Citizen engagement and urban change: Three case studies of material deliberation

Public participation in urban planning and development is a widely used process which seeks to enable better decision making. In this paper we address critiques of such deliberation – that it relies on the discursive to the detriment of experiential, material or affective modes of expression – and describe three case studies of participation which emphasise, in different ways, ‘material deliberation’. We close by discussing the ways in which such material deliberative practices can best be understood as components of a wider deliberative society.     

Long-range atmospheric transport of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: a global 3-d model analysis including evaluation of arctic sources

We use the global 3-D chemical transport model GEOS-Chem to simulate long-range atmospheric transport of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). To evaluate the model's ability to simulate PAHs with different volatilities, we conduct analyses for phenanthrene (PHE), pyrene (PYR), and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP). GEOS-Chem captures observed seasonal trends with no statistically significant difference between simulated and measured mean annual concentrations. GEOS-Chem also captures variability in observed concentrations at nonurban sites (r = 0.64, 0.72, and 0.74, for PHE, PYR, and BaP). Sensitivity simulations suggest snow/ice scavenging is important for gas-phase PAHs, and on-particle oxidation and temperature-dependency of gas-particle partitioning have greater effects on transport than irreversible partitioning or increased particle concentrations. GEOS-Chem estimates mean atmospheric lifetimes of <1 day for all three PAHs. Though corresponding half-lives are lower than the 2-day screening criterion for international policy action, we simulate concentrations at the high-Arctic station of Spitsbergen within four times observed concentrations with strong correlation (r = 0.70, 0.68, and 0.70 for PHE, PYR, and BaP). European and Russian emissions combined account for ～80% of episodic high-concentration events at Spitsbergen.     

Simulation of heat transfer for solid–liquid food mixtures in cans and model validation under pasteurization conditions

During processing of canned mixtures of solid–liquid foods, conduction and convection occur simultaneously. The literature lacks in a complete simulation study where a large number of solids are dispersed in the liquid phase, e.g. canned peas. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine temperature changes inside a can containing solid–liquid food mixtures. For this purpose, dispersed stationary solids (canned peas in water) in a 2D (axi-symmetrical) configuration were applied. Ansys V11 (Ansys Inc., Canonsburg, PA) was used to solve continuity, energy and momentum equations. For experiments, canned pea samples were prepared in 500 g cans, and heating process was conducted in a retort under pasteurization conditions at ≈98 °C. Temperature changes were measured using needle type thermocouples, and simulation results were validated against experimental data. This study is expected to be a significant contribution to the literature for further optimization studies and to form basis of an industrial project to improve canning process of solid–liquid mixtures.     

Boron concentrations in selected foods from borate‐producing regions in Turkey

As part of a large‐scale programme to investigate the health effects of exposure to borate minerals in Turkey, boron concentrations in vegetables, fruits and some other foods were determined. From all borate‐producing regions of the country, 22 species of fruit, 17 species of vegetable, 12 species of cereal, legume and oilseed, three species of herbs and six types of other food were collected in 1999 and analysed for boron concentrations using the Azomethine H method. The results were compared with 37 types of food collected from areas well distant from the borate‐producing areas. The total number of samples evaluated was 420. Pistachio (67.0 mg kg^?1) had the highest concentration of boron, followed by grape leaf (60.48 mg kg^?1), sour cherry (57.03 mg kg^?1), quince (38.78 mg kg^?1), peach (34.49 mg kg^?1), grape (20.70 mg kg^?1), green beans (19.49 mg kg^?1), unripe peach (18.92 mg kg^?1) and parsley (10.24 mg kg^?1) from the borate‐producing regions. A large number of foods contained boron at higher concentrations than those reported in the literature, most probably due to the high boron content of these Turkish soils. According to the results of t‐tests, the area itself does not have a significant effect (p > 0.05) on boron concentration in all foods evaluated so far. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Synchronous generator model identification and parameter estimation from operating data

A novel technique to estimate and model parameters of a 460-MVA large steam turbine generator from operating data is presented. First, data from small excitation disturbances are used to estimate linear model armature circuit and field winding parameters of the machine. Subsequently, for each set of steady state operating data, saturable inductances L/sub ds/ and L/sub qs/ are identified and modeled using nonlinear mapping functions-based estimators. Using the estimates of the armature circuit parameters, for each set of disturbance data collected at different operating conditions, the rotor body parameters of the generator are estimated using an output error method (OEM). The developed nonlinear models are validated with measurements not used in the estimation procedure.     

A method for determining the absolute total electron content in the ionosphere on the basis of the analysis of the characteristics of unmodulated coherent multifrequency signals

A theoretical method for determining the absolute total electron content (TEC) on the basis of processing the phase of unmodulated coherent multifrequency signals is considered. Calculation of the values of the phase ambiguity and resolution in terms of TEC values is presented. A combination of the frequencies of coherent signals that enables reconstruction of the absolute TEC of the Earth’s ionosphere with the use of simple receiving facilities is substantiated.     

Methodology development for estimation of armature circuit andfield winding parameters of large utility generators

This paper presents a methodology to estimate armature circuit and field winding parameters of large utility generators using the synthetic data obtained by the machine natural abc frame of reference simulation. First, a one-machine infinite bus system including the machine and its excitation system is simulated in abc frame of reference by using parameters provided by the machine manufacturer. A proper data set required for estimation is collected by perturbing the field side of the machine in small amounts, The recursive maximum likelihood (RML) estimation technique is employed for the identification of armature circuit parameters. Subsequently, based on the estimates of armature circuit parameters, the field winding and some damper parameters are estimated using an output error estimation (OEM) technique. For each estimation case, the estimation performance is also validated with noise corrupted measurements. Even in case of remarkable noise corruption, the agreement between estimated and actual parameters is quite satisfactory     

Estimation of monthly solar radiation distribution for solar energy system analysis

The concept of probability density frequency, which is successfully used for analyses of wind speed and outdoor temperature distributions, is now modified and proposed for estimating solar radiation distributions for design and analysis of solar energy systems. In this study, global solar radiation distribution is comprehensively analyzed for photovoltaic (PV) panel and thermal collector systems. In this regard, a case study is conducted with actual global solar irradiation data of the last 15 years recorded by the Turkish State Meteorological Service. It is found that intensity of global solar irradiance greatly affects energy and exergy efficiencies and hence the performance of collectors.