548 research outputs found
Developing a Relationship Between LIBS Ablation and Pit Volume for In Situ Dating of Geologic Samples
In planetary exploration, in situ absolute geochronology is an important measurement. Thus far, on Mars, the age of the surface has largely been determined by crater density counting, which gives relative ages. These ages can have significant uncertainty as they depend on many poorly constrained parameters. More than that, the curves must be tied to absolute ages to relate geologic timescales on Mars to the rest of the solar system. Thus far, only the lost lander Beagle 2 was designed to conduct absolute geochronology measurements, though some recent attempts using MSL Curiosity show that this investigation is feasible (Reference Farley here) and should be strongly encouraged for future flight
In-Situ K-Ar Dating Based on UV-Laser Ablation Coupled with a LIBS-QMS System Development, Calibration and Application
Absolute age determination isnecessary to check and calibratethe relative Martian chronologypresently available from meteoriticcrater counting
Maximum growth and decay rates of autotrophic biomass to simulate nitrogen removal at 10°C with municipal activated sludge plants
The present study aims at determining most likely values for the maximum growth rate (ΌA, max) and the endogenous decay rate (bA) of nitrifiers for activated sludge processes treating municipal wastewater operated at low temperature (10°C). The work used nitrification rate data measured on 10 full-scale plants and 2 pilot plants fed with domestic sewage. This set of data was combined with a modelling and a theoretical approach. The unified values (ΌA, max = 0.45·d-1 and bA = 0.13·d-1) were obtained at 10°C for the kinetic parameters of the autotrophic biomass in the SRT range 10 to 50 d. In addition, the factors affecting the expected nitrification rate (rv, nit) were established by a theoretical approach and confirmed by experimental results. For a given SRT, a linear relationship with the nitrogen volumetric loading rate was shown. The COD/TKN ratio of the influent on the nitrification rate was demonstrated. Finally, an operational tool for the verification of the nitrification rate in the design procedure of activated sludge processes is proposed.Keywords: nitrification; kinetics; low temperature; autotrophic biomass, maximum growth rate; decay rat
Anoxic and aerobic values for the yield coefficient of the heterotrophic biomass: Determination at full-scale plants and consequences on simulations
The present study aims at optimising the nitrification and denitrification phases at intermittently aerated process (activated sludge) removing nitrogen from municipal wastewater. The nitrogen removal performance recorded at 22 intermittently aerated plants was compared to the results obtained from the simulations given by the widely used ASM1. It is shown that simulations with a single value for the heterotrophic yield with any electron acceptor over-predict the nitrate concentration in the effluent of treatment plants. The reduction of this coefficient by 20% for anoxic conditions reduces the nitrate concentration by 10 g N·m-3. It significantly improves the accuracy of the predictions of nitrate concentrations in treatedeffluents compare to real data. Simulations with dual values (aerobic and anoxic conditions) for heterotrophic yield (modified ASM1) were then used to determine the practical daily aerobic time interval to meet a given nitrogen discharge objective. Finally, to support design decisions, the relevance of a pre-denitrification configuration in front of an intermittently aerated tank was studied. It is shown that when the load of BOD5 is below the conventional design value, a small contribution of the anoxic zone to nitrate removal occurs, except for over-aerated plants. When plants receive a higher load of BOD5, the modified ASM1 suggests that the anoxic zone has a higher contribution to nitrogen removal, for both correctly and over-aerated plants
Matter-wave laser Interferometric Gravitation Antenna (MIGA): New perspectives for fundamental physics and geosciences
The MIGA project aims at demonstrating precision measurements of gravity with
cold atom sensors in a large scale instrument and at studying the associated
applications in geosciences and fundamental physics. The first stage of the
project (2013-2018) will consist in building a 300-meter long optical cavity to
interrogate atom interferometers and will be based at the low noise underground
laboratory LSBB in Rustrel, France. The second stage of the project (2018-2023)
will be dedicated to science runs and data analyses in order to probe the
spatio-temporal structure of the local gravity field of the LSBB region, a site
of high hydrological interest. MIGA will also assess future potential
applications of atom interferometry to gravitational wave detection in the
frequency band Hz hardly covered by future long baseline optical
interferometers. This paper presents the main objectives of the project, the
status of the construction of the instrument and the motivation for the
applications of MIGA in geosciences. Important results on new atom
interferometry techniques developed at SYRTE in the context of MIGA and paving
the way to precision gravity measurements are also reported.Comment: Proceedings of the 50th Rencontres de Moriond "100 years after GR",
La Thuile (Italy), 21-28 March 2015 - 10 pages, 5 figures, 23 references
version2: added references, corrected typo
Overview of the use of the PCI bus in present and future high energy physics data acquisition systems
X-Ray Microanalysis of Calcium Containing Organelles in Resin Embedded Tissue
The localization of calcium in cell organelles at the electron microscope level is often achieved through cytochemical techniques, and verified by X-ray microanalysis. Various methods have been used to cytochemically detect calcium or calcium-binding sites : calcium loading, calcium substitution by strontium, barium, or even lead, and calcium precipitation by oxalate, phosphate, fluoride, or pyroantimonate. Their results may have heuristic value, particularly in preliminary studies of poorly known cell types. A complementary and more physiological approach is offered by quantitative measurement of the total calcium content of organelles after cryofixation.
Resin embedding is less demanding than cryomicrotomy and gives better images : it can be used after cryosubstitution in the presence of oxalic acid. This technique was tested, and applied to several cell types
Control of the Refractive Index in Photopolymerizable Materials for (2+1)D Solitary Wave Guide Formation
We report an experimental and theoretical study on the optimization of (2+1)D self-written waveguide formation inside a photopolymerizable material. The accurate control of the refractive index value inside the bulk of the material during the polymerization process gives us the opportunity to define a virtual core and a virtual cladding for the system. The V value which characterizes the guidance properties of a fiber can be applied to this propagation. The control of the V value allows us to propagate single mode or multimode waveguides on a few centimeters. Numerical simulations of these waveguides based on a paraxial model including both photopolymerization and Kerr effect give very good agreement with our experimental results
PCI - HIPPI Interface Modules
Interface modules between PCI local bus and HIPPI are described. The modules are intended to aid the implementation of the high performance computer network. the aimed maximum throughput of the interface module is 100MBytes/sec while sustained data transfer rate depends of the particular system performance
Modelling gas-liquid mass transfer in wastewater treatment : when current knowledge needs to encounter engineering practice and vice versa
Abstract
Gasâliquid mass transfer in wastewater treatment processes has received considerable attention over the last decades from both academia and industry. Indeed, improvements in modelling gasâliquid mass transfer can bring huge benefits in terms of reaction rates, plant energy expenditure, acidâbase equilibria and greenhouse gas emissions. Despite these efforts, there is still no universally valid correlation between the design and operating parameters of a wastewater treatment plant and the gasâliquid mass transfer coefficients. That is why the current practice for oxygen mass transfer modelling is to apply overly simplified models, which come with multiple assumptions that are not valid for most applications. To deal with these complexities, correction factors were introduced over time. The most uncertain of them is the α-factor. To build fundamental gasâliquid mass transfer knowledge more advanced modelling paradigms have been applied more recently. Yet these come with a high level of complexity making them impractical for rapid process design and optimisation in an industrial setting. However, the knowledge gained from these more advanced models can help in improving the way the α-factor and thus gasâliquid mass transfer coefficient should be applied. That is why the presented work aims at clarifying the current state-of-the-art in gasâliquid mass transfer modelling of oxygen and other gases, but also to direct academic research efforts towards the needs of the industrial practitioners
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