Emissions of the major greenhouse gas NO from soils are characterized by huge spatial variability. An upscaling based on conventional small-scale chamber measurements is thus questionable and may involve a considerable amount of uncertainty. In this feasibility study, we evaluated the applicability of a large, closed tunnel for field-scale measurements of NO fluxes from an unfertilized grasslan...

Bacillus subtilis strain NKYL29 is an antimicrobial-peptide-producing strain isolated from the soil of Ranzhuang Tunnel in Hebei Province, China. Here, we present the draft genome of this strain, which provides the genetic basis for application of the antimicrobial peptide.

Leaf-cutting ant queens excavate a founding nest consisting of a vertical tunnel and a final horizontal chamber. Nest foundation is very time consuming, and colony success depends on the excavated depth. Although shallow nests may be energetically cheaper to dig, queens may be more exposed to the changing environment. Deeper chambers, in contrast, may be climatically more stable, but are more e...

An important aspect of planning for shallow tunneling under urban areas is the determination of likely surface movements and interaction with existing structures. Back analysis of built tunnels that their settlements magnitude is available, could aid the designers to have a more accuracy in future projects. In this paper, one single Tehran Metro Tunnel (at west of Hor square, Jang University St...

Seismic design loads for tunnels are characterized in terms of the deformations imposed on the structure by surrounding ground. The free-field ground deformations due to a seismic event are estimated, and the tunnel is designed to accommodate these deformations. Vertically propagating shear waves are the predominant form of earthquake loading that causes the ovaling deformations of circular tun...

Finite element technique is used to model two phases of tunneling process, namely; excavation and rocklining interaction. The excavation phase is responsible for determining the pre-lining rock mass deformations and the reduced in-situ stresses. The interaction phase models the compatibility of the rock-lining system. The deformations and stresses of the rock-lining system and the final rock ma...

In this study, we have introduced a biological dust control technique utilizing a naturally occurring soil microorganism, Sporosarcina pasteurii, which is capable of inducing calcium carbonate precipitation in the environment. To evaluate the dust suppressive potential of this microbial calcite, S. pasteurii was suspended in medium and applied to locally available sand. The treated soil samples...

Abstract One of the crucial factors that has gained widespread popularity during tunnelling construction process is face stability tunnel mainly depends upon support pressure to be applied at against overburden and surcharge loading acting on earth surface. In this study, different cross sections tunnels been investigated in cohesionless soil (loose medium dense sand) using Finite Element Analy...

A residential building with a lateral load resisting system, adopted as a reference example, is considered in the paper. The system is made of shear walls realized using the tunnel form technology. The building is modelled for a varying number of floors, and the model is also used to consider the applicability of the technology with regard to construction costs. The influence of the type of soi...