Post-crash fuel dispersal

This paper is a brief overview of work over the last several decades in understanding what occurs to jet fuel stored in aircraft fuel tanks on impact with the ground. Fuel dispersal is discussed in terms of the overall crash dynamics process and impact regimes are identified. In a generic sense, the types of flow regimes which can occur are identified and general descriptions of the processes are given. Examples of engineering level tools, both computational and experimental, which have applicability to analyzing the complex environments are presented. Finally, risk based decision is discussed as a quick means of identifying requirements for development of preventative or mitigation strategies, such as further work on the development of an anti-misting agent

Fuel dispersal in high-speed aircraft/soil impact scenarios

The objective of this study is to determine how the jet fuel contained in aircraft wing tanks disperses on impact with a soft terrain, i.e., soils, at high impact velocities. The approach used in this study is to combine experimental and numerical methods. Tests were conducted with an approximately 1/42 linear-scale mass-model of a 1/4 span section of a C-141 wing impacting a sand/clay mixture. The test results showed that within the uncertainty of the data, the percentage of incident liquid mass remaining in the crater is the same as that qualitatively described in earlier napalm bomb development studies. Namely, the percentage of fuel in the crater ranges from near zero for grazing impacts to 25%--50% for high angles of impact. To support a weapons system safety assessment (WSSA), the data from the current study have been reduced to correlations. The numerical model used in the current study is a unique coupling of a Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method with the transient dynamics finite element code PRONTO. Qualitatively, the splash, erosion, and soil compression phenomena are all numerically predicted. Quantitatively, the numerical method predicted a smaller crater cross section than was observed in the tests

Spatial and temporal resolution of fluid flows: LDRD final report

This report describes a Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) activity to develop a diagnostic technique for simultaneous temporal and spatial resolution of fluid flows. The goal is to obtain two orders of magnitude resolution in two spatial dimensions and time simultaneously. The approach used in this study is to scale up Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) to acquire meter-size images at up to 200 frames/sec. Experiments were conducted in buoyant, fully turbulent, non-reacting and reacting plumes with a base diameter of one meter. The PIV results were successful in the ambient gas for all flows, and in the plume for non-reacting helium and reacting methane, but not reacting hydrogen. No PIV was obtained in the hot combustion product region as the seed particles chosen vaporized. Weak signals prevented PLIF in the helium. However, in reacting methane flows, PLIF images speculated to be from Poly-Aromatic-Hydrocarbons were obtained which mark the flame sheets. The results were unexpected and very insightful. A natural fluorescence from the seed particle vapor was also noted in the hydrogen tests

Vortical structures in pool fires: Observation, speculation, and simulation

While all fires are complex and involve many phenomena, this report is limited to large, turbulent liquid-hydrocarbon pool fires. Large, liquid-hydrocarbon pool fires present a risk in petrochemical storage and processing facilities and transportation systems that contain large amounts of liquid hydrocarbons. This report describes observations, speculations, and numerical simulations of vortical structures in pool fires. Vortical structures are observed in fires with length scales ranging from those that bend millimeter-thick flame zones to those that entrain air many meters from the edge of the fire to its centerline. The authors propose that baroclinic vorticity generation is primarily responsible for production of rotational motion at small scale and that amalgamation is responsible for the production of large-scale rotational structures from the myriad of small-scale structures. Numerical simulations show that vortical structures having time-mean definitions can be resolved with a Reynolds-Average Navier-Stokes (RANS) approach. However, for vortical structures without time-mean definition, RANS is inappropriate, and another technique, such as Large Eddy Simulation (LES), should be employed. 39 refs., 52 figs., 3 tabs

Carbon stable isotope analysis of cereal remains as a way to reconstruct water availability: preliminary results

Reconstructing past water availability, both as rainfall and irrigation, is important to answer questions about the way society reacts to climate and its changes and the role of irrigation in the development of social complexity. Carbon stable isotope analysis of archaeobotanical remains is a potentially valuable method for reconstructing water availability. To further define the relationship between water availability and plant carbon isotope composition and to set up baseline values for the Southern Levant, grains of experimentally grown barley and sorghum were studied. The cereal crops were grown at three stations under five different irrigation regimes in Jordan. Results indicate that a positive but weak relationship exists between irrigation regime and total water input of barley grains, but no relationship was found for sorghum. The relationship for barley is site-specific and inter-annual variation was present at Deir ‘Alla, but not at Ramtha and Khirbet as-Samra

Carbon storage in soils of Southeastern Nigeria under different management practices

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Changes in agricultural practices-notably changes in crop varieties, application of fertilizer and manure, rotation and tillage practices-influence how much and at what rate carbon is stored in, or released from, soils. Quantification of the impacts of land use on carbon stocks in sub-Saharan Africa is challenging because of the spatial heterogeneity of soil, climate, management conditions, and due to the lack of data on soil carbon pools of most common agroecosystems. This paper provides data on soil carbon stocks that were collected at 10 sites in southeastern Nigeria to characterize the impact of soil management practices.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The highest carbon stocks, 7906-9510 gC m^-2, were found at the sites representing natural forest, artificial forest and artificial grassland ecosystems. Continuously cropped and conventionally tilled soils had about 70% lower carbon stock (1978-2822 gC m^-2). Thus, the soil carbon stock in a 45-year old <it>Gmelina </it>forest was 8987 gC m^-2, whereas the parts of this forest, that were cleared and continuously cultivated for 15 years, had 75% lower carbon stock (1978 gC m^-2). The carbon stock of continuously cropped and conventionally tilled soils was also 25% lower than the carbon stock of the soil cultivated by use of conservation tillage.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Introducing conservation tillage practices may reduce the loss of soil carbon stocks associated with land conversion. However, the positive effect of conservation tillage is not comparable to the negative effect of land conversion, and may not result in significant accumulation of carbon in southeastern Nigeria soils.</p

Estimating stable isotope turnover rates of epidermal mucus and dorsal muscle for an omnivorous fish using a diet-switch experiment

© 2018, The Author(s). Stable isotope (SI) analysis studies rely on knowledge of isotopic turnover rates and trophic-step discrimination factors. Epidermal mucus (‘mucus’) potentially provides an alternative SI ‘tissue’ to dorsal muscle that can be collected non-invasively and non-destructively. Here, a diet-switch experiment using the omnivorous fish Cyprinus carpio and plant- and fish-based formulated feeds compared SI data between mucus and muscle, including their isotopic discrimination factors and turnover rates (as functions of time T and mass G, at isotopic half-life (50) and equilibrium (95)). Mucus isotope data differed significantly and predictively from muscle data. The fastest δ13C turnover rate was for mucus in fish on the plant-based diet (T50: 17 days, T95: 74 days; G50: 1.08(BM), G95: 1.40(BM)). Muscle turnover rates were longer for the same fish (T50: 44 days, T95: 190 days; G50: 1.13(BM), G95: 1.68(BM)). Longer half-lives resulted in both tissues from the fish-based diet. δ13C discrimination factors varied by diet and tissue (plant-based: 3.11–3.28‰; fishmeal: 1.28–2.13‰). Mucus SI data did not differ between live and frozen fish. These results suggest that mucus SI half-lives provide comparable data to muscle, and can be used as a non-destructive alternative tissue in fish-based SI studies

An estimate of carbon emissions from 2004 wildfires across Alaskan Yukon River Basin

© 2007 Tan et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Stable isotopes and mtDNA reveal niche segregation but no evidence of intergradation along a habitat gradient in the Lesser Whitethroat complex (Sylvia curruca; Passeriformes; Aves)

Niche segregation plays a critical role in the speciation process, but determining the extent to which taxa are geographically or ecologically isolated is challenging. In this study, we use stable isotopes of carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N), hydrogen (δ2H) and oxygen (δ18O) to test for ecological differences among taxa in the Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca complex. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) revealed 6 distinct haplotype groups, which conform to at least 5 distinct taxa. Stable isotopes provided insight into geographical and broad-scale ecological differences among haplotypes. The most striking isotope differences were between the populations inhabiting Siberian boreal forest (S. c. blythi) from the one inhabiting semi-desert in Kazakhstan (S. c. halimodendri). It is generally assumed that these two populations form a morphological cline along a gradient from mesic to xeric habitat. Our sample includes a large proportion of morphologically intermediate individuals that appear to represent a hybrid population. However, in all of these, there is strict correspondence between haplotype and isotope signature, suggesting an ecological division on the breeding grounds between all our samples of these two taxa. The lack of ecologically intermediate individuals among our sample of morphologically intermediate ones thus speaks against the existence of a cline. The two taxa blythi and halimodendri emerge as potential models for the study of the early stages of the speciation process. While differences in stable isotopes may be largely influenced by geography, we also demonstrate how, in specific instances (such as the alleged cline reported here), they may be used to evaluate niche segregation between taxa, providing information of importance for determination of species limits

From Food to Offspring Down: Tissue-Specific Discrimination and Turn-Over of Stable Isotopes in Herbivorous Waterbirds and Other Avian Foraging Guilds

Isotopic discrimination and turn-over are fundamental to the application of stable isotope ecology in animals. However, detailed information for specific tissues and species are widely lacking, notably for herbivorous species. We provide details on tissue-specific carbon and nitrogen discrimination and turn-over times from food to blood, feathers, claws, egg tissues and offspring down feathers in four species of herbivorous waterbirds. Source-to-tissue discrimination factors for carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen stable isotope ratios (δ15N) showed little variation across species but varied between tissues. Apparent discrimination factors ranged between −0.5 to 2.5‰ for δ13C and 2.8 to 5.2‰ for δ15N, and were more similar between blood components than between keratinous tissues or egg tissue. Comparing these results with published data from other species we found no effect of foraging guild on discrimination factors for carbon but a significant foraging-guild effect for nitrogen discrimination factors