Efficiency of wave impeding barrier in pipeline construction under earthquake excitation using nonlinear finite element analysis

Earthquakes have caused colossal casualties and severe damages to engineering structures and especially leading to substantial economic loss to the underground structures and/or infrastructures. Pipelines are one of most important component of lifeline engineering. For instance, the Southern Caucasus- Eastern Turkey energy corridors are formed by several key pipelines carrying crude oil and natural gas from Azerbaijan, via Georgia, to world markets through Mediterranean Sea. Many project accomplished recently and construction of new corridors are still going on. They should be protected from earthquake disaster especially when they pass through high seismicity zones. The installation of wave impeding barriers (WIB) below the vulnerable infrastructures as pipelines established in soft soil can be used to reduce the effect of the earthquake induced ground borne vibrations. In this paper, a WIB as artificial bedrock based on the cut-off frequency of a soil layer over bedrock is proposed as isolation measurement in order to mitigate the dynamic response of the buried pipelines under earthquake strong ground motion. The computational simulation of the wave propagation problem is directly achieved by employing nonlinear 2D finite element modelling for prediction of screening performance of WIB on the dynamic response of vibrating coupled soil-pipeline system. Energy absorbing boundaries along the truncated interfaces of the unbounded nature of the underlying soil media are implemented in the time domain along with Newmark’s integration. An extensive parametric investigation and systematic computations are performed with different controlling parameters. The obtained numerical results point out that WIB can be very promising as an isolator to protect pipelines when they establish for a certain depth.     

氧化锌纳米颗粒对玉米储藏过程中微生物的抑制作用

玉米作为我国粮食储备的主要粮种之一,因其水分含量高、营养物质丰富、带菌量大等特点极易发生霉变、真菌毒素超标。本实验采用水热法优化制备了一种氧化锌纳米颗粒（zinc oxide nanoparticles,ZnO-NPs）,以水为溶剂,n（Zn2＋）∶n（OH－）为1∶8、水热温度120 ℃、恒温6 h条件下,制备的纳米颗粒为球形,采用动态光散射法测得ZnO-NPs的平均粒径为93 nm,多分散系数为0.024。X射线能谱分析、X射线衍射分析、傅里叶变换红外光谱分析等结果显示,所制备的纳米颗粒只含Zn和O两种元素,具有ZnO所特有的晶体结构和化学键特征。抑菌实验结果显示,所制备的ZnO-NPs对细菌和真菌有显著的抑制效果,玉米中添加ZnO-NPs后经过30 d的储藏,与对照组相比其菌落总数明显降低,且减缓了玉米品质劣变。研究结果表明,ZnO-NPs有助于抑制玉米储藏过程中的微生物繁殖,可为实现玉米长期安全储备过程中开发新的微生物抑制剂提供数据支撑。     

Associative Growth of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Cabbage Juice

Combinations of Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lactobacillus brevis, Pediococcus cerevisiae, and Lactobacillus plantarum were grown in sterile cabbage juice broth. The effects of culture interactions were determined by lag times, generation times, pH change, and total acidity measurements. Fresh filter-sterilized cabbage juice was a better medium than autoclaved cabbage juice, or refrigerated filter-sterilized cabbage juice. The addition of NaCl (2.25%) had a minimal effect on the cultures, except for L. mesenteroides, which was inhibited. In paired association studies, L. mesenteroides was inhibited by all the other cultures, conversely, L. plantarum and L. brevis benefited from most of the culture interactions.     

EFFECTS OF GLUCOSE OXIDASE, HEMICELLULASE AND ASCORBIC ACID ON DOUGH AND BREAD QUALITY

ABSTRACT

In this study, glucose oxidase alone or its combinations with hemicellulase or ascorbic acid were used in bread making. Glucose oxidase alone mainly decreased dough extensibility. It produced stiffer and less extensible dough. Combinations of glucose oxidase–hemicellulase presented lower extensibility and were more resistant to extension than glucose oxidase alone. When glucose oxidase–ascorbic acid combinations were used, the softening degree significantly decreased, regardless when added the lowest glucose oxidase in combination with ascorbic acid. Glucose oxidase–ascorbic acid combinations significantly modified dough resistance. The glucose oxidase alone significantly increased specific loaf volume. The Dallman value of loaves made with glucose oxidase alone was found higher than for control. The most dramatic effect of additives on specific loaf volume was observed when glucose oxidase–hemicellulase combinations were added. This effect has been ascribed to redistribution of water from the hemicellulose to gluten, which would render the gluten more extensible. Specific loaf volume showed a significant enhancement when glucose oxidase–ascorbic acid combinations were added, but this effect was not as good as glucose oxidase–hemicellulase. The effects of glucose oxidase and its combinations with ascorbic acid and hemicellulase on dough rheology and bread quality are highly dependent on the amount of enzyme and the original wheat flour quality.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

In practice, appropriate combinations of glucose oxidase with hemicellulase can be used as improvers in bread making, depending on their combination levels. This study will show the way to new research about glucose oxidase, ascorbic acid and hemicellulose.

     

Nucleus geometry and mechanical properties of resistance spot welded coated–uncoated DP automotive steels

In this study, mechanical properties of resistance spot welding of DP450 and DP600, galvanized and ungalvanized automotive sheets have been investigated. The specimens have been joined by resistance spot welding at different weld currents and times. Welded specimens have been examined for their mechanical, macrostructure and microstructure properties. Depending on the weld current and time, effects of zinc coating on tensile properties, microhardness values as well as microstructure nugget geometry and nucleus size ratio have been investigated. X-ray diffraction analysis has been used to investigate the phase that formed at the joint interface. Result of the experiment show that nugget diameter, indentation depth and tensile load-bearing capacity are affected by weld parameters. Coating prevents full joining at low parameters. Microhardness increased in heat-affected zone and weld metal.     

Plasma-induced grafting of acrylic acid on bentonite for the removal of U(VI) from aqueous solution

Fabrication of reusable adsorbents with satisfactory adsorption capacity and using environmentfriendly preparation processes is required for the environment-related applications. In this study,acrylic acid(AA) was grafted onto bentonite(BT) to generate an AA-graft-BT(AA-g-BT)composite using a plasma-induced grafting technique considered to be an environment-friendly method. The as-prepared composite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, x-ray powder diffraction, thermal gravity analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Barrett–Emmett–Teller analysis, demonstrating the successful grafting of AA onto BT. In addition, the removal of uranium(VI)(U(VI)) from contaminated aqueous solutions was examined using the as-prepared composite. The influencing factors, including contact time,p H value, ionic strength, temperature, and initial concentration, for the removal of U(VI) were investigated by batch experiments. The experimental process fitted best with the pseudo-secondorder kinetic and the Langmuir models. Moreover, thermodynamic investigation revealed a spontaneous and endothermic process. Compared with previous adsorbents, AA-g-BT has potential practical applications in treating U(VI)-contaminated solutions.