Geochemical techniques on contaminated sediments-river basin view

The big flood in the upper Elbe River catchment area has revealed a wide spectrum of problems with contaminated sediments. So far, an effective strategy for managing contaminated sediments on a river basin scale is still missing and it seems that not much has been learned from the lessons received during the last decade. In the following overview, special emphasis is given to the utilization of geochemically-based techniques for sediment remediation, which can be applied in different parts of a river basin. The examples presented here are mostly from the Elbe River catchment area. In general, new technical problem solutions need a set of practical process knowledge that uses a wide range of simulation techniques, as well as models in different spatial and temporal scales. The evaluation of recent flood events clearly demonstrates the importance of chemical expertise in the decision-making process for the sustainable development in river basins.     

Driver glare exposure with different vehicle frontlighting systems

Introduction: Highway safety performance at night has received less attention in research than daytime, despite the higher accident rates occurring under night-time conditions. This study presents a procedure to assess the potential hazard for drivers created by headlight glare and its interaction with the geometric design of highways. Method: The proposed procedure consists of a line-of-sight analysis performed by a geoprocessing model in geographic information systems to determine whether the rays of light that connect headlights and oncoming drivers are obstructed by either the roadway or its roadsides. Then, the procedure checks whether the non-obstructed rays of light are enclosed by a given headlight beam. Different hypotheses were set concerning the headlight beam features, including the horizontal spread angle and whether the headlights are fixed or swiveling. A highway section was selected to test and validate the procedure proposed. A 3D recreation of the highway and its environment derived from a LiDAR point cloud was used for this purpose. Results: The findings disclose how glare is produced on tangents, horizontal curves, transitions between them and sequences of curves. The effect of visual obstructions conveniently placed is also discussed. Conclusions: A greater glare incidence is produced as the horizontal headlights spread angle increases. Swiveling headlights increase glare on highways left curves and reduce it on right curves. Practical Applications: The procedure and conclusions of this study can contribute to develop more effective glare avoidance technologies as well as identify and assess glare-prone sections. The glare evaluation assists in evaluating glare countermeasures such as deciding whether to place a vegetation barrier and where.     

Investigating the influence on safety of retrofitting Italian motorways with barriers meeting a new EU standard

Objective: A new European Union (EU) regulation for safety barriers, which is based on performance, has encouraged road agencies to perform an upgrade of old barriers, with the expectation that there will be safety benefits at the retrofitted sites. The new class of barriers was designed and installed in compliance with the 1998 (European Norm) EN 1317 standards for road restraint systems, which lays down common requirements for the testing and certification of road restraint systems in all countries of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN). Both the older and new barriers are made of steel and are installed in such a way as to avoid vehicle intrusion, but the older ones are thought to be only effective at low speeds and large angles of impact. The new standard seeks to remedy this by providing better protection at higher speeds. This article seeks to quantify the effect on the frequency of fatal and injury crashes of retrofitting motorways with barriers meeting the new standards.

Methods: The estimation of the crash modification was carried out by performing an empirical Bayes before–after analysis based on data from the A18 Messina–Catania motorway in Italy. The methodology has the great advantage to account for the regression to the mean effects. Besides, to account for time trend effects and dispersion of crash data, a modified calibration methodology of safety performance was used.

Results: This study, based on data collected on 76 km of motorway in the period 2000–2012, derived Crash Modification Factor point estimates that indicate reductions of 72% for run-off-road fatal and injury crashes and 38% in total fatal and injury crashes that could be expected by upgrading an old safety barrier by complying with new EU 1317 standards. The estimated benefit-cost ratio of 5.57 for total crashes indicates that the treatment is cost effective.

Conclusions: The magnitude of this benefit indicates that the retrofits are cost-effective even for total crashes and should continue in any European country inasmuch as the estimated Crash Modification Factors are based on treatment sites that are reasonably representative of all European motorways.     

Adsorption-oxidation of hydrogen sulfide on Fe/walnut-shell activated carbon surface modified by NH3-plasma

Walnut-shell activated carbon(WSAC) supported ferric oxide was modified by non-thermal plasma(NTP), and the removal efficiency for hydrogen sulfide over Fe/WSAC modified by dielectric barrier discharge(DBD) was significantly promoted. The sample modified for10 min and 6.8 k V output(30 V input voltage) maintained 100% H2 S conversion over a long reaction time of 390 min. The surface properties of adsorbents modified by NTP under different conditions were evaluated by the methods of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller(BET) analysis and in-situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR), to help understand the effect of the NTP treatment. NTP treatment enhanced the adsorption capacity of Fe/WSAC, which could due to the formation of micro-pores with sizes of0.4, 0.5 and 0.75 nm. XPS revealed that chemisorbed oxygen changed into lattice oxygen after NTP treatment, and lattice oxygen is beneficial for H2 S oxidation. From the in-situ FTIR result,transformation of the reaction path on Fe/WSAC was observed after NTP modification. The research results indicate that NTP is an effective method to improve the surface properties of the Fe/WSAC catalyst for H2 S adsorption-oxidation.     

鼓楼立交桥交通噪声分析及声屏障设计

通过对鼓楼立交桥机动车流量的实测。运用高架桥交通噪声预测数学模型，对鼓楼立交桥交通噪声剖面分布和地面分布进行了分析。经过计算声程差，得出合理的利用声屏障技术来解决鼓楼立交桥交通噪声问题是可行的。     

Do Hydroelectric Dams Mitigate Global Warming? The Case of Brazil's CuruÁ-una Dam

Hydroelectric dams in tropical forest areas emit greenhouse gases, as illustrated by the Curuá-Una Dam in the Amazonian portion of Brazil. Emissions include carbon dioxide from decay of the above-water portions of trees that are left standing in the reservoir and methane from soft vegetation that decays under anaerobic conditions on the bottom of the reservoir, especially macrophytes (water weeds) and vegetation that grows in the drawdown zone and is flooded when the reservoir water level rises. Some methane is released from the reservoir surface through bubbling and diffusion, but larger amounts are released from water passing through the turbines and spillway. Methane concentration in the water increases with depth, and the turbines and spillway draw water from sufficient depth to have substantial methane content. In 1990 (13 years after filling), the Curuá-Una Dam emitted 3.6 times more greenhouse gases than would have been emitted by generating the same amount of electricity from oil.     

Dependable Water Supplies from Valley Alluvium in Arid Regions

Reliable sources of high-quality water for domestic use are much needed in arid regions. Valley alluvium, coarse sand and gravel deposited by streams and rivers, provides an ideal storage medium for water in many regions of the world. However, river sediments will not accumulate in a valley without a natural or artificial barrier to slow the water. Sediments will deposit upstream of a barrier dam and form an alluvial deposit of relatively well-sorted material. The alluvium then acts as both an underground water-supply reservoir and a water filter, yielding a constant flow of high-quality water. Trap dams that store water in alluvial sediments and slowly release the filtered water represent an appropriate and inexpensive technology for combating desertification and mitigating the effects of drought at the community level. Small trap dams may be built as a community project using local materials and local labor.     

平行磁场下电极材料对DBD降解亚甲基蓝的影响

采用介质阻挡放电等离子体技术,以镍,铁,钼,不锈钢4种材料作为电极,分别在有平行磁场和无平行磁场的条件下,考察了不同电极材料对亚甲基蓝降解率和能量利用率的影响.实验中发现电极材料的不同会影响亚甲基蓝的降解效果,其中镍电极在处理8min后亚甲基蓝降解率可达99%,降解效果最好,电极材料还会影响平行磁场对亚甲基蓝降解的促进效果,铁和镍电极的能量利用率相比无磁场时提高了约20%,而钼和不锈钢只有5%~10%.通过研究介质阻挡放电等离子体的产生机理和二次电子发射原理,发现这些差异是由电极材料的二次电子发射系数和磁导率的不同导致的,4种材料中铁的二次电子发射系数最大,电子雪崩过程中产生的高能电子更多,因此降解效果最好,铁和镍的磁导率最大,放电空间内的磁感应强度更高,因此平行磁场对亚甲基蓝降解率和能量利用率的提升更大.     

基于屏障理论的安全事故原因分析方法研究

本文系统介绍了基于屏障理论的事故原因分析方法,编制事件时间链图,完整还原事故发生经过,并通过屏障辨识及分析,确定事故的直接原因、间接原因和根本原因,为事故原因分析提供参考方法和工具。最后通过实际案例进行了应用和验证。     

Safety performance evaluation of cable median barriers on freeways in Florida

Objective: This article aims to evaluate the safety performance of cable median barriers on freeways in Florida.

Method: The safety performance evaluation was based on the percentages of barrier and median crossovers by vehicle type, crash severity, and cable median barrier type (Trinity Cable Safety System [CASS] and Gibraltar system). Twenty-three locations with cable median barriers totaling about 101 miles were identified. Police reports of 6,524 crashes from years 2005–2010 at these locations were reviewed to verify and obtain detailed crash information. A total of 549 crashes were determined to be barrier related (i.e., crashes involving vehicles hitting the cable median barrier) and were reviewed in further detail to identify crossover crashes and the manner in which the vehicles crossed the barriers; that is, by either overriding, underriding, or penetrating the barriers.

Results: Overall, 2.6% of vehicles that hit the cable median barrier crossed the median and traversed into the opposite travel lane. Overall, 98.1% of cars and 95.5% of light trucks that hit the barrier were prevented from crossing the median. In other words, 1.9% of cars and 4.5% of light trucks that hit the barrier had crossed the median and encroached on the opposite travel lanes. There is no significant difference in the performance of cable median barrier for cars versus light trucks in terms of crossover crashes. In terms of severity, overrides were more severe compared to underrides and penetrations. The statistics showed that the CASS and Gibraltar systems performed similarly in terms of crossover crashes. However, the Gibraltar system experienced a higher proportion of penetrations compared to the CASS system. The CASS system resulted in a slightly higher percentage of moderate and minor injury crashes compared to the Gibraltar system.

Conclusions: Cable median barriers are successful in preventing median crossover crashes; 97.4% of the cable median barrier crashes were prevented from crossing over the median. Of all of the vehicles that hit the barrier, 83.6% were either redirected or contained by the cable barrier system. Barrier crossover crashes were found to be more severe compared to barrier noncrossover crashes. In addition, overrides were found to be more severe compared to underrides and penetrations.