Impact assessment of odours emitted by a wastewater treatment plant

Complaints from the Domingos Martins population about sewage odours in the city made the district attorney order an impact assessment of the odours emitted by the city wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). This study comprised various techniques, models and population surveys. In 2007, an odour emission model proved that the main hydrogen sulphide emitter was the aeration tank of the WWTP (13.5 g h(-1)) and such emissions, according to CALPUFF model, should be perceived in the whole Domingos Martins city centre area. In this area, 58% of those interviewed were annoyed by the WWTP odours. However, in 2009, the odour monitoring panel recorded few odour occurrences. A second population survey showed that hereafter only 20% of those interviewed were annoyed by the WWTP emissions. Odour emission and dispersion models run with 2010 data proved a drastic reduction of the WWTP aeration tank emissions and consequently the city centre was not bothered by WWTP emissions anymore. The odour emission reduction was due to the modification of the WWTP aeration tank system. Despite the odour emission reduction, houses located southeast of the WWTP were still annoyed by sewage odours. However, in this part of the town, other sources of sewage odours have been found.     

Compact cryogenic source of periodic hydrogen and argon droplet beams for relativistic laser-plasma generation

We present a cryogenic source of periodic streams of micrometer-sized hydrogen and argon droplets as ideal mass-limited target systems for fundamental intense laser-driven plasma applications. The highly compact design combined with a high temporal and spatial droplet stability makes our injector ideally suited for experiments using state-of-the-art high-power lasers in which a precise synchronization between the laser pulses and the droplets is mandatory. We show this by irradiating argon droplets with multi-terawatt pulses.     

Volatilization of hydrogen sulfide from a quiescent surface

Air-water mass transfer of hydrogen sulfide from a shallow tank with a quiescent surface under the influence of weak wind stress on the water surface was studied numerically using a two-dimensional model. The flow field in the tank was investigated using a computational code based on a finite volume, which is used to numerically solve momentum, mass and continuity conservation equations. The results show that water phase flow field is strongly dependent on the wind-induced surface velocity and the aspect ratio of the tank. Based on the numerical study, the liquid-side mass transfer coefficient is correlated with Reynolds number (R(e)), tank aspect ratio (AR) and Schmidt number (S(c)). Overall mass transfer coefficient (K(L)) values extend further downstream as the R(e) number increases.     

Estimation in X-bar control charts: effects and corrections

This paper presents an approach for improving the control limits of $ \overline{X} $ control charts when the parameters of the process are estimated and the control chart is in operation. In these conditions, the observed average run length (ARL) may be very different from the planned ARL since the parameter estimates may have a larger error. To minimize this problem, the data collected in effective control (phase 2) will be used to re-estimate the parameters with a precision greater than that obtained in phase 1. Thus, we defined a minimum sample size of observations of phase 2, which is constituted of a mixture of two normal distributions that should be used to re-estimate the process parameters. The proposal is illustrated with numerical example.     

Electrical modeling of liquid crystal displays-LCDs

An investigation into the complex dielectric permittivity of nematic liquid crystal (NLC) on homogeneous (or planar, molecular director axis parallel the surface of the cell) and homeotropic (molecular director axis perpendicular the surface of the cell) alignments led to the conception of special equivalent electric circuits representing different dielectric mechanisms that are present in liquid crystal displays (LCDs). In our study, NLC cells with and without polyvinyl alcohol-PVA alignment were subjected to a frequency range of 10/sup -1/ Hz to 10/sup 7/ Hz, revealing four distinct mechanisms of dielectric dispersion. In the NLC cells without PVA, the dielectric dispersion at very low frequencies (10/sup -1/ Hz10/sup 7/ Hz) dielectric dispersion was attributed mainly to the rotation of NLC molecules around their own axes. While, in the NLC cells with PVA, the dielectric dispersion at low frequencies (1 Hz相似文献   

Oxygen transport phenomena at the liquid metal-vapour interface

A system made of an atmosphere, a liquid metal and an oxide phase at a given temperature and total pressure is zero-variant and allows only a particular set of partial pressures, compatible with thermodynamic equilibrium. For any different gas composition the system will show a tendency to evolution. Therefore, classical thermodynamics cannot give the answers to a number of problems of major interest, such as those concerning the conditions for interface saturation and oxide formation. Strictly speaking these are kinetic problems, but they can still be treated as pseudo-thermodynamic questions. The key to the problem is in considering the characteristic times of evolution, which suggest stationary state approximation for the condensed phases. In many instances, the evaluation of gas-atmosphere mass exchanges under stationary conditions makes it possible to determine the effective oxygen pressure at which the oxidation of the metal becomes evident. Surface tension measurements allow this condition to be detected with a good accuracy. According to experimental evidence, the effective oxygen pressure can be many orders of magnitude greater than the equilibrium value. The problem needs different theoretical approaches according to the molecular mechanisms involved. Moreover, from the experimental point of view, there are particularly delicate questions regarding the accuracy and the significance of the oxygen control and measurement.     

Finite horizon quadratic optimal control and a separation principle for Markovian jump linear systems

In this note, we consider the finite-horizon quadratic optimal control problem of discrete-time Markovian jump linear systems driven by a wide sense white noise sequence. We assume that the output variable and the jump parameters are available to the controller. It is desired to design a dynamic Markovian jump controller such that the closed-loop system minimizes the quadratic functional cost of the system over a finite horizon period of time. As in the case with no jumps, we show that an optimal controller can be obtained from two coupled Riccati difference equations, one associated to the optimal control problem when the state variable is available, and the other one associated to the optimal filtering problem. This is a principle of separation for the finite horizon quadratic optimal control problem for discrete-time Markovian jump linear systems. When there is only one mode of operation our results coincide with the traditional separation principle for the linear quadratic Gaussian control of discrete-time linear systems.     

MODEL‐REFERENCE OUTPUT‐FEEDBACK SLIDING MODE CONTROLLER FOR A CLASS OF MULTIVARIABLE NONLINEAR SYSTEMS

This paper proposes an output‐feedback sliding mode control design for a class of uncertain multivariable plants with nonlinear disturbances. The approach used here is based on the control parameterization employed in model‐reference adaptive control. The disturbances are allowed to be unmatched and to depend not only on the plant output but also on its unmeas‐urable state. A less restrictive condition on the uncertainty of the high frequency gain matrix is also obtained.     

In vivo remineralization of acid-etched enamel in non-brushing areas as influenced by fluoridated orthodontic adhesive and toothpaste

This study aimed to evaluate the in vivo remineralization of acid-etched enamel in non-brushing areas as influenced by fluoridated orthodontic adhesive and toothpaste. One hundred and twenty teeth from 30 volunteers were selected. The teeth were assigned to four treatments: no treatment (negative control); 37% phosphoric acid-etching (PAE) (positive control); PAE + resin-modified glass ionomer cement (RMGIC); and, PAE + composite resin. Patients brushed teeth with fluoridated (n = 15) or non-fluoridated (n = 15) toothpastes, so that etched enamel was protected with screens and it was not in contact with the brush bristles. Remineralization was evaluated by means of laser fluorescence (LF), environmental scanning electronic microscopy, and energy dispersive spectrometry after extraction. The LF means were compared by means of Wilcoxon and Mann Whitney tests. Environmental scanning electron microscopy scores were compared among the groups using a Kruskal Wallis test, whereas the Ca/P ratio was evaluated by means of an Analysis of Variance with subparcels (treatments) and Tukey's post-hoc test. There were no statistically significant differences between the tooth pastes and between the orthodontic adhesives evaluated. Most teeth presented only partial enamel remineralization. Therefore, the fluoride released by the RMGIC was not enough to cause increased crystal regrowth in the acid-etched enamel. The use of fluoridated toothpaste did not provide positive additional effect.     

Retrofit of RC hollow piers with CFRP sheets

Hollow bridge piers, particularly those built before the seventies, often have insufficient shear capacity due to inadequate transverse reinforcement details. Therefore, special attention must be given to this very important aspect when reinforced concrete (RC) piers with hollow sections are analysed and retrofitted. This paper covers the experimental analysis of retrofit solutions using CFRP sheets along the piers’ entire height to prevent shear failure. Experimental cyclic tests were carried out to evaluate the shear retrofit strategy efficiency on a set of RC piers with square hollow sections. This work also covers the study of design procedures for CFRP shear retrofitting and the evaluation of the associated ductility capacity improvement. The various transverse reinforcement detailing scenarios were assessed to determine their shear-failure prevention efficiency. The corresponding cyclic response behavior was also evaluated. The most relevant experimental information is presented in the paper, such as the evolution of the outer damage pattern. Finally, shear retrofit solutions, with a 40% increase over the maximum flexural force, show that this strategy is adequate to allow satisfactory ductility behavior.