Mapping Ideologies: Place Names in Glacier National Park

This thesis examines the intersection of place names and language ideologies. In particular, I identify and analyze the emergent language ideologies in discussions about place names in six written sources related to Glacier National Park. I propose that the authors construct language ideologies about place names through the three semiotic processes identified by Irvine and Gal (2000): iconization, fractal recursivity, and erasure. Further, I argue that language ideologies have historically authorized choices about place names on the basis of linguistic differentiation. Examining six written sources, the publication of which span nearly a century, I identify several excerpts in which authors exhibit language ideologies or, “beliefs and feelings about language” (Field and Kroskrity 2009: 4) when they differentiate Indigenous place names from Euro-American place names. I consider the sources educative as each provides the public with information about the park and its place names. I analyze the excerpts as examples of iconization, fractal recursivity, and erasure. Through iconization, a linguistic form becomes linked to the people who use it; through fractalrecursivity, an opposition at one level (for example, a social level) may be projected onto another level; and through erasure, linguistic forms or the people who use them are rendered nonexistent when they do not conform with an individual’s ideology. The analysis proposed in this thesis has both theoretical and broader implications. First, this thesis contributes to the canon of language ideology research by extending the framework of Irvine and Gal (2000) to discussions about place names for the first time. Second, this research adds to the growing body of place name research dubbed critical toponymies which move the focus of place name studies from the toponym itself to the power dynamics involved in toponymic processes. Thus, within critical toponymies, this thesis offers a new theoretical approach to place name ideologies. Third, this thesis also suggests that the three semiotic processes identified by Irvine and Gal will predictably co-occur. Finally, this research raises awareness about the role of language ideologies in public discourse about place names

The Potential of a Separated Electric Compound Spark-Ignition Engine for Hybrid Vehicle Application

In-cylinder expansion of internal combustion engines based on Diesel or Otto cycles cannot be completely brought down to ambient pressure, causing a 20% theoretical energy loss. Several systems have been implemented to recover and use this energy such as turbocharging, turbomechanical and turbo-electrical compounding, or the implementation of Miller cycles. In all these cases however, the amount of energy recovered is limited allowing the engine to reach an overall efficiency incremental improvement between 4% and 9%. Implementing an adequately designed expander–generator unit could efficiently recover the unexpanded exhaust gas energy and improve efficiency. In this work, the application of the expander–generator unit to a hybrid propulsion vehicle is considered, where the onboard energy storage receives power produced by an expander–generator, which could hence be employed for vehicle propulsion through an electric drivetrain. Starting from these considerations, a simple but effective modeling approach is used to evaluate the energetic potential of a spark-ignition (SI) engine electrically supercharged and equipped with an exhaust gas expander connected to an electric generator. The overall efficiency was compared to a reference turbocharged engine within a hybrid vehicle architecture. It was found that, if adequately recovered, the unexpanded gas energy could reduce engine fuel consumption and related pollutant emissions by 4–12%, depending on overall power output

Steady State Performance of Spark Ignition Engine with Exhaust Energy Recovery

As is known, internal combustion engines based on Otto or Diesel cycles cannot complete the expansion process of the gas inside the cylinder, thus losing a relevant energy content, in the order of 30% of total. The residual energy of the unexpanded gas has been partially exploited through the use of an exhaust gas turbine for turbocharging the internal combustion engine; further attempts have been made with several compound solutions, with an electric generator connected to the turbocharger allowing to convert into electrical energy the quota power produced by the turbine which is not used by the compressor, or with a second turbine downstream the first to increase the exhaust gas energy recovery. Turbo-compound solutions were also employed in large marine Diesel engines, where the second turbine downstream the first was used to deliver more power to the main propeller shaft. In all these cases the overall efficiency increments remained within 5%. If completely recovered by the use of a properly designed expander-generator unit, the energy content of the unexpanded in-cylinder gas could substantially increase the overall efficiency of the thermal unit. In the present paper the authors evaluate, by means of simple yet effective calculations, the efficiency attainable by a thermal unit composed of a spark ignition engine endowed of an exhaust gas energy recovery expander connected to a proper generator. The proposed thermal unit, which is particularly suitable for hybrid propulsion solutions, has been evaluated both in the naturally aspirated and in the supercharged version. The efficiency of each thermal unit is also compared to reference baseline engine, thus highlighting the real benefit introduced by the adoption of the proposed thermal unit. As result, it was found that the complete and efficient recovery of the unexpanded gas energy has the potential to increase the overall efficiency of the propulsion system by 10-15%, depending on the characteristics of the thermal engine and of the exhaust energy expander-generator unit

Efficiency advantages of the separated electric compound propulsion system for CNG hybrid vehicles

As is widely known, internal combustion engines are not able to complete the expansion process of the gas inside the cylinder, causing theoretical energy losses in the order of 20%. Several systems and methods have been proposed and implemented to recover the unexpanded gas energy, such as turbocharging, which partially exploits this energy to compress the fresh intake charge, or turbo-mechanical and turbo-electrical compounding, where the amount of unexpanded gas energy not used by the compressor is dedicated to propulsion or is transformed into electric energy. In all of these cases, however, maximum efficiency improvements between 4% and 9% have been achieved. In this work, the authors deal with an alternative propulsion system composed of a CNG-fueled spark ignition engine equipped with a turbine-generator specifically dedicated to unexpanded exhaust gas energy recovery and with a separated electrically driven turbocompressor. The system was conceived specifically for hybrid propulsion architectures, with the electric energy produced by the turbine generator being easily storable in the on-board energy storage system and re-usable for vehicle traction. The proposed separated electric turbo-compound system has not been studied in the scientific literature, nor have its benefits ever been analyzed. In this paper, the performances of the analyzed turbo-compound system are evaluated and compared with a traditional reference turbocharged engine from a hybrid application perspective. It is demonstrated that separated electric compounding has great potential, with promising overall efficiency advantages: fuel consumption reductions of up to 15% are estimated for the same power output level

A life cycle environmental impact comparison between traditional, hybrid, and electric vehicles in the european context

Global warming (GW) and urban pollution focused a great interest on hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) as cleaner alternatives to traditional internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). The environmental impact related to the use of both ICEV and HEV mainly depends on the fossil fuel used by the thermal engines, while, in the case of the BEV, depends on the energy sources employed to produce electricity. Moreover, the production phase of each vehicle may also have a relevant environmental impact, due to the manufacturing processes and the materials employed. Starting from these considerations, the authors carried out a fair comparison of the environmental impact generated by three different vehicles characterized by different pro-pulsion technology, i.e., an ICEV, an HEV, and a BEV, following the life cycle analysis methodology, i.e., taking into account five different environmental impact categories generated during all phases of the entire life of the vehicles, from raw material collection and parts production, to vehicle assembly and on\u2010road use, finishing hence with the disposal phase. An extensive scenario analysis was also performed considering different electricity mixes and vehicle lifetime mileages. The results of this study confirmed the importance of the life cycle approach for the correct determination of the real impact related to the use of passenger cars and showed that the GW impact of a BEV during its entire life amounts to roughly 60% of an equivalent ICEV, while acidifying emissions and par-ticulate matter were doubled. The HEV confirmed an excellent alternative to ICEV, showing good compromise between GW impact (85% with respect to the ICEV), terrestrial acidification, and par-ticulate formation (similar to the ICEV). In regard to the mineral source deployment, a serious concern derives from the lithium\u2010ion battery production for BEV. The results of the scenario analysis highlight how the environmental impact of a BEV may be altered by the lifetime mileage of the vehicle, and how the carbon footprint of the electricity used may nullify the ecological advantage of the BEV

PROGETTAZIONE E VERIFICA SPERIMENTALE DI UNA MICROTURBINA IDRAULICA PER L\u2019INDUSTRIA ALIMENTARE

In questo articolo sono descritte le attivit\ue0 di ricerca e sviluppo di una micro-turbina idraulica inserita all\u2019interno di un macchinario che opera un nuovo processo di abbattimento della carica batterica applicabile nell\u2019industria dell\u2019imbottigliamento delle bevande. Peculiarit\ue0 della turbina progettata \ue8 la geometria della palettatura della girante, dritta ed a sviluppo puramente assiale, che ne rende estremamente economica la realizzazione. Lo scambio di energia avviene grazie al moto vorticoso impresso al fluido (swirl) mediante opportuno posizionamento dei condotti di adduzione. Lo studio della turbina \ue8 stato condotto mediante classico approccio unidimensionale, mentre il dimensionamento \ue8 stato effettuato con l\u2019ausilio di simulazioni CFD. Ultimata la progettazione, la turbina \ue8 stata realizzata e si \ue8 avviata una campagna di prove sperimentali su un banco di flussaggio appositamente allestito che ha consentito di verificare il soddisfacimento delle specifiche progettuali

Life cycle assessment of the biofuel production from lignocellulosic biomass in a hydrothermal liquefaction - aqueous phase reforming integrated biorefinery

The use of biofuels in the transport sector is one of the strategies for its decarbonization. Here, the LCA meth-odology was used for the first time to assess the environmental impacts of a biorefinery where hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) and aqueous phase reforming (APR) were integrated. This novel coupling was proposed to valorize the carbon loss in the HTL-derived aqueous phase, while simultaneously reducing the external H2 de-mand during biocrude upgrading. Corn stover (residue) and lignin-rich stream (waste) were evaluated as possible lignocellulosic feedstocks. The global warming potential (GWP) was 56.1 and 58.4 g CO2 eq/MJbiofuel, respec-tively. Most of the GWP was attributable to the electrolysis step in the lignin-rich stream case and to the thermal duty and platinum use in the corn stover case. Other impact categories were investigated, and an uncertainty analysis was also carried out. A sensitivity analysis on biogenic carbon, electricity/thermal energy source and alternative hydrogen supply was conducted to estimate their influence on the GWP. Finally, the two scenarios were compared with the environmental impact of fossil-and other biomass-derived fuels, also considering fuel utilization. HTL-APR allowed a 37% reduction compared to fossil diesel, further reduced to 80% with the lignin -rich stream when green energy was used

Reducing the data-deficiency of threatened European habitats: Spatial variation of sabellariid worm reefs and associated fauna in the Sicily Channel, Mediterranean Sea

Biogenic reefs, such as those produced by tube-dwelling polychaetes of the genus Sabellaria, are valuable marine habitats which are a focus of protection according to European legislation. The achievement of this goal is potentially hindered by the lack of essential empirical data, especially in the Mediterranean Sea. This study addresses some of the current knowledge gaps by quantifying and comparing multi-scale patterns of abundance and distribution of two habitat-forming species (Sabellaria alveolata and S. spinulosa) and their associated fauna along 190 km of coast on the Italian side of the Sicily Channel. While the abundance of the two sabellariids and the total number of associated taxa did not differ at any of the examined scales (from tens of centimetres to tens-100 of kilometres), the structure (composition in terms of both the identity and the relative abundance of constituting taxa) of the associated fauna and the abundance of several taxa (the polychaetes Eulalia ornata, Syllis pulvinata, S. garciai, Nereis splendida and Arabella iricolor, and the amphipods Apolochus neapolitanus, Tethylembos viguieri and Caprella acanthifera) varied among locations established ~50e100 km apart. Syllis pulvinata also showed significant variation between sites (hundreds of metres apart), analogously to the other syllid polychaetes S. armillaris and S. gracilis, the nereidid polychaete Nereis rava, and the amphipod Gammaropsis ulrici. The largest variance of S. spinulosa, of the structure of the whole associated fauna and of 56% of taxa analysed individually occurred at the scale of replicates (metres apart), while that of the dominant bio-constructor S. alveolata and of 25% of taxa occurred at the scale of sites. The remaining 19% and the total richness of taxa showed the largest variance at the scale of locations. Present findings contribute to meet a crucial requirement of any future effective protection strategy, i.e., identifying relevant scales of variation to be included in protection schemes aiming at preserving representative samples not only of target habitats and organisms, but also of the processes driving such variabilit

The "Safari" technique to perform difficult subintimal infragenicular vessels

The purpose of this study was to describe the efficacy of planned combined subintimal arterial flossing with antegrade– retrograde intervention (SAFARI) to obtain the precise recanalization of the patent portion of a distal runoff vessel in critical limb ischemia (CLI) patients presenting long occlusions involving the popliteal trifurcation. Four patients at risk of limb loss due to long occlusions involving the leg vessel tree and not suitable for a surgical bypass were treated by the subintimal antegrade and retrograde (posterior tibial or anterior tibial artery) approach. The patent portion of the runoff vessel was previously assessed by magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and directly punctured under Doppler ultrasound (US) guidance. A subintimal channel rendezvous was performed to allow snaring of the guidewires. Subsequently, a balloon dilatation was performed without stent deployment. All patients were successfully recanalized and had complete healing of the limb lesions. At the 12-month follow-up all patients showed clinical improvement with no major complications related to the procedure. This combined antegrade and retrograde subintimal approach is currently an excellent endovascular option in patients with long occlusions extending onto the leg vessels trifurcation and at risk of limb loss. Key words: Critical limb ischemia—Subintimal technique— Popliteal branches—Retrograde acces