Angle of repose of snow: An experimental study on cohesive properties

The angle of repose is a measure reflecting the internal friction and cohesion properties of a granular material. In this paper, we present an experimental setup and measurements for the angle of repose of snow for seven different snow samples over a large range of temperatures. The results show that the angle of repose is dependent on the fall height, the temperature, and the grain size of the snow. These variables are quantified, and their interdependencies are separately studied. With increased snow temperature, the angle of repose increases, and this can be explained by the presence of a liquid layer on ice that can be thermodynamically stable at temperatures below the melting point of water. With decreasing grain size the angle of repose also increases which is expected since the cohesive energy decreases more slowly than the grain mass. For increasing fall height, the snow grains generally accelerate to larger collisional velocities, yielding a smaller angle of repose. In general, the dimensionless cohesion number was found to largely reflect the dependencies of the variables and is therefore useful for understanding what affects the angle of repose. The results demonstrate that the drag force and collision dynamics of ice grains are important for understanding how snow accumulates on a surface, for example if one desires predicting snow accretion by simulating a dispersed cloud of snow

Collisional damping of spherical ice particles

This paper presents experimental values for the coefficient of restitution (en) for millimeter-sized ice particles colliding with massive walls at different temperatures. Three different wall materials are tested: hardened glass, ice and Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) polymer. The results show a high sensitivity to impact velocity Vi, where en decreases rapidly with increasing Vi. The results also show a decrease in en with increasing temperature T. A novel model that predicts en based on the assumption of collisional melting and viscous damping caused by an increased premelted liquid-layer, is proposed. The model predicts both the velocity and the temperature trends seen in the experiments. The difference obtained in experiments between wall materials is also captured by the new model. A generalized regime map for ice particle collisions is proposed to combine the new model with previous work

Integrated Initiating Event Performance Indicators

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Industry Trends Program (ITP) collects and analyses industry-wide data, assesses the safety significance of results, and communicates results to Congress and other stakeholders. This paper outlines potential enhancements in the ITP to comprehensively cover the Initiating Events Cornerstone of Safety. Future work will address other cornerstones of safety. The proposed Tier 1 activity involves collecting data on ten categories of risk-significant initiating events, trending the results, and comparing early performance with prediction limits (allowable numbers of events, above which NRC action may occur). Tier 1 results would be used to monitor industry performance at the level of individual categories of initiating events. The proposed Tier 2 activity involves integrating the information for individual categories of initiating events into a single risk-based indicator, termed the Baseline Risk Index for Initiating Events or BRIIE. The BRIIE would be evaluated yearly and compared against a threshold. BRIIE results would be reported to Congress on a yearly basis

Estimating Loss-of-Coolant Accident Frequencies for the Standardized Plant Analysis Risk Models

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission maintains a set of risk models covering the U.S. commercial nuclear power plants. These standardized plant analysis risk (SPAR) models include several loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) initiating events such as small (SLOCA), medium (MLOCA), and large (LLOCA). All of these events involve a loss of coolant inventory from the reactor coolant system. In order to maintain a level of consistency across these models, initiating event frequencies generally are based on plant-type average performance, where the plant types are boiling water reactors and pressurized water reactors. For certain risk analyses, these plant-type initiating event frequencies may be replaced by plant-specific estimates. Frequencies for SPAR LOCA initiating events previously were based on results presented in NUREG/CR-5750, but the newest models use results documented in NUREG/CR-6928. The estimates in NUREG/CR-6928 are based on historical data from the initiating events database for pressurized water reactor SLOCA or an interpretation of results presented in the draft version of NUREG-1829. The information in NUREG-1829 can be used several ways, resulting in different estimates for the various LOCA frequencies. Various ways NUREG-1829 information can be used to estimate LOCA frequencies were investigated and this paper presents two methods for the SPAR model standard inputs, which differ from the method used in NUREG/CR-6928. In addition, results obtained from NUREG-1829 are compared with actual operating experience as contained in the initiating events database

An Overview of the Reliability and Availability Data System (RADS)

The Reliability and Availability Data System (RADS) is a database and analysis code, developed by the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC). The code is designed to estimate industry and plant-specific reliability and availability parameters for selected components in risk-important systems and initiating events for use in risk-informed applications. The RADS tool contains data and information based on actual operating experience from U.S. commercial nuclear power plants. The data contained in RADS is kept up-to-date by loading the most current quarter's Equipment Performance and Information Exchange (EPIX) data and by yearly lods of initiating event data from licensee event reports (LERS). The reliability parameters estimated by RADS are (1) probability of failure on demand, (2) failure rate during operation (used to calculate failure to run probability) and (3) time trends in reliability parameters

Experimental Determination of the Key Heat Transfer Mechanisms in Pharmaceutical Freeze Drying

Freeze-drying is often used in manufacture of pharmaceuticals to remove a solvent in such a way that the sensitive molecular structure of the active substance of a drug is least disturbed, and to provide a sterile powder that can be quickly and completely rehydrated. In this work heat transfer rates in a laboratory-scale freeze-dryer have been measured to investigate the contribution of different heat transfer modes. Pure water was partially dried under low-pressure conditions and sublimation rates were determined gravimetrically. The heat transfer rates were observed to be independent of the separation distance between a product vial and a dryer shelf and linearly dependent on the pressure in the free molecular limit. However, under higher pressures the heat transfer rates were independent of pressure and inversely proportional to the separation distance. Previous heat transfer studies in conventional freeze-drying cycles have attributed a dominant portion of the total heat transfer to radiation, the rest to conduction, whereas the convection has been found insignificant. While the measurements revealed the significance of the radiative and gas conduction components, the convective component was found to be comparable to the gas conduction contribution at pressures greater than 100mTorr. The current investigation suggests that the convective component of the heat transfer cannot be ignored at typical laboratory-scale freeze-drying conditions

Pelagic habitat and offspring survival in the eastern stock of Atlantic bluefin tuna

In this manuscript, we test how an understanding of geographical variation in larval fitness in relation to temperature and habitat use could be a useful method to improve our understanding of recruitment and develop better indices of annual recruitment. On the basis of the assumption that growth and survival of tuna larvae are influenced by temperature, we have developed a potential larval survival index for Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) by combining empirical data from egg and larval rearing experiments with temperature data from hydrodynamic models. The experiments were designed to test the full range of temperature variability that bluefin larvae would experience in the field and provide a mechanistic understanding of the processes driving egg and larval survival. We then developed a biological model using the temperature-related growth expressions and a size-dependent survival function for the larvae. The biological model was applied to a time-series of spatially explicit temperature data for the western Mediterranean from the Strait of Gibraltar to 6 E, which includes the major recognized bluefin tuna eastern stock spawning area, the Balearic Sea. Our results show that areas with high probabilities of larval survival coincide with those that would be considered as optimal based on other data sources (ichthyoplankton surveys, spawning female locations from commercial fisheries data, and adult tracking data). However, evidence of spawning has been found in areas with suboptimal thermal habitats, as predicted by the model, which we discuss regarding sampling effort and salinity fronts. There was a good match between the survival index and recruitment indices from standardized CPUE fisheries data. These results have implications for our understanding of the recruitment process of the eastern stock of Atlantic bluefin tuna, since they suggest that the combined effects of temporal and spatial variability of the environment drive recruitment success, which has important implications for the management of the species.Versión del editor2,27

Effect of a 14-day course of systemic corticosteroids on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

<p/> <p>Background</p> <p>As supra-physiological intake of corticosteroids is a well known risk factor for the development of adrenal insufficiency, we investigated the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis during a 14-day course of systemic corticosteroids in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease using clinical and laboratory measures.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A systematic clinical and laboratory assessment including measurement of basal cortisol levels and the response to low dose (1 μg) ACTH stimulation was performed in nine patients before, on the first and the last day of treatment, as well as 2, 7 and 21 days after corticosteroid withdrawal.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At baseline, all nine patients had normal responses to 1 μg ACTH. On the first day of steroid treatment, 78% had a blunted peak cortisol response. This percentage increased to 89% after 14 days of steroid treatment. 78%, 33% and 33% of the patients had a blunted cortisol response to ACTH 2, 7, and 21 days after corticosteroid withdrawal, respectively. ROC curve analysis revealed that only basal cortisol concentrations (AUC 0.89), but not ACTH concentrations (AUC 0.49) or clinical signs (AUC 0.47) were predictive of an impaired function of the HPA axis. Basal cortisol levels of > 400 and < 150 nmol/l were 96% and 100% sensitive for a normal or pathological response to the ACTH stimulation test, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Immediate and prolonged suppression of the HPA axis is a common finding in otherwise asymptomatic patients undergoing systemic steroid treatment for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and can reliably be assessed with the low-dose ACTH test.</p

Sex matters: Otolith shape and genomic variation in deacon rockfish (Sebastes diaconus)

Little is known about intraspecific variation within the deacon rockfish (Sebastes di‐ aconus), a recently described species found in the northeast Pacific Ocean. We in‐ vestigated population structure among fish sampled from two nearshore reefs (Siletz Reef and Seal Rock) and one offshore site (Stonewall Bank) within a 15,000 neutral loci, whether analyzed independently or classified into nearshore and offshore groups. Male and females were readily distinguished using genetic data and 92 outlier loci were as‐ sociated with sex, potentially indicating differential selection between males and fe‐ males. Morphometric results indicated that there was significant secondary sexual dimorphism in otolith shape, but further sampling is required to disentangle potential confounding influence of age. This study is the first step toward understanding in‐ traspecific variation within the deacon rockfish and the potential management impli‐ cations. Since differentiation among the three sample sites was small, we consider the results to be suggestive of a single stock. However, future studies should evalu‐ ate how the stock is affected by differences in sex, age, and gene flow between the nearshore and offshore environments