Student Number : 0418755N - MSc (Eng) dissertation - School of Civil and Environmental Engineering - Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment / Environmental impacts from tailings impoundments differ according to their mineral constituents. Erosion is one of the processes that aggravate the environmental impacts from tailings due to the transportation of particles, and knowing the susceptibility mechanisms of those tailings particles for erosion will provide understanding of how to prevent impacts arising from erosion. Laboratory pinhole erosion tests were used to determine the susceptibility of tailings particles to erosion. Compacted tailings samples were used, as compaction is an important parameter of erosion susceptibility. The study entails investigation of factors that affect erosion from the slopes of tailings deposits in order to evaluate mitigation measures. The results could help to provide more effective methods to reduce gully formation and enhance environmental protection. It is advisable to prevent environmental impacts at the source, before they become detrimental and costly to mitigate.

Orientador: César Gustavo da Rocha Lima / Resumo: A bacia hidrográfica é uma unidade geomorfológica que agrega os impactos das interferências antrópicas e naturais sobre os recursos hídricos. Mudanças significativas nas características de uma bacia, causadas por processos naturais ou atividades antrópicas, podem gerar alterações, efeitos e impactos na estabilidade biótica e abiótica do sistema, desencadeando desequilíbrios ambientais e, portanto, a degradação da paisagem. Dentre os processos causadores dessa degradação, destaca-se a erosão dos solos. A erosão é um processo geológico responsável pela remoção e pelo transporte de partículas do solo, principalmente pela ação da água das chuvas sendo um importante agente na modelagem da paisagem terrestre e na redistribuição de energia no interior da bacia hidrográfica. Neste trabalho será analisada a relação entre algumas metodologias – e suas modificações - de predição de ocorrência de processos erosivos na Bacia Hidrográfica do Córrego do Engano utilizando um ambiente de Sistemas de Informações Geográficas. Foram aplicados três diferentes métodos: Vulnerabilidade Natural à Erosão (VNE), Equação Universal de Perda de Solos (USLE) e processo de análise hierárquica (AHP). Para a aplicação dos três métodos foi utilizado um Sistema de Informação Geográfica com a criação de um banco de dados com diversas informações necessárias para a aplicação dos métodos, como: mapa de precipitação, erosividade, tipos de solo, erodibilidade, tipos de rochas, fatores topográficos e uso e ocupação.... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The drainage basin is a geomorphological unit that aggregates the protection of anthropic and natural interferences on water resources. Changes in the characteristics of a basin, caused by natural processes or anthropic activities, can generate changes, effects and stability in the biology and in the abiotic system, triggering environmental imbalances and, therefore, a degradation of the landscape. Among the processes that causes this degradation, there is soil erosion. Erosion is a geological process responsible for the removal and transport of soil particles, mainly by the action of rainwater, being an important agent in the modeling of the terrestrial landscape and in the redistribution of energy within a drainage basin. This work will analyze the relationship between some methodologies - and their modifications - of predicting the occurrence of erosive processes in the Corrego do Engano drainage basin using a Geographic Information Systems environment. Three different methods were applied: Natural Erosion Vulnerability (VNE), Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and hierarchical analysis process (AHP). For the application of the three methods was used a Geographic Information System with the creation of a database with several information needed to work with these methods, such as: precipitation map, erosivity, soil types, erodibility, types of rocks, factors topography and land use. For each methodology was determined the probability of occurrence of erosive processes bas... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Les reliefs continentaux sont des interfaces dynamiques entre la lithosphère et l'atmosphère où interagissent une grande diversité de processus en lien avec la géodynamique interne et la géodynamique externe. Ils sont au cœur de la problématique des interactions entre le climat et la tectonique, dont une meilleure compréhension passe nécessairement par une meilleure appréhension des effets du climat et de ses variations sur la morphologie des reliefs et leur érosion. Nous présentons dans ce travail les résultats d'une étude expérimentale, en laboratoire, de la dynamique des reliefs, sous l'effet de forçages tectoniques (taux de surrection) et climatiques (taux de précipitations). A partir de l'élaboration d'une base de données conséquente d'expériences réalisées sous des conditions de surrection et de précipitations différentes, nous montrons que les hauteurs moyennes d'équilibre des reliefs, que leur temps de mise à l'équilibre et que leur morphologie déduite d'analyses de type pente-aire drainée sont des fonctions non- linéaires de la surrection, avec un effet des précipitations qui reste à préciser. Nous montrons que l'altitude moyenne d'équilibre des reliefs expérimentaux est contrôlée par le rapport entre taux de précipitation et de surrection (" water-to-rock ratio ") selon une loi non linéaire bien contrainte par plus de 80 données expérimentales. Le problème de la réponse des reliefs aux variations climatiques a été abordé en considérant l'effet d'une chute de pluviométrie sur un relief initialement à l'équilibre, en considérant différentes durées de chute, à taux de surrection constant. Nous montrons que plus la durée de chute de pluviométrie n'est importante, plus la réponse érosive (chute de vitesse d'érosion) est décalée dans le temps et amoindrie en amplitude. Ce résultat implique que sur les très longues échelles de temps (> quelques Ma), les variations climatiques n'ont probablement que très peu d'impact sur les vitesses d'érosion. Nous montrons également que cette réponse est contrôlée dans nos expériences par un seuil d'érosion. Nous avons également abordé l'impact de variations spatiales de précipitation sur la mobilité des réseaux de rivières et de crêtes. Nous montrons que de telles variations sont à l'origine d'une dissymétrie des vallées et d'une migration des réseaux de drainage qui peuvent aboutir à des captures entre bassins versants. Ces phénomènes observés dans les expériences sont tout à fait cohérents avec les caractéristiques géomorphologiques des vallées du piedmont nord-pyrénéen. Ces différents résultats mettent en évidence le rôle du climat, en l'occurrence les précipitations, sur la dynamique à long-terme des surfaces topographiques. / Continental reliefs are dynamic interfaces between the lithosphere and the atmosphere here a great diversity of processes interact with internal geodynamics and external geodynamics. They are at the essence of the problem of interactions between climate and tectonics. A better understanding of this interactions suggests a better understanding of effects of climate and its variations on the morphology of the landforms and their erosion. We present in this work the results of an experimental study in laboratory of the dynamics of the reliefs, under the effect of tectonic forcing (uplift rate) and climatic (rainfall rate). From the development of a consistent database of experiments carried out under different conditions of uplift and precipitation, we show that the mean steady-state of the reliefs, their update time and their morphology, deduced from slope-area analyzis, are non-linear functions of the uplift, with a rainfall effect that needs to be specified. We show that the mean equilibrium altitude of the experimental landscape is controlled by the ratio between rainfall and uplift "water-to-rock ratio", according to a nonlinear law constrained by more than 80 experimental data. The problem of the response of reliefs to climatic variations was approached by considering the effect of a decrease of rainfall rate on a landscape initially at steady-state, considering different durations of the decrease, with constant rate of rise. We show that more the deacreasing of rainfall asts in time, more the erosive response (erosion rate) is shifted in time and decreases in amplitude. This result implies that over very long-time scales (> a few Ma), climatic variations probably have very little impact on erosion rates. We also show that this response is controlled in our experiments by an erosion threshold. We also discussed the impact of spatial rainfall variations on the mobility of river and ridge networks. We show that such variations lead to a dissymmetry of the valleys and a migration of the drainage networks, which can cause catches between catchments. These phenomena observed in the experiments are in agreement with the geomorphological characteristics of the valleys of the north-Pyrenean piedmont. These results highlight the role of climate, in this case precipitation, in the long-term dynamics of topographic surfaces.

Fluvial erosion incites significant bridge scour and large-scale bank erosion causing estimated $1.1 billion damage in the Midwest. Conventional, manual, field monitoring methods, typically erosion pins, cross-section resurveys or terrestrial photogrammetry, used to monitor fluvial erosion rates merely provide a net change in bank surface retreat since the previous measurement. If mass wasting has occurred, the ongoing fluvial erosion would be masked. Erosion event timing, and the precise bank response to individual flow or flow hydrograph changes, is generally uncertain. Thus, a technique that automatically quantifies bank erosion on a continuous basis is needed. This study will monitor the bank response to individual flow (i.e., fluvial erosion) using the Photo-Electronic Erosion Pin (PEEP) sensors in Clear Creek Iowa. It attends to monitor a full episode of bank change, including event timings and magnitude information for specific erosion and deposition events, which can be compared to flow discharges and hydrographs. If exploited, this method can lead to more detailed analysis of bank erosion related to temporal fluctuations in the suspected hydraulic forces.

Abstract not available

Im Projekt wurde eine Methodik entwickelt, um mit dem Modell EROSION 3D sachsenweit für erosionsauslösende Starkniederschlagsszenarien den partikelgebundene Phosphoreintrag in Oberflächenwasserkörper abzuschätzen. Mit dieser Abschätzung und der Identifikation wassererosionsgefährdeter Ackerflächen bzw. Feststoffeintragspfade in Gewässer lassen sich zur erfolgreichen Umsetzung der EU-Wasserrahmenrichtlinie zielgerichtete Maßnahmen zum Erosionsschutz ableiten. Die Modellierungen mit EROSION 3D zeigen, dass eine konsequente Umstellung auf konservierende Bodenbearbeitung die P-Austräge in Sachsen signifikant um 80-90 % senken würde. Die Projektergebnisse liefern wichtige Grundlagen zur P-Anreicherung im Feinbodenanteil von Ackerböden und geben einen Einblick in das Prozessverständnis der partikelgebundenen P-Austragsdynamik.

Concrete pavement systems have great capacity to provide long service lives; however, if the subbase layer is improperly designed or mismanaged, service life would be diminished significantly since the subbase layer performs many important roles in a concrete pavement system. The erosion of material beneath a concrete slab is an important performance-related factor that if applied to the selection of base materials can enhance the overall design process for concrete pavement systems. However, erosion of the subbase has not been included explicitly in analysis and design procedures since there is not a well accepted laboratory test and related erosion model suitable for design. Previous erosion test methods and erosion models are evaluated in terms of their utility to characterize subbase materials for erosion resistance. With this information, a new test configuration was devised that uses a Hamburg wheel-tracking device for evaluating erodibility with respect to the degree of stabilization and base type. Test devices, procedures, and results are explained and summarized for application in mechanistic design processes. A proposed erosion model is calibrated by comparing erosion to lab test results and LTPP field performance data. Subbase design guidelines are provided with a decision flowchart and a design assistant spread sheet for the economical and sustainable design of concrete pavement subbase layers by considering many design factors that affect the performance of the subbase.

Abstract With the development of new technology and the stringent requirement for the international environmental regulation, the silver-oxide cadmium composites with the best contact performance will be prohibited due to the anxiety to cause cancer. Therefore, this study intends to develop a new contact materials with the best contact performance and cost. This study intends to use the silver powder (2~4£gm) as the major component, and the alumina ceramic powders (0.5£gm) as the minor component. The self-development mixer is used to uniformly mix silver powder with alumina powder, and then the powder metallurgy is used to make the electric contacts. Under the supply voltage and current, as well as the mixing conditions, the contact erosion amount, the arc energy, and the contact resistance are measured to investigate the erosion mechanism. Results show that the electric contact with 4%wt alumina ceramic powder has the best performance. Furthermore, the new electric contacts of silver base alumina composite material appear the acceptable performance compared with the commercial electric contacts.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Universität Berlin, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--Auburn University, 2010. / Abstract. Includes bibliographic references (p.94-113).