Rip currents near coastal structures in Lake Michigan: Characterization and assessment for warnings

Rip currents near coastal structures commonly occur in Lake Michigan in the Great Lakes region of the United States. Lack of timely warning due to undocumented characteristics of rip currents and no assessment tool can contribute to tragic drownings incidents. In this paper, we characterized rip current occurrences near breakwater structures and developed an assessment tool for providing timely rip current warnings to beachgoers at the study site, City of Port Washington, WI. Characteristics of rip currents near the structure were observed from field measurements or visual images. Deflection rip currents had speeds of ～ 0.2 m/s and lasted for several hours. The rip current occurrences were associated with environmental proxies. It was found that rip currents can occur even when the water appears calm near the structure. A Structure Rip Checklist and Assessment Matrix (SRiCAM) with a four-tiered risk was developed and validated using observations. Furthermore, the SRiCAM was integrated into cyberinfrastructure with a data contingency plan to provide real-time warnings to the public. The applicability of the SRiCAM to other locations across Lake Michigan was further tested and results are promising. Overall, the SRiCAM has the potential to be widely extended to foster recreational water safety and resilience to rip current hazards in the Great Lakes.     

Future Hydrological Drought Analysis Considering Agricultural Water Withdrawal Under SSP Scenarios

Hydrological drought is assessed through river flow, which depends on river runoff and water withdrawal. This study proposed a framework to project future hydrological droughts considering agricultural water withdrawal (AWW) for shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP) scenarios. The relationship between AWW and potential evapotranspiration (PET) was determined using a deep belief network (DBN) model and then applied to estimate future AWW using projections of the twelve global climate models (GCMs). 12 GCMs were bias-corrected using the quantile mapping method, climate variables were generated, and river flow was estimated using the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) model. The standardized runoff index (SRI) was used to project the changes in hydrological drought characteristics. The results revealed a higher occurrence of severe droughts in the future. Droughts would be more frequent in the near future (2021–2060) than in the far future (2061–2100) and more severe when AWW is considered. Droughts would also be more severe for SSP5-8.5 than for SSP2-4.5. The study revealed that the increased PET due to rising temperatures is the primary cause of the increased drought frequency and severity. The AWW will accelerate the drought severities in the future in the Yeongsan River basin.

     

Accelerated bioactive behavior of Nagelschmidtite bioceramics: Mimicking the nano and microstructural aspects of biological mineralization

The ability of the Nagelschmidtite (Nagel) phase to promote osteogenesis, cementogenesis, and angiogenesis increased the interest in using this calcium silicophosphate bioceramic for tissue regeneration and vascularization applications. Nagel phase is a solid solution with the general formula Ca_7-xNa_x(PO₄)_2+x(SiO₄)_2-x, which allows several substitutions being Ca₇(PO₄)₂(SiO₄)₂ the most reported stoichiometry. Inspired by the well-known 45S5 bioactive glass chemical composition, we developed a synthesis route to obtain a Na-rich Nagel single phase. The effect of this bioceramic chemical and structural properties on apatite formation and crystallization mechanism is reported. The structural aspects at the nano and microscale of the mechanism of apatite growth and crystallization from the Nagel phase were compared to the formation process of Extra-Cellular Matrix (ECM) deposits in biological systems, revealing a biomimetic behavior during the apatite biomineralization process from the bioceramic.     

Coastal trapped waves in the southern Caspian Sea

Previous studies reported coastal trapped waves (CTWs) in the Caspian Sea (CS). This study deals with the generation mechanisms, the temporal and spatial variability of CTWs in this area, and their transformations during propagation from the origin to the destination using recent measurements and high-resolution numerical simulations. CTWs are observed at all stations with periods of 2–6 days after northerly storms. The Absheron Peninsula, old Sefidrud delta, and Nur coasts were identified as the CTWs prone regions. The generation of CTWs in these locations was confirmed using numerical experiments. The propagation away from the generating location of CTWs was analyzed using a representative real wind storm. In the west part of the CS, the generation mechanism of CTWs is mainly similar to the barotropic Kelvin waves; in contrast, it is similar to the continental shelf waves in the southern shelves. The results can be used to study the contribution of generated CTWs to the transport of sediment and biological materials in all large lakes.     

爆炸载荷下空孔缺陷与爆生裂纹扩展行为研究

空孔在岩石巷道直眼掏槽爆破中具有重要作用,为研究空孔及其缺陷在爆炸荷载作用下的扩展行为和作用机理,以PMMA代替岩石材料,利用预制裂纹代替空孔缺陷,借助动态焦散线系统和理论分析为手段,研究不同间距下空孔、空孔处预制裂纹、爆生裂纹动态扩展规律及机理,分析不同"径距比"与掏槽效果的关系。研究结果表明:在装药量一定的情况下,随着炮孔与空孔距离的变化,爆生裂纹扩展距离呈现递增而预制裂纹扩展距离呈现递减的趋势,但都存在极值;当炮孔与空孔距离较小时,爆生裂纹和预制裂纹扩展及相互作用最复杂,爆生裂纹扩展经历由压缩应力波为主,表现为直线的前期扩展;由空孔处发射应力波和压缩应力波共同作用下,爆生裂纹偏离炮孔与空孔连心线的中期扩展,以及由空孔应力集中区作用使爆生裂纹向空孔方向偏移的后期阶段;预制裂纹扩展经历由空孔处应力集中作用下,表现为直线的前期扩展,以及由爆生裂纹处反射拉伸波作用使其向爆生裂纹发展的后期阶段;当炮孔与空孔距离较大时,反射应力波及应力集中效应对爆生裂纹和预制裂纹扩展在减弱,爆生裂纹与预制裂纹扩展行为仅有前期直线扩展阶段。"径距比"的大小对爆破效果影响较大,直眼掏槽爆破应以最优"径距比"作为掏槽爆破参数设计的依据。     

Stochastic and recursive estimation of the hygro-thermo-chemical-mechanical parameters of concrete through Monte Carlo analysis and extended Kalman filter

Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization - Hygro-thermo-chemical-mechanical models, used to determine the variations over time of temperature, relative humidity and shrinkage induced...     

Potentiality of combined catalyst for high quality bio-oil production from catalytic pyrolysis of pinewood using an analytical Py-GC/MS and fixed bed reactor

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of combined catalyst (ZSM-5 and CaO) for high quality bio-oil production from the catalytic pyrolysis of pinewood sawdust that was performed in Py-GC/MS and fixed bed reactor at 500 °C. In Py-GC/MS, the maximum yield of aromatic hydrocarbon was 36 wt% at biomass to combined catalyst ratio of 1:4 where the mass ratio of ZSM-5 to CaO in the combined catalyst was 4:1. An increasing trend of phenolic compounds was observed with an increasing amount of CaO, whereas the highest yield of phenolic compounds (31 wt%) was recorded at biomass to combined catalyst ratio of 1:4 (ZSM-5: CaO - 4:1). Large molecule compounds could be found to crack into small molecules over CaO and then undergo further reactions over zeolites. The water content, higher heating value, and acidity of bio-oil from the fixed bed reactor were 21%, 24.27 MJkg⁻¹, and 4.1, respectively, which indicates that the quality of obtained bio-oil meets the liquid biofuel standard ASTM D7544-12 for grade G biofuel. This research will provide a significant reference to produce a high-quality bio-oil from the catalytic pyrolysis of woody biomass over the combined catalyst at different mass ratios of biomass to catalyst.