Fast and Practical Method for Model Reduction of Large-Scale Water-Distribution Networks

The paper presents a method for the reduction of network models described by a system of non-linear algebraic equations. Such models are, for example, present when modeling water networks, electrical networks and gas networks. The approach calculates a network model, equivalent to the original one, but which contains fewer components. This procedure has an advantage compared to straightforward linearization because the reduced non-linear model preserves the non-linearity of the original model and approximates the original model in a wide range of operating conditions. The method is applicable to hydraulic analysis especially for preparing reduced models for the optimal scheduling studies and has been validated by simplifying many practical water network models for optimization studies.This research was supported by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) grant GR/N26005 and by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology, grant BIA2004-06444.Martínez Alzamora, F.; Ulanicki, B.; Salomons, E. (2014). Fast and Practical Method for Model Reduction of Large-Scale Water-Distribution Networks. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management. 140(4):444-456. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000333444456140

Simulation of sound propagation over porous barriers of arbitrary shapes

A time-domain solver using an immersed boundary method is investigated for simulating sound propagation over porous and rigid barriers of arbitrary shapes. In this study, acoustic propagation in the air from an impulse source over the ground is considered as a model problem. The linearized Euler equations are solved for sound propagation in the air and the Zwikker-Kosten equations for propagation in barriers as well as in the ground. In comparison to the analytical solutions, the numerical scheme is validated for the cases of a single rigid barrier with different shapes and for two rigid triangular barriers. Sound propagations around barriers with different porous materials are then simulated and discussed. The results show that the simulation is able to capture the sound propagation behaviors accurately around both rigid and porous barriers

Metastable liquid lamellar structures in binary and ternary mixtures of Lennard-Jones fluids

We have carried out extensive equilibrium molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the Liquid-Vapor coexistence in partially miscible binary and ternary mixtures of Lennard-Jones (LJ) fluids. We have studied in detail the time evolution of the density profiles and the interfacial properties in a temperature region of the phase diagram where the condensed phase is demixed. The composition of the mixtures are fixed, 50% for the binary mixture and 33.33% for the ternary mixture. The results of the simulations clearly indicate that in the range of temperatures $78 < T < 102 ^{\rm o}$K, --in the scale of argon-- the system evolves towards a metastable alternated liquid-liquid lamellar state in coexistence with its vapor phase. These states can be achieved if the initial configuration is fully disordered, that is, when the particles of the fluids are randomly placed on the sites of an FCC crystal or the system is completely mixed. As temperature decreases these states become very well defined and more stables in time. We find that below $90 ^{\rm o}$K, the alternated liquid-liquid lamellar state remains alive for 80 ns, in the scale of argon, the longest simulation we have carried out. Nonetheless, we believe that in this temperature region these states will be alive for even much longer times.Comment: 18 Latex-RevTex pages including 12 encapsulated postscript figures. Figures with better resolution available upon request. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. E Dec. 1st issu

Growth, microstructure, and failure of crazes in glassy polymers

We report on an extensive study of craze formation in glassy polymers. Molecular dynamics simulations of a coarse-grained bead-spring model were employed to investigate the molecular level processes during craze nucleation, widening, and breakdown for a wide range of temperature, polymer chain length $N$, entanglement length $N_e$ and strength of adhesive interactions between polymer chains. Craze widening proceeds via a fibril-drawing process at constant drawing stress. The extension ratio is determined by the entanglement length, and the characteristic length of stretched chain segments in the polymer craze is $N_e/3$. In the craze, tension is mostly carried by the covalent backbone bonds, and the force distribution develops an exponential tail at large tensile forces. The failure mode of crazes changes from disentanglement to scission for $N/N_e\sim 10$, and breakdown through scission is governed by large stress fluctuations. The simulations also reveal inconsistencies with previous theoretical models of craze widening that were based on continuum level hydrodynamics

An iterative three-dimensional parabolic equation solver for propagation above irregular boundaries

This paper describes the development of an iterative three-dimensional parabolic equation solver that takes into account the effects of irregular boundaries and refraction from a layered atmosphere. A terrain-following coordinate transformation, based on the well-known Beilis-Tappert mapping, is applied to the narrow-angle parabolic equation in an inhomogeneous media. The main advantage of this approach, which has been used in two dimensions in the past, is the simplification of the impedance boundary condition at the earth surface. The transformed initial-boundary value problem is discretized using the Crank-Nicholson marching scheme in the propagating direction and second-order finite-differences in the transversal plane. The proposed method relies on an efficient iterative fixed-point solver which involves the inversion of tridiagonal matrices only. The accuracy of the method is evaluated through a comparison with boundary element simulations in a homogeneous atmosphere above a Gaussian hill. Results show that transversal scattering occur in the shadow zone of the obstacle where the 2D parabolic equation underestimates the pressure amplitude. The model is particularly suited for the simulation of infrasound in a three-dimensional environment with realistic topographie

Biallelic mutations in valyl-tRNA synthetase gene VARS are associated with a progressive neurodevelopmental epileptic encephalopathy.

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (ARSs) function to transfer amino acids to cognate tRNA molecules, which are required for protein translation. To date, biallelic mutations in 31 ARS genes are known to cause recessive, early-onset severe multi-organ diseases. VARS encodes the only known valine cytoplasmic-localized aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase. Here, we report seven patients from five unrelated families with five different biallelic missense variants in VARS. Subjects present with a range of global developmental delay, epileptic encephalopathy and primary or progressive microcephaly. Longitudinal assessment demonstrates progressive cortical atrophy and white matter volume loss. Variants map to the VARS tRNA binding domain and adjacent to the anticodon domain, and disrupt highly conserved residues. Patient primary cells show intact VARS protein but reduced enzymatic activity, suggesting partial loss of function. The implication of VARS in pediatric neurodegeneration broadens the spectrum of human diseases due to mutations in tRNA synthetase genes