Changes in physicochemical properties of biodiesel after degradation and remediation

Biodiesel is the main substitute for petrodiesel being constituted by several alkyl esters including unsaturated compounds. It can undergo partial oxidation when stored for long periods and transported over long distances. The aims of this study were to analyze the impact of the oxidation process on the physicochemical properties of biodiesel and its remediation through distillation and esterification. Due to its high susceptibility to oxidation, sunflower biodiesel was used as a model. Specific mass, cloud point, cold filter plugging point, oxidation stability and iodine value were the properties analyzed. The results revealed that the treatments affected each sample differently, and in some cases the product after remediation had properties close to or even better than the initial biodiesel. The results reported here indicate that although biodiesel undergoes degradation during storage and transport, this does not mean the affected fuel cannot be marketed. Some important properties can be recovered with simple treatment.     

Hydrogeochemical and Geophysical Evaluation of the Recharge Zone of Guarani Aquifer in Municipally of Candelária,Rio Grande do Sul,Brazil

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - A large part of the Guarani Aquifer is located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) and additionally possesses a recharge area located in its central...     

Exploring seismic inversion methodologies for non‐stationary geological environments: a benchmark study between deterministic and geostatistical seismic inversion

This paper presents a comparison between subsurface impedance models derived from different deterministic and geostatistical seismic inversion methodologies applied to a challenging synthetic dataset. Geostatistical seismic inversion methodologies nowadays are common place in both industry and academia, contrasting with traditional deterministic seismic inversion methodologies that are becoming less used as part of the geo‐modelling workflow. While the first set of techniques allows the simultaneous inference of the best‐fit inverse model along with the spatial uncertainty of the subsurface elastic property of interest, the second family of inverse methodology has proven results in correctly predicting the subsurface elastic properties of interest with comparatively less computational cost. We present herein the results of a benchmark study performed over a realistic three‐dimensional non‐stationary synthetic dataset in order to assess the performance and convergence of different deterministic and geostatistical seismic inverse methodologies. We also compare and discuss the impact of the inversion parameterisation over the exploration of the model parameter space. The results show that the chosen seismic inversion methodology should always be dependent on the type and quantity of the available data, both seismic and well‐log, and the complexity of the geological environment versus the assumptions behind each inversion technique. The assessment of the model parameter space shows that the initial guess of traditional deterministic seismic inversion methodologies is of high importance since it will determine the location of the best‐fit inverse solution.     

Reflection of equatorial Kelvin waves at eastern ocean boundaries Part II: Pacific and Atlantic Oceans

The effect of viscosity, non linearities, incident wave period and realistic eastern coastline geometry on energy fluxes are investigated using a shallow water model with a spatial resolution of 1/4 degree in both meridional and zonal directions. Equatorial and mid-latitude responses are considered. It is found that (1) the influence of the coastline geometry and the incident wave period is more important for the westward energy flux than for the poleward flux, and (2) the effect of the inclination of the eastern ocean boundary on the poleward energy flux, for the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, decline as the period of the incident wave increases. Furthermore, the model simulations suggest that the poleward energy fluxes from meridional boundaries give plausible results for motions of seasonal and annual periods. For comparatively shorter periods, a realistic coastline geometry has to be included for more accurate results. It is recommended that any numerical model involving the reflection of baroclinic Rossby waves (of intraseasonal, seasonal or annual periods) on the eastern Pacific or Atlantic Oceans, should consider the effect of the coastline geometry in order to improve the accuracy of the results.     

Modal analysis of a fast patrol boat made of composite material

The structural dynamic behaviour of a fast patrol boat is studied with two- and three-dimensional idealizations for dry-hull analysis. A preliminary two-dimensional beam analysis is conducted by means of the Prohl-Myklestad method to derive a first estimate of the first four symmetric mode shapes. A more complex three-dimensional finite element model is developed in order to evaluate the modal characteristics for both symmetric and coupled anti-symmetric distortions, with the emphasis placed on the former.     

Modelling of multipeaked directional wave spectra

An approach for modelling of multipeaked directional wave spectra is proposed. For model identification, a numerical optimization technique that uses the random linear search algorithm is applied. This technique allows the fitting of spectral models to measured or hindcast data. The HIPOCAS hindcast data for North Atlantic are used for an application study.     

Probability distributions of wave heights in bimodal seas in an offshore basin

This study aims at assessing the adequacy for describing bimodal sea states of different non-linear probability distributions that have been developed for single sea states. It is based on data collected at an offshore test basin. The measurements represent three bimodal sea states with individual unidirectional wave systems propagating at 60, 90 and 120 from each other. The wave spectra are separated into swell and wind sea components and the relative energy ratio between the areas under the associated spectral curves is estimated and is related with the statistics of the time series considered. Dependence is found between the normalized high order cumulants, which describe the non-Gaussian surface, and the predominant contribution of the wind sea energy. Furthermore, the probabilities of exceedance of the individual wave heights are estimated and compared with the Rayleigh model and with other models that take into account either the effect of spectral bandwidth or the effect of wave nonlinearities. The results are discussed with respect to three classes of sea states that reflect the relative contribution of swell and wind sea energy.