Academic literature on the topic 'Step-Like topography'

Abstract This work examines the dynamics of point vortices in a two-layer fluid near large-amplitude, sharply varying topography like that which occurs in continental shelf regions. Topography takes the form of an infinitely long step change in depth, and the two-layer stratification is chosen such that the height of topography in the upper layer is a small fraction of the overall depth, enabling quasigeostrophic theory to be used in both layers. An analytic expression for the dispersion relation of free topographic waves in this system is found. Weak vortices are studied using linear theory and, if located in the lower layer, propagate mainly because of their image in the topography. Depending on their sign, they are able to produce significant topographic wave radiation in their wakes. Upper-layer vortices propagate much slower and produce relatively small amplitude topographic wave radiation. Contour dynamics results are used to investigate the nonlinear regions of parameter space. For lower-layer vortices, linear theory is a good approximation, but for upper-layer vortices complicated features evolve and linear theory is only valid for weak vortices.

The use of a classical eddy parametrization in the analysis of continental boundary currents leads to the diffusion of momentum and relative vorticity and fails to recognize that the relevant eddies are dominated by the conservation of potential vorticity, which in turn may produce an increase in the mean relative vorticity. To illustrate this effect, we examine a non-inflected barotropic shear flow destabilized by the cross-steam variation in the bottom topògraphy of a continental slope. The finiteamplitude evolution of the waves is analysed in a simple model with a step-like bottom topography and with a piecewise-uniform potential vorticity distribution. The increase in maximum mean vorticity is computed for various values of the Rossby number and the topographic elevation, and it is suggested that a similar effect, taking into account the isopycnal topography as well as the isobaths, could maintain the large inshore shear of the Gulf Stream. Cross-shelf transport of different water ‘types’ (i.e. potential vorticity and passive tracers) are also computed and suggested to be pertinent to the more realistic oceanic problem involving baroclinic effects. The numerical calculation employs the well-known method of contour dynamics, and the Green's function appropriate for the step-like topography is derived.

The distribution of renewable energy sources is geographically limited. In the process of long-distance transmission, the direct current flowing from a ground electrode into the ground will cause a higher step voltage, which will bring serious security risks to the surrounding industry and life. Accurate calculation of the complex soil electrical model around the grounding electrode is crucial for site selection. Existing simulation software like CDEGS results in significant errors, particularly in complex karst topography. Therefore, constructing a finite element model that accurately reflects the characteristics of geotechnical soil near the DC grounding electrode is an essential but unresolved problem. This paper establishes a soil electrical model for karst topography and explores the impact of cave-type caverns and underground rivers on the step voltage distribution of DC grounding electrodes. These research findings can guide the site selection of DC transmission projects in karst topography.

Surface roughening regions running like scratches are often observed locally after epitaxy film grown on a very flat 4H-SiC wafer surfaces. We investigated generation mechanism of such roughening surface by using X-ray topography and confocal optical microscopy. We found that lattice defects were often introduced during CMP at local regions, and those local regions cannot be recognized by optical microscopy, since very flat surface can be observed. By H2 etching which is preprocess of epitaxy film growth, those lattice defects are almost etched off, but local rough surface consists of pits and step bunching regions appear like scratches, and those local pits and surface roughening regions grew up to step bunching during epitaxy film growth.

Models based on a potential field description and corresponding first integral formulation, embodying a reduction of the associated dynamic boundary condition at a free surface to one of a standard Dirichlet-Neumann type, are used to explore the problem of continuous gravity-driven film flow down an inclined piece-wise planar substrate in the absence of inertia. Numerical solutions of the first integral equations are compared with analytical ones from a linearised form of a reduced equation set resulting from application of the long-wave approximation. The results obtained are shown to: (i) be in very close agreement with existing, comparable experimental data and complementary numerical predictions for isolated step-like topography available in the open literature; (ii) exhibit the same qualitative behaviour for a range of Capillary numbers and step heights/depths, becoming quantitively similar when both are small. A novel outcome of the formulation adopted is identification of an analytic criteria enabling a simple classification procedure for specifying the characteristic nature of the free surface disturbance formed; leading subsequently to the generation of a related, practically relevant, characteristic parameter map in terms of the substrate inclination angle and the Capillary number of the associated flow.

I present detailed numerical experiments on a recently proposed S‐wave generation method and show the excitation characteristics of the downgoing S‐wave caused by a vertical impact acting close to a step‐like topography. The geophysicists’ group of Akita University recently studied and confirmed this phenomenon by in‐situ measurements and named it the “pit effect.” The numerical simulation is performed in 2-D space by the indirect boundary‐element method using the Green’s function for a homogeneous unbounded medium. The results show that the pit effect is a practical S‐wave generator vertical seismic profiling (VSP) and refraction surveys. The generation of a vertical downgoing S‐wave does not require any special machinery, so the pit effect can be used in many situations and especially in remote areas and difficult enviroments such as swamps and steep mountain ranges.

The assessment of slope susceptibility to seismically-induced displacements receives wide attention in the geotechnical earthquake engineering field, but the alteration of the seismic wave inside the slope and at the ground surface due to the presence of a shear band confining a quiescent landslide body is rarely investigated. This paper describes the preliminary results of the numerical analysis of two step-like FE models, reproducing a gentle slope and steep cutting subjected to weak earthquakes, thus focusing on seismic wave amplification processes only. The results show that the higher the thickness of the weakened zone, the higher the maximum value of the amplification factors predicted at the ground surface. For gentle slopes affected by a landslide body confined by a thick shear band, the highest amplification factors are expected in the longer period range of 0.7–1.1 s, while the highest level of amplification is achieved in the intermediate period interval of 0.4–0.8 s in the case of steep slopes. In addition, the parasitic vertical component of acceleration can be considerably amplified beyond the crest and at the toe of the slope for increasing band thickness, especially in the case of steep topography, for which the effects of the shear band morphology enhance those related to the topographic profile. Finally, the fundamental frequency of the sloping deposit is not particularly affected by the presence of the shear band, while the amplitude of the amplification function at the fundamental frequency is clearly related to its thickness.

TiO2 is widely used in biomaterial implants. The topography, chemical and structural properties of titania surfaces are an important aspect to study. The size of TiO2 nanoparticles synthetized by sol–gel method can influence the responses in the biological environment, and by using appropriate heat treatments different contents of different polymorphs can be formed. Protein adsorption is a crucial step for the biological responses, involving, in particular, albumin, the most abundant blood protein. In this theoretical work, using molecular mechanics and molecular dynamics methods, the adsorption process of an albumin subdomain is reported both onto specific different crystallographic faces of TiO2 anatase and also on its ideal three-dimensional nanosized crystal, using the simulation protocol proposed in my previous theoretical studies about the adsorption process on hydrophobic ordered graphene-like or hydrophilic amorphous polymeric surfaces. The different surface chemistry of anatase crystalline faces and the nanocrystal topography influence the adsorption process, in particular the interaction strength and protein fragment conformation, then its biological activity. This theoretical study can be a useful tool to better understand how the surface chemistry, crystal structure, size and topography play a key role in protein adsorption process onto anatase surface so widely used as biomaterial.

Les fonds marins exercent un contrôle majeur sur la circulation océanique. La représentation discrète de la topographie dans les modèles de circulation générale océanique (OGCM) géopotentiels crée des marches artificielles qui produisent des effets néfastes pour la simulation des courants. Cette thèse vise à établir des solutions adaptées pour résoudre les effets adverses des marches dans les OGCM. A partir de configurations idéalisées et en explorant le potentiel de la méthode de Pénalisation des Volumes de Brinkman (BVP), nous étudions la sensibilité des courants simulé aux frontières en marche d'escalier. Il est montré comment résoudre le 'spurious form drag' latéral (ou le 'staircase problem') mis en évidence par Adcroft et Marshall (1998). Les côtes (ainsi que les isobathes) représentées par des séries de marche deviennent lisses lorsqu'une condition miroir (glissement) est exactement appliquée sur l'écoulement à la côte. La formulation de la condition de glissement dans l'advection exprimé en 'flux-form' ou dans le tenseur visqueux symétrique produit dans le modèle du 'non-glissement' sur une topographie en marche d'escalier. Il est montré que la condition limite visqueuse doit changer le long des contours afin de simuler la rétroflexion du courants à un cape. Afin devenir insensible à la topographie en marche d'escalier, les modèles numériques devraient idéalement être physiquement convergés (c'est-à-dire que les caractéristiques principales de l'écoulement ne sont pas affectées par l'augmentation de la résolution spatiale en conservant les paramètres de viscosité et de friction constants). Il est montré que cette convergence peut être atteinte à une résolution plus faible en résolvant l'advection discrète des moments à l'aide de schémas utilisant un stencil élargi. On montre dans un overflow idéalisée l'impact de la résolution discrète de la quantité de mouvement sur la précision des écoulements le long des pentes en marche d'escalier. La méthode de BVP permet d'étaler l'interface terre-océan en définissant des cellules poreuses qui sont à moitié terre et à moitié océan. Étaler ainsi l'interface lisse les courants et réduit considérablement la diffusion numérique pendant la descente. Il est montré que la stabilité numérique de la méthode BVP peut être assurée en étalant suffisamment la frontière poreuse, et en ajustant de manière cohérente la perméabilité (friction dans les cellules poreuses). Les résultats soulignent le potentiel de la méthode BVP pour la meilleure représentation des courants le long des topographies dans les OGCM
The seafloor exerts a major control on ocean circulation. The discrete representation of marine topography in geopotential Ocean General Circulation Models (OGCMs) creates artificial steps that have adverse effects on the simulated circulation. This thesis aims at finding suitable ways to address the adverse effects of stepped topography in z-coordinate OGCMs. Using idealized configurations and exploring the potential of the Brinkman Volume Penalisation (BVP) method, we investigate the sensitivity of modelled currents to the presence of artificial steps along model boundaries. We first address the spurious lateral form drag (or textit{staircase problem}) highlighted by Adcroft and Marshall (1998). We show that staircase-like coastlines (and isobaths) behave as smooth boundaries when applying a textit{true} mirror condition on the boundary flow. The discrete implementation of free-slip using flux-form advection and a symmetric viscous stress tensor actually corresponds to no-slip along stepped topography. The choice of viscous boundary condition should vary with location to capture the retroflection of boundary currents at capes. To become insensitive to stepped topography, numerical models should ideally achieve physical convergence (i.e. the main characteristics of the flow are not affected by increasing spatial resolution while keeping viscous and frictional parameters constant). This convergence can be attained at lower resolution with a careful treatment of discrete momentum advection involving a large stencil. We highlight the impact of momentum advection schemes on the fidelity of simulated downslope currents within an idealised overflow configuration. The BVP method allows to spread the land-ocean interface, by introducing porous cells that are half-land half-ocean. We find that this spreading allows to smooth bottom currents and to reduce spurious mixing during downslope flow. The numerical stability of the BVP can be guaranteed by sufficient spreading of the boundary and by defining permeability (friction within porous cells) in a consistent way. The results underscore the potential of the BVP method to better represent flows along topography in OGCMs

When a topological insulator is incorporated with magnetism, the time-reversal symmetry (TRS) breaks. This chapter sums up the current research in Mn-doped topological insulators, mostly focusing on antiferromagnetic MnBi2Te4 and its family. Specific critical behavior of Mn-doped Bi2Te3 topological insulator reveals ferromagnetic ordering (to increase conductivity) of Mn spin at normal substitution. Moreover, due to intrinsic anti-state substitutional defect if a comparable amount of local moment is produced then calculated data is in favor of a spin glass state with polarization. Exotic phenomena like the magnetoelectric effect and dissipation less edge state occur in this material and to study MnBi2Se4 epitaxial thin films a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is utilized. Steps between a screw dislocation and the van der Waals layer are manifested in the large-scale topographic image. In a small area at the edge Bi termination is occurred and Se termination is dominant at the surface, this termination is compared by examining step height, tunneling spectroscopy, and resolution image. Similarly, for analyzing Mn impurity in Bi2Se3 electron paramagnetic resonance is used and by implementing the vertical Bridgman method topological insulator is grown. Mn2+ configuration was found in conducting state of a host metal and Mn in high spin =5/2Mn^(2+). This assumption shows that energy level Mn^(2+) (d^5) is present the valence bad (VB) and energy level, Mn^(1+) (d^6) is located far way form energy gap.

Liquid storage tanks are among vital structures widely used in various fields. Estimating the sloshing wave height in storage tanks during seismic events is very important to avoid seismic damage. Despite its importance, only a few studies have addressed the sloshing wave height in storage tanks considering the soil-structure and fluid-structure coupling effects. This paper used finite element numerical simulation method to study the seismic response of rectangular concrete liquid storage tanks. Three aspect ratios, three liquid heights, nine earthquake records with different frequency content, and three different topography conditions were considered. The obtained results indicated that the liquid storage tank models involved in this study were more sensitive to high-frequency earthquake events, and the step-like irregular topography could amplify the sloshing wave height of the storage tanks. Besides, Eurocode 8 underestimated the peak sloshing wave height of the storage tanks when subjected to earthquakes with high-frequency content.

We report easy and fast fabrication methods to prepare densely packed polystyrene (PS) and silicon nano-dots using one-step excimer laser irradiation on cylindrically nanopatterned block copolymer materials, without any additional selective etching steps before a non-selective etching. Preferential etching in more ultraviolet (UV)-sensitive block component, and non-selective removal of all block components allowed transferring nanopatterns in block copolymer masks to inorganic silicon substrates, when an appropriate laser intensity was used. Surface melt flows of block components, which severely undermine the initial orders of nanopatterns in a block copolymer mask, were observed at the laser intensity near the ablation threshold of the less UV-sensitive component. Thus, in order to obtain mask-image-like topographic nanopatterns on the target material surfaces, the intensity of excimer laser radiation should be sufficiently lower than the ablation threshold of the less UV-sensitive component as long as the intensity is higher than that of the more UV-sensitive component. Numerical analyses on the photothermal excimer laser ablation in binary mixture systems predicted the presence of a matrix-assisted excimer laser ablation in the less UV-sensitive component at the laser intensity lower than its ablation threshold, owing to the heat conduction from the more UV-sensitive component during the nanoscopic level of time duration.