Modeling the Permeability Loss of Metallic Iron Water Filtration Systems

Over the past 30 years the literature has burgeoned with in situ approaches for groundwater remediation. Of the methods currently available, the use of metallic iron (Fe⁰) in permeable reactive barrier (PRB) systems is one of the most commonly applied. Despite such interest, an increasing amount of experimental and field observations have reported inconsistent Fe⁰ barrier operation compared to contemporary theory. In the current work, a critical review of the physical chemistry of aqueous Fe⁰ corrosion in porous media is presented. Subsequent implications for the design of Fe⁰ filtration systems are modeled. The results suggest that: (i) for the pH range of natural waters (>4.5), the high volumetric expansion of Fe⁰ during oxidation and precipitation dictates that Fe⁰ should be mixed with a non‐expansive material; (ii) naturally occurring solute precipitates have a negligible impact on permeability loss compared to Fe⁰ expansive corrosion; and (iii) the proliferation of H₂ metabolizing bacteria may contribute to alleviate permeability loss. As a consequence, it is suggested that more emphasis must be placed on future work with regard to considering the Fe⁰ PRB system as a physical (size‐exclusion) water filter device.     

Introduction to dynamics of stone arches

The dynamic analysis of stone arches, made up of rigid voussoir laid dray, can be performed in two phases. First of all the value of the horizontal acceleration necessary to turn the structure into a mechanism and the corresponding mechanism must be determined. Then the dynamic behaviour of such a mechanism under a given acceleration time history can be studied. The first step is a static matter. The second one requires the solution of the non-linear equation of motion of the one-degree-of-freedom system in which the arch is turned. In this paper an iteration procedure is proposed to find out the mechanism. Then the structural behaviour of the mechanism is analysed. Both free and forced vibrations are investigated and the study is limited to the first-half cycle of vibration. Damping is not considered and sliding between the blocks at the hinge sections is not allowed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predicting the equilibrium bed slope in natural streams using a stochastic model for incipient sediment motion

In this paper, a method to predict the equilibrium bed slope in natural streams based on the incipient motion criterion is proposed. The method is based on the criterion suggested by Gessler to simulate the grain size distribution of the armour coat using the concept of critical shear stress of a sediment mixture. In particular, a different expression of the probability for a single particle size to be part of the armour coat is firstly proposed; then, a simple two‐steps criterion is suggested to estimate the safety factor required by the proposed approach. The method is applied in three different Italian regions (Calabria, Basilicata, and Tuscany) and required several field campaigns involving the survey of 251 stream reaches upstream of grade‐control structures. The area including five Calabrian streams is firstly used to test the suitability of the two‐steps approach. In this area, considering the detailed information about the particle size of bed material, the effect of using a simplified grain size distribution for each torrent is also checked. The method is then applied within the two additional areas (Basilicata and Tuscany) in order to check the geographic influence on the prediction of the stable longitudinal profile. A comparison between measured and estimated values of the equilibrium bed slope showed a good agreement for the Calabrian streams, where the number of the investigated stream reaches is greater, and satisfactory results for the torrents located in Basilicata and Tuscany where the field data set is more limited. The overall results encourage the extension of the proposed method to additional field data and suggest the use of this approach by hydraulic designers in order to stabilize the longitudinal profile of natural streams. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A parameterization of the wavelength of tidal dunes

The idealized model of Besio et al. (On the formation of sand waves and sand banks. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 2006; 557: 1–17) is used to predict the wavelength of tidal dunes (sand waves) generated by tidal currents in estuaries and shallow seas. The predictions are then analysed and a formula is proposed to estimate the wavelength of tidal dunes as a function of the parameters of the problem. The wavelength of the dunes is found to increase when the water depth is increased and/or the strength of the tidal current is decreased. On the other hand, the size of the bottom material (if medium sand is considered) and the tidal ellipticity are found to have a relatively small influence on the length of the bottom forms. The formula proposed provides results which are consistent with field observations of different authors. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Improvement of Nakamura technique by singular spectrum analysis

In this work we investigate the application of the Singular Spectrum Analysis to improve Nakamura Technique. The SSA has a wide and multidisciplinary range of applications; it allows a time series to be decomposed into different components, e.g. the signal itself, as well as various noise components, which can be subsequently removed from the data. Removal of the minor component of the data can lead to significant improvements in the identification of the system. In this paper the use of SSA Technique allows to optimize the signal to noise ratio before computing the classical Nakamura spectral ratios. A number of typical applications are also presented.     

Modeling of the Guagua Pichincha volcano (Ecuador) lahars

Lahars, here defined as debris flows of volcanic origin, are rapid mass movements that pose a serious threat to cities located in the vicinity of many volcanoes. Quito, capital city of Ecuador and placed at the foot of the Pichincha volcano complex, is exposed to serious inundation hazard as part of the city is built on numerous deposits of large lahars that have occurred in the last 10,000 years.The objective of this paper is to model the potential lahars of the Pichincha volcano to predict inundation areas within the city of Quito. For this purpose two models that apply different approaches were utilized and their results were compared.The programs used were LAHARZ, a semi-empirical model conceived by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and FLO-2D, a hydraulic model distributed by FLO Software Inc. LAHARZ is designed as a rapid, objective and reproducible automated method for mapping areas of potential lahar inundation (Proc. First Int. Conf. on Debris Flow Hazards Mitigation, San Francisco, USA, ASCE, 1998, p. 176). FLO-2D is a two-dimensional flood routing model for simulating overland flow on complex surfaces such as floodplains, alluvial fans or urbanized areas (FLO-2D Users manual, version 99.2). Both models run within geographical information systems (GIS).Fieldwork was focused on collecting all available information involved in lahar modeling. A total of 49 channel cross-sections were measured along the two main streams and stratigraphic investigations were carried out on the fans to estimate the volume of previous events. A global positioning system was utilized to determine the coordinates of each cross-section. Further data collection concerned topography, rainfall characteristics and ashfall thicknesses. All fieldwork was carried out in cooperation with the Instituto Geofisico of the Escuela Politecnica Nacional.Modeling in a GIS environment greatly aided the exportation of results for the creation of thematic maps and facilitated model comparison. Evaluation of the models was performed by comparing simulation results against each other and against the geometry of existing lahar deposits.     

Migrating sand waves

A simple mathematical model is described, which reproduces the major features of sand waves' appearance and growth and in particular predicts their migration speed. The model is based on the linear stability analysis of the flat configuration of the sea bottom subject to tidal currents. Attention is focused on the prediction of the complex growth rate that bottom perturbations undergo because of both oscillatory fluid motions and residual currents. While the real part _r of controls the amplification or decay of the amplitude of the bedforms, the imaginary part _i is related to their migration speed. Previous works on the migration of the sand waves (Németh etal. 2002) consider a forcing tide made up by the M2 constituent (oscillatory period equal to 12 h) plus the residual current Z0 and predict always a downcurrent migration of the bedforms. However, field cases exist of upcurrent-migrating sand waves (downcurrent/upcurrent-migrating sand waves mean bedforms moving in the direction of the steady residual tidal current or in the opposite direction, respectively). The inclusion of a tide constituent characterized by a period of 6 h (M4) is the main novelty of the present work, which allows for the prediction of the migration of sand waves against the residual current Z0. Indeed, the M4 tide constituent, as does also the residual current Z0, breaks the symmetry of the problem forced only by the M2 tide constituent, and induces sand-wave migration. The model proposed by Besio etal. (2003a) forms the basis for the present analysis. Previous works on the subject (Gerkema 2000; Hulscher 1996a,b; Komarova and Hulscher 2000) are thus improved by using a new solution procedure (Besio etal. 2003a) which allows for a more accurate evaluation of the growth rate for arbitrary values of the parameter r, which is the ratio between the horizontal tidal excursion and the perturbation wavelength. Responsible Editor: Jens Kappenberg     

Tropical harmful algal blooms: An emerging threat to coral reef communities?

Tropical harmful algal blooms (HABs) are increasing in frequency and intensity and are substantially affecting marine communities. In October/November 2008 a large-scale HAB event (> 500 km², dinoflagellate Cochlodinium polykrikoides) in the Gulf of Oman caused the complete loss of the branching corals, Pocillopora and Acropora spp., and substantial reductions in the abundance, richness and trophic diversity of the associated coral reef fish communities. Although the causative agents of this C. polykrikoides bloom are unknown, increased coastal enrichment, natural oceanographic mechanisms, and the recent expansion of this species within ballast water discharge are expected to be the main agents. With rapid changes in oceanic climate, enhanced coastal eutrophication and increased global distribution of HAB species within ballast water, large-scale HAB events are predicted to increase dramatically in both intensity and distribution and can be expected to have increasingly negative effects on coral reef communities globally.