Streamwise-traveling waves of spanwise wall velocity for turbulent drag reduction

Waves of spanwise velocity imposed at the walls of a plane turbulent channel flow are studied by Direct Numerical Simulations. We consider sinusoidal waves of spanwise velocity which vary in time and are modulated in space along the streamwise direction. The phase speed may be null, positive or negative, so that the waves may be either stationary or traveling forward or backward in the direction of the mean flow. Such a forcing includes as particular cases two known techniques for reducing friction drag: the oscillating wall technique (a traveling wave with infinite phase speed) and the recently proposed steady distribution of spanwise velocity (a wave with zero phase speed). The traveling waves alter the friction drag significantly. Waves which slowly travel forward produce a large reduction of drag, that can relaminarize the flow at low values of the Reynolds number. Faster waves yield a totally different outcome, i.e. drag increase. Even faster waves produce a drag reduction effect again. Backward-traveling waves instead lead to drag reduction at any speed. The traveling waves, when they reduce drag, operate in similar fashion to the oscillating wall, with an improved energetic efficiency. Drag increase is observed when the waves travel at a speed comparable with that of the convecting near-wall turbulence structures. A diagram illustrating the different flow behaviors is presented

A wastewater treatment using a biofilm airlift suspension reactor with biomass attached to supports: a numerical model

presented. When compared with a traditional wastewater treatment plant, a biofilm airlift suspension process has major advantages, such as higher oxygen levels in the bulk fluid and lower space requirements. The limited volumes obtained with this technique generally do not allow to reach the high times of contact required for an efficient removal of nitrogen that normally are characterized by a slower kinetics than carbonaceous compounds. To avoid this problem, supports for attached biomass growth were inserted in the reactor. Both physical and biological aspects were incorporated into the presented model to simulate the removal processes of the substrates. A sensitivity analysis was performed, and the model was validated using experimental results obtained at a lab-scale plant. This model can accurately estimate the removal rate in different boundary conditions providing the details of the water quality profiles through the reactor and in the attached biomass. The model thus represents a valid aid for design purposes and for the management of treatment plants that use these uncommon reactors. The model also provides the required hydraulic retention time for a complete nitrification and the appropriate recirculation ratio. The results have shown the full-scale applicability of this treatment due to its efficiencies coupled to the advantages of its low impact, low space requirement and low sludge production

nZVI mobility and transport: laboratory test and numerical model

Zerovalent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) are becoming one of the most widely recommended nanomaterials for soil and groundwater remediation. However, when nZVI are injected in the groundwater flow, the behavior (mobility, dispersion, distribution) is practically unknown. This fact generally results in the use of enormous quantities of them at the field scale. The uncertainties are on the effective volumes reached from the plume of nZVI because their tendency to aggregate and their weight can cause their settling and deposition. So, the mobility of nanoparticles is a real issue, which can often lead to inefficient or expensive soil remediation. Furthermore, there is another aspect that must be considered: the fate of these nZVI in the groundwater and their possible impact on the subsoil environment. All these considerations have led us to propose an application of nZVI simulating the permeation technique through a laboratory experience, finalized to have a better, or even simpler description of their real behavior when injected in a flow in the subsoil. A two-dimensional laboratory-scale tank was used to study the dispersion and transport of nZVI. A nZVI solution, with a concentration equal to 4.54 g/L, was injected into glass beads, utilized as porous medium. The laboratory experiment included a digital camera to acquire the images. The images were then used for calibrating a numerical model. The results of the mass balance confirm the validity of the proposed numerical model, obtaining values of velocity (5.41 x 10(-3) m/s) and mass (1.9 g) of the nZVI of the same order of those from the experimental tests. Several information were inferred from both experimental and numerical tests. Both demonstrate that nZVI plume does not behave as a solute dissolved in water, but as a mass showing its own mobility ruled mainly from the buoyancy force. A simple simulation of a tracer input and a nZVI plume are compared to evidence the large differences between their evolution in time and space. This means that commercial numerical models, if not corrected, cannot furnish a real forecast of the volume of influence of the injected nZVI. Further deductions can be found from the images and confirmed by means the numerical model where the detachment effect is much smaller than the attachment one (ratio k(d)/k(a) = 0.001). From what is reported, it is worthwhile to pay attention on the localization of the contaminants source/plume to reach an effective treatment and it is important to go further in the improvement of solution for the limiting the nanoparticles aggregation phenomenon

An integrated wastewater treatment system using a BAS reactor with biomass attached to tubolar supports

This paper describes laboratory experiments aimed to develop a new wastewater treatment system as an alternative to a conventional domestic wastewater plant. A modified Biofilm Airlift Suspension reactor (BAS), with biomass attached to tubular supports, is proposed to address low organic loads (typical of domestic sewage) and low residence time (typical of compact reactors technology). Attached and suspended biomasses, coupled to the high dissolved oxygen (DO), allow high removal efficiencies (90% and 56% for COD and NeNH4 \ufe removal respectively) and high effluent quality to be reached. The experimental activity, divided into three parts, demonstrates the good efficiency of the process, and the reduction of the removal kinetics for the high operating pressure used in the technology. The occurrence of simultaneous nitrificationedenitrification (SND) was also observed. When compared with the conventional BAS system, the present treatment shows comparable removal efficiencies and higher specific removal rates (80 mg COD/g VSS and 2.60 mg NeNH4 \ufe/g VSS). The experimental results were coupled with the development of a numerical model to aid in designing a full-scale treatment plant in Italy

Removal and survival of fecal indicators in a constructed wetland after uasb pre-treatment

The experimentation plant, based on a sub-surface horizontal flow phytodepuration (SSHFP) unit with a pre-treatment by an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor, proved valuable in treating the sewage of a small rural community located in north Brazil. During a six-month trial, the plant achieved an average removal efficiency of 98.2% (1.74 log removal) for fecal coliforms (FC) and 96.0% (1.40 log removal) for Enterococci (EN), as well as 95.6% for BOD5, 91.0% for COD,00 and 95.4% for suspended solids (SS). The contribution of the UASB reactor to this overall performance was very significant as, alone, it achieved a yield of 62.7% for FC and 60% for EN, in addition to 65.2% for BOD5 and 65.0% for SS. EN was chosen, in addition to FC, because of its higher specificity and strong environmental persistence, leading to an increased risk to human health. In fact, the experimental results confirmed its lower removal efficiency compared to FC. The mechanical and biological mechanisms that led to such a removal efficiency of the two fecal indicators (FIs) are outlined in the article. The same mechanisms led to a good level of equivalence between the removal efficiency of the two FIs with the removal efficiency of SS and BOD5, for both the whole plant and the UASB reactor alone. The research demonstrated the close correlation between the concentrations of EN and FC for the plant effluent. This correlation can be explained by the following mathematical expression of the regression line Log EN = 0.2571 Log FC + 3.5301, with a coefficient of determination R-2 = 0.912. This implies that the concentration of the more specific indicator EN could be calculated, with acceptable approximation, from the simple analysis of FC and vice versa. The experimental plant brought important health benefits to the local population. In particular, there were no significant odor emissions; moreover, the risk of fecal pathogenic diseases was drastically reduced; finally, there was no proliferation of insects and other disease vectors, due to the absence of stagnant or semi-stagnant water exposed to the atmosphere

The sensitivity of a specific denitrification rate under the dissolved oxygen pressure

The biological denitrification process is extensively discussed in scientific literature. The process requires anoxic conditions, but the influence of residual dissolved oxygen (DO) on the efficiency is not yet adequately documented. The present research aims to fill this gap by highlighting the effects of DO on the specific denitrification rate (SDNR) and consequently on the efficiency of the process. SDNR at a temperature of 20◦C (SDNR20◦C) is the parameter normally used for the sizing of the denitrification reactor in biological-activated sludge processes. A sensitivity analysis of SNDR20◦C to DO variations is developed. For this purpose, two of the main empirical models illustrated in the scientific literature are taken into consideration, with the addition of a deterministic third model proposed by the authors and validated by recent experimentations on several full-scale plants. In the first two models, SDNR20◦C is expressed as a function of the only variable food:microrganism ratio in denitrification (F:MDEN), while in the third one, the dependence on DO is made explicit. The sensitivity analysis highlights all the significant dependence of SDNR20◦C on DO characterized by a logarithmic decrease with a very pronounced gradient in correspondence with low DO concentrations. Moreover, the analysis demonstrates the relatively small influence of F:MDEN on the SDNR20◦C and on the correlation between SDNR20◦C and DO. The results confirm the great importance of minimizing DO and limiting, as much as possible, the transport of oxygen in the denitrification reactor through the incoming flows and mainly the mixed liquor recycle. Solutions to achieve this result in full-scale plants are reported

The C IV Doublet Ratio Intensity Effect in Symbiotic Stars

The first successful high-resolution ultraviolet spectra in the λλ 1200-2000 wavelength range of the symbiotic variable R Aquarii and its nebular Jet were obtained in 1987 July with the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE). The line profile structure of the C IV λλ1548, 1550 doublet in the jet indicates multicomponent velocity structure from an optically thin emitting gas. The C IV doublet profiles in the compact H II region engulfing the Mira and hot companion binary also suggest multicomponent structure, in which the radial velocities range up to ~ -100 km s^- 1. The value of the doublet intensity ratio in the R Aqr H II region is I(λ1548)/ I(λ1550) ~0.6, which is less than the optically thick limit of unity, an effect which has also been observed in other similar symbiotic stars such as RX Pup. In the case of RX Pup, however, the C IV doublet intensity ratio was I(λ1548)/I(λ1550) ~0.6 during an enhanced phase of UV and optical emission, but became larger, acquiring a value ~1, as the star declined in light over a 5 yr period. The anomalous behavior of the C IV doublet intensities, which. we refer to as the C IV Doublet Ratio Intensity Effect, may provide an important tool for studying the spatial structure and temporal nature of winds in symbiotic stars

Improving biotreatment efficiency of hot waste air streams: experimental upgrade of a full plant

Biological methods as bio and biotrickling filtration are an energy-efficient and economical alternative to treat biodegradable odorants and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in order to obey stringent releases regulations that have arisen during the last few decades. In this work a plant upgrade case study, employing these techniques, is presented. It refers to a critical situation in which off air streams, characterized by medium odorous compounds loads and high temperatures, were treated using a biofilter only. In that context, sufficient removal efficiencies were not achieved. Therefore, it has been proposed to replace the existing biofilter by a biotrickling one implementing a minimal number of structural plant modifications

Infering Air Quality from Traffic Data using Transferable Neural Network Models

This work presents a neural network based model for inferring air quality from traffic measurements. It is important to obtain information on air quality in urban environments in order to meet legislative and policy requirements. Measurement equipment tends to be expensive to purchase and maintain. Therefore, a model based approach capable of accurate determination of pollution levels is highly beneficial. The objective of this study was to develop a neural network model to accurately infer pollution levels from existing data sources in Leicester, UK. Neural Networks are models made of several highly interconnected processing elements. These elements process information by their dynamic state response to inputs. Problems which were not solvable by traditional algorithmic approaches frequently can be solved using neural networks. This paper shows that using a simple neural network with traffic and meteorological data as inputs, the air quality can be estimated with a good level of generalisation and in near real-time. By applying these models to links rather than nodes, this methodology can directly be used to inform traffic engineers and direct traffic management decisions towards enhancing local air quality and traffic management simultaneously.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech