Early stage dissolution characteristics of aluminosilicate glasses with blast furnace slag‐ and fly‐ash‐like compositions

Supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) have been used by the cement industry for decades to partly replace the portland cement fraction of concrete binders. This is particularly important today in addressing CO₂ emissions from the cement manufacturing process. However, defining the reactivity of these mainly aluminosilicate‐based materials and their influence on portland cement hydration chemistry has challenged the research community and has limited SCM replacement levels in cementitious binders. In this study, aluminosilicate glasses as models for blast furnace slag and fly‐ash systems were synthesized and exposed to different activator solutions in a continuously stirred closed system reactor for a period up to 3 hours. Solution compositions were measured from the very first minutes of dissolution and correlated with results from complementary solid surface analysis. Initial Ca concentration maxima in the first 30 minutes of exposure to the activating solution was a common feature in most dissolution profiles with a subsequent rapid decline attributable to Ca‐reincorporation on the reacting surface. Surface‐specific analysis confirmed Ca and Al enrichment at the surface, suggesting the formation of a Ca‐modified aluminosilicate layer, supporting a dissolution‐reprecipitation mechanism for SCM reactivity. Differing chemistries are thought to be responsible for the Ca and Al reintegration on the reacting surface depending on the pH of the solution; near‐neutral conditions favor Ca‐readsorption and surface condensation reactions, whereas alkaline solutions favor Ca‐reintegration via covalently bound phases.     

The economic effect of age and education on the regional flows of Black human capital

This paper quantifies and analyzes the flow of human capital caused by the migration of Blacks within the U.S. over time. Detailed characteristics of migration flows for Blacks moving in and out of each of the nine divisions in the U. S. were determined and multiplied by the appropriate value of human capital (discounted earnings approach). These flows were then summed to determine the aggregate inter-regional flows of Black human capital. The effects of age and education on these flows are analyzed as are the probable effects of such flows on regional economic growth.Results of the study show that there is a significant ageeducation interaction effect for Blacks. In addition, these interregional flows suggest that there is a substantial flow of Black human capital from the South to the North and West, and from the North to the West. Significant losses in Black human capital on the part of the South have several rather important public policy implications.     

The uptake of chemical elements from coal ash and settling basin effluent by primary producers II. Relation between concentrations in ash deposits and tissues of grasses growing on the ash

A number of reports of biomagnification of trace metals by plants indicate that elements are selectively concentrated within certain tissues when plants grow on coal ash. This study determined the uptake by, and tissue bioaccumulation of, 15 chemical elements within broom sedge and nut grass growing in the drainage system of a coal ash basin. Biomagnification of these elements by the grasses was compared to concentrations of these elements found in duckweed within the same system.Aluminium, arsenic, barium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, mercury, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, strontium, titanium, and zinc were measured by neutron activation analysis in roots, stems, leaves and fruit of the grasses which grew in sediments within the effluent. Mercury and zinc were biomagnified in both grasses and duckweed to a level exceeding the concentration in sediment. All elements were biomagnified above the water concentration in all parts of the plants. Bioaccumulation of elements in the leaves and fruit of these plants provides a concentrated source of potentially toxic chemical elements for passage to animals which may consume these plants. The mechanisms of movement of potentially toxic elements from coal ash or water into food webs need additional study as utilization of coal is increased.     

Silver complexation in river waters of central New York

The dissolved component of the apparent silver complexation capacity was determined for Susquehanna and Chenango River water samples collected over a 3-month period in the vicinity of Binghamton, New York. Silver ion activities detected by the Ag⁺/S^2? ion selective electrode during potentiometric titration of the river water with AgNO₃ were lower than Ag⁺ activities calculated with an inorganic equilibrium speciation model. The maximum difference in Ag⁺ activity, which ranged from 1.5 × 10^?8 to 8.4 × 10^?8, was attributed to the presence of a constituent or constituents in the river water which strongly bind Ag, perhaps dissolved organic matter and/or colloidal material. Variation in apparent complexation capacity between river water samples was explained by different concentrations of the ligands complexing Ag. A tentative extrapolation of the dissolved Ag speciation to Ag concentrations in natural river water suggested that most of the Ag would be complexed by Cl^? and an unidentified constituent or constituents.     

Continued development of a mass balance model of chemical fate in a sewage treatment plant

Chemicals that pass through a sewage treatment plant (STP) and into receiving waters lead to exposure of human and ecological receptors. Most countries require that such chemicals and especially those that are new to commerce be assessed for their treatability in STPs using a screening-level model. The STP model has been widely used for such assessments in Canada, the US and elsewhere. It is important for both industry and regulators that such a model be simple, accurate and applicable even with the limited data available for most chemicals. The STP model has been upgraded to include the capability to handle ionizing chemicals, and a variety of treatment plant configurations commonly used in Canada and elsewhere around the world. A scheme for obtaining appropriate biodegradation half-lives for the different treatment options from available aqueous biodegradation half-lives or standard biodegradability tests is suggested. Model simulations show good agreement with pilot-scale experimental data from literature for 20 organic chemicals with widely varying physico-chemical properties.     

Impact of geochemical stressors on shallow groundwater quality

Groundwater monitoring wells (about 70 wells) were extensively installed in 28 sites surrounding Lake Texoma, located on the border of Oklahoma and Texas, to assess the impact of geochemical stressors to shallow groundwater quality. The monitoring wells were classified into three groups (residential area, agricultural area, and oil field area) depending on their land uses. During a 2-year period from 1999 to 2001 the monitoring wells were sampled every 3 months on a seasonal basis. Water quality assay consisted of 25 parameters including field parameters, nutrients, major ions, and trace elements. Occurrence and level of inorganics in groundwater samples were related to the land use and temporal change. Groundwater of the agricultural area showed lower levels of ferrous iron and nitrate than the residential area. The summer season data revealed more distinct differences in inorganic profiles of the two land use groundwater samples. There is a possible trend that nitrate concentrations in groundwater increased as the proportions of cultivated area increased. Water-soluble ferrous iron occurred primarily in water samples with a low dissolved oxygen concentration and/or a negative redox potential. The presence of brine waste in shallow groundwater was detected by chloride and conductivity in oil field area. Dissolved trace metals and volatile organic carbons were not in a form of concentration to be stressors. This study showed that the quality of shallow ground water could be related to regional geochemical stressors surrounding the lake.     

Evaluation of web compactness limits for singly and doubly symmetric steel I-girders

This paper presents the results of research aimed at evaluating the web compactness limit for steel I-girders. Specifically, the paper tests the implications of a new web compactness limit equation provided in the 2003 AASHTO LRFD specifications [AASHTO LRFD bridge design specifications. 3rd ed. Washington (DC): AASHTO; 2003 [in press]] versus the web compactness limit in the 2001 AASHTO LRFD specifications [AASHTO LRFD bridge design specifications. 2nd ed. Washington (DC): AASHTO; 1998 [with 2001 interims]] and 1999 AISC LRFD specifications [AISC. Manual of steel construction, load and resistance factor design, Chicago (IL); 2001]. In both the AASHTO and AISC specifications, these limits are required for the nominal moment capacity to equal the plastic moment capacity of the girder, provided other requirements are also satisfied.The origins of the AASHTO [AASHTO LRFD bridge design specifications. 3rd ed. Washington (DC): AASHTO; 2003 [in press]; AASHTO LRFD bridge design specifications. 2nd ed. Washington (DC): AASHTO; 1998 [with 2001 interims]] web compactness limits are presented along with a performance evaluation of these equations. Specifically, resulting moment capacities from a comprehensive suite of finite element analyses are compared to the capacities that the respective limits are intended to provide. Results indicate the AASHTO (2003) web compactness provisions provide a more accurate representation of girder strength than those in the AASHTO (2001) and AISC (1999) Specifications.     

Orthogonal frequency coded filters for use in ultra-wideband communication systems

The use of ultra-short pulses, producing very wide bandwidths and low spectral power density, are the widely accepted approach for ultra-wideband (UWB) communication systems. This approach is simple and can be implemented with current digital signal processing technologies. However, surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices have the capability of producing complex signals with wide bandwidths and relatively high frequency operation. This approach, using SAW based correlators, eliminates many of the costly components that are needed in the IF block in the transmitter and receiver, and reduces many of the signal processing requirements. This work presents the development of SAW correlators using orthogonal frequency coding (OFC) for use in UWB spread spectrum communication systems. OFC and pseudonoise (PN) coding provide a means for UWB spreading of data. The use of OFC spectrally spreads a PN sequence beyond that of code division multiple access (CDMA) because of the increased bandwidth providing an improvement in processing gain. The transceiver approach is still very similar to that of a CDMA but provides greater code diversity. Experimental results of a SAW filter designed with OFC transducers are presented. The SAW correlation filter was designed using seven contiguous chip frequencies within the transducer. SAW correlators with a 29% fractional bandwidth were fabricated on lithium niobate (LiNbO3) having a center frequency of 250 MHz. A coupling-of-modes (COM) model is used to predict the SAW filter response experimentally and is compared to the measured data. Good correlation between the predicted COM responses and the measured device data is obtained. Discussion of the design, analysis, and measurements are presented. The experimental matched filter results are shown for the OFC device and are compared to the ideal correlation. The results demonstrate the OFC SAW device concept for UWB communication transceivers.