Experimental study of the evaporation of spreading liquid nitrogen

The investigation of cryogenic liquid pool spreading is an essential procedure to assess the hazard of cryogenic liquid usage. There is a wide range of models used to describe the spreading of a cryogenic liquid pool. Many of these models require the evaporation velocity, which has to be determined experimentally because the heat transfer process between the liquid pool and the surroundings is too complicated to be modeled. In this experimental study, to measure the evaporation velocity when the pool is spreading, liquid nitrogen was continuously released onto unconfined concrete ground. Almost all of the reported results are based on a non-spreading pool in which cryogenic liquid is instantaneously poured onto bounded ground for a very short period of time. For the precise measurement of pool spreading and evaporation weight with time, a cone-type funnel was designed to achieve a nearly constant liquid nitrogen release rate during discharge. Specifically, three nozzles with nominal flow rates of 3.4 × 10⁻² kg/s, 5.6 × 10⁻² kg/s and 9.0 × 10⁻² kg/s were used to investigate the effect of the release rate on the evaporation velocity. It is noted that information about the release rate is not necessary to measure the evaporation velocity in case of the non-spreading pool. A simultaneous measurement of the pool location using thermocouples and of the pool mass using a digital balance was carried out to measure the evaporation velocity and the pool radius. A greater release flow rate was found to result in a greater average evaporation velocity, and the evaporation velocity decreased with the spreading time and the pool radius.     

液气燃料烟气的最大余热量与节能率计算研究

在中国能源结构中,燃油与天然气所占比例迅速上升.燃烧后排烟温度一般为160℃~180℃,仍含有较多能量,可以二次利用.本文通过对液、气体燃料中具有代表性的0号轻质柴油及天然气烟气的余热量与节能率进行计算,发现低温烟气余热中的水蒸气余热量占有很大比例,柴油烟气为55.08%,天热气烟气为79.41%.回收烟气余热,尤其是其中水蒸汽的潜热对低温烟气的热回收具有重要意义.若有效回收利用,既是对一次能源的二次利用,更符合"十三五"期间国家节能减排的相关政策要求.     

铀胁迫对5种牧草种子萌发的影响

为进一步探究放射性重金属铀污染环境对植物种子萌芽及生长所产生的迫害,根据我国铀矿冶废水中铀的质量浓度(5 mg/L)选择不同质量浓度(0、1 mg/L、5 mg/L、10 mg/L、15 mg/L、20 mg/L)的铀溶液进行试验,用以胁迫5种1年生牧草(三叶草、苜蓿草、黑麦草、高丹草和苏丹草)种子,同时观察记录各自的萌发状况(发芽数和第7 d幼苗生长长度),计算其发芽率、发芽势、发芽指数(GI)、活力指数(VI)及耐性指数,并与对照组进行量化指标比较。最后比较各牧草种子所受到的危害并做出评价。结果表明:对于不同程度的铀污染,多数植物表现为低质量浓度促进其种子萌发,高质量浓度则严重抑制甚至致死。对于三叶草、苜蓿草和黑麦草种子,低质量浓度(1 mg/L)铀溶液促进种子的萌发,质量浓度升高则为抑制,其中黑麦草表现稍异常,质量浓度为5 mg/L时对种子萌发有促进作用,使最终发芽率较对照提升14%;对于高丹草,低质量浓度(5 mg/L)时促进种子萌发,而在质量浓度稍低于或超过5 mg/L时表现出明显的抑制现象,各指标低于对照13%左右;苏丹草则仅呈现抑制现象,铀质量浓度为5mg/L时抑制现象稍轻,最终发芽率较对照组仅降4%,小于或大于5mg/L时均受抑制,且质量浓度越高抑制现象越明显,最终发芽率最高仅28%。     

Heavy metals and arsenic fixation into freshwater organic matter under Gammarus pulex L. influence

Organic sediments are a main sink for metal pollutants in aquatic systems. However, factors that make sediments a sink of metals and metalloids are still not clear. Consequently, we investigate the role of invertebrate shredders (Gammarus pulex L.) on quality of metal and arsenic fixation into organic partitions of sediment in the course of litter decay with laboratory microcosm experiments. During the decomposition of leaf litter, G. pulex significantly facilitated the development of small particles of organic matter. The capacity of metal fixation was significantly higher in smaller particles than leaf litter and litter residuals. Thus, G. pulex enhanced metal fixation into the organic partition of sediments by virtue of increasing the amount smaller particles in the aquatic system. Furthermore, invertebrates have a significant effect on formation of dissolved organic matter and remobilization of cobalt, molybdenum and cesium, but no significant effect on remobilization of all other measured elements.     

Living at the Edge: Local versus Positional Factors in the Long‐Term Population Dynamics of an Endangered Orchid

Abstract: Populations at the margin of geographic ranges of distribution have been considered more vulnerable than central ones, but recent reviews have caste doubt on this generalization. We examined the reproductive and demographic performance of a rare Euroasiatic orchid (Cypripedium calceolus) at its southwesterly range limit and compared our findings with those of previous studies of nine central populations at the center of the orchid's range. We sought to test the central‐marginal model and to evaluate factors involved in long‐term performance of forest Eurosiberian species with peripheral populations in southern European mountains. We characterized (structure, temporal fluctuations, herbivory, reproductive success, and recruitment at different habitats) four Pyrenean populations of C. calceolus of different sizes (5–3500 ramets) and monitored three of them for up to 13 years. Two quantitative stochastic models (count data and matrix models) were used to assess population trends and viability and the effect of herbivory. Contrary to expectations, and despite the negative effect of sporadic events of herbivory, the peripheral populations we studied (except the smallest one) performed similarly or better than populations occurring in central part of the species’ range in terms of reproductive success and population growth rates. Landscape changes over the last 50 years suggest that natural reforestation could be involved in the success of this plant at its southern limit. Forest expansion in the mountain regions of southern Europe may provide new opportunities for plants with geographic distributions centered mainly at higher latitudes and give some hope for their recovery in future scenarios dominated by biodiversity loss.     

Potential Misuse of Avian Density as a Conservation Metric

Abstract: Effective conservation metrics are needed to evaluate the success of management in a rapidly changing world. Reproductive rates and densities of breeding birds (as a surrogate for reproductive rate) have been used to indicate the quality of avian breeding habitat, but the underlying assumptions of these metrics rarely have been examined. When birds are attracted to breeding areas in part by the presence of conspecifics and when breeding in groups influences predation rates, the effectiveness of density and reproductive rate as indicators of habitat quality is reduced. It is beneficial to clearly distinguish between individual‐ and population‐level processes when evaluating habitat quality. We use the term reproductive rate to refer to both levels and further distinguish among levels by using the terms per capita fecundity (number of female offspring per female per year, individual level) and population growth rate (the product of density and per capita fecundity, population level). We predicted how density and reproductive rate interact over time under density‐independent and density‐dependent scenarios, assuming the ideal free distribution model of how birds settle in breeding habitats. We predicted population density of small populations would be correlated positively with both per capita fecundity and population growth rate due to the Allee effect. For populations in the density‐dependent growth phase, we predicted no relation between density and per capita fecundity (because individuals in all patches will equilibrate to the same success rate) and a positive relation between density and population growth rate. Several ecological theories collectively suggest that positive correlations between density and per capita fecundity would be difficult to detect. We constructed a decision tree to guide interpretation of positive, neutral, nonlinear, and negative relations between density and reproductive rates at individual and population levels.     

自然环境因素对铝合金大气腐蚀的影响性研究

目的 研究铝合金大气腐蚀受自然环境因素的影响性，探索环境因素对铝合金腐蚀的影响规律。方法 采用多层感知器神经网络分析环境因素对7种铝合金平均腐蚀速率的影响。结果 确定了影响铝合金腐蚀损伤的重要因素为SO2沉积率、Cl^–沉积率、NOx沉积率；辅要因素为年降雨量、年雾露时数、相对湿度、年日照时数、温度、铝合金成分；次要因素为年累积降水时数、雨水pH值。结论 基于多层感知器神经网络分析有效展现了环境因素对平均腐蚀速率的影响性。     

Are calcareous soils in uplands less prone to damage from road salting than acidic soils?

Previous studies of upland roadside soils in Cumbria, that would normally be naturally acidic, have highlighted that (a) runoff from roads subjected to long-term road salting can dramatically raise soil pH down slope in upland areas; (b) the soil pH increase dramatically changes N cycling in soils down slope, increasing mineralisation of organic matter, ammonification, ammonium leaching down slope and nitrification and nitrate leaching; (c) the increase in nitrification substantially increases nitrate leaching to down-slope rivers, and this is readily detectable in field studies; and (d) loss of soil organic matter over decades of salting is so great that organic matter is no longer substantially solubilised by high salt concentrations found in soil solution below road drains. This paper tests and supports the hypothesis that such effects are minimal for more calcareous soil ecosystems. It examines the soil and soil solution chemistry on another Cumbrian upland highway, the A686 near Leadgate, Alston. Sodium % of soil CEC values for soil transects affected by spray containing road salt are similar at both the A6 and A686 sites. However, spatial trends in calcium, magnesium, ammonium, and nitrate concentrations as well as pH differ, as a direct result of the higher weathering rate of parent material and possibly also the presence of limestone walls above both spray-affected and control transects at the A686 site.     

基于正交试验的谷物粉尘燃烧特性影响因素研究

为了研究谷物粉尘燃烧特性影响因素，以可食用玉米淀粉为研究对象，通过ZY6243锥形量热仪（CONE）进行了单因素和正交试验，研究了粉尘粒径、惰性介质CaCO3质量分数、热辐射通量对玉米淀粉燃烧特性的影响效应。应用直观分析法和方差分析法定性地研究了各因素对玉米淀粉热释放速率峰值的影响程度并进行了排序，2种方法得出的结论基本一致。研究结果表明:各因素对玉米淀粉热释放速率峰值的影响程度依次为:CaCO3质量分数＞粉尘粒径＞热辐射通量；其中惰性介质CaCO3对热释放速率峰值和引燃时间的影响最为显著。     

Remediation of DDT-Contaminated Water and Soil by Using Pretreated Iron Byproducts from the Automotive Industry

The objective of this study was to quantify the effectiveness of different pretreated iron byproducts from the automotive industry to degrade DDT [(1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl) ethane] in aqueous solutions and soil slurry. Iron byproducts from automotive manufacturing were pretreated by three different methods (heating, solvent and 0.5N HCl acid washing) prior to experimentation. All pretreated irons were used at 5% (wt v^{? 1}) to treat 0.014 mM (5 mgL^{? 1}) of DDT in aqueous solution. Among the pretreated irons, acid pretreated iron results in the fastest destruction rates, with a pseudo first-order degradation rate of 0.364 d^{? 1}. By lowering the pH of the DDT aqueous solution from 9 to 3, destruction kinetic rates increase more than 20%. In addition, when DDT-contaminated soil slurry (3.54 mg kg^{? 1}) was incubated with 5% (wt v^{? 1}) acid-pretreated iron, more than 90% destruction of DDT was observed within 8 weeks. Moreover, DDT destruction kinetics were enhanced when Fe(II), Fe(III) or Al(III) sulfate salts were added to the soil slurry, with the following order of destruction kinetics: Al(III) sulfate > Fe(III) sulfate > Fe(II) sulfate. These results provide proof-of concept that inexpensive iron byproducts of the automotive industry can be used to remediate DDT-contaminated water and soil.