The impact of using chilled water storage systems on the performance of air cooled chillers in Kuwait

In the air conditioning (AC) industry chilled water storage (CWS) systems are one form of cool thermal storage technology that can be used to time shift the electrical load of the system from the peak day periods to off peak night time periods. In this paper the data for the actual exported and generated electrical energy obtained for the power stations in Kuwait has been used to estimate the electrical energy consumption and the peak electrical load of AC systems. Since the chiller in an air cooled AC system represent more than 75% of the total electrical power consumed by an AC system during the peak demand period, the impact of using CWS systems with alternative operating strategies including partial (load levelling), partial (demand limiting) and full load has been investigated. In our conclusions we estimate that approximately 45% of the total annual exported electrical energy is consumed solely by AC systems as a result of the very high ambient temperatures occurring between March and October. Furthermore, it is estimated AC systems represent about 62% of the peak electrical load. The results demonstrate that CWS can reduce the peak electrical load of a chiller in an air cooled AC system by up to 100% and reduce the nominal chiller size by up to 33% depending upon the operating strategy adopted. This is achieved with only a 4% increase in power consumption of the chiller for all CWS strategies except for full storage where the energy consumption actually decreases by approximately 4%.     

The effect of a sprinkler on the stability of a smoke layer beneath a ceiling

A study has been made of the effect of sprinkler sprays on hot buoyant smoke layers with particular reference to covered shopping malls.     

Heavy metals in maternal and cord blood

Heavy metal concentrations have been determined in maternal and cord blood samples collected from mothers in the age group 20-25 years with full-term neonates (37-40 weeks). The concentrations of Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn were found to be low in cord blood as compared to mother's blood and the ratio between cord blood and maternal blood for the respective elements was found to be approximately 0.80, 0.86, 0.47 and 0.40. On the other hand, the concentrations of Fe and Mg in the mother's blood were found to be lower than those in the cord blood. Prenatal exposure to lead in Mumbai, though low (5.1 microg/dl), is approximately 2-3 times higher than that observed in Canada or Italy. A strong correlation (r = 0.79) between the maternal and cord blood lead levels has been observed during the present study.     

Organochlorines in egg samples from Norwegian birds of prey: congener-, isomer- and enantiomer specific considerations

The content of chlorinated persistent organic pollutants was determined in a total of 44 egg samples from 8 different raptor species collected throughout Norway in the period 1991-1997. The content of 8 chlorinated bornanes, 9 chlorinated pesticides, and 15 polychlorinated biphenyl congeners (PCB) were determined. The highest average concentrations for PCB were found for eggs from White-tailed Sea Eagle and Peregrine Falcon (average sum PCB concentration: 8.9 and 9.1 microg/g wet weight (w.w.), respectively). Merlin and Sparrowhawk eggs were the highest contaminated with chlorinated pesticides (average sum pesticide concentration: 3.0 and 4.3 microg/g w.w.). For the first time, the content of chlorobornanes was determined in Norwegian birds of prey eggs. However, only minor contamination compared to PCBs and conventional chlorinated pesticides was found. The highest sum concentration was determined for White-tailed Sea Eagle eggs (0.09 microg/g w.w.). No chlorobornane contamination was found in Osprey and Merlin eggs. No spatial and regional specific trends or pattern distribution were found for organochlorine contamination in the egg samples analysed. In order to gain information about enantiomer specific bioaccumulation and biotransformation capacity of the organism, enantioselective analyses was performed for the chiral contaminants trans-chlordane, oxy-chlordane and the chlorobornane B9-1679 (Parlar #50). Indications for species-dependent deviation from the racemic distribution (enantiomeric ratio = 1) were found. Peregrine Falcon and Merlin eggs were characterised with an extremely high enantiomeric excess of the (-)-trans-chlordane (enantiomeric ratio (ER) <0.01). For Golden Eagle, Goshawk and Sparrowhawk eggs, the ERs were between 0.1 and 0.22 demonstrating also here that the (-)-trans-chlordane was the most abundant enantiomer. For the distribution of oxy-chlordane and B9-1679 enantiomers no species-dependent differences were found. For all species the ER values between 0.3 and 0.8 were determined. Thus, also for oxy-chlordane and B9-1679, the (-)-enantiomers are the most dominating stereoisomers in the birds of prey eggs analysed.     

Application of GaN-based ultraviolet-C light emitting diodes--UV LEDs--for water disinfection

GaN-based ultraviolet-C (UV-C) light emitting diodes (LEDs) are of great interest for water disinfection. They offer significant advantages compared to conventional mercury lamps due to their compact form factor, low power requirements, high efficiency, non-toxicity, and overall robustness. However, despite the significant progress in the performance of semiconductor based UV LEDs that has been achieved in recent years, these devices still suffer from low emission power and relatively short lifetimes. Even the best UV LEDs exhibit external quantum efficiencies of only 1-2%.The objective of this study was to investigate the suitability of GaN-based UV LEDs for water disinfection. The investigation included the evaluation of the performance characteristics of UV LEDs at different operating conditions as well as the design of a UV LED module in view of the requirements for water treatment applications. Bioanalytical testing was conducted using Bacillus subtilis spores as test organism and UV LED modules with emission wavelengths of 269 nm and 282 nm.The results demonstrate the functionality of the developed UV LED disinfection modules. GaN-based UV LEDs effectively inactivated B. subtilis spores during static and flow-through tests applying varying water qualities. The 269 nm LEDs reached a higher level of inactivation than the 282 nm LEDs for the same applied fluence. The lower inactivation achieved by the 282 nm LEDs was compensated by their higher photon flux. First flow-through tests indicate a linear correlation between inactivation and fluence, demonstrating a well designed flow-through reactor. With improved light output and reduced costs, GaN-based UV LEDs can provide a promising alternative for decentralised and mobile water disinfection systems.     

Trace-metal concentrations in normal human liver: methods to cope with marked variability

Concentrations of trace elements in human tissues characteristically vary widely, and the distributions of most concentrations are skewed to the right. Examination of some of the factors which contribute to the marked variability and skewness of the concentrations revealed that: (1) distributions of concentrations are satisfactorily normal (Gaussian) after logarithmic transformation, (2) ash weight is the best frame of reference in which to report results, (3) the distributions of metal concentrations are not further normalized by adjustments which assume that tissue lipid or collagen contains a fixed fraction of the metal found in the parenchyma, and (4) the choice of sample site within the liver is of minimal significance.     

Microanalysis of anionic surfactants in waste water by infrared spectroscopy

Infrared spectroscopy was applied to identify and determine microamounts of anionic surfactants contained in sewage or river waters. The surfactants tested were linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS), branched alkylbenzene sulfonate (ABS), alpha olefine sulfonate (AOS), fatty alcohol sulfate (AS) and fatty alcohol ethoxy sulfate (AES).Anionic surfactants in waters were extracted by chloroform as methylene blue complexes and sulfate type surfactants, i.e. AS and AES were then removed by subsequent hydrolysis. Residual sulfonate type surfactants were first released from methylene blue complexes by ion exchange technique and then changed to sulfonyl chloride derivatives for infrared spectroscopy. Key bands for the identification of sulfonate type surfactants are 640, 618 and 524 cm⁻¹ for LAS, ABS and AOS, respectively. Sulfate type surfactants was calculated from the difference of methylene blue active substance contents before and after hydrolysis.     

Impact wave propagation in tall buildings using advanced spectral element method

One of the major divisions in analysis and design of tall buildings is to account for forces induced by flying‐object impact and the subsequent progressive collapse. During the past three decades, problems of contact mechanics have been considered by some authors, and special attention has been devoted to high‐speed impact. Impact wave propagation in tall buildings may be analysed using the conventional finite element method. However, in order to guarantee stability and accuracy of the solution, the number of elements used to model the structure may be very large indeed; more precisely, accurate results can be obtained after a substantial computational effort. In this respect, an improved complex spectral element method is developed for analysing the wave propagation problems in large structures. The purpose of this paper is to obtain the resulting dynamic responses of a tall building induced by a high‐speed impact of a flying object. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stable lead isotopes and lake sediments--a useful combination for the study of atmospheric lead pollution history

Analysis of stable lead isotopes and lead concentrations in lake-sediment deposits, not least in varved (annually-laminated) sediments, is a useful method to study lead pollution history. This paper presents details from a study of 31 lakes in Sweden. Using a strong acid digestion of sediment samples and ICP-MS analyses, we have found that Swedish lake sediments have a high natural (pre-pollution) 206[Pb]207[Pb] ratio (mean 1.52+/-0.18, range 1.28-2.01, n=31 lakes). In contrast, atmospheric lead pollution derived from metal smelting processes, coal burning and from alkyl-lead added to petrol has a lower ratio (< 1.2). Consequently, when pollution lead deposition began approximately 3500 years ago, the lead isotope ratio of the sediments started to decline, and in modern sediments it is typically < 1.2. Using the isotope and concentration values and a mixing model, the relative contribution of pollution and natural lead in sediment samples can be calculated. The pollution lead records of the Swedish lake sediments show a consistent picture of the atmospheric lead pollution history. Some noticeable features are the Roman peak (approx. 0 AD), the large and permanent Medieval increase (approx. 1000 AD), peaks at approximately 1200 and 1530 AD, the rapid increase after World War II, the peak in the 1970s, and the large modern decline.     

Long-term geophysical observations on the inguri dam rock foundation

Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment - It has been found that during construction of the dam, prior to the filling of the reservoir, compaction and loading of the rocks under the...