Improving safety and availability of complex systems using a risk-based failure assessment approach

This paper presents a structured risk-based failure assessment (RBFA) approach, which provides a complete solution to avoid repeated and potential failures to improve overall plant safety and availability. Technological advancements and high product demand have encouraged designers to design mega-capacity systems to enhance system utilization and improve revenues. However, these benefits make the systems more complex and thus prone to unnoticed failure. It is an overwhelming task to address all the failures due to the limited resources and time constraints. This leads to substandard and poor quality failure assessments, which cause repeated failures. To address this common industry concern, a four phase RBFA framework is proposed which is not limited to the identification of root cause(s) but also includes other actions such as failure monitoring. The four phases include the plan phase, the assessment phase, the analysis phase and the implementation-tracking phase. These phases cover identification of failure, failure analysis, root cause(s) analysis, and failure monitoring. In this paper, the applicability and advantages of the proposed approach are examined through two real case studies pertaining to bearing failure and drive coupling failure. By implementing the proposed approach, significant improvements have been experienced in the system availability in both the cases.     

Effects of two root-secreted phenolic compounds from a subalpine coniferous species on soil enzyme activity and microbial biomass

In order to evaluate the ecological consequences and potential mechanisms of specific C compounds on soil microbial processes under climate warming, we injected solutions of two modelled root exudates, 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol (BHT) and 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, dibutyl ester (DBP), respectively, into soil at two concentrations (20 and 1000?µg?g^?1 soil). For all treatments, soils amended with the two phenolic compounds were incubated at two temperatures (20°C and 30°C) for 30 days. The responses of soil enzyme activity and microbial property to modelled root exudates to some extent depended on temperature regime, exudation component, and addition concentration. For example, the addition of BHT tended to decrease the soil enzyme activities. However, DBP addition generally increased the two metabolic enzyme activities at 30°C, and tended to decrease the two enzyme activities at 20°C, but a significant reduction was observed only at a high concentration at 20°C. The microbial biomass and enzyme activity were generally lower at 30°C compared to those at 20°C, when averaged across all treatment combinations. Taken together, our results indicated that the amounts and quality of liable root-derived C can differentially affect microbial processes, and various environmental changes will greatly complicate root–microbe–soil interactions in forests.     

狼尾草根系分泌物对黑土吸附阿特拉津的影响研究

采用批量平衡试验方法,研究狼尾草根系分泌物对黑土吸附阿特拉津的影响.结果用Evolich方程(R2>0.97)和准二级动力学模型(R2>0.99)进行拟合,两者都表现出较好拟合度.用Langmuir和Freundlich等温吸附方程描述土壤吸附阿特拉津的过程,其中,Freundlich方程拟合结果较好(R2>0.91),而Langmuir方程中R2<0.60,加入狼尾草根系分泌物后,吸附平衡常数Kf明显减小,参数1/n增大到1左右,属于较难吸附,表明狼尾草根系分泌物对阿特拉津可能有抑制作用,且根系分泌物浓度不同,影响程度不同.     

芘胁迫对5种羊茅属植物根系分泌的几类低分子量有机物的影响

根系分泌物与有机污染物的植物修复过程密切相关,研究胁迫条件下不同修复潜力植物根系分泌物的释放特征有助于揭示植物修复的内在机制.借助根际袋土培试验研究了芘胁迫(10~160 mg·kg~(-1))下5种羊茅属植物在不同胁迫期(30~70d)时根系分泌物中几种低分子量有机物的释放特征.结果表明:1芘胁迫促进了根系对可溶性糖的分泌:随着胁迫水平的升高、胁迫期的延长,其分泌量呈"先升后降"变化趋势,胁迫水平为C3(40.36 mg·kg~(-1))、胁迫期为40 d时达到最大值;修复潜力越大,趋势越明显.2芘胁迫增强了根系对低分子量有机酸的释放,修复潜力越大,释放高峰值出现时的胁迫浓度越高,且主要以草酸、乙酸、乳酸和苹果酸为主(98.15%),但修复潜力较强物种的根系分泌物中也检测到微量反丁烯二酸.3芘胁迫对氨基酸的种类影响不大,但对分泌量影响较大:苏氨酸、丝氨酸、甘氨酸、丙氨酸的分泌量随着胁迫水平的升高而剧增;脯氨酸、羟脯氨酸和天冬氨酸对芘胁迫的响应近乎以功能群的形式参与植物修复过程,参与的组分越多,修复潜力越强.可见,芘胁迫下根系分泌物中可溶性糖、低分子量有机酸以及氨基酸的释放特征与植物自身的修复潜力有关;修复潜力越强,释放量越多且成分越复杂,并表现出更强的环境适应性及生理可塑性.     

接种Penicilliumsp.和根际分泌物对土壤甲磺隆的协同降解研究

通过接种Penicillium sp.和模拟小麦根际环境的方法,研究了甲磺隆在Penicillium sp.和小麦根际分泌物协同作用下的生物降解特性.结果表明,根系分泌物丰富了土著微生物和外源微生物,对甲磺隆的降解具有显著的促进作用.接种Penicillium sp.的根际土壤中甲磺隆降解半衰期为8.6 d,其降解速率是接种Penicillium sp.的非根际土壤的1.8倍,是普通根际土壤的2.7倍.继续追加甲磺隆的试验表明,接种菌株Penicillium sp.对甲磺隆的降解具有可持续性.     

The plant-enhanced bio-cathode: Root exudates and microbial community for nitrogen removal

A plant bio-electrochemical system(PBES) was constructed for organic pollutant removal and power generation. The bio-cathode, composed of granular activated carbon(GAC), stainless wire mesh and a plant species(Triticum aestivum L.), was able to catalyze cathodic reactions without any requirement for aeration or power input. During the 60-day-long operation, an average voltage of 516 m V(1000 Ω) and maximum power density(Pmax) of 0.83 W/m~3 were obtained in the PBES. The total nitrogen removal and total organic carbon removal in the PBES were 85% and 97%, respectively. Microbial community analyses indicated that bacteria associated with power generation and organic removal were the predominant species in the bio-cathode, and plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria were also found in the PBES. The results suggested that the coupling of plants with the GAC cathode may enhance the organicmatter degradation and energy generation from wastewater and therefore provide a new method for bio-cathode design and promote energy efficiency.     

五氯酚(PCP)污染土壤模拟根际的修复

模拟根际环境条件下,研究了根系分泌物对五氯酚(PCP)污染土壤的修复效应及其机理.结果表明,PCP的土壤残留消解行为随根系分泌物添加剂量的不同显现相应差异.土壤中微生物生物量碳(C_mic),氮(N_mic),碳氮比(C_mic/N_mic),微生物商及酶等土壤生化指标与PCP的消解均存在一定程度的相关性.低剂量(13.38TOCmg/kg)处理,PCP土壤甲醇可提态残留量最小,修复效应最佳,此时土壤微生物生物量碳,氮,微生物商,脱氢酶活性等显现最大响应,为最适根系分泌物添加剂量.修复机理可能在于其诱导的土壤环境质量友好演变过程.逐步回归分析结果显示,微生物生物量氮,微生物商及脱氢酶活性可作为表征根际修复PCP污染土壤时土壤环境质量友好演变过程的敏感生物学指标.     

根分泌物与微生物对污染土壤重金属活性的影响

研究了铜富集植物海州香薷(Elsholtziasplendens)和鸭跖草(Commelinacommunis)根分泌物,以及假单胞菌(P.aeruginosaZD4-3)和白腐真菌(P.Chrysosprim)对污染土壤重金属活性的影响.结果表明,海州香薷和鸭跖草根分泌物对污染土壤中Cu有一定的活化能力,不同处理间差异不大,鸭跖草根分泌物对Cu的活化能力大于海州香薷.不同处理根分泌物中有机酸种类或含量有所差异,但主要以草酸和出峰时间为6.5min左右的未知有机酸为主.假单胞菌对污染土壤Cu、Pb和Zn有很强的活化作用;白腐真菌对Cu、Zn有活化作用,对Pb则表现为固定作用,海州香薷根分泌物降低了供试假单胞菌对重金属的活化效果,但增加了白腐真菌对重金属的活化效果.     

不同浓度植物根系分泌物微生态效应研究

探讨夹竹桃(Nerium oleander)根系分泌物对土壤微生物量碳、呼吸强度等微生物学特征及土壤微生物群落功能多样性的影响,深入揭示夹竹桃根系分泌物的微生态效应,通过向土壤中添加植物根系分泌物溶液的方法,研究了不同浓度(CK,15 mL去离子水作为对照;LC,5 mL分泌物+10 mL去离子水;MC,10 mL分泌...     

3种毒性预测模型在镉对小麦根毒性预测中的应用及比较

一些基于重金属形态的生物毒性机理模型被广泛应用于水体和陆生生态系统,例如:自由离子活度模型(FIAM)、生物配体模型(BLM)和生物膜电势斯特恩双电层模型(GCSM),但不同模型的应用效果之间还缺乏系统比较。本研究选取小麦作为受试生物,采用水培实验进行了镉对小麦根伸长的毒性测试,通过数据分析软件对实验数据进行非线性拟合,分别建立了3种模型,并从根毒性、根表面吸附镉和根中富集镉3个方面对3个模型的预测能力进行了比较。除此之外,选取苹果酸和柠檬酸2种有机配体,研究了配体对镉生物毒性的影响。结果表明,Ca~(2+)和H~+对Cd的根毒性存在竞争效应,而Mg~(2+)、K~+和Na~+未发现竞争效应。由于BLM模型同时考虑了镉的自由离子态浓度和竞争离子的影响,在预测镉对杨麦13号根毒性和生物体内富集量时效果最好。而FIAM和GCSM模型由于计算中仅考虑了离子活度的影响,缺乏对竞争离子保护效应的考虑,因此预测效果相对较差;此外,Cd对小麦根毒性的主要受扩散过程控制,而非跨膜过程,这可能也是FIAM模型和GCSM模型预测不佳的原因之一。同时结果还发现有机配体存在时尽管降低了溶液中镉的离子活度,但未显著影响镉毒性,进一步证明了扩散过程对Cd毒性的影响。以上结果为评价和预测镉的陆生生态毒性提供了基础数据和模型依据。