Dispersion studies on a solid waste refuse incinerator

The dispersion of the emissions of a municipal solid waste incinerator in eastern Helsinki has been studied by analysing birch leaf (Betula pubescent) and grass (mainly couch‐grass, Elymys repens) samples collected from the neighbourhood of the incinerator. The elemental concentrations of 17 elements were analyzed by the PIXE method. The incinerator was closed down in March 1983 because of the then measured high emissions. In the birch leaf samples collected in September 1982 (before the shut‐down) elemental concentrations of 11 elements varied strongly as a function of distance from the incinerator. In the respective samples collected in September 1983 (after the shut‐down) no clear distance versus concentration dependence was obtained for any elements.     

Sensitivity and inverse analysis methods for parameter intervals

This paper proposes a sensitivity analysis method for engineering parameters using interval analyses.This method substantially extends the application of interval analysis method.In this scheme,parameter intervals and decision-making target intervals are determined using the interval analysis method.As an example,an inverse analysis method for uncertainty is presented.The intervals of unknown parameters can be obtained by sampling measured data.Even for limited measured data,robust results can also be obtained with the inverse analysis method,which can be intuitively evaluated by the uncertainty expressed in terms of an interval.For complex nonlinear problems,an iteratively optimized inverse analysis model is proposed.In a given set of loose parameter intervals,all the unknown parameter intervals that satisfy the measured information can be obtained by an iteratively optimized inverse analysis model.The influences of measured precisions and the number of parameters on the results of the inverse analysis are evaluated.Finally,the uniqueness of the interval inverse analysis method is discussed.     

Deposition of airborne elements from Sembule steel mill surveyed by moss analysis

The local contamination of airborne elements caused by the Sembule steel works was studied by the analysis of Mg, Ca, Fe, Ni, Pb and Cd accumulated in transplanted moss. The concentrations of heavy metals (Fe, Ni, Pb, Cd) and other elements (Mg, Ca) were determined in soil, moss and water collected in the vicinity of Sembule steel mill. Comparison of elemental ratios indicate that there is contamination by heavy metals around this area. Accumulation coefficients have been applied to moss, soil and water data in an attempt to work out the contribution of these elements to water via soil and air. In evaluating Fe, Ni, Pb and Cd contents of river water and soil, a distinction was made between the amounts which are taken up from soil and those reaching the water as air depositions (as measured by use of moss). The calculations indicate that soil contributes 79.4, 96.3, 23.3, 0.50, 14.6 and 30.6 percent of Mg, Ca, Cd, Pb, Ni and Fe, respectively, whereas air deposition contributes 20.6, 3.73, 76.7, 99.5, 85.4 and 69.4 percent, respectively.     

Biomonitoring of trace elements with lichens in Veneto (NE Italy)

The concentrations of 13 elements in peripheral parts of the epiphytic lichen Xanthoria parietina were measured at 200 stations of Veneto (NE Italy). For each element, two maps are presented, showing, respectively, geographic patterns and deviations from background levels. The results are summarized by a map, showing the joint distribution of elements with concentrations close to Italian backgrounds, and of those strongly deviating from background levels. The results allow selection of high-risk areas for instrumental monitoring.     

Composition and sources of aerosols at Trombay, Bombay

Using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis, the concentrations of Si, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Fe, Zn and Pb in aerosols, at Trombay (Bombay) have been measured. Factor analysis of the data showed that four sources other than seasalt are necessary to explain the observed aerosol composition. The levels in air of anthropogenic elements varied widely during diurnal cycles; the maximum variation, by a factor of 15, occurred for Pb concentrations. The local basalt weathered soil is suggested as the source material for the major elements of crustal origin measured in the aerosols.     

Evaluation of trace elements in human lung tissue III. Correspondence analysis

The concentrations of 22 trace elements in 13 segments of both lungs of eight individuals were subjected to correspondence analysis, a display method based on principal components analysis. Sample groups were isolated which coincide with the age of the individuals. The firmness of the clusters decreased however with aging. The elements Br, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Pb, Sc, Se and V had the most important influence on the grouping. It can be assumed that they are enriched in the tissue by inhaled particulate matter, deposited and accumulated in an insoluble form. The correlation between the elements is proof for their similar behaviour in the lungs: Co, Cr, Sb, Sc and V have a long biological half-life in the tissue, whereas Zn and K are easily removed.     

考虑孔隙水压力的土坡稳定性的刚体有限元上限分析

采用一种结合刚体有限元与极限分析上限法来求解边坡稳定性问题的新方法。借助刚体有限单元离散计算区域并构造运动许可速度场 ,利用传统的安全系数作为评价边坡稳定的定量指标。水对边坡的影响作用可通过虚功方程表现出来 ,将孔隙水压力当作外力荷载做功。在满足屈服条件、流动法则、虚功方程以及相应的边界条件的基础上 ,引入非线性数学规划方法求解最小安全系数     

Progressive collapse analysis of thin-walled box columns

Box columns are often used as main strength members of various types of thin-walled structures such as ships, ship-shaped offshore structures, and aerospace structures. Until and after the ultimate limit state is reached, box columns exhibit highly nonlinear structural behavior in terms of geometrical and material aspects. In particular, the effects of local buckling, global buckling, and their interaction play a significant role in the resulting consequences of box columns under extreme actions. In order to calculate the maximum load-carrying capacity of box columns, it is thus highly required to perform the progressive collapse analysis to take into account progressive failures of individual components and their interacting effects. The aim of the present study is to demonstrate a method that is useful for the progressive collapse analysis of thin-walled box columns in terms of computational efficiency and accuracy. Theoretical outline of the method is addressed. Short, medium and long box columns in length are studied in terms of interacting effects between local component failure modes and global system failure modes. The effect of unloaded edge conditions of individual plate elements is also studied. A comparison of the method with more refined nonlinear finite element method computations is made.     

Element concentrations in the air of an indoor shooting range

Elemental emissions during firing in a shooting range were measured for different types of ammunition. When using Hirtenberger bullets, lead, barium, antimony and to a lesser extent copper and arsenic were the primary metal pollutants. Stationary sampling at three locations in the range did not reveal large concentration gradients. Large concentration variations were observed by sampling before, during and after shooting. Lead and antimony concentrations peak at 5060 and 119 micrograms m-3, respectively. Soil elements such as aluminium, sodium and calcium are enriched during shooting, probably due to soil resuspension by the shooters and the bullets hitting the sand backstop. After shooting has ceased the concentrations fall to within pre-shooting levels within a couple of hours. Measurement of the aerodynamic particle size shows low mass median diameters for the elements emitted during firing and larger diameters for the soil-associated elements. The peak airborne concentrations measured by stationary sampling, and human exposure measured by a personal sampler carried by an instructor were compared with threshold limit values. During the shooting the TLV is significantly exceeded for lead.     

Characterization of chemical species in PM2.5 and PM10 aerosols in suburban and rural sites of central Taiwan.

Aerosol samples for PM2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters less than 2.5 microns), PM2.5-10 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters between 2.5 and 10 microns) and TSP were collected from June to September 1998 at THU (suburban) and HKIT (rural) sites in central Taiwan. The ratios of PM2.5/PM10 averaged 0.70 for the daytime and 0.63 for the nighttime at THU, respectively. At HKIT, the PM2.5/PM10 ratios averaged 0.56 for the daytime and 0.72 in the nighttime, respectively. These results indicated that the PM2.5 concentrations contribute the majority of the PM10 concentration and PM10 concentrations contribute the majority of the TSP at both sites. The averaged PM2.5 concentrations at THU are higher than those measured at HKIT during the daytime period. However, the average PM2.5-10 concentrations in THU are lower than those measured at HKIT during nighttime. The samples collected were also analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry for the elemental analysis of Ca, Fe, Pb, Zn, Cu, Mn and Cr. Meanwhile ion chromatography was used to analyze for the water-soluble ions: sulphate, nitrate and chloride in the Universal samples. The concentrations of heavy metals in PM10 during daytime were all higher than nighttime at THU. However, the averaged concentrations of metal elements in PM10 during day and night period were distributed irregularly at HKIT. The results indicated that for metal elements collected at HKIT have different emission sources. The concentrations of metal elements during daytime in PM10 at THU were generally higher than HKIT. The phenomena owing to the averaged PM2.5 particle concentrations at THU (suburban) were higher than those measured at HKIT (rural) and PM2.5 occupied the major portions of PM10 for both sites during the day period. For anion species, there are no significant differences between day and night period in PM10 concentrations at both suburban and rural sites.     

Distribution of trace elements in organs of six species of cetaceans from the Ligurian Sea (Mediterranean), and the relationship with stable carbon and nitrogen ratios

Mercury (total and organic), cadmium, lead, copper, iron, manganese, selenium and zinc concentrations were measured in different organs of 6 different cetacean species stranded in an area of extraordinary ecological interest (Cetaceans' Sanctuary of the Mediterranean Sea) along the coast of the Ligurian Sea (North-West Mediterranean). Stable-isotopes ratios of carbon ((13)C/(12)C) and nitrogen ((15)N/(14)N) were also measured in the muscle. A significant relationship exists between (15)N/(14)N, mercury concentration and the trophic level. The distribution of essential and non-essential trace elements was studied on several organs, and a significant relationship between selenium and mercury, with a molar ratio close to 1, was found in the cetaceans' kidney, liver and spleen, regardless of their species. High selenium concentrations are generally associated with a low organic to total mercury ratio. While narrow ranges of concentrations were observed for essential elements in most organs, mercury and selenium concentrations are characterised by a wide range of variation. Bio-accumulation and bio-amplification processes in cetaceans can be better understood by comparing trace element concentrations with the stable-isotopes data.     

Trace element concentration in the human pineal body activation analysis of cobalt,iron, rubidium,selenium, zinc,antimony and cesium

100 human pineal bodies (56 male and 44 females) were analyzed by means of instrumental neutron activation analysis for trace element concentrations of cobalt, iron, rubidium, selenium, zinc, antimony and cesium.The results indicated that the measured element concentrations are not related to body-surface, age and fresh weight.Moreover, the mean absolute cobalt value from 97 pineal bodies is increased by a factor of 1.43 over the mean absolute concentration value of 257 other areas of the brain. The mean zinc content is found to be 3.7 fold higher than the mean zinc value from 269 other samples of brain.The iron values from various brain areas do not differ from those of the pineal body. Compared to other brain regions pineal selenium is increased and rubidium is decreased.Correlating the different element concentrations to each other, a positive correlation is found for selenium and rubidium, a negative correlation for cobalt and zinc.The present data suggest that the measured trace elements are somehow related to specific roles in the physiology and biochemistry of the pineal body. This is supported by the constancy of element concentration over a wide range of increasing fresh weights of the organ.It is considered that zinc, cobalt and iron are involved as constituents of enzymes in the metabolism of amino acids, peptides and proteins of the pineal body. Moreover the conspicuous high zinc content of this organ may be related to a so far undetected neurotransmitter.     

Beam and shell element model for advanced analysis of steel structural members

Plastic zone method of advanced analysis, which uses shell elements to model the entire structure, is the most accurate method available to predict the ultimate strength and behavior of steel frames. The disadvantage of such full shell plastic zone models is that it is computationally expensive and hence its use is limited to small structures. Beam elements in commercial finite element packages can model residual stress and capture spread of plasticity, but cannot model local buckling of plates that the member is made up of, which leads to unloading and failure in steel frames. A hybrid model using shell elements only in the regions vulnerable to elastic or inelastic local buckling and beam elements in other locations could overcome this limitation of full beam element model. The issues in using this hybrid model are, knowing a priori the location and length of the shell element region and connecting the beam and shell regions without any artificial stress concentrations or incompatible displacements. In this study, in addition to addressing these issues, the hybrid model is systematically evaluated by studying its performance in structural elements. It is seen that the hybrid model strength predictions has an average error of only 0.91% but requires on an average 83% less computational time when compared to the full shell plastic zone models.     

Seismic analysis of Tehran Telecommunication Tower using complex fractional modulus

Seismic response of large concrete tower structures with passive or active damping is important in terms of performance under earthquake loads. The conventional finite element method has been used successfully in linear and nonlinear analyses in large concrete structures. The method can be performed by subdividing the large structure into small uniform elements having approximate shape functions. Although this replaces a single complicated structural system with a number of simple uniform elements, in cases of tall concrete tower structures with cracking and crushing behaviour in the concrete material and yielding in the reinforcement, the computer time and memory can be large. Hence, it is desirable to search for a procedure requiring fewer elements and also less computer time and effort to model the structure. In this respect, attention is paid to the advanced complex damped spectral element method, which benefits from the more accurate and also mathematically complicated shape functions. Use of the advanced spectral element method can help engineers to design a complex structure, such as a tall concrete tower, with lower cost and lower weight. Using a computer program, the proposed formulation has been used to derive the nonlinear dynamic response of the 435‐m Tehran Telecommunication Tower. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Beam and shell element model for advanced analysis of steel structural members

Plastic zone method of advanced analysis, which uses shell elements to model the entire structure, is the most accurate method available to predict the ultimate strength and behavior of steel frames. The disadvantage of such full shell plastic zone models is that it is computationally expensive and hence its use is limited to small structures. Beam elements in commercial finite element packages can model residual stress and capture spread of plasticity, but cannot model local buckling of plates that the member is made up of, which leads to unloading and failure in steel frames. A hybrid model using shell elements only in the regions vulnerable to elastic or inelastic local buckling and beam elements in other locations could overcome this limitation of full beam element model. The issues in using this hybrid model are, knowing a priori the location and length of the shell element region and connecting the beam and shell regions without any artificial stress concentrations or incompatible displacements. In this study, in addition to addressing these issues, the hybrid model is systematically evaluated by studying its performance in structural elements. It is seen that the hybrid model strength predictions has an average error of only 0.91% but requires on an average 83% less computational time when compared to the full shell plastic zone models.     

Nonlinear finite element method models for ultimate strength analysis of steel stiffened-plate structures under combined biaxial compression and lateral pressure actions—Part II: Stiffened panels

The present paper (Part II) is a sequel to the previous paper (Part I) [Paik JK, Seo JK. Nonlinear finite element method models for ultimate strength analysis of steel stiffened-plate structures under combined biaxial compression and lateral pressure actions—Part I: Plate elements. Thin-Walled Struct 2008, this issue, doi:10.1016/j.tws.2008.08.005.] on the application of nonlinear finite element methods for ultimate strength analysis of steel stiffened-plate structures under combined biaxial compression and lateral pressure actions. In contrast to Part I dealing with plate elements, the present paper (Part II) treats stiffened panels surrounded by strong support members such as longitudinal girders and transverse frames. In similar to Part I, some important factors of influence such as structural dimensions, initial imperfections, loading types and computational techniques in association with ultimate limit states are studied. Some useful insights in terms of nonlinear finite element method modeling are developed using ANSYS code together with the ALPS/ULSAP semi-analytical method, the latter being for the purpose of a comparison.     

The concentration of some trace elements in human milk from Italy

The concentration of some trace elements has been measured in samples of breast milk collected from several subjects over a period of about 1–3 months starting 15 days post-partum.A decrease of Zn concentration during the lactation period was observed in all subjects. The marked relation existing between dietary intake and milk content of trace elements is confirmed by the finding that Cs concentration in diet, fresh waters and human milk samples from Latium were one to two orders of magnitude higher than those measured in a small town in the south of Italy. In most subjects Cs, Zn, Rb, Fe concentrations during the same day, and in the same feed, are fairly constant. Larger variations are observed for concentrations of Co, Sc, and Sb.     

Multielement analysis of fingernail,scalp hair and water samples from Egypt (a preliminary study)

Scalp hair, fingernail and water samples collected from different parts of Egypt are analysed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry and neutron activation analysis.The results for hair show minimum variation of Zn among different regions; a relatively well-controlled dispersion of values (maximum to minimum <2) for Co, Fe, Mn and Se; an overall inter-regional variation of factors of 7, 10, 6, 4 and 6 for the elements Ag, Cd, Cs, Sc and W, respectively; a steady decline in the concentration of Sc from south (Aswan) to north (Alexandria).The findings for nail show a steady decline in the concentration of Fe and Sc from south (Aswan) to north (Alexandria); elevated levels of Cd in samples from Aswan area; and regional variations extending up to factors of 6.5, 3.6, 4.7, 5.0, 4.4, 4.5 and 1.9 for Co, Cr, Cs, Mn, Mo, W and Zn, respectively.No unified relationship is observed between the elemental compositions of hair and nail. For Cr, Cs, Fe, Sb and Sc mean values for hair are lower than in nails. Among the remaining elements the ratio nail/hair is <1 for Ag in Assiut, El Kharga and Alexandria, for Cd in all of the areas with the exception of Aswan, for Co, Mn and Mo in Cairo, for Zn in Cairo and Alexandria, and for W in Alexandria.The data for water samples reflect highest concentration of all the measured elements in the Mediterranean sea; a steady increase of the concentration of Cu in drinking water from south to north and for Nile water a similar trend for Ca and Mg; and elevated concentrations of Sb and Mn in river water.No distinct trend for the interrelationship between water and tissue elemental concentrations could be established for the regions around Cairo, Aswan and Alexandria.     

Estimation of thermophysical properties using natural signal analysis with heat and moisture transfer model

Conduction heat transfer through opaque envelope components characterizes the thermal performance of buildings and its consequences in terms of energy consumption and thermal comfort. A building envelope can be thermally described by two parameters: thermal conductivity (λ) and heat capacity (ρ·c). Estimating these thermal properties in situ allows the characterization of real building elements considering different aspects, such as thermal behavior under specific weather conditions, quality variability in materials, local construction technologies and material deterioration. This paper presents a method to estimate the thermal conductivity and volumetric heat capacity of a homogeneous element using a non-destructive test considering natural oscillations. Surface temperature and heat flow are measured in a concrete sample (with known thermal properties) and the data is treated with a signal processing technique. Estimation is carried out with a heat and moisture transfer model. Measurements were performed on six separate days under different sky conditions within a period of one month, to determine the importance of solar radiation as a heat source. Results gave acceptable estimates (average inaccuracy of 10-14%) of both thermophysical properties.     

Multi-physics numerical analyses for predicting the alterations in permeability and reactive transport behavior within single rock fractures depending on temperature,stress, and fluid pH conditions

The aim of the current study was to establish a validated numerical model for addressing the changes in permeability and reactive transport behavior within rock fractures based on the fluid pH under coupled thermal-hydraulic-mechanical-chemical (THMC) conditions. Firstly, a multi-physics reactive transport model was proposed, considering the geochemical reactions that depend on the temperature, stress, and fluid chemistry conditions (e.g., fluid pH and solute concentrations), as well as the changes in permeability in the rock fractures driven by these reactions, after which the correctness of the model implementation was verified by solving the 1D reactive transport problem as a fundamental benchmark. Secondly, the validity of the model against actual rock fractures was investigated by utilizing the model to replicate the measurements of the evolving permeability and the effluent element concentrations in single granite fractures obtained by means of two flow-through experiments using deionized water (pH ～ 6) and a NaOH aqueous solution (pH ～ 11) as permeants under stressed, temperature-elevated conditions. The model predictions efficiently followed the changes in fracture permeability over time measured by both experiments. Additionally, the observed difference in the changing rates, which may contribute to the difference in the fluid pH between the two experiments, was also captured exactly by the predictions. Moreover, in terms of the effluent element concentrations, among all the elements targeted for measurement, the concentrations of most elements were replicated by the model within one order of discrepancy. Overall, it can be concluded that the developed model should be valid for estimating the changes in permeability and reactive transport behavior within rock fractures induced by geochemical reactions which depend on the fluid pH under coupled THMC conditions.