Velocity Distribution and Energy Dissipation along Stepped Chutes Lined with Wedge-Shaped Concrete Blocks

Stepped channels lined with wedge-shaped concrete blocks may constitute a low-cost alternative to provide overtopping protection of embankment dams if the discharge capacity of existing spillways is not adequate or even to be used as the main spillway of newly built embankment dams. This paper addresses the velocity distribution and the energy dissipation, downstream of the inception point, on stepped chutes lined with wedge-shaped concrete blocks. An experimental setup was developed with two flumes designed with a relative scale of 1∶2.5. Air concentration was measured with an optical probe in several cross sections of both flumes. The velocity profiles along chutes lined with wedge-shaped blocks with the upper face sloping downstream were analyzed. The measurements’ accuracy was checked by comparing discharges indicated by a facility flowmeter and obtained by the integration of velocity and air concentration profiles. The effect of the steps-slope in the energy dissipation is studied. Values of the Darcy-Weissbach friction factor are proposed for this type of chute lining, for transition flows, and for skimming flows.     

Numerical Simulation of Flows in Cut-Throat Flumes

A numerical simulation is presented to obtain the flow characteristics of cut-throat flumes in rectangular open channels. Cut-throat flumes with a horizontal floor are used as simple devices for flow measurement in open channels. Since the flow in the throat section is highly three dimensional and curvilinear, the three-dimensional turbulence Reynolds stress model was applied in the present study to obtain the flow parameters such as the water surface profiles, the pressure distributions, and the mean velocity distributions. The volume of fluid scheme was used to determine the shape of the free surface by computing the fraction of each near-interface cell of a fixed grid that is partially filled with water. The previously published experimental data as well as data based on a new test related to cut-throat flumes were used to validate the simulation results.     

Modeling Sediment Transport Using Depth-Averaged and Moment Equations

A 1D mathematical model to calculate bed variations in alluvial channels is presented. The model is based on the depth-averaged and moment equations for unsteady flow and sediment transport in open channels. Particularly, the moment equation for suspended sediment transport is originally derived by the assumption of a simple vertical distribution for suspended sediment concentration. By introducing sediment-carrying capacity, suspended sediment concentration can be solved directly from sediment transport and its moment equations. Differential equations are then solved by using the control-volume formulation, which has been proven to have good convergence. Numerical experiments are performed to test the sensitivity of the calibrated coefficients α and k in the modeling of the bed deposition and erosion. Finally, the computed results are compared with available experimental data obtained in laboratory flumes. Comparisons of this model with HEC-6 and other numerical models are also presented. Good agreement is found in the comparisons.     

Optimal Design of Channel Having Horizontal Bottom and Parabolic Sides

The cost of open channels can be minimized by using (1) the optimal design concept; (2) a new geometric shape to substitute for the trapezoidal channels, and/or (3) a composite channel. The channels in which the roughness along the wetted perimeter become distinctly different from part to part of the perimeter are called composite channels. The feasibility of a new cross-sectional shape that has a horizontal bed and two parabolic sides and lined as a composite channel is investigated to substitute for the trapezoidal cross section. The optimal design concept is used to establish the efficacy of the proposed new cross-sectional shape, because it gives the best and unique design of open channels. In optimal design concept, the geometric dimensions of a channel cross section are determined in a manner to minimize the total construction costs. The constraints are the given channel capacity and other imposed restrictions on geometric dimensions. The Lagrange multiplier technique is used to solve the resulting channel optimization models. The developed optimization models are applied to design the proposed and trapezoidal channels to convey a given design flow considering various design scenarios which include unrestricted, flow depth constrained, side slopes constrained, and top width constrained design. Each of these design scenarios again takes into account fixed freeboard, and depth-dependent freeboard cases of design. An analysis of the optimization results establishes the cost-saving capability of the proposed cross-sectional shape in comparison to a trapezoidal cross section.     

CSP和FTSC工艺结晶器的冷却结构及传热能力

结合实际生产数据,比较和分析了CSP及FTSC工艺结晶器的冷却结构及传热能力,结果表明,热流密度计算模型中,FTSC和CSP结晶器内传热区高度分别为1 200 mm和1 010 mm,相同工况下二者的传热能力相近;CSP结晶器采用42条凹型水道及20条内径11 mm的圆型水道进行组合冷却,FTSC结晶器采用72条内径14 mm的圆型水道进行冷却;弯月面处FTSC结晶器铜板热面温度高于银铜的再结晶温度,铜板将发生局部变形,这是造成镀层龟裂或铜板裂纹的主要原因。     

Bernoulli Theorem, Minimum Specific Energy, and Water Wave Celerity in Open-Channel Flow

One basic principle of fluid mechanics used to resolve practical problems in hydraulic engineering is the Bernoulli theorem along a streamline, deduced from the work-energy form of the Euler equation along a streamline. Some confusion exists about the applicability of the Bernoulli theorem and its generalization to open-channel hydraulics. In the present work, a detailed analysis of the Bernoulli theorem and its extension to flow in open channels are developed. The generalized depth-averaged Bernoulli theorem is proposed and it has been proved that the depth-averaged specific energy reaches a minimum in converging accelerating free surface flow over weirs and flumes. Further, in general, a channel control with minimum specific energy in curvilinear flow is not isolated from water waves, as customary state in open-channel hydraulics.     

Field Testing of a Simple Flume (SMBF) for Flow Measurement in Open Channels

In this paper the stage–discharge relationship of a new flume named SMBF (Samani, Magallanex, Baiamonte, Ferro), originally proposed by Samani and Magallanez and tested by Baiamonte and Ferro, for measuring flow discharge in open channels is reviewed. The flume is obtained inserting two semicylinders in a rectangular cross section. The results of some experimental runs carried out using horizontal flumes characterized by different values of the contraction ratio (ranging from 0.17 to 0.81) are used for determining the two coefficients of the power stage–discharge equation. The stage–discharge equation is tested using flow measurements carried out in the period between December 2004 and March 2006 in the Sicilian experimental SPA1 basin. Field testing of the SMBF flume is developed using discharge measurements carried out by a Khafagi–Venturi flume placed in the field measurement channel.     

Effect of spatial scale and background luminance on the intensive and spatial nonlinearities in texture segregation

Perceived segregation between element-arrangement textures is affected both by spatial scale and background luminance. The effects on the spatial nonlinearity are consistent with the proposed structure for complex (second-order) channels. The effects on the intensive nonlinearity are not consistent with an early, local nonlinearity but are consistent with either (i) a relatively early, local, nonlinearity occurring before the spatial frequency channels but after a sensitivity-setting stage, or (ii) inhibitory interaction among channels modeled as a normalization network. Thus the texture intensive nonlinearity comes after sensitivity to spatial frequency and background luminance has been determined. For six of seven observers, the texture intensive nonlinearity was compressive by 10% contrast for both increments and decrements (at high background luminance, large spatial scale.     

Ultrastructure of infantile hemangioendothelioma of the liver

A two-month-old female presented with hepatomegaly 5 cm below the right costal margin. Resection of a 6 cm hepatic mass demonstrated an infantile hemangioendotheliom (IHE). This documents for the first time the ultrastructural features of an IHE of the liver. Ultrastructural examination showed large numbers of vascular channels of varying sizes lined by abnormal endothelial cells. An incomplete basal lamina separated the endothelial cells from the extracellular material and there were no associated pericytes. The intervascular area contained abundant collagen fibers, fibrils, and cells ultrastructurally similar to fibroblasts. The relationship of structure to certain clinical features of this lesion is discussed.     

Data Interpretation for In Situ Measurements of Cohesive Sediment Erosion

Methods for interpreting data from in situ flume measurements of cohesive sediment dynamics are evaluated and a technique for estimating various erosion parameters using in situ measurements is proposed. There is currently a lack of uniformity in analysis techniques for cohesive erosion data collected in flumes and with in situ instruments and the proposed technique resolves some of these inconsistencies. The data set used in this study was derived from field experiments conducted with a straight benthic in situ flume in different aquatic environments in New Zealand. The experiments with stepwise increases in flow velocity revealed that peaks in the erosion rate at the beginning of each velocity step are most likely associated with heterogeneous bed structure, as transient hydrodynamic effects due to the experimental procedure were found to be insignificant. The field data showed an exponential decay of the erosion rate with time that is indicative of depth-limited erosion. These data are used to illustrate methods for the parameterization of the proposed semiempirical erosion equation, taking into account the time dependency of the erosion process.     

Structure of the MscL homolog from Mycobacterium tuberculosis: a gated mechanosensitive ion channel

Mechanosensitive ion channels play a critical role in transducing physical stresses at the cell membrane into an electrochemical response. The MscL family of large-conductance mechanosensitive channels is widely distributed among prokaryotes and may participate in the regulation of osmotic pressure changes within the cell. In an effort to better understand the structural basis for the function of these channels, the structure of the MscL homolog from Mycobacterium tuberculosis was determined by x-ray crystallography to 3.5 angstroms resolution. This channel is organized as a homopentamer, with each subunit containing two transmembrane alpha helices and a third cytoplasmic alpha helix. From the extracellular side, a water-filled opening approximately 18 angstroms in diameter leads into a pore lined with hydrophilic residues which narrows at the cytoplasmic side to an occluded hydrophobic apex that may act as the channel gate. This structure may serve as a model for other mechanosensitive channels, as well as the broader class of pentameric ligand-gated ion channels exemplified by the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.     

Numerical Modeling of Bed Evolution in Channel Bends

A two-dimensional numerical model is developed to predict the time variation of bed deformation in alluvial channel bends. In this model, the depth-averaged unsteady water flow equations along with the sediment continuity equation are solved by using the Beam and Warming alternating-direction implicit scheme. Unlike the present models based on Cartesian or cylindrical coordinate systems and steady flow equations, a body-fitted coordinate system and unsteady flow equations are used so that unsteady effects and natural channels may be modeled accurately. The effective stresses associated with the flow equations are modeled by using a constant eddy-viscosity approach. This study is restricted to beds of uniform particles, i.e., armoring and grain-sorting effects are neglected. To verify the model, the computed results are compared with the data measured in 140° and 180° curved laboratory flumes with straight reaches up- and downstream of the bend. The model predictions agree better with the measured data than those obtained by previous numerical models. The model is used to investigate the process of evolution and stability of bed deformation in circular bends.     

Revising the Cutthroat Flume Settlement Rating Adjustment Procedure

A study was conducted to revise the procedure for adjusting discharge measurements in a cutthroat flume subjected to settlement in free-flowing conditions. A series of 57 tests was performed on six different size cutthroat flumes. Each flume was systematically adjusted to simulate settlement in both the lateral and the longitudinal directions. Discharge inaccuracies were then recorded for each settlement condition. The test results were combined with the results of three cutthroat flumes previously reported. The coefficients describing the flume geometry, Cdlat and Cdlong, were determined to be significantly different than previously indicated. New expressions for Cdlat and Cdlong were formulated for inclusion into the previously reported discharge measurement adjustment procedure.     

包钢热电厂循环水系统优化运行措施研究

文章分析了包钢热电厂循环水水质状况、存在问题,试验研究了循环水对设备腐蚀、结垢影响,以及循环水提高浓缩倍数的可行性。并通过动态试验研究提出循环水优化运行参数,结合现场实际情况提出了可行的循节水及排污水利用措施。     

Simple Flume for Flow Measurement in Open Channel

There are various types of water measurement devices available. The type of flume used in a particular application depends on site-specific factors or limitations and the need for precision and cost. In measuring water in open drains, it is often desirable to prefabricate the flume to avoid the need for dewatering prior to installation. Traditionally, cutthroat flumes have been used in open drain systems or ditches due to ease of fabrication and installation. However, due to the extended transitional length and width associated with the cutthroat flume, transportation of the flume requires special facilitation or permits. A simple Venturi flume was proposed and tested that has several advantages over the traditional cutthroat flume. These advantages include lower construction cost, simplicity in fabrication, ease of transportation, and less width requirements where large flows are to be measured.     

Upstream Discharge Distribution in Compound-Channel Flumes

Common inlet design for compound-channel flumes does not ensure a proper upstream discharge distribution. As the total head in the upstream tank is the same for both main-channel and floodplain subsections, the velocity in the upstream section is also the same in both subsections. The floodplain discharge is therefore too large and a mass transfer towards the main channel occurs along the flume. This Technical Note investigates how long a compound-channel flume must be to ensure that equilibrium between subsection discharges is achieved. The required length is found to be significant compared to the actual length of experimental flumes reported in the literature.     

Most Hydraulically Efficient Riprap-Lined Drainage Channels

Dimensions of the most hydraulically efficient trapezoidal and triangular drainage channels (that is, those with the smallest possible cross-section areas) whose banks are lined with loose rock riprap are found along with the stable stone diameter by solving a constrained nonlinear minimization problem. The problem statement is made dimensionless and less complicated by normalizing solution variables and combining parameters into two dimensionless quantities that describe the composite roughness of a channel and the stability of the rock lining. Normalized values of section bottom width, water depth, and rock diameter, along with the channel side-slope ratio, are found numerically. Results of the analysis are presented graphically and, when practical, in the form of empirical expressions. The solutions, which are comprehensive, give cross-section dimensions and the rock size needed to maintain a stable bank lining, greatly simplify design of hydraulically efficient riprap-lined open channels.     

Interaction of Soil Air Permeability and Soil Vapor Extraction

A new theoretical model to analyze the measurements obtained from a typical soil column venting experiment is proposed. The principles of mass transfer, Darcy's law, and air compressibility in the form of pressure-volume relationships were coupled to calculate the contaminant concentration in the gas phase (air), and the rate of contaminant removal. The proposed model relates soil air permeability with the contaminant removal and is capable of calculating the variation of soil air permeability with time during the venting process. The contaminated sand sample was idealized as a system of straight capillary tubes in the direction of flow, lined by the liquid contaminant. A closed-form solution for radial diffusion of the contaminants in a cylinder, coupled with axial advection of air, was used to model contaminant removal. The results from the mass transfer model were then used to trace the change of soil air permeability with time. The model also uses, as an alternative approach, a modified form of Darcy's law for compressible flow.     

Assessment of a River Reach for Environmental Fluid Dynamics Studies

Turbulence is the fundamental mechanism governing energy transfer in river flows that was conventionally examined in laboratory flumes. Recently, a trend has been observed for constructing larger scale and outdoor facilities that tend to avoid the problems of upscaling of experimental results. This paper presents the results of an experimental study performed on a river reach used as an environmental field laboratory. The study is focused on the understanding of the spatial arrangement of the flow structure and its dependency on the temporal variability of the flow. Detailed measurements were taken using acoustic Doppler velocimeters and their analysis was completed applying the theory of open-channel flows. The obtained results reveal that the flow structure on the river reach resembles characteristics of a typical three-dimensional open-channel flow. Away from the riverbanks, the flow behaves as a quasi-two-dimensional fully developed turbulent open-channel flow thus providing conditions favorable for field experimental studies of shallow mixing layers and flows over patches of submerged aquatic plants. An interesting observation in the seasonal dynamics of turbulent shear stress patterns was that the height of the roughness layer was reduced in the central part of the flow, though the overall roughness coefficient was increased. At the same time, the structure of the secondary flow near the banks was also substantially altered as the secondary circulations observed at low water levels were replaced by flow separation and internal boundary layers at medium water levels.     

Adjacent pore-lining residues within sodium channels identified by paired cysteine mutagenesis

The pores of voltage-gated ion channels are lined by protein loops that determine selectivity and conductance. The relative orientations of these "P" loops remain uncertain, as do the distances between them. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we introduced pairs of cysteines into the P loops of micro1 rat skeletal muscle sodium channels and sought functional evidence of proximity between the substituted residues. Only cysteinyl residues that are in close proximity can form disulfide bonds or metal-chelating sites. The mutant Y401C (domain I) spontaneously formed a disulfide bond when paired with E758C in the P loop of domain II; the same residue, when coupled with G1530C in domain IV, created a high-affinity binding site for Cd2+ ions. The results provide the first specific constraints for intramolecular dimensions of the sodium channel pore.