Free vibration analysis of horizontally curved steel I-girder bridges

Presented herein is a finite element formulation for free vibration analysis of horizontally curved steel I-girder bridges. Stiffness as well as mass matrices of the curved and the straight beam elements is formulated. Each node of both of them possesses seven degrees of freedom including the warping degree of freedom. The curved beam element is derived based on the Kang and Yoo's thin-walled curved beam theory in 1994. A computer program is developed to carry out free vibration analyses of the various bridges. Comparing with the frequencies using the general purpose program ABAQUS, the validity of the presented numerical formulation is shown. The numerical formulation is extensively applied to investigate free vibration characteristics of the bridges considering effects of the initial curvature, boundary condition, modeling method, and degrees of freedom of cross frame. Invaluable information which help practicing engineers better understand the vibration characteristics is provided.     

The optimum operational condition of membrane bioreactor (MBR): cost estimation of aeration and sludge treatment

A methodology to obtain the most economical operational condition of membrane bioreactor (MBR) is developed. In order to achieve the optimum design parameters of MBR with which operational costs are minimized, aeration and sludge treatment costs were estimated for various operational conditions. Generally sludge treatment cost and aeration cost were inversely proportional to each other, which means sludge treatment cost is minimized when aeration cost is maximized and vice versa. Therefore, there might exist an optimum point between the two extreme cases. However, sludge treatment cost turned out to overwhelm the aeration cost over the reasonable operational conditions. Therefore, sludge minimization was considered to be a key for the economical operation of MBR. In the case of typical municipal wastewater of which COD was 400mgL(-1), steady-state MLSS was expected to increase from 11,000 to 15,000mg/L without sludge removal when HRT was decreasing from 16 to 12h. For the range of operational conditions considered in this study, economically optimum HRT and target MLSS were turned out to be 16h and 11,000mg/L, respectively. Under this condition, aeration for the biodegradation of organic matters would be 13.3m(3) air/min when influent was 1000m(3)/day.     

Kinetics and mechanisms of DMSO (dimethylsulfoxide) degradation by UV/H(2)O(2) process

The objective of this study was to elucidate the degradation pathways of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) during its mineralization caused by UV/H(2)O(2) treatment. In order to accomplish this, we measured the concentration time-profiles of DMSO and its degradation intermediates during the UV/H(2)O(2) treatment. In addition, we proposed a kinetic model that could account for the degradation pathways of DMSO during its UV/H(2)O(2) treatment. The results show that the degradation of DMSO by the UV/H(2)O(2) treatment can be classified into two major pathways, and this is supported by both the analysis of the intermediates and total organic carbon (TOC) measurements. Firstly, DMSO was degraded into sulfate (SO(4)(2-)) through the formation of methansulfinate (CH(3)SO(2)(-)) and methansulfonate (CH(3)SO(3)(-)) as sulfur-containing intermediates. One of the two carbon constituents of DMSO was highly resistant to mineralization, due to the formation of methansulfonate, which reacted very slowly with (.-)OH k = 0.8 x 10(7) M(-1)s(-1)). Secondly, the other carbon constituent of DMSO was relatively easily mineralized through the formation of formaldehyde (HCHO) and formate (HCO(2)(-)) as non-sulfur-containing intermediates. The kinetic model proposed in this study for the degradation of DMSO by (.-)OH in the UV/H(2)O(2) process was able to successfully predict the patterns of concentration time-profiles of all components during the UV/H(2)O(2) treatment of DMSO.     

Zoning‐Based Vertical Transportation Optimization for Workers at Peak Time in a Skyscraper Construction

In a skyscraper construction, a great number of workers and materials must be vertically transported to the proper positions depending on their roles. Particularly, the optimal vertical transportation logistics of lift cars for workers at peak time should be established to enhance the entire project performance in a skyscraper construction. For achieving this objective, the zoning‐based concept can be introduced to improve the effectiveness of the vertical transportation logistics of lift cars for workers at peak time in a skyscraper construction. In developing the zoning‐based vertical transportation logistics, it is necessary to consider the minimization of the electricity consumption as an environmental index as well as the minimization of the operating time and the maximization of the cost effectiveness. Therefore, this study aims to develop a multi‐objective optimization model for solving the time–cost–environment trade‐off problem in establishing the zoning‐based vertical transportation logistics of lift cars for workers at peak time in a skyscraper construction.     

Low trihalomethane formation in Korean drinking water

Organics in water have the potential to generate harmful disinfection by-products (DBPs) such as trihalomethanes (THMs) during the chlorination process. To clarify the regulatory implications of Korean THMs levels which appear to be significantly lower than those in the US where the Stage 1 and 2 D/DBPs rule has been promulgated, the characteristics of THMs formation were investigated on five major river waters in Korea. Water samples were taken from 12 water treatment plants on five major rivers that serve as drinking water sources for more than 90% of the Korean population. Trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP), total organic halide formation potential (TOXFP) and ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nm (UV(254)) were determined and compared with those from US data. A survey of existing data [J Korean Soc Water Qual; 16(4) 2000b 431-443] provided evidence that THMs levels in treated drinking water in Korea were one-third of those reported in the US. The lower THMs levels were mainly attributable to the differences in the level and THMFP of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The DOC levels and the THMFP normalized to DOC were approximately 60% of those in the US. Results which combined could quantitatively account for the lower THMs levels (i.e. 0.6 x 0.6 approximately 1/3) in Korea. The observed Korean THMs levels were over-predicted by the THMs model () developed in the US. The level of THMFP was found to be similar if normalized for aromaticity as measured by UV(254). These findings suggest that: (i) the case for more stringent THMs control is not likely to be a high priority among issues of drinking water quality in Korea; and (ii) significant variation of THMFP level may exist over different geographic regions; hence (iii) independent THMs models should be developed to make accurate predictions for different regions.     

Membrane performance enhancer evaluations on pilot- and full-scale membrane bioreactors

Recently developed polymeric membrane performance enhancer product, MPE50, was tested in various pilot‐ and full‐scale membrane bioreactors (MBRs). The Initial MPE50 dosage was determined by visual jar tests and by using various bench‐top filtration tests. Different amounts of MPE50 were dosed, and the particle size and supernatant clarity of the mixed liquor were monitored visually. Bench‐top filtration tests were also conducted. A 50% higher MPE50 dosage is recommended to be added to the pilot/full‐scale bioreactors because, based on experience, some of the soluble microbial products in the mixed liquor do not completely react with polymer during the relatively short bench‐test mixing time interval. With the addition of 400 mg/L MPE50 to a pilot MBR, the design flow was increased twofold without any significant transmembrane pressure (TMP) increase for 1 day. The control TMP surged within a few hours without MPE50. Long‐term field trials in a full‐scale plant also showed a substantial flux increase. In addition to flux enhancement, MPE50 helped to remove foam from the bioreactors and improved plant aesthetics, safety and general operating performance.     

Temperature and excitation density dependent photoluminescence of sputtering-induced GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots

GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots (QDs) are fabricated by low-energy ion beam sputtering and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) re-growth. Temperature (6.5-78?K) and excitation power density (0.49-3.06?W?cm(-2)) dependent photoluminescence (PL) are presented and discussed in detail. The low-temperature PL emission at 720?nm is attributed to GaAs QDs with height of ～6.1?nm and base width of ～23?nm, calculated based on the quantum box model with infinite potential barrier. The calculated QD dimensions are in good agreement with those obtained from atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis. Nonradiative recombination and Auger-assisted recombination are found to be the main PL quenching mechanisms at high temperature.     

The influence of substrate temperature on InAsN quantum dots grown by molecular beam epitaxy

The effect of substrate temperature, 390-480?°C, during molecular beam epitaxy growth of InAsN quantum dots has been studied. The quantum dot formation was studied in situ, and it is shown that the quantum dots are close to fully relaxed within 4 monolayers (ML) of InAsN deposition. Further, the indium concentration was estimated to be 84%, 67%, 55% and 31% for 4?ML thick quantum dots grown at 390, 420, 450 and 480?°C, respectively. Thus, Ga incorporation was demonstrated at all substrate temperatures. The dot diameter and height increased from 23 to 38?nm, and 2.5 to 8.9?nm, respectively, when the growth temperature was increased from 390 to 480?°C. The 5?K photoluminescence intensity and wavelength both increased with substrate temperature.     

ZnO nanowire-based nano-floating gate memory with Pt nanocrystals embedded in Al(2)O(3) gate oxides

The memory characteristics of ZnO nanowire-based nano-floating gate memory (NFGM) with Pt nanocrystals acting as the floating gate nodes were investigated in this work. Pt nanocrystals were embedded between Al(2)O(3) tunneling and control oxide layers deposited on ZnO nanowire channels. For a representative ZnO nanowire-based NFGM with embedded Pt nanocrystals, a threshold voltage shift of 3.8?V was observed in its drain current versus gate voltage (I(DS)-V(GS)) measurements for a double sweep of the gate voltage, revealing that the deep effective potential wells built into the nanocrystals provide our NFGM with a large charge storage capacity. Details of the charge storage effect observed in this memory device are discussed in this paper.     

Magnetic sensitivity enhanced novel fluorescent magnetic silica nanoparticles for biomedical applications

We synthesized novel fluorescent magnetic silica nanoparticles (FMSNPs) containing large magnetic components for biomedical application. By employing assemblies of magnetic nanoparticles as kernels against FMSNPs, both the saturation of magnetization and the magnetic resonance (MR) signal intensity were significantly enhanced. Furthermore, the cellular binding of FMSNPs was improved by introducing a positive charge on the surface of the FMSNPs, and fluorescent dyes on the surface of FMSNPs enable optical imaging of sub-cellular regions.