Water resources development and management

This paper examines the maximum available water resources in Japan, nationally and by region, and describes the present balance of demand and supply. The major existing mechanisms of water development and control ‐ dam construction and pricing structures ‐ are reviewed. Finally a classification of various stages of water resource and irrigation development is presented. These stages are identified as reliance on natural river discharge, the construction of reservoirs, restrictions on water use, inter‐basin planning, and the construction of reservoirs for perennial water regulation.     

Decentralized system identification for electric power system

Research on decentralized control of an electric power system is important for stabilizing control problems. In particular, since an electric power system is a large-scale nonlinear control system, decentralized (not divided) systems with cooperation should be constructed. This paper presents ways to construct decentralized systems for an electric power system. In section 2, swing data of a three-machine model system are obtained, in section 3, coefficient parameters of the model equation based on one-machine infinite-bus system with AVR and GOV are estimated by the least square method. In section 4, the equivalence calculated using estimated values is discussed, and the effect of conditions on fault is considered. Finally, section 5 is devoted to summarizing results of decentralized system identification.     

Dynamics of dewaterability and bacterial populations in activated sludge

Relationships of bacterial populations and extracellular polymer substances (EPS) to dewaterability of activated sludge were studied on three laboratory-scale activated sludge reactors fed with synthetic wastewater. Dewaterability of activated sludge was evaluated by a novel method developed by the authors, in which small amount of sludge was centrifugally dewatered, and its water content was measured. Bacterial populations during the reactor operation were analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction/terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR/T-RFLP) targeted at a partial 16S rRNA gene. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) were extracted using cation exchange resin (CER), and polysaccharides and total protein in EPS were determined. Some of the dominant terminal-restriction fragments (T-RFs) were observed to have significant relationships with dewaterability of sludge, and it was suggested that bacterial species corresponding to those peaks significantly affected dewaterability. On the other hand, significant relationships were not found between EPS concentration and dewaterability of sludge.     

Microbial community analysis of thermophilic contact oxidation process by using ribosomal RNA approaches and the quinone profile method

Microbial community structure of a lab scale thermophilic aerobic wastewater treatment reactor was analyzed by a combination of culture-independent methods. Quinone profile method provides for chemical analysis of respiratory quinone molecular species, which corresponds to bacterial groups. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of PCR-amplified 16S rDNA partial sequences (PCR-DGGE) clarifies community changes at species level, as DGGE can separate DNA fragments of different sequences. Certain phvlogenetic groups of bacterial cells can be labeled by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Quinone profile showed a predominant presence of MK-7. PCR-DGGE revealed that constituents of the community were unchanged during the stable phase. FISH demonstrated the existence of the relatives of Bacillus lentus and B. thermocloacae in considerable proportions. The community was mainly composed of Bacillaceae, and obligate thermophilic and mesophilic Bacillus appeared in spite of the temperature fluctuation from 35 degrees C to 60 degrees C. The combination of these culture-independent methods revealed the community precisely enough to evaluate the reactor performance.     

Study of cooling system with water mist sprayers: Fundamental examination of particle size distribution and cooling effects

A cooling system that sprays micro water droplets could prove useful in mitigating temperature increases in urban areas by using the heat of water evaporation, a process that consumes only small amounts of water and energy. If water mist is sprayed in a semi-outdoor area, for example, under a canopy, it could potentially improve conditions on hot days. However, there is little reference data concerning the design or control of such systems. In order to propose a method for designing and predicting the performance of a water mist system, we discuss differences in cooling effects in the context of particle size distribution of water mist. The results of numerical fluid analysis showed there is no significant difference in temperature reduction for different particle sizes. However, the water particles remained in a lower position with larger particles.     

Influence of microstructure on fracture toughness distribution in ceramic-metal functionally graded materials

This paper deals with the influence of microstructure on fracture toughness distribution in functionally graded materials (FGMs) consisting of partially stabilized zirconia (PSZ) and austenitic stainless steel SUS 304. FGMs and non-graded composites (non-FGMs) with fine and coarse microstructures are fabricated by powder metallurgy using PSZ and two kinds of SUS 304 powders. The fracture toughness is determined by conventional tests for several non-FGMs with each material composition and by a method utilizing stable crack growth in FGMs. The obtained results on the fracture toughness are as follows: (1) The fracture toughness increases with an increase in a content of SUS 304 on both FGMs and non-FGMs. (2) On the fracture toughness of the non-FGMs, the influence of microstructure is negligible. (3) On the FGMs, the fracture toughness is higher in the FGM with fine microstructure than in the FGM with coarse microstructure. (4) The fracture toughness of the FGMs is higher than that of the non-FGMs especially in the case of fine microstructure. Finally, the residual stress in the FGMs created in a fabrication process is estimated from the difference in fracture toughness between the FGMs and non-FGMs.     

Effects of Cr and Cr/Mn Combined Additions on Semi-Solid Microstructures of Al-Mg-Si Alloys Produced by D-SSF Process

The effects of Cr and Cr/Mn combined additions on the semi-solid microstructure of wrought Al-Mg-Si alloys are investigated.In the Cr-added alloy,the Al-7Cr compound is formed with homogeneously distributed in theα-Al matrix after homogenization.Both of the Al-7Cr andα-Al-（12）Mn3-Si-2 dispersiod particles are found in the homogenized microstructure of the Cr/Mn-added alloy.In the semi-solid microstructures,the smallestα-Al grains are obtained in the 60% cold-rolled alloys.After prolonged holding time,theα-Al grain size of the Cr/Mn-added alloy is smaller than that of the Cr-added alloy.Heavy deformation by cold-rolling accelerates spheroidization of theα-Al grains.The D-SSF process is found to be useful to modify the microstructures of both the Cr-added and Cr/Mn-added Al-Mg-Si alloys.     

Formation of Clusters in Whiskies During the Maturation Process

Maturation provides whisky with a mild and smooth texture by removing the irritating alcoholic flavor. However, the precise mechanism by which the whisky flavor is improved through the maturation process remains unknown. In this study, we performed mesoscopic structural measurements—dynamic light scattering (DLS) and small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS)—to elucidate the relationship between the liquid structure and flavor maturation of whiskies. Both techniques detected two scattering components corresponding to the clusters formed by the extractives from oak casks during maturation, which are not present in the new make (freshly distilled whisky). Analyzing the scattering profiles revealed that only the small clusters increase in concentration during maturation. It is concluded the small cluster component is crucial for obtaining flavorful whiskies, while the large cluster component, whose concentration is independent of the maturation time, is related to the alcoholic irritation of the whiskies, as demonstrated by the sonication test.     

城市污水SBR法短程生物脱氮系统硝化菌群的定量分析

为了研究实时控制对短程生物脱氮中试系统内硝化菌群结构组成的影响,在考察系统常温条件下处理城市污水时短程硝化效果的同时,采用FISH、PCR-DGGE和PCR-克隆序列(Cloning Sequencing)分子生物学方法对SBR中试系统(有效容积为54 m³)硝化菌群中的氨氧化菌(AOB)和亚硝酸氧化菌(NOB)进行定性与定量化分析.FISH结果表明,在短程脱氮系统中,AOB相比于NOB已成为明显的优势菌群,占总菌群的3%~12%;且没有检测出NOB.PCR-DGGE结果表明,SBR短程脱氮中试系统中的AOB均以Nitrosomonas-like为主.污泥样品的PCR-Cloning-Sequencing结果表明,所有的克隆相似于Nitrosomonas,其中60%以上的克隆相似于Nitro- somonas europaea.