Response Surface Analysis and Statistical Modeling of Sulfide Generation from Municipal Wastewater

In this study, the interactive effects of four independent variables (initial chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration, rotational velocity, temperature, and retention time) on the sulfide generation process in municipal wastewater were investigated. The process was modeled and analyzed with the variables in a series batch experiments. Experiments were conducted based on a central composite face‐centered design and analyzed using response surface methodology. The region of exploration for the process was taken as the area enclosed by COD (250 and 650 mg/L), rotational velocity (40 and 200 rpm), temperature (16 and 28°C), and retention time (2 and 40 h) boundaries. Eleven dependent parameters were either directly measured or calculated as response. The most influential variable on H₂S (g) production was found to be retention time. The results showed that simultaneous increase in temperature and rotational velocity caused an increasing trend in the amount of H₂S (g) emitted. Total sulfide was decreased by increasing rotational velocity due to more H₂S (g) secretion resulting from increased mixing rate. The present study provides valuable information about interrelations of quality and process parameters at different values of the studied variables.     

Controlling NOx Emission of Crude Rice Bran Oil Blend for Sustainable Environment

The main objective of this work is to investigate the factors influencing the NOx control of a stationary diesel engine fuelled with crude rice bran oil blend with lesser effect on smoke density and brake thermal efficiency (BTE). Fuel injection timing, percentage of EGR, and fuel injection pressure are chosen as the factors for the objective and NOx emission, smoke density, and BTE are considered as the response variables. To critically analyze the effects of the chosen factors on the objective three levels were chosen in each factor and the experiments were designed by following the design of experiments method. Taguchi's L₉ orthogonal array was used to conduct the tests with different combination of factor levels. Through analysis of variance (ANOVA) method, the most influencing factors and also the significance of each factor affecting each response variable were found out. Response graph was drawn for each response variable to determine the optimum combination of factor levels in achieving the objective and the obtained combination was confirmed experimentally.     

Modeling of a large‐scale magneto‐rheological damper for seismic hazard mitigation. Part II: Semi‐active mode

A magneto‐rheological (MR) damper is a semi‐active device where the damper force capacity is controlled by varying the input current into the damper. In this paper, the dynamics of MR dampers associated with variable current input is studied. Electromagnetic theory is used to model the dynamics of an MR damper including the eddy current effect and the nonlinear hysteretic behavior of damper material magnetization. A nonlinear differential equation that relates the input current to the damper with a constant equivalent current is proposed. The nonlinear differential equation is combined with the Maxwell Nonlinear Slider (MNS) model to create the variable current MNS model to predict the damper force under variable input current and random damper displacement loading. The model is evaluated by comparing the predicted response of a large‐scale MR damper to the measured damper response from experiments. The experiments include a real‐time hybrid simulation of a 3‐story building structure with a large‐scale MR damper subjected to the design earthquake. The exceptional agreement observed between the predicted and experimental results illustrate the robustness and the accuracy of the variable current MNS model. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Groundwater Resources Potential in Hard Rock Terrain: A Multivariate Approach

Groundwater resources are limited and difficult to predict in crystalline bedrock due to heterogeneity and anisotropy in rock fracture systems. Municipal‐level governments often lack the resources for traditional hydrogeological tests when planning for sustainable use of water resources. A new methodology for assessing groundwater resources potential (GRP) based on geological and topographical factors using principal component analysis (PCA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was developed and tested. ANOVA results demonstrated statistically significant differences in classed variable groups as well as in classed GRP scores with regard to hydrogeological indicators, such as specific capacity (SC) and transmissivity. Results of PCA were used to govern the weight of the variables used in the prediction maps. GRP scores were able to identify 79% of wells in a verification dataset, which had SC values less than the total dataset median. GRP values showed statistically significant correlations using both parametric (using transformed datasets) and non‐parametric methods. The method shows promise for municipal or regional level planning in crystalline terrains with high levels of heterogeneity and anisotropy as a hydrogeologically and statistically based tool to assist in assessing groundwater resources. The methodology is executed in a geographic information systems environment, and uses often readily available data, such as geological maps, feature maps and topography, and thus does not require expensive and time‐consuming aquifer tests.     

Response Surface Optimization for Removal of Cadmium from Aqueous Solution by Waste Agricultural Biosorbent Psidium guvajava L. Leaf Powder

Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to study the combined effects of the various parameters namely, pH, biosorbent dosage, cadmium concentration and temperature, and to optimize the process conditions for the maximum removal of cadmium using Psidium guvajava L. leaf powder. In order to obtain the mutual interactions between the variables and to optimize these variables, a 2⁴ full factorial central composite design using RSM was employed. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the quadratic model demonstrates that the model was highly significant. The model was statistically tested and verified by experimentation. A maximum cadmium removal of 93.2% was obtained under the following optimum conditions: aqueous cadmium concentration 40.15 mg/L, adsorbent dosage 0.5 g/50 mL solution, pH 5.0, and temperature (35°C). The value of desirability factor obtained was 1.     

Estimation of petrophysical parameters by linearized inversion of angle domain pre-stack data

We describe a linear Bayesian inversion method to estimate the relevant petrophysical properties of the media forming a reflecting interface from the observations of amplitude variation with incidence angle. Three main steps characterize the proposed approach:
– information from borehole logs are statistically analysed to estimate the empirical models that describe the functional relationship between petrophysical (e.g. porosity, saturation, pressure or depth) and seismic variable(P and S velocities and density);
– the pure-mode (PP) reflection coefficient is parameterized in terms of the relevant petrophysical variables and is linearized in order to implement the linear inversion;
– the sought petrophysical parameters are estimated from the seismic reflected amplitudes by applying the linearized inversion where a priori information, data and model errors and solutions are described by probability density functions.
We test the method on synthetic and real data relative to reflections from a shale/gas-sand interface where the amplitude versus angle response, besides the lithological contrast, is mainly controlled by the saturation and porosity of the sand layer. The outcomes of the linearized inversion are almost identical to those obtained by a previously developed non-linear inversion method demonstrating the applicability of the linear inversion. It turns out that the gas-sand saturation in the range 0%–95% is a poorly resolved parameter while the porosity is the best resolved parameter. The issues of robustness and resolution of the inversion are discussed either through singular value decomposition analysis or the observation of the a posteriori probability density functions.
The linear inversion algorithm, compared with the previously developed non-linear method, reduces significantly the computation time allowing for more extensive applications.     

Teleconnection between ENSO and climate in South China

This study investigates the features of the teleconnection between El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the climate over the region with the latitude from 21°N to 25°N and longitude from 111°E to 116°E in South China for the period from 1960 to 2005. The climate variables analyzed are the monthly means of daily maximum temperature (Tmax), minimum temperature (Tmin), precipitation and relative humidity (RH), which are recorded at 20 weather stations over the region. The cross correlation coefficients between the ENSO index and those climate variable anomalies are calculated to evaluate the strength of the teleconnection. The analysis results reveal that ENSO has positive influence on most of the climate variables in the study region. Specifically, ENSO has significant effects on Tmin (but not Tmax) with the corresponding time delay of about 4 months. In addition, ENSO has considerable influence on precipitation and RH over the study region with teleconnection lag time of around 2 and 1 month, respectively.     

Application of the Response Surface Method for Optimization of Headspace Liquid Phase Microextraction of Trihalomethanes in Drinking Water

An optimized analysis method based on headspace liquid phase microextraction (HS‐LPME) and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry was proposed for the determination of trihalomethanes (THMs) in drinking water. The response surface method (RSM) was used to optimize the extraction of THMs for analysis by HS‐LPME. The temperature, extraction time and NaCl concentration were found to be important extraction parameters. The coefficient of determination (R²) for the model was 94.97%. A high probability value (P < 0.0001) for the regression indicated that the model had a high level of significance. The optimum conditions were seen to be: temperature 42.0°C, NaCl concentration 0.30 g/mL, and extraction time 28 min. The response variable was the summation of the THMs chromatography peak areas and the reproducibility of this was investigated in five replicate experiments under the optimized conditions. The relative standard deviations (RSD%) of the THMs ranged from 8.0–11.6%. The limits of detection (LODs), based on a signal‐to‐noise ratio (S/N) of three ranged from 0.42–0.78 μg/L, and were lower than the maximum limits for THMs in drinking water established by the WHO.     

Aquatic plant nutrients, moss phosphatase activities and tissue composition in four upland streams in northern England

A study was made of the water chemistry, tissue nutrients and surface phosphatase activities of the 2-cm apices of three mosses in four upland streams in northern England, UK. This was part of a project to optimize methods for assessing nutrient fractions in environments with highly variable water chemistry. Aqueous N and P fractions showed the greatest variability followed by moss phosphatase activities, with nutrient composition of the shoot apices the least variable. There was no consistent pattern as to which aqueous N or P fraction was the most variable. The ratio between total inorganic N and total filtrable P ranged over three orders of magnitude in some streams. The interrelations between tissue N and P concentrations, tissue N:P ratio, phosphatase activities and aqueous variables showed:

(1) Significant +ve relationship between tissue N and aqueous NO₃–N in some populations, but not between tissue P and aqueous P concentration;

(2) Significant +ve relationships between phosphatase activities and aqueous organic N, but none with aqueous organic P;

(3) Significant +ve relationships between phosphodiesterase:phosphomonoesterase activities and aqueous organic N;

(4) Significant −ve relationships between phosphatase activities and tissue P concentration;

(5) Significant +ve relationships between phosphatase activities and tissue N:P.

Both types of biological measurement are valuable for monitoring ambient nutrients in upland streams. Neither is clearly better than the other, so both should be included in surveys.     

基于DEM的大别-皖南山区平均洪峰滞时定量分析

以皖南山区及大别山区27个中小流域为研究对象,基于数字高程模型DEM提取流域地貌信息,并计算流域平均洪峰滞时.通过建立多元线性回归及通径分析数学模型,探讨地貌因子对流域洪水响应过程的影响.结果表明:在流域系统水平,形状系数、圆度比、流域相对高差、河道分支频率以及森林覆盖率是影响流域平均洪峰滞时的主要指标,其中流域相对高差是相关系数最高的解释变量;各地貌因子间相互作用复杂,其多元线性回归模型对平均洪峰滞时的方差解释量为73.4%,其通径分析模型分别从直接作用及间接作用角度进一步合理阐述各变量对流域平均洪峰滞时的影响.本文可为皖南山区无资料地区分析洪水响应过程提供重要参考,对防洪减灾有显著意义.     

Preliminary Interlaboratory Trial for ISO/DIS 12010: Determination of Short Chain Polychlorinated Alkanes (SCCP) in Water

A first preliminary interlaboratory trial was planned to prepare ISO/DIS 12010: Water quality – determination of short chain polychlorinated alkanes (SCCP) in water – method using GC/MS and electron capture negative ionisation (ECNI). The task was to determine the sum of short chain polychlorinated n‐alkanes with carbon chain lengths of C₁₀–C₁₃ and a chlorine content between 49 and 67% in water by GC‐ECNI‐MS and quantification by multiple linear regression described in ISO/DIS 12010 as the compulsory method. Distributed samples were obtained from a real water extract spiked with a target concentration of 0.4 µg/mL sum of SCCP, i.e. the environmental quality target level according to the Water Framework Directive. The interlaboratory trial included the calibration, a column chromatographic clean up, a concentration step and an integration of chromatographic unresolved humps as well as the quantification with multiple linear regression. Reproducibility standard deviations between 21.5 and 22.9% were achieved by 17 participating laboratories from four countries. The method outlined no significant difference of the results between the standard solution and a real water matrix extract. On the basis of this succeeded preliminary interlaboratory trial the final interlaboratory trial for validation of ISO 12010 was prepared in autumn 2010.     

Calibration of base flow separation methods with streamflow conductivity

The conductivity mass-balance (CMB) method can be used to calibrate analytical base flow separation methods. The principal CMB assumptions are base flow conductivity is equal to streamflow conductivity at lowest flows, runoff conductivity is equal to streamflow conductivity at highest flows, and base flow and runoff conductivities are assumed to be constants over the period of record. To test the CMB assumptions, fluid conductivities of ground water, surface runoff, and streamflow were measured during wet and dry conditions in a 12-km(2) stream basin. Ground water conductivities at wells varied an average of 6% from dry to wet conditions, while stream conductivities varied 58%. Shallow ground water conductivity varied significantly with distance from the stream, with lowest conductivities of 87 microS/cm near the divide, a maximum of 520 microS/cm 59 m from the stream, and 215 microS/cm 22 m from the stream. Runoff conductivities measured in three rain events remained nearly constant, with lower conductivities of 35 microS/cm near the divide and 50 microS/cm near the stream. The CMB method was applied to the records from 10 USGS stream-gauging stations in Texas, Kentucky, Georgia, and Florida to calibrate the USGS base flow separation technique, HYSEP, by varying the time parameter 2N*. There is a statistically significant relationship between basin areas and calibrated values of 2N*, expressed as N = 0.46A(0.44), with N in days and A in km(2). The widely accepted relationship N = 0.83A(0.2) is not valid for these basins. Other analytic methods can also be calibrated with the CMB method.     

A generalized additive model for the spatial distribution of snowpack in the Spanish Pyrenees

A generalized additive model (GAM) was used to model the spatial distribution of snow depth in the central Spanish Pyrenees. Statistically significant non‐linear relationships were found between distinct location and topographical variables and the average depth of the April snowpack at 76 snow poles from 1985 to 2000. The joint effect of the predictor variables explained more than 73% of the variance of the dependent variable. The performance of the model was assessed by applying a number of quantitative approaches to the residuals from a cross‐validation test. The relatively low estimated errors and the possibility of understanding the processes that control snow accumulation, through the response curves of each independent variable, indicate that GAMs may be a useful tool for interpolating local snow depth or other climate parameters. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling water,nutrients, and organic carbon in forested catchments: a HYPE application

Both monitoring and model simulation are useful for understanding and detecting changes in the environment. To understand and simulate leaching in small forested catchments, it is important to have knowledge of soil processes. Here, we describe recent development of the Hydrological Predictions for the Environment (HYPE) model for forested catchments. HYPE includes an organic carbon (OC) variable in addition to previously published nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and water flow models. The aspects addressed in the current study included P concentrations under low‐flow conditions and high concentrations of inorganic N. HYPE was further developed based on nine small forested catchments (0.5–200 ha) in Sweden, which were calibrated separately using local data. The model (excluding the OC variable) was tested on a larger set of forest catchments from the operational HYPE model of Sweden (S‐HYPE). We observed the following: (1) dissolved organic P could make a significant contribution to the total P concentration in a stream during low‐flow periods, (2) the inorganic N concentration simulated in a stream improved when part of the atmospheric N was retained in the soil, (3) the soil flow path formulation was critical for simulating concentration dynamics, and (4) evaluating an additional variable (OC) further elucidated the soil runoff processes in the model. Copyright © 2016 Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute. Hydrological Processes published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

夜间电离层频高曲线的一种新的换算方法

本方法的关键在于建立对最小可见频率f_min以上包括九至十五个视高h′数据的同步换算范围进行精确可靠的换算方法。对同步换算范围给出三个各包含二个未知数的高层模式,对f_min以下给出六或八个各包含二个未知数的低层模式。按照最小二乘法对每一条频高曲线最多可以得到二十个各不相同的换算结果。通过一定的方法可以从中挑选出精确的结果。对468条其形状、临界频率f_c、半厚H以及f_min各不相同的其精度为0.1公里左右的理论夜间频高曲线进行了换算。其中462条曲线的极大换算误差不超过5公里,6条曲线介于5公里至9公里之间。     

用优化聚束滤波方法消除低信噪比地震资料中的多次波

针对常规方法如f k,Radon变换不能很好解决的消除低信噪比地震勘探资料的多次波问题,本文提出了优化聚束滤波方法,采用具有静态权的自适应聚束滤波器,并调整聚束滤波器设计的约束准则,去除低信噪比复杂实际资料中的多次波．实际资料处理结果表明,优化聚束滤波方法改善了最小方差无偏聚束滤波方法不能较好地处理低覆盖低信噪资料处理的局限性,在实际处理中计算量增加不大．     

Optimal design of superelastic‐friction base isolators for seismic protection of highway bridges against near‐field earthquakes

The seismic response of a multi‐span continuous bridge isolated with novel superelastic‐friction base isolator (S‐FBI) is investigated under near‐field earthquakes. The isolation system consists of a flat steel‐Teflon sliding bearing and a superelastic NiTi shape memory alloy (SMA) device. The key design parameters of an S‐FBI system are the natural period of the isolated bridge, the yielding displacement of the SMA device, and the friction coefficient of the sliding bearings. The goal of this study is to obtain optimal values for each design parameter by performing sensitivity analysis of a bridge isolated by an S‐FBI system. First, a three‐span continuous bridge is modeled as two‐degrees‐of‐freedom with the S‐FBI system. A neuro‐fuzzy model is used to capture rate‐ and temperature‐dependent nonlinear behavior of the SMA device. Then, a set of nonlinear time history analyses of the isolated bridge is performed. The variation of the peak response quantities of interest is shown as a function of design parameters of the S‐FBI system and the optimal values for each parameter are evaluated. Next, in order to assess the effectiveness of the S‐FBI system, the response of the bridge isolated by the S‐FBI system is compared with the response of the non‐isolated bridge and the same bridge isolated by pure‐friction (P‐F) sliding isolation system. Finally, the influence of temperature variations on the performance of the S‐FBI system is evaluated. The results show that the optimum design of a bridge with the S‐FBI system can be achieved by a judicious specification of design parameters. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A design‐variable‐based inelastic hysteretic model for beam–column connections

This paper presents a design‐variable‐based inelastic hysteretic model for beam–column connections. It has been well known that the load‐carrying capacity of connections heavily depends on the types and design variables even in the same connection type. Although many hysteretic connection models have been proposed, most of them are dependent on the specific connection type with presumed failure mechanisms. The proposed model can be responsive to variations both in design choices and in loading conditions. The proposed model consists of two modules: physical‐principle‐based module and neural network (NN)‐based module in which information flow from design space to response space is formulated in one complete model. Moreover, owing to robust learning capability of a new NN‐based module, the model can also learn complex dynamic evolutions in response space under earthquake loading conditions, such as yielding, post‐buckling and tearing, etc. Performance of the proposed model has been demonstrated with synthetic and experimental data of two connection types: extended‐end‐plate and top‐ and seat‐angle with double‐web‐angle connection. Furthermore, the design‐variable‐based model can be customized to any structural component beyond the application to beam–column connections. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

地震地磁效应的分形布朗运动的性质及应用

重标极差分析法（R/S,rescaled range analysis method）,是研究分数布朗运动及自然现象的自仿射分形的有力工具之一,对于所有时间序列分析都有着广泛的用途．通过对天水台绝对地磁观测Z分量数据序列R/S分析,计算分段数据序列的Hurst指数H发现,昆仑山口西MS8.1地震和汶川MS8.0地震震前2—3个月,H值减小,分维数D增大,相关系数C为负值．这一动态变化表明,地震前数据序列由持久性序列发展为反持久性序列,观测数据的成分发生了改变．这与地壳内部应力变化和岩石破裂实验结果相符．所以,这一动态变化过程可以看作是强震前的一种前兆信号．      

A field demonstration of the simulation optimization approach for remediation system design

While significant progress has been made in the theoretical development of the simulation/optimization (S/O) approach for ground water remediation design, its application to large, field-scale problems has remained limited. To demonstrate the applicability and usefulness of the S/O approach under real field conditions, an optimization demonstration project was conducted at the Massachusetts Military Reservation in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, involving the design of a pump-and-treat system for the containment and cleanup of a large trichloroethylene (TCE) plume. The optimization techniques used in this study are based on evolutionary algorithms coupled with a response function approach for greater computational efficiency. The S/O analysis was performed parallel to a conventional trial-and-error analysis based on simulation alone. The results of this study demonstrate that not only would it be possible to remove more TCE mass under the same amount of pumping assumed in the trial-and-error design, but also substantial cost savings could be achieved by reducing the number of wells needed and adapting dynamic pumping. In spite of the large model size of more than 500,000 nodes and a long planning horizon of 30 years, the optimization modeling was carried out successfully on desktop PCs. This field demonstration project clearly illustrates the potential benefits of applying optimization techniques in remediation system design.