A composite indicator for measuring the environmental performance of water,wastewater, and solid waste utilities

The aim of this paper is to measure and benchmark the environmental performance of Portuguese utilities jointly active in the three sectors of water supply, wastewater collection and solid waste management. To do so, we suggest the use of a traditional (optimistic) directional distance Benefit of the Doubt index. We complement the analysis by considering also the pessimistic version of the proposed BoD and by implementing a robust and conditional approach. The obtained results show that there is space for improvement in the pressure balance of these utilities, especially for small and very large units, mostly operating in urban areas.     

Multidirectional focus measure for accurate three-dimensional shape recovery of microscopic objects

Shape from focus (SFF) is a technique to recover the shape of an object from multiple images taken at various focus settings. Most of conventional SFF techniques compute focus value of a pixel by applying one of focus measure operators on neighboring pixels on the same image frame. However, in the optics with limited depth of field, neighboring pixels of an image have different degree of focus for curved objects, thus the computed focus value does not reflect the accurate focus level of the pixel. Ideally, an accurate focus value of a pixel needs to be measured from the neighboring pixels lying on tangential plane of the pixel in image space. In this article, a tangential plane on each pixel location (i, j) in image sensor is searched by selecting one of five candidate planes based on the assumption that the maximum variance of focus values along the optical axis is achieved from the neighborhood lying on tangential plane of the pixel (i, j). Then, a focus measure operator is applied on neighboring pixels lying on the searched plane. The experimental results on both the synthetic and real microscopic objects show the proposed method produces more accurate three-dimensional shape in comparison to conventional SFF method that applies focus measures on original image planes.     

Sustainable transition in small island developing states: Assessing the current situation

Transitioning to sustainable energy systems is an overriding challenge for small islands. Indeed, these territories must succeed within the next decades with the objective of energy independence and transitioning to a sustainable situation. In this research, a statistical approach is performed to explore and discuss a comprehensive study on small islands' sustainability from the standpoint of renewable energy. It is about identifying whether small islands are moving toward a sustainability path. Three steps are necessary to achieve this. A principal components analysis (PCA) is first investigated to identify which explanatory variables have a significant contribution on the percentage of data variance. Then, PCA-based hierarchical clustering highlights the island organization in two different years (2010 and 2014). It is a panel of 35 Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) that served as a basis for the PCA and classification. Finally, a sustainability indicator is proposed to qualify the level of sustainability of each group of islands. Sustainability is understood through the lens of the share of renewables, the electricity situation, economic development and geographical localization. The obtained results clearly show that the dynamics of transition is not clearly engaged for the small islands. Most of them have actually become more vulnerable during the 2010–2014 time span.     

Properties and microstructure of copper-alloyed solid solution-strengthened ductile iron

Solid solution-strengthened ductile iron (DI) exhibits outstanding mechanical properties due to the high silicon content. The strengthening by silicon addition is limited since additions above 4.3?wt-% lead to embrittlement. For a further improvement of mechanical properties, other alloying elements need to be considered. In the present work, the effect of various copper additions on the microstructure and the mechanical properties of solid solution-strengthened DI were investigated. The results show that no appreciable strengthening can be achieved by copper addition without the formation of pearlite in the matrix. The pearlite content increases considerably for Cu-additions above 0.23?wt-% and is independent of the cooling rate for the cooling conditions analysed.     

异料拼接对女装毛衫创新设计的影响

针对目前女装毛衫款式简单,缺乏前卫创新设计,难以充分满足毛衫市场时装化、外穿化的需求,结合2019秋冬国际品牌流行发布会上的毛衫设计实例,从点线面的视角阐述异料拼接在女装毛衫上的表现形式,将材料的多元组合思维引入女装毛衫设计,展示了异料拼接在女装毛衫设计中的应用形式及特征,总结出其对毛衫款式、造型、风格、功能4个层面设计的影响,指出在打破传统款式限制、改变毛衫空间廓形、提升毛衫风格美感与功能性等方面具有重要意义,为毛衫产业实现转型升级提出新的参考路径。     

LNG储罐用06Ni9钢板生产工艺及控制措施

介绍了LNG储罐用06Ni9钢板的技术要求。针对生产中06Ni9钢板性能控制、表面质量控制及超极限规格轧制板形控制的难点问题，经试验及现场实践，提出了相应的控制措施，如优化化学成分设计、优化轧制工艺和热处理工艺，保证了钢板的性能；板坯表面喷涂专用防氧化涂料，并配合合理的除鳞工艺，保证了钢板的表面质量；优化坯料、辊型设计，改进模型参数，保证了极限规格钢板的板形质量。在此基础上，太钢成功开发出LNG工程用06Ni9钢板。     

Stretchable poly(glycerol-sebacate)/β-tricalcium phosphate composites with shape recovery feature by extrusion

There has been a great interest in research towards elastomers and their composites with an attempt to obtain the desired biological and mechanical response to scaffold materials in bone tissue engineering. Composites made of ceramic-thermoplastic mixtures have been shown success to deliver the inorganic component while fail to provide replacement of an elastic protein, that is, collagen, of the target bone tissue. Thus, in order to match up with the inherent elasticity of the native tissue, it is proposed an alternative to well-known thermoplastic-containing matrices by using a poly(glycerol-sebacate) (PGS)–beta-tricalcium phosphate elastomeric composite to offer flexibility and mechanical integrity. This study reports for the first time a successful extrusion of PGS containing biodegradable composites with shape-memory feature. The resulting structures are physically and chemically characterized. In vitro cell culture performance of the obtained materials is investigated by using an MC3T3-E1 mouse preosteoblast cell line. The materials obtained in this study can be shaped into the desired size and various forms via temperature stimuli. Resulting materials have been proposed for craniofacial tissue engineering as a bone filler in which surgeons need to shape biomaterials during the surgical procedure due to the complex geometry of the bones. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 137, 48689.     

异形医用双腔导管挤出离模膨胀变形机理与调控

如何准确预测和精密调控异形医用双腔导管的离模膨胀变形是实现其精密成型的关键技术。通过传统和气辅精密成型的对比分析，研究表明离模膨胀变形是由熔体的第二法向应力差驱动的径向二次流动所诱发，传统挤出成型会产生较大的第二法向应力差，第二法向应力差驱动诱发的径向二次流动是离模膨胀变形的直接驱动力，从而导致传统挤出成型的异形医用双腔导管不仅产生离模膨胀，而且还产生椭圆度误差，其最大离模膨胀比和椭圆度误差分别为1.86和6.3 %。异形医用双腔导管的气辅精密挤出成型基本可以消除熔体的第二法向应力差，必然消除了挤出成型过程的径向二次流动，从而实现了异形医用双腔导管的精密控形。     

区域供水安全指标体系构建及短板要素甄别

根据区域供水特点和供水安全内涵,构建区域供水安全评价指标体系,并辨识了2010~2017年江苏省区域供水安全状态;根据短板要素理论,采用均衡度指标计算不同指标之间的差异,将指标分为短板要素、限制性要素和优势要素。从纵向(年际)和横向(指标)两个方面分析江苏省区域供水的发展状态和原因。结果表明,江苏省区域供水安全状态一直在稳步提高,除去随机性较大的水源子系统,其余三个子系统都在向安全的方向发展。     

超深层挡水放空洞复杂体型高速水流水力特性数值模拟

针对某水电站超深层挡水放空洞复杂体型,利用3D紊流数值模拟方法,采用VOF方法追踪自由水面,对泄流能力、沿程水面线、流速、压强等水力特性进行了数值模拟分析。结果表明,该放空洞结构泄流能力满足设计要求,设计体型基本合理,有压洞转弯段出现严重的偏流,需对该段体型进行优化;弧形闸室后部两侧突扩结构最小负压0.1MPa,结构易发生空化空蚀,建议减小突扩结构尺寸,延长侧墙长度,尽量减小侧墙坡度;消能工段出口底板部位最小负压为0.1MPa,建议取消挑坎末端水平段,使水流直接挑出。