A new method to simulate the effects of viscous fingering on miscible displacement processes in porous media

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vossoughi, S.; Green, D.W.; Smith, J.E.

This paper presents a new method to simulate the effects of viscous fingering on miscible displacement processes in porous media. The method is based on the numerical solution of a general form of the convection-dispersion equation. In this equation the convection term is represented by a fractional flow function. The fractional flow function is derived from Darcy's law using a concentration-dependent, average viscosity and relative flow area to each fluid at any point in the bed. The method was extended to the description of a polymer flood by including retention and inaccessible pore volume. A Langmuir-type model for polymer retentionmore » in the rock was used. The resulting convection-dispersion equation for displacement by polymer was then solved numerically by the use of a finite element method with linear basis functions and Crank-Nicholson derivative approximation. History matches were performed on four sets of laboratory data to verify the model. These were: an unfavorable viscosity ratio displacement, stable displacement of glycerol by polymer solution, unstable displacement of brine by a slug of polymer solution, and a favorable viscosity ratio displacement. In general, computed results from the model matched laboratory data closely. Good agreement of the model with experiments over a significant range of variables lends support to the analysis.« less

CO 2 Storage and Enhanced Oil Recovery: Bald Unit Test Site, Mumford Hills Oil Field, Posey County, Indiana

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Frailey, Scott M.; Krapac, Ivan G.; Damico, James R.

2012-03-30

The Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium (MGSC) carried out a small-scale carbon dioxide (CO 2) injection test in a sandstone within the Clore Formation (Mississippian System, Chesterian Series) in order to gauge the large-scale CO 2 storage that might be realized from enhanced oil recovery (EOR) of mature Illinois Basin oil fields via miscible liquid CO 2 flooding.

4D seismic monitoring of the miscible CO2 flood of Hall-Gurney Field, Kansas, U.S

USGS Publications Warehouse

Raef, A.E.; Miller, R.D.; Byrnes, A.P.; Harrison, W.E.

2004-01-01

A cost-effective, highly repeatable, 4D-optimized, single-pattern/patch seismic data-acquisition approach with several 3D data sets was used to evaluate the feasibility of imaging changes associated with the " water alternated with gas" (WAG) stage. By incorporating noninversion-based seismic-attribute analysis, the time and cost of processing and interpreting the data were reduced. A 24-ms-thick EOR-CO 2 injection interval-using an average instantaneous frequency attribute (AIF) was targeted. Changes in amplitude response related to decrease in velocity from pore-fluid replacement within this time interval were found to be lower relative to background values than in AIF analysis. Carefully color-balanced AIF-attribute maps established the overall area affected by the injected EOR-CO2.

Transient Interfacial Phenomena in Miscible Polymer Systems (TIPMPS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pojman, John A.; Bessonov, Nicholas; Volpert, Vitaly; Wilke, Hermann

2003-01-01

Almost one hundred years ago Korteweg published a theory of how stresses could be induced in miscible fluids by concentration gradients, causing phenomena that would appear to be the same as with immiscible fluids. Miscible fluids could manifest a transient or effective interfacial tension (EIT). To this day, there has been no definitive experiment to confirm Korteweg's model but numerous fascinating and suggestive experiments have been reported. The goal of TIPMPS is to answer the question: Can concentration and temperature gradients in miscible materials induce stresses that cause convection? Many polymer processes involving miscible monomer and polymer systems could be affected by fluid flow and so this work could help understand miscible polymer processing, not only in microgravity, but also on earth. Demonstrating the existence of this phenomenon in miscible fluids will open up a new area of study for materials science. The science objectives of TIPMPS are: (1) Determine if convection can be induced by variation of the width of a miscible interface; (2) Determine if convection can be induced by variation of temperature along a miscible interface; (3) Determine if convection can be induced by variation of conversion along a miscible interface An interface between two miscible fluids can best be created via a spatially-selective photopolymerization of dodecyl acrylate with a photoinitiator, which allows the creation of precise and accurate concentration gradients between polymer and monomer. Optical techniques will be used to measure the refractive index variation caused by the resultant temperature and concentration fields. The viscosity of the polymer will be measured from the increase in the fluorescence of pyrene. Because the large concentration and temperature gradients cause buoyancy-driven convection that prevents the observation of the predicted flows, the experiment must be done in microgravity. In this report, we will consider our efforts to estimate the square gradient parameter, k, and our use of the estimates in modeling of the planned TIPMPS experiments. We developed a model consisting of the heat and diffusion equations with convective terms and of the Navier-Stokes equations with an additional volume force written in the form of the Korteweg stresses arising from nonlocal interaction in the fluid. The fluid's viscosity dependence on polymer conversion and temperature was taken from measurements of poly(dodecyl acrylate). Numerical modeling demonstrated that significant flows would arise for conditions corresponding to the planned experiments.

Dynamic stabilization of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability of miscible liquids and the related "frozen waves"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wolf, Gerd Gerhard H.

2018-02-01

Superimposed miscible liquids, the heavier one on top, when subjected to vibrations vertical to their interface (dynamic stabilization), can only be maintained for a certain period. A mechanism is presented explaining the resulting process of degradation and "anomalous diffusion" through that interface. Superimposed liquids, the lighter one on top, exposed to horizontal vibrations, develop a saw-tooth-like pattern called "frozen waves." These are subject to conditions similar to those of dynamic stabilization and, if miscible, thus can also only be maintained for a certain period. A further analysis of these processes would be desirable, also in view of their relation to analogue phenomena.

The Quarantine Bay 4RC CO/sub 2/-WAG pilot project: A post-flood evaluation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hsie, J.C.; Moore, J.S.

1986-01-01

This paper reviews the design, implementation, and performance of a miscible CO/sub 2/ - WAG (water-alternating-gas) project in a Gulf Coast reservoir. The field test data obtained since the inception of the project in October 1981 are presented, and solutions to operational problems such as downhole corrosion are discussed. Remarkable project response and recovery demonstrated that the CO/sub 2/-WAG process is technically viable for mobilizing considerable amounts of residual oil from watered-out Miocene reservoirs. A 14.7% recovery of original-oil-in-place (OOIP) was obtained using a CO/sub 2/ slug size of 18.9% original hydrocarbon pore volume (HCPV). The CO/sub 2/ requirement wasmore » 2.95 Mcf/bbl (531 m/sup 3//m/sup 3/) of oil recovered.« less

Drop impact onto a thin film: Miscibility effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Ningli; Chen, H.; Amirfazli, A.

2017-09-01

In this work a systematic experimental study was performed to understand the process of liquid drop impact onto a thin film made of a different liquid from drop. The drop and film liquids can be miscible or immiscible. Three general outcomes of deposition, crown formation without splashing, and splashing, were observed in the advancing phase of the drop impact onto a solid surface covered by either a miscible or an immiscible thin film. However, for a miscible film, a larger Weber number and film thickness are needed for the formation of a crown and splashing comparing with immiscible cases. The advancing phase of drop impact onto a thin immiscible film with a large viscosity is similar to that of drop impact onto a dry surface; for a miscible film viscous film, the behavior is far from that of a dry surface. The behavior of liquid lamella in the receding phase of drop impact onto a thin miscible film is reported for the first time. The results show that immiscibility is not a necessary condition for the existence of a receding phase. The existence of a receding phase is highly dependent on the interfacial tension between the drop and the film. The miscibility can significantly affect the receding morphology as it will cause mixing of the two liquids.

Comparison of oil removal in surfactant alternating gas with water alternating gas, water flooding and gas flooding in secondary oil recovery process.

PubMed

Salehi, Mehdi Mohammad; Safarzadeh, Mohammad Amin; Sahraei, Eghbal; Nejad, Seyyed Alireza Tabatabaei

2014-08-01

Growing oil prices coupled with large amounts of residual oil after operating common enhanced oil recovery methods has made using methods with higher operational cost economically feasible. Nitrogen is one of the gases used in both miscible and immiscible gas injection process in oil reservoir. In heterogeneous formations gas tends to breakthrough early in production wells due to overriding, fingering and channeling. Surfactant alternating gas (SAG) injection is one of the methods commonly used to decrease this problem. Foam which is formed on the contact of nitrogen and surfactant increases viscosity of injected gas. This increases the oil-gas contact and sweep efficiency, although adsorption of surfactant on rock surface can causes difficulties and increases costs of process. Many parameters must be considered in design of SAG process. One of the most important parameters is SAG ratio that should be in optimum value to improve the flooding efficiency. In this study, initially the concentration of surfactant was optimized due to minimization of adsorption on rock surface which results in lower cost of surfactant. So, different sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) concentrations of 100, 500, 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 ppm were used to obtain the optimum concentration at 70 °C and 144.74×10 5  Pa. A simple, clean and relatively fast spectrophotometric method was used for determination of surfactant which is based on the formation of an ion-pair. Then the effect of surfactant to gas volume ratio on oil recovery in secondary oil recovery process during execution of immiscible surfactant alternating gas injection was examined experimentally. The experiments were performed with sand pack under certain temperature, pressure and constant rate. Experiments were performed with surfactant to gas ratio of 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 2:1 and 3:1 and 1.2 pore volume injected. Then, comparisons were made between obtained results (SAG) with water flooding, gas flooding and water alternating gas (WAG) processes. This study shows that using the concentration of 1500 ppm of surfactant solution is practical and economical. Results also show that the SAG ratio of 1:1 with 0.2 cm 3 /min at temperature and pressure of 70 °C and 144.74×10 5  Pa, has the maximum oil removal efficiency. In this SAG ratio, stable foam was formed and viscous fingering delayed in comparison to other ratios. Finally, the results demonstrated that SAG injection has higher oil recovery in comparison to other displacement methods (water flooding, gas flooding and WAG).

Flash-point prediction for binary partially miscible mixtures of flammable solvents.

PubMed

Liaw, Horng-Jang; Lu, Wen-Hung; Gerbaud, Vincent; Chen, Chan-Cheng

2008-05-30

Flash point is the most important variable used to characterize fire and explosion hazard of liquids. Herein, partially miscible mixtures are presented within the context of liquid-liquid extraction processes. This paper describes development of a model for predicting the flash point of binary partially miscible mixtures of flammable solvents. To confirm the predictive efficacy of the derived flash points, the model was verified by comparing the predicted values with the experimental data for the studied mixtures: methanol+octane; methanol+decane; acetone+decane; methanol+2,2,4-trimethylpentane; and, ethanol+tetradecane. Our results reveal that immiscibility in the two liquid phases should not be ignored in the prediction of flash point. Overall, the predictive results of this proposed model describe the experimental data well. Based on this evidence, therefore, it appears reasonable to suggest potential application for our model in assessment of fire and explosion hazards, and development of inherently safer designs for chemical processes containing binary partially miscible mixtures of flammable solvents.

Mixing in three-phase systems: Implications for enhanced oil recovery and unconventional gas extraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jimenez-Martinez, J.; Porter, M. L.; Hyman, J.; Carey, J. W.; Viswanathan, H. S.

2015-12-01

Although the mixing of fluids within a porous media is a common process in natural and industrial systems, how the degree of mixing depends on the miscibility of multiple phases is poorly characterized. Often, the direct consequence of miscible mixing is the modification of the resident fluid (brine and hydrocarbons) rheological properties. We investigate supercritical (sc)CO2 displacement and mixing processes in a three-phase system (scCO2, oil, and H2O) using a microfluidics experimental system that accommodates the high pressures and temperatures encountered in fossil fuel extraction operations. The miscibility of scCO2 with the resident fluids, low with aqueous solutions and high with hydrocarbons, impacts the mixing processes that control sweep efficiency in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and the unlocking of the system in unconventional oil and gas extraction. Using standard volume-averaging techniques we upscale the aqueous phase saturation to the field-scale (i.e., Darcy scale) and interpret the results as a simpler two-phase system. This process allows us to perform a statistical analysis to quantify i) the degree of heterogeneity in the system resulting from the immiscible H2O and ii) how that heterogeneity impacts mixing between scCO2 and oil and their displacement. Our results show that when scCO2 is used for miscible displacement, the presence of an aqueous solution, which is common in secondary and tertiary EOR and unconventional oil and gas extraction, strongly impacts the mixing of scCO2 with the hydrocarbons due to low scCO2-H2O miscibility. H2O, which must be displaced advectively by the injected scCO2, introduces spatio-temporal variability into the system that acts as a barrier between the two miscibile fluids. This coupled with the effect of viscosity contrast, i.e., viscous fingering, has an impact on the mixing of the more miscible pair.

Deformation of interface in a partially miscible system during favorable displacement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suzuki, Ryuta; Nagatsu, Yuichiro; Mishra, Manoranjan; Ban, Takahiko

2017-11-01

The Saffman-Taylor instability triggers a well-known viscous fingering (VF, called unfavorable displacement), occurring when a less viscous fluid displaces a more viscous one in porous media or in a Hele-Shaw cell because the boundary of the two fluids becomes hydrodynamically unstable. In the reverse situation (called favorable displacement) in which a more viscous fluid displaces a less viscous one, no instabilities occur due to hydrodynamically stable system. It has been reported that the favorable displacements become unstable by several physicochemical effects. So far, studies of both displacements have focused on fluids that are either fully miscible or immiscible. However, little attention has been paid to displacements in partially miscible system. Here, we have discovered that a partial miscibility triggers fingering instability in a favorable displacement without any chemical reactions. The occurrence of this new instability is induced by not hydrodynamic effects but a thermodynamic effect that is so-called Korteweg effect in which convection is induced during phase separation process in a partially miscible system.

Viscous fingering with partially miscible fluids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Xiaojing; Cueto-Felgueroso, Luis; Juanes, Ruben

2017-10-01

Viscous fingering—the fluid-mechanical instability that takes place when a low-viscosity fluid displaces a high-viscosity fluid—has traditionally been studied under either fully miscible or fully immiscible fluid systems. Here we study the impact of partial miscibility (a common occurrence in practice) on the fingering dynamics. Through a careful design of the thermodynamic free energy of a binary mixture, we develop a phase-field model of fluid-fluid displacements in a Hele-Shaw cell for the general case in which the two fluids have limited (but nonzero) solubility into one another. We show, by means of high-resolution numerical simulations, that partial miscibility exerts a powerful control on the degree of fingering: fluid dissolution hinders fingering while fluid exsolution enhances fingering. We also show that, as a result of the interplay between compositional exchange and the hydrodynamic pattern-forming process, stronger fingering promotes the system to approach thermodynamic equilibrium more quickly.

Role of Thickness Confinement on Relaxations of the Fast Component in a Miscible A/B Blend

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Green, Peter; Sharma, Ravi P.; Dong, Ban Xuan

Spatial compositional heterogeneity strongly influences the dynamics of the A and B components of bulk miscible blends. Its effects are especially apparent in mixtures, such as poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME)/polystyrene (PS), where there exist significant disparities between the component glass transition temperatures (Tgs) and relaxation times. The relaxation processes characterized by distinct temperature dependencies and relaxation rates manifest different local compositional environments for temperatures above and below the glass transition temperature of the miscible blend. This same behavior is shown to exist in miscible PS/PVME films as thin as 100 nm. Moreover, in thin films, the characteristic segmental relaxation timesmore » t of the PVME component of miscible PVME/PS blends confined between aluminum (Al) substrates decrease with increasing molecular weight M of the PS component. These relaxation rates are film thickness dependent, in films up to a few hundred nanometers in thickness. This is in remarkable contrast to homopolymer films, where thickness confinement effects are apparent only on length scales on the order of nanometers. These surprisingly large length scales and M dependence are associated with the preferential interfacial enrichment - wetting layer formation - of the PVME component at the external Al interfaces, which alters the local spatial blend composition within the interior of the film. The implications are that the dynamics of miscible thin film blends are dictated in part by component Tg differences, disparities in component relaxation rates, component-substrate interactions, and chain lengths (entropy of mixing).« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

P. Somasundaran

The aim of the project is to develop a knowledge base to help the design of enhanced processes for mobilizing and extracting untrapped oil. We emphasize evaluation of novel surfactant mixtures and obtaining optimum combinations of the surfactants for efficient chemical flooding EOR processes. In this regard, an understanding of the aggregate shape, size and structure is crucial since these properties govern the crude oil removal efficiency. During the three-year period, the adsorption and aggregation behavior of sugar-based surfactants and their mixtures with other types of surfactants have been studied. Sugar-based surfactants are made from renewable resources, nontoxic and biodegradable.more » They are miscible with water and oil. These environmentally benign surfactants feature high surface activity, good salinity, calcium and temperature tolerance, and unique adsorption behavior. They possess the characteristics required for oil flooding surfactants and have the potential for replacing currently used surfactants in oil recovery. A novel analytical ultracentrifugation technique has been successfully employed for the first time, to characterize the aggregate species present in mixed micellar solution due to its powerful ability to separate particles based on their size and shape and monitor them simultaneously. Analytical ultracentrifugation offers an unprecedented opportunity to obtain important information on mixed micelles, structure-performance relationship for different surfactant aggregates in solution and their role in interfacial processes. Initial sedimentation velocity investigations were conducted using nonyl phenol ethoxylated decyl ether (NP-10) to choose the best analytical protocol, calculate the partial specific volume and obtain information on sedimentation coefficient, aggregation mass of micelles. Four softwares: OptimaTM XL-A/XL-I data analysis software, DCDT+, Svedberg and SEDFIT, were compared for the analysis of sedimentation velocity experimental data. The results have been compared to that from Light Scattering. Based on the tests, Svedberg and SEDFIT analysis were chosen for further studies.« less

Preparation and Analysis of Co-precipitated, Biodegradable Poly-(Lactide-co-Glycolide) and Polyethylene Glycol Microspheres Prepared by Spray Drying

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Javiya, Curie

Biodegradable poly-(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) based microspheres are commonly used for numerous clinical applications. PEG is a widely used polymer due to its hydrophilic, biocompatible, and nontoxic nature. In this study, different blends of PLGA/PEG microspheres were prepared using a spray drying technique. The microspheres were spherical with maximum yield found to be 60.3% and average particle size in the range of 2.4 to 3.1 microm. Under the spray drying processing conditions, the polymers showed full miscibility slightly below 15% w/w and partial miscibility up to 20% w/w of PEG in the blended microspheres. At higher temperatures, PLGA and PEG were miscible in all proportions used for the blended microspheres. Blending 10% w/w PEG in PLGA membranes showed significant reduction in attachment of macrophages compared to PLGA membranes. The in-vitro response of macrophage towards the miscible blends of PLGA/PEG microspheres was further characterized. Results showed some reduction in macrophage viability and activation, however, significant effects with PLGA/PEG microspheres were not observed.

Miscibility Studies on Polymer Blends Modified with Phytochemicals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandrasekaran, Neelakandan; Kyu, Thein

2009-03-01

The miscibility studies related to an amorphous poly(amide)/poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) [PA/PVP] blend with a crystalline phytochemical called ``Mangiferin'' is presented. Phytochemicals are plant derived chemicals which intrinsically possess multiple salubrious properties that are associated with prevention of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension. Incorporation of phytochemicals into polymers has shown to have very promising applications in wound healing, drug delivery, etc. The morphology of these materials is crucial to applications like hemodialysis, which is governed by thermodynamics and kinetics of the phase separation process. Hence, miscibility studies of PA/PVP blends with and without mangiferin have been carried out using dimethyl sulfoxide as a common solvent. Differential scanning calorimetry studies revealed that the binary PA/PVP blends were completely miscible at all compositions. However, the addition of mangiferin has led to liquid-liquid phase separation and liquid-solid phase transition in a composition dependent manner. Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy was undertaken to determine specific interaction between the polymer constituents and the role of possible hydrogen bonding among three constituents will be discussed.

Field-scale simulation of chemical flooding

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Saad, N.

1989-01-01

A three-dimensional compositional chemical flooding simulator (UTCHEM) has been improved. The new mathematical formulation, boundary conditions, and a description of the physicochemical models of the simulator are presented. This improved simulator has been used for the study of the low tension pilot project at the Big Muddy field near Casper, Wyoming. Both the tracer injection conducted prior to the injection of the chemical slug, and the chemical flooding stages of the pilot project, have been analyzed. Not only the oil recovery but also the tracers, polymer, alcohol and chloride histories have been successfully matched with field results. Simulation results indicatemore » that, for this fresh water reservoir, the salinity gradient during the preflush and the resulting calcium pickup by the surfactant slug played a major role in the success of the project. In addition, analysis of the effects of the crossflow on the performance of the pilot project indicates that, for the well spacing of the pilot, crossflow does not play as important a role as it might for a large-scale project. To improve the numerical efficiency of the simulator, a third order convective differencing scheme has been applied to the simulator. This method can be used with non-uniform mesh, and therefore is suited for simulation studies of large-scale multiwell heterogeneous reservoirs. Comparison of the results with one and two dimensional analytical solutions shows that this method is effective in eliminating numerical dispersion using relatively large grid blocks. Results of one, two and three-dimensional miscible water/tracer flow, water flooding, polymer flooding, and micellar-polymer flooding test problems, and results of grid orientation studies, are presented.« less

Post waterflood CO{sub 2} miscible flood in light oil fluvial: Dominated deltaic reservoirs. Third quarterly report, April 1, 1995--June 30, 1995

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1995-07-15

Production from the Marg Area 1 at Port Neches is averaging 337 BOPD for this quarter. The production drop is due to fluctuation in both GOR and BS&W on various producing wells, low water injectivity in the reservoir and shut-in one producing well to perform a workover to replace a failed gravel pack setting. Coil tubing work was performed on 2 injection wells in order to resume injection of water and CO{sub 2} in the reservoir. The Marg Area 2 did not respond favorably to CO{sub 2} injection in the Kuhn No. 6 well. For this reason Texaco will notmore » pursue any further development of this section of the reservoir due mainly to low target reserves. Instead Texaco will reallocate the money to a new Marg segment (Marg Area 3) in order to test a new process that will utilize the CO{sub 2} to accelerate the primary production rates and reduce cycle time. Also the process should reduce water disposal cost, cash lifting cost, operating cost and increase the NPV of the reserves.« less

Molecular driving forces behind the tetrahydrofuran–water miscibility gap

DOE PAGES

Smith, Micholas Dean; Mostofian, Barmak; Petridis, Loukas; ...

2016-01-06

The tetrahydrofuran water binary system exhibits an unusual closed-loop miscibility gap (transitions from a miscible regime to an immiscible regime back to another miscible regime as the temperature increases). Here, using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, we probe the structural and dynamical behavior of the binary system in the temperature regime of this gap at four different mass ratios, and we compare the behavior of bulk water and tetrahydrofuran. The changes in structure and dynamics observed in the simulations indicate that the temperature region associated with the miscibility gap is distinctive. Within the miscibility-gap temperature region, the self diffusion of watermore » is significantly altered and the second virial coefficients (pair interaction strengths) show parabolic-like behavior. Altogether, the results suggest that the gap is the result of differing trends with temperature of minor structural changes, which produces interaction virials with parabolic temperature dependence near the miscibility gap.« less

CO/sub 2/ line design needs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Recht, D.L.

Large volumes of carbon dioxide are required for tertiary oil recovery projects that utilize the carbon dioxide miscible flooding method. Carbon dioxide can be successfully transported as a supercritical fluid through a pipeline designed and operated similar to a natural gas pipeline, with careful consideration given to specific differences in design and materials of construction. Carbon dioxide is a colorless, odorless, nonflammable, non-toxic substance that may exist as a gas, as a liquid, as a solid, or in all three forms at its triple point. The critical pressure and temperature of CO/sub 2/ are 1,070 psia and 88/sup 0/F, respectively.more » It is present in the normal atmosphere in a concentration of approximately 330 ppm, and somewhat higher concentrations may occur in occupied buildings. Air in lungs contains approximately 5.5% (55,000 ppm) of CO/sub 2/. Although it is non-toxic, air containing 10% to 20% CO/sub 2/ concentrations by volume is immediately hazardous to life by causing unconsciousness, failure of respiratory muscles, and a change in the pH of the blood stream. Carbon dioxide is commonly used for carbonated beverages, aerosol propellants, fire extinguishers, enrichment of air in greenhouses, fracturing and acidizing of oil wells, as a shielding gas for welding, and as dry ice for refrigeration. In tertiary recovery projects of suitable oil reservoirs, CO/sub 2/ is injected into the formation where it dissolves in the oil, swells the oil, reduces the oil's viscosity, exerts an acidic effect on the reservoir rock (in some cases), and vaporizes some of the oil. As a rough rule of thumb, approximately 6 to 10 mcf of CO/sub 2/ are required to be injected for recovery of 1 bbl of oil. Carbon dioxide miscible flooding will recover approximately 10% to 15% of the oil remaining in place after a waterflood program.« less

Integrated Reservoir Modeling of CO2-EOR Performance and Storage Potential in the Farnsworth Field Unit, Texas.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ampomah, W.; Balch, R. S.; Cather, M.; Dai, Z.

2017-12-01

We present a performance assessment methodology and storage potential for CO2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in partially depleted reservoirs. A three dimensional heterogeneous reservoir model was developed based on geological, geophysics and engineering data from Farnsworth field Unit (FWU). The model aided in improved characterization of prominent rock properties within the Pennsylvanian aged Morrow sandstone reservoir. Seismic attributes illuminated previously unknown faults and structural elements within the field. A laboratory fluid analysis was tuned to an equation of state and subsequently used to predict the thermodynamic minimum miscible pressure (MMP). Datasets including net-to-gross ratio, volume of shale, permeability, and burial history were used to model initial fault transmissibility based on Sperivick model. An improved history match of primary and secondary recovery was performed to set the basis for a CO2 flood study. The performance of the current CO2 miscible flood patterns was subsequently calibrated to historical production and injection data. Several prediction models were constructed to study the effect of recycling, addition of wells and /or new patterns, water alternating gas (WAG) cycles and optimum amount of CO2 purchase on incremental oil production and CO2 storage in the FWU. The history matching study successfully validated the presence of the previously undetected faults within FWU that were seen in the seismic survey. The analysis of the various prediction scenarios showed that recycling a high percentage of produced gas, addition of new wells and a gradual reduction in CO2 purchase after several years of operation would be the best approach to ensure a high percentage of recoverable incremental oil and sequestration of anthropogenic CO2 within the Morrow reservoir. Larger percentage of stored CO2 were dissolved in residual oil and less amount existed as supercritical free CO2. The geomechanical analysis on the caprock proved to an excellent seal to ensure long-term security of injected CO2.

Investigation of immiscible systems and potential applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Markworth, A. J.; Oldfield, W.; Duga, J.; Gelles, S. H.

1975-01-01

The droplet coalescence kinetics at 0 g and 1 g were considered for two systems which contained liquid droplets in a host liquid. One of these (Al-In) typified a system containing a liquid phase miscibility gap and the order (oil-water) a mixture of two essentially insoluble liquids. A number of coalescence mechanisms potentially prominent at low g in this system were analyzed and explanations are presented for the observed unusual stability of the emulsion. Ground base experiments were conducted on the coalescence of In droplets in and Al-In alloy during cooling through the miscibility gap at different cooling rates. These were in qualitative agreement with the computer simulation. Potential applications for systems with liquid phase miscibility gaps were explored. Possibilities included superconductors, electrical contact materials, superplastic materials, catalysts, magnetic materials, and others. The role of space processing in their production was also analyzed.

Computer-aided method for the determination of Hansen solubility parameters. Application to the miscibility of refrigerating lubricant and new refrigerant

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Remigy, J.C.; Nakache, E.; Brechot, P.D.

This article presents a method which allows one to find the Hansen solubility parameters by means of data processing. In the first part, the authors present the thermodynamical principle of Hansen parameters, and then they explain the model used to find parameters from experimental data. They validate the method by studying the solubility parameters of CFC-12 (dichlorodifluoromethane), HFC-134a (1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane), neopentylglycol esters, trimethylolpropane esters, dipentaerythritol esters, and pentaerythritol esters. Then, the variation of Hansen parameters are studied as well as the relation between the miscibility temperature (the temperature at which a blend passes from the miscible state to the immiscible state)more » and the interaction distance. The authors establish the critical interaction distance of HFC-134a which determines the solubility limit and they study its variation with temperature.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thomas C. Chidsey, Jr.

The Paradox Basin of Utah, Colorado, and Arizona contains nearly 100 small oil fields producing from shallow-shelf carbonate buildups or mounds within the Desert Creek zone of the Pennsylvanian (Desmoinesian) Paradox Formation. These fields typically have one to four wells with primary production ranging from 700,000 to 2,000,000 barrels (111,300-318,000 m{sup 3}) of oil per field at a 15 to 20 percent recovery rate. Five fields in southeastern Utah were evaluated for waterflood or carbon-dioxide (CO{sub 2})-miscible flood projects based upon geological characterization and reservoir modeling. Geological characterization on a local scale focused on reservoir heterogeneity, quality, and lateral continuitymore » as well as possible compartmentalization within each of the five project fields. The Desert Creek zone includes three generalized facies belts: (1) open-marine, (2) shallow-shelf and shelf-margin, and (3) intra-shelf, salinity-restricted facies. These deposits have modern analogs near the coasts of the Bahamas, Florida, and Australia, respectively, and outcrop analogs along the San Juan River of southeastern Utah. The analogs display reservoir heterogeneity, flow barriers and baffles, and lithofacies geometry observed in the fields; thus, these properties were incorporated in the reservoir simulation models. Productive carbonate buildups consist of three types: (1) phylloid algal, (2) coralline algal, and (3) bryozoan. Phylloid-algal buildups have a mound-core interval and a supra-mound interval. Hydrocarbons are stratigraphically trapped in porous and permeable lithotypes within the mound-core intervals of the lower part of the buildups and the more heterogeneous supramound intervals. To adequately represent the observed spatial heterogeneities in reservoir properties, the phylloid-algal bafflestones of the mound-core interval and the dolomites of the overlying supra-mound interval were subdivided into ten architecturally distinct lithotypes, each of which exhibits a characteristic set of reservoir properties obtained from outcrop analogs, cores, and geophysical logs. The Anasazi and Runway fields were selected for geostatistical modeling and reservoir compositional simulations. Models and simulations incorporated variations in carbonate lithotypes, porosity, and permeability to accurately predict reservoir responses. History matches tied previous production and reservoir pressure histories so that future reservoir performances could be confidently predicted. The simulation studies showed that despite most of the production being from the mound-core intervals, there were no corresponding decreases in the oil in place in these intervals. This behavior indicates gravity drainage of oil from the supra-mound intervals into the lower mound-core intervals from which the producing wells' major share of production arises. The key to increasing ultimate recovery from these fields (and similar fields in the basin) is to design either waterflood or CO{sub 2}-miscible flood projects capable of forcing oil from high-storage-capacity but low-recovery supra-mound units into the high-recovery mound-core units. Simulation of Anasazi field shows that a CO{sub 2} flood is technically superior to a waterflood and economically feasible. For Anasazi field, an optimized CO{sub 2} flood is predicted to recover a total 4.21 million barrels (0.67 million m3) of oil representing in excess of 89 percent of the original oil in place. For Runway field, the best CO{sub 2} flood is predicted to recover a total of 2.4 million barrels (0.38 million m3) of oil representing 71 percent of the original oil in place. If the CO{sub 2} flood performed as predicted, it is a financially robust process for increasing the reserves in the many small fields in the Paradox Basin. The results can be applied to other fields in the Rocky Mountain region, the Michigan and Illinois Basins, and the Midcontinent.« less

Evidence of a miscibility gap in the FeTe1-xSex polycrystalline samples prepared with a melting process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sala, A.; Palenzona, A.; Bernini, C.; Caglieris, F.; Cimberle, M. R.; Ferdeghini, C.; Lamura, G.; Martinelli, A.; Pani, M.; Hecher, J.; Eisterer, M.; Putti, M.

2014-05-01

The study of overdoped FeTe1-xSex (0.5 < x < 1) polycrystalline superconductor samples is reported. The samples were prepared using a melting technique previously developed by our group. Increasing the Se content a phase separation related to the formation of FeSe inside the Fe(Se,Te) phase happens, as demonstrated by structural analysis and magnetic characterization. The proposed phase separation picture is likely the fingerprint of a miscibility gap in the Fe(Se,Te) system.

Miscibility and Morphology of Poly(lactic ACID)/POLY(Β-HYDROXYBUTYRATE) Blends

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tri Phuong, Nguyen; Guinault, Alain; Sollogoub, Cyrille

2011-01-01

The miscibility and morphology of poly(lactic)acid (PLA)/polyβ-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) prepared by melt blending method were investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), melt rheology and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations. FTIR and DSC methods present some limits to examine the miscibility state of PLA/PHB blends. This drawback can be overcome with the Cole-Cole method by observing the η" = f(η') curves to confirm the miscibility of semicrystalline PLA/ semicrystalline PHB blends. MEB micrographs of fractured surface of blends were also used to investigate the miscibility of these blends.

Solubility and Speciation in the Water-Carbon Dioxide System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abramson, E.; Bollengier, O.; Brown, J. M.

2016-12-01

The fluid-fluid miscibility surface of the water-carbon dioxide system contains broad regions (in pressure-composition space) exhibiting gradual variations in the temperature of miscibility; this is as expected. However, there is additionally a line of pressure, extending from roughly 2 GPa and 20 mole% CO2 to 6 GPa and 40 mole%, above which the temperature necessary to complete miscibility falls precipitously. This line, which closely approximates a hard limit, is hypothesized to demark a shift in speciation of dissolved CO2. In the same region of pressure the equilibrium limits of a new solid phase, composed of both water and CO2, have been determined. This new phase, the IR and Raman spectra of which led Wang et al.* to ascribe it to carbonic acid, has an observed associated aqueous form which must, in addition to the well-known bicarbonate and carbonate ions, affect the miscibilities of the system. Since zones of rapid subduction are expected to experience the regions of temperatures and pressures at which these equilibria are observed to shift, the chemical nature of these fluids is expected to undergo significant changes during the subduction process. * Wang H., Zeuschner J., Eremets M., Troyan I. and Willams J. (2016) Sci. Rep. 6, 19902-1-8

Overview of a compre­hensive resource database for the assessment of recoverable hydrocarbons produced by carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery

USGS Publications Warehouse

Carolus, Marshall; Biglarbigi, Khosrow; Warwick, Peter D.; Attanasi, Emil D.; Freeman, Philip A.; Lohr, Celeste D.

2017-10-24

A database called the “Comprehensive Resource Database” (CRD) was prepared to support U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessments of technically recoverable hydrocarbons that might result from the injection of miscible or immiscible carbon dioxide (CO2) for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The CRD was designed by INTEK Inc., a consulting company under contract to the USGS. The CRD contains data on the location, key petrophysical properties, production, and well counts (number of wells) for the major oil and gas reservoirs in onshore areas and State waters of the conterminous United States and Alaska. The CRD includes proprietary data on petrophysical properties of fields and reservoirs from the “Significant Oil and Gas Fields of the United States Database,” prepared by Nehring Associates in 2012, and proprietary production and drilling data from the “Petroleum Information Data Model Relational U.S. Well Data,” prepared by IHS Inc. in 2012. This report describes the CRD and the computer algorithms used to (1) estimate missing reservoir property values in the Nehring Associates (2012) database, and to (2) generate values of additional properties used to characterize reservoirs suitable for miscible or immiscible CO2 flooding for EOR. Because of the proprietary nature of the data and contractual obligations, the CRD and actual data from Nehring Associates (2012) and IHS Inc. (2012) cannot be presented in this report.

Using CO2 Prophet to estimate recovery factors for carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery

USGS Publications Warehouse

Attanasi, Emil D.

2017-07-17

IntroductionThe Oil and Gas Journal’s enhanced oil recovery (EOR) survey for 2014 (Koottungal, 2014) showed that gas injection is the most frequently applied method of EOR in the United States and that carbon dioxide (CO2 ) is the most commonly used injection fluid for miscible operations. The CO2-EOR process typically follows primary and secondary (waterflood) phases of oil reservoir development. The common objective of implementing a CO2-EOR program is to produce oil that remains after the economic limit of waterflood recovery is reached. Under conditions of miscibility or multicontact miscibility, the injected CO2 partitions between the gas and liquid CO2 phases, swells the oil, and reduces the viscosity of the residual oil so that the lighter fractions of the oil vaporize and mix with the CO2 gas phase (Teletzke and others, 2005). Miscibility occurs when the reservoir pressure is at least at the minimum miscibility pressure (MMP). The MMP depends, in turn, on oil composition, impurities of the CO2 injection stream, and reservoir temperature. At pressures below the MMP, component partitioning, oil swelling, and viscosity reduction occur, but the efficiency is increasingly reduced as the pressure falls farther below the MMP. CO2-EOR processes are applied at the reservoir level, where a reservoir is defined as an underground formation containing an individual and separate pool of producible hydrocarbons that is confined by impermeable rock or water barriers and is characterized by a single natural pressure system. A field may consist of a single reservoir or multiple reservoirs that are not in communication but which may be associated with or related to a single structural or stratigraphic feature (U.S. Energy Information Administration [EIA], 2000). The purpose of modeling the CO2-EOR process is discussed along with the potential CO2-EOR predictive models. The data demands of models and the scope of the assessments require tradeoffs between reservoir-specific data that can be assembled and simplifying assumptions that allow assignment of default values for some reservoir parameters. These issues are discussed in the context of the CO2 Prophet EOR model, and their resolution is demonstrated with the computation of recovery-factor estimates for CO2-EOR of 143 reservoirs in the Powder River Basin Province in southeastern Montana and northeastern Wyoming.

Prediction of solubility parameters and miscibility of pharmaceutical compounds by molecular dynamics simulations.

PubMed

Gupta, Jasmine; Nunes, Cletus; Vyas, Shyam; Jonnalagadda, Sriramakamal

2011-03-10

The objectives of this study were (i) to develop a computational model based on molecular dynamics technique to predict the miscibility of indomethacin in carriers (polyethylene oxide, glucose, and sucrose) and (ii) to experimentally verify the in silico predictions by characterizing the drug-carrier mixtures using thermoanalytical techniques. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed using the COMPASS force field, and the cohesive energy density and the solubility parameters were determined for the model compounds. The magnitude of difference in the solubility parameters of drug and carrier is indicative of their miscibility. The MD simulations predicted indomethacin to be miscible with polyethylene oxide and to be borderline miscible with sucrose and immiscible with glucose. The solubility parameter values obtained using the MD simulations values were in reasonable agreement with those calculated using group contribution methods. Differential scanning calorimetry showed melting point depression of polyethylene oxide with increasing levels of indomethacin accompanied by peak broadening, confirming miscibility. In contrast, thermal analysis of blends of indomethacin with sucrose and glucose verified general immiscibility. The findings demonstrate that molecular modeling is a powerful technique for determining the solubility parameters and predicting miscibility of pharmaceutical compounds. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Continuous melt granulation: Influence of process and formulation parameters upon granule and tablet properties.

PubMed

Monteyne, Tinne; Vancoillie, Jochem; Remon, Jean-Paul; Vervaet, Chris; De Beer, Thomas

2016-10-01

The pharmaceutical industry has a growing interest in alternative manufacturing models allowing automation and continuous production in order to improve process efficiency and reduce costs. Implementing a switch from batch to continuous processing requires fundamental process understanding and the implementation of quality-by-design (QbD) principles. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between formulation-parameters (type binder, binder concentration, drug-binder miscibility), process-parameters (screw speed, powder feed rate and granulation temperature), granule properties (size, size distribution, shape, friability, true density, flowability) and tablet properties (tensile strength, friability, dissolution rate) of four different drug-binder formulations using Design of experiments (DOE). Two binders (polyethylene glycol (PEG) and Soluplus®) with a different solid state, semi-crystalline vs amorphous respectively, were combined with two model-drugs, metoprolol tartrate (MPT) and caffeine anhydrous (CAF), both having a contrasting miscibility with the binders. This research revealed that the granule properties of miscible drug-binder systems depended on the powder feed rate and barrel filling degree of the granulator whereas the granule properties of immiscible systems were mainly influenced by binder concentration. Using an amorphous binder, the tablet tensile strength depended on the granule size. In contrast, granule friability was more important for tablet quality using a brittle binder. However, this was not the case for caffeine-containing blends, since these phenomena were dominated by the enhanced compression properties of caffeine Form I, which was formed during granulation. Hence, it is important to gain knowledge about formulation behavior during processing since this influences the effect of process parameters onto the granule and tablet properties. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Physicochemical properties of film-coated melt-extruded pellets.

PubMed

Young, Chistopher R; Crowley, Michael; Dietzsch, Caroline; McGinity, James W

2007-02-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the physicochemical properties of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and guaifenesin containing beads prepared by a melt-extrusion process and film-coated with a methacrylic acid copolymer. Solubility parameter calculations, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC), X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were used to determine drug/polymer miscibility and/or the thermal processibility of the systems. Powder blends of guaifenesin, PEO and functional excipients were processed using a melt-extrusion and spheronization technique and then film-coated in a fluidized bed apparatus. Solubility parameter calculations were used to predict miscibility between PEO and guaifenesin, and miscibility was confirmed by SEM and observation of a single melting point for extruded drug/polymer blends during MDSC investigations. The drug was stable following melt-extrusion as determined by TGA and HPLC; however, drug release rate from pellets decreased upon storage in sealed HDPE containers with silica desiccants at 40 degrees C/75% RH. The weight loss on drying, porosity and tortuosity determinations were not influenced by storage. Recrystallization of guaifenesin and PEO was confirmed by SEM and XRPD. Additionally, the pellets exhibited a change in adhesion behaviour during dissolution testing. The addition of ethylcellulose to the extruded powder blend decreased and stabilized the drug release rate from the thermally processed pellets. The current study also demonstrated film-coating to be an efficient process for providing melt-extruded beads with pH-dependent drug release properties that were stable upon storage at accelerated conditions.

Application of film-casting technique to investigate drug-polymer miscibility in solid dispersion and hot-melt extrudate.

PubMed

Parikh, Tapan; Gupta, Simerdeep Singh; Meena, Anuprabha K; Vitez, Imre; Mahajan, Nidhi; Serajuddin, Abu T M

2015-07-01

Determination of drug-polymer miscibility is critical for successful development of solid dispersions. This report details a practical method to predict miscibility and physical stability of drug with various polymers in solid dispersion and, especially, in melt extrudates by applying a film-casting technique. Mixtures of itraconazole (ITZ) with hydroxypropylmethylcellulose phthalate (HPMCP), Kollidon(®) VA 64, Eudragit(®) E PO, and Soluplus(®) were film-casted, exposed to 40°C/75% RH for 1 month and then analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), powder X-ray diffractometry, and polarized light microscopy (PLM). ITZ had the highest miscibility with HPMCP, being miscible at drug to polymer ratio of 6:4 (w/w). There was a downward trend of lower miscibility with Soluplus(®) (miscible at 3:7, w/w, and a few microcrystals present at 4:6, w/w), Kollidon(®) VA 64 (2:8, w/w) and Eudragit(®) E PO (<1:9, w/w). PLM was found more sensitive to detect drug crystallization than DSC and powder X-ray diffractometry. There was general correlation between results of film casting and hot-melt extrusion (HME) using a twin screw extruder. For ITZ-Soluplus(®) mixtures, HME at 4:6 (w/w) resulted in a single phase, whereas drug crystallization was observed at higher drug load. HME of ITZ-Kollidon(®) VA 64 mixtures also correlated well with the miscibility predicted by film casting. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.

Investigations on transparent liquid-miscibility gap systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lacy, L. L.; Nishioka, G.; Ross, S.

1979-01-01

Sedimentation and phase separation is a well known occurrence in monotectic or miscibility gap alloys. Previous investigations indicate that it may be possible to prepare such alloys in a low-gravity space environment but recent experiments indicate that there may be nongravity dependent phase separation processes which can hinder the formation of such alloys. Such phase separation processes are studied using transparent liquid systems and holography. By reconstructing holograms into a commercial-particle-analysis system, real time computer analysis can be performed on emulsions with diameters in the range of 5 micrometers or greater. Thus dynamic effects associated with particle migration and coalescence can be studied. Characterization studies on two selected immiscible systems including an accurate determination of phase diagrams, surface and interfacial tension measurements, surface excess and wetting behavior near critical solution temperatures completed.

Ground-State Wave Function with Interactions between Different Species in M-Component Miscible Bose-Einstein Condensates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohno, Wataru; Kirikoshi, Akimitsu; Kita, Takafumi

2018-03-01

We construct a variational ground-state wave function of weakly interacting M-component Bose-Einstein condensates beyond the mean-field theory by incorporating the dynamical 3/2-body processes, where one of the two colliding particles drops into the condensate and vice versa. Our numerical results with various masses and particle numbers show that the 3/2-body processes between different particles make finite contributions to lowering the ground-state energy, implying that many-body correlation effects between different particles are essential even in the weak-coupling regime of the Bose-Einstein condensates. We also consider the stability condition for 2-component miscible states using the new ground-state wave function. Through this calculation, we obtain the relation UAB2/UAAUBB < 1 + α , where Uij is the effective contact potential between particles i and j and α is the correction, which originates from the 3/2- and 2-body processes.

Monte Carlo simulation of star/linear and star/star blends with chemically identical monomers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Theodorakis, P. E.; Avgeropoulos, A.; Freire, J. J.; Kosmas, M.; Vlahos, C.

2007-11-01

The effects of chain size and architectural asymmetry on the miscibility of blends with chemically identical monomers, differing only in their molecular weight and architecture, are studied via Monte Carlo simulation by using the bond fluctuation model. Namely, we consider blends composed of linear/linear, star/linear and star/star chains. We found that linear/linear blends are more miscible than the corresponding star/star mixtures. In star/linear blends, the increase in the volume fraction of the star chains increases the miscibility. For both star/linear and star/star blends, the miscibility decreases with the increase in star functionality. When we increase the molecular weight of linear chains of star/linear mixtures the miscibility decreases. Our findings are compared with recent analytical and experimental results.

Ternary Solar Cells Based on Two Small Molecule Donors with Same Conjugated Backbone: The Role of Good Miscibility and Hole Relay Process.

PubMed

Xiao, Liangang; Liang, Tianxiang; Gao, Ke; Lai, Tianqi; Chen, Xuebin; Liu, Feng; Russell, Thomas P; Huang, Fei; Peng, Xiaobin; Cao, Yong

2017-09-06

Ternary organic solar cells (OSCs) are very attractive for further enhancing the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of binary ones but still with a single active layer. However, improving the PCEs is still challenging because a ternary cell with one more component is more complicated on phase separation behavior. If the two donors or two acceptors have similar chemical structures, good miscibility can be expected to reduce the try-and-error work. Herein, we report ternary devices based on two small molecule donors with the same backbone but different substituents. Whereas both binary devices show PCEs about 9%, the PCE of the ternary cells is enhanced to 10.17% with improved fill factor and short-circuit current values and external quantum efficiencies almost in the whole absorption wavelength region from 440 to 850 nm. The same backbone enables the donors miscible at molecular level, and the donor with a higher HOMO level plays hole relay process to facilitate the charge transportation in the ternary devices. Since side-chain engineering has been well performed to tune the active materials' energy levels in OSCs, our results suggest that their ternary systems are promising for further improving the binary cells' performance although their absorptions are not complementary.

A study examining the effects of water-miscible cutting fluids for end milling process of carbon fiber reinforced plastic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anan, Ruito; Matsuoka, Hironori; Ono, Hajime; Ryu, Takahiro; Nakae, Takashi; Shuto, Schuichi; Watanabe, Suguru; Sato, Yuta

2017-04-01

This study examined the improvements to the tool life and finished surface roughness by using water-miscible cutting fluids in carbon fiber reinforced plastics end milling. In cutting tests, it was found that the use of emulsion type, soluble type, and solution type cutting fluids improved tool life compared with the case of dry cutting. Specifically, significant differences in tool life were observed at a high cutting speed of 171 m/min. In addition, the finished surface exhibited a low level of roughness when the solution type cutting fluid was used, regardless of the cutting speed.

Post waterflood CO{sub 2} miscible flood in light oil, fluvial-dominated deltaic reservoir. Annual report, fiscal year 1996

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1996-08-15

The Port Neches CO{sub 2} flood has been operating for nearly 4 years. The project performance during the past year has been adversely affected by several factors including: water blockage, low residual oil saturation and wellbore mechanical problems. The company attempted to test a new procedure in a new fault block using CO{sub 2} to accelerate primary production in order to improve the primary reserves net present value. The test was abandoned when the discovery well Polk B-39 for the Marg Area 3 was a dry hole. Also, during this period the company terminated all new CO{sub 2} purchases frommore » Cardox for economical reasons, while continuing to recycle produced CO{sub 2}. A data base for FDD reservoirs for the Louisiana and Texas Gulf Coast Region was developed by LSU and SAIC. This data base includes reservoir parameters and performance data for reservoirs with significant production and OOIP volumes that are amenable to CO{sub 2} injection. A paper discussing the Port Neches CO{sub 2} project was presented at the 1996 SPE/DOE Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery.« less

Method for separating water soluble organics from a process stream by aqueous biphasic extraction

DOEpatents

Chaiko, David J.; Mego, William A.

1999-01-01

A method for separating water-miscible organic species from a process stream by aqueous biphasic extraction is provided. An aqueous biphase system is generated by contacting a process stream comprised of water, salt, and organic species with an aqueous polymer solution. The organic species transfer from the salt-rich phase to the polymer-rich phase, and the phases are separated. Next, the polymer is recovered from the loaded polymer phase by selectively extracting the polymer into an organic phase at an elevated temperature, while the organic species remain in a substantially salt-free aqueous solution. Alternatively, the polymer is recovered from the loaded polymer by a temperature induced phase separation (cloud point extraction), whereby the polymer and the organic species separate into two distinct solutions. The method for separating water-miscible organic species is applicable to the treatment of industrial wastewater streams, including the extraction and recovery of complexed metal ions from salt solutions, organic contaminants from mineral processing streams, and colorants from spent dye baths.

Effect of PEO molecular weight on the miscibility and dynamics in epoxy/PEO blends.

PubMed

Lu, Shoudong; Zhang, Rongchun; Wang, Xiaoliang; Sun, Pingchuan; Lv, Weifeng; Liu, Qingjie; Jia, Ninghong

2015-11-01

In this work, the effect of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) molecular weight in blends of epoxy (ER) and PEO on the miscibility, inter-chain weak interactions and local dynamics were systematically investigated by multi-frequency temperature modulation DSC and solid-state NMR techniques. We found that the molecular weight (M(w)) of PEO was a crucial factor in controlling the miscibility, chain dynamics and hydrogen bonding interactions between PEO and ER. A critical PEO molecular weight (M(crit)) around 4.5k was found. PEO was well miscible with ER when the molecular weight was below M(crit), where the chain motion of PEO was restricted due to strong inter-chain hydrogen bonding interactions. However, for the blends with high molecular weight PEO (M(w) > M(crit)), the miscibility between PEO and ER was poor, and most of PEO chains were considerably mobile. Finally, polarization inversion spin exchange at magic angle (PISEMA) solid-state NMR experiment further revealed the different mobility of the PEO in ER/PEO blends with different molecular weight of PEO at molecular level. Based on the DSC and NMR results, a tentative model was proposed to illustrate the miscibility in ER/PEO blends.

Pseudolatex preparation using a novel emulsion-diffusion process involving direct displacement of partially water-miscible solvents by distillation.

PubMed

Quintanar-Guerrero, D; Allémann, E; Fessi, H; Doelker, E

1999-10-25

Pseudolatexes were obtained by a new process based on an emulsification-diffusion technique involving partially water-miscible solvents. The preparation method consisted of emulsifying an organic solution of polymer (saturated with water) in an aqueous solution of a stabilizing agent (saturated with solvent) using conventional stirrers, followed by direct solvent distillation. The technique relies on the rapid displacement of the solvent from the internal into the external phase which thereby provokes polymer aggregation. Nanoparticle formation is believed to occur because rapid solvent diffusion produces regions of local supersaturation near the interface, and nanoparticles are formed due to the ensuing interfacial phase transformations and polymer aggregation that occur in these interfacial domains. Using this method, it was possible to prepare pseudolatexes of biodegradable and non-biodegradable polymers such as poly(D,L-lactic acid) and poly(epsilon-caprolactone), Eudragit E, cellulose acetate phthalate, cellulose acetate trimellitate using ethyl acetate or 2-butanone as partially water-miscible solvents and poly(vinyl alcohol) or poloxamer 407 as stabilizing agent. A transition from nano- to microparticles was observed at high polymer concentrations. At concentrations above 30% w/v of Eudragit E in ethyl acetate or cellulose acetate phthalate in 2-butanone only microparticles were obtained. This behaviour was attributed to decreased transport of polymer molecules into the aqueous phase.

Viscous and gravitational contributions to mixing during vertical brine transport in water-saturated porous media

PubMed Central

Flowers, Tracey C.; Hunt, James R.

2010-01-01

The transport of fluids miscible with water arises in groundwater contamination and during remediation of the subsurface environment. For concentrated salt solutions, i.e., brines, the increased density and viscosity determine mixing processes between these fluids and ambient groundwater. Under downward flow conditions, gravitational and viscous forces work against each other to determine the interfacial mixing processes. Historically, mixing has been modeled as a dispersive process, as viscous fingering, and as a combination of both using approaches that were both analytical and numerical. A compilation of previously reported experimental data on vertical miscible displacements by fluids with significant density and viscosity contrasts reveals some agreement with a stability analysis presented by Hill (1952). Additional experimental data on one-dimensional dispersion during downward displacement of concentrated salt solutions by freshwater and freshwater displacement by brines support the stability analysis and provides an empirical representation for dispersion coefficients as functions of a gravity number and a mobility ratio. PMID:20300476

DEVELOPMENT AND OPTIMIZATION OF GAS-ASSISTED GRAVITY DRAINAGE (GAGD) PROCESS FOR IMPROVED LIGHT OIL RECOVERY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dandina N. Rao; Subhash C. Ayirala; Madhav M. Kulkarni

This report describes the progress of the project ''Development and Optimization of Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage (GAGD) Process for Improved Light Oil Recovery'' for the duration of the second project year (October 1, 2003--September 30, 2004). There are three main tasks in this research project. Task 1 is scaled physical model study of GAGD process. Task 2 is further development of vanishing interfacial tension (VIT) technique for miscibility determination. Task 3 is determination of multiphase displacement characteristics in reservoir rocks. In Section I, preliminary design of the scaled physical model using the dimensional similarity approach has been presented. Scaled experiments onmore » the current physical model have been designed to investigate the effect of Bond and capillary numbers on GAGD oil recovery. Experimental plan to study the effect of spreading coefficient and reservoir heterogeneity has been presented. Results from the GAGD experiments to study the effect of operating mode, Bond number and capillary number on GAGD oil recovery have been reported. These experiments suggest that the type of the gas does not affect the performance of GAGD in immiscible mode. The cumulative oil recovery has been observed to vary exponentially with Bond and capillary numbers, for the experiments presented in this report. A predictive model using the bundle of capillary tube approach has been developed to predict the performance of free gravity drainage process. In Section II, a mechanistic Parachor model has been proposed for improved prediction of IFT as well as to characterize the mass transfer effects for miscibility development in reservoir crude oil-solvent systems. Sensitivity studies on model results indicate that provision of a single IFT measurement in the proposed model is sufficient for reasonable IFT predictions. An attempt has been made to correlate the exponent (n) in the mechanistic model with normalized solute compositions present in both fluid phases. IFT measurements were carried out in a standard ternary liquid system of benzene, ethanol and water using drop shape analysis and capillary rise techniques. The experimental results indicate strong correlation among the three thermodynamic properties solubility, miscibility and IFT. The miscibility determined from IFT measurements for this ternary liquid system is in good agreement with phase diagram and solubility data, which clearly indicates the sound conceptual basis of VIT technique to determine fluid-fluid miscibility. Model fluid systems have been identified for VIT experimentation at elevated pressures and temperatures. Section III comprises of the experimental study aimed at evaluating the multiphase displacement characteristics of the various gas injection EOR process performances using Berea sandstone cores. During this reporting period, extensive literature review was completed to: (1) study the gravity drainage concepts, (2) identify the various factors influencing gravity stable gas injection processes, (3) identify various multiphase mechanisms and fluid dynamics operative during the GAGD process, and (4) identify important dimensionless groups governing the GAGD process performance. Furthermore, the dimensional analysis of the GAGD process, using Buckingham-Pi theorem to isolate the various dimensionless groups, as well as experimental design based on these dimensionless quantities have been completed in this reporting period. On the experimental front, recommendations from previous WAG and CGI have been used to modify the experimental protocol. This report also includes results from scaled preliminary GAGD displacements as well as the details of the planned GAGD corefloods for the next quarter. The technology transfer activities have mainly consisted of preparing technical papers, progress reports and discussions with industry personnel for possible GAGD field tests.« less

DEVELOPMENT AND OPTIMIZATION OF GAS-ASSISTED GRAVITY DRAINAGE (GAGD) PROCESS FOR IMPROVED LIGHT OIL RECOVERY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dandina N. Rao; Subhash C. Ayirala; Madhav M. Kulkarni

This report describes the progress of the project ''Development And Optimization of Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage (GAGD) Process for Improved Light Oil Recovery'' for the duration of the thirteenth project quarter (Oct 1, 2005 to Dec 30, 2005). There are three main tasks in this research project. Task 1 is a scaled physical model study of the GAGD process. Task 2 is further development of a vanishing interfacial tension (VIT) technique for miscibility determination. Task 3 is determination of multiphase displacement characteristics in reservoir rocks. Section I reports experimental work designed to investigate wettability effects of porous medium, on secondary andmore » tertiary mode GAGD performance. The experiments showed a significant improvement of oil recovery in the oil-wet experiments versus the water-wet runs, both in secondary as well as tertiary mode. When comparing experiments conducted in secondary mode to those run in tertiary mode an improvement in oil recovery was also evident. Additionally, this section summarizes progress made with regard to the scaled physical model construction and experimentation. The purpose of building a scaled physical model, which attempts to include various multiphase mechanics and fluid dynamic parameters operational in the field scale, was to incorporate visual verification of the gas front for viscous instabilities, capillary fingering, and stable displacement. Preliminary experimentation suggested that construction of the 2-D model from sintered glass beads was a feasible alternative. During this reporting quarter, several sintered glass mini-models were prepared and some preliminary experiments designed to visualize gas bubble development were completed. In Section II, the gas-oil interfacial tensions measured in decane-CO{sub 2} system at 100 F and live decane consisting of 25 mole% methane, 30 mole% n-butane and 45 mole% n-decane against CO{sub 2} gas at 160 F have been modeled using the Parachor and newly proposed mechanistic Parachor models. In the decane-CO{sub 2} binary system, Parachor model was found to be sufficient for interfacial tension calculations. The predicted miscibility from the Parachor model deviated only by about 2.5% from the measured VIT miscibility. However, in multicomponent live decane-CO{sub 2} system, the performance of the Parachor model was poor, while good match of interfacial tension predictions has been obtained experimentally using the proposed mechanistic Parachor model. The predicted miscibility from the mechanistic Parachor model accurately matched with the measured VIT miscibility in live decane-CO2 system, which indicates the suitability of this model to predict miscibility in complex multicomponent hydrocarbon systems. In the previous reports to the DOE (15323R07, Oct 2004; 15323R08, Jan 2005; 15323R09, Apr 2005; 15323R10, July 2005 and 154323, Oct 2005), the 1-D experimental results from dimensionally scaled GAGD and WAG corefloods were reported for Section III. Additionally, since Section I reports the experimental results from 2-D physical model experiments; this section attempts to extend this 2-D GAGD study to 3-D (4-phase) flow through porous media and evaluate the performance of these processes using reservoir simulation. Section IV includes the technology transfer efforts undertaken during the quarter. This research work resulted in one international paper presentation in Tulsa, OK; one journal publication; three pending abstracts for SCA 2006 Annual Conference and an invitation to present at the Independents Day session at the IOR Symposium 2006.« less

Hydrodynamic instabilities in miscible fluids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Truzzolillo, Domenico; Cipelletti, Luca

2018-01-01

Hydrodynamic instabilities in miscible fluids are ubiquitous, from natural phenomena up to geological scales, to industrial and technological applications, where they represent the only way to control and promote mixing at low Reynolds numbers, well below the transition from laminar to turbulent flow. As for immiscible fluids, the onset of hydrodynamic instabilities in miscible fluids is directly related to the physics of their interfaces. The focus of this review is therefore on the general mechanisms driving the growth of disturbances at the boundary between miscible fluids, under a variety of forcing conditions. In the absence of a regularizing mechanism, these disturbances would grow indefinitely. For immiscible fluids, interfacial tension provides such a regularizing mechanism, because of the energy cost associated to the creation of new interface by a growing disturbance. For miscible fluids, however, the very existence of interfacial stresses that mimic an effective surface tension is debated. Other mechanisms, however, may also be relevant, such as viscous dissipation. We shall review the stabilizing mechanisms that control the most common hydrodynamic instabilities, highlighting those cases for which the lack of an effective interfacial tension poses deep conceptual problems in the mathematical formulation of a linear stability analysis. Finally, we provide a short overview on the ongoing research on the effective, out of equilibrium interfacial tension between miscible fluids.

Characterization of interfaces in Binary and Ternary Polymer Blends by Positron Lifetime Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ranganathaiah, C.

2015-06-01

A miscible blend is a single-phase system with compact packing of the polymeric chains/segments due configuration/conformational changes upon blending. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) is the most employed method to ascertain whether the blend is miscible or immiscible. Positron Lifetime Spectroscopy (PLS) has been employed in recent times to study miscibility properties of polymer blends by monitoring the ortho-Positronium annihilation lifetimes as function of composition. However, just free volume monitoring and the DSC methods fail to provide the composition dependent miscibility of blends. To overcome this limitation, an alternative approach based on hydrodynamic interactions has been developed to derive this information using the same o-Ps lifetime measurements. This has led to the development of a new method of measuring composition dependent miscibility level in binary and ternary polymer blends. Further, the new method also provides interface characteristics for immiscible blends. The interactions between the blend components has a direct bearing on the strength of adhesion at the interface and hence the hydrodynamic interaction. Understanding the characteristic of interfaces which decides the miscibility level of the blend and their end applications is made easy by the present method. The efficacy of the present method is demonstrated for few binary and ternary blends.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Djabbarah, N.F.

A miscible displacement process for recovering oil from a subterranean, oil-containing formation penetrated by at least one injection well and at least one spaced-apart production well and having fluid communication between the injection and the production wells is described comprising: (a) injecting a slug of til oil into the formation through the injection well; (b) injecting a slug of a displacing fluid into the formation through the injection well, the displacing fluid being selected from the group consisting of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen, air, flue gas, combustion gas and mixtures thereof, the injection of the tall oil loweringmore » the minimum miscibility pressure of the displacing fluid in the formation oil; and (c) recovering the oil through the production well.« less

Predicting phase behavior of mixtures of reservoir fluids with carbon dioxide

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grigg, R.B.; Lingane, P.J.

1983-01-01

The use of an equation of state to predict phase behavior during carbon dioxide flooding is well established. The characterization of the C/sub 7/ fraction and the selection of interaction parameters are the most important variables. Single-contact phase behavior is presented for mixtures of Ford Geraldine (Delaware), Maljamar (Grayburg), West Sussex (Shannon), and Reservoir D reservoir fluids, and of a synthetic oil with carbon dioxide. The phase behavior of these mixtures can be reproduced using 3 to 5 pseudo components and common interaction parameters. The critical properties of the pseudo components are calculated from detailed oil characterizations. Because the parametersmore » are not further adjusted, this approach reduces the empiricism in fitting phase data and may result in a more accurate representation of the system as the composition of the oil changes during the approach to miscibility. 21 references.« less

CFD study of mixing miscible liquid with high viscosity difference in a stirred tank

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madhania, S.; Cahyani, A. B.; Nurtono, T.; Muharam, Y.; Winardi, S.; Purwanto, W. W.

2018-03-01

The mixing process of miscible liquids with high viscosity difference is crucial role even though the solution mutually dissolved. This paper describes the mixing behaviour of the water-molasses system in a conical-bottomed cylindrical stirred tank (D = 0.28 m and H = 0.395 m) equipped with a side-entry Marine propeller (d = 0.036 m) under the turbulence regime using a three-dimensional and transient CFD-simulation. The objective of this work is to compare the solution strategies was applied in the computational analysis to capture the detail phenomena of mixing two miscible liquid with high viscosity difference. Four solution strategies that have been used are the RANS Standards k-ε (SKE) model as the turbulence model coupled with the Multiple Reference Frame (MRF) method for impeller motion, the RANS Realizable k-ε (RKE) combine with the MRF, the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) coupled with the Sliding Mesh (SM) method and the LES-MRF combination. The transient calculations were conducted with Ansys Fluent 17.1 version. The mixing behaviour and the propeller characteristic are to be compared and discussed in this work. The simulation results show the differences of flow pattern and the molasses distribution profile for every solution strategy. The variation of the flow pattern which happened in each solution strategy showing an instability of the mixing process in stirred tank. The LES-SM strategy shows the realistic direction of flow than another solution strategies.

Influence of miscibility phenomenon on crystalline polymorph transition in poly(vinylidene fluoride)/acrylic rubber/clay nanocomposite hybrid.

PubMed

Abolhasani, Mohammad Mahdi; Naebe, Minoo; Jalali-Arani, Azam; Guo, Qipeng

2014-01-01

In this paper, intercalation of nanoclay in the miscible polymer blend of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and acrylic rubber(ACM) was studied. X-ray diffraction was used to investigate the formation of nanoscale polymer blend/clay hybrid. Infrared spectroscopy and X-ray analysis revealed the coexistence of β and γ crystalline forms in PVDF/Clay nanocomposite while α crystalline form was found to be dominant in PVDF/ACM/Clay miscible hybrids. Flory-Huggins interaction parameter (B) was used to further explain the miscibility phenomenon observed. The B parameter was determined by combining the melting point depression and the binary interaction model. The estimated B values for the ternary PVDF/ACM/Clay and PVDF/ACM pairs were all negative, showing both proper intercalation of the polymer melt into the nanoclay galleries and the good miscibility of PVDF and ACM blend. The B value for the PVDF/ACM blend was almost the same as that measured for the PVDF/ACM/Clay hybrid, suggesting that PVDF chains in nanocomposite hybrids interact with ACM chains and that nanoclay in hybrid systems is wrapped by ACM molecules.

Miscibility, Crystallization, and Rheological Behavior of Solution Casting Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/poly(ethylene succinate) Blends Probed by Differential Scanning Calorimetry, Rheology, and Optical Microscope Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Wei-hua; Qiao, Xiao-ping; Cao, Qi-kun; Liu, Jie-ping

2010-02-01

The miscibility and crystallization of solution casting biodegradable poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/poly(ethylene succinate) (PHB/PES) blends was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, rheology, and optical microscopy. The blends showed two glass transition temperatures and a depression of melting temperature of PHB with compositions in phase diagram, which indicated that the blend was partially miscible. The morphology observation supported this result. It was found that the PHB and PES can crystallize simultaneously or upon stepwise depending on the crystallization temperatures and compositions. The spherulite growth rate of PHB increased with increasing of PES content. The influence of compositions on the spherulitic growth rate for the partially miscible polymer blends was discussed.

Recycle of mixed automotive plastics: A model study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woramongconchai, Somsak

This research investigated blends of virgin automotive plastics which were identified through market analysis. The intent was that this study could be used as a basis for further research in blends of automotive plastics recyclate. The effects of temperature, shear, time, and degree of mixing in a two-roll mill, a single-screw extruder, and a twin-screw extruder were investigated. Properties were evaluated in terms of melt flow, rigidity, strength, impact, heat resistance, electrical resistivity, color, and resistance to water and gasoline. Torque rheometry, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), optical and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the processability and morphology of major components of the blends. The two-roll mill was operated at high temperature, short time, and low roll speed to avoid discolored and degraded materials. The single-screw extruder and twin-screw extruder were operated at medium and high temperature and high screw speed, respectively, for optimizing head pressure, residence time, shear and degree of mixing of the materials. Melt index increased with extrusion temperature. Flexural modulus increased with the processing temperatures in milling or twin-screw extrusion, but decreased with the increasing single-screw extrusion temperature. Tensile modulus was also enhanced by increasing processing temperature. The tensile strengths for each process were similar and relatively low. The impact strength increased with temperature and roll speed in two-roll milling, was unaffected by the single-screw extrusion temperature and decreased with increasing twin-screw extrusion temperature. Heat resistance was always reduced by higher processing temperature. The volume resistivity increased, water absorption was unaffected and gasoline absorption altered by increased processing temperature. The latter increased somewhat with mill temperature, roll speed (two-roll mill) and higher extrusion temperature (single-screw extruder), but decreased with increased twin-screw extrusion temperature. The flexural modulus of the recycled mixed automotive plastics expected in 2003 was higher than the 1980s and 1990 recycle. Flexural strength effects were not large enough for serious consideration, but were more dominant when compared to those in the 1980s and 1990s. Impact strengths at 20-30 J/m were the lowest value compared to the 1980s and 1990s mixed automotive recycle. Torque rheometry, dynamic mechanical analysis and optical and electron microscopy agreed with each other on the characterization of the processability and morphology of the blends. LLDPE and HDPE were miscible while PP was partially miscible with polyethylene. ABS and nylon-6 were immiscible with the polyolefins, but partially miscible with each other. As expected, the polyurethane foam was immiscible with the other components. The minor components of the model recycle of mixed automotive materials were probably partially miscible with ABS/nylon-6, but there were multiple and unresolved phases in the major blends.

Physicochemical characterization of spray-dried PLGA/PEG microspheres, and preliminary assessment of biological response.

PubMed

Javiya, Curie; Jonnalagadda, Sriramakamal

2016-09-01

The use of spray-drying to prepare blended PLGA:PEG microspheres with lower immune detection. To study physical properties, polymer miscibility and alveolar macrophage response for blended PLGA:PEG microspheres prepared by a laboratory-scale spray-drying process. Microspheres were prepared by spray-drying 0-20% w/w ratios of PLGA 65:35 and PEG 3350 in dichloromethane. Particle size and morphology was studied using scanning electron microscopy. Polymer miscibility and residual solvent levels evaluated by thermal analysis (differential scanning calorimetry - DSC and thermogravimetric analysis - TGA). Immunogenicity was assessed in vitro by response of rat alveolar macrophages (NR8383) by the MTT-based cell viability assay and reactive oxygen species (ROS) detection. The spray dried particles were spherical, with a size range of about 2-3 µm and a yield of 16-60%. Highest yield was obtained at 1% PEG concentration. Thermal analysis showed a melting peak at 59 °C (enthalpy: 170.61 J/g) and a degradation-onset of 180 °C for PEG 3350. PLGA 65:35 was amorphous, with a Tg of 43 °C. Blended PLGA:PEG microspheres showed a delayed degradation-onset of 280 °C, and PEG enthalpy-loss corresponding to 15% miscibility of PEG in PLGA. NR8383 viability studies and ROS detection upon exposure to these cells suggested that blended PLGA:PEG microspheres containing 1 and 5% PEG are optimal in controling cell proliferation and activation. This research establishes the feasibility of using a spray-drying process to prepare spherical particles (2-3 µm) of molecularly-blended PLGA 65:35 and PEG 3350. A PEG concentration of 1-5% was optimal to maximize process yield, with minimal potential for immune detection.

Liquid Phase Miscibility Gap Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gelles, S. H.; Markworth, A. J.

1985-01-01

The manner in which the microstructural features of liquid-phase miscibility gap alloys develop was determined. This will allow control of the microstructures and the resultant properties of these alloys. The long-duration low gravity afforded by the shuttle will allow experiments supporting this research to be conducted with minimal interference from buoyancy effects and gravitationally driven convection currents. Ground base studies were conducted on Al-In, Cu-Pb, and Te-Tl alloys to determine the effect of cooling rate, composition, and interfacial energies on the phase separation and solidification processes that influence the development of microstructure in these alloys. Isothermal and directional cooling experiments and simulations are conducted. The ground based activities are used as a technological base from which flight experiments formulated and to which these flight experiments are compared.

Solutal Marangoni flows of miscible liquids drive transport without surface contamination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hyoungsoo; Muller, Koen; Shardt, Orest; Afkhami, Shahriar; Stone, Howard A.

2017-11-01

Mixing and spreading of different liquids are omnipresent in nature, life and technology, such as oil pollution on the sea, estuaries, food processing, cosmetic and beverage industries, lab-on-a-chip devices, and polymer processing. However, the mixing and spreading mechanisms for miscible liquids remain poorly characterized. Here, we show that a fully soluble liquid drop deposited on a liquid surface remains as a static lens without immediately spreading and mixing, and simultaneously a Marangoni-driven convective flow is generated, which are counterintuitive results when two liquids have different surface tensions. To understand the dynamics, we develop a theoretical model to predict the finite spreading time and length scales, the Marangoni-driven convection flow speed, and the finite timescale to establish the quasi-steady state for the Marangoni flow. The fundamental understanding of this solutal Marangoni flow may enable driving bulk flows and constructing an effective drug delivery and surface cleaning approach without causing surface contamination by immiscible chemical species.

Microfluidic and micro-core methods for enhanced oil recovery and carbon storage applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Phong

Injection of CO2 into the subsurface, for both storage and oil recovery, is an emerging strategy to mitigate atmospheric CO2 emissions and associated climate change. In this thesis microfluidic and micro-core methods were developed to inform combined CO2-storage and oil recovery operations and determine relevant fluid properties. Pore scale studies of nanoparticle stabilized CO2-in-water foam and its application in oil recovery to show significant improvement in oil recovery rate with different oils from around the world (light, medium, and heavy). The CO2 nanoparticle-stabilized CO2 foams generate a three-fold increase in oil recovery (an additional 15% of initial oil in place) as compared to an otherwise similar CO2 gas flood. Nanoparticle-stabilized CO2 foam flooding also results in significantly smaller oil-in-water emulsion sizes. All three oils show substantial additional oil recovery and a positive reservoir homogenization effect. A supporting microfluidic approach is developed to quantify the minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) -- a critical parameter for combined CO 2 storage and enhanced oil recovery. The method leverages the inherent fluorescence of crude oils, is faster than conventional technologies, and provides quantitative, operator-independent measurements. In terms of speed, a pressure scan for a single minimum miscibility pressure measurement required less than 30 min, in stark contrast to days or weeks with existing rising bubble and slimtube methods. In practice, subsurface geology also interacts with injected CO 2. Commonly carbonate dissolution results in pore structure, porosity, and permeability changes. These changes are measured by x-ray microtomography (micro-CT), liquid permeability measurements, and chemical analysis. Chemical composition of the produced liquid analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES) shows concentrations of magnesium and calcium. This work leverages established advantages of microfluidics in the new context of core-sample analysis, providing a simple core sealing method, small sample size, small volumes of injection fluids, fast characterization times, and pore scale resolution. Lastly, a microfluidic approach is developed to analyze the complex, multiphase fluid interactions in CO2 enhanced oil recovery at relevant reservoir temperature and pressure. Fluorescence imaging is applied to visualize and measure the effect of CO2 pressure on contact angles changes at the pore scale.

Influence of Miscibility Phenomenon on Crystalline Polymorph Transition in Poly(Vinylidene Fluoride)/Acrylic Rubber/Clay Nanocomposite Hybrid

PubMed Central

Abolhasani, Mohammad Mahdi; Naebe, Minoo; Jalali-Arani, Azam; Guo, Qipeng

2014-01-01

In this paper, intercalation of nanoclay in the miscible polymer blend of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and acrylic rubber(ACM) was studied. X-ray diffraction was used to investigate the formation of nanoscale polymer blend/clay hybrid. Infrared spectroscopy and X-ray analysis revealed the coexistence of β and γ crystalline forms in PVDF/Clay nanocomposite while α crystalline form was found to be dominant in PVDF/ACM/Clay miscible hybrids. Flory-Huggins interaction parameter (B) was used to further explain the miscibility phenomenon observed. The B parameter was determined by combining the melting point depression and the binary interaction model. The estimated B values for the ternary PVDF/ACM/Clay and PVDF/ACM pairs were all negative, showing both proper intercalation of the polymer melt into the nanoclay galleries and the good miscibility of PVDF and ACM blend. The B value for the PVDF/ACM blend was almost the same as that measured for the PVDF/ACM/Clay hybrid, suggesting that PVDF chains in nanocomposite hybrids interact with ACM chains and that nanoclay in hybrid systems is wrapped by ACM molecules. PMID:24551141

Vapor condensation onto a non-volatile liquid drop

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Inci, Levent; Bowles, Richard K., E-mail: richard.bowles@usask.ca

2013-12-07

Molecular dynamics simulations of miscible and partially miscible binary Lennard–Jones mixtures are used to study the dynamics and thermodynamics of vapor condensation onto a non-volatile liquid drop in the canonical ensemble. When the system volume is large, the driving force for condensation is low and only a submonolayer of the solvent is adsorbed onto the liquid drop. A small degree of mixing of the solvent phase into the core of the particles occurs for the miscible system. At smaller volumes, complete film formation is observed and the dynamics of film growth are dominated by cluster-cluster coalescence. Mixing into the coremore » of the droplet is also observed for partially miscible systems below an onset volume suggesting the presence of a solubility transition. We also develop a non-volatile liquid drop model, based on the capillarity approximations, that exhibits a solubility transition between small and large drops for partially miscible mixtures and has a hysteresis loop similar to the one observed in the deliquescence of small soluble salt particles. The properties of the model are compared to our simulation results and the model is used to study the formulation of classical nucleation theory for systems with low free energy barriers.« less

Miscibility of choline-substituted polyphosphazenes with PLGA and osteoblast activity on resulting blends.

PubMed

Weikel, Arlin L; Owens, Steven G; Morozowich, Nicole L; Deng, Meng; Nair, Lakshmi S; Laurencin, Cato T; Allcock, Harry R

2010-11-01

The preparation of phosphazene tissue engineering scaffolds with bioactive side groups has been accomplished using the biological buffer, choline chloride. Mixed-substituent phosphazene cyclic trimers (as model systems) and polymers with choline chloride and glycine ethyl ester, alanine ethyl ester, valine ethyl ester, or phenylalanine ethyl ester were synthesized. Two different synthetic protocols were examined. A sodium hydride mediated route resulted in polyphosphazenes with a low choline content, while a cesium carbonate mediated process produced polyphosphazenes with higher choline content. The phosphazene structures and physical properties were studied using multinuclear NMR, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) techniques. The resultant polymers were then blended with PLGA (50:50) or PLGA (85:15) and characterized by DSC analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Polymer products obtained via the sodium hydride route produced miscible blends with both ratios of PLGA, while the cesium carbonate route yielded products with reduced blend miscibility. Heterophase hydrolysis experiments in aqueous media revealed that the polymer blends hydrolyzed to near-neutral pH media (∼5.8 to 6.8). The effect of different molecular structures on cellular adhesion showed osteoblast proliferation with an elevated osteoblast phenotype expression compared to PLGA over a 21-day culture period. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Three-dimensional Rayleigh-Taylor convection of miscible fluids in a porous medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suekane, Tetsuya; Nakanishi, Yuji; Wang, Lei

2017-11-01

Natural convection of miscible fluids in a porous medium is relevant for fields, such as geoscience and geoengineering, and for the geological storage of CO2. In this study, we use X-ray computer tomography to visualize 3D fingering structures associated with the Rayleigh-Taylor instability between miscible fluids in a porous medium. In the early stages of the onset of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability, a fine crinkling pattern gradually appears at the interface. As the wavelength and amplitude increase, descending fingers form on the interface and extend vertically downward; moreover, ascending and highly symmetric fingers form. The adjacent fingers are cylindrical in shape and coalesce to form large fingers. Fingers appearing on the interface tend to become finer with increasing Rayleigh number, which is consistent with linear perturbation theory. If the Péclet number exceeds 10, the transverse dispersion increases the finger diameter and enhances finger coalescence, strongly impacting the decay in finger number density. When mechanical dispersion is negligible, the finger-extension velocity, the mass-transfer rate, and the onset time scale with Rayleigh number. Mechanical dispersion not only reduces the onset time but also enhances mass transport, which indicates that mechanical dispersion influences the long-term dissolution process of CO2 injected into aquifers.

Behavior of CO2/water flow in porous media for CO2 geological storage.

PubMed

Jiang, Lanlan; Yu, Minghao; Liu, Yu; Yang, Mingjun; Zhang, Yi; Xue, Ziqiu; Suekane, Tetsuya; Song, Yongchen

2017-04-01

A clear understanding of two-phase fluid flow properties in porous media is of importance to CO 2 geological storage. The study visually measured the immiscible and miscible displacement of water by CO 2 using MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), and investigated the factor influencing the displacement process in porous media which were filled with quartz glass beads. For immiscible displacement at slow flow rates, the MR signal intensity of images increased because of CO 2 dissolution; before the dissolution phenomenon became inconspicuous at flow rate of 0.8mLmin -1 . For miscible displacement, the MR signal intensity decreased gradually independent of flow rates, because supercritical CO 2 and water became miscible in the beginning of CO 2 injection. CO 2 channeling or fingering phenomena were more obviously observed with lower permeable porous media. Capillary force decreases with increasing particle size, which would increase permeability and allow CO 2 and water to invade into small pore spaces more easily. The study also showed CO 2 flow patterns were dominated by dimensionless capillary number, changing from capillary finger to stable flow. The relative permeability curve was calculated using Brooks-Corey model, while the results showed the relative permeability of CO 2 slightly decreases with the increase of capillary number. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Miscibility of ethyl cellulose/copolyamide6/66/1010 blends by viscometry and refractive index method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xiuzhen; Shen, Yuhua; Xie, Anjian; Gao, Sulian; Xing, Zhiying

2011-04-01

The miscibility of ethyl cellulose (EC)/copolyamide6/66/1010 (PA-130) in formic acid is studied by viscometry and refractive index techniques at 25°C. Using viscosity data, the criteria Δ b, Δ b', Δ[η]m, interaction parameter μ, β and thermodynamic parameter α are calculated. These investigations indicate that blend of EC/PA-130 is miscible when the ethyl cellulose content is more than 50 wt % in the blend. Further the result was also confirmed by refractive index measurements.

Impact of sodium chloride on the expansion of a liquid-liquid miscibility gap in an API/water system. Case study of Brivaracetam.

PubMed

Couvrat, Nicolas; Mahieux, Julien; Fours, Baptiste; Cartigny, Yohann; Schenkel, Eric; Aerts, Luc; Quéré, Luc; Coquerel, Gérard

2016-12-30

Brivaracetam, or (2S)-2-[(4R)-2-oxo-4-propyl-pyrrolidin-1-yl] butanamide, is an active pharmaceutical ingredient designed for the treatment of epilepsy. During the development of the IV administration mode, a liquid-liquid miscibility gap has been observed with pure water, isotonic and hypertonic solutions (vehicle at 0.9% w/w and 5%w/w NaCl respectively). The study reveals that the NaCl concentration has a direct impact on the extent of the demixing domain; from a sub-micronic demixing in pure water towards a macroscopic miscibility gap in hypertonic aqueous solutions. The thorough exploration of these heterogeneous equilibria led to define experimental parameters for safe IV injections without risk of liquid - liquid miscibility gap at 37°C. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of water-miscible cutting fluid on tool wear behavior of various coated high-speed steel tools in hobbing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sato, Yuta; Matsuoka, Hironori; Kubo, Akio; Ono, Hajime; Ryu, Takahiro; Qiu, Hua; Nakae, Takashi; Shuto, Shuichi; Watanabe, Suguru; Anan, Ruito

2017-04-01

This paper deals with the influence of water-miscible cutting fluid on tool life (flank wear) compared with that with dry cutting and water-insoluble cutting oil in hobbing. Experiments were conducted by simulating hobbing by fly tool cutting on a milling machine. The following results were clarified. (1) The water-miscible cutting fluid used in the test prolongs the tool life for TiN-, TiAlN-, TiSiN- and AlCrSiN-coated tools in comparison with that obtained by dry cutting and water-insoluble cutting oil. (2) It was presumed that the tool wear decreases and the tool life is improved by the lubrication effect of the synthetic lubrication additive, mineral oil and sulfuric EP additive contained in the water-miscible cutting fluid, and also by the cooling effect.

COSOLVENCY AND SOPRTION OF HYDROPHOBIC ORGANIC CHEMICALS

EPA Science Inventory

Sorption of hydrophobic organic chemicals (HOCs) by two soils was measured from mixed solvents containing water plus completely miscible organic solvents (CMOSs) and partially miscible organic solvents (PMOSs). The utility of the log-linear cosolvency model for predicting HOC sor...

Contribution to the thermodynamic description of the corium - The U-Zr-O system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quaini, A.; Guéneau, C.; Gossé, S.; Dupin, N.; Sundman, B.; Brackx, E.; Domenger, R.; Kurata, M.; Hodaj, F.

2018-04-01

In order to understand the stratification process that may occur in the late phase of the fuel degradation during a severe accident in a PWR, the thermodynamic knowledge of the U-Zr-O system is crucial. The presence of a miscibility gap in the U-Zr-O liquid phase may lead to a stratified configuration, which will impact the accidental scenario management. The aim of this work was to obtain new experimental data in the U-Zr-O liquid miscibility gap. New tie-line data were provided at 2567 ± 25 K. The related thermodynamic models were reassessed using present data and literature values. The reassessed model will be implemented in the TAF-ID international database. The composition and density of phases potentially formed during stratification will be predicted by coupling current thermodynamic model with thermal-hydraulics codes.

Brewster Angle Microscopy Study of Model Stratum Corneum Lipid Monolayers at the Air-Water Interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adams, Ellen; Champagne, Alex; William, Joseph; Allen, Heather

2012-04-01

As the first and last barrier in the body, the stratum corneum (SC) is essential to life. Understanding the interactions and organization of lipids within the SC provides insight into essential physiological processes, including water loss prevention and the adsorption of substances from the environment. Langmuir monolayers have long been used to study complex systems, such as biological membranes and marine aerosols, due to their ability to shed light on intermolecular interactions. In this study, lipid mixtures with varying cholesterol and cerebroside ratios were investigated at the air/water interface. Surface tension measurements along with Brewster angle microscopy (BAM) images were used to examine the lipid phase transitions. Results indicate that cholesterol and cerebrosides form miscible monolayers, exhibiting ideal behavior. BAM images of a singular, uniform collapse phase also suggest formation of a miscible monolayer.

Chemical Method to Improve CO{sub 2} Flooding Sweep Efficiency for Oil Recovery Using SPI-CO{sub 2} Gels

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burns, Lyle D.

2009-04-14

The problem in CO{sub 2} flooding lies with its higher mobility causing low conformance or sweep efficiency. This is an issue in oilfield applications where an injected fluid or gas used to mobilize and produce the oil in a marginal field has substantially higher mobility (function of viscosity and density and relative permeability) relative to the crude oil promoting fingering and early breakthrough. Conformance is particularly critical in CO{sub 2} oilfield floods where the end result is less oil recovered and substantially higher costs related to the CO{sub 2}. The SPI-CO{sub 2} (here after called “SPI”) gel system is amore » unique silicate based gel system that offers a technically effective solution to the conformance problem with CO{sub 2} floods. This SPI gel system remains a low viscosity fluid until an external initiator (CO{sub 2}) triggers gelation. This is a clear improvement over current technologies where the gels set up as a function of time, regardless of where it is placed in the reservoir. In those current systems, the internal initiator is included in the injected fluid for water shut off applications. In this new research effort, the CO{sub 2} is an external initiator contacted after SPI gel solution placement. This concept ensures in the proper water wet reservoir environment that the SPI gel sets up in the precise high permeability path followed by the CO{sub 2}, therefore improving sweep efficiency to a greater degree than conventional systems. In addition, the final SPI product in commercial quantities is expected to be low cost over the competing systems. This Phase I research effort provided “proof of concept” that SPI gels possess strength and may be formed in a sand pack reducing the permeability to brine and CO{sub 2} flow. This SPI technology is a natural extension of prior R & D and the Phase I effort that together show a high potential for success in a Phase II follow-on project. Carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) is a major by-product of hydrocarbon combustion for energy, chemical and fertilizer plants. For example, coal fired power plants emit large amounts of CO{sub 2} in order to produce electrical energy. Carbon dioxide sequestration is gaining attention as concerns mount over possible global climate change caused by rising emissions of greenhouse gases. Removing the CO{sub 2} from the energy generation process would make these plants more environmentally friendly. In addition, CO{sub 2} flooding is an attractive means to enhance oil and natural gas recovery. Capture and use of the CO{sub 2} from these plants for recycling into CO{sub 2} flooding of marginal reservoirs provides a “dual use” opportunity prior to final CO{sub 2} sequestration in the depleted reservoir. Under the right pressure, temperature and oil composition conditions, CO{sub 2} can act as a solvent, cleaning oil trapped in the microscopic pores of the reservoir rock. This miscible process greatly increases the recovery of crude oil from a reservoir compared to recovery normally seen by waterflooding. An Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) project that uses an industrial source of CO{sub 2} that otherwise would be vented to the atmosphere has the added environmental benefit of sequestering the greenhouse gas.« less

Miscibility and Thermodynamics of Mixing of Different Models of Formamide and Water in Computer Simulation.

PubMed

Kiss, Bálint; Fábián, Balázs; Idrissi, Abdenacer; Szőri, Milán; Jedlovszky, Pál

2017-07-27

The thermodynamic changes that occur upon mixing five models of formamide and three models of water, including the miscibility of these model combinations itself, is studied by performing Monte Carlo computer simulations using an appropriately chosen thermodynamic cycle and the method of thermodynamic integration. The results show that the mixing of these two components is close to the ideal mixing, as both the energy and entropy of mixing turn out to be rather close to the ideal term in the entire composition range. Concerning the energy of mixing, the OPLS/AA_mod model of formamide behaves in a qualitatively different way than the other models considered. Thus, this model results in negative, while the other ones in positive energy of mixing values in combination with all three water models considered. Experimental data supports this latter behavior. Although the Helmholtz free energy of mixing always turns out to be negative in the entire composition range, the majority of the model combinations tested either show limited miscibility, or, at least, approach the miscibility limit very closely in certain compositions. Concerning both the miscibility and the energy of mixing of these model combinations, we recommend the use of the combination of the CHARMM formamide and TIP4P water models in simulations of water-formamide mixtures.

Polymer-fullerene miscibility: a metric for screening new materials for high-performance organic solar cells.

PubMed

Treat, Neil D; Varotto, Alessandro; Takacs, Christopher J; Batara, Nicolas; Al-Hashimi, Mohammed; Heeney, Martin J; Heeger, Alan J; Wudl, Fred; Hawker, Craig J; Chabinyc, Michael L

2012-09-26

The improvement of the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of polymer bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells has generally been achieved through synthetic design to control frontier molecular orbital energies and molecular ordering of the electron-donating polymer. An alternate approach to control the PCE of a BHJ is to tune the miscibility of the fullerene and a semiconducting polymer by varying the structure of the fullerene. The miscibility of a series of 1,4-fullerene adducts in the semiconducting polymer, poly(3-hexylselenophene), P3HS, was measured by dynamic secondary ion mass spectrometry using a model bilayer structure. The microstructure of the bilayer was investigated using high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission microscopy and linked to the polymer-fullerene miscibility. Finally, P3HS:fullerene BHJ solar cells were fabricated from each fullerene derivative, enabling the correlation of the active layer microstructure to the charge collection efficiency and resulting PCE of each system. The volume fraction of polymer-rich, fullerene-rich, and polymer-fullerene mixed domains can be tuned using the miscibility leading to improvement in the charge collection efficiency and PCE in P3HS:fullerene BHJ solar cells. These results suggest a rational approach to the design of fullerenes for improved BHJ solar cells.

Miscibility comparison for three refrigerant mixtures and four component refrigerants

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kang, H.M.; Pate, M.B.

1999-07-01

Miscibility data were taken and compared for seven different refrigerants when mixed with the same polyol ester (POE) lubricant. Four of the seven refrigerants were single-component refrigerants while three of the refrigerants were mixtures composed of various combinations of the pure refrigerants. The purpose of this research was to investigate the difference in miscibility characteristics between refrigerant mixtures and their respective component refrigerants. The POE lubricant was a penta erythritol mixed-acid type POE which has a viscosity ISO32. The four pure refrigerants were R-32, R-125, R-134a, and R-143a and the three refrigerant mixtures were R-404A, R407C, and R-410A. The miscibilitymore » tests were performed in a test facility consisting of a series of miniature test cells submerged in a constant temperature bath. The test cells were constructed to allow for complete visibility of the refrigerant/lubricant mixtures under all test conditions. The tests were performed over a concentration range of 0 to 100% and a temperature range of {minus}40 to 194 F. The miscibility test results for refrigerant mixtures are compared to component refrigerants. In all cases, the refrigerant mixtures appear to have better miscibility than their most immiscible pure component.« less

An investigation of the thermodynamic miscibility between VeTPGS and polymers.

PubMed

Li, Jinjiang; Chiappetta, Doris

2008-02-28

Within the past decade, more than half of the drug candidates generated are poorly water soluble and therefore overcoming the low aqueous solubility of drug candidates becomes critical for product development. Vitamin E TPGS (VeTPGS), a non-ionic surfactant, has been used in both liquid and solid dosage forms to solubilize compounds and improve their bioavailability. To prepare solid dosage forms using VeTPGS, VeTPGS is often mixed with other excipients, mostly polymers. However, there is still a lack of understanding of miscibility between VeTPGS and polymers from a thermodynamic point of view. In this paper, the miscibility of VeTPGS with polymers has been studied in the light of the Flory-Huggins (F-H) theory with an objective to understand the effect of dispersion forces (solubility parameter) and nondispersive interactions on the miscibility between VeTPGS and polymers. A series of polymers with similar solubility parameters and structure similarity were selected. Binary blends of polymers and VeTPGS were prepared using a vapor evaporation technique followed by XRPD, DSC, and SEM characterization. Results suggest that the miscibility between VeTPGS and PMMA is very likely due to a specific interaction between the hydrophobic portion of VeTPGS (Vitamin E) and PMMA.

MISCIBILITY, SOLUBILITY, AND VISCOSITY MEASUREMENTS FOR R-236EA WITH POTENTIAL LUBRICANTS

EPA Science Inventory

The report gives results of miscibility, solubility, and viscosity measurements of refrigerant R-236ea with three potential lubricants. (NOTE: The data were needed to determine the suitability of refrigerant/lubricant combinations for use in refrigeration systems.) The lubricants...

MISCIBILITY, SOLUBILITY, VISCOSITY, AND DENSITY MEASUREMENTS FOR R-236FA WITH POTENTIAL LUBRICANTS

EPA Science Inventory

The report gives results of miscibility, solubility, viscosity, and density measurements for refrigerant R-236fa and two potential lubricants . (The data are needed to determine the suitability of refrigerant/lubricant combinations for use in refrigeration systems.) The tested oi...

Miscibility, solubility, viscosity, and density measurements for R-236ea with four different Exxon lubricants. Final report, March 1995-March 1997

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kang, H.M.; Pate, M.B.

1999-06-15

The report discusses miscibility, solubility, viscosity, and density data for the refrigerant hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)-236ea (or R-236ea) and four lubricants supplied by Exxon Corporation. The miscibility tests were performed in a test facility consisting of a series of miniature test cells submerged in a constant temperature bath, precisely controlled over a range of {minus}50 to 90 C. Critical solution temperatures obtained from the miscibility data are presented for each refrigerant/lubricant combination. Data for the R-236ea in each of the test lubricants have been collected for refrigerant concentrations of 10--90%. The raw data have been presented, and the results have been summarized.more » Solubility, viscosity, and density data were also obtained for R-236ea mixed with the same four oils for a refrigerant concentration range of 0--40 wt% refrigerant over a temperature range of 30--100 C.« less

Miscible viscous fingering with chemical reaction involving precipitation.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bae, Si-Kyun; Nagatsu, Yuichiro; Kato, Yoshihito; Tada, Yutaka

2007-11-01

When a reactive and miscible less-viscous liquid displaces a more-viscous liquid in a Hele-Shaw cell, reactive miscible viscous fingering takes place. The present study has experimentally examined how precipitation produced by chemical reaction affects miscible viscous fingering pattern. A 97 wt % glycerin solution containing iron(III) nitrate (yellow) and a solution containing potassium hexacyano ferrate(II) (colorless) were used as the more- and less-viscous liquids, respectively. In this case, the chemical reaction instantaneously takes place and produces the precipitation being dark blue in color. The experiments were done by varying reactant concentrations, the cell's gap width, and the displacement speed. We compared the patterns involving the precipitation reaction with those in the non-reactive cases. We have found fylfot-like pattern is observed, depending on the experimental condition, which has never been formed in the non-reactive experiments. As the reactant concentrations are increased or the displacement speed is decreased, the effects of the precipitation on the patterns are more pronounced.

BIODEGRADATION DURING CONTAMINANT TRANSPORT IN POROUS MEDIA. 4. IMPACT OF MICROBIAL LAG AND BACTERIAL CELL GROWTH. (R825415)

EPA Science Inventory

Abstract

Miscible-displacement experiments were conducted to examine the impact of microbial lag and bacterial cell growth on the transport of salicylate, a model hydrocarbon compound. The impacts of these processes were examined separately, as well as jointly, to dete...

NR/EPDM elastomeric rubber blend miscibility evaluation by two-level fractional factorial design of experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Razak, Jeefferie Abd; Ahmad, Sahrim Haji; Ratnam, Chantara Thevy; Mahamood, Mazlin Aida; Yaakub, Juliana; Mohamad, Noraiham

2014-09-01

Fractional 25 two-level factorial design of experiment (DOE) was applied to systematically prepare the NR/EPDM blend using Haake internal mixer set-up. The process model of rubber blend preparation that correlates the relationships between the mixer process input parameters and the output response of blend compatibility was developed. Model analysis of variance (ANOVA) and model fitting through curve evaluation finalized the R2 of 99.60% with proposed parametric combination of A = 30/70 NR/EPDM blend ratio; B = 70°C mixing temperature; C = 70 rpm of rotor speed; D = 5 minutes of mixing period and E = 1.30 phr EPDM-g-MAH compatibilizer addition, with overall 0.966 desirability. Model validation with small deviation at +2.09% confirmed the repeatability of the mixing strategy with valid maximum tensile strength output representing the blend miscibility. Theoretical calculation of NR/EPDM blend compatibility is also included and compared. In short, this study provides a brief insight on the utilization of DOE for experimental simplification and parameter inter-correlation studies, especially when dealing with multiple variables during elastomeric rubber blend preparation.

Richtmyer-Meshkov instability experiments of miscible and immiscible incompressible fluids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krivets, Vitaliy; Holt, Brason; Mokler, Matthew; Jacobs, Jeffrey

2017-11-01

Experiments were conducted in a 3 m tall vertical drop tower setup. A flat interface separating two liquids of differing density is formed in the Plexiglas tank with the heavier fluid in the bottom and the lighter one on top. Two liquids pairs were utilized, one - miscible (isopropyl alcohol and a calcium nitrate water mixture) and the other immiscible (silicone oil with the same heavy liquid), both with Atwood near 0.2. The tank is mounted on a rail mounted sled at 2 m initial height where an initial perturbation is generated using vertical periodic motion with 10 Hz frequency and 1 mm displacement, thus producing 3D interfacial waves. An impulsive acceleration, with approximately 100g magnitude, is imparted to the sled by a rail mounted weight released and allowed to fall, impacting the sled from above. Both weight and sled then travel freely down the rails where they are smoothly decelerated at the bottom of drop tower by magnetic brakes. PLIF is used to visualize mixing process by seeding fluorescein in the bottom fluid and illuminating using laser diode from above forming thin vertical sheet. The resulting fluorescent image sequences are captured using a digital camera mounted to the sled operating at a 100 Hz framing rate. Comparisons of the measured growth of the mixing zone for both immiscible and miscible liquid combinations with theoretical models are presented.

Viscous and gravitational fingering in multiphase compositional and compressible flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moortgat, Joachim

2016-03-01

Viscous and gravitational fingering refer to flow instabilities in porous media that are triggered by adverse mobility or density ratios, respectively. These instabilities have been studied extensively in the past for (1) single-phase flow (e.g., contaminant transport in groundwater, first-contact-miscible displacement of oil by gas in hydrocarbon production), and (2) multi-phase immiscible and incompressible flow (e.g., water-alternating-gas (WAG) injection in oil reservoirs). Fingering in multiphase compositional and compressible flow has received much less attention, perhaps due to its high computational complexity. However, many important subsurface processes involve multiple phases that exchange species. Examples are carbon sequestration in saline aquifers and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) by gas or WAG injection below the minimum miscibility pressure. In multiphase flow, relative permeabilities affect the mobility contrast for a given viscosity ratio. Phase behavior can also change local fluid properties, which can either enhance or mitigate viscous and gravitational instabilities. This work presents a detailed study of fingering behavior in compositional multiphase flow in two and three dimensions and considers the effects of (1) Fickian diffusion, (2) mechanical dispersion, (3) flow rates, (4) domain size and geometry, (5) formation heterogeneities, (6) gravity, and (7) relative permeabilities. Results show that fingering in compositional multiphase flow is profoundly different from miscible conditions and upscaling techniques used for the latter case are unlikely to be generalizable to the former.

Miscibility as a factor for component crystallization in multisolute frozen solutions.

PubMed

Izutsu, Ken-Ichi; Shibata, Hiroko; Yoshida, Hiroyuki; Goda, Yukihiro

2014-07-01

The relationship between the miscibility of formulation ingredients and their crystallization during the freezing segment of the lyophilization process was studied. The thermal properties of frozen solutions containing myo-inositol and cosolutes were obtained by performing heating scans from -70 °C before and after heat treatment at -20 °C to -5 °C. Addition of dextran 40,000 reduced and prevented crystallization of myo-inositol. In the first scan, some frozen solutions containing an inositol-rich mixture with dextran showed single broad transitions (Tg's: transition temperatures of maximally freeze-concentrated solutes) that indicated incomplete mixing of the concentrated amorphous solutes. Heat treatment of these frozen solutions induced separation of the solutes into inositol-dominant and solute mixture phases (Tg' splitting) following crystallization of myo-inositol (Tg' shifting). The crystal growth involved myo-inositol molecules in the solute mixture phase. The amorphous-amorphous phase separation and resulting loss of the heteromolecular interaction in the freeze-concentrated inositol-dominant phase should allow ordered assembly of the solute molecules required for nucleation. Some dextran-rich and intermediate concentration ratio frozen solutions retained single Tg's of the amorphous solute mixture, both before and after heat treatments. The relevance of solute miscibility on the crystallization of myo-inositol was also indicated in the systems containing glucose or recombinant human albumin. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.

Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR FT-IR) Mapping Coupled with Multivariate Curve Resolution (MCR) for Studying the Miscibility of Chlorobutyl Rubber/Polyamide-12 Blends.

PubMed

Tang, Yongjiao; Jing, Nan; Zhang, Pudun

2015-11-01

A series of chlorobutyl rubber/polyamide-12 (CIIR/PA-12) blends compatibilized by different amounts of maleic anhydride (MAH) grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MAH) were investigated by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR FT-IR) mapping. Multivariate curve resolution (MCR) was used to process the FT-IR images. Both the spectra of pure components in the blends and their concentration distributions in a micro-region were acquired. Our results demonstrated that the blend with 15 parts per hundred rubber PP-g-MAH showed the best miscibility. An amide interphase and an imide interphase were inferred by analyzing the spectra of MCR component 3 of the blends with and without PP-g-MAH, respectively. Correspondingly, two different compatibilizing mechanisms were proposed for these blends.

Internal density waves of shock type induced by chemoconvection in miscible reacting liquids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bratsun, D. A.

2017-10-01

A theoretical explanation of the phenomenon of spontaneous emergence of density waves experimentally observed recently in bilayered systems of miscible liquids placed in a narrow vertical gap of the Hele-Shaw cell in the gravitational field is provided. Upper and lower layers represent aqueous solutions of acids and bases, respectively, whose contact leads to the beginning of a neutralization reaction. The process is accompanied by a strong dependence of the reagent's diffusion coefficients on their concentrations, giving rise to the generation of local density pockets, in which convection develops. The cavities collapse under certain conditions, causing a density jump, which moves faster than typical perturbations in a medium and takes the form of a shock wave. A mathematical model of the phenomenon is proposed, which can be formally reduced to equations of motion of a compressible gas under certain assumptions. Numerical calculations are given and compared with the experimental data.

MISCIBILITY, SOLUBILITY, VISCOSITY, AND DENSITY MEASUREMENTS FOR R-236EA WITH FOUR DIFFERENT EXXON LUBRICANTS

EPA Science Inventory

The report discusses miscibility, solubility, viscosity, and density data for the refrigerant hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)-236ea (or R-236ea) and four lubricants supplied by Exxon Corporation. Such data are needed to determine the suitability of refrigerant/lubricant combinations for ...

Novel Shapes of Miscible Interfaces Observed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Balasubramaniam, Ramaswamy; Rashidnia, Nasser

2001-01-01

The dynamics of miscible displacements in a cylindrical tube are being investigated experimentally and numerically, with a view to understand the complex processes that occur, for example, in enhanced oil recovery, hydrology, and filtration. We have observed complex shapes of the interface between two liquids that mix with each other when the less viscous liquid is displaced by the more viscous one in a tube. A less viscous fluid that displaces a more viscous fluid is known to propagate in the form of a "finger," and a flight experiment proposed by Maxworthy et al. to investigate the miscible-interface dynamics is currently being developed by NASA. From the current theory of miscible displacements, which was developed for a porous medium satisfying Darcy's law, it can be shown that in the absence of gravity the interface between the fluids is destabilized and thus susceptible to fingering only when a more viscous fluid is displaced by a less viscous one. Therefore, if the interface is initially flat and the more viscous fluid displaces the less viscous fluid, the interface ought to be stable and remain flat. However, numerical simulations by Chen and Meiburg for such displacement in a cylindrical tube show that the interface is unstable and a finger of the more viscous fluid is indeed formed. Preliminary experiments performed at the NASA Glenn Research Center show that not only can fingering occur when the more viscous fluid displaces a less viscous one in a cylindrical tube, but also that under certain conditions the advancing finger achieves a sinuous or snakelike shape. These experiments were performed using silicone oils in a vertical pipette of small diameter. In the initial configuration, the more viscous fluid rested on top of the less viscous one, and the interface was nominally flat. A dye was added to the upper liquid for ease of observation of the interface between the fluids. The flow was initiated by draining the lower fluid from the bottom of the pipette, at speeds less than 0.1 mm/sec.

Seasonal characteristics of flood regimes across the Alpine-Carpathian range.

PubMed

Parajka, J; Kohnová, S; Bálint, G; Barbuc, M; Borga, M; Claps, P; Cheval, S; Dumitrescu, A; Gaume, E; Hlavčová, K; Merz, R; Pfaundler, M; Stancalie, G; Szolgay, J; Blöschl, G

2010-11-17

The aim of this paper is to analyse the differences in the long-term regimes of extreme precipitation and floods across the Alpine-Carpathian range using seasonality indices and atmospheric circulation patterns to understand the main flood-producing processes. This is supported by cluster analyses to identify areas of similar flood processes, both in terms of precipitation forcing and catchment processes. The results allow to isolate regions of similar flood generation processes including southerly versus westerly circulation patterns, effects of soil moisture seasonality due to evaporation and effects of soil moisture seasonality due to snow melt. In many regions of the Alpine-Carpathian range, there is a distinct shift in flood generating processes with flood magnitude as evidenced by a shift from summer to autumn floods. It is argued that the synoptic approach proposed here is valuable in both flood analysis and flood estimation.

Seasonal characteristics of flood regimes across the Alpine–Carpathian range

PubMed Central

Parajka, J.; Kohnová, S.; Bálint, G.; Barbuc, M.; Borga, M.; Claps, P.; Cheval, S.; Dumitrescu, A.; Gaume, E.; Hlavčová, K.; Merz, R.; Pfaundler, M.; Stancalie, G.; Szolgay, J.; Blöschl, G.

2010-01-01

Summary The aim of this paper is to analyse the differences in the long-term regimes of extreme precipitation and floods across the Alpine–Carpathian range using seasonality indices and atmospheric circulation patterns to understand the main flood-producing processes. This is supported by cluster analyses to identify areas of similar flood processes, both in terms of precipitation forcing and catchment processes. The results allow to isolate regions of similar flood generation processes including southerly versus westerly circulation patterns, effects of soil moisture seasonality due to evaporation and effects of soil moisture seasonality due to snow melt. In many regions of the Alpine–Carpathian range, there is a distinct shift in flood generating processes with flood magnitude as evidenced by a shift from summer to autumn floods. It is argued that the synoptic approach proposed here is valuable in both flood analysis and flood estimation. PMID:25067854

Nonergodicity in binary alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Son, Leonid; Sidorov, Valery; Popel, Pjotr; Shulgin, Dmitry

2015-09-01

For binary liquids with limited miscibility of the components, we provide the corrections to the equation of state which arise from the nonergogic diffusivity. It is shown that these corrections result in lowering of critical miscibility point. In some cases, it may result in a bifurcation of miscibility curve: the mixtures near 50% concentration which are homogeneous at the microscopic level, occur to be too stable to provide a quasi - eutectic triple point. These features provide a new look on the phase diagrams of some binary systems. In present work, we discuss Ga-Pb, Fe-Cu, and Cu-Zr alloys. Our investigation corresponds their complex behavior in liquid state to the shapes of their phase diagrams.

Looking at flood trends with different eyes: the value of a fuzzy flood classification scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sikorska, A. E.; Viviroli, D.; Brunner, M. I.; Seibert, J.

2016-12-01

Natural floods can be governed by several processes such as heavy rainfall or intense snow- or glacier-melt. These processes result in different flood characteristics in terms of flood shape and magnitude. Pooling floods of different types might therefore impair the analyses of flood frequencies and trends. Thus, the categorization of flood events into different flood type classes and the determination of their respective frequencies is essential for a better understanding and for the prediction of floods. In reality however most flood events are caused by a mix of processes and a unique determination of a flood type per event often becomes difficult. This study proposes an innovative method for a more reliable categorization of floods according to similarities in flood drivers. The categorization of floods into subgroups relies on a fuzzy decision tree. While the classical (crisp) decision tree allows for the identification of only one flood type per event, the fuzzy approach enables the detection of mixed types. Hence, events are represented as a spectrum of six possible flood types, while a degree of acceptance attributed to each of them specifies the importance of each type during the event formation. Considered types are flash, short rainfall, long rainfall, snow-melt, rainfall-on-snow, and, in high altitude watersheds, also glacier-melt floods. The fuzzy concept also enables uncertainty present in the identification of flood processes and in the method to be incorporated into the flood categorization process. We demonstrate, for a set of nine Swiss watersheds and 30 years of observations, that this new concept provides more reliable flood estimates than the classical approach as it allows for a more dedicated flood prevention technique adapted to a specific flood type.

CONTROLLING THE AQUEOUS MISCIBILITY OF IONIC LIQUIDS: A NOVEL AQUEOUS BIPHASIC SYSTEM FROM WATER-MISCIBLE IONIC LIQUID AND A WATER-STRUCTURING SALT. (R828257)

EPA Science Inventory

The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Concl...

Fabrication of thermoplastic ductile films of chitin butyrate/poly(ɛ-caprolactone) blends and their cytocompatibility.

PubMed

Hashiwaki, Hiroki; Teramoto, Yoshikuni; Nishio, Yoshiyuki

2014-12-19

We fabricate thermoplastic films of chitin burtyrate (ChB)/poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) blends with different degree of miscibility (miscible (M), partially miscible (PM), and immiscible (IM)), and examined the feasibility as a cell scaffold system through evaluating mechanical properties and cytocompatibility. We found a remediation of the brittleness and an increase in ductility of ChB by blending PCL for the M and PM blends. The blend films were subjected to alkaline hydrolysis (2-M NaOH/37°C/48 h) with expectation of the improvement of the surface hydrophilicity and cell accessibility. ATR-FTIR spectroscopy of the alkaline-treated PM and IM films revealed that PCL component and ester side-chains of acyl chitin were selectively removed from the surface domain. L929 fibroblast cells well adhered and proliferated on these films. Therefore, the materials possess a great potential for the utilization as a thermoplastic cell scaffold in tissue engineering by adequate selection of the degree of miscibility and post treatment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Melt Miscibility in Block Copolymers Containing Polyethylene and Substituted Polynorbornenes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mulhearn, William; Register, Richard

Very few polymer species exist with a sufficiently weak repulsive interaction against polyethylene (PE), characterized by a low Flory parameter χ or interaction energy density X, to be useful for preparing PE-containing block copolymers with disordered melts at high molecular weights. Most suitably miscible polymers are chemically similar to PE, such as copolymers of ethylene with a minority content of an α-olefin, and so are only marginally useful for property modification due to similar physical properties like the glass transition temperature (Tg) . However, the family of polymers consisting of substituted norbornenes prepared via ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) and subsequent hydrogenation is unique in that many of its members exhibit very low X against PE (comparable with the interaction energy between poly(ethylene-alt-propylene) and PE), and some of these also exhibit high Tg. The miscibility between PE and a substituted, hydrogenated ROMP polynobornene, or between two dissimilar hydrogenated polynorbornenes, is a strong function of the substituent appended to the norbornene monomer. The mixing thermodynamics of this polymer series are irregular, in that the interaction energies do not follow X = (δ1 - δ2)2 where δ is the solubility parameter. However, other systematic trends do apply and we develop a set of mixing rules to quantitatively describe the experimental miscibility behavior. We also investigate statistical copolymerization of two norbornene monomers as a means to continuously tune miscibility with a homopolymer of a third monomer.

Miscibility and in vitro osteocompatibility of biodegradable blends of poly[(ethyl alanato) (p-phenyl phenoxy) phosphazene] and poly(lactic acid-glycolic acid).

PubMed

Deng, Meng; Nair, Lakshmi S; Nukavarapu, Syam P; Kumbar, Sangamesh G; Jiang, Tao; Krogman, Nicholas R; Singh, Anurima; Allcock, Harry R; Laurencin, Cato T

2008-01-01

Previously we demonstrated the ability of ethyl glycinato substituted polyphosphazenes to neutralize the acidic degradation products and control the degradation rate of poly(lactic acid-glycolic acid) (PLAGA) by blending. In this study, blends of high strength poly[(50% ethyl alanato) (50% p-phenyl phenoxy) phosphazene] (PNEA(50)PhPh(50)) and 85:15 PLAGA were prepared using a mutual solvent approach. Three different solvents, methylene chloride (MC), chloroform (CF) and tetrahydrofuran (THF) were studied to investigate solvent effects on blend miscibility. Three different blends were then fabricated at various weight ratios namely 25:75 (BLEND25), 50:50 (BLEND50), and 75:25 (BLEND75) using THF as the mutual solvent. The miscibility of the blends was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Among these, BLEND25 was miscible while BLEND50 and BLEND75 were partially miscible. Furthermore, BLEND25 formed apatite layers on its surface as evidenced in a biomimetic study performed. These novel blends showed cell adhesion and proliferation comparable to PLAGA. However, the PNEA(50)PhPh(50) component in the blends was able to increase the phenotypic expression and mineralized matrix synthesis of the primary rat osteoblasts (PRO) in vitro. Blends of high strength PNEA(50)PhPh(50) and 85:15 PLAGA are promising biomaterials for a variety of musculoskeletal applications.

The Dynamics of Miscible Interfaces: Simulations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meiburg, Eckart

2002-01-01

The goal of this experimental/computational investigation (joint with Prof Maxworthy at USC) has been to study the dynamics of miscible interfaces, both from a scientific and a practical point of view, and to prepare a related experiment to be flown on the International Space Station. In order to address these effects, we have focused experimental and computational investigations on miscible displacements in cylindrical capillary tubes, as well as in Hele-Shaw cells. Regarding the flow in a capillary tube, the question was addressed as to whether Korteweg stresses and/or divergence effects can potentially account for discrepancies observed between conventional Stokes flow simulations and experiments for miscible flows in capillary tubes. An estimate of the vorticity and streamfunction fields induced by the Kortewegs stresses was derived, which shows these stresses to result in the formation of a vortex ring structure near the tip of the concentration front. Through this mechanism the propagation velocity of the concentration front is reduced, in agreement with the experimental observations. Divergence effects, on the other hand, were seen to be very small, and they have a negligible influence on the tip velocity. As a result, it can be concluded that they are not responsible for the discrepancies between experiments and conventional Stokes simulations. A further part of our investigation focussed on the development of high-accuracy three-dimensional spectral element simulation techniques for miscible flows in capillary tubes, including the effects of variable density and viscosity. Towards this end, the conservation equations are treated in cylindrical coordinates.

The role of interactions along the flood process chain and implications for risk assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vorogushyn, Sergiy; Apel, Heiko; Viet Nguyen, Dung; Guse, Björn; Kreibich, Heidi; Lüdtke, Stefan; Schröter, Kai; Merz, Bruno

2017-04-01

Floods with their manifold characteristics are shaped by various processes along the flood process chain - from triggering meteorological extremes through catchment and river network process down to impacts on societies. In flood risk systems numerous interactions and feedbacks along the process chain may occur which finally shape spatio-temporal flood patterns and determine the ultimate risk. In this talk, we review some important interactions in the atmosphere-catchment, river-dike-floodplain and vulnerability compartments of the flood risk system. We highlight the importance of spatial interactions for flood hazard and risk assessment. For instance, the role of spatial rainfall structure or wave superposition in river networks is elucidated with selected case studies. In conclusion, we show the limits of current methods in assessment of large-scale flooding and outline the approach to more comprehensive risk assessment based on our regional flood risk model (RFM) for Germany.

44 CFR 78.6 - Flood Mitigation Plan approval process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Flood Mitigation Plan..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78.6 Flood Mitigation Plan approval process. The State POC will forward all Flood...

44 CFR 78.6 - Flood Mitigation Plan approval process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Flood Mitigation Plan..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78.6 Flood Mitigation Plan approval process. The State POC will forward all Flood...

44 CFR 78.6 - Flood Mitigation Plan approval process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Flood Mitigation Plan..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78.6 Flood Mitigation Plan approval process. The State POC will forward all Flood...

Process-based selection of copula types for flood peak-volume relationships in Northwest Austria: a case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohnová, Silvia; Gaál, Ladislav; Bacigál, Tomáš; Szolgay, Ján; Hlavčová, Kamila; Valent, Peter; Parajka, Juraj; Blöschl, Günter

2016-12-01

The case study aims at selecting optimal bivariate copula models of the relationships between flood peaks and flood volumes from a regional perspective with a particular focus on flood generation processes. Besides the traditional approach that deals with the annual maxima of flood events, the current analysis also includes all independent flood events. The target region is located in the northwest of Austria; it consists of 69 small and mid-sized catchments. On the basis of the hourly runoff data from the period 1976- 2007, independent flood events were identified and assigned to one of the following three types of flood categories: synoptic floods, flash floods and snowmelt floods. Flood events in the given catchment are considered independent when they originate from different synoptic situations. Nine commonly-used copula types were fitted to the flood peak - flood volume pairs at each site. In this step, two databases were used: i) a process-based selection of all the independent flood events (three data samples at each catchment) and ii) the annual maxima of the flood peaks and the respective flood volumes regardless of the flood processes (one data sample per catchment). The goodness-of-fit of the nine copula types was examined on a regional basis throughout all the catchments. It was concluded that (1) the copula models for the flood processes are discernible locally; (2) the Clayton copula provides an unacceptable performance for all three processes as well as in the case of the annual maxima; (3) the rejection of the other copula types depends on the flood type and the sample size; (4) there are differences in the copulas with the best fits: for synoptic and flash floods, the best performance is associated with the extreme value copulas; for snowmelt floods, the Frank copula fits the best; while in the case of the annual maxima, no firm conclusion could be made due to the number of copulas with similarly acceptable overall performances. The general conclusion from this case study is that treating flood processes separately is beneficial; however, the usually available sample size in such real life studies is not sufficient to give generally valid recommendations for engineering design tasks.

44 CFR 78.6 - Flood Mitigation Plan approval process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2012-10-01 2011-10-01 true Flood Mitigation Plan approval..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78.6 Flood Mitigation Plan approval process. The State POC will forward all Flood...

Growth mechanism of GaAs1-xSbx ternary alloy thin film on MOCVD reactor using TMGa, TDMAAs and TDMASb

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suhandi, A.; Tayubi, Y. R.; Arifin, P.

2016-04-01

Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) is a method for growing a solid material (in the form of thin films, especially for semiconductor materials) using vapor phase metal organic sources. Studies on the growth mechanism of GaAs1-xSbx ternary alloy thin solid film in the range of miscibility-gap using metal organic sources trimethylgallium (TMGa), trisdimethylaminoarsenic (TDMAAs), and trisdimethylaminoantimony (TDMASb) on MOCVD reactor has been done to understand the physical and chemical processes involved. Knowledge of the processes that occur during alloy formation is very important to determine the couple of growth condition and growth parameters are appropriate for yield high quality GaAs1-xSbx alloy. The mechanism has been studied include decomposition of metal organic sources and chemical reactions that may occur, the incorporation of the alloy elements forming and the contaminants element that are formed in the gown thin film. In this paper presented the results of experimental data on the growth of GaAs1-xSbx alloy using Vertical-MOCVD reactor to demonstrate its potential in growing GaAs1-xSbx alloy in the range of its miscibility gap.

Sol-gel processing with inorganic metal salt precursors

DOEpatents

Hu, Zhong-Cheng

2004-10-19

Methods for sol-gel processing that generally involve mixing together an inorganic metal salt, water, and a water miscible alcohol or other organic solvent, at room temperature with a macromolecular dispersant material, such as hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) added. The resulting homogenous solution is incubated at a desired temperature and time to result in a desired product. The methods enable production of high quality sols and gels at lower temperatures than standard methods. The methods enable production of nanosize sols from inorganic metal salts. The methods offer sol-gel processing from inorganic metal salts.

Miscibility and in vitro osteocompatibility of biodegradable blends of poly[(ethyl alanato) (p-phenyl phenoxy) phosphazene] and poly(lactic acid-glycolic acid)

PubMed Central

Deng, Meng; Nair, Lakshmi S.; Nukavarapu, Syam P.; Kumbar, Sangamesh G.; Jiang, Tao; Krogman, Nicholas R.; Singh, Anurima; Allcock, Harry R.; Laurencin, Cato T.

2007-01-01

Previously we demonstrated the ability of ethyl glycinato substituted polyphosphazenes to neutralize the acidic degradation products and control the degradation rate of poly(lactic acid-glycolic acid) by blending. In this study, blends of high strength poly[(50% ethyl alanato) (50% p-phenyl phenoxy) phosphazene] (PNEA50PhPh50) and 85:15 poly(lactic acid-glycolic acid) (PLAGA) were prepared using a mutual solvent approach. Three different solvents, methylene chloride (MC), chloroform (CF) and tetrahydrofuran (THF) were studied to investigate solvent effects on blend miscibility. Three different blends were then fabricated at various weight ratios namely 25:75 (BLEND25), 50:50 (BLEND50), and 75:25 (BLEND75) using THF as the mutual solvent. The miscibility of the blends was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Among these, BLEND25 was miscible while BLEND50 and BLEND75 were partially miscible. Furthermore, BLEND25 formed apatite layers on its surface as evidenced in a biomimetic study performed. These novel blends showed cell adhesion and proliferation comparable to PLAGA. However, the PNEA50PhPh50 component in the blends was able to increase the phenotypic expression and mineralized matrix synthesis of the primary rat osteoblasts (PRO) in vitro. Blends of high strength poly[(50% ethyl alanato) (50% p-phenyl phenoxy) phosphazene] (PNEA50PhPh50) and 85:15 poly(lactic acid-glycolic acid) (PLAGA) are promising biomaterials for a variety of musculoskeletal applications. PMID:17942150

Miscibility of poly(lactic acid) and poly(ethylene oxide) solvent polymer blends and nanofibers made by solution blow spinning

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The miscibility of blends of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) was studied in polymer solutions by dilute solution viscometry and in solution blow spun nanofibers by microscopy (SEM, TEM) and by thermal and spectral analysis. Three blends of PLA and PEO were solution blended in...

A smoothed particle hydrodynamics model for miscible flow in three-dimensional fractures and the two-dimensional Rayleigh–Taylor instability

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tartakovsky, Alexandre M.; Meakin, Paul

2005-08-10

A numerical model based on smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) has been developed and used to simulate the classical two-dimensional Rayleigh–Taylor instability and three-dimensional miscible flow in fracture apertures with complex geometries. To model miscible flow fluid particles with variable, composition dependent, masses were used. By basing the SPH equations on the particle number density artificial surface tension effects were avoided. The simulation results for the growth of a single perturbation driven by the Rayleigh – Taylor instability compare well with numerical results obtained by Fournier et al., and the growth of a perturbation with time can be represented quite wellmore » by a second-degree polynomial, in accord with the linear stability analysis of Duff et al. The dispersion coefficient found from SPH simulation of flow and diffusion in an ideal fracture was in excellent agreement with the value predicted by the theory of Taylor and Aris. The simulations of miscible flow in fracture apertures can be used to determination dispersion coefficients for transport in fractured media - a parameter used in large-scale simulations of contaminant transport.« less

Dialysis without membranes: how and why?

PubMed

Leonard, Edward F; West, Alan C; Shapley, Nina C; Larsen, Mona U

2004-01-01

Dialysis between two flowing, miscible fluids without an intervening membrane enhances both the transport rate and biocompatibility. Unfortunately, it also presents serious challenges, including the loss of pressure as a driving force for volume transport, the need for sterile dialysate in greater quantity than in conventional dialysis, the possibility of unacceptable protein loss, and even the possibility of blood cell loss. This paper quantifies these advantages and disadvantages, and evaluate the means by which the latter might be surmounted. Preliminary data are provided to show that stable flows of one fluid sheathing another, miscible fluid are achievable and that molecular exchange between the fluids is orderly and in qualitative agreement with the theory. Extension of the concept to other blood purification tasks, especially in the treatment of liver failure and various macromolecular separations, is also discussed. In conclusion, membraneless separations will require a secondary process and a recycle stream. Under these conditions, its advantages can be preserved and its disadvantages controlled. Copyright 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel

Study on reservoir time-varying design flood of inflow based on Poisson process with time-dependent parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jiqing; Huang, Jing; Li, Jianchang

2018-06-01

The time-varying design flood can make full use of the measured data, which can provide the reservoir with the basis of both flood control and operation scheduling. This paper adopts peak over threshold method for flood sampling in unit periods and Poisson process with time-dependent parameters model for simulation of reservoirs time-varying design flood. Considering the relationship between the model parameters and hypothesis, this paper presents the over-threshold intensity, the fitting degree of Poisson distribution and the design flood parameters are the time-varying design flood unit period and threshold discriminant basis, deduced Longyangxia reservoir time-varying design flood process at 9 kinds of design frequencies. The time-varying design flood of inflow is closer to the reservoir actual inflow conditions, which can be used to adjust the operating water level in flood season and make plans for resource utilization of flood in the basin.

Sensitivity analysis and economic optimization studies of inverted five-spot gas cycling in gas condensate reservoir

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shams, Bilal; Yao, Jun; Zhang, Kai; Zhang, Lei

2017-08-01

Gas condensate reservoirs usually exhibit complex flow behaviors because of propagation response of pressure drop from the wellbore into the reservoir. When reservoir pressure drops below the dew point in two phase flow of gas and condensate, the accumulation of large condensate amount occurs in the gas condensate reservoirs. Usually, the saturation of condensate accumulation in volumetric gas condensate reservoirs is lower than the critical condensate saturation that causes trapping of large amount of condensate in reservoir pores. Trapped condensate often is lost due to condensate accumulation-condensate blockage courtesy of high molecular weight, heavy condensate residue. Recovering lost condensate most economically and optimally has always been a challenging goal. Thus, gas cycling is applied to alleviate such a drastic loss in resources. In gas injection, the flooding pattern, injection timing and injection duration are key parameters to study an efficient EOR scenario in order to recover lost condensate. This work contains sensitivity analysis on different parameters to generate an accurate investigation about the effects on performance of different injection scenarios in homogeneous gas condensate system. In this paper, starting time of gas cycling and injection period are the parameters used to influence condensate recovery of a five-spot well pattern which has an injection pressure constraint of 3000 psi and production wells are constraint at 500 psi min. BHP. Starting injection times of 1 month, 4 months and 9 months after natural depletion areapplied in the first study. The second study is conducted by varying injection duration. Three durations are selected: 100 days, 400 days and 900 days. In miscible gas injection, miscibility and vaporization of condensate by injected gas is more efficient mechanism for condensate recovery. From this study, it is proven that the application of gas cycling on five-spot well pattern greatly enhances condensate recovery preventing financial, economic and resource loss that previously occurred.

Phase separation of comb polymer nanocomposite melts.

PubMed

Xu, Qinzhi; Feng, Yancong; Chen, Lan

2016-02-07

In this work, the spinodal phase demixing of branched comb polymer nanocomposite (PNC) melts is systematically investigated using the polymer reference interaction site model (PRISM) theory. To verify the reliability of the present method in characterizing the phase behavior of comb PNCs, the intermolecular correlation functions of the system for nonzero particle volume fractions are compared with our molecular dynamics simulation data. After verifying the model and discussing the structure of the comb PNCs in the dilute nanoparticle limit, the interference among the side chain number, side chain length, nanoparticle-monomer size ratio and attractive interactions between the comb polymer and nanoparticles in spinodal demixing curves is analyzed and discussed in detail. The results predict two kinds of distinct phase separation behaviors. One is called classic fluid phase boundary, which is mediated by the entropic depletion attraction and contact aggregation of nanoparticles at relatively low nanoparticle-monomer attraction strength. The second demixing transition occurs at relatively high attraction strength and involves the formation of an equilibrium physical network phase with local bridging of nanoparticles. The phase boundaries are found to be sensitive to the side chain number, side chain length, nanoparticle-monomer size ratio and attractive interactions. As the side chain length is fixed, the side chain number has a large effect on the phase behavior of comb PNCs; with increasing side chain number, the miscibility window first widens and then shrinks. When the side chain number is lower than a threshold value, the phase boundaries undergo a process from enlarging the miscibility window to narrowing as side chain length increases. Once the side chain number overtakes this threshold value, the phase boundary shifts towards less miscibility. With increasing nanoparticle-monomer size ratio, a crossover of particle size occurs, above which the phase separation is consistent with that of chain PNCs. The miscibility window for this condition gradually narrows while the other parameters of the PNCs system are held constant. These results indicate that the present PRISM theory can give molecular-level details of the underlying mechanisms of the comb PNCs. It is hoped that the results can be used to provide useful guidance for the future design control of novel, thermodynamically stable comb PNCs.

Flood mapping from Sentinel-1 and Landsat-8 data: a case study from river Evros, Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kyriou, Aggeliki; Nikolakopoulos, Konstantinos

2015-10-01

Floods are suddenly and temporary natural events, affecting areas which are not normally covered by water. The influence of floods plays a significant role both in society and the natural environment, therefore flood mapping is crucial. Remote sensing data can be used to develop flood map in an efficient and effective way. This work is focused on expansion of water bodies overtopping natural levees of the river Evros, invading the surroundings areas and converting them in flooded. Different techniques of flood mapping were used using data from active and passive remote sensing sensors like Sentinlel-1 and Landsat-8 respectively. Space borne pairs obtained from Sentinel-1 were processed in this study. Each pair included an image during the flood, which is called "crisis image" and another one before the event, which is called "archived image". Both images covering the same area were processed producing a map, which shows the spread of the flood. Multispectral data From Landsat-8 were also processed in order to detect and map the flooded areas. Different image processing techniques were applied and the results were compared to the respective results of the radar data processing.

Dynamics of miscible displacements in round tubes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Meiburg, E.; Maxworthy, T.; Chen, C.Y.

A combined experimental and numerical investigation of miscible two-phase flow in a capillary tube is reported. The fraction of fluid left behind on the wall is obtained as a function of the Peclet, Atwood, and Froude numbers. Scaling arguments are presented for two distinct flow regimes, dominated by diffusion and convection, respectively. In the latter one, an effective surface tension value can be estimated.

Transcriptome profiling of the floating-leaved aquatic plant Nymphoides peltata in response to flooding stress.

PubMed

Wu, Jinwei; Zhao, Hua-Bin; Yu, Dan; Xu, Xinwei

2017-01-31

Waterlogging or flooding is one of the most challenging abiotic stresses experienced by plants. Unlike many flooding-tolerant plants, floating-leaved aquatic plants respond actively to flooding stress by fast growth and elongation of its petioles to make leaves re-floating. However, the molecular mechanisms of this plant group responding to flood have not been investigated before. Here, we investigated the genetic basis of this adaptive response by characterizing the petiole transcriptomes of a floating-leaved species Nymphoides peltata under normal and flooding conditions. Clean reads under normal and flooding conditions with pooled sampling strategy were assembled into 124,302 unigenes. A total of 8883 unigenes were revealed to be differentially expressed between normal and flooding conditions. Among them, top ranked differentially expressed genes were mainly involved in antioxidant process, photosynthesis process and carbohydrate metabolism, including the glycolysis and a modified tricarboxylic acid cycle - alanine metabolism. Eight selected unigenes with significantly differentiated expression changes between normal and flooding conditions were validated by qRT-PCR. Among these processes, antioxidant process and glycolysis are commonly induced by waterlogging or flooding environment in plants, whereas photosynthesis and alanine metabolism are rarely occurred in other flooding-tolerant plants, suggesting the significant contributions of the two processes in the active response of N. peltata to flooding stress. Our results provide a valuable genomic resource for future studies on N. peltata and deepen our understanding of the genetic basis underlying the response to flooding stress in aquatic plants.

Phase Behaviour and Miscibility Studies of Collagen/Silk Fibroin Macromolecular System in Dilute Solutions and Solid State.

PubMed

Ghaeli, Ima; de Moraes, Mariana A; Beppu, Marisa M; Lewandowska, Katarzyna; Sionkowska, Alina; Ferreira-da-Silva, Frederico; Ferraz, Maria P; Monteiro, Fernando J

2017-08-18

Miscibility is an important issue in biopolymer blends for analysis of the behavior of polymer pairs through the detection of phase separation and improvement of the mechanical and physical properties of the blend. This study presents the formulation of a stable and one-phase mixture of collagen and regenerated silk fibroin (RSF), with the highest miscibility ratio between these two macromolecules, through inducing electrostatic interactions, using salt ions. For this aim, a ternary phase diagram was experimentally built for the mixtures, based on observations of phase behavior of blend solutions with various ratios. The miscibility behavior of the blend solutions in the miscible zones of the phase diagram was confirmed quantitatively by viscosimetric measurements. Assessing the effects of biopolymer mixing ratio and salt ions, before and after dialysis of blend solutions, revealed the importance of ion-specific interactions in the formation of coacervate-based materials containing collagen and RSF blends that can be used in pharmaceutical, drug delivery, and biomedical applications. Moreover, the conformational change of silk fibroin from random coil to beta sheet, in solution and in the final solid films, was detected by circular dichroism (CD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) exhibited alterations of surface morphology for the biocomposite films with different ratios. Surface contact angle measurement illustrated different hydrophobic properties for the blended film surfaces. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed that the formation of the beta sheet structure of silk fibroin enhances the thermal stability of the final blend films. Therefore, the novel method presented in this study resulted in the formation of biocomposite films whose physico-chemical properties can be tuned by silk fibroin conformational changes by applying different component mixing ratios.

Predicting phase behavior of mixtures of reservoir fluids with carbon dioxide

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grigg, R.B.; Lingane, P.J.

1983-10-01

The use of an equation of state to predict phase behavior during carbon dioxide flooding is well established. There is consensus that the characterization of the C fraction, the grouping of this fraction into ''pseudo components'', and the selection of interaction parameters are the most important variables. However, the literature is vague as to how to best select the pseudo components, especially when aiming for a few-component representation as for a field scale compositional simulation. Single-contact phase behavior is presented for mixtures of Ford Geraldine (Delaware), Maljamar (Grayburg), West Sussex (Shannon), and Reservoir D reservoir fluids, and of a syntheticmore » oil C/C/C, with carbon dioxide. One can reproduce the phase behavior of these mixtures using 3-5 pseudo components and common interaction parameters. The critical properties of the pseudo components are calculated from detailed oil characterizations. Because the parameters are not further adjusted, this approach reduces the empiricism in fitting phase data and may result in a more accurate representation of the system as the composition of the oil changes during the approach to miscibility.« less

Structure functions in decomposing Au-Pt systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glas, R.; Blaschko, O.; Rosta, L.

1992-09-01

The evolution of Au-Pt alloys quenched within the miscibility gap is investigated by small-angle neutron-scattering techniques. Moreover, in the vicinity of fundamental Bragg reflections the evolution of ``sideband'' satellites induced by a lattice-parameter modulation connected with the precipitation pattern is investigated by diffuse scattering methods. Structure functions are evaluated for a series of concentrations within the miscibility gap and compared to recent results of the literature.

Implications of surfactant-induced flow for miscible-displacement estimation of air-water interfacial areas in unsaturated porous media.

PubMed

Costanza-Robinson, Molly S; Zheng, Zheng; Henry, Eric J; Estabrook, Benjamin D; Littlefield, Malcolm H

2012-10-16

Surfactant miscible-displacement experiments represent a conventional means of estimating air-water interfacial area (A(I)) in unsaturated porous media. However, changes in surface tension during the experiment can potentially induce unsaturated flow, thereby altering interfacial areas and violating several fundamental method assumptions, including that of steady-state flow. In this work, the magnitude of surfactant-induced flow was quantified by monitoring moisture content and perturbations to effluent flow rate during miscible-displacement experiments conducted using a range of surfactant concentrations. For systems initially at 83% moisture saturation (S(W)), decreases of 18-43% S(W) occurred following surfactant introduction, with the magnitude and rate of drainage inversely related to the surface tension of the surfactant solution. Drainage induced by 0.1 mM sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate, commonly used for A(I) estimation, resulted in effluent flow rate increases of up to 27% above steady-state conditions and is estimated to more than double the interfacial area over the course of the experiment. Depending on the surfactant concentration and the moisture content used to describe the system, A(I) estimates varied more than 3-fold. The magnitude of surfactant-induced flow is considerably larger than previously recognized and casts doubt on the reliability of A(I) estimation by surfactant miscible-displacement.

Giant Plasma Membrane Vesicles: An Experimental Tool for Probing the Effects of Drugs and Other Conditions on Membrane Domain Stability.

PubMed

Gerstle, Zoe; Desai, Rohan; Veatch, Sarah L

2018-01-01

Giant plasma membrane vesicles (GPMVs) are isolated directly from living cells and provide an alternative to vesicles constructed of synthetic or purified lipids as an experimental model system for use in a wide range of assays. GPMVs capture much of the compositional protein and lipid complexity of intact cell plasma membranes, are filled with cytoplasm, and are free from contamination with membranes from internal organelles. GPMVs often exhibit a miscibility transition below the growth temperature of their parent cells. GPMVs labeled with a fluorescent protein or lipid analog appear uniform on the micron-scale when imaged above the miscibility transition temperature, and separate into coexisting liquid domains with differing membrane compositions and physical properties below this temperature. The presence of this miscibility transition in isolated GPMVs suggests that a similar phase-like heterogeneity occurs in intact plasma membranes under growth conditions, albeit on smaller length scales. In this context, GPMVs provide a simple and controlled experimental system to explore how drugs and other environmental conditions alter the composition and stability of phase-like domains in intact cell membranes. This chapter describes methods to generate and isolate GPMVs from adherent mammalian cells and to interrogate their miscibility transition temperatures using fluorescence microscopy. © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding How the Presence of Uniform Electric Fields Can Shift the Miscibility of Polystyrene/Poly(vinyl methyl ether) Blends

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kriisa, Annika; Roth, Connie B.

2015-03-01

Techniques which can externally control and manipulate the phase behavior of polymeric systems, without altering chemistry on a molecular level, have great practical benefits. One such possible mechanism is the use of electric fields, shown to cause interfacial instabilities, orientation of morphologies, and phase transitions in polymer blends and block copolymers. We have recently demonstrated that the presence of uniform electric fields can also strongly enhance the miscibility of polystyrene (PS) / poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME) blends [J. Chem. Phys. 2014, 141, 134908]. Using fluorescence to measure the phase separation temperature Ts of PS/PVME blends with and without electric fields, we show that Ts can be reproducibly and reversibly increased by 13.5 +/- 1.4 K for electric fields of 17 kV/mm for this lower critical solution temperature (LCST) blend. This increase in blend miscibility with electric fields represents some of the largest absolute shifts in Ts ever recorded, well outside of experimental error. The best theoretical prediction for the expected shift in Ts with electric field for this system is still two orders of magnitude smaller than that observed experimentally. We discuss the limitations of this theoretical prediction and consider possible factors affecting miscibility that may need to be also included.

Re-refining of waste petroleum by competing solubility characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Byars, Michael Steven

1998-11-01

The United States produces over 1.3 billion gallons of used oil per year. Of the 1.3 billion gallons about 60% is used as fuel, nearly 20% is dumped into the environment, 13% is placed in landfills, 2% is re-refined into lube oil, and the remaining is either used for other purposes or incinerated. This is a great potential source of lubricating oil. The work presented here is a solvent extraction process using a solvent (highly miscible with the oil) and a co-solvent (slightly miscible with the oil). Extractions using isopropanol, ethanol, methyl tert-butylether and methanol are presented. The criteria used for evaluation of the extraction processes are yield, product viscosity index, and ash percent. The solvent/co-solvent combinations of MTBE and ethanol performed best and had the advantage of a common solvent/co-solvent in all extraction steps. The extraction process that provided the best results was a two step process using a combination solvent of MTBE and ethanol. The used oil was first extracted using MTBE/ethanol. The extracted oil was then contacted with a solvent combination composed of 80% ethanol. This solvent combination extracted the remaining additives from the oil. The recovered oil was nearly 60% by weight with a high viscosity index and no ash content. A preliminary battery limits design and economic analysis of the process was performed. A 500 bbl/day plant would have a capital cost of 1.9 million and an annual operation cost of 310,000. The plant as designed would produce 300 bbl/day of lube feedstock and have an ROI of 19%.

Monitoring the dynamics of miscible P3HT:PCBM blends: A quasi elastic neutron scattering study of organic photovoltaic active layers

DOE PAGES

Etampawala, Thusitha; Ratnaweera, Dilru; Morgan, Brian; ...

2015-02-02

Our work reports on the detailed molecular dynamic behavior of miscible blends of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) and their pure counterparts by quasi-elastic neutron scattering measurements (QENS). The study provides the measure of relaxation processes on pico-to-nanosecond time scales. A single relaxation process was observed in pure P3HT and PCBM while two relaxation processes, one fast and one slow, were observed in the blends. The fast process was attributed to the dynamics of P3HT while the slow process was correlated to the dynamics of PCBM. The results show that the relaxation process is a balance betweenmore » two opposing effects: increased mobility due to thermal activation of P3HT molecules and decrease mobility due to the presence of PCBM which is correlated to the percent crystallinity of P3HT and local packing density of PCBM in the amorphous phase. The threshold for the domination of the thermally activated relaxation is between 5 and 9 vol.% of PCBM loading. Two distinct spatial dependences of the relaxation processes, in which the crossover length scale depends neither on temperature nor composition, were observed for all the samples. They were attributed to the collective motions of the hexyl side chains and the rotational motions of the C-C single bonds of the side chains. Finally, these results provide an understanding of the effects of PCBM loading and temperature on the dynamics of the polymer-fullerene blends which provides a tool to optimize the efficiency of charge carrier and exciton transport within the organic photovoltaic (OPV) active layer to improve the high performance of organic solar cells.« less

Supramolecular Phase-Selective Gelation by Peptides Bearing Side-Chain Azobenzenes: Effect of Ultrasound and Potential for Dye Removal and Oil Spill Remediation

PubMed Central

Bachl, Jürgen; Oehm, Stefan; Mayr, Judith; Cativiela, Carlos; Marrero-Tellado, José Juan; Díaz Díaz, David

2015-01-01

Phase selective gelation (PSG) of organic phases from their non-miscible mixtures with water was achieved using tetrapeptides bearing a side-chain azobenzene moiety. The presence of the chromophore allowed PSG at the same concentration as the minimum gelation concentration (MGC) necessary to obtain the gels in pure organic phases. Remarkably, the presence of the water phase during PSG did not impact the thermal, mechanical, and morphological properties of the corresponding organogels. In the case of miscible oil/water mixtures, the entire mixture was gelled, resulting in the formation of quasi-hydrogels. Importantly, PSG could be triggered at room temperature by ultrasound treatment of the mixture or by adding ultrasound-aided concentrated solution of the peptide in an oil-phase to a mixture of the same oil and water. Moreover, the PSG was not affected by the presence of salts or impurities existing in water from natural sources. The process could be scaled-up, and the oil phases (e.g., aromatic solvents, gasoline, diesel fuel) recovered almost quantitatively after a simple distillation process, which also allowed the recovery and reuse of the gelator. Finally, these peptidic gelators could be used to quantitatively remove toxic dyes from aqueous solutions. PMID:26006247

Numerical simulation of miscible viscous fingering with viscosity change in a displacing fluid by chemical reaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Omori, Keiichiro; Nagatsu, Yuichiro

2017-11-01

Viscous fingering (VF) with viscosity changes by chemical reactions in case of miscible systems have been investigated both experimentally and theoretically in the recent years. Nagatsu et al. investigated experimentally miscible VF in which viscosity of the displaced fluid or the displacing one is changed by fast chemical reaction They showed that VF was more dense by the viscosity increase whereas less dense by the viscosity increase regardless of whether the viscosity change occurs in the displaced fluid or displacing one. From a theoretical viewpoint, numerical simulation performed on the reactive VF where viscosity of the displaced fluid is changed by instantaneously fast chemical reaction. The results had a good agreement with those in the corresponding experiment. In this work, we have conducted numerical simulation on such reactive VF where viscosity of the displacing fluid is changed. We have found the results have a good agreement with the corresponding experimental ones.

Miscibility phase diagram of ring-polymer blends: A topological effect.

PubMed

Sakaue, Takahiro; Nakajima, Chihiro H

2016-04-01

The miscibility of polymer blends, a classical problem in polymer science, may be altered, if one or both of the component do not have chain ends. Based on the idea of topological volume, we propose a mean-field theory to clarify how the topological constraints in ring polymers affect the phase behavior of the blends. While the large enhancement of the miscibility is expected for ring-linear polymer blends, the opposite trend toward demixing, albeit comparatively weak, is predicted for ring-ring polymer blends. Scaling formulas for the shift of critical point for both cases are derived. We discuss the valid range of the present theory, and the crossover to the linear polymer blends behaviors, which is expected for short chains. These analyses put forward a view that the topological constraints could be represented as an effective excluded-volume effects, in which the topological length plays a role of the screening factor.

Analytical and variational numerical methods for unstable miscible displacement flows in porous media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scovazzi, Guglielmo; Wheeler, Mary F.; Mikelić, Andro; Lee, Sanghyun

2017-04-01

The miscible displacement of one fluid by another in a porous medium has received considerable attention in subsurface, environmental and petroleum engineering applications. When a fluid of higher mobility displaces another of lower mobility, unstable patterns - referred to as viscous fingering - may arise. Their physical and mathematical study has been the object of numerous investigations over the past century. The objective of this paper is to present a review of these contributions with particular emphasis on variational methods. These algorithms are tailored to real field applications thanks to their advanced features: handling of general complex geometries, robustness in the presence of rough tensor coefficients, low sensitivity to mesh orientation in advection dominated scenarios, and provable convergence with fully unstructured grids. This paper is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Jim Douglas Jr., for his seminal contributions to miscible displacement and variational numerical methods.

Large Scale Processes and Extreme Floods in Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ribeiro Lima, C. H.; AghaKouchak, A.; Lall, U.

2016-12-01

Persistent large scale anomalies in the atmospheric circulation and ocean state have been associated with heavy rainfall and extreme floods in water basins of different sizes across the world. Such studies have emerged in the last years as a new tool to improve the traditional, stationary based approach in flood frequency analysis and flood prediction. Here we seek to advance previous studies by evaluating the dominance of large scale processes (e.g. atmospheric rivers/moisture transport) over local processes (e.g. local convection) in producing floods. We consider flood-prone regions in Brazil as case studies and the role of large scale climate processes in generating extreme floods in such regions is explored by means of observed streamflow, reanalysis data and machine learning methods. The dynamics of the large scale atmospheric circulation in the days prior to the flood events are evaluated based on the vertically integrated moisture flux and its divergence field, which are interpreted in a low-dimensional space as obtained by machine learning techniques, particularly supervised kernel principal component analysis. In such reduced dimensional space, clusters are obtained in order to better understand the role of regional moisture recycling or teleconnected moisture in producing floods of a given magnitude. The convective available potential energy (CAPE) is also used as a measure of local convection activities. We investigate for individual sites the exceedance probability in which large scale atmospheric fluxes dominate the flood process. Finally, we analyze regional patterns of floods and how the scaling law of floods with drainage area responds to changes in the climate forcing mechanisms (e.g. local vs large scale).

Extraction process for removing metallic impurities from alkalide metals

DOEpatents

Royer, L.T.

1987-03-20

A development is described for removing metallic impurities from alkali metals by employing an extraction process wherein the metallic impurities are extracted from a molten alkali metal into molten lithium metal due to the immiscibility of the alkali metals in lithium and the miscibility of the metallic contaminants or impurities in the lithium. The purified alkali metal may be readily separated from the contaminant-containing lithium metal by simple decanting due to the differences in densities and melting temperatures of the alkali metals as compared to lithium.

High-resolution urban flood modelling - a joint probability approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hartnett, Michael; Olbert, Agnieszka; Nash, Stephen

2017-04-01

The hydrodynamic modelling of rapid flood events due to extreme climatic events in urban environment is both a complex and challenging task. The horizontal resolution necessary to resolve complexity of urban flood dynamics is a critical issue; the presence of obstacles of varying shapes and length scales, gaps between buildings and the complex geometry of the city such as slopes affect flow paths and flood levels magnitudes. These small scale processes require a high resolution grid to be modelled accurately (2m or less, Olbert et al., 2015; Hunter et al., 2008; Brown et al., 2007) and, therefore, altimetry data of at least the same resolution. Along with availability of high-resolution LiDAR data and computational capabilities, as well as state of the art nested modelling approaches, these problems can now be overcome. Flooding and drying, domain definition, frictional resistance and boundary descriptions are all important issues to be addressed when modelling urban flooding. In recent years, the number of urban flood models dramatically increased giving a good insight into various modelling problems and solutions (Mark et al., 2004; Mason et al., 2007; Fewtrell et al., 2008; Shubert et al., 2008). Despite extensive modelling work conducted for fluvial (e.g. Mignot et al., 2006; Hunter et al., 2008; Yu and Lane, 2006) and coastal mechanisms of flooding (e.g. Gallien et al., 2011; Yang et al., 2012), the amount of investigations into combined coastal-fluvial flooding is still very limited (e.g. Orton et al., 2012; Lian et al., 2013). This is surprising giving the extent of flood consequences when both mechanisms occur simultaneously, which usually happens when they are driven by one process such as a storm. The reason for that could be the fact that the likelihood of joint event is much smaller than those of any of the two contributors occurring individually, because for fast moving storms the rainfall-driven fluvial flood arrives usually later than the storm surge (Divoky et al., 2005). Nevertheless, such events occur and in Ireland alone there are several cases of serious damage due to flooding resulting from a combination of high sea water levels and river flows driven by the same meteorological conditions (e.g. Olbert et al. 2015). A November 2009 fluvial-coastal flooding of Cork City bringing €100m loss was one such incident. This event was used by Olbert et al. (2015) to determine processes controlling urban flooding and is further explored in this study to elaborate on coastal and fluvial flood mechanisms and their roles in controlling water levels. The objective of this research is to develop a methodology to assess combined effect of multiple source flooding on flood probability and severity in urban areas and to establish a set of conditions that dictate urban flooding due to extreme climatic events. These conditions broadly combine physical flood drivers (such as coastal and fluvial processes), their mechanisms and thresholds defining flood severity. The two main physical processes controlling urban flooding: high sea water levels (coastal flooding) and high river flows (fluvial flooding), and their threshold values for which flood is likely to occur, are considered in this study. Contribution of coastal and fluvial drivers to flooding and their impacts are assessed in a two-step process. The first step involves frequency analysis and extreme value statistical modelling of storm surges, tides and river flows and ultimately the application of joint probability method to estimate joint exceedence return periods for combination of surges, tide and river flows. In the second step, a numerical model of Cork Harbour MSN_Flood comprising a cascade of four nested high-resolution models is used to perform simulation of flood inundation under numerous hypothetical coastal and fluvial flood scenarios. The risk of flooding is quantified based on a range of physical aspects such as the extent and depth of inundation (Apel et al., 2008) The methodology includes estimates of flood probabilities due to coastal- and fluvial-driven processes occurring individually or jointly, mechanisms of flooding and their impacts on urban environment. Various flood scenarios are examined in order to demonstrate that this methodology is necessary to quantify the important physical processes in coastal flood predictions. Cork City, located on the south of Ireland subject to frequent coastal-fluvial flooding, is used as a study case.

Flash Flood Type Identification within Catchments in Beijing Mountainous Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nan, W.

2017-12-01

Flash flood is a common type of disaster in mountainous area, Flash flood with the feature of large flow rate, strong flushing force, destructive power, has periodically caused loss to life and destruction to infrastructure in mountainous area. Beijing as China's political, economic and cultural center, the disaster prevention and control work in Beijing mountainous area has always been concerned widely. According to the transport mechanism, sediment concentration and density, the flash flood type identification within catchment can provide basis for making the hazards prevention and mitigation policy. Taking Beijing as the study area, this paper extracted parameters related to catchment morphological and topography features respectively. By using Bayes discriminant, Logistic regression and Random forest, the catchments in Beijing mountainous area were divided into water floods process, fluvial sediment transport process and debris flows process. The results found that Logistic regression analysis showed the highest accuracy, with the overall accuracy of 88.2%. Bayes discriminant and Random forest had poor prediction effects. This study confirmed the ability of morphological and topography features to identify flash flood process. The circularity ratio, elongation ratio and roughness index can be used to explain the flash flood types effectively, and the Melton ratio and elevation relief ratio also did a good job during the identification, whereas the drainage density seemed not to be an issue at this level of detail. Based on the analysis of spatial patterns of flash flood types, fluvial sediment transport process and debris flow process were the dominant hazards, while the pure water flood process was much less. The catchments dominated by fluvial sediment transport process were mainly distributed in the Yan Mountain region, where the fault belts were relatively dense. The debris flow process prone to occur in the Taihang Mountain region thanks to the abundant coal gangues. The pure water flood process catchments were mainly distributed in the transitional mountain front.

What are the hydro-meteorological controls on flood characteristics?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nied, Manuela; Schröter, Kai; Lüdtke, Stefan; Nguyen, Viet Dung; Merz, Bruno

2017-02-01

Flood events can be expressed by a variety of characteristics such as flood magnitude and extent, event duration or incurred loss. Flood estimation and management may benefit from understanding how the different flood characteristics relate to the hydrological catchment conditions preceding the event and to the meteorological conditions throughout the event. In this study, we therefore propose a methodology to investigate the hydro-meteorological controls on different flood characteristics, based on the simulation of the complete flood risk chain from the flood triggering precipitation event, through runoff generation in the catchment, flood routing and possible inundation in the river system and floodplains to flood loss. Conditional cumulative distribution functions and regression tree analysis delineate the seasonal varying flood processes and indicate that the effect of the hydrological pre-conditions, i.e. soil moisture patterns, and of the meteorological conditions, i.e. weather patterns, depends on the considered flood characteristic. The methodology is exemplified for the Elbe catchment. In this catchment, the length of the build-up period, the event duration and the number of gauges undergoing at least a 10-year flood are governed by weather patterns. The affected length and the number of gauges undergoing at least a 2-year flood are however governed by soil moisture patterns. In case of flood severity and loss, the controlling factor is less pronounced. Severity is slightly governed by soil moisture patterns whereas loss is slightly governed by weather patterns. The study highlights that flood magnitude and extent arise from different flood generation processes and concludes that soil moisture patterns as well as weather patterns are not only beneficial to inform on possible flood occurrence but also on the involved flood processes and resulting flood characteristics.

Templated Native Silk Smectic Gels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Park, Jae-Hyung (Inventor); Valluzzi, Regina (Inventor); Jin, Hyoung-Joon (Inventor)

2013-01-01

One aspect of the present invention relates to a method of preparing a fibrous protein smectic hydrogel by way of a solvent templating process, comprising the steps of pouring an aqueous fibrous protein solution into a container comprising a solvent that is not miscible with water; sealing the container and allowing it to age at about room temperature; and collecting the resulting fibrous protein smectic hydrogel and allowing it to dry. Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method of obtaining predominantly one enantiomer from a racemic mixture, comprising the steps of pouring an aqueous fibrous protein solution into a container comprising a solvent that is not miscible with water; sealing the container and allowing it to age at about room temperature; allowing the enantiomers of racemic mixture to diffuse selectively into the smectic hydrogel in solution; removing the smectic hydrogel from the solution; rinsing predominantly one enantiomer from the surface of the smectic hydrogel; and extracting predominantly one enantiomer from the interior of the smectic hydrogel. The present invention also relates to a smectic hydrogel prepared according to an aforementioned method.

Templated Native Silk Smectic Gels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Park, Jae-Hyung (Inventor); Valluzzi, Regina (Inventor); Jin, Hyoung-Joon (Inventor)

2016-01-01

One aspect of the present invention relates to a method of preparing a fibrous protein smectic hydrogel by way of a solvent templating process, comprising the steps of pouring an aqueous fibrous protein solution into a container comprising a solvent that is not miscible with water; sealing the container and allowing it to age at about room temperature; and collecting the resulting fibrous protein smectic hydrogel and allowing it to dry. Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method of obtaining predominantly one enantiomer from a racemic mixture, comprising the steps of pouring an aqueous fibrous protein solution into a container comprising a solvent that is not miscible with water; sealing the container and allowing it to age at about room temperature; allowing the enantiomers of racemic mixture to diffuse selectively into the smectic hydrogel in solution; removing the smectic hydrogel from the solution; rinsing predominantly one enantiomer from the surface of the smectic hydrogel; and extracting predominantly one enantiomer from the interior of the smectic hydrogel. The present invention also relates to a smectic hydrogel prepared according to an aforementioned method.

Miscible phase displacement, a survey. Part 3

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stahl, C.D.

1965-03-01

J. G. Fitzgerald displaced a heavy hydrocarbon and water with a light hydrocarbon. C. Gatlin displaced oil and water with IPA slugs and a variety of combination alcohol slugs. S. H. Raza found that the alcohol process was more efficient at the lower rates of injection as compared to the higher rates. J. J. Taber, et al. displaced Soltrol and brine with isopropyl alcohol and tertiary butyl alcohol. R. L. Boyers, from his experimental data, deduced that molecular diffusion contributed very little toward the growth of the mixing zone. Not all the investigators are in agreement concerning the role ofmore » the injection rate in miscible displacement. Some of them have concluded that the displacement is sensitive to rate at high rates. Some have found that there is relationship between rate and recovery and that higher rates are more efficient. A literature review reveals that there is a definite rate sensitivity at all rates, especially at low rates of flow. From this information it is concluded that low rates are superior to high rates from the displacement efficiency viewpoint. (18 refs.)« less

Templated native silk smectic gels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Park, Jae-Hyung (Inventor); Valluzzi, Regina (Inventor); Jin, Hyoung-Joon (Inventor)

2009-01-01

One aspect of the present invention relates to a method of preparing a fibrous protein smectic hydrogel by way of a solvent templating process, comprising the steps of pouring an aqueous fibrous protein solution into a container comprising a solvent that is not miscible with water; sealing the container and allowing it to age at about room temperature; and collecting the resulting fibrous protein smectic hydrogel and allowing it to dry. Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method of obtaining predominantly one enantiomer from a racemic mixture, comprising the steps of pouring an aqueous fibrous protein solution into a container comprising a solvent that is not miscible with water; sealing the container and allowing it to age at about room temperature; allowing the enantiomers of racemic mixture to diffuse selectively into the smectic hydrogel in solution; removing the smectic hydrogel from the solution; rinsing predominantly one enantiomer from the surface of the smectic hydrogel; and extracting predominantly one enantiomer from the interior of the smectic hydrogel. The present invention also relates to a smectic hydrogel prepared according to an aforementioned method.

Optimising Drug Solubilisation in Amorphous Polymer Dispersions: Rational Selection of Hot-melt Extrusion Processing Parameters.

PubMed

Li, Shu; Tian, Yiwei; Jones, David S; Andrews, Gavin P

2016-02-01

The aim of this article was to construct a T-ϕ phase diagram for a model drug (FD) and amorphous polymer (Eudragit® EPO) and to use this information to understand the impact of how temperature-composition coordinates influenced the final properties of the extrudate. Defining process boundaries and understanding drug solubility in polymeric carriers is of utmost importance and will help in the successful manufacture of new delivery platforms for BCS class II drugs. Physically mixed felodipine (FD)-Eudragit(®) EPO (EPO) binary mixtures with pre-determined weight fractions were analysed using DSC to measure the endset of melting and glass transition temperature. Extrudates of 10 wt% FD-EPO were processed using temperatures (110°C, 126°C, 140°C and 150°C) selected from the temperature-composition (T-ϕ) phase diagrams and processing screw speed of 20, 100 and 200rpm. Extrudates were characterised using powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), optical, polarised light and Raman microscopy. To ensure formation of a binary amorphous drug dispersion (ADD) at a specific composition, HME processing temperatures should at least be equal to, or exceed, the corresponding temperature value on the liquid-solid curve in a F-H T-ϕ phase diagram. If extruded between the spinodal and liquid-solid curve, the lack of thermodynamic forces to attain complete drug amorphisation may be compensated for through the use of an increased screw speed. Constructing F-H T-ϕ phase diagrams are valuable not only in the understanding drug-polymer miscibility behaviour but also in rationalising the selection of important processing parameters for HME to ensure miscibility of drug and polymer.

44 CFR 78.6 - Flood Mitigation Plan approval process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... approval process. 78.6 Section 78.6 Emergency Management and Assistance FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY... MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78.6 Flood Mitigation Plan approval process. The State POC will forward all Flood... reasons for non-approval and offer suggestions for improvement. ...

The influence of guaifenesin and ketoprofen on the properties of hot-melt extruded polyethylene oxide films.

PubMed

Crowley, Michael M; Fredersdorf, Anke; Schroeder, Britta; Kucera, Shawn; Prodduturi, Suneela; Repka, Michael A; McGinity, James W

2004-08-01

Films containing polyethylene oxide (PEO) and a model drug, either guaifenesin (GFN) or ketoprofen (KTP), were prepared by hot-melt extrusion. The thermal properties of the hot-melt extruded films were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to examine the surface morphology of the films, and wide angle X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to investigate the crystalline properties of the polymer, drugs and physical mixtures as well as the solid state structure of the films. The stability of the polymer was studied using gel permeation chromatography. The mechanical properties, including percent elongation and tensile strength of the films, were determined on an Instron according to American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) procedures. The Hansen solubility parameter was calculated using the Hoftyzer or van Krevelen method to estimate the likelihood of drug--polymer miscibility. Both GFN and KTP were stable during the extrusion process. Melting points corresponding to the crystalline drugs were not observed in the films. Crystallization of GFN on the surface of the film was observed at all concentrations studied, however KTP crystallization did not occur until reaching the 15% level. Guaifenesin and ketoprofen were found to decrease drive load, increase PEO stability and plasticize the polymer during extrusion. The Hansen solubility parameters predicted miscibility between PEO and KTP and poor miscibility between PEO and GFN. The predictions of the solubility parameters were in agreement with the XRD and SEM results. The percent elongation decreased with increasing GFN concentrations and significantly increased with increasing levels of KTP. Both GFN and KTP decreased the tensile strength of the extruded film.

Effect of gamma ray on poly(lactic acid)/poly(vinyl acetate-co-vinyl alcohol) blends as biodegradable food packaging films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Razavi, Seyed Mohammad; Dadbin, Susan; Frounchi, Masoud

2014-03-01

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/poly(vinyl acetate-co-vinyl alcohol) [P(VAc-co-VA)] blends as new transparent film packaging materials were prepared at various blend compositions and different vinyl alcohol contents. The blends and pure PLA were irradiated by gamma rays to investigate the extent of changes in the packaging material during gamma ray sterilization process. The miscibility of the blends was dependent on the blend composition and vinyl alcohol content; gamma irradiation had little effect on the extent of miscibility. The glass transition temperature of pure PLA and PLA/P(VAc-co-VA) miscible blends reduced after irradiation. On the other hand in PLA/P(VAc-co-VA) immiscible blends, while the glass transition temperature of the PLA phase decreased; that of the copolymer phase slightly increased. The reduction in the glass transition was about 10 percent for samples irradiated with 50 kGy indicating dominance of chain scission of PLA molecules at high irradiation dose. The latter was verified by drop in mechanical properties of pure PLA after exposing to gamma irradiation at 50 kGy. Blending of PLA with the copolymer P(VAc-co-VA) compensated greatly the adverse effects of irradiation on PLA. The oxygen-barrier property of the blend was superior to the neat PLA and remained almost intact with irradiation. The un-irradiated and irradiated blends had excellent transparency. Gamma ray doses used for sterilization purposes are usually less than 20 kGy. It was shown that gamma irradiation at 20 kGy had no or little adverse effects on PLA/P(VAc-co-VA) blends mechanical and gas barrier properties.

Relating hydrogen-bonding interactions with the phase behavior of naproxen/PVP K 25 solid dispersions: evaluation of solution-cast and quench-cooled films.

PubMed

Paudel, Amrit; Nies, Erik; Van den Mooter, Guy

2012-11-05

In this work, we investigated the relationship between various intermolecular hydrogen-bonding (H-bonding) interactions and the miscibility of the model hydrophobic drug naproxen with the hydrophilic polymer polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) across an entire composition range of solid dispersions prepared by quasi-equilibrium film casting and nonequilibrium melt quench cooling. The binary phase behavior in solid dispersions exhibited substantial processing method dependence. The solid state solubility of crystalline naproxen in PVP to form amorphous solid dispersions was 35% and 70% w/w naproxen in solution-cast films and quench-cooled films, respectively. However, the presence of a single mixed phase glass transition indicated the amorphous miscibility to be 20% w/w naproxen for the films, beyond which amorphous-amorphous and/or crystalline phase separations were apparent. This was further supported by the solution state interactions data such as PVP globular size distribution and solution infrared spectral profiles. The borderline melt composition showed cooling rate dependence of amorphization. The glass transition and melting point depression profiles of the system were treated with the analytical expressions based on Flory-Huggins mixing theory to interpolate the equilibrium solid solubility. FTIR analysis and subsequent spectral deconvolution revealed composition and miscibility dependent variations in the strength of drug-polymer intermolecular H-bonding. Two types of H-bonded populations were evidenced from 25% w/w and 35% w/w naproxen in solution-cast films and quench-cooled films, respectively, with the higher fraction of strongly H-bonded population in the drug rich domains of phase separated amorphous film compositions and highly drug loaded amorphous quench-cooled dispersions.

Comparative hazard analysis of processes leading to remarkable flash floods (France, 1930-1999)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boudou, M.; Lang, M.; Vinet, F.; Cœur, D.

2016-10-01

Flash flood events are responsible for large economic losses and lead to fatalities every year in France. This is especially the case in the Mediterranean and oversea territories/departments of France, characterized by extreme hydro-climatological features and with a large part of the population exposed to flood risks. The recurrence of remarkable flash flood events, associated with high hazard intensity, significant damage and socio-political consequences, therefore raises several issues for authorities and risk management policies. This study aims to improve our understanding of the hazard analysis process in the case of four remarkable flood events: March 1930, October 1940, January 1980 and November 1999. Firstly, we present the methodology used to define the remarkability score of a flood event. Then, to identify the factors leading to a remarkable flood event, we explore the main parameters of the hazard analysis process, such as the meteorological triggering conditions, the return period of the rainfall and peak discharge, as well as some additional factors (initial catchment state, flood chronology, cascade effects, etc.). The results contribute to understanding the complexity of the processes leading to flood hazard and highlight the importance for risk managers of taking additional factors into account.

Activation of porous MOF materials

DOEpatents

Hupp, Joseph T; Farha, Omar K

2013-04-23

A method for the treatment of solvent-containing MOF material to increase its internal surface area involves introducing a liquid into the MOF in which liquid the solvent is miscible, subjecting the MOF to supercritical conditions for a time to form supercritical fluid, and releasing the supercritical conditions to remove the supercritical fluid from the MOF. Prior to introducing the liquid into the MOF, occluded reaction solvent, such as DEF or DMF, in the MOF can be exchanged for the miscible solvent.

Activation of porous MOF materials

DOEpatents

Hupp, Joseph T; Farha, Omar K

2014-04-01

A method for the treatment of solvent-containing MOF material to increase its internal surface area involves introducing a liquid into the MOF in which liquid the solvent is miscible, subjecting the MOF to supercritical conditions for a time to form supercritical fluid, and releasing the supercritical conditions to remove the supercritcal fluid from the MOF. Prior to introducing the liquid into the MOF, occluded reaction solvent, such as DEF or DMF, in the MOF can be exchanged for the miscible solvent.

Designing a Flood-Risk Education Program in the Netherlands

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bosschaart, Adwin; van der Schee, Joop; Kuiper, Wilmad

2016-01-01

This study focused on designing a flood-risk education program to enhance 15-year-old students' flood-risk perception. In the flood-risk education program, learning processes were modeled in such a way that the arousal of moderate levels of fear should prompt experiential and analytical information processing. In this way, understanding of flood…

Full Characterization of CO2-Oil Properties On-Chip: Solubility, Diffusivity, Extraction Pressure, Miscibility, and Contact Angle.

PubMed

Sharbatian, Atena; Abedini, Ali; Qi, ZhenBang; Sinton, David

2018-02-20

Carbon capture, storage, and utilization technologies target a reduction in net CO 2 emissions to mitigate greenhouse gas effects. The largest such projects worldwide involve storing CO 2 through enhanced oil recovery-a technologically and economically feasible approach that combines both storage and oil recovery. Successful implementation relies on detailed measurements of CO 2 -oil properties at relevant reservoir conditions (P = 2.0-13.0 MPa and T = 23 and 50 °C). In this paper, we demonstrate a microfluidic method to quantify the comprehensive suite of mutual properties of a CO 2 and crude oil mixture including solubility, diffusivity, extraction pressure, minimum miscibility pressure (MMP), and contact angle. The time-lapse oil swelling/extraction in response to CO 2 exposure under stepwise increasing pressure was quantified via fluorescence microscopy, using the inherent fluorescence property of the oil. The CO 2 solubilities and diffusion coefficients were determined from the swelling process with measurements in strong agreement with previous results. The CO 2 -oil MMP was determined from the subsequent oil extraction process with measurements within 5% of previous values. In addition, the oil-CO 2 -silicon contact angle was measured throughout the process, with contact angle increasing with pressure. In contrast with conventional methods, which require days and ∼500 mL of fluid sample, the approach here provides a comprehensive suite of measurements, 100-fold faster with less than 1 μL of sample, and an opportunity to better inform large-scale CO 2 projects.

Miscibility and Phase Behavior of N-Acylethanolamine/Diacylphosphatidylethanolamine Binary Mixtures of Matched Acyl Chainlengths (n = 14, 16)

PubMed Central

Kamlekar, Ravi Kanth; Satyanarayana, S.; Marsh, Derek; Swamy, Musti J.

2007-01-01

The miscibility and phase behavior of hydrated binary mixtures of two N-acylethanolamines (NAEs), N-myristoylethanolamine (NMEA), and N-palmitoylethanolamine (NPEA), with the corresponding diacyl phosphatidylethanolamines (PEs), dimyristoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DMPE), and dipalmitoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DPPE), respectively, have been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), spin-label electron spin resonance (ESR), and 31P-NMR spectroscopy. Temperature-composition phase diagrams for both NMEA/DMPE and NPEA/DPPE binary systems were established from high sensitivity DSC. The structures of the phases involved were determined by 31P-NMR spectroscopy. For both systems, complete miscibility in the fluid and gel phases is indicated by DSC and ESR, up to 35 mol % of NMEA in DMPE and 40 mol % of NPEA in DPPE. At higher contents of the NAEs, extensive solid-fluid phase separation and solid-solid immiscibility occur depending on the temperature. Characterization of the structures of the mixtures formed with 31P-NMR spectroscopy shows that up to 75 mol % of NAE, both DMPE and DPPE form lamellar structures in the gel phase as well as up to at least 65°C in the fluid phase. ESR spectra of phosphatidylcholine spin labeled at the C-5 position in the sn-2 acyl chain present at a probe concentration of 1 mol % exhibit strong spin-spin broadening in the low-temperature region for both systems, suggesting that the acyl chains pack very tightly and exclude the spin label. However, spectra recorded in the fluid phase do not exhibit any spin-spin broadening and indicate complete miscibility of the two components. The miscibility of NAE and diacyl PE of matched chainlengths is significantly less than that found earlier for NPEA and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, an observation that is consistent with the notion that the NAEs are most likely stored as their precursor lipids (N-acyl PEs) and are generated only when the system is subjected to membrane stress. PMID:17369415

Preparation of polydopamine nanocapsules in a miscible tetrahydrofuran-buffer mixture.

PubMed

Ni, Yun-Zhou; Jiang, Wen-Feng; Tong, Gang-Sheng; Chen, Jian-Xin; Wang, Jie; Li, Hui-Mei; Yu, Chun-Yang; Huang, Xiao-hua; Zhou, Yong-Feng

2015-01-21

A miscible tetrahydrofuran-tris buffer mixture has been used to fabricate polydopamine hollow capsules with a size of 200 nm and with a shell thickness of 40 nm. An unusual non-emulsion soft template mechanism has been disclosed to explain the formation of capsules. The results indicate that the capsule structure is highly dependent on the volume fraction of tetrahydrofuran as well as the solvent, and the shell thickness of capsules can be controlled by adjusting the reaction time and dopamine concentration.

Video of Miscible Fluid Experiment Conducted on NASA Low Gravity Airplane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

This is a video of dyed water being injected into glycerin in a 2.2 centimeter (cm) diameter test tube. The experiment was conducted on the KC-135 aircraft, a NASA plane that creates microgravity and 2g conditions as it maneuvers through multiple parabolas. The water is less dense and so it rises to the top of the glycerin. The goal of the experiment was to determine if a blob of a miscible fluid would spontaneously become spherical in a microgravity environment.

The resilience of neighborhood social processes: A case study of the 2011 Brisbane flood.

PubMed

Wickes, Rebecca; Britt, Chester; Broidy, Lisa

2017-02-01

Social disorganization theories position neighborhood social capital and collective efficacy as key social processes that should facilitate community resilience in the aftermath of disaster. Yet limited evidence demonstrates that these social processes are themselves resilient with some studies showing that disaster can fracture even once cohesive neighborhoods. In this paper we assess the stability of neighborhood level collective efficacy and social capital before and after a disaster. We use multilevel structural equation modeling and draw on census and longitudinal survey data collected from over 4000 residents living in 148 neighborhoods in Brisbane, Australia before and after a significant flood event. We examine what happens to social capital and collective efficacy in flooded and non-flooded neighborhoods and assess whether demographic shifts are associated with change and/or stability in these processes. We find strong evidence that these processes operate similarly across flooded and not flooded communities. Our findings also reveal significant stability for our measures of social capital across time, while collective efficacy increases post flood across all neighborhoods, but more so in flooded neighborhoods. Neighborhood demographics have limited effect on patterns of stability or change in these social processes. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for our understanding of neighborhood resilience in the wake of disaster. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Response and recovery measures for two floods in north China during the nineteenth century: a comparative study.

PubMed

Ye, Yu; Fang, Xiuqi; Li, Fan

2016-01-01

The process of human response to natural disasters and its mechanisms as revealed by historical events still has a broad significance for modern society. This study analyzed the disaster relief process and the social response for two floods in China: the Yongding River flood in 1801 and the Yellow River flood in 1841. These two floods reflect the different response processes between the national and provincial capitals during a stage of climate cooling and social transition in the Qing dynasty. Applying methods of historical documents analysis and qualitatively comparative analysis to the materials such as Relief Chronicles Authorized by the Emperor in XinYou and Flood Description in Bian Liang , it shows that: (1) In 1801, the central government took on a lead position, from flood surveying to relief processes. However, local government and gentries played an important role in 1841. (2) In 1801, the government successfully undertook a series of relief measures addressing production, housing, food prices, taxes, and water conservancy and administration. In 1841, the response measures were relatively simple, focusing mainly on providing shelter and food for victims. (3) The government carried out long-term disaster prevention measures such as dredging channels after the flood in 1801. In 1841, however, the efforts were focused mainly on emergency rescue. (4) Refugees in the 1801 flood were effectively managed by a centralized authority. In 1841, regulation of the flooding was delayed by corruption and conflicts between officers, leading to an expansion of the disaster's impact. Above results have led to the conclusion that disaster relief systems and response measures had a significant effect on the consequences of those floods. Various flood relief measures and natural disasters management regimes have implications for contemporary flood hazard mitigation.

Study the influence of formulation process parameters on solubility and dissolution enhancement of efavirenz solid solutions prepared by hot-melt extrusion: a QbD methodology.

PubMed

Pawar, Jaywant; Suryawanshi, Dilipkumar; Moravkar, Kailas; Aware, Rahul; Shetty, Vasant; Maniruzzaman, Mohammed; Amin, Purnima

2018-02-09

The current study investigates the dissolution rate performance of amorphous solid solutions of a poorly water-soluble drug, efavirenz (EFV), in amorphous Soluplus® (SOL) and Kollidon® VA 64 (KVA64) polymeric systems. For the purpose of the study, various formulations with varying drug loadings of 30, 50, and 70% w/w were developed via hot-melt extrusion processing and adopting a Box-Behnken design of experiment (DoE) approach. The polymers were selected based on the Hansen solubility parameter calculation and the prediction of the possible drug-polymer miscibility. In DoE experiments, a Box-Behnken factorial design was conducted to evaluate the effect of independent variables such as Soluplus® ratio (A 1 ), HME screw speed (A 2 ), and processing temperature (A 3 ), and Kollidon®VA64 ratio (B 1 ), screw speed (B 2 ), and processing temperature (B 3 ) on responses such as solubility (X 1 and Y 1 ) and dissolution rate (X 2 and Y 2 ) for both ASS [EFV:SOL] and BSS [EFV:KVA64] systems. DSC and XRD data confirmed that bulk crystalline EFV transformed to amorphous form during the HME processing. Advanced chemical analyses conducted via 2D COSY NMR, FTIR chemical imaging, AFM analysis, and FTIR showed that EFV was homogenously dispersed in the respective polymer matrices. The maximum solubility and dissolution rate was observed in formulations containing 30% EFV with both SOL and KVA64 alone. This could be attributed to the maximum drug-polymer miscibility in the optimized formulations. The actual and predicted values of both responses were found precise and close to each other.

Assessment on the pedestrian risk during floods based on numerical simulation - A case study in Jinan City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, T.; Xu, Z.; Hong, S.

2017-12-01

Flood disasters frequently attack the urban area in Jinan City during past years, and the city is faced with severe road flooding which greatly threaten pedestrians' safety. Therefore, it is of great significance to investigate the pedestrian risk during floods under specific topographic condition. In this study, a model coupled hydrological and hydrodynamic processes is developed in the study area to simulate the flood routing process on the road for the "7.18" rainstorm and validated with post-disaster damage survey information. The risk of pedestrian is estimated with a flood risk assessment model. The result shows that the coupled model performs well in the rainstorm flood process. On the basis of the simulation result, the areas with extreme risk, medium risk, and mild risk are identified, respectively. Regions with high risk are generally located near the mountain front area with steep slopes. This study will provide scientific support for the flood control and disaster reduction in Jinan City.

Impact of urbanization on flood of Shigu creek in Dongguan city

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Luying; Chen, Yangbo; Zhang, Tao

2018-06-01

Shigu creek is a highly urbanized small watershed in Dongguan City. Due to rapid urbanization, quick flood response has been observed, which posted great threat to the flood security of Dongguan City. To evaluate the impact of urbanization on the flood changes of Shigu creek is very important for the flood mitigation of Shigu creek, which will provide insight for flood planners and managers for if to build a larger flood mitigation system. In this paper, the Land cover/use changes of Shigu creek from 1987-2015 induced by urbanization was first extracted from a local database, then, the Liuxihe model, a physically based distributed hydrological model, is employed to simulate the flood processes impacted by urbanization. Precipitation of 3 storms was used for flood processes simulation. The results show that the runoff coefficient and peak flow have increased sharply.

44 CFR 64.3 - Flood Insurance Maps.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... flood hazard that results from the decertification of a previously accredited flood protection system that is determined to be in the process of being restored to provide base flood protection V Area of... tidal floods (coastal high hazard area) V1-30, VE Area of special flood hazards, with water surface...

Mathematical modeling of high-pH chemical flooding

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bhuyan, D.; Lake, L.W.; Pope, G.A.

1990-05-01

This paper describes a generalized compositional reservoir simulator for high-pH chemical flooding processes. This simulator combines the reaction chemistry associated with these processes with the extensive physical- and flow-property modeling schemes of an existing micellar/polymer flood simulator, UTCHEM. Application of the model is illustrated for cases from a simple alkaline preflush to surfactant-enhanced alkaline-polymer flooding.

78 FR 45936 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; National Flood...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-30

... establish by regulation an additional process for the appeal of decisions of flood insurance claims issued... informal process to handle appeals regarding decisions related to coverage, or claims under the NFIP... to the flood insurance claims process. DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before September 30...

Controlling the Release of Indomethacin from Glass Solutions Layered with a Rate Controlling Membrane Using Fluid-Bed Processing. Part 1: Surface and Cross-Sectional Chemical Analysis.

PubMed

Dereymaker, Aswin; Scurr, David J; Steer, Elisabeth D; Roberts, Clive J; Van den Mooter, Guy

2017-04-03

Fluid bed coating has been shown to be a suitable manufacturing technique to formulate poorly soluble drugs in glass solutions. Layering inert carriers with a drug-polymer mixture enables these beads to be immediately filled into capsules, thus avoiding additional, potentially destabilizing, downstream processing. In this study, fluid bed coating is proposed for the production of controlled release dosage forms of glass solutions by applying a second, rate controlling membrane on top of the glass solution. Adding a second coating layer adds to the physical and chemical complexity of the drug delivery system, so a thorough understanding of the physical structure and phase behavior of the different coating layers is needed. This study aimed to investigate the surface and cross-sectional characteristics (employing scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS)) of an indomethacin-polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) glass solution, top-coated with a release rate controlling membrane consisting of either ethyl cellulose or Eudragit RL. The implications of the addition of a pore former (PVP) and the coating medium (ethanol or water) were also considered. In addition, polymer miscibility and the phase analysis of the underlying glass solution were investigated. Significant differences in surface and cross-sectional topography of the different rate controlling membranes or the way they are applied (solution vs dispersion) were observed. These observations can be linked to the polymer miscibility differences. The presence of PVP was observed in all rate controlling membranes, even if it is not part of the coating solution. This could be attributed to residual powder presence in the coating chamber. The distribution of PVP among the sample surfaces depends on the concentration and the rate controlling polymer used. Differences can again be linked to polymer miscibility. Finally, it was shown that the underlying glass solution layer remains amorphous after coating of the rate controlling membrane, whether formed from an ethanol solution or an aqueous dispersion.

Free volume study on the miscibility of PEEK/PEI blend using positron annihilation and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramani, R.; Alam, S.

2015-06-01

High performance polymer blend of poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) and poly(ether imide) (PEI) was examined for their free volume behaviour using positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis methods. The fractional free volume obtained from PALS shows a negative deviation from linear additivity rule implying good miscibility between PEEK and PEI. The dynamic modulus and loss tangent were obtained for the blends at three different frequencies 1, 10 and 100 Hz at temperatures close to and above their glass transition temperature. Applying Time-Temperature-Superposition (TTS) principle to the DMTA results, master curves were obtained at a reference temperature To and the WLF coefficients c01 and c02 were evaluated. Both the methods give similar results for the dependence of fractional free volume on PEI content in this blend. The results reveal that free volume plays an important role in determining the visco-elastic properties in miscible polymer blends.

The U.S. Gas Flooding Experience: CO2 Injection Strategies and Impact on Ultimate Recovery

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nunez-Lopez, Vanessa; Hosseini, Seyyed; Gil-Egui, Ramon

The Permian Basin in West Texas and southwestern New Mexico has seen 45 years of oil reserve growth through CO2 enhanced oil recovery (CO2 EOR). More than 60 CO2 EOR projects are currently active in the region’s limestone, sandstone and dolomite reservoirs. Water alternating gas (WAG) has been the development strategy of choice in the Permian for several technical and economic reasons. More recently, the technology started to get implemented in the much more porous and permeable clastic depositional systems of the onshore U.S. Gulf Coast. Continued CO2 injection (CGI), as opposed to WAG, was selected as the injection strategymore » to develop Gulf Coast oil fields, where CO2 injection volumes are significantly larger (up to 6 times larger) than those of the Permian. We conducted a compositional simulation based study with the objective of comparing the CO2 utilization ratios (volume of CO2 injected to produce a barrel of oil) of 4 conventional and novel CO2 injection strategies: (1) continuous gas injection (CGI), (2) water alternating gas (WAG), (3) water curtain injection (WCI), and (4) WAG and WCI combination. These injection scenarios were simulated using the GEM module from the Computer Modeling Group (CMG). GEM is an advanced general equation-of-state compositional simulator, which includes equation of state, CO2 miscible flood, CO2/brine interactions, and complex phase behavior. The simulator is set up to model three fluid phases including water, oil, and gas. Our study demonstrates how the selected field development strategy has a significant impact on the ultimate recovery of CO2-EOR projects, with GCI injection providing maximum oil recovery in absolute volume terms, but with WAG offering a more balanced technical-economical approach.« less

Structural, Electronic, and Optical Properties of BiOX1-xYx (X, Y = F, Cl, Br, and I) Solid Solutions from DFT Calculations.

PubMed

Zhao, Zong-Yan; Liu, Qing-Lu; Dai, Wen-Wu

2016-08-23

Six BiOX1-xYx (X, Y = F, Cl, Br, and I) solid solutions have been systematically investigated by density functional theory calculations. BiOCl1-xBrx, BiOBr1-xIx, and BiOCl1-xIx solid solutions have very small bowing parameters; as such, some of their properties increase almost linearly with increasing x. For BiOF1-xYx solid solutions, the bowing parameters are very large and it is extremely difficult to fit the related calculated data by a single equation. Consequently, BiOX1-xYx (X, Y = Cl, Br, and I) solid solutions are highly miscible, while BiOF1-xYx (Y = Cl, Br, and I) solid solutions are partially miscible. In other words, BiOF1-xYx solid solutions have miscibility gaps or high miscibility temperature, resulting in phase separation and F/Y inhomogeneity. Comparison and analysis of the calculated results and the related physical-chemical properties with different halogen compositions indicates that the parameters of BiOX1-xYx solid solutions are determined by the differences of the physical-chemical properties of the two halogen compositions. In this way, the large deviation of some BiOX1-xYx solid solutions from Vegard's law observed in experiments can be explained. Moreover, the composition ratio of BiOX1-xYx solid solutions can be measured or monitored using optical measurements.

Small Angle Neutron Scattering Studies on Blends of Poly (Styrene-ran-Vinyl Phenol) with Liquid Crystalline Polyurethane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehta, Rujul

2005-03-01

Molecular composites, composed of uniformly dispersed rigid-rod liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) molecules in a flexible amorphous polymer matrix, have remained hitherto elusive due to a scarcity of miscible systems containing a LCP and an amorphous polymer. The production of such a blend, with an experimentally accessible miscibility window, has become possible by modifying the architecture of the flexible polymer, so as to induce favorable intermolecular hydrogen bonding. Specifically, liquid crystalline polyurethanes (LCPU) are found to be miscible with a copolymer of styrene and vinyl phenol; with optimum hydrogen bonding between the carbonyl groups of the urethane linkages and the hydroxyl groups present in the styrenic matrix. Availability of a truly miscible molecular composite presents a unique opportunity of studying the confirmation of polymer chains containing rigid-rods that are uniformly dispersed in a flexible coil matrix. A system consisting of the LCPU and the deuterated styrenic copolymer containing 20% vinyl phenol is examined by Small Angle Neutron Scattering at the National Center for Neutron Research at Gaithersburg and Technology, and the Institute of Solid State Research (IFF) at Jülich. Scattering curves for neat dPS-VPh did not fit the Debye-Bueche model; indicating complex structure. A two correlation length Debye-Bueche model was considered to accommodate for this nonlinear behavior. This model utilizes four fitting parameters, including two correlation lengths a1 and a2, corresponding to a Debye-Bueche model and Guinier model.

Comparison between hot-melt extrusion and spray-drying for manufacturing solid dispersions of the graft copolymer of ethylene glycol and vinylalcohol.

PubMed

Guns, Sandra; Dereymaker, Aswin; Kayaert, Pieterjan; Mathot, Vincent; Martens, Johan A; Van den Mooter, Guy

2011-03-01

To investigate the effect of the manufacturing method (spray-drying or hot-melt extrusion) on the kinetic miscibility of miconazole and the graft copolymer poly(ethyleneglycol-g-vinylalcohol). The effect of heat pre-treatment of solutions used for spray-drying and the use of spray-dried copolymer as excipient for hot-melt extrusion was investigated. The solid dispersions were prepared at different drug-polymer ratios and analyzed with modulated differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray powder diffraction. Miconazole either mixed with the PEG-fraction of the copolymer or crystallized in the same or a different polymorph as the starting material. The kinetic miscibility was higher for the solid dispersions obtained from solutions which were pre-heated compared to those spray-dried from solutions at ambient temperature. Hot-melt extrusion resulted in an even higher mixing capability. Here the use of the spray-dried copolymer did not show any benefit concerning the kinetic miscibility of the drug and copolymer, but it resulted in a remarkable decrease in the torque experienced by the extruder allowing extrusion at lower temperature and torque. The manufacturing method has an influence on the mixing capacity and phase behavior of solid dispersions. Heat pre-treatment of the solutions before spray-drying can result in a higher kinetic miscibility. Amorphization of the copolymer by spray-drying before using it as an excipient for hot-melt extrusion can be a manufacturing benefit.

Automatic domain updating technique for improving computational efficiency of 2-D flood-inundation simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanaka, T.; Tachikawa, Y.; Ichikawa, Y.; Yorozu, K.

2017-12-01

Flood is one of the most hazardous disasters and causes serious damage to people and property around the world. To prevent/mitigate flood damage through early warning system and/or river management planning, numerical modelling of flood-inundation processes is essential. In a literature, flood-inundation models have been extensively developed and improved to achieve flood flow simulation with complex topography at high resolution. With increasing demands on flood-inundation modelling, its computational burden is now one of the key issues. Improvements of computational efficiency of full shallow water equations are made from various perspectives such as approximations of the momentum equations, parallelization technique, and coarsening approaches. To support these techniques and more improve the computational efficiency of flood-inundation simulations, this study proposes an Automatic Domain Updating (ADU) method of 2-D flood-inundation simulation. The ADU method traces the wet and dry interface and automatically updates the simulation domain in response to the progress and recession of flood propagation. The updating algorithm is as follow: first, to register the simulation cells potentially flooded at initial stage (such as floodplains nearby river channels), and then if a registered cell is flooded, to register its surrounding cells. The time for this additional process is saved by checking only cells at wet and dry interface. The computation time is reduced by skipping the processing time of non-flooded area. This algorithm is easily applied to any types of 2-D flood inundation models. The proposed ADU method is implemented to 2-D local inertial equations for the Yodo River basin, Japan. Case studies for two flood events show that the simulation is finished within two to 10 times smaller time showing the same result as that without the ADU method.

Single well tracer method to evaluate enhanced recovery

DOEpatents

Sheely, Jr., Clyde Q.; Baldwin, Jr., David E.

1978-01-01

Data useful to evaluate the effectiveness of or to design an enhanced recovery process (the recovery process involving mobilizing and moving hydrocarbons through a hydrocarbon-bearing subterranean formation from an injection well to a production well by injecting a mobilizing fluid into the injection well) are obtained by a process which comprises sequentially: determining hydrocarbon saturation in the formation in a volume in the formation near a well bore penetrating the formation, injecting sufficient of the mobilizing fluid to mobilize and move hydrocarbons from a volume in the formation near the well bore penetrating the formation, and determining by the single well tracer method a hydrocarbon saturation profile in a volume from which hydrocarbons are moved. The single well tracer method employed is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 3,623,842. The process is useful to evaluate surfactant floods, water floods, polymer floods, CO.sub.2 floods, caustic floods, micellar floods, and the like in the reservoir in much less time at greatly reduced costs, compared to conventional multi-well pilot test.

Effects of changes along the risk chain on flood risk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duha Metin, Ayse; Apel, Heiko; Viet Dung, Nguyen; Guse, Björn; Kreibich, Heidi; Schröter, Kai; Vorogushyn, Sergiy; Merz, Bruno

2017-04-01

Interactions of hydrological and socio-economic factors shape flood disaster risk. For this reason, assessment of flood risk ideally takes into account the whole flood risk chain from atmospheric processes, through the catchment and river system processes to the damage mechanisms in the affected areas. Since very different processes at various scales are interacting along the flood risk, the impact of the single components is rather unclear. However for flood risk management, it is required to know the controlling factor of flood damages. The present study, using the flood-prone Mulde catchment in Germany, discusses the sensitivity of flood risk to disturbances along the risk chain: How do disturbances propagate through the risk chain? How do different disturbances combine or conflict and affect flood risk? In this sensitivity analysis, the five components of the flood risk change are included. These are climate, catchment, river system, exposure and vulnerability. A model framework representing the complete risk chain is combined with observational data to understand how the sensitivities evolve along the risk chain by considering three plausible change scenarios for each of five components. The flood risk is calculated by using the Regional Flood Model (RFM) which is based on a continuous simulation approach, including rainfall-runoff, 1D river network, 2D hinterland inundation and damage estimation models. The sensitivity analysis covers more than 240 scenarios with different combinations of the five components. It is investigated how changes in different components affect risk indicators, such as the risk curve and expected annual damage (EAD). In conclusion, it seems that changes in exposure and vulnerability seem to outweigh changes in hazard.

Implementing the EU Floods Directive (2007/60/EC) in Austria: Flood Risk Management Plans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neuhold, Clemens

2013-04-01

he Directive 2007/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on the assessment and management of flood risks (EFD) aims at the reduction of the adverse consequences for human health, the environment, cultural heritage and economic activity associated with floods in the Community. This task is to be achieved based on three process steps (1) preliminary flood risk assessment (finalised by the end of 2011), (2) flood hazard maps and flood risk maps (due 2013) and (3) flood risk management plans (due 2015). Currently, an interdisciplinary national working group is defining the methodological framework for flood risk management plans in Austria supported by a constant exchange with international bodies and experts. Referring to the EFD the components of the flood risk management plan are (excerpt): 1. conclusions of the preliminary flood risk assessment 2. flood hazard maps and flood risk maps and the conclusions that can be drawn from those maps 3. a description of the appropriate objectives of flood risk management 4. a summary of measures and their prioritisation aiming to achieve the appropriate objectives of flood risk management The poster refers to some of the major challenges in this process, such as the legal provisions, coordination of administrative units, definition of public relations, etc. The implementation of the EFD requires the harmonisation of legal instruments of various disciplines (e.g. water management, spatial planning, civil protection) enabling a coordinated - and ideally binding - practice of flood risk management. This process is highly influenced by the administrative organisation in Austria - federal, provincial and municipality level. The Austrian approach meets this organisational framework by structuring the development of the flood risk management plan into 3 time-steps: (a) federal blueprint, (b) provincial editing and (c) federal finishing as well as reporting to the European Commission. Each time-step addresses different administrative levels and spatial scales accompanied by the active involvement of interested parties.

Entanglement in miscible blends

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watanabe, Hiroshi

2010-03-01

The entanglement length Le of polymer chains (corresponding to the entanglement molecular weight Me) is not an intrinsic material parameter but changes with the interaction with surrounding chains. For miscible blends of cis-polyisoprene (PI) and poly(tert-butyl styrene) (PtBS), changes of Le on blending was examined. It turned out that the Le averaged over the number fractions of the Kuhn segments of the components (PI and PtBS) satisfactorily describes the viscoelastic behavior of pseudo-monodisperse blends in which the terminal relaxation time is the same for PI and PtBS.

Rheology Guided Rational Selection of Processing Temperature To Prepare Copovidone-Nifedipine Amorphous Solid Dispersions via Hot Melt Extrusion (HME).

PubMed

Yang, Fengyuan; Su, Yongchao; Zhang, Jingtao; DiNunzio, James; Leone, Anthony; Huang, Chengbin; Brown, Chad D

2016-10-03

The production of amorphous solid dispersions via hot melt extrusion (HME) relies on elevated temperature and prolonged residence time, which can result in potential degradation and decomposition of thermally sensitive components. Herein, the rheological properties of a physical mixture of polymer and an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) were utilized to guide the selection of appropriate HME processing temperature. In the currently studied copovidone-nifedipine system, a critical temperature, which is substantially lower (∼13 °C) than the melting point of crystalline API, was captured during a temperature ramp examination and regarded as the critical point at which the API could molecularly dissolve into the polymer. Based on the identification of this critical point, various solid dispersions were prepared by HME processing below, at, and above the critical temperature (both below and above the melting temperature (T m ) of crystalline API). In addition, the resultant extrudates along with two control solid dispersions prepared by physical mixing and cryogenic milling were assessed by X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, hot stage microscopy, rheology, and solid-state NMR. Physicochemical properties of resultant solid dispersions indicated that the identified critical temperature is sufficient for the polymer-API system to reach a molecular-level mixing, manifested by the transparent and smooth appearance of extrudates, the absence of API crystalline diffraction and melting peaks, dramatically decreased rheological properties, and significantly improved polymer-API miscibility. Once the critical temperature has been achieved, further raising the processing temperature only results in limited improvement of API dispersion, reflected by slightly reduced storage modulus and complex viscosity and limited improvement in miscibility.

Electrospun Polymer Blend Nanofibers for Tunable Drug Delivery: The Role of Transformative Phase Separation on Controlling the Release Rate.

PubMed

Tipduangta, Pratchaya; Belton, Peter; Fábián, László; Wang, Li Ying; Tang, Huiru; Eddleston, Mark; Qi, Sheng

2016-01-04

Electrospun fibrous materials have a wide range of biomedical applications, many of them involving the use of polymers as matrices for incorporation of therapeutic agents. The use of polymer blends improves the tuneability of the physicochemical and mechanical properties of the drug loaded fibers. This also benefits the development of controlled drug release formulations, for which the release rate can be modified by altering the ratio of the polymers in the blend. However, to realize these benefits, a clear understanding of the phase behavior of the processed polymer blend is essential. This study reports an in depth investigation of the impact of the electrospinning process on the phase separation of a model partially miscible polymer blend, PVP K90 and HPMCAS, in comparison to other conventional solvent evaporation based processes including film casting and spin coating. The nanoscale stretching and ultrafast solvent removal of electrospinning lead to an enhanced apparent miscibility between the polymers, with the same blends showing micronscale phase separation when processed using film casting and spin coating. Nanoscale phase separation in electrospun blend fibers was confirmed in the dry state. Rapid, layered, macroscale phase separation of the two polymers occurred during the wetting of the fibers. This led to a biphasic drug release profile from the fibers, with a burst release from PVP-rich phases and a slower, more continuous release from HPMCAS-rich phases. It was noted that the model drug, paracetamol, had more favorable partitioning into the PVP-rich phase, which is likely to be a result of greater hydrogen bonding between PVP and paracetamol. This led to higher drug contents in the PVP-rich phases than the HPMCAS-rich phases. By alternating the proportions of the PVP and HPMCAS, the drug release rate can be modulated.

Hollow Polycaprolactone Microspheres with/without a Single Surface Hole by Co-Electrospraying

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

We describe the co-electrospraying of hollow microspheres from a polycaprolactone (PCL) shell solution and various core solutions including water, cyclohexane, poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), and polyethylene glycol (PEG), using different collectors. The morphologies of the resultant microspheres were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), confocal microscopy, and nano-X-ray computed tomography (nano-XCT). The core/shell solution miscibility played an important role in the co-electrospraying process and the formation of microsphere structures. Spherical particles were more likely to be produced from miscible combinations of core/shell solutions than from immiscible ones. Hollow PCL microspheres with a single hole in their surfaces were produced when an ethanol bath was used as the collector. The mechanism by which the core/shell structure is transformed into single-hole hollow microspheres is proposed to be primarily based on the evaporation through the shell and extraction by ethanol of the core solution and is described in detail. Additionally, we present a 3D macroscopic tubular structure composed of hollow PCL microspheres, directly assembled on a copper wire collector during co-electrospraying. SEM and nano-XCT confirm that microspheres in the 3D bulk structure remain hollow. PMID:28901145

Miscible gravitational instability of initially stable horizontal interface in a porous medium: Non-monotonic density profiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Min Chan

2014-11-01

To simulate a CO2 sequestration process, some researchers employed a water/propylene glycol (PPG) system which shows a non-monotonic density profile. Motivated by this fact, the stability of the diffusion layer of two miscible fluids saturated in a porous medium is analyzed. For a non-monotonic density profile system, linear stability equations are derived in a global domain, and then transformed into a system of ordinary differential equations in an infinite domain. Initial growth rate analysis is conducted without the quasi-steady state approximation (QSSA) and shows that initially the system is unconditionally stable for the least stable disturbance. For the time evolving case, the ordinary differential equations are solved applying the eigen-analysis and numerical shooting scheme with and without the QSSA. To support these theoretical results, direct numerical simulations are conducted using the Fourier spectral method. The results of theoretical linear stability analyses and numerical simulations validate one another. The present linear and nonlinear analyses show that the water/PPG system is more unstable than the CO2/brine one, and the flow characteristics of these two systems are quite different from each other.

44 CFR 78.9 - Planning grant approval process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78.9 Planning grant approval process. The State POC will evaluate and approve applications for Planning Grants. Funds will be provided only for the flood portion of any mitigation plan, and...

44 CFR 78.9 - Planning grant approval process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78.9 Planning grant approval process. The State POC will evaluate and approve applications for Planning Grants. Funds will be provided only for the flood portion of any mitigation plan, and...

44 CFR 78.9 - Planning grant approval process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78.9 Planning grant approval process. The State POC will evaluate and approve applications for Planning Grants. Funds will be provided only for the flood portion of any mitigation plan, and...

44 CFR 78.9 - Planning grant approval process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78.9 Planning grant approval process. The State POC will evaluate and approve applications for Planning Grants. Funds will be provided only for the flood portion of any mitigation plan, and...

44 CFR 78.9 - Planning grant approval process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78.9 Planning grant approval process. The State POC will evaluate and approve applications for Planning Grants. Funds will be provided only for the flood portion of any mitigation plan, and...

Ultrastructure Processing and Characterization of Polymers

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-01-01

Eur. Polym. J . 24, 123-127 (1988) (with R. Vukovic , G. Bogdanic, V. Kuresevic, and W.J. MacKnight) "Miscibility and Phase Behavior in Poly (2,6...Month, Day) |I5 fAGE U d FINAL FROM TO j -"_ 16. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTATION 17. COSATI CODES 18. SUBJECT TERMS (Continue on reverse if necessary and...Lee Dr. J . Obrzut Dr. D. Rice Dr. J . Schlenoff Dr. J . Shim V. JUNIOR RESEARCH PERSONNEL: M. Bishop R. Gregorius M. Lux J . Machado M. Masse R

Proof-of-Concept Study: Novel Microbially-Driven Fenton Reaction for In Situ Remediation of Groundwater Contaminated with 1,4-Dioxane, Tetrachloroethene (PCE) and Trichloroethene (TCE)

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-17

technologies such as carbon absorption, air stripping, and distillation are limited by the physical properties of 1-4-dioxane. In the present study, a...and also to evaluate the ability of the novel degradation process to degrade perfluoroalkyl ( PFAS ) substances. 4 INTRODUCTION 1,4...miscible in water, displays low volatility, and is thus highly mobile in the environment. Current 1,4-dioxane remediation technologies such as carbon

Assessment of the effects of multiple extreme floods on flow and transport processes under competing flood protection and environmental management strategies.

PubMed

Tu, Tongbi; Carr, Kara J; Ercan, Ali; Trinh, Toan; Kavvas, M Levent; Nosacka, John

2017-12-31

Extreme floods are regarded as one of the most catastrophic natural hazards and can result in significant morphological changes induced by pronounced sediment erosion and deposition processes over the landscape. However, the effects of extreme floods of different return intervals on the floodplain and river channel morphological evolution with the associated sediment transport processes are not well explored. Furthermore, different basin management action plans, such as engineering structure modifications, may also greatly affect the flood inundation, sediment transport, solute transport and morphological processes within extreme flood events. In this study, a coupled two-dimensional hydrodynamic, sediment transport and morphological model is applied to evaluate the impact of different river and basin management strategies on the flood inundation, sediment transport dynamics and morphological changes within extreme flood events of different magnitudes. The 10-year, 50-year, 100-year and 200-year floods are evaluated for the Lower Cache Creek system in California under existing condition and a potential future modification scenario. Modeling results showed that select locations of flood inundation within the study area tend to experience larger inundation depth and more sediment is likely to be trapped in the study area under potential modification scenario. The proposed two dimensional flow and sediment transport modeling approach implemented with a variety of inflow conditions can provide guidance to decision-makers when considering implementation of potential modification plans, especially as they relate to competing management strategies of large water bodies, such as the modeling area in this study. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development and Optimization of Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage (GAGD) Process for Improved Light Oil Recovery

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dandina N. Rao; Subhash C. Ayirala; Madhav M. Kulkarni

This is the final report describing the evolution of the project ''Development and Optimization of Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage (GAGD) Process for Improved Light Oil Recovery'' from its conceptual stage in 2002 to the field implementation of the developed technology in 2006. This comprehensive report includes all the experimental research, models developments, analyses of results, salient conclusions and the technology transfer efforts. As planned in the original proposal, the project has been conducted in three separate and concurrent tasks: Task 1 involved a physical model study of the new GAGD process, Task 2 was aimed at further developing the vanishing interfacialmore » tension (VIT) technique for gas-oil miscibility determination, and Task 3 was directed at determining multiphase gas-oil drainage and displacement characteristics in reservoir rocks at realistic pressures and temperatures. The project started with the task of recruiting well-qualified graduate research assistants. After collecting and reviewing the literature on different aspects of the project such gas injection EOR, gravity drainage, miscibility characterization, and gas-oil displacement characteristics in porous media, research plans were developed for the experimental work to be conducted under each of the three tasks. Based on the literature review and dimensional analysis, preliminary criteria were developed for the design of the partially-scaled physical model. Additionally, the need for a separate transparent model for visual observation and verification of the displacement and drainage behavior under gas-assisted gravity drainage was identified. Various materials and methods (ceramic porous material, Stucco, Portland cement, sintered glass beads) were attempted in order to fabricate a satisfactory visual model. In addition to proving the effectiveness of the GAGD process (through measured oil recoveries in the range of 65 to 87% IOIP), the visual models demonstrated three possible multiphase mechanisms at work, namely, Darcy-type displacement until gas breakthrough, gravity drainage after breakthrough and film-drainage in gas-invaded zones throughout the duration of the process. The partially-scaled physical model was used in a series of experiments to study the effects of wettability, gas-oil miscibility, secondary versus tertiary mode gas injection, and the presence of fractures on GAGD oil recovery. In addition to yielding recoveries of up to 80% IOIP, even in the immiscible gas injection mode, the partially-scaled physical model confirmed the positive influence of fractures and oil-wet characteristics in enhancing oil recoveries over those measured in the homogeneous (unfractured) water-wet models. An interesting observation was that a single logarithmic relationship between the oil recovery and the gravity number was obeyed by the physical model, the high-pressure corefloods and the field data.« less

Real-Time Optimal Flood Control Decision Making and Risk Propagation Under Multiple Uncertainties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Feilin; Zhong, Ping-An; Sun, Yimeng; Yeh, William W.-G.

2017-12-01

Multiple uncertainties exist in the optimal flood control decision-making process, presenting risks involving flood control decisions. This paper defines the main steps in optimal flood control decision making that constitute the Forecast-Optimization-Decision Making (FODM) chain. We propose a framework for supporting optimal flood control decision making under multiple uncertainties and evaluate risk propagation along the FODM chain from a holistic perspective. To deal with uncertainties, we employ stochastic models at each link of the FODM chain. We generate synthetic ensemble flood forecasts via the martingale model of forecast evolution. We then establish a multiobjective stochastic programming with recourse model for optimal flood control operation. The Pareto front under uncertainty is derived via the constraint method coupled with a two-step process. We propose a novel SMAA-TOPSIS model for stochastic multicriteria decision making. Then we propose the risk assessment model, the risk of decision-making errors and rank uncertainty degree to quantify the risk propagation process along the FODM chain. We conduct numerical experiments to investigate the effects of flood forecast uncertainty on optimal flood control decision making and risk propagation. We apply the proposed methodology to a flood control system in the Daduhe River basin in China. The results indicate that the proposed method can provide valuable risk information in each link of the FODM chain and enable risk-informed decisions with higher reliability.

The effects of forced small-wavelength, finite-bandwidth initial perturbations and miscibility on the turbulent Rayleigh–Taylor instability

DOE PAGES

Roberts, M. S.; Jacobs, J. W.

2015-12-07

Rayleigh–Taylor instability experiments are performed using both immiscible and miscible incompressible liquid combinations having a relatively large Atwood number ofmore » $$A\\equiv ({\\it\\rho}_{2}-{\\it\\rho}_{1})/({\\it\\rho}_{2}+{\\it\\rho}_{1})=0.48$$. The liquid-filled tank is attached to a test sled that is accelerated downwards along a vertical rail system using a system of weights and pulleys producing approximately$1g$$net acceleration. The tank is backlit and images are digitally recorded using a high-speed video camera. The experiments are either initiated with forced initial perturbations or are left unforced. The forced experiments have an initial perturbation imposed by vertically oscillating the liquid-filled tank to produce Faraday waves at the interface. The unforced experiments rely on random interfacial fluctuations, resulting from background noise, to seed the instability. The main focus of this study is to determine the effects of forced initial perturbations and the effects of miscibility on the growth parameter,$${\\it\\alpha}$$. Measurements of the mixing-layer width,$$h$$, are acquired, from which$${\\it\\alpha}$$is determined. It is found that initial perturbations of the form used in this study do not affect measured$${\\it\\alpha}$$values. However, miscibility is observed to strongly affect$${\\it\\alpha}$$, resulting in a factor of two reduction in its value, a finding not previously observed in past experiments. In addition, all measured$${\\it\\alpha}$values are found to be smaller than those obtained in previous experimental studies.« less

Live cell plasma membranes do not exhibit a miscibility phase transition over a wide range of temperatures.

PubMed

Lee, Il-Hyung; Saha, Suvrajit; Polley, Anirban; Huang, Hector; Mayor, Satyajit; Rao, Madan; Groves, Jay T

2015-03-26

Lipid/cholesterol mixtures derived from cell membranes as well as their synthetic reconstitutions exhibit well-defined miscibility phase transitions and critical phenomena near physiological temperatures. This suggests that lipid/cholesterol-mediated phase separation plays a role in the organization of live cell membranes. However, macroscopic lipid-phase separation is not generally observed in cell membranes, and the degree to which properties of isolated lipid mixtures are preserved in the cell membrane remain unknown. A fundamental property of phase transitions is that the variation of tagged particle diffusion with temperature exhibits an abrupt change as the system passes through the transition, even when the two phases are distributed in a nanometer-scale emulsion. We support this using a variety of Monte Carlo and atomistic simulations on model lipid membrane systems. However, temperature-dependent fluorescence correlation spectroscopy of labeled lipids and membrane-anchored proteins in live cell membranes shows a consistently smooth increase in the diffusion coefficient as a function of temperature. We find no evidence of a discrete miscibility phase transition throughout a wide range of temperatures: 14-37 °C. This contrasts the behavior of giant plasma membrane vesicles (GPMVs) blebbed from the same cells, which do exhibit phase transitions and macroscopic phase separation. Fluorescence lifetime analysis of a DiI probe in both cases reveals a significant environmental difference between the live cell and the GPMV. Taken together, these data suggest the live cell membrane may avoid the miscibility phase transition inherent to its lipid constituents by actively regulating physical parameters, such as tension, in the membrane.

The Dynamics of Miscible Interfaces: Simulations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meiburg, Eckart

2005-01-01

This research project focuses on the dynamics of interfacial regions between miscible fluids. While much attention has focused on immiscible interfaces in the past, miscible interfaces have been explored to a much lesser degree, so that there are many open questions regarding their dynamics at this time. Among the more pressing issues is the role that nonconventional stresses can play in such interfacial regions. Such stresses are typically not accounted for in efforts to model the dynamics of miscible flows. Our research aims to clarify under which circumstances these stresses do have to be taken into account, and what quantitative approaches are most suitable in this regard. In order to address these issues, we have focused on conducting linear stability analyses and nonlinear simulations for capillary tube and Hele-Shaw flows, and to compare the results with corresponding experiments performed in the labs of our co-investigators Prof. Maxworthy at USC, and Dr. Balasubramaniam at NASA. Over the duration of the project we have, among other things, focused on the effects of variable diffusion coefficients in such flows, and specifically on their influence in the growth of instabilities. Furthermore, our three-dimensional spectral element simulations have made good progress, so that we have come to a point where we can conduct more detailed comparisons with experimental observations. We are currently focusing our efforts on reproducing the tip-splitting instability observed by Maxworthy. Finally, we have discovered a new core-annular flow instability in the Stokes flow regime during the last year. This represents a significant finding, as this instability does not have an immiscible counterpart.

Characterization of the Temporal Clustering of Flood Events across the Central United States in terms of Climate States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mallakpour, Iman; Villarini, Gabriele; Jones, Michael; Smith, James

2016-04-01

The central United States is a region of the country that has been plagued by frequent catastrophic flooding (e.g., flood events of 1993, 2008, 2013, and 2014), with large economic and social repercussions (e.g., fatalities, agricultural losses, flood losses, water quality issues). The goal of this study is to examine whether it is possible to describe the occurrence of flood events at the sub-seasonal scale in terms of variations in the climate system. Daily streamflow time series from 774 USGS stream gage stations over the central United States (defined here to include North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan) with a record of at least 50 years and ending no earlier than 2011 are used for this study. We use a peak-over-threshold (POT) approach to identify flood peaks so that we have, on average two events per year. We model the occurrence/non-occurrence of a flood event over time using regression models based on Cox processes. Cox processes are widely used in biostatistics and can be viewed as a generalization of Poisson processes. Rather than assuming that flood events occur independently of the occurrence of previous events (as in Poisson processes), Cox processes allow us to account for the potential presence of temporal clustering, which manifests itself in an alternation of quiet and active periods. Here we model the occurrence/non-occurrence of flood events using two climate indices as climate time-varying covariates: the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Pacific-North American pattern (PNA). The results of this study show that NAO and/or PNA can explain the temporal clustering in flood occurrences in over 90% of the stream gage stations we considered. Analyses of the sensitivity of the results to different average numbers of flood events per year (from one to five) are also performed and lead to the same conclusions. The findings of this work highlight that variations in the climate system play a critical role in explaining the occurrence of flood events at the sub-seasonal scale over the central United States.

Classification of mechanisms, climatic context, areal scaling, and synchronization of floods: the hydroclimatology of floods in the Upper Paraná River basin, Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lima, Carlos H. R.; AghaKouchak, Amir; Lall, Upmanu

2017-12-01

Floods are the main natural disaster in Brazil, causing substantial economic damage and loss of life. Studies suggest that some extreme floods result from a causal climate chain. Exceptional rain and floods are determined by large-scale anomalies and persistent patterns in the atmospheric and oceanic circulations, which influence the magnitude, extent, and duration of these extremes. Moreover, floods can result from different generating mechanisms. These factors contradict the assumptions of homogeneity, and often stationarity, in flood frequency analysis. Here we outline a methodological framework based on clustering using self-organizing maps (SOMs) that allows the linkage of large-scale processes to local-scale observations. The methodology is applied to flood data from several sites in the flood-prone Upper Paraná River basin (UPRB) in southern Brazil. The SOM clustering approach is employed to classify the 6-day rainfall field over the UPRB into four categories, which are then used to classify floods into four types based on the spatiotemporal dynamics of the rainfall field prior to the observed flood events. An analysis of the vertically integrated moisture fluxes, vorticity, and high-level atmospheric circulation revealed that these four clusters are related to known tropical and extratropical processes, including the South American low-level jet (SALLJ); extratropical cyclones; and the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ). Persistent anomalies in the sea surface temperature fields in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans are also found to be associated with these processes. Floods associated with each cluster present different patterns in terms of frequency, magnitude, spatial variability, scaling, and synchronization of events across the sites and subbasins. These insights suggest new directions for flood risk assessment, forecasting, and management.

Assessing the Strength Enhancement of Heterogeneous Networks of Miscible Polymer Blends

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giller, Carl; Roland, Mike

2013-03-01

At the typical crosslink densities of elastomers, the failure properties vary inversely with mechanical stiffness, so that compounding entails a compromise between stiffness and strength. Our approach to circumvent this conventional limitation is by forming networks of two polymers that: (i) are thermodynamically miscible, whereby the chemical composition is uniform on the segmental level; and (ii) have markedly different reactivities for network formation. The resulting elastomer consists of one highly crosslinked component and one that is lightly or uncrosslinked. This disparity in crosslinking causes their respective contributions to the network mechanical response to differ diametrically. Earlier results showed some success with this approach for thermally crosslinked blends of 1,2-polybutadiene (PVE) and polyisoprene (PI), as well as ethylene-propylene copolymer (EPM) and ethylene-propylene-diene random terpolymer (EPDM), taking advantage of their differing reactivities to sulfur. In this work we demonstrate the miscibility of polyisobutylene (PIB) with butyl rubber (BR) (a copolymer of PIB and polyisoprene) and show that networks in which only the BR is crosslinked possess greater tensile strengths than neat BR over the same range of moduli. Office of Naval Research

A test-tube model for rainfall

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilkinson, Michael

2014-05-01

If the temperature of a cell containing two partially miscible liquids is changed very slowly, so that the miscibility is decreased, microscopic droplets nucleate, grow and migrate to the interface due to their buoyancy. The system may show an approximately periodic variation of the turbidity of the mixture, as the mean droplet size fluctuates. These precipitation events are analogous to rainfall. This paper considers a theoretical model for these experiments. After nucleation the initial growth is by Ostwald ripening, followed by a finite-time runaway growth of droplet sizes due to larger droplets sweeping up smaller ones. The model predicts that the period \\Delta t and the temperature sweep rate ξ are related by \\Delta t\\sim C \\xi^{-3/7} , and is in good agreement with experiments. The coefficient C has a power-law divergence approaching the critical point of the miscibility transition: C\\sim (T-T_{\\text{c}})^{-\\eta} , and the critical exponent η is determined. It is argued that while the mechanism does not provide a quantitative description of terrestrial rainfall, it may be a faithful model for precipitation on other planets.

Viscometric investigation of compatibilization of the poly(vinyl chloride)/poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) blends by terpolymer of maleic anhydride styrene vinyl acetate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

İmren, Dilek; Boztuğ, Ali; Yılmaz, Ersen; Zengin, H. Bayram

2008-11-01

In this study, a blend of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)/ethylene-co-vinyl acetate (EVA) was compatibilized by terpolymer of maleic anhydride-styrene-vinyl acetate (MAStVA) used as a compatibilizer. It was prepared the blends of 50/50 PVC/EVA containing 2-10% of the terpolymer. The compatibility experiences of these blends were investigated by using viscometric method in the range of concentrations (0.5-2.0 g dL -1) where tetrahydrofuran (THF) is the solvent. The interaction parameter (Δ b) was used to study the miscibility and compatibility of polymer blend in solution, obtained from the modified Krigbaum and Wall theory. Turbidity and FTIR measurements were also used to investigate the miscibility of this pair of polymers. The values of the relative viscosities of the each polymer solution and their blends were measured by a Cannon-Fenske type viscometer. In consequence of the study, it was observed that a considerable improvement was achieved in the miscibility of PVC/EVA blends by adding among 5 and 10 wt% of compatibilizer.

Miscibility of binary monolayers at the air-water interface and interaction of protein with immobilized monolayers by surface plasmon resonance technique.

PubMed

Wang, Yuchun; Du, Xuezhong

2006-07-04

The miscibility and stability of the binary monolayers of zwitterionic dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and cationic dioctadecyldimethylammonium bromide (DOMA) at the air-water interface and the interaction of ferritin with the immobilized monolayers have been studied in detail using surface pressure-area isotherms and surface plasmon resonance technique, respectively. The surface pressure-area isotherms indicated that the binary monolayers of DPPC and DOMA at the air-water interface were miscible and more stable than the monolayers of the two individual components. The surface plasmon resonance studies indicated that ferritin binding to the immobilized monolayers was primarily driven by the electrostatic interaction and that the amount of adsorbed protein at saturation was closely related not only to the number of positive charges in the monolayers but also to the pattern of positive charges at a given mole fraction of DOMA. The protein adsorption kinetics was determined by the properties of the monolayers (i.e., the protein-monolayer interaction) and the structure of preadsorbed protein molecules (i.e., the protein-protein interaction).

Characterization of Physical and Mechanical Properties of Miscible Lactose-Sugars Systems.

PubMed

Li, Runjing; Roos, Yrjö H; Miao, Song

2017-09-01

Lactose-sugars systems were produced by spray drying. They were lactose, lactose-glucose (4:1) mixtures, lactose-maltose (4:1) mixtures, lactose-sucrose (4:1) mixtures, lactose-trehalose (4:1) mixtures, and lactose-corn syrup solids (CSS) (4:1) mixtures. The physical characteristics, water sorption behavior, glass transition, and mechanical properties of miscible lactose-sugars systems were investigated. Lactose-glucose mixtures had larger particle size than other lactose-sugars systems after spray drying. The presence of glucose or sucrose in lactose-sugars mixtures decreased the glass transition temperatures of amorphous systems, while the presence of maltose and trehalose had only minor impact on the glass transition temperatures. Moreover, glucose accelerated the crystallization of amorphous system at 0.44 a w , but its presence delayed the loss of sorbed water at higher water activities (≥0.54 a w ). Mechanical property study indicated that glucose and sucrose in amorphous system could result in an increase of molecular mobility, while the presence of CSS could decrease the free volume and maintain the stiffness of the miscible systems. © 2017 Institute of Food Technologists®.

Analyses of flooding tolerance of soybean varieties at emergence and varietal differences in their proteomes.

PubMed

Nanjo, Yohei; Jang, Hee-Young; Kim, Hong-Sig; Hiraga, Susumu; Woo, Sun-Hee; Komatsu, Setsuko

2014-10-01

Flooding of fields due to heavy and/or continuous rainfall influences soybean production. To identify soybean varieties with flooding tolerance at the seedling emergence stage, 128 soybean varieties were evaluated using a flooding tolerance index, which is based on plant survival rates, the lack of apparent damage and lateral root development, and post-flooding radicle elongation rate. The soybean varieties were ranked according to their flooding tolerance index, and it was found that the tolerance levels of soybean varieties exhibit a continuum of differences between varieties. Subsequently, tolerant, moderately tolerant and sensitive varieties were selected and subjected to comparative proteomic analysis to clarify the tolerance mechanism. Proteomic analysis of the radicles, combined with correlation analysis, showed that the ratios of RNA binding/processing related proteins and flooding stress indicator proteins were significantly correlated with flooding tolerance index. The RNA binding/processing related proteins were positively correlated in untreated soybeans, whereas flooding stress indicator proteins were negatively correlated in flooded soybeans. These results suggest that flooding tolerance is regulated by mechanisms through multiple factors and is associated with abundance levels of the identified proteins. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Process for the solvent extraction for the radiolysis and dehalogenation of halogenated organic compounds in soils, sludges, sediments and slurries

DOEpatents

Golden, Jeffry

2007-02-13

A process of extracting halogenated organic compounds, and particularly PCBs, from soil, sediment, slurry, sludge and dehalogenating the compounds contacts a contaminated soil sample with an extraction medium of a mixture of an alkane and a water miscible alcohol. The organic compounds dissolve in the extraction medium which is separated from the soil by passing water upwardly through the soil. The extraction medium floats to the surface of the water and is separated. Thereafter, the extraction medium containing the halogenated organic contaminants is subjected to ionizing radiation to radiolytically dehalogenate the compounds.

Process for the solvent extraction for the radiolysis and dehalogenation of halogenated organic compounds in soils, sludges, sediments and slurries

DOEpatents

Mincher, Bruce J.; Curry, Randy Dale; Clevenger, Thomas E.; Golden, Jeffry

2003-05-27

A process of extracting halogenated organic compounds, and particularly PCBs, from soil, sediment, slurry, sludge and dehalogenating the compounds contacts a contaminated soil sample with an extraction medium of a mixture of an alkane and a water miscible alcohol. The organic compounds dissolve in the extraction medium which is separated from the soil by passing water upwardly through the soil. The extraction medium floats to the surface of the water and is separated. Thereafter, the extraction medium containing the halogenated organic contaminants is subjected to ionizing radiation to radiolytically dehalogenate the compounds.

Process for the solvent extraction for the radiolysis and dehalogenation of halogenated organic compounds in soils, sludges, sediments and slurries

DOEpatents

Mincher, Bruce J.; Curry, Randy Dale; Clevenger, Thomas E.; Golden, Jeffry

2000-01-01

A process of extracting halogenated organic compounds, and particularly PCBs, from soil, sediment, slurry, sludge and dehalogenating the compounds contacting a contaminated soil sample with an extraction medium of a mixture of an alkane and a water miscible alcohol. The organic compounds dissolve in the extraction medium which is separated from the soil by passing water upwardly through the soil. The extraction medium floats to the surface of the water and is separated. Thereafter, the extraction medium containing the halogenated organic contaminants is subjected to ionizing radiation to radiolytically dehalogenate the compounds.

Flooding and Atmospheric Rivers across the Western United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Villarini, G.; Barth, N. A.; White, K. D.

2017-12-01

Flood frequency analysis across the western United States is complicated by annual peak flow records that frequently contain flows generated from distinctly different flood generating mechanisms. Among the different flood agents, atmospheric rivers (ARs) are responsible for large, regional scale floods. USGS streamgaging stations in the central Columbia River Basin in the Pacific Northwest, the Sierra Nevada, the central and southern California coast, and central Arizona show a mixture of 30-70% AR-generated flood peaks among the complete period of record. Bulletin17B and its proposed update (Draft Bulletin 17C) continue to recognize difficulties in determining flood frequency estimates among streamflow records that contain flood peaks coming from different flood-generating mechanisms, as is the case in the western United States. They recommend developing separate frequency curves when the hydrometeorologic mechanisms that generated the annual peak flows can be separated into distinct subpopulations. Yet challenges arise when trying to consistently quantify the physical (hydrometeorologic) processes that generated the observed flows, and even more when trying to account for them in flood frequency estimation. This study provides a general statistical framework to perform a process-driven flood frequency analysis using a weighted mixed population approach, highlighting the role that ARs play on the flood peak distribution.

Enhanced sampling simulation analysis of the structure of lignin in the THF–water miscibility gap

DOE PAGES

Smith, Micholas Dean; Petridis, Loukas; Cheng, Xiaolin; ...

2016-01-26

Using temperature replica-exchange molecular dynamics, we characterize a globule-to-coil transition for a softwood-like lignin biopolymer in a tetrahydrofuran (THF)-water cosolvent system at temperatures at which the cosolvent undergoes a de-mixing transition. The lignin is found to be in a coil state, similar to that in the high-temperature miscible region. Analysis of the transition kinetics indicates that THF acts in a surfactant-like fashion. In conclusion, the present study thus suggests that THF-water based pretreatments may efficiently remove lignin from biomass even at relatively low (non-water boiling) temperatures.

Synthesis and phase behavior of end-functionalized associating polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wrue, Michelle H.

We have explored polymer blend phase behavior in the presence of multiple hydrogen bonding end-groups. This work details the synthesis of functionalized polymers and their subsequent use in miscibility studies. The synthesis of end-functionalized hydrogen bonding polymers and the investigation of their physical properties and miscibility is presented. Mono-functional and telechelic ureidopyrimidinone (UPy) functionalized polymers were prepared by two main routes: post-polymerization functionalization (of commercially available or synthesized polymers); and polymerization of monomers using a functionalized initiator. UPy-functionalized polymers were prepared with a variety of polymer backbones including poly(ethylene oxide)s; poly(butadiene)s, poly(dimethyl siloxanxe)s; poly(styrene)s and poly(methyl methacrylate)s. The most successful route to polymers with UPy end-groups was atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) using a UPy-functionalized initiator, followed by atom transfer radical coupling (ATRC). The incorporation of ureidopyrimidinone end-groups was shown to affect the physical properties of the polymer backbone. Parent polymers that were liquids became viscous liquids or waxy solids upon UPy-functionalization of chain end. UPy-functionalization of a hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HO-PB-OH) resulted in a waxy solid while the HO-PB-OH precursor was a viscous liquid. The thermal properties of functionalized polymers also differed from those of the unfunctionalized parent polymers. Hot-stage optical microscopy revealed that UPy-functionalized PEO displayed a depressed melting point relative to the analogous unfunctionalized precursor. Differential scanning calorimetry was also used to investigate the synthesized UPy-polymers. UPy-functionalized polystyrenes and poly(methyl methacrylate)s showed an increased T g compared to the equivalent homopolymer standards. This increased Tg was determined to be dependent upon the fraction of UPy groups present and chemical cleavage of the end-groups resulted in Tgs near those observed for polymer standards of comparable molecular weight. Aggregation of UPy end-groups in solution was observed using gel permeation chromatography. Aggregation was only observed for telechelic samples of low molecular weight, indicating that the aggregation of end-groups is dependent upon the concentration of the end-groups. The effect of UPy end-groups on blend miscibility was studied in solution using laser light scattering and in the melt state was using laser light scattering, optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. The incorporation of associating groups onto one end of either blend component decreases miscibility relative to unfunctionalized parent blends. Lower miscibility was also observed for blends in which both components were mono-functionalized with associating end-groups. The largest decrease in miscibility was observed for blends containing telechelic UPy-functionalized polymers, which were immiscible across the entire composition range.

Emulsification kinetics during quasi-miscible flow in dead-end pores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Broens, M.; Unsal, E.

2018-03-01

Microemulsions have found applications as carriers for the transport of solutes through various porous media. They are commonly pre-prepared in bulk form, and then injected into the medium. The preparation is done by actively mixing the surfactant, water and oil, and then allowing the mixture to stagnate until equilibrium is reached. The resulting microemulsion characteristics of the surfactant/oil/water system are studied at equilibrium conditions, and perfect mixing is assumed. But in applications like subsurface remediation and enhanced oil recovery, microemulsion formation may occur in the pore space. Surfactant solutions are injected into the ground to solubilize and/or mobilize the non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) by in-situ emulsification. Flow dynamics and emulsification kinetics are coupled, which also contributes to in-situ mixing. In this study, we investigated the nature of such coupling for a quasi-miscible fluid system in a conductive channel with dead-end extensions. A microfluidic setup was used, where an aqueous solution of an anionic, internal olefin sulfonate 20-24 (IOS) surfactant was injected into n-decane saturated glass micromodel. The oil phase was coloured using a solvatochromatic dye allowing for direct visualization of the aqueous and oil phases as well as their microemulsions under fluorescent light. Presence of both conductive and stagnant dead-end channels in a single pore system made it possible to isolate different transport mechanisms from each other but also allowed to study the transitions from one to the other. In the conductive channel, the surfactant was carried with flow, and emulsification was controlled by the localized flow dynamics. In the stagnant zones, the driving force of the mass transfer was driven by the chemical concentration gradient. Some of the equilibrium phase behaviour characteristics of the surfactant/oil/water system were recognisable during the quasi-miscible displacement. However, the equilibrium tests alone were not sufficient to predict the emulsification process under dynamic conditions.

Evaluation of various modelling approaches in flood routing simulation and flood area mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papaioannou, George; Loukas, Athanasios; Vasiliades, Lampros; Aronica, Giuseppe

2016-04-01

An essential process of flood hazard analysis and mapping is the floodplain modelling. The selection of the modelling approach, especially, in complex riverine topographies such as urban and suburban areas, and ungauged watersheds may affect the accuracy of the outcomes in terms of flood depths and flood inundation area. In this study, a sensitivity analysis implemented using several hydraulic-hydrodynamic modelling approaches (1D, 2D, 1D/2D) and the effect of modelling approach on flood modelling and flood mapping was investigated. The digital terrain model (DTMs) used in this study was generated from Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) point cloud data. The modelling approaches included 1-dimensional hydraulic-hydrodynamic models (1D), 2-dimensional hydraulic-hydrodynamic models (2D) and the coupled 1D/2D. The 1D hydraulic-hydrodynamic models used were: HECRAS, MIKE11, LISFLOOD, XPSTORM. The 2D hydraulic-hydrodynamic models used were: MIKE21, MIKE21FM, HECRAS (2D), XPSTORM, LISFLOOD and FLO2d. The coupled 1D/2D models employed were: HECRAS(1D/2D), MIKE11/MIKE21(MIKE FLOOD platform), MIKE11/MIKE21 FM(MIKE FLOOD platform), XPSTORM(1D/2D). The validation process of flood extent achieved with the use of 2x2 contingency tables between simulated and observed flooded area for an extreme historical flash flood event. The skill score Critical Success Index was used in the validation process. The modelling approaches have also been evaluated for simulation time and requested computing power. The methodology has been implemented in a suburban ungauged watershed of Xerias river at Volos-Greece. The results of the analysis indicate the necessity of sensitivity analysis application with the use of different hydraulic-hydrodynamic modelling approaches especially for areas with complex terrain.

The effect of inclusion of inlets in dual drainage modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Tsang-Jung; Wang, Chia-Ho; Chen, Albert S.; Djordjević, Slobodan

2018-04-01

In coupled sewer and surface flood modelling approaches, the flow process in gullies is often ignored although the overland flow is drained to sewer network via inlets and gullies. Therefore, the flow entering inlets is transferred to the sewer network immediately, which may lead to a different flood estimation than the reality. In this paper, we compared two modelling approach with and without considering the flow processes in gullies in the coupled sewer and surface modelling. Three historical flood events were adopted for model calibration and validation. The results showed that the inclusion of flow process in gullies can further improve the accuracy of urban flood modelling.

Does antecedent precipitation play a role for floods in (small) Swiss catchments?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Froidevaux, Paul; Schwanbeck, Jan; Weingartner, Rolf; Chevalier, Clément; Romppainen-Martius, Olivia

2014-05-01

River flooding is one of the most devastating natural hazards worldwide. In Switzerland, like in many other regions, the building of flood protection infrastructures is complicated by difficulties in assessing flood risk due to: - The large year-to-year variability in flood losses. The variations amount to several orders of magnitude (see for ex. Hilker et al., 2009). - The non-stationarity of the flood risk at longer time scales. A pronounced decadal variability in flood risk has been observed by Schmocker-Fackel and Naef (2010) and Köplin et al. (2013) show that climate change will induce diverse and complex regional changes in flood risk. A better understanding of flood processes is therefore required in order to better predict changes in flood frequency. It has been hypothesized that flood frequency variations are linked to changes in the atmospheric circulation. Consequently, the whole mechanism chain starting from atmospheric circulation patterns triggering severe precipitation weather and ending with extreme river discharge must be considered. In a step in that direction we characterize precipitation events that triggered observed annual maximum discharges at 120 discharge stations during the last 53 years in Switzerland. The precipitation dataset is a temporally-homogeneous complex interpolation of daily rain gauge data on a 1 by 1 km grid covering the Swiss territory (MeteoSwiss, 2011). We test the relationship between different catchment-averaged precipitation indices and flood occurrence. We explicitly separate antecedent and event-associated precipitation. The preliminary results show that antecedent precipitation (weekly to monthly sums ending 3 days before the event) are no significant flood predictors for most of the catchments. On the other hand, a very strong signal is found for the 1-3 days precipitation sums. Lessons for flood modeling in Swiss catchments is that a strong effort is required in order to represent the flood-associated weather events correctly over a 1-3 day period -particularly the precipitation amounts- whereas antecedent precipitation is not a necessary precondition for flood building. In that sense, flood processes in Switzerland might contrast with extreme drought processes for which longer term precipitation statistics are expected to be important. Hilker, N., A. Badoux, and C. Hegg. 2009. The swiss flood and landslide damage database 1972-2007. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 9, 913-925. Schmocker-Fackel, P., and F. Naef. 2010. More frequent flooding? changes in flood frequency in switzerland since 1850. Journal of hydrology 381, 1-8. 1,3 Köplin, N., Schädler, B., Viviroli, D. and Weingartner, R. 2013. Seasonality and magnitude of floods in Switzerland under future climate change. Hydrol. Process.. doi: 10.1002/hyp.9757 MeteoSwiss. 2011. Documentation of meteoswiss grid-data products. daily precipitation (final analysis): Rhiresd. available online at http://www.meteosuisse.admin.ch/web/de/services/datenportal/gitterdaten/precip.html.

44 CFR 79.5 - Application process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION GRANTS.... (3) Participation in these flood mitigation grant programs is voluntary, and States may elect not to...

44 CFR 79.5 - Application process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION GRANTS.... (3) Participation in these flood mitigation grant programs is voluntary, and States may elect not to...

44 CFR 79.5 - Application process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION GRANTS.... (3) Participation in these flood mitigation grant programs is voluntary, and States may elect not to...

44 CFR 79.5 - Application process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION GRANTS.... (3) Participation in these flood mitigation grant programs is voluntary, and States may elect not to...

44 CFR 79.5 - Application process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION GRANTS.... (3) Participation in these flood mitigation grant programs is voluntary, and States may elect not to...

Flood inundation extent mapping based on block compressed tracing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Dingtao; Rui, Yikang; Wang, Jiechen; Zhang, Yu; Cheng, Liang

2015-07-01

Flood inundation extent, depth, and duration are important factors affecting flood hazard evaluation. At present, flood inundation analysis is based mainly on a seeded region-growing algorithm, which is an inefficient process because it requires excessive recursive computations and it is incapable of processing massive datasets. To address this problem, we propose a block compressed tracing algorithm for mapping the flood inundation extent, which reads the DEM data in blocks before transferring them to raster compression storage. This allows a smaller computer memory to process a larger amount of data, which solves the problem of the regular seeded region-growing algorithm. In addition, the use of a raster boundary tracing technique allows the algorithm to avoid the time-consuming computations required by the seeded region-growing. Finally, we conduct a comparative evaluation in the Chin-sha River basin, results show that the proposed method solves the problem of flood inundation extent mapping based on massive DEM datasets with higher computational efficiency than the original method, which makes it suitable for practical applications.

Analysis of the linkage between rain and flood regime and its application to regional flood frequency estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cunderlik, Juraj M.; Burn, Donald H.

2002-04-01

Improving techniques of flood frequency estimation at ungauged sites is one of the foremost goals of contemporary hydrology. River flood regime is a resultant reflection of a composite catchment hydrologic response to flood producing processes. In this sense the process of identifying homogeneous pooling groups can be plausibly based on catchment similarity in flood regime. Unfortunately the application of any pooling approach that is based on flood regime is restricted to gauged sites. Because flood regime can be markedly determined by rainfall regime, catchment similarity in rainfall regime can be an alternative option for identifying flood frequency pooling groups. An advantage of such a pooling approach is that rainfall data are usually spatially and temporary more abundant than flood data and the approach can also be applied at ungauged sites. Therefore in this study we have quantified the linkage between rainfall and flood regime and explored the appropriateness of substituting rainfall regime for flood regime in regional pooling schemes. Two different approaches to describing rainfall regime similarity using tools of directional statistics have been tested and used for evaluation of the potential of rainfall regime for identification of hydrologically homogeneous pooling groups. The outputs were compared to an existing pooling framework adopted in the Flood Estimation Handbook. The results demonstrate that regional pooling based on rainfall regime information leads to a high number of initially homogeneous groups and seems to be a sound pooling alternative for catchments with a close linkage between rain and flood regimes.

Floods and climate: emerging perspectives for flood risk assessment and management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Merz, B.; Aerts, J.; Arnbjerg-Nielsen, K.; Baldi, M.; Becker, A.; Bichet, A.; Blöschl, G.; Bouwer, L. M.; Brauer, A.; Cioffi, F.; Delgado, J. M.; Gocht, M.; Guzzetti, F.; Harrigan, S.; Hirschboeck, K.; Kilsby, C.; Kron, W.; Kwon, H.-H.; Lall, U.; Merz, R.; Nissen, K.; Salvatti, P.; Swierczynski, T.; Ulbrich, U.; Viglione, A.; Ward, P. J.; Weiler, M.; Wilhelm, B.; Nied, M.

2014-07-01

Flood estimation and flood management have traditionally been the domain of hydrologists, water resources engineers and statisticians, and disciplinary approaches abound. Dominant views have been shaped; one example is the catchment perspective: floods are formed and influenced by the interaction of local, catchment-specific characteristics, such as meteorology, topography and geology. These traditional views have been beneficial, but they have a narrow framing. In this paper we contrast traditional views with broader perspectives that are emerging from an improved understanding of the climatic context of floods. We come to the following conclusions: (1) extending the traditional system boundaries (local catchment, recent decades, hydrological/hydraulic processes) opens up exciting possibilities for better understanding and improved tools for flood risk assessment and management. (2) Statistical approaches in flood estimation need to be complemented by the search for the causal mechanisms and dominant processes in the atmosphere, catchment and river system that leave their fingerprints on flood characteristics. (3) Natural climate variability leads to time-varying flood characteristics, and this variation may be partially quantifiable and predictable, with the perspective of dynamic, climate-informed flood risk management. (4) Efforts are needed to fully account for factors that contribute to changes in all three risk components (hazard, exposure, vulnerability) and to better understand the interactions between society and floods. (5) Given the global scale and societal importance, we call for the organization of an international multidisciplinary collaboration and data-sharing initiative to further understand the links between climate and flooding and to advance flood research.

Probabilistic modelling of flood events using the entropy copula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Fan; Zheng, Qian

2016-11-01

The estimation of flood frequency is vital for the flood control strategies and hydraulic structure design. Generating synthetic flood events according to statistical properties of observations is one of plausible methods to analyze the flood frequency. Due to the statistical dependence among the flood event variables (i.e. the flood peak, volume and duration), a multidimensional joint probability estimation is required. Recently, the copula method is widely used for multivariable dependent structure construction, however, the copula family should be chosen before application and the choice process is sometimes rather subjective. The entropy copula, a new copula family, employed in this research proposed a way to avoid the relatively subjective process by combining the theories of copula and entropy. The analysis shows the effectiveness of the entropy copula for probabilistic modelling the flood events of two hydrological gauges, and a comparison of accuracy with the popular copulas was made. The Gibbs sampling technique was applied for trivariate flood events simulation in order to mitigate the calculation difficulties of extending to three dimension directly. The simulation results indicate that the entropy copula is a simple and effective copula family for trivariate flood simulation.

Attribution of regional flood changes based on scaling fingerprints

PubMed Central

Merz, Bruno; Viet Dung, Nguyen; Parajka, Juraj; Nester, Thomas; Blöschl, Günter

2016-01-01

Abstract Changes in the river flood regime may be due to atmospheric processes (e.g., increasing precipitation), catchment processes (e.g., soil compaction associated with land use change), and river system processes (e.g., loss of retention volume in the floodplains). This paper proposes a new framework for attributing flood changes to these drivers based on a regional analysis. We exploit the scaling characteristics (i.e., fingerprints) with catchment area of the effects of the drivers on flood changes. The estimation of their relative contributions is framed in Bayesian terms. Analysis of a synthetic, controlled case suggests that the accuracy of the regional attribution increases with increasing number of sites and record lengths, decreases with increasing regional heterogeneity, increases with increasing difference of the scaling fingerprints, and decreases with an increase of their prior uncertainty. The applicability of the framework is illustrated for a case study set in Austria, where positive flood trends have been observed at many sites in the past decades. The individual scaling fingerprints related to the atmospheric, catchment, and river system processes are estimated from rainfall data and simple hydrological modeling. Although the distributions of the contributions are rather wide, the attribution identifies precipitation change as the main driver of flood change in the study region. Overall, it is suggested that the extension from local attribution to a regional framework, including multiple drivers and explicit estimation of uncertainty, could constitute a similar shift in flood change attribution as the extension from local to regional flood frequency analysis. PMID:27609996

Development of cost-effective surfactant flooding technology. Quarterly report, January 1, 1994--March 31, 1994

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pope, G.A.; Sepehrnoori, K.

1994-09-01

The objective of this research is to develop cost-effective surfactant flooding technology by using surfactant simulation studies to evaluate and optimize alternative design strategies taking into account reservoir characteristics, process chemistry, and process design options such as horizontal wells. Task 1 is the development of an improved numerical method for our simulator that will enable us to solve a wider class of these difficult simulation problems accurately and affordably. Task 2 is the application of this simulator to the optimization of surfactant flooding to reduce its risk and cost. The goal of Task 2 is to understand and generalize themore » impact of both process and reservoir characteristics on the optimal design of surfactant flooding. We have studied the effect of process parameters such as salinity gradient, surfactant adsorption, surfactant concentration, surfactant slug size, pH, polymer concentration and well constraints on surfactant floods. In this report, we show three dimensional field scale simulation results to illustrate the impact of one important design parameter, the salinity gradient. Although the use of a salinity gradient to improve the efficiency and robustness of surfactant flooding has been studied and applied for many years, this is the first time that we have evaluated it using stochastic simulations rather than simulations using the traditional layered reservoir description. The surfactant flooding simulations were performed using The University of Texas chemical flooding simulator called UTCHEM.« less

Process-based model with flood control measures towards more realistic global flood modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Q.; Zhang, X.; Wang, Y.; Mu, M.; Lv, A.; Li, Z.

2017-12-01

In the profoundly human-influenced era, the Anthropocene, increased amount of land was developed in flood plains and many flood control measures were implemented to protect people and infrastructures placed in the flood-prone areas. These human influences (for example, dams and dykes) have altered peak streamflow and flood risk, and are already an integral part of flood. However, most of the process-based flood models have yet to taken into account the human influences. In this study, we used a hydrological model together with an advanced hydrodynamic model to assess flood risk at the Baiyangdian catchment. The Baiyangdian Lake is the largest shallow freshwater lake in North China, and it was used as a flood storage area in the past. A new development hub for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei economic triangle, namely the Xiongan new area, was recently established in the flood-prone area around the lake. The shuttle radar topography mission (SRTM) digital elevation model (DEMs) was used to parameterize the hydrodynamic model simulation, and the inundation estimates were compared with published flood maps and observed inundation area during the extreme historical flood events. A simple scheme was carried out to consider the impacts of flood control measures, including the reservoirs in the headwaters and the dykes to be built. By comparing model simulations with and without the influences of flood control measures, we demonstrated the importance of human influences in altering the inundated area and depth under design flood conditions. Based on the SRTM DEM and dam and reservoir data in the Global Reservoir and Dam (GRanD) database, we further discuss the potential to develop a global flood model with human influences.

Phosphorus dynamics in long-term flooded, drained and reflooded soils

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In flooded areas, soils are often exposed to standing water and subsequent drainage, thus over fertilization can release excess phosphorus (P) into surface water and groundwater. To investigate P release and transformation processes in flooded alkaline soils, we flooded-drained-reflooded two soils f...

A new automatic SAR-based flood mapping application hosted on the European Space Agency's grid processing on demand fast access to imagery environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hostache, Renaud; Chini, Marco; Matgen, Patrick; Giustarini, Laura

2013-04-01

There is a clear need for developing innovative processing chains based on earth observation (EO) data to generate products supporting emergency response and flood management at a global scale. Here an automatic flood mapping application is introduced. The latter is currently hosted on the Grid Processing on Demand (G-POD) Fast Access to Imagery (Faire) environment of the European Space Agency. The main objective of the online application is to deliver flooded areas using both recent and historical acquisitions of SAR data in an operational framework. It is worth mentioning that the method can be applied to both medium and high resolution SAR images. The flood mapping application consists of two main blocks: 1) A set of query tools for selecting the "crisis image" and the optimal corresponding pre-flood "reference image" from the G-POD archive. 2) An algorithm for extracting flooded areas using the previously selected "crisis image" and "reference image". The proposed method is a hybrid methodology, which combines histogram thresholding, region growing and change detection as an approach enabling the automatic, objective and reliable flood extent extraction from SAR images. The method is based on the calibration of a statistical distribution of "open water" backscatter values inferred from SAR images of floods. Change detection with respect to a pre-flood reference image helps reducing over-detection of inundated areas. The algorithms are computationally efficient and operate with minimum data requirements, considering as input data a flood image and a reference image. Stakeholders in flood management and service providers are able to log onto the flood mapping application to get support for the retrieval, from the rolling archive, of the most appropriate pre-flood reference image. Potential users will also be able to apply the implemented flood delineation algorithm. Case studies of several recent high magnitude flooding events (e.g. July 2007 Severn River flood, UK and March 2010 Red River flood, US) observed by high-resolution SAR sensors as well as airborne photography highlight advantages and limitations of the online application. A mid-term target is the exploitation of ESA SENTINEL 1 SAR data streams. In the long term it is foreseen to develop a potential extension of the application for systematically extracting flooded areas from all SAR images acquired on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. On-going research activities investigate the usefulness of the method for mapping flood hazard at global scale using databases of historic SAR remote sensing-derived flood inundation maps.

Miscibility and interactions of animal and plant sterols with choline plasmalogen in binary and multicomponent model systems.

PubMed

Hąc-Wydro, Katarzyna; Luty, Katarzyna

2014-04-01

In this work miscibility and interactions of sterols with choline plasmalogen (PC-plasm) in Langmuir monolayers were studied. Moreover, the properties of cholesterol/phosphatidylcholine/plasmalogen mixtures of different PC-plasm concentration were investigated. The foregoing systems were treated as a model of cancer cell membranes, which are of higher plasmalogen level than normal cells. Finally, the influence of β-sitosterol and stigmasterol (phytosterols differing in anticancer potency) on these mixtures was verified. The properties of monolayers were analyzed based on the parameters derived from the surface pressure-area isotherms and images taken with Brewster Angle Microscope. It was found that at 30% of sterol in sterol/plasmalogen monolayer the lipids are immiscible and 3D crystallites are formed within the film. Cholesterol molecules mix favorably with PC-plasm at Xchol ≥ 0.5, while the investigated phytosterols only at their prevailing proportion in binary system. The increase of choline plasmalogen in cholesterol/phosphatidylcholine monolayer causes destabilization of the system. Moreover, the incorporation of phytosterols into cholesterol/phosphatidylcholine+PC-plasm mixtures disturbed membrane morphology and this effect was stronger for β-sitosterol as compared to stigmasterol. It was concluded that the presence of vinyl ether bond at sn-1 position in PC-plasm molecule strongly affects miscibility of choline plasmalogen with sterols. The comparison of the collected data with those reported in literature allowed one to conclude that miscibility and interactions of sterols with PC-plasm are less favorable than those with phosphatidylcholine. It was also suggested that overexpression of plasmalogens in cancer cell membranes may be a factor differentiating sensitivity of cells to anticancer effect of phytosterols. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multiscale structure, interfacial cohesion, adsorbed layers, miscibility and properties in dense polymer-particle mixtures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schweizer, Ken

2012-02-01

A major goal in polymer nanocomposite research is to understand and predict how the chemical and physical nature of individual polymers and nanoparticles, and thermodynamic state (temperature, composition, solvent dilution, filler loading), determine bulk assembly, miscibility and properties. Microscopic PRISM theory provides a route to this goal for equilibrium disordered mixtures. A major prediction is that by manipulating the net polymer-particle interfacial attraction, miscibility is realizable via the formation of thin thermodynamically stable adsorbed layers, which, however, are destroyed by entropic depletion and bridging attraction effects if interface cohesion is too weak or strong, respectively. This and related issues are quantitatively explored for miscible mixtures of hydrocarbon polymers, silica nanospheres, and solvent using x-ray scattering, neutron scattering and rheology. Under melt conditions, quantitative agreement between theory and silica scattering experiments is achieved under both steric stabilization and weak depletion conditions. Using contrast matching neutron scattering to characterize the collective structure factors of polymers, particles and their interface, the existence and size of adsorbed polymer layers, and their consequences on microstructure, is determined. Failure of the incompressible RPA, accuracy of PRISM theory, the nm thickness of adsorbed layers, and qualitative sensitivity of the bulk modulus to interfacial cohesion and particle size are demonstrated for concentrated PEO-silica-ethanol nanocomposites. Temperature-dependent complexity is discovered when water is the solvent, and nonequilibrium effects emerge for adsorbing entangled polymers that strongly impact structure. By varying polymer chemistry, the effect of polymer-particle attraction on the intrinsic viscosity is explored with striking non-classical effects observed. This work was performed in collaboration with S.Y.Kim, L.M.Hall, C.Zukoski and B.Anderson.

Geospatial Tools for Prevention of Urban Floods Case Study: River of EL Maleh (city of Mohammedia - Morocco)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaabane, M. S.; Abouali, N.; Boumeaza, T.; Zahouily, M.

2017-11-01

Today, the prevention and the risk management occupy an important part of public policy activities and are considered as major components in the process of sustainable development of territories. Due to the expansion of IT processes, in particular the geomatics sciences, decision-makers are increasingly requesting for digital tools before, during and after the risks of natural disasters. Both, the geographic information system (GIS) and the remote sensing are considered as geospatial and fundamental tools which help to understand the evolution of risks, to analyze their temporality and to make the right decisions. The historic events (on 1996, 2002 and 2010) which struck the city of Mohammedia and having caused the consequent damage to vital infrastructure and private property, require a thorough and rational analyze to benefit from it and well manage the floods phenomena. This article present i) the contribution of the geospatial tools for the floods simulation of Oued of el Maleh city at various return periods. These tools allow the demarcation of flood-risk areas and so to make floods simulations in several scenarios (decadal flood, 20-year flood, 50-year flood, 100-year flood, 500-year flood & also millennial flood) and besides (ii) present a synthesis map combining the territorial stakes superposed on the flood scenarios at different periods of return.

Flood regimes in a changing world: What do we know?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bloeschl, G.

2015-12-01

There has been a surprisingly large number of major floods in the last years around the world which suggests that floods may have increased and will continue to increase in the next decades. However, the realism of such changes is still hotly discussed in the literature. In this presentation I will argue that a fresh look is needed at the flood change problem in terms of the causal factors including river training, land use changes and climate variability. Analysing spatial patterns of dynamic flood characteristics helps learn form the rich diversity of flood processes across the landscape. I will present a number of examples across Europe to illustrate the range of flood generation processes and the causal factors of changes in the flood regime. On the basis of these examples, I will demonstrate how comparative hydrology can assist in learning from the differences of flood characteristics between catchments both for present and future conditions. Focus on the interactions of the natural and human water system will be instrumental in making meaningful statements about future floods in a changing world. References Hall et al. (2014) Understanding Flood Regime Changes in Europe: A state of the art assessment. Hydrol. Earth Sys. Sc., 18, 2735-2772. Blöschl et al. (2015) Increasing river floods: fiction or reality? Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1079

A New Approach to Flood Protection Design and Riparian Management

Treesearch

Philip B. Williams; Mitchell L. Swanson

1989-01-01

Conventional engineering methods of flood control design focus narrowly on the efficient conveyance of water, with little regard for environmental resource planning and natural geomorphic processes. Consequently, flood control projects are often environmentally disastrous, expensive to maintain, and even inadequate to control floods. In addition, maintenance programs...

44 CFR 65.5 - Revision to special hazard area boundaries with no change to base flood elevation determinations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... the SFHA are “reasonably safe from flooding”, and that they have on file, available upon request by... are “reasonably safe from flooding,” we will process a revision to the SFHA using the criteria set... from flooding.” (6) Data to substantiate the base flood elevation. If we complete a Flood Insurance...

44 CFR 65.5 - Revision to special hazard area boundaries with no change to base flood elevation determinations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... the SFHA are “reasonably safe from flooding”, and that they have on file, available upon request by... are “reasonably safe from flooding,” we will process a revision to the SFHA using the criteria set... from flooding.” (6) Data to substantiate the base flood elevation. If we complete a Flood Insurance...

Geomorphic variation in riparian tree mortality and stream coarse woody debris recruitment from record flooding in a coastal plain stream

Treesearch

Brian J. Palik; Stephen W. Golladay; P. Charles Goebel; Brad W. Taylor

1998-01-01

Large floods are an important process controlling the structure and function of stream ecosystems. One of the ways floods affect streams is through the recruitment of coarse woody debris from stream-side forests. Stream valley geomorphology may mediate this interaction by altering flood velocity, depth, and duration. Little research has examined how floods and...

Monitoring and Mapping the Hurricane Harvey Flooding in Houston, Texas.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balaji Bhaskar, M. S.

2017-12-01

Monitoring and Mapping the Hurricane Harvey Flooding in Houston, Texas.Urban flooding is a hazard that causes major destruction and loss of life. High intense precipitation events have increased significantly in Houston, Texas in recent years resulting in frequent river and bayou flooding. Many of the historical storm events such as Allison, Rita and Ike have caused several billion dollars in losses for the Houston-Galveston Region. A category 4 Hurricane Harvey made landfall on South Texas resulting in heavy precipitation from Aug 25 to 29 of 2017. About 1 trillion gallons of water fell across Harris County over a 4-day period. This amount of water covers Harris County's 1,800 square miles with an average of 33 inches of water. The long rain event resulted in an average 40inch rainfall across the area in several rain gauges and the maximum rainfall of 49.6 inches was recorded near Clear Creek. The objectives of our study are to 1) Process the Geographic Information System (GIS) and satellite data from the pre and post Hurricane Harvey event in Houston, Texas and 2) Analyze the satellite imagery to map the nature and pattern of the flooding in Houston-Galveston Region. The GIS data of the study area was downloaded and processed from the various publicly available resources such as Houston Galveston Area Council (HGAC), Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and Texas Natural Resource Information Systems (TNRIS). The satellite data collected soon after the Harvey flooding event were downloaded and processed using the ERDAS image processing software. The flood plain areas surrounding the Brazos River, Buffalo Bayou and the Addicks Barker reservoirs showed severe inundation. The different watershed areas affected by the catastrophic flooding in the wake of Hurricane Harvey were mapped and compared with the pre flooding event.

Community Based Flood Modeling in Southern and Baja California to Meet End User Needs for Decision-Making

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanders, B. F.

2017-12-01

Flooding of coastal and fluvial systems are the most significant natural hazards facing society, and damages have been escalating for decades globally and in the U.S. Almost all metropolitan areas are exposed to flood risk. The threat from river flooding is especially high in India and China, and coastal cities around the world are threatened by storm surge and rising sea levels. Several trends including rising sea levels, urbanization, deforestation, and rural-to-urban population shifts will increase flood exposure in the future. Flood impacts are escalating despite advances in hazards science and extensive effort to manage risks. The fundamental issue is not that flooding is becoming more severe, even though it is in some places, but rather that societies are become more vulnerable to flood impacts. A critical factor contributing to the escalation of flood impacts is that the most vulnerable sectors of communities are left out of processes to prepare for and respond to flooding. Furthermore, the translation of knowledge about flood hazards and vulnerabilities into actionable information for communities has not been effective. In Southern and Baja California, an interdisciplinary team of researchers has partnered with stakeholders in flood vulnerable communities to co-develop flood hazard information systems designed to meet end-user needs for decision-making. The initiative leveraged the power of advanced, fine-scale hydraulic models of flooding to craft intuitive visualizations of context-sensitive scenarios. This presentation will cover the ways by which the process of flood inundation modeling served as a focal point for knowledge development, as well as the unique visualizations that populate on-line information systems accessible here: http://floodrise.uci.edu/online-flood-hazard-viewers/

Mapping technological and biophysical capacities of watersheds to regulate floods

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mogollón, Beatriz; Villamagna, Amy M.; Frimpong, Emmanuel A.; Angermeier, Paul

2016-01-01

Flood regulation is a widely valued and studied service provided by watersheds. Flood regulation benefits people directly by decreasing the socio-economic costs of flooding and indirectly by its positive impacts on cultural (e.g., fishing) and provisioning (e.g., water supply) ecosystem services. Like other regulating ecosystem services (e.g., pollination, water purification), flood regulation is often enhanced or replaced by technology, but the relative efficacy of natural versus technological features in controlling floods has scarcely been examined. In an effort to assess flood regulation capacity for selected urban watersheds in the southeastern United States, we: (1) used long-term flood records to assess relative influence of technological and biophysical indicators on flood magnitude and duration, (2) compared the widely used runoff curve number (RCN) approach for assessing the biophysical capacity to regulate floods to an alternative approach that acknowledges land cover and soil properties separately, and (3) mapped technological and biophysical flood regulation capacities based on indicator importance-values derived for flood magnitude and duration. We found that watersheds with high biophysical (via the alternative approach) and technological capacities lengthened the duration and lowered the peak of floods. We found the RCN approach yielded results opposite that expected, possibly because it confounds soil and land cover processes, particularly in urban landscapes, while our alternative approach coherently separates these processes. Mapping biophysical (via the alternative approach) and technological capacities revealed great differences among watersheds. Our study improves on previous mapping of flood regulation by (1) incorporating technological capacity, (2) providing high spatial resolution (i.e., 10-m pixel) maps of watershed capacities, and (3) deriving importance-values for selected landscape indicators. By accounting for technology that enhances or replaces natural flood regulation, our approach enables watershed managers to make more informed choices in their flood-control investments.

Risk assessment of urban flood disaster in Jingdezhen City based on analytic hierarchy process and geographic information system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, D. C.; Huang, J.; Wang, H. M.; Wang, Z. Q.; Wang, W. Q.

2017-08-01

The research of urban flood risk assessment and management are of great academic and practical importance, which has become a widespread concern throughout the world. It’s significant to understand the spatial-temporal distribution of the flood risk before making the risk response measures. In this study, the urban region of Jingdezhen City is selected as the study area. The assessment indicators are selected from four aspects: disaster-causing factors, disaster-pregnant environment, disaster-bearing body and the prevention and mitigation ability, by consideration of the formation process of urban flood risk. And then, a small-scale flood disaster risk assessment model is developed based on Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP) and Geographic Information System(GIS), and the spatial-temporal distribution of flood risk in Jingdezhen City is analysed. The results show that the risk decreases gradually from the centre line of Changjiang River to the surrounding, and the areas of high flood disaster risk is decreasing from 2010 to 2013 while the risk areas are more concentred. The flood risk of the areas along the Changjiang River is the largest, followed by the low-lying areas in Changjiang District. And the risk is also large in Zhushan District where the population, the industries and commerce are concentrated. The flood risk in the western part of Changjiang District and the north-eastern part of the study area is relatively low. The results can provide scientific support for flood control construction and land development planning in Jingdezhen City.

44 CFR 78.10 - Project grant approval process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78.10 Project grant approval process. The State POC will solicit applications from...

44 CFR 78.10 - Project grant approval process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78.10 Project grant approval process. The State POC will solicit applications from...

44 CFR 78.10 - Project grant approval process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78.10 Project grant approval process. The State POC will solicit applications from...

44 CFR 78.10 - Project grant approval process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78.10 Project grant approval process. The State POC will solicit applications from...

44 CFR 78.10 - Project grant approval process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78.10 Project grant approval process. The State POC will solicit applications from...

Formation and evolution of valley-bottom and channel features, Lower Deschutes River, Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Curran, Janet H.; O'Conner, Jim E.; O'Conner, Jim E.; Grant, Gordon E.

2003-01-01

Primary geologic and geomorphic processes that formed valley-bottom and channel features downstream from the Pelton-Round Butte dam complex are inferred from a canyon-long analysis of feature morphology, composition, location, and spatial distribution. Major controls on valley-bottom morphology are regional tectonics, large landslides, and outsized floods (floods with return periods greater than 1000 yrs), which include the late Holocene Outhouse Flood and several Quaternary landslide dam failures. Floods with a return period on the order of 100 yrs, including historical floods in 1996, 1964, and 1861, contribute to fan building and flood plain formation only within the resistant framework established by the major controls. Key processes in the formation of channel features, in particular the 153 islands and 23 large rapids, include long-term bedrock erosion, outsized floods, and century-scale floods. Historical analysis of channel conditions since 1911 indicates that the largest islands, which are cored by outsized-flood deposits, locally control channel location, although their margins are substantially modified during annual- to century-scale floods. Islands cored by bedrock have changed little. Islands formed by annual- to century-scale floods are more susceptible to dynamic interactions between tributary sediment inputs, mainstem flow hydraulics, and perhaps riparian vegetation. Temporal patterns of island change in response to the sequence of 20th century flooding indicate that many islands accreted sediment during annual- to decadal-scale floods, but eroded during larger century-scale floods. There is, however, no clear trend of long-term changes in patterns of island growth, movement, or erosion either spatially or temporally within the lower Deschutes River.

Prediction of the flooding of a mining reservoir in NW Spain.

PubMed

Álvarez, R; Ordóñez, A; De Miguel, E; Loredo, C

2016-12-15

Abandoned and flooded mines constitute underground reservoirs which must be managed. When pumping is stopped in a closed mine, the process of flooding should be anticipated in order to avoid environmentally undesirable or unexpected mine water discharges at the surface, particularly in populated areas. The Candín-Fondón mining reservoir in Asturias (NW Spain) has an estimated void volume of 8 million m 3 and some urban areas are susceptible to be flooded if the water is freely released from the lowest mine adit/pithead. A conceptual model of this reservoir was undertaken and the flooding process was numerically modelled in order to estimate the time that the flooding would take. Additionally, the maximum safe height for the filling of the reservoir is discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optical Studies of model binary miscibility gap system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lacy, L. L.; Witherow, W. K.; Facemire, B. R.; Nishioka, G. M.

1982-01-01

In order to develop a better understanding of separation processes in binary miscibility gap metal alloys, model transparent fluid systems were studied. The system selected was diethylene glycol-ethyl salicylate which has convenient working temperatures (288 to 350 K), low toxicity, and is relatively easy to purify. The system is well characterized with respect to its phase diagram, density, surface and interfacial tensions, viscosity and other pertinent physical properties. Studies of migration of the dispersed phase in a thermal gradient were performed using conventional photomicroscopy. Velocities of the droplets of the dispersed phase were measured and compared to calculated rates which included both Stokes and thermal components. A holographic microscopy system was used to study growth, coalescence, and particle motions. Sequential holograms allowed determination of particle size distribution changes with respect to time and temperature. Holographic microscopy is capable of recording particle densities up to 10 to the 7th power particles/cu cm and is able to resolve particles of the order of 2 to 3 microns in diameter throughout the entire volume of the test cell. The reconstructed hologram produces a wavefront that is identical to the original wavefront as it existed when the hologram was made. The reconstructed wavefront is analyzed using a variety of conventional optical methods.

Laboratory Layered Latte

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, Nan; Khodaparast, Sepideh; Zhu, Lailai; Nunes, Janine; Kim, Hyoungsoo; Stone, Howard

2017-11-01

Layered composite fluids are sometimes observed in confined systems of rather chaotic initial states, for example, layered lattes formed by pouring espresso into a glass of warm milk. In such configurations, pouring forces a lower density liquid (espresso) into a higher density ambient, which is similar to the fountain effects that characterize a wide range of flows driven by injecting a fluid into a second miscible phase. Although the initial state of the mixture is complex and chaotic, there are conditions where the mixture cools at room temperature and exhibits an organized layered pattern. Here we report controlled experiments injecting a fluid into a miscible phase and show that, above a critical injection velocity, layering naturally emerges over the time scale of minutes. We perform experimental and numerical analyses of the time-dependent flows to observe and understand the convective circulation in the layers. We identify critical conditions to produce the layering and relate the results quantitatively to the critical Rayleigh number in double-diffusive convection, which indicates the competition between the horizontal thermal gradient and the vertical density gradient generated by the fluid injection. Based on this understanding, we show how to employ this single-step process to produce layered structures in soft materials, where the local elastic properties as well as the local material concentration vary step-wise along the length of the material.

Stabilization of miscible viscous fingering by a step-growth polymerization reaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bunton, Patrick; Stewart, Simone; Marin, Daniela; Tullier, Michael; Meiburg, Eckart; Pojman, John

2017-11-01

Viscous fingering is a hydrodynamic instability that occurs when a more mobile fluid displaces a fluid of lower mobility. Viscous fingering is often undesirable in industrial processes such as secondary petroleum recovery where it limits resource recovery. Linear stability analysis by Hejazi et al. (2010) has predicted that a non-monotonic viscosity profile at an otherwise unstable interface can in some instances stabilize the flow. We use step-growth polymerization at the interface between two miscible monomers as a model system. A dithiol monomer displacing a diacrylate react to form a linear polymer that behaves as a Newtonian fluid. Viscous fingering was imaged in a horizontal Hele-Shaw cell via Schlieren, which is sensitive to polymer conversion. By varying reaction rate via initiator concentration along with flow rate, we demonstrated increasing stabilization of the flow with increasing Damkohler number (ratio of the reaction rate to the flow rate). Results were compared with regions of predicted stability from the results of Hejazi et al. (2010). When the advection outran the reaction, viscous fingering occurred as usual. However, when the reaction was able to keep pace with the advection, the increased viscosity at the interface stabilized the flow. We acknowledge support from NSF CBET-1335739 and NSF CBET 1511653.

Linear stability analysis and nonlinear simulation of the channeling effect on viscous fingering instability in miscible displacement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shahnazari, M. R.; Maleka Ashtiani, I.; Saberi, A.

2018-03-01

In this paper, the effect of channeling on viscous fingering instability of miscible displacement in porous media is studied. In fact, channeling is introduced as a solution to stabilize the viscous fingering instability. In this solution, narrow channels were placed next to the walls, and by considering an exponential function to model the channeling effect, a heterogeneous media is assumed. In linear stability analysis, the governing equations are transferred to Fourier space, and by introducing a novel numerical method, the transferred equations are analyzed. The growth rate based on the wave number diagram has been drawn up in three sections of the medium. It is found that the flow becomes more stable at the center and unstable along the walls when the permeability ratio is increased. Also when the permeability ratio is approximately equal to one, the channeling has no significant effect. In nonlinear simulations, by using stream function and vortices, new equations have been rewritten and it is shown that channeling has a profound effect on the growth of the fingers and mechanisms. In addition to the superposition of velocity vectors and concentration contours, the development of instability is investigated using the mixing length and sweep efficiency diagram. The results show that although channeling reduces instability, it increases the displacement process time.

Control of surface adatom kinetics for the growth of high-indium content InGaN throughout the miscibility gap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moseley, Michael; Lowder, Jonathan; Billingsley, Daniel; Doolittle, W. Alan

2010-11-01

The surface kinetics of InGaN alloys grown via metal-modulated epitaxy (MME) are explored in combination with transient reflection high-energy electron diffraction intensities. A method for monitoring and controlling indium segregation in situ is demonstrated. It is found that indium segregation is more accurately associated with the quantity of excess adsorbed metal, rather than the metal-rich growth regime in general. A modified form of MME is developed in which the excess metal dose is managed via shuttered growth, and high-quality InGaN films throughout the miscibility gap are grown.

Gradient and size effects on spinodal and miscibility gaps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsagrakis, Ioannis; Aifantis, Elias C.

2018-05-01

A thermodynamically consistent model of strain gradient elastodiffusion is developed. Its formulation is based on the enhancement of a robust theory of gradient elasticity, known as GRADELA, to account for a Cahn-Hilliard type of diffusion. Linear stability analysis is employed to determine the influence of concentration and strain gradients on the spinodal decomposition. For finite domains, spherically symmetric conditions are considered, and size effects on spinodal and miscibility gaps are discussed. The theoretical predictions are in agreement with the experimental trends, i.e., both gaps shrink as the grain diameter decreases and they are completely eliminated for crystals smaller than a critical size.

Instability patterns in a miscible core annular flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Olce, Marguerite; Martin, Jerome; Rakotomalala, Nicole; Salin, Dominique; Talon, Laurent

2006-11-01

Laboratoire FAST, batiment 502, campus universitaire, 91405 Orsay Cedex (France). Experiments are performed with two miscible fluids of equal density but different viscosities. The fluids are injected co-currently and concentrically into a cylindrical pipe. The so-obtained base state is an axisymmetric parallel flow, for which the ratio of the flow rates of the two fluids monitors the relative amount (and so the radius) of the fluids. Depending on this relative amount and on the total flow rate of the fluids, unstable axisymmetric patterns such as mushrooms and pearls are observed. We delineate the diagram of occurrence of the two patterns and characterize the instabilities.

Buoyancy driven mixing of miscible fluids by volumetric energy deposition of microwaves.

PubMed

Wachtor, Adam J; Mocko, Veronika; Williams, Darrick J; Goertz, Matthew P; Jebrail, Farzaneh F

2013-01-01

An experiment that seeks to investigate buoyancy driven mixing of miscible fluids by microwave volumetric energy deposition is presented. The experiment involves the use of a light, non-polar fluid that initially rests on top of a heavier fluid which is more polar. Microwaves preferentially heat the polar fluid, and its density decreases due to thermal expansion. As the microwave heating continues, the density of the lower fluid eventually becomes less than that of the upper, and buoyancy driven Rayleigh-Taylor mixing ensues. The choice of fluids is crucial to the success of the experiment, and a description is given of numerous fluid combinations considered and characterized. After careful consideration, the miscible pair of toluene/tetrahydrofuran (THF) was determined as having the best potential for successful volumetric energy deposition buoyancy driven mixing. Various single fluid calibration experiments were performed to facilitate the development of a heating theory. Thereafter, results from two-fluid mixing experiments are presented that demonstrate the capability of this novel Rayleigh-Taylor driven experiment. Particular interest is paid to the onset of buoyancy driven mixing and unusual aspects of the experiment in the context of typical Rayleigh-Taylor driven mixing.

Lifecycle of miscible viscous fingering: onset to shutdown

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nijjer, Japinder S.; Hewitt, Duncan R.; Neufeld, Jerome A.

2017-11-01

When a viscous fluid is injected into a porous medium or Hele-Shaw cell that is initially saturated with a more viscous fluid, the flow can be unstable to viscous fingering. We investigate the long-time dynamics of miscible viscous fingering in a homogeneous, planar, two-dimensional porous medium using high-resolution numerical simulations. At late times, we identify a new flow regime which consists of a pair of counter-propagating fingers that diffuse and slow, leaving a linearly well-mixed interior. We derive an analytic solution for this regime, and show that, in contrast to previous suggestions, the flow always evolves to this regime irrespective of the viscosity ratio and Peclet number. As a consequence, we find the instability can only ever generate a finite amount of advective mixing. We also describe the full life-cycle of miscible viscous fingering, which can be partitioned into three regimes: an early-time linearly unstable regime, an intermediate-time non-linear regime, and a late-time exchange-flow regime. We identify, using linear stability theory, a critical Peclet number below which the flow is always stable, and derive a model for the evolution of the transversely averaged concentration in the intermediate-time regime, which extends previous empirical models.

Competing Stereocomplexation and Homocrystallization of Poly(l-lactic acid)/Poly(d-lactic acid) Racemic Mixture: Effects of Miscible Blending with Other Polymers.

PubMed

Bao, Jianna; Xue, Xiaojia; Li, Kai; Chang, Xiaohua; Xie, Qing; Yu, Chengtao; Pan, Pengju

2017-07-20

Promoting the stereocomplexation ability of high-molecular-weight poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) and poly(d-lactic acid) (PDLA) is an efficient way to improve the thermal resistance of the resulting materials. Herein, we studied the competing crystallization kinetics, polymorphic crystalline structure, and lamellae structure of the PLLA/PDLA component in its miscible blends with poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) and proposed a method to improve the stereocomplexation ability of PLLA and PDLA through miscible blending with the other polymer. Crystallization of the PLLA/PDLA component is suppressed after the addition of PVAc, due to the dilution effect. The stereocomplexation ability of PLLA and PDLA is enhanced by blending with PVAc; this becomes more obvious at a high PVAc content (≥50 wt %) but less significant with the further increase of PLLA, PDLA molecular weights. Almost exclusive formation of SCs is achieved for PLLA and PDLA after blending with a large proportion of PVAc (e.g., 75 wt %). Incorporation of PVAc also facilitates the HC-to-SC structural reorganization upon heating. The increased chain mobility, decreased equilibrium melting point, and enhanced intermolecular interactions may account for the preferential stereocomplexation in PLLA/PDLA/PVAc blends.

Permanganate gel (PG) for groundwater remediation: compatibility, gelation, and release characteristics.

PubMed

Lee, Eung Seok; Olson, Pamela R; Gupta, Neha; Solpuker, Utku; Schwartz, Franklin W; Kim, Yongje

2014-02-01

Permanganate (MnO4(-)) is a strong oxidant that is widely used for treating chlorinated ethylenes in groundwater. This study aims to develop hyper-saline MnO4(-) solution (MnO4(-) gel; PG) that can be injected into aquifers via wells, slowly gelates over time, and slowly release MnO4(-) to flowing water. In this study, compatibility and miscibility of gels, such as chitosan, aluminosilicate, silicate, and colloidal silica gels, with MnO4(-) were tested. Of these gels, chitosan was reactive with MnO4(-). Aluminosilicates were compatible but not readily miscible with MnO4(-). Silicates and colloidal silica were both compatible and miscible with MnO4(-), and gelated with addition of KMnO4 granules. Colloidal silica has low initial viscosity (<15cP), exhibited delayed gelation characteristics with the lag times ranging from 0 to 200min. Release of MnO4(-) from the colloidal silica-based PG gel occurred in a delayed fashion, with maximum duration of 24h. These results suggested that colloidal silica can be used to create PG or delayed-gelling forms containing other oxidants which can be used for groundwater remediation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SERVIR-Africa: Developing an Integrated Platform for Floods Disaster Management in Africa

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Macharia, Daniel; Korme, Tesfaye; Policelli, Fritz; Irwin, Dan; Adler, Bob; Hong, Yang

2010-01-01

SERVIR-Africa is an ambitious regional visualization and monitoring system that integrates remotely sensed data with predictive models and field-based data to monitor ecological processes and respond to natural disasters. It aims addressing societal benefits including floods and turning data into actionable information for decision-makers. Floods are exogenous disasters that affect many parts of Africa, probably second only to drought in terms of social-economic losses. This paper looks at SERVIR-Africa's approach to floods disaster management through establishment of an integrated platform, floods prediction models, post-event flood mapping and monitoring as well as flood maps dissemination in support of flood disaster management.

Flood type specific construction of synthetic design hydrographs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brunner, Manuela I.; Viviroli, Daniel; Sikorska, Anna E.; Vannier, Olivier; Favre, Anne-Catherine; Seibert, Jan

2017-02-01

Accurate estimates of flood peaks, corresponding volumes, and hydrographs are required to design safe and cost-effective hydraulic structures. In this paper, we propose a statistical approach for the estimation of the design variables peak and volume by constructing synthetic design hydrographs for different flood types such as flash-floods, short-rain floods, long-rain floods, and rain-on-snow floods. Our approach relies on the fitting of probability density functions to observed flood hydrographs of a certain flood type and accounts for the dependence between peak discharge and flood volume. It makes use of the statistical information contained in the data and retains the process information of the flood type. The method was tested based on data from 39 mesoscale catchments in Switzerland and provides catchment specific and flood type specific synthetic design hydrographs for all of these catchments. We demonstrate that flood type specific synthetic design hydrographs are meaningful in flood-risk management when combined with knowledge on the seasonality and the frequency of different flood types.

Emotional processing and outcome of imaginal flooding therapy in Vietnam veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder.

PubMed

Pitman, R K; Orr, S P; Altman, B; Longpre, R E; Poiré, R E; Macklin, M L; Michaels, M J; Steketee, G S

1996-01-01

This study examined emotional processing and outcome in 20 Vietnam veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who underwent imaginal flooding therapy. Results supported the occurrence of emotional processing, as manifest in significant activation, within-session habituation, and partial across-session habituation of physiologic and self-reported process variables. The flooding therapy produced only modest overall improvement, which was statistically significant for avoidance symptomatology measured by the impact of Events Scale (IOES) and number of intrusions per day recorded by the subject in a log. Symptomatic improvement appeared to generalize from a treated to an untreated experience. Heart rate activation during the first flooding session predicted a decrease in daily number of intrusive combat memories across the therapy. Otherwise, there was little association between extent of emotional processing and therapeutic outcome. The results provide limited support for the notion that mobilization of psychophysiologic arousal during exposure therapy predicts improvement.

GIS-based flood risk model evaluated by Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sukcharoen, Tharapong; Weng, Jingnong; Teetat, Charoenkalunyuta

2016-10-01

Over the last 2-3 decades, the economy of many countries around the world has been developed rapidly but it was unbalanced development because of expecting on economic growth only. Meanwhile it lacked of effective planning in the use of natural resources. This can significantly induce climate change which is major cause of natural disaster. Hereby, Thailand has also suffered from natural disaster for ages. Especially, the flood which is most hazardous disaster in Thailand can annually result in the great loss of life and property, environment and economy. Since the flood management of country is inadequate efficiency. It is unable to support the flood analysis comprehensively. This paper applied Geographic Information System and Multi-Criteria Decision Making to create flood risk model at regional scale. Angthong province in Thailand was used as the study area. In practical process, Fuzzy logic technique has been used to improve specialist's assessment by implementing with Fuzzy membership because human decision is flawed under uncertainty then AHP technique was processed orderly. The hierarchy structure in this paper was categorized the spatial flood factors into two levels as following: 6 criteria (Meteorology, Geology, Topography, Hydrology, Human and Flood history) and 8 factors (Average Rainfall, Distance from Stream, Soil drainage capability, Slope, Elevation, Land use, Distance from road and Flooded area in the past). The validity of the pair-wise comparison in AHP was shown as C.R. value which indicated that the specialist judgment was reasonably consistent. FAHP computation result has shown that the first priority of criteria was Meteorology. In addition, the Rainfall was the most influencing factor for flooding. Finally, the output was displayed in thematic map of Angthong province with flood risk level processed by GIS tools. The map was classified into: High Risk, Moderate Risk and Low Risk (13.20%, 75.58%, and 11.22% of total area).

Geologic CO2 Sequestration: Predicting and Confirming Performance in Oil Reservoirs and Saline Aquifers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, J. W.; Nitao, J. J.; Newmark, R. L.; Kirkendall, B. A.; Nimz, G. J.; Knauss, K. G.; Ziagos, J. P.

2002-05-01

Reducing anthropogenic CO2 emissions ranks high among the grand scientific challenges of this century. In the near-term, significant reductions can only be achieved through innovative sequestration strategies that prevent atmospheric release of large-scale CO2 waste streams. Among such strategies, injection into confined geologic formations represents arguably the most promising alternative; and among potential geologic storage sites, oil reservoirs and saline aquifers represent the most attractive targets. Oil reservoirs offer a unique "win-win" approach because CO2 flooding is an effective technique of enhanced oil recovery (EOR), while saline aquifers offer immense storage capacity and widespread distribution. Although CO2-flood EOR has been widely used in the Permian Basin and elsewhere since the 1980s, the oil industry has just recently become concerned with the significant fraction of injected CO2 that eludes recycling and is therefore sequestered. This "lost" CO2 now has potential economic value in the growing emissions credit market; hence, the industry's emerging interest in recasting CO2 floods as co-optimized EOR/sequestration projects. The world's first saline aquifer storage project was also catalyzed in part by economics: Norway's newly imposed atmospheric emissions tax, which spurred development of Statoil's unique North Sea Sleipner facility in 1996. Successful implementation of geologic sequestration projects hinges on development of advanced predictive models and a diverse set of remote sensing, in situ sampling, and experimental techniques. The models are needed to design and forecast long-term sequestration performance; the monitoring techniques are required to confirm and refine model predictions and to ensure compliance with environmental regulations. We have developed a unique reactive transport modeling capability for predicting sequestration performance in saline aquifers, and used it to simulate CO2 injection at Sleipner; we are now extending this capability to address CO2-flood EOR/sequestration in oil reservoirs. We have also developed a suite of innovative geophysical and geochemical techniques for monitoring sequestration performance in both settings. These include electromagnetic induction imaging and electrical resistance tomography for tracking migration of immiscible CO2, noble gas isotopes for assessing trace CO2 leakage through the cap rock, and integrated geochemical sampling, analytical, and experimental methods for determining sequestration partitioning among solubility and mineral trapping mechanisms. We have proposed to demonstrate feasibility of the co-optimized EOR/sequestration concept and utility of our modeling and monitoring technologies to design and evaluate its implementation by conducting a demonstration project in the Livermore Oil Field. This small, mature, shallow field, located less than a mile east of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, is representative of many potential EOR/sequestration sites in California. In approach, this proposed demonstration is analogous to the Weyburn EOR/CO2 monitoring project, to which it will provide an important complement by virtue of its contrasting depth (immiscible versus Weyburn's miscible CO2 flood) and geologic setting (clay-capped sand versus Weyburn's anhydrite-capped carbonate reservoir).

Improved Large-Scale Inundation Modelling by 1D-2D Coupling and Consideration of Hydrologic and Hydrodynamic Processes - a Case Study in the Amazon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoch, J. M.; Bierkens, M. F.; Van Beek, R.; Winsemius, H.; Haag, A.

2015-12-01

Understanding the dynamics of fluvial floods is paramount to accurate flood hazard and risk modeling. Currently, economic losses due to flooding constitute about one third of all damage resulting from natural hazards. Given future projections of climate change, the anticipated increase in the World's population and the associated implications, sound knowledge of flood hazard and related risk is crucial. Fluvial floods are cross-border phenomena that need to be addressed accordingly. Yet, only few studies model floods at the large-scale which is preferable to tiling the output of small-scale models. Most models cannot realistically model flood wave propagation due to a lack of either detailed channel and floodplain geometry or the absence of hydrologic processes. This study aims to develop a large-scale modeling tool that accounts for both hydrologic and hydrodynamic processes, to find and understand possible sources of errors and improvements and to assess how the added hydrodynamics affect flood wave propagation. Flood wave propagation is simulated by DELFT3D-FM (FM), a hydrodynamic model using a flexible mesh to schematize the study area. It is coupled to PCR-GLOBWB (PCR), a macro-scale hydrological model, that has its own simpler 1D routing scheme (DynRout) which has already been used for global inundation modeling and flood risk assessments (GLOFRIS; Winsemius et al., 2013). A number of model set-ups are compared and benchmarked for the simulation period 1986-1996: (0) PCR with DynRout; (1) using a FM 2D flexible mesh forced with PCR output and (2) as in (1) but discriminating between 1D channels and 2D floodplains, and, for comparison, (3) and (4) the same set-ups as (1) and (2) but forced with observed GRDC discharge values. Outputs are subsequently validated against observed GRDC data at Óbidos and flood extent maps from the Dartmouth Flood Observatory. The present research constitutes a first step into a globally applicable approach to fully couple hydrologic with hydrodynamic computations while discriminating between 1D-channels and 2D-floodplains. Such a fully-fledged set-up would be able to provide higher-order flood hazard information, e.g. time to flooding and flood duration, ultimately leading to improved flood risk assessment and management at the large scale.

Modeling small-scale and large-scale flood wave processes as indicators of channel-floodplain connectivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Byrne, C. F.; Stone, M. C.

2016-12-01

Anthropogenic alterations to rivers and floodplains, either in the context of river engineering or river restoration efforts, have no doubt impacted channel-floodplain connectivity in the majority of developed river systems. River management strategies now often strive to retain or improve ecological integrity of floodplains. Therefore, there is a need to quantify the hydrodynamic processes that have implications for river geomorphology and ecology within the channel-floodplain interface. Because field quantification of these processes is extremely difficult, new methods in hydrodynamic modeling can help to inform river science. This research focused on the assessment of channel-floodplain flow dynamics using two-dimensional hydrodynamic modeling and presents various methods of hydrodynamic process quantification in unsteady flow scenarios. The objectives of this research were to: (1) quantify the small-scale processes of mass and momentum transfer from the main channel to the floodplain; and (2) assess how these processes accrue to meaningful levels to affect the large-scale process of flood wave attenuation. This was achieved by modeling the heavily manipulated Albuquerque Reach of the Rio Grande in New Mexico. Results are presented as mass and momentum fluxes along the channel-floodplain boundaries with a focus on the application of these methods to unsteady flood wave modeling. In addition, quantification of downstream flood wave attenuation is presented as attenuation ratios of discharge and stage, as well as wave celerity. Mass and momentum fluxes during flood waves are shown to be highly variable over spatial and temporal scales and demonstrate the implications of lateral surface connectivity. Results from this research and further application of the methods presented here can help river scientists better understand the dynamics of flood processes especially in the context of process-based river restoration.

From science into practice: modelling hot spots for corporate flood risk and emergency management with high-resolution digital terrain data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pfurtscheller, Clemens; Vetter, Michael; Werthmann, Markus

2010-05-01

In times of increasing scarcity of private or public resources and uncertain changes in natural environment caused by climate variations, prevention and risk management against floods and coherent processes in mountainous regions, like debris flows or log jams, should be faced as a main challenge for globalised enterprises whose production facilities are located in flood-prone areas. From an entrepreneurial perspective, vulnerability of production facilities which causes restrictions or a total termination of production processes has to be optimised by means of cost-benefit-principles. Modern production enterprises are subject to globalisation and accompanying aspects, like short order and delivery periods, interlinking production processes and just-in-time manufacturing, so a breakdown of production provokes substantial financial impacts, unemployment and a decline of gross regional product. The aim of the presented project is to identify weak and critical points of the corporate emergency planning ("hot spots") and to assess possible losses triggered by mountainous flood processes using high-resolution digital terrain models (DTM) from airborne LiDAR (ALS). We derive flood-hot spots and model critical locations where the risk of natural hazards is very high. To model those hot spots a flood simulation based on an ALS-DTM has to be calculated. Based on that flood simulation, the flood heights of the overflowed locations which are lower than a threshold are mapped as flood-hot-spots. Then the corporate critical infrastructure, e.g. production facilities or lifelines, which are affected by the flooding, can be figured out. After the identification of hot spots and possible damage potential, the implementation of the results into corporate risk and emergency management guarantees the transdisciplinary approach involving stakeholders, risk and safety management officers and corporate fire brigade. Thus, the interdisciplinary analysis, including remote sensing techniques, like LiDAR, and economic assessment of natural hazards, combining with corporate acting secures production, guarantees income and helps to stabilise region's wealth after major flood events. Beyond that, the assessment of hot spots could be raised as locational issue for greenfield strategy or company foundation.

A review of atmospheric and land surface processes with emphasis on flood generation in the Southern Himalayan rivers.

PubMed

Dimri, A P; Thayyen, R J; Kibler, K; Stanton, A; Jain, S K; Tullos, D; Singh, V P

2016-06-15

Floods in the southern rim of the Indian Himalayas are a major cause of loss of life, property, crops, infrastructure, etc. They have long term socio-economic impacts on the habitat living along/across the Himalayas. In the recent decade extreme precipitation events have led to numerous flash floods in and around the Himalayan region. Sporadic case-based studies have tried to explain the mechanisms causing the floods. However, in some of the cases, the causative mechanisms have been elusive. Various types of flood events have been debated at different spatial and temporal scales. The present study provides an overview of mechanisms that lead to floods in and around the southern rim of the Indian Himalayas. Atmospheric processes, landuse interaction, and glacier-related outbreaks are considered in the overview. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Understanding the geomorphology of macrochannel systems for flood risk management in Queensland, Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, Chris; Croke, Jacky

2016-04-01

The year 2010-2011 was the wettest on record for the state of Queensland, Australia producing catastrophic floods. A tropical low pressure system in 2013 delivered further extreme flood events across South East Queensland (SEQ) which prompted state and local governments to conduct studies into flood magnitude and frequency in the region and catchment factors contributing to flood hazards. The floods in the region are strongly influenced by El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon, but also modulated by the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) which leads to flood and drought dominated regimes and high hydrological variability. One geomorphic feature in particular exerted a significant control on the transmission speed, the magnitude of flood inundation and resultant landscape resilience. This feature was referred to as a 'macrochannel', a term used to describe a 'large-channel' which has bankfull recurrence intervals generally greater than 10 years. The macrochannels display non-linear downstream hydraulic geometry which leads to zones of flood expansion (when hydraulic geometry decreases) and zones of flood contraction (when hydraulic geometry increases). The pattern of contraction and expansion zones determines flood hazard zones. The floods caused significant wet flow bank mass failures that mobilised over 1,000,000 m3 of sediment in one subcatchment. Results suggest that the wetflow bank mass failures are a stage in a cyclical evolution process which maintains the macrochannel morphology, hence channel resilience to floods. Chronological investigations further show the macrochannels are laterally stable and identify periods of heightened flood activity over the past millennium and upper limits on flood magnitude. This paper elaborates on the results of the geomorphic investigations on Lockyer Creek in SEQ and how the results have alerted managers and policy makers to the different flood responses of these systems and how flood risk management plans can be developed based on the identified hazard zones and geomorphic processes of macrochannel systems.

Lessons from a flooded landscape.

Treesearch

Sally Duncan

1998-01-01

In our first issue, we describe research that reflects our responsiveness to natural events and our ability to address issues over time. Floods can bring tragedy in the wake of their destruction. Floods also are a natural process that has shaped our landscapes. We hope that our scientific information helps people make wise choices that influence floods associated with...

Effect of catchment properties and flood generation regime on copula selection for bivariate flood frequency analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filipova, Valeriya; Lawrence, Deborah; Klempe, Harald

2018-02-01

Applying copula-based bivariate flood frequency analysis is advantageous because the results provide information on both the flood peak and volume. More data are, however, required for such an analysis, and it is often the case that only data series with a limited record length are available. To overcome this issue of limited record length, data regarding climatic and geomorphological properties can be used to complement statistical methods. In this paper, we present a study of 27 catchments located throughout Norway, in which we assess whether catchment properties, flood generation processes and flood regime have an effect on the correlation between flood peak and volume and, in turn, on the selection of copulas. To achieve this, the annual maximum flood events were first classified into events generated primarily by rainfall, snowmelt or a combination of these. The catchments were then classified into flood regime, depending on the predominant flood generation process producing the annual maximum flood events. A contingency table and Fisher's exact test were used to determine the factors that affect the selection of copulas in the study area. The results show that the two-parameter copulas BB1 and BB7 are more commonly selected in catchments with high steepness, high mean annual runoff and rainfall flood regime. These findings suggest that in these types of catchments, the dependence structure between flood peak and volume is more complex and cannot be modeled effectively using a one-parameter copula. The results illustrate that by relating copula types to flood regime and catchment properties, additional information can be supplied for selecting copulas in catchments with limited data.

Attribution of regional flood changes based on scaling fingerprints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viglione, A.; Merz, B.; Dung, N.; Parajka, J.; Nester, T.; Bloeschl, G.

2017-12-01

Changes in the river flood regime may be due to atmospheric processes (e.g., increasing precipitation), catchment processes (e.g., soil compaction associated with land use change), and river system processes (e.g., loss of retention volume in the floodplains). We propose a framework for attributing flood changes to these drivers based on a regional analysis. We exploit the scaling characteristics (i.e., fingerprints) with catchment area of the effects of the drivers on flood changes. The estimation of their relative contributions is framed in Bayesian terms. Analysis of a synthetic, controlled case suggests that the accuracy of the regional attribution increases with increasing number of sites and record lengths, decreases with increasing regional heterogeneity, increases with increasing difference of the scaling fingerprints, and decreases with an increase of their prior uncertainty. The applicability of the framework is illustrated for a case study set in Austria, where positive flood trends have been observed at many sites in the past decades. The individual scaling fingerprints related to the atmospheric, catchment, and river system processes are estimated from rainfall data and simple hydrological modeling. Although the distributions of the contributions are rather wide, the attribution identifies precipitation change as the main driver of flood change in the study region.

A Methodology to Define Flood Resilience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tourbier, J.

2012-04-01

Flood resilience has become an internationally used term with an ever-increasing number of entries on the Internet. The SMARTeST Project is looking at approaches to flood resilience through case studies at cities in various countries, including Washington D.C. in the United States. In light of U.S. experiences a methodology is being proposed by the author that is intended to meet ecologic, spatial, structural, social, disaster relief and flood risk aspects. It concludes that: "Flood resilience combines (1) spatial, (2) structural, (3) social, and (4) risk management levels of flood preparedness." Flood resilience should incorporate all four levels, but not necessarily with equal emphasis. Stakeholders can assign priorities within different flood resilience levels and the considerations they contain, dividing 100% emphasis into four levels. This evaluation would be applied to planned and completed projects, considering existing conditions, goals and concepts. We have long known that the "road to market" for the implementation of flood resilience is linked to capacity building of stakeholders. It is a multidisciplinary enterprise, involving the integration of all the above aspects into the decision-making process. Traditional flood management has largely been influenced by what in the UK has been called "Silo Thinking", involving constituent organizations that are responsible for different elements, and are interested only in their defined part of the system. This barrier to innovation also has been called the "entrapment effect". Flood resilience is being defined as (1) SPATIAL FLOOD RESILIENCE implying the management of land by floodplain zoning, urban greening and management to reduce storm runoff through depression storage and by practicing Sustainable Urban Drainage (SUD's), Best Management Practices (BMP's, or Low Impact Development (LID). Ecologic processes and cultural elements are included. (2) STRUCTURAL FLOOD RESILIENCE referring to permanent flood defense structures such as levies, demountable structures that are partially installed, temporary structures that are removable, as well as dry- and` wet floodproofing of structures to meet construction standards to deflect or resist pressure without breaking. (3)SOCIAL FLOOD RESILIENCE referring to the building of robust institutions (including NGO's) and governance systems that underpin our capacity to prepare for and cope with uncertainty, change, and disasters when they occur. (4) FLOOD RISK RESILIENCE implies the ability to withstand and recover from crises through financial insurance assistance and through assistance by governmental institutions, including the communication of information on floodproofing steps that individuals can take on their own. Within these four levels considerations are outlined to form categories within a matrix as a way to set planning priorities by considering existing conditions, to formulate goals and to develop concepts. The matrix can function as indicators of success for a pre-and post-project assessment. A clear formulation of goals is an essential first step in the planning process, and a pre-requisite for the monitoring of performance. Policy makers would be involved in an active policy process, which has been called "a learning and action alliance to build capacity for flood resilience.

Floods in mountain environments: A synthesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stoffel, Markus; Wyżga, Bartłomiej; Marston, Richard A.

2016-11-01

Floods are a crucial agent of geomorphic change in the channels and valley floors of mountains watercourses. At the same time, they can be highly damaging to property, infrastructure, and life. Because of their high energy, mountain watercourses are highly vulnerable to environmental changes affecting their catchments and channels. Many factors have modified and frequently still tend to modify the environmental conditions in mountain areas, with impacts on geomorphic processes and the frequency, magnitude, and timing of floods in mountain watercourses. The ongoing climate changes vary between regions but may affect floods in mountain areas in many ways. In many mountain regions of Europe, widespread afforestation took place over the twentieth century, considerably increasing the amounts of large wood delivered to the channels and the likelihood of jamming bridges. At the same time, deforestation continues in other mountain areas, accelerating runoff and amplifying the magnitude and frequency of floods in foreland areas. In many countries, in-channel gravel mining has been a common practice during recent decades; the resultant deficit of bed material in the affected channels may suddenly manifest during flood events, resulting in the failure of scoured bridges or catastrophic channel widening. During the past century many rivers in mountain and foreland areas incised deeply; the resultant loss of floodplain water storage has decreased attenuation of flood waves, hence increasing flood hazard to downstream river reaches. On the other hand, a large amount of recent river restoration activities worldwide may provide examples of beneficial changes to flood risk, attained as a result of increased channel storage or reestablished floodplain water storage. Relations between geomorphic processes and floods operate in both directions, which means that changes in flood probability or the character of floods (e.g., increased wood load) may significantly modify the morphology of mountain rivers, but morphological changes of rivers can also affect hydrological properties of floods and the associated risk for societies. This paper provides a review of research in the field of floods in mountain environments and puts the papers of this special issue dedicated to the same topic into context. It also provides insight into innovative studies, methods, or emerging aspects of the relations between environmental changes, geomorphic processes, and the occurrence of floods in mountain rivers.

The fastest spreader in SIS epidemics on networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Zhidong; Van Mieghem, Piet

2018-05-01

Identifying the fastest spreaders in epidemics on a network helps to ensure an efficient spreading. By ranking the average spreading time for different spreaders, we show that the fastest spreader may change with the effective infection rate of a SIS epidemic process, which means that the time-dependent influence of a node is usually strongly coupled to the dynamic process and the underlying network. With increasing effective infection rate, we illustrate that the fastest spreader changes from the node with the largest degree to the node with the shortest flooding time. (The flooding time is the minimum time needed to reach all other nodes if the process is reduced to a flooding process.) Furthermore, by taking the local topology around the spreader and the average flooding time into account, we propose the spreading efficiency as a metric to quantify the efficiency of a spreader and identify the fastest spreader, which is adaptive to different infection rates in general networks.

A national scale flood hazard mapping methodology: The case of Greece - Protection and adaptation policy approaches.

PubMed

Kourgialas, Nektarios N; Karatzas, George P

2017-12-01

The present work introduces a national scale flood hazard assessment methodology, using multi-criteria analysis and artificial neural networks (ANNs) techniques in a GIS environment. The proposed methodology was applied in Greece, where flash floods are a relatively frequent phenomenon and it has become more intense over the last decades, causing significant damages in rural and urban sectors. In order the most prone flooding areas to be identified, seven factor-maps (that are directly related to flood generation) were combined in a GIS environment. These factor-maps are: a) the Flow accumulation (F), b) the Land use (L), c) the Altitude (A), b) the Slope (S), e) the soil Erodibility (E), f) the Rainfall intensity (R), and g) the available water Capacity (C). The name to the proposed method is "FLASERC". The flood hazard for each one of these factors is classified into five categories: Very low, low, moderate, high, and very high. The above factors are combined and processed using the appropriate ANN algorithm tool. For the ANN training process spatial distribution of historical flooded points in Greece within the five different flood hazard categories of the aforementioned seven factor-maps were combined. In this way, the overall flood hazard map for Greece was determined. The final results are verified using additional historical flood events that have occurred in Greece over the last 100years. In addition, an overview of flood protection measures and adaptation policy approaches were proposed for agricultural and urban areas located at very high flood hazard areas. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Debates—Perspectives on socio-hydrology: Modeling flood risk as a public policy problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gober, Patricia; Wheater, Howard S.

2015-06-01

Socio-hydrology views human activities as endogenous to water system dynamics; it is the interaction between human and biophysical processes that threatens the viability of current water systems through positive feedbacks and unintended consequences. Di Baldassarre et al. implement socio-hydrology as a flood risk problem using the concept of social memory as a vehicle to link human perceptions to flood damage. Their mathematical model has heuristic value in comparing potential flood damages in green versus technological societies. It can also support communities in exploring the potential consequences of policy decisions and evaluating critical policy tradeoffs, for example, between flood protection and economic development. The concept of social memory does not, however, adequately capture the social processes whereby public perceptions are translated into policy action, including the pivotal role played by the media in intensifying or attenuating perceived flood risk, the success of policy entrepreneurs in keeping flood hazard on the public agenda during short windows of opportunity for policy action, and different societal approaches to managing flood risk that derive from cultural values and economic interests. We endorse the value of seeking to capture these dynamics in a simplified conceptual framework, but favor a broader conceptualization of socio-hydrology that includes a knowledge exchange component, including the way modeling insights and scientific results are communicated to floodplain managers. The social processes used to disseminate the products of socio-hydrological research are as important as the research results themselves in determining whether modeling is used for real-world decision making.

Quantitative aspects of vibratory mobilization and break-up of non-wetting fluids in porous media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Wen

Seismic stimulation is a promising technology aimed to mobilize the entrapped non-wetting fluids in the subsurface. The applications include enhanced oil recovery or, alternatively, facilitation of movement of immiscible/partly-miscible gases far into porous media, for example, for CO2 sequestration. This work is devoted to detailed quantitative studies of the two basic pore-scale mechanisms standing behind seismic stimulation: the mobilization of bubbles or drops entrapped in pore constrictions by capillary forces and the break-up of continuous long bubbles or drops. In typical oil-production operations, oil is produced by the natural reservoir-pressure drive during the primary stage and by artificial water flooding at the secondary stage. Capillary forces act to retain a substantial residual fraction of reservoir oil even after water flooding. The seismic stimulation is an unconventional technology that serves to overcome capillary barriers in individual pores and liberate the entrapped oil by adding an oscillatory inertial forcing to the external pressure gradient. According to our study, the effect of seismic stimulation on oil mobilization is highly dependent on the frequencies and amplitudes of the seismic waves. Generally, the lower the frequency and the larger the amplitude, more effective is the mobilization. To describe the mobilization process, we developed two theoretical hydrodynamics-based models and justified both using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Our theoretical models have a significant advantage over CFD in that they reduce the computational time significantly, while providing correct practical guidance regarding the required field parameters of vibroseismic stimulation, such as the amplitude and frequency of the seismic field. The models also provide important insights into the basic mechanisms governing the vibration-driven two-phase flow in constricted capillaries. In a waterflooded reservoir, oil can be recovered most efficiently by forming continuous streams from isolated droplets. The longer the continuous oil phase under a certain pressure gradient, the more easily it overcomes its capillary barrier. However, surface tension between water and oil causes the typically non-wetting oil, constituting the core phase in the channels, to break up at the pore constriction into isolated beads, which inhibits further motion. The break-up thus counteracts the mobilization. We developed a theoretical model that provides an exact quantitative description of the dynamics of the oil-snap-off process. It also formulates a purely geometric criterion that controls, based on pore geometry only, whether the oil core phase stays continuous or disintegrates into droplets. Both the theoretical model and the break-criterion have been validated against CFD simulations. The work completed elucidates the basic physical mechanisms behind the enhanced oil recovery by seismic waves and vibrations. This creates a theoretical foundation for the further development of corresponding field technologies.

Composition-dependent damping and relaxation dynamics in miscible polymer blends above glass transition temperature by anelastic spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Xuebang; Shang, Shuying; Xu, Qiaoling; Liu, Changsong; Zhu, Zhengang; Zhang, Guangzhao

2008-07-01

Anelastic spectroscopy is used to study the composition dependence of the damping and molecular relaxation dynamics in miscible poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) blends above the glass transition temperature. The ultrahigh damping peak of the relaxation type is shown to be associated with the liquid-liquid transition of PMMA. A higher PEO concentration leads to a higher damping performance and a lower transition temperature. The decreasing activation energy with increasing PEO concentration indicates a drastic increase in molecular mobility. Moreover, the relaxation time reveals a transition from the Vogel-Fulcher-Tamman behavior to the Arrhenius behavior due to the intermolecular guest-host interactions.

Solvent for urethane adhesives and coatings and method of use

DOEpatents

Simandl, Ronald F.; Brown, John D.; Holt, Jerrid S.

2010-08-03

A solvent for urethane adhesives and coatings, the solvent having a carbaldehyde and a cyclic amide as constituents. In some embodiments the solvent consists only of miscible constituents. In some embodiments the carbaldehyde is benzaldehyde and in some embodiments the cyclic amide is N-methylpyrrolidone (M-pyrole). An extender may be added to the solvent. In some embodiments the extender is miscible with the other ingredients, and in some embodiments the extender is non-aqueous. For example, the extender may include isopropanol, ethanol, tetrahydro furfuryl alcohol, benzyl alcohol, Gamma-butyrolactone or a caprolactone. In some embodiments a carbaldehyde and a cyclic amide are heated and used to separate a urethane bonded to a component.

Molecular Probe Fluorescence Monitoring of Polymerization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bunton, Patrick

2002-01-01

This project investigated the feasibility of using fluorescence spectroscopy to determine viscosity of polymer/monomer in support of Transient Interfacial Phenomena in Miscible Polymer Systems (TIPMPS). This project will attempt to measure gradient induced flow at a miscible interface during and / or after in-flight polymerization of dodecyl acrylate (lauryl acrylate). Concentration and temperature gradients will be intentionally introduced during polymerization and the resultant fluid flow determined by Particle Imaging Velocimetry (PIV). This report describes an investigation of the feasibility of using fluorescence of a probe molecule to monitor viscosity and/or concentration during and after polymerization. The probe used was pyrene which has been shown to be sensitive to its local environment in methyl methacrylate.

Understanding processes that generate flash floods in the arid Judean Desert to the Dead Sea - a measurement network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hennig, Hanna; Rödiger, Tino; Laronne, Jonathan B.; Geyer, Stefan; Merz, Ralf

2016-04-01

Flash floods in (semi-) arid regions are fascinating in their suddenness and can be harmful for humans, infrastructure, industry and tourism. Generated within minutes, an early warning system is essential. A hydrological model is required to quantify flash floods. Current models to predict flash floods are often based on simplified concepts and/or on concepts which were developed for humid regions. To more closely relate such models to local conditions, processes within catchments where flash floods occur require consideration. In this study we present a monitoring approach to decipher different flash flood generating processes in the ephemeral Wadi Arugot on the western side of the Dead Sea. To understand rainfall input a dense rain gauge network was installed. Locations of rain gauges were chosen based on land use, slope and soil cover. The spatiotemporal variation of rain intensity will also be available from radar backscatter. Level pressure sensors located at the outlet of major tributaries have been deployed to analyze in which part of the catchment water is generated. To identify the importance of soil moisture preconditions, two cosmic ray sensors have been deployed. At the outlet of the Arugot water is sampled and level is monitored. To more accurately determine water discharge, water velocity is measured using portable radar velocimetry. A first analysis of flash flood processes will be presented following the FLEX-Topo concept .(Savenije, 2010), where each landscape type is represented using an individual hydrological model according to the processes within the three hydrological response units: plateau, desert and outlet. References: Savenije, H. H. G.: HESS Opinions "Topography driven conceptual modelling (FLEX-Topo)", Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 14, 2681-2692, doi:10.5194/hess-14-2681-2010, 2010.

On the use of Cox regression to examine the temporal clustering of flooding and heavy precipitation across the central United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mallakpour, Iman; Villarini, Gabriele; Jones, Michael P.; Smith, James A.

2017-08-01

The central United States is plagued by frequent catastrophic flooding, such as the flood events of 1993, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2016. The goal of this study is to examine whether it is possible to describe the occurrence of flood and heavy precipitation events at the sub-seasonal scale in terms of variations in the climate system. Daily streamflow and precipitation time series over the central United States (defined here to include North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan) are used in this study. We model the occurrence/non-occurrence of a flood and heavy precipitation event over time using regression models based on Cox processes, which can be viewed as a generalization of Poisson processes. Rather than assuming that an event (i.e., flooding or precipitation) occurs independently of the occurrence of the previous one (as in Poisson processes), Cox processes allow us to account for the potential presence of temporal clustering, which manifests itself in an alternation of quiet and active periods. Here we model the occurrence/non-occurrence of flood and heavy precipitation events using two climate indices as time-varying covariates: the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and the Pacific-North American pattern (PNA). We find that AO and/or PNA are important predictors in explaining the temporal clustering in flood occurrences in over 78% of the stream gages we considered. Similar results are obtained when working with heavy precipitation events. Analyses of the sensitivity of the results to different thresholds used to identify events lead to the same conclusions. The findings of this work highlight that variations in the climate system play a critical role in explaining the occurrence of flood and heavy precipitation events at the sub-seasonal scale over the central United States.

Investigating compound flooding in an estuary using hydrodynamic modelling: a case study from the Shoalhaven River, Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumbier, Kristian; Carvalho, Rafael C.; Vafeidis, Athanasios T.; Woodroffe, Colin D.

2018-02-01

Many previous modelling studies have considered storm-tide and riverine flooding independently, even though joint-probability analysis highlighted significant dependence between extreme rainfall and extreme storm surges in estuarine environments. This study investigates compound flooding by quantifying horizontal and vertical differences in coastal flood risk estimates resulting from a separation of storm-tide and riverine flooding processes. We used an open-source version of the Delft3D model to simulate flood extent and inundation depth due to a storm event that occurred in June 2016 in the Shoalhaven Estuary, south-eastern Australia. Time series of observed water levels and discharge measurements are used to force model boundaries, whereas observational data such as satellite imagery, aerial photographs, tidal gauges and water level logger measurements are used to validate modelling results. The comparison of simulation results including and excluding riverine discharge demonstrated large differences in modelled flood extents and inundation depths. A flood risk assessment accounting only for storm-tide flooding would have underestimated the flood extent of the June 2016 storm event by 30 % (20.5 km2). Furthermore, inundation depths would have been underestimated on average by 0.34 m and by up to 1.5 m locally. We recommend considering storm-tide and riverine flooding processes jointly in estuaries with large catchment areas, which are known to have a quick response time to extreme rainfall. In addition, comparison of different boundary set-ups at the intermittent entrance in Shoalhaven Heads indicated that a permanent opening, in order to reduce exposure to riverine flooding, would increase tidal range and exposure to both storm-tide flooding and wave action.

Containerless, Low-Gravity Undercooling of Ti-Ce Alloys in the MSFC Drop Tube

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robinson, M. B.; Rathz, T. J.; Li, D.; Williams, G.; Workman, G.

1999-01-01

Previous tests of the classical nucleation theory as applied to liquid-liquid gap miscibility systems found a discrepancy between experiment and theory in the ability to undercool one of the liquids before the L1-L2 separation occurs. To model the initial separation process in a two-phase liquid mixture, different theoretical approaches, such as free-energy gradient and density gradient theories, have been put forth. If there is a large enough interaction between the critical liquid and the crucible, both models predict a wetting temperature (T(sub w)) above which the minority liquid perfectly wets and layers the crucible interface, but only on one side of the immiscibility dome. Materials with compositions on the other side of the dome will have simple surface adsorption by the minority liquid before bulk separation occurs when the coexistence (i.e., binoidal) line in reached. If the interaction between the critical liquid and the crucible were to decrease, T(sub w) would increase, eventually approaching the critical consolute temperature (T(sub cc)). If this situation occurs, then there could be large regions of the miscibility gap where non-perfect wetting conditions prevail resulting in droplets of L1 liquid at the surface having a non-zero contact angle. The resulting bulk structure will then depend on what happens on the surface and the subsequent processing conditions. In the past several decades, many experiments in space have been performed on liquid metal binary immiscible systems for the purpose of determining the effects that different crucibles may have on the wetting and separation process of the liquids. Potard performed experiments that showed different crucible materials could cause the majority phase to preferentially wet the container and thus produce a dispersed microstructure of the minority phase. Several other studies have been performed on immiscibles in a semi-container environment using an emulsion technique. Only one previous study was performed using completely containerless processing of immiscible metals and the results of that investigation are similar to some of the emulsion studies. In all the studies, surface wetting was attributed as the cause for the similar microstructures or the asymmetry in the ability to undercool the liquid below the binoidal on one side of the immiscibility dome. By removing the container completely from the separation process, it was proposed that the loss of the crucible/liquid interaction would produce a large shift in T(sub w) and thus change the wetting characteristics at the surface. By investigating various compositions across the miscibility gap, a change in the type and amount of liquid wetting at the surface of a containerless droplet should change the surface nucleating behavior of the droplet - whether it be the liquid-liquid wetting or the liquid-to-solid transition. Undercooling of the liquid into the metastable region should produce significant differences in the separation process and the microstructure upon solidification. In this study, we attempt to measure these transitions by monitoring the temperature of the sample by optical pyrometry. Microstructural analysis will be made to correlate with the degree of undercooling and the separation mechanisms involved.

Flood Detection/Monitoring Using Adjustable Histogram Equalization Technique

PubMed Central

Riaz, Muhammad Mohsin; Ghafoor, Abdul

2014-01-01

Flood monitoring technique using adjustable histogram equalization is proposed. The technique overcomes the limitations (overenhancement, artifacts, and unnatural look) of existing technique by adjusting the contrast of images. The proposed technique takes pre- and postimages and applies different processing steps for generating flood map without user interaction. The resultant flood maps can be used for flood monitoring and detection. Simulation results show that the proposed technique provides better output quality compared to the state of the art existing technique. PMID:24558332

High resolution mapping of flood hazard for South Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Sourima; Nzerem, Kechi; Zovi, Francesco; Li, Shuangcai; Mei, Yi; Assteerawatt, Anongnart; Hilberts, Arno; Tillmanns, Stephan; Mitas, Christos

2015-04-01

Floods are one of primary natural hazards that affect South Korea. During the past 15 years, catastrophic flood events which mainly have occurred during the rainy and typhoon seasons - especially under condition where soils are already saturated, have triggered substantial property damage with an average annual loss of around US1.2 billion (determined from WAter Management Information System's flood damage database for years 2002-2011) in South Korea. According to Seoul Metropolitan Government, over 16,000 households in the capital city Seoul were inundated during 2010 flood events. More than 10,000 households in Seoul were apparently flooded during one major flood event due to torrential rain in July 2011. Recently in August 2014, a serious flood event due to heavy rainfall hit the Busan region in the south east of South Korea. Addressing the growing needs, RMS has recently released country-wide high resolution combined flood return period maps for post-drainage local "pluvial" inundation and undefended large-scale "fluvial" inundation to aid the government and the insurance industry in the evaluation of comprehensive flood risk. RMS has developed a flood hazard model for South Korea to generate inundation depths and extents for a range of flood return periods. The model is initiated with 30 years of historical meteorological forcing data and calibrated to daily observations at over 100 river gauges across the country. Simulations of hydrologic processes are subsequently performed based on a 2000 year set of stochastic forcing. Floodplain inundation processes are modelled by numerically solving the shallow water equations using finite volume method on GPUs. Taking into account the existing stormwater drainage standards, economic exposure densities, etc., reasonable flood maps are created from inundation model output. Final hazard maps at one arcsec grid resolution can be the basis for both evaluating and managing flood risk, its economic impacts, and insured flood losses in South Korea.

A new automatic synthetic aperture radar-based flood mapping application hosted on the European Space Agency's Grid Processing of Demand Fast Access to Imagery environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matgen, Patrick; Giustarini, Laura; Hostache, Renaud

2012-10-01

This paper introduces an automatic flood mapping application that is hosted on the Grid Processing on Demand (GPOD) Fast Access to Imagery (Faire) environment of the European Space Agency. The main objective of the online application is to deliver operationally flooded areas using both recent and historical acquisitions of SAR data. Having as a short-term target the flooding-related exploitation of data generated by the upcoming ESA SENTINEL-1 SAR mission, the flood mapping application consists of two building blocks: i) a set of query tools for selecting the "crisis image" and the optimal corresponding "reference image" from the G-POD archive and ii) an algorithm for extracting flooded areas via change detection using the previously selected "crisis image" and "reference image". Stakeholders in flood management and service providers are able to log onto the flood mapping application to get support for the retrieval, from the rolling archive, of the most appropriate reference image. Potential users will also be able to apply the implemented flood delineation algorithm. The latter combines histogram thresholding, region growing and change detection as an approach enabling the automatic, objective and reliable flood extent extraction from SAR images. Both algorithms are computationally efficient and operate with minimum data requirements. The case study of the high magnitude flooding event that occurred in July 2007 on the Severn River, UK, and that was observed with a moderateresolution SAR sensor as well as airborne photography highlights the performance of the proposed online application. The flood mapping application on G-POD can be used sporadically, i.e. whenever a major flood event occurs and there is a demand for SAR-based flood extent maps. In the long term, a potential extension of the application could consist in systematically extracting flooded areas from all SAR images acquired on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

Changes in Soil Microbial Community Structure with Flooding

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Flooding disturbs both above- and below-ground ecosystem processes. Although often ignored, changes in below-ground environments are no less important than those that occur above-ground. Shifts in soil microbial community structure are expected when anaerobic conditions develop from flooding. The ...

Successful Detection of Floods in Real Time Onboard EO1 Through NASA's ST6 Autonomous Sciencecraft Experiment (ASE)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ip, F.; Dohm, J. M.; Baker, V. R.; Castano, R.; Cichy, B.; Chien, S.; Davies, A.; Doggett, T.; Greeley, R.

2004-12-01

For the first time, a spacecraft has the ability to autonomously detect and react to flood events. Flood detection and the investigation of flooding dynamics in real time from space have never been done before at least not until now. Part of the challenge for the hydrological community has been the difficulty of obtaining cloud-free scenes from orbit at sufficient temporal and spatial resolutions to accurately assess flooding. In addition, the large spatial extent of drainage networks coupled with the size of the data sets necessary to be downlinked from satellites add to the difficulty of monitoring flooding from space. Technology developed as part of the Autonomous Sciencecraft Experiment (ASE) creates the new capability to autonomously detect, assess, and react to dynamic events, thereby enabling the monitoring of transient processes such as flooding in real time. In addition to being able to autonomously process the imaged data onboard the spacecraft for the first time and search the data for specific spectral features, the ASE Science Team has developed and tested change detection algorithms for the Hyperion spectrometer on EO-1. For flood events, if a change is detected in the onboard processed image (i.e. an increase in the number of ¡wet¡" pixels relative to a baseline image where the system is in normal flow condition or relatively dry), the spacecraft is autonomously retasked to obtain additional scenes. For instance, in February 2004 a rare flooding of the Australian Diamantina River was captured by EO-1. In addition, in August during ASE onboard testing a Zambezi River scene in Central Africa was successfully triggered by the classifier to autonomously take another observation. Yet another successful trigger-response flooding test scenario of the Yellow River in China was captured by ASE on 8/18/04. These exciting results pave the way for future smart reconnaissance missions of transient processes on Earth and beyond. Acknowledgments: We are grateful to the City of Tucson and Tucson Water for their support and cooperation.

Entanglement Length in Miscible Blends of cis-Polyisoprene and Poly(ptert-butylstyrene)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watanabe, Hiroshi; Matsumiya, Yumi

In miscible polymer blends, the entanglement length is common for the components, but its changes with the composition w remain unclear. For this problem, this study analyzed viscoelastic data for miscible blends of cis-polyisoprene (PI) and poly(ptert-butylstyrene) (PtBS), considering the basic feature that the local relaxation is determined only by wPI. On the basis of this feature, a series of unentangled low- M PI/PtBS blends having various M and a given wPI were utilized as references for well-entangled high- M PI/PtBS blends having the same wPI, and the modulus data of the references were subtracted from the high- M blend data. For an optimally chosen reference, the storage modulus Ge'of the high- M blends obtained after the subtraction exhibited a clear entanglement plateau GN and the corresponding Ge' ' decreased in proportion to 1/ ω at high frequencies ω. Thus, the onset of entanglement relaxation was detected. The GN values were well described by a linear mixing rule of the entanglement length with the number fraction of Kuhn segments of the components being utilized as the averaging weight. This result, not explained by a mean-field picture of entanglement, is discussed in relation to local packing of bulky PtBS chains and skinny PI chains.

Ionic liquid compatibility in polyethylene oxide/siloxane ion gel membranes

DOE PAGES

Kusuma, Victor A.; Macala, Megan K.; Liu, Jian; ...

2018-10-02

Ion gel films were prepared by incorporating eight commercially available ionic liquids in two different cross-linked polymer matrices to evaluate their phase miscibility, gas permeability and ionic conductivity for potential applications as gas separation membranes and solid electrolyte materials. The ionic liquids cations were 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium, 1-ethyl-3-methylpyridinium, 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium, tributylmethylphosphonium, and butyltrimethylammonium with a common anion (bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide). In addition, ionic liquids with 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium cation with acetate, dicyanamide and tetrafluoroborate counterions were evaluated. The two polymers were cross-linked poly(ethylene oxide) and cross-linked poly(ethylene oxide)/siloxane copolymer. Differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffractometry and visual observations were performed to evaluate the ion gels’ miscibility, thermal stabilitymore » and homogeneity. Ionic liquids with the least basic anion (bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide) and aromatic cations containing acidic proton (e.g. imidazolium and pyridinium) gave the most stable and miscible ion gels. Phase stability was shown to be a function of both ionic liquid content and temperature, with phase separation observed at elevated temperatures. In conclusion, gas permeability testing with carbon dioxide and nitrogen and ionic conductivity measurements confirmed that these ionic liquids increased the gas permeability and ionic conductivity of the polymers.« less

Ionic liquid compatibility in polyethylene oxide/siloxane ion gel membranes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kusuma, Victor A.; Macala, Megan K.; Liu, Jian

Ion gel films were prepared by incorporating eight commercially available ionic liquids in two different cross-linked polymer matrices to evaluate their phase miscibility, gas permeability and ionic conductivity for potential applications as gas separation membranes and solid electrolyte materials. The ionic liquids cations were 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium, 1-ethyl-3-methylpyridinium, 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium, tributylmethylphosphonium, and butyltrimethylammonium with a common anion (bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide). In addition, ionic liquids with 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium cation with acetate, dicyanamide and tetrafluoroborate counterions were evaluated. The two polymers were cross-linked poly(ethylene oxide) and cross-linked poly(ethylene oxide)/siloxane copolymer. Differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffractometry and visual observations were performed to evaluate the ion gels’ miscibility, thermal stabilitymore » and homogeneity. Ionic liquids with the least basic anion (bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide) and aromatic cations containing acidic proton (e.g. imidazolium and pyridinium) gave the most stable and miscible ion gels. Phase stability was shown to be a function of both ionic liquid content and temperature, with phase separation observed at elevated temperatures. In conclusion, gas permeability testing with carbon dioxide and nitrogen and ionic conductivity measurements confirmed that these ionic liquids increased the gas permeability and ionic conductivity of the polymers.« less

Amorphous stabilization and dissolution enhancement of amorphous ternary solid dispersions: combination of polymers showing drug-polymer interaction for synergistic effects.

PubMed

Prasad, Dev; Chauhan, Harsh; Atef, Eman

2014-11-01

The purpose of this study was to understand the combined effect of two polymers showing drug-polymer interactions on amorphous stabilization and dissolution enhancement of indomethacin (IND) in amorphous ternary solid dispersions. The mechanism responsible for the enhanced stability and dissolution of IND in amorphous ternary systems was studied by exploring the miscibility and intermolecular interactions between IND and polymers through thermal and spectroscopic analysis. Eudragit E100 and PVP K90 at low concentrations (2.5%-40%, w/w) were used to prepare amorphous binary and ternary solid dispersions by solvent evaporation. Stability results showed that amorphous ternary solid dispersions have better stability compared with amorphous binary solid dispersions. The dissolution of IND from the ternary dispersion was substantially higher than the binary dispersions as well as amorphous drug. Melting point depression of physical mixtures reveals that the drug was miscible in both the polymers; however, greater miscibility was observed in ternary physical mixtures. The IR analysis confirmed intermolecular interactions between IND and individual polymers. These interactions were found to be intact in ternary systems. These results suggest that the combination of two polymers showing drug-polymer interaction offers synergistic enhancement in amorphous stability and dissolution in ternary solid dispersions. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.

The Dynamics of Miscible Fluids: A Space Flight Experiment (MIDAS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maxworthy, T.; Meiburg, E.; Balasubramaniam, R.; Rashidnia, N.; Lauver, R.

2001-01-01

We propose a space flight experiment to study the dynamics of miscible interfaces. A less viscous fluid displaces one of higher viscosity within a tube. The two fluids are miscible in all proportions. An intruding "finger" forms that occupies a fraction of the tube. As time progresses diffusion at the interface combined with flow induced straining between the two fluids modifies the concentration and velocity distributions within the whole tube. Also, under such circumstances it has been proposed that the interfacial stresses could depend on the local concentration gradients (Korteweg stresses) and that the divergence of the velocity need not be zero, even though the flow is incompressible. We have obtained reasonable agreement for the tip velocity between numerical simulations (that ignored the Korteweg stress and divergence effects) and physical experiments only at high Peelet Numbers. However at moderate to low Pe agreement was poor. As one possibility we attributed this lack of agreement to the disregard of these effects. We propose a space experiment to measure the finger shape, tip velocity, and the velocity and concentration fields. From intercomparisons between the experiment and the calculations we can then extract values for the coefficients of the Korteweg stress terms and confirm or deny the importance of these stresses.

The Dynamics of Miscible Fluids: A Space Flight Experiment (MIDAS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maxworthy, T.; Meiburg, E.; Balasubramaniam, R.; Rashidnia, N.; Lauver, R.

2001-01-01

We propose a space flight experiment to study the dynamics of miscible interfaces. A less viscous fluid displaces one of higher viscosity within a tube. The two fluids are miscible in all proportions. An intruding "finger" forms that occupies a fraction of the tube. As time progresses diffusion at the interface combined with flow induced straining between the two fluids modifies the concentration and velocity distributions within the whole tube. Also, under such circumstances it has been proposed that the interfacial stresses could depend on the local concentration gradients (Korteweg stresses) and that the divergence of the velocity need not be zero, even though the flow is incompressible. We have obtained reasonable agreement for the tip velocity between numerical simulations (that ignored the Korteweg stress and divergence effects) and physical experiments only at high Peclet Numbers. However at moderate to low Pe agreement was poor. As one possibility we attributed this lack of agreement to the disregard of these effects. We propose a space experiment to measure the finger shape, tip velocity, and the velocity and concentration fields. From intercomparisons between the experiment and the calculations we can then extract values for the coefficients of the Korteweg stress terms and confirm or deny the importance of these stresses.

A Molecular-Level View of the Physical Stability of Amorphous Solid Dispersions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Xiaoda

Many pharmaceutical compounds being developed in recent years are poorly soluble in water. This has led to insufficient oral bioavailability of many compounds in vitro. The amorphous formulation is one of the promising techniques to increase the oral bioavailability of these poorly water-soluble compounds. However, an amorphous drug substance is inherently unstable because it is a high energy form. In order to increase the physical stability, the amorphous drug is often formulated with a suitable polymer to form an amorphous solid dispersion. Previous research has suggested that the formation of an intimately mixed drug-polymer mixture contributes to the stabilization of the amorphous drug compound. The goal of this research is to better understand the role of miscibility, molecular interactions and mobility on the physical stability of amorphous solid dispersions. Methods were developed to detect different degrees of miscibility on nanometer scale and to quantify the extent of hydrogen-bonding interactions between the drug and the polymer. Miscibility, hydrogen-bonding interactions and molecular mobility were correlated with physical stability during a six-month period using three model systems. Overall, this research provides molecular-level insights into many factors that govern the physical stability of amorphous solid dispersions which can lead to a more effective design of stable amorphous formulations.

Using Deep Learning to Assess Future Flood Magnitude and Frequency in the Semi-arid and Snowmelt-dominated Missouri River Headwater Catchments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Francois, B.; Wi, S.; Brown, C.

2017-12-01

There has been growing interest for hydrologists and water resources managers about the emergence of non-stationarities associated with the hydro-meteorological processes driving floods. Among the potential causes of non-stationarity, climate change is deemed a major one. Understanding the effects of climate change on hydrological regimes of the Missouri River is challenging. In this region, floods are mainly triggered by snow melting, either when temperatures get mild in spring/summer, or when rain falls over snow in early spring and fall. The sparsely gauged and topographically complex area degrades the value of hydrological modeling that otherwise might foreshadow the evolution of hydro-meteorological interactions between precipitation, temperature and snow. In this work, we explore the utility of Deep Learning (DL) for assessing flood magnitude change under climate change. By using multiple hidden layers within artificial neural networks (ANNs), DL allows modeling complex interactions between inputs (i.e. precipitation, temperature and snow water equivalent) and outputs (i.e. water discharge). The objective is to develop a parsimonious model of the flood processes that maintain the contribution of nonstationary factors and their potential evolution under climate change, while reducing extraneous factors not central to flood generation. By comparing ANN's performance with outputs from two hydrological models of differing complexity (i.e. VIC, SAC-SMA), we evaluate the modeling capability of ANNs for three snow-dominated catchments that represent different flood regimes (Yellowstone River at Billings (MT; USGS 06214500), Powder River near Locate (MT; USGS 06326500) and James River near Scotland (SD; USGS 06478500)). Nonstationary inputs for each flood process model are derived from dynamically downscaled climate projections (from the NARCCAP experiment) to project floods in the three selected catchments. The uncertainty of future snow projections as well as its impact on spring flooding are explored. Future flood frequency obtained with ANNs is compared with the one obtained thanks to hydrological models and with the traditional approach as described in Bulletin 17C. Keywords: Flood, Climate-change, Snow, Neural Networks

Generation of dark-bright soliton trains in superfluid-superfluid counterflow.

PubMed

Hamner, C; Chang, J J; Engels, P; Hoefer, M A

2011-02-11

The dynamics of two penetrating superfluids exhibit an intriguing variety of nonlinear effects. Using two distinguishable components of a Bose-Einstein condensate, we investigate the counterflow of two superfluids in a narrow channel. We present the first experimental observation of trains of dark-bright solitons generated by the counterflow. Our observations are theoretically interpreted by three-dimensional numerical simulations for the coupled Gross-Pitaevskii equations and the analysis of a jump in the two relatively flowing components' densities. Counterflow-induced modulational instability for this miscible system is identified as the central process in the dynamics.

Generation of Dark-Bright Soliton Trains in Superfluid-Superfluid Counterflow

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hamner, C.; Chang, J. J.; Engels, P.

2011-02-11

The dynamics of two penetrating superfluids exhibit an intriguing variety of nonlinear effects. Using two distinguishable components of a Bose-Einstein condensate, we investigate the counterflow of two superfluids in a narrow channel. We present the first experimental observation of trains of dark-bright solitons generated by the counterflow. Our observations are theoretically interpreted by three-dimensional numerical simulations for the coupled Gross-Pitaevskii equations and the analysis of a jump in the two relatively flowing components' densities. Counterflow-induced modulational instability for this miscible system is identified as the central process in the dynamics.

Stakeholders and public involvement for flood protection: traditional river management organisations for a better consideration of local knowledge?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Utz, Stephan; Lane, Stuart; Reynard, Emmanuel

2016-04-01

This research explores participatory processes in the domain of river management in Switzerland. The main objective is to understand how traditional, highly participatory, local organisations for flood protection have been institutionalised into current river management policy, and to what extent this has impacted on wider participatory processes of producing knowledge. Traditionally, flood protection strategies have been based upon scientific knowledge but have often ignored the capacities of local actors to contribute to the development of the policy. Thus, there may be a gap between scientists, stakeholders and the public that favours controversies and leads to opposition to flood protection projects. In order to reduce this gap and to increase incorporation of local knowledge, participatory processes are set up. They are considered as allowing the integration of all the actors concerned by flood risks to discuss their positions and to develop alternative solutions. This is a particularly important goal in the Swiss political system where direct democracy (the possibility of calling the decision of any level of government into question through a popular vote) means that a reasonable level of project acceptance is a necessary element of project. In order to support implementation of participatory processes, federal funding includes a special grant to cover the additional costs due to these actions. It is considered that, since its introduction in 2008, this grant certainly furthered participatory processes for flood protection projects and fostered water management policy implementation. However, the implication of stakeholders and public in decision-making processes is much well-established than modern river management often assumes. In some regions, flood protection tasks have been traditionally assumed by local organisations such as dyke corporations (DCs). These comprise land and property owners who are DC members and have to participate in flood protection tasks. All members have to pay an annual contribution and can vote about decisions taken by the corporation. In that sense, DCs may be considered as common-pool resource institutions according to Ostrom's (1990) definition (see also Thomi, 2010). Initially, they were local and non-governmental institutions, fully responsible for flood protection in their catchment. But, progressively DCs have been institutionalised and replaced or weakened, bound to apply governmental requirements for flood protection to secure funding of their projects. The increasing complexity of water management through proliferation of norms like river restoration, but also socio-political changes make DCs struggle in delivering flood protection tasks nowadays. Finally, this study demonstrates the effectiveness of DCs for participative decision-making and integration of local flood risk knowledge, reinforcing the conclusions by Gerber et al. (2008) that noticed the usefulness of such self-governing institutions for the implementation of environmental policies in Switzerland. The aim is to show in which way those assets have been modified by the progressive institutionalisation of DCs, and how this has led to the hybridisation of these organisations. Through this case study the factors affecting water management knowledge inclusion and co-production will be discussed, and more generally the importance of such processes for effective flood protection. References Gerber J.D., Nahrath S., Reynard E., Thomi L. (2008). The role of common pool resource institutions in the implementation of Swiss natural resource management policy, Int. Journal of the Commons, 2/2, 222-247. Ostrom E. (1990). Governing the Commons. The evolution of institutions for collective action. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Thomi L. (2010) Rôle des paramètres sociopolitiques et des connaissances dans la gestion des risques hydrologiques. PhD Thesis, University of Lausanne.

Improving flood risk mapping in Italy: the FloodRisk open-source software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albano, Raffaele; Mancusi, Leonardo; Craciun, Iulia; Sole, Aurelia; Ozunu, Alexandru

2017-04-01

Time and again, floods around the world illustrate the devastating impact they can have on societies. Furthermore, the expectation that the flood damages can increase over time with climate, land-use change and social growth in flood prone-areas has raised the public and other stakeholders' (governments, international organization, re-insurance companies and emergency responders) awareness for the need to manage risks in order to mitigate their causes and consequences. In this light, the choice of appropriate measures, the assessment of the costs and effects of such measures, and their prioritization are crucial for decision makers. As a result, a priori flood risk assessment has become a key part of flood management practices with the aim of minimizing the total costs related to the risk management cycle. In this context, The EU Flood Directive 2007/60 requires the delineation of flood risk maps on the bases of most appropriate and advanced tools, with particular attention on limiting required economic efforts. The main aim of these risk maps is to provide the required knowledge for the development of flood risk management plans (FRMPs) by considering both costs and benefits of alternatives and results from consultation with all interested parties. In this context, this research project developed a free and open-source (FOSS) GIS software, called FloodRisk, to operatively support stakeholders in their compliance with the FRMPs. FloodRisk aims to facilitate the development of risk maps and the evaluation and management of current and future flood risk for multi-purpose applications. This new approach overcomes the limits of the expert-drive qualitative (EDQ) approach currently adopted in several European countries, such as Italy, which does not permit a suitable evaluation of the effectiveness of risk mitigation strategies, because the vulnerability component cannot be properly assessed. Moreover, FloodRisk is also able to involve the citizens in the flood management process, enhancing their awareness. This FOSS approach can promotes transparency and accountability through a process of "guided discovery". Moreover, the immediacy with which information is presented by the qualitative flood risk map, can facilitate and speed up the process of knowledge acquisition. An application of FloodRisk model is showed on a pilot case in "Serio" Valley, (North Italy), and its strengths and limits, in terms of additional efforts required in its application compared with EDQ procedure, have been highlighted focusing on the utility of the results provided for the development of FRMPs. Although they still present limits which prevent the FloodRisk application without critically consider the peculiarities of the investigated area in terms of available knowledge on hazard, exposure and vulnerability, the proposed approach surely produces an increase in available knowledge of flood risk and its drivers. This further information cannot be neglected for defining risk mitigation objectives and strategies. Hence, considering the ongoing efforts in the improvement of data availability and quality, FloodRisk could be a suitable tool for the next revision of flood risk maps due by December 2019, supporting effectively Italian and EU practitioners in the delineation of FRMPs (and for flood risk management in general).

Multi-scale diffuse interface modeling of multi-component two-phase flow with partial miscibility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kou, Jisheng; Sun, Shuyu

2016-08-01

In this paper, we introduce a diffuse interface model to simulate multi-component two-phase flow with partial miscibility based on a realistic equation of state (e.g. Peng-Robinson equation of state). Because of partial miscibility, thermodynamic relations are used to model not only interfacial properties but also bulk properties, including density, composition, pressure, and realistic viscosity. As far as we know, this effort is the first time to use diffuse interface modeling based on equation of state for modeling of multi-component two-phase flow with partial miscibility. In numerical simulation, the key issue is to resolve the high contrast of scales from the microscopic interface composition to macroscale bulk fluid motion since the interface has a nanoscale thickness only. To efficiently solve this challenging problem, we develop a multi-scale simulation method. At the microscopic scale, we deduce a reduced interfacial equation under reasonable assumptions, and then we propose a formulation of capillary pressure, which is consistent with macroscale flow equations. Moreover, we show that Young-Laplace equation is an approximation of this capillarity formulation, and this formulation is also consistent with the concept of Tolman length, which is a correction of Young-Laplace equation. At the macroscopical scale, the interfaces are treated as discontinuous surfaces separating two phases of fluids. Our approach differs from conventional sharp-interface two-phase flow model in that we use the capillary pressure directly instead of a combination of surface tension and Young-Laplace equation because capillarity can be calculated from our proposed capillarity formulation. A compatible condition is also derived for the pressure in flow equations. Furthermore, based on the proposed capillarity formulation, we design an efficient numerical method for directly computing the capillary pressure between two fluids composed of multiple components. Finally, numerical tests are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed multi-scale method.

Oxygen miscibility gap and spin glass formation in the pyrochlore Lu{sub 2}Mo{sub 2}O{sub 7}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Clark, L.; Ritter, C.; Harrison, A.

2013-07-15

Rare earth (R) molybdate pyrochlores, R{sub 2}Mo{sub 2}O{sub 7}, are of interest as frustrated magnets. Polycrystalline samples of Lu{sub 2}Mo{sub 2}O{sub 7−x} prepared at 1600 °C display a coexistence of cubic pyrochlore phases. Rietveld fits to powder neutron diffraction data and chemical analyses show that the miscibility gap is between a stoichiometric x=0 and an oxygen-deficient x≈0.4 phase. Lu{sub 2}Mo{sub 2}O{sub 7} behaves as a spin glass material, with a divergence of field cooled and zero field cooled DC magnetic susceptibilities at a spin freezing temperature T{sub f}=16 K, that varies with frequency in AC measurements following a Vogel–Fulcher law.more » Lu{sub 2}Mo{sub 2}O{sub 6.6} is more highly frustrated spin glass and has T{sub f}=20 K. - Graphical abstract: The cubic Lu{sub 2}Mo{sub 2}O{sub 7−x} system exhibits a miscibility gap between coexisting pyrochlore phases at 1600 °C. Neutron powder diffraction refinement and chemical analysis shows that the gap separates stoichiometric x=0 and oxygen-deficient x≈0.4 phases. Lu{sub 2}Mo{sub 2}O{sub 7−x} has a frustrated spin glass ground state that is sensitive to the oxygen content. - Highlights: • The cubic Lu{sub 2}Mo{sub 2}O{sub 7−x} system has a miscibility gap between coexisting pyrochlore phases at 1600 °C. • Neutron powder diffraction shows that the gap separates x=0 and oxygen-deficient x≈0.4 phases. • Lu{sub 2}Mo{sub 2}O{sub 7−x} has a frustrated spin glass ground state that is sensitive to the oxygen content.« less

Multi-scale diffuse interface modeling of multi-component two-phase flow with partial miscibility

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kou, Jisheng; Sun, Shuyu, E-mail: shuyu.sun@kaust.edu.sa; School of Mathematics and Statistics, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049

2016-08-01

In this paper, we introduce a diffuse interface model to simulate multi-component two-phase flow with partial miscibility based on a realistic equation of state (e.g. Peng–Robinson equation of state). Because of partial miscibility, thermodynamic relations are used to model not only interfacial properties but also bulk properties, including density, composition, pressure, and realistic viscosity. As far as we know, this effort is the first time to use diffuse interface modeling based on equation of state for modeling of multi-component two-phase flow with partial miscibility. In numerical simulation, the key issue is to resolve the high contrast of scales from themore » microscopic interface composition to macroscale bulk fluid motion since the interface has a nanoscale thickness only. To efficiently solve this challenging problem, we develop a multi-scale simulation method. At the microscopic scale, we deduce a reduced interfacial equation under reasonable assumptions, and then we propose a formulation of capillary pressure, which is consistent with macroscale flow equations. Moreover, we show that Young–Laplace equation is an approximation of this capillarity formulation, and this formulation is also consistent with the concept of Tolman length, which is a correction of Young–Laplace equation. At the macroscopical scale, the interfaces are treated as discontinuous surfaces separating two phases of fluids. Our approach differs from conventional sharp-interface two-phase flow model in that we use the capillary pressure directly instead of a combination of surface tension and Young–Laplace equation because capillarity can be calculated from our proposed capillarity formulation. A compatible condition is also derived for the pressure in flow equations. Furthermore, based on the proposed capillarity formulation, we design an efficient numerical method for directly computing the capillary pressure between two fluids composed of multiple components. Finally, numerical tests are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed multi-scale method.« less

33 CFR 203.41 - General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Control Works Damaged by Flood or Coastal Storm: The Corps Rehabilitation and Inspection Program § 203.41... constructed hurricane/shore protection projects. (b) Implementation of authority. The Rehabilitation and... projects damaged by floods and coastal storm events. The RIP consists of a process to inspect flood control...

33 CFR 203.41 - General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Control Works Damaged by Flood or Coastal Storm: The Corps Rehabilitation and Inspection Program § 203.41... constructed hurricane/shore protection projects. (b) Implementation of authority. The Rehabilitation and... projects damaged by floods and coastal storm events. The RIP consists of a process to inspect flood control...

33 CFR 203.41 - General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Control Works Damaged by Flood or Coastal Storm: The Corps Rehabilitation and Inspection Program § 203.41... constructed hurricane/shore protection projects. (b) Implementation of authority. The Rehabilitation and... projects damaged by floods and coastal storm events. The RIP consists of a process to inspect flood control...

33 CFR 203.41 - General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Control Works Damaged by Flood or Coastal Storm: The Corps Rehabilitation and Inspection Program § 203.41... constructed hurricane/shore protection projects. (b) Implementation of authority. The Rehabilitation and... projects damaged by floods and coastal storm events. The RIP consists of a process to inspect flood control...

33 CFR 203.41 - General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Control Works Damaged by Flood or Coastal Storm: The Corps Rehabilitation and Inspection Program § 203.41... constructed hurricane/shore protection projects. (b) Implementation of authority. The Rehabilitation and... projects damaged by floods and coastal storm events. The RIP consists of a process to inspect flood control...

The dynamics of human-water systems: comparing observations and simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Baldassarre, G.; Ciullo, A.; Castellarin, A.; Viglione, A.

2016-12-01

Real-word data of human-flood interactions are compared to the results of stylized socio-hydrological models. These models build on numerous examples from different parts of the world and consider two main prototypes of floodplain systems. Green systems, whereby societies cope with flood risk via non-structural measures, e.g. resettling out of floodplain areas ("living with floods" approach); and Technological systems, whereby societies cope with flood risk by also via structural measures, e.g. building levees ("fighting floods" approach). The floodplain systems of the Tiber River in Rome and the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Rivers in Bangladesh systems are used as case studies. The comparison of simulations and observations shows the potential of socio-hydrological models in capturing the dynamics of risk emerging from the interactions and feedbacks between social and hydrological processes, such as learning and forgetting effects. It is then discussed how the proposed approach can contribute to a better understanding of flood risk changes and therefore support the process of disaster risk reduction.

Flooding and Flood Management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brooks, K.N.; Fallon, J.D.; Lorenz, D.L.; Stark, J.R.; Menard, Jason; Easter, K.W.; Perry, Jim

2011-01-01

Floods result in great human disasters globally and nationally, causing an average of $4 billion of damages each year in the United States. Minnesota has its share of floods and flood damages, and the state has awarded nearly $278 million to local units of government for flood mitigation projects through its Flood Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Since 1995, flood mitigation in the Red River Valley has exceeded $146 million. Considerable local and state funding has been provided to manage and mitigate problems of excess stormwater in urban areas, flooding of farmlands, and flood damages at road crossings. The cumulative costs involved with floods and flood mitigation in Minnesota are not known precisely, but it is safe to conclude that flood mitigation is a costly business. This chapter begins with a description of floods in Minneosta to provide examples and contrasts across the state. Background material is presented to provide a basic understanding of floods and flood processes, predication, and management and mitigation. Methods of analyzing and characterizing floods are presented because they affect how we respond to flooding and can influence relevant practices. The understanding and perceptions of floods and flooding commonly differ among those who work in flood forecasting, flood protection, or water resource mamnagement and citizens and businesses affected by floods. These differences can become magnified following a major flood, pointing to the need for better understanding of flooding as well as common language to describe flood risks and the uncertainty associated with determining such risks. Expectations of accurate and timely flood forecasts and our ability to control floods do not always match reality. Striving for clarity is important in formulating policies that can help avoid recurring flood damages and costs.

Differentiation of debris-flow and flash-flood deposits: implications for paleoflood investigations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Waythomas, Christopher F.; Jarrett, Robert D.; ,

1993-01-01

Debris flows and flash floods are common geomorphic processes in the Colorado Rocky Mountain Front Range and foothills. Usually, debris flows and flash floods are associated with excess summer rainfall or snowmelt, in areas were unconsolidated surficial deposits are relatively thick and slopes are steep. In the Front Range and foothills, flash flooding is limited to areas below about 2300m whereas, debris flow activity is common throughout the foothill and alpine zones and is not necessarily elevation limited. Because flash floods and debris flows transport large quantities of bouldery sediment, the resulting deposits appear somewhat similar even though such deposits were produced by different processes. Discharge estimates based on debris-flow deposits interpreted as flash-flood deposits have large errors because techniques for discharge retrodiction were developed for water floods with negligible sediment concentrations. Criteria for differentiating between debris-flow and flash-flood deposits are most useful for deposits that are fresh and well-exposed. However, with the passage of time, both debris-flow and flash-flood deposits become modified by the combined effects of weathering, colluviation, changes in surface morphology, and in some instances removal of interstitial sediment. As a result, some of the physical characteristics of the deposits become more alike. Criteria especially applicable to older deposits are needed. We differentiate flash-flood from debris-flow and other deposits using clast fabric measurements and other morphologic and sedimentologic techniques (e.g., deposit morphology, clast lithology, particle size and shape, geomorphic setting).

Exploiting Synoptic-Scale Climate Processes to Develop Nonstationary, Probabilistic Flood Hazard Projections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spence, C. M.; Brown, C.; Doss-Gollin, J.

2016-12-01

Climate model projections are commonly used for water resources management and planning under nonstationarity, but they do not reliably reproduce intense short-term precipitation and are instead more skilled at broader spatial scales. To provide a credible estimate of flood trend that reflects climate uncertainty, we present a framework that exploits the connections between synoptic-scale oceanic and atmospheric patterns and local-scale flood-producing meteorological events to develop long-term flood hazard projections. We demonstrate the method for the Iowa River, where high flow episodes have been found to correlate with tropical moisture exports that are associated with a pressure dipole across the eastern continental United States We characterize the relationship between flooding on the Iowa River and this pressure dipole through a nonstationary Pareto-Poisson peaks-over-threshold probability distribution estimated based on the historic record. We then combine the results of a trend analysis of dipole index in the historic record with the results of a trend analysis of the dipole index as simulated by General Circulation Models (GCMs) under climate change conditions through a Bayesian framework. The resulting nonstationary posterior distribution of dipole index, combined with the dipole-conditioned peaks-over-threshold flood frequency model, connects local flood hazard to changes in large-scale atmospheric pressure and circulation patterns that are related to flooding in a process-driven framework. The Iowa River example demonstrates that the resulting nonstationary, probabilistic flood hazard projection may be used to inform risk-based flood adaptation decisions.

Fish assemblage dynamics in a Neotropical floodplain relative to aquatic macrophytes and the homogenizing effect of a flood pulse

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gomes, L.C.; Bulla, C. K.; Agostinho, A. A.; Vasconcelos, L. P.; Miranda, Leandro E.

2012-01-01

The presence of aquatic macrophytes is a key factor in the selection of habitats by fish in floodplain lakes because these plants enhance the physical and biological complexities of aquatic habitats. The seasonal flood pulse may influence this interaction, but there is no information in the literature about the effects that flood events may have on macrophytes assemblages and its associated effects on fish assemblages. Thus, this article aimed to investigate whether species richness, evenness and similarities in fish assemblage composition differed between littoral areas vegetated with macrophytes and unvegetated areas, before and after a flood. We sampled three lakes in the floodplain of the upper Paraná River basin. Sampling was conducted before (December 2004 and January 2005) and after (early March, late March and May 2005) a flood event. Overall, species richness and evenness were higher in macrophytes-covered areas. Before the flood, the composition of fish assemblages was distinct when comparing vegetated and unvegetated areas. After the flood, the similarity in fish assemblage composition was higher, indicating a homogenization effect of floods for fish inhabiting littoral areas of floodplain lakes. After the flood, opportunistic species dominated the fish assemblages in aquatic macrophytes, apparently restructuring assemblages in the littoral, restarting a succession process. Thus, the observed homogenization effect of the flood could minimize biological interactions and could induce fish assemblages to begin a new process of structurization.

Towards a better understanding of flood generation and surface water inundation mechanisms using NASA remote sensing data products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lucey, J.; Reager, J. T., II; Lopez, S. R.

2017-12-01

Floods annually cause several weather-related fatalities and financial losses. According to NOAA and FEMA, there were 43 deaths and 18 billion dollars paid out in flood insurance policies during 2005. The goal of this work is to improve flood prediction and flood risk assessment by creating a general model of predictability of extreme runoff generation using various NASA products. Using satellite-based flood inundation observations, we can relate surface water formation processes to changes in other hydrological variables, such as precipitation, storage and soil moisture, and understand how runoff generation response to these forcings is modulated by local topography and land cover. Since it is known that a flood event would cause an abnormal increase in surface water, we examine these underlying physical relationships in comparison with the Dartmouth Flood Observatory archive of historic flood events globally. Using ground water storage observations (GRACE), precipitation (TRMM or GPCP), land use (MODIS), elevation (SRTM) and surface inundation levels (SWAMPS), an assessment of geological and climate conditions can be performed for any location around the world. This project utilizes multiple linear regression analysis evaluating the relationship between surface water inundation, total water storage anomalies and precipitation values, grouped by average slope or land use, to determine their statistical relationships and influences on inundation data. This research demonstrates the potential benefits of using global data products for early flood prediction and will improve our understanding of runoff generation processes.

[Light response characteristics of photosynthesis and model comparison of Distylium chinense in different flooding durations].

PubMed

Liu, Ze-bin; Cheng, Rui-mei; Xiao, Wen-fa; Guo, Quan-shui; Wang, Na

2015-04-01

The light responses of photosynthesis of two-year-old Distytum chinense seedlings subjected to a simulated reservoir flooding environment in autumn and winter seasons were measured by using a Li-6400 XT portable photosynthesis system, and the light response curves were fitted and analyzed by three models of the rectangular hyperbola, non-rectangular hyperbola and modified rectangular hyperbola to investigate the applicability of different light response models for the D. chinense in different flooding durations and the adaption regulation of light response parameters to flooding stress. The results showed that the fitting effect of the non-rectangular hyperbola model for light response process of D. chinense under normal growth condition and under short-term flooding (15 days of flooding) was better than that of the other two models, while the fitting effect of the modified rectangular hyperbola model for light response process of D. chinense under longer-term flooding (30, 45 and 60 days of flooding) was better than that of the other two models. The modified rectangular hyperbola model gave the best fitted results of light compensation point (LCP) , maximum net photosynthetic rate (P(n max)) and light saturation point (LSP), and the non-rectangular hyperbola model gave the best fitted result of dark respiration rate (R(d)). The apparent quantum yield (Φ), P(n max) and LSP of D. chinense gradually decreased, and the LCP and R(d) of D. chinense gradually increased in early flooding (30 days), but D. chinense gradually produced adaptability for flooding as the flooding duration continued to increase, and various physiological indexes were gradually stabilized. Thus, this species has adaptability to some degree to the flooding environment.

Multi-temporal flood mapping and satellite altimetry used to evaluate the flood dynamics of the Bolivian Amazon wetlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ovando, A.; Martinez, J. M.; Tomasella, J.; Rodriguez, D. A.; von Randow, C.

2018-07-01

The Bolivian Amazon wetlands are extensive floodplains distributed over the Mamore, Beni, Madre de Dios and Guapore Rivers. Located within the upper Madeira River Basin, the wetlands play important roles in regulating the biogeochemical processes and hydrological cycle of the region. In addition, they have major ecological and hydrological relevance for the entire Amazon Basin. These wetlands are characterized by the occurrence of episodic floods that result from contrasting hydro-meteorological processes in the Andean Mountain region, the piedmont area and the Amazon lowlands. In this study, we characterized the flood dynamics of the region using multi-temporal flood mapping based on optical altimetry (MODIS - Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer - M*D09A1) and satellite altimetry (ENVISAT RA-2 and SARAL AltiKa altimeters). This study provides new insights regarding the frequency, magnitude and spatial distribution of exogenous floods, which are created by flood waves from the Andes; and endogenous floods, which result from runoff originating in the lowlands. The maximum extent of flooding during 2001-2014 was 43144 km2 in the Mamore Basin and 34852 km2 in the Guapore Basin, and the total surface water storage in these floodplains reached 94 km3. The regionalization of flood regimes based on water stage time series signatures allowed those regions that are exposed to frequent floods, which are generally located along rivers without a direct connection with the Andes, to be distinguished from floodplains that are more dependent on flood waves originating in the Andes and its piedmonts. This information is of great importance for understanding the roles of these wetlands in the provision of ecosystem services.

Sediment dynamics in a large shallow lake characterized by seasonal flood pulse in Southeast Asia.

PubMed

Siev, Sokly; Yang, Heejun; Sok, Ty; Uk, Sovannara; Song, Layheang; Kodikara, Dilini; Oeurng, Chantha; Hul, Seingheng; Yoshimura, Chihiro

2018-08-01

Most of studies on sediment dynamics in stable shallow lakes focused on the resuspension process as it is the dominant process. However, understanding of sediment dynamics in a shallow lake influenced by flood pulse is unclear. We tested a hypothesis that floodplain vegetation plays as a significant role in lessening the intensity of resuspension process in a shallow lake characterized by the flood pulse system. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate sediment dynamics in this type of shallow lake. The target was Tonle Sap Lake (TSL), which is a large shallow lake influenced by a flood pulse system of Mekong River located in Southeast Asia. An extensive and seasonal sampling survey was conducted to measure total suspended solid (TSS) concentrations, sedimentation and resuspension rates in TSL and its 4 floodplain areas. The study revealed that sedimentation process was dominant (TSS ranged: 3-126mgL -1 ) in the high water period (September-December) while resuspension process was dominant (TSS ranged: 4-652mgL -1 ) only in the low water period (March-June). In addition, floodplain vegetation reduced the resuspension of sediment (up to 26.3%) in water. The implication of the study showed that resuspension is a seasonally dominant process in shallow lake influenced by the flood pulse system at least for the case of TSL. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Organic solvent regeneration of granular activated carbon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cross, W. H.; Suidan, M. T.; Roller, M. A.; Kim, B. R.; Gould, J. P.

1982-09-01

The use of activated carbon for the treatment of industrial waste-streams was shown to be an effective treatment. The high costs associated with the replacement or thermal regeneration of the carbon have prohibited the economic feasibility of this process. The in situ solvent regeneration of activated carbon by means of organic solvent extraction was suggested as an economically alternative to thermal regeneration. The important aspects of the solvent regeneration process include: the physical and chemical characteristics of the adsorbent, the pore size distribution and energy of adsorption associated with the activated carbon; the degree of solubility of the adsorbate in the organic solvent; the miscibility of the organic solvent in water; and the temperature at which the generation is performed.

The use of novel wooden structures to manage flooding and coarse sediment problems in responsive upland headwater catchments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilkinson, Mark; Addy, Steve; Ghimire, Sohan; Watson, Helen; Stutter, Marc

2014-05-01

Over the past decade economic losses from floods have greatly increased, with sediment related impacts as a key feature of such events. Impacts include changes in river channel course, scour of river banks, sedimentation of infrastructure (e.g. bridges), and deposition of sand and gravel on farmland. Sediment deposition can in turn reduce conveyance capacity and lead to further increased flood risk. The EU Water Framework Directive and Floods Directive highlights that sustainable approaches to flood risk reduction should be used alongside and, where possible, replace traditional structural flood defences and activities that address sediment problems. Natural Flood Management(NFM) is promoted as a method that can reduce flood risk and manage sediment by incorporating natural hydrological and morphological processes. As such, NFM measures are designed to use these fluvial processes to manage the sources and pathways of flood waters and sediments. Techniques include the restoration, enhancement and alteration of natural features and characteristics, but exclude traditional flood defence engineering that works against or disrupts these natural processes. Here we aim to assess the effectiveness of novel flood mitigation measures for reducing flood risk and capturing coarse sediment in rapidly responding headwater catchments. We present preliminary research findings from a densely instrumented research site (Bowmont catchment, Scotland (85km2)) which regularly experiences flood events with associated coarse sediment problems. NFM measures have been installed to capture course sediment and to store water more effectively on the flood plains during these flood events. For example, novel engineered wooden structures ('bar apex log jams') constructed in the river corridor are designed to trap sediment and log bank protection structures have been installed to stop bank erosion. Within a tributary catchment of the Bowmont (0.7km2), new flow restrictors have been installed on a headwater stream to slow the flow whilst collecting coarse sediment. These were designed to have a minimal impact on upland farming practices. In addition, tree planting is also occurring in the catchment for example, within gulley, on the riparian zone and hedgerow belts perpendicular to slopes. During a recent large event, the majority of 40 bar apex structures collected coarse sediment. However, only five were associated with high deposition and modification of the spatial pattern of deposition, which highlighted the importance both of structure design and location of these features to maximise their sediment trapping effectiveness and longevity.

Optical data processing and projected applications of the ERTS-1 imagery covering the 1973 Mississippi River Valley floods

USGS Publications Warehouse

Deutsch, Morris; Ruggles, Fred

1974-01-01

Flooding along the Mississippi River and some of its tributaries was detected by the multispectral scanner (MSS) on the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS-1) on at least three orbits during the spring of 1973. The ERTS data provided the first opportunity for mapping the regional extent of flooding at the time of the imagery. Special optical data processing techniques were used to produce a variety of multispectral color composites enhancing flood-plain details. One of these, a 2-color composite of near infrared bands 6 and 7, was enlarged and registered to 1:250,000-scale topographic maps and used as the basis for preparation of flood image maps. Two specially filtered 3-color composites of MSS bands 5, 6, and 7 and 4, 5, and 7 were prepared to aid in the interpretation of the data. The extent of the flooding was vividly depicted on a single image by 2-color temporal composites produced on the additive-color viewer using band 7 flood data superimposed on pre-flood band 7 images. On May 24, when the floodwaters at St. Louis receded to bankfull stage, imagery was again obtained by ERTS. Analysis of temporal data composites of the pre-flood and post-flood band 7 images indicate that changes in surface reflectance characteristics caused by the flooding can be delineated, thus making it possible to map the overall area flooded without the necessity of a real-time system to track and image the peak flood waves. Regional planning and disaster relief agencies such as the Corps of Engineers, Office of Emergency Preparedness, Soil Conservation Service, interstate river basin commissions and state agencies, as well as private lending and insurance institutions, have indicated strong potential applications for ERTS image-maps of flood-prone areas.

Introduction to SNPP/VIIRS Flood Mapping Software Version 1.0

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, S.; Sun, D.; Goldberg, M.; Sjoberg, W.; Santek, D.; Hoffman, J.

2017-12-01

Near real-time satellite-derived flood maps are invaluable to river forecasters and decision-makers for disaster monitoring and relief efforts. With support from the JPSS (Joint Polar Satellite System) Proving Ground and Risk Reduction (PGRR) Program, flood detection software has been developed using Suomi-NPP/VIIRS (Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership/Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) imagery to automatically generate near real-time flood maps for National Weather Service (NWS) River Forecast Centers (RFC) in the USA. The software, which is called VIIRS NOAA GMU Flood Version 1.0 (hereafter referred to as VNG Flood V1.0), consists of a series of algorithms that include water detection, cloud shadow removal, terrain shadow removal, minor flood detection, water fraction retrieval, and floodwater determination. The software is designed for flood detection in any land region between 80°S and 80°N, and it has been running routinely with direct broadcast SNPP/VIIRS data at the Space Science and Engineering Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW/SSEC) and the Geographic Information Network of Alaska at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks (UAF/GINA) since 2014. Near real-time flood maps are distributed via the Unidata Local Data Manager (LDM), reviewed by river forecasters in AWIPS-II (the second generation of the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System) and applied in flood operations. Initial feedback from operational forecasters on the product accuracy and performance has been largely positive. The software capability has also been extended to areas outside of the USA via a case-driven mode to detect major floods all over the world. Offline validation efforts include the visual inspection of over 10,000 VIIRS false-color composite images, an inter-comparison with MODIS automatic flood products and a quantitative evaluation using Landsat imagery. The steady performance from the 3-year routine process and the promising validation results indicate that VNG Flood V1.0 has a high feasibility for flood detection at the product level.

Uncertainty and Sensitivity of Direct Economic Flood Damages: the FloodRisk Free and Open-Source Software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albano, R.; Sole, A.; Mancusi, L.; Cantisani, A.; Perrone, A.

2017-12-01

The considerable increase of flood damages in the the past decades has shifted in Europe the attention from protection against floods to managing flood risks. In this context, the expected damages assessment represents a crucial information within the overall flood risk management process. The present paper proposes an open source software, called FloodRisk, that is able to operatively support stakeholders in the decision making processes with a what-if approach by carrying out the rapid assessment of the flood consequences, in terms of direct economic damage and loss of human lives. The evaluation of the damage scenarios, trough the use of the GIS software proposed here, is essential for cost-benefit or multi-criteria analysis of risk mitigation alternatives. However, considering that quantitative assessment of flood damages scenarios is characterized by intrinsic uncertainty, a scheme has been developed to identify and quantify the role of the input parameters in the total uncertainty of flood loss model application in urban areas with mild terrain and complex topography. By the concept of parallel models, the contribution of different module and input parameters to the total uncertainty is quantified. The results of the present case study have exhibited a high epistemic uncertainty on the damage estimation module and, in particular, on the type and form of the utilized damage functions, which have been adapted and transferred from different geographic and socio-economic contexts because there aren't depth-damage functions that are specifically developed for Italy. Considering that uncertainty and sensitivity depend considerably on local characteristics, the epistemic uncertainty associated with the risk estimate is reduced by introducing additional information into the risk analysis. In the light of the obtained results, it is evident the need to produce and disseminate (open) data to develop micro-scale vulnerability curves. Moreover, the urgent need to push forward research into the implementation of methods and models for the assimilation of uncertainties in decision-making processes emerges.

14th-16th century Danube floods and long-term water-level changes reflected in archaeological-sedimentary evidence - in comparison with documentary evidence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiss, Andrea; Laszlovszky, József

2014-05-01

In the present paper an overview of published and unpublished results of archaeological and sedimentary investigations, predominantly reflect on 14th-16th-century changes, are provided and compared to documentary information on flood events and long-term changes. Long-term changes in flood behaviour and average water-level conditions had long-term detectable impacts on sedimentation and fluvio-morphological processes. Moreover, the available archaeological evidence might also provide information on the reaction of the society, in the form of changes in settlement organisation, building structures and processes. At present, information is mainly available concerning the 16th, and partly to the 14th-15th centuries. Medium and short term evidence mainly corresponds to the main flood peaks or even to single catastrophic flood events. Such processes may be identified in archaeological evidence concerning the second half of the 14th, early 15th centuries; while most of the cases listed above were connected to the flood peak (and/or generally increasing water-level conditions) of the late 15th and early 16th centuries. In other cases connections between sedimentary/archaeological evidence and the mid- and late 16th-century high flood-frequency period were presumed. Documentary evidence referring to the same period suggests that higher flood frequency and intensity periods occurred in the early and mid 16th century; a probably more prolonged flood rich period took place in the second half of the 16th century, with a peak in the late 1560s-early 1570s and maybe with another at the end of the 16th century. Earlier flood peaks in documentary evidence were detected on the Danube at the turn of the 14th-15th centuries and in the last decades of the 15th century, continuing in the early 16th century.

COSMO-RS analysis on mixing properties obtained for the systems 1-butyl-X-methylpyridinium tetrafluoroborate [X = 2,3,4] and 1,ω-dibromoalkanes [ω = 1-6].

PubMed

Navas, Ana; Ortega, Juan; Palomar, José; Díaz, Carlos; Vreekamp, Remko

2011-05-07

A theoretical-experimental study for a set of 18 binary systems comprised of [bXmpy][BF(4)] (X=2-4) + 1,ω-Br(CH(2))(v)Br (v =ω=1-6) at a temperature of 298.15 K is presented. The solubility curves are determined for each binary system, establishing the intervals of measurement for the excess properties, H(E)(m) and V(E)(m). These properties are then determined for those systems that present a miscibility zone. Binary systems containing 1,ω-dibromoalkanes with ω=5,6 present reduced solubility intervals at the temperature of 298.15 K. However, the mixtures with 1,1-dibromomethane were totally miscible with the three isomers of 1-butyl-X-methylpyridinium tetrafluoroborate. Mixtures with dibromomethane present H(E)(m) <0, whereas H(E)(m) >0 for the other binary systems. Sigmoidal curves were observed for the V(E)(m) describing expansion and contraction processes for all the systems, except for the mixtures of [b2mpy][BF(4)] with the smaller dibromoalkanes, which present contraction effects. The COSMO-RS methodology was used to estimate the solubilities and the intermolecular interaction energies, giving an acceptable explanation of the behavioral structure of pure compounds and solutions. This journal is © the Owner Societies 2011

Reactive sputter deposition of metal oxide nanolaminates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rubin Aita, Carolyn

2008-07-01

We discuss the reactive sputter deposition of metal oxide nanolaminates on unheated substrates using four archetypical examples: ZrO2 Al2O3, HfO2 Al2O3, ZrO2 Y2O3, and ZrO2 TiO2. The pseudobinary bulk phase diagrams corresponding to these nanolaminates represent three types of interfaces. I. Complete immiscibility (ZrO2 Al2O3 and HfO2 Al2O3). II. Complete miscibility (ZrO2 Y2O3). III. Limited miscibility without a common end-member lattice (ZrO2 TiO2). We found that, although reactive sputter deposition is a far-from-equilibrium process, thermodynamic considerations strongly influence both phase formation within layers and at interfaces. We show that pseudobinary phase diagrams can be used to predict interfacial cation mixing in the nanolaminates. However, size effects must be considered to predict specific structures. In the absence of pseudoepitaxy, size effects play a significant role in determining the nanocrystalline phases that form within a layer (e.g. tetragonal ZrO2, tetragonal HfO2, and orthorhombic HfO2) and at interfaces (e.g. monoclinic (Zr,Ti)O2). These phases are not bulk standard temperature and pressure phases. Their formation is understood in terms of self-assembly into the lowest energy structure in individual critical nuclei.

A strategy for low cost development of incremental oil in legacy reservoirs

USGS Publications Warehouse

Attanasi, E.D.

2016-01-01

The precipitous decline in oil prices during 2015 has forced operators to search for ways to develop low-cost and low-risk oil reserves. This study examines strategies to low cost development of legacy reservoirs, particularly those which have already implemented a carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2 EOR) program. Initially the study examines the occurrence and nature of the distribution of the oil resources that are targets for miscible and near-miscible CO2 EOR programs. The analysis then examines determinants of technical recovery through the analysis of representative clastic and carbonate reservoirs. The economic analysis focusses on delineating the dominant components of investment and operational costs. The concluding sections describe options to maximize the value of assets that the operator of such a legacy reservoir may have that include incremental expansion within the same producing zone and to producing zones that are laterally or stratigraphically near main producing zones. The analysis identified the CO2 recycle plant as the dominant investment cost item and purchased CO2 and liquids management as a dominant operational cost items. Strategies to utilize recycle plants for processing CO2 from multiple producing zones and multiple reservoir units can significantly reduce costs. Industrial sources for CO2 should be investigated as a possibly less costly way of meeting EOR requirements. Implementation of tapered water alternating gas injection schemes can partially mitigate increases in fluid lifting costs.

Ethylene--and oxygen signalling--drive plant survival during flooding.

PubMed

Voesenek, L A C J; Sasidharan, R

2013-05-01

Flooding is a widely occurring environmental stress both for natural and cultivated plant species. The primary problems associated with flooding arise due to restricted gas diffusion underwater. This hampers gas exchange needed for the critical processes of photosynthesis and respiration. Plant acclimation to flooding includes the adaptation of a suite of traits that helps alleviate or avoid these stressful conditions and improves or restores exchange of O2 and CO2 . The manifestation of these traits is, however, reliant on the timely perception of signals that convey the underwater status. Flooding-associated reduced gas diffusion imposes a drastic change in the internal gas composition within submerged plant organs. One of the earliest changes is an increase in the levels of the gaseous plant hormone ethylene. Depending on the species, organ, flooding conditions and time of the day, plants will also subsequently experience a reduction in oxygen levels. This review provides a comprehensive overview on the roles of ethylene and oxygen as critical signals of flooding stress. It includes a discussion of the dynamics of these gases in plants when underwater, their interaction, current knowledge of their perception mechanisms and the resulting downstream changes that mediate important acclimative processes that allow endurance and survival under flooded conditions. © 2013 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

Exploring the Role of Social Media and Individual Behaviors in Flood Evacuation Processes: An Agent-Based Modeling Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, Erhu; Cai, Ximing; Sun, Zhiyong; Minsker, Barbara

2017-11-01

Flood warnings from various information sources are important for individuals to make evacuation decisions during a flood event. In this study, we develop a general opinion dynamics model to simulate how individuals update their flood hazard awareness when exposed to multiple information sources, including global broadcast, social media, and observations of neighbors' actions. The opinion dynamics model is coupled with a traffic model to simulate the evacuation processes of a residential community with a given transportation network. Through various scenarios, we investigate how social media affect the opinion dynamics and evacuation processes. We find that stronger social media can make evacuation processes more sensitive to the change of global broadcast and neighbor observations, and thus, impose larger uncertainty on evacuation rates (i.e., a large range of evacuation rates corresponding to sources of information). For instance, evacuation rates are lower when social media become more influential and individuals have less trust in global broadcast. Stubborn individuals can significantly affect the opinion dynamics and reduce evacuation rates. In addition, evacuation rates respond to the percentage of stubborn agents in a nonlinear manner, i.e., above a threshold, the impact of stubborn agents will be intensified by stronger social media. These results highlight the role of social media in flood evacuation processes and the need to monitor social media so that misinformation can be corrected in a timely manner. The joint impacts of social media, quality of flood warnings, and transportation capacity on evacuation rates are also discussed.

Buoyancy-driven instabilities around miscible A+B→C reaction fronts: a general classification.

PubMed

Trevelyan, P M J; Almarcha, C; De Wit, A

2015-02-01

Upon contact between miscible solutions of reactants A and B along a horizontal interface in the gravity field, various buoyancy-driven instabilities can develop when an A+B→C reaction takes place and the density varies with the concentrations of the various chemicals. To classify the possible convective instability scenarios, we analyze the spatial dependence of the large time asymptotic density profiles as a function of the key parameters of the problem, which are the ratios of diffusion coefficients and of solutal expansion coefficients of species A, B, and C. We find that 62 different density profiles can develop in the reactive problem, whereas only 6 of them can be obtained in the nonreactive one.

Osmosis-driven viscous fingering of oil-in-water emulsions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Ying; Rallabandi, Bhargav; Baskaran, Mrudhula; Stone, Howard

2017-11-01

Viscous fingering occurs when a low viscosity fluid invades a more viscous fluid. Fingering of two miscible fluids is more complicated than that of immiscible fluids in that there is no sharp fluid-fluid interface and diffusion occurs between the phases. We experimentally studied the fingering of two miscible fluids: an oil-in-water emulsion and a sodium chloride solution. When the concentration of sodium chloride in the water phase in the emulsion exceeds that in the sodium chloride solution, the consequent osmotic flow automatically facilitates the occurrence of the fingering. On the contrary, when the sodium chloride solution has higher concentration, the spreading of emulsion is more uniform than the case without the concentration difference. We provide a model to rationalize and quantify these observations.

Flood Hazards - A National Threat

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2006-01-01

In the late summer of 2005, the remarkable flooding brought by Hurricane Katrina, which caused more than $200 billion in losses, constituted the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. However, even in typical years, flooding causes billions of dollars in damage and threatens lives and property in every State. Natural processes, such as hurricanes, weather systems, and snowmelt, can cause floods. Failure of levees and dams and inadequate drainage in urban areas can also result in flooding. On average, floods kill about 140 people each year and cause $6 billion in property damage. Although loss of life to floods during the past half-century has declined, mostly because of improved warning systems, economic losses have continued to rise due to increased urbanization and coastal development.

76 FR 72961 - Flood Hazard Determinations (Including Flood Elevation Determinations)-Change in Notification and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-28

... opportunity for comment and appeal. These other types of flood hazard determinations include new and modified... Appeal Procedures AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: Pursuant to... rules. This new procedure will not affect the notice or appeals process for these determinations. FEMA...

Development of cost-effective surfactant flooding technology, Quarterly report, October 1995--December 1995

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pope, G.A.; Sepehrnoori, K.

1995-12-31

The objective of this research is to develop cost-effective surfactant flooding technology by using simulation studies to evaluate and optimize alternative design strategies taking into account reservoir characteristics process chemistry, and process design options such as horizontal wells. Task 1 is the development of an improved numerical method for our simulator that will enable us to solve a wider class of these difficult simulation problems accurately and affordably. Task 2 is the application of this simulator to the optimization of surfactant flooding to reduce its risk and cost. In this quarter, we have continued working on Task 2 to optimizemore » surfactant flooding design and have included economic analysis to the optimization process. An economic model was developed using a spreadsheet and the discounted cash flow (DCF) method of economic analysis. The model was designed specifically for a domestic onshore surfactant flood and has been used to economically evaluate previous work that used a technical approach to optimization. The DCF model outputs common economic decision making criteria, such as net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and payback period.« less

Succession of microbial communities and changes of incremental oil in a post-polymer flooded reservoir with nutrient stimulation.

PubMed

Gao, Peike; Li, Guoqiang; Le, Jianjun; Liu, Xiaobo; Liu, Fang; Ma, Ting

2018-02-01

Further exploitation of the residual oil underground in post-polymer flooded reservoirs is attractive and challengeable. In this study, indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery (IMEOR) in a post-polymer flooded reservoir was performed. The succession of microbial communities was revealed by high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and changes of incremental oil were analyzed. The results indicated that the abundances of reservoir microorganisms significantly increased, with alpha diversities decreased in the IMEOR process. With the intermittent nutrient injection, microbial communities showed a regular change and were alternately dominated by minority populations: Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter significantly increased when nutrients were injected; Thauera, Azovibrio, Arcobacter, Helicobacter, Desulfitobacterium, and Clostridium increased in the following water-flooding process. Accompanied by the stimulated populations, higher oil production was obtained. However, these populations did not contribute a persistent level of incremental oil in the reservoir. In summary, this study revealed the alternative succession of microbial communities and the changes of incremental oil in a post-polymer flooded reservoir with intermittent nutrient stimulation process.

Review Article: Multi-criteria decision making for flood risk management: a survey of the current state-of-the-art

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Brito, M. M.; Evers, M.

2015-11-01

This paper provides a review of Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) applications to flood risk management, seeking to highlight trends and identify research gaps. Totally, 128 peer-reviewed papers published from 1995 to June 2015 were systematically analysed and classified into the following application areas: (1) ranking of alternatives for flood mitigation, (2) reservoir flood control, (3) susceptibility, (4) hazard, (5) vulnerability, (6) risk, (7) coping capacity, and (8) emergency management. Additionally, the articles were categorized based on the publication year, MCDM method, whether they were or were not carried out in a participatory process, and if uncertainty and sensitivity analysis were performed. Results showed that the number of flood MCDM publications has exponentially grown during this period, with over 82 % of all papers published since 2009. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was the most popular technique, followed by Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), and Simple Additive Weighting (SAW). Although there is greater interest on MCDM, uncertainty analysis remains an issue and is seldom applied in flood-related studies. In addition, participation of multiple stakeholders has been generally fragmented, focusing on particular stages of the decision-making process, especially on the definition of criteria weights. Based on the survey, some suggestions for further investigation are provided.

Flood Warning and Forecasting System in Slovakia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leskova, Danica

2016-04-01

In 2015, it finished project Flood Warning and Forecasting System (POVAPSYS) as part of the flood protection in Slovakia till 2010. The aim was to build POVAPSYS integrated computerized flood forecasting and warning system. It took a qualitatively higher level of output meteorological and hydrological services in case of floods affecting large territorial units, as well as local flood events. It is further unfolding demands on performance and coordination of meteorological and hydrological services, troubleshooting observation, evaluation of data, fast communication, modeling and forecasting of meteorological and hydrological processes. Integration of all information entering and exiting to and from the project POVAPSYS provides Hydrological Flood Forecasting System (HYPOS). The system provides information on the current hydrometeorological situation and its evolution with the generation of alerts and notifications in case of exceeding predefined thresholds. HYPOS's functioning of the system requires flawless operability in critical situations while minimizing the loss of its key parts. HYPOS is a core part of the project POVAPSYS, it is a comprehensive software solutions based on a modular principle, providing data and processed information including alarms, in real time. In order to achieve full functionality of the system, in proposal, we have put emphasis on reliability, robustness, availability and security.

One-dimensional modelling of the interactions between heavy rainfall-runoff in an urban area and flooding flows from sewer networks and rivers.

PubMed

Kouyi, G Lipeme; Fraisse, D; Rivière, N; Guinot, V; Chocat, B

2009-01-01

Many investigations have been carried out in order to develop models which allow the linking of complex physical processes involved in urban flooding. The modelling of the interactions between overland flows on streets and flooding flows from rivers and sewer networks is one of the main objectives of recent and current research programs in hydraulics and urban hydrology. This paper outlines the original one-dimensional linking of heavy rainfall-runoff in urban areas and flooding flows from rivers and sewer networks under the RIVES project framework (Estimation of Scenario and Risks of Urban Floods). The first part of the paper highlights the capacity of Canoe software to simulate the street flows. In the second part, we show the original method of connection which enables the modelling of interactions between processes in urban flooding. Comparisons between simulated results and the results of Despotovic et al. or Gomez & Mur show a good agreement for the calibrated one-dimensional connection model. The connection operates likes a manhole with the orifice/weir coefficients used as calibration parameters. The influence of flooding flows from river was taken into account as a variable water depth boundary condition.

Analysis and Comparison on the Flood Simulation in Typical Hilly & Semi-mountainous Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luan, Qinghua; Wang, Dong; Zhang, Xiang; Liu, Jiahong; Fu, Xiaoran; Zhang, Kun; Ma, Jun

2017-12-01

Water-logging and flood are both serious in hilly and semi-mountainous cities of China, but the related research is rare. Lincheng Economic Development Zone (EDZ) in Hebei Province as the typical city was selected and storm water management model (SWMM) was applied for flood simulation in this study. The regional model was constructed through calibrating and verifying the runoff coefficient of different flood processes. Different designed runoff processes in five-year, ten-year and twenty-year return periods in basic scenario and in the low impact development (LID) scenario, respectively, were simulated and compared. The result shows that: LID measures have effect on peak reduction in the study area, but the effectiveness is not significant; the effectiveness of lagging peak time is poor. These simulation results provide decision support for the rational construction of LID in the study area, and provide the references for regional rain flood management.

The influence of antecedent conditions on flood risk in sub-Saharan Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bischiniotis, Konstantinos; van den Hurk, Bart; Jongman, Brenden; Coughlan de Perez, Erin; Veldkamp, Ted; de Moel, Hans; Aerts, Jeroen

2018-01-01

Most flood early warning systems have predominantly focused on forecasting floods with lead times of hours or days. However, physical processes during longer timescales can also contribute to flood generation. In this study, we follow a pragmatic approach to analyse the hydro-meteorological pre-conditions of 501 historical damaging floods from 1980 to 2010 in sub-Saharan Africa. These are separated into (a) weather timescale (0-6 days) and (b) seasonal timescale conditions (up to 6 months) before the event. The 7-day precipitation preceding a flood event (PRE7) and the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) are analysed for the two timescale domains, respectively. Results indicate that high PRE7 does not always generate floods by itself. Seasonal SPEIs, which are not directly correlated with PRE7, exhibit positive (wet) values prior to most flood events across different averaging times, indicating a relationship with flooding. This paper provides evidence that bringing together weather and seasonal conditions can lead to improved flood risk preparedness.

Comparison of floods non-stationarity detection methods: an Austrian case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salinas, Jose Luis; Viglione, Alberto; Blöschl, Günter

2016-04-01

Non-stationarities in flood regimes have a huge impact in any mid and long term flood management strategy. In particular the estimation of design floods is very sensitive to any kind of flood non-stationarity, as they should be linked to a return period, concept that can be ill defined in a non-stationary context. Therefore it is crucial when analyzing existent flood time series to detect and, where possible, attribute flood non-stationarities to changing hydroclimatic and land-use processes. This works presents the preliminary results of applying different non-stationarity detection methods on annual peak discharges time series over more than 400 gauging stations in Austria. The kind of non-stationarities analyzed include trends (linear and non-linear), breakpoints, clustering beyond stochastic randomness, and detection of flood rich/flood poor periods. Austria presents a large variety of landscapes, elevations and climates that allow us to interpret the spatial patterns obtained with the non-stationarity detection methods in terms of the dominant flood generation mechanisms.

Reconstruction of the 1945 Wieringermeer Flood

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoes, O. A. C.; Hut, R. W.; van de Giesen, N. C.; Boomgaard, M.

2013-03-01

The present state-of-the-art in flood risk assessment focuses on breach models, flood propagation models, and economic modelling of flood damage. However, models need to be validated with real data to avoid erroneous conclusions. Such reference data can either be historic data, or can be obtained from controlled experiments. The inundation of the Wieringermeer polder in the Netherlands in April 1945 is one of the few examples for which sufficient historical information is available. The objective of this article is to compare the flood simulation with flood data from 1945. The context, the breach growth process and the flood propagation are explained. Key findings for current flood risk management addresses the importance of the drainage canal network during the inundation of a polder, and the uncertainty that follows from not knowing the breach growth parameters. This case study shows that historical floods provide valuable data for the validation of models and reveal lessons that are applicable in current day flood risk management.

Combining Space-Based and In-Situ Measurements to Track Flooding in Thailand

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chien, Steve; Doubleday, Joshua; Mclaren, David; Tran, Daniel; Tanpipat, Veerachai; Chitradon, Royal; Boonya-aaroonnet, Surajate; Thanapakpawin, Porranee; Khunboa, Chatchai; Leelapatra, Watis;

Management of flood victims: Chainat Province, central Thailand.

PubMed

Wisitwong, Anchaleeporn; McMillan, Margaret

2010-03-01

This article focuses on the processes of flood management and the experiences of flood victims in Chainat Province, central Thailand, so as to develop knowledge about the future handling of such disasters. A phenomenological qualitative approach was used to describe the processes of providing assistance to flood victims. In-depth interviews and observation were used to collect the data. Criterion sampling was used to select 23 participants. Content analysis of the data revealed that some flood victims could predict flooding based on prior experiences, so they prepared themselves. The data revealed six themes that demonstrated that those who could not predict how floods would impact on them were unprepared and suffered losses and disruption to their daily life. Damaged routes meant people could not go to work, resulting in the loss of income. There was a lack of sanitary appliances and clean drinking water, people were sick, and experienced stress. At the community level, people helped one another, making sandbags and building walls as a defense against water. They formed support groups to enable the processing of stressful experiences. However, later, the water became stagnant and contaminated, creating an offensive smell. The government provided assistance to cut off electricity services, food and water, toilets and health services, and water drainage. In the recovery phase, the victims needed money for investment, employment opportunities, books for children, extra time to pay off loans, reconnection of electricity, surveys of damage, and pensions to deal with damage and recovery.

Effects of Flood Control Strategies on Flood Resilience Under Sociohydrological Disturbances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sung, Kyungmin; Jeong, Hanseok; Sangwan, Nikhil; Yu, David J.

2018-04-01

A community capacity to cope with flood hazards, or community flood resilience, emerges from the interplay of hydrological and social processes. This interplay can be significantly influenced by the flood control strategy adopted by a society, i.e., how a society sets its desired flood protection level and strives to achieve this goal. And this interplay can be further complicated by rising land-sea level differences, seasonal water level fluctuations, and economic change. But not much research has been done on how various forms of flood control strategies affect human-flood interactions under these disturbances and therefore flood resilience in the long run. The current study is an effort to address these issues by developing a conceptual model of human-flood interaction mediated by flood control strategies. Our model extends the existing model of Yu et al. (2017), who investigated the flood resilience of a community-based flood protection system in coastal Bangladesh. The major extensions made in this study are inclusions of various forms of flood control strategies (both adaptive and nonadaptive ones), the challenge of rising land-sea level differences, and various high tide level scenarios generated from modifying the statistical variances and averages. Our results show that adaptive forms of flood control strategies tend to outperform nonadaptive ones for maintaining the model community's flood protection system. Adaptive strategies that dynamically adjust target flood protection levels through close monitoring of flood damages and social memories of flood risk can help the model community deal with various disturbances.

Spatio-Temporal Process Simulation of Dam-Break Flood Based on SPH

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, H.; Ye, F.; Ouyang, S.; Li, Z.

2018-04-01

On the basis of introducing the SPH (Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics) simulation method, the key research problems were given solutions in this paper, which ere the spatial scale and temporal scale adapting to the GIS(Geographical Information System) application, the boundary condition equations combined with the underlying surface, and the kernel function and parameters applicable to dam-break flood simulation. In this regards, a calculation method of spatio-temporal process emulation with elaborate particles for dam-break flood was proposed. Moreover the spatio-temporal process was dynamic simulated by using GIS modelling and visualization. The results show that the method gets more information, objectiveness and real situations.

Extraction of orange peel's essential oil by solvent-free microwave extraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qadariyah, Lailatul; Amelia, Prilia Dwi; Admiralia, Cininta; Bhuana, Donny S.; Mahfud, Mahfud

2017-05-01

Sweet orange peel (Citrus sinensis) is part of orange plant that contains essential oils. Generally, taking essential oil from orange peel is still using hydrodistillation and steam-hydrodistillation method which still needs solvent and takes a long time to produce high quality essential oil. Therefore, the objectives of this experiment are to study the process of orange peel's essential oil extraction using Solvent Free Microwave Extraction (SFME) and to study the operating condition that effect an optimum yield and quality of the essential oil. In this experiment, extraction process with SFME method goes for 60 minutes at atmospheric pressure. Variables for SFME are: variation of orange peel condition (fresh and dry), ratio orange peel mass to distiller volume (0,1; 0,2; 0,3; 0,4 g/mL), orange peel size (±0,5; ±2; ±3,5 cm width), and microwave power (100, 264, 400 Watt). Moisture content of fresh peel is 71,4% and for dry peel is 17,37% which is obtained by sun drying. The result of this experiment will be analyzed with GC-MS, SEM, density, and miscibility in ethanol 90%. The optimum result obtained from this experiment based on the number of the yield under condition of fresh orange peel is at peel mass/distiller volume 0,1 g/mL, orange peel size ±3,5 cm width, and microwave power 400 Watt, results 1,6738% yield. The result of GC-MS for fresh orange peel shows that the dominant compound is Limonene 54,140% and for dry orange peel is Limonene 59,705%. The density obtained is around 0,8282-0,8530 g/mL and miscibility in ethanol 90% is 1:5.

Computational hydraulics of a cascade of experimental-scale landside dam failures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wright, N.; Guan, M.

2015-12-01

Abstract: Landslide dams typically comprise unconsolidated and poorly sorted material, and are vulnerable to rapid failure and breaching, particularly in mountainous areas during high intense rainfalls. A large flash flood with high-concentrated sediment can be formed in a short period, and the magnitude is likely to be amplified along the flow direction due to the inclusion of a large amount of sediment. This can result in significant and sudden flood risk downstream for human life and property. Numerous field evidence has indicated the various risks of landslide dam failures. In general, cascading landslide dams can be formed along the sloping channel due to the randomness and unpredictability of landslides, which complexes the hydraulics of landslide dam failures. The failure process of a single dam and subsequent floods has attracted attention in multidisciplinary studies. However, the dynamic failure process of cascading landslide dams has been poorly understood. From a viewpoint of simulation, this study evaluates the formation and development of rapid sediment-charged floods due to cascading failure of landslide dams through detailed hydro-morphodynamic modelling. The model used is based on shallow water theory and it has been successful in predicting the flow and morphological process during sudden dam-break, as well as full and partial dyke-breach. Various experimental-scale scenarios are modelled, including: (1) failure of a single full dam in a sloping channel, (2) failure of two dams in a sloping channel, (3) failure of multiple landslide dams (four) in a sloping channel. For each scenario, different failure modes (sudden/gradual) and bed boundary (fixed /mobile) are assumed and simulated. The study systematically explores the tempo-spatial evolution of landslide-induced floods (discharge, flow velocity, and flow concentration) and geomorphic properties along the sloping channel. The effects of in-channel erosion and flow-driven sediment from dams on the development of flood process are investigated. The results improve the understanding of the formation and development mechanism of flash floods due to cascading landslide dam failures. The findings are beneficial for downstream flood risk assessment and developing control strategies for landslide-induced floods.

Transcriptome responses of an ungrafted Phytophthora root rot tolerant avocado (Persea americana) rootstock to flooding and Phytophthora cinnamomi.

PubMed

Reeksting, B J; Olivier, N A; van den Berg, N

2016-09-22

Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) is a commercially important fruit crop worldwide. A major limitation to production is the oomycete Phytophthora cinnamomi, which causes root rot leading to branch-dieback and tree death. The decline of orchards infected with P. cinnamomi occurs much faster when exposed to flooding, even if flooding is only transient. Flooding is a multifactorial stress compromised of several individual stresses, making breeding and selection for tolerant varieties challenging. With more plantations occurring in marginal areas, with imperfect irrigation and drainage, understanding the response of avocado to these stresses will be important for the industry. Maintenance of energy production was found to be central in the response to flooding, as seen by up-regulation of transcripts related to glycolysis and induction of transcripts related to ethanolic fermentation. Energy-intensive processes were generally down-regulated, as evidenced by repression of transcripts related to processes such as secondary cell-wall biosynthesis as well as defence-related transcripts. Aquaporins were found to be down-regulated in avocado roots exposed to flooding, indicating reduced water-uptake under these conditions. The transcriptomic response of avocado to flooding and P. cinnamomi was investigated utilizing microarray analysis. Differences in the transcriptome caused by the presence of the pathogen were minor compared to transcriptomic perturbations caused by flooding. The transcriptomic response of avocado to flooding reveals a response to flooding that is conserved in several species. This data could provide key information that could be used to improve selection of stress tolerant rootstocks in the avocado industry.

Use of Space Technology in Flood Mitigation (Western Province, Zambia)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mulando, A.

2001-05-01

Disasters, by definition are events that appear suddenly and with little warning. They are usually short lived, with extreme events bringing death, injury and destruction of buildings and communications. Their aftermath can be as damaging as their physical effects through destruction of sanitation and water supplies, destruction of housing and breakdown of transport for food, temporary shelter and emergency services. Since floods are one of the natural disasters which endanger both life and property, it becomes vital to know its extents and where the hazards exists. Flood disasters manifest natural processes on a larger scale and information provided by Remote Sensing is a most appropriate input to analysis of actual events and investigations of potential risks. An analytical and qualitative image processing and interpretation of Remotely Sensed data as well as other data such as rainfall, population, settlements not to mention but a few should be used to derive good mitigation strategies. Since mitigation is the cornerstone of emergency management, it therefore becomes a sustained action that will reduce or eliminate long term risks to people and property from natural hazards such as floods and their effects. This will definitely involve keeping of homes and other sensitive structures away from flood plains. Promotion of sound land use planning based on this known hazard, "FLOODS" is one such form of mitigation that can be applied in flood affected areas within flood plain. Therefore future mitigation technologies and procedures should increasingly be based on the use of flood extent information provided by Remote Sensing Satellites like the NOAA AVHRR as well as information on the designated flood hazard and risk areas.

Recommendations for the user-specific enhancement of flood maps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, V.; Kuhlicke, C.; Luther, J.; Fuchs, S.; Priest, S.; Dorner, W.; Serrhini, K.; Pardoe, J.; McCarthy, S.; Seidel, J.; Palka, G.; Unnerstall, H.; Viavattene, C.; Scheuer, S.

2012-05-01

The European Union Floods Directive requires the establishment of flood maps for high risk areas in all European member states by 2013. However, the current practice of flood mapping in Europe still shows some deficits. Firstly, flood maps are frequently seen as an information tool rather than a communication tool. This means that, for example, local stocks of knowledge are not incorporated. Secondly, the contents of flood maps often do not match the requirements of the end-users. Finally, flood maps are often designed and visualised in a way that cannot be easily understood by residents at risk and/or that is not suitable for the respective needs of public authorities in risk and event management. The RISK MAP project examined how end-user participation in the mapping process may be used to overcome these barriers and enhance the communicative power of flood maps, fundamentally increasing their effectiveness. Based on empirical findings from a participatory approach that incorporated interviews, workshops and eye-tracking tests, conducted in five European case studies, this paper outlines recommendations for user-specific enhancements of flood maps. More specific, recommendations are given with regard to (1) appropriate stakeholder participation processes, which allow incorporating local knowledge and preferences, (2) the improvement of the contents of flood maps by considering user-specific needs and (3) the improvement of the visualisation of risk maps in order to produce user-friendly and understandable risk maps for the user groups concerned. Furthermore, "idealised" maps for different user groups are presented: for strategic planning, emergency management and the public.

Extending flood forecasting lead time in a large watershed by coupling WRF QPF with a distributed hydrological model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ji; Chen, Yangbo; Wang, Huanyu; Qin, Jianming; Li, Jie; Chiao, Sen

2017-03-01

Long lead time flood forecasting is very important for large watershed flood mitigation as it provides more time for flood warning and emergency responses. The latest numerical weather forecast model could provide 1-15-day quantitative precipitation forecasting products in grid format, and by coupling this product with a distributed hydrological model could produce long lead time watershed flood forecasting products. This paper studied the feasibility of coupling the Liuxihe model with the Weather Research and Forecasting quantitative precipitation forecast (WRF QPF) for large watershed flood forecasting in southern China. The QPF of WRF products has three lead times, including 24, 48 and 72 h, with the grid resolution being 20 km  × 20 km. The Liuxihe model is set up with freely downloaded terrain property; the model parameters were previously optimized with rain gauge observed precipitation, and re-optimized with the WRF QPF. Results show that the WRF QPF has bias with the rain gauge precipitation, and a post-processing method is proposed to post-process the WRF QPF products, which improves the flood forecasting capability. With model parameter re-optimization, the model's performance improves also. This suggests that the model parameters be optimized with QPF, not the rain gauge precipitation. With the increasing of lead time, the accuracy of the WRF QPF decreases, as does the flood forecasting capability. Flood forecasting products produced by coupling the Liuxihe model with the WRF QPF provide a good reference for large watershed flood warning due to its long lead time and rational results.

A Fresh Start for Flood Estimation in Ungauged UK Catchments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giani, Giulia; Woods, Ross

2017-04-01

The standard regression-based method for estimating the median annual flood in ungauged UK catchments has a high standard error (95% confidence interval is +/- a factor of 2). This is also the dominant source of uncertainty in statistical estimates of the 100-year flood. Similarly large uncertainties have been reported elsewhere. These large uncertainties make it difficult to do reliable flood design estimates for ungauged catchments. If the uncertainty could be reduced, flood protection schemes could be made significantly more cost-effective. Here we report on attempts to develop a new practical method for flood estimation in ungauged UK catchments, by making more use of knowledge about rainfall-runoff processes. Building on recent research on the seasonality of flooding, we first classify more than 1000 UK catchments into groups according to the seasonality of extreme rainfall and floods, and infer possible causal mechanisms for floods (e.g. Berghuijs et al, Geophysical Research Letters, 2016). For each group we are developing simplified rainfall-runoff-routing relationships (e.g. Viglione et al, Journal of Hydrology, 2010) which can account for spatial and temporal variability in rainfall and flood processes, as well as channel network routing effects. An initial investigation by Viglione et al suggested that the relationship between rainfall amount and flood peak could be summarised through a dimensionless response number that represents the product of the event runoff coefficient and a measure of hydrograph peakedness. Our hypothesis is that this approach is widely applicable, and can be used as the basis for flood estimation. Using subdaily and daily rainfall-runoff data for more than 1000 catchments, we identify a subset of catchments in the west of the UK where floods are generated predominantly in winter through the coincidence of heavy rain and low soil moisture deficits. Floods in these catchments can reliably be simulated with simple rainfall-runoff models, so it is reasonable to expect simple flood estimators. We will report on tests of the several components of the dimensionless response number hypothesis for these catchments.

Establishing a rainfall threshold for flash flood warnings based on the DFFG method in Yunnan province, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, M.; Wang, H.; Chen, Y.; Tang, G.; Hong, Z.; Zhang, K.; Hong, Y.

2017-12-01

Flash floods, one of the deadliest natural hazards worldwide due to their multidisciplinary nature, rank highly in terms of heavy damage and casualties. Such as in the United States, flash flood is the No.1 cause of death and the No. 2 most deadly weather-related hazard among all storm-related hazards, with approximately 100 lives lost each year. According to China Floods and Droughts Disasters Bullet in 2015 (http://www.mwr.gov.cn/zwzc/hygb/zgshzhgb), about 935 deaths per year on average were caused by flash floods from 2000 to 2015, accounting for 73 % of the fatalities due to floods. Therefore, significant efforts have been made toward understanding flash flood processes as well as modeling and forecasting them, it still remains challenging because of their short response time and limited monitoring capacity. This study advances the use of high-resolution Global Precipitation Measurement forecasts (GPMs), disaster data obtained from the government officials in 2011 and 2016, and the improved Distributed Flash Flood Guidance (DFFG) method combining the Distributed Hydrologic Model and Soil Conservation Service Curve Numbers. The objectives of this paper are (1) to examines changes in flash flood occurrence, (2) to estimate the effect of the rainfall spatial variability ,(2) to improve the lead time in flash floods warning and get the rainfall threshold, (3) to assess the DFFG method applicability in Dongchuan catchments, and (4) to yield the probabilistic information about the forecast hydrologic response that accounts for the locational uncertainties of the GPMs. Results indicate: (1) flash flood occurrence increased in the study region, (2) the occurrence of predicted flash floods show high sensitivity to total infiltration and soil water content, (3) the DFFG method is generally capable of making accurate predictions of flash flood events in terms of their locations and time of occurrence, and (4) the accumulative rainfall over a certain time span is an appropriate threshold for flash flood warnings. Finally, the article highlights the importance of accurately simulating the hydrological processes and high-resolution satellite rainfall data on the accurate forecasting of rainfall triggered flash flood events.

Sedimentation processes in a coral reef embayment: Hanalei Bay, Kauai

USGS Publications Warehouse

Storlazzi, C.D.; Field, M.E.; Bothner, Michael H.; Presto, M.K.; Draut, A.E.

2009-01-01

Oceanographic measurements and sediment samples were collected during the summer of 2006 as part of a multi-year study of coastal circulation and the fate of terrigenous sediment on coral reefs in Hanalei Bay, Kauai. The goal of this study was to better understand sediment dynamics in a coral reef-lined embayment where winds, ocean surface waves, and river floods are important processes. During a summer period that was marked by two wave events and one river flood, we documented significant differences in sediment trap collection rates and the composition, grain size, and magnitude of sediment transported in the bay. Sediment trap collection rates were well correlated with combined wave-current near-bed shear stresses during the non-flood periods but were not correlated during the flood. The flood's delivery of fine-grained sediment to the bay initially caused high turbidity and sediment collection rates off the river mouth but the plume dispersed relatively quickly. Over the next month, the flood deposit was reworked by mild waves and currents and the fine-grained terrestrial sediment was advected around the bay and collected in sediment traps away from the river mouth, long after the turbid surface plume was gone. The reworked flood deposits, due to their longer duration of influence and proximity to the seabed, appear to pose a greater long-term impact to benthic coral reef communities than the flood plumes themselves. The results presented here display how spatial and temporal differences in hydrodynamic processes, which result from variations in reef morphology and orientation, cause substantial variations in the deposition, residence time, resuspension, and advection of both reef-derived and fluvial sediment over relatively short spatial scales in a coral reef embayment.

PAI-OFF: A new proposal for online flood forecasting in flash flood prone catchments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmitz, G. H.; Cullmann, J.

2008-10-01

SummaryThe Process Modelling and Artificial Intelligence for Online Flood Forecasting (PAI-OFF) methodology combines the reliability of physically based, hydrologic/hydraulic modelling with the operational advantages of artificial intelligence. These operational advantages are extremely low computation times and straightforward operation. The basic principle of the methodology is to portray process models by means of ANN. We propose to train ANN flood forecasting models with synthetic data that reflects the possible range of storm events. To this end, establishing PAI-OFF requires first setting up a physically based hydrologic model of the considered catchment and - optionally, if backwater effects have a significant impact on the flow regime - a hydrodynamic flood routing model of the river reach in question. Both models are subsequently used for simulating all meaningful and flood relevant storm scenarios which are obtained from a catchment specific meteorological data analysis. This provides a database of corresponding input/output vectors which is then completed by generally available hydrological and meteorological data for characterizing the catchment state prior to each storm event. This database subsequently serves for training both a polynomial neural network (PoNN) - portraying the rainfall-runoff process - and a multilayer neural network (MLFN), which mirrors the hydrodynamic flood wave propagation in the river. These two ANN models replace the hydrological and hydrodynamic model in the operational mode. After presenting the theory, we apply PAI-OFF - essentially consisting of the coupled "hydrologic" PoNN and "hydrodynamic" MLFN - to the Freiberger Mulde catchment in the Erzgebirge (Ore-mountains) in East Germany (3000 km 2). Both the demonstrated computational efficiency and the prediction reliability underline the potential of the new PAI-OFF methodology for online flood forecasting.

Metabolic profiles of flooding-tolerant mechanism in early-stage soybean responding to initial stress.

PubMed

Wang, Xin; Zhu, Wei; Hashiguchi, Akiko; Nishimura, Minoru; Tian, Jingkui; Komatsu, Setsuko

2017-08-01

Metabolomic analysis of flooding-tolerant mutant and abscisic acid-treated soybeans suggests that accumulated fructose might play a role in initial flooding tolerance through regulation of hexokinase and phosphofructokinase. Soybean is sensitive to flooding stress, which markedly reduces plant growth. To explore the mechanism underlying initial-flooding tolerance in soybean, mass spectrometry-based metabolomic analysis was performed using flooding-tolerant mutant and abscisic-acid treated soybeans. Among the commonly-identified metabolites in both flooding-tolerant materials, metabolites involved in carbohydrate and organic acid displayed same profile at initial-flooding stress. Sugar metabolism was highlighted in both flooding-tolerant materials with the decreased and increased accumulation of sucrose and fructose, respectively, compared to flooded soybeans. Gene expression of hexokinase 1 was upregulated in flooded soybean; however, it was downregulated in both flooding-tolerant materials. Metabolites involved in carbohydrate/organic acid and proteins related to glycolysis/tricarboxylic acid cycle were integrated. Increased protein abundance of phosphofructokinase was identified in both flooding-tolerant materials, which was in agreement with its enzyme activity. Furthermore, sugar metabolism was pointed out as the tolerant-responsive process at initial-flooding stress with the integration of metabolomics, proteomics, and transcriptomics. Moreover, application of fructose declined the increased fresh weight of plant induced by flooding stress. These results suggest that fructose might be the critical metabolite through regulation of hexokinase and phosphofructokinase to confer initial-flooding stress in soybean.

Using Role-Play for Expert Science Communication with Professional Stakeholders in Flood Risk Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McEwen, Lindsey; Stokes, Alison; Crowley, Kate; Roberts, Carolyn

2014-01-01

This paper explores role-play pedagogies in learning and communicating about cutting-edge flood science by flood risk management professionals in local government. It outlines role-play process/structure and evaluates participant perceptions of their learning experiences. Issues were impacts of prior role-play experience on attitudes brought to…

From global circulation to flood loss: Coupling models across the scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Felder, Guido; Gomez-Navarro, Juan Jose; Bozhinova, Denica; Zischg, Andreas; Raible, Christoph C.; Ole, Roessler; Martius, Olivia; Weingartner, Rolf

2017-04-01

The prediction and the prevention of flood losses requires an extensive understanding of underlying meteorological, hydrological, hydraulic and damage processes. Coupled models help to improve the understanding of such underlying processes and therefore contribute the understanding of flood risk. Using such a modelling approach to determine potentially flood-affected areas and damages requires a complex coupling between several models operating at different spatial and temporal scales. Although the isolated parts of the single modelling components are well established and commonly used in the literature, a full coupling including a mesoscale meteorological model driven by a global circulation one, a hydrologic model, a hydrodynamic model and a flood impact and loss model has not been reported so far. In the present study, we tackle the application of such a coupled model chain in terms of computational resources, scale effects, and model performance. From a technical point of view, results show the general applicability of such a coupled model, as well as good model performance. From a practical point of view, such an approach enables the prediction of flood-induced damages, although some future challenges have been identified.

A Search Strategy of Level-Based Flooding for the Internet of Things

PubMed Central

Qiu, Tie; Ding, Yanhong; Xia, Feng; Ma, Honglian

2012-01-01

This paper deals with the query problem in the Internet of Things (IoT). Flooding is an important query strategy. However, original flooding is prone to cause heavy network loads. To address this problem, we propose a variant of flooding, called Level-Based Flooding (LBF). With LBF, the whole network is divided into several levels according to the distances (i.e., hops) between the sensor nodes and the sink node. The sink node knows the level information of each node. Query packets are broadcast in the network according to the levels of nodes. Upon receiving a query packet, sensor nodes decide how to process it according to the percentage of neighbors that have processed it. When the target node receives the query packet, it sends its data back to the sink node via random walk. We show by extensive simulations that the performance of LBF in terms of cost and latency is much better than that of original flooding, and LBF can be used in IoT of different scales. PMID:23112594

A GIS-based model for the hydrological and hydraulic reconstruction of historical flash-floods in urban areas. The case of the river Turia in Valencia (1957)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Portugués Mollá, Iván; Felici, Xavier Bonache i.; Mateu Bellés, Joan F.; Segura, Juan B. Marco

2015-04-01

Flash-floods are recurrent events in the Mediterranean arch, mostly derived from cold air pool phenomena triggering hydro-geomorphic high-intensity processes, combining high discharge and low frequency. In urban environments the complexity of the processes become higher due to the existence of very fast-response basins and quick-response runoff. However, immediate activities of cleaning up and restoration delete the urban marks. After a short time both significance and dimension of the hydro-geomorphic event become completely unrecognizable. Nevertheless, these episodes generate extensive administrative documentation which is testimony of the processes in almost real time. Exploiting this source typology in order to reconstruct events far in time within urban areas, which may lack database sufficiently rich, is necessary to understand the hydrological and hydraulic derived processes. This is particularly the case of the Valencia flash-flood (1957), located in the lower Turia River basin (6.400 km2). Within a short interval (15 hours) there were registered two flood peaks (estimated at that time at 2.500 and 3.700 m3/s). The double overflowing inundated a large proportion of the urban area. The flash-flood activated fast processes with high energy that left numerous hydro-geomorphic marks. Although those tracks were deleted in a short while after the flood, it remains a legacy that had not yet been exploited, consisting of immediate aerial and oblique high resolution photography, pictures at street level, water level record and administrative records, such as claim files for compensation. Paradoxically, despite the event is considered as a milestone on metropolitan territorial planning and it was decided to divert the river Turia definitely through a major project (12 km of channeling, known as South Solution), being the scenario notably altered, the analysis of the hydrological and hydraulic process has never been reviewed. Undoubtedly, a modern study would ensure a more effective and accurate risk management within the Valencian metropolitan area. The development of a GIS-based model enables the utilization of these materials, most of them unpublished. This non-systematic information can be treated jointly from a new perspective. In short, this model facilitates the provision of a database through a vast amount of organized, structured and georeferenced information about the event. In a second stage, it makes possible to interpret the hydro-geomorphic processes from the 1957 event (trenches along barrier beaches, erosion, deposition processes…) and hydraulic processes (main flow encroachment versus quasi-hydrostatic-flood, or 1D versus 2D flood behavior), which can be identified in order to obtain georeferenced information about spatial variability, directional information of flows and point distribution of water levels and flooded points. It is also necessary to carry out photo-interpretation works to clarify some unresolved issues with the objective of establishing the real order of magnitude of the flash-flood concerning the discharge rank. In the same way, some other elements can be identified such as urban streams along the streets, levees overtopping and breaks, flooded area, etc. Lastly, in the future the GIS database will enable to obtain a more accurate both hydraulic mathematical modelling and calibration/validation.

Prediction of Phase Behavior of Spray-Dried Amorphous Solid Dispersions: Assessment of Thermodynamic Models, Standard Screening Methods and a Novel Atomization Screening Device with Regard to Prediction Accuracy

PubMed Central

Chavez, Pierre-François; Meeus, Joke; Robin, Florent; Schubert, Martin Alexander; Somville, Pascal

2018-01-01

The evaluation of drug–polymer miscibility in the early phase of drug development is essential to ensure successful amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) manufacturing. This work investigates the comparison of thermodynamic models, conventional experimental screening methods (solvent casting, quench cooling), and a novel atomization screening device based on their ability to predict drug–polymer miscibility, solid state properties (Tg value and width), and adequate polymer selection during the development of spray-dried amorphous solid dispersions (SDASDs). Binary ASDs of four drugs and seven polymers were produced at 20:80, 40:60, 60:40, and 80:20 (w/w). Samples were systematically analyzed using modulated differential scanning calorimetry (mDSC) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD). Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to qualitatively assess the predictability of screening methods with regards to SDASD development. Poor correlation was found between theoretical models and experimentally-obtained results. Additionally, the limited ability of usual screening methods to predict the miscibility of SDASDs did not guarantee the appropriate selection of lead excipient for the manufacturing of robust SDASDs. Contrary to standard approaches, our novel screening device allowed the selection of optimal polymer and drug loading and established insight into the final properties and performance of SDASDs at an early stage, therefore enabling the optimization of the scaled-up late-stage development. PMID:29518936

Miscibility and interaction between 1-alkanol and short-chain phosphocholine in the adsorbed film and micelles.

PubMed

Takajo, Yuichi; Matsuki, Hitoshi; Kaneshina, Shoji; Aratono, Makoto; Yamanaka, Michio

2007-09-01

The miscibility and interaction of 1-hexanol (C6OH) and 1-heptanol (C7OH) with 1,2-dihexanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DHPC) in the adsorbed films and micelles were investigated by measuring the surface tension of aqueous C6OH-DHPC and aqueous C7OH-DHPC solutions. The surface density, the mean molecular area, the composition of the adsorbed film, and the excess Gibbs energy of adsorption g(H,E), were estimated. Further, the critical micelle concentration of the mixtures was determined from the surface tension versus molality curves; the micellar composition was calculated. The miscibility of the 1-alkanols and DHPC molecules in the adsorbed film and micelles was examined using the phase diagram of adsorption (PDA) and that of micellization (PDM). The PDA and the composition dependence of g(H,E) indicated the non-ideal mixing of the 1-alkanols and DHPC molecules due to the attractive interaction between the molecules in the adsorbed film, while the PDM indicated that the 1-alkanol molecules were not incorporated in the micelles within DHPC rich region. The dependence of the mean molecular area of the mixtures on the surface composition suggested that the packing property of the adsorbed film depends on the chain length of 1-alkanol: C6OH expands the DHPC adsorbed film more than C7OH.

Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Amorphous Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose and Its Mixtures With Felodipine and Water.

PubMed

Xiang, Tian-Xiang; Anderson, Bradley D

2017-03-01

Understanding drug-polymer molecular interactions, their miscibility, supersaturation potential, and the effects of water uptake may be invaluable for selecting amorphous polymer dispersions that can maximize the oral bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs. Molecular dynamics simulations were performed using a model for hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) resembling the substitution patterns found experimentally. HPMC at low and high water contents (0.9%-23.0% wt/wt) and mixtures with a hydrophobic drug, felodipine (FEL), were constructed. T g values and densities after ∼30 ns aging at 298 K were close to published results. Except for hydrogen bonds (HBs) between the 5-O- and a 3-OH group in a neighboring repeat unit, HPMC oxygen atoms have a low HB probability (p < 0.1) perhaps due to shielding by surrounding substituents. Water molecules tend to be isolated at low water content while clusters were prevalent at ≥10.7% water. The Flory-Huggins FEL-HPMC interaction parameter (-0.20 ± 0.07) predicts complete miscibility at all HPMC compositions, in agreement with experiments. However, HBs between the FEL-N-H and HPMC favoring miscibility are disrupted with increasing water. Apparent diffusion coefficients versus water content were generated for water and FEL and a theory for the non-Einsteinian nature of water diffusion is proposed. Copyright © 2017 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An experimental study of non-isothermal miscible displacements in a Hele-Shaw cell

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nagatsu, Yuichiro; Fujita, Norihito; Kato, Yoshihito

Non-isothermal miscible displacements in a radial Hele-Shaw cell were experimentally investigated using a scheme in which room temperature liquids of relatively high viscosity were displaced by high-temperature (80 C), less-viscous liquids. Fundamental characteristics have been presented regarding how the effect of a non-isothermal field on miscible displacement patterns varies in terms of factors such as the viscosity ratio of the more- and less-viscous liquids at 20 C, M{sub 20}, the rate of an increase in the pattern's area, R, and the gap width of the cell, b. The concept of area density was used to quantitatively evaluate the effect ofmore » the non-isothermal fields on the patterns. We have found that the effect of the non-isothermal field on the patterns does not monotonically vary with M{sub 20} and b. In contrast, it increases with R in the present experimental condition. The experimental results can be explained by introducing an assumption in which heat is transferred mainly to the plates of the cell, in other words, the temperature of the more-viscous liquid remains constant, whereas that of the less-viscous liquid spatiotemporally decreases and the viscosity of it increases along with the temperature decrease. Visualization of non-isothermal field in the cell has been done by means of a thermo sheet and the results support the assumption mentioned above. (author)« less

Effect of stirring on the safety of flammable liquid mixtures.

PubMed

Liaw, Horng-Jang; Gerbaud, Vincent; Chen, Chan-Cheng; Shu, Chi-Min

2010-05-15

Flash point is the most important variable employed to characterize fire and explosion hazard of liquids. The models developed for predicting the flash point of partially miscible mixtures in the literature to date are all based on the assumption of liquid-liquid equilibrium. In real-world environments, however, the liquid-liquid equilibrium assumption does not always hold, such as the collection or accumulation of waste solvents without stirring, where complete stirring for a period of time is usually used to ensure the liquid phases being in equilibrium. This study investigated the effect of stirring on the flash-point behavior of binary partially miscible mixtures. Two series of partially miscible binary mixtures were employed to elucidate the effect of stirring. The first series was aqueous-organic mixtures, including water+1-butanol, water+2-butanol, water+isobutanol, water+1-pentanol, and water+octane; the second series was the mixtures of two flammable solvents, which included methanol+decane, methanol+2,2,4-trimethylpentane, and methanol+octane. Results reveal that for binary aqueous-organic solutions the flash-point values of unstirred mixtures were located between those of the completely stirred mixtures and those of the flammable component. Therefore, risk assessment could be done based on the flammable component flash-point value. However, for the assurance of safety, it is suggested to completely stir those mixtures before handling to reduce the risk. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dependence on sphere size of the phase behavior of mixtures of rods and spheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urakami, Naohito; Imai, Masayuki

2003-07-01

By the addition of chondroitin sulfate (Chs) to the aqueous suspension of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), the aggregation of TMV occurs at very dilute TMV concentration compared with the addition of polyethylene oxide (PEO). The difference of physical behavior between Chs and PEO is the chain conformation in solution. The Chs chain has a semirigid nature, whereas the PEO chain has a flexible nature. In this study, the Chs and PEO chains are simplified to spherical particles having different size, and we use the spherocylinder model for TMV particle. The effect of the sphere size on the phase behaviors in the mixtures of rods and spheres is investigated by Monte Carlo simulations. By the addition of small spheres, the system transforms from the miscible isotropic phase to the miscible nematic phase. On the other hand, by the addition of large spheres, the system changes from the miscible isotropic phase to the immiscible nematic phase through the immiscible isotropic phase. The different phase behaviors between the small and the large spheres originate from the difference of overlapping volume of the depletion zone. In addition, we perform the Monte Carlo simulations in the case that semirigid chains are used as the Chs chain models. The same phase behaviors are observed as the mixtures of rods and large spheres. Thus the sphere model captures the phase behaviors of rod and polymer mixture systems.

Effect of poly(ethylene oxide) homopolymer and two different poly(ethylene oxide-b-poly(propylene oxide)-b-poly(ethylene oxide) triblock copolymers on morphological, optical, and mechanical properties of nanostructured unsaturated polyester.

PubMed

Builes, Daniel H; Hernández-Ortiz, Juan P; Corcuera, Ma Angeles; Mondragon, Iñaki; Tercjak, Agnieszka

2014-01-22

Novel nanostructured unsaturated polyester resin-based thermosets, modified with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), poly(propylene oxide) (PPO), and two poly(ethylene oxide-b-propylene oxide-b-ethylene oxide) block copolymers (BCP), were developed and analyzed. The effects of molecular weights, blocks ratio, and curing temperatures on the final morphological, optical, and mechanical properties were reported. The block influence on the BCP miscibility was studied through uncured and cured mixtures of unsaturated polyester (UP) resins with PEO and PPO homopolymers having molecular weights similar to molecular weights of the blocks of BCP. The final morphology of the nanostructured thermosetting systems, containing BCP or homopolymers, was investigated, and multiple mechanisms of nanostructuration were listed and explained. By considering the miscibility of each block before and after curing, it was determined that the formation of the nanostructured matrices followed a self-assembly mechanism or a polymerization-induced phase separation mechanism. The miscibility between PEO or PPO blocks with one of two phases of UP matrix was highlighted due to its importance in the final thermoset properties. Relationships between the final morphology and thermoset optical and mechanical properties were examined. The mechanisms and physics behind the morphologies lead toward the design of highly transparent, nanostructured, and toughened thermosetting UP systems.

Production of cocrystals in an excipient matrix by spray drying.

PubMed

Walsh, David; Serrano, Dolores R; Worku, Zelalem Ayenew; Norris, Brid A; Healy, Anne Marie

2018-01-30

Spray drying is a well-established scale-up technique for the production of cocrystals. However, to the best of our knowledge, the effect of introducing a third component into the feed solution during the spray drying process has never been investigated. Cocrystal formation in the presence of a third component by a one-step spray drying process has the potential to reduce the number of unit operations which are required to produce a final pharmaceutical product (e.g. by eliminating blending with excipient). Sulfadimidine (SDM), a poorly water soluble active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), and 4-aminosalicylic acid (4ASA), a hydrophilic molecule, were used as model drug and coformer respectively to form cocrystals by spray drying in the presence of a third component (excipient). The solubility of the cocrystal in the excipient was measured using a thermal analysis approach. Trends in measured solubility were in agreement with those determined by calculated Hansen Solubility Parameter (HSP) values. The ratio of cocrystal components to excipient was altered and cocrystal formation at different weight ratios was assessed. Cocrystal integrity was preserved when the cocrystal components were immiscible with the excipient, based on the difference in Hansen Solubility Parameters (HSP). For immiscible systems (difference in HSP > 9.6 MPa 0.5 ), cocrystal formation occurred even when the proportion of excipient was high (90% w/w). When the excipient was partly miscible with the cocrystal components, cocrystal formation was observed post spray drying, but crystalline API and coformer were also recovered in the processed powder. An amorphous dispersion was formed when the excipient was miscible with the cocrystal components even when the proportion of excipient used as low (10% w/w excipient). For selected spray dried cocrystal-excipient systems an improvement in tableting characteristics was observed, relative to equivalent physical mixtures. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A restatement of the natural science evidence concerning catchment-based `natural' flood management in the UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dadson, Simon J.; Hall, Jim W.; Murgatroyd, Anna; Acreman, Mike; Bates, Paul; Beven, Keith; Heathwaite, Louise; Holden, Joseph; Holman, Ian P.; Lane, Stuart N.; O'Connell, Enda; Penning-Rowsell, Edmund; Reynard, Nick; Sear, David; Thorne, Colin; Wilby, Rob

2017-03-01

Flooding is a very costly natural hazard in the UK and is expected to increase further under future climate change scenarios. Flood defences are commonly deployed to protect communities and property from flooding, but in recent years flood management policy has looked towards solutions that seek to mitigate flood risk at flood-prone sites through targeted interventions throughout the catchment, sometimes using techniques which involve working with natural processes. This paper describes a project to provide a succinct summary of the natural science evidence base concerning the effectiveness of catchment-based `natural' flood management in the UK. The evidence summary is designed to be read by an informed but not technically specialist audience. Each evidence statement is placed into one of four categories describing the nature of the underlying information. The evidence summary forms the appendix to this paper and an annotated bibliography is provided in the electronic supplementary material.

A restatement of the natural science evidence concerning catchment-based 'natural' flood management in the UK.

PubMed

Dadson, Simon J; Hall, Jim W; Murgatroyd, Anna; Acreman, Mike; Bates, Paul; Beven, Keith; Heathwaite, Louise; Holden, Joseph; Holman, Ian P; Lane, Stuart N; O'Connell, Enda; Penning-Rowsell, Edmund; Reynard, Nick; Sear, David; Thorne, Colin; Wilby, Rob

2017-03-01

Flooding is a very costly natural hazard in the UK and is expected to increase further under future climate change scenarios. Flood defences are commonly deployed to protect communities and property from flooding, but in recent years flood management policy has looked towards solutions that seek to mitigate flood risk at flood-prone sites through targeted interventions throughout the catchment, sometimes using techniques which involve working with natural processes. This paper describes a project to provide a succinct summary of the natural science evidence base concerning the effectiveness of catchment-based 'natural' flood management in the UK. The evidence summary is designed to be read by an informed but not technically specialist audience. Each evidence statement is placed into one of four categories describing the nature of the underlying information. The evidence summary forms the appendix to this paper and an annotated bibliography is provided in the electronic supplementary material.

Dynamic building risk assessment theoretic model for rainstorm-flood utilization ABM and ABS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lai, Wenze; Li, Wenbo; Wang, Hailei; Huang, Yingliang; Wu, Xuelian; Sun, Bingyun

2015-12-01

Flood is one of natural disasters with the worst loss in the world. It needs to assess flood disaster risk so that we can reduce the loss of flood disaster. Disaster management practical work needs the dynamic risk results of building. Rainstorm flood disaster system is a typical complex system. From the view of complex system theory, flood disaster risk is the interaction result of hazard effect objects, rainstorm flood hazard factors, and hazard environments. Agent-based modeling (ABM) is an important tool for complex system modeling. Rainstorm-flood building risk dynamic assessment method (RFBRDAM) was proposed using ABM in this paper. The interior structures and procedures of different agents in proposed meth had been designed. On the Netlogo platform, the proposed method was implemented to assess the building risk changes of the rainstorm flood disaster in the Huaihe River Basin using Agent-based simulation (ABS). The results indicated that the proposed method can dynamically assess building risk of the whole process for the rainstorm flood disaster. The results of this paper can provide one new approach for flood disaster building risk dynamic assessment and flood disaster management.

Calcium Carbonate Crystal Growth in Porous Media, in the presence of Water Miscible and Non-Miscible Organic Fluids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaho, Sofia; Sygouni, Varvara; Paraskeva, Christakis A.

2015-04-01

The deposition of sparingly soluble salts (scaling) within porous media is a major problem encountered in many industrial and environmental applications. In the oil industry scaling causes severe operational malfunctions and, therefore, increasing the total operating and maintenance cost [1]. The most common types of sparingly soluble salts located in oil fields include carbonate and sulfate salts of calcium, strondium and barium[1,2]. Multiple phase flow and tubing surface properties are some of the factors affecting scale formation [3]. The main purpose of the present work was the investigation of the precipitation mechanisms of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) through in situ mixing of two soluble salt solutions in a flow granular medium, in the presence of water miscible organic fluid (ethylene glycol) or non-miscible organic fluid (n-dodecane). All series of experiments were carried out in a two dimensional porous medium made of Plexiglas. For all solutions used in the experiments, the contact angles with the surface of the porous medium and the interfacial tensions were measured. During the experiments, the calcium carbonate crystal growth was continuously monitored and recorded through an optical microscope equipped with a digital programmed video camera. The snap-shots were taken within specific time intervals and their detailed procession gave information concerning the crystal growth rate and kinetics. The pH of the effluent was measured and fluids samples were collected for calcium analysis using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). In all experiments effluent calcium concentration decreased as a function of time, suggesting that CaCO3 precipitation took place inside the porous medium. Crystals of the precipitated salt were identified using Infrared Spectroscopy (IR) and the morphology of the crystals was examined using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The induction time for precipitation of CaCO3 crystals in the presence of n-dodecane was significantly reduced compared to the induction time where no oil phase was present. The interface of n-dodecane and supersaturated solutions seems to be very active and favored the formation of the CaCO3 crystalline enhancing the heterogeneous nucleation which generally demands a decreased energy barrier. Acknowledgments This research was partially funded by the European Union (European Social Fund-ESF) and Greek National Funds through the Operational Program "Education and Lifelong Learning" under the action Aristeia II (Code No4420). References 1. Merdhah A. B. and Yassin A. A., Scale formation in oil reservoir during water injection at high-salinity formation water, Journal of Applied Sciences, 7, 3198-3207 (2007). 2. Moghadasi J., Muller-Steinhagen H., Jamialahmadi M. and Sharif A., Model study on the kinetics of oil field formation damage due to salt precipitation from injection, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 43, 201-217 (2004). 3. Nancollas G. H. and Reddy M. M., The crystallization of calcium carbonate II. Calcite growth mechanism, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 37, 824-830 (1971).

The 2011 flood event in the Mekong Delta: preparedness, response, damage and recovery of private households and small businesses.

PubMed

Chinh, Do Thi; Bubeck, Philip; Dung, Nguyen Viet; Kreibich, Heidi

2016-10-01

Floods frequently cause substantial economic and human losses, particularly in developing countries. For the development of sound flood risk management schemes that reduce flood consequences, detailed insights into the different components of the flood risk management cycle, such as preparedness, response, flood impact analyses and recovery, are needed. However, such detailed insights are often lacking: commonly, only (aggregated) data on direct flood damage are available. Other damage categories such as losses owing to the disruption of production processes are usually not considered, resulting in incomplete risk assessments and possibly inappropriate recommendations for risk management. In this paper, data from 858 face-to-face interviews among flood-prone households and small businesses in Can Tho city in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta are presented to gain better insights into the damage caused by the 2011 flood event and its management by households and businesses. © 2016 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2016.

Estimates of present and future flood risk in the conterminous United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wing, Oliver E. J.; Bates, Paul D.; Smith, Andrew M.; Sampson, Christopher C.; Johnson, Kris A.; Fargione, Joseph; Morefield, Philip

2018-03-01

Past attempts to estimate rainfall-driven flood risk across the US either have incomplete coverage, coarse resolution or use overly simplified models of the flooding process. In this paper, we use a new 30 m resolution model of the entire conterminous US with a 2D representation of flood physics to produce estimates of flood hazard, which match to within 90% accuracy the skill of local models built with detailed data. These flood depths are combined with exposure datasets of commensurate resolution to calculate current and future flood risk. Our data show that the total US population exposed to serious flooding is 2.6-3.1 times higher than previous estimates, and that nearly 41 million Americans live within the 1% annual exceedance probability floodplain (compared to only 13 million when calculated using FEMA flood maps). We find that population and GDP growth alone are expected to lead to significant future increases in exposure, and this change may be exacerbated in the future by climate change.

Response and Recovery of Streams From an Extreme Flood

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kantack, K. M.; Renshaw, C. E.; Magilligan, F. J.; Dethier, E.

2015-12-01

In temperate regions, channels are expected to recover from intense floods in a matter of months to years, but quantitative empirical support for this idea remains limited. Moreover, existing literature fails to address the spatial variability of the recovery process. Using an emerging technology, we investigate the immediate response to and progressive recovery of channels in the Northeastern United States from an extreme flood. We seek to determine what factors, including the nature and extent of the immediate response of the channel to the flood and post-flood availability of sediment, contribute to the spatial variability of the rate of recovery. Taking advantage of the 2011 flooding from Tropical Storm Irene, for which pre- and post-flood aerial lidar exist, along with a third set of terrestrial lidar collected in 2015, we assess channel response and recovery with multi-temporal lidar comparison. This method, with kilometers of continuous data, allows for analysis beyond traditional cross-section and reach-scale studies. Results indicate that landscape-scale factors, such as valley morphology and gradients in unit stream power, are controls on channel response to the flood, producing spatially variable impacts. Along a 16.4-km section (drainage area = 82 km2) of the Deerfield River in Vermont, over 148,000 m3 or erosion occurred during the flood. The spatial variation of impacts was correlated (R2= 0.476) with the ratio of channel width to valley width. We expect the recovery process will similarly exhibit spatial variation in rate and magnitude, possibly being governed by gradients in unit stream power and sediment availability. We test the idea that channel widening during the flood reduces post-flood unit stream power, creating a pathway for deposition and recovery to pre-flood width. Flood-widened reaches downstream of point-sources of sediment, such as landslides, will recover more quickly than those without consistent sediment supply. Results of this study will improve our ability to predict the nature and location of flood impacts and determine what factors contribute to the spatial variability of channel recovery.

Flood mapping with multitemporal MODIS data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Son, Nguyen-Thanh; Chen, Chi-Farn; Chen, Cheng-Ru

2014-05-01

Flood is one of the most devastating and frequent disasters resulting in loss of human life and serve damage to infrastructure and agricultural production. Flood is phenomenal in the Mekong River Delta (MRD), Vietnam. It annually lasts from July to November. Information on spatiotemporal flood dynamics is thus important for planners to devise successful strategies for flood monitoring and mitigation of its negative effects. The main objective of this study is to develop an approach for weekly mapping flood dynamics with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer data in MRD using the water fraction model (WFM). The data processed for 2009 comprises three main steps: (1) data pre-processing to construct smooth time series of the difference in the values (DVLE) between land surface water index (LSWI) and enhanced vegetation index (EVI) using the empirical mode decomposition (EMD), (2) flood derivation using WFM, and (3) accuracy assessment. The mapping results were compared with the ground reference data, which were constructed from Envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) data. As several error sources, including mixed-pixel problems and low-resolution bias between the mapping results and ground reference data, could lower the level of classification accuracy, the comparisons indicated satisfactory results with the overall accuracy of 80.5% and Kappa coefficient of 0.61, respectively. These results were reaffirmed by a close correlation between the MODIS-derived flood area and that of the ground reference map at the provincial level, with the correlation coefficients (R2) of 0.93. Considering the importance of remote sensing for monitoring floods and mitigating the damage caused by floods to crops and infrastructure, this study eventually leads to the realization of the value of using time-series MODIS DVLE data for weekly flood monitoring in MRD with the aid of EMD and WFM. Such an approach that could provide quantitative information on spatiotemporal flood dynamics for monitoring purposes was completely transferable to other regions in the world.

Using insurance data to learn more about damages to buildings caused by surface runoff

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernet, Daniel; Roethlisberger, Veronika; Prasuhn, Volker; Weingartner, Rolf

2015-04-01

In Switzerland, almost forty percent of total insurance loss due to natural hazards in the last two decades was caused by flooding. Those flood damages occurred not only within known inundation zones of water courses. Practitioners expect that roughly half of all flood damages lie outside of known inundation zones. In urban areas such damages may simply be caused by drainage system overload for instance. However, as several case studies show, natural and agricultural land play a major role in surface runoff formation leading to damages in rural and peri-urban areas. Although many damages are caused by surface runoff, the whole process chain including surface runoff formation, propagation through the landscape and damages to buildings is not well understood. Therefore, within the framework of a project, we focus our research on this relevant process. As such flash flood events have a very short response time and occur rather diffusely in the landscape, this process is very difficult to observe directly. Therefore indirect data sources with the potential to indicate spatial and temporal distributions of the process have to be used. For that matter, post-flood damage data may be a profitable source. Namely, insurance companies' damage claim records could provide a good picture about the spatial and temporal distributions of damages caused by surface runoff and, thus, about the process itself. In our research we analyze insurance data records of flood damage claims systematically to infer main drivers and influencing factors of surface runoff causing damages to buildings. To demonstrate the potential and drawbacks of using data from insurance companies in relation to damages caused by surface runoff, a case study is presented. A well-documented event with data from a public as well as a private insurance company is selected. The case study focuses on the differences of the datasets as well as the associated problems and advantages respectively. Furthermore, the analysis of the data, especially the crucial identification of damages caused by surface runoff opposed to damages caused by other processes such as riverine flooding, drainage system surcharges etc. are discussed.

Evaluating the anthropogenic impacts on fluvial flood risks in a coastal mega-city during its transitional economy (1979-2009): the interaction between land subsidence, urbanization and structural measures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Dapeng; Yin, Jie

2014-05-01

Flood risk in a specific geographical location is a function of the interaction between various natural (e.g. rainfall, sea-level rise) and anthropogenic processes (e.g. land subsidence and urbanization). These processes, whether a driver or an alleviating factor, often encompass a large degree of spatial and temporal variability. Looking at a specific process in isolation is likely to provide an incomplete picture of the risks. This paper describes a novel approach to the evaluation of anthropogenic impacts on flood risks in coastal mega-cities by incorporating three anthropogenic variables (land subsidence, urbanization and flood defence) within a scenario-based framework where numerical modelling was undertaken to quantify the risks. The evolving risks at four time points (1979, 1990, 2000 and 2009) were assessed for the Huangpu River floodplain where the City of Shanghai is located. Distributed data of land subsidence rate, urbanization rate and flood defence heights were obtained. Scenarios were designed by representing the rate of land subsidence and flood defence height through the modification of DEM. Effect of urbanization is represented by a roughness parameter in the model simulations. A 2D hydrodynamic model (FloodMap-Inertial) was used to estimate the flood risks associated with each scenario. Flood events with various return periods (10-, 100- and 1000-year) were designed based on a one in 50 year flood event occurred in Shanghai in August 1997. Results demonstrate the individual as well as the combined impacts of the three anthropogenic factors on the changing fluvial flood risks in the Huangpu River basin over the last three decades during the city's transitional economy (1979-2009). Land subsidence and urbanization were found to lead to proportionate but non-linear impact on flood risks due to their complex spatial and temporal interaction. The impacts and their sensitivity are the function of the rate & spatial distribution of each evolving factor. They also manifest differently in floods of different magnitude. While the pattern of response to individual anthropogenic variables is largely expected, the combined impacts demonstrate greater spatial and temporal variation. Flood defences offer considerable benefits in reducing the total inundated areas in the Huangpu River basin over the periods considered, for all magnitude floods. This, to a large extent, alleviates the adverse impacts arising from land subsidence and urbanization. However, even with an enclosed and completed defence system in 2009, extensive flood inundation is still expected for a 10-year event, albeit largely restricted to the upstream of the river where urban settlements are limited. The scenario-based approach described herein could be adopted for applications in other urbanized and subsided coastal floodplains, especially in places where the rate of land subsidence is still accelerating, urbanization is still undergoing and the local sea level keeps rising. Risk scenarios that encompass probable future anthropogenic projections may assist decision makers and other concerned stakeholders in better understanding the underlying drivers of changing flood risks, and thus help to design proper adaptation options for sustainable flood risk management and urban planning.

Low temperature synthesis of Ru-Cu alloy nanoparticles with the compositions in the miscibility gap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martynova, S. A.; Filatov, E. Yu.; Korenev, S. V.; Kuratieva, N. V.; Sheludyakova, L. A.; Plusnin, P. E.; Shubin, Yu. V.; Slavinskaya, E. M.; Boronin, A. I.

2014-04-01

A complex salt [Ru(NH3)5Cl][Cu(C2O4)2H2O]-the precursor of nanoalloys combining ruthenium and copper was prepared. It crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/n. Thermal properties of the prepared salt were examined in different atmospheres (helium, hydrogen, oxygen). Thermal decomposition of the precursor in inert atmosphere was thoroughly examined and the intermediate products were characterized. Experimental conditions for preparation of copper-rich (up to 12 at% of copper) metastable solid solution CuxRu1-x (based on Ru structure) were optimized, what is in sharp contrast to the bimetallic miscibility gap known for the bulk counterparts in a wide composition range. Catalytic properties of copper-ruthenium oxide composite were tested in catalytic oxidation of CO.

Interface instabilities during displacements of two miscible fluids in a vertical pipe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scoffoni, J.; Lajeunesse, E.; Homsy, G. M.

2001-03-01

We study experimentally the downward vertical displacement of one miscible fluid by another in a vertical pipe at sufficiently high velocities for diffusive effects to be negligible. For certain viscosity ratios and flow rates, the interface between the two fluids can destabilize. We determine the dimensionless flow rate Uc above which the instability is triggered and its dependence on the viscous ratio M, resulting in a stability map Uc=Uc(M). Two different instability modes have been observed: an asymmetric "corkscrew" mode and an axisymmetric one. We remark that the latter is always eventually disturbed by "corkscrew" type instabilities. We speculate that these instabilities are driven by the viscosity stratification and are analogous to those already observed in core annular flows of immiscible fluids.

Modeling the Colorado Front Range Flood of 2013 with Coupled WRF and WRF-Hydro System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Unal, E.; Ramirez, J. A.

2015-12-01

Abstract. Flash floods are one of the most damaging natural disasters producing large socio-economic losses. Projected impacts of climate change include increases in the magnitude and the frequency of flash floods all around the world. Therefore, it is important to understand the physical processes of flash flooding to enhance our capacity for prediction, prevention, risk management, and recovery. However, understanding these processes is ambitious because of small spatial scale and sudden nature of flash floods, interactions with complex topography and land use, difficulty in defining initial soil moisture conditions, non-linearity of catchment response, and high space-time variability of storm characteristics. Thus, detailed regional case studies are needed, especially with respect to the interactions between the land surface and the atmosphere. One such flash flood event occurred recently in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado during September 9-15, 2013 causing 10 fatalities and $3B cost in damages. An unexpected persistent and moist weather pattern located over the mountains and produced seven-day extreme rainfall fed by moisture input from the Gulf of Mexico. We used a coupled WRF-WRF-Hydro modeling system to simulate this event for better understanding of the physical process and of the sensitivity of the hydrologic response to storm characteristics, initial soil moisture conditions, and watershed characteristics.

Geomorphology and flood-plain vegetation of the Sprague and lower Sycan Rivers, Klamath Basin, Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

O'Connor, James E.; McDowell, Patricia F.; Lind, Pollyanna; Rasmussen, Christine G.; Keith, Mackenzie K.

2015-01-01

Despite these effects of human disturbances, many of the fundamental physical processes forming the Sprague River fluvial systems over the last several thousand years still function. In particular, flows are unregulated, sediment transport processes are active, and overbank flooding allows for floodplain deposition and erosion. Therefore, restoration of many of the native physical conditions and processes is possible without substantial physical manipulation of current conditions for much of the Sprague River study area. An exception is the South Fork Sprague River, where historical trends are not likely to reverse until it attains a more natural channel and flood-plain geometry and the channel aggrades to the extent that overbank flow becomes common.

Modeling the Impact of Deformation on Unstable Miscible Displacements in Porous Media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santillán, D.; Cueto-Felgueroso, L.

2014-12-01

Coupled flow and geomechanics is a critical research challenge in engineering and the geosciences. The simultaneous flow of two or more fluids with different densities or viscosities through deformable media is ubiquitous in environmental, industrial, and biological processes, including the removal of non-aqueous phase liquids from underground water bodies, the geological storage of CO2, and current challenges in energy technologies, such as enhanced geothermal systems, unconventional hydrocarbon resources or enhanced oil recovery techniques. Using numerical simulation, we study the interplay between viscous-driven flow instabilities (viscous fingering) and rock mechanics, and elucidate the structure of the displacement patterns as a function of viscosity contrast, injection rate and rock mechanical properties. Finally, we discuss the role of medium deformation on transport and mixing processes in porous media.

Estimating the microbiological risks associated with inland flood events: Bridging theory and models of pathogen transport

PubMed Central

Collender, Philip A.; Cooke, Olivia C.; Bryant, Lee D.; Kjeldsen, Thomas R.; Remais, Justin V.

2017-01-01

Flooding is known to facilitate infectious disease transmission, yet quantitative research on microbiological risks associated with floods has been limited. Pathogen fate and transport models provide a framework to examine interactions between landscape characteristics, hydrology, and waterborne disease risks, but have not been widely developed for flood conditions. We critically examine capabilities of current hydrological models to represent unusual flow paths, non-uniform flow depths, and unsteady flow velocities that accompany flooding. We investigate the theoretical linkages between hydrodynamic processes and spatio-temporally variable suspension and deposition of pathogens from soils and sediments; pathogen dispersion in flow; and concentrations of constituents influencing pathogen transport and persistence. Identifying gaps in knowledge and modeling practice, we propose a research agenda to strengthen microbial fate and transport modeling applied to inland floods: 1) development of models incorporating pathogen discharges from flooded sources (e.g., latrines), effects of transported constituents on pathogen persistence, and supply-limited pathogen transport; 2) studies assessing parameter identifiability and comparing model performance under varying degrees of process representation, in a range of settings; 3) development of remotely sensed datasets to support modeling of vulnerable, data-poor regions; and 4) collaboration between modelers and field-based researchers to expand the collection of useful data in situ. PMID:28757789

Monitoring Floods with NASA's ST6 Autonomous Sciencecraft Experiment: Implications on Planetary Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ip, Felipe; Dohm, J. M.; Baker, V. R.; Castano, B.; Chien, S.; Cichy, B.; Davies, A. G.; Doggett, T.; Greeley, R.; Sherwood, R.

2005-01-01

NASA's New Millennium Program (NMP) Autonomous Sciencecraft Experiment (ASE) [1-3] has been successfully demonstrated in Earth-orbit. NASA has identified the development of an autonomously operating spacecraft as a necessity for an expanded program of missions exploring the Solar System. The versatile ASE spacecraft command and control, image formation, and science processing software was uploaded to the Earth Observer 1 (EO-1) spacecraft in early 2004 and has been undergoing onboard testing since May 2004 for the near real-time detection of surface modification related to transient geological and hydrological processes such as volcanism [4], ice formation and retreat [5], and flooding [6]. Space autonomy technology developed as part of ASE creates the new capability to autonomously detect, assess, react to, and monitor dynamic events such as flooding. Part of the challenge has been the difficulty to observe flooding in real time at sufficient temporal resolutions; more importantly, it is the large spatial extent of most drainage networks coupled with the size of the data sets necessary to be downlinked from satellites that make it difficult to monitor flooding from space. Below is a description of the algorithms (referred to as ASE Flood water Classifiers) used in tandem with the Hyperion spectrometer instrument on EO-1 to identify flooding and some of the test results.

Flood AI: An Intelligent Systems for Discovery and Communication of Disaster Knowledge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demir, I.; Sermet, M. Y.

2017-12-01

Communities are not immune from extreme events or natural disasters that can lead to large-scale consequences for the nation and public. Improving resilience to better prepare, plan, recover, and adapt to disasters is critical to reduce the impacts of extreme events. The National Research Council (NRC) report discusses the topic of how to increase resilience to extreme events through a vision of resilient nation in the year 2030. The report highlights the importance of data, information, gaps and knowledge challenges that needs to be addressed, and suggests every individual to access the risk and vulnerability information to make their communities more resilient. This project presents an intelligent system, Flood AI, for flooding to improve societal preparedness by providing a knowledge engine using voice recognition, artificial intelligence, and natural language processing based on a generalized ontology for disasters with a primary focus on flooding. The knowledge engine utilizes the flood ontology and concepts to connect user input to relevant knowledge discovery channels on flooding by developing a data acquisition and processing framework utilizing environmental observations, forecast models, and knowledge bases. Communication channels of the framework includes web-based systems, agent-based chat bots, smartphone applications, automated web workflows, and smart home devices, opening the knowledge discovery for flooding to many unique use cases.

Drought and flooding have distinct effects on herbivore-induced responses and resistance in Solanum dulcamara.

PubMed

Nguyen, Duy; D'Agostino, Nunzio; Tytgat, Tom O G; Sun, Pulu; Lortzing, Tobias; Visser, Eric J W; Cristescu, Simona M; Steppuhn, Anke; Mariani, Celestina; van Dam, Nicole M; Rieu, Ivo

2016-07-01

In the field, biotic and abiotic stresses frequently co-occur. As a consequence, common molecular signalling pathways governing adaptive responses to individual stresses can interact, resulting in compromised phenotypes. How plant signalling pathways interact under combined stresses is poorly understood. To assess this, we studied the consequence of drought and soil flooding on resistance of Solanum dulcamara to Spodoptera exigua and their effects on hormonal and transcriptomic profiles. The results showed that S. exigua larvae performed less well on drought-stressed plants than on well-watered and flooded plants. Both drought and insect feeding increased abscisic acid and jasmonic acid (JA) levels, whereas flooding did not induce JA accumulation. RNA sequencing analyses corroborated this pattern: drought and herbivory induced many biological processes that were repressed by flooding. When applied in combination, drought and herbivory had an additive effect on specific processes involved in secondary metabolism and defence responses, including protease inhibitor activity. In conclusion, drought and flooding have distinct effects on herbivore-induced responses and resistance. Especially, the interaction between abscisic acid and JA signalling may be important to optimize plant responses to combined drought and insect herbivory, making drought-stressed plants more resistant to insects than well-watered and flooded plants. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Super-hydrophobic fluorine containing aerogels

DOEpatents

Coronado, Paul R [Livermore, CA; Poco, John F [Livermore, CA; Hrubesh, Lawrence W [Pleasanton, CA

2007-05-01

An aerogel material with surfaces containing fluorine atoms which exhibits exceptional hydrophobicity, or the ability to repel liquid water. Hydrophobic aerogels are efficient absorbers of solvents from water. Solvents miscible with water are separated from it because the solvents are more volatile than water and they enter the porous aerogel as a vapor across the liquid water/solid interface. Solvents that are immisicble with water are separated from it by selectively wetting the aerogel. The hydrophobic property is achieved by formulating the aerogel using fluorine containing molecules either directly by addition in the sol-gel process, or by treating a standard dried aerogel using the vapor of fluorine containing molecules.

Development of a coupled hydrological - hydrodynamic model for probabilistic catchment flood inundation modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quinn, Niall; Freer, Jim; Coxon, Gemma; Dunne, Toby; Neal, Jeff; Bates, Paul; Sampson, Chris; Smith, Andy; Parkin, Geoff

2017-04-01

Computationally efficient flood inundation modelling systems capable of representing important hydrological and hydrodynamic flood generating processes over relatively large regions are vital for those interested in flood preparation, response, and real time forecasting. However, such systems are currently not readily available. This can be particularly important where flood predictions from intense rainfall are considered as the processes leading to flooding often involve localised, non-linear spatially connected hillslope-catchment responses. Therefore, this research introduces a novel hydrological-hydraulic modelling framework for the provision of probabilistic flood inundation predictions across catchment to regional scales that explicitly account for spatial variability in rainfall-runoff and routing processes. Approaches have been developed to automate the provision of required input datasets and estimate essential catchment characteristics from freely available, national datasets. This is an essential component of the framework as when making predictions over multiple catchments or at relatively large scales, and where data is often scarce, obtaining local information and manually incorporating it into the model quickly becomes infeasible. An extreme flooding event in the town of Morpeth, NE England, in 2008 was used as a first case study evaluation of the modelling framework introduced. The results demonstrated a high degree of prediction accuracy when comparing modelled and reconstructed event characteristics for the event, while the efficiency of the modelling approach used enabled the generation of relatively large ensembles of realisations from which uncertainty within the prediction may be represented. This research supports previous literature highlighting the importance of probabilistic forecasting, particularly during extreme events, which can be often be poorly characterised or even missed by deterministic predictions due to the inherent uncertainty in any model application. Future research will aim to further evaluate the robustness of the approaches introduced by applying the modelling framework to a variety of historical flood events across UK catchments. Furthermore, the flexibility and efficiency of the framework is ideally suited to the examination of the propagation of errors through the model which will help gain a better understanding of the dominant sources of uncertainty currently impacting flood inundation predictions.

High-resolution marine flood modelling coupling overflow and overtopping processes: framing the hazard based on historical and statistical approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nicolae Lerma, Alexandre; Bulteau, Thomas; Elineau, Sylvain; Paris, François; Durand, Paul; Anselme, Brice; Pedreros, Rodrigo

2018-01-01

A modelling chain was implemented in order to propose a realistic appraisal of the risk in coastal areas affected by overflowing as well as overtopping processes. Simulations are performed through a nested downscaling strategy from regional to local scale at high spatial resolution with explicit buildings, urban structures such as sea front walls and hydraulic structures liable to affect the propagation of water in urban areas. Validation of the model performance is based on hard and soft available data analysis and conversion of qualitative to quantitative information to reconstruct the area affected by flooding and the succession of events during two recent storms. Two joint probability approaches (joint exceedance contour and environmental contour) are used to define 100-year offshore conditions scenarios and to investigate the flood response to each scenario in terms of (1) maximum spatial extent of flooded areas, (2) volumes of water propagation inland and (3) water level in flooded areas. Scenarios of sea level rise are also considered in order to evaluate the potential hazard evolution. Our simulations show that for a maximising 100-year hazard scenario, for the municipality as a whole, 38 % of the affected zones are prone to overflow flooding and 62 % to flooding by propagation of overtopping water volume along the seafront. Results also reveal that for the two kinds of statistic scenarios a difference of about 5 % in the forcing conditions (water level, wave height and period) can produce significant differences in terms of flooding like +13.5 % of water volumes propagating inland or +11.3 % of affected surfaces. In some areas, flood response appears to be very sensitive to the chosen scenario with differences of 0.3 to 0.5 m in water level. The developed approach enables one to frame the 100-year hazard and to characterize spatially the robustness or the uncertainty over the results. Considering a 100-year scenario with mean sea level rise (0.6 m), hazard characteristics are dramatically changed with an evolution of the overtopping / overflowing process ratio and an increase of a factor 4.84 in volumes of water propagating inland and 3.47 in flooded surfaces.

Satellites, tweets, forecasts: the future of flood disaster management?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dottori, Francesco; Kalas, Milan; Lorini, Valerio; Wania, Annett; Pappenberger, Florian; Salamon, Peter; Ramos, Maria Helena; Cloke, Hannah; Castillo, Carlos

2017-04-01

Floods have devastating effects on lives and livelihoods around the world. Structural flood defence measures such as dikes and dams can help protect people. However, it is the emerging science and technologies for flood disaster management and preparedness, such as increasingly accurate flood forecasting systems, high-resolution satellite monitoring, rapid risk mapping, and the unique strength of social media information and crowdsourcing, that are most promising for reducing the impacts of flooding. Here, we describe an innovative framework which integrates in real-time two components of the Copernicus Emergency mapping services, namely the European Flood Awareness System and the satellite-based Rapid Mapping, with new procedures for rapid risk assessment and social media and news monitoring. The integrated framework enables improved flood impact forecast, thanks to the real-time integration of forecasting and monitoring components, and increases the timeliness and efficiency of satellite mapping, with the aim of capturing flood peaks and following the evolution of flooding processes. Thanks to the proposed framework, emergency responders will have access to a broad range of timely and accurate information for more effective and robust planning, decision-making, and resource allocation.

Application of a fully integrated surface-subsurface physically based flow model for evaluating groundwater recharge from a flash flood event

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pino, Cristian; Herrera, Paulo; Therrien, René

2017-04-01

In many arid regions around the world groundwater recharge occurs during flash floods. This transient spatially and temporally concentrated flood-recharge process takes place through the variably saturated zone between surface and usually the deep groundwater table. These flood events are characterized by rapid and extreme changes in surface flow depth and velocity and soil moisture conditions. Infiltration rates change over time controlled by the hydraulic gradients and the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity at the surface-subsurface interface. Today is a challenge to assess the spatial and temporal distribution of groundwater recharge from flash flood events under real field conditions at different scales in arid areas. We apply an integrated surface-subsurface variably saturated physically-based flow model at the watershed scale to assess the recharge process during and after a flash flood event registered in an arid fluvial valley in Northern Chile. We are able to reproduce reasonably well observed groundwater levels and surface flow discharges during and after the flood with a calibrated model. We also investigate the magnitude and spatio-temporal distribution of recharge and the response of the system to variations of different surface and subsurface parameters, initial soil moisture content and groundwater table depths and surface flow conditions. We demonstrate how an integrated physically based model allows the exploration of different spatial and temporal system states, and that the analysis of the results of the simulations help us to improve our understanding of the recharge processes in similar type of systems that are common to many arid areas around the world.

Forests and floods in the eastern United States

Treesearch

Howard W. Lull; Kenneth G. Reinhart; Kenneth G. Reinhart

1972-01-01

Our purpose is to examine in detail the influence of the present-day forest on flood runoff and sedimentation. Forests and flood discharge wiI1 be our dominant concern; sedimentation by and large is a byproduct of their interaction. This paper was prepared for foresters, conservationists, and others acquainted with the processes and terminology of the hydrologic cycle...

Flood Protection Ecosystem Services in the Coast of Puerto Rico: Associations Between Watershed Processes and Local Human Health and Well Being Indicators

EPA Science Inventory

Flood events are becoming increasingly important in coastal cities due to a projected increase in the frequency of extreme weather events. A potential strategy to promote coastal protection from these hazards is the use of green infrastructure to provide flood protection ecosyste...

Flood loss assessment in Can Tho City, Vietnam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Do, T. C.; Kreibich, H.

2012-04-01

Floods are recurring events in the Lower Mekong Basin resulting in loss of life and property, causing damage to agriculture and rural infrastructure, and disrupting social and economic activities. Flood management and mitigation has become a priority issue at the national and regional levels. Besides, it is expected that large areas of the Mekong delta, the Red River delta and the central coast will be flooded by sea-level rise due to climate change. Can Tho City is ranked under the five most flood-tide-influenced cities of Vietnam. It is the biggest city in the Mekong delta and it is located near the Hau river. Like other region of the Mekong delta, Can Tho suffers due to floods from upstream and flood tides from the sea. In the flood season large rural areas of the city are flooded, particularly during tidal days. Flood risk management policy includes preparative measures for living with floods and to minimise the damage caused by floods as well as to take advantage of floods for sustainable development. An intensive literature review, including administrative reports as well as expert interviews have been undertaken to gain more insight into flood characteristics, their consequences and risk mitigation. Therefore, flood damaging processes and trends have been reviewed for Can Tho City and the Mekong Basin in Vietnam. Additionally, suitable flood damage estimation methodologies have been collected as important input for flood risk analyses. On this basis it has been investigated which flood risk mitigation and management strategies promise to be effective in Can Tho City, Vietnam.

Flood Risk and Global Change: Future Prospects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serra-Llobet, A.

2014-12-01

Global flood risk is increasing in response to population growth in flood-prone areas, human encroachment into natural flood paths (exacerbating flooding in areas formerly out of harm's way), and climate change (which alters variables driving floods). How will societies respond to and manage flood risk in coming decades? Analysis of flood policy evolution in the EU and US demonstrates that changes occurred in steps, in direct response to disasters. After the flood produced by the collapse of Tous Dam in 1982, Spain initiated a systematic assessment of areas of greatest flood risk and civil protection response. The devastating floods on the Elbe and elsewhere in central Europe in 2002 motivated adoption of the EU Floods Directive (2007), which requires member states to develop systematic flood risk maps (now due) and flood risk management plans (due in 2015). The flooding of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 resulted in a nationwide levee-safety assessment and improvements in communicating risk, but overall less fundamental change in US flood management than manifest in the EU since 2007. In the developing world, large (and increasing) concentrations of populations in low-lying floodplains, deltas, and coasts are increasingly vulnerable, and governments mostly ill-equipped to implement fundamental changes in land use to prevent future increases in exposure, nor to develop responses to the current threats. Even in the developed world, there is surprisingly little research on how well residents of flood-prone lands understand their true risk, especially when they are 'protected' by '100-year' levees. Looking ahead, researchers and decision makers should prioritize improvements in flood risk perception, river-basin-scale assessment of flood runoff processes (under current and future climate and land-use conditions) and flood management alternatives, and bridging the disconnect between national and international floodplain management policies and local land-use decisions.

An agent-based modelling framework to explore the role of social media and stubborn people on evacuation rates during flooding events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, E.; Cai, X.; Minsker, B. S.; Sun, Z.

2017-12-01

Flood warnings from various information sources are important for individuals to make evacuation decisions during a flood event. In this study, we develop a general opinion dynamics model to simulate how individuals update their flood hazard awareness when exposed to multiple information sources, including global broadcast, social media, and observations of neighbors' actions. The opinion dynamics model is coupled with a traffic model to simulate the evacuation processes of a residential community with a given transportation network. Through various scenarios, we investigate how social media affect the opinion dynamics and evacuation processes. We find that stronger social media can make evacuation processes more sensitive to the change of global broadcast and neighbor observations, and thus, impose larger uncertainty on evacuation rates (i.e., a large range of evacuation rates corresponding to sources of information). For instance, evacuation rates are lower when social media become more influential and individuals have less trust in global broadcast. Stubborn individuals can significantly affect the opinion dynamics and reduce evacuation rates. In addition, evacuation rates respond to the percentage of stubborn agents in a non-linear manner, i.e., above a threshold, the impact of stubborn agents will be intensified by stronger social media. These results highlight the role of social media in flood evacuation processes and the need to monitor social media so that misinformation can be corrected in a timely manner. The joint impacts of social media, quality of flood warnings and transportation capacity on evacuation rates are also discussed.

Development of an alkaline/surfactant/polymer compositional reservoir simulator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bhuyan, D.

1989-01-01

The mathematical formulation of a generalized three-dimensional compositional reservoir simulator for high-pH chemical flooding processes is presented in this work. The model assumes local thermodynamic equilibrium with respect to both reaction chemistry and phase behavior and calculates equilibrium electrolyte and phase compositions as a function of time and position. The reaction chemistry considers aqueous electrolytic chemistry, precipitation/dissolution of minerals, ion exchange reactions on matrix surface, reaction of acidic components of crude oil with the bases in the aqueous solution and cation exchange reactions with the micelles. The simulator combines this detailed reaction chemistry associated with these processes with the extensivemore » physical and flow property modeling schemes of an existing chemical flood simulator (UTCHEM) to model the multiphase, multidimensional displacement processes. The formulation of the chemical equilibrium model is quite general and is adaptable to simulate a variety of chemical descriptions. In addition to its use in the simulation of high-pH chemical flooding processes, the model will find application in the simulation of other reactive flow problems like the ground water contamination, reinjection of produced water, chemical waste disposal, etc. in one, two or three dimensions and under multiphase flow conditions. In this work, the model is used to simulate several hypothetical cases of high-pH chemical floods, which include cases from a simple alkaline preflush of a micellar/polymer flood to surfactant enhanced alkaline-polymer flooding and the results are analyzed. Finally, a few published alkaline, alkaline-polymer and surfactant-alkaline-polymer corefloods are simulated and compared with the experimental results.« less

Communicating Flood Risk with Street-Level Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanders, B. F.; Matthew, R.; Houston, D.; Cheung, W. H.; Karlin, B.; Schubert, J.; Gallien, T.; Luke, A.; Contreras, S.; Goodrich, K.; Feldman, D.; Basolo, V.; Serrano, K.; Reyes, A.

2015-12-01

Coastal communities around the world face significant and growing flood risks that require an accelerating adaptation response, and fine-resolution urban flood models could serve a pivotal role in enabling communities to meet this need. Such models depict impacts at the level of individual buildings and land parcels or "street level" - the same spatial scale at which individuals are best able to process flood risk information - constituting a powerful tool to help communities build better understandings of flood vulnerabilities and identify cost-effective interventions. To measure understanding of flood risk within a community and the potential impact of street-level models, we carried out a household survey of flood risk awareness in Newport Beach, California, a highly urbanized coastal lowland that presently experiences nuisance flooding from high tides, waves and rainfall and is expected to experience a significant increase in flood frequency and intensity with climate change. Interviews were completed with the aid of a wireless-enabled tablet device that respondents could use to identify areas they understood to be at risk of flooding and to view either a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood map or a more detailed map prepared with a hydrodynamic urban coastal flood model (UCI map) built with grid cells as fine as 3 m resolution and validated with historical flood data. Results indicate differences in the effectiveness of the UCI and FEMA maps at communicating the spatial distribution of flood risk, gender differences in how the maps affect flood understanding, and spatial biases in the perception of flood vulnerabilities.

Development and validation of a 2D dam break process model

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Flooding due to dam or levee breach often results in detrimental impact on the people and their properties in the flooding zone. The embankment breach process is often caused by overtopping or internal erosion due to excessive water in a reservoir or a river. This study is to develop a practical nu...

On the synergistic use of microwave and infrared satellite observations to monitor soil moisture and flooding

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Extreme hydrological processes are often very dynamic and destructive.A better understanding of these processes requires an accurate mapping of key variables that control them. In this regard, soil moisture is perhaps the most important parameter that impacts the magnitude of flooding events as it c...

Channel recovery from recent large floods in north coastal California: rates and processes

Treesearch

Thomas E. Lisle

1981-01-01

Abstract - Stream channel recovery from recent large floods in northern California involves a sequence of processes, including degradation of streambeds to stable levels, narrowing of channels, and accentuation of riffle-pool sequences. Most channels have degraded but remain widened because hillslope encroachment and establishment of riparian groves conducive to...

Hyper-resolution monitoring of urban flooding with social media and crowdsourcing data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ruo-Qian; Mao, Huina; Wang, Yuan; Rae, Chris; Shaw, Wesley

2018-02-01

Hyper-resolution datasets for urban flooding are rare. This problem prevents detailed flooding risk analysis, urban flooding control, and the validation of hyper-resolution numerical models. We employed social media and crowdsourcing data to address this issue. Natural Language Processing and Computer Vision techniques are applied to the data collected from Twitter and MyCoast (a crowdsourcing app). We found these big data based flood monitoring approaches can complement the existing means of flood data collection. The extracted information is validated against precipitation data and road closure reports to examine the data quality. The two data collection approaches are compared and the two data mining methods are discussed. A series of suggestions is given to improve the data collection strategy.

The effects of flooding and sedimentation on seed germination of two bottomland hardwood tree species

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pierce, Aaron R.; King, S.L.

2007-01-01

Flooding and sedimentation are two of the dominant disturbances that influence tree species composition and succession in floodplain forests. The importance of these disturbances may be most notable during the germination and establishment phases of plant succession. Channelization of most alluvial systems in the southeastern United States has caused dramatic and systematic alterations to both hydrologic and sedimentation processes of floodplain systems. We determined the influence of these altered abiotic processes on the germination and growth of two common floodplain tree species: swamp chestnut oak (Quercus michauxii Nutt.) and overcup oak (Q. lyrata Walt.). Flood durations of 0 days, 15 days, and 30 days prior to germination was a factor in germination, but the effect varied by species. For instance, ovcrcup oak, which has a higher tolerance to flooding than swamp chestnut oak, had higher germination rates in the flooded treatments (15-day x?? = 78% and 30-day x?? = 85%) compared to the non-flooded treatment (x?? = 54%). In contrast, germination rates of swamp chestnut oak were negatively affected by the 30-day flood treatment. Sediment deposition rates of 2 cm of top soil, 2 cm of sand, and 8 cm of sand also affected germination, but were secondary to flood duration. The main effect of the sediment treatment in this experiment was a reduction in above-ground height of seedlings. Our study provides evidence for the importance of both flooding and sedimentation in determining tree species composition in floodplain systems, and that tolerance levels to such stressors vary by species. ?? 2007, The Society of Wetland Scientists.

Nutrient Budgets Calculated in Floodwaters Using a Whole-Ecosystem Experimental Manipulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Talbot, C. J.; Paterson, M. J.; Xenopoulos, M. A.

2017-12-01

Flooding provides pathways for nutrients to move into surface waters and alter nutrient concentrations, therefore influencing downstream ecosystems and increasing events of eutrophication. Nutrient enrichment will likely affect water quality, primary production, and overall ecosystem function. Quantifying nutrient movement post-flood will help evaluate the risks or advantages that flooding will have on ecosystem processes. Here we constructed nutrient budgets using data collected as part of the Flooded Upland Dynamics Experiment (FLUDEX) at the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) in northwestern Ontario. Three experimental reservoirs with varying amounts of stored carbon were created by flooding forested land from May through September annually from 1999 to 2003. Organic matter became a significant source of nutrients under flooded conditions and elevated reservoir total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations within one week of flooding. The highest TN (2.6 mg L-1) and TP (579 µg L-1) concentrations throughout the entire flooding experiment occurred in the medium carbon reservoir within the first two weeks of flooding in 1999. TN and TP fluxes were positive in all years of flooding. TP fluxes decreased after each flooding season therefore, TP production may be less problematic in floodplains subject to frequent repeated flooding. However, TN fluxes remained large even after repeated flooding. Therefore, flooding, whether naturally occurring or from anthropogenic flow alteration, may be responsible for producing significant amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus in aquatic ecosystems.

Prevention, adaptation, and threat denial: flooding experiences in the Netherlands.

PubMed

Zaalberg, Ruud; Midden, Cees; Meijnders, Anneloes; McCalley, Teddy

2009-12-01

Delta areas such as the Netherlands are more and more at risk of future flooding due to global climate change. Motivating residents living in flood-prone areas to effectively cope with local floods may lead to minimization of material losses and loss of life. The aim of this research was to investigate whether the extent to which residents had been exposed to flooding in the past was a key factor in motivating residents to effectively cope with future flooding. We also focused on the psychological variables that mediated this relationship. We conducted a survey (N = 516) among flood victims and nonvictims. We assessed subjective experiences due to past flooding, affective and cognitive appraisals, and coping responses. Results show that victims reported stronger emotions (negative and positive), and the receipt of more social support due to past flooding than did nonvictims. Moreover, victims worry more about future flooding, perceive themselves as more vulnerable to future flooding, perceive the consequences of future flooding as more severe, and have stronger intentions to take adaptive actions in the future than nonvictims. Structural equation modeling reveals that the latter effect was fully mediated by specific experiences and appraisals. Insights into factors and processes that have the potential to motivate residents to effectively cope with future floods may prove helpful in developing interventions to inform residents how to act effectively in case of an imminent flood.

Voice-enabled Knowledge Engine using Flood Ontology and Natural Language Processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sermet, M. Y.; Demir, I.; Krajewski, W. F.

2015-12-01

The Iowa Flood Information System (IFIS) is a web-based platform developed by the Iowa Flood Center (IFC) to provide access to flood inundation maps, real-time flood conditions, flood forecasts, flood-related data, information and interactive visualizations for communities in Iowa. The IFIS is designed for use by general public, often people with no domain knowledge and limited general science background. To improve effective communication with such audience, we have introduced a voice-enabled knowledge engine on flood related issues in IFIS. Instead of navigating within many features and interfaces of the information system and web-based sources, the system provides dynamic computations based on a collection of built-in data, analysis, and methods. The IFIS Knowledge Engine connects to real-time stream gauges, in-house data sources, analysis and visualization tools to answer natural language questions. Our goal is the systematization of data and modeling results on flood related issues in Iowa, and to provide an interface for definitive answers to factual queries. The goal of the knowledge engine is to make all flood related knowledge in Iowa easily accessible to everyone, and support voice-enabled natural language input. We aim to integrate and curate all flood related data, implement analytical and visualization tools, and make it possible to compute answers from questions. The IFIS explicitly implements analytical methods and models, as algorithms, and curates all flood related data and resources so that all these resources are computable. The IFIS Knowledge Engine computes the answer by deriving it from its computational knowledge base. The knowledge engine processes the statement, access data warehouse, run complex database queries on the server-side and return outputs in various formats. This presentation provides an overview of IFIS Knowledge Engine, its unique information interface and functionality as an educational tool, and discusses the future plans for providing knowledge on flood related issues and resources. IFIS Knowledge Engine provides an alternative access method to these comprehensive set of tools and data resources available in IFIS. Current implementation of the system accepts free-form input and voice recognition capabilities within browser and mobile applications.

Increase in the exposition to floods in the Alicante coast (Valencia region, Spain)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olcina, J.; Rico, A. M.; Hernandez, M.; Martínez, E.

2009-09-01

During the last two decades, Flood episodes along the Alicante coastline have caused important material losses and general disruptions of everyday life in the municipalities affected. We can speak of an increase in the vulnerability to floods chiefly as a result of an increase in exposition. In turn this increase is fundamentally linked to the nature of the recent urbanization process in this area and the corresponding occupation of flood prone land. The province of Alicante occupies one of the first positions in Europe regarding flood risk (ESPON 2006). Even counting with legislation that regulates land uses, processes leading to the occupation of flood risk areas have proven very difficult to manage. In this sense, the Valencia region has enacted legislation such as the Land Use Planning Law of 1989, the Law on Urban Growth Regulations of 1994, and the Planning Regulations of 1998. All these legal pieces attempted to prohibit development in flood prone land declaring this land as "non.urban". New laws such as the Law on Land Use Planning and Landscape protection of 2004, the Law on New Urban Land (2004), and the Decree on Landscape (2006) also consider the need to include the flood hazard in planning activities. Furthermore in 1997, the so-called "Cartography of the flood hazard at the regional level" was elaborated. This mapping exercise was the base for the "Territorial Plan for the Reduction of Flood Risks (PATRICOVA) approved in 2003 and currently the main planning tool for flood management in Valencia. On the other hand, the European Directive 60/2007 pointed towards the need to take into consideration the social perception of Flood risks in order to develop integrated actions of risk management. Accordingly we have undertaken 285 interviews in the coastal communities of Alicante, Calpe and Campello (95 interviews each). We have chosen these municipalities for two reasons: first their significance in population and economic activity terms, and second, their different approach in specific measures to reduce the impact of floods

Evaluation of Flood Forecast and Warning in Elbe river basin - Impact of Forecaster's Strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Danhelka, Jan; Vlasak, Tomas

2010-05-01

Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI) is responsible for flood forecasting and warning in the Czech Republic. To meet that issue CHMI operates hydrological forecasting systems and publish flow forecast in selected profiles. Flood forecast and warning is an output of system that links observation (flow and atmosphere), data processing, weather forecast (especially NWP's QPF), hydrological modeling and modeled outputs evaluation and interpretation by forecaster. Forecast users are interested in final output without separating uncertainties of separate steps of described process. Therefore an evaluation of final operational forecasts was done for profiles within Elbe river basin produced by AquaLog forecasting system during period 2002 to 2008. Effects of uncertainties of observation, data processing and especially meteorological forecasts were not accounted separately. Forecast of flood levels exceedance (peak over the threshold) during forecasting period was the main criterion as flow increase forecast is of the highest importance. Other evaluation criteria included peak flow and volume difference. In addition Nash-Sutcliffe was computed separately for each time step (1 to 48 h) of forecasting period to identify its change with the lead time. Textual flood warnings are issued for administrative regions to initiate flood protection actions in danger of flood. Flood warning hit rate was evaluated at regions level and national level. Evaluation found significant differences of model forecast skill between forecasting profiles, particularly less skill was evaluated at small headwater basins due to domination of QPF uncertainty in these basins. The average hit rate was 0.34 (miss rate = 0.33, false alarm rate = 0.32). However its explored spatial difference is likely to be influenced also by different fit of parameters sets (due to different basin characteristics) and importantly by different impact of human factor. Results suggest that the practice of interactive model operation, experience and forecasting strategy differs between responsible forecasting offices. Warning is based on model outputs interpretation by hydrologists-forecaster. Warning hit rate reached 0.60 for threshold set to lowest flood stage of which 0.11 was underestimation of flood degree (miss 0.22, false alarm 0.28). Critical success index of model forecast was 0.34, while the same criteria for warning reached 0.55. We assume that the increase accounts not only to change of scale from single forecasting point to region for warning, but partly also to forecaster's added value. There is no official warning strategy preferred in the Czech Republic (f.e. tolerance towards higher false alarm rate). Therefore forecaster decision and personal strategy is of great importance. Results show quite successful warning for 1st flood level exceedance, over-warning for 2nd flood level, but under-warning for 3rd (highest) flood level. That suggests general forecaster's preference of medium level warning (2nd flood level is legally determined to be the start of the flood and flood protection activities). In conclusion human forecaster's experience and analysis skill increases flood warning performance notably. However society preference should be specifically addressed in the warning strategy definition to support forecaster's decision making.

Co-Optimization of CO 2-EOR and Storage Processes in Mature Oil Reservoirs

DOE PAGES

Ampomah, William; Balch, Robert S.; Grigg, Reid B.; ...

2016-08-02

This article presents an optimization methodology for CO 2 enhanced oil recovery in partially depleted reservoirs. A field-scale compositional reservoir flow model was developed for assessing the performance history of an active CO 2 flood and for optimizing both oil production and CO 2 storage in the Farnsworth Unit (FWU), Ochiltree County, Texas. A geological framework model constructed from geophysical, geological, and engineering data acquired from the FWU was the basis for all reservoir simulations and the optimization method. An equation of state was calibrated with laboratory fluid analyses and subsequently used to predict the thermodynamic minimum miscible pressure (MMP).more » Initial history calibrations of primary, secondary and tertiary recovery were conducted as the basis for the study. After a good match was achieved, an optimization approach consisting of a proxy or surrogate model was constructed with a polynomial response surface method (PRSM). The PRSM utilized an objective function that maximized both oil recovery and CO 2 storage. Experimental design was used to link uncertain parameters to the objective function. Control variables considered in this study included: water alternating gas cycle and ratio, production rates and bottom-hole pressure of injectors and producers. Other key parameters considered in the modeling process were CO 2 purchase, gas recycle and addition of infill wells and/or patterns. The PRSM proxy model was ‘trained’ or calibrated with a series of training simulations. This involved an iterative process until the surrogate model reached a specific validation criterion. A sensitivity analysis was first conducted to ascertain which of these control variables to retain in the surrogate model. A genetic algorithm with a mixed-integer capability optimization approach was employed to determine the optimum developmental strategy to maximize both oil recovery and CO 2 storage. The proxy model reduced the computational cost significantly. The validation criteria of the reduced order model ensured accuracy in the dynamic modeling results. The prediction outcome suggested robustness and reliability of the genetic algorithm for optimizing both oil recovery and CO 2 storage. The reservoir modeling approach used in this study illustrates an improved approach to optimizing oil production and CO 2 storage within partially depleted oil reservoirs such as FWU. Lastly, this study may serve as a benchmark for potential CO 2–EOR projects in the Anadarko basin and/or geologically similar basins throughout the world.« less

Co-Optimization of CO 2-EOR and Storage Processes in Mature Oil Reservoirs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ampomah, William; Balch, Robert S.; Grigg, Reid B.

This article presents an optimization methodology for CO 2 enhanced oil recovery in partially depleted reservoirs. A field-scale compositional reservoir flow model was developed for assessing the performance history of an active CO 2 flood and for optimizing both oil production and CO 2 storage in the Farnsworth Unit (FWU), Ochiltree County, Texas. A geological framework model constructed from geophysical, geological, and engineering data acquired from the FWU was the basis for all reservoir simulations and the optimization method. An equation of state was calibrated with laboratory fluid analyses and subsequently used to predict the thermodynamic minimum miscible pressure (MMP).more » Initial history calibrations of primary, secondary and tertiary recovery were conducted as the basis for the study. After a good match was achieved, an optimization approach consisting of a proxy or surrogate model was constructed with a polynomial response surface method (PRSM). The PRSM utilized an objective function that maximized both oil recovery and CO 2 storage. Experimental design was used to link uncertain parameters to the objective function. Control variables considered in this study included: water alternating gas cycle and ratio, production rates and bottom-hole pressure of injectors and producers. Other key parameters considered in the modeling process were CO 2 purchase, gas recycle and addition of infill wells and/or patterns. The PRSM proxy model was ‘trained’ or calibrated with a series of training simulations. This involved an iterative process until the surrogate model reached a specific validation criterion. A sensitivity analysis was first conducted to ascertain which of these control variables to retain in the surrogate model. A genetic algorithm with a mixed-integer capability optimization approach was employed to determine the optimum developmental strategy to maximize both oil recovery and CO 2 storage. The proxy model reduced the computational cost significantly. The validation criteria of the reduced order model ensured accuracy in the dynamic modeling results. The prediction outcome suggested robustness and reliability of the genetic algorithm for optimizing both oil recovery and CO 2 storage. The reservoir modeling approach used in this study illustrates an improved approach to optimizing oil production and CO 2 storage within partially depleted oil reservoirs such as FWU. Lastly, this study may serve as a benchmark for potential CO 2–EOR projects in the Anadarko basin and/or geologically similar basins throughout the world.« less

Detecting seasonal flood changes in the Upper Danube River basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohnová, Silvia; Jeneiová, Katarína; Parajka, Juraj; Hall, Julia; Marková, Romana

2017-04-01

Due to a number of large-scale floods observed worldwide in recent years, the analysis of changes in long-term hydrological time series is becoming increasingly important. This study focuses on the Upper Danube region, which was struck by many flood events in the past decade. The flood seasonality of the study region, defined as the area of Germany, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Austria and Slovakia, is examined to interpret the dominant flood processes. A spatial assessment of the seasonality indices of the annual maximum discharges and the seasonal discharges (derived from daily average discharges) was conducted for 117 gauging stations. Hot spots for potential changes in the mean dates of occurrence of the discharges were identified, and the results were linked with derived spatial characteristics for the catchments. The first results of the study of the seasonal discharges revealed that the variability of occurrence of summer floods is higher than winter floods in lowlands of the upper Danube catchment. In high Alpine catchments the winter floods variability of occurrence is the same or higher than for the summer floods. The summer season floods tend to appear for all catchment sizes in the same time period. With increased magnitude of floods in the summer season, the variability of occurrence of the floods is higher.

Role of medium heterogeneity and viscosity contrast in miscible flow regimes and mixing zone growth: A computational pore-scale approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afshari, Saied; Hejazi, S. Hossein; Kantzas, Apostolos

2018-05-01

Miscible displacement of fluids in porous media is often characterized by the scaling of the mixing zone length with displacement time. Depending on the viscosity contrast of fluids, the scaling law varies between the square root relationship, a sign for dispersive transport regime during stable displacement, and the linear relationship, which represents the viscous fingering regime during an unstable displacement. The presence of heterogeneities in a porous medium significantly affects the scaling behavior of the mixing length as it interacts with the viscosity contrast to control the mixing of fluids in the pore space. In this study, the dynamics of the flow and transport during both unit and adverse viscosity ratio miscible displacements are investigated in heterogeneous packings of circular grains using pore-scale numerical simulations. The pore-scale heterogeneity level is characterized by the variations of the grain diameter and velocity field. The growth of mixing length is employed to identify the nature of the miscible transport regime at different viscosity ratios and heterogeneity levels. It is shown that as the viscosity ratio increases to higher adverse values, the scaling law of mixing length gradually shifts from dispersive to fingering nature up to a certain viscosity ratio and remains almost the same afterwards. In heterogeneous media, the mixing length scaling law is observed to be generally governed by the variations of the velocity field rather than the grain size. Furthermore, the normalization of mixing length temporal plots with respect to the governing parameters of viscosity ratio, heterogeneity, medium length, and medium aspect ratio is performed. The results indicate that mixing length scales exponentially with log-viscosity ratio and grain size standard deviation while the impact of aspect ratio is insignificant. For stable flows, mixing length scales with the square root of medium length, whereas it changes linearly with length during unstable flows. This scaling procedure allows us to describe the temporal variation of mixing length using a generalized curve for various combinations of the flow conditions and porous medium properties.

Miscibility, chain packing, and hydration of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl phosphatidylcholine and other lipids in surface phases.

PubMed

Smaby, J M; Brockman, H L

1985-11-01

The miscibility of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl phosphatidylcholine with triolein, 1,2-diolein, 1,3-diolein, 1(3)-monoolein, oleyl alcohol, methyl oleate, oleic acid, and oleyl cyanide (18:1 lipids) was studied at the argon-water interface. The isothermal phase diagrams for the mixtures at 24 degrees were characterized by two compositional regions. At the limit of miscibility with lower mol fractions of 18:1 lipid, the surface pressure was composition-independent, but above a mixture-specific stoichiometry, surface pressure at the limit of miscibility was composition-dependent. From the two-dimensional phase rule, it was determined that at low mol fractions of 18:1 lipids, the surface consisted of phospholipid and a preferred packing array or complex of phospholipid and 18:1 lipid, whereas, above the stoichiometry of the complex, the surface phase consisted of complex and excess 18:1 lipids. In both regions of the phase diagram, mixing along the phase boundary was apparently ideal allowing application of an equation of state described earlier (J. M. Smaby and H. L. Brockman, 1984, Biochemistry, 23:3312-3316). From such analysis, apparent partial molecular areas and hydrations for phospholipid, complex, and 18:1 lipid were obtained. Comparison of these calculated parameters for the complexed and uncomplexed states shows that the aliphatic moieties behave independently of polar head group. The transition of each 18:1 chain to the complexed state involves the loss of about one interfacial water molecule and its corresponding area. For 18:1 lipids with more than one chain another two water molecules per additional chain are present in both states but contribute little to molecular area. In contrast to 18:1 lipids, the phospholipid area and hydration change little upon complexation. The uniformity of chain packing and hydration behavior among 18:1 lipid species contrasts with complex stoichiometries that vary from 0.04 to 0.65. This suggests that the stoichiometry of the preferred packing array is determined by interactions involving the more polar moieties of the 18:1 lipids and the phospholipid.

Theoretical and experimental investigation of drug-polymer interaction and miscibility and its impact on drug supersaturation in aqueous medium.

PubMed

Baghel, Shrawan; Cathcart, Helen; O'Reilly, Niall J

2016-10-01

Amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) have the potential to offer higher apparent solubility and bioavailability of BCS class II drugs. Knowledge of the solid state drug-polymer solubility/miscibility and their mutual interaction are fundamental requirements for the effective design and development of such systems. To this end, we have carried out a comprehensive investigation of various ASD systems of dipyridamole and cinnarizine in polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and polyacrylic acid (PAA) at different drug loadings. Theoretical and experimental examinations (by implementing binary and ternary Flory-Huggins (F-H) theory) related to drug-polymer interaction/miscibility including solubility parameter approach, melting point depression method, phase diagram, drug-polymer interaction in the presence of moisture and the effect of drug loading on interaction parameter were performed. The information obtained from this study was used to predict the stability of ASDs at different drug loadings and under different thermal and moisture conditions. Thermal and moisture sorption analysis not only provided the composition-dependent interaction parameter but also predicted the composition dependent miscibility. DPM-PVP, DPM-PAA and CNZ-PAA systems have shown molecular level mixing over the complete range of drug loading. For CNZ-PVP, the presence of a single Tg at lower drug loadings (10, 20 and 35%w/w) indicates the formation of solid solution. However, drug recrystallization was observed for samples with higher drug weight fractions (50 and 65%w/w). Finally, the role of polymer in maintaining drug supersaturation has also been explored. It has been found that drug-polymer combinations capable of hydrogen-bonding in the solution state (DPM-PVP, DPM-PAA and CNZ-PAA) are more effective in preventing drug crystallization compared to the drug-polymer systems without such interaction (CNZ-PVP). The DPM-PAA system outperformed all other ASDs in various stability conditions (dry-state, in the presence of moisture and in solution state), which was attributed to the drug's low crystallization tendency, the strong DPM-PAA interaction, the robustness of this interaction against moisture or water and the ability of PAA in maintaining DPM supersaturation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

77 FR 18841 - Proposed Flood Hazard Determinations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-28

... resolution process. SRPs are independent panels of experts in hydrology, hydraulics, and other pertinent....gov/water/flood/comaps.html City of Greenville City Hall, 206 South Main Street, Greenville, SC 29602...

Analysing hyporheic exchange processes during unsteady flow in a small gravel bed river

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurtenbach, Andreas; Schuetz, Tobias; Krein, Andreas; Bierl, Reinhard

2017-04-01

Quantifying hyporheic exchange in gravel dominated rivers still remains a challenging task in stream ecology and hydrology, in particular during unsteady flow. We adopted three strategies to decipher exchange processes with the hyporheic zone during unsteady boundary conditions. First, artificial floods were generated in the mid-mountain gravel bed river system of the Olewiger Bach, Germany (24 km2). The advantage of the artificial flood approach lies in the selective control of governing processes by experimental design. Consequently, hydraulic boundary conditions such as maximum discharge, runoff volume and flood duration are steerable during the field experiments and the composition of the discharged water (e.g. low conductivity values) is known. Second, hyporheic exchange was analysed via heat dynamics using air, water and sediment pore water temperatures. Temperature dynamics in the hyporheic zone were monitored at the head, mid and tail of a riffle using specific lances (length: 67 cm, Ø: 3cm) containing temperature sensors in depths of 2, 5, 10, 15, 25, 45 and 65 cm. Short-term temperature variability during the unsteady artificial flood waves were analysed in high resolution of 10-30 seconds. In order to capture long-term seasonal fluctuations and dynamics during natural floods temperature was continuously measured at 5-min resolution. However, heat transfer in the hyporheic zone is affected by both advective and conductive transport. In a third strategy we therefore measure electrical conductivity and selected solutes in pore water during three artificial floods in 2015. Pore water was sampled from different sediment depths (5, 15, 25 and 45 cm) via stainless steel multilevel probes (length: 58 cm, Ø: 4cm). The investigation of temperature and pore water dynamics reveals that precedent hydrological conditions and ground-water levels are significant determinants for hyporheic exchange during unsteady flow. Stable groundwater stratification in spring for instance impedes hyporheic exchange even during the artificial flood waves with high maximum discharge. Our results show that artificial floods are a promising tool to investigate hyporheic exchange processes independent of external influences from precipitation events and associated natural floods. Implications of these findings on subsurface residence times as well as an outlook on future research regarding high temporal resolution of conductivity and solute monitoring in the hyporheic zone during unsteady flow will be discussed.

A Mixed-Method Study of Princeville's Rebuilding from the Flood of 1999: Lessons on the Importance of Invisible Community Assets

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yoon, Intae

2009-01-01

Guided by previous studies and the community assets perspective, a concurrent mixed-method case study was conducted five years after a devastating flood to investigate how invisible community assets played a role in Princeville's rebuilding process from the flood of 1999. The independent variables in this study included retrospectively assessed…

Real Time Monitoring of Flooding from Microwave Satellite Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Galantowicz, John F.; Frey, H. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

In this report, we review the progress to date including results from data analyses and present a schedule of milestones for the remainder of the project. We discuss the processing of flood extent data and SSM/I brightness temperature data for the 1993 Midwest Flood. We present preliminary results from the derivation of open water fraction from brightness temperatures.

The role of flooding in the occurrence of sinkholes in mantled karst setting, Orléans area (France)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noury, Gildas; Perrin, Jerome; Luu, Li-Hua; Philippe, Pierre

2017-04-01

The Loire River basin is regularly impacted by sinkholes because of its specific geological context constituted of karstic limestone overlain by soft materials. Intense rainfall and associated flooding that occurred in this area in May and June 2016 triggered the collapse of tens of sinkholes. At least 20 houses, one high-traffic road, one levee of the Loire River and one highway were directly threatened. This event highlights not only the vulnerability of the area, especially in the case of a disastrous flood of the Loire River, but also an unexpected kinetic of the process. Two different types of sinkholes occurred in flooded areas: on the plateau, spectacular drop out of former natural caves is suspected; in the Loire valley, flooding is supposed to have accelerated the suffosion of alluvium by a factor of 10 000 to 20 000. This feedback bring new insights on the process dynamics that is currently being analysed in more details using an innovative internal erosion numerical modeling approach, based on Discrete Element - DEM and Lattice Boltzmann methods - LBM. A better understanding of the sinkhole formation is crucial for adequate risk management, especially in the case of a large flooding event.

Updating flood maps efficiently using existing hydraulic models, very-high-accuracy elevation data, and a geographic information system; a pilot study on the Nisqually River, Washington

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jones, Joseph L.; Haluska, Tana L.; Kresch, David L.

2001-01-01

A method of updating flood inundation maps at a fraction of the expense of using traditional methods was piloted in Washington State as part of the U.S. Geological Survey Urban Geologic and Hydrologic Hazards Initiative. Large savings in expense may be achieved by building upon previous Flood Insurance Studies and automating the process of flood delineation with a Geographic Information System (GIS); increases in accuracy and detail result from the use of very-high-accuracy elevation data and automated delineation; and the resulting digital data sets contain valuable ancillary information such as flood depth, as well as greatly facilitating map storage and utility. The method consists of creating stage-discharge relations from the archived output of the existing hydraulic model, using these relations to create updated flood stages for recalculated flood discharges, and using a GIS to automate the map generation process. Many of the effective flood maps were created in the late 1970?s and early 1980?s, and suffer from a number of well recognized deficiencies such as out-of-date or inaccurate estimates of discharges for selected recurrence intervals, changes in basin characteristics, and relatively low quality elevation data used for flood delineation. FEMA estimates that 45 percent of effective maps are over 10 years old (FEMA, 1997). Consequently, Congress has mandated the updating and periodic review of existing maps, which have cost the Nation almost 3 billion (1997) dollars. The need to update maps and the cost of doing so were the primary motivations for piloting a more cost-effective and efficient updating method. New technologies such as Geographic Information Systems and LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) elevation mapping are key to improving the efficiency of flood map updating, but they also improve the accuracy, detail, and usefulness of the resulting digital flood maps. GISs produce digital maps without manual estimation of inundated areas between cross sections, and can generate working maps across a broad range of scales, for any selected area, and overlayed with easily updated cultural features. Local governments are aggressively collecting very-high-accuracy elevation data for numerous reasons; this not only lowers the cost and increases accuracy of flood maps, but also inherently boosts the level of community involvement in the mapping process. These elevation data are also ideal for hydraulic modeling, should an existing model be judged inadequate.

On the significance of future trends in flood frequencies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernhardt, M.; Schulz, K.; Wieder, O.

2015-12-01

Floods are a significant threat for alpine headwater catchments and for the forelands. The formation of significant flood events is thereby often coupled on processes occurring in the alpine zone. Rain on snow events are just one example. The prediction of flood risks or trends of flood risks is of major interest to people under direct threat, policy and decision makers as well as for insurance companies. A lot of research was and is currently done in view of detecting future trends in flood extremes or return periods. From a pure physically based point of view, there is strong evidence that those trends exist. But, the central point question is if trends in flood events or other extreme events could be detected from a statistical point of view and on the basis of the available data. This study will investigate this question on the basis of different target parameters and by using long term measurements.

Varying effects of geomorphic change on floodplain inundation and forest communities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keim, R.; Johnson, E. L.; Edwards, B. L.; King, S. L.; Hupp, C. R.

2015-12-01

Overbank flooding in floodplains is an important control on vegetation, but effects of changing flooding are difficult to predict because sensitivities of plant communities to multidimensional flooding (frequency, depth, duration, and timing) are not well understood. We used HEC-RAS to model the changing flooding regime in the lower White River floodplain, Arkansas, in response to rapid incision of the Mississippi River in the 1930s, and quantified flood frequency, depth, and duration by forest community type. Incision has decreased flooding especially in terms of frequency, which is one of the most important variables for ecological processes. Modeled depth-duration curves varied more among floodplain reaches than among forest communities within the same reach, but forest communities are now arranged in accordance with new flood regimes in place after river incision. Forest responses to subtle geomorphic change are slower than other vegetation communities, so detection of the full ramifications of ecohydrologic change may require decades.

Floodplain biogeochemical processing of floodwaters in the Atchafalaya River Basin during the Mississippi River flood of 2011

USGS Publications Warehouse

Scott, Durelle T.; Keim, Richard F.; Edwards, Brandon L.; Jones, C. Nathan; Kroes, Daniel E.

2014-01-01

The 2011 flood in the Lower Mississippi resulted in the second highest recorded river flow diverted into the Atchafalaya River Basin (ARB). The higher water levels during the flood peak resulted in high hydrologic connectivity between the Atchafalaya River and floodplain, with up to 50% of the Atchafalaya River water moving off channel. Water quality samples were collected throughout the ARB over the course of the flood event. Significant nitrate (NO3-) reduction (75%) occurred within the floodplain, resulting in a total NO3- reduction of 16.6% over the flood. The floodplain was a small but measurable source of dissolved reactive phosphorus (SRP) and ammonium (NH4+). Collectively, these results from this large flood event suggest that enhancing river-floodplain connectivity through freshwater diversions will reduce NO3- loads to the Gulf of Mexico during large annual floods.

A restatement of the natural science evidence concerning catchment-based ‘natural’ flood management in the UK

PubMed Central

Hall, Jim W.; Murgatroyd, Anna; Acreman, Mike; Bates, Paul; Beven, Keith; Heathwaite, Louise; Holden, Joseph; Holman, Ian P.; Lane, Stuart N.; O'Connell, Enda; Penning-Rowsell, Edmund; Reynard, Nick; Sear, David; Thorne, Colin; Wilby, Rob

2017-01-01

Flooding is a very costly natural hazard in the UK and is expected to increase further under future climate change scenarios. Flood defences are commonly deployed to protect communities and property from flooding, but in recent years flood management policy has looked towards solutions that seek to mitigate flood risk at flood-prone sites through targeted interventions throughout the catchment, sometimes using techniques which involve working with natural processes. This paper describes a project to provide a succinct summary of the natural science evidence base concerning the effectiveness of catchment-based ‘natural’ flood management in the UK. The evidence summary is designed to be read by an informed but not technically specialist audience. Each evidence statement is placed into one of four categories describing the nature of the underlying information. The evidence summary forms the appendix to this paper and an annotated bibliography is provided in the electronic supplementary material. PMID:28413336

77 FR 44651 - Proposed Flood Hazard Determinations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-30

... resolution process. SRPs are independent panels of experts in hydrology, hydraulics, and other pertinent... Online at: http://www.dnr.sc.gov/water/flood/comaps.html Town of Springfield Town Hall, 1505 Georgia...

77 FR 55856 - Proposed Flood Hazard Determinations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-11

... resolution process. SRPs are independent panels of experts in hydrology, hydraulics, and other pertinent... Inspection Online at: http://www.dnr.sc.gov/water/flood/comaps.html City of Florence Planning, Research and...

Flood Extent Mapping for Namibia Using Change Detection and Thresholding with SAR

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Long, Stephanie; Fatoyinbo, Temilola E.; Policelli, Frederick

2014-01-01

A new method for flood detection change detection and thresholding (CDAT) was used with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery to delineate the extent of flooding for the Chobe floodplain in the Caprivi region of Namibia. This region experiences annual seasonal flooding and has seen a recent renewal of severe flooding after a long dry period in the 1990s. Flooding in this area has caused loss of life and livelihoods for the surrounding communities and has caught the attention of disaster relief agencies. There is a need for flood extent mapping techniques that can be used to process images quickly, providing near real-time flooding information to relief agencies. ENVISAT/ASAR and Radarsat-2 images were acquired for several flooding seasons from February 2008 to March 2013. The CDAT method was used to determine flooding from these images and includes the use of image subtraction, decision based classification with threshold values, and segmentation of SAR images. The total extent of flooding determined for 2009, 2011 and 2012 was about 542 km2, 720 km2, and 673 km2 respectively. Pixels determined to be flooded in vegetation were typically <0.5 % of the entire scene, with the exception of 2009 where the detection of flooding in vegetation was much greater (almost one third of the total flooded area). The time to maximum flooding for the 2013 flood season was determined to be about 27 days. Landsat water classification was used to compare the results from the new CDAT with SAR method; the results show good spatial agreement with Landsat scenes.

Flood precautionary behaviour of private households in Can Tho city in the Mekong Delta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kreibich, Heidi; Gani Adnan, Sarfaraz; Thi Chinh, Do; Bubeck, Philip

2015-04-01

Flood risk is high and it is projected to increase in many places due to the effects of climate change and the on-going intensification of human activities in risk-prone areas. These projections and the considerable uncertainties associated with these developments increasingly require integrated approaches in flood risk management. In addition to flood protection, private precautionary measures aim at reducing the potential negative consequences of floods. Thus, insights into flood precautionary behaviour are important. This study is grounded on the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), which refers to the cognitive process that people undergo when evaluating their own ability to avoid a certain risk. Results of a survey among 858 flood-prone households in Can Tho city in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam are presented. It is shown that flood-coping appraisal is an important variable in terms of precautionary behaviour. Thus, risk communication should focus more on the potential of precautionary measures to effectively reduce flood damage, as well as on information about how to implement such measures in practice.

Analysis of the 2011 Mekong flood in Can Tho city

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Do, Thi-Chinh; Bubeck, Philip; Nguyen, Viet-Dung; Kreibich, Heidi

2014-05-01

Floods in the Mekong delta occur on a recurring basis during the flood season from July to November, and regular inundations of large areas are a prerequisite for the livelihoods of about 17 million people in the Vietnamese delta. At the same time, large-scale flood events above usual water levels pose a serious hazard that repeatedly caused severe economic damage and losses of life in past decades. The flood event in 2011 in the Mekong Delta heavily impacted Can Tho City and caused substantial damage to various economic sectors. Data from face to face interviews with 480 flood-affected households and 378 small businesses were analysed to gain detailed insights into flood preparedness, early warning, emergency measures, flood impacts and recovery before, during and after the 2011 flood in Can Tho city. Amongst other things, the findings reveal that damage to households is high, often exceeding the amount of several months of income, despite a relatively high level of preparedness. In terms of small businesses, it is found that higher losses indeed occur due to the disruption of production processes compared with direct damage.

Origin, enzymatic response and fate of dissolved organic matter during flood and non-flood conditions in a river-floodplain system of the Danube (Austria).

PubMed

Sieczko, Anna; Peduzzi, Peter

2014-01-01

Spectroscopic techniques and extracellular enzyme activity measurements were combined with assessments of bacterial secondary production (BSP) to elucidate flood-pulse-linked differences in carbon (C) sources and related microbial processes in a river-floodplain system near Vienna (Austria). Surface connection with the main channel significantly influenced the quantity and quality of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in floodplain backwaters. The highest values of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and chromophoric DOM (CDOM) were observed during the peak of the flood, when DOC increased from 1.36 to 4.37 mg l -1 and CDOM from 2.94 to 14.32 m -1 . The flood introduced DOC which consisted of more allochthonously-derived, aromatic compounds. Bacterial enzymatic activity, as a proxy to track the response to changes in DOM, indicated elevated utilization of imported allochthonous material. Based on the enzyme measurements, new parameters were calculated: metabolic effort and enzymatic indices (EEA 1 and EEA 2). During connection, bacterial glucosidase and protease activity were dominant, whereas during disconnected phases a switch to lignin degradation (phenol oxidase) occurred. The enzymatic activity analysis revealed that flooding mobilized reactive DOM, which then supported bacterial metabolism. No significant differences in overall BSP between the two phases were detected, indicating that heterogeneous sources of C sufficiently support BSP. The study demonstrates that floods are important for delivering DOM, which, despite its allochthonous origin, is reactive and can be effectively utilized by aquatic bacteria in this river-floodplain systems. The presence of active floodplains, characterized by hydrological connectivity with the main channel, creates the opportunity to process allochthonous DOC. This has potential consequences for carbon flux, enhancing C sequestration and mineralization processes in this river-floodplain system.

The role of tributary mixing in chemical variations at a karst spring, Milandre, Switzerland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perrin, J.; Jeannin, P.-Y.; Cornaton, F.

2007-01-01

SummarySolute concentration variations during flood events were investigated in a karst aquifer of the Swiss Jura. Observations were made at the spring, and at the three main subterraneous tributaries feeding the spring. A simple transient flow and transport numerical model was able to reproduce chemographs and hydrographs observed at the spring, as a result of a mixing of the concentration and discharge of the respective tributaries. Sensitivity analysis carried out with the model showed that it is possible to produce chemical variations at the spring even if all tributaries have constant (but different for each of them) solute concentrations. This process is called tributary mixing. The good match between observed and modelled curves indicate that, in the phreatic zone, tributary mixing is probably an important process that shapes spring chemographs. Chemical reactions and other mixing components (e.g. from low permeability volumes) have a limited influence. Dissolution-related (calcium, bicarbonate, specific conductance) and pollution-related parameters (nitrate, chloride, potassium) displayed slightly different behaviours: during moderate flood events, the former showed limited variations compared to the latter. During large flood events, both presented chemographs with significant changes. No significant event water participates in moderate flood events and tributary mixing will be the major process shaping chemographs. Variations are greater for parameters with higher spatial variability (e.g. pollution-related). Whereas for large flood events, the contribution of event water becomes significant and influences the chemographs of all the parameters. As a result, spring water vulnerability to an accidental pollution is low during moderate flood events and under base flow conditions. It strongly increases during large flood events, because event water contributes to the spring discharge.

Validation of 2D flood models with insurance claims

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zischg, Andreas Paul; Mosimann, Markus; Bernet, Daniel Benjamin; Röthlisberger, Veronika

2018-02-01

Flood impact modelling requires reliable models for the simulation of flood processes. In recent years, flood inundation models have been remarkably improved and widely used for flood hazard simulation, flood exposure and loss analyses. In this study, we validate a 2D inundation model for the purpose of flood exposure analysis at the river reach scale. We validate the BASEMENT simulation model with insurance claims using conventional validation metrics. The flood model is established on the basis of available topographic data in a high spatial resolution for four test cases. The validation metrics were calculated with two different datasets; a dataset of event documentations reporting flooded areas and a dataset of insurance claims. The model fit relating to insurance claims is in three out of four test cases slightly lower than the model fit computed on the basis of the observed inundation areas. This comparison between two independent validation data sets suggests that validation metrics using insurance claims can be compared to conventional validation data, such as the flooded area. However, a validation on the basis of insurance claims might be more conservative in cases where model errors are more pronounced in areas with a high density of values at risk.

Identification and delineation of areas flood hazard using high accuracy of DEM data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riadi, B.; Barus, B.; Widiatmaka; Yanuar, M. J. P.; Pramudya, B.

2018-05-01

Flood incidents that often occur in Karawang regency need to be mitigated. These expectations exist on technologies that can predict, anticipate and reduce disaster risks. Flood modeling techniques using Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data can be applied in mitigation activities. High accuracy DEM data used in modeling, will result in better flooding flood models. The result of high accuracy DEM data processing will yield information about surface morphology which can be used to identify indication of flood hazard area. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe flood hazard areas by identifying wetland areas using DEM data and Landsat-8 images. TerraSAR-X high-resolution data is used to detect wetlands from landscapes, while land cover is identified by Landsat image data. The Topography Wetness Index (TWI) method is used to detect and identify wetland areas with basic DEM data, while for land cover analysis using Tasseled Cap Transformation (TCT) method. The result of TWI modeling yields information about potential land of flood. Overlay TWI map with land cover map that produces information that in Karawang regency the most vulnerable areas occur flooding in rice fields. The spatial accuracy of the flood hazard area in this study was 87%.

Flood extent and water level estimation from SAR using data-model integration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ajadi, O. A.; Meyer, F. J.

2017-12-01

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images have long been recognized as a valuable data source for flood mapping. Compared to other sources, SAR's weather and illumination independence and large area coverage at high spatial resolution supports reliable, frequent, and detailed observations of developing flood events. Accordingly, SAR has the potential to greatly aid in the near real-time monitoring of natural hazards, such as flood detection, if combined with automated image processing. This research works towards increasing the reliability and temporal sampling of SAR-derived flood hazard information by integrating information from multiple SAR sensors and SAR modalities (images and Interferometric SAR (InSAR) coherence) and by combining SAR-derived change detection information with hydrologic and hydraulic flood forecast models. First, the combination of multi-temporal SAR intensity images and coherence information for generating flood extent maps is introduced. The application of least-squares estimation integrates flood information from multiple SAR sensors, thus increasing the temporal sampling. SAR-based flood extent information will be combined with a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) to reduce false alarms and to estimate water depth and flood volume. The SAR-based flood extent map is assimilated into the Hydrologic Engineering Center River Analysis System (Hec-RAS) model to aid in hydraulic model calibration. The developed technology is improving the accuracy of flood information by exploiting information from data and models. It also provides enhanced flood information to decision-makers supporting the response to flood extent and improving emergency relief efforts.

Insurance against climate change and flood risk: Insurability and decision processes of insurers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hung, Hung-Chih; Hung, Jia-Yi

2016-04-01

1. Background Major portions of the Asia-Pacific region is facing escalating exposure and vulnerability to climate change and flood-related extremes. This highlights an arduous challenge for public agencies to improve existing risk management strategies. Conventionally, governmental funding was majorly responsible and accountable for disaster loss compensation in the developing countries in Asia, such as Taiwan. This is often criticized as an ineffective and inefficient measure of dealing with flood risk. Flood insurance is one option within the toolkit of risk-sharing arrangement and adaptation strategy to flood risk. However, there are numerous potential barriers for insurance companies to cover flood damage, which would cause the flood risk is regarded as uninsurable. This study thus aims to examine attitudes within the insurers about the viability of flood insurance, the decision-making processes of pricing flood insurance and their determinants, as well as to examine potential solutions to encourage flood insurance. 2. Methods and data Using expected-utility theory, an insurance agent-based decision-making model was developed to examine the insurers' attitudes towards the insurability of flood risk, and to scrutinize the factors that influence their decisions on flood insurance premium-setting. This model particularly focuses on how insurers price insurance when they face either uncertainty or ambiguity about the probability and loss of a particular flood event occurring. This study considers the factors that are expected to affect insures' decisions on underwriting and pricing insurance are their risk perception, attitudes towards flood insurance, governmental measures (e.g., land-use planning, building codes, risk communication), expected probabilities and losses of devastating flooding events, as well as insurance companies' attributes. To elicit insurers' utilities about premium-setting for insurance coverage, the 'certainty equivalent,' 'probability equivalent,' and 'gamble tradeoff' methods were used. We then synthesized a Tobit and an OLS regression analysis to identify and examine the determinants of insurers' decisions on insurability and pricing for flood risk. Furthermore, the data were collected through a questionnaire survey, which was conducted with the assistance from the Non-life Underwriters Society, Taiwan and the Actuarial Institute, Taiwan. After pretesting, questionnaires were mailed to 410 randomly chosen commercial property-and-casualty insurance firms' actuaries and underwriters. The final sample consisted of 179 questionnaires for a 43.8% response rate. 3. Results Results of the questionnaire survey reveal that flood risk tends to be more uninsurable when there is ambiguity regarding the probability of a particular flood event loss. The presence of insurers' risk aversion appears to be robust. Insurers would charge a significantly higher price for a flood insurance policy than normal property insurance. The findings also show that the insurers who perceived higher levels of flood risk, or/and had a company with smaller size or higher financial leverage, would trigger a higher premium for flood insurance. Governmental risk management strategies, such as land-use planning, building codes, flood-hazard zone regulations, also played a prominent role in enhancing insurability and decreasing insurance premium. Therefore, appropriate incentives should be combined with better public risk communication and mitigation strategies to stimulate insurance coverage in reducing flood loss.

Notes: Water Flow and Chemical Retardation in Soils: A Simple Effective Laboratory Demonstration.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowman, R. S.; And Others

1988-01-01

Describes a laboratory demonstration that illustrates principles of miscible displacement and chemical retardation in soils. Discusses how the experimental apparatus can be constructed from readily available materials. (TW)

Representative sets of design hydrographs for ungauged catchments: A regional approach using probabilistic region memberships

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brunner, Manuela Irene; Seibert, Jan; Favre, Anne-Catherine

2018-02-01

Traditional design flood estimation approaches have focused on peak discharges and have often neglected other hydrograph characteristics such as hydrograph volume and shape. Synthetic design hydrograph estimation procedures overcome this deficiency by jointly considering peak discharge, hydrograph volume, and shape. Such procedures have recently been extended to allow for the consideration of process variability within a catchment by a flood-type specific construction of design hydrographs. However, they depend on observed runoff time series and are not directly applicable in ungauged catchments where such series are not available. To obtain reliable flood estimates, there is a need for an approach that allows for the consideration of process variability in the construction of synthetic design hydrographs in ungauged catchments. In this study, we therefore propose an approach that combines a bivariate index flood approach with event-type specific synthetic design hydrograph construction. First, regions of similar flood reactivity are delineated and a classification rule that enables the assignment of ungauged catchments to one of these reactivity regions is established. Second, event-type specific synthetic design hydrographs are constructed using the pooled data divided by event type from the corresponding reactivity region in a bivariate index flood procedure. The approach was tested and validated on a dataset of 163 Swiss catchments. The results indicated that 1) random forest is a suitable classification model for the assignment of an ungauged catchment to one of the reactivity regions, 2) the combination of a bivariate index flood approach and event-type specific synthetic design hydrograph construction enables the consideration of event types in ungauged catchments, and 3) the use of probabilistic class memberships in regional synthetic design hydrograph construction helps to alleviate the problem of misclassification. Event-type specific synthetic design hydrograph sets enable the inclusion of process variability into design flood estimation and can be used as a compromise between single best estimate synthetic design hydrographs and continuous simulation studies.

What can we learn from the deadly flash floods? Post Event Review Capability (PERC) analysis of the Bavaria and Baden-Wurttemberg flood events in Summer 2016

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szoenyi, Michael

2017-04-01

In May/June 2016, stationary low pressure systems brought intense rainfall with record-braking intensities of well above 100 mm rain in few hours locally in the southern states of Baden-Wurttemberg and Bavaria, Germany. In steep terrains, small channels and creeks became devastating torrents impacting, among others, the villages of Simbach/Inn, Schwäbisch-Gmünd and Braunsbach. Just few days prior, France had also seen devastating rainfall and flooding. Damage in Germany alone is estimated at 2.8 M USD, of which less than 50% are insured. The loss of life was significant, with 18 fatalities reported across the events. This new forensic event analysis as part of Zurich's Post Event Review Capability (PERC) investigates the flash flood events following these record rainfalls in Southern Germany and tries to answer the following questions holistically, across the five capitals (5C) and the full disaster risk management (DRM) cycle, which are key to understanding how to become more resilient to such flood events: - Why have these intense rainfall events led to such devastating consequences? The EU Floods directive and its implementation in the various member states, as well as the 2002 and 2013 Germany floods, have focused on larger rivers and the main asset concentration. The pathway and mechanism of the 2016 floods are very different and need to be better understood. Flash floods and surface flooding may need to become the new focus and be much better communicated to people at risk, as the awareness for such perils has been identified as low. - How can the prevalence for such flash floods be better identified and mapped? Research indicated that affected people and decision makers alike attribute the occurrence of such flash floods as arbitrary, but we argue that hotspots can and must be identified based on an overlay of rainfall intensity maps, topography leading to flash flood processes, and vulnerable assets. In Germany, there are currently no comprehensive hazard maps for flash and/or surface flooding. - What recommendations can be made from the investigation of the consequences? We highlight how additional processes that cause significant damage, such as log jams, backwater increase, temporary dam formation, etc., are currently insufficiently understood and incorporated into decision-making. - What are the social and human long-term effects of such flash flood events, and how can the insights from this review be incorporated into future decision-making to better protect people and assets as part of integrated flood risk management?

Effect of solvent evaporation and coagulation on morphology development of asymmetric membranes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandrasekaran, Neelakandan; Kyu, Thein

2008-03-01

Miscibility behavior of blends of amorphous polyamide (PA) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was studied in relation to membrane formation. Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and water were used as solvent and non-solvent, respectively. Differential scanning calorimetry and cloud point measurements revealed that the binary PA/PVP blends as well as the ternary PA/PVP/DMSO system were completely miscible at all compositions. However, the addition of non-solvent (water) to this ternary system has led to phase separation. Visual turbidity study was used to establish a ternary liquid-liquid phase diagram of the PA-PVP/DMSO/water system. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) showed the development of finger-like and sponge-like cross sectional morphologies during coagulation. Effects of polymer concentration, PA/PVP blend ratio, solvent/non-solvent quality, and evaporation time on the resulting membrane morphology will be discussed.

How the flow affects the phase behaviour and microstructure of polymer nanocomposites.

PubMed

Stephanou, Pavlos S

2015-02-14

We address the issue of flow effects on the phase behaviour of polymer nanocomposite melts by making use of a recently reported Hamiltonian set of evolution equations developed on principles of non-equilibrium thermodynamics. To this end, we calculate the spinodal curve, by computing values for the nanoparticle radius as a function of the polymer radius-of-gyration for which the second derivative of the generalized free energy of the system becomes zero. Under equilibrium conditions, we recover the phase diagram predicted by Mackay et al. [Science 311, 1740 (2006)]. Under non-equilibrium conditions, we account for the extra terms in the free energy due to changes in the conformations of polymer chains by the shear flow. Overall, our model predicts that flow enhances miscibility, since the corresponding miscibility window opens up for non-zero shear rate values.

Crystallization of D-mannitol in binary mixtures with NaCl: phase diagram and polymorphism.

PubMed

Telang, Chitra; Suryanarayanan, Raj; Yu, Lian

2003-12-01

To study the crystallization, polymorphism, and phase behavior of D-mannitol in binary mixtures with NaCl to better understand their interactions in frozen aqueous solutions. Differential scanning calorimetry, hot-stage microscopy, Raman microscopy, and variable-temperature X-ray diffractometry were used to characterize D-mannitol-NaCl mixtures. NaCl and D-mannitol exhibited significant melt miscibility (up to 7.5% w/w or 0.20 mole fraction of NaCl) and a eutectic phase diagram (eutectic composition 7.5% w/w NaCl; eutectic temperature 150 degrees C for the alpha and beta polymorphs of D-mannitol and 139 degrees C for the delta). The presence of NaCl did not prevent mannitol from crystallizing but, depending on sample size, affected the polymorph crystallized: below 10 mg, delta was obtained; above 100 mg, alpha was obtained. Pure mannitol crystallized under the same conditions first as the delta polymorph and then as the a polymorph, with the latter nucleating on the former. KCl showed similar eutectic points and melt miscibility with D-mannitol as NaCl. LiCl yielded lower eutectic melting points, inhibited the crystallization of D-mannitol during cooling, and enabled the observation of its glass transition. Despite their structural dissimilarity, significant melt miscibility exists between D-mannitol and NaCl. Their phase diagram has been determined and features polymorph-dependent eutectic points. NaCl influences the polymorphic behavior of mannitol, and the effect is linked to the crystallization of mannitol in two polymorphic stages.

Amorphous and Crystalline Particulates: Challenges and Perspectives in Drug Delivery.

PubMed

Al-Obaidi, Hisham; Majumder, Mridul; Bari, Fiza

2017-01-01

Crystalline and amorphous dispersions have been the focus of academic and industrial research due to their potential role in formulating poorly water-soluble drugs. This review looks at the progress made starting with crystalline carriers in the form of eutectics moving towards more complex crystalline mixtures. It also covers using glassy polymers to maintain the drug as amorphous exhibiting higher energy and entropy. However, the amorphous form tends to recrystallize on storage, which limits the benefits of this approach. Specific interactions between the drug and the polymer may retard this spontaneous conversion of the amorphous drug. Some studies have shown that it is possible to maintain the drug in the amorphous form for extended periods of time. For the drug and the polymer to form a stable mixture they have to be miscible on a molecular basis. Another form of solid dispersions is pharmaceutical co-crystals, for which research has focused on understanding the chemistry, crystal engineering and physico-chemical properties. USFDA has issued a guidance in April 2013 suggesting that the co-crystals as a pharmaceutical product may be a reality; but just not yet! While some of the research is still oriented towards application of these carriers, understanding the mechanism by which drug-carrier miscibility occurs is also covered. Within this context is the use of thermodynamic models such as Flory-Huggins model with some examples of studies used to predict miscibility. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Time-of-flight expansion of binary Bose–Einstein condensates at finite temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, K. L.; Jørgensen, N. B.; Wacker, L. J.; Skou, M. G.; Skalmstang, K. T.; Arlt, J. J.; Proukakis, N. P.

2018-05-01

Ultracold quantum gases provide a unique setting for studying and understanding the properties of interacting quantum systems. Here, we investigate a multi-component system of 87Rb–39K Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) with tunable interactions both theoretically and experimentally. Such multi-component systems can be characterized by their miscibility, where miscible components lead to a mixed ground state and immiscible components form a phase-separated state. Here we perform the first full simulation of the dynamical expansion of this system including both BECs and thermal clouds, which allows for a detailed comparison with experimental results. In particular we show that striking features emerge in time-of-flight (TOF) for BECs with strong interspecies repulsion, even for systems which were separated in situ by a large gravitational sag. An analysis of the centre of mass positions of the BECs after expansion yields qualitative agreement with the homogeneous criterion for phase-separation, but reveals no clear transition point between the mixed and the separated phases. Instead one can identify a transition region, for which the presence of a gravitational sag is found to be advantageous. Moreover, we analyse the situation where only one component is condensed and show that the density distribution of the thermal component also shows some distinct features. Our work sheds new light on the analysis of multi-component systems after TOF and will guide future experiments on the detection of miscibility in these systems.

Calcium Ions as “Miscibility Switch”: Colocalization of Surfactant Protein B with Anionic Lipids under Absolute Calcium Free Conditions

PubMed Central

Saleem, Mohammed; Meyer, Michaela C.; Breitenstein, Daniel; Galla, Hans-Joachim

2009-01-01

Abstract One of the main determinants of lung surfactant function is the complex interplay between its protein and lipid components. The lipid specificity of surfactant protein B (SP-B), however, and the protein's ability to selectively squeeze out lipids, has remained contradictory. In this work we present, for the first time to our knowledge, by means of time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry chemical imaging, a direct evidence for colocalization of SP-B as well as its model peptide KL4 with negatively charged dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol under absolute calcium free conditions. Our results prove that protein/lipid localization depends on the miscibility of all surfactant components, which itself is influenced by subphase ionic conditions. In contrast to our earlier studies reporting SP-B/KL4 colocalization with zwitterionic dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, in the presence of even the smallest traces of calcium, we finally evidence an apparent reversal of protein/lipid mixing behavior upon calcium removal with ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid. In addition, scanning force microscopy measurements reveal that by depleting the subphase from calcium ions the protrusion formation ability of SP-B or KL4 is not hampered. However, in the case of KL4, distinct differences in protrusion morphology and height are visible. Our results support the idea that calcium ions act as a “miscibility switch” in surfactant model systems and probably are one of the major factors steering lipid/protein mixing behavior as well as influencing the protein's protrusion formation ability. PMID:19619464

A Global Geospatial Database of 5000+ Historic Flood Event Extents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tellman, B.; Sullivan, J.; Doyle, C.; Kettner, A.; Brakenridge, G. R.; Erickson, T.; Slayback, D. A.

2017-12-01

A key dataset that is missing for global flood model validation and understanding historic spatial flood vulnerability is a global historical geo-database of flood event extents. Decades of earth observing satellites and cloud computing now make it possible to not only detect floods in near real time, but to run these water detection algorithms back in time to capture the spatial extent of large numbers of specific events. This talk will show results from the largest global historical flood database developed to date. We use the Dartmouth Flood Observatory flood catalogue to map over 5000 floods (from 1985-2017) using MODIS, Landsat, and Sentinel-1 Satellites. All events are available for public download via the Earth Engine Catalogue and via a website that allows the user to query floods by area or date, assess population exposure trends over time, and download flood extents in geospatial format.In this talk, we will highlight major trends in global flood exposure per continent, land use type, and eco-region. We will also make suggestions how to use this dataset in conjunction with other global sets to i) validate global flood models, ii) assess the potential role of climatic change in flood exposure iii) understand how urbanization and other land change processes may influence spatial flood exposure iv) assess how innovative flood interventions (e.g. wetland restoration) influence flood patterns v) control for event magnitude to assess the role of social vulnerability and damage assessment vi) aid in rapid probabilistic risk assessment to enable microinsurance markets. Authors on this paper are already using the database for the later three applications and will show examples of wetland intervention analysis in Argentina, social vulnerability analysis in the USA, and micro insurance in India.

Stimulating household flood risk mitigation investments through insurance and subsidies: an Agent-Based Modelling approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haer, Toon; Botzen, Wouter; de Moel, Hans; Aerts, Jeroen

2015-04-01

In the period 1998-2009, floods triggered roughly 52 billion euro in insured economic losses making floods the most costly natural hazard in Europe. Climate change and socio/economic trends are expected to further aggrevate floods losses in many regions. Research shows that flood risk can be significantly reduced if households install protective measures, and that the implementation of such measures can be stimulated through flood insurance schemes and subsidies. However, the effectiveness of such incentives to stimulate implementation of loss-reducing measures greatly depends on the decision process of individuals and is hardly studied. In our study, we developed an Agent-Based Model that integrates flood damage models, insurance mechanisms, subsidies, and household behaviour models to assess the effectiveness of different economic tools on stimulating households to invest in loss-reducing measures. Since the effectiveness depends on the decision making process of individuals, the study compares different household decision models ranging from standard economic models, to economic models for decision making under risk, to more complex decision models integrating economic models and risk perceptions, opinion dynamics, and the influence of flood experience. The results show the effectiveness of incentives to stimulate investment in loss-reducing measures for different household behavior types, while assuming climate change scenarios. It shows how complex decision models can better reproduce observed real-world behaviour compared to traditional economic models. Furthermore, since flood events are included in the simulations, the results provide an analysis of the dynamics in insured and uninsured losses for households, the costs of reducing risk by implementing loss-reducing measures, the capacity of the insurance market, and the cost of government subsidies under different scenarios. The model has been applied to the City of Rotterdam in The Netherlands.

Flood hazard assessment for french NPPs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rebour, Vincent; Duluc, Claire-Marie; Guimier, Laurent

2015-04-01

This paper presents the approach for flood hazard assessment for NPP which is on-going in France in the framework of post-Fukushima activities. These activities were initially defined considering both European "stress tests" of NPPs pursuant to the request of the European Council, and the French safety audit of civilian nuclear facilities in the light of the Fukushima Daiichi accident. The main actors in that process are the utility (EDF is, up to date, the unique NPP's operator in France), the regulatory authority (ASN) and its technical support organization (IRSN). This paper was prepared by IRSN, considering official positions of the other main actors in the current review process, it was not officially endorsed by them. In France, flood hazard to be considered for design basis definition (for new NPPs and for existing NPPs in periodic safety reviews conducted every 10 years) was revised before Fukushima-Daichi accident, due to le Blayais NPP December 1999 experience (partial site flooding and loss of some safety classified systems). The paper presents in the first part an overview of the revised guidance for design basis flood. In order to address design extension conditions (conditions that could result from natural events exceeding the design basis events), a set of flooding scenarios have been defined by adding margins on the scenarios that are considered for the design. Due to the diversity of phenomena to be considered for flooding hazard, the margin assessment is specific to each flooding scenario in terms of parameter to be penalized and of degree of variation of this parameter. The general approach to address design extension conditions is presented in the second part of the paper. The next parts present the approach for five flooding scenarios including design basis scenario and additional margin to define design extension scenarios.

Examining the effects of urban agglomeration polders on flood events in Qinhuai River basin, China with HEC-HMS model.

PubMed

Gao, Yuqin; Yuan, Yu; Wang, Huaizhi; Schmidt, Arthur R; Wang, Kexuan; Ye, Liu

2017-05-01

The urban agglomeration polders type of flood control pattern is a general flood control pattern in the eastern plain area and some of the secondary river basins in China. A HEC-HMS model of Qinhuai River basin based on the flood control pattern was established for simulating basin runoff, examining the impact of urban agglomeration polders on flood events, and estimating the effects of urbanization on hydrological processes of the urban agglomeration polders in Qinhuai River basin. The results indicate that the urban agglomeration polders could increase the peak flow and flood volume. The smaller the scale of the flood, the more significant the influence of the polder was to the flood volume. The distribution of the city circle polder has no obvious impact on the flood volume, but has effect on the peak flow. The closer the polder is to basin output, the smaller the influence it has on peak flows. As the level of urbanization gradually improving of city circle polder, flood volumes and peak flows gradually increase compared to those with the current level of urbanization (the impervious rate was 20%). The potential change in flood volume and peak flow with increasing impervious rate shows a linear relationship.

Blends of polyester ionomers with polar polymers: Interactions, reactions, and compatibilization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boykin, Timothy Lamar

The compatibility of amorphous and semicrystalline polyester ionomers with various polar polymers (i.e., polyesters and polyamides) has been investigated for their potential use as minor component compatibilizers. The degree of compatibility (i.e., ranging from incompatible to miscible) between the polyester ionomers and the polar polymers was determined by evaluating the effect of blend composition on the melting behavior and phase behavior of binary blends. In addition, the origin of compatibility and/or incompatibility for each of the binary blends (i.e., polyamide/ionomer and polyester/ionomer) was determined by evaluating blends prepared by both solution and melt mixed methods. Subsequent to investigation of the binary blends, the effect of polyester ionomer addition on the compatibility of polyamide/polyester blends was investigated by evaluating the mechanical properties and phase morphology of ionomer compatibilized polyamide/polyester blends. Polyester ionomers (amorphous and semicrystalline) were shown to exhibit a high degree of compatibility (even miscibility) with polyamides, such as nylon 6,6 (N66). Compatibility was attributed to specific interactions between the metal counterion of the polyester ionomer and the amide groups of N66. The degree of compatibility (or miscibility) was shown to be dependent on the counterion type of the ionomer, with the highest degree exhibited by blends containing the divalent form of the polyester ionomers. Although polyester ionomers were shown to exhibit incompatibility with both poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT), increasing the time of melt processing significantly enhanced the compatibility of the polyester ionomers with both PET and PBT. The observed enhancement in compatibility was attributed to ester-ester interchange between the polyester blend components, which was confirmed by NMR spectroscopy. The addition of polyester ionomers as a minor component compatibilizer (i.e., 2 to 5 wt%) resulted in significant enhancement in the impact strength and a dramatic improvement in the tensile properties compared to uncompatibilized blends of nylon 6,6 (N66) with poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT). This behavior was attributed to an increase in the interfacial adhesion between the phase-separated domains due to strong interactions between the polyester ionomer and N66. The placement of the ionomer compatibilizer at the N66/PBT interface was facilitated by pre-extrusion of the polyester ionomer with PBT, prior to extrusion with N66.

Microstructure, mixing rules and interfacial behavior in high k barium titanate epoxy composite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Yitong (Thomas)

2001-07-01

In this thesis, we have demonstrated the importance of two issues in BaTiO3/epoxy composites. They are (1) the miscibility of a particle blend in organic vehicle, i.e. the capability of particles with different particle sizes to mix at the particle level, and (2) the ceramic/polymer interface as a role in determining the effective dielectric constant. The epoxy matrix between the BaTiO3 particles is not homogeneous and has to be modeled as a two-layer structure. The inhomogeneity causes not only failure of the existing mixing rules but also the particle size dependence of the effective dielectric constant. Since the interfacial behavior is determined by the materials chemistry, the effective dielectric properties experimentally demonstrate strong dependence on the materials selection and processing. If BaTiO3 particles in liquid epoxy resin has a bimodal particle size distribution, the smaller particles do not experimentally fit into the interstitial spaces between the larger spheres in an organic vehicle. ESEM observations indicated that the large particles separated from the small ones. Depending on the paste formula, the particle separation led to either a layer-like or cluster-like microstructure. The mixing free energy of blending smaller particles with larger particles explains the observed phenomena and suggests general criteria for particle miscibility. Whenever the mixing free energy is negative and the mixing free energy curve is convex, the particle blend remains in a random particle distribution. Otherwise, the particles separate into a larger-particle rich "phase" and a smaller-particle rich "phase". A random particle distribution may be the largest degree of mixing we can achieve in an organic vehicle. If there is no specific interaction between the small particles and the large particles, there is no thermodynamic driving force for small particles to fill preferentially into the interstitial spaces between the large spheres. The Hamaker constant H significantly influences the miscibility of a particle blend. An increase in Hamaker constant H causes not only greater driving force for a particle blend to separate but also a more narrowed convex shape---the mixing window. At a specific composition, a particle blend separates in one vehicle but may remain in a random distribution in another vehicle if the later vehicle has significantly reduced the Hamaker constant H.

Floods in mountain areas—an overview based on examples from Switzerland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weingartner, R.; Barben, M.; Spreafico, M.

2003-11-01

Mountains cover roughly one quarter of the planet's surface. Known as the Earth's water towers they produce a surplus of water that is transported to neighbouring lowlands via the vast river systems. Water as a vital benefit for life also holds dangers as a destructive element in the form of floods. The present paper, aims to discuss the basic aspects of floods in mountain areas and to illustrate them with examples of case studies, mainly from Switzerland. The hydrological characteristics of mountainous areas are described; the particular processes of flood generation in mountain areas, which should be taken into account. The last section is devoted to methods for estimating floods in ungauged catchments.

Assessment of the Change Detection Procedure Dedicated to Flood Monitoring Using Envisat Wide Swath Mode Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jiren; Yesou, Herve; Malosti, Rita; Andreoli, Remi; Huang, Shifeng; Xin, Jingfeng; Cattaneo, Fabrizia

2008-04-01

The Flood Dragon project enhances the Envisat contribution for natural disaster monitoring. Flood DFRAGON project had much more exploited the ENVISAT resource for crisis management than the International Charter Space and major Disasters since 2002. Indeed, during the 2005, 2006 and 2007 Chinese flood seasons, over the 27 attempted NRT exploitations of Envisat, 23 were successful. Obtained results over floods, affecting Yangtze and Songua, Huaihe watersheds as pollution events on Taihue lake and Nen River are illustrated. Lessons are discussed in terms of programming, downloading, processing, and images type and format. Recommendations for the background mission of the future Sentinel 1 constellation are given.

Processing and utilization of LiDAR data as a support for a good management of DDBR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nichersu, I.; Grigoras, I.; Constantinescu, A.; Mierla, M.; Tifanov, C.

2012-04-01

Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (DDBR) has 5,800 km2 as surface and it is situated in the South-East of Europe, in the East of Romania. The paper is taking into account the data related to the elevation surfaces of the DDBR (Digital Terrain Model DTM and Digital Surface Model DSM). To produce such kind of models of elevation for the entire area of DDBR it was used the most modern method that utilizes the Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR). The raw LiDAR data (x, y, z) for each point were transformed into grid formats for DTM and DSM. Based on these data multiple GIS analyses can be done for management purposes : hydraulic modeling 1D2D scenarios, flooding regime and protection, biomass volume estimation, GIS biodiversity processing. These analyses are very useful in the management planning process. The hydraulic modeling 1D2D scenarios are used by the administrative authority to predict the sense of the fluvial water flow and also to predict the places where the flooding could occur. Also it can be predicted the surface of the terrain that will be occupied by the water from floods. Flooding regime gives information about the frequency of the floods and also the intensity of these. In the same time it could be predicted the time of water remanence period. The protection face of the flooding regime is in direct relation with the socio-cultural communities and all their annexes those that are in risk of being flooded. This raises the problem of building dykes and other flooding protection systems. The biomass volume contains information derived from the LiDAR cloud points that describes only the vegetation. The volume of biomass is an important item in the management of a Biosphere Reserve. Also the LiDAR cloud points that refer to vegetation could help in identifying the groups of vegetal association. All these information corroborated with other information build good premises for a good management. Keywords: Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, LiDAR data, DTM, DSM, flooding, management

Terrace aggradation during the 1978 flood on Powder River, Montana, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moody, J.A.; Meade, R.H.

2008-01-01

Flood processes no longer actively increase the planform area of terraces. Instead, lateral erosion decreases the area. However, infrequent extreme floods continue episodic aggradation of terraces surfaces. We quantify this type of evolution of terraces by an extreme flood in May 1978 on Powder River in southeastern Montana. Within an 89-km study reach of the river, we (1) determine a sediment budget for each geomorphic feature, (2) interpret the stratigraphy of the newly deposited sediment, and (3) discuss the essential role of vegetation in the depositional processes. Peak flood discharge was about 930??m3 s- 1, which lasted about eight??days. During this time, the flood transported 8.2??million tons of sediment into and 4.5??million tons out of the study reach. The masses of sediment transferred between features or eroded from one feature and redeposited on the same feature exceeded the mass transported out of the reach. The flood inundated the floodplain and some of the remnants of two terraces along the river. Lateral erosion decreased the planform area of the lower of the two terraces (~ 2.7??m above the riverbed) by 3.2% and that of the higher terrace (~ 3.5??m above the riverbed) by 4.1%. However, overbank aggradation, on average, raised the lower terrace by 0.16??m and the higher terrace by 0.063??m. Vegetation controlled the type, thickness, and stratigraphy of the aggradation on terrace surfaces. Two characteristic overbank deposits were common: coarsening-upward sequences and lee dunes. Grass caused the deposition of the coarsening-upward sequences, which had 0.02 to 0.07??m of mud at the base, and in some cases, the deposits coarsened upwards to coarse sand on the top. Lee dunes, composed of fine and very fine sand, were deposited in the wake zone downstream from the trees. The characteristic morphology of the dunes can be used to estimate some flood variables such as suspended-sediment particle size, minimum depth, and critical shear velocity. Information about depositional processes during extreme floods is rare, and therefore, the results from this study aid in interpreting the record of terrace stratigraphy along other rivers.

Regional flood reconstruction in Kullu District (Himachal Pradesh, India): implication for Disaster Risk Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ballesteros-Cánovas, Juan Antonio; Stoffel, Markus; Trappmann, Daniel; Shekhar, Mayank; Bhattacharyya, Amalava

2016-04-01

Floods are a common natural hazard in the Western Indian Himalayas. They usually occur when humid monsoon airs are lifted along the Himalayan relief, thereby creating intense orographic rainfall and runoff, a process which is often enhanced by simultaneous snowmelt. Monsoon floods are considered a major threat in the region and frequently affect inhabited valleys, disturbing the status quo of communities, stressing the future welfare and condition of their economic development. Given the assumption that ongoing and future climatic changes may impact on monsoon patterns and extreme precipitation, the implementation of adaptation policies in this region is critically needed in order to improve local resilience of Himalayan communities. However, its success implementation is highly dependent on system knowledge and hence reliable baseline data of past disasters. In this communication, we demonstrate how newly gained knowledge on past flood incidents may improve flood hazard and risk assessments. Based on growth-ring analysis of trees growing in the floodplains and other, more classical paleo-hydrology techniques, we reconstruct the regional flood activity for the last decades. This information is then included as non-systematic data into the regional flood frequency by using Bayesian Markov Monte Carlo Chain algorithms, so as to analyse the impact of the additional data on flood hazard assessments. Moreover, through a detailed analysis of three flood risk hotspots, we demonstrate how the newly gained knowledge on past flood disasters derived from indirect proxies can explain failures in the implementation of disaster risk management (DRM). Our methodology allowed identification of thirty-four unrecorded flood events at the study sites located in the upper reaches since the early 20th century, and thus completion of the existing flood history in the region based on flow measurements in the lower part of the catchment. We observe that 56% of the floods occurred simultaneously in more than two catchments, and that in 15% of the cases more than four catchments were affected. By contrast, 44% of event years were related with one specific catchment, corroborating the assumption that large-scale atmospheric conditions and specific weather and/or geomorphic conditions may operate as triggers of floods in Kullu district. The inclusion of peak discharge data related with these ungauged extreme flood events into the regional flood frequency evidenced that flood hazard was systematically underestimated. Our results allowed to highlight the potential causes of three paradigmatic cases of flood disaster incidents at Kullus district, suggesting that the lack of knowledge on past flood disaster could play an important role in Disaster Risk managment (DRM) at three actors-levels i.e. civil engineering, local authorities and inhabitants. These observations show that reliable DRM implementation is conditioned by lack of data to characterize the flood process, and therefore put in value the palaeohydrological approach used in this study.

Integrated remote sensing imagery and two-dimensional hydraulic modeling approach for impact evaluation of flood on crop yields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Huili; Liang, Zhongyao; Liu, Yong; Liang, Qiuhua; Xie, Shuguang

2017-10-01

The projected frequent occurrences of extreme flood events will cause significant losses to crops and will threaten food security. To reduce the potential risk and provide support for agricultural flood management, prevention, and mitigation, it is important to account for flood damage to crop production and to understand the relationship between flood characteristics and crop losses. A quantitative and effective evaluation tool is therefore essential to explore what and how flood characteristics will affect the associated crop loss, based on accurately understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics of flood evolution and crop growth. Current evaluation methods are generally integrally or qualitatively based on statistic data or ex-post survey with less diagnosis into the process and dynamics of historical flood events. Therefore, a quantitative and spatial evaluation framework is presented in this study that integrates remote sensing imagery and hydraulic model simulation to facilitate the identification of historical flood characteristics that influence crop losses. Remote sensing imagery can capture the spatial variation of crop yields and yield losses from floods on a grid scale over large areas; however, it is incapable of providing spatial information regarding flood progress. Two-dimensional hydraulic model can simulate the dynamics of surface runoff and accomplish spatial and temporal quantification of flood characteristics on a grid scale over watersheds, i.e., flow velocity and flood duration. The methodological framework developed herein includes the following: (a) Vegetation indices for the critical period of crop growth from mid-high temporal and spatial remote sensing imagery in association with agricultural statistics data were used to develop empirical models to monitor the crop yield and evaluate yield losses from flood; (b) The two-dimensional hydraulic model coupled with the SCS-CN hydrologic model was employed to simulate the flood evolution process, with the SCS-CN model as a rainfall-runoff generator and the two-dimensional hydraulic model implementing the routing scheme for surface runoff; and (c) The spatial combination between crop yield losses and flood dynamics on a grid scale can be used to investigate the relationship between the intensity of flood characteristics and associated loss extent. The modeling framework was applied for a 50-year return period flood that occurred in Jilin province, Northeast China, which caused large agricultural losses in August 2013. The modeling results indicated that (a) the flow velocity was the most influential factor that caused spring corn, rice and soybean yield losses from extreme storm event in the mountainous regions; (b) the power function archived the best results that fit the velocity-loss relationship for mountainous areas; and (c) integrated remote sensing imagery and two-dimensional hydraulic modeling approach are helpful for evaluating the influence of historical flood event on crop production and investigating the relationship between flood characteristics and crop yield losses.

Temporal clustering of floods in Germany: Do flood-rich and flood-poor periods exist?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Merz, Bruno; Nguyen, Viet Dung; Vorogushyn, Sergiy

2016-10-01

The repeated occurrence of exceptional floods within a few years, such as the Rhine floods in 1993 and 1995 and the Elbe and Danube floods in 2002 and 2013, suggests that floods in Central Europe may be organized in flood-rich and flood-poor periods. This hypothesis is studied by testing the significance of temporal clustering in flood occurrence (peak-over-threshold) time series for 68 catchments across Germany for the period 1932-2005. To assess the robustness of the results, different methods are used: Firstly, the index of dispersion, which quantifies the departure from a homogeneous Poisson process, is investigated. Further, the time-variation of the flood occurrence rate is derived by non-parametric kernel implementation and the significance of clustering is evaluated via parametric and non-parametric tests. Although the methods give consistent overall results, the specific results differ considerably. Hence, we recommend applying different methods when investigating flood clustering. For flood estimation and risk management, it is of relevance to understand whether clustering changes with flood severity and time scale. To this end, clustering is assessed for different thresholds and time scales. It is found that the majority of catchments show temporal clustering at the 5% significance level for low thresholds and time scales of one to a few years. However, clustering decreases substantially with increasing threshold and time scale. We hypothesize that flood clustering in Germany is mainly caused by catchment memory effects along with intra- to inter-annual climate variability, and that decadal climate variability plays a minor role.

Multi-criteria decision-making for flood risk management: a survey of the current state of the art

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madruga de Brito, Mariana; Evers, Mariele

2016-04-01

This paper provides a review of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) applications to flood risk management, seeking to highlight trends and identify research gaps. A total of 128 peer-reviewed papers published from 1995 to June 2015 were systematically analysed. Results showed that the number of flood MCDM publications has exponentially grown during this period, with over 82 % of all papers published since 2009. A wide range of applications were identified, with most papers focusing on ranking alternatives for flood mitigation, followed by risk, hazard, and vulnerability assessment. The analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was the most popular method, followed by Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), and Simple Additive Weighting (SAW). Although there is greater interest in MCDM, uncertainty analysis remains an issue and was seldom applied in flood-related studies. In addition, participation of multiple stakeholders has been generally fragmented, focusing on particular stages of the decision-making process, especially on the definition of criteria weights. Therefore, addressing the uncertainties around stakeholders' judgments and endorsing an active participation in all steps of the decision-making process should be explored in future applications. This could help to increase the quality of decisions and the implementation of chosen measures.

Advanced metal lift-off process using electron-beam flood exposure of single-layer photoresist

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minter, Jason P.; Ross, Matthew F.; Livesay, William R.; Wong, Selmer S.; Narcy, Mark E.; Marlowe, Trey

1999-06-01

In the manufacture of many types of integrated circuit and thin film devices, it is desirable to use a lift-of process for the metallization step to avoid manufacturing problems encountered when creating metal interconnect structures using plasma etch. These problems include both metal adhesion and plasma etch difficulties. Key to the success of the lift-off process is the creation of a retrograde or undercut profile in the photoresists before the metal deposition step. Until now, lift-off processing has relied on costly multi-layer photoresists schemes, image reversal, and non-repeatable photoresist processes to obtain the desired lift-off profiles in patterned photoresist. This paper present a simple, repeatable process for creating robust, user-defined lift-off profiles in single layer photoresist using a non-thermal electron beam flood exposure. For this investigation, lift-off profiles created using electron beam flood exposure of many popular photoresists were evaluated. Results of lift-off profiles created in positive tone AZ7209 and ip3250 are presented here.

Pore-scale simulation of wettability and interfacial tension effects on flooding process for enhanced oil recovery.

PubMed

Zhao, Jin; Wen, Dongsheng

2017-08-27

For enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications, the oil/water flow characteristics during the flooding process was numerically investigated with the volume-of-fluid method at the pore scale. A two-dimensional pore throat-body connecting structure was established, and four scenarios were simulated in this paper. For oil-saturated pores, the wettability effect on the flooding process was studied; for oil-unsaturated pores, three effects were modelled to investigate the oil/water phase flow behaviors, namely the wettability effect, the interfacial tension (IFT) effect, and the combined wettability/IFT effect. The results show that oil saturated pores with the water-wet state can lead to 25-40% more oil recovery than with the oil-wet state, and the remaining oil mainly stays in the near wall region of the pore bodies for oil-wet saturated pores. For oil-unsaturated pores, the wettability effects on the flooding process can help oil to detach from the pore walls. By decreasing the oil/water interfacial tension and altering the wettability from oil-wet to water-wet state, the remaining oil recovery rate can be enhanced successfully. The wettability-IFT combined effect shows better EOR potential compared with decreasing the interfacial tension alone under the oil-wet condition. The simulation results in this work are consistent with previous experimental and molecular dynamics simulation conclusions. The combination effect of the IFT reducation and wettability alteration can become an important recovery mechanism in future studies for nanoparticles, surfactant, and nanoparticle-surfactant hybrid flooding process.

Pore-scale simulation of wettability and interfacial tension effects on flooding process for enhanced oil recovery

PubMed Central

Zhao, Jin

2017-01-01

For enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications, the oil/water flow characteristics during the flooding process was numerically investigated with the volume-of-fluid method at the pore scale. A two-dimensional pore throat-body connecting structure was established, and four scenarios were simulated in this paper. For oil-saturated pores, the wettability effect on the flooding process was studied; for oil-unsaturated pores, three effects were modelled to investigate the oil/water phase flow behaviors, namely the wettability effect, the interfacial tension (IFT) effect, and the combined wettability/IFT effect. The results show that oil saturated pores with the water-wet state can lead to 25–40% more oil recovery than with the oil-wet state, and the remaining oil mainly stays in the near wall region of the pore bodies for oil-wet saturated pores. For oil-unsaturated pores, the wettability effects on the flooding process can help oil to detach from the pore walls. By decreasing the oil/water interfacial tension and altering the wettability from oil-wet to water-wet state, the remaining oil recovery rate can be enhanced successfully. The wettability-IFT combined effect shows better EOR potential compared with decreasing the interfacial tension alone under the oil-wet condition. The simulation results in this work are consistent with previous experimental and molecular dynamics simulation conclusions. The combination effect of the IFT reducation and wettability alteration can become an important recovery mechanism in future studies for nanoparticles, surfactant, and nanoparticle–surfactant hybrid flooding process. PMID:29308190

Quantitative proteomics reveals the effect of protein glycosylation in soybean root under flooding stress

PubMed Central

Mustafa, Ghazala; Komatsu, Setsuko

2014-01-01

Flooding stress has a negative impact on soybean cultivation because it severely impairs growth and development. To understand the flooding responsive mechanism in early stage soybeans, a glycoproteomic technique was used. Two-day-old soybeans were treated with flooding for 2 days and roots were collected. Globally, the accumulation level of glycoproteins, as revealed by cross-reaction with concanavalin A decreased by 2 days of flooding stress. Glycoproteins were enriched from total protein extracts using concanavalin A lectin resin and analyzed using a gel-free proteomic technique. One-hundred eleven and 69 glycoproteins were identified without and with 2 days of flooding stress, respectively. Functional categorization of these identified glycoproteins indicated that the accumulation level of proteins related to protein degradation, cell wall, and glycolysis increased, while stress-related proteins decreased under flooding stress. Also the accumulation level of glycoproteins localized in the secretory pathway decreased under flooding stress. Out of 23 common glycoproteins between control and flooding conditions, peroxidases and glycosyl hydrolases were decreased by 2 days of flooding stress. mRNA expression levels of proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum and N-glycosylation related proteins were downregulated by flooding stress. These results suggest that flooding might negatively affect the process of N-glycosylation of proteins related to stress and protein degradation; however glycoproteins involved in glycolysis are activated. PMID:25477889

The fate of Salicaceae seedlings related to the dynamics of alluvial bars during floods: differentiating bed erosion, uprooting and burying.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wintenberger, C. L.; Rodrigues, S.; Bréhéret, J. G.; Juge, P.; Villar, M.

2014-12-01

Riparian vegetation is a key factor of the morphological evolution of river. In Europe, riparian Salicaceae is declining following the loss of potential recruitment areas associated with river management. As an exception for lowland rivers, the Loire River (France) shows, in its middle reaches, an efficient sexual regeneration of Populus nigra and Salix alba on bare sediments deposited during flood events. In the literature, the influence of hydrological patterns as a key factor of the seedlings survival is well documented. Some studies focused on seedlings ability to withstand flood constraints and detailed the effect of duration and intensity of floods but few studies characterized precisely the processes applied on seedlings. As a working hypothesis, we consider that three types of flood stresses can induce mortality of seedlings: (i) uprooting by drag applied on the seedlings without sediment erosion, (ii) erosion of the recruited areas and (iii) burying. The distinction of these three processes allows identifying the importance of survival factors due to a strong sediment dynamics (e.g. erosion height > root height) or to the anchorage and resprouting ability. The main issues are: what are the governing processes (type and intensity) determining survival or death of seedlings and which factor (fluvial dynamics vs. own characteristics of seedlings) controls their survival? In-situ measurements were performed on a forced alluvial bar (20.000 m2) to detail the bar dynamics (bathymetry, topography, scour/fill processes, grain size surveys, flow velocity) and to survey the associated recruitment. On 48 plots (1.410 m2) the density, height and species (P. nigra and S. alba) were surveyed the year of recruitment (after dry period) and the next year after flood period. We highlight the following phases of processes during floods. The erosion of substrate dominates at the beginning of the rising limb. The erosion or uprooting processes depend of the balance between available bed shear stress and sediment size. Then the deposit occurs on the back of the bar before the peak discharge and protects them against uprooting by burying during the higher energy of flow. At the end of the falling limb, sediments are reworked, decreasing the burying height of seedlings and allowing possible uprooting (drag) or erosion of sediments.

Forecast-based Integrated Flood Detection System for Emergency Response and Disaster Risk Reduction (Flood-FINDER)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arcorace, Mauro; Silvestro, Francesco; Rudari, Roberto; Boni, Giorgio; Dell'Oro, Luca; Bjorgo, Einar

2016-04-01

Most flood prone areas in the globe are mainly located in developing countries where making communities more flood resilient is a priority. Despite different flood forecasting initiatives are now available from academia and research centers, what is often missing is the connection between the timely hazard detection and the community response to warnings. In order to bridge the gap between science and decision makers, UN agencies play a key role on the dissemination of information in the field and on capacity-building to local governments. In this context, having a reliable global early warning system in the UN would concretely improve existing in house capacities for Humanitarian Response and the Disaster Risk Reduction. For those reasons, UNITAR-UNOSAT has developed together with USGS and CIMA Foundation a Global Flood EWS called "Flood-FINDER". The Flood-FINDER system is a modelling chain which includes meteorological, hydrological and hydraulic models that are accurately linked to enable the production of warnings and forecast inundation scenarios up to three weeks in advance. The system is forced with global satellite derived precipitation products and Numerical Weather Prediction outputs. The modelling chain is based on the "Continuum" hydrological model and risk assessments produced for GAR2015. In combination with existing hydraulically reconditioned SRTM data and 1D hydraulic models, flood scenarios are derived at multiple scales and resolutions. Climate and flood data are shared through a Web GIS integrated platform. First validation of the modelling chain has been conducted through a flood hindcasting test case, over the Chao Phraya river basin in Thailand, using multi temporal satellite-based analysis derived for the exceptional flood event of 2011. In terms of humanitarian relief operations, the EO-based services of flood mapping in rush mode generally suffer from delays caused by the time required for their activation, programming, acquisitions and image processing. Flood-FINDER aims to pre-empt this process and to provide preliminary analyses where no field data is available. In the early 2015, the Flood-FINDER's forecast along the Shire River has been used to guide the rapid mapping activities in Southern Malawi and Northern Mozambique. It proved efficient support providing timely information about the evolution of the flood event over an area lacking of field data. Regarding in-country capacity building, Flood-FINDER allowed UNOSAT to set up in middle 2015 a flood early warning system in Chad along the Chari River basin with the collaboration of Chadian Ministry of hydraulics and livestock. Weekly flood bulletins have been shared with local authorities and UN agencies over the entire rainy season. Finally, an experimental version of the global web alerting platform has been recently developed for supporting the El Nino flood preparedness in the Horn of Africa. Flood-FINDEŔs mission is to support decision makers throughout all the disaster management cycle with flood alerts, modelled scenarios, EO-based impact assessments and with direct support at country level to implement disaster mitigation strategies. The aim for the future is to seek funding for having the global system fully operational using CERN's supercomputing facilities and to establish new in-country projects with local authorities.

Fluvial process and the establishment of bottomland trees

USGS Publications Warehouse

Scott, Michael L.; Friedman, Jonathan M.; Auble, Gregor T.

1996-01-01

The relation between streamflow and establishment of bottomland trees is conditioned by the dominant fluvial process or processes acting along a stream. For successful establishment, cottonwoods, poplars, and willows require bare, moist surfaces protected from disturbance. Channel narrowing, channel meandering, and flood deposition promote different spatial and temporal patterns of establishment. During channel narrowing, the site requirements are met on portions of the bed abandoned by the stream, and establishment is associated with a period of low flow lasting one to several years. During channel meandering, the requirements are met on point bars following moderate or higher peak flows. Following flood deposition, the requirements are met on flood deposits ;high above the channel bed. Flood deposition can occur along most streams, but where a channel is constrained by a narrow valley, this process may be the only mechanism that can produce a bare, moist surface high enough to be safe from future disturbance. Because of differences in local bedrock, tributary influence, or geologic history, two nearby reaches of the same stream may be dominated by different fluvial processes and have different spatial and temporal patterns of trees. We illustrate this phenomenon with examples from forests of plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides ssp. monilifera) along meandering and constrained reaches of the Missouri River in Montana.

Interventionist and participatory approaches to flood risk mitigation decisions: two case studies in the Italian Alps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bianchizza, C.; Del Bianco, D.; Pellizzoni, L.; Scolobig, A.

2012-04-01

Flood risk mitigation decisions pose key challenges not only from a technical but also from a social, economic and political viewpoint. There is an increasing demand for improving the quality of these processes by including different stakeholders - and especially by involving the local residents in the decision making process - and by guaranteeing the actual improvement of local social capacities during and after the decision making. In this paper we analyse two case studies of flood risk mitigation decisions, Malborghetto-Valbruna and Vipiteno-Sterzing, in the Italian Alps. In both of them, mitigation works have been completed or planned, yet following completely different approaches especially in terms of responses of residents and involvement of local authorities. In Malborghetto-Valbruna an 'interventionist' approach (i.e. leaning towards a top down/technocratic decision process) was used to make decisions after the flood event that affected the municipality in the year 2003. In Vipiteno-Sterzing, a 'participatory' approach (i.e. leaning towards a bottom-up/inclusive decision process) was applied: decisions about risk mitigation measures were made by submitting different projects to the local citizens and by involving them in the decision making process. The analysis of the two case studies presented in the paper is grounded on the results of two research projects. Structured and in-depth interviews, as well as questionnaire surveys were used to explore residents' and local authorities' orientations toward flood risk mitigation. Also a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) involving key stakeholders was used to better understand the characteristics of the communities and their perception of flood risk mitigation issues. The results highlight some key differences between interventionist and participatory approaches, together with some implications of their adoption in the local context. Strengths and weaknesses of the two approaches, as well as key challenges for the future are also discussed.

Using Hybrid Techniques for Generating Watershed-scale Flood Models in an Integrated Modeling Framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saksena, S.; Merwade, V.; Singhofen, P.

2017-12-01

There is an increasing global trend towards developing large scale flood models that account for spatial heterogeneity at watershed scales to drive the future flood risk planning. Integrated surface water-groundwater modeling procedures can elucidate all the hydrologic processes taking part during a flood event to provide accurate flood outputs. Even though the advantages of using integrated modeling are widely acknowledged, the complexity of integrated process representation, computation time and number of input parameters required have deterred its application to flood inundation mapping, especially for large watersheds. This study presents a faster approach for creating watershed scale flood models using a hybrid design that breaks down the watershed into multiple regions of variable spatial resolution by prioritizing higher order streams. The methodology involves creating a hybrid model for the Upper Wabash River Basin in Indiana using Interconnected Channel and Pond Routing (ICPR) and comparing the performance with a fully-integrated 2D hydrodynamic model. The hybrid approach involves simplification procedures such as 1D channel-2D floodplain coupling; hydrologic basin (HUC-12) integration with 2D groundwater for rainfall-runoff routing; and varying spatial resolution of 2D overland flow based on stream order. The results for a 50-year return period storm event show that hybrid model (NSE=0.87) performance is similar to the 2D integrated model (NSE=0.88) but the computational time is reduced to half. The results suggest that significant computational efficiency can be obtained while maintaining model accuracy for large-scale flood models by using hybrid approaches for model creation.

Automating the evaluation of flood damages: methodology and potential gains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eleutério, Julian; Martinez, Edgar Daniel

2010-05-01

The evaluation of flood damage potential consists of three main steps: assessing and processing data, combining data and calculating potential damages. The first step consists of modelling hazard and assessing vulnerability. In general, this step of the evaluation demands more time and investments than the others. The second step of the evaluation consists of combining spatial data on hazard with spatial data on vulnerability. Geographic Information System (GIS) is a fundamental tool in the realization of this step. GIS software allows the simultaneous analysis of spatial and matrix data. The third step of the evaluation consists of calculating potential damages by means of damage-functions or contingent analysis. All steps demand time and expertise. However, the last two steps must be realized several times when comparing different management scenarios. In addition, uncertainty analysis and sensitivity test are made during the second and third steps of the evaluation. The feasibility of these steps could be relevant in the choice of the extent of the evaluation. Low feasibility could lead to choosing not to evaluate uncertainty or to limit the number of scenario comparisons. Several computer models have been developed over time in order to evaluate the flood risk. GIS software is largely used to realise flood risk analysis. The software is used to combine and process different types of data, and to visualise the risk and the evaluation results. The main advantages of using a GIS in these analyses are: the possibility of "easily" realising the analyses several times, in order to compare different scenarios and study uncertainty; the generation of datasets which could be used any time in future to support territorial decision making; the possibility of adding information over time to update the dataset and make other analyses. However, these analyses require personnel specialisation and time. The use of GIS software to evaluate the flood risk requires personnel with a double professional specialisation. The professional should be proficient in GIS software and in flood damage analysis (which is already a multidisciplinary field). Great effort is necessary in order to correctly evaluate flood damages, and the updating and the improvement of the evaluation over time become a difficult task. The automation of this process should bring great advance in flood management studies over time, especially for public utilities. This study has two specific objectives: (1) show the entire process of automation of the second and third steps of flood damage evaluations; and (2) analyse the induced potential gains in terms of time and expertise needed in the analysis. A programming language is used within GIS software in order to automate hazard and vulnerability data combination and potential damages calculation. We discuss the overall process of flood damage evaluation. The main result of this study is a computational tool which allows significant operational gains on flood loss analyses. We quantify these gains by means of a hypothetical example. The tool significantly reduces the time of analysis and the needs for expertise. An indirect gain is that sensitivity and cost-benefit analyses can be more easily realized.

Near Real Time Flood Warning System for National Capital Territory of Delhi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goyal, A.; Yadav, H.; Tyagi, H.; Gosain, A. K.

2017-12-01

Extreme floods are common phenomena during Indian Monsoons. The National Capital Territory area of India, Delhi, frequently experiences fluvial as well as pluvial inundation due to its proximity to river Yamuna and poor functioning of its stormwater drainage system. The urban floods result in severe waterlogging and heavy traffic snarls, bringing life in this megapolis to a halt. The city has witnessed six major floods since 1900 and thus its residents are well conscious of potential flood risks but the city still lacks a flood warning system. The flood related risks can be considerably reduced, if not eliminated, by issuing timely warnings and implementing adaptive measures. Therefore, the present study attempts to develop a web based platform that integrates Web-GIS technology and mathematical simulation modelling to provide an effective and reliable early flood warning service for Delhi. The study makes use of India Metorological Department's Doppler radar-derived near real time rainfall estimates of 15 minutes time step. The developed SWMM model has been validated using information from gauges, monitoring sensors and crowd sourcing techniques and utilises capabilities of cloud computing on server side for fast processing. This study also recommends safe evacuation policy and remedial measures for flooding hotspots as part of flood risk management plan. With heightened risk of floods in fast urbanizing areas, this work becomes highly pertinent as flood warning system with adequate lead time can not only save precious lives but can also substantially reduce flood damages.

The application of dam break monitoring based on BJ-2 images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Yan; Li, Suju; Wu, Wei; Liu, Ming

2018-03-01

Flood is one of the major disasters in China. There are heavy intensity and wide range rainstorm during flood season in eastern part of China, and the flood control capacity of rivers is lower somewhere, so the flood disaster is abrupt and caused lots of direct economic losses. In this paper, based on BJ-2 Spatio-temporal resolution remote sensing data, reference image, 30-meter Global Land Cover Dataset(GlobeLand 30) and basic geographic data, forming Dam break monitoring model which including BJ-2 date processing sub-model, flood inundation range monitoring sub-model, dam break change monitoring sub-model and crop inundation monitoring sub-model. Case analysis in Poyang County Jiangxi province in 20th, Jun, 2016 show that the model has a high precision and could monitoring flood inundation range, crops inundation range and breach.

Integrating Local Experiential and Hydrometeorological Data to Understand Knowledge Uncertainties and to Build Resilience to Flooding in Two Puerto Rican Communities.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramsey, M.; Nytch, C. J.; Branoff, B.

2016-12-01

Socio-hydrological studies that explore feedbacks between social and biophysical processes related to flood risk can help managers identify strategies that increase a community's freshwater security. However, knowledge uncertainty due to coarse spatio-temporal coverage of hydrological monitoring data, missing riverine discharge and precipitation records, assumptions of flood risk models, and effects of urbanization, can limit the ability of these studies to isolate hydrological responses to social drivers of flooding and a changing climate. Local experiential knowledge can provide much needed information about 1) actual flood spatio-temporal patterns, 2) human impacts and perceptions of flood events, and 3) mechanisms to validate flood risk studies and understand key social elements of the system. We addressed these knowledge gaps by comparing the location and timing of flood events described in resident interviews and resident drawn maps (total = 97) from two San Juan communities with NOAA and USGS precipitation and riverine discharge data archives, and FEMA flood maps. Analyses of five focal flood events revealed 1) riverine monitoring data failed to record a major flood event caused by localized blockage of the river, 2) residents did not mention multiple extreme riverine discharge events, 3) resident and FEMA flood maps matched closely but resident maps provided finer spatial information about frequency of flooding, and 4) only a small percentage of residents remembered the dates of flood events. Local knowledge provided valuable social data about flood impacts on human economic and physical/psychological wellbeing, perceptions about factors causing flooding, and what residents use as sources of flood information. A simple mechanism or tool for residents to record their flood experiences in real-time will address the uncertainties in local knowledge and improve social memory. The integration of local experiential knowledge with simulated and empirical hydro-meteorological data can be a powerful approach to increase the quality of socio-hydrological studies about flooding and freshwater security.

Streamflow forecasts from WRF precipitation for flood early warning in mountain tropical areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogelis, María Carolina; Werner, Micha

2018-02-01

Numerical weather prediction (NWP) models are fundamental to extend forecast lead times beyond the concentration time of a watershed. Particularly for flash flood forecasting in tropical mountainous watersheds, forecast precipitation is required to provide timely warnings. This paper aims to assess the potential of NWP for flood early warning purposes, and the possible improvement that bias correction can provide, in a tropical mountainous area. The paper focuses on the comparison of streamflows obtained from the post-processed precipitation forecasts, particularly the comparison of ensemble forecasts and their potential in providing skilful flood forecasts. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is used to produce precipitation forecasts that are post-processed and used to drive a hydrologic model. Discharge forecasts obtained from the hydrological model are used to assess the skill of the WRF model. The results show that post-processed WRF precipitation adds value to the flood early warning system when compared to zero-precipitation forecasts, although the precipitation forecast used in this analysis showed little added value when compared to climatology. However, the reduction of biases obtained from the post-processed ensembles show the potential of this method and model to provide usable precipitation forecasts in tropical mountainous watersheds. The need for more detailed evaluation of the WRF model in the study area is highlighted, particularly the identification of the most suitable parameterisation, due to the inability of the model to adequately represent the convective precipitation found in the study area.

Multi-scale hydrometeorological observation and modelling for flash flood understanding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Braud, I.; Ayral, P.-A.; Bouvier, C.; Branger, F.; Delrieu, G.; Le Coz, J.; Nord, G.; Vandervaere, J.-P.; Anquetin, S.; Adamovic, M.; Andrieu, J.; Batiot, C.; Boudevillain, B.; Brunet, P.; Carreau, J.; Confoland, A.; Didon-Lescot, J.-F.; Domergue, J.-M.; Douvinet, J.; Dramais, G.; Freydier, R.; Gérard, S.; Huza, J.; Leblois, E.; Le Bourgeois, O.; Le Boursicaud, R.; Marchand, P.; Martin, P.; Nottale, L.; Patris, N.; Renard, B.; Seidel, J.-L.; Taupin, J.-D.; Vannier, O.; Vincendon, B.; Wijbrans, A.

2014-09-01

This paper presents a coupled observation and modelling strategy aiming at improving the understanding of processes triggering flash floods. This strategy is illustrated for the Mediterranean area using two French catchments (Gard and Ardèche) larger than 2000 km2. The approach is based on the monitoring of nested spatial scales: (1) the hillslope scale, where processes influencing the runoff generation and its concentration can be tackled; (2) the small to medium catchment scale (1-100 km2), where the impact of the network structure and of the spatial variability of rainfall, landscape and initial soil moisture can be quantified; (3) the larger scale (100-1000 km2), where the river routing and flooding processes become important. These observations are part of the HyMeX (HYdrological cycle in the Mediterranean EXperiment) enhanced observation period (EOP), which will last 4 years (2012-2015). In terms of hydrological modelling, the objective is to set up regional-scale models, while addressing small and generally ungauged catchments, which represent the scale of interest for flood risk assessment. Top-down and bottom-up approaches are combined and the models are used as "hypothesis testing" tools by coupling model development with data analyses in order to incrementally evaluate the validity of model hypotheses. The paper first presents the rationale behind the experimental set-up and the instrumentation itself. Second, we discuss the associated modelling strategy. Results illustrate the potential of the approach in advancing our understanding of flash flood processes on various scales.

Multi-scale hydrometeorological observation and modelling for flash-flood understanding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Braud, I.; Ayral, P.-A.; Bouvier, C.; Branger, F.; Delrieu, G.; Le Coz, J.; Nord, G.; Vandervaere, J.-P.; Anquetin, S.; Adamovic, M.; Andrieu, J.; Batiot, C.; Boudevillain, B.; Brunet, P.; Carreau, J.; Confoland, A.; Didon-Lescot, J.-F.; Domergue, J.-M.; Douvinet, J.; Dramais, G.; Freydier, R.; Gérard, S.; Huza, J.; Leblois, E.; Le Bourgeois, O.; Le Boursicaud, R.; Marchand, P.; Martin, P.; Nottale, L.; Patris, N.; Renard, B.; Seidel, J.-L.; Taupin, J.-D.; Vannier, O.; Vincendon, B.; Wijbrans, A.

2014-02-01

This paper presents a coupled observation and modelling strategy aiming at improving the understanding of processes triggering flash floods. This strategy is illustrated for the Mediterranean area using two French catchments (Gard and Ardèche) larger than 2000 km2. The approach is based on the monitoring of nested spatial scales: (1) the hillslope scale, where processes influencing the runoff generation and its concentration can be tackled; (2) the small to medium catchment scale (1-100 km2) where the impact of the network structure and of the spatial variability of rainfall, landscape and initial soil moisture can be quantified; (3) the larger scale (100-1000 km2) where the river routing and flooding processes become important. These observations are part of the HyMeX (Hydrological Cycle in the Mediterranean Experiment) Enhanced Observation Period (EOP) and lasts four years (2012-2015). In terms of hydrological modelling the objective is to set up models at the regional scale, while addressing small and generally ungauged catchments, which is the scale of interest for flooding risk assessment. Top-down and bottom-up approaches are combined and the models are used as "hypothesis testing" tools by coupling model development with data analyses, in order to incrementally evaluate the validity of model hypotheses. The paper first presents the rationale behind the experimental set up and the instrumentation itself. Second, we discuss the associated modelling strategy. Results illustrate the potential of the approach in advancing our understanding of flash flood processes at various scales.

Geological setting control of flood dynamics in lowland rivers (Poland).

PubMed

Wierzbicki, Grzegorz; Ostrowski, Piotr; Falkowski, Tomasz; Mazgajski, Michał

2018-04-27

We aim to answer a question: how does the geological setting affect flood dynamics in lowland alluvial rivers? The study area covers three river reaches: not trained, relatively large on the European scale, flowing in broad valleys cut in the landscape of old glacial plains. We focus on the locations where levees [both: a) natural or b) artificial] were breached during flood. In these locations we identify (1) the erosional traces of flood (crevasse channels) on the floodplain displayed on DEM derived from ALS LIDAR. In the main river channel, we perform drillings in order to measure the depth of the suballuvial surface and to locate (2) the protrusions of bedrock resistant to erosion. We juxtapose on one map: (1) the floodplain geomorphology with (2) the geological data from the river channel. The results from each of the three study reaches are presented on maps prepared in the same manner in order to enable a comparison of the regularities of fluvial processes written in (1) the landscape and driven by (2) the geological setting. These processes act in different river reaches: (a) not embanked and dominated by ice jam floods, (b) embanked and dominated by rainfall and ice jam floods. We also analyse hydrological data to present hydrodynamic descriptions of the flood. Our principal results indicate similarity of (1) distinctive erosional patterns and (2) specific geological features in all three study reaches. We draw the conclusion: protrusions of suballuvial bedrock control the flood dynamics in alluvial rivers. It happens in both types of rivers. In areas where the floodplain remains natural, the river inundates freely during every flood. In other areas the floodplain has been reclaimed by humans who constructed an artificial levee system, which protects the flood-prone area from inundation, until levee breach occurs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The interplay between human population dynamics and flooding in Bangladesh: a spatial analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

di Baldassarre, G.; Yan, K.; Ferdous, MD. R.; Brandimarte, L.

2014-09-01

In Bangladesh, socio-economic and hydrological processes are both extremely dynamic and inter-related. Human population patterns are often explained as a response, or adaptation strategy, to physical events, e.g. flooding, salt-water intrusion, and erosion. Meanwhile, these physical processes are exacerbated, or mitigated, by diverse human interventions, e.g. river diversion, levees and polders. In this context, this paper describes an attempt to explore the complex interplay between floods and societies in Bangladeshi floodplains. In particular, we performed a spatially-distributed analysis of the interactions between the dynamics of human settlements and flood inundation patterns. To this end, we used flooding simulation results from inundation modelling, LISFLOOD-FP, as well as global datasets of population distribution data, such as the Gridded Population of the World (20 years, from 1990 to 2010) and HYDE datasets (310 years, from 1700 to 2010). The outcomes of this work highlight the behaviour of Bangladeshi floodplains as complex human-water systems and indicate the need to go beyond the traditional narratives based on one-way cause-effects, e.g. climate change leading to migrations.

Application of GPR Method for Detection of Loose Zones in Flood Levee

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gołębiowski, Tomisław; Małysa, Tomasz

2018-02-01

In the paper the results of non-invasive georadar (GPR) surveys carried out for detection of loose zones located in the flood levee was presented. Terrain measurements were performed on the Vistula river flood levee in the village of Wawrzeńczyce near Cracow. In the investigation site, during the flood in 2010, leakages of levee were observed, so detection of inner water filtration paths was an important matter taking into account the stability of the levee during the next flood. GPR surveys had reconnaissance character, so they were carried out with the use of short-offset reflection profiling (SORP) technique and radargrams were subjected to standard signal processing. The results of surveys allowed to outline main loose zone in the levee which were the reason of leakages in 2010. Additionally gravel interbeddings in sand were detected which had an important influence, due to higher porosity of such zones, to water filtration inside of the levee. In the paper three solutions which allow to increase quality and resolution of radargrams were presented, i.e. changeable-polarisation surveys, advanced signal processing and DHA procedure.

A Vulnerability-Based, Bottom-up Assessment of Future Riverine Flood Risk Using a Modified Peaks-Over-Threshold Approach and a Physically Based Hydrologic Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knighton, James; Steinschneider, Scott; Walter, M. Todd

2017-12-01

There is a chronic disconnection among purely probabilistic flood frequency analysis of flood hazards, flood risks, and hydrological flood mechanisms, which hamper our ability to assess future flood impacts. We present a vulnerability-based approach to estimating riverine flood risk that accommodates a more direct linkage between decision-relevant metrics of risk and the dominant mechanisms that cause riverine flooding. We adapt the conventional peaks-over-threshold (POT) framework to be used with extreme precipitation from different climate processes and rainfall-runoff-based model output. We quantify the probability that at least one adverse hydrologic threshold, potentially defined by stakeholders, will be exceeded within the next N years. This approach allows us to consider flood risk as the summation of risk from separate atmospheric mechanisms, and supports a more direct mapping between hazards and societal outcomes. We perform this analysis within a bottom-up framework to consider the relevance and consequences of information, with varying levels of credibility, on changes to atmospheric patterns driving extreme precipitation events. We demonstrate our proposed approach using a case study for Fall Creek in Ithaca, NY, USA, where we estimate the risk of stakeholder-defined flood metrics from three dominant mechanisms: summer convection, tropical cyclones, and spring rain and snowmelt. Using downscaled climate projections, we determine how flood risk associated with a subset of mechanisms may change in the future, and the resultant shift to annual flood risk. The flood risk approach we propose can provide powerful new insights into future flood threats.

Nonstationary frequency analysis for the trivariate flood series of the Weihe River

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Cong; Xiong, Lihua

2016-04-01

Some intensive human activities such as water-soil conservation can significantly alter the natural hydrological processes of rivers. In this study, the effect of the water-soil conservation on the trivariate flood series from the Weihe River located in the Northwest China is investigated. The annual maxima daily discharge, annual maxima 3-day flood volume and annual maxima 5-day flood volume are chosen as the study data and used to compose the trivariate flood series. The nonstationarities in both the individual univariate flood series and the corresponding antecedent precipitation series generating the flood events are examined by the Mann-Kendall trend test. It is found that all individual univariate flood series present significant decreasing trend, while the antecedent precipitation series can be treated as stationary. It indicates that the increase of the water-soil conservation land area has altered the rainfall-runoff relationship of the Weihe basin, and induced the nonstationarities in the three individual univariate flood series. The time-varying moments model based on the Pearson type III distribution is applied to capture the nonstationarities in the flood frequency distribution with the water-soil conservation land area introduced as the explanatory variable of the flood distribution parameters. Based on the analysis for each individual univariate flood series, the dependence structure among the three univariate flood series are investigated by the time-varying copula model also with the water-soil conservation land area as the explanatory variable of copula parameters. The results indicate that the dependence among the trivariate flood series is enhanced by the increase of water-soil conservation land area.

Dynamics of flood water infiltration and ground water recharge in hyperarid desert.

PubMed

Dahan, Ofer; Tatarsky, Boaz; Enzel, Yehouda; Kulls, Christoph; Seely, Mary; Benito, Gererdo

2008-01-01

A study on flood water infiltration and ground water recharge of a shallow alluvial aquifer was conducted in the hyperarid section of the Kuiseb River, Namibia. The study site was selected to represent a typical desert ephemeral river. An instrumental setup allowed, for the first time, continuous monitoring of infiltration during a flood event through the channel bed and the entire vadose zone. The monitoring system included flexible time domain reflectometry probes that were designed to measure the temporal variation in vadose zone water content and instruments to concurrently measure the levels of flood and ground water. A sequence of five individual floods was monitored during the rainy season in early summer 2006. These newly generated data served to elucidate the dynamics of flood water infiltration. Each flood initiated an infiltration event which was expressed in wetting of the vadose zone followed by a measurable rise in the water table. The data enabled a direct calculation of the infiltration fluxes by various independent methods. The floods varied in their stages, peaks, and initial water contents. However, all floods produced very similar flux rates, suggesting that the recharge rates are less affected by the flood stages but rather controlled by flow duration and available aquifer storage under it. Large floods flood the stream channel terraces and promote the larger transmission losses. These, however, make only a negligible contribution to the recharge of the ground water. It is the flood duration within the active streambed, which may increase with flood magnitude that is important to the recharge process.

Use of satellite images to determine surface-water cover during the flood event of September 13, 2013, in Lyons and western Longmont, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cole, Christopher J.; Friesen, Beverly A.; Wilson, Earl M.; Wilds, Stanley R.; Noble, Suzanne M.

2015-01-01

This surface-water cover dataset was created as a timely representation of post-flood ground conditions to support response efforts. This dataset and all processed imagery and derived products were uploaded to the USGS Hazards Data Distribution System (HDDS) website (http://hddsexplorer.usgs.gov/uplift/hdds/) for distribution to those responding to the flood event.

Using cost-benefit concepts in design floods improves communication of uncertainty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganora, Daniele; Botto, Anna; Laio, Francesco; Claps, Pierluigi

2017-04-01

Flood frequency analysis, i.e. the study of the relationships between the magnitude and the rarity of high flows in a river, is the usual procedure adopted to assess flood hazard, preliminary to the plan/design of flood protection measures. It grounds on the fit of a probability distribution to the peak discharge values recorded in gauging stations and the final estimates over a region are thus affected by uncertainty, due to the limited sample availability and of the possible alternatives in terms of the probabilistic model and the parameter estimation methods used. In the last decade, the scientific community dealt with this issue by developing a number of methods to quantify such uncertainty components. Usually, uncertainty is visually represented through confidence bands, which are easy to understand, but are not yet demonstrated to be useful for design purposes: they usually disorient decision makers, as the design flood is no longer univocally defined, making the decision process undetermined. These considerations motivated the development of the uncertainty-compliant design flood estimator (UNCODE) procedure (Botto et al., 2014) that allows one to select meaningful flood design values accounting for the associated uncertainty by considering additional constraints based on cost-benefit criteria. This method suggests an explicit multiplication factor that corrects the traditional (without uncertainty) design flood estimates to incorporate the effects of uncertainty in the estimate at the same safety level. Even though the UNCODE method was developed for design purposes, it can represent a powerful and robust tool to help clarifying the effects of the uncertainty in statistical estimation. As the process produces increased design flood estimates, this outcome demonstrates how uncertainty leads to more expensive flood protection measures, or insufficiency of current defenses. Moreover, the UNCODE approach can be used to assess the "value" of data, as the costs of flood prevention can get down by reducing uncertainty with longer observed flood records. As the multiplication factor is dimensionless, some examples of application provided show how this approach allows simple comparisons of the effects of uncertainty in different catchments, helping to build ranking procedures for planning purposes. REFERENCES Botto, A., Ganora, D., Laio, F., and Claps, P.: Uncertainty compliant design flood estimation, Water Resources Research, 50, doi:10.1002/2013WR014981, 2014.

Achieving Natural Flood Management through collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nicholson, Alex; Byers, Samantha; Thomas, Ted; Welton, Phil

2016-04-01

Recent flooding in the UK has brought much attention to the field of Natural flood Management (NFM) as a means of helping to reduce flood risk to communities. Key questions exist in the field, which include quantifying the impact of NFM and maintaining it. In addition, agencies and at-risk communities look for ways of delivering NFM in a tightly stretched financial climate. Well-implemented NFM has the effect of restoring more natural catchment hydrological and sedimentological processes, which in turn can have significant flood risk and WFD benefits for catchment waterbodies. These catchment scale improvements in-turn allow more 'natural' processes to be returned to rivers and streams, creating a more resilient system. NFM can tick many boxes and target many funding opportunities. This paper discusses the NFM component of the Lustrum Beck Flood Alleviation Scheme (Stockton-On-Tees, UK), and explains how a multi-agency approach had to be considered to allow elements of the scheme to be delivered. A startling 70 different landowners and agencies manage the land in the Lustrum Beck catchment (~40km2). A partnership between the Environment Agency and the Forestry Commission is planning to work on a demonstration site in the centre of the catchment. The paper goes on to explain the importance of this demonstration area in the context of the wider scheme.

The application of flow competence evaluations to the assessment of flood-flow velocities and stresses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Komar, Paul D.

1987-01-01

The concept of flow competence is generally employed to evaluate the velocities, discharges, and bottom stresses of river floods inferred from the size of the largest sediment particles transported. Flow competence has become an important tool for evaluating the hydraulics of exceptional floods on Earth, including those which eroded the Channeled Scabland of eastern Washington, and has potential for similar evaluations of the floods which carved the outflow channels on Mars. For the most part, flow-competence evaluations were empirical, based on data compiled from a variety of sources including major terrestrial floods caused by natural processes or dam failures. Such flow-competence relationships would appear to provide a straight-forward assessment of flood-flow stresses and velocities based on the maximum size of gravel and boulders transported. However, a re-examination of the data base and comparisons with measurements of selective entrainment and transport of gravel in rivers open to question such evaluations. Analyses of the forces acting on the grain during entrainment by pivoting, rolling, or sliding, an approach which focuses more on the physical processes than the purely empirical relationships can be demonstrated. These derived equations require further testing by flume and field measurements before being applied to flow-competence evaluations. Such tests are now underway.

Development of bio-sourced binder to metal injection moulding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Royer, Alexandre; Barrière, Thierry; Gelin, Jean-Claude

2016-10-01

In the MIM process the binder play the most important role. It provides fluidity of the feedstock mixture for injection molding and adhesion of the powder to keep the molded shape. The binder must provide strength and cohesion for the molded part, must be easy to be removed from the molded part, and must be the recyclable, environmentally friendly and economical ones. The goal of this study is to develop a binder environmentally friendly. For this, a study of formulation based on polyethylene glycol, because of is water debinding properties, was made. Polylactic acid and Polyhydroxyalkanoates were investigated as bio sourced polymers. The chemical, miscibility and rheological behavior of the binder formulation were investigated.

Solvent wash solution

DOEpatents

Neace, J.C.

1984-03-13

A process is claimed for removing diluent degradation products from a solvent extraction solution, which has been used to recover uranium and plutonium from spent nuclear fuel. A wash solution and the solvent extraction solution are combined. The wash solution contains (a) water and (b) up to about, and including, 50 vol % of at least one-polar water-miscible organic solvent based on the total volume of the water and the highly-polar organic solvent. The wash solution also preferably contains at least one inorganic salt. The diluent degradation products dissolve in the highly-polar organic solvent and the organic solvent extraction solvent do not dissolve in the highly-polar organic solvent. The highly-polar organic solvent and the extraction solvent are separated.

Solvent wash solution

DOEpatents

Neace, James C.

1986-01-01

Process for removing diluent degradation products from a solvent extraction solution, which has been used to recover uranium and plutonium from spent nuclear fuel. A wash solution and the solvent extraction solution are combined. The wash solution contains (a) water and (b) up to about, and including, 50 volume percent of at least one-polar water-miscible organic solvent based on the total volume of the water and the highly-polar organic solvent. The wash solution also preferably contains at least one inorganic salt. The diluent degradation products dissolve in the highly-polar organic solvent and the organic solvent extraction solvent do not dissolve in the highly-polar organic solvent. The highly-polar organic solvent and the extraction solvent are separated.

Mapping Infected Area after a Flash-Flooding Storm Using Multi Criteria Analysis and Spectral Indices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Akad, S.; Akensous, Y.; Hakdaoui, M.

2017-11-01

This research article is summarize the applications of remote sensing and GIS to study the urban floods risk in Al Mukalla. Satellite acquisition of a flood event on October 2015 in Al Mukalla (Yemen) by using flood risk mapping techniques illustrate the potential risk present in this city. Satellite images (The Landsat and DEM images data were atmospherically corrected, radiometric corrected, and geometric and topographic distortions rectified.) are used for flood risk mapping to afford a hazard (vulnerability) map. This map is provided by applying image-processing techniques and using geographic information system (GIS) environment also the application of NDVI, NDWI index, and a method to estimate the flood-hazard areas. Four factors were considered in order to estimate the spatial distribution of the hazardous areas: flow accumulation, slope, land use, geology and elevation. The multi-criteria analysis, allowing to deal with vulnerability to flooding, as well as mapping areas at the risk of flooding of the city Al Mukalla. The main object of this research is to provide a simple and rapid method to reduce and manage the risks caused by flood in Yemen by take as example the city of Al Mukalla.

Paleoflood Data, Extreme Floods and Frequency: Data and Models for Dam Safety Risk Scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

England, J. F.; Godaire, J.; Klinger, R.

2007-12-01

Extreme floods and probability estimates are crucial components in dam safety risk analysis and scenarios for water-resources decision making. The field-based collection of paleoflood data provides needed information on the magnitude and probability of extreme floods at locations of interest in a watershed or region. The stratigraphic record present along streams in the form of terrace and floodplain deposits represent direct indicators of the magnitude of large floods on a river, and may provide 10 to 100 times longer records than conventional stream gaging records of large floods. Paleoflood data is combined with gage and historical streamflow estimates to gain insights to flood frequency scaling, model extrapolations and uncertainty, and provide input scenarios to risk analysis event trees. We illustrate current data collection and flood frequency modeling approaches via case studies in the western United States, including the American River in California and the Arkansas River in Colorado. These studies demonstrate the integration of applied field geology, hydraulics, and surface-water hydrology. Results from these studies illustrate the gains in information content on extreme floods, provide data- based means to separate flood generation processes, guide flood frequency model extrapolations, and reduce uncertainties. These data and scenarios strongly influence water resources management decisions.

Geomorphological and sedimentological analysis of flash-flood deposits: The case of the 1997 Rivillas flood (Spain)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ortega, Jose A.; Garzón Heydt, Guillermina

2009-11-01

On the basis of the description of the 1997 Rivillas flood deposits, a morphosedimentary feature classification is proposed. Mapping of the main morphosedimentary deposits in seven reaches along the basin has provided abundant data for each defined typology and for a better adjustment of their stability fields. Because of their unstable preservation environment, immediate post-flood field surveys with descriptions of erosive and depositional features were undertaken. Up to 18 features were classified as either sedimentary or erosive and mapped according to their genetic environments. Anthropic interference such as land use changes produce modification of sediment supply and in channel and floodplain erosive processes causing flash-floods to be more catastrophic. Erosive features are dominant over sedimentary ones, as the sedimentary budget in the river is negative. By means of HEC-RAS (Hydrologic Engineering Center) modelling, we were able to obtain mean values of the main variables limiting feature stability (velocity, depth, stream powers and shear stress). These provide information regarding maximum stability threshold and peak flood discharge. The ephemeral nature of riverine flash-flood deposits in this type of setting does not mean that they are not significant, and their interpretation after recent floods can significantly improve interpretation of the event dynamics and its flood hydrology and also be useful for flood risk mapping.

Operational flash flood forecasting platform based on grid technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thierion, V.; Ayral, P.-A.; Angelini, V.; Sauvagnargues-Lesage, S.; Nativi, S.; Payrastre, O.

2009-04-01

Flash flood events of south of France such as the 8th and 9th September 2002 in the Grand Delta territory caused important economic and human damages. Further to this catastrophic hydrological situation, a reform of flood warning services have been initiated (set in 2006). Thus, this political reform has transformed the 52 existing flood warning services (SAC) in 22 flood forecasting services (SPC), in assigning them territories more hydrological consistent and new effective hydrological forecasting mission. Furthermore, national central service (SCHAPI) has been created to ease this transformation and support local services in their new objectives. New functioning requirements have been identified: - SPC and SCHAPI carry the responsibility to clearly disseminate to public organisms, civil protection actors and population, crucial hydrologic information to better anticipate potential dramatic flood event, - a new effective hydrological forecasting mission to these flood forecasting services seems essential particularly for the flash floods phenomenon. Thus, models improvement and optimization was one of the most critical requirements. Initially dedicated to support forecaster in their monitoring mission, thanks to measuring stations and rainfall radar images analysis, hydrological models have to become more efficient in their capacity to anticipate hydrological situation. Understanding natural phenomenon occuring during flash floods mainly leads present hydrological research. Rather than trying to explain such complex processes, the presented research try to manage the well-known need of computational power and data storage capacities of these services. Since few years, Grid technology appears as a technological revolution in high performance computing (HPC) allowing large-scale resource sharing, computational power using and supporting collaboration across networks. Nowadays, EGEE (Enabling Grids for E-science in Europe) project represents the most important effort in term of grid technology development. This paper presents an operational flash flood forecasting platform which have been developed in the framework of CYCLOPS European project providing one of virtual organizations of EGEE project. This platform has been designed to enable multi-simulations processes to ease forecasting operations of several supervised watersheds on Grand Delta (SPC-GD) territory. Grid technology infrastructure, in providing multiple remote computing elements enables the processing of multiple rainfall scenarios, derived to the original meteorological forecasting transmitted by Meteo-France, and their respective hydrological simulations. First results show that from one forecasting scenario, this new presented approach can permit simulations of more than 200 different scenarios to support forecasters in their aforesaid mission and appears as an efficient hydrological decision-making tool. Although, this system seems operational, model validity has to be confirmed. So, further researches are necessary to improve models core to be more efficient in term of hydrological aspects. Finally, this platform could be an efficient tool for developing others modelling aspects as calibration or data assimilation in real time processing.