PLS-based EWMA fault detection strategy for process monitoring

Fault detection (FD) and diagnosis in industrial processes is essential to ensure process safety and maintain product quality. Partial least squares (PLS) has been used successfully in process monitoring because it can effectively deal with highly correlated process variables. However, the conventional PLS-based detection metrics, such as the Hotelling's T² and the Q statistics are ill suited to detect small faults because they only use information from the most recent observations. Other univariate statistical monitoring methods, such as the exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control scheme, has shown better abilities to detect small faults. However, EWMA can only be used to monitor single variables. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to combine the advantages of the univariate EWMA and PLS methods to enhance their performances and widen their applicability in practice. The performance of the proposed PLS-based EWMA FD method was compared with that of the conventional PLS FD method through two simulated examples, one using synthetic data and the other using simulated distillation column data. The simulation results clearly show the effectiveness of the proposed method over the conventional PLS, especially in the presence of faults with small magnitudes.     

The Thermal Discharges From Nuclear Power Plants in Taiwan

The increasing use of sea water for industrial cooling presents a real threat to the ecological environment in the ocean. in Taiwan where many electric power plants along the coast take sea water for cooling, people are concerned seriously about nuclear power plants. There are three nuclear power plants in Taiwan. Each plant has two units for generating power. the first two are located along the northern coast of Taiwan. the third is located in Kenting National Park along the coast of southernmost Taiwan. the plants take sea water for cooling, and discharge their heated effluents to the ocean surface from the coast. the thermal effluents have variable effects on the ecological environment near the plants. Fishermen living near the power plants complain that the heated water affects the inshore fishery catch. in addition, the thermal water from the second plant is easily accumulated near the coastal zone to influence the nearby swimming area in the summer-time. the thermal water from the third plant bleaches or kills some corals in shallow water near the outlet, and this conflicts with the interests of Kenting National Park.     

Paleosols of the Solonchanka IX site and climate of the Transural steppe zone in the fourth century AD

Studies on paleosols under an archaeological landmark of a rare type (a complex of kurgans with “whiskers”) dating from the Early Iron Age (the fourth century AD) have been performed in the steppe zone of the Transural Plateau. The size and shape of third-order soil polygons under stony ridges (“whiskers”) between the kurgans have been described in detail. The results have shown that the paleosol under the kurgans erected at the turn of the Late Sarmatian and Hun times (1600 years ago) is characterized by a higher humus content and deeper location of the carbonate horizon, compared to the recent soil. This indicates that an increase in atmospheric humidity took place in the fourth century AD.     

Isotope tracing of submarine groundwater discharge offshore Ubatuba, Brazil: results of the IAEA–UNESCO SGD project

Results of groundwater and seawater analyses for radioactive (³H, ²²²Rn, ²²³Ra, ²²⁴Ra, ²²⁶Ra, and ²²⁸Ra) and stable (D and ¹⁸O) isotopes are presented together with in situ spatial mapping and time series ²²²Rn measurements in seawater, direct seepage measurements using manual and automated seepage meters, pore water investigations using different tracers and piezometric techniques, and geoelectric surveys probing the coast. This study represents first time that such a new complex arsenal of radioactive and non-radioactive tracer techniques and geophysical methods have been used for simultaneous submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) investigations. Large fluctuations of SGD fluxes were observed at sites situated only a few meters apart (from 0 cm d⁻¹ to 360 cm d⁻¹; the unit represents cm³/cm²/day), as well as during a few hours (from 0 cm d⁻¹ to 110 cm d⁻¹), strongly depending on the tidal fluctuations. The average SGD flux estimated from continuous ²²²Rn measurements is 17 ± 10 cm d⁻¹. Integrated coastal SGD flux estimated for the Ubatuba coast using radium isotopes is about 7 × 10³ m³ d⁻¹ per km of the coast. The isotopic composition (δD and δ¹⁸O) of submarine waters was characterised by significant variability and heavy isotope enrichment, indicating that the contribution of groundwater in submarine waters varied from a small percentage to 20%. However, this contribution with increasing offshore distance became negligible. Automated seepage meters and time series measurements of ²²²Rn activity concentration showed a negative correlation between the SGD rates and tidal stage. This is likely caused by sea level changes as tidal effects induce variations of hydraulic gradients. The geoelectric probing and piezometric measurements contributed to better understanding of the spatial distribution of different water masses present along the coast. The radium isotope data showed scattered distributions with offshore distance, which imply that seawater in a complex coast with many small bays and islands was influenced by local currents and groundwater/seawater mixing. This has also been confirmed by a relatively short residence time of 1–2 weeks for water within 25 km offshore, as obtained by short-lived radium isotopes. The irregular distribution of SGD seen at Ubatuba is a characteristic of fractured rock aquifers, fed by coastal groundwater and recirculated seawater with small admixtures of groundwater, which is of potential environmental concern and has implications on the management of freshwater resources in the region.     

Relation between some variations of soil and surface vegetatio and desertization in agriculture-pasture interlacing zone an example from Kangbao County,North Hebei,China

The studied agriculture-pasture interlacing zone has its specific natural conditions,at which the natural systems are unstable ,their self-regulation capability is low and the equilibrium is easily broken, and hence the habitat is fairly vulnerable.During last 20 years the increasing population and livestock ,over-reclamation,over-pasturing,over-deforesting, and other intensified negative human activities in the zone resulted in coarsening of surface soil,decrease of organic mater content in soil, reduction of vegetation coverage ,variation and degradation of flora structure, and hence in desertization of the land, although average of gales and sandstorms some decreased and the climate tended to be better in the region.However, the frequent sandstorms occurring in the springs of last and present years has attracted much attention.Investigations confirmed that the main cause for the phenomena is the unreasonable human activites rater than the natural factors.     

祁连山—河西走廊地区5级以上地震前水氡短临异常特征

在充分整理单台水氡资料的基础上,对发生在祁连山—河西走廊活动断裂系的5级以上地震进行了短临阶段水氡异常的分析研究。内容主要包括:异常出现的频次、持续时间、异常结束到发震的时间、异常的范围等。进而对该地区5级以上地震水氡短临前兆异常的特征作了归纳。     

显微构造分析法和包裹体方法在断层研究中的应用

在工程建设中，工地及邻近地区的断层活动性是工程设计的一项重要依据。在总结以往研究的基础上，介绍了显微构造分析法和包裹体方法在断层活动性评价中的国内外最新研究成果。事实表明，这两种方法在工程地质领域具有良好的应用前景。     

Pressures,trends, and impacts in coastal zones: Interactions between socioeconomic and natural systems

This paper assesses the status of coastal zones in the context of expected climate change and its related impacts, as well as current and future socioeconomic pressures and impacts. It is argued that external stresses and shocks relating to sea-level rise and other changes will tend to exacerbate existing environmental pressures and damage in coastal zones. Coastal zones are under increasing stress because of an interrelated set of planning failures including information, economic market, and policy intervention failures. Moves towards integrated coastal zone management are urgently required to guide the coevolution of natural and human systems. Overtly technocentric claims that assessments of vulnerability undertaken to date are overestimates of likely future damages from global warming are premature. While it is the case that forecasts of sea-level rise have been scaled down, much uncertainty remains over, for example, combined storm, sea surge, and other events. In any case, within the socioeconomic analyses of the problem, resource valuations have been at best only partial and have failed to incorporate sensitivity analysis in terms of the discount rates utilized. This would indicate an underestimation of potential damage costs. Overall, a precautionary approach is justified based on the need to act ahead of adequate information acquisition, economically efficient resource pricing and proactive coastal planning.     

陕西泾阳4.8级地震前后重力变化与断裂活动

本文对泾阳Ms4．8级地震前后陕西关中地区流动重力观测资料和有关断裂垂直形变资料进行了分析研究。结果表明：①波速比高值区很可能存在地下深部地幔物质的入侵，由此引发地震和重力场的显著下降；②用震源机制解和GPS所作的运动矢量图可以较好地解释泾阳地震前后重力场时空演化特征及有关断裂活动——其变化是北西向剪切应力带作用的结果．