Design of bandstop filters by reactance transformation

The usual method for designing bandstop filters is the reactance transformation from a lowpass prototype. When the filter specifications do not satisfy geometrical symmetry, the choice of stopband central frequency constitutes an interesting problem. This letter shows that the mean square of the stopband edges is the stopband central frequency that leads to the lowest selectivity parameter of the prototype.     

Three-component competitive adsorption model for flow-through PAC systems. 1. Model development and verification with a PAC/membrane system

Natural organic matter (NOM) interferes with the adsorption of trace organic compounds on porous adsorbents such as powdered activated carbon (PAC) by pore blockage and direct competition for adsorption sites. The competitive effect of NOM in flow-through systems in which the retention time of the PAC is greater than the hydraulic retention time of the system can be magnified because NOM from the influent water can continue to adsorb on the PAC retained in the system. As a result, the adsorption capacity and the diffusion coefficient of trace compounds can decrease as NOM from the influent water accumulates. In this study, a dynamic three-component adsorption model was developed to quantitatively describe the removal of a trace compound from water in flow-through PAC processes. The system was simplified by using p-dichlorobenzene (p-DCB) to represent the NOM fraction that competes directly with the target trace organic atrazine for adsorption sites and by using poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS-1.8k) to represent large, pore-blocking NOM. The model was based on the homogeneous surface diffusion assumption with the adsorption capacity of atrazine being gradually adjusted using a simplified version of the ideal adsorbed solution theory model developed in this study. The surface diffusion coefficients of atrazine and p-DCB were modeled as a function of the surface concentration of the pore-blocking compound, PSS-1.8k. The model was verified experimentally with a PAC/microfiltration (MF) system. The use of single-solute adsorption parameters obtained from batch isotherm and kinetic tests resulted in good model predictions for the adsorption of atrazine and the two model compounds under operating conditions typical of PAC/MF systems. The model will be applied to study various operating conditions and other system parameters of PAC/membrane systems in part 2 of this study.     

Ultra violet resonance Raman spectroscopy in lignin analysis: determination of characteristic vibrations of p-hydroxyphenyl, guaiacyl, and syringyl lignin structures

Raman spectroscopy of wood and lignin samples is preferably carried out in the near-infrared region because lignin produces an intense laser-induced fluorescence background at visible excitation wavelengths. However, excitation of aromatic and conjugated lignin structures with deep ultra violet (UV) light gives resonance-enhanced Raman signals while the overlapping fluorescence is eliminated. In this study, ultra violet resonance Raman (UVRR) spectroscopy was used to define characteristic vibration bands of model compounds of p-hydroxyphenyl, guaiacyl, and syringyl lignin structures at three excitation wavelengths (229, 244, and 257 nm). The intensities of each band, relative to the intensity of the aromatic vibration band at 1600 cm-1, were defined and the most suitable excitation wavelength was suggested for each structure. p-Hydroxyphenyl structures showed intensive characteristic bands at 1217-1214 and 1179-1167 cm-1 with excitation at 244 nm, whereas the bands of guaiacyl structures were more intensive with 257 nm excitation. Most intensive characteristic bands of guaiacyl structures were found at 1289-1279, 1187-1185, 1158-1155, and 791-704 cm-1. Syringyl structures had almost identical spectra with 244 and 257 nm excitations with characteristic bands at 1514-1506, 1333-1330, and 981-962 cm-1. The characteristic bands of the three structural units were also found from the compression wood, softwood, and hardwood samples, indicating that UVRR spectroscopy can be applied for the determination of chemical structures of lignin.     

可测定电容器和半导体开关漏电电流的简单夹具

图1a中的电路由一个电压跟随器IC1,和参考电压源IC2构成.IC1是Analog Devices的AD8661运算放大器,其输出偏置电流不超过1pA,其典型输入偏置电流为0.3pA(参考文献1).IC2为Ana-log Devices的ADR391精密电压基准(参考文献2).制造商将此运算放大器的输入偏置电压调整到不超过100μV,典型值为30μV.这些特性使这种放大器适合用于观测各种类型的电容器自放电.固体钽电容和采用高质量塑料电介质电容的漏电电流远远超过了电压跟随器IC1的输入偏置电流.     

Evaluation of Real-Time Operation Rules in Reservoir Systems Operation

Reservoir operation rules are logical or mathematical equations that take into account system variables to calculate water release from a reservoir based on inflow and storage volume values. In fact, previous experiences of the system are used to balance reservoir system parameters in each operational period. Commonly, reservoir operation rules have been considered to be linear decision rules (LDRs) and constant coefficients developed by using various optimization procedures. This paper addresses the application of real-time operation rules on a reservoir system whose purpose is to supply total downstream demand. Those rules include standard operation policy (SOP), stochastic dynamic programming (SDP), LDR, and nonlinear decision rule (NLDR) with various orders of inflow and reservoir storage volume. Also, a multi-attribute decision method, elimination and choice expressing reality (ELECTRE)-I, with a combination of indices, objective functions, and reservoir performance criteria (reliability, resiliency, and vulnerability) are used to rank the aforementioned rules. The ranking method employs two combinations of indices: (1) performance criteria and (2) objective function and performance criteria by using the same weights for all criteria. Results show that the NLDR gives an appropriate rule for real-time operation. Moreover, NLDR validation is presented by testing predefined curves for dry, normal, and wet years.     

Optimal Design of Concrete Canal Section for Minimizing Costs of Water Loss,Lining and Earthworks

Canal section design with minimum cost, which can be considered as an objective function, involves minimization of total costs per unit length of the canal, including direct costs of per cubic meter earthworks and per meter canal lining and indirect costs of water losses through canal seepage and evaporation. Since the costs (both direct and indirect) are associated with the canal geometry and dimensions, it is possible to lower them by optimization of the mentioned objective function. For this purpose, some constraints were subjected and considered to solve the problem. Flow discharge, as the main constraint, was considered in addition to the minimum permissible velocity and Froude’s number, as subsidiary constraints. MATLAB programming software was used to demonstrate and run the optimization algorithm. The results finally were illustrated in forms of dimensionless graphs, which simplify the optimum design of canal dimensions with minimum cost per meter length. Comparing the results with other similar studies, however show the importance and role of earthworks and lining costs, as well as including the subsidiary constraints in the optimization process.     

Optimizing a remotely sensed proxy for plankton biomass in Lake Kivu

Many regions of the world, including inland lakes, present with suboptimal conditions for the remotely sensed retrieval of optical signals, thus challenging the limits of available satellite data-processing tools, such as atmospheric correction models (ACM) and water constituent-retrieval (WCR) algorithms. Working in such regions, however, can improve our understanding of remote-sensing tools and their applicability in new contexts, in addition to potentially offering useful information about aquatic ecology. Here, we assess and compare 32 combinations of two ACMs, two WCRs, and three binary categories of data quality standards to optimize a remotely sensed proxy of plankton biomass in Lake Kivu. Each parameter set is compared against the available ground-truth match-ups using Spearman’s right-tailed ρ. Focusing on the best sets from each ACM–WCR combination, their performances are discussed with regard to data distribution, sample size, spatial completeness, and seasonality. The results of this study may be of interest both for ecological studies on Lake Kivu and for epidemiological studies of disease, such as cholera, the dynamics of which has been associated with plankton biomass in other regions of the world.     

Effect of thermo-pressing temperature on the functional properties of bioplastics made from a renewable wheat gliadin resin

In this work a new methodology based on thermo-pressing a resin made from gliadins and glycerol has been developed to obtain water resistant films. The effect of processing temperature was studied on the functional properties of the films. The results of SDS-PAGE analysis of the molecular weight profiles of the resulting films were indicative of disulfide/sulfhydryl interchange reactions giving rise to the formation of intermolecular disulfide bonds between the gliadin units. These reactions augmented the degree of cross-linking of the matrix, which increased with thermo-pressing temperature, as evidenced by the residual reaction enthalpy values determined by MDSC as well as by cross-linking density values determined from tensile tests. In consequence the films produced at high temperature had better water resistance upon immersion, greater maximum tensile strength and Young's modulus values, and lower water vapor and oxygen permeabilities compared with cast films. Based on the analytical test results, thermo-pressing the resin in successive time/force steps along with a temperature of 130 °C produced gliadin films with improved properties.     

Validity of the Space-Time Enlargement Law for vacuum breakdown

This paper investigates, theoretically and experimentally, the applicability of the Space-Time Enlargement Law to vacuum-insulated systems. A discussion on how characteristics of possible vacuum breakdown mechanisms determine the distribution function of the breakdown voltage random variable is presented. By superimposing effects of electrode surface enlargement and inter-electrode gap enlargement, expressions for the mean value and standard deviation of the breakdown voltage random variable are obtained. In the case of time extensions, the assumption of complete independence of consecutive discharge processes is discussed. Experimental testing of the Enlargement Law was performed on Rogowski type two-electrode systems, with different electrode surface areas, inter-electrode gaps and vacuum pressures. Measurements were conducted using industrial ac voltage, dc voltage with 50 V/s rate of rise, standard atmospheric pulse voltage (1,2/50 μs), and commutational pulse voltage (250/2500 μs). The final conclusion, based on the comparison of theoretical considerations and the experimental results, is that the Space-Time Enlargement Law can be applied in the design phase during the development of vacuum devices, with certain limitations, regardless of the type of the applied voltage.