methods. In recent years, optimalgeometry has become a central area of research in the automated design of structures. It is generally accepted that no single optimisation algorithm is suitable for all engineering design problems. An appropriate algorithm, therefore, mustbe selected individually for each optimisation situation. Modelling is the mosttime consuming phase in the optimisation of steel and metal structures. In thisresearch, the goal was to develop a method and computer program, which reduces the modelling and optimisation time for structural design. The program needed anoptimisation algorithm that is suitable for various engineering design problems. Because Finite Element modelling is commonly used in the design of steel and metal structures, the interaction between a finite element tool and optimisation tool needed a practical solution. The developed method and computer programs were tested with standard optimisation tests and practical design optimisation cases. Three generations of computer programs are developed. The programs combine anoptimisation problem modelling tool and FE-modelling program using three alternate methdos. The modelling and optimisation was demonstrated in the design of a new boom construction and steel structures of flat and ridge roofs. This thesis demonstrates that the most time consuming modelling time is significantly reduced. Modelling errors are reduced and the results are more reliable. A new selection rule for the evolution algorithm, which eliminates the need for constraint weight factors is tested with optimisation cases of the steel structures that include hundreds of constraints. It is seen that the tested algorithm can be used nearly as a black box without parameter settings and penalty factors of the constraints.

A novel approachfor assessing the fatigue strength of ultrasonic impact treated welded structures.

It is commonly observed that complex fabricated structures subject tofatigue loading fail at the welded joints. Some problems can be corrected by proper detail design but fatigue performance can also be improved using post-weld improvement methods. In general, improvement methods can be divided into two main groups: weld geometry modification methods and residual stress modification methods. The former remove weld toe defects and/or reduce the stress concentrationwhile the latter introduce compressive stress fields in the area where fatigue cracks are likely to initiate. Ultrasonic impact treatment (UIT) is a novel post-weld treatment method that influences both the residual stress distribution andimproves the local geometry of the weld. The structural fatigue strength of non-load carrying attachments in the as-welded condition has been experimentally compared to the structural fatigue strength of ultrasonic impact treated welds. Longitudinal attachment specimens made of two thicknesses of steel S355 J0 have been tested for determining the efficiency of ultrasonic impacttreatment. Treated welds were found to have about 50% greater structural fatigue strength, when the slope of the S-N-curve is three. High mean stress fatigue testing based on the Ohta-method decreased the degree of weld improvement only 19%. This indicated that the method could be also applied for large fabricated structures operating under high reactive residual stresses equilibrated within the volume of the structure. The thickness of specimens has no significant effect tothe structural fatigue strength. The fatigue class difference between 5 mm and 8 mm specimen was only 8%. It was hypothesized that the UIT method added a significant crack initiation period to the total fatigue life of the welded joints. Crack initiation life was estimated by a local strain approach. Material parameters were defined using a modified Uniform Material Law developed in Germany. Finite element analysis and X-ray diffraction were used to define, respectively, the stress concentration and mean stress. The theoretical fatigue life was found to have good accuracy comparing to experimental fatigue tests.The predictive behaviour of the local strain approach combined with the uniformmaterial law was excellent for the joint types and conditions studied in this work.

A modified structural stress method for fatigue assessment of welded structures

Fatigue life assessment of weldedstructures is commonly based on the nominal stress method, but more flexible and accurate methods have been introduced. In general, the assessment accuracy is improved as more localized information about the weld is incorporated. The structural hot spot stress method includes the influence of macro geometric effects and structural discontinuities on the design stress but excludes the local features of the weld. In this thesis, the limitations of the structural hot spot stress method are discussed and a modified structural stress method with improved accuracy is developed and verified for selected welded details. The fatigue life of structures in the as-welded state consists mainly of crack growth from pre-existing cracks or defects. Crack growth rate depends on crack geometry and the stress state on the crack face plane. This means that the stress level and shape of the stress distribution in the assumed crack path governs thetotal fatigue life. In many structural details the stress distribution is similar and adequate fatigue life estimates can be obtained just by adjusting the stress level based on a single stress value, i.e., the structural hot spot stress. There are, however, cases for which the structural stress approach is less appropriate because the stress distribution differs significantly from the more common cases. Plate edge attachments and plates on elastic foundations are some examples of structures with this type of stress distribution. The importance of fillet weld size and weld load variation on the stress distribution is another central topic in this thesis. Structural hot spot stress determination is generally based on a procedure that involves extrapolation of plate surface stresses. Other possibilities for determining the structural hot spot stress is to extrapolate stresses through the thickness at the weld toe or to use Dong's method which includes through-thickness extrapolation at some distance from the weld toe. Both of these latter methods are less sensitive to the FE mesh used. Structural stress based on surface extrapolation is sensitive to the extrapolation points selected and to the FE mesh used near these points. Rules for proper meshing, however, are well defined and not difficult to apply. To improve the accuracy of the traditional structural hot spot stress, a multi-linear stress distribution is introduced. The magnitude of the weld toe stress after linearization is dependent on the weld size, weld load and plate thickness. Simple equations have been derived by comparing assessment results based on the local linear stress distribution and LEFM based calculations. The proposed method is called the modified structural stress method (MSHS) since the structural hot spot stress (SHS) value is corrected using information on weld size andweld load. The correction procedure is verified using fatigue test results found in the literature. Also, a test case was conducted comparing the proposed method with other local fatigue assessment methods.

Quadrant/octant sequencing and the role of coherent structures in bed load sediment entrainment

To permit the tracking of turbulent flow structures in an Eulerian frame from single-point measurements, we make use of a generalization of conventional two-dimensional quadrant analysis to three-dimensional octants. We characterize flow structures using the sequences of these octants and show how significance may be attached to particular sequences using statistical mull models. We analyze an example experiment and show how a particular dominant flow structure can be identified from the conditional probability of octant sequences. The frequency of this structure corresponds to the dominant peak in the velocity spectra and exerts a high proportion of the total shear stress. We link this structure explicitly to the propensity for sediment entrainment and show that greater insight into sediment entrainment can be obtained by disaggregating those octants that occur within the identified macroturbulence structure from those that do not. Hence, this work goes beyond critiques of Reynolds stress approaches to bed load entrainment that highlight the importance of outward interactions, to identifying and prioritizing the quadrants/octants that define particular flow structures. Key Points <list list-type=''bulleted'' id=''jgrf20196-list-0001''> <list-item id=''jgrf20196-li-0001''>A new method for analysing single point velocity data is presented <list-item id=''jgrf20196-li-0002''>Flow structures are identified by a sequence of flow states (termed octants) <list-item id=''jgrf20196-li-0003''>The identified structure exerts high stresses and causes bed-load entrainment