Impact of backwashing procedures on deep bed filtration productivity in drinking water treatment

Backwash procedures for deep bed filters were evaluated and compared by means of a new integrated approach based on productivity. For this, different backwash procedures were experimentally evaluated by using a pilot plant for direct filtration. A standard backwash mode as applied in practice served as a reference and effluent turbidity was used as the criterion for filter run termination. The backwash water volumes needed, duration of the filter-to-waste period, time out of operation, total volume discharged and filter run-time were determined and used to calculate average filtration velocity and average productivity.     

Zur Querkraftgefährdung bestehender Spannbetonbrücken

Zur Formulierung einer Handlungsanweisung werden in Teil I die geänderten Lastannahmen für Brücken nach DIN Fachbericht 101 mit den Belastungsklassen nach alten Normen verglichen und gezeigt, wie anhand aktueller Verkehrszahlen die Lastansätze modifiziert werden können. Der aktuelle Brückenbestand in Hessen wird mit der Straßeninformationsbank (Teilprojekt Bauwerksdaten) ausgewertet, um Klassifizierungs‐ und Bewertungskriterien zu erarbeiten. Zur Beurteilung des Querkraftwiderstandes werden die Grundlagen der Querkraftbemessung nach DIN 1045, DIN 4227, DIN Fachbericht 102 und aus der Literatur gegenübergestellt. Shear‐Vulnerability of Existing Pre‐Stressed Concrete Bridges. Part One: Basics In Part I, to formulate an operation directive the revised load assumptions for bridges of DIN Technical Report 101 are compared with the loading classes according to old standards and it is demonstrated, how the loading models can be modified based on actual traffic data. The current bridge asset in the Federal State of Hesse is evaluated using the “Road Information Database (Sub‐Project: Structural Data)” in order to work out classification and evaluation criteria. Regarding the assessment of the shear load‐bearing capacity the fundamentals of the shear load design models of DIN 1045, DIN 4227, DIN TR 102 and from the literature are compared.     

Brücken mit Fahrbahnen aus glasfaserverstärktem Kunststoff (GFK) – Neue Straßenbrücke in Friedberg (Hessen)

In Friedberg (Hessen) wurde im Juli 2008 erstmals in Deutschland eine Straßenbrücke unter Verwendung von glasfaserverstärktem Kunststoff (GFK) fertig gestellt. Das Bauwerk überspannt mit 27 m die Bundesstraße B 3a bei der Stadt Friedberg (Hessen) und wurde in Stahl‐GFK‐Verbundbauweise realisiert. Die hohe Dauerhaftigkeit des neuen Werkstoffs und die zügige Montage der Brücke waren die entscheidenden Gründe pro GFK. In den letzten Jahren wurden in den USA, Japan und auch in Europa einige Leichtbaubrücken mit faserverstärkten Kunststoffen realisiert. Dabei konnten wertvolle Erfahrungen zum Bau und Betrieb gesammelt und die Leistungsfähigkeit von Verbundwerkstoffen unter Beweis gestellt werden. Die Brücke in Friedberg geht über diese Vorbilder hinaus, indem hier erstmals die Verbundwirkung zwischen der GFK‐Fahrbahn und dem Haupttragwerk aus Stahl berücksichtigt wird. Außerdem wurde konsequent der Ansatz eines wartungsarmen und langlebigen Bauwerks verfolgt, indem auf Lager und Fahrbahnübergänge verzichtet wurde. Bridges with Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymers (GFRP) decks – The new Road Bridge in Friedberg (Hessen, Germany). In July 2008 the first road bridge in Germany using glass fibre reinforced polymers (GFRP) was finished in Friedberg (Hessen). The structure has a span of 27 m and acts as overfly of the federal road B 3 near Friedberg (Hessen). The high durability of the new construction material and the fast assembly of the bridge were decisive factors in favour of GFRP. Within the last years several light weight bridges using FRP were realised in USA, Japan and also in Europe. Through this valuable experiences could be gathered regarding construction, the use and performance of composites could be demonstrated. The bridge in Friedberg extends this experience with the approach of considering the composite action of the FRP deck and the steel girders. It also follows consequently the approach of durable bridge construction by omitting any bearings or expansion joints.     

The influence of particle size on microbial hydrolysis of protein particles in activated sludge

The influence of particle size on hydrolysis rates was evaluated in batch respirometers using protein particles derived from hard-boiled egg whites and activated sludge. It was found that initial hydrolysis rates for large particles were low but increased over time, contradicting commonly used mathematical modeling approaches to describe hydrolysis. A modified mathematical model was proposed based on particle breakup that described the observed hydrolysis kinetics for small and large protein particles. In the particle breakup model, hydrolysis results both in the release of readily biodegradable substrate and, at the same time, breakup of larger aggregates resulting in an increase of the specific surface area available for hydrolysis. Using this model, initial specific hydrolysis rates were calculated for the small and large particles, and ranged from 0.038 to 0.24 d(-1) and 0.19 to 0.98 d(-1) for large and small particles, respectively. The specific hydrolysis rate at the point of maximum overall hydrolysis rate ranged from approximately 2 to 3 d(-1) for all particles.     

Flow-Sheeting-Programme für die Prozeßsimulation

Flowsheeting systems for process simulation. Simulation of process plants with flowsheeting systems has been state of the art in chemical plant design and in the chemical industry for many years. Modern computers now permit steady state simulation of complex chemical plants with sufficient accuracy. This paper outlines the different approaches to steady state process simulation, names the advantages and disadvantages, and gives an outlook on further developments. Process optimization, process integration, and process synthesis will be discussed. The integration of different programs, e.g. the connection between flowsheeting systems and computer-aided design (CAD) will be described. An advance in user friendliness will be reached by latest developments in the field of personal computers and workstations and by database management systems.     

Network Discovery and Verification

Due to its fast, dynamic, and distributed growth process, it is hard to obtain an accurate map of the Internet. In many cases, such a map-representing the structure of the Internet as a graph with nodes and links-is a prerequisite when investigating properties of the Internet. A common way to obtain such maps is to make certain local measurements at a small subset of the nodes, and then to combine these in order to "discover" (an approximation of) the actual graph. Each of these measurements is potentially quite costly. It is thus a natural objective to minimize the number of measurements which still discover the whole graph. We formalize this problem as a combinatorial optimization problem and consider it for two different models characterized by different types of measurements. We give several upper and lower bounds on the competitive ratio (for the online network discovery problem) and the approximation ratio (for the offline network verification problem) in both models. Furthermore, for one of the two models, we compare four simple greedy strategies in an experimental analysis     

Doping Molecular Monolayers: Effects on Electrical Transport Through Alkyl Chains on Silicon

n‐Si/C_nH_{2n + 1}/Hg junctions (n = 12, 14, 16 and 18) can be prepared with sufficient quality to assure that the transport characteristics are not anymore dominated by defects in the molecular monolayers. With such organic monolayers we can, using electron, UV and X‐ray irradiation, alter the charge transport through the molecular junctions on n‐ as well as on p‐type Si. Remarkably, the quality of the self‐assembled molecular monolayers following irradiation remains sufficiently high to provide the same very good protection of Si from oxidation in ambient atmosphere as provided by the pristine films. Combining spectroscopic (UV photoemission spectroscopy (UPS), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger, near edge‐X‐ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS)) and electrical transport measurements, we show that irradiation induces defects in the alkyl films, most likely C?C bonds and C? C crosslinks, and that the density of defects can be controlled by irradiation dose. These altered intra‐ and intermolecular bonds introduce new electronic states in the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)–lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) gap of the alkyl chains and, in the process, dope the organic film. We demonstrate an enhancement of 1–2 orders of magnitude in current. This change is clearly distinguishable from the previous observed difference between transport through high quality and defective monolayers. A detailed analysis of the electrical transport at different temperatures shows that the dopants modify the transport mechanism from tunnelling to hopping. This study suggests a way to extend significantly the use of monolayers in molecular electronics.     

Quality of Service in VoIP Communication

The focus of this paper lies in the practical aspects of voice over IP communication. VoIP configurations in the H.323 standard will be presented briefly. Following that, the fundamental protocol procedure of H.323 communication will be briefly explained. A further part of the paper will address the subject QoS (quality of service), and present the common measurement methods used in QoS. Results gained from experiments conducted in a VoIP environment will then follow. The investigations concentrate primarily on the load behavior of voice packets in relation to important parameters of this service. The results obtained are presented and evaluated in diagrams. The paper concludes with a summary.     

Phorbol esters increase dopamine transporter phosphorylation and decrease transport Vmax

Sodium- and chloride-coupled transport of dopamine from synapses into presynaptic terminals plays a key role in terminating dopaminergic neurotransmission. Regulation of the function of the dopamine transporter, the molecule responsible for this translocation, is thus of interest. The primary sequence of the dopamine transporter contains multiple potential phosphorylation sites, suggesting that the function of the transporter could be regulated by phosphorylation. Previous work from this laboratory has documented that phorbol ester activation of protein kinase C (PKC) decreases dopamine transport Vmax in transiently expressing COS cells. In the present report, we document in vivo phosphorylation of the rat dopamine transporter stably expressed in LLC-PK1, cells and show that phosphorylation is increased threefold by phorbol esters. Dopamine uptake is also regulated by phorbol esters in these cells; phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) reduces transport Vmax by 35%. Parallels between the time course, concentration dependency, and staurosporine sensitivity of alterations in transporter phosphorylation and transporter Vmax suggest that dopamine transporter phosphorylation involving PKC could contribute to this decreased transporter function. Phosphorylation of the dopamine transporter by PKC or by a PKC-activated kinase could be involved in rapid neuroadaptive processes in dopaminergic neurons.