Uptake and withdrawal of droplets from carbon nanotubes.

PubMed

Schebarchov, D; Hendy, S C

2011-01-01

We give an account of recent studies of droplet uptake and withdrawal from carbon nanotubes using simple theoretical arguments and molecular dynamics simulations. Firstly, the thermodynamics of droplet uptake and release is considered and tested via simulation. We show that the Laplace pressure acting on a droplet assists capillary uptake, allowing sufficiently small non-wetting droplets to be absorbed. We then demonstrate how the uptake and release of droplets of non-wetting fluids can be exploited for the use of carbon nanotubes as nanopipettes. Finally, we extend the Lucas-Washburn model to deal with the dynamics of droplet capillary uptake, and again test this by comparison with molecular dynamics simulations.

Uptake and withdrawal of droplets from carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schebarchov, D.; Hendy, S. C.

2011-01-01

We give an account of recent studies of droplet uptake and withdrawal from carbon nanotubes using simple theoretical arguments and molecular dynamics simulations. Firstly, the thermodynamics of droplet uptake and release is considered and tested via simulation. We show that the Laplace pressure acting on a droplet assists capillary uptake, allowing sufficiently small non-wetting droplets to be absorbed. We then demonstrate how the uptake and release of droplets of non-wetting fluids can be exploited for the use of carbon nanotubes as nanopipettes. Finally, we extend the Lucas-Washburn model to deal with the dynamics of droplet capillary uptake, and again test this by comparison with molecular dynamics simulations.

Coupled Land-Atmosphere Dynamics Govern Long Duration Floods: A Pilot Study in Missouri River Basin Using a Bayesian Hierarchical Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Najibi, N.; Lu, M.; Devineni, N.

2017-12-01

Long duration floods cause substantial damages and prolonged interruptions to water resource facilities and critical infrastructure. We present a novel generalized statistical and physical based model for flood duration with a deeper understanding of dynamically coupled nexus of the land surface wetness, effective atmospheric circulation and moisture transport/release. We applied the model on large reservoirs in the Missouri River Basin. The results indicate that the flood duration is not only a function of available moisture in the air, but also the antecedent condition of the blocking system of atmospheric pressure, resulting in enhanced moisture convergence, as well as the effectiveness of moisture condensation process leading to release. Quantifying these dynamics with a two-layer climate informed Bayesian multilevel model, we explain more than 80% variations in flood duration. The model considers the complex interaction between moisture transport, synoptic-to-large-scale atmospheric circulation pattern, and the antecedent wetness condition in the basin. Our findings suggest that synergy between a large low-pressure blocking system and a higher rate of divergent wind often triggers a long duration flood, and the prerequisite for moisture supply to trigger such event is moderate, which is more associated with magnitude than duration. In turn, this condition causes an extremely long duration flood if the surface wetness rate advancing to the flood event was already increased.

Spreading of a pendant liquid drop underneath a textured substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mistry, Aashutosh; Muralidhar, K.

2018-04-01

A pendant drop spreading underneath a partially wetting surface from an initial shape to its final equilibrium configuration and contact angle is studied. A mathematical formulation that quantifies spreading behavior of liquid drops over textured surfaces is discussed. The drop volume and the equilibrium contact angle are treated as parameters in the study. The unbalanced force at the three-phase contact line is modeled as being proportional to the degree of departure from the equilibrium state. Model predictions are verified against the available experimental data in the literature. Results show that the flow dynamics is strongly influenced by the fluid properties, drop volume, and contact angle of the liquid with the partially wetting surface. The drop exhibits rich dynamical behavior including inertial oscillations and gravitational instability, given that gravity tries to detach the drop against wetting contributions. Flow characteristics of drop motion, namely, the radius of the footprint, slip length, and dynamic contact angle in the pendant configuration are presented. Given the interplay among the competing time-dependent forces, a spreading drop can momentarily be destabilized and not achieve a stable equilibrium shape. Instability is then controlled by the initial drop shape as well. The spreading model is used to delineate stable and unstable regimes in the parameter space. Predictions of the drop volume based on the Young-Laplace equation are seen to be conservative relative to the estimates of the dynamical model discussed in the present study.

Wetting of crystalline polymer surfaces: A molecular dynamics simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Cun Feng; Caǧin, Tahir

1995-11-01

Molecular dynamics has been used to study the wetting of model polymer surfaces, the crystal surfaces of polyethylene (PE), poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE), and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) by water and methylene iodide. In the simulation a liquid droplet is placed on a model surface and constant temperature, rigid body molecular dynamics is carried out while the model surface is kept fixed. A generally defined microscopic contact angle between a liquid droplet and a solid surface is quantitatively calculated from the volume of the droplet and the interfacial area between the droplet and the surface. The simulation results agree with the trend in experimental data for both water and methylene iodide. The shape of the droplets on the surface is analyzed and no obvious anisotropy of the droplets is seen in the surface plane, even though the crystal surfaces are highly oriented. The surface free energies of the model polymer surfaces are estimated from their contact angles with the two different liquid droplets.

Modeling and analysis of wet friction clutch engagement dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iqbal, Shoaib; Al-Bender, Farid; Ompusunggu, Agusmian P.; Pluymers, Bert; Desmet, Wim

2015-08-01

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the usage of wet-friction clutches. Presently researchers across the globe are involved in improving the performance and lifetime of clutches through testing and simulation. To understand the clutch vibrational and dynamical behavior, an SAE#2 test setup mathematical model based on extended reset-integrator friction model is developed in this paper. In order to take into account the different phases of fluid lubrication during engagement cycle, the model includes the experimentally determined Stribeck function. In addition the model considers the viscous effect and the delay in the actuation pressure signal. The model is validated with the experiments performed on the SAE#2 test setup in both time and frequency domains. By analyzing the set of experimental results, we confirmed that the amplitude of shudder vibration is independent of the amplitude of applied contact pressure fluctuation.

Foam flow and liquid films motion: role of the surfactants properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cantat, Isabelle

2011-11-01

Liquid foams absorb energy in a much more efficient way than each of its constituents, taken separately. However, the local process at the origin of the energy dissipation is not entirely elucidated yet, and several models may apply, thus making worth local studies on simpler systems. We investigate the motion through a wet tube of transverse soap films, or lamellae, combining local thickness and velocity measurements in the wetting film. For foaming solution with a high dilatational surface modulus, we reveal a zone of several centimeters in length, the dynamic wetting film, which is significantly influenced by a moving lamella. The dependence of this influence length on lamella velocity and wetting film thickness provides an accurate discrimination among several possible surfactants models. In collaboration with B. Dollet.

Contact forces between a particle and a wet wall at both quasi-static and dynamic state

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Huang; Chen, Sheng; Li, Shuiqing

2017-06-01

The contact regime of particle-wall is investigated by the atomic force microscope (AFM) and theoretical models. First, AFM is used to measure the cohesive force between a micron-sized grain and a glass plate at quasi-static state under various humidity. It is found out that the cohesive force starts to grow slowly and suddenly increase rapidly beyond a critical Relative Humidity (RH). Second, mathematical models of contacting forces are presented to depict the dynamic process that a particle impacts on a wet wall. Then the energy loss of a falling grain is calculated in comparison with the models and the experimental data from the previous references. The simulation results show that the force models presented here are adaptive for both low and high viscosity fluid films with different thickness.

Modelling and investigation of partial wetting surfaces for drop dynamics using lattice Boltzmann method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pravinraj, T.; Patrikar, Rajendra

2017-07-01

Partial wetting surfaces and its influence on the droplet movement of micro and nano scale being contemplated for many useful applications. The dynamics of the droplet usually analyzed with a multiphase lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). In this paper, the influence of partial wetting surface on the dynamics of droplet is systematically analyzed for various cases. Splitting of droplets due to chemical gradient of the surface is studied and analyses of splitting time for various widths of the strips for different Weber numbers are computed. With the proposed model one can tune the splitting volume and time by carefully choosing a strip width and droplet position. The droplet spreading on chemically heterogeneous surfaces shows that the spreading can be controlled not only by parameters of Weber number but also by tuning strip width ratio. The transportation of the droplet from hydrophobic surface to hydrophilic surface due to chemical gradient is simulated and analyzed using our hybrid thermodynamic-image processing technique. The results prove that with the progress of time the surface free energy decreases with increase in spreading area. Finally, the transportation of a droplet on microstructure gradient is demonstrated. The model explains the temporal behaviour of droplet during the spreading, recoiling and translation along with tracking of contact angle hysteresis phenomenon.

Understanding variation in ecosystem pulse responses to wetting: Benefits of data-model coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenerette, D.

2011-12-01

Metabolic pulses of activity are a common ecological response to intermittently available resources and in water-limited ecosystems these pulses often occur in response to wetting. Net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) in response to episodic wetting events is hypothesized to have a complex trajectory reflecting the distinct responses, or "pulses", of respiration and photosynthesis. To help direct research activities a physiological-based model of whole ecosystem metabolic activity up- and down-regulation was developed to investigate ecosystem energy balance and gas exchange pulse responses following precipitation events. This model was to investigate pulse dynamics from a local network of sites in southern Arizona, a global network of eddy-covariance ecosystem monitoring sites, laboratory incubation studies, and field manipulations. Pulse responses were found to be ubiquitous across ecosystem types. These pulses had a highly variable influence on NEE following wetting, ranging from large net sinks to sources of CO2 to the atmosphere. Much of the variability in pulse responses of NEE could be described through a coupled up- and down-regulation pulse response model. Respiration pulses were hypothesized to occur through a reduction in whole ecosystem activation energy; this model was both useful and corroborated through laboratory incubation studies of soil respiration. Using the Fluxnet eddy-covariance measurement database event specific responses were combined with the pulse model into an event specific twenty-five day net flux calculation. Across all events observed a general net accumulation of CO2 following a precipitation event, with the largest net uptake within deciduous broadleaf forests and smallest within grasslands. NEE pulses favored greater uptake when pre-event ecosystem respiration rates and total precipitation were higher. While the latter was expected, the former adds to previous theory by suggesting a larger net uptake of CO2 when pre-event metabolic activity is higher. Scenario analyses of precipitation regimes suggested increased uptake with increasing total precipitation while more complex NEE responses to increasing number of events and interval between events. Pulse dynamics provides a general framework for understanding ecosystem responses to intermittent wetting projected to occur more frequently in future climates. Pulse dynamics also provides an opportunity to evaluate processes spanning cellular upregulation to global change.

Liquid spreading under partial wetting conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, M.; Pahlavan, A. A.; Cueto-Felgueroso, L.; McKinley, G. H.; Juanes, R.

2013-12-01

Traditional mathematical descriptions of multiphase flow in porous media rely on a multiphase extension of Darcy's law, and lead to nonlinear second-order (advection-diffusion) partial differential equations for fluid saturations. Here, we study horizontal redistribution of immiscible fluids. The traditional Darcy-flow model predicts that the spreading of a finite amount of liquid in a horizontal porous medium never stops; a prediction that is not substantiated by observation. To help guide the development of new models of multiphase flow in porous media [1], we draw an analogy with the flow of thin films. The flow of thin films over flat surfaces has been the subject of much theoretical, experimental and computational research [2]. Under the lubrication approximation, the classical mathematical model for these flows takes the form of a nonlinear fourth-order PDE, where the fourth-order term models the effect of surface tension [3]. This classical model, however, effectively assumes that the film is perfectly wetting to the substrate and, therefore, does not capture the partial wetting regime. Partial wetting is responsible for stopping the spread of a liquid puddle. Here, we present experiments of (large-volume) liquid spreading over a flat horizontal substrate in the partial wetting regime, and characterize the four spreading regimes that we observe. We extend our previous theoretical work of two-phase flow in a capillary tube [4], and develop a macroscopic phase-field modeling of thin-film flows with partial wetting. Our model naturally accounts for the dynamic contact angle at the contact line, and therefore permits modeling thin-film flows without invoking a precursor film, leading to compactly-supported solutions that reproduce the spreading dynamics and the static equilibrium configuration observed in the experiments. We anticipate that this modeling approach will provide a natural mathematical framework to describe spreading and redistribution of immiscible fluids in porous media. [1] L. Cueto-Felgueroso and R. Juanes, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 244504 (2008). [2] D. Bonn et al., Rev. Mod. Phys. 81, 739-805 (2009). [3] H. E. Huppert, Nature 300, 427-429 (1982). [4] L. Cueto-Felgueroso and R. Juanes, Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 144502 (2012).

Modeling hole transport in wet and dry DNA.

PubMed

Pavanello, Michele; Adamowicz, Ludwik; Volobuyev, Maksym; Mennucci, Benedetta

2010-04-08

We present a DFT/classical molecular dynamics model of DNA charge conductivity. The model involves a temperature-driven, hole-hopping charge transfer and includes the time-dependent nonequilibrium interaction of DNA with its molecular environment. We validate our method against a variety of hole transport experiments. The method predicts a significant hole-transfer slowdown of approximately 35% from dry to wet DNA with and without electric field bias. In addition, in agreement with experiments, it also predicts an insulating behavior of (GC)(N) oligomers for 40 < N < 1000, depending on the experimental setup.

Molecular Modeling of Three Phase Contact for Static and Dynamic Contact Angle Phenomena

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malani, Ateeque; Amat, Miguel; Raghavanpillai, Anilkumar; Wysong, Ernest; Rutledge, Gregory

2012-02-01

Interfacial phenomena arise in a number of industrially important situations, such as repellency of liquids on surfaces, condensation, etc. In designing materials for such applications, the key component is their wetting behavior, which is characterized by three-phase static and dynamic contact angle phenomena. Molecular modeling has the potential to provide basic insight into the detailed picture of the three-phase contact line resolved on the sub-nanometer scale which is essential for the success of these materials. We have proposed a computational strategy to study three-phase contact phenomena, where buoyancy of a solid rod or particle is studied in a planar liquid film. The contact angle is readily evaluated by measuring the position of solid and liquid interfaces. As proof of concept, the methodology has been validated extensively using a simple Lennard-Jones (LJ) fluid in contact with an LJ surface. In the dynamic contact angle analysis, the evolution of contact angle as a function of force applied to the rod or particle is characterized by the pinning and slipping of the three phase contact line. Ultimately, complete wetting or de-wetting is observed, allowing molecular level characterization of the contact angle hysteresis.

Wetting failure of hydrophilic surfaces promoted by surface roughness

PubMed Central

Zhao, Meng-Hua; Chen, Xiao-Peng; Wang, Qing

2014-01-01

Wetting failure is of vital importance to many physical phenomena, such as industrial coating and drop emission. Here we show when and how the surface roughness promotes the destabilization of a moving contact line on a hydrophilic surface. Beyond the balance of the driving force and viscous resistance where a stable wetting interface is sustained, wetting failure occurs and is modified by the roughness of the surface. The promoting effect arises only when the wetting velocity is high enough to create a gas-liquid-solid composite interface in the vicinity of the moving contact line, and it is a function of the intrinsic contact angle and proportion of solid tops. We propose a model to explain splashes of rough solid spheres impacting into liquids. It reveals a novel concept that dynamic wetting on hydrophilic rough surfaces can be similar to that on hydrophobic surfaces, and brings a new way to design surfaces with specific wetting properties. PMID:24948390

Global sensitivity analysis of the BSM2 dynamic influent disturbance scenario generator.

PubMed

Flores-Alsina, Xavier; Gernaey, Krist V; Jeppsson, Ulf

2012-01-01

This paper presents the results of a global sensitivity analysis (GSA) of a phenomenological model that generates dynamic wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) influent disturbance scenarios. This influent model is part of the Benchmark Simulation Model (BSM) family and creates realistic dry/wet weather files describing diurnal, weekend and seasonal variations through the combination of different generic model blocks, i.e. households, industry, rainfall and infiltration. The GSA is carried out by combining Monte Carlo simulations and standardized regression coefficients (SRC). Cluster analysis is then applied, classifying the influence of the model parameters into strong, medium and weak. The results show that the method is able to decompose the variance of the model predictions (R(2)> 0.9) satisfactorily, thus identifying the model parameters with strongest impact on several flow rate descriptors calculated at different time resolutions. Catchment size (PE) and the production of wastewater per person equivalent (QperPE) are two parameters that strongly influence the yearly average dry weather flow rate and its variability. Wet weather conditions are mainly affected by three parameters: (1) the probability of occurrence of a rain event (Llrain); (2) the catchment size, incorporated in the model as a parameter representing the conversion from mm rain · day(-1) to m(3) · day(-1) (Qpermm); and, (3) the quantity of rain falling on permeable areas (aH). The case study also shows that in both dry and wet weather conditions the SRC ranking changes when the time scale of the analysis is modified, thus demonstrating the potential to identify the effect of the model parameters on the fast/medium/slow dynamics of the flow rate. The paper ends with a discussion on the interpretation of GSA results and of the advantages of using synthetic dynamic flow rate data for WWTP influent scenario generation. This section also includes general suggestions on how to use the proposed methodology to any influent generator to adapt the created time series to a modeller's demands.

A Physically-based Model for Predicting Soil Moisture Dynamics in Wetlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalin, L.; Rezaeianzadeh, M.; Hantush, M. M.

2017-12-01

Wetlands are promoted as green infrastructures because of their characteristics in retaining and filtering water. In wetlands going through wetting/drying cycles, simulation of nutrient processes and biogeochemical reactions in both ponded and unsaturated wetland zones are needed for an improved understanding of wetland functioning for water quality improvement. The physically-based WetQual model can simulate the hydrology and nutrient and sediment cycles in natural and constructed wetlands. WetQual can be used in continuously flooded environments or in wetlands going through wetting/drying cycles. Currently, WetQual relies on 1-D Richards' Equation (RE) to simulate soil moisture dynamics in unponded parts of the wetlands. This is unnecessarily complex because as a lumped model, WetQual only requires average moisture contents. In this paper, we present a depth-averaged solution to the 1-D RE, called DARE, to simulate the average moisture content of the root zone and the layer below it in unsaturated parts of wetlands. DARE converts the PDE of the RE into ODEs; thus it is computationally more efficient. This method takes into account the plant uptake and groundwater table fluctuations, which are commonly overlooked in hydrologic models dealing with wetlands undergoing wetting and drying cycles. For verification purposes, DARE solutions were compared to Hydrus-1D model, which uses full RE, under gravity drainage only assumption and full-term equations. Model verifications were carried out under various top boundary conditions: no ponding at all, ponding at some point, and no rain. Through hypothetical scenarios and actual atmospheric data, the utility of DARE was demonstrated. Gravity drainage version of DARE worked well in comparison to Hydrus-1D, under all the assigned atmospheric boundary conditions of varying fluxes for all examined soil types (sandy loam, loam, sandy clay loam, and sand). The full-term version of DARE offers reasonable accuracy compared to the full RE solutions from Hydrus-1D, with a significant reduction in computational time. The full-term version of DARE estimated the moisture content with better accuracy for the root zone by considering zero pressure head at a fixed groundwater depth as the bottom boundary condition. The accuracy of this model is lower for the second layer.

Carbon Dynamics and Export from Flooded Wetlands: A Modeling Approach

EPA Science Inventory

Described in this article is development and validation of a process based model for carbon cycling in flooded wetlands, called WetQual-C. The model considers various biogeochemical interactions affecting C cycling, greenhouse gas emissions, organic carbon export and retention. ...

Exploring the dynamics of transit times and runoff source zones in a small agricultural catchment using a physically-based water flow model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fleckenstein, J. H.; Yang, J.; Heidbuchel, I.; Musolff, A.

2017-12-01

Catchment-scale transit time distributions (TTDs) for discharge and residence time distributions (RTDs) of the water in storage are promising tools to characterize the discharge and mixing behavior of a catchment. TTDs and RTDs are dynamic in time, influenced by dynamic rainfall and evapotranspiration forcing, as well as changing groundwater storage in the catchment. In order to understand the links between the dynamics of TTDs and catchment mixing in an agricultural catchment in central Germany, a 3D hydrological model was set up using the fully coupled surface-subsurface numerical code HydroGeoSphere. The transient model is calibrated using discharge and groundwater level measurements, and is run for a period of 10 years from 1997 to 2007. A particle tracking tool was implemented in HydroGeoSphere to track the movement of water parcels in the subsurface, outputting TTDs of discharge and RTDs of groundwater storage at daily intervals. Results show the strong variability of the median age of discharge and median age of the water in storage, in response to the overall wetness of the catchment. Computed fractional StorAge Selection (fSAS, van der Velde et al. 2012, Rinaldo et al. 2015) functions suggest systematic changes in the preference of the catchment to discharge water of a certain age ranges from storage over the seasons: In the wet period, youngest water in storage is preferentially selected, and the preference shifts gradually to older water in storage when the catchment transitions into periods of post-wet, dry and pre-wet. Those changes are driven by distinct shifts in the dominant flow paths from deeper, slow flow paths during dry periods to faster shallow flow paths during the wet season. Changes in the shape of the fSAS functions are quantified in terms of changes in the two parameters of the Beta functions, which are used to approximate the fSAS functions. This provides an opportunity to generate quasi-continuous fSAS functions over the course of a year for the catchment. Our results provide new insights into the dynamics of TTDs and fSAS functions for a complex real-world catchment and can help to interpret the associated solute exports to the stream.

Self-spreading of the wetting ridge during stick-slip on a viscoelastic surface

DOE PAGES

Park, S. J.; Bostwick, J. B.; De Andrade, V.; ...

2017-10-23

Dynamic wetting behaviors on soft solids are important to interpret complex biological processes from cell–substrate interactions. Despite intensive research studies over the past half-century, the underlying mechanisms of spreading behaviors are not clearly understood. The most interesting feature of wetting on soft matter is the formation of a “wetting ridge”, a surface deformation by a competition between elasticity and capillarity. Dynamics of the wetting ridge formed at the three-phase contact line underlies the dynamic wetting behaviors, but remains largely unexplored mostly due to limitations in indirect observation. Here, we directly visualize wetting ridge dynamics during continuous- and stick-slip motions onmore » a viscoelastic surface using X-ray microscopy. Strikingly, we discover that the ridge spreads spontaneously during stick and triggers contact line depinning (stick-to-slip transition) by changing the ridge geometry which weakens the contact line pinning. Finally, we clarify ‘viscoelastic-braking’, ‘stick-slipping’, and ‘stick-breaking’ spreading behaviors through the ridge dynamics. In stick-breaking, no ridge-spreading occurs and contact line pinning (hysteresis) is enhanced by cusp-bending while preserving a microscopic equilibrium at the ridge tip. We have furthered the understanding of spreading behaviors on soft solids and demonstrated the value of X-ray microscopy in elucidating various dynamic wetting behaviors on soft solids as well as puzzling biological issues.« less

Capillary Rise: Validity of the Dynamic Contact Angle Models.

PubMed

Wu, Pingkeng; Nikolov, Alex D; Wasan, Darsh T

2017-08-15

The classical Lucas-Washburn-Rideal (LWR) equation, using the equilibrium contact angle, predicts a faster capillary rise process than experiments in many cases. The major contributor to the faster prediction is believed to be the velocity dependent dynamic contact angle. In this work, we investigated the dynamic contact angle models for their ability to correct the dynamic contact angle effect in the capillary rise process. We conducted capillary rise experiments of various wetting liquids in borosilicate glass capillaries and compared the model predictions with our experimental data. The results show that the LWR equations modified by the molecular kinetic theory and hydrodynamic model provide good predictions on the capillary rise of all the testing liquids with fitting parameters, while the one modified by Joos' empirical equation works for specific liquids, such as silicone oils. The LWR equation modified by molecular self-layering model predicts well the capillary rise of carbon tetrachloride, octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane, and n-alkanes with the molecular diameter or measured solvation force data. The molecular self-layering model modified LWR equation also has good predictions on the capillary rise of silicone oils covering a wide range of bulk viscosities with the same key parameter W(0), which results from the molecular self-layering. The advantage of the molecular self-layering model over the other models reveals the importance of the layered molecularly thin wetting film ahead of the main meniscus in the energy dissipation associated with dynamic contact angle. The analysis of the capillary rise of silicone oils with a wide range of bulk viscosities provides new insights into the capillary dynamics of polymer melts.

Pore-scale modeling of phase change in porous media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2017-11-01

One of the main open challenges in pore-scale modeling is the direct simulation of flows involving multicomponent mixtures with complex phase behavior. Reservoir fluid mixtures are often described through cubic equations of state, which makes diffuse interface, or phase field theories, particularly appealing as a modeling framework. What is still unclear is whether equation-of-state-driven diffuse-interface models can adequately describe processes where surface tension and wetting phenomena play an important role. Here we present a diffuse interface model of single-component, two-phase flow (a van der Waals fluid) in a porous medium under different wetting conditions. We propose a simplified Darcy-Korteweg model that is appropriate to describe flow in a Hele-Shaw cell or a micromodel, with a gap-averaged velocity. We study the ability of the diffuse-interface model to capture capillary pressure and the dynamics of vaporization/condensation fronts, and show that the model reproduces pressure fluctuations that emerge from abrupt interface displacements (Haines jumps) and from the break-up of wetting films.

An Environmental Evaluation of Acid Scrubbers; Building 628, McClellan AFB CA

DTIC Science & Technology

1975-08-01

found collection efficiencies ranging from 42 to 80% for 1 pm particles in low energy scrubbers . High energy scrubbers , venturi and wet dynamic, had...collection elliciency ctyi be obtained but not with low energy wet scrubbers . High energy wet scrubbers ( venturi , wet dynamic, wet fabric nitrations, etc...ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION OF ACID SCRUBBERS Building 628. McClellan AFB CA Jerry W. Jackson. Capt, USAF, BSC William £. Normington. Capt, USAF August 1975

Colonization and extinction in dynamic habitats: an occupancy approach for a Great Plains stream fish assemblage.

PubMed

Falke, Jeffrey A; Bailey, Larissa L; Fausch, Kurt D; Bestgen, Kevin R

2012-04-01

Despite the importance of habitat in determining species distribution and persistence, habitat dynamics are rarely modeled in studies of metapopulations. We used an integrated habitat-occupancy model to simultaneously quantify habitat change, site fidelity, and local colonization and extinction rates for larvae of a suite of Great Plains stream fishes in the Arikaree River, eastern Colorado, USA, across three years. Sites were located along a gradient of flow intermittency and groundwater connectivity. Hydrology varied across years: the first and third being relatively wet and the second dry. Despite hydrologic variation, our results indicated that site suitability was random from one year to the next. Occupancy probabilities were also independent of previous habitat and occupancy state for most species, indicating little site fidelity. Climate and groundwater connectivity were important drivers of local extinction and colonization, but the importance of groundwater differed between periods. Across species, site extinction probabilities were highest during the transition from wet to dry conditions (range: 0.52-0.98), and the effect of groundwater was apparent with higher extinction probabilities for sites not fed by groundwater. Colonization probabilities during this period were relatively low for both previously dry sites (range: 0.02-0.38) and previously wet sites (range: 0.02-0.43). In contrast, no sites dried or remained dry during the transition from dry to wet conditions, yielding lower but still substantial extinction probabilities (range: 0.16-0.63) and higher colonization probabilities (range: 0.06-0.86), with little difference among sites with and without groundwater. This approach of jointly modeling both habitat change and species occupancy will likely be useful to incorporate effects of dynamic habitat on metapopulation processes and to better inform appropriate conservation actions.

Evaporation dynamics of completely wetting drops on geometrically textured surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mekhitarian, Loucine; Sobac, Benjamin; Dehaeck, Sam; Haut, Benoît; Colinet, Pierre

2017-10-01

This study deals with the evaporation dynamics of completely wetting and highly volatile drops deposited on geometrically textured but chemically homogeneous surfaces. The texturation consists in a cylindrical pillars array with a square pitch. The triple line dynamics and the drop shape are characterized by an interferometric method. A parametric study is realized by varying the radius and the height of the pillars (at fixed interpillar distance), allowing to distinguish three types of dynamics: i) an evaporation-dominated regime with a receding triple line; ii) a spreading-dominated regime with an initially advancing triple line; iii) a cross-over region with strong pinning effects. The overall picture is in qualitative agreement with a mathematical model showing that the selected regime mostly depends on the value of a dimensionless parameter comparing the time scales for evaporation and spreading into the substrate texture.

Calculation of the wetting parameter from a cluster model in the framework of nanothermodynamics.

PubMed

García-Morales, V; Cervera, J; Pellicer, J

2003-06-01

The critical wetting parameter omega(c) determines the strength of interfacial fluctuations in critical wetting transitions. In this Brief Report, we calculate omega(c) from considerations on critical liquid clusters inside a vapor phase. The starting point is a cluster model developed by Hill and Chamberlin in the framework of nanothermodynamics [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95, 12779 (1998)]. Our calculations yield results for omega(c) between 0.52 and 1.00, depending on the degrees of freedom considered. The findings are in agreement with previous experimental results and give an idea of the universal dynamical behavior of the clusters when approaching criticality. We suggest that this behavior is a combination of translation and vortex rotational motion (omega(c)=0.84).

Dynamic wetting failure in surfactant solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Chen-Yu; Vandre, Eric; Carvalho, Marcio; Kumar, Satish

2015-11-01

The influence of insoluble surfactants on dynamic wetting failure during displacement of Newtonian fluids in a rectangular channel is studied in this work. A hydrodynamic model for steady Stokes flows of dilute surfactant solutions is developed and evaluated using three approaches: (i) a one-dimensional (1D) lubrication-type approach, (ii) a novel hybrid of a 1D description of the receding phase and a 2D description of the advancing phase, and (iii) an asymptotic theory of Cox. Steady-state solution families in the form of macroscopic contact angles as a function of the capillary number are determined and limit points are identified. When air is the receding fluid, Marangoni stresses are found to increase the receding-phase pressure gradients near the contact line by thinning the air film without significantly changing the capillary-pressure gradients there. As consequence, the limit points shift to lower capillary numbers and the onset of wetting failure is promoted. The model predictions are then used to interpret decades-old experimental observations concerning the influence of surfactants on air entrainment. The hybrid modeling approach developed here can readily be extended to more complicated geometries where a thin air layer is present near a contact line.

Sodium dopants in helium clusters: Structure, equilibrium and submersion kinetics

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

Calvo, F.

Alkali impurities bind to helium nanodroplets very differently depending on their size and charge state, large neutral or charged dopants being wetted by the droplet whereas small neutral impurities prefer to reside aside. Using various computational modeling tools such as quantum Monte Carlo and path-integral molecular dynamics simulations, we have revisited some aspects of the physical chemistry of helium droplets interacting with sodium impurities, including the onset of snowball formation in presence of many-body polarization forces, the transition from non-wetted to wetted behavior in larger sodium clusters, and the kinetics of submersion of small dopants after sudden ionization.

Response of leaf and whole-tree canopy conductance to wet conditions within a mature premontane tropical forest in Costa Rica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aparecido, L. M. T.; Miller, G. R.; Cahill, A. T.; Andrews, R.; Moore, G. W.

2017-12-01

Tropical water recycling and carbon storage are dependent on canopy-atmosphere dynamics, which are substantially altered when rainfall occurs. However, models only indirectly consider leaf wetness as a driving factor for carbon and water fluxes. To better understand how leaf wetness condition affects stomatal and canopy conductance to water vapor, we tested a set of widely used models for a mature tropical forest of Costa Rica with prolonged periods of wet leaves. We relied on a year of sap flux measurements from 26 trees to estimate transpiration (Ec) and multiple micrometeorological profile measurements from a 40-m tower to be used in the models. Stomatal conductance (gs) models included those proposed by Jones (1992) (gs-J), using shaded and sunlit leaf temperatures, and Monteith and Unsworth (1990) (gs-MU), using air temperature. Canopy conductance (gc) models included those proposed by McNaughton and Jarvis (1983) (gc-MJ) and Penman-Monteith (gc-PM). Between gs and gc, gc had the largest differences within models during dry periods; while estimates were most similar during wet periods. Yet, all gc and gs estimates on wet days were at least as high as on dry days, indicative of their insensitivity to leaf wetness. Shaded leaf gs averaged 26% higher than in sunlit leaves. Additionally, the highly decoupled interface (Ω>0.90) reflected multiple environmental drivers that may influence conductance (e.g. vapor pressure deficit and leaf temperature). This was also seen through large shifts of diurnal peaks of gs and gc (up to 2 hours earlier than Ec) associated with the daily variation of air temperature and net radiation. Overall, this study led to three major insights: 1) gc and gs cannot accurately be predicted under wet conditions without accounting for leaf wetness, 2) even during dry days, low vapor pressure deficits interfere with model accuracy, and 3) intermittent rain during semi-dry and wet days cause large fluctuations in gc and gs estimates. Thus, it is advised that sub-daily scale (5- or 10-min intervals) and direct physiological measurements of conductance under wet conditions should be adopted. While methodologically challenging, improved estimates of conductance of water vapor at leaf-to-canopy scales are critical for improving the mechanistic understanding of plant water fluxes in wet environments.

A smoothed particle hydrodynamics model for droplet and film flow on smooth and rough fracture surfaces

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

Kordilla, Jannes; Tartakovsky, Alexandre M.; Geyer, Tobias

2013-09-01

Flow on fracture surfaces has been identified by many authors as an important flow process in unsaturated fractured rock formations. Given the complexity of flow dynamics on such small scales, robust numerical methods have to be employed in order to capture the highly dynamic interfaces and flow intermittency. In this work we present microscale free-surface flow simulations using a three-dimensional multiphase Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) code. Pairwise solid-fluid and fluid-fluid interaction forces are used to control the wetting behavior and cover a wide range of static and transient contact angles as well as Reynolds numbers encountered in droplet flow onmore » rock surfaces. We validate our model via comparison with existing empirical and semi-analyical solutions for droplet flow. We use the model to investigate the occurence of adsorbed trailing films of droplets under various flow conditions and its importance for the flow dynamics when films and droplets coexist. We show that flow velocities are higher on prewetted surfaces covered by a thin film which is qualitatively attributed to the enhanced dynamic wetting and dewetting at the trailing and advancing contact line.« less

Dynamical phase separation using a microfluidic device: experiments and modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aymard, Benjamin; Vaes, Urbain; Radhakrishnan, Anand; Pradas, Marc; Gavriilidis, Asterios; Kalliadasis, Serafim; Complex Multiscale Systems Team

2017-11-01

We study the dynamical phase separation of a binary fluid by a microfluidic device both from the experimental and from the modeling points of view. The experimental device consists of a main channel (600 μm wide) leading into an array of 276 trapezoidal capillaries of 5 μm width arranged on both sides and separating the lateral channels from the main channel. Due to geometrical effects as well as wetting properties of the substrate, and under well chosen pressure boundary conditions, a multiphase flow introduced into the main channel gets separated at the capillaries. Understanding this dynamics via modeling and numerical simulation is a crucial step in designing future efficient micro-separators. We propose a diffuse-interface model, based on the classical Cahn-Hilliard-Navier-Stokes system, with a new nonlinear mobility and new wetting boundary conditions. We also propose a novel numerical method using a finite-element approach, together with an adaptive mesh refinement strategy. The complex geometry is captured using the same computer-aided design files as the ones adopted in the fabrication of the actual device. Numerical simulations reveal a very good qualitative agreement between model and experiments, demonstrating also a clear separation of phases.

Not spreading in reverse: The dewetting of a liquid film into a single drop

PubMed Central

Edwards, Andrew M. J.; Ledesma-Aguilar, Rodrigo; Newton, Michael I.; Brown, Carl V.; McHale, Glen

2016-01-01

Wetting and dewetting are both fundamental modes of motion of liquids on solid surfaces. They are critically important for processes in biology, chemistry, and engineering, such as drying, coating, and lubrication. However, recent progress in wetting, which has led to new fields such as superhydrophobicity and liquid marbles, has not been matched by dewetting. A significant problem has been the inability to study the model system of a uniform film dewetting from a nonwetting surface to a single macroscopic droplet—a barrier that does not exist for the reverse wetting process of a droplet spreading into a film. We report the dewetting of a dielectrophoresis-induced film into a single equilibrium droplet. The emergent picture of the full dewetting dynamics is of an initial regime, where a liquid rim recedes at constant speed and constant dynamic contact angle, followed by a relatively short exponential relaxation of a spherical cap shape. This sharply contrasts with the reverse wetting process, where a spreading droplet follows a smooth sequence of spherical cap shapes. Complementary numerical simulations and a hydrodynamic model reveal a local dewetting mechanism driven by the equilibrium contact angle, where contact line slip dominates the dewetting dynamics. Our conclusions can be used to understand a wide variety of processes involving liquid dewetting, such as drop rebound, condensation, and evaporation. In overcoming the barrier to studying single film-to-droplet dewetting, our results provide new approaches to fluid manipulation and uses of dewetting, such as inducing films of prescribed initial shapes and slip-controlled liquid retraction. PMID:27704042

Not spreading in reverse: The dewetting of a liquid film into a single drop.

PubMed

Edwards, Andrew M J; Ledesma-Aguilar, Rodrigo; Newton, Michael I; Brown, Carl V; McHale, Glen

2016-09-01

Wetting and dewetting are both fundamental modes of motion of liquids on solid surfaces. They are critically important for processes in biology, chemistry, and engineering, such as drying, coating, and lubrication. However, recent progress in wetting, which has led to new fields such as superhydrophobicity and liquid marbles, has not been matched by dewetting. A significant problem has been the inability to study the model system of a uniform film dewetting from a nonwetting surface to a single macroscopic droplet-a barrier that does not exist for the reverse wetting process of a droplet spreading into a film. We report the dewetting of a dielectrophoresis-induced film into a single equilibrium droplet. The emergent picture of the full dewetting dynamics is of an initial regime, where a liquid rim recedes at constant speed and constant dynamic contact angle, followed by a relatively short exponential relaxation of a spherical cap shape. This sharply contrasts with the reverse wetting process, where a spreading droplet follows a smooth sequence of spherical cap shapes. Complementary numerical simulations and a hydrodynamic model reveal a local dewetting mechanism driven by the equilibrium contact angle, where contact line slip dominates the dewetting dynamics. Our conclusions can be used to understand a wide variety of processes involving liquid dewetting, such as drop rebound, condensation, and evaporation. In overcoming the barrier to studying single film-to-droplet dewetting, our results provide new approaches to fluid manipulation and uses of dewetting, such as inducing films of prescribed initial shapes and slip-controlled liquid retraction.

Characterization of return flow pathways during flood irrigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Claes, N.; Paige, G. B.; Parsekian, A.; Gordon, B. L.; Miller, S. N.

2015-12-01

With a decline in water resources available for private consumption and irrigation, the importance of sustainable water management practices is increasing. Local management decisions, based on models may affect the availability of water both locally and downstream, causing a ripple effect. It is therefore important that the models that these local management decisions are based on, accurately quantify local hydrological processes and the timescales at which they happen. We are focusing on return flow from flood irrigation, which can occur via different pathways back to the streams: overland flow, near-surface return flow and return flow via pathways below the vadose zone. The question addressed is how these different pathways each contribute to the total amount of return flow and the dynamics behind them. We used time-lapse ERT measurements in combination with an ensemble of ERT and seismic lines to answer this question via (1) capturing the process of gradual fragmentation of aqueous environments in the vadose zone during drying stages at field scale; (2) characterization of the formation of preferential flow paths from infiltrating wetting fronts during wetting cycles at field scale. The time-lapse ERT provides the possibility to capture the dynamic processes involved during the occurrence of finger flow or macro-pores when an intensive wetting period during flood irrigation occurs. It elucidates the dynamics of retention in the vadose zone during drying and wetting periods at field scale. This method provides thereby a link to upscale from laboratory experiments to field scale and watershed scale for finger flow and preferential flow paths and illustrates the hysteresis behavior at field scale.

Inferring the relative resilience of alternative states

USGS Publications Warehouse

Angeler, David G.; Allen, Craig R.; Rojo, Carmen; Alvarez-Cobelas, Miguel; Rodrigo, Maria A.; Sanchez-Carrillo, Salvador

2013-01-01

Ecological systems may occur in alternative states that differ in ecological structures, functions and processes. Resilience is the measure of disturbance an ecological system can absorb before changing states. However, how the intrinsic structures and processes of systems that characterize their states affects their resilience remains unclear. We analyzed time series of phytoplankton communities at three sites in a floodplain in central Spain to assess the dominant frequencies or “temporal scales” in community dynamics and compared the patterns between a wet and a dry alternative state. The identified frequencies and cross-scale structures are expected to arise from positive feedbacks that are thought to reinforce processes in alternative states of ecological systems and regulate emergent phenomena such as resilience. Our analyses show a higher species richness and diversity but lower evenness in the dry state. Time series modeling revealed a decrease in the importance of short-term variability in the communities, suggesting that community dynamics slowed down in the dry relative to the wet state. The number of temporal scales at which community dynamics manifested, and the explanatory power of time series models, was lower in the dry state. The higher diversity, reduced number of temporal scales and the lower explanatory power of time series models suggest that species dynamics tended to be more stochastic in the dry state. From a resilience perspective our results highlight a paradox: increasing species richness may not necessarily enhance resilience. The loss of cross-scale structure (i.e. the lower number of temporal scales) in community dynamics across sites suggests that resilience erodes during drought. Phytoplankton communities in the dry state are therefore likely less resilient than in the wet state. Our case study demonstrates the potential of time series modeling to assess attributes that mediate resilience. The approach is useful for assessing resilience of alternative states across ecological and other complex systems.

Modeling fluid transport in 2d paper networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tirapu Azpiroz, Jaione; Fereira Silva, Ademir; Esteves Ferreira, Matheus; Lopez Candela, William Fernando; Bryant, Peter William; Ohta, Ricardo Luis; Engel, Michael; Steiner, Mathias Bernhard

2018-02-01

Paper-based microfluidic devices offer great potential as a low-cost platform to perform chemical and biochemical tests. Commercially available formats such as dipsticks and lateral-flow test devices are widely popular as they are easy to handle and produce fast and unambiguous results. While these simple devices lack precise control over the flow to enable integration of complex functionality for multi-step processes or the ability to multiplex several tests, intense research in this area is rapidly expanding the possibilities. Modeling and simulation is increasingly more instrumental in gaining insight into the underlying physics driving the processes inside the channels, however simulation of flow in paper-based microfluidic devices has barely been explored to aid in the optimum design and prototyping of these devices for precise control of the flow. In this paper, we implement a multiphase fluid flow model through porous media for the simulation of paper imbibition of an incompressible, Newtonian fluid such as when water, urine or serum is employed. The formulation incorporates mass and momentum conservation equations under Stokes flow conditions and results in two coupled Darcy's law equations for the pressures and saturations of the wetting and non-wetting phases, further simplified to the Richard's equation for the saturation of the wetting fluid, which is then solved using a Finite Element solver. The model tracks the wetting fluid front as it displaces the non-wetting fluid by computing the time-dependent saturation of the wetting fluid. We apply this to the study of liquid transport in two-dimensional paper networks and validate against experimental data concerning the wetting dynamics of paper layouts of varying geometries.

Wetting-dewetting films: the role of structural forces.

PubMed

Nikolov, Alex; Wasan, Darsh

2014-04-01

The liquid wetting and dewetting of solids are ubiquitous phenomena that occur in everyday life. Understanding the nature of these phenomena is beneficial for research and technological applications. However, despite their importance, the phenomena are still not well understood because of the nature of the substrate's surface energy non-ideality and dynamics. This paper illustrates the mechanisms and applications of liquid wetting and dewetting on hydrophilic and hydrophobic substrates. We discuss the classical understanding and application of wetting and film stability criteria based on the Frumkin-Derjaguin disjoining pressure model. The roles of the film critical thickness and capillary pressure on the film instability based on the disjoining pressure isotherm are elucidated, as are the criteria for stable and unstable wet films. We consider the film area in the model for the film stability and the applicable experiments. This paper also addresses the two classic film instability mechanisms for suspended liquid films based on the conditions of the free energy criteria originally proposed by de Vries (nucleation hole formation) and Vrij-Scheludko (capillary waves vs. van der Waals forces) that were later adapted to explain dewetting. We include a discussion of the mechanisms of nanofilm wetting and dewetting on a solid substrate based on nanoparticles' tendency to form a 2D layer and 2D inlayer in the film under the wetting film's surface confinement. We also present our view on the future of wetting-dewetting modeling and its applications in developing emerging technologies. We believe the review and analysis presented here will benefit the current and future understanding of the wetting-dewetting phenomena, as well as aid in the development of novel products and technologies. © 2013.

SIMULATION STUDIES OF THE WETTING OF CRYSTALLINE FACES OF COTTON CELLULOSE

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Models of the surfaces of nano-sized cellulose crystals were constructed and a model droplet of water was placed on each. Then, the model atoms were given motion that corresponds to room temperature (a molecular dynamics simulation), and the spreading of the water over the surfaces was studied. Besi...

Lattice Boltzmann simulations of multiple-droplet interaction dynamics.

PubMed

Zhou, Wenchao; Loney, Drew; Fedorov, Andrei G; Degertekin, F Levent; Rosen, David W

2014-03-01

A lattice Boltzmann (LB) formulation, which is consistent with the phase-field model for two-phase incompressible fluid, is proposed to model the interface dynamics of droplet impingement. The interparticle force is derived by comparing the macroscopic transport equations recovered from LB equations with the governing equations of the continuous phase-field model. The inconsistency between the existing LB implementations and the phase-field model in calculating the relaxation time at the phase interface is identified and an approximation is proposed to ensure the consistency with the phase-field model. It is also shown that the commonly used equilibrium velocity boundary for the binary fluid LB scheme does not conserve momentum at the wall boundary and a modified scheme is developed to ensure the momentum conservation at the boundary. In addition, a geometric formulation of the wetting boundary condition is proposed to replace the popular surface energy formulation and results show that the geometric approach enforces the prescribed contact angle better than the surface energy formulation in both static and dynamic wetting. The proposed LB formulation is applied to simulating droplet impingement dynamics in three dimensions and results are compared to those obtained with the continuous phase-field model, the LB simulations reported in the literature, and experimental data from the literature. The results show that the proposed LB simulation approach yields not only a significant speed improvement over the phase-field model in simulating droplet impingement dynamics on a submillimeter length scale, but also better accuracy than both the phase-field model and the previously reported LB techniques when compared to experimental data. Upon validation, the proposed LB modeling methodology is applied to the study of multiple-droplet impingement and interactions in three dimensions, which demonstrates its powerful capability of simulating extremely complex interface phenomena.

Forced imbibition through model porous media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Odier, Celeste; Levache, Bertrand; Bartolo, Denis

2016-11-01

A number of industrial and natural process ultimately rely on two-phase flow in heterogeneous media. One of the most prominent example is oil recovery which has driven fundamental and applied research in this field for decades. Imbibition occurs when a wetting fluid displaces an immiscible fluid e.g. in a porous media. Using model microfluidic experiment we control both the geometry and wetting properties of the heterogenous media, and show that the typical front propagation picture fails when imbibition is forced and the displacing fluid is less viscous than the non-wetting fluid. We identify and quantitatively characterize four different flow regimes at the pore scale yielding markedly different imbibition patterns at large scales. In particular we will discuss the transition from a conventional 2D-front propagation scenario to a regime where the meniscus dynamics is an intrinsically 3D process.

Long-wave dynamics of an elastic sheet lubricated by a thin liquid film on a wetting substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, Y.-N.; Stone, H. A.

2017-06-01

The dynamics of an elastic sheet lubricated by a thin liquid film on a wetting solid substrate is examined using both numerical simulations of a long-wave lubrication equation and a quasistatic model. Interactions between the liquid and the wetting substrate are modeled by a disjoining pressure that gives rise to an ultrathin (precursor) film. For a fluid interface without elastic bending stiffness, a flat precursor film may be linearly unstable and evolve towards an equilibrium of a single "drop" connected to a flat ultrathin film. Similar behavior is found when the thin film is covered by an elastic sheet: The sheet deforms, rearranging the thin liquid film, and contributes regulating surface forces such as a bending resistance and/or a tensile force, which may arise from interactions between the sheet and liquid or inextensibility of the sheet. Glasner's quasistatic model [Phys. Fluids 15, 1837 (2003), 10.1063/1.1578076], developed for a liquid film, is adopted to investigate the combined effects of elastic and tensile forces in the sheet on the thin film dynamics. The equilibrium height of the drop is found to vary inversely with the bending rigidity. When the elastic sheet is inextensible (such as a lipid bilayer membrane), a compressive tensile force may occur and the equilibrium film height is dependent less on the bending rigidity and more on the excess area of the membrane. Analyses of the lubrication equation also show that the precursor film transitions monotonically to the core film for tension-dominated dynamics. In contrast, for elasticity-dominated dynamics, a spatial oscillation of film height in the contact line region is found. In addition, elasticity in the sheet causes a sliding motion of the thin film: the contact angle is rendered zero by elasticity, and the contact line moves at a finite speed.

Modeling the influence of snow cover temperature and water content on wet-snow avalanche runout

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valero, Cesar Vera; Wever, Nander; Christen, Marc; Bartelt, Perry

2018-03-01

Snow avalanche motion is strongly dependent on the temperature and water content of the snow cover. In this paper we use a snow cover model, driven by measured meteorological data, to set the initial and boundary conditions for wet-snow avalanche calculations. The snow cover model provides estimates of snow height, density, temperature and liquid water content. This information is used to prescribe fracture heights and erosion heights for an avalanche dynamics model. We compare simulated runout distances with observed avalanche deposition fields using a contingency table analysis. Our analysis of the simulations reveals a large variability in predicted runout for tracks with flat terraces and gradual slope transitions to the runout zone. Reliable estimates of avalanche mass (height and density) in the release and erosion zones are identified to be more important than an exact specification of temperature and water content. For wet-snow avalanches, this implies that the layers where meltwater accumulates in the release zone must be identified accurately as this defines the height of the fracture slab and therefore the release mass. Advanced thermomechanical models appear to be better suited to simulate wet-snow avalanche inundation areas than existing guideline procedures if and only if accurate snow cover information is available.

New insights on the complex dynamics of two-phase flow in porous media under intermediate-wet conditions.

PubMed

Rabbani, Harris Sajjad; Joekar-Niasar, Vahid; Pak, Tannaz; Shokri, Nima

2017-07-04

Multiphase flow in porous media is important in a number of environmental and industrial applications such as soil remediation, CO 2 sequestration, and enhanced oil recovery. Wetting properties control flow of immiscible fluids in porous media and fluids distribution in the pore space. In contrast to the strong and weak wet conditions, pore-scale physics of immiscible displacement under intermediate-wet conditions is less understood. This study reports the results of a series of two-dimensional high-resolution direct numerical simulations with the aim of understanding the pore-scale dynamics of two-phase immiscible fluid flow under intermediate-wet conditions. Our results show that for intermediate-wet porous media, pore geometry has a strong influence on interface dynamics, leading to co-existence of concave and convex interfaces. Intermediate wettability leads to various interfacial movements which are not identified under imbibition or drainage conditions. These pore-scale events significantly influence macro-scale flow behaviour causing the counter-intuitive decline in recovery of the defending fluid from weak imbibition to intermediate-wet conditions.

Wetting boundary condition for the color-gradient lattice Boltzmann method: Validation with analytical and experimental data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akai, Takashi; Bijeljic, Branko; Blunt, Martin J.

2018-06-01

In the color gradient lattice Boltzmann model (CG-LBM), a fictitious-density wetting boundary condition has been widely used because of its ease of implementation. However, as we show, this may lead to inaccurate results in some cases. In this paper, a new scheme for the wetting boundary condition is proposed which can handle complicated 3D geometries. The validity of our method for static problems is demonstrated by comparing the simulated results to analytical solutions in 2D and 3D geometries with curved boundaries. Then, capillary rise simulations are performed to study dynamic problems where the three-phase contact line moves. The results are compared to experimental results in the literature (Heshmati and Piri, 2014). If a constant contact angle is assumed, the simulations agree with the analytical solution based on the Lucas-Washburn equation. However, to match the experiments, we need to implement a dynamic contact angle that varies with the flow rate.

A coupled melt-freeze temperature index approach in a one-layer model to predict bulk volumetric liquid water content dynamics in snow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avanzi, Francesco; Yamaguchi, Satoru; Hirashima, Hiroyuki; De Michele, Carlo

2016-04-01

Liquid water in snow rules runoff dynamics and wet snow avalanches release. Moreover, it affects snow viscosity and snow albedo. As a result, measuring and modeling liquid water dynamics in snow have important implications for many scientific applications. However, measurements are usually challenging, while modeling is difficult due to an overlap of mechanical, thermal and hydraulic processes. Here, we evaluate the use of a simple one-layer one-dimensional model to predict hourly time-series of bulk volumetric liquid water content in seasonal snow. The model considers both a simple temperature-index approach (melt only) and a coupled melt-freeze temperature-index approach that is able to reconstruct melt-freeze dynamics. Performance of this approach is evaluated at three sites in Japan. These sites (Nagaoka, Shinjo and Sapporo) present multi-year time-series of snow and meteorological data, vertical profiles of snow physical properties and snow melt lysimeters data. These data-sets are an interesting opportunity to test this application in different climatic conditions, as sites span a wide latitudinal range and are subjected to different snow conditions during the season. When melt-freeze dynamics are included in the model, results show that median absolute differences between observations and predictions of bulk volumetric liquid water content are consistently lower than 1 vol%. Moreover, the model is able to predict an observed dry condition of the snowpack in 80% of observed cases at a non-calibration site, where parameters from calibration sites are transferred. Overall, the analysis show that a coupled melt-freeze temperature-index approach may be a valid solution to predict average wetness conditions of a snow cover at local scale.

Assessing the Utility of Temporally Dynamic Terrain Indices in Alaskan Moose Resource Selection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jennewein, J. S.; Hebblewhite, M.; Meddens, A. J.; Gilbert, S.; Vierling, L. A.; Boelman, N.; Eitel, J.

2017-12-01

The accelerated warming in arctic and boreal regions impacts ecosystem structure and plant species distribution, which have secondary effects on wildlife. In summer months, moose (Alces alces) are especially vulnerable to changes in the availability and quality of forage and foliage cover due to their thermoregulatory needs and high energetic demands post calving. Resource selection functions (RSFs) have been used with great success to model such tradeoffs in habitat selection. Recently, RSFs have expanded to include more dynamic representations of habitat selection through the use of time-varying covariates such as dynamic habitat indices. However, to date few studies have investigated dynamic terrain indices, which incorporate long-term, highly-dynamic meteorological data (e.g., albedo, air temperature) and their utility in modeling habitat selection. The purpose of this study is to compare two dynamic terrain indices (i.e., solar insolation and topographic wetness) to their static counterparts in Alaskan moose resource selection over a ten-year period (2008-2017). Additionally, the utility of a dynamic wind-shelter index is assessed. Three moose datasets (n=130 total), spanning a north-to-south gradient in Alaska, are analyzed independently to assess location-specific resource selection. The newly-released, high-resolution Arctic Digital Elevation Model (5m2) is used as the terrain input into both dynamic and static indices. Dynamic indices are programmed with meteorological data from the North American Regional Analysis (NARR) and NASA's Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES-DISC) databases. Static wetness and solar insolation indices are estimated using only topographic parameters (e.g., slope, aspect). Preliminary results from pilot analyses suggest that dynamic terrain indices may provide novel insights into resource selection of moose that could not be gained when using static counterparts. Future applications of such dynamic terrain indices that incorporate time-varying meteorological data may be increasingly important in modelling habitat selection under continued climate change scenarios.

Defect, Kinetics and Heat Transfer of CDTE Bridgman Growth without Wall Contact

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Larson, D. J., Jr.; Zhang, H.

2003-01-01

A detached growth mechanism has been proposed, which is similar to that proposed by Duffar et al. and used to study the current detached growth system. From numerical results, we can conclude that detached growth will more likely appear if the growth and wetting angles are large and meniscus is flat. Detached thickness is dependent on growth angle, wetting angle, and gap width and shape of the fins. The model can also explain why the detached growth will not happen for metals in which the growth angle is almost zero. Since the growth angle of CdZnTe cannot be changed, to promote detached growth, the number density of the fins should be low and the wetting angle should be high. Also, a much smaller gap width of the fins should be used in the ground experiment and the detached gap width is much smaller. The shape of the fins has minor influence on detached growth. An integrated numerical model for detached solidification has been developed combining a global heat transfer sub-model and a wall contact sub-model. The global heat transfer sub-model accounts for heat and mass transfer in the multiphase system, convection in the melt, macro-segregation, and interface dynamics. The location and dynamics of the solidification interface are accurately tracked by a multizone adaptive grid generation scheme. The wall contact sub-model accounts for the meniscus dynamics at the three-phase boundary. Simulations have been performed for crystal growth in a conventional ampoule and a designed ampoule to understand the benefits of detached solidification and its impacts on crystalline structural quality, e.g., stoichiometry, macro-segregation, and stress. From simulation results, both the Grashof and Marangoni numbers will have significant effects on the shape of growth front, Zn concentration distribution, and radial segregation. The integrated model can be used in designing apparatus and determining the optimal geometry for detached solidification in space and on the ground.

PDMS Network Structure-Property Relationships: Influence of Molecular Architecture on Mechanical and Wetting Properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melillo, Matthew Joseph

Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) is one of the most common elastomers, with applications ranging from sealants and marine-antifouling coatings to medical devices and absorbents for water treatment. Fundamental understanding of how liquids spread on the surface of and absorb into and leach out of PDMS networks is of critical importance for the design and use in another application - microfluidic devices. The growing use of PDMS in microfluidic devices raises the concern that some researchers may use this material without fully understanding all of its advantages, drawbacks, and intricacies. The primary goal of this Ph.D. dissertation is to elucidate PDMS network molecular structure to macroscopic property relationships and to demonstrate how molecular architecture can alter dynamic mechanical and wetting characteristics. We prepare PDMS materials by using vinyl/ tetrakis(dimethylsiloxy)silane (TDSS) and silanol/ tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) combinations of PDMS end-groups and crosslinkers as two model systems. Under constant curing conditions, we systematically study the effects of polymer molecular weight, loading of crosslinker, and end-group chemical functionality on the extent of gelation and the dynamic mechanical and water wetting properties of end-linked PDMS networks. The extent of the gelation reaction is determined using the Soxhlet extraction to quantify the amount of material that did and did not participate in the crosslinking reactions, termed the gel and sol fractions, respectively. We use the Miller-Macosko model in conjunction with the gel fraction and precise chemical composition (i.e., stoichiometric ratio and molecular weight) to determine the fractions of elastic and pendant material, the molecular weight between chemical crosslinks, and the average effective functionality of the crosslinker molecule. Based on dynamic mechanical testing, we find that the maximum storage moduli are achieved at optimal stoichiometric conditions in the vinyl/TDSS and commercial PDMS-based Sylgard 184 composite, but only keep improving with additional crosslinker in the silanol/TEOS systems due to in situ TEOS aggregation. We relate molecular network topology to mechanical properties using outputs from the Miller-Macosko model in the vinyl/TDSS system. The elastic fraction and storage modulus correlate well, as do the pendant fraction and the loss tangent, demonstrating the importance of each fraction in bulk mechanical properties. By studying the dynamic behavior of water droplets wetting PDMS substrates, we observe non-linear wetting behaviors that are markedly different from linear behaviors seen on glassy polymer substrates. The non-linear behavior is only observed prior to extraction, while after extraction, both systems demonstrate behavior similar to glassy polymers. This reveals the dramatic role small amounts of uncrosslinked materials present in the sol fraction play in the surface wetting dynamics of PDMS materials. We further demonstrate the role of uncrosslinked material by adding silicone oils into otherwise fully crosslinked PDMS networks and study their wetting properties. Through careful formulation and preparation of PDMS materials, compared to simply mixing two formulations present in Sylgard 184, one can apply polymer network models to glean useful information about network topology. The benefits of doing so outweigh the costs. We stress the importance of performing Soxhlet extraction to remove unreacted components from PDMS materials, even when using optimal stoichiometry. These mobile molecules that remain after crosslinking can alter significantly wetting behavior and readily leach into liquid environments. However, it is equally important to stress that Soxhlet extraction will not remove all unreacted material. Some will always remain in PDMS, which is often the practice in preparing microfluidic devices. While Sylgard 184 is very well suited for some applications, the results presented in this dissertation demonstrate to researchers that the material does have its limitations and that other options are available. These findings will aid in the design and implementation of reliable microfluidic devices and other PDMS-based materials that encounter liquid interfaces.

VOF simulations of the contact angle dynamics during the drop spreading: standard models and a new wetting force model.

PubMed

Malgarinos, Ilias; Nikolopoulos, Nikolaos; Marengo, Marco; Antonini, Carlo; Gavaises, Manolis

2014-10-01

In this study,a novel numerical implementation for the adhesion of liquid droplets impacting normally on solid dry surfaces is presented. The advantage of this new approach, compared to the majority of existing models, is that the dynamic contact angle forming during the surface wetting process is not inserted as a boundary condition, but is derived implicitly by the induced fluid flow characteristics (interface shape) and the adhesion physics of the gas-liquid-surface interface (triple line), starting only from the advancing and receding equilibrium contact angles. These angles are required in order to define the wetting properties of liquid phases when interacting with a solid surface. The physical model is implemented as a source term in the momentum equation of a Navier-Stokes CFD flow solver as an "adhesion-like" force which acts at the triple-phase contact line as a result of capillary interactions between the liquid drop and the solid substrate. The numerical simulations capture the liquid-air interface movement by considering the volume of fluid (VOF) method and utilizing an automatic local grid refinement technique in order to increase the accuracy of the predictions at the area of interest, and simultaneously minimize numerical diffusion of the interface. The proposed model is validated against previously reported experimental data of normal impingement of water droplets on dry surfaces at room temperature. A wide range of impact velocities, i.e. Weber numbers from as low as 0.2 up to 117, both for hydrophilic (θadv=10°-70°) and hydrophobic (θadv=105°-120°) surfaces, has been examined. Predictions include in addition to droplet spreading dynamics, the estimation of the dynamic contact angle; the latter is found in reasonable agreement against available experimental measurements. It is thus concluded that theimplementation of this model is an effective approach for overcoming the need of a pre-defined dynamic contact angle law, frequently adopted as an approximate boundary condition for such simulations. Clearly, this model is mostly influential during the spreading phase for the cases of low We number impacts (We<˜80) since for high impact velocities, inertia dominates significantly over capillary forces in the initial phase of spreading. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modeling forest dynamics along climate gradients in Bolivia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seiler, C.; Hutjes, R. W. A.; Kruijt, B.; Quispe, J.; Añez, S.; Arora, V. K.; Melton, J. R.; Hickler, T.; Kabat, P.

2014-05-01

Dynamic vegetation models have been used to assess the resilience of tropical forests to climate change, but the global application of these modeling experiments often misrepresents carbon dynamics at a regional level, limiting the validity of future projections. Here a dynamic vegetation model (Lund Potsdam Jena General Ecosystem Simulator) was adapted to simulate present-day potential vegetation as a baseline for climate change impact assessments in the evergreen and deciduous forests of Bolivia. Results were compared to biomass measurements (819 plots) and remote sensing data. Using regional parameter values for allometric relations, specific leaf area, wood density, and disturbance interval, a realistic transition from the evergreen Amazon to the deciduous dry forest was simulated. This transition coincided with threshold values for precipitation (1400 mm yr-1) and water deficit (i.e., potential evapotranspiration minus precipitation) (-830 mm yr-1), beyond which leaf abscission became a competitive advantage. Significant correlations were found between modeled and observed values of seasonal leaf abscission (R2 = 0.6, p <0.001) and vegetation carbon (R2 = 0.31, p <0.01). Modeled Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) and remotely sensed normalized difference vegetation index showed that dry forests were more sensitive to rainfall anomalies than wet forests. GPP was positively correlated to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation index in the Amazon and negatively correlated to consecutive dry days. Decreasing rainfall trends were simulated to reduce GPP in the Amazon. The current model setup provides a baseline for assessing the potential impacts of climate change in the transition zone from wet to dry tropical forests in Bolivia.

The northern tidal dynamic of Aceh waters: A 3D numerical model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Irham, M.; Miswar, E.; Ilhamsyah, Y.; Setiawan, I.

2018-05-01

The northern tidal dynamic of Aceh waters studied by employing three-dimensional (3D) numerical hydrodynamic model. The purpose of this study is to understand the phenomena and the characteristic of the northern tidal dynamic of Aceh waters. The research used the explicit-splitting scheme numerical model of Navier-Stokes formulation. The result displays that the vertical rotation of flow movement (vertical eddy) at a depth of 15 to 25 meter eastern part of the study area. Hence, the result also informs that the current circulation identically to the upwelling in the western region of Aceh during the wet season and vice versa. However, during the transitional season, the flow circulation depends on how the tidal dynamic occurs in the area.

Water Touch-and-Bounce from a Soft Viscoelastic Substrate: Wetting, Dewetting, and Rebound on Bitumen.

PubMed

Lee, Jae Bong; Dos Santos, Salomé; Antonini, Carlo

2016-08-16

Understanding the interaction between liquids and deformable solid surfaces is a fascinating fundamental problem, in which interaction and coupling of capillary and viscoelastic effects, due to solid substrate deformation, give rise to complex wetting mechanisms. Here we investigated as a model case the behavior of water drops on two smooth bitumen substrates with different rheological properties, defined as hard and soft (with complex shear moduli in the order of 10(7) and 10(5) Pa, respectively, at 1 Hz), focusing both on wetting and on dewetting behavior. By means of classical quasi-static contact angle measurements and drop impact tests, we show that the water drop behavior can significantly change from the quasi-static to the dynamic regime on soft viscoelastic surfaces, with the transition being defined by the substrate rheological properties. As a result, we also show that on the hard substrate, where the elastic response is dominant under all investigated conditions, classical quasi-static contact angle measurements provide consistent results that can be used to predict the drop dynamic wetting behavior, such as drop deposition or rebound after impact, as typically observed for nondeformable substrates. Differently, on soft surfaces, the formation of wetting ridges did not allow to define uniquely the substrate intrinsic advancing and receding contact angles. In addition, despite showing a high adhesion to the soft surface in quasi-static measurements, the drop was surprisingly able to rebound and escape from the surface after impact, as it is typically observed for hydrophobic surfaces. These results highlight that measurements of wetting properties for viscoelastic substrates need to be critically used and that wetting behavior of a liquid on viscoelastic surfaces is a function of the characteristic time scales.

Shifts in pore connectivity from precipitation versus groundwater rewetting increases soil carbon loss after drought

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

Smith, A. Peyton; Bond-Lamberty, Ben; Benscoter, Brian W.

Droughts and other extreme precipitation events are predicted to increase in intensity, duration and extent, with uncertain implications for terrestrial carbon (C) sequestration. Soil wetting from above (precipitation) results in a characteristically different pattern of pore-filling than wetting from below (groundwater), with larger, well-connected pores filling before finer pore spaces, unlike groundwater rise in which capillary forces saturate the finest pores first. Here we demonstrate that pore-scale wetting patterns interact with antecedent soil moisture conditions to alter pore-, core- and field-scale C dynamics. Drought legacy and wetting direction are perhaps more important determinants of short-term C mineralization than current soilmore » moisture content in these soils. Our results highlight that microbial access to C is not solely limited by physical protection, but also by drought or wetting-induced shifts in hydrologic connectivity. We argue that models should treat soil moisture within a three-dimensional framework emphasizing hydrologic conduits for C and resource diffusion.« less

Electrostatic cloaking of surface structure for dynamic wetting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shiomi, Junichiro; Nita, Satoshi; Do-Quang, Minh; Wang, Jiayu; Chen, Yu-Chung; Suzuki, Yuji; Amberg, Gustav

2017-11-01

Dynamic wetting problems are fundamental to the understanding of the interaction between liquids and solids. Even in a superficially simple experimental situation, such as a droplet spreading over a dry surface, the result may depend not only on the liquid properties but also strongly on the substrate-surface properties; even for macroscopically smooth surfaces, the microscopic geometrical roughness can be important. In addition, as surfaces may often be naturally charged, or electric fields are used to manipulate fluids, electric effects are crucial components that influence wetting phenomena. Here we investigate the interplay between electric forces and surface structures in dynamic wetting. While surface microstructures can significantly hinder the spreading, we find that the electrostatics can ``cloak'' the microstructures, i.e. deactivate the hindering. We identify the physics in terms of reduction in contact-line friction, which makes the dynamic wetting inertial force dominant and insensitive to the substrate properties. This work was financially supported in part by, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems, and the Japan Science and Technology Agency.

Effects of Solid Fraction on Droplet Wetting and Vapor Condensation: A Molecular Dynamic Simulation Study.

PubMed

Gao, Shan; Liao, Quanwen; Liu, Wei; Liu, Zhichun

2017-10-31

Recently, numerous studies focused on the wetting process of droplets on various surfaces at a microscale level. However, there are a limited number of studies about the mechanism of condensation on patterned surfaces. The present study performed the dynamic wetting behavior of water droplets and condensation process of water molecules on substrates with different pillar structure parameters, through molecular dynamic simulation. The dynamic wetting results indicated that droplets exhibit Cassie state, PW state, and Wenzel state successively on textured surfaces with decreasing solid fraction. The droplets possess a higher static contact angle and a smaller spreading exponent on textured surfaces than those on smooth surfaces. The condensation processes, including the formation, growth, and coalescence of a nanodroplet, are simulated and quantitatively recorded, which are difficult to be observed by experiments. In addition, a wetting transition and a dewetting transition were observed and analyzed in condensation on textured surfaces. Combining these simulation results with previous theoretical and experimental studies will guide us to understand the hypostasis and mechanism of the condensation more clearly.

A two-angle model of dynamic wetting in microscale capillaries under low capillary numbers with experiments.

PubMed

Lei, Da; Lin, Mian; Li, Yun; Jiang, Wenbin

2018-06-15

An accurate model of the dynamic contact angle θ d is critical for the calculation of capillary force in applications like enhanced oil recovery, where the capillary number Ca ranges from 10 -10 to 10 -5 and the Bond number Bo is less than 10 -4 . The rate-dependence of the dynamic contact angle under such conditions remains blurred, and is the main target of this study. Featuring with pressure control and interface tracking, the innovative experimental system presented in this work achieves the desired ranges of Ca and Bo, and enables the direct optical measurement of dynamic contact angles in capillaries as tiny as 40 × 20 (width × height) μm and 80 × 20 μm. The advancing and receding processes of wetting and nonwetting liquids were tested. The dynamic contact angle was confirmed velocity-independent with 10 -9  < Ca < 10 -5 (contact line velocity V = 0.135-490 μm/s) and it can be described by a two-angle model with desirable accuracy. A modified two-angle model was developed and an empirical form was obtained from experiments. For different liquids contacting the same surface, the advancing angle θ adv approximately equals the static contact angle θ o . The receding angle θ rec was found to be a linear function of θ adv , in good agreement with our and other experiments from the literature. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Significance of settling model structures and parameter subsets in modelling WWTPs under wet-weather flow and filamentous bulking conditions.

PubMed

Ramin, Elham; Sin, Gürkan; Mikkelsen, Peter Steen; Plósz, Benedek Gy

2014-10-15

Current research focuses on predicting and mitigating the impacts of high hydraulic loadings on centralized wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) under wet-weather conditions. The maximum permissible inflow to WWTPs depends not only on the settleability of activated sludge in secondary settling tanks (SSTs) but also on the hydraulic behaviour of SSTs. The present study investigates the impacts of ideal and non-ideal flow (dry and wet weather) and settling (good settling and bulking) boundary conditions on the sensitivity of WWTP model outputs to uncertainties intrinsic to the one-dimensional (1-D) SST model structures and parameters. We identify the critical sources of uncertainty in WWTP models through global sensitivity analysis (GSA) using the Benchmark simulation model No. 1 in combination with first- and second-order 1-D SST models. The results obtained illustrate that the contribution of settling parameters to the total variance of the key WWTP process outputs significantly depends on the influent flow and settling conditions. The magnitude of the impact is found to vary, depending on which type of 1-D SST model is used. Therefore, we identify and recommend potential parameter subsets for WWTP model calibration, and propose optimal choice of 1-D SST models under different flow and settling boundary conditions. Additionally, the hydraulic parameters in the second-order SST model are found significant under dynamic wet-weather flow conditions. These results highlight the importance of developing a more mechanistic based flow-dependent hydraulic sub-model in second-order 1-D SST models in the future. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of vegetation dynamic modeling on the allocation of green and blue waters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruiz-Pérez, Guiomar; Francés, Félix

2015-04-01

The long history of the Mediterranean region is dominated by the interactions and co-evolution between man and its natural environment. It is important to consider that the Mediterranean region is recurrently or permanently confronted with the scarcity of the water. The issue of climate change is (and will be) aggravating this situation. This raises the question of a loss of services that ecosystems provide to human and also the amount of available water to be used by vegetation. The question of the water cycle, therefore, should be considered in an integrated manner by taking into account both blue water (water in liquid form used for the human needs or which flows into the oceans) and green water (water having the vapor for resulting from evaporation and transpiration processes). In spite of this, traditionally, very few hydrological models have incorporated the vegetation dynamic as a state variable. In fact, most of them are able to represent fairly well the observed discharge, but usually including the vegetation as a static parameter. However, in the last decade, the number of hydrological models which explicitly take into account the vegetation development as a state variable has increased substantially. In this work, we want to analyze if it is really necessary to use a dynamic vegetation model to quantify adequately the distribution of water into blue and green water. The study site is located in the Public Forest Monte de la Hunde y Palomeras (Spain). The vegetation in the study area is dominated by Aleppo pine of high tree density with scant presence of other species. Two different daily models were applied (with static and dynamic vegetation representation respectively) in three different scenarios: dry year (2005), normal year (2008) and wet year (2010). The static vegetation model simulates the evapotranspiration considering the vegetation as a stationary parameter. Contrarily, the dynamic vegetation model connects the hydrological model with a parsimonious dynamic vegetation sub-model which assumes the vegetation biomass as a state variable. Using both models, we estimated the amount of 'blue' water and the amount of 'green' water (according to the previous definitions) in each scenario. Comparing the results, we observed that the static model underestimated the amount of green water in any case (dry, normal or wet year). In fact, the value of the ratio between blue and green water is higher in all scenarios for the static option (0.23 in the dry year, 0.42 in the normal year and 0.96 in the wet year) than the obtained ones for the dynamic model (0.098, 0.29 and 0.76, respectively). It means that we are overestimating the amount of water available for human needs if we assume vegetation as static. This type of error can be very dangerous for water resources predictions with future climates, especially in Mediterranean areas due to their water scarcity.

Tear film dynamics with evaporation, wetting, and time-dependent flux boundary condition on an eye-shaped domain

PubMed Central

Li, Longfei; Braun, R. J.; Maki, K. L.; Henshaw, W. D.; King-Smith, P. E.

2014-01-01

We study tear film dynamics with evaporation on a wettable eye-shaped ocular surface using a lubrication model. The mathematical model has a time-dependent flux boundary condition that models the cycles of tear fluid supply and drainage; it mimics blinks on a stationary eye-shaped domain. We generate computational grids and solve the nonlinear governing equations using the OVERTURE computational framework. In vivo experimental results using fluorescent imaging are used to visualize the influx and redistribution of tears for an open eye. Results from the numerical simulations are compared with the experiment. The model captures the flow around the meniscus and other dynamic features of human tear film observed in vivo. PMID:24926191

Wet plume atop of the flattening slab: Insight into intraplate volcanism in East Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Lijuan

2017-08-01

Geophysical observations imply the intraplate volcanism in East Asia is related to dehydration of slab stagnating in the transition zone. To better understand the dynamics of such process, a thermochemical mantle convection model is constructed to simulate numerically the thermal evolution of slab and the transportation of water in the process of slab downgoing, flattening and stagnation. Equation of water transfer is included, and water effects on density and viscosity are considered. Model results indicate the warming of slab by surrounding mantle is rather slow. Water could be successfully dragged into the transition zone if the reference viscosity of the hydrous layer (with initial water of 2 wt%) is higher than 1017 Pa s and that of mantle is 1021 Pa s. Wet plumes could then originate in the flat-lying part of the slab, relatively far from the trench. Generally, the viscosity of the hydrous layer governs the initiation of wet plume, whereas the viscosity of the overlying mantle wedge controls the activity of the ascending wet plumes - they are more active in the weaker wedge. The complex fluid flow superposed by corner flow and free thermal convection influences greatly the water transport pattern in the upper mantle. Modeling results together with previous modeling infer three stages of water circulation in the big mantle wedge: 1) water is brought into the mantle transition zone by downward subducting slab under some specific thermo-rheological conditions, otherwise water is released at shallow depth near wedge tip; 2) wet plume generates from surface of the flattening slab warmed by surrounding mantle, and 3) water spreads over the big mantle wedge. Wet plume from the flattening Pacific Plate arrives at the lithospheric base and induces melting, which can explain the intraplate Cenozoic volcanoes in East Asia.

Dynamics of Wetting of Ultra Hydrophobic Surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammad Karim, Alireza; Kim, Jeong-Hyun; Rothstein, Jonathan; Kavehpour, Pirouz; Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Collaboration

2013-11-01

Controlling the surface wettability of hydrophobic and super hydrophobic surfaces has extensive industrial applications ranging from coating, painting and printing technology and waterproof clothing to efficiency increase in power and water plants. This requires enhancing the knowledge about the dynamics of wetting on these hydrophobic surfaces. We have done experimental investigation on the dynamics of wetting on hydrophobic surfaces by looking deeply in to the dependency of the dynamic contact angles both advancing and receding on the velocity of the three-phase boundary (Solid/Liquid/Gas interface) using the Wilhelmy plate method with different ultra-hydrophobic surfaces. Several fluids with different surface tension and viscosity are used to study the effect of physical properties of liquids on the governing laws.

The effect of the dynamic wet troposphere on radio interferometric measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Treuhaft, R. N.; Lanyi, G. E.

1987-01-01

A statistical model of water vapor fluctuations is used to describe the effect of the dynamic wet troposphere on radio interferometric measurements. It is assumed that the spatial structure of refractivity is approximated by Kolmogorov turbulence theory, and that the temporal fluctuations are caused by spatial patterns moved over a site by the wind, and these assumptions are examined for the VLBI delay and delay rate observables. The results suggest that the delay rate measurement error is usually dominated by water vapor fluctuations, and water vapor induced VLBI parameter errors and correlations are determined as a function of the delay observable errors. A method is proposed for including the water vapor fluctuations in the parameter estimation method to obtain improved parameter estimates and parameter covariances.

Dynamic wetting and spreading and the role of topography.

PubMed

McHale, Glen; Newton, Michael I; Shirtcliffe, Neil J

2009-11-18

The spreading of a droplet of a liquid on a smooth solid surface is often described by the Hoffman-de Gennes law, which relates the edge speed, v(e), to the dynamic and equilibrium contact angles θ and θ(e) through [Formula: see text]. When the liquid wets the surface completely and the equilibrium contact angle vanishes, the edge speed is proportional to the cube of the dynamic contact angle. When the droplets are non-volatile this law gives rise to simple power laws with time for the contact angle and other parameters in both the capillary and gravity dominated regimes. On a textured surface, the equilibrium state of a droplet is strongly modified due to the amplification of the surface chemistry induced tendencies by the topography. The most common example is the conversion of hydrophobicity into superhydrophobicity. However, when the surface chemistry favors partial wetting, topography can result in a droplet spreading completely. A further, frequently overlooked consequence of topography is that the rate at which an out-of-equilibrium droplet spreads should also be modified. In this report, we review ideas related to the idea of topography induced wetting and consider how this may relate to dynamic wetting and the rate of droplet spreading. We consider the effect of the Wenzel and Cassie-Baxter equations on the driving forces and discuss how these may modify power laws for spreading. We relate the ideas to both the hydrodynamic viscous dissipation model and the molecular-kinetic theory of spreading. This suggests roughness and solid surface fraction modified Hoffman-de Gennes laws relating the edge speed to the dynamic and equilibrium contact angle. We also consider the spreading of small droplets and stripes of non-volatile liquids in the capillary regime and large droplets in the gravity regime. In the case of small non-volatile droplets spreading completely, a roughness modified Tanner's law giving the dependence of dynamic contact angle on time is presented. We review existing data for the spreading of small droplets of polydimethylsiloxane oil on surfaces decorated with micro-posts. On these surfaces, the initial droplet spreads with an approximately constant volume and the edge speed-dynamic contact angle relationship follows a power law [Formula: see text]. As the surface texture becomes stronger the exponent goes from p = 3 towards p = 1 in agreement with a Wenzel roughness driven spreading and a roughness modified Hoffman-de Gennes power law. Finally, we suggest that when a droplet spreads to a final partial wetting state on a rough surface, it approaches its Wenzel equilibrium contact angle in an exponential manner with a time constant dependent on roughness.

Beyond the standard two-film theory: Computational fluid dynamics simulations for carbon dioxide capture in a wetted wall column

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

Wang, Chao; Xu, Zhijie; Lai, Canhai

The standard two-film theory (STFT) is a diffusion-based mechanism that can be used to describe gas mass transfer across liquid film. Fundamental assumptions of the STFT impose serious limitations on its ability to predict mass transfer coefficients. To better understand gas absorption across liquid film in practical situations, a multiphase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model fully equipped with mass transport and chemistry capabilities has been developed for solvent-based carbon dioxide (CO 2) capture to predict the CO 2 mass transfer coefficient in a wetted wall column. The hydrodynamics is modeled using a volume of fluid method, and the diffusive andmore » reactive mass transfer between the two phases is modeled by adopting a one-fluid formulation. We demonstrate that the proposed CFD model can naturally account for the influence of many important factors on the overall mass transfer that cannot be quantitatively explained by the STFT, such as the local variation in fluid velocities and properties, flow instabilities, and complex geometries. The CFD model also can predict the local mass transfer coefficient variation along the column height, which the STFT typically does not consider.« less

Beyond the standard two-film theory: Computational fluid dynamics simulations for carbon dioxide capture in a wetted wall column

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

Wang, Chao; Xu, Zhijie; Lai, Canhai

The standard two-film theory (STFT) is a diffusion-based mechanism that can be used to describe gas mass transfer across liquid film. Fundamental assumptions of the STFT impose serious limitations on its ability to predict mass transfer coefficients. To better understand gas absorption across liquid film in practical situations, a multiphase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model fully equipped with mass transport and chemistry capabilities has been developed for solvent-based carbon dioxide (CO2) capture to predict the CO2 mass transfer coefficient in a wetted wall column. The hydrodynamics is modeled using a volume of fluid method, and the diffusive and reactive massmore » transfer between the two phases is modeled by adopting a one-fluid formulation. We demonstrate that the proposed CFD model can naturally account for the influence of many important factors on the overall mass transfer that cannot be quantitatively explained by the STFT, such as the local variation in fluid velocities and properties, flow instabilities, and complex geometries. The CFD model also can predict the local mass transfer coefficient variation along the column height, which the STFT typically does not consider.« less

Beyond the standard two-film theory: Computational fluid dynamics simulations for carbon dioxide capture in a wetted wall column

DOE PAGES

Wang, Chao; Xu, Zhijie; Lai, Canhai; ...

2018-03-27

The standard two-film theory (STFT) is a diffusion-based mechanism that can be used to describe gas mass transfer across liquid film. Fundamental assumptions of the STFT impose serious limitations on its ability to predict mass transfer coefficients. To better understand gas absorption across liquid film in practical situations, a multiphase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model fully equipped with mass transport and chemistry capabilities has been developed for solvent-based carbon dioxide (CO 2) capture to predict the CO 2 mass transfer coefficient in a wetted wall column. The hydrodynamics is modeled using a volume of fluid method, and the diffusive andmore » reactive mass transfer between the two phases is modeled by adopting a one-fluid formulation. We demonstrate that the proposed CFD model can naturally account for the influence of many important factors on the overall mass transfer that cannot be quantitatively explained by the STFT, such as the local variation in fluid velocities and properties, flow instabilities, and complex geometries. The CFD model also can predict the local mass transfer coefficient variation along the column height, which the STFT typically does not consider.« less

How Does a Liquid Wet a Solid? Hydrodynamics of Dynamic Contact Angles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rame, Enrique

2001-01-01

A contact line is defined at the intersection of a solid surface with the interface between two immiscible fluids. When one fluid displaces another immiscible fluid along a solid surface, the process is called dynamic wetting and a "moving" contact line (one whose position relative to the solid changes in time) often appears. The physics of dynamic wetting controls such natural and industrial processes as spraying of paints and insecticides, dishwashing, film formation and rupture in the eye and in the alveoli, application of coatings, printing, drying and imbibition of fibrous materials, oil recovery from porous rocks, and microfluidics.

Thermal evolution of flattening slab and formation of wet plume: Insight into intraplate volcanism in East Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, L.

2016-12-01

Geophysical observations imply the intraplate volcanism in East Asia is related to dehydration of slab stagnating in the transition zone. To better understand the dynamics of such process, a thermochemical mantle convection model is constructed to simulate numerically the thermal evolution of slab and the transportation of water in the process of subduction. Equation of water transfer is explicitly included, and water effects on density and viscosity are considered. Modeling results indicate that behavior of water transport relates closely to the transient thermal state and viscosities both of the slab and the surrounding mantle. Generally, initiation of wet plume is mainly influenced by the viscosity of the wet layer in the uppermost slab, whereas the horizontal distance of water transport and its ascending rate is affected strongly by the viscosity of the big mantle wedge. Whether water can be carried successfully by slab into the mantle transition zone and trigger wet plume at the surface of flattening slab depends on the viscosity contrast between wet layer and surrounding mantle. The complex fluid flow superposed by corner flow and free thermal convection controls the water transport pattern in the upper mantle. Modeling results together with previous modeling infer three stages of water circulation in the big mantle wedge: 1) water is brought into the mantle transition zone by downward subducting slab when water layer viscosity is much higher than the wedge viscosity, otherwise water is released at shallow depth near wedge tip; 2) wet plume generates from surface of warm flattening slab if containing water, which arrives at the lithospheric base and induces melting; and 3) water spreads all over the big mantle wedge, mantle convection within the big mantle wedge becomes more active, leading to upwelling of asthenosphere and erosion of the overriding continental lithosphere. Wet plume from the flattening Pacific Plate can explain the intraplate Cenozoic volcanoes in East Asia.

Tris(trimethylsilyl)silane as a co-initiator for dental adhesive: Photo-polymerization kinetics and dynamic mechanical property

PubMed Central

Song, Linyong; Ye, Qiang; Ge, Xueping; Misra, Anil; Spencer, Paulette

2017-01-01

Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate the polymerization behavior of a model dentin adhesive with tris(trimethylsilyl)silane (TTMSS) as a co-initiator, and to investigate the polymerization kinetics and mechanical properties of copolymers in dry and wet conditions. Methods A co-monomer mixture based on HEMA/BisGMA (45/55, w/w) was used as a model dentin adhesive. The photoinitiator system included camphorquinone (CQ) as the photosensitizer and the co-initiator was ethyl-4-(dimethylamino) benzoate (EDMAB) or TTMSS. Iodonium salt, diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate (DPIHP) serving as a catalyst, was selectively added into the adhesive formulations. The control and the experimental formulations were characterized with regard to the degree of conversion (DC) and dynamic mechanical properties under dry and wet conditions. Results In two-component photoinitiator system (CQ/TTMSS), with an increase of TTMSS concentration, the polymerization rate and DC of C═C double bond increased, and showed a dependence on the irradiation time and curing light intensity. The copolymers that contained the three-component photoinitiator system (CQ/TTMSS/DPIHP) showed similar dynamic mechanical properties, under both dry and wet conditions, to the EDMAB-containing system. Significance The DC of formulations using TTMSS as co-initiator showed a strong dependence on irradiation time. With the addition of TTMSS, the maximum polymerization rate can be adjusted and the network structure became more homogenous. The results indicated that the TTMSS could be used as a substitute for amine-type co-initiator in visible-light induced free radical polymerization of methacrylate-based dentin adhesives. PMID:26616688

Using a physically-based water flow model to explore the dynamics of transit times and mixing in a small agricultural catchment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jie; Heidbüchel, Ingo; Musolff, Andreas; Fleckenstein, Jan H.

2017-04-01

Catchment-scale transit time distributions (TTDs) for discharge and residence time distributions of the water in storage (RTDs) are promising tools to characterize the discharge and mixing behavior of a catchment and can help to interpret the associated solute loads to the stream in a spatially implicit way. TTDs and RTDs are dynamic in time, influenced by dynamic rainfall and evapotranspiration forcing, and changing groundwater storage in the catchment. In order to understand the links between the dynamics of TTDs and groundwater mixing in the small agricultural catchment Schäfertal, in central Germany, a 3D hydrological model was set up for the catchment using the fully coupled surface-subsurface numerical model HydroGeoSphere (HGS). The model is calibrated using discharge and groundwater level measurements, and runs transiently for a period of 10 years from 1997 to 2007. A particle tracking tool was implemented in HGS to track the movement of water parcels in the subsurface, outputting TTDs of channel discharge and RTDs of groundwater storage at daily intervals. Results show that the mean age of the discharge water is significantly younger than that of the water in storage, indicating a poorly mixed subsurface. Discharge preferentially samples faster flowing younger water originating from the more conductive top parts of the aquifer. Spatial variations of the age of water in storage are observed, highly influenced by aquifer heterogeneity. Computed StorAge Selection (SAS) functions [Rinaldo et al. 2015] show clear shifts in the discharge sampling preferences between wet and dry states: during wet states in winter and spring, discharge has a preference for younger water because the shallow flow paths are active due to high groundwater levels and low evapotranspiration. Conversely, during dry states in summer and autumn, discharge has a preference for older water because the shallow flow paths are inactive due to low groundwater levels and stronger evapotranspiration. Measured nitrate (NO3) loads in discharge, mainly originating from fertilizer in shallow soils, decrease significantly with decreasing wetness of the catchment. This trend confirms the shifts of discharge sampling preferences between wet and dry states. Reference: Rinaldo, A., P. Benettin, C. J. Harman, M. Hrachowitz, K. J. McGuire, Y. van der Velde, E. Bertuzzo, and G. Botter (2015), Storage selection functions: A coherent framework for quantifying how catchments store and release water and solutes, Water Resour. Res., 51, 4840-4847, doi:10.1002/2015WR017273.

Simulating immiscible multi-phase flow and wetting with 3D stochastic rotation dynamics (SRD)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hiller, Thomas; Sanchez de La Lama, Marta; Herminghaus, Stephan; Brinkmann, Martin

2013-11-01

We use a variant of the mesoscopic particle method stochastic rotation dynamics (SRD) to simulate immiscible multi-phase flow on the pore and sub-pore scale in three dimensions. As an extension to the multi-color SRD method, first proposed by Inoue et al., we present an implementation that accounts for complex wettability on heterogeneous surfaces. In order to demonstrate the versatility of this algorithm, we consider immiscible two-phase flow through a model porous medium (disordered packing of spherical beads) where the substrate exhibits different spatial wetting patterns. We show that these patterns have a significant effect on the interface dynamics. Furthermore, the implementation of angular momentum conservation into the SRD algorithm allows us to extent the applicability of SRD also to micro-fluidic systems. It is now possible to study e.g. the internal flow behaviour of a droplet depending on the driving velocity of the surrounding bulk fluid or the splitting of droplets by an obstacle.

Reactive wetting properties of TiO2 nanoparticles predicted by ab initio molecular dynamics simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brandt, Erik G.; Agosta, Lorenzo; Lyubartsev, Alexander P.

2016-07-01

Small-sized wet TiO2 nanoparticles have been investigated by ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. Chemical and physical adsorption of water on the TiO2-water interface was studied as a function of water content, ranging from dry nanoparticles to wet nanoparticles with monolayer coverage of water. The surface reactivity was shown to be a concave function of water content and driven by surface defects. The local coordination number at the defect was identified as the key factor to decide whether water adsorption proceeds through dissociation or physisorption on the surface. A consistent picture of TiO2 nanoparticle wetting at the microscopic level emerges, which corroborates existing experimental data and gives further insight into the molecular mechanisms behind nanoparticle wetting. These calculations will facilitate the engineering of metal oxide nanoparticles with a controlled catalytic water activity.Small-sized wet TiO2 nanoparticles have been investigated by ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. Chemical and physical adsorption of water on the TiO2-water interface was studied as a function of water content, ranging from dry nanoparticles to wet nanoparticles with monolayer coverage of water. The surface reactivity was shown to be a concave function of water content and driven by surface defects. The local coordination number at the defect was identified as the key factor to decide whether water adsorption proceeds through dissociation or physisorption on the surface. A consistent picture of TiO2 nanoparticle wetting at the microscopic level emerges, which corroborates existing experimental data and gives further insight into the molecular mechanisms behind nanoparticle wetting. These calculations will facilitate the engineering of metal oxide nanoparticles with a controlled catalytic water activity. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Simulation data on equilibration of energies and structures (root-mean-square-deviations and coordination numbers); radial distribution functions for all O-Ti pairs over the entire data domain; comparison of coordination number distributions for dry and wet nanoparticles; dynamics of water reactivity; high-resolution electron density for the rutile NP. A movie of the simulation trajectory for the rutile (TiO2)24.30H2O system. See DOI: 10.1039/C6NR02791A

Impacts of Groundwater on the Atmospheric Convection in Amazon using Multi-GCM Simulations from I-GEM project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lo, M. H.; Chien, R. Y.; Ducharne, A.; Decharme, B.; Lan, C. W.; Wang, F.; Cheruy, F.; Colin, J.

2017-12-01

Previous research indicated that groundwater plays an important role in hydrological cycle and is a major source of water vapor in climate models, which may result in modifications of atmospheric convection. For instance, our previous study showed that when considering the groundwater dynamics in a GCM, the wet soil induced surface cooling effect can further reduce the Amazon dry season convection and precipitation. However, the main mechanisms of the interaction among groundwater, soil moisture, and precipitation are still unclear, and they need to be examined in several climate models. In this study, we further examine the influence of the surface cooling effects due to the groundwater on the convection over the Amazon. To this end, we use idealized simulations of the IGEM (Impact of Groundwater in Earth system Models) project, with 3 GCMs (CESM, CNRM, and IPSL): in each of them, we prescribed a water table at a constant depth throughout all land areas, to create globally wet conditions. Preliminary analysis shows a contradict result of the tendency of precipitation in the three models with wet condition which indicates a great uncertainty of the groundwater's impacts in coupled GCMs.

A Novel Tool for Simulating Aerosol-cloud Interactions with a Sectional Model Implemented to a Large-Eddy Simulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tonttila, J.; Romakkaniemi, S.; Kokkola, H.; Maalick, Z.; Korhonen, H.; Liqing, H.

2015-12-01

A new cloud-resolving model setup for studying aerosol-cloud interactions, with a special emphasis on partitioning and wet deposition of semi-volatile aerosol species, is presented. The model is based on modified versions of two well-established model components: the Large-Eddy Simulator (LES) UCLALES, and the sectional aerosol model SALSA, previously employed in the ECHAM climate model family. Implementation of the UCLALES-SALSA is described in detail. As the basis for this work, SALSA has been extended to include a sectional representation of the size distributions of cloud droplets and precipitation. Microphysical processes operating on clouds and precipitation have also been added. Given our main motivation, the cloud droplet size bins are defined according to the dry particle diameter. The droplet wet diameter is solved dynamically through condensation equations, but represents an average droplet diameter inside each size bin. This approach allows for accurate tracking of the aerosol properties inside clouds, but minimizes the computational cost. Since the actual cloud droplet diameter is not fully resolved inside the size bins, processes such as precipitation formation rely on parameterizations. For realistic growth of drizzle drops to rain, which is critical for the aerosol wet deposition, the precipitation size bins are defined according to the actual drop size. With these additions, the implementation of the SALSA model replaces most of the microphysical and thermodynamical components within the LES. The cloud properties and aerosol-cloud interactions simulated by the model are analysed and evaluated against detailed cloud microphysical boxmodel results and in-situ aerosol-cloud interaction observations from the Puijo measurement station in Kuopio, Finland. The ability of the model to reproduce the impacts of wet deposition on the aerosol population is demonstrated.

An explanation of unstable wetting fronts in soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steenhuis, Tammo; Parlange, Jean-Yves; Kung, Samuel; Stoof, Cathelijne; Baver, Christine

2016-04-01

Despite the findings of Raats on unstable wetting front almost a half a century ago, simulating wetting fronts in soils is still an area of active research. One of the critical questions currently is whether Darcy law is valid at the wetting front. In this talk, we pose that in many cases for dry soils, Darcy's law does not apply because the pressure field across the front is not continuous. Consequently, the wetting front pressure is not dependent on the pressure ahead of the front but is determined by the radius of water meniscuses and the dynamic contact angle of the water. If we further assume since the front is discontinuous, that water flows at one pore at the time, then by using the modified Hoffman relationship - relating the dynamic contact angle to the pore water velocity - we find the elevated pressures at the wetting front typical for unstable flows that are similar to those observed experimentally in small diameter columns. The theory helps also explain the funnel flow phenomena observed in layered soils.

Explanation of asymmetric dynamics of human water consumption in arid regions: prospect theory versus expected utility theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, F.; Lu, Y.

2017-12-01

Based on socioeconomic and hydrological data in three arid inland basins and error analysis, the dynamics of human water consumption (HWC) are analyzed to be asymmetric, i.e., HWC increase rapidly in wet periods while maintain or decrease slightly in dry periods. Besides the qualitative analysis that in wet periods great water availability inspires HWC to grow fast but the now expanded economy is managed to sustain by over-exploitation in dry periods, two quantitative models are established and tested, based on expected utility theory (EUT) and prospect theory (PT) respectively. EUT states that humans make decisions based on the total expected utility, namely the sum of utility function multiplied by probability of each result, while PT states that the utility function is defined over gains and losses separately, and probability should be replaced by probability weighting function.

The Effect of Dynamic Wetting on the Stability of a Gas-Liquid Interface Subjected to Vertical Oscillations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kraynik, Andrew M.; Romero, Louis; Torczynski, John R.; Brooks, Carlton F.; O'Hern, Timothy J.; Jepson, Richard A.; Benavides, Gilbert L.

2009-11-01

The stability of an interface in a container partially filled with silicone oil and subjected to gravity and vertical oscillations has been examined theoretically and computationally. An exact theory for the onset of a parametric instability producing Faraday-like waves was developed for arbitrary liquid viscosity, stress-free walls, and deep two-dimensional or axisymmetric containers. Finite-element simulations for stress-free walls are in excellent agreement with the theory, which predicts instability in discrete frequency bands. These simpler calculations are a departure point for examining the more realistic problem, which involves no-slip at the walls and dynamic wetting modeled with a Blake condition. Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

In Situ Experiments To Reveal the Role of Surface Feature Sidewalls in the Cassie–Wenzel Transition

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Waterproof and self-cleaning surfaces continue to attract much attention as they can be instrumental in various different technologies. Such surfaces are typically rough, allowing liquids to contact only the outermost tops of their asperities, with air being entrapped underneath. The formed solid–liquid–air interface is metastable and, hence, can be forced into a completely wetted solid surface. A detailed understanding of the wetting barrier and the dynamics of this transition is critically important for the practical use of the related surfaces. Toward this aim, wetting transitions were studied in situ at a set of patterned perfluoropolyether dimethacrylate (PFPEdma) polymer surfaces exhibiting surface features with different types of sidewall profiles. PFPEdma is intrinsically hydrophobic and exhibits a refractive index very similar to water. Upon immersion of the patterned surfaces into water, incident light was differently scattered at the solid–liquid–air and solid–liquid interface, which allows for distinguishing between both wetting states by dark-field microscopy. The wetting transition observed with this methodology was found to be determined by the sidewall profiles of the patterned structures. Partial recovery of the wetting was demonstrated to be induced by abrupt and continuous pressure reductions. A theoretical model based on Laplace’s law was developed and applied, allowing for the analytical calculation of the transition barrier and the potential to revert the wetting upon pressure reduction. PMID:25496232

On the influence of the intermolecular potential on the wetting properties of water on silica surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pafong, E.; Geske, J.; Drossel, B.

2016-09-01

We study the wetting properties of water on silica surfaces using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. To describe the intermolecular interaction between water and silica atoms, two types of interaction potential models are used: the standard BródkA and Zerda (BZ) model and the Gulmen and Thompson (GT) model. We perform an in-depth analysis of the influence of the choice of the potential on the arrangement of the water molecules in partially filled pores and on top of silica slabs. We find that at moderate pore filling ratios, the GT silica surface is completely wetted by water molecules, which agrees well with experimental findings, while the commonly used BZ surface is less hydrophilic and is only partially wetted. We interpret our simulation results using an analytical calculation of the phase diagram of water in partially filled pores. Moreover, an evaluation of the contact angle of the water droplet on top of the silica slab reveals that the interaction becomes more hydrophilic with increasing slab thickness and saturates around 2.5-3 nm, in agreement with the experimentally found value. Our analysis also shows that the hydroaffinity of the surface is mainly determined by the electrostatic interaction, but the van der Waals interaction nevertheless is strong enough that it can turn a hydrophobic surface into a hydrophilic surface.

Influence of chemistry on wetting dynamics of nanotextured hydrophobic surfaces.

PubMed

Di Mundo, Rosa; Palumbo, Fabio; d'Agostino, Riccardo

2010-04-06

In this work, the role of a chemical parameter, such as the degree of fluorination, on the wetting behavior of nanotextured hydrophobic surfaces is investigated. Texture and chemistry tuning of the surfaces has been accomplished with single batch radiofrequency low-pressure plasma processes. Polystyrene substrates have been textured by CF(4) plasma etching and subsequently covered by thin films with a tunable F-to-C ratio, obtained in discharges fed with C(4)F(8)-C(2)H(4). Measurements of wetting dynamics reveal a regime transition from adhesive-hydrophobic to slippery-superhydrophobic, i.e., from wet to non wet states, as the F-to-C rises at constant topography. Such achievements are strengthened by calculation of the solid fraction of surface water contact area applying Cassie-Baxter advancing and receding equations to water contact angle data of textured and flat reference surfaces.

Tough Adhesives for Diverse Wet Surfaces

PubMed Central

Li, J.; Celiz, A. D.; Yang, J.; Yang, Q.; Wamala, I.; Whyte, W.; Seo, B. R.; Vasilyev, N. V.; Vlassak, J. J.; Suo, Z.; Mooney, D. J.

2018-01-01

Adhesion to wet and dynamic surfaces, including biological tissues, is important in many fields, but has proven extremely challenging. Existing adhesives are either cytotoxic, adhere weakly to tissues, or cannot be utilized in wet environments. We report a bio-inspired design for adhesives consisting of two layers: an adhesive surface and a dissipative matrix. The former adheres to the substrate by electrostatic interactions, covalent bonds, and physical interpenetration. The latter amplifies energy dissipation through hysteresis. The two layers synergistically lead to higher adhesion energy on wet surfaces than existing adhesives. Adhesion occurs within minutes, independent of blood exposure, and compatible with in vivo dynamic movements. This family of adhesives may be useful in many areas of application, including tissue adhesives, wound dressings and tissue repair. PMID:28751604

A multimedia fate and chemical transport modeling system for pesticides: I. Model development and implementation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Rong; Scholtz, M. Trevor; Yang, Fuquan; Sloan, James J.

2011-07-01

We have combined the US EPA MM5/MCIP/SMOKE/CMAQ modeling system with a dynamic soil model, the pesticide emission model (PEM), to create a multimedia chemical transport model capable of describing the important physical and chemical processes involving pesticides in the soil, in the atmosphere, and on the surface of vegetation. These processes include: agricultural practices (e.g. soil tilling and pesticide application mode); advection and diffusion of pesticides, moisture, and heat in the soil; partitioning of pesticides between soil organic carbon and interstitial water and air; emissions from the soil to the atmosphere; gas-particle partitioning and transport in the atmosphere; and atmospheric chemistry and dry and wet deposition of pesticides to terrestrial and water surfaces. The modeling system was tested by simulating toxaphene in a domain that covers most of North America for the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2000. The results show obvious transport of the pesticide from the heavily contaminated soils in the southern United States and Mexico to water bodies including the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes, leading to significant dry and wet deposition into these ecosystems. The spatial distributions of dry and wet depositions differ because of their different physical mechanisms; the former follows the distribution of air concentrations whereas the latter is more biased to the North East due to the effect of precipitation.

Hierarchical calibration and validation framework of bench-scale computational fluid dynamics simulations for solvent-based carbon capture. Part 2: Chemical absorption across a wetted wall column: Original Research Article: Hierarchical calibration and validation framework of bench-scale computational fluid dynamics simulations

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

Wang, Chao; Xu, Zhijie; Lai, Kevin

Part 1 of this paper presents a numerical model for non-reactive physical mass transfer across a wetted wall column (WWC). In Part 2, we improved the existing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model to simulate chemical absorption occurring in a WWC as a bench-scale study of solvent-based carbon dioxide (CO2) capture. To generate data for WWC model validation, CO2 mass transfer across a monoethanolamine (MEA) solvent was first measured on a WWC experimental apparatus. The numerical model developed in this work can account for both chemical absorption and desorption of CO2 in MEA. In addition, the overall mass transfer coefficient predictedmore » using traditional/empirical correlations is conducted and compared with CFD prediction results for both steady and wavy falling films. A Bayesian statistical calibration algorithm is adopted to calibrate the reaction rate constants in chemical absorption/desorption of CO2 across a falling film of MEA. The posterior distributions of the two transport properties, i.e., Henry's constant and gas diffusivity in the non-reacting nitrous oxide (N2O)/MEA system obtained from Part 1 of this study, serves as priors for the calibration of CO2 reaction rate constants after using the N2O/CO2 analogy method. The calibrated model can be used to predict the CO2 mass transfer in a WWC for a wider range of operating conditions.« less

Hierarchical calibration and validation framework of bench-scale computational fluid dynamics simulations for solvent-based carbon capture. Part 2: Chemical absorption across a wetted wall column: Original Research Article: Hierarchical calibration and validation framework of bench-scale computational fluid dynamics simulations

DOE PAGES

Wang, Chao; Xu, Zhijie; Lai, Kevin; ...

2017-10-24

Part 1 of this paper presents a numerical model for non-reactive physical mass transfer across a wetted wall column (WWC). In Part 2, we improved the existing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model to simulate chemical absorption occurring in a WWC as a bench-scale study of solvent-based carbon dioxide (CO2) capture. To generate data for WWC model validation, CO2 mass transfer across a monoethanolamine (MEA) solvent was first measured on a WWC experimental apparatus. The numerical model developed in this work can account for both chemical absorption and desorption of CO2 in MEA. In addition, the overall mass transfer coefficient predictedmore » using traditional/empirical correlations is conducted and compared with CFD prediction results for both steady and wavy falling films. A Bayesian statistical calibration algorithm is adopted to calibrate the reaction rate constants in chemical absorption/desorption of CO2 across a falling film of MEA. The posterior distributions of the two transport properties, i.e., Henry's constant and gas diffusivity in the non-reacting nitrous oxide (N2O)/MEA system obtained from Part 1 of this study, serves as priors for the calibration of CO2 reaction rate constants after using the N2O/CO2 analogy method. The calibrated model can be used to predict the CO2 mass transfer in a WWC for a wider range of operating conditions.« less

Wettability effect on capillary trapping of supercritical CO2 at pore-scale: micromodel experiment and numerical modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, R.; Wan, J.

2015-12-01

Wettability of reservoir minerals along pore surfaces plays a controlling role in capillary trapping of supercritical (sc) CO2 in geologic carbon sequestration. The mechanisms controlling scCO2 residual trapping are still not fully understood. We studied the effect of pore surface wettability on CO2 residual saturation at the pore-scale using engineered high pressure and high temperature micromodel (transparent pore networks) experiments and numerical modeling. Through chemical treatment of the micromodel pore surfaces, water-wet, intermediate-wet, and CO2-wet micromodels can be obtained. Both drainage and imbibition experiments were conducted at 8.5 MPa and 45 °C with controlled flow rate. Dynamic images of fluid-fluid displacement processes were recorded using a microscope with a CCD camera. Residual saturations were determined by analysis of late stage imbibition images of flow path structures. We performed direct numerical simulations of the full Navier-Stokes equations using a volume-of-fluid based finite-volume framework for the primary drainage and the followed imbibition for the micromodel experiments with different contact angles. The numerical simulations agreed well with our experimental observations. We found that more scCO2 can be trapped within the CO2-wet micromodel whereas lower residual scCO2 saturation occurred within the water-wet micromodels in both our experiments and the numerical simulations. These results provide direct and consistent evidence of the effect of wettability, and have important implications for scCO2 trapping in geologic carbon sequestration.

Two types of Cassie-to-Wenzel wetting transitions on superhydrophobic surfaces during drop impact.

PubMed

Lee, Choongyeop; Nam, Youngsuk; Lastakowski, Henri; Hur, Janet I; Shin, Seungwon; Biance, Anne-Laure; Pirat, Christophe; Kim, Chang-Jin C J; Ybert, Christophe

2015-06-21

Despite the fact that superhydrophobic surfaces possess useful and unique properties, their practical application has remained limited by durability issues. Among those, the wetting transition, whereby a surface gets impregnated by the liquid and permanently loses its superhydrophobicity, certainly constitutes the most limiting aspect under many realistic conditions. In this study, we revisit this so-called Cassie-to-Wenzel transition (CWT) under the broadly encountered situation of liquid drop impact. Using model hydrophobic micropillar surfaces of various geometrical characteristics and high speed imaging, we identify that CWT can occur through different mechanisms, and at different impact stages. At early impact stages, right after contact, CWT occurs through the well established dynamic pressure scenario of which we provide here a fully quantitative description. Comparing the critical wetting pressure of surfaces and the theoretical pressure distribution inside the liquid drop, we provide not only the CWT threshold but also the hardly reported wetted area which directly affects the surface spoiling. At a later stage, we report for the first time to our knowledge, a new CWT which occurs during the drop recoil toward bouncing. With the help of numerical simulations, we discuss the mechanism underlying this new transition and provide a simple model based on impulse conservation which successfully captures the transition threshold. By shedding light on the complex interaction between impacting water drops and surface structures, the present study will facilitate designing superhydrophobic surfaces with a desirable wetting state during drop impact.

Water regime history drives responses of soil Namib Desert microbial communities to wetting events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frossard, Aline; Ramond, Jean-Baptiste; Seely, Mary; Cowan, Don A.

2015-07-01

Despite the dominance of microorganisms in arid soils, the structures and functional dynamics of microbial communities in hot deserts remain largely unresolved. The effects of wetting event frequency and intensity on Namib Desert microbial communities from two soils with different water-regime histories were tested over 36 days. A total of 168 soil microcosms received wetting events mimicking fog, light rain and heavy rainfall, with a parallel “dry condition” control. T-RFLP data showed that the different wetting events affected desert microbial community structures, but these effects were attenuated by the effects related to the long-term adaptation of both fungal and bacterial communities to soil origins (i.e. soil water regime histories). The intensity of the water pulses (i.e. the amount of water added) rather than the frequency of wetting events had greatest effect in shaping bacterial and fungal community structures. In contrast to microbial diversity, microbial activities (enzyme activities) showed very little response to the wetting events and were mainly driven by soil origin. This experiment clearly demonstrates the complexity of microbial community responses to wetting events in hyperarid hot desert soil ecosystems and underlines the dynamism of their indigenous microbial communities.

Water regime history drives responses of soil Namib Desert microbial communities to wetting events.

PubMed

Frossard, Aline; Ramond, Jean-Baptiste; Seely, Mary; Cowan, Don A

2015-07-21

Despite the dominance of microorganisms in arid soils, the structures and functional dynamics of microbial communities in hot deserts remain largely unresolved. The effects of wetting event frequency and intensity on Namib Desert microbial communities from two soils with different water-regime histories were tested over 36 days. A total of 168 soil microcosms received wetting events mimicking fog, light rain and heavy rainfall, with a parallel "dry condition" control. T-RFLP data showed that the different wetting events affected desert microbial community structures, but these effects were attenuated by the effects related to the long-term adaptation of both fungal and bacterial communities to soil origins (i.e. soil water regime histories). The intensity of the water pulses (i.e. the amount of water added) rather than the frequency of wetting events had greatest effect in shaping bacterial and fungal community structures. In contrast to microbial diversity, microbial activities (enzyme activities) showed very little response to the wetting events and were mainly driven by soil origin. This experiment clearly demonstrates the complexity of microbial community responses to wetting events in hyperarid hot desert soil ecosystems and underlines the dynamism of their indigenous microbial communities.

The effect of the dynamic wet troposphere on VLBI measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Treuhaft, R. N.; Lanyi, G. E.

1986-01-01

Calculations using a statistical model of water vapor fluctuations yield the effect of the dynamic wet troposphere on Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) measurements. The statistical model arises from two primary assumptions: (1) the spatial structure of refractivity fluctuations can be closely approximated by elementary (Kolmogorov) turbulence theory, and (2) temporal fluctuations are caused by spatial patterns which are moved over a site by the wind. The consequences of these assumptions are outlined for the VLBI delay and delay rate observables. For example, wet troposphere induced rms delays for Deep Space Network (DSN) VLBI at 20-deg elevation are about 3 cm of delay per observation, which is smaller, on the average, than other known error sources in the current DSN VLBI data set. At 20-deg elevation for 200-s time intervals, water vapor induces approximately 1.5 x 10 to the minus 13th power s/s in the Allan standard deviation of interferometric delay, which is a measure of the delay rate observable error. In contrast to the delay error, the delay rate measurement error is dominated by water vapor fluctuations. Water vapor induced VLBI parameter errors and correlations are calculated. For the DSN, baseline length parameter errors due to water vapor fluctuations are in the range of 3 to 5 cm. The above physical assumptions also lead to a method for including the water vapor fluctuations in the parameter estimation procedure, which is used to extract baseline and source information from the VLBI observables.

The calculating study of the moisture transfer influence at the temperature field in a porous wet medium with internal heat sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuzevanov, V. S.; Garyaev, A. B.; Zakozhurnikova, G. S.; Zakozhurnikov, S. S.

2017-11-01

A porous wet medium with solid and gaseous components, with distributed or localized heat sources was considered. The regimes of temperature changes at the heating at various initial material moisture were studied. Mathematical model was developed applied to the investigated wet porous multicomponent medium with internal heat sources, taking into account the transfer of the heat by heat conductivity with variable thermal parameters and porosity, heat transfer by radiation, chemical reactions, drying and moistening of solids, heat and mass transfer of volatile products of chemical reactions by flows filtration, transfer of moisture. The algorithm of numerical calculation and the computer program that implements the proposed mathematical model, allowing to study the dynamics of warming up at a local or distributed heat release, in particular the impact of the transfer of moisture in the medium on the temperature field were created. Graphs of temperature change were obtained at different points of the graphics with different initial moisture. Conclusions about the possible control of the regimes of heating a solid porous body by the initial moisture distribution were made.

Quantifying Tropical Glacier Mass Balance Sensitivity to Climate Change Through Regional-Scale Modeling and The Randolph Glacier Inventory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malone, A.

2017-12-01

Quantifying mass balance sensitivity to climate change is essential for forecasting glacier evolution and deciphering climate signals embedded in archives of past glacier changes. Ideally, these quantifications result from decades of field measurement, remote sensing, and a hierarchy modeling approach, but in data-sparse regions, such as the Himalayas and tropical Andes, regional-scale modeling rooted in first principles provides a first-order picture. Previous regional-scaling modeling studies have applied a surface energy and mass balance approach in order to quantify equilibrium line altitude sensitivity to climate change. In this study, an expanded regional-scale surface energy and mass balance model is implemented to quantify glacier-wide mass balance sensitivity to climate change for tropical Andean glaciers. Data from the Randolph Glacier Inventory are incorporated, and additional physical processes are included, such as a dynamic albedo and cloud-dependent atmospheric emissivity. The model output agrees well with the limited mass balance records for tropical Andean glaciers. The dominant climate variables driving interannual mass balance variability differ depending on the climate setting. For wet tropical glaciers (annual precipitation >0.75 m y-1), temperature is the dominant climate variable. Different hypotheses for the processes linking wet tropical glacier mass balance variability to temperature are evaluated. The results support the hypothesis that glacier-wide mass balance on wet tropical glaciers is largely dominated by processes at the lowest elevation where temperature plays a leading role in energy exchanges. This research also highlights the transient nature of wet tropical glaciers - the vast majority of tropical glaciers and a vital regional water resource - in an anthropogenic warming world.

The Underlying Physics in Wetted Particle Collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donahue, Carly; Hrenya, Christine; Davis, Robert

2008-11-01

Wetted granular particles are relevant in many industries including the pharmaceutical and chemical industries and has applications to granulation, filtration, coagulation, spray coating, drying and pneumatic transport. In our current focus, we investigate the dynamics of a three-body normal wetted particle collision. In order to conduct collisions we use an apparatus called a ``Stokes Cradle,'' similar to the Newton's Cradle (desktop toy) except that the target particles are covered with oil. Here, we are able to vary the oil thickness, oil viscosity, and material properties. With a three particle collision there are four possible outcomes: fully agglomerated (FA); Newton's Cradle (NC), the striker and the first target ball are agglomerated and the last target ball is separated; Reverse Newton's Cradle (RNC), the striker is separated and the two targets are agglomerated; and fully separated (FS). Varying the properties of the collisions, we have observed all four outcomes. We use elastohydrodynamics as a theoretical basis for modeling the system. We also have considered the glass transition of the oil as the pressure increases upon impact and the cavitation of the oil as the pressure drops below the vapor pressure upon rebound. A toy model has been developed where the collision is modeled as a series of two-body collisions. A qualitative agreement between the toy model and experiments gives insight into the underlying physics.

The Impact of Rhizosphere Processes on Water Flow and Root Water Uptake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwartz, Nimrod; Kroener, Eva; Carminati, Andrea; Javaux, Mathieu

2015-04-01

For many years, the rhizosphere, which is the zone of soil in the vicinity of the roots and which is influenced by the roots, is known as a unique soil environment with different physical, biological and chemical properties than those of the bulk soil. Indeed, in recent studies it has been shown that root exudate and especially mucilage alter the hydraulic properties of the soil, and that drying and wetting cycles of mucilage result in non-equilibrium water dynamics in the rhizosphere. While there are experimental evidences and simplified 1D model for those concepts, an integrated model that considers rhizosphere processes with a detailed model for water and roots flow is absent. Therefore, the objective of this work is to develop a 3D physical model of water flow in the soil-plant continuum that take in consideration root architecture and rhizosphere specific properties. Ultimately, this model will enhance our understanding on the impact of processes occurring in the rhizosphere on water flow and root water uptake. To achieve this objective, we coupled R-SWMS, a detailed 3D model for water flow in soil and root system (Javaux et al 2008), with the rhizosphere model developed by Kroener et al (2014). In the new Rhizo-RSWMS model the rhizosphere hydraulic properties differ from those of the bulk soil, and non-equilibrium dynamics between the rhizosphere water content and pressure head is also considered. We simulated a wetting scenario. The soil was initially dry and it was wetted from the top at a constant flow rate. The model predicts that, after infiltration the water content in the rhizosphere remained lower than in the bulk soil (non-equilibrium), but over time water infiltrated into the rhizosphere and eventually the water content in the rhizosphere became higher than in the bulk soil. These results are in qualitative agreement with the available experimental data on water dynamics in the rhizosphere. Additionally, the results show that rhizosphere processes affect the spatial distribution of root water uptake. This suggests that rhizosphere processes effect root water uptake at the plant scale. Overall, these preliminary results demonstrate the impact of rhizosphere on water flow and root water uptake, and the ability of the Rhizo-RSWMS to simulate these processes. References Javaux, M., Schröder, T., Vanderborght, J., & Vereecken, H. (2008). Use of a three-dimensional detailed modeling approach for predicting root water uptake. Vadose Zone Journal, 7(3), 1079-1088.‏ Kroener, E., Zarebanadkouki, M., Kaestner, A., & Carminati, A. (2014). Nonequilibrium water dynamics in the rhizosphere: How mucilage affects water flow in soils. Water Resources Research, 50(8), 6479-6495.‏

Flows of Wet Foamsand Concentrated Emulsions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nemer, Martin B.

2005-01-01

The aim of this project was is to advance a microstructural understanding of foam and emulsion flows. The dynamics of individual surfactant-covered drops and well as the collective behavior of dilute and concentrated was explored using numerical simulations. The long-range goal of this work is the formulation of reliable microphysically-based statistical models of emulsion flows.

Multi-model Ensemble Regional Climate Projection of the Maritime Continent using the MIT Regional Climate Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, S.; IM, E. S.; Eltahir, E. A. B.

2016-12-01

In this study, the future change in precipitation due to global warming is investigated over the Maritime Continent using the MIT Regional Climate Model (MRCM). A total of nine 30-year projections under multi-GCMs (CCSM, MPI, ACCESS) and multi-scenarios of emissions (Control, RCP4.5, RCP8.5) are dynamically downscaled using the MRCM with 12km horizontal resolution. Since downscaled results tend to systematically overestimate the precipitation regardless of GCM used as lateral boundary conditions, the Parametric Quantile Mapping (PQM) is applied to reduce this wet bias. The cross validation for the control simulation shows that the PQM method seems to retain the spatial pattern and temporal variability of raw simulation, however it effectively reduce the wet bias. Based on ensemble projections produced by dynamical downscaling and statistical bias correction, a reduction of future precipitation is discernible, in particular during dry season (June-July-August). For example, intense precipitation in Singapore is expected to be reduced in RCP8.5 projection compared to control simulation. However, the geographical patterns and magnitude of changes still remain uncertain, suffering from statistical insignificance and a lack of model agreement. Acknowledgements This research is supported by the National Research Foundation Singapore under its Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise programme. The Center for Environmental Sensing and Modeling is an interdisciplinary research group of the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology

Simulating pesticide transport in urbanized catchments: a new spatially-distributed dynamic pesticide runoff model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Ting; Seuntjens, Piet; van Griensven, Ann; Bronders, Jan

2016-04-01

Urban areas can significantly contribute to pesticide contamination in surface water. However, pesticide behaviours in urban areas, particularly on hard surfaces, are far less studied than those in agricultural areas. Pesticide application on hard surfaces (e.g. roadsides and walkways) is of particular concern due to the high imperviousness and therefore high pesticide runoff potential. Experimental studies have shown that pesticide behaviours on and interactions with hard surfaces are important factors controlling the pesticide runoff potential, and therefore the magnitude and timing of peak concentrations in surface water. We conceptualized pesticide behaviours on hard surfaces and incorporated the conceptualization into a new pesticide runoff model. The pesticide runoff model was implemented in a catchment hydrological model WetSpa-Python (Water and Energy Transfer between Soil, Plants and Atmosphere, Python version). The conceptualization for pesticide processes on hard surfaces accounts for the differences in pesticide behaviour on different hard surfaces. Four parameters are used to describe the partitioning and wash-off of each pesticide on hard surfaces. We tested the conceptualization using experimental dataset for five pesticides on two types of hard surfaces, namely concrete and asphalt. The conceptualization gave good performance in accounting for the wash-off pattern for the modelled pesticides and surfaces, according to quantitative evaluations using the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency and percent bias. The resulting pesticide runoff model WetSpa-PST (WetSpa for PeSTicides) can simulate pesticides and their metabolites at the catchment scale. Overall, it includes four groups of pesticide processes, namely pesticide application, pesticide interception by plant foliage, pesticide processes on land surfaces (including partitioning, degradation and wash-off on hard surface; partitioning, dissipation, infiltration and runoff in soil) and pesticide processes in depression storage (including degradation, infiltration and runoff). Processes on hard surfaces employs the conceptualization described in the paragraph above. The WetSpa-PST model can account for various spatial details of the urban features in a catchment, such as asphalt, concrete and roof areas. The distributed feature also allows users to input detailed pesticide application data of both non-point and point origins. Thanks to the Python modelling framework prototype used in the WetSpa-Python model, processes in the WetSpa-PST model can be simulated at different time steps depending on data availability and the characteristic temporal scale of each process. This helps to increase the computational accuracy during heavy rainfall events, especially for the associated fast transport of pesticides into surface water. Overall, the WetSpa-PST model has good potential in predicting effects of management options on pesticide releases from heavily urbanized catchments.

Marrying Step Feed with Secondary Clarifier Improvements to Significantly Increase Peak Wet Weather Treatment Capacity: An Integrated Methodology.

PubMed

Daigger, Glen T; Siczka, John S; Smith, Thomas F; Frank, David A; McCorquodale, J A

2017-08-01

  The need to increase the peak wet weather secondary treatment capacity of the City of Akron, Ohio, Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) provided the opportunity to test an integrated methodology for maximizing the peak wet weather secondary treatment capacity of activated sludge systems. An initial investigation, consisting of process modeling of the secondary treatment system and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of the existing relatively shallow secondary clarifiers (3.3 and 3.7 m sidewater depth in 30.5 m diameter units), indicated that a significant increase in capacity from 416 000 to 684 000 m3/d or more was possible by adding step feed capabilities to the existing bioreactors and upgrading the existing secondary clarifiers. One of the six treatment units at the WRF was modified, and an extensive 2-year testing program was conducted to determine the total peak wet weather secondary treatment capacity achievable. The results demonstrated that a peak wet weather secondary treatment capacity approaching 974 000 m3/d is possible as long as secondary clarifier solids and hydraulic loadings could be separately controlled using the step feed capability provided. Excellent sludge settling characteristics are routinely experienced at the City of Akron WRF, raising concerns that the identified peak wet weather secondary treatment capacity could not be maintained should sludge settling characteristics deteriorate for some reason. Computational fluid dynamics analysis indicated that the impact of the deterioration of sludge settling characteristics could be mitigated and the identified peak wet weather secondary treatment capacity maintained by further use of the step feed capability provided to further reduce secondary clarifier solids loading rates at the identified high surface overflow rates. The results also demonstrated that effluent limits not only for total suspended solids (TSS) and five-day carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (cBOD5) could be maintained, but also for ammonia-nitrogen and total phosphorous (TP). Although hydraulic limitations in other parts of the WRP prevent this full capacity to be realized, the City is proceeding to implement the modifications identified using this integrated methodology.

Groundwater influence on soil moisture memory and land-atmosphere interactions over the Iberian Peninsula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez-de la Torre, Alberto; Miguez-Macho, Gonzalo

2017-04-01

We investigate the memory introduced in soil moisture fields by groundwater long timescales of variation in the semi-arid regions of the Iberian Peninsula with the LEAFHYDRO soil-vegetation-hydrology model, which includes a dynamic water table fully coupled to soil moisture and river flow via 2-way fluxes. We select a 10-year period (1989-1998) with transitions from wet to dry to again wet long lasting conditions and we carry out simulations at 2.5 km spatial resolution forced by ERA-Interim and a high-resolution precipitation analysis over Spain and Portugal. The model produces a realistic water table that we validate with hundreds of water table depth observation time series (ranging from 4 to 10 years) over the Iberian Peninsula. Modeled river flow is also compared to observations. Over shallow water table regions, results highlight the groundwater buffering effect on soil moisture fields over dry spells and long-term droughts, as well as the slow recovery of pre-drought soil wetness once climatic conditions turn wetter. Groundwater sustains river flow during dry summer periods. The longer lasting wet conditions in the soil when groundwater is considered increase summer evapotranspiration, that is mostly water-limited. Our results suggest that groundwater interaction with soil moisture should be considered for climate seasonal forecasting and climate studies in general over water-limited regions where shallow water tables are significantly present and connected to land surface hydrology.

Sig2GRN: a software tool linking signaling pathway with gene regulatory network for dynamic simulation.

PubMed

Zhang, Fan; Liu, Runsheng; Zheng, Jie

2016-12-23

Linking computational models of signaling pathways to predicted cellular responses such as gene expression regulation is a major challenge in computational systems biology. In this work, we present Sig2GRN, a Cytoscape plugin that is able to simulate time-course gene expression data given the user-defined external stimuli to the signaling pathways. A generalized logical model is used in modeling the upstream signaling pathways. Then a Boolean model and a thermodynamics-based model are employed to predict the downstream changes in gene expression based on the simulated dynamics of transcription factors in signaling pathways. Our empirical case studies show that the simulation of Sig2GRN can predict changes in gene expression patterns induced by DNA damage signals and drug treatments. As a software tool for modeling cellular dynamics, Sig2GRN can facilitate studies in systems biology by hypotheses generation and wet-lab experimental design. http://histone.scse.ntu.edu.sg/Sig2GRN/.

A smoothed particle hydrodynamics framework for modelling multiphase interactions at meso-scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ling; Shen, Luming; Nguyen, Giang D.; El-Zein, Abbas; Maggi, Federico

2018-01-01

A smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) framework is developed for modelling multiphase interactions at meso-scale, including the liquid-solid interaction induced deformation of the solid phase. With an inter-particle force formulation that mimics the inter-atomic force in molecular dynamics, the proposed framework includes the long-range attractions between particles, and more importantly, the short-range repulsive forces to avoid particle clustering and instability problems. Three-dimensional numerical studies have been conducted to demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed framework to quantitatively replicate the surface tension of water, to model the interactions between immiscible liquids and solid, and more importantly, to simultaneously model the deformation of solid and liquid induced by the multiphase interaction. By varying inter-particle potential magnitude, the proposed SPH framework has successfully simulated various wetting properties ranging from hydrophobic to hydrophilic surfaces. The simulation results demonstrate the potential of the proposed framework to genuinely study complex multiphase interactions in wet granular media.

The impact of inter-annual rainfall variability on African savannas changes with mean rainfall.

PubMed

Synodinos, Alexis D; Tietjen, Britta; Lohmann, Dirk; Jeltsch, Florian

2018-01-21

Savannas are mixed tree-grass ecosystems whose dynamics are predominantly regulated by resource competition and the temporal variability in climatic and environmental factors such as rainfall and fire. Hence, increasing inter-annual rainfall variability due to climate change could have a significant impact on savannas. To investigate this, we used an ecohydrological model of stochastic differential equations and simulated African savanna dynamics along a gradient of mean annual rainfall (520-780 mm/year) for a range of inter-annual rainfall variabilities. Our simulations produced alternative states of grassland and savanna across the mean rainfall gradient. Increasing inter-annual variability had a negative effect on the savanna state under dry conditions (520 mm/year), and a positive effect under moister conditions (580-780 mm/year). The former resulted from the net negative effect of dry and wet extremes on trees. In semi-arid conditions (520 mm/year), dry extremes caused a loss of tree cover, which could not be recovered during wet extremes because of strong resource competition and the increased frequency of fires. At high mean rainfall (780 mm/year), increased variability enhanced savanna resilience. Here, resources were no longer limiting and the slow tree dynamics buffered against variability by maintaining a stable population during 'dry' extremes, providing the basis for growth during wet extremes. Simultaneously, high rainfall years had a weak marginal benefit on grass cover due to density-regulation and grazing. Our results suggest that the effects of the slow tree and fast grass dynamics on tree-grass interactions will become a major determinant of the savanna vegetation composition with increasing rainfall variability. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Pseudo-Vertical Equilibrium Model for Slow Gravity Drainage Dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becker, Beatrix; Guo, Bo; Bandilla, Karl; Celia, Michael A.; Flemisch, Bernd; Helmig, Rainer

2017-12-01

Vertical equilibrium (VE) models are computationally efficient and have been widely used for modeling fluid migration in the subsurface. However, they rely on the assumption of instant gravity segregation of the two fluid phases which may not be valid especially for systems that have very slow drainage at low wetting phase saturations. In these cases, the time scale for the wetting phase to reach vertical equilibrium can be several orders of magnitude larger than the time scale of interest, rendering conventional VE models unsuitable. Here we present a pseudo-VE model that relaxes the assumption of instant segregation of the two fluid phases by applying a pseudo-residual saturation inside the plume of the injected fluid that declines over time due to slow vertical drainage. This pseudo-VE model is cast in a multiscale framework for vertically integrated models with the vertical drainage solved as a fine-scale problem. Two types of fine-scale models are developed for the vertical drainage, which lead to two pseudo-VE models. Comparisons with a conventional VE model and a full multidimensional model show that the pseudo-VE models have much wider applicability than the conventional VE model while maintaining the computational benefit of the conventional VE model.

The impacts of changing transport and precipitation on pollutant distributions in a future climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, Yuanyuan; Fiore, Arlene M.; Horowitz, Larry W.; Gnanadesikan, Anand; Held, Isaac; Chen, Gang; Vecchi, Gabriel; Levy, Hiram

2011-09-01

Air pollution (ozone and particulate matter in surface air) is strongly linked to synoptic weather and thus is likely sensitive to climate change. In order to isolate the responses of air pollutant transport and wet removal to a warming climate, we examine a simple carbon monoxide-like (CO) tracer (COt) and a soluble version (SAt), both with the 2001 CO emissions, in simulations with the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory chemistry-climate model (AM3) for present (1981-2000) and future (2081-2100) climates. In 2081-2100, projected reductions in lower-tropospheric ventilation and wet deposition exacerbate surface air pollution as evidenced by higher surface COt and SAt concentrations. However, the average horizontal general circulation patterns in 2081-2100 are similar to 1981-2000, so the spatial distribution of COt changes little. Precipitation is an important factor controlling soluble pollutant wet removal, but the total global precipitation change alone does not necessarily indicate the sign of the soluble pollutant response to climate change. Over certain latitudinal bands, however, the annual wet deposition change can be explained mainly by the simulated changes in large-scale (LS) precipitation. In regions such as North America, differences in the seasonality of LS precipitation and tracer burdens contribute to an apparent inconsistency of changes in annual wet deposition versus annual precipitation. As a step toward an ultimate goal of developing a simple index that can be applied to infer changes in soluble pollutants directly from changes in precipitation fields as projected by physical climate models, we explore here a "Diagnosed Precipitation Impact" (DPI) index. This index captures the sign and magnitude (within 50%) of the relative annual mean changes in the global wet deposition of the soluble pollutant. DPI can only be usefully applied in climate models in which LS precipitation dominates wet deposition and horizontal transport patterns change little as climate warms. Our findings support the need for tighter emission regulations, for both soluble and insoluble pollutants, to obtain a desired level of air quality as climate warms.

Hierarchical calibration and validation framework of bench-scale computational fluid dynamics simulations for solvent-based carbon capture. Part 2: Chemical absorption across a wetted wall column: Original Research Article: Hierarchical calibration and validation framework of bench-scale computational fluid dynamics simulations

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

Wang, Chao; Xu, Zhijie; Lai, Kevin

The first part of this paper (Part 1) presents a numerical model for non-reactive physical mass transfer across a wetted wall column (WWC). In Part 2, we improved the existing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model to simulate chemical absorption occurring in a WWC as a bench-scale study of solvent-based carbon dioxide (CO2) capture. To generate data for WWC model validation, CO2 mass transfer across a monoethanolamine (MEA) solvent was first measured on a WWC experimental apparatus. The numerical model developed in this work has the ability to account for both chemical absorption and desorption of CO2 in MEA. In addition,more » the overall mass transfer coefficient predicted using traditional/empirical correlations is conducted and compared with CFD prediction results for both steady and wavy falling films. A Bayesian statistical calibration algorithm is adopted to calibrate the reaction rate constants in chemical absorption/desorption of CO2 across a falling film of MEA. The posterior distributions of the two transport properties, i.e., Henry’s constant and gas diffusivity in the non-reacting nitrous oxide (N2O)/MEA system obtained from Part 1 of this study, serves as priors for the calibration of CO2 reaction rate constants after using the N2O/CO2 analogy method. The calibrated model can be used to predict the CO2 mass transfer in a WWC for a wider range of operating conditions.« less

Hierarchical calibration and validation framework of bench-scale computational fluid dynamics simulations for solvent-based carbon capture. Part 2: Chemical absorption across a wetted wall column: Original Research Article: Hierarchical calibration and validation framework of bench-scale computational fluid dynamics simulations

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

Wang, Chao; Xu, Zhijie; Lai, Kevin

Part 1 of this paper presents a numerical model for non-reactive physical mass transfer across a wetted wall column (WWC). In Part 2, we improved the existing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model to simulate chemical absorption occurring in a WWC as a bench-scale study of solvent-based carbon dioxide (CO 2) capture. In this study, to generate data for WWC model validation, CO 2 mass transfer across a monoethanolamine (MEA) solvent was first measured on a WWC experimental apparatus. The numerical model developed in this work can account for both chemical absorption and desorption of CO 2 in MEA. In addition,more » the overall mass transfer coefficient predicted using traditional/empirical correlations is conducted and compared with CFD prediction results for both steady and wavy falling films. A Bayesian statistical calibration algorithm is adopted to calibrate the reaction rate constants in chemical absorption/desorption of CO 2 across a falling film of MEA. The posterior distributions of the two transport properties, i.e., Henry's constant and gas diffusivity in the non-reacting nitrous oxide (N 2O)/MEA system obtained from Part 1 of this study, serves as priors for the calibration of CO 2 reaction rate constants after using the N 2O/CO 2 analogy method. Finally, the calibrated model can be used to predict the CO 2 mass transfer in a WWC for a wider range of operating conditions.« less

Hierarchical calibration and validation framework of bench-scale computational fluid dynamics simulations for solvent-based carbon capture. Part 2: Chemical absorption across a wetted wall column: Original Research Article: Hierarchical calibration and validation framework of bench-scale computational fluid dynamics simulations

DOE PAGES

Wang, Chao; Xu, Zhijie; Lai, Kevin; ...

2017-10-24

Part 1 of this paper presents a numerical model for non-reactive physical mass transfer across a wetted wall column (WWC). In Part 2, we improved the existing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model to simulate chemical absorption occurring in a WWC as a bench-scale study of solvent-based carbon dioxide (CO 2) capture. In this study, to generate data for WWC model validation, CO 2 mass transfer across a monoethanolamine (MEA) solvent was first measured on a WWC experimental apparatus. The numerical model developed in this work can account for both chemical absorption and desorption of CO 2 in MEA. In addition,more » the overall mass transfer coefficient predicted using traditional/empirical correlations is conducted and compared with CFD prediction results for both steady and wavy falling films. A Bayesian statistical calibration algorithm is adopted to calibrate the reaction rate constants in chemical absorption/desorption of CO 2 across a falling film of MEA. The posterior distributions of the two transport properties, i.e., Henry's constant and gas diffusivity in the non-reacting nitrous oxide (N 2O)/MEA system obtained from Part 1 of this study, serves as priors for the calibration of CO 2 reaction rate constants after using the N 2O/CO 2 analogy method. Finally, the calibrated model can be used to predict the CO 2 mass transfer in a WWC for a wider range of operating conditions.« less

Effects of hydrological regime on development of Carex wet meadows in East Dongting Lake, a Ramsar Wetland for wintering waterbirds

PubMed Central

Jing, Lei; Lu, Cai; Xia, Yan; Shi, Linlu; Zuo, Aojie; Lei, Jialing; Zhang, Hong; Lei, Guangchun; Wen, Li

2017-01-01

Wet meadows are one of the most important ecological components in floodplain, and are among the most dynamic ecosystems. Understanding the development of wet meadows and contributing environmental factors can provide better support for wetland management. Carex meadows in East Dongting Lake National Nature Reserve (EDLNNR) provide vital wintering ground for thousands of migratory waterbirds, and their ecological functions are under threated due to hydrological alternation. We measured wet meadow expansion in EDLNNR from 1989 to 2014, and explored its responses to hydrological and climatic factors within the generalised additive models (GAM) framework. We found an overall expansion of wet meadows over the study period. However, in contrast to many previous studies, our results showed that water level fluctuations at the hydrologic indicator site had only limited impacts on their development. Instead, sampling year, timing of water level recession, and local rainfall exerted significant effects. The effects of sampling year reflected the changes in sedimentation within Dongting Lake; and effects of timing of water withdrawal might be explained by the life history of the dominant sedge species. Our study suggested that the impacts of large scale hydrological alternation on vegetation may operate indirectly through its effects on sediment balance. PMID:28165508

A Linear Dynamical Systems Approach to Streamflow Reconstruction Reveals History of Regime Shifts in Northern Thailand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Hung T. T.; Galelli, Stefano

2018-03-01

Catchment dynamics is not often modeled in streamflow reconstruction studies; yet, the streamflow generation process depends on both catchment state and climatic inputs. To explicitly account for this interaction, we contribute a linear dynamic model, in which streamflow is a function of both catchment state (i.e., wet/dry) and paleoclimatic proxies. The model is learned using a novel variant of the Expectation-Maximization algorithm, and it is used with a paleo drought record—the Monsoon Asia Drought Atlas—to reconstruct 406 years of streamflow for the Ping River (northern Thailand). Results for the instrumental period show that the dynamic model has higher accuracy than conventional linear regression; all performance scores improve by 45-497%. Furthermore, the reconstructed trajectory of the state variable provides valuable insights about the catchment history—e.g., regime-like behavior—thereby complementing the information contained in the reconstructed streamflow time series. The proposed technique can replace linear regression, since it only requires information on streamflow and climatic proxies (e.g., tree-rings, drought indices); furthermore, it is capable of readily generating stochastic streamflow replicates. With a marginal increase in computational requirements, the dynamic model brings more desirable features and value to streamflow reconstructions.

Comparing soil organic carbon dynamics in plantation and secondary forest in wet tropics in Puerto Rico

Treesearch

LI YIQING; MING XU; ZOU XIAOMING; PEIJUN SHI§; YAOQI ZHANG

2005-01-01

We compared the soil carbon dynamics between a pine plantation and a secondary forest, both of which originated from the same farmland abandoned in 1976 with the same cropping history and soil conditions, in the wet tropics in Puerto Rico from July 1996 to June 1997. We found that the secondary forest accumulated the heavy-fraction organic carbon (HF-OC) measured by...

Changes in aridity in response to the global warming hiatus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guan, Xiaodan; Huang, Jianping; Guo, Ruixia

2017-02-01

The global warming slowdown or warming hiatus, began around the year 2000 and has persisted for nearly 15 years. Most studies have focused on the interpretation of the hiatus in temperature. In this study, changes in a global aridity index (AI) were analyzed by using a newly developed dynamical adjustment method that can successfully identify and separate dynamically induced and radiatively forced aridity changes in the raw data. The AI and Palmer Drought Severity Index produced a wetting zone over the mid-to-high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere in recent decades. The dynamical adjustment analysis suggested that this wetting zone occurred in response to the global warming hiatus. The dynamically induced AI (DAI) played a major role in the AI changes during the hiatus period, and its relationships with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), and Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) also indicated that different phases of the NAO, PDO, and AMO contributed to different performances of the DAI over the Northern Hemisphere. Although the aridity wetting over the mid-to-high latitudes may relieve long-term drying in certain regions, the hiatus is temporary, and so is the relief. Accelerated global warming will return when the NAO, PDO, and AMO revert to their opposite phases in the future, and the wetting zone is likely to disappear.

Linkage of mike she to wetland-dndc for carbon budgeting and anaerobic biogeochemistry simulation

Treesearch

Jianbo Cui; Changsheng Li; Ge Sun; Carl Trettin

2005-01-01

This study reports the linkage between MIKE SHE and Wetland-DNDC for carbon dynamics and greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions simulation in forested wetland.Wet1and-DNDC was modified by parameterizing management measures, refining anaerobic biogeochemical processes, and was linked to the hydrological model - MIKE SHE. As a preliminary application, we simulated the effect...

Direct calculation of 1-octanol-water partition coefficients from adaptive biasing force molecular dynamics simulations.

PubMed

Bhatnagar, Navendu; Kamath, Ganesh; Chelst, Issac; Potoff, Jeffrey J

2012-07-07

The 1-octanol-water partition coefficient log K(ow) of a solute is a key parameter used in the prediction of a wide variety of complex phenomena such as drug availability and bioaccumulation potential of trace contaminants. In this work, adaptive biasing force molecular dynamics simulations are used to determine absolute free energies of hydration, solvation, and 1-octanol-water partition coefficients for n-alkanes from methane to octane. Two approaches are evaluated; the direct transfer of the solute from 1-octanol to water phase, and separate transfers of the solute from the water or 1-octanol phase to vacuum, with both methods yielding statistically indistinguishable results. Calculations performed with the TIP4P and SPC∕E water models and the TraPPE united-atom force field for n-alkanes show that the choice of water model has a negligible effect on predicted free energies of transfer and partition coefficients for n-alkanes. A comparison of calculations using wet and dry octanol phases shows that the predictions for log K(ow) using wet octanol are 0.2-0.4 log units lower than for dry octanol, although this is within the statistical uncertainty of the calculation.

Correlating contact line capillarity and dynamic contact angle hysteresis in surfactant-nanoparticle based complex fluids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harikrishnan, A. R.; Dhar, Purbarun; Agnihotri, Prabhat K.; Gedupudi, Sateesh; Das, Sarit K.

2018-04-01

Dynamic wettability and contact angle hysteresis can be correlated to shed insight onto any solid-liquid interaction. Complex fluids are capable of altering the expected hysteresis and dynamic wetting behavior due to interfacial interactions. We report the effect of capillary number on the dynamic advancing and receding contact angles of surfactant-based nanocolloidal solutions on hydrophilic, near hydrophobic, and superhydrophobic surfaces by performing forced wetting and de-wetting experiments by employing the embedded needle method. A segregated study is performed to infer the contributing effects of the constituents and effects of particle morphology. The static contact angle hysteresis is found to be a function of particle and surfactant concentrations and greatly depends on the nature of the morphology of the particles. An order of estimate of line energy and a dynamic flow parameter called spreading factor and the transient variations of these parameters are explored which sheds light on the dynamics of contact line movement and response to perturbation of three-phase contact. The Cox-Voinov-Tanner law was found to hold for hydrophilic and a weak dependency on superhydrophobic surfaces with capillary number, and even for the complex fluids, with a varying degree of dependency for different fluids.

More Fluorous Surface Modifier Makes it Less Oleophobic: Fluorinated-Siloxane Copolymer/PDMS Coatings

PubMed Central

Zhang, Wei; Zheng, Ying; Orsini, Lorenzo; Morelli, Andrea; Galli, Giancarlo; Chiellini, Emo; Carpenter, Everett E.; Wynne, Kenneth J.

2010-01-01

A copolyacrylate with semifluorinated and polydimethylsiloxane side chains (D5-3) was used as a surface modifier for a condensation cured PDMS coating. The decyl fluorous group is represented by “D”; “5” is a 5 kDa silicone, and “3” the mole ratio of fluorous to silicone side chain. Wetting behavior was assessed by dynamic contact angle (DCA) analysis using isopropanol, which differentiates silicone and fluorous wetting behavior. Interestingly, a maximum in surface oleophobicity was found at low D5-3 concentration (0.4 wt%). Higher concentrations result in decreased oleophobicity reflected in decreased contact angles. To understand this unexpected observation, dynamic light scattering (DLS) studies were initiated on a model system consisting of hydroxyl-terminated PDMS (18 kDa) containing varying amounts of D5-3. DLS revealed D5-3 aggregation as a function of temperature and concentration. A model is proposed by which D5-3 surface concentration is depleted via phase separation favoring D5-3 aggregation at concentrations >0.4 wt%, that is, the CMC. This model suggests increasing aggregate / micelle concentrations at increased D5-3 concentration. Bulk morphologies studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) support this model by showing increased aggregate concentrations with increased D5-3 >0.4 wt%. PMID:20000339

Analysis of hybrid electric/thermofluidic inputs for wet shape memory alloy actuators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flemming, Leslie; Mascaro, Stephen

2013-01-01

A wet shape memory alloy (SMA) actuator is characterized by an SMA wire embedded within a compliant fluid-filled tube. Heating and cooling of the SMA wire produces a linear contraction and extension of the wire. Thermal energy can be transferred to and from the wire using combinations of resistive heating and free/forced convection. This paper analyzes the speed and efficiency of a simulated wet SMA actuator using a variety of control strategies involving different combinations of electrical and thermofluidic inputs. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is used in conjunction with a temperature-strain model of the SMA wire to simulate the thermal response of the wire and compute strains, contraction/extension times and efficiency. The simulations produce cycle rates of up to 5 Hz for electrical heating and fluidic cooling, and up to 2 Hz for fluidic heating and cooling. The simulated results demonstrate efficiencies up to 0.5% for electric heating and up to 0.2% for fluidic heating. Using both electric and fluidic inputs concurrently improves the speed and efficiency of the actuator and allows for the actuator to remain contracted without continually delivering energy to the actuator, because of the thermal capacitance of the hot fluid. The characterized speeds and efficiencies are key requirements for implementing broader research efforts involving the intelligent control of electric and thermofluidic networks to optimize the speed and efficiency of wet actuator arrays.

Prediction of rainfall anomalies during the dry to wet transition season over the Southern Amazonia using machine learning tools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shan, X.; Zhang, K.; Zhuang, Y.; Fu, R.; Hong, Y.

2017-12-01

Seasonal prediction of rainfall during the dry-to-wet transition season in austral spring (September-November) over southern Amazonia is central for improving planting crops and fire mitigation in that region. Previous studies have identified the key large-scale atmospheric dynamic and thermodynamics pre-conditions during the dry season (June-August) that influence the rainfall anomalies during the dry to wet transition season over Southern Amazonia. Based on these key pre-conditions during dry season, we have evaluated several statistical models and developed a Neural Network based statistical prediction system to predict rainfall during the dry to wet transition for Southern Amazonia (5-15°S, 50-70°W). Multivariate Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) Analysis is applied to the following four fields during JJA from the ECMWF Reanalysis (ERA-Interim) spanning from year 1979 to 2015: geopotential height at 200 hPa, surface relative humidity, convective inhibition energy (CIN) index and convective available potential energy (CAPE), to filter out noise and highlight the most coherent spatial and temporal variations. The first 10 EOF modes are retained for inputs to the statistical models, accounting for at least 70% of the total variance in the predictor fields. We have tested several linear and non-linear statistical methods. While the regularized Ridge Regression and Lasso Regression can generally capture the spatial pattern and magnitude of rainfall anomalies, we found that that Neural Network performs best with an accuracy greater than 80%, as expected from the non-linear dependence of the rainfall on the large-scale atmospheric thermodynamic conditions and circulation. Further tests of various prediction skill metrics and hindcasts also suggest this Neural Network prediction approach can significantly improve seasonal prediction skill than the dynamic predictions and regression based statistical predictions. Thus, this statistical prediction system could have shown potential to improve real-time seasonal rainfall predictions in the future.

Modelling hydrologic responses in a small forested catchment (Panola Mountain, Georgia, USA): A comparison of the original and a new dynamic TOPMODEL

USGS Publications Warehouse

Peters, N.E.; Freer, J.; Beven, K.

2003-01-01

Preliminary modelling results for a new version of the rainfall-runoff model TOPMODEL, dynamic TOPMODEL, are compared with those of the original TOPMODEL formulation for predicting streamflow at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed, Georgia. Dynamic TOPMODEL uses a kinematic wave routing of subsurface flow, which allows for dynamically variable upslope contributing areas, while retaining the concept of hydrological similarity to increase computational efficiency. Model performance in predicting discharge was assessed for the original TOPMODEL and for one landscape unit (LU) and three LU versions of the dynamic TOPMODEL (a bare rock area, hillslope with regolith <1 m, and a riparian zone with regolith ???5 m). All simulations used a 30 min time step for each of three water years. Each 1-LU model underpredicted the peak streamflow, and generally overpredicted recession streamflow during wet periods and underpredicted during dry periods. The difference between predicted recession streamflow generally was less for the dynamic TOPMODEL and smallest for the 3-LU model. Bayesian combination of results for different water years within the GLUE methodology left no behavioural original or 1-LU dynamic models and only 168 (of 96 000 sample parameter sets) for the 3-LU model. The efficiency for the streamflow prediction of the best 3-LU model was 0.83 for an individual year, but the results suggest that further improvements could be made. ?? 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Droplets and the three-phase contact line at the nano-scale. Statics and dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yatsyshin, Petr; Sibley, David; Savva, Nikos; Kalliadasis, Serafim

2014-11-01

Understanding the behaviour of the solid-liquid-vapour contact line at the scale of several tens of molecular diameters is important in wetting hydrodynamics with applications in micro- and nano-fluidics, including the design of lab-on-a-chip devices and surfaces with specific wetting properties. Due to the fluid inhomogeneity at the nano-scale, the application of continuum-mechanical approaches is limited, and a natural way to remedy this is to seek descriptions accounting for the non-local molecular-level interactions. Density Functional Theory (DFT) for fluids offers a statistical-mechanical framework based on expressing the free energy of the fluid-solid pair as a functional of the spatially varying fluid density. DFT allows us to investigate small drops deposited on planar substrates whilst keeping track of the microscopic structural details of the fluid. Starting from a model of intermolecular forces, we systematically obtain interfaces, surface tensions, and the microscopic contact angle. Using a dynamic extension of equilibrium DFT, we investigate the diffusion-driven evolution of the three-phase contact line to gain insight into the dynamic behaviour of the microscopic contact angle, which is still under debate.

Dynamics of viscous drops confined in a rough medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keiser, Ludovic; Gas, Armelle; Jaafar, Khalil; Bico, Jose; Reyssat, Etienne

2017-11-01

We focus on the dynamics of viscous and non-wetting ``pancake'' droplets of oil conned in a vertical Hele-Shaw cell filled with a less viscous surfactant solution. These dense drops settle at constant velocity driven by gravity. The surfactant solution completely wets the walls, and a thin lubrication film separates the drops from the walls. With smooth walls, two main dynamical regimes are characterized as the gap between the walls is varied. Viscous dissipation is found to dominate either in the droplet or in the lubrication film, depending on the ratio of viscosities and length scales. A sharp transition between both regimes is observed and successfully captured by asymptotic models. With rough walls, that transition is dramatically altered. Drops are generally much slower in a rough Hele-Shaw cell, in comparison with a similar smooth cell. Building up on the seminal works of Seiwert et al. (J.F.M. 2011) on film deposition by dip coating on a rough surface, we shed light on the non-trivial friction processes resulting from the interplay of viscous dissipation at the front of the drop, in the lubrication film and in the bulk of the drop. We acknowledge funding from Total S.A.

Modeling Evaporation and Particle Assembly in Colloidal Droplets.

PubMed

Zhao, Mingfei; Yong, Xin

2017-06-13

Evaporation-induced assembly of nanoparticles in a drying droplet is of great importance in many engineering applications, including printing, coating, and thin film processing. The investigation of particle dynamics in evaporating droplets can provide fundamental hydrodynamic insight for revealing the processing-structure relationship in the particle self-organization induced by solvent evaporation. We develop a free-energy-based multiphase lattice Boltzmann method coupled with Brownian dynamics to simulate evaporating colloidal droplets on solid substrates with specified wetting properties. The influence of interface-bound nanoparticles on the surface tension and evaporation of a flat liquid-vapor interface is first quantified. The results indicate that the particles at the interface reduce surface tension and enhance evaporation flux. For evaporating particle-covered droplets on substrates with different wetting properties, we characterize the increase of evaporate rate via measuring droplet volume. We find that droplet evaporation is determined by the number density and circumferential distribution of interfacial particles. We further correlate particle dynamics and assembly to the evaporation-induced convection in the bulk and on the surface of droplet. Finally, we observe distinct final deposits from evaporating colloidal droplets with bulk-dispersed and interface-bound particles. In addition, the deposit pattern is also influenced by the equilibrium contact angle of droplet.

Surface structure determines dynamic wetting.

PubMed

Wang, Jiayu; Do-Quang, Minh; Cannon, James J; Yue, Feng; Suzuki, Yuji; Amberg, Gustav; Shiomi, Junichiro

2015-02-16

Liquid wetting of a surface is omnipresent in nature and the advance of micro-fabrication and assembly techniques in recent years offers increasing ability to control this phenomenon. Here, we identify how surface roughness influences the initial dynamic spreading of a partially wetting droplet by studying the spreading on a solid substrate patterned with microstructures just a few micrometers in size. We reveal that the roughness influence can be quantified in terms of a line friction coefficient for the energy dissipation rate at the contact line, and that this can be described in a simple formula in terms of the geometrical parameters of the roughness and the line-friction coefficient of the planar surface. We further identify a criterion to predict if the spreading will be controlled by this surface roughness or by liquid inertia. Our results point to the possibility of selectively controlling the wetting behavior by engineering the surface structure.

Performance of a Cross-Flow Humidifier with a High Flux Water Vapor Transport Membrane

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

Ahluwalia, R. K.; Wang, X.; Johnson, W. B.

Water vapor transport (WVT) flux across a composite membrane that consists of a very thin perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomer layer sandwiched between two expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) microporous layers is investigated. Static and dynamic tests are conducted to measure WVT flux for different composite structures; a transport model shows that the underlying individual resistances for water diffusion in the gas phase and microporous and ionomer layers and for interfacial kinetics of water uptake at the ionomer surface are equally important under different conditions. A finite-difference model is formulated to determine water transport in a full-scale (2-m2 active membrane area) planar cross-flowmore » humidifier module assembled using pleats of the optimized composite membrane. In agreement with the experimental data, the modeled WVT flux in the module increases at higher inlet relative humidity (RH) of the wet stream and at lower pressures, but the mass transfer effectiveness is higher at higher pressures. The model indicates that the WVT flux is highest under conditions that maintain the wet stream at close to 100% RH while preventing the dry stream from becoming saturated. The overall water transport is determined by the gradient in RH of the wet and dry streams but is also affected by vapor diffusion in the gas layer and the microporous layer.« less

Modeling Oblique Impact Dynamics of Particle-Laden Nanodroplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yong, Xin; Qin, Shiyi

2016-11-01

A fundamental understanding of the impact dynamics of nanoscopic droplets laden with nanoparticles has important implications for materials printing and thin film processing. Using many-body dissipative particle dynamics (MDPD), we model nanometer sized suspension droplets imping on dry solid substrate with oblique angles, and compare their behavior with pure liquid droplets. Equilibrated floating droplets containing two types of nanoparticles, namely fully-wetted hydrophilic particles and surface-active Janus particles, impact onto the solid surface with varying initial velocities and impact angles. The velocity components in the normal and tangential directions to the substrate defines normal and tangential Reynolds and Weber numbers, which are used to classify impact regimes. Droplets with nanoparticles dispersed in the bulk and covering the droplet surface (resembling liquid marbles) exhibit quite different behavior in the course of impact. We also reveal the influences of substrate wettability and its interaction with nanoparticles on the impact dynamics. In addition, the vapor film beneath an impinging droplet shows no significant effect on the impact dynamics in our MDPD simulations.

Imbibition with swelling: Capillary rise in thin deformable porous media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kvick, Mathias; Martinez, D. Mark; Hewitt, Duncan R.; Balmforth, Neil J.

2017-07-01

The imbibition of a liquid into a thin deformable porous substrate driven by capillary suction is considered. The substrate is initially dry and has uniform porosity and thickness. Two-phase flow theory is used to describe how the liquid flows through the pore space behind the wetting front when out-of-plane deformation of the solid matrix is considered. Neglecting gravity and evaporation, standard shallow-layer scalings are used to construct a reduced model of the dynamics. The model predicts convergence to a self-similar behavior in all regions except near the wetting front, where a boundary layer arises whose structure narrows with the advance of the front. Over time, the rise height approaches the similarity scaling of t1 /2, as in the classical Washburn or BCLW law. The results are compared with a series of laboratory experiments using cellulose paper sheets, which provide qualitative agreement.

Exploring the Dynamics of Transit Times and Subsurface Mixing in a Small Agricultural Catchment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jie; Heidbüchel, Ingo; Musolff, Andreas; Reinstorf, Frido; Fleckenstein, Jan H.

2018-03-01

The analysis of transit/residence time distributions (TTDs and RTDs) provides important insights into the dynamics of stream-water ages and subsurface mixing. These insights have significant implications for water quality. For a small agricultural catchment in central Germany, we use a 3D fully coupled surface-subsurface hydrological model to simulate water flow and perform particle tracking to determine flow paths and transit times. The TTDs of discharge, RTDs of storage and fractional StorAge Selection (fSAS) functions are computed and analyzed on daily basis for a period of 10 years. Results show strong seasonal fluctuations of the median transit time of discharge and the median residence time, with the former being strongly related to the catchment wetness. Computed fSAS functions suggest systematic shifts of the discharge selection preference over four main periods: In the wet period, the youngest water in storage is preferentially selected, and this preference shifts gradually toward older ages of stored water when the catchment transitions into the drying, dry and wetting periods. These changes are driven by distinct shifts in the dominance of deeper flow paths and fast shallow flow paths. Changes in the shape of the fSAS functions can be captured by changes in the two parameters of the approximating Beta distributions, allowing the generation of continuous fSAS functions representing the general catchment behavior. These results improve our understanding of the seasonal dynamics of TTDs and fSAS functions for a complex real-world catchment and are important for interpreting solute export to the stream in a spatially implicit manner.

Seasonal variations in suspended-sediment dynamics in the tidal reach of an estuarine tributary

USGS Publications Warehouse

Downing-Kunz, Maureen A.; Schoellhamer, David H.

2013-01-01

Quantifying sediment supply from estuarine tributaries is an important component of developing a sediment budget, and common techniques for estimating supply are based on gages located above tidal influence. However, tidal interactions near tributary mouths can affect the magnitude and direction of sediment supply to the open waters of the estuary. We investigated suspended-sediment dynamics in the tidal reach of Corte Madera Creek, an estuarine tributary of San Francisco Bay, using moored acoustic and optical instruments. Flux of both water and suspended-sediment were calculated from observed water velocity and turbidity for two periods in each of wet and dry seasons during 2010. During wet periods, net suspended-sediment flux was seaward; tidally filtered flux was dominated by the advective component. In contrast, during dry periods, net flux was landward; tidally filtered flux was dominated by the dispersive component. The mechanisms generating this landward flux varied; during summer we attributed wind–wave resuspension in the estuary and subsequent transport on flood tides, whereas during autumn we attributed increased spring tide flood velocity magnitude leading to local resuspension. A quadrant analysis similar to that employed in turbulence studies was developed to summarize flux time series by quantifying the relative importance of sediment transport events. These events are categorized by the direction of velocity (flood vs. ebb) and the magnitude of concentration relative to tidally averaged conditions (relatively turbid vs. relatively clear). During wet periods, suspended-sediment flux was greatest in magnitude during relatively turbid ebbs, whereas during dry periods it was greatest in magnitude during relatively turbid floods. A conceptual model was developed to generalize seasonal differences in suspended-sediment dynamics; model application to this study demonstrated the importance of few, relatively large events on net suspended-sediment flux. These results suggest that other estuarine tributaries may alternate seasonally as sediment sinks or sources, leading to the conclusion that calculations of estuary sediment supply from local tributaries that do not account for tidal reaches may be overestimates.

A Model-Based Study of Ecohydrological Controls in the Mojave Desert

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ng, G. C.; Bedford, D.; Miller, D. M.

2010-12-01

Desert ecosystems represent extreme conditions near the limits of viability for vegetation. Their dependence on scarce resources make them vulnerable to climate and land use change. Understanding how ecohydrological conditions impact plants in such regions is critical for ecological sustainability. Various relationships have been observed in the field between vegetation growth and meteorology, terrain, and plant physiology. Quantifying the complex interactions of those influences on vegetation dynamics can be facilitated with a physically-based ecohydrological model. To assess ecohydrological controls in the Mojave Desert, we employ the CLM4.0 land-surface model with the Carbon-Nitrogen model component to simulate vegetation dynamics [Olesen et al., 2010]. Using an ecohydrological model with fully prognostic vegetation variables is essential for representing the coupled dynamics between plants and soil moisture. We apply the CLM4.0-CN model to a study basin in the Mojave National Preserve that covers a variety of conditions. Soils range from coarse-textured wash sediments to low-permeability desert pavements. Higher elevations in the basin experience cooler and moister conditions than the lower wash areas. The dominant vegetation types in the basin include the evergreen shrub Larrea tridentata (creosote) and the drought-deciduous shrub Ambrosia dumosa. Simulations are conducted over a 50 year period to investigate both seasonal and interannual dynamics. Sensitivity tests indicate that high temporal resolution rainfall inputs (at least hourly) are important for properly resolving ecohydrological dynamics at the study site. As expected, preliminary results show that both coarser soils and milder climate facilitate vegetation growth in this moisture-limited region. However, results indicate that effects of soil texture variations become subordinate with milder climate. The model also reveals how drought-deciduous and evergreen shrub types respond differently to various conditions. Due to its quick response to sporadic wet episodes, the drought-deciduous Ambrosia thrives under harsher (hotter and drier) climates in simulations. The evergreen Larrea shrub becomes more competitive with more consistent moisture of the relatively milder climates in the basin. Multi-decadal simulations indicate that anomalously wet years can yield a sustained boost in vegetation in following years, especially for Larrea. These model results coincide with many observed vegetation patterns in the field, and they serve to elucidate and quantify the contributing factors that impact desert vegetation.

Association of spring-summer hydrology and meteorology with human West Nile virus infection in West Texas, USA, 2002-2016.

PubMed

Ukawuba, Israel; Shaman, Jeffrey

2018-04-04

The emergence of West Nile virus (WNV) in the Western Hemisphere has motivated research into the processes contributing to the incidence and persistence of the disease in the region. Meteorology and hydrology are fundamental determinants of vector-borne disease transmission dynamics of a region. The availability of water influences the population dynamics of vector and host, while temperature impacts vector growth rates, feeding habits, and disease transmission potential. Characterization of the temporal pattern of environmental factors influencing WNV risk is crucial to broaden our understanding of local transmission dynamics and to inform efforts of control and surveillance. We used hydrologic, meteorological and WNV data from west Texas (2002-2016) to analyze the relationship between environmental conditions and annual human WNV infection. A Bayesian model averaging framework was used to evaluate the association of monthly environmental conditions with WNV infection. Findings indicate that wet conditions in the spring combined with dry and cool conditions in the summer are associated with increased annual WNV cases. Bayesian multi-model inference reveals monthly means of soil moisture, specific humidity and temperature to be the most important variables among predictors tested. Environmental conditions in March, June, July and August were the leading predictors in the best-fitting models. The results significantly link soil moisture and temperature in the spring and summer to WNV transmission risk. Wet spring in association with dry and cool summer was the temporal pattern best-describing WNV, regardless of year. Our findings also highlight that soil moisture may be a stronger predictor of annual WNV transmission than rainfall.

Characteristics of organic soil in black spruce forests: Implications for the application of land surface and ecosystem models in cold regions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Yi, S.; Manies, K.; Harden, J.; McGuire, A.D.

2009-01-01

Soil organic layers (OL) play an important role in landatmosphere exchanges of water, energy and carbon in cold environments. The proper implementation of OL in land surface and ecosystem models is important for predicting dynamic responses to climate warming. Based on the analysis of OL samples of black spruce (Picea mariana), we recommend that implementation of OL for cold regions modeling: (1) use three general organic horizon types (live, fibrous, and amorphous) to represent vertical soil heterogeneity; (2) implement dynamics of OL over the course of disturbance, as there are significant differences of OL thickness between young and mature stands; and (3) use two broad drainage classes to characterize spatial heterogeneity, as there are significant differences in OL thickness between dry and wet sites. Implementation of these suggestions into models has the potential to substantially improve how OL dynamics influence variability in surface temperature and soil moisture in cold regions. Copyright 2009 by the American Geophys.ical Union.

Model-based screening for critical wet-weather discharges related to micropollutants from urban areas.

PubMed

Mutzner, Lena; Staufer, Philipp; Ort, Christoph

2016-11-01

Wet-weather discharges contribute to anthropogenic micropollutant loads entering the aquatic environment. Thousands of wet-weather discharges exist in Swiss sewer systems, and we do not have the capacity to monitor them all. We consequently propose a model-based approach designed to identify critical discharge points in order to support effective monitoring. We applied a dynamic substance flow model to four substances representing different entry routes: indoor (Triclosan, Mecoprop, Copper) as well as rainfall-mobilized (Glyphosate, Mecoprop, Copper) inputs. The accumulation on different urban land-use surfaces in dry weather and subsequent substance-specific wash-off is taken into account. For evaluation, we use a conservative screening approach to detect critical discharge points. This approach considers only local dilution generated onsite from natural, unpolluted areas, i.e. excluding upstream dilution. Despite our conservative assumptions, we find that the environmental quality standards for Glyphosate and Mecoprop are not exceeded during any 10-min time interval over a representative one-year simulation period for all 2500 Swiss municipalities. In contrast, the environmental quality standard is exceeded during at least 20% of the discharge time at 83% of all modelled discharge points for Copper and at 71% for Triclosan. For Copper, this corresponds to a total median duration of approximately 19 days per year. For Triclosan, discharged only via combined sewer overflows, this means a median duration of approximately 10 days per year. In general, stormwater outlets contribute more to the calculated effect than combined sewer overflows for rainfall-mobilized substances. We further evaluate the Urban Index (A urban,impervious /A natural ) as a proxy for critical discharge points: catchments where Triclosan and Copper exceed the corresponding environmental quality standard often have an Urban Index >0.03. A dynamic substance flow analysis allows us to identify the most critical discharge points to be prioritized for more detailed analyses and monitoring. This forms a basis for the efficient mitigation of pollution. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of large-scale circulation changes in the North Atlantic sector on the current and future Mediterranean winter hydroclimate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barcikowska, Monika J.; Kapnick, Sarah B.; Feser, Frauke

2018-03-01

The Mediterranean region, located in the transition zone between the dry subtropical and wet European mid-latitude climate, is very sensitive to changes in the global mean climate state. Projecting future changes of the Mediterranean hydroclimate under global warming therefore requires dynamic climate models to reproduce the main mechanisms controlling regional hydroclimate with sufficiently high resolution to realistically simulate climate extremes. To assess future winter precipitation changes in the Mediterranean region we use the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory high-resolution general circulation model for control simulations with pre-industrial greenhouse gas and aerosol concentrations which are compared to future scenario simulations. Here we show that the coupled model is able to reliably simulate the large-scale winter circulation, including the North Atlantic Oscillation and Eastern Atlantic patterns of variability, and its associated impacts on the mean Mediterranean hydroclimate. The model also realistically reproduces the regional features of daily heavy rainfall, which are absent in lower-resolution simulations. A five-member future projection ensemble, which assumes comparatively high greenhouse gas emissions (RCP8.5) until 2100, indicates a strong winter decline in Mediterranean precipitation for the coming decades. Consistent with dynamical and thermodynamical consequences of a warming atmosphere, derived changes feature a distinct bipolar behavior, i.e. wetting in the north—and drying in the south. Changes are most pronounced over the northwest African coast, where the projected winter precipitation decline reaches 40% of present values. Despite a decrease in mean precipitation, heavy rainfall indices show drastic increases across most of the Mediterranean, except the North African coast, which is under the strong influence of the cold Canary Current.

Static and dynamic wetting behaviour of ionic liquids.

PubMed

Delcheva, Iliana; Ralston, John; Beattie, David A; Krasowska, Marta

2015-08-01

Ionic liquids (ILs) are a unique family of molecular liquids ('molten salts') that consist of a combination of bulky organic cations coupled to inorganic or organic anions. The net result of steric hindrance and strong hydrogen bonding between components results in a material that is liquid at room temperature. One can alter the properties of ionic liquids through chemical modification of anion and cation, thus tailoring the IL for a given application. One such property that can be controlled or selected is the wettability of an IL on a particular solid substrate. However, the study of wetting of ionic liquids is complicated by the care required for accurate and reproducible measurement, due to both the susceptibility of the IL properties to water content, as well as to the sensitivity of wettability measurements to the state of the solid surface. This review deals with wetting studies of ILs to date, including both static and dynamic wetting, as well as issues concerning line tension and the formation of precursor and wetting films. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Erosion of a wet/dry granular interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jop, Pierre; Lefebvre, Gautier

2013-04-01

To model the dynamic of landslides, the evolution of the interface between the erodible ground and the flowing material is still studied experimentally or numerically (ie. Mangeney et al. 2010, Iverson 2012). In some cases, the basal material is more cohesive than the flowing one. Such situation arises for example due to cementation or humidity. What are the exchange rates between these phases? What is the coupling between the evolution of the interface and the flow? We studied the erosion phenomenon and performed laboratory experiments to focus on the interaction between a cohesive unsaturated granular material and a dry granular flow. Both materials were spherical grains, the cohesion being induced by adding a given mass of liquid to the grains. Two configurations were explored: a circular aggregate submitted to a dry flow in a rotating drum, and a granular flow eroding a wet granular pile. First, we focused on the influence of the cohesion, controlled by the liquid properties, such as the surface tension and the viscosity. Then the flow characteristics were modified by varying the grain size and density. These results allowed us to present a model for the erosion mechanisms, based on the flow and fluid properties. The main results are the need to take into account the whole probability distribution the stress applied on the wet grains and that both the surface tension and the viscosity are important since they play a different roles. The latter is mainly responsible of the time scale of the dynamic of a wet grain, while the former acts as a threshold on the force distribution. In the second configuration, we could also control the inclination of the slope. This system supported the previous model and moreover revealed an interface instability, leading the formation of steep steps, which is a reminiscence of the cyclic-steps observed during river-channel incision (Parker and Izumi 2000). We will present the dynamics of such granular steps. [1] Mangeney, A., O. Roche, O. Hungr, N. Mangold, G. Faccanoni, and A. Lucas (2010), Erosion and mobility in granular collapse over sloping beds, J. Geophys. Res., 115, F03040, doi:10.1029/2009JF001462. [2] Iverson, R. M. (2012), Elementary theory of bed-sediment entrainment by debris flows and avalanches, J. Geophys. Res., 117, F03006, doi:10.1029/2011JF002189. [3] Parker G.and Izumi N., Purely erosional cyclic and solitary steps created by flow over a cohesive bed, J. Fluid Mech. (2000), vol. 419, pp. 203-238.

Capillary rise in a textured channel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beilharz, Daniel; Clanet, Christophe; Quere, David

2016-11-01

A wetting liquid can invade a textured material, for example a forest of micropillars. The driving and the viscous forces of this motion are determined by the texture parameters and the influence of shape, height and spacing of posts has been widely studied for the last decade. In this work, we build a channel with textured walls. Brought into contact with a reservoir of wetting liquid, we observe in some cases two advancing fronts. A first one ahead invading the forest of micropillars, and a second one behind filling the remaining gap. We study and model the conditions of existence and the dynamics of these two fronts as a function of the characteristics of both microstructure and gap of this elementary porous medium.

Dynamic Pattern Formation in Electron-Beam-Induced Etching [Emergent formation of dynamic topographic patterns in electron beam induced etching

DOE PAGES

Martin, Aiden A.; Bahm, Alan; Bishop, James; ...

2015-12-15

Here, we report highly ordered topographic patterns that form on the surface of diamond, span multiple length scales, and have a symmetry controlled by the precursor gas species used in electron-beam-induced etching (EBIE). The pattern formation dynamics reveals an etch rate anisotropy and an electron energy transfer pathway that is overlooked by existing EBIE models. Therefore, we, modify established theory such that it explains our results and remains universally applicable to EBIE. Furthermore, the patterns can be exploited in controlled wetting, optical structuring, and other emerging applications that require nano- and microscale surface texturing of a wide band-gap material.

Velocity dependence of biphasic flow structuration: steady-state and oscillating flow effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tore Tallakstad, Ken; Jankov, Mihailo; Løvoll, Grunde; Toussaint, Renaud; Jørgen Mâløy, Knut; Grude Flekkøy, Eirik; Schmittbuhl, Jean; Schäfer, Gerhard; Méheust, Yves; Arendt Knudsen, Henning

2010-05-01

We study various types of biphasic flows in quasi-two-dimensional transparent porous models. These flows imply a viscous wetting fluid, and a lowly viscous one. The models are transparent, allowing the displacement process and structure to be monitored in space and time. Three different aspects will be presented: 1. In stationary biphasic flows, we study the relationship between the macroscopic pressure drop (related to relative permeability) and the average flow rate, and how this arises from the cluster size distribution of the lowly viscous fluid [1]. 2. In drainage situations, we study how the geometry of the invader can be explained, and how it gives rise to apparent dynamic capillary effects. We show how these can be explained by viscous effects on evolving geometries of invading fluid [2]. 3. We study the impact of oscillating pressure fields superimposed to a background flow over the flow regimes patterns [3]. Steady-State Two-Phase Flow in Porous Media: Statistics and Transport Properties. First, in stationary flow with a control of the flux of both fluids, we show how the pressure drop depends on the flow rate. We will show that the dynamics is dominated by the interplay between a viscous pressure field from the wetting fluid and bubble transport of a less viscous, nonwetting phase. In contrast with more studied displacement front systems, steady-state flow is in equilibrium, statistically speaking. The corresponding theoretical simplicity allows us to explain a data collapse in the cluster size distribution of lowly viscous fluid in the system, as well as the relation |?P|∞√Ca--. This allows to explain so called relative permeability effects by the morphological changes of the cluster size distribution. Influence of viscous fingering on dynamic saturation-pressure curves in porous media. Next, we study drainage in such models, and investigate the relationship between the pressure field and the morphology of the invading fluid. This allows to model the impact of the saturation changes in the system over the pressure difference between the wetting and non wetting phase. We show that the so-called dynamic effects referred in the hydrology literature of experimentally measured capillary pressure curves might be explained by the combined effect of capillary pressure along the invasion front of the gaseous phase and pressure changes caused by viscous effects. A detailed study of the structure optically followed shows that the geometry of the invader is self-similar with two different behaviors at small and large scales: the structure corresponds to the ones of invasion percolation models at small scales (capillary fingering structures with fractal dimension D=1.83), whereas at large scales, viscous pressure drops dominate over the capillary threshold variations, and the structures are self-similar fingering structures with a fractal dimension corresponding to Dielectric Breakdown Models (variants of the DLA model), with D ≠ƒ 1.5. The cross-over scale is set by the scale at which capillary fluctuations are of the order of the viscous pressure drops. This leads physically to the fact that cross-over scale between the two fingering dimensions, goes like the inverse of the capillary number. This study utilizes these geometrical characteristics of the viscous fingers forming in dynamic drainage, to obtain a meaningfull scaling law for the saturation-pressure curve at finite speed, i.e. the so-called dynamic capillary pressure relations. We thus show how the micromechanical interplay between viscous and capillary forces leads to some pattern formation, which results in a general form of dynamic capillary pressure relations. By combining these detailed informations on the displacement structure with global measures of pressure, saturation and controlling the capillary number Ca, a scaling relation relating pressure, saturation, system size and capillary number is developed. By applying this scaling relation, pressure-saturation curves for a wide range of capillary numbers can be collapsed. Effects of pressure oscillations on drainage in an elastic porous medium: The effects of seismic stimulation on the flow of two immiscible fluids in an elastic synthetic porous medium is experimentally investigated. A wetting fluid is slowly evacuated from the medium, while a pressure oscillation is applied on the injected non-wetting fluid. The amplitude and frequency of the pressure oscillations as well as the evacuation speed are kept constant throughout an experiment. The resulting morphology of the invading structure is found to be strongly dependent on the interplay between the amplitude and the frequency of the applied pressure oscillations and the elasticity of the porous medium. Different combinations of these properties yield morphologically similar structures, allowing a classification of structures that is found to depend on a proposed dimensionless number. [1] Tallakstad, K.T., H.A. Knudsen, T. Ramstad, G. Løvoll, K.J. Maløy, R. Toussaint and E.G. Flekkøy , Steady-state two-phase flow in porous media: statistics and transport properties, Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 074502 (2009). doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.074502 [2] Løvoll, G., M. Jankov, K.J. Maløy, R. Toussaint, J. Schmittbuhl, G. Schaefer and Y. Ḿ eheust, Influence of viscous fingering on dynamic saturation-pressure curves in porous media, submitted to Transport In Porous Media, (2010) [3] Jankov, M., G. Løvoll, H.A. Knudsen, K.J. Maløy, R. Planet, R. Toussaint and E.G. Flekkøy; Effects of pressure oscillations on drainage in an elastic porous medium, Transport In Porous Media, in press (2010).

Mechanistic modelling of fluidized bed drying processes of wet porous granules: a review.

PubMed

Mortier, Séverine Thérèse F C; De Beer, Thomas; Gernaey, Krist V; Remon, Jean Paul; Vervaet, Chris; Nopens, Ingmar

2011-10-01

Fluidized bed dryers are frequently used in industrial applications and also in the pharmaceutical industry. The general incentives to develop mechanistic models for pharmaceutical processes are listed, and our vision on how this can particularly be done for fluidized bed drying processes of wet granules is given. This review provides a basis for future mechanistic model development for the drying process of wet granules in pharmaceutical processes. It is intended for a broad audience with a varying level of knowledge on pharmaceutical processes and mathematical modelling. Mathematical models are powerful tools to gain process insight and eventually develop well-controlled processes. The level of detail embedded in such a model depends on the goal of the model. Several models have therefore been proposed in the literature and are reviewed here. The drying behaviour of one single granule, a porous particle, can be described using the continuum approach, the pore network modelling method and the shrinkage of the diameter of the wet core approach. As several granules dry at a drying rate dependent on the gas temperature, gas velocity, porosity, etc., the moisture content of a batch of granules will reside in a certain interval. Population Balance Model (ling) (PBM) offers a tool to describe the distribution of particle properties which can be of interest for the application. PBM formulation and solution methods are therefore reviewed. In a fluidized bed, the granules show a fluidization pattern depending on the geometry of the gas inlet, the gas velocity, characteristics of the particles, the dryer design, etc. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) allows to model this behaviour. Moreover, turbulence can be modelled using several approaches: Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes Equations (RANS) or Large Eddy Simulation (LES). Another important aspect of CFD is the choice between the Eulerian-Lagrangian and the Eulerian-Eulerian approach. Finally, the PBM and CFD frameworks can be integrated, to describe the evolution of the moisture content of granules during fluidized bed drying. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

­Assessing the causes of 20th century wetting in the eastern United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bishop, D. A.; Williams, P.; Seager, R.; Fiore, A. M.; Cook, B.; Mankin, J. S.; Singh, D.; Smerdon, J. E.; Rao, M. P.

2017-12-01

During the 20th century, a large area of the eastern United States (US) experienced increases in precipitation and reduced warming, with seasonal cooling of daytime temperatures. These trends are in stark contrast with observed drying and warming globally, particularly with those in the western US. While the reduced temperature trends, termed the eastern US `warming hole,' are well documented and have been linked to reduced insolation from aerosols, evaporative cooling from increased precipitation, and natural climate variability, there is little research evaluating the timing, spatial extent, and physical origins of the historical eastern US precipitation trends. Here we investigate: (1) hydroclimate trends and variability across the continental US for 1895-2016 for all seasons, (2) mechanistic links between wetting and cooling trends in the Southeast US, and (3) dynamical links between wetting trends and large-scale atmospheric circulation changes. Our analyses of hydroclimatic trends indicate strong positive trends in fall precipitation in the Southeast and Northeast US, and positive trends in summer precipitation in the Northeast and Midwest US. The Southeast and Midwest wetting trends are coincident with negative trends in mean daily maximum temperatures (TMax), whereas the Northeast US wetting coincides with warming. Cross-wavelet analysis indicates low-frequency anti-phasing between summer precipitation and TMax, particularly in the Southeast US, but there is little coherence in the fall-season relationship. These results support a positive link between precipitation and evaporative cooling, as this mechanism is expected to be most focused in the boreal summer season. To investigate the shift to wetter conditions in the eastern US, we evaluate moisture transport across multiple reanalysis products, surface observations, and CMIP5 model runs. We find a step-shift toward enhanced southerly flow from the Gulf of Mexico into the Southeast and Midwest US that contributes to the observed wetting in the mid-20th century. Initial results indicate a fall-season westward intensification of the Bermuda High linked with southerly flow over the Southeast US. Further work will be needed to diagnose the dynamical drivers and possible role of anthropogenic forcing.

Combining surface reanalysis and remote sensing data for monitoring evapotranspiration

USGS Publications Warehouse

Marshall, M.; Tu, K.; Funk, C.; Michaelsen, J.; Williams, Pat; Williams, C.; Ardö, J.; Marie, B.; Cappelaere, B.; Grandcourt, A.; Nickless, A.; Noubellon, Y.; Scholes, R.; Kutsch, W.

2012-01-01

Climate change is expected to have the greatest impact on the world's poor. In the Sahel, a climatically sensitive region where rain-fed agriculture is the primary livelihood, expected decreases in water supply will increase food insecurity. Studies on climate change and the intensification of the water cycle in sub-Saharan Africa are few. This is due in part to poor calibration of modeled actual evapotranspiration (AET), a key input in continental-scale hydrologic models. In this study, a model driven by dynamic canopy AET was combined with the Global Land Data Assimilation System realization of the NOAH Land Surface Model (GNOAH) wet canopy and soil AET for monitoring purposes in sub-Saharan Africa. The performance of the hybrid model was compared against AET from the GNOAH model and dynamic model using eight eddy flux towers representing major biomes of sub-Saharan Africa. The greatest improvements in model performance are at humid sites with dense vegetation, while performance at semi-arid sites is poor, but better than individual models. The reduction in errors using the hybrid model can be attributed to the integration of a dynamic vegetation component with land surface model estimates, improved model parameterization, and reduction of multiplicative effects of uncertain data.

Investigation of the interaction between liquid and micro/nanostructured surfaces during condensation with quartz crystal microbalance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Junwei

Dropwise condensation (DWC) on hydrophobic surfaces is attracting attention for its great potential in many industrial applications, such as steam power plants, water desalination, and de-icing of aerodynamic surfaces, to list a few. The direct dynamic characterization of liquid/solid interaction can significantly accelerate the progress toward a full understanding of the thermal and mass transport mechanisms during DWC processes. The research focuses on the development of a novel acoustic-based technique for analyzing the liquid/solid interactions of different condensations on micro- and nanostructured surfaces including DWC. hi addition. the newly developed technology was demonstrated for quantitatively sensing different wetting states of liquid on rough surfaces. First, different micro/nanostructures were fabricated on the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), which serves as acoustic sensor. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) micropillars, with varying heights from 6.03 to 25.02 microm, were fabricated on a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) substrate by thermal nanoimprinting lithography to form pillar-based QCM (QCM-P). For nanostructured QCM. a copper layer was deposited on the QCM surface and then nanostructures of copper oxide (CuO) films were formed via chemical oxidation in an alkaline solution. Then, these surfaces were treated to make them superhydrophilic or superhydrophobic using oxygen plasma treatment or with coating of 1H,1 H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyl-trichlorosilane (PFOTS). Based on the geometry of these micro/nanostructures, the relationship between the frequency responses of QCM and the wetting states of these surfaces was theoretically investigated. Different theoretical models were established to describing the frequency shift of the micro- and nanostructured QCM in different wetting states. For the microstructured surface, the cantilever based model and a two-degree-of-freedom dynamic model were applied to predict the frequency shift of the QCM-P in different wetting states, by taking advantage of the well-defined micropillar structures. For the nanostructured surface, the gravimetric term was applied for the penetrated liquid as it moves synchronously with the oscillating crystal surface. It was revealed that the penetrated wetting state (Wenzel state) causes one order of magnitude higher frequency shift of the QCM than the suspended state (Cassie state) does. For the suspended state, the equivalent liquid mass on the tips of the roughness dominates the frequency shift signal instead of the damping. A nonlinear relationship appears between the frequency shift and micropillar height for both Cassie and Wenzel wetting states, due to the vibration phase veering at the "critical height". This implied that a significant improvement of sensitivity of QCM-P over traditional QCM occurred in the suspended state, as well as in the penetrated state. Besides, the suspended state provides a much higher quality factor than penetrated state. Using the insights gained from the experimental results and modeling results, the frequency shift of the QCM was normalized to reveal the wetting state directly. Then. the QCM device together with the microscopic observation was used to probe the droplets' growth and their coalescence processes. The normalized frequency shifts of QCM devices are clearly linked to the different condensation states at a global level, which cannot be characterized by other techniques such as E-SEM and TEM. The characterization of the trapped liquid in micro/nanostructures, which is very challenging for microscopic observation, can be easily carried out by this acoustic technique. These results quantitatively demonstrated the different condensation states. In addition, the transition between the Cassie and the Wenzel states was successfully captured by this method. The newly developed QCM system provides a valuable tool for the dynamic characterization of different condensation processes.

Dynamical and Thermodynamic Elements of Modeled Climate Change at the East African Margin of Convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giannini, Alessandra; Lyon, Bradfield; Seager, Richard; Vigaud, Nicolas

2018-01-01

We propose a dynamical interpretation of model projections for an end-of-century wetting in equatorial East Africa. In the current generation of global climate models, increased atmospheric moisture content associated with warming is not the dominant process explaining the increase in rainfall, as the regional circulation is only weakly convergent even during the rainy seasons. Instead, projected wetter future conditions are generally consistent with the El Niño-like trend in tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures in climate models. In addition, a weakening in moisture convergence over the adjacent Congo Basin and Maritime Continent cores of convection results in the weakening of near-surface winds, which increases moisture advection from the Congo Basin core toward the East African margin. Overall confidence in the projections is limited by the significant biases in simulation of the regional climatology and disagreement between observed and modeled tropical Pacific sea surface temperature trends to date.

Smart wearable Kevlar-based safeguarding electronic textile with excellent sensing performance.

PubMed

Wang, Sheng; Xuan, Shouhu; Liu, Mei; Bai, Linfeng; Zhang, Shuaishuai; Sang, Min; Jiang, Wanquan; Gong, Xinglong

2017-03-29

A novel S-ST/MWCNT/Kevlar-based wearable electronic textile (WET) with enhanced safeguarding performance and force sensing ability was fabricated. Stab resistance performance tests under quasi-static and dynamic conditions show that the maximum resistance force and penetration impact energy for the WET are 18 N and 11.76 J, which represent a 90% and 50% increment with respect to the neat Kevlar, respectively. Dynamic impact resistance tests show that the WET absorbs all the impact energy. The maximum resistance force of the WET is 1052 N, which represents an improvement of about 190% with respect to neat Kevlar. With the incorporation of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), the WET can achieve a stable electrical conductivity of ∼10 -2 S m -1 , and the conductivity is highly sensitive to external mechanic forces. Notably, the sensing fabric also exhibits an outstanding ability to detect and analyze external forces. In addition, it can be fixed at any position of the human body and exhibits an ideal monitoring performance. Because of its flexibility, high sensitivity to various types of deformations and excellent safeguarding performance, the WET has a strong potential for wearable monitoring devices that simultaneously provide body protection and monitor the movements of the human body under various conditions.

Avoided critical behavior in dynamically forced wetting.

PubMed

Snoeijer, Jacco H; Delon, Giles; Fermigier, Marc; Andreotti, Bruno

2006-05-05

A solid object can be coated by a nonwetting liquid since a receding contact line cannot exceed a critical speed. In this Letter we study the dynamical wetting transition at which a liquid film gets deposited by withdrawing a vertical plate out of a liquid reservoir. It has recently been predicted that this wetting transition is critical with diverging time scales and coincides with the disappearance of stationary menisci. We demonstrate experimentally and theoretically that the transition is due to the formation of a solitary wave, well below the critical point. As a consequence, relaxation times remain finite at threshold. The structure of the liquid deposited on the plate involves a capillary ridge that does not trivially match the Landau-Levich film.

Molecular Dynamic Simulation of Water Vapor and Determination of Diffusion Characteristics in the Pore

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikonov, Eduard G.; Pavluš, Miron; Popovičová, Mária

2018-02-01

One of the varieties of pores, often found in natural or artificial building materials, are the so-called blind pores of dead-end or saccate type. Three-dimensional model of such kind of pore has been developed in this work. This model has been used for simulation of water vapor interaction with individual pore by molecular dynamics in combination with the diffusion equation method. Special investigations have been done to find dependencies between thermostats implementations and conservation of thermodynamic and statistical values of water vapor - pore system. The two types of evolution of water - pore system have been investigated: drying and wetting of the pore. Full research of diffusion coefficient, diffusion velocity and other diffusion parameters has been made.

Statistical Techniques Complement UML When Developing Domain Models of Complex Dynamical Biosystems.

PubMed

Williams, Richard A; Timmis, Jon; Qwarnstrom, Eva E

2016-01-01

Computational modelling and simulation is increasingly being used to complement traditional wet-lab techniques when investigating the mechanistic behaviours of complex biological systems. In order to ensure computational models are fit for purpose, it is essential that the abstracted view of biology captured in the computational model, is clearly and unambiguously defined within a conceptual model of the biological domain (a domain model), that acts to accurately represent the biological system and to document the functional requirements for the resultant computational model. We present a domain model of the IL-1 stimulated NF-κB signalling pathway, which unambiguously defines the spatial, temporal and stochastic requirements for our future computational model. Through the development of this model, we observe that, in isolation, UML is not sufficient for the purpose of creating a domain model, and that a number of descriptive and multivariate statistical techniques provide complementary perspectives, in particular when modelling the heterogeneity of dynamics at the single-cell level. We believe this approach of using UML to define the structure and interactions within a complex system, along with statistics to define the stochastic and dynamic nature of complex systems, is crucial for ensuring that conceptual models of complex dynamical biosystems, which are developed using UML, are fit for purpose, and unambiguously define the functional requirements for the resultant computational model.

Statistical Techniques Complement UML When Developing Domain Models of Complex Dynamical Biosystems

PubMed Central

Timmis, Jon; Qwarnstrom, Eva E.

2016-01-01

Computational modelling and simulation is increasingly being used to complement traditional wet-lab techniques when investigating the mechanistic behaviours of complex biological systems. In order to ensure computational models are fit for purpose, it is essential that the abstracted view of biology captured in the computational model, is clearly and unambiguously defined within a conceptual model of the biological domain (a domain model), that acts to accurately represent the biological system and to document the functional requirements for the resultant computational model. We present a domain model of the IL-1 stimulated NF-κB signalling pathway, which unambiguously defines the spatial, temporal and stochastic requirements for our future computational model. Through the development of this model, we observe that, in isolation, UML is not sufficient for the purpose of creating a domain model, and that a number of descriptive and multivariate statistical techniques provide complementary perspectives, in particular when modelling the heterogeneity of dynamics at the single-cell level. We believe this approach of using UML to define the structure and interactions within a complex system, along with statistics to define the stochastic and dynamic nature of complex systems, is crucial for ensuring that conceptual models of complex dynamical biosystems, which are developed using UML, are fit for purpose, and unambiguously define the functional requirements for the resultant computational model. PMID:27571414

Simulating the Effects of Semivolatile Compounds on Cloud Processing of Aerosol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kokkola, H.; Kudzotsa, I.; Tonttila, J.; Raatikainen, T.; Romakkaniemi, S.

2017-12-01

Aerosol removal processes largely dictate how well aerosol is transported in the atmosphere and thus the aerosol load over remote regions depends on how effectively aerosol is removed during its transport from the source regions. This means that in order to model the global distribution aerosol, both in vertical and horizontal, wet deposition processes have to be properly modelled. However, in large scale models, the description of wet removal and the vertical redistribution of aerosol by cloud processes is often extremely simplified.Here we present a novel aerosol-cloud model SALSA, where the aerosol properties are tracked through different cloud processes. These processes include: cloud droplet activation, precipitation formation, ice nucleation, melting, and evaporation. It is a sectional model that includes separate size sections for non-activated aerosol, cloud droplets, precipitation droplets, and ice crystals. The aerosol-cloud model was coupled to a large eddy model UCLALES which simulates the boundary-layer dynamics. In this study, the model has been applied in studying the wet removal as well as interactions between aerosol, clouds, and semi-volatile compounds, ammonia and nitric acid. These semi-volative compounds are special in the sense that they co-condense together with water during cloud activation and have been suggested to form droplets that can be considered cloud-droplet-like already in subsaturated conditions. In our model, we calculate the kinetic partitioning of ammonia and sulfate thus explicitly taking into account the effect of ammonia and nitric acid in the cloud formation. Our simulations indicate that especially in polluted conditions, these compounds significantly affect the properties of cloud droplets thus significantly affecting the lifecycle of different aerosol compounds.

Computational Flow Modeling of Hydrodynamics in Multiphase Trickle-Bed Reactors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopes, Rodrigo J. G.; Quinta-Ferreira, Rosa M.

2008-05-01

This study aims to incorporate most recent multiphase models in order to investigate the hydrodynamic behavior of a TBR in terms of pressure drop and liquid holdup. Taking into account transport phenomena such as mass and heat transfer, an Eulerian k-fluid model was developed resulting from the volume averaging of the continuity and momentum equations and solved for a 3D representation of the catalytic bed. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model predicts hydrodynamic parameters quite well if good closures for fluid/fluid and fluid/particle interactions are incorporated in the multiphase model. Moreover, catalytic performance is investigated with the catalytic wet oxidation of a phenolic pollutant.

The influence of initial and surface boundary conditions on a model-generated January climatology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, K. F.; Spar, J.

1981-01-01

The influence on a model-generated January climate of various surface boundary conditions, as well as initial conditions, was studied by using the GISS coarse-mesh climate model. Four experiments - two with water planets, one with flat continents, and one with mountains - were used to investigate the effects of initial conditions, and the thermal and dynamical effects of the surface on the model generated-climate. However, climatological mean zonal-symmetric sea surface temperature is used in all four runs over the model oceans. Moreover, zero ground wetness and uniform ground albedo except for snow are used in the last experiments.

Closing the scale gap between land surface parameterizations and GCMs with a new scheme, SiB3-Bins: SOIL MOISTURE SCALE GAP

DOE PAGES

Baker, I. T.; Sellers, P. J.; Denning, A. S.; ...

2017-03-01

The interaction of land with the atmosphere is sensitive to soil moisture (W). Evapotranspiration (ET) reacts to soil moisture in a nonlinear way, f(W), as soils dry from saturation to wilt point. This nonlinear behavior and the fact that soil moisture varies on scales as small as 1–10 m in nature, while numerical general circulation models (GCMs) have grid cell sizes on the order of 1 to 100s of kilometers, makes the calculation of grid cell-average ET problematic. It is impractical to simulate the land in GCMs on the small scales seen in nature, so techniques have been developed tomore » represent subgrid scale heterogeneity, including: (1) statistical-dynamical representations of grid subelements of varying wetness, (2) relaxation of f(W), (3) moderating f(W) with approximations of catchment hydrology, (4) “tiling” the landscape into vegetation types, and (5) hyperresolution. Here we present an alternative method for representing subgrid variability in W, one proven in a conceptual framework where landscape-scale W is represented as a series of “Bins” of increasing wetness from dry to saturated. The grid cell-level f(W) is defined by the integral of the fractional area of the wetness bins and the value of f(W) associated with each. This approach accounts for the spatiotemporal dynamics of W. We implemented this approach in the SiB3 land surface parameterization and then evaluated its performance against a control, which assumes a horizontally uniform field of W. We demonstrate that the Bins method, with a physical basis, attenuates unrealistic jumps in model state and ET seen in the control runs.« less

Closing the scale gap between land surface parameterizations and GCMs with a new scheme, SiB3-Bins: SOIL MOISTURE SCALE GAP

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

Baker, I. T.; Sellers, P. J.; Denning, A. S.

The interaction of land with the atmosphere is sensitive to soil moisture (W). Evapotranspiration (ET) reacts to soil moisture in a nonlinear way, f(W), as soils dry from saturation to wilt point. This nonlinear behavior and the fact that soil moisture varies on scales as small as 1–10 m in nature, while numerical general circulation models (GCMs) have grid cell sizes on the order of 1 to 100s of kilometers, makes the calculation of grid cell-average ET problematic. It is impractical to simulate the land in GCMs on the small scales seen in nature, so techniques have been developed tomore » represent subgrid scale heterogeneity, including: (1) statistical-dynamical representations of grid subelements of varying wetness, (2) relaxation of f(W), (3) moderating f(W) with approximations of catchment hydrology, (4) “tiling” the landscape into vegetation types, and (5) hyperresolution. Here we present an alternative method for representing subgrid variability in W, one proven in a conceptual framework where landscape-scale W is represented as a series of “Bins” of increasing wetness from dry to saturated. The grid cell-level f(W) is defined by the integral of the fractional area of the wetness bins and the value of f(W) associated with each. This approach accounts for the spatiotemporal dynamics of W. We implemented this approach in the SiB3 land surface parameterization and then evaluated its performance against a control, which assumes a horizontally uniform field of W. We demonstrate that the Bins method, with a physical basis, attenuates unrealistic jumps in model state and ET seen in the control runs.« less

Visual analysis of immiscible displacement processes in porous media under ultrasound effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naderi, Khosrow; Babadagli, Tayfun

2011-05-01

The effect of sonic waves, in particular, ultrasonic radiation, on immiscible displacement in porous media and enhanced oil recovery has been of interest for more than five decades. Attempts were made to investigate the effect through core scale experimental or theoretical models. Visual experiments are useful to scrutinize the reason for improved oil recovery under acoustic waves of different frequency but are not abundant in literature. In this paper, we report observations and analyses as to the effects of ultrasonic energy on immiscible displacement and interaction of the fluid matrix visually in porous media through two-dimensional (2D) sand pack experiments. 2D glass bead models with different wettabilities were saturated with different viscosity oils and water was injected into the models. The experiments were conducted with and without ultrasound. Dynamic water injection experiments were preferred as they had both viscous and capillary forces in effect. The displacement patterns were evaluated both in terms of their shape, size, and the interface characteristics quantitatively and qualitatively to account for the effects of ultrasonic waves on the displacement and the reason for increased oil production under this type of sonic wave. More compact clusters were observed when ultrasonic energy was present in water-wet systems. In the oil-wet cases, more oil was produced after breakthrough when ultrasound was applied and no compact clusters were formed in contrast to the water-wet cases.

Dynamics of liquid spreading on solid surfaces

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

Kalliadasis, S.; Chang, H.C.

1996-09-01

Using simple scaling arguments and a precursor film model, the authors show that the appropriate macroscopic contact angle {theta} during the slow spreading of a completely or partially wetting liquid under conditions of viscous flow and small slopes should be described by tan {theta} = [tan{sup 3} {theta}{sub e} {minus} 9 log {eta}Ca]{sup 1/3} where {theta}{sub e} is the static contact angle, Ca is the capillary number, and {eta} is a scaled Hamaker constant. Using this simple relation as a boundary condition, the authors are able to quantitatively model, without any empirical parameter, the spreading dynamics of several classical spreadingmore » phenomena (capillary rise, sessile, and pendant drop spreading) by simply equating the slope of the leading order static bulk region to the dynamic contact angle boundary condition without performing a matched asymptotic analysis for each case independently as is usually done in the literature.« less

Mantle plumes - A boundary layer approach for Newtonian and non-Newtonian temperature-dependent rheologies. [modeling for island chains and oceanic aseismic ridges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yuen, D. A.; Schubert, G.

1976-01-01

Stress is placed on the temperature dependence of both a linear Newtonian rheology and a nonlinear olivine rheology in accounting for narrow mantle flow structures. The boundary-layer theory developed incorporates an arbitrary temperature-dependent power-law rheology for the medium, in order to facilitate the study of mantle plume dynamics under real conditions. Thermal, kinematic, and dynamic structures of mantle plumes are modelled by a two-dimensional natural-convection boundary layer rising in a fluid with a temperature-dependent power-law relationship between shear stress and strain rate. An analytic similarity solution is arrived at for upwelling adjacent to a vertical isothermal stress-free plane. Newtonian creep as a deformation mechanism, thermal anomalies resulting from chemical heterogeneity, the behavior of plumes in non-Newtonian (olivine) mantles, and differences in the dynamics of wet and dry olivine are discussed.

Hemolymph drop impact outcomes on surfaces with varying wettability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milionis, Athanasios; Ghokulla Krishnan, K.; Loth, Eric

2015-08-01

Insect fouling from coagulated hemolymph and exoskeleton parts is a major challenge in the aerospace industry for the next generation of aerodynamic surfaces, which will employ laminar flow that requires extremely smooth surfaces. However, the wetting physics and dynamics of hemolymph (insect blood) on surfaces are not well understood. The present study seeks to gain a fundamental insight on the effect of surface wetting characteristics and dynamics resulting from a hemolymph drop impact, the first such study. In particular, hemolymph drops extracted from Acheta domesticus were dispensed from a range of heights to vary the kinetic impact on surfaces, which had widely varying water wetting behavior (from superhydrophilic to superhydrophobic). The impact dynamics were investigated with high-speed imaging while the dried residues were studied with optical microscopy. It was found that a superhydrophobic surface (based on thermoplastic with silica nano-particles) was able to significantly reduce hemolymph drop spreading, and even provide complete rebound when impacting on inclined surfaces.

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

The dynamics and shapes of a viscous sheet spreading on a moving liquid bath

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sebilleau, J.; Lebon, L.; Limat, L.; Quartier, L.; Receveur, M.

2010-10-01

We investigate the shape and dynamics of a floating viscous sheet formed by a jet falling on a static or moving bath under partial wetting conditions. For a static bath, the viscous sheet has a circular shape and spreads with a uniform thickness that is surprisingly larger than the static Langmuir equilibrium thickness. This thickening effect seems to be linked to a peculiarity of the oil used for the bath, which is in situation of total wetting on the sheet surface, and climbs the sheet a bit like a macroscopic "precursor film" that increases dissipation at the sheet perimeter. For a moving bath, the viscous sheet evolves from an ellipse to a ribbon, a transient remarkable pear shape being observed between these two states. A simple kinematic model of advection of the spreading sheet by the bath predicts very well the characteristics of the ribbon regime. Convected sheets whose shape is reminiscent of pendant drops in 2D are also observed at higher bath velocity, with interesting pinch off phenomena.

Evaluating WRF-Chem aerosol indirect effects in Southeast Pacific marine stratocumulus during VOCALS-REx

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

Saide, Pablo; Spak, S. N.; Carmichael, Gregory

2012-03-30

We evaluate a regional-scale simulation with the WRF-Chem model for the VAMOS (Variability of the American Monsoon Systems) Ocean-Cloud-Atmosphere-Land Study Regional Experiment (VOCALS-REx), which sampled the Southeast Pacific's persistent stratocumulus deck. Evaluation of VOCALS-REx ship-based and aircraft observations focuses on analyzing how aerosol loading affects marine boundary layer (MBL) dynamics and cloud microphysics. We compare local time series and campaign averaged longitudinal gradients, and highlight differences in model simulations with (W) and without wet (NW) deposition processes. The higher aerosol loadings in the NW case produce considerable changes in MBL dynamics and cloud microphysics, in accordance with the established conceptualmore » model of aerosol indirect effects. These include increase in cloud albedo, increase in MBL and cloud heights, drizzle suppression, increase in liquid water content, and increase in cloud lifetime. Moreover, better statistical representation of aerosol mass and number concentration improves model fidelity in reproducing observed spatial and temporal variability in cloud properties, including top and base height, droplet concentration, water content, rain rate, optical depth (COD) and liquid water path (LWP). Together, these help to quantify confidence in WRF-Chem's modeled aerosol-cloud interactions, while identifying structural and parametric uncertainties including: irreversibility in rain wet removal; overestimation of marine DMS and sea salt emissions and accelerated aqueous sulfate conversion. Our findings suggest that WRF-Chem simulates marine cloud-aerosol interactions at a level sufficient for applications in forecasting weather and air quality and studying aerosol climate forcing, including the reliability required for policy analysis and geo-engineering applications.« less

An advanced arc track resistant airframe wire

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beatty, J.

1995-01-01

Tensolite, a custom cable manufacturer specializing in high temperature materials as the dielectric medium, develops an advance arc track resistant airframe wire called Tufflite 2000. Tufflite 2000 has the following advantages over the other traditional wires: lighter weight and smaller in diameter; excellent wet and dry arc track resistance; superior dynamic cut-through performance even at elevated temperatures; flight proven performance on Boeing 737 and 757 airplanes; and true 260 C performance by utilizing Nickel plated copper conductors. This paper reports the different tests performed on Tufflite 2000: accelerated aging, arc resistance (wet and dry), dynamic cut through, humidity resistance, wire-to-wire abrasion, flammability, smoke, weight, notch sensitivity, flexibility, and markability. It particularly focuses on the BSI (British Standards Institute) dry arc resistance test and BSI wet arc tracking.

Cohesion-Induced Stabilization in Stick-Slip Dynamics of Weakly Wet, Sheared Granular Fault Gouge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dorostkar, Omid; Guyer, Robert A.; Johnson, Paul A.; Marone, Chris; Carmeliet, Jan

2018-03-01

We use three-dimensional discrete element calculations to study stick-slip dynamics in a weakly wet granular layer designed to simulate fault gouge. The granular gouge is constituted by 8,000 spherical particles with a polydisperse size distribution. At very low liquid content, liquids impose cohesive and viscous forces on particles. Our simulations show that by increasing the liquid content, friction increases and granular layer shows higher recurrence time between slip events. We also observe that slip events exhibit larger friction drop and layer compaction in wet system compared to dry. We demonstrate that a small volume of liquid induces cohesive forces between wet particles that are responsible for an increase in coordination number leading to a more stable arrangement of particles. This stabilization is evidenced with 2 orders of magnitude lower particle kinetic energy in wet system during stick phase. Similar to previous experimental studies, we observe enhanced frictional strength for wet granular layers. In experiments, the physicochemical processes are believed to be the main reason for such behavior; we show, however, that at low confining stresses, the hydromechanical effects of induced cohesion are sufficient for observed behavior. Our simulations illuminate the role of particle interactions and demonstrate the conditions under which induced cohesion plays a significant role in fault zone processes, including slip initiation, weakening, and failure.

Extinction debt from climate change for frogs in the wet tropics

PubMed Central

Brook, Barry W.; Hoskin, Conrad J.; Pressey, Robert L.; VanDerWal, Jeremy; Williams, Stephen E.

2016-01-01

The effect of twenty-first-century climate change on biodiversity is commonly forecast based on modelled shifts in species ranges, linked to habitat suitability. These projections have been coupled with species–area relationships (SAR) to infer extinction rates indirectly as a result of the loss of climatically suitable areas and associated habitat. This approach does not model population dynamics explicitly, and so accepts that extinctions might occur after substantial (but unknown) delays—an extinction debt. Here we explicitly couple bioclimatic envelope models of climate and habitat suitability with generic life-history models for 24 species of frogs found in the Australian Wet Tropics (AWT). We show that (i) as many as four species of frogs face imminent extinction by 2080, due primarily to climate change; (ii) three frogs face delayed extinctions; and (iii) this extinction debt will take at least a century to be realized in full. Furthermore, we find congruence between forecast rates of extinction using SARs, and demographic models with an extinction lag of 120 years. We conclude that SAR approaches can provide useful advice to conservation on climate change impacts, provided there is a good understanding of the time lags over which delayed extinctions are likely to occur. PMID:27729484

Seasonal dynamics of snail populations in coastal Kenya: Model calibration and snail control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurarie, D.; King, C. H.; Yoon, N.; Wang, X.; Alsallaq, R.

2017-10-01

A proper snail population model is important for accurately predicting Schistosoma transmission. Field data shows that the overall snail population and that of shedding snails have a strong pattern of seasonal variation. Because human hosts are infected by the cercariae released from shedding snails, the abundance of the snail population sets ultimate limits on human infection. For developing a predictive dynamic model of schistosome infection and control strategies we need realistic snail population dynamics. Here we propose two such models based on underlying environmental factors and snail population biology. The models consist of two-stage (young-adult) populations with resource-dependent reproduction, survival, maturation. The key input in the system is seasonal rainfall which creates snail habitats and resources (small vegetation). The models were tested, calibrated and validated using dataset collected in Msambweni (coastal Kenya). Seasonal rainfall in Msambweni is highly variable with intermittent wet - dry seasons. Typical snail patterns follow precipitation peaks with 2-4-month time-lag. Our models are able to reproduce such seasonal variability over extended period of time (3-year study). We applied them to explore the optimal seasonal timing for implementing snail control.

How Does Dung Beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) Diversity Vary Along a Rainy Season in a Tropical Dry Forest?

PubMed

Novais, Samuel M A; Evangelista, Lucas A; Reis-Júnior, Ronaldo; Neves, Frederico S

2016-01-01

Dung beetle community dynamics are determined by regional rainfall patterns. However, little is known about the temporal dynamics of these communities in tropical dry forests (TDFs). This study was designed to test the following predictions: 1) Peak diversity of dung beetle species occurs early in the wet season, with a decrease in diversity (α and β) and abundance throughout the season; 2) Nestedness is the primary process determining β-diversity, with species sampled in the middle and the end of the wet season representing subsets of the early wet season community. Dung beetles were collected in a TDF in the northern Minas Gerais state, Brazil over three sampling events (December 2009, February and April 2010). We sampled 2,018 dung beetles belonging to 39 species and distributed among 15 genera. Scarabaeinae α-diversity and abundance were highest in December and equivalent between February and April, while β-diversity among plots increased along the wet season. The importance of nestedness and species turnover varies between pairs of sample periods as the main process of temporal β-diversity. Most species collected in the middle and end of the wet season were found in greater abundance in early wet season. Thus, the dung beetle community becomes more homogeneous at the beginning of the wet season, and as the season advances, higher resource scarcity limits population size, which likely results in a smaller foraging range, increasing β-diversity. Our results demonstrate high synchronism between the dung beetle life cycle and seasonality of environmental conditions throughout the wet season in a TDF, where the onset of rains determines adult emergence for most species. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.

Water and Nutrient Balances in a Large Tile-Drained Agricultural Catchment: A Distributed Modeling Study

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

Li, Hongyi; Sivapalan, Murugesu; Tian, Fuqiang

This paper presents the development and implementation of a distributed model of coupled water nutrient processes, based on the representative elementary watershed (REW) approach, to the Upper Sangamon River Basin, a large, tile-drained agricultural basin located in central Illinois, mid-west of USA. Comparison of model predictions with the observed hydrological and biogeochemical data, as well as regional estimates from literature studies, shows that the model is capable of capturing the dynamics of water, sediment and nutrient cycles reasonably well. The model is then used as a tool to gain insights into the physical and chemical processes underlying the inter- andmore » intra-annual variability of water and nutrient balances. Model predictions show that about 80% of annual runoff is contributed by tile drainage, while the remainder comes from surface runoff (mainly saturation excess flow) and subsurface runoff. It is also found that, at the annual scale nitrogen storage in the soil is depleted during wet years, and is supplemented during dry years. This carryover of nitrogen storage from dry year to wet year is mainly caused by the lateral loading of nitrate. Phosphorus storage, on the other hand, is not affected much by wet/dry conditions simply because the leaching of it is very minor compared to the other mechanisms taking phosphorous out of the basin, such as crop harvest. The analysis then turned to the movement of nitrate with runoff. Model results suggested that nitrate loading from hillslope into the channel is preferentially carried by tile drainage. Once in the stream it is then subject to in-stream denitrification, the significant spatio-temporal variability of which can be related to the variation of the hydrologic and hydraulic conditions across the river network.« less

Measurements and simulation of liquid films during drainage displacements and snap-off in constricted capillary tubes.

PubMed

Roman, Sophie; Abu-Al-Saud, Moataz O; Tokunaga, Tetsu; Wan, Jiamin; Kovscek, Anthony R; Tchelepi, Hamdi A

2017-12-01

When a wetting liquid is displaced by air in a capillary tube, a wetting film develops between the tube wall and the air that is responsible for the snap-off mechanism of the gas phase. By dissolving a dye in the wetting phase it is possible to relate a measure of the absorbance in the capillary to the thickness of liquid films. These data could be used to compare with cutting edge numerical simulations of the dynamics of snap-off for which experimental and numerical data are lacking. Drainage experiments in constricted capillary tubes were performed where a dyed wetting liquid is displaced by air for varying flow rates. We developed an optical method to measure liquid film thicknesses that range from 3 to 1000μm. The optical measures are validated by comparison with both theory and direct numerical simulations. In a constricted capillary tube we observed, both experimentally and numerically, a phenomenon of snap-off coalescence events in the vicinity of the constriction that bring new insights into our understanding and modeling of two-phase flows. In addition, the good agreement between experiments and numerical simulations gives confidence to use the numerical method for more complex geometries in the future. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Vegetation dynamics of restored and remnant Willamette Valley, OR wet prairie wetlands

EPA Science Inventory

Wet prairie wetlands are now one of the rarest habitat types in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, USA. Less than two percent of their historic extent remains, with most having been converted into agricultural fields (Christy and Alverson 2011, ONHP 1983). This habitat is the obl...

Dynamic wetting of a liquid film in a vertical hydrophobic tube

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pigeonneau, Franck; Hayoun, Pascaline; Barthel, Etienne; Lequeux, Francois; Verneuil, Emilie; Letailleur, Alban; Teisseire, Jeremie; Saint-Gobain Recherche Collaboration; Espci-Physico-Chimie Des Polymeres Et Milieux Disperses Collaboration; Surface Du Verre Et Interfaces Collaboration

2016-11-01

The drop of a liquid plug through a tube occurs for instance in vending machine. In such a system, the fouling is linked to the creation of the liquid film at the rear of the liquid plug. Consequently, the conditions leading to the film creation are important to know. We study numerically the dynamic wetting transition of a liquid plug undergoing gravity on hydrophobic surface in a vertical tube. Using a lubrication theory, the liquid film thickness obeys the mass conservation equation with a volume flow rate depending on the relative motion of the tube, capillary and gravity forces. An ad hoc friction at the triple line is used to take into account the wetting dynamics. The lubrication equation is solved using a finite difference technique in space and a time integrator for stiff system with an adaptive time step. The numerical results are compared to experimental data. The complex film morphology due to the transients and the critical slowing down at the dynamic transition are reproduced. However, several experimental features are not predicted numerically especially the width of the transition. Our preliminary calculations suggest that the dispersion relation of the liquid film mode can explain the discrepancy.

40 CFR Table 3 to Subpart Ffff of... - Model Rule-Operating Limits for Incinerators and Wet Scrubbers

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Incinerators and Wet Scrubbers 3 Table 3 to Subpart FFFF of Part 60 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL...—Model Rule—Operating Limits for Incinerators and Wet Scrubbers As stated in § 60.3023, you must comply... units. a 2. Pressure drop across the wet scrubber or amperage to wet scrubber Minimum pressure drop or...

40 CFR Table 3 to Subpart Ffff of... - Model Rule-Operating Limits for Incinerators and Wet Scrubbers

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Incinerators and Wet Scrubbers 3 Table 3 to Subpart FFFF of Part 60 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL...—Model Rule—Operating Limits for Incinerators and Wet Scrubbers As stated in § 60.3023, you must comply... units. a 2. Pressure drop across the wet scrubber or amperage to wet scrubber Minimum pressure drop or...

Microscale hydrodynamics near moving contact lines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garoff, Stephen; Chen, Q.; Rame, Enrique; Willson, K. R.

1994-01-01

The hydrodynamics governing the fluid motions on a microscopic scale near moving contact lines are different from those governing motion far from the contact line. We explore these unique hydrodynamics by detailed measurement of the shape of a fluid meniscus very close to a moving contact line. The validity of present models of the hydrodynamics near moving contact lines as well as the dynamic wetting characteristics of a family of polymer liquids are discussed.

Axisymmetric Lattice Boltzmann Model of Droplet Impact on Solid Surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dalgamoni, Hussein; Yong, Xin

2017-11-01

Droplet impact is a ubiquitous fluid phenomena encountered in scientific and engineering applications such as ink-jet printing, coating, electronics manufacturing, and many others. It is of great technological importance to understand the detailed dynamics of drop impact on various surfaces. The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) emerges as an efficient method for modeling complex fluid systems involving rapidly evolving fluid-fluid and fluid-solid interfaces with complex geometries. In this work, we model droplet impact on flat solid substrates with well-defined wetting behavior using a two-phase axisymmetric LBM with high density and viscosity contrasts. We extend the two-dimensional Lee and Liu model to capture axisymmetric effect in the normal impact. First we compare the 2D axisymmetric results with the 2D and 3D results reported by Lee and Liu to probe the effect of axisymmetric terms. Then, we explore the effects of Weber number, Ohnesorge number, and droplet-surface equilibrium contact angle on the impact. The dynamic contact angle and spreading factor of the droplet during impact are investigated to qualitatively characterize the impact dynamics.

Numerical study of two-dimensional wet foam over a range of shear rates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kähärä, T.

2017-09-01

The shear rheology of two-dimensional foam is investigated over a range of shear rates with the numerical DySMaL model, which features dynamically deformable bubbles. It is found that at low shear rates, the rheological behavior of the system can be characterized by a yield stress power-law constitutive equation that is consistent with experimental findings and can be understood in terms of soft glassy rheology models. At low shear rates, the system rheology is also found to be subject to a scaling law involving the bubble size, the surface tension, and the viscosity of the carrier fluid. At high shear rates, the model produces a dynamic phase transition with a sudden change in the flow pattern, which is accompanied by a drop in the effective viscosity. This phase transition can be linked to rapid changes in the average bubble deformation and nematic order of the system. It is very likely that this phase transition is a result of the model dynamics and does not happen in actual foams.

Dynamics of poroelastocapillary rise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nasouri, Babak; Elfring, Gwynn

2017-11-01

The surface-tension-driven rise of a liquid between two elastic sheets can result in their deformation or coalescence depending on their flexibility. When the sheets are poroelastic, the flexibility of the immersed parts of the sheets can change considerably thereby altering the dynamical behavior of the system. To better understand this phenomenon, we study the poroelastocapillary rise of a wetting liquid between poroelastic sheets. Using the lubrication theory and linear elasticity, we quantify the effects of the change in material properties of the wet sheets on the capillary rise and the equilibrium state of the system.

Wetting kinetics of nanodroplets on lyophilic nanopillar-arrayed surfaces: A molecular dynamics study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zong, Diyuan; Yang, Zhen; Duan, Yuanyuan

2017-10-01

Wetting kinetics of water droplets on substrates with lyophilic nanopillars was investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. Early spreading of the droplet is hindered by the nanopillars because of the penetration of the liquid which induce an extra dissipation in the droplet. Droplet spreading is mainly controlled by liquid viscosity and surface tension and not dependent on solid wettability. Propagation of the fringe film is hindered by the enhanced solid wettability because of the energy barrier introduced by the interaction between water molecules and nanopillars which increase with solid wettability.

Instability and dynamics of volatile thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Hangjie; Witelski, Thomas P.

2018-02-01

Volatile viscous fluids on partially wetting solid substrates can exhibit interesting interfacial instabilities and pattern formation. We study the dynamics of vapor condensation and fluid evaporation governed by a one-sided model in a low-Reynolds-number lubrication approximation incorporating surface tension, intermolecular effects, and evaporative fluxes. Parameter ranges for evaporation-dominated and condensation-dominated regimes and a critical case are identified. Interfacial instabilities driven by the competition between the disjoining pressure and evaporative effects are studied via linear stability analysis. Transient pattern formation in nearly flat evolving films in the critical case is investigated. In the weak evaporation limit unstable modes of finite-amplitude nonuniform steady states lead to rich droplet dynamics, including flattening, symmetry breaking, and droplet merging. Numerical simulations show that long-time behaviors leading to evaporation or condensation are sensitive to transitions between filmwise and dropwise dynamics.

Toward direct pore-scale modeling of three-phase displacements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammadmoradi, Peyman; Kantzas, Apostolos

2017-12-01

A stable spreading film between water and gas can extract a significant amount of bypassed non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) through immiscible three-phase gas/water injection cycles. In this study, the pore-scale displacement mechanisms by which NAPL is mobilized are incorporated into a three-dimensional pore morphology-based model under water-wet and capillary equilibrium conditions. The approach is pixel-based and the sequence of invasions is determined by the fluids' connectivity and the threshold capillary pressure of the advancing interfaces. In addition to the determination of three-phase spatial saturation profiles, residuals, and capillary pressure curves, dynamic finite element simulations are utilized to predict the effective permeabilities of the rock microtomographic images as reasonable representations of the geological formations under study. All the influential features during immiscible fluid flow in pore-level domains including wetting and spreading films, saturation hysteresis, capillary trapping, connectivity, and interface development strategies are taken into account. The capabilities of the model are demonstrated by the successful prediction of saturation functions for Berea sandstone and the accurate reconstruction of three-phase fluid occupancies through a micromodel.

Density functional simulations as a tool to probe molecular interactions in wet supercritical CO2

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

Glezakou, Vassiliki Alexandra; McGrail, B. Peter

2013-06-03

Recent advances in mixed Gaussian and plane wave algorithms have made possible the effective use of density functional theory (DFT) in ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations for large and chemically complex models of condensed phase materials. In this chapter, we are reviewing recent progress on the modeling and characterization of co-sequestration processes and reactivity in wet supercritical CO2 (sc-CO2). We examine the molecular transformations of mineral and metal components of a sequestration system in contact with water-bearing scCO2 media and aim to establish a reliable correspondence between experimental observations and theory models with predictive ability and transferability of resultsmore » in large scale geomechanical simulators. This work is funded by the Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy. A portion of the research was performed using EMSL, a national scientific user facility sponsored by the Department of Energy’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The Pacific Norhtwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is operated by Battelle for DOE under contract DE-AC06-76RL01830.« less

Wetting behavior of nonpolar nanotubes in simple dipolar liquids for varying nanotube diameter and solute-solvent interactions

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

Rana, Malay Kumar; Chandra, Amalendu, E-mail: amalen@iitk.ac.in

2015-01-21

Atomistic simulations of model nonpolar nanotubes in a Stockmayer liquid are carried out for varying nanotube diameter and nanotube-solvent interactions to investigate solvophobic interactions in generic dipolar solvents. We have considered model armchair type single-walled nonpolar nanotubes with increasing radii from (5,5) to (12,12). The interactions between solute and solvent molecules are modeled by the well-known Lennard-Jones and repulsive Weeks-Chandler-Andersen potentials. We have investigated the density profiles and microscopic arrangement of Stockmayer molecules, orientational profiles of their dipole vectors, time dependence of their occupation, and also the translational and rotational motion of solvent molecules in confined environments of the cylindricalmore » nanopores and also in their external peripheral regions. The present results of structural and dynamical properties of Stockmayer molecules inside and near atomistically rough nonpolar surfaces including their wetting and dewetting behavior for varying interactions provide a more generic picture of solvophobic effects experienced by simple dipolar liquids without any specific interactions such as hydrogen bonds.« less

A numerical model of two-phase flow at the micro-scale using the volume-of-fluid method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shams, Mosayeb; Raeini, Ali Q.; Blunt, Martin J.; Bijeljic, Branko

2018-03-01

This study presents a simple and robust numerical scheme to model two-phase flow in porous media where capillary forces dominate over viscous effects. The volume-of-fluid method is employed to capture the fluid-fluid interface whose dynamics is explicitly described based on a finite volume discretization of the Navier-Stokes equations. Interfacial forces are calculated directly on reconstructed interface elements such that the total curvature is preserved. The computed interfacial forces are explicitly added to the Navier-Stokes equations using a sharp formulation which effectively eliminates spurious currents. The stability and accuracy of the implemented scheme is validated on several two- and three-dimensional test cases, which indicate the capability of the method to model two-phase flow processes at the micro-scale. In particular we show how the co-current flow of two viscous fluids leads to greatly enhanced flow conductance for the wetting phase in corners of the pore space, compared to a case where the non-wetting phase is an inviscid gas.

PNNL Report on the Development of Bench-scale CFD Simulations for Gas Absorption across a Wetted Wall Column

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

Wang, Chao; Xu, Zhijie; Lai, Canhai

This report is prepared for the demonstration of hierarchical prediction of carbon capture efficiency of a solvent-based absorption column. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is first developed to simulate the core phenomena of solvent-based carbon capture, i.e., the CO2 physical absorption and chemical reaction, on a simplified geometry of wetted wall column (WWC) at bench scale. Aqueous solutions of ethanolamine (MEA) are commonly selected as a CO2 stream scrubbing liquid. CO2 is captured by both physical and chemical absorption using highly CO2 soluble and reactive solvent, MEA, during the scrubbing process. In order to provide confidence bound on themore » computational predictions of this complex engineering system, a hierarchical calibration and validation framework is proposed. The overall goal of this effort is to provide a mechanism-based predictive framework with confidence bound for overall mass transfer coefficient of the wetted wall column (WWC) with statistical analyses of the corresponding WWC experiments with increasing physical complexity.« less

Examining Wetting and Dewetting Processes in Thin-films on Crystalline Substrates at the Nanoscale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hihath, Sahar

Controlling the wetting and dewetting of ultra-thin films on solid substrates is important for a variety of technological and fundamental research applications. These applications include film deposition for semiconductor manufacturing, the growth of nanowires through nanoparticle-based catalysis sites, to making ordered arrays of nanoscale particles for electronic and optical devices. However, despite the importance of these processes, the underlying mechanisms by which a film wets a surface or dewets from it is still often unclear and widely debated. In this dissertation we examine wetting and dewetting processes in three materials systems that are relevant for device applications with the ultimate goal of understanding what mechanisms drive the wetting (or dewetting) process in each case. First, we examine the formation of wetting layers between nanoparticle films and highly conductive GaAs substrates for spintronic applications. In this case, the formation of a wetting layer is important for nanoparticle adhesion on the substrate surface. Wetting layers can be made by annealing these systems, which causes elemental diffusion from nanoparticles into the substrate, thereby adhesion between the nanoparticles and the substrate. Here we investigate the feasibility of forming a wetting layer underneath nanoparticles post-annealing in a system of Fe3O4 nanoparticles on a (100) GaAs substrate by studying the interface structure and composition via Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM), Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDXS). Electron Energy-Loss fine structures of the Fe-L 3,2 and O-K absorption edges were quantitatively analyzed to gain insight about the compositional gradient of the interface between the nanoparticles and the GaAs substrate. Additionally, real-space density functional theory calculations of the dynamical form factor was performed to confirm the experimental observations. Second, the fundamental mechanisms that govern the onset of dewetting of thin metal films in both liquid and solid state are investigated. Dewetting processes are used in numerous technological applications. For instance, the dewetting of thin films on substrates is used for making spatially ordered nanoparticle arrays for use in plasmonics, nanophotonics, and magnetics. [1] In addition to dewetting applications in industry and research, dewetting processes have adverse impact on the reliability of semiconductor devices as it can limit the functionality of metal contacts utilized in transistors at elevated temperatures. The morphological changes during dewetting have been studied previously in plan-view by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) after the annealing is completed, and in some cases in cross-section via real-time Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). However, due to temporal limitations of image acquisition in TEM, which is in the range of milliseconds, it has not been possible thus far to investigate the dynamics of the dewetting process with high-speed time resolution from nano- to micro-seconds. To gain insights into the fundamental mechanisms involved in dewetting, the early stages of the dewetting process were investigated via Dynamic Transmission Electron Microscopy (DTEM) with nanosecond time and nanometer spatial resolution. The experiments were performed on plan-view TEM samples consisting of nickel thin-films on (100) silicon substrates with a 2-3 nm thick native oxide. The laser ablation dynamics were captured, which involved liquid phase dewetting of the nickel film followed by substrate fracture and nanoscale particle expulsion. Finally, to capture the full dynamics of the dewetting process the experiments were performed on a system of nickel thin-films on (100) Strontium Titanate (STO) substrates. Samples of nickel thin-films on STO substrates have lower thermal expansion coefficient mismatch compared to the system discussed above. Thus, the STO substrates did not fracture after laser irradiation and enabled us to capture the progress of hole growth with time. Valence Electron Energy Loss spectroscopy was used to find the thickness of the TEM sample in order to calculate the geometry and simulate the temperature fields via finite element analysis with COMSOL Multiphysics package. Spatio-temporal temperature plots acquired from finite element modeling suggests that both liquid and solid-state dewetting processes were observed depending upon the magnitude of the laser energy used.

Molecular dynamics study of the melting of a supported 887-atom Pd decahedron.

PubMed

Schebarchov, D; Hendy, S C; Polak, W

2009-04-08

We employ classical molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the melting behaviour of a decahedral Pd(887) cluster on a single layer of graphite (graphene). The interaction between Pd atoms is modelled with an embedded-atom potential, while the adhesion of Pd atoms to the substrate is approximated with a Lennard-Jones potential. We find that the decahedral structure persists at temperatures close to the melting point, but that just below the melting transition, the cluster accommodates to the substrate by means of complete melting and then recrystallization into an fcc structure. These structural changes are in qualitative agreement with recently proposed models, and they verify the existence of an energy barrier preventing softly deposited clusters from 'wetting' the substrate at temperatures below the melting point.

Modeling biological pathway dynamics with timed automata.

PubMed

Schivo, Stefano; Scholma, Jetse; Wanders, Brend; Urquidi Camacho, Ricardo A; van der Vet, Paul E; Karperien, Marcel; Langerak, Rom; van de Pol, Jaco; Post, Janine N

2014-05-01

Living cells are constantly subjected to a plethora of environmental stimuli that require integration into an appropriate cellular response. This integration takes place through signal transduction events that form tightly interconnected networks. The understanding of these networks requires capturing their dynamics through computational support and models. ANIMO (analysis of Networks with Interactive Modeling) is a tool that enables the construction and exploration of executable models of biological networks, helping to derive hypotheses and to plan wet-lab experiments. The tool is based on the formalism of Timed Automata, which can be analyzed via the UPPAAL model checker. Thanks to Timed Automata, we can provide a formal semantics for the domain-specific language used to represent signaling networks. This enforces precision and uniformity in the definition of signaling pathways, contributing to the integration of isolated signaling events into complex network models. We propose an approach to discretization of reaction kinetics that allows us to efficiently use UPPAAL as the computational engine to explore the dynamic behavior of the network of interest. A user-friendly interface hides the use of Timed Automata from the user, while keeping the expressive power intact. Abstraction to single-parameter kinetics speeds up construction of models that remain faithful enough to provide meaningful insight. The resulting dynamic behavior of the network components is displayed graphically, allowing for an intuitive and interactive modeling experience.

Surface roughness effects on contact line motion with small capillary number

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Feng-Chao; Chen, Xiao-Peng; Yue, Pengtao

2018-01-01

In this work, we investigate how surface roughness influences contact line dynamics by simulating forced wetting in a capillary tube. The tube wall is decorated with microgrooves and is intrinsically hydrophilic. A phase-field method is used to capture the fluid interface and the moving contact line. According to the numerical results, a criterion is proposed to judge whether the grooves are entirely wetted or not at vanishing capillary numbers. When the contact line moves over a train of grooves, the apparent contact angle exhibits a periodic nature, no matter whether the Cassie-Baxter or the Wenzel state is achieved. The oscillation amplitude of apparent contact angle is analyzed and found to be inversely proportional to the interface area. The contact line motion can be characterized as stick-jump-slip in the Cassie-Baxter state and stick-slip in the Wenzel state. By comparing to the contact line dynamics on smooth surfaces, equivalent microscopic contact angles and slip lengths are obtained. The equivalent slip length in the Cassie-Baxter state agrees well with the theoretical model in the literature. The equivalent contact angles are, however, much greater than the predictions of the Cassie-Baxter model and the Wenzel model for equilibrium stable states. Our results reveal that the pinning of the contact line at surface defects effectively enhances the hydrophobicity of rough surfaces, even when the surface material is intrinsically hydrophilic and the flow is under the Wenzel state.

Motion and shape of partially non-wetting drops on inclined surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puthenveettil, Baburaj A.; Senthilkumar K, Vijaya; Hopfinger, E. J.; IIT Madras-LEGI Collaboration

2011-11-01

We study high Reynolds number (Re) motion of partially non- wetting liquid drops on inclined surfaces using (i) water on Fluoro-Alkyl Silane (FAS) coated glass and (ii) mercury on glass. The high hysteresis (35°) water drop experiments have been conducted for a range of inclination angles 26° < α <62° which give a range of Capillary numbers 0 . 0003 < Ca < 0 . 0075 and 137 < Re < 3142 . For low hysteresis (6°) mercury on glass experiments, 5 .5° < α < 14 .3° so that 0 . 0002 < Ca < 0 . 0023 and 3037 < Re < 20069 . It is shown that when Re >>103 for water and Re >> 19 for mercury, the observed velocities are accounted for by a boundary layer flow model. The dimensionless velocity in the inertial regime, Ca√{ Re } scales as the modified Bond number (Bom), while Ca Bom at low Re . We show that even at high Re , the dynamic contact angles (θd) depend only on Ca , similar to that in low Re drops. Only the model by Shikhmurzaev is consistent with the variation of dynamic contact angles in both mercury and water drops. We show that the corner transition at the rear of the mercury drop occurs at a finite, receding contact angle, which is predicted by a wedge flow model that we propose. For water drops, there is a direct transition to a rivulet from the oval shape at a critical ratio of receding to static contact angles.

Collective Cell Migration in Embryogenesis Follows the Laws of Wetting.

PubMed

Wallmeyer, Bernhard; Trinschek, Sarah; Yigit, Sargon; Thiele, Uwe; Betz, Timo

2018-01-09

Collective cell migration is a fundamental process during embryogenesis and its initial occurrence, called epiboly, is an excellent in vivo model to study the physical processes involved in collective cell movements that are key to understanding organ formation, cancer invasion, and wound healing. In zebrafish, epiboly starts with a cluster of cells at one pole of the spherical embryo. These cells are actively spreading in a continuous movement toward its other pole until they fully cover the yolk. Inspired by the physics of wetting, we determine the contact angle between the cells and the yolk during epiboly. By choosing a wetting approach, the relevant scale for this investigation is the tissue level, which is in contrast to other recent work. Similar to the case of a liquid drop on a surface, one observes three interfaces that carry mechanical tension. Assuming that interfacial force balance holds during the quasi-static spreading process, we employ the physics of wetting to predict the temporal change of the contact angle. Although the experimental values vary dramatically, the model allows us to rescale all measured contact-angle dynamics onto a single master curve explaining the collective cell movement. Thus, we describe the fundamental and complex developmental mechanism at the onset of embryogenesis by only three main parameters: the offset tension strength, α, that gives the strength of interfacial tension compared to other force-generating mechanisms; the tension ratio, δ, between the different interfaces; and the rate of tension variation, λ, which determines the timescale of the whole process. Copyright © 2017 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Complete wetting of graphene by biological lipids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luan, Binquan; Huynh, Tien; Zhou, Ruhong

2016-03-01

Graphene nanosheets have been demonstrated to extract large amounts of lipid molecules directly out of the cell membrane of bacteria and thus cause serious damage to the cell's integrity. This interesting phenomenon, however, is so far not well understood theoretically. Here through extensive molecular dynamics simulations and theoretical analyses, we show that this phenomenon can be categorized as a complete wetting of graphene by membrane lipids in water. A wetting-based theory was utilized to associate the free energy change during the microscopic extraction of a lipid with the spreading parameter for the macroscopic wetting. With a customized thermodynamic cycle for detailed energetics, we show that the dispersive adhesion between graphene and lipids plays a dominant role during this extraction as manifested by the curved graphene. Our simulation results suggest that biological lipids can completely wet the concave, flat or even convex (with a small curvature) surface of a graphene sheet.Graphene nanosheets have been demonstrated to extract large amounts of lipid molecules directly out of the cell membrane of bacteria and thus cause serious damage to the cell's integrity. This interesting phenomenon, however, is so far not well understood theoretically. Here through extensive molecular dynamics simulations and theoretical analyses, we show that this phenomenon can be categorized as a complete wetting of graphene by membrane lipids in water. A wetting-based theory was utilized to associate the free energy change during the microscopic extraction of a lipid with the spreading parameter for the macroscopic wetting. With a customized thermodynamic cycle for detailed energetics, we show that the dispersive adhesion between graphene and lipids plays a dominant role during this extraction as manifested by the curved graphene. Our simulation results suggest that biological lipids can completely wet the concave, flat or even convex (with a small curvature) surface of a graphene sheet. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: The movie showing the simulation trajectory for the extraction of lipids from the membrane. See DOI: 10.1039/C6NR00202A

Modelling and simulation of biased agonism dynamics at a G protein-coupled receptor.

PubMed

Bridge, L J; Mead, J; Frattini, E; Winfield, I; Ladds, G

2018-04-07

Theoretical models of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) concentration-response relationships often assume an agonist producing a single functional response via a single active state of the receptor. These models have largely been analysed assuming steady-state conditions. There is now much experimental evidence to suggest that many GPCRs can exist in multiple receptor conformations and elicit numerous functional responses, with ligands having the potential to activate different signalling pathways to varying extents-a concept referred to as biased agonism, functional selectivity or pluri-dimensional efficacy. Moreover, recent experimental results indicate a clear possibility for time-dependent bias, whereby an agonist's bias with respect to different pathways may vary dynamically. Efforts towards understanding the implications of temporal bias by characterising and quantifying ligand effects on multiple pathways will clearly be aided by extending current equilibrium binding and biased activation models to include G protein activation dynamics. Here, we present a new model of time-dependent biased agonism, based on ordinary differential equations for multiple cubic ternary complex activation models with G protein cycle dynamics. This model allows simulation and analysis of multi-pathway activation bias dynamics at a single receptor for the first time, at the level of active G protein (α GTP ), towards the analysis of dynamic functional responses. The model is generally applicable to systems with N G G proteins and N* active receptor states. Numerical simulations for N G =N * =2 reveal new insights into the effects of system parameters (including cooperativities, and ligand and receptor concentrations) on bias dynamics, highlighting new phenomena including the dynamic inter-conversion of bias direction. Further, we fit this model to 'wet' experimental data for two competing G proteins (G i and G s ) that become activated upon stimulation of the adenosine A 1 receptor with adenosine derivative compounds. Finally, we show that our model can qualitatively describe the temporal dynamics of this competing G protein activation. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

A Coarse-grained Model of Stratum Corneum Lipids: Free Fatty Acids and Ceramide NS

PubMed Central

Moore, Timothy C.; Iacovella, Christopher R.; Hartkamp, Remco; Bunge, Annette L.; McCabe, Clare

2017-01-01

Ceramide (CER)-based biological membranes are used both experimentally and in simulations as simplified model systems of the skin barrier. Molecular dynamics studies have generally focused on simulating preassembled structures using atomistically detailed models of CERs, which limit the system sizes and timescales that can practically be probed, rendering them ineffective for studying particular phenomena, including self-assembly into bilayer and lamellar superstructures. Here, we report on the development of a coarse-grained (CG) model for CER NS, the most abundant CER in human stratum corneum. Multistate iterative Boltzmann inversion is used to derive the intermolecular pair potentials, resulting in a force field that is applicable over a range of state points and suitable for studying ceramide self-assembly. The chosen CG mapping, which includes explicit interaction sites for hydroxyl groups, captures the directional nature of hydrogen bonding and allows for accurate predictions of several key structural properties of CER NS bilayers. Simulated wetting experiments allow the hydrophobicity of CG beads to be accurately tuned to match atomistic wetting behavior, which affects the whole system since inaccurate hydrophobic character is found to unphysically alter the lipid packing in hydrated lamellar states. We find that CER NS can self-assemble into multilamellar structures, enabling the study of lipid systems more representative of the multilamellar lipid structures present in the skin barrier. The coarse-grained force field derived herein represents an important step in using molecular dynamics to study the human skin barrier, which gives a resolution not available through experiment alone. PMID:27564869

Numerical modeling of Farallon Plate flat-slab subduction: Influence of lithosphere structure and rheology on slab dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, X.; Currie, C. A.

2017-12-01

The subducted Farallon plate is believed to have evolved to a flat geometry underneath North America plate during Late Cretaceous, triggering Laramide deformation within the continental interior. However, the mechanism that caused the oceanic slab to flatten and the factors that control the flat-slab depth remain uncertain. In this work, we use 2D thermal-mechanical models using the SOPALE code to study the subduction dynamics from 90 Ma to 50 Ma. During this period, an oceanic plateau (Shatsky Conjugate) is inferred to have subducted beneath western North America and interacted with the continental lithosphere, including areas of thicker lithosphere such as the Colorado Plateau and Wyoming Craton. Based on seismic tomography and plate reconstruction data sets, we built a set of models to examine the influence of the structure and rheology of the oceanic and continental plates on slab dynamics. Models include a 600 km wide oceanic plateau consisting of 18 km thick crust and a 36 km thick underlying harzburgite layer, and we ran a series of model experiments to test different continental thicknesses (80 km, 120 km, & 180 km) and continental mantle lithosphere strengths (approximating conditions from wet olivine to dry olivine). Consistent with earlier studies, we find that creation of a long flat slab requires a buoyant oceanic plateau (i.e., non-eclogitized crust) and trenchward motion of the continent. In addition, our models demonstrate the upper plate has an important control on slab dynamics. A flat slab requires either a thin continent or, if the continent is thick, its mantle lithosphere must be relatively weak so that it can be displaced by the flattening slab. The depth of the flat slab is mainly controlled by two factors: (1) the continental thickness and (2) the strength of the continental mantle lithosphere. For the same initial lithosphere thickness (120 km), a shallower flat slab ( 90 km depth) occurs for the weakest mantle lithosphere ( wet olivine) compared to 120 km depth for strong ( dry) mantle lithosphere because the flat slab removes the lowermost weak lithosphere. Moreover, an even deeper slab ( 130 km) can be found underneath the weakest but thicker continental lithosphere (180 km). Future models will focus on how the flat slab may induce hydration and deformation for the overriding continental plate.

Wetting of silicone oil onto a cell-seeded substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Yongjie; Chan, Yau Kei; Chao, Youchuang; Shum, Ho Cheung

2017-11-01

Wetting behavior of solid substrates in three-phase systems containing two immiscible liquids are widely studied. There exist many three-phase systems in biological environments, such as droplet-based microfluidics or tamponade of silicone oil for eye surgery. However, few studies focus on wetting behavior of biological surfaces with cells. Here we investigate wetting of silicone oil onto cell-seeded PMMA sheet immersed in water. Using a simple parallel-plate cell, we show the effect of cell density, viscosity of silicone oil, morphology of silicone oil drops and interfacial tension on the wetting phenomenon. The dynamics of wetting is also observed by squeezing silicone oil drop using two parallel plates. Experimental results are explained based on disjoining pressure which is dependent on the interaction of biological surfaces and liquid used. These findings are useful for explaining emulsification of silicone oil in ophthalmological applications.

40 CFR 63.9590 - What emission limitations must I meet?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...) Except as provided in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, for each wet scrubber applied to meet any... drop and daily average scrubber water flow rate at or above the minimum levels established during the initial performance test. (2) For each dynamic wet scrubber applied to meet any particulate matter...

40 CFR 63.9590 - What emission limitations must I meet?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

...) Except as provided in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, for each wet scrubber applied to meet any... drop and daily average scrubber water flow rate at or above the minimum levels established during the initial performance test. (2) For each dynamic wet scrubber applied to meet any particulate matter...

40 CFR 63.9590 - What emission limitations must I meet?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

...) Except as provided in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, for each wet scrubber applied to meet any... drop and daily average scrubber water flow rate at or above the minimum levels established during the initial performance test. (2) For each dynamic wet scrubber applied to meet any particulate matter...

Fully coupled approach to modeling shallow water flow, sediment transport, and bed evolution in rivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Shuangcai; Duffy, Christopher J.

2011-03-01

Our ability to predict complex environmental fluid flow and transport hinges on accurate and efficient simulations of multiple physical phenomenon operating simultaneously over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, including overbank floods, coastal storm surge events, drying and wetting bed conditions, and simultaneous bed form evolution. This research implements a fully coupled strategy for solving shallow water hydrodynamics, sediment transport, and morphological bed evolution in rivers and floodplains (PIHM_Hydro) and applies the model to field and laboratory experiments that cover a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. The model uses a standard upwind finite volume method and Roe's approximate Riemann solver for unstructured grids. A multidimensional linear reconstruction and slope limiter are implemented, achieving second-order spatial accuracy. Model efficiency and stability are treated using an explicit-implicit method for temporal discretization with operator splitting. Laboratory-and field-scale experiments were compiled where coupled processes across a range of scales were observed and where higher-order spatial and temporal accuracy might be needed for accurate and efficient solutions. These experiments demonstrate the ability of the fully coupled strategy in capturing dynamics of field-scale flood waves and small-scale drying-wetting processes.

Climate change and northern prairie wetlands: Simulations of long-term dynamics

USGS Publications Warehouse

Poiani, Karen A.; Johnson, W. Carter; Swanson, George A.; Winter, Thomas C.

1996-01-01

A mathematical model (WETSIM 2.0) was used to simulate wetland hydrology and vegetation dynamics over a 32-yr period (1961–1992) in a North Dakota prairie wetland. A hydrology component of the model calculated changes in water storage based on precipitation, evapotranspiration, snowpack, surface runoff, and subsurface inflow. A spatially explicit vegetation component in the model calculated changes in distribution of vegetative cover and open water, depending on water depth, seasonality, and existing type of vegetation.The model reproduced four known dry periods and one extremely wet period during the three decades. One simulated dry period in the early 1980s did not actually occur. Simulated water levels compared favorably with continuous observed water levels outside the calibration period (1990–1992). Changes in vegetative cover were realistic except for years when simulated water levels were significantly different than actual levels. These generally positive results support the use of the model for exploring the effects of possible climate changes on wetland resources.

Impact of hydraulic redistribution on multispecies vegetation water use in a semi-arid ecosystem: An experimental and modeling synthesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, E.; Kumar, P.; Barron-Gafford, G.; Scott, R. L.; Hendryx, S. M.; Sanchez-Canete, E. P.; Minor, R. L.; Colella, A.

2017-12-01

A key challenge in critical zone science is to understand and predict the interaction between aboveground and belowground ecohydrologic processes. One of the links that facilitates the interaction is hydraulic redistribution (HR), a phenomenon by which roots serve as preferential pathways for water movement from wet to dry soil layers. We use a multi-layer canopy model in conjunction with experimental data to examine the influence of HR on eco-hydrologic processes, such as transpiration, soil evaporation, and soil moisture, which characterize the competitive and facilitative dynamics between velvet mesquite and understory bunchgrass. Both measured and simulated results show that hydraulic descent (HD) dominates sap flux during the wet monsoon season, whereas hydraulic lift (HL) occurs between precipitation events. About 17% of precipitation is absorbed as soil-moisture, with the rest of the precipitation returning to the atmosphere as evapotranspiration. In the wet season, 13% of precipitation is transferred to deep soil (>2m) through mesquite roots, and in the dry season, 9% of this redistributed water is transported back to shallow soil depth (<0.5m). Assuming water supplied through HR is well-mixed with moisture transported directly through the soil matrix and supports vegetation evapotranspiration, HR supports about 47% of mesquite transpiration and 9% of understory transpiration. Through modeling and experimental synthesis, this study demonstrates that in the dry land ecosystem of southwestern U.S., Mesquite exhibits competitive advantage over understory bunchgrass through HR.

Pore-Scale Investigation on Stress-Dependent Characteristics of Granular Packs and Their Impact on Multiphase Fluid Distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torrealba, V.; Karpyn, Z.; Yoon, H.; Hart, D. B.; Klise, K. A.

2013-12-01

The pore-scale dynamics that govern multiphase flow under variable stress conditions are not well understood. This lack of fundamental understanding limits our ability to quantitatively predict multiphase flow and fluid distributions in natural geologic systems. In this research, we focus on pore-scale, single and multiphase flow properties that impact displacement mechanisms and residual trapping of non-wetting phase under varying stress conditions. X-ray micro-tomography is used to image pore structures and distribution of wetting and non-wetting fluids in water-wet synthetic granular packs, under dynamic load. Micro-tomography images are also used to determine structural features such as medial axis, surface area, and pore body and throat distribution; while the corresponding transport properties are determined from Lattice-Boltzmann simulations performed on lattice replicas of the imaged specimens. Results are used to investigate how inter-granular deformation mechanisms affect fluid displacement and residual trapping at the pore-scale. This will improve our understanding of the dynamic interaction of mechanical deformation and fluid flow during enhanced oil recovery and geologic CO2 sequestration. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

Inverse Geochemical Reaction Path Modelling and the Impact of Climate Change on Hydrologic Structure in Snowmelt-Dominated Catchments in the Southwestern USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Driscoll, J. M.; Meixner, T.; Molotch, N. P.; Sickman, J. O.; Williams, M. W.; McIntosh, J. C.; Brooks, P. D.

2011-12-01

Snowmelt from alpine catchments provides 70-80% of the American Southwest's water resources. Climate change threatens to alter the timing and duration of snowmelt in high elevation catchments, which may also impact the quantity and the quality of these water resources. Modelling of these systems provides a robust theoretical framework to process the information extracted from the sparse physical measurement available in these sites due to their remote locations. Mass-balance inverse geochemical models (via PHREEQC, developed by the USGS) were applied to two snowmelt-dominated catchments; Green Lake 4 (GL4) in the Rockies and Emerald Lake (EMD) in the Sierra Nevada. Both catchments primarily consist of granite and granodiorite with a similar bulk geochemistry. The inputs for the models were the initial (snowpack) and final (catchment output) hydrochemistry and a catchment-specific suite of mineral weathering reactions. Models were run for wet and dry snow years, for early and late time periods (defined hydrologically as 1/2 of the total volume for the year). Multiple model solutions were reduced to a representative suite of reactions by choosing the model solution with the fewest phases and least overall phase change. The dominant weathering reactions (those which contributed the most solutes) were plagioclase for GL4 and albite for EMD. Results for GL4 show overall more plagioclase weathering during the dry year (214.2g) than wet year (89.9g). Both wet and dry years show more weathering in the early time periods (63% and 56%, respectively). These results show that the snowpack and outlet are chemically more similar during wet years than dry years. A possible hypothesis to explain this difference is a change in contribution from subsurface storage; during the wet year the saturated catchment reduces contact with surface materials that would result in mineral weathering reactions by some combination of reduced infiltration and decreased subsurface transit time. By contrast, during the dry year infiltration and subsequent displacement of stored water that has had longer contact time with minerals and therefore has become more geochemically evolved to produce a greater difference between snowmelt and catchment outlet hydrochemistry. The results for EMD show little distinction between albite weathering for wet and dry years (55.9g and 66.0g, relatively). A hypothesis for this lack of difference in mineral phase changes may be due to less subsurface storage capacity in EMD relative to GL4. The spatial distribution of snowmelt has also been shown to influence the integrated watershed response, and future work includes using the Alpine Hydrochemical Model (AHM) to further investigate catchment response to these spatial data. The AHM will also provide further insight of surface-groundwater interactions through a more integrated model which includes hydrochemical, biological and physical processes to elucidate catchment response to changes in snowmelt dynamics.

The Effect of Drying-Wetting Cycle’s Repetition to the Characteristic of Natural and Stabilization Residual Soils Jawa Timur - Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muntaha, M.

2017-11-01

Indonesia, which located in tropical region, continuously undergoes wetting and drying cycles due to the changeable seasons. An important role in activating the clay minerals on tropical residual soils is the main factor that affects the static and dynamic properties, such as: volume change, soil suction and dynamic modulus. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of drying-wetting cycles repetition on volume change, soil suction and mechanical characteristics of natural and stabilization of residual soils from Jawa Timur - Indonesia. The natural undisturbed and stabilized residual soil sample was naturally and gradually dried up with air to 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100 % of the initial water content. The wetting processes were carried out with the gradual increment water content of 25 %(wsat - wi), 50 %(wsat - wi), 75 %(wsat - wi), up to 100 %(wsat - wi). The Direct Shear test is used to measure the mechanic properties, and Whatman filter paper No. 42 is used to measure the soil suction. The drying-wetting processes were carried out for 1, 2, 4, and 6 cycles. The laboratory test results showed that, the void ratio decreased, the unit weight, cohesion and the internal friction angle were increasing due to stabilization. Drying-wetting cycle repetition reduces void ratio, negative pore-water pressure, cohesion and internal friction angle of natural and stabilized soils. Briefly, the decreased of mechanical soil properties was proven from the physical properties change observation.

Monitoring the Wet-Heat Inactivation Dynamics of Single Spores of Bacillus Species by Using Raman Tweezers, Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy, and Nucleic Acid Dye Fluorescence Microscopy▿

PubMed Central

Zhang, Pengfei; Kong, Lingbo; Wang, Guiwen; Setlow, Peter; Li, Yong-qing

2011-01-01

Dynamic processes during wet-heat treatment of individual spores of Bacillus cereus, Bacillus megaterium, and Bacillus subtilis at 80 to 90°C were investigated using dual-trap Raman spectroscopy, differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy, and nucleic acid stain (SYTO 16) fluorescence microscopy. During spore wet-heat treatment, while the spores' 1:1 chelate of Ca2+ with dipicolinic acid (CaDPA) was released rapidly at a highly variable time Tlag, the levels of spore nucleic acids remained nearly unchanged, and the Tlag times for individual spores from the same preparation were increased somewhat as spore levels of CaDPA increased. The brightness of the spores' DIC image decreased by ∼50% in parallel with CaDPA release, and there was no spore cortex hydrolysis observed. The lateral diameters of the spores' DIC image and SYTO 16 fluorescence image also decreased in parallel with CaDPA release. The SYTO 16 fluorescence intensity began to increase during wet-heat treatment at a time before Tlag and reached maximum at a time slightly later than Trelease. However, the fluorescence intensities of wet-heat-inactivated spores were ∼15-fold lower than those of nutrient-germinated spores, and this low SYTO 16 fluorescence intensity may be due in part to the low permeability of the dormant spores' inner membranes to SYTO 16 and in part to nucleic acid denaturation during the wet-heat treatment. PMID:21602365

Growth and death of bacteria and fungi underlie rainfall-induced carbon dioxide pulses from seasonally dried soil.

PubMed

Blazewicz, Steven J; Schwartz, Egbert; Firestone, Mary K

2014-05-01

The rapid increase in microbial activity that occurs when a dry soil is rewetted has been well documented and is of great interest due to implications of changing precipitation patterns on soil C dynamics. Several studies have shown minor net changes in microbial population diversity or abundance following wet-up, but the gross population dynamics of bacteria and fungi resulting from soil wet-up are virtually unknown. Here we applied DNA stable isotope probing with H218O coupled with quantitative PCR to characterize new growth, survival, and mortality of bacteria and fungi following the rewetting of a seasonally dried California annual grassland soil. Microbial activity, as determined by CO2 production, increased significantly within three hours of wet-up, yet new growth was not detected until after three hours, suggesting a pulse of nongrowth activity immediately following wet-up, likely due to osmo-regulation and resuscitation from dormancy in response to the rapid change in water potential. Total microbial abundance revealed little change throughout the seven-day post-wet incubation, but there was substantial turnover of both bacterial and fungal populations (49% and 52%, respectively). New growth was linear between 24 and 168 hours for both bacteria and fungi, with average growth rates of 2.3 x 10(8) bacterial 16S rRNA gene copies x [g dry mass](-1) x h(-1) and 4.3 x 10(7) fungal ITS copies x [g dry mass](-1) x h(-1). While bacteria and fungi differed in their mortality and survival characteristics during the seven-day incubation, mortality that occurred within the first three hours was similar, with 25% and 27% of bacterial and fungal gene copies disappearing from the pre-wet community, respectively. The rapid disappearance of gene copies indicates that cell death, occurring either during the extreme dry down period (preceding five months) or during the rapid change in water potential due to wet-up, generates a significant pool of available C that likely contributes to the large pulse in CO2 associated with wet-up. A dynamic assemblage of growing and dying organisms controlled the CO2 pulse, but the balance between death and growth resulted in relatively stable total population abundances, even after a profound and sudden change in environment.

Aerodynamic and Acoustic Tests of a 1/15 Scale Model Dry Cooled Jet Aircraft Runup Noise Suppression System,

DTIC Science & Technology

1975-10-01

sophisticated wet-cooled systems having scrubbers and their associated water treatment facilities . The United States Navy has recognized these Hush... venturi meter air inlet to measure the pumped air flow and the exhaust enclosure is provided with suitable ports for the flow to exit. The test program...constantan thermo- couple and venturi flow meters were used to measure the aerodynamic/thermo- dynamic information required from the tests (pressure

Evidence of Near Surface Layer Stabilization by Liquid Multilayer Adsorbed Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strange, Nicholas; Larese, J. Z.

Molecular adsorption on surfaces is fundamentally important in a variety of scientific and technological processes. Surface adsorption plays a key role in catalysis/catalytic supports, optoelectronic devices, lubrication and adhesion, wetting phenomena, and separations. We present the results of a comprehensive investigation of the first ten members of the homologous series of n-alkanes (methane-decane) adsorbed on the basal plane of hexagonal boron nitride using high-resolution, volumetric adsorption isotherm measurements (more than 30 separate temperatures per molecule). The experimentally determined heats of adsorption vs. carbon chain length follow the well-known ``odd-even'' behavior of the n-alkanes. While this may not be surprising we will illustrate additional potential surface configurations that can lead to an increase in entropy. Potential phase transitions are identified using changes in the 2D-compressibility. In addition, we describe the results of companion molecular dynamics modeling to provide microscopic insight to the wetting behavior as a function of alkane chain length and film thickness. A comparison with the behavior of the same n-alkane set on MgO and graphite will also be included. These studies can serve as the basis for developing accurate, robust models of the potential energy surfaces and can be used for future investigations of the microscopic structure and dynamics of these adsorbed films using neutron/xray diffraction and neutron spectroscopy.

Pore-scale modeling of moving contact line problems in immiscible two-phase flow.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kucala, A.; Noble, D.; Martinez, M. J.

2016-12-01

Two immiscible fluids in static equilibrium form a common interface along a solid surface, characterized as the static contact (wetting) angle and is a function of surface geometry, intermolecular forces, and interfacial surface energies manifested as interfacial tension. This static configuration may become perturbed due to external force imbalances (mass injection, pressure gradients, buoyancy, etc.) and the contact line location and interface curvature becomes dynamic. Accurate modeling of moving contact line (MCL) problems is imperative in predicting capillary pressure vs. saturation curves, permeability, and preferential flow paths for a variety of applications, including geological carbon storage (GCS) and enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Here, we present a model for the moving contact line using pore-scale computational fluid dynamics (CFD) which solves the full, time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations using the Galerkin finite-element method. The MCL is modeled as a surface traction force proportional to the surface tension, dependent on the static properties of the immiscible fluid/solid system. The moving two-phase interface is tracked using the level set method and discretized with the conformal decomposition finite element method (CDFEM), allowing for surface tension effects to be computed at the exact interface location. We present a variety of verification test cases for simple two- and three-dimensional geometries to validate the current model, including threshold pressure predictions in flows through pore-throats for a variety of wetting angles. Simulations involving more complex geometries are also presented to be used in future simulations for GCS and EOR problems. Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000

Evaluating WRF-Chem aerosol indirect effects in Southeast Pacific marine stratocumulus during VOCALS-REx

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

Saide P. E.; Springston S.; Spak, S. N.

2012-03-29

We evaluate a regional-scale simulation with the WRF-Chem model for the VAMOS (Variability of the American Monsoon Systems) Ocean-Cloud-Atmosphere-Land Study Regional Experiment (VOCALS-REx), which sampled the Southeast Pacific's persistent stratocumulus deck. Evaluation of VOCALS-REx ship-based and three aircraft observations focuses on analyzing how aerosol loading affects marine boundary layer (MBL) dynamics and cloud microphysics. We compare local time series and campaign-averaged longitudinal gradients, and highlight differences in model simulations with (W) and without (NW) wet deposition processes. The higher aerosol loadings in the NW case produce considerable changes in MBL dynamics and cloud microphysics, in accordance with the established conceptualmore » model of aerosol indirect effects. These include increase in cloud albedo, increase in MBL and cloud heights, drizzle suppression, increase in liquid water content, and increase in cloud lifetime. Moreover, better statistical representation of aerosol mass and number concentration improves model fidelity in reproducing observed spatial and temporal variability in cloud properties, including top and base height, droplet concentration, water content, rain rate, optical depth (COD) and liquid water path (LWP). Together, these help to quantify confidence in WRF-Chem's modeled aerosol-cloud interactions, especially in the activation parameterization, while identifying structural and parametric uncertainties including: irreversibility in rain wet removal; overestimation of marine DMS and sea salt emissions, and accelerated aqueous sulfate conversion. Our findings suggest that WRF-Chem simulates marine cloud-aerosol interactions at a level sufficient for applications in forecasting weather and air quality and studying aerosol climate forcing, and may do so with the reliability required for policy analysis.« less

On the physically based modeling of surface tension and moving contact lines with dynamic contact angles on the continuum scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huber, M.; Keller, F.; Säckel, W.; Hirschler, M.; Kunz, P.; Hassanizadeh, S. M.; Nieken, U.

2016-04-01

The description of wetting phenomena is a challenging problem on every considerable length-scale. The behavior of interfaces and contact lines on the continuum scale is caused by intermolecular interactions like the Van der Waals forces. Therefore, to describe surface tension and the resulting dynamics of interfaces and contact lines on the continuum scale, appropriate formulations must be developed. While the Continuum Surface Force (CSF) model is well-engineered for the description of interfaces, there is still a lack of treatment of contact lines, which are defined by the intersection of an ending fluid interface and a solid boundary surface. In our approach we use a balance equation for the contact line and extend the Navier-Stokes equations in analogy to the extension of a two-phase interface in the CSF model. Since this model depicts a physically motivated approach on the continuum scale, no fitting parameters are introduced and the deterministic description leads to a dynamical evolution of the system. As verification of our theory, we show a Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) model and simulate the evolution of droplet shapes and their corresponding contact angles.

Shrinkage stress in concrete under dry-wet cycles: an example with concrete column

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Yuan; Zhang, Jun; Luosun, Yiming

2014-02-01

This paper focuses on the simulation of shrinkage stress in concrete structures under dry-wet environments. In the modeling, an integrative model for autogenous and drying shrinkage predictions of concrete under dry-wet cycles is introduced first. Second, a model taking both cement hydration and moisture diffusion into account synchronously is used to calculate the distribution of interior humidity in concrete. Using the above two models, the distributions of shrinkage strain and stress in concrete columns made by normal and high strength concrete respectively under dry-wet cycles are calculated. The model results show that shrinkage gradient along the radial direction of the column from the center to outer surface increases with age as the outer circumference suffers to dry. The maximum and minimum shrinkage occur at the outer surface and the center of the column, respectively, under drying condition. As wetting starts, the shrinkage strain decreases with increase of interior humidity. The closer to the wetting face, the higher the humidity and the lower the shrinkage strain, as well as the lower the shrinkage stress. As results of the dry-wet cycles acting on the outer circumference of the column, cyclic stress status is developed within the area close to the outer surface of the column. The depth of the influencing zone of dry-wet cyclic action is influenced by concrete strength and dry-wet regime. For low strength concrete, relatively deeper influencing zone is expected compared with that of high strength concrete. The models are verified by concrete-steel composite ring tests and a good agreement between model and test results is found.

Estimating the seasonal carbon source-sink geography of a natural, steady-state terrestrial biosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Box, Elgene O.

1988-01-01

The estimation of the seasonal dynamics of biospheric-carbon sources and sinks to be used as an input to global atmospheric CO2 studies and models is discussed. An ecological biosphere model is given and the advantages of the model are examined. Monthly maps of estimated biospheric carbon source and sink regions and estimates of total carbon fluxes are presented for an equilibrium terrestrial biosphere. The results are compared with those from other models. It is suggested that, despite maximum variations of atmospheric CO2 in boreal latitudes, the enormous contributions of tropical wet-dry regions to global atmospheric CO2 seasonality can not be ignored.

Asian droughts in the last millennium: a search for robust impacts of Pacific Ocean surface temperature variabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Entao; King, Martin P.; Sobolowski, Stefan; Otterå, Odd Helge; Gao, Yongqi

2018-06-01

This study investigates the robustness of hydroclimate impacts in Asia due to major drivers of climate variability in the Pacific Ocean, namely the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). Composite analyses are carried out on a tree ring-based Palmer Drought Severity Index as well as on a long coupled global climate model control experiment. El Niño (La Niña) has a robust impact on wet (dry) conditions in West Asia and dry (wet) conditions in South Asia. For the PDO, impacts are found throughout the Asia domain. However, identifying the robust signals due to PDO from these analyses is more challenging due to the limited lengths of the data. Results indicate that West Asia (South and Southeast Asia) experiences wet (dry) conditions during periods of positive PDO. For East Asia, there is indication that positive (negative) PDO is associated with wet (dry) conditions around and southward of 30°N and dry (wet) conditions north of this latitude. This result is consistent with the current understanding of the role of PDO in the "southern-flood northern-drought" phenomenon in China. We suggest that specific extreme events or periods have regional impacts with strong intensities that cannot be fully explained through the composite analysis of ENSO, PDO, or any combination thereof. Two such examples are shown to illustrate this: the Strange Parallel Drought (1756-1768 CE) and the Great Drought (1876-1878 CE). Additionally, during these climate events, ENSO and PDO can be in phases which are not consistent with the required phases of these drivers that explain the concurrent drought and pluvial conditions in Asia. Therefore, not all historical drought and pluvial events in Northeast Asia and northern China can be related back to ENSO or PDO. Finally, we also examine the dynamical characteristics of the reported hydroclimatic impacts in the global climate model experiment. There is moisture transport into (out of) regions that exhibit wet (dry) conditions in a manner consistent with the various ENSO and PDO composites, thereby providing physical explanation of the index-based results.

Variable climatic conditions dominate recent phytoplankton dynamics in Chesapeake Bay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harding, Lawrence W., Jr.; Mallonee, Michael E.; Perry, Elgin S.; Miller, W. David; Adolf, Jason E.; Gallegos, Charles L.; Paerl, Hans W.

2016-03-01

Variable climatic conditions strongly influence phytoplankton dynamics in estuaries globally. Our study area is Chesapeake Bay, a highly productive ecosystem providing natural resources, transportation, and recreation for nearly 16 million people inhabiting a 165,000-km2 watershed. Since World War II, nutrient over-enrichment has led to multiple ecosystem impairments caused by increased phytoplankton biomass as chlorophyll-a (chl-a). Doubled nitrogen (N) loadings from 1945-1980 led to increased chl-a, reduced water clarity, and low dissolved oxygen (DO), while decreased N loadings from 1981-2012 suggest modest improvement. The recent 30+ years are characterized by high inter-annual variability of chl-a, coinciding with irregular dry and wet periods, complicating the detection of long-term trends. Here, we synthesize time-series data for historical and recent N loadings (TN, NO2 + NO3), chl-a, floral composition, and net primary productivity (NPP) to distinguish secular changes caused by nutrient over-enrichment from spatio-temporal variability imposed by climatic conditions. Wet years showed higher chl-a, higher diatom abundance, and increased NPP, while dry years showed lower chl-a, lower diatom abundance, and decreased NPP. Our findings support a conceptual model wherein variable climatic conditions dominate recent phytoplankton dynamics against a backdrop of nutrient over-enrichment, emphasizing the need to separate these effects to gauge progress toward improving water quality in estuaries.

Variable climatic conditions dominate recent phytoplankton dynamics in Chesapeake Bay.

PubMed

Harding, Lawrence W; Mallonee, Michael E; Perry, Elgin S; Miller, W David; Adolf, Jason E; Gallegos, Charles L; Paerl, Hans W

2016-03-30

Variable climatic conditions strongly influence phytoplankton dynamics in estuaries globally. Our study area is Chesapeake Bay, a highly productive ecosystem providing natural resources, transportation, and recreation for nearly 16 million people inhabiting a 165,000-km(2) watershed. Since World War II, nutrient over-enrichment has led to multiple ecosystem impairments caused by increased phytoplankton biomass as chlorophyll-a (chl-a). Doubled nitrogen (N) loadings from 1945-1980 led to increased chl-a, reduced water clarity, and low dissolved oxygen (DO), while decreased N loadings from 1981-2012 suggest modest improvement. The recent 30+ years are characterized by high inter-annual variability of chl-a, coinciding with irregular dry and wet periods, complicating the detection of long-term trends. Here, we synthesize time-series data for historical and recent N loadings (TN, NO2 + NO3), chl-a, floral composition, and net primary productivity (NPP) to distinguish secular changes caused by nutrient over-enrichment from spatio-temporal variability imposed by climatic conditions. Wet years showed higher chl-a, higher diatom abundance, and increased NPP, while dry years showed lower chl-a, lower diatom abundance, and decreased NPP. Our findings support a conceptual model wherein variable climatic conditions dominate recent phytoplankton dynamics against a backdrop of nutrient over-enrichment, emphasizing the need to separate these effects to gauge progress toward improving water quality in estuaries.

Variable climatic conditions dominate recent phytoplankton dynamics in Chesapeake Bay

PubMed Central

Harding, Jr., Lawrence W.; Mallonee, Michael E.; Perry, Elgin S.; Miller, W. David; Adolf, Jason E.; Gallegos, Charles L.; Paerl, Hans W.

2016-01-01

Variable climatic conditions strongly influence phytoplankton dynamics in estuaries globally. Our study area is Chesapeake Bay, a highly productive ecosystem providing natural resources, transportation, and recreation for nearly 16 million people inhabiting a 165,000-km2 watershed. Since World War II, nutrient over-enrichment has led to multiple ecosystem impairments caused by increased phytoplankton biomass as chlorophyll-a (chl-a). Doubled nitrogen (N) loadings from 1945–1980 led to increased chl-a, reduced water clarity, and low dissolved oxygen (DO), while decreased N loadings from 1981–2012 suggest modest improvement. The recent 30+ years are characterized by high inter-annual variability of chl-a, coinciding with irregular dry and wet periods, complicating the detection of long-term trends. Here, we synthesize time-series data for historical and recent N loadings (TN, NO2 + NO3), chl-a, floral composition, and net primary productivity (NPP) to distinguish secular changes caused by nutrient over-enrichment from spatio-temporal variability imposed by climatic conditions. Wet years showed higher chl-a, higher diatom abundance, and increased NPP, while dry years showed lower chl-a, lower diatom abundance, and decreased NPP. Our findings support a conceptual model wherein variable climatic conditions dominate recent phytoplankton dynamics against a backdrop of nutrient over-enrichment, emphasizing the need to separate these effects to gauge progress toward improving water quality in estuaries. PMID:27026279

Predicting germination in semi-arid wildland seedbeds II. Field validation of wet thermal-time models

Treesearch

Jennifer K. Rawlins; Bruce A. Roundy; Dennis Eggett; Nathan Cline

2011-01-01

Accurate prediction of germination for species used for semi-arid land revegetation would support selection of plant materials for specific climatic conditions and sites. Wet thermal-time models predict germination time by summing progress toward germination subpopulation percentages as a function of temperature across intermittent wet periods or within singular wet...

40 CFR Table 3 to Subpart Dddd of... - Model Rule-Operating Limits for Wet Scrubbers

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Scrubbers 3 Table 3 to Subpart DDDD of Part 60 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY...—Model Rule—Operating Limits for Wet Scrubbers For these operating parameters You must establish these... intermittent units) a Pressure drop across the wet scrubber or amperage to wet scrubber Minimum pressure drop...

40 CFR Table 3 to Subpart Dddd of... - Model Rule-Operating Limits for Wet Scrubbers

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Scrubbers 3 Table 3 to Subpart DDDD of Part 60 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY...—Model Rule—Operating Limits for Wet Scrubbers For these operating parameters You must establish these... intermittent units) a Pressure drop across the wet scrubber or amperage to wet scrubber Minimum pressure drop...

Coupled Heat Transfer and Fluid Dynamics Modeling of InSb Solidification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barvinschi, Paul; Barvinschi, Floricica

2011-10-01

A method for the directional solidification of melted InSb in a silica ampoule is presented and solved with COMSOL Multiphysics. The configuration and initial boundary settings of the model resemble those used in a de-wetting vertical Bridgman configuration [1]. A slightly modified version of the method presented by Voller and Prakash [2] is used to account for solidification of the liquid phase, including convection and conduction heat transfer with mushy region phase change. Axial-symmetric numerical simulations of temperature and velocity fields, under normal gravity, are carried out using different thermal conditions.

Cryogenic thermal diode heat pipes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alario, J.

1979-01-01

The development of spiral artery cryogenic thermal diode heat pipes was continued. Ethane was the working fluid and stainless steel the heat pipe material in all cases. The major tasks included: (1) building a liquid blockage (blocking orifice) thermal diode suitable for the HEPP space flight experiment; (2) building a liquid trap thermal diode engineering model; (3) retesting the original liquid blockage engineering model, and (4) investigating the startup dynamics of artery cryogenic thermal diodes. An experimental investigation was also conducted into the wetting characteristics of ethane/stainless steel systems using a specially constructed chamber that permitted in situ observations.

A numerical study of drop-on-demand ink jets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fromm, J.

1982-01-01

Ongoing work related to development and utilization of a numerical model for treating the fluid dynamics of ink jets is discussed. The model embodies the complete nonlinear, time dependent, axi-symmetric equations in finite difference form. The jet nozzle geometry with no-slip boundary conditions and the existence of a contact circle are included. The contact circle is allowed some freedom of movement, but wetting of exterior surfaces is not addressed. The principal objective in current numerical experiments is to determine what pressure history, in conjunction with surface forces, will lead to clean drop formation.

A kinetic model of municipal sludge degradation during non-catalytic wet oxidation.

PubMed

Prince-Pike, Arrian; Wilson, David I; Baroutian, Saeid; Andrews, John; Gapes, Daniel J

2015-12-15

Wet oxidation is a successful process for the treatment of municipal sludge. In addition, the resulting effluent from wet oxidation is a useful carbon source for subsequent biological nutrient removal processes in wastewater treatment. Owing to limitations with current kinetic models, this study produced a kinetic model which predicts the concentrations of key intermediate components during wet oxidation. The model was regressed from lab-scale experiments and then subsequently validated using data from a wet oxidation pilot plant. The model was shown to be accurate in predicting the concentrations of each component, and produced good results when applied to a plant 500 times larger in size. A statistical study was undertaken to investigate the validity of the regressed model parameters. Finally the usefulness of the model was demonstrated by suggesting optimum operating conditions such that volatile fatty acids were maximised. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A mesoscopic simulation of static and dynamic wetting using many-body dissipative particle dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghorbani, Najmeh; Pishevar, Ahmadreza

2018-01-01

A many-body dissipative particle dynamics simulation is applied here to pave the way for investigating the behavior of mesoscale droplets after impact on horizontal solid substrates. First, hydrophobic and hydrophilic substrates are simulated through tuning the solid-liquid interfacial interaction parameters of an innovative conservative force model. The static contact angles are calculated on homogeneous and several patterned surfaces and compared with the predicted values by the Cassie's law in order to verify the model. The results properly evaluate the amount of increase in surface superhydrophobicity as a result of surface patterning. Then drop impact phenomenon is studied by calculating the spreading factor and dimensionless height versus dimensionless time and the comparisons made between the results and the experimental values for three different static contact angles. The results show the capability of the procedure in calculating the amount of maximum spreading factor, which is a significant concept in ink-jet printing and coating process.

Many-body formulation of carriers capture time in quantum dots applicable in device simulation codes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vallone, Marco

2010-03-01

We present an application of Green's functions formalism to calculate in a simplified but rigorous way electrons and holes capture time in quantum dots in closed form as function of carrier density, levels confinement potential, and temperature. Carrier-carrier (Auger) scattering and single LO-phonon emission are both addressed accounting for dynamic effects of the potential screening in the single plasmon pole approximation of the dielectric function. Regarding the LO-phonons interaction, the formulation evidences the role of the dynamic screening from wetting-layer carriers in comparison with its static limit, describes the interplay between screening and Fermi band filling, and offers simple expressions for capture time, suitable for modeling implementation.

Thermal effect on the dynamic infiltration of water into single-walled carbon nanotubes.

PubMed

Zhao, Jianbing; Liu, Ling; Culligan, Patricia J; Chen, Xi

2009-12-01

Thermally induced variation in wetting ability in a confined nanoenvironment, indicated by the change in infiltration pressure as water molecules enter a model single-walled carbon nanotube submerged in aqueous environment, is investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. The temperature-dependent infiltration behavior is impacted in part by the thermally excited radial oscillation of the carbon nanotube, and in part by the variations of fundamental physical properties at the molecular level, including the hydrogen bonding interaction. The thermal effect is also closely coupled with the nanotube size effect and loading rate effect. Manipulation of the thermally responsive infiltration properties could facilitate the development of a next-generation thermal energy converter based on nanoporous materials.

Extinction debt from climate change for frogs in the wet tropics.

PubMed

Fordham, Damien A; Brook, Barry W; Hoskin, Conrad J; Pressey, Robert L; VanDerWal, Jeremy; Williams, Stephen E

2016-10-01

The effect of twenty-first-century climate change on biodiversity is commonly forecast based on modelled shifts in species ranges, linked to habitat suitability. These projections have been coupled with species-area relationships (SAR) to infer extinction rates indirectly as a result of the loss of climatically suitable areas and associated habitat. This approach does not model population dynamics explicitly, and so accepts that extinctions might occur after substantial (but unknown) delays-an extinction debt. Here we explicitly couple bioclimatic envelope models of climate and habitat suitability with generic life-history models for 24 species of frogs found in the Australian Wet Tropics (AWT). We show that (i) as many as four species of frogs face imminent extinction by 2080, due primarily to climate change; (ii) three frogs face delayed extinctions; and (iii) this extinction debt will take at least a century to be realized in full. Furthermore, we find congruence between forecast rates of extinction using SARs, and demographic models with an extinction lag of 120 years. We conclude that SAR approaches can provide useful advice to conservation on climate change impacts, provided there is a good understanding of the time lags over which delayed extinctions are likely to occur. © 2016 The Author(s).

Wetting dynamics of a collapsing fluid hole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bostwick, J. B.; Dijksman, J. A.; Shearer, M.

2017-01-01

The collapse dynamics of an axisymmetric fluid cavity that wets the bottom of a rotating bucket bound by vertical sidewalls are studied. Lubrication theory is applied to the governing field equations for the thin film to yield an evolution equation that captures the effect of capillary, gravitational, and centrifugal forces on this converging flow. The focus is on the quasistatic spreading regime, whereby contact-line motion is governed by a constitutive law relating the contact-angle to the contact-line speed. Surface tension forces dominate the collapse dynamics for small holes with the collapse time appearing as a power law whose exponent compares favorably to experiments in the literature. Gravity accelerates the collapse process. Volume dependence is predicted and compared with experiment. Centrifugal forces slow the collapse process and lead to complex dynamics characterized by stalled spreading behavior that separates the large and small hole asymptotic regimes.

Influence of spatial variation of phenomenological parameters on the modeling of boundary conditions for flows with dynamic wetting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hizumi, Yuka; Omori, Takeshi; Yamaguchi, Yasutaka; Kajisima, Takeo

2014-11-01

For reliable prediction of multiphase flows in micro- and nano-scales, continuum models are expected to account for small scale physics near the contact line (CL) region. Some existing works (for example the series of papers by the group of Qian and Ren) have been successful in deriving continuum models and corresponding boundary conditions which reproduce well the molecular dynamics (MD) simulation results. Their studies, however, did not fully address the issue of adsorption layer especially in the CL region, and it is still not clear if general conclusion can be deduced from their results. In the present study we investigate in detail the local viscosity and the corresponding stress tensor formulation in the solid-liquid interface and in the CL region of immiscible two-phase Couette flows by means of MD simulation. The application limit of the generalized Navier boundary condition and the continuum model with uniform viscosity is addressed by systematic coarse-graining of sampling bins.

The value of model averaging and dynamical climate model predictions for improving statistical seasonal streamflow forecasts over Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pokhrel, Prafulla; Wang, Q. J.; Robertson, David E.

2013-10-01

Seasonal streamflow forecasts are valuable for planning and allocation of water resources. In Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology employs a statistical method to forecast seasonal streamflows. The method uses predictors that are related to catchment wetness at the start of a forecast period and to climate during the forecast period. For the latter, a predictor is selected among a number of lagged climate indices as candidates to give the "best" model in terms of model performance in cross validation. This study investigates two strategies for further improvement in seasonal streamflow forecasts. The first is to combine, through Bayesian model averaging, multiple candidate models with different lagged climate indices as predictors, to take advantage of different predictive strengths of the multiple models. The second strategy is to introduce additional candidate models, using rainfall and sea surface temperature predictions from a global climate model as predictors. This is to take advantage of the direct simulations of various dynamic processes. The results show that combining forecasts from multiple statistical models generally yields more skillful forecasts than using only the best model and appears to moderate the worst forecast errors. The use of rainfall predictions from the dynamical climate model marginally improves the streamflow forecasts when viewed over all the study catchments and seasons, but the use of sea surface temperature predictions provide little additional benefit.

A Fully Nonlinear, Dynamically Consistent Numerical Model for Solid-Body Ship Motion. I. Ship Motion with Fixed Heading

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, Ray-Quing; Kuang, Weijia

2011-01-01

In this paper, we describe the details of our numerical model for simulating ship solidbody motion in a given environment. In this model, the fully nonlinear dynamical equations governing the time-varying solid-body ship motion under the forces arising from ship wave interactions are solved with given initial conditions. The net force and moment (torque) on the ship body are directly calculated via integration of the hydrodynamic pressure over the wetted surface and the buoyancy effect from the underwater volume of the actual ship hull with a hybrid finite-difference/finite-element method. Neither empirical nor free parametrization is introduced in this model, i.e. no a priori experimental data are needed for modelling. This model is benchmarked with many experiments of various ship hulls for heave, roll and pitch motion. In addition to the benchmark cases, numerical experiments are also carried out for strongly nonlinear ship motion with a fixed heading. These new cases demonstrate clearly the importance of nonlinearities in ship motion modelling.

Vehicle Dynamics Monitoring and Tracking System (VDMTS): Monitoring Mission Impacts in Support of Installation Land Management

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-01

transfer This report will be made accessible through the World Wide Web (WWW) at URLs: http://www.cecer.army.mil http://libweb.erdc.usace.army.mil...conditions (e.g., wetter or dryer conditions). Using the same live event tracking data, predictions can be made for vegetation loss in wet soils, even...WWW World Wide Web ERDC/CERL TR-12-11 107 References Ahlvin, R. B., and P. W. Haley. 1992. NATO reference mobility model edition II, NRMM II

Workshop on the Martian Northern Plains: Sedimentological, Periglacial, and Paleoclimatic Evolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kargel, Jeffrey S. (Editor); Moore, Jeffrey (Editor); Parker, Timothy (Editor)

1993-01-01

Papers that have been accepted for presentation at the Workshop on the Martian Northern Plains: Sedimentological, Periglacial, and Paleoclimatic Evolution, on 12-14 Aug. 1993 in Fairbanks, Alaska are included. Topics covered include: hydrological consequences of ponded water on Mars; morphological and morphometric studies of impact craters in the Northern Plains of Mars; a wet-geology and cold-climate Mars model: punctuation of a slow dynamics approach to equilibrium; the distribution of ground ice on Mars; and stratigraphy of the Martian Northern Plains.

Effect of induced cohesion on stick-slip dynamics in weakly saturated, sheared granular fault gouge

DOE PAGES

Dorostkar, Omid; Guyer, Robert A.; Johnson, Paul Allan; ...

2018-02-28

We use three-dimensional discrete element calculations to study stick-slip dynamics in a weakly wet granular layer designed to simulate fault gouge. The granular gouge is constituted by 8000 spherical particles with a poly-disperse size distribution. At very low liquid content, liquids impose cohesive and viscous forces on particles. Our simulations show that by increasing the liquid content, friction increases and granular layer shows higher recurrence time between slip events. We also observe that slip events exhibit larger friction drop and layer compaction in wet system compared to dry. We demonstrate that a small volume of liquid induces cohesive forces betweenmore » wet particles that are responsible for an increase in coordination number leading to a more stable arrangement of particles. This stabilization is evidenced with two orders of magnitude lower particle kinetic energy in wet system during stick phase. Similar to previous experimental studies, we observe enhanced frictional strength for wet granular layers. In experiments, the physicochemical processes are believed to be the main reason for such behavior, we show however, that at low confining stresses the hydromechanical effects of induced cohesion are sufficient for observed behavior. Our simulations illuminate the role of particle interactions and demonstrate the conditions under which induced cohesion plays a significant role in fault zone processes, including slip initiation, weakening, and failure.« less

Remotely-Sensed Urban Wet-Landscapes AN Indicator of Coupled Effects of Human Impact and Climate Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Wei

2016-06-01

This study proposes the concept of urban wet-landscapes (loosely-defined wetlands) as against dry-landscapes (mainly impervious surfaces). The study is to examine whether the dynamics of urban wet-landscapes is a sensitive indicator of the coupled effects of the two major driving forces of urban landscape change - human built-up impact and climate (precipitation) variation. Using a series of satellite images, the study was conducted in the Kansas City metropolitan area of the United States. A rule-based classification algorithm was developed to identify fine-scale, hidden wetlands that could not be appropriately detected based on their spectral differentiability by a traditional image classification. The spatial analyses of wetland changes were implemented at the scales of metropolitan, watershed, and sub-watershed as well as based on the size of surface water bodies in order to reveal urban wetland change trends in relation to the driving forces. The study identified that wet-landscape dynamics varied in trend and magnitude from the metropolitan, watersheds, to sub-watersheds. The study also found that increased precipitation in the region in the past decades swelled larger wetlands in particular while smaller wetlands decreased mainly due to human development activities. These findings suggest that wet-landscapes, as against the dry-landscapes, can be a more effective indicator of the coupled effects of human impact and climate change.

Effect of induced cohesion on stick-slip dynamics in weakly saturated, sheared granular fault gouge

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

Dorostkar, Omid; Guyer, Robert A.; Johnson, Paul Allan

We use three-dimensional discrete element calculations to study stick-slip dynamics in a weakly wet granular layer designed to simulate fault gouge. The granular gouge is constituted by 8000 spherical particles with a poly-disperse size distribution. At very low liquid content, liquids impose cohesive and viscous forces on particles. Our simulations show that by increasing the liquid content, friction increases and granular layer shows higher recurrence time between slip events. We also observe that slip events exhibit larger friction drop and layer compaction in wet system compared to dry. We demonstrate that a small volume of liquid induces cohesive forces betweenmore » wet particles that are responsible for an increase in coordination number leading to a more stable arrangement of particles. This stabilization is evidenced with two orders of magnitude lower particle kinetic energy in wet system during stick phase. Similar to previous experimental studies, we observe enhanced frictional strength for wet granular layers. In experiments, the physicochemical processes are believed to be the main reason for such behavior, we show however, that at low confining stresses the hydromechanical effects of induced cohesion are sufficient for observed behavior. Our simulations illuminate the role of particle interactions and demonstrate the conditions under which induced cohesion plays a significant role in fault zone processes, including slip initiation, weakening, and failure.« less

Uncertainty associated with convective wet removal of entrained aerosols in a global climate model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Croft, B.; Pierce, J. R.; Martin, R. V.; Hoose, C.; Lohmann, U.

2012-11-01

The uncertainties associated with the wet removal of aerosols entrained above convective cloud bases are investigated in a global aerosol-climate model (ECHAM5-HAM) under a set of limiting assumptions for the wet removal of the entrained aerosols. The limiting assumptions for the wet removal of entrained aerosols are negligible scavenging and vigorous scavenging (either through activation, with size-dependent impaction scavenging, or with the prescribed fractions of the standard model). To facilitate this process-based study, an explicit representation of cloud-droplet-borne and ice-crystal-borne aerosol mass and number, for the purpose of wet removal, is introduced into the ECHAM5-HAM model. This replaces and is compared with the prescribed cloud-droplet-borne and ice-crystal-borne aerosol fraction scavenging scheme of the standard model. A 20% to 35% uncertainty in simulated global, annual mean aerosol mass burdens and optical depth (AOD) is attributed to different assumptions for the wet removal of aerosols entrained above convective cloud bases. Assumptions about the removal of aerosols entrained above convective cloud bases control modeled upper tropospheric aerosol concentrations by as much as one order of magnitude. Simulated aerosols entrained above convective cloud bases contribute 20% to 50% of modeled global, annual mean aerosol mass convective wet deposition (about 5% to 10% of the total dry and wet deposition), depending on the aerosol species, when including wet scavenging of those entrained aerosols (either by activation, size-dependent impaction, or with the prescribed fraction scheme). Among the simulations, the prescribed fraction and size-dependent impaction schemes yield the largest global, annual mean aerosol mass convective wet deposition (by about two-fold). However, the prescribed fraction scheme has more vigorous convective mixed-phase wet removal (by two to five-fold relative to the size-dependent impaction scheme) since nearly all entrained accumulation and coarse mode aerosols are assumed to be cloud-droplet borne or ice-crystal borne, and evaporation due to the Bergeron-Findeisen process is neglected. The simulated convective wet scavenging of entrained accumulation and coarse mode aerosols has feedbacks on new particle formation and the number of Aitken mode aerosols, which control stratiform and convective cloud droplet number concentrations and yield precipitation changes in the ECHAM5-HAM model. However, the geographic distribution of aerosol annual mean convective wet deposition change in the model is driven by changes to the assumptions regarding the scavenging of aerosols entrained above cloud bases rather than by precipitation changes, except for sea salt deposition in the tropics. Uncertainty in the seasonal, regional cycles of AOD due to assumptions about entrained aerosol wet scavenging is similar in magnitude to the estimated error in the AOD retrievals. The uncertainty in aerosol concentrations, burdens, and AOD attributed to different assumptions for the wet scavenging of aerosols entrained above convective cloud bases in a global model motivates the ongoing need to better understand and model the activation and impaction processes that aerosols undergo after entrainment into convective updrafts.

Direct leaf wetness measurements and its numerical analysis using a multi-layer atmosphere-soil-vegetation model at a grassland site in pre-alpine region in Germany

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katata, Genki; Held, Andreas; Mauder, Matthias

2014-05-01

The wetness of plant leaf surfaces (leaf wetness) is important in meteorological, agricultural, and environmental studies including plant disease management and the deposition process of atmospheric trace gases and particles. Although many models have been developed to predict leaf wetness, wetness data directly measured at the leaf surface for model validations are still limited. In the present study, the leaf wetness was monitored using seven electrical sensors directly clipped to living leaf surfaces of thin and broad-leaved grasses. The measurements were carried out at the pre-alpine grassland site in TERestrial ENvironmental Observatories (TERENO) networks in Germany from September 20 to November 8, 2013. Numerical simulations of a multi-layer atmosphere-SOiL-VEGetation model (SOLVEG) developed by the authors were carried out for analyzing the data. For numerical simulations, the additional routine meteorological data of wind speed, air temperature and humidity, radiation, rainfall, long-wave radiative surface temperature, surface fluxes, ceilometer backscatter, and canopy or snow depth were used. The model reproduced well the observed leaf wetness, net radiation, momentum and heat, water vapor, and CO2 fluxes, surface temperature, and soil temperature and moisture. In rain-free days, a typical diurnal cycle as a decrease and increase during the day- and night-time, respectively, was observed in leaf wetness data. The high wetness level was always monitored under rain, fog, and snowcover conditions. Leaf wetness was also often high in the early morning due to thawing of leaf surface water frozen during a cold night. In general, leaf wetness was well correlated with relative humidity (RH) in condensation process, while it rather depended on wind speed in evaporation process. The comparisons in RH-wetness relations between leaf characteristics showed that broad-leaved grasses tended to be wetter than thin grasses.

Variable selection based near infrared spectroscopy quantitative and qualitative analysis on wheat wet gluten

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lü, Chengxu; Jiang, Xunpeng; Zhou, Xingfan; Zhang, Yinqiao; Zhang, Naiqian; Wei, Chongfeng; Mao, Wenhua

2017-10-01

Wet gluten is a useful quality indicator for wheat, and short wave near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a high performance technique with the advantage of economic rapid and nondestructive test. To study the feasibility of short wave NIRS analyzing wet gluten directly from wheat seed, 54 representative wheat seed samples were collected and scanned by spectrometer. 8 spectral pretreatment method and genetic algorithm (GA) variable selection method were used to optimize analysis. Both quantitative and qualitative model of wet gluten were built by partial least squares regression and discriminate analysis. For quantitative analysis, normalization is the optimized pretreatment method, 17 wet gluten sensitive variables are selected by GA, and GA model performs a better result than that of all variable model, with R2V=0.88, and RMSEV=1.47. For qualitative analysis, automatic weighted least squares baseline is the optimized pretreatment method, all variable models perform better results than those of GA models. The correct classification rates of 3 class of <24%, 24-30%, >30% wet gluten content are 95.45, 84.52, and 90.00%, respectively. The short wave NIRS technique shows potential for both quantitative and qualitative analysis of wet gluten for wheat seed.

Asymmetric and speed-dependent contact angle hysteresis and relaxation of a suddenly stopped moving contact line

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guan, Dongshi; Wang, Yong Jian; Charlaix, Elisabeth; Tong, Penger

We report direct atomic-force-microscope measurements of capillary force hysteresis and relaxation of a circular moving contact line (CL) formed on a long micron-sized hydrophobic fiber intersecting a water-air interface. The measured capillary force hysteresis and CL relaxation show a strong asymmetric speed dependence in the advancing and receding directions. A unified model based on force-assisted barrier-crossing is utilized to find the underlying energy barrier Eb and size λ associated with the defects on the fiber surface. The experiment demonstrates that the pinning (relaxation) and depinning dynamics of the CL can be described by a common microscopic frame-work, and the advancing and receding CLs are influenced by two different sets of relatively wetting and non-wetting defects on the fiber surface. Work supported in part by the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong SAR.

Bulk Viscoelastic Contribution to the Wet Sliding Friction of Rubber Compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Xiao-Dong

2002-03-01

An efficient stopping of an automobile on a wet highway in a rainy day is of obvious importance to the safety of the driving public. Here tire tread made of filled rubber compounds plays an essential role in detremining the wet traction performance. Even though significant progress has been made in improving this tire performance character and much knowledge has been accumulated, there still lacks a coherent fundamental understanding on this dynamic process. Consequently there currently exist no accurate guidelines for designing rubber compounds for better wet traction, and for predicting the wet traction performance of a rubber compound. In this experimental study, a portable British Pendulum Skid Tester has been employed to examine in the laboratory how the rubber compound material properties affect its wet sliding friction on a concrete surface. A dramatic dispaly of the impacts from the compound bulk viscoelastic properties has been observed for the first time. This observation will be discussed in relation to previous results discussed in the literature.

How to Simulate the Interplate Domain in Thermo-mechanical Experiments of Subduction ? Critical Effects of Resolution and Rheology, and Consequences on Wet Mantle Melting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arcay, D.

2017-12-01

Oceanic plate subduction implies tight interactions between converging lithospheres and surrounding mantle. Plate-mantle couplings can be modeled using thermo-chemical codes of mantle convection. But how to model correctly with a continuous fluid approach the subduction interface, characterised by strong and localised discontinuities? The present study aims at better deciphering the different mechanisms involved in the functioning of the subduction interplate, simply modeled by a weak crust layer, free to evolve. Pseudo-brittle and non-Newtonian behaviours are modelled. This study shows first that the numerical resolution is critical. If the subducting plate is 100 Myr old, subduction occurs for any crust strength. The stiffer the crust is, the shallower the interplate down-dip extent is and the hotter the fore-arc base is. Conversely, imposing a very weak subduction channel leads to an extreme mantle wedge cooling and inhibits mantle melting in wet conditions. If the incoming plate is 20 Myr old, subduction occurs only if the crust is either stiff and denser than the mantle, or weak and buoyant. These conditions lead notably to (1) fore-arc lithosphere cooling, and (2) partial or complete hindrance of wet mantle melting. Finally, subduction plane dynamics is intimately linked to the regime of subduction-induced corner flow: either focussed towards the mantle wedge tip and strongly warming the subduction plate, or, diffuse and favoring global cooling by the lengthening of the subduction plane. The thermal states simulated within the mantle wedge are compared with observations to decipher the best rheological ranges modelling the subduction channel. Two intervals of crustal activation energy are underlined: 345-385 kJ/mol to reproduce the slab surface temperature range inferred from geothermometry, and 415-455 kJ/mol to reproduce the hot mantle wedge core suggested by seismic tomographies. As these two intervals do not overlap, an extra process involved in subduction dynamics is needed. A moderate mantle viscosity reduction, caused by metasomatism in the mantle wedge, is proposed. From these results, it can be inferred that the subduction channel down-dip extent should vary with the subduction setting, consistently with the worldwide variability of sub-arc depths of the subducting plate surface.

Evaluating the complementary relationship of evapotranspiration in an arid shrublands, Heihe river basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Zhongbo; Xu, Shiqin; Ji, Xibin; Sudicky, Edward A.

2018-06-01

Accurate estimates of evapotranspiration and its components are essential for quantifying the water and energy fluxes and water resources management in arid regions. To this end, daily actual evapotranspiration (ETa), pan evaporation, and concurrent microclimate from an arid shrublands were measured over two growing seasons (2014-2015) to determine water budgets and to test the validity of the complementary relationship (CR) at this temporal scale. The average ETa is 229.32 ± 45.86 mm during two growing seasons, while canopy transpiration, soil evaporation, and interception accounted for 68.1 ± 16.5%, 29.1 ± 2.5% and 2.8 ± 0.6%, respectively. Actual evapotranspiration and Penman potential evapotranspiration, or pan evaporation exhibit complementary behavior, where the complementary relationship is asymmetric. Daily ETa rates are significantly overestimated by the symmetric Advection-Aridity (AA) model. Employing the modified AA model, where parameters are calibrated locally and wet environment evapotranspiration is evaluated at wet environment air temperature as opposed to the measured air temperature, the prediction accuracy of ETa is dramatically improved. With calibrated parameters, the E601B sunken pan can satisfactorily describe the dynamics of daily ETa, while the D20 aboveground pan underestimates it to some extent. Moreover, the modified AA model is able to capture the dynamics of groundwater usage by vegetation during dry summer. These findings gain our new knowledge on the capability of CR theory to resolve special issue occurred in phreatophytic shrublands, and can also provide beneficial reference to water resource and eco-environment management in arid regions.

Controlling wetting and self-assembly dynamics by tailored hydrophobic and oleophobic surfaces.

PubMed

Miele, Ermanno; Malerba, Mario; Dipalo, Michele; Rondanina, Eliana; Toma, Andrea; De Angelis, Francesco

2014-06-25

Tailored hydrophobic and oleophobic surfaces are exploited for controlling the wetting behaviour and evaporation process of solution dropped on them. This enables molecules and nano-objects that are dissolved in water or organic solvents to be delivered and arranged in a well-defined 2D layout. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Stochastic Rotation Dynamics simulations of wetting multi-phase flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hiller, Thomas; Sanchez de La Lama, Marta; Brinkmann, Martin

2016-06-01

Multi-color Stochastic Rotation Dynamics (SRDmc) has been introduced by Inoue et al. [1,2] as a particle based simulation method to study the flow of emulsion droplets in non-wetting microchannels. In this work, we extend the multi-color method to also account for different wetting conditions. This is achieved by assigning the color information not only to fluid particles but also to virtual wall particles that are required to enforce proper no-slip boundary conditions. To extend the scope of the original SRDmc algorithm to e.g. immiscible two-phase flow with viscosity contrast we implement an angular momentum conserving scheme (SRD+mc). We perform extensive benchmark simulations to show that a mono-phase SRDmc fluid exhibits bulk properties identical to a standard SRD fluid and that SRDmc fluids are applicable to a wide range of immiscible two-phase flows. To quantify the adhesion of a SRD+mc fluid in contact to the walls we measure the apparent contact angle from sessile droplets in mechanical equilibrium. For a further verification of our wettability implementation we compare the dewetting of a liquid film from a wetting stripe to experimental and numerical studies of interfacial morphologies on chemically structured surfaces.

Utilizing chemo-mechanically functionalized oscillating fins to ``catch and release'' nanoparticles in binary flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Ya; Ma, Yongting; Bhattacharya, Amitabh; Kuksenok, Olga; He, Ximin; Aizenberg, Joanna; Balazs, Anna

2013-11-01

In biomimetics, designing an effective ``catch and release'' device for the selective removal of target species from the surrounding solution is critical for developing autonomous sensors and sorters. Using computational simulation, we model an array of oscillating fins that are tethered on the floor of a microchannel and immersed in a binary-fluid stream. During the oscillation, the fins with the specific chemical wetting reach the upper fluid when they are upright and are entirely within the lower stream when they are tilted. We introduce specific adhesive interactions between the fins and particulates in the solution and determine conditions where the oscillating fins can selectively bind (``catch'') target nanoparticles within the upper fluid stream and then release these particles into the lower stream. We isolate the effects of chemical wetting on the fins (e.g., wetting contact angle between fins and fluid) and mechanical parameters (e.g., frequency of fins' oscillations) that lead to the efficient extraction of target species from the upper stream and placement into the lower fluid. Our understanding provides fundamental insights into the system's complex dynamics and mechanism for detection, separation, and purification of multi-component mixtures.

Multicycle Wilhelmy plate method for wetting properties, swelling and liquid sorption of wood.

PubMed

Moghaddam, Maziar Sedighi; Wålinder, Magnus E P; Claesson, Per M; Swerin, Agne

2013-10-01

A multicycle Wilhelmy plate method has been developed to investigate wetting properties, liquid sorption, and swelling of porous substrates such as wood. The use of the method is exemplified by studies of wood veneers of Scots pine sapwood and heartwood, which were subjected to repeated immersion and withdrawal in a swelling liquid (water) and in a nonswelling liquid (octane). The swelling liquid changes the sample dimensions during measurements, in particular its perimeter. This, in turn, influences the force registered. A model based on a linear combination of the measured force and final change in sample perimeter is suggested, and validated to elucidate the dynamic perimeter change of wood veneer samples. We show that pine heartwood and pine sapwood differ in several respects in their interaction with water. Pine heartwood showed (i) lower liquid uptake, (ii) lower swelling, (iii) higher contact angle, and (iv) lower level of dissolution of surface active components (extractives) than pine sapwood. We conclude that the method is also suitable for studying wetting properties of other porous and swellable materials. The wettability results were supported by surface chemical analysis using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, showing higher extractives and lignin content on heartwood than on sapwood surfaces.

Atomistic modelling of evaporation and explosive boiling of thin film liquid argon over internally recessed nanostructured surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasan, Mohammad Nasim; Shavik, Sheikh Mohammad; Rabbi, Kazi Fazle; Haque, Mominul

2016-07-01

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been carried out to investigate evaporation and explosive boiling phenomena of thin film liquid argon on nanostructured solid surface with emphasis on the effect of solid-liquid interfacial wettability. The nanostructured surface considered herein consists of trapezoidal internal recesses of the solid platinum wall. The wetting conditions of the solid surface were assumed such that it covers both the hydrophilic and hydrophobic conditions and hence effect of interfacial wettability on resulting evaporation and boiling phenomena was the main focus of this study. The initial configuration of the simulation domain comprised of a three phase system (solid platinum, liquid argon and vapor argon) on which equilibrium molecular dynamics (EMD) was performed to reach equilibrium state at 90 K. After equilibrium of the three-phase system was established, the wall was set to different temperatures (130 K and 250 K for the case of evaporation and explosive boiling respectively) to perform non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD). The variation of temperature and density as well as the variation of system pressure with respect to time were closely monitored for each case. The heat flux normal to the solid surface was also calculated to illustrate the effectiveness of heat transfer for hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces in cases of both nanostructured surface and flat surface. The results obtained show that both the wetting condition of the surface and the presence of internal recesses have significant effect on normal evaporation and explosive boiling of the thin liquid film. The heat transfer from solid to liquid in cases of surface with recesses are higher compared to flat surface without recesses. Also the surface with higher wettability (hydrophilic) provides more favorable conditions for boiling than the low-wetting surface (hydrophobic) and therefore, liquid argon responds quickly and shifts from liquid to vapor phase faster in case of hydrophilic surface. The heat transfer rate is also much higher in case of hydrophilic surface.

Atomistic modelling of evaporation and explosive boiling of thin film liquid argon over internally recessed nanostructured surface

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

Hasan, Mohammad Nasim, E-mail: nasim@me.buet.ac.bd.com; Shavik, Sheikh Mohammad, E-mail: shavik@me.buet.ac.bd.com; Rabbi, Kazi Fazle, E-mail: rabbi35.me10@gmail.com

2016-07-12

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been carried out to investigate evaporation and explosive boiling phenomena of thin film liquid argon on nanostructured solid surface with emphasis on the effect of solid-liquid interfacial wettability. The nanostructured surface considered herein consists of trapezoidal internal recesses of the solid platinum wall. The wetting conditions of the solid surface were assumed such that it covers both the hydrophilic and hydrophobic conditions and hence effect of interfacial wettability on resulting evaporation and boiling phenomena was the main focus of this study. The initial configuration of the simulation domain comprised of a three phase system (solidmore » platinum, liquid argon and vapor argon) on which equilibrium molecular dynamics (EMD) was performed to reach equilibrium state at 90 K. After equilibrium of the three-phase system was established, the wall was set to different temperatures (130 K and 250 K for the case of evaporation and explosive boiling respectively) to perform non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD). The variation of temperature and density as well as the variation of system pressure with respect to time were closely monitored for each case. The heat flux normal to the solid surface was also calculated to illustrate the effectiveness of heat transfer for hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces in cases of both nanostructured surface and flat surface. The results obtained show that both the wetting condition of the surface and the presence of internal recesses have significant effect on normal evaporation and explosive boiling of the thin liquid film. The heat transfer from solid to liquid in cases of surface with recesses are higher compared to flat surface without recesses. Also the surface with higher wettability (hydrophilic) provides more favorable conditions for boiling than the low-wetting surface (hydrophobic) and therefore, liquid argon responds quickly and shifts from liquid to vapor phase faster in case of hydrophilic surface. The heat transfer rate is also much higher in case of hydrophilic surface.« less

Modeling the relaxation dynamics of fluids in nanoporous materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edison, John R.

Mesoporous materials are being widely used in the chemical industry in various environmentally friendly separation processes and as catalysts. Our research can be broadly described as an effort to understand the behavior of fluids confined in such materials. More specifically we try to understand the influence of state variables like temperature and pore variables like size, shape, connectivity and structural heterogeneity on both the dynamic and equilibrium behavior of confined fluids. The dynamic processes associated with the approach to equilibrium are largely unexplored. It is important to look into the dynamic behavior for two reasons. First, confined fluids experience enhanced metastabilities and large equilibration times in certain classes of mesoporous materials, and the approach to the metastable/stable equilibrium is of tremendous interest. Secondly, understanding the transport resistances in a microscopic scale will help better engineer heterogeneous catalysts and separation processes. Here we present some of our preliminary studies on dynamics of fluids in ideal pore geometries. The tool that we have used extensively to investigate the relaxation dynamics of fluids in pores is the dynamic mean field theory (DMFT) as developed by Monson [P. A. Monson, J. Chem. Phys., 128, 084701 (2008)]. The theory is based on a lattice gas model of the system and can be viewed as a highly computationally efficient approximation to the dynamics averaged over an ensemble of Kawasaki dynamics Monte Carlo trajectories of the system. It provides a theory of the dynamics of the system consistent with the thermodynamics in mean field theory. The nucleation mechanisms associated with confined fluid phase transitions are emergent features in the calculations. We begin by describing the details of the theory and then present several applications of DMFT. First we present applications to three model pore networks (a) a network of slit pores with a single pore width; (b) a network of slit pores with two pore widths arranged in intersecting channels with a single pore width in each channel; (c) a network of slit pores with two pore widths forming an array of ink-bottles. The results illustrate the effects of pore connectivity upon the dynamics of vapor liquid phase transformations as well as on the mass transfer resistances to equilibration. We then present an application to a case where the solid-fluid interactions lead to partial wetting on a planar surface. The pore filling process in such systems features an asymmetric density distribution where a liquid droplet appears on one of the walls. We also present studies on systems where there is partial drying or drying associated with weakly attractive or repulsive interactions between the fluid and the pore walls. We describe the symmetries exhibited by the lattice model between pore filling for wetting states and pore emptying for drying states, for both the thermodynamics and dynamics. We then present an extension of DMFT to mixtures and present some examples that illustrate the utility of the approach. Finally we present an assessment the accuracy of the DMFT through comparisons with a higher order approximation based on the path probability method as well as Kawasaki dynamics.

Potential of turbidity monitoring for real time control of pollutant discharge in sewers during rainfall events.

PubMed

Lacour, C; Joannis, C; Gromaire, M-C; Chebbo, G

2009-01-01

Turbidity sensors can be used to continuously monitor the evolution of pollutant mass discharge. For two sites within the Paris combined sewer system, continuous turbidity, conductivity and flow data were recorded at one-minute time intervals over a one-year period. This paper is intended to highlight the variability in turbidity dynamics during wet weather. For each storm event, turbidity response aspects were analysed through different classifications. The correlation between classification and common parameters, such as the antecedent dry weather period, total event volume per impervious hectare and both the mean and maximum hydraulic flow for each event, was also studied. Moreover, the dynamics of flow and turbidity signals were compared at the event scale. No simple relation between turbidity responses, hydraulic flow dynamics and the chosen parameters was derived from this effort. Knowledge of turbidity dynamics could therefore potentially improve wet weather management, especially when using pollution-based real-time control (P-RTC) since turbidity contains information not included in hydraulic flow dynamics and not readily predictable from such dynamics.

Unusual Contact-Line Dynamics of Thick Films and Drops

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Veretennikov, Igor; Agarwal, Abhishek; Indeikina, Alexandra; Chang, Hsueh-Chia

1999-01-01

We report several novel phenomena In contact-line and fingering dynamics of macroscopic spinning drops and gravity-driven films with dimensions larger than the capillary length. It is shown through experimental and theoretical analysis that such macroscopic films can exhibit various interfacial shapes, including multi valued ones, near the contact line due to a balance between the external body forces with capillarity. This rich variety of front shapes couples with the usual capillary, viscous, and intermolecular forces at the contact line to produce a rich and unexpected spectrum of contact-line dynamics. A single finger develops when part of the front becomes multivalued on a partially wetting macroscopic spinning drop in contrast to a different mechanism for microscopic drops of completely wetting fluids. Contrary to general expectation, we observe that, at high viscosity and low frequencies of rotation, the speed of a glycerine finger increases with increasing viscosity. Completely wetting Dow Corning 200 Fluid spreads faster over a dry inclined plane than a prewetted one. The presence of a thin prewetted film suppresses fingering both for gravity-driven flow and for spin coating. We analyze some of these unique phenomena in detail and offer qualitative physical explanations for the others.

Joint analysis of deposition fluxes and atmospheric concentrations of inorganic nitrogen and sulphur compounds predicted by six chemistry transport models in the frame of the EURODELTAIII project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vivanco, M. G.; Bessagnet, B.; Cuvelier, C.; Theobald, M. R.; Tsyro, S.; Pirovano, G.; Aulinger, A.; Bieser, J.; Calori, G.; Ciarelli, G.; Manders, A.; Mircea, M.; Aksoyoglu, S.; Briganti, G.; Cappelletti, A.; Colette, A.; Couvidat, F.; D'Isidoro, M.; Kranenburg, R.; Meleux, F.; Menut, L.; Pay, M. T.; Rouïl, L.; Silibello, C.; Thunis, P.; Ung, A.

2017-02-01

In the framework of the UNECE Task Force on Measurement and Modelling (TFMM) under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP), the EURODELTAIII project is evaluating how well air quality models are able to reproduce observed pollutant air concentrations and deposition fluxes in Europe. In this paper the sulphur and nitrogen deposition estimates of six state-of-the-art regional models (CAMx, CHIMERE, EMEP MSC-W, LOTOS-EUROS, MINNI and CMAQ) are evaluated and compared for four intensive EMEP measurement periods (25 Feb-26 Mar 2009; 17 Sep-15 Oct 2008; 8 Jan-4 Feb 2007 and 1-30 Jun 2006). For sulphur, this study shows the importance of including sea salt sulphate emissions for obtaining better model results; CMAQ, the only model considering these emissions in its formulation, was the only model able to reproduce the high measured values of wet deposition of sulphur at coastal sites. MINNI and LOTOS-EUROS underestimate sulphate wet deposition for all periods and have low wet deposition efficiency for sulphur. For reduced nitrogen, all the models underestimate both wet deposition and total air concentrations (ammonia plus ammonium) in the summer campaign, highlighting a potential lack of emissions (or incoming fluxes) in this period. In the rest of campaigns there is a general underestimation of wet deposition by all models (MINNI and CMAQ with the highest negative bias), with the exception of EMEP, which underestimates the least and even overestimates deposition in two campaigns. This model has higher scavenging deposition efficiency for the aerosol component, which seems to partly explain the different behaviour of the models. For oxidized nitrogen, CMAQ, CAMx and MINNI predict the lowest wet deposition and the highest total air concentrations (nitric acid plus nitrates). Comparison with observations indicates a general underestimation of wet oxidized nitrogen deposition by these models, as well as an overestimation of total air concentration for all the campaigns, except for the 2006 campaign. This points to a low efficiency in the wet deposition of oxidized nitrogen for these models, especially with regards to the scavenging of nitric acid, which is the main driver of oxidized N deposition for all the models. CHIMERE, LOTOS-EUROS and EMEP agree better with the observations for both wet deposition and air concentration of oxidized nitrogen, although CHIMERE seems to overestimate wet deposition in the summer period. This requires further investigation, as the gas-particle equilibrium seems to be biased towards the gas phase (nitric acid) for this model. In the case of MINNI, the frequent underestimation of wet deposition combined with an overestimation of atmospheric concentrations for the three pollutants indicates a low efficiency of the wet deposition processes. This can be due to several reasons, such as an underestimation of scavenging ratios, large vertical concentration gradients (resulting in small concentrations at cloud height) or a poor parameterization of clouds. Large differences between models were also found for the estimates of dry deposition. However, the lack of suitable measurements makes it impossible to assess model performance for this process. These uncertainties should be addressed in future research, since dry deposition contributes significantly to the total deposition for the three deposited species, with values in the same range as wet deposition for most of the models, and with even higher values for some of them, especially for reduced nitrogen.

Monitoring Wetland Hydro-dynamics in the Prairie Pothole Region Using Landsat Time Series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Q.; Rover, J.; Gallant, A.

2017-12-01

Wetlands provide a variety of ecosystem functions, while it is spatially and temporally dynamic. We mapped the dynamics of wetlands in the North Dakota Prairie Pothole Region using all available clear observations of Landsat sensor data from 1985 to 2014. We used a cluster analysis to group pixels exhibiting similar long-term spectral trends over seven Landsat bands, then applied the tasseled-cap transformation to evaluate the temporal characteristics of brightness, greenness, and wetness for each cluster. We tested relations between these three indices and hydrologic conditions, as represented by the Palmer Hydrological Drought Index (PHDI), using the cross-correlation analysis for each cluster performed over an eight-year moving window for the 30 years covered by the study. This temporal window size coincided with the timing of a major shift from a prolonged drought that occurred within the first eight years of the study period to wetter conditions that prevailed throughout the remaining years. The 20 cluster we produced represented a gradient from locations that continuously held water throughout the study period to locations that, at most, held water only for short periods in some years. The spatial distribution of the cluster groups reflected patterns of regional geologic and geomorphologic features. Comparisons of the PHDI to tasseled-cap wetness were the most straightforward to interpret among the results from the three indices. Wetness for most cluster groups had high positive correlations with PHDI during drought years, with the correlations reduced as the landscape entered a lengthy, wetter period; however, wetness generally remained highly and positively correlated with PHDI across all years for four cluster groups where the area exhibited two or more multi-year dry-wet cycles. These same four groups also had strong, generally negative correlations with tasseled-cap brightness. For other cluster groups, brightness often was strongly negatively correlated with the PHDI during the drought years, with the relation weakening for subsequent years of adequate or high moisture. Relations between tasseled-cap greenness and PHDI were highly variable among and within cluster groups. Results from this analysis support ongoing efforts to develop new products that characterize wetland dynamics.

Wetland dynamics influence mid-continent duck recruitment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Anteau, Michael J.; Pearse, Aaron T.; Szymankski, Michael L.

2013-01-01

Recruitment is a key factor influencing duck population dynamics. Understanding what regulates recruitment of ducks is a prerequisite to informed habitat and harvest management. Quantity of May ponds (MP) has been linked to recruitment and population size (Kaminski and Gluesing 1987, Raveling and Heitmeyer 1989). However, wetland productivity (quality) is driven by inter-annual hydrological fluctuations. Periodic drying of wetlands due to wet-dry climate cycles releases nutrients and increases invertebrate populations when wet conditions return (Euliss et al. 1999). Wetlands may also become wet or dry within a breeding season. Accordingly, inter-annual and intra-seasonal hydrologic variation potentially influence duck recruitment. Here, we examined influences of wetland quantity, quality, and intra-seasonal dynamics on recruitment of ducks. We indexed duck recruitment by vulnerability-corrected age ratios (juveniles/adult females) for mid-continent Gadwall (Anas strepera). We chose Gadwall because the majority of the continental population breeds in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR), where annual estimates of MP exist since 1974. We indexed wetland quality by calculating change in MP (?MP) over the past two years (?MP = 0.6[MPt – MPt-1] + 0.4[MPt – MPt-2]). We indexed intra-seasonal change in number of ponds by dividing the PPR mean standardized precipitation index for July by MP (hereafter summer index). MP and ?MP were positively correlated (r = 0.65); therefore, we calculated residual ?MP (?MPr) with a simple linear regression using MP, creating orthogonal variables. Finally, we conducted a multiple regression to examine how MP, ?MPr, and summer index explained variation in recruitment of Gadwall from 1976–2010. Our model explained 67% of the variation in mid-continent Gadwall recruitment and all three hydrologic indices were positively correlated with recruitment (Figure 1). Type II semi-partial R2 estimates indicated that MP accounted for 41%, ?MPr accounted for an additional 22%, and summer index accounted for the remaining 4% of the variation in recruitment. Our results are consistent with previous findings that quantity of MP was important for explaining variation in recruitment of ducks. However, our results also indicated that considering hydrologic dynamics was important for explaining recruitment. Additionally, the index for retention of MP within breeding year also was important, despite its coarse resolution as an average of precipitation events that can vary greatly spatially and in intensity within the PPR. Our results support the idea that wetland ecosystems in the PPR are ultimately regulated through bottom-up process driven by inter- and intra-annual hydrological dynamics. However from the ducks' perspective, hydrological dynamics could influence recruitment proximately through both bottom-up and top-down processes. Specifically, hydrological fluctuations may influence predator populations, prey switching by predators, or duckling vulnerability to predators (Cox et al. 1998). We will propose a conceptual model for understanding the potential role of bottom-up and top-down regulation of duck recruitment based on different hydrological contexts. Clearly, a better understanding of ultimate and proximate factors regulating duck recruitment would improve the effectiveness and efficiency of habitat conservation for ducks. Lastly, our findings could be used to improve models that predict fall flights for the purposes of informing harvest regulations.

Nutrient and mercury deposition and storage in an alpine snowpack of the Sierra Nevada, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pearson, C.; Schumer, R.; Trustman, B. D.; Rittger, K.; Johnson, D. W.; Obrist, D.

2015-01-01

Bi-weekly snowpack core samples were collected at seven sites along two elevation gradients in the Tahoe Basin during two consecutive snow years to evaluate total wintertime snowpack accumulation of nutrients and pollutants in a high elevation watershed of the Sierra Nevada. Additional sampling of wet deposition and detailed snow pit profiles was conducted the following year to compare wet deposition to snowpack storage and assess the vertical dynamics of snowpack chemicals. Results show that on average organic N comprised 48% of all snowpack N, while nitrate (NO3--N) and TAN (total ammonia nitrogen) made up 25 and 27%, respectively. Snowpack NO3--N concentrations were relatively uniform across sampling sites over the sampling seasons and showed little difference between seasonal wet deposition and integrated snow pit concentrations in agreement with previous studies that identify wet deposition as the dominant source of wintertime NO3--N deposition. However, vertical snow pit profiles showed highly variable concentrations of NO3--N within the snowpack indicative of additional deposition and in snowpack dynamics. Unlike NO3--N, snowpack TAN doubled towards the end of winter and in addition to wet deposition, had a strong dry deposition component. Organic N concentrations in snowpack were highly variable (from 35 to 70%) and showed no clear temporal or spatial dependence throughout the season. Integrated snowpack organic N concentrations were up to 2.5 times higher than seasonal wet deposition, likely due to microbial immobilization of inorganic N as evident by coinciding increases of organic N and decreases of inorganic N, in deeper, aged snowpack. Spatial and temporal deposition patterns of snowpack P were consistent with particulate-bound dry deposition inputs and strong impacts from in-basin sources causing up to 6 times enrichment at urban locations compared to remote sites. Snowpack Hg showed little temporal variability and was dominated by particulate-bound forms (78% on average). Dissolved Hg concentrations were consistently lower in snowpack than in wet deposition which we attribute to photochemical-driven gaseous remission. In agreement with this pattern is a significant positive relationship between snowpack Hg and elevation, attributed to a combination of increased snow accumulation at higher elevations causing limited light penetration and lower photochemical re-emission losses in deeper, higher elevation snowpack. Finally, estimates of basin-wide loading based on spatially extrapolated concentrations and a satellite-based snow water equivalent reconstruction model identify snowpack chemical loading from atmospheric deposition as a substantial source of nutrients and pollutants to the Lake Tahoe basin, accounting for 113 t of N, 9.3 t of P, and 1.2 kg of Hg each year.

Predicting Changes in Arctic Tundra Vegetation: Towards an Understanding of Plant Trait Uncertainty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Euskirchen, E. S.; Serbin, S.; Carman, T.; Iversen, C. M.; Salmon, V.; Helene, G.; McGuire, A. D.

2017-12-01

Arctic tundra plant communities are currently undergoing unprecedented changes in both composition and distribution under a warming climate. Predicting how these dynamics may play out in the future is important since these vegetation shifts impact both biogeochemical and biogeophysical processes. More precise estimates of these future vegetation shifts is a key challenge due to both a scarcity of data with which to parameterize vegetation models, particularly in the Arctic, as well as a limited understanding of the importance of each of the model parameters and how they may vary over space and time. Here, we incorporate newly available field data from arctic Alaska into a dynamic vegetation model specifically developed to take into account a particularly wide array of plant species as well as the permafrost soils of the arctic tundra (the Terrestrial Ecosystem Model with Dynamic Vegetation and Dynamic Organic Soil, Terrestrial Ecosystem Model; DVM-DOS-TEM). We integrate the model within the Predicative Ecosystem Analyzer (PEcAn), an open-source integrated ecological bioinformatics toolbox that facilitates the flows of information into and out of process models and model-data integration. We use PEcAn to evaluate the plant functional traits that contribute most to model variability based on a sensitivity analysis. We perform this analysis for the dominant types of tundra in arctic Alaska, including heath, shrub, tussock and wet sedge tundra. The results from this analysis will help inform future data collection in arctic tundra and reduce model uncertainty, thereby improving our ability to simulate Arctic vegetation structure and function in response to global change.

HSPF Modeling for Compliance and Enforcement: An Urban Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marshalonis, D.

2017-12-01

Stormwater runoff is one of the most significant challenges to water quality facing surface waters globally. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates stormwater flows through its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program permits. When egregious violations occur, EPA may develop its case and prove those violations through the legal dispute process. However, evidence in stormwater-related cases is ephemeral, difficult to collect due to unpredictable weather dynamics, and there are usually no witnesses. The work presented here illustrates an approach EPA takes for certain wet weather cases: introduce results from hydrologic and hydraulic models as evidence to meet legal burden of proof standards. The challenges and opportunities of using models in stormwater discharge modeling are highlighted.

Rain scavenging of solid rocket exhaust clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dingle, A. N.

1978-01-01

An explicit model for cloud microphysics was developed for application to the problem of co-condensation/vaporization of HCl and H2O in the presence of Al2O3 particulate nuclei. Validity of the explicit model relative to the implicit model, which has been customarily applied to atmospheric cloud studies, was demonstrated by parallel computations of H2O condensation upon (NH4)2 SO4 nuclei. A mesoscale predictive model designed to account for the impact of wet processes on atmospheric dynamics is also under development. Input data specifying the equilibrium state of HC1 and H2O vapors in contact with aqueous HC1 solutions were found to be limited, particularly in respect to temperature range.

Methods for simulation-based analysis of fluid-structure interaction.

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

Barone, Matthew Franklin; Payne, Jeffrey L.

2005-10-01

Methods for analysis of fluid-structure interaction using high fidelity simulations are critically reviewed. First, a literature review of modern numerical techniques for simulation of aeroelastic phenomena is presented. The review focuses on methods contained within the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) framework for coupling computational fluid dynamics codes to computational structural mechanics codes. The review treats mesh movement algorithms, the role of the geometric conservation law, time advancement schemes, wetted surface interface strategies, and some representative applications. The complexity and computational expense of coupled Navier-Stokes/structural dynamics simulations points to the need for reduced order modeling to facilitate parametric analysis. The proper orthogonalmore » decomposition (POD)/Galerkin projection approach for building a reduced order model (ROM) is presented, along with ideas for extension of the methodology to allow construction of ROMs based on data generated from ALE simulations.« less

Measuring the Moisture Content of Green Wood Using Time Domain Reflectometry

Treesearch

Laurence Schimleck; Kim Love-Myers; Joe Sanders; Heath Raybon; Richard Daniels; Jerry Mahon; Edward Andrews; Erik Schilling

2011-01-01

The responsible usage of water by facilities that rely on wet log storage in the southern United States has become an issue of great importance as restrictions on water usage have grown in recent years. In order to learn about the dynamics of moisture content in wet-stored logs over time, it is necessary to conduct continuous monitoring of log piles. Time domain...

Forest structure in low diversity tropical forests: a study of Hawaiian wet and dry forests

Treesearch

R. Ostertag; F. Inman-Narahari; S. Cordell; C.P. Giardina; L. Sack

2014-01-01

The potential influence of diversity on ecosystem structure and function remains a topic of significant debate, especially for tropical forests where diversity can range widely. We used Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS) methodology to establish forest dynamics plots in montane wet forest and lowland dry forest on Hawai‘i Island. We compared the species...

Modeling the wet bulb globe temperature using standard meteorological measurements.

PubMed

Liljegren, James C; Carhart, Richard A; Lawday, Philip; Tschopp, Stephen; Sharp, Robert

2008-10-01

The U.S. Army has a need for continuous, accurate estimates of the wet bulb globe temperature to protect soldiers and civilian workers from heat-related injuries, including those involved in the storage and destruction of aging chemical munitions at depots across the United States. At these depots, workers must don protective clothing that increases their risk of heat-related injury. Because of the difficulty in making continuous, accurate measurements of wet bulb globe temperature outdoors, the authors have developed a model of the wet bulb globe temperature that relies only on standard meteorological data available at each storage depot for input. The model is composed of separate submodels of the natural wet bulb and globe temperatures that are based on fundamental principles of heat and mass transfer, has no site-dependent parameters, and achieves an accuracy of better than 1 degree C based on comparisons with wet bulb globe temperature measurements at all depots.

A Three-Dimensional Pore-Scale Model for Non-Wetting Phase Mobilization with Ferrofluid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, N.; Prodanovic, M.

2017-12-01

Ferrofluid, a stable dispersion of paramagnetic nanoparticles in water, can generate a distributed pressure difference across the phase interface in an immiscible two-phase flow under an external magnetic field. In water-wet porous media, this non-uniform pressure difference may be used to mobilize the non-wetting phase, e.g. oil, trapped in the pores. Previous numerical work by Soares et al. of two-dimensional single-pore model showed enhanced non-wetting phase recovery with water-based ferrofluid under certain magnetic field directions and decreased recovery under other directions. However, the magnetic field selectively concentrates in the high magnetic permeability ferrofluid which fills the small corners between the non-wetting phase and the solid wall. The magnetic field induced pressure is proportional to the square of local magnetic field strength and its normal component, and makes a significant impact on the non-wetting phase deformation. The two-dimensional model omitted the effect of most of these corners and is not sufficient to compute the magnetic-field-induced pressure difference or to predict the non-wetting blob deformation. Further, it is not clear that 3D effects on magnetic field in an irregular geometry can be approximated in 2D. We present a three-dimensional immiscible two-phase flow model to simulate the deformation of a non-wetting liquid blob in a single pore filled with a ferrofluid under a uniform external magnetic field. The ferrofluid is modeled as a uniform single phase because the nanoparticles are 104 times smaller than the pore. The open source CFD solver library OpenFOAM is used for the simulations based on the volume of fluid method. Simulations are performed in a converging-diverging channel model on different magnetic field direction, different initial oil saturations, and different pore shapes. Results indicate that the external magnetic field always stretches the non-wetting blob away from the solid channel wall. A magnetic field transverse to the channel direction may likely provide the best elongation along the channel direction for the non-wetting blob. The pore-throat size ratio has an impact on the deformation of the non-wetting blob.

Second-order sliding mode controller with model reference adaptation for automatic train operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganesan, M.; Ezhilarasi, D.; Benni, Jijo

2017-11-01

In this paper, a new approach to model reference based adaptive second-order sliding mode control together with adaptive state feedback is presented to control the longitudinal dynamic motion of a high speed train for automatic train operation with the objective of minimal jerk travel by the passengers. The nonlinear dynamic model for the longitudinal motion of the train comprises of a locomotive and coach subsystems is constructed using multiple point-mass model by considering the forces acting on the vehicle. An adaptation scheme using Lyapunov criterion is derived to tune the controller gains by considering a linear, stable reference model that ensures the stability of the system in closed loop. The effectiveness of the controller tracking performance is tested under uncertain passenger load, coupler-draft gear parameters, propulsion resistance coefficients variations and environmental disturbances due to side wind and wet rail conditions. The results demonstrate improved tracking performance of the proposed control scheme with a least jerk under maximum parameter uncertainties when compared to constant gain second-order sliding mode control.

Modeling infection of spring onion by Puccinia allii in response to temperature and leaf wetness.

PubMed

Furuya, Hiromitsu; Takanashi, Hiroyuki; Fuji, Shin-Ichi; Nagai, Yoshio; Naito, Hideki

2009-08-01

The influence of temperature and leaf wetness duration on infection of spring onion (Japanese bunching onion) leaves by Puccinia allii was examined in controlled-environment experiments. Leaves of potted spring onion plants (Allium fistulosum cv. Yoshikura) were inoculated with urediniospores and exposed to 6.5, 10, 15, 22, or 27 h of wetness at 5, 10, 15, 20, or 25 degrees C. The lesion that developed increased in density with increasing wetness duration. Relative infection was modeled as a function of both temperature and wetness duration using the modified version of Weibull's cumulative distribution function (R(2) = 0.9369). Infection occurred between 6.5 and 27 h of leaf wetness duration at 10, 15, 20, and 25 degrees C and between 10 and 27 h at 5 degrees C, and increased rapidly between 6.5 and 15 h of wetness at 10, 15, and 20 degrees C. At 25 degrees C, few uredinia developed regardless of the wetness duration. Parameter H, one of eight parameters used in the equation and which controls the asymmetry in the response curve, varied markedly according to the temperature, so that the model could be improved by representing H as a function of wetness duration (R(2) = 0.9501).

Ontogenetic dynamics of mercury accumulation in Northwest Atlantic sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Drevnick, P.E.; Horgan, M.J.; Oris, J.T.; Kynard, B.E.

2006-01-01

We examined the ontogenetic dynamics of mercury accumulation in sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) from the Connecticut River, USA. Mercury concentrations in eggs (mean 84 ng??g-1 wet weight) were lowest of all life stages and correlated to concentrations in females. There was a higher rate of maternal transfer of mercury to eggs compared with teleosts. Ammocoetes had high mercury concentrations for their trophic level (e.g., mean of age-4 ammocoetes 492 ng??g-1 wet weight). A further investigation of four streams showed that ammocoetes reflected the level of contamination in their nursery streams. Concentrations of mercury decreased during metamorphosis from ammocoete to adult. Mercury concentrations in adults ranged from 83 to 942 ng??g-1 wet weight and, unlike teleosts, showed no relation to sex, length, or weight. We provide evidence from stable isotope analyses that this high variability is due to feeding ecology. There are fundamental differences in mercury accumulation between sea lamprey and teleosts. ?? 2006 NRC Canada.

Low-order modelling of a drop on a highly-hydrophobic substrate: statics and dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wray, Alexander W.; Matar, Omar K.; Davis, Stephen H.

2017-11-01

We analyse the behaviour of droplets resting on highly-hydrophobic substrates. This problem is of practical interest due to its appearance in many physical contexts involving the spreading, wetting, and dewetting of fluids on solid substrates. In mathematical terms, it exhibits an interesting challenge as the interface is multi-valued as a function of the natural Cartesian co-ordinates, presenting a stumbling block to typical low-order modelling techniques. Nonetheless, we show that in the static case, the interfacial shape is governed by the Young-Laplace equation, which may be solved explicitly in terms of elliptic functions. We present simple low-order expressions that faithfully reproduce the shapes. We then consider the dynamic case, showing that the predictions of our low-order model compare favourably with those obtained from direct numerical simulations. We also examine the characteristic flow regimes of interest. EPSRC, UK, MEMPHIS program Grant (EP/K003976/1), RAEng Research Chair (OKM).

Research Review, 1983

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

The Global Modeling and Simulation Branch (GMSB) of the Laboratory for Atmospheric Sciences (GLAS) is engaged in general circulation modeling studies related to global atmospheric and oceanographic research. The research activities discussed are organized into two disciplines: Global Weather/Observing Systems and Climate/Ocean-Air Interactions. The Global Weather activities are grouped in four areas: (1) Analysis and Forecast Studies, (2) Satellite Observing Systems, (3) Analysis and Model Development, (4) Atmospheric Dynamics and Diagnostic Studies. The GLAS Analysis/Forecast/Retrieval System was applied to both FGGE and post FGGE periods. The resulting analyses have already been used in a large number of theoretical studies of atmospheric dynamics, forecast impact studies and development of new or improved algorithms for the utilization of satellite data. Ocean studies have focused on the analysis of long-term global sea surface temperature data, for use in the study of the response of the atmosphere to sea surface temperature anomalies. Climate research has concentrated on the simulation of global cloudiness, and on the sensitivities of the climate to sea surface temperature and ground wetness anomalies.

Observations of the Dynamic Connectivity of the Non-Wetting Phase During Steady State Flow at the Pore Scale Using 3D X-ray Microtomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reynolds, C. A.; Menke, H. P.; Blunt, M. J.; Krevor, S. C.

2015-12-01

We observe a new type of non-wetting phase flow using time-resolved pore scale imaging. The traditional conceptual model of drainage involves a non-wetting phase invading a porous medium saturated with a wetting phase as either a fixed, connected flow path through the centres of pores or as discrete ganglia which move individually through the pore space, depending on the capillary number. We observe a new type of flow behaviour at low capillary number in which the flow of the non-wetting phase occurs through networks of persistent ganglia that occupy the large pores but continuously rearrange their connectivity (Figure 1). Disconnections and reconnections occur randomly to provide short-lived pseudo-steady state flow paths between pores. This process is distinctly different to the notion of flowing ganglia which coalesce and break-up. The size distribution of ganglia is dependent on capillary number. Experiments were performed by co-injecting N2and 25 wt% KI brine into a Bentheimer sandstone core (4mm diameter, 35mm length) at 50°C and 10 MPa. Drainage was performed at three flow rates (0.04, 0.3 and 1 ml/min) at a constant fractional flow of 0.5 and the variation in ganglia populations and connectivity observed. We obtained images of the pore space during steady state flow with a time resolution of 43 s over 1-2 hours. Experiments were performed at the Diamond Light Source synchrotron. Figure 1. The position of N2 in the pore space during steady state flow is summed over 40 time steps. White indicates that N2 occupies the space over >38 time steps and red <5 time steps.

Wetting of soap bubbles on hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and superhydrophobic surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arscott, Steve

2013-06-01

Wetting of sessile bubbles on various wetting surfaces (solid and liquid) has been studied. A model is presented for the apparent contact angle of a sessile bubble based on a modified Young's equation--the experimental results agree with the model. Wetting a hydrophilic surface results in a bubble contact angle of 90° whereas using a superhydrophobic surface one observes 134°. For hydrophilic surfaces, the bubble angle diminishes with bubble radius whereas on a superhydrophobic surface, the bubble angle increases. The size of the plateau borders governs the bubble contact angle, depending on the wetting of the surface.

Nonequilibrium Statistical Mechanics in One Dimension

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Privman, Vladimir

2005-08-01

Part I. Reaction-Diffusion Systems and Models of Catalysis; 1. Scaling theories of diffusion-controlled and ballistically-controlled bimolecular reactions S. Redner; 2. The coalescence process, A+A->A, and the method of interparticle distribution functions D. ben-Avraham; 3. Critical phenomena at absorbing states R. Dickman; Part II. Kinetic Ising Models; 4. Kinetic ising models with competing dynamics: mappings, correlations, steady states, and phase transitions Z. Racz; 5. Glauber dynamics of the ising model N. Ito; 6. 1D Kinetic ising models at low temperatures - critical dynamics, domain growth, and freezing S. Cornell; Part III. Ordering, Coagulation, Phase Separation; 7. Phase-ordering dynamics in one dimension A. J. Bray; 8. Phase separation, cluster growth, and reaction kinetics in models with synchronous dynamics V. Privman; 9. Stochastic models of aggregation with injection H. Takayasu and M. Takayasu; Part IV. Random Sequential Adsorption and Relaxation Processes; 10. Random and cooperative sequential adsorption: exactly solvable problems on 1D lattices, continuum limits, and 2D extensions J. W. Evans; 11. Lattice models of irreversible adsorption and diffusion P. Nielaba; 12. Deposition-evaporation dynamics: jamming, conservation laws and dynamical diversity M. Barma; Part V. Fluctuations In Particle and Surface Systems; 13. Microscopic models of macroscopic shocks S. A. Janowsky and J. L. Lebowitz; 14. The asymmetric exclusion model: exact results through a matrix approach B. Derrida and M. R. Evans; 15. Nonequilibrium surface dynamics with volume conservation J. Krug; 16. Directed walks models of polymers and wetting J. Yeomans; Part VI. Diffusion and Transport In One Dimension; 17. Some recent exact solutions of the Fokker-Planck equation H. L. Frisch; 18. Random walks, resonance, and ratchets C. R. Doering and T. C. Elston; 19. One-dimensional random walks in random environment K. Ziegler; Part VII. Experimental Results; 20. Diffusion-limited exciton kinetics in one-dimensional systems R. Kroon and R. Sprik; 21. Experimental investigations of molecular and excitonic elementary reaction kinetics in one-dimensional systems R. Kopelman and A. L. Lin; 22. Luminescence quenching as a probe of particle distribution S. H. Bossmann and L. S. Schulman; Index.

Real-time wetting dynamics and interfacial chemistry in low-melting 57Bi-42Sn-1Ag solder paste on Ni-Au

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bozack, M. J.

2004-11-01

We report the observation of real-time, in situ, wetting and spreading dynamics for 57Bi-42Sn-1Ag solder paste on Ni-Au surfaces during melting in a scanning electron microscope. The 57Bi-42Sn-1Ag is a low melting (139 °C) Pb-free eutectic alloy currently under consideration by automobile manufacturers for use in instrument displays. We find that, while there is excellent wetting of 57Bi-42Sn-1Ag solder paste on Ni-Au, there is almost no spreading. A large amount of Bi segregates to the surface of 57Bi-42Sn-1Ag solder balls during the sintering process. At melting, excessive flux outgassing and pooling are observed, several melted solder balls float on top of the flux, and substantial elemental segregation occurs during the first minutes of wetting. Neither Ni nor Au fully intermixes throughout the alloy at the interface within seconds of wetting. Bi does not move outward with the expanding alloy front. This combination of detrimental effects forms voids in the solder paste, contributes to low reliability of solder joints, and complicates the materials science at the solder-substrate interface as shown by Auger electron spectroscopy. Reliability work in progress (3000 cycles) shows that 57Bi-42Sn-1Ag on Ni-Au is less reliable than eutectic Sn-37Pb on Ni-Au for 2512 chip resistors cycled from -40 to 125 °C.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of wetted soils across a polar desert landscape

DOE PAGES

Langford, Zachary L.; Gooseff, Michael N.; Lampkin, Derrick J.

2014-10-30

Liquid water is scarce across the landscape of the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV), Antarctica, a 3800 km 2 ice-free region, and is chiefly associated with soils that are adjacent to streams and lakes (i.e. wetted margins) during the annual thaw season. However, isolated wetted soils have been observed at locations distal from water bodies. The source of water for the isolated patches of wet soil is potentially generated by a combination of infiltration from melting snowpacks, melting of pore ice at the ice table, and melting of buried segregation ice formed during winter freezing. In this paper, high resolution remotemore » sensing data gathered several times per summer in the MDV region were used to determine the spatial and temporal distribution of wet soils. The spatial consistency with which the wet soils occurred was assessed for the 2009–10 to 2011–12 summers. The remote sensing analyses reveal that cumulative area and number of wet soil patches varies among summers. The 2010–11 summer provided the most wetted soil area (10.21 km 2) and 2009–10 covered the least (5.38 km 2). Finally, these data suggest that wet soils are a significant component of the MDV cold desert land system and may become more prevalent as regional climate changes.« less

Wetting properties of molecularly rough surfaces

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

Svoboda, Martin; Lísal, Martin, E-mail: lisal@icpf.cas.cz; Department of Physics, Institute of Science, J. E. Purkinje University, 400 96 Ústí n. Lab.

2015-09-14

We employ molecular dynamics simulations to study the wettability of nanoscale rough surfaces in systems governed by Lennard-Jones (LJ) interactions. We consider both smooth and molecularly rough planar surfaces. Solid substrates are modeled as a static collection of LJ particles arranged in a face-centered cubic lattice with the (100) surface exposed to the LJ fluid. Molecularly rough solid surfaces are prepared by removing several strips of LJ atoms from the external layers of the substrate, i.e., forming parallel nanogrooves on the surface. We vary the solid-fluid interactions to investigate strongly and weakly wettable surfaces. We determine the wetting properties bymore » measuring the equilibrium droplet profiles that are in turn used to evaluate the contact angles. Macroscopic arguments, such as those leading to Wenzel’s law, suggest that surface roughness always amplifies the wetting properties of a lyophilic surface. However, our results indicate the opposite effect from roughness for microscopically corrugated surfaces, i.e., surface roughness deteriorates the substrate wettability. Adding the roughness to a strongly wettable surface shrinks the surface area wet with the liquid, and it either increases or only marginally affects the contact angle, depending on the degree of liquid adsorption into the nanogrooves. For a weakly wettable surface, the roughness changes the surface character from lyophilic to lyophobic due to a weakening of the solid-fluid interactions by the presence of the nanogrooves and the weaker adsorption of the liquid into the nanogrooves.« less

A North American Hydroclimate Synthesis (NAHS) of the Common Era

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodysill, Jessica R.; Anderson, Lesleigh; Cronin, Thomas M.; Jones, Miriam C.; Thompson, Robert S.; Wahl, David B.; Willard, Debra A.; Addison, Jason A.; Alder, Jay R.; Anderson, Katherine H.; Anderson, Lysanna; Barron, John A.; Bernhardt, Christopher E.; Hostetler, Steven W.; Kehrwald, Natalie M.; Khan, Nicole S.; Richey, Julie N.; Starratt, Scott W.; Strickland, Laura E.; Toomey, Michael R.; Treat, Claire C.; Wingard, G. Lynn

2018-03-01

This study presents a synthesis of century-scale hydroclimate variations in North America for the Common Era (last 2000 years) using new age models of previously published multiple proxy-based paleoclimate data. This North American Hydroclimate Synthesis (NAHS) examines regional hydroclimate patterns and related environmental indicators, including vegetation, lake water elevation, stream flow and runoff, cave drip rates, biological productivity, assemblages of living organisms, and salinity. Centennial-scale hydroclimate anomalies are obtained by iteratively sampling the proxy data on each of thousands of age model realizations and determining the fractions of possible time series indicating that the century-smoothed data was anomalously wet or dry relative to the 100 BCE to 1900 CE mean. Results suggest regionally asynchronous wet and dry periods over multidecadal to centennial timescales and frequent periods of extended regional drought. Most sites indicate drying during previously documented multicentennial periods of warmer Northern Hemisphere temperatures, particularly in the western U.S., central U.S., and Canada. Two widespread droughts were documented by the NAHS: from 50 BCE to 450 CE and from 800 to 1100 CE. Major hydroclimate reorganizations occurred out of sync with Northern Hemisphere temperature variations and widespread wet and dry anomalies occurred during both warm and cool periods. We present a broad assessment of paleoclimate relationships that highlights the potential influences of internal variability and external forcing and supports a prominent role for Pacific and Atlantic Ocean dynamics on century-scale continental hydroclimate.

Morphological evolution in a strained-heteroepitaxial solid droplet on a rigid substrate: Dynamical simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogurtani, Tarik Omer; Celik, Aytac; Oren, Ersin Emre

2010-09-01

A systematic study based on the self-consistent dynamical simulations is presented for the spontaneous evolution of an isolated thin solid droplet (bump) on a rigid substrate, which is driven by the surface drift diffusion induced by the capillary and mismatch stresses. In this study, we mainly focused on the development kinetics of the "Stranski-Krastanow" island type morphology, initiated by the nucleation route rather than the surface roughening scheme. The physicomathematical model, which bases on the irreversible thermodynamics treatment of surfaces and interfaces with singularities [T. O. Ogurtani, J. Chem. Phys. 124, 144706 (2006)], furnishes us to have autocontrol on the otherwise free-motion of the triple junction contour line between the substrate and the droplet without presuming any equilibrium dihedral contract (wetting) angles at the edges. During the development of the bell-shaped Stranski-Krastanow island through the mass accumulation at the central region of the droplet via surface drift diffusion with and/or without growth, the formation of an extremely thin wetting layer is observed. This wetting layer has a thickness of a fraction of a nanometer and covers not only the initial computation domain but also its further extension beyond the original boundaries. We also observed the formation of the multiple islands separated by shallow wetting layers above a certain threshold level of the mismatch strain and/or the size (i.e., volume) of the droplets. This threshold level depends on the initial physicochemical data and the aspect ratio (i.e., shape) of the original droplets. During the course of the simulations, we continuously tracked both the morphology (i.e., the peak height, the extension of the wetting layer beyond the domain boundaries, and the triple junction contact angle) and energetic (the global Helmholtz free energy changes associated with the total strain and surface energy variations) in the system. We observed that the morphology related quantities are reaching certain saturation limits or plateaus, when the growth mode is turned-off. On the other hand, the global Helmholtz free energy showed a steady decrease in time even though the total surface free energy of the droplet reaches a stationary value as expected a priori. Based on these observations and according to the accepted irreversible thermodynamic terminology as coined by celebrated Prigogine, we state that the Stranski-Krastanow type island morphologies are genuine stationary nonequilibrium states.

Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Vegetation and Their Relationships with Climate in Southeast Asia Based on Three Satellite NDVI Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Y.; Zeng, Z.; Piao, S.

2014-12-01

Tropical vegetation plays an essential role for global biogeochemical cycles. An abundant literature focused on the vegetation dynamics in Amazon. It is shown that the Amazonian rainforest is strongly controlled by radiation, even during dry season. However, only few researches deal with tropical rainforest in Southeast Asia; the vegetation dynamics in Southeast Asia remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the spatio-temporal dynamics of vegetation in Southeast Asia with three independent satellite derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) products (GIMMS AVHRR NDVI3g, SPOT, and MODIS) as well as the recently developed Sun Induced chlorophyll Fluorescence (SIF). We furthermore examined how climate drivers (precipitation, temperature and radiation) exert influences on the vegetation dynamics. We find that the three NDVI datasets are generally consistent with each other. At seasonal scale, NDVI decreases from the beginning to the end of the dry season; at interannual scale, dry season NDVI is positively correlated to precipitation but negatively correlated to radiation, while wet season NDVI is positively correlated to radiation. Compared to evergreen forests, deciduous forests have a larger NDVI decrease rate and more extended area with positive relationships between NDVI and precipitation during the dry season. SIF is lower during dry season than during wet season. Our results indicate that most forests in Southeast Asia, unlike in the Amazonian basin, are water-limited in the dry season but radiation-limited in the wet season. These results imply that droughts may have a stronger impact on forests in Southeast Asia than in Amazon.

Wetting Transition of Water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friedman, Serah; Khalil, Matt; Taborek, Peter

2013-03-01

Pure liquid water does not wet most solid surfaces. Liquid water on these surfaces beads up and forms droplets with a finite contact angle. General thermodynamic principles suggest that as the temperature approaches the critical point, the contact angle should go to zero, marking the wetting transition. We have made an optical cell which can operate near the critical point of water (Tc =373C, Pc =217 atm) to study this phenomenon on sapphire, graphite and silicon. We have used two methods to measure the wetting temperature of water on these surfaces. Firstly, we studied a single droplet on a horizontal surface and optically measured the change in contact angle as a function of increasing temperature. Second, we studied the condensation of droplets on a vertical plate as a function of temperature. As the temperature approached the wetting temperature in both cases, the droplets spread and eventually form a smooth film along the surface of the plate. The wetting temperature on sapphire is near 240C and is considerably higher on graphite. Our observed values of Tw are significantly higher than the predictions made by the sharp-kink approximation and recent molecular dynamics simulations.

Wet deposition monitoring and modelling in New Brunswick — An area dominated by wet deposition due to long-range transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Claude S.

Two wet deposition monitoring networks, the Coleson Cove Precipitation Monitoring Network (CCPMN) (12 stations) located in the Coleson Cove-Saint John area of south New Brunswick, and the Expanded New Brunswick Precipitation Monitoring Network (ENBPMN) (6 stations) covering the remainder of the province, were established in May 1988. The monitoring networks and a complementary modelling study were implemented to assess the relative contributions of local and distant sources to wet deposition in New Brunswick. Quality assurance/quality control activities for the networks included independent external audits, collocated samplers at one site and comparisons of weekly measurements at the ENBPMN sampler and the Canadian Air and Precipitation Monitoring Network (CAPMoN) sampler which makes daily measurements. The intercomparisons provided reassurance that the networks provided high quality data. Analysis of 2 years (June 1988-May 1990) data from the networks included routine statistical analyses for acid rain chemistry as well as analysis of 1 year of daily back trajectory data from Harcourt, New Brunswick. Three-day back trajectories determined at 12-h intervals from Harcourt on days with precipitatio showed that air masses originate mainly from regions in Quebec, Ontario and northeast U.S.A. which are known to have high sulphur oxide emissions. Some 18 trajectories were associated with 50% of the wet sulphate deposition and over 200 trajectories with 75% of the deposition in the 1-year period ending 31 May 1989. The MESOPUFF model, applied to an 800 km by 800 km domain that included the entire province of New Brunswick, was used to make predictions of wet sulphate and nitrate deposition at each of the wet deposition monitoring stations for a 2-year period, 1 June 1988-31 May 1990. Model predictions averaged over all receptors due to all sources in the model domain accounted for 7-25% of the measured seasonal average wet sulphate deposition and less than 3% of the measured wet nitrate deposition at all monitoring stations. Wet deposition in New Brunswick is thus dominated by distant sources through long-range transport. The model estimated that the oil-fired Coleson Cove thermal generating station contributed between 7% and 16% to the seasonal wet sulphur deposition and less than 3% of the seasonal wet nitrogen deposition at monitoring stations in the Coleson Cove-Saint John area. The estimates for wet nitrogen deposition are limited by the NO χ emissions information which is considered less reliable than SO 2 emissions information.

Numerical simulation of terrain-induced mesoscale circulation in the Chiang Mai area, Thailand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sathitkunarat, Surachai; Wongwises, Prungchan; Pan-Aram, Rudklao; Zhang, Meigen

2008-11-01

The regional atmospheric modeling system (RAMS) was applied to Chiang Mai province, a mountainous area in Thailand, to study terrain-induced mesoscale circulations. Eight cases in wet and dry seasons under different weather conditions were analyzed to show thermal and dynamic impacts on local circulations. This is the first study of RAMS in Thailand especially investigating the effect of mountainous area on the simulated meteorological data. Analysis of model results indicates that the model can reproduce major features of local circulation and diurnal variations in temperatures. For evaluating the model performance, model results were compared with observed wind speed, wind direction, and temperature monitored at a meteorological tower. Comparison shows that the modeled values are generally in good agreement with observations and that the model captured many of the observed features.

The coffee-drop phenomenon and its time fluctuations: Self-sustained oscillations in colloidal liquids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yakhno, T. A.; Yakhno, V. G.

2017-03-01

The instant coffee model has been taken to study self-sustained oscillations in liquid dispersive media using dynamic self-organization processes in drying droplets that stay sessile on a solid wetted substrate. The width of the formed ring and the dynamics of mechanical properties of the drying sediment and the way they fluctuated over 11 h of the experiment have been measured. Analysis has shown a high degree of correlation between these indicators. This dynamics reflects processes that develop in the examined liquid medium. The possible mechanism of self-sustained oscillations, which is related to the aggregation-disaggregation of the colloidal phase and fluctuations of the interphase tension, has been discussed. The practical significance of this work is that fluctuation processes in liquid dispersive media need to be taken into account as a natural source of systematic measurement error.

Wetting state and maximum spreading factor of microdroplets impacting on superhydrophobic textured surfaces with anisotropic arrays of pillars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwon, Dae Hee; Huh, Hyung Kyu; Lee, Sang Joon

2013-07-01

The dynamic behaviors of microdroplets that impact on textured surfaces with various patterns of microscale pillars are experimentally investigated in this study. A piezoelectric inkjet is used to generate the microdroplets that have a diameter of less than 46 μm and a controlled Weber number. The impact and spreading dynamics of an individual droplet are captured by using a high-speed imaging system. The anisotropic and directional wettability and the wetting states on the textured surfaces with anisotropically arranged pillars are revealed for the first time in this study. The impalement transition from the Cassie-Baxter state to the partially impaled state is evaluated by balancing the wetting pressure P wet and the capillary pressure P C even on the anisotropic textured surfaces. The maximum spreading factor is measured and compared with the theoretical prediction to elucidate the wettability of the textured surfaces. For a given Weber number, the maximum spreading factor decreases as the texture area fraction of the textured surface decreases. In addition, the maximum spreading factors along the direction of longer inter-pillar spacing always have smaller values than those along the direction of shorter inter-pillar spacing when a droplet impacts on the anisotropic arrays of pillars.

Dynamic vs. static social networks in models of parasite transmission: predicting Cryptosporidium spread in wild lemurs.

PubMed

Springer, Andrea; Kappeler, Peter M; Nunn, Charles L

2017-05-01

Social networks provide an established tool to implement heterogeneous contact structures in epidemiological models. Dynamic temporal changes in contact structure and ranging behaviour of wildlife may impact disease dynamics. A consensus has yet to emerge, however, concerning the conditions in which network dynamics impact model outcomes, as compared to static approximations that average contact rates over longer time periods. Furthermore, as many pathogens can be transmitted both environmentally and via close contact, it is important to investigate the relative influence of both transmission routes in real-world populations. Here, we use empirically derived networks from a population of wild primates, Verreaux's sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi), and simulated networks to investigate pathogen spread in dynamic vs. static social networks. First, we constructed a susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered model of Cryptosporidium spread in wild Verreaux's sifakas. We incorporated social and environmental transmission routes and parameterized the model for two different climatic seasons. Second, we used simulated networks and greater variation in epidemiological parameters to investigate the conditions in which dynamic networks produce larger outbreak sizes than static networks. We found that average outbreak size of Cryptosporidium infections in sifakas was larger when the disease was introduced in the dry season than in the wet season, driven by an increase in home range overlap towards the end of the dry season. Regardless of season, dynamic networks always produced larger average outbreak sizes than static networks. Larger outbreaks in dynamic models based on simulated networks occurred especially when the probability of transmission and recovery were low. Variation in tie strength in the dynamic networks also had a major impact on outbreak size, while network modularity had a weaker influence than epidemiological parameters that determine transmission and recovery. Our study adds to emerging evidence that dynamic networks can change predictions of disease dynamics, especially if the disease shows low transmissibility and a long infectious period, and when environmental conditions lead to enhanced between-group contact after an infectious agent has been introduced. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.

Time-lagged effects of weather on plant demography: drought and Astragalus scaphoides.

PubMed

Tenhumberg, Brigitte; Crone, Elizabeth E; Ramula, Satu; Tyre, Andrew J

2018-04-01

Temperature and precipitation determine the conditions where plant species can occur. Despite their significance, to date, surprisingly few demographic field studies have considered the effects of abiotic drivers. This is problematic because anticipating the effect of global climate change on plant population viability requires understanding how weather variables affect population dynamics. One possible reason for omitting the effect of weather variables in demographic studies is the difficulty in detecting tight associations between vital rates and environmental drivers. In this paper, we applied Functional Linear Models (FLMs) to long-term demographic data of the perennial wildflower, Astragalus scaphoides, and explored sensitivity of the results to reduced amounts of data. We compared models of the effect of average temperature, total precipitation, or an integrated measure of drought intensity (standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index, SPEI), on plant vital rates. We found that transitions to flowering and recruitment in year t were highest if winter/spring of year t was wet (positive effect of SPEI). Counterintuitively, if the preceding spring of year t - 1 was wet, flowering probabilities were decreased (negative effect of SPEI). Survival of vegetative plants from t - 1 to t was also negatively affected by wet weather in the spring of year t - 1 and, for large plants, even wet weather in the spring of t - 2 had a negative effect. We assessed the integrated effect of all vital rates on life history performance by fitting FLMs to the asymptotic growth rate, log(λt). Log(λt) was highest if dry conditions in year t - 1 were followed by wet conditions in the year t. Overall, the positive effects of wet years exceeded their negative effects, suggesting that increasing frequency of drought conditions would reduce population viability of A. scaphoides. The drought signal weakened when reducing the number of monitoring years. Substituting space for time did not recover the weather signal, probably because the weather variables varied little between sites. We detected the SPEI signal when the analysis included data from two sites monitored over 20 yr (2 × 20 observations), but not when analyzing data from four sites monitored over 10 yr (4 × 10 observations). © 2018 by the Ecological Society of America.

Identifying the role of human-induced land-use change while assessing drought effects on groundwater recharge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verbeiren, Boud; Weerasinghe, Imeshi; Vanderhaegen, Sven; Canters, Frank; Uljee, Inge; Engelen, Guy; Jacquemin, Ingrid; Tychon, Bernard; Vangelis, Harris; Tsakiris, George; Batelaan, Okke; Huysmans, Marijke

2015-04-01

Drought is mainly regarded as a purely natural phenomenon, driven by the natural variation in precipitation or rather the lack of precipitation. Nowadays many river catchments are, however, altered by human activities having direct effects on the catchment landscape and hydrological response. In case of the occurrence of drought events in those catchments it becomes more complex to determine the effects of drought. To what extent is the hydrological response a direct result of the natural phenomenon and what is the role of the human factor? In this study we focus on the effects of droughts on groundwater recharge. Reliable estimation of groundwater recharge in space and time is of utmost importance for sustainable management of groundwater resources. Groundwater recharge forms the main source for replenishing aquifers. The main factors influencing groundwater recharge are the soil and topographic characteristics, land use and climate. While the first two influencing factors are relatively static, the latter two are (highly) dynamic. Differentiating between the contributions of each of these influencing factors to groundwater recharge is a challenging but important task. On the one hand, the occurrence of meteorological drought events is likely to cause direct, potentially deteriorating, effects on groundwater recharge. On the other hand, this is also the case for on-going land-use dynamics such as extensive urbanisation. The presented methodology aims at distinguishing in space and time between climate (drought-related) and land-use (human-induced) effects, enabling to assess the effects of drought on groundwater recharge. The physically-based water balance model WetSpass is used to calculate groundwater recharge in a distributed way (space and time) for the Dijle-Demer catchments in Belgium. The key issue is to determine land-use dynamics in a consistent way. A land-use timeseries is build based on four base maps. Via a change trajectory analysis the consistency of the land-use timeseries is assured. In addition also consistent land-cover fraction maps (vegetated, impervious, bare and open water), obtained from remote sensing, are used. To account for climate variability a distributed meteorological monthly timeseries of 32 years (1980-2011) is considered. A combined drought index approach (RDI, SPI, scPDSI) is used to identify meteorological drought events during this period. WetSpass simulations are used to assess the weight of the influencing factors 'land use' and 'climate' with respect to drought effects on the recharge timeseries. Hereto WetSpass is run several times with different climate input, while the dynamic land-use timeseries (1980-2013) is considered for every scenario. Two simulation runs are used: (1) long-term average climate, representing "normal" conditions for the 32-year period and (2) dynamic climate conditions 1980-2013. The results of both WetSpass simulations enable to assess the drought effect (deviation from normal) on groundwater recharge for each monthly timestep. Results indicate that drought effects occur in the Dijle-Demer catchments and even tend to increase towards the last decade, especially during the 3rd trimester and in the south of the study area. This research is funded within the frame of the SSD Programme of the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO). KEYWORDS: drought, groundwater recharge, climate timeseries, land-use timeseries, trajectory analysis, WetSpass, spatial and temporal distribution

Leaf wetness distribution within a potato crop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heusinkveld, B. G.

2010-07-01

The Netherlands has a mild maritime climate and therefore the major interest in leaf wetness is associated with foliar plant diseases. During moist micrometeorological conditions (i.e. dew, fog, rain), foliar fungal diseases may develop quickly and thereby destroy a crop quickly. Potato crop monocultures covering several hectares are especially vulnerable to such diseases. Therefore understanding and predicting leaf wetness in potato crops is crucial in crop disease control strategies. A field experiment was carried out in a large homogeneous potato crop in the Netherlands during the growing season of 2008. Two innovative sensor networks were installed as a 3 by 3 grid at 3 heights covering an area of about 2 hectares within two larger potato crops. One crop was located on a sandy soil and one crop on a sandy peat soil. In most cases leaf wetting starts in the top layer and then progresses downward. Leaf drying takes place in the same order after sunrise. A canopy dew simulation model was applied to simulate spatial leaf wetness distribution. The dew model is based on an energy balance model. The model can be run using information on the above-canopy wind speed, air temperature, humidity, net radiation and within canopy air temperature, humidity and soil moisture content and temperature conditions. Rainfall was accounted for by applying an interception model. The results of the dew model agreed well with the leaf wetness sensors if all local conditions were considered. The measurements show that the spatial correlation of leaf wetness decreases downward.

Wetting Transitions Displayed by Persistent Active Particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sepúlveda, Néstor; Soto, Rodrigo

2017-08-01

A lattice model for active matter is studied numerically, showing that it displays wetting transitions between three distinctive phases when in contact with an impenetrable wall. The particles in the model move persistently, tumbling with a small rate α , and interact via exclusion volume only. When increasing the tumbling rates α , the system transits from total wetting to partial wetting and unwetting phases. In the first phase, a wetting film covers the wall, with increasing heights when α is reduced. The second phase is characterized by wetting droplets on the wall with a periodic spacing between them. Finally, the wall dries with few particles in contact with it. These phases present nonequilibrium transitions. The first transition, from partial to total wetting, is continuous and the fraction of dry sites vanishes continuously when decreasing the tumbling rate α . For the second transition, from partial wetting to dry, the mean droplet distance diverges logarithmically when approaching the critical tumbling rate, with saturation due to finite-size effects.

Effect of surface ionization on wetting layers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kayser, R. F.

1986-01-01

A surface ionization model due to Langmuir is generalized to liquid mixtures of polar and nonpolar components in contact with ionizable substrates. When a predominantly nonpolar mixture is near a miscibility gap, thick wetting layers of the conjugate polar phase form on the substrate. Such charged layers can be much thicker than similar wetting layers stabilized by dispersion forces. This model may explain the 0.4- to 0.6-micron-thick wetting layers formed in stirred mixtures of nitromethane and carbon disulfide in contact with glass.

Three-dimensional wave evolution on electrified falling films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomlin, Ruben; Papageorgiou, Demetrios; Pavliotis, Greg

2016-11-01

We consider the full three-dimensional model for a thin viscous liquid film completely wetting a flat infinite solid substrate at some non-zero angle to the horizontal, with an electric field normal to the substrate far from the flow. Thin film flows have applications in cooling processes. Many studies have shown that the presence of interfacial waves increases heat transfer by orders of magnitude due to film thinning and convection effects. A long-wave asymptotics procedure yields a Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation with a non-local term to model the weakly nonlinear evolution of the interface dynamics for overlying film arrangements, with a restriction on the electric field strength. The non-local term is always linearly destabilising and produces growth rates proportional to the cube of the magnitude of the wavenumber vector. A sufficiently strong electric field is able promote non-trivial dynamics for subcritical Reynolds number flows where the flat interface is stable in the absence of an electric field. We present numerical simulations where we observe rich dynamical behavior with competing attractors, including "snaking" travelling waves and other fully three-dimensional wave formations. EPSRC studentship (RJT).

Existence, stability, and nonlinear dynamics of detached Bridgman growth states under zero gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yeckel, Andrew; Derby, Jeffrey J.

2011-01-01

A thermocapillary model is used to study the existence, stability, and nonlinear dynamics of detached melt crystal growth in a vertical Bridgman system under zero gravity conditions. The model incorporates time-dependent heat, mass, and momentum transport, and accounts for temperature-dependent surface tension effects at the menisci bounding the melt. The positions of the menisci and phase-change boundary are computed to satisfy the conservation laws rigorously. A rich bifurcation structure in gap width versus pressure difference is uncovered, demarcating conditions under which growth with a stable gap is feasible. Thermal effects shift the bifurcation diagram to a slightly different pressure range, but do not alter its general structure. Necking and freeze-off are shown to be two different manifestations of the same instability mechanism. Supercooling of melt at the meniscus and low thermal gradients in the melt ahead of the crystal-melt-gas triple phase line, either of which may be destabilizing, are both observed under some conditions. The role of wetting and growth angles in dynamic shape stability is clarified.

Modeling leaf phenology variation by groupings of species within and across ecosystems in northern Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Euskirchen, E. S.; Carman, T. B.; McGuire, A. D.

2012-12-01

The phenology of arctic ecosystems is driven primarily by abiotic forces, with temperature acting as the main determinant of growing season onset and leaf budburst and in the spring. However, while the plant species in arctic ecosystems require differing amounts of accumulated heat for leaf-out, dynamic vegetation models simulated over a regional to global scale typically assume some average leaf-out for all of the species within an ecosystem. Here, we make use of air temperature records and observational data of spring leaf phenology collected across dominant groupings of species (dwarf birch shrubs, willow shrubs, other deciduous shrubs, grasses, sedges, and forbs) in arctic and ecotonal boreal ecosystems in Alaska. We then parameterize a dynamic vegetation model based on these data for four types of tundra ecosystems (heath tundra, shrub tundra, wet sedge tundra, and tussock tundra), as well as ecotonal boreal white spruce forest. This implementation improves the timing of the onset of carbon uptake in the spring, permitting a more accurate assessment of the contribution of each grouping of species to ecosystem performance. Furthermore, this implementation provides a more nuanced perspective on light competition among species and across ecosystems. For example, in the shrub tundra, the sedges and grasses leaf-out before the shade-inducing willow and dwarf birch, thereby providing the sedges and grasses time to accumulate biomass before shading effects arise. Also in the shrub tundra, the forbs leaf-out last, and are therefore, more prone to shading impacts by the taller willow and dwarf birch shrubs. However, in the wet sedge and heath tundra ecosystems, the forbs leaf-out before the shrubs, and are therefore less prone to shading impacts early in the growing season. These findings indicate the importance of leaf phenology data collection by species and across the various ecosystem types within the highly heterogeneous Arctic landscape. These findings also demonstrate that high-latitude dynamic vegetation models should consider variation in leaf-out by groupings of species within and across ecosystems in order to provide more accurate projections of future plant distributions in Arctic regions.

Two-Phase Flow Simulations through Experimentally Studied Porous Media Analogies

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

Crandall, D.M.; Ahmadi, G.; Smith, D.H.

2007-07-01

The amount of CO2 that can be sequestered in deep brine reservoirs is dependant on fluid-fluid-solid interactions within heterogeneous porous media. Displacement of an in-place fluid by a less viscous invading fluid does not displace 100% of the defending fluid, due to capillary and viscous fingering. This has been studied experimentally and numerically with the use of pore-throat flow cells and pore-level models, respectively, in the last two decades. This current work solves the full Navier-Stokes and continuity equations in a random pore-throat geometry using the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method. To verify that the VOF model can be accuratelymore » applied within narrow apertures, qualitative agreement with the well-documented phenomenon of viscous fingering in a Hele-Shaw cell is first presented. While this motion is similar to the fingering observed in geological media, the random structure of rock restricts flow patterns not captured by flow in Hele-Shaw cells. To mimic this heterogeneous natural geometry, a novel experimental flowcell was created. Experiments of constant-rate injection of air into the water saturated model are described. This situation, where a non-wetting, invading fluid displaces a surface-wetting, more-viscous fluid, is known as drainage. As the injection flow rate was increased, a change from stable displacement fronts to dendritic fingering structures was observed, with a corresponding decrease in the fractal dimension of the interface and a decrease in the final saturation of invading air. Predictions of the VOF computational modeling within the same flowcell geometry are then shown to be in good agreement with the experimental results. Percent saturation and the fractal dimension of the invading fluid were calculated from the numerical model and shown to be similar to the experimental findings for air invasion of a watersaturated domain. The fluid properties (viscosity and density) were than varied and the viscosity ratio and capillary number of the fluids were shown to affect the percent of displaced fluid, with lower capillary number and higher viscosity ratio displacing a greater amount of the wetting fluid. Displacement of a non-wetting, in-place fluid by a less viscous, wetting fluid (the case of imbibition; contact angle > 90°) is then studied with the numerical model. The invading fluid is shown to preferentially move into small throats and displace a larger percent of the in-place fluid than observed in the drainage case. The interface was also observed to have a higher fractal dimension, closer to 2. These results highlight the potential for greater fundamental understanding of liquid-gas-solid interactions in heterogeneous, porous media that can be obtained from computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Situations, which are difficult to experimentally study, can be examined with CFD in a manner that more accurately accounts for the geological conditions relevant to CO2 sequestration. This allows for greater accuracy in the prediction of storage capacity within known geological structures. This study shows that as the contact angle between the invading fluid and the defending fluid increase, a greater portion of the porous medium is invaded. Thus, a greater portion of CO2 can be sequestered in reservoirs that are not strongly water wet. Low flow rates are shown to increase the final percent saturation of the invading fluid as well, regardless of wetting conditions.« less

Revisiting hydraulic hysteresis based on long-term monitoring of hydraulic states in lysimeters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hannes, M.; Wollschläger, U.; Wöhling, T.; Vogel, H.-J.

2016-05-01

Hysteretic processes have been recognized for decades as an important characteristic of soil hydraulic behavior. Several studies confirmed that wetting and drying periods cannot be described by a simple functional relationship, and that some nonequilibrium of the water retention characteristics has to be taken into account. A large number of models describing the hysteresis of the soil water retention characteristic were successfully tested on soil cores under controlled laboratory conditions. However, its relevance under field conditions under natural forcings has rarely been investigated. In practice, the modeling of field soils usually neglects the hysteretic nature of soil hydraulic properties. In this study, long-term observations of water content and matric potential in lysimeters of the lysimeter network TERENO-SoilCan are presented, clearly demonstrating the hysteretic behavior of field soils. We propose a classification into three categories related to different time scales. Based on synthetic and long-term monitoring data, three different models of hysteresis were applied to data sets showing different degrees of hysteresis. We found no single model to be superior to the others. The model ranking depended on the degree of hysteresis. All models were able to reflect the general structure of hysteresis in most cases but failed to reproduce the detailed trajectories of state variables especially under highly transient conditions. As an important result we found that the temporal dynamics of wetting and drying significantly affects these trajectories which should be accounted for in future model concepts.

Aerosol chemistry during the wet season in central Amazonia - The influence of long-range transport

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Talbot, R. W.; Andreae, M. O.; Berresheim, H.; Artaxo, P.; Garstang, M.

1990-01-01

The temporal variation in the concentration and chemistry of the atmospheric aerosol over central Amazonia, Brazil, during the 1987 wet season is discussed based on ground and aircraft collected data obtained during the NASA GTE ABLE 2B expedition conducted in April/May 1987. It is found that wet-season aerosol concentrations and composition are variable in contrast to the more uniform biogenic aerosol observed during the 1985 dry season; four distinct intervals of enhanced aerosol concentration coincided with short periods (3 to 5 d) of extensive rainfall. It is hypothesized that aerosol chemistry in Amazonia during the wet season is strongly influenced by long-range transport of soil dust, marine aerosol, and possibly biomass combustion products advected into the central Basin by large-scale tropospheric circulation, producing periodic pulses of material input to local boundary layer air. The resultant wet-season aerosol regime is dynamic, in contrast to the uniformity of natural biogenic aerosols during the dry season.

Wetting and drying of liquid on crossed fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sauret, Alban; Bick, Alison D.; Stone, Howard A.; Complex Fluids Group Team

2013-11-01

Fibrous media are common in various engineered systems such as filters, paper or the textile industry. Many of these materials can be described as a network of fibers in which a wetting liquid tends to accumulate at its nodes and changes the bulk properties. Here we study a drop of silicone oil sitting on the simplest element of the array: two rigid crossed fibers. In particular, we investigate experimentally how the structure of the material affects the wetting and drying dynamics of that liquid drop. We first show that the liquid can adopt different shapes from a long liquid column to a drop. The transition between these morphologies depends on the volume of liquid, the tilting angle between the fibers, as well as the fiber radius. The wetting length in the column state can be predicted analytically. Because of these different shapes, the liquid exhibits different drying kinetics, which effects the overall drying time. Our study suggests that shearing a wetted array of fibers, by tuning the liquid morphology, may enhance the drying rate.

Floodplain Vegetation Dynamics Modeling Using Coupled RiPCAS-DFLOW (CoRD): Jemez Canyon, Jemez River, New Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, S. J.; Gregory, A. E.; Turner, M. A.; Chaulagain, S.; Cadol, D.; Stone, M. C.; Sheneman, L.

2017-12-01

Interactions among precipitation, vegetation, soil moisture, runoff and other landscape properties set the stage for complex streamflow regimes and cascading riparian habitat impacts, particularly in semi-arid regions. A consortium of New Mexico, Nevada, and Idaho, funded through NSF-EPSCoR, has promulgated the Western Consortium for Watershed Analysis, Visualization, and Exploration (WC-WAVE). Two WC-WAVE objectives are to advance understanding of hydrologic interactions and ecosystem services, and to develop a virtual watershed platform (VWP) cyber-infrastructure to unite and streamline coordination among teams, databases and modeling tools. To provide proof of concept for the VWP and to study coevolution of riparian habitat mosaics and flood dynamics, the study team selected two models and developed a model coupling system for the Jemez River Canyon, Jemez River, NM. DFLOW is a 2-D hydrodynamic model for steady and unsteady flow conditions; the Riparian Community Alteration and Succession (RipCAS) model, developed using concepts from a vegetation disturbance and succession model (CASiMiR), uses shear stresses and flood depths from DFLOW to evolve riparian vegetation maps with associated roughness. The Coupled RipCAS-DFLOW (CoRD) model allows serial annual time step feedback of changes in peak-flow-derived depth and shear stress and vegetation-derived roughness values. An intuitive command-line interface on a computing cluster is used to call CoRD, which provides commands to calculate boundary conditions, perform multiple file and data format conversions and archive and compress decades of data. Four thirty-year synthetic annual maximum flood scenarios were selected for CoRD simulations, representing a historical wet period (1957-1986) a historical dry period (1986-2015), and flows doubling the historical wet period and halving the historical dry period. Event-driven coupled modeling simulates the spatial distribution of floodplain vegetation community evolution over decades of flood record. Implications for riparian habitat distribution patterns under changing streamflow regimes due to increased fire and climate change, shifting landuse and livestock access patterns, and management of invasive exotic species are considered in interpreting experimental model scenarios.

Changes in the Global Hydrological Cycle: Lessons from Modeling Lake Levels at the Last Glacial Maximum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lowry, D. P.; Morrill, C.

2011-12-01

Geologic evidence shows that lake levels in currently arid regions were higher and lakes in currently wet regions were lower during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Current hypotheses used to explain these lake level changes include the thermodynamic hypothesis, in which decreased tropospheric water vapor coupled with patterns of convergence and divergence caused dry areas to become more wet and vice versa, the dynamic hypothesis, in which shifts in the jet stream and Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) altered precipitation patterns, and the evaporation hypothesis, in which lake expansions are attributed to reduced evaporation in a colder climate. This modeling study uses the output of four climate models participating in phase 2 of the Paleoclimate Modeling Intercomparison Project (PMIP2) as input into a lake energy-balance model, in order to test the accuracy of the models and understand the causes of lake level changes. We model five lakes which include the Great Basin lakes, USA; Lake Petén Itzá, Guatemala; Lake Caçó, northern Brazil; Lake Tauca (Titicaca), Bolivia and Peru; and Lake Cari-Laufquen, Argentina. These lakes create a transect through the drylands of North America through the tropics and to the drylands of South America. The models accurately recreate LGM conditions in 14 out of 20 simulations, with the Great Basin lakes being the most robust and Lake Caçó being the least robust, due to model biases in portraying the ITCZ over South America. An analysis of the atmospheric moisture budget from one of the climate models shows that thermodynamic processes contribute most significantly to precipitation changes over the Great Basin, while dynamic processes are most significant for the other lakes. Lake Cari-Laufquen shows a lake expansion that is most likely attributed to reduced evaporation rather than changes in regional precipitation, suggesting that lake levels alone may not be the best indicator of how much precipitation this region receives. Our results indicate that the causes of hydrologic fluctuations are spatially diverse and that future projections will need to consider more than just thermodynamic changes for accurate regional predictions.

Hydrodynamics of bacterial colonies: A model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lega, J.; Passot, T.

2003-03-01

We propose a hydrodynamic model for the evolution of bacterial colonies growing on soft agar plates. This model consists of reaction-diffusion equations for the concentrations of nutrients, water, and bacteria, coupled to a single hydrodynamic equation for the velocity field of the bacteria-water mixture. It captures the dynamics inside the colony as well as on its boundary and allows us to identify a mechanism for collective motion towards fresh nutrients, which, in its modeling aspects, is similar to classical chemotaxis. As shown in numerical simulations, our model reproduces both usual colony shapes and typical hydrodynamic motions, such as the whirls and jets recently observed in wet colonies of Bacillus subtilis. The approach presented here could be extended to different experimental situations and provides a general framework for the use of advection-reaction-diffusion equations in modeling bacterial colonies.

Soil CO2 Dynamics in a Tree Island Soil of the Pantanal: The Role of Soil Water Potential

PubMed Central

Johnson, Mark S.; Couto, Eduardo Guimarães; Pinto Jr, Osvaldo B.; Milesi, Juliana; Santos Amorim, Ricardo S.; Messias, Indira A. M.; Biudes, Marcelo Sacardi

2013-01-01

The Pantanal is a biodiversity hotspot comprised of a mosaic of landforms that differ in vegetative assemblages and flooding dynamics. Tree islands provide refuge for terrestrial fauna during the flooding period and are particularly important to the regional ecosystem structure. Little soil CO2 research has been conducted in this region. We evaluated soil CO2 dynamics in relation to primary controlling environmental parameters (soil temperature and soil water). Soil respiration was computed using the gradient method using in situ infrared gas analyzers to directly measure CO2 concentration within the soil profile. Due to the cost of the sensors and associated equipment, this study was unreplicated. Rather, we focus on the temporal relationships between soil CO2 efflux and related environmental parameters. Soil CO2 efflux during the study averaged 3.53 µmol CO2 m−2 s−1, and was equivalent to an annual soil respiration of 1220 g C m−2 y−1. This efflux value, integrated over a year, is comparable to soil C stocks for 0–20 cm. Soil water potential was the measured parameter most strongly associated with soil CO2 concentrations, with high CO2 values observed only once soil water potential at the 10 cm depth approached zero. This relationship was exhibited across a spectrum of timescales and was found to be significant at a daily timescale across all seasons using conditional nonparametric spectral Granger causality analysis. Hydrology plays a significant role in controlling CO2 efflux from the tree island soil, with soil CO2 dynamics differing by wetting mechanism. During the wet-up period, direct precipitation infiltrates soil from above and results in pulses of CO2 efflux from soil. The annual flood arrives later, and saturates soil from below. While CO2 concentrations in soil grew very high under both wetting mechanisms, the change in soil CO2 efflux was only significant when soils were wet from above. PMID:23762259

Soil CO₂ dynamics in a tree island soil of the Pantanal: the role of soil water potential.

PubMed

Johnson, Mark S; Couto, Eduardo Guimarães; Pinto, Osvaldo B; Milesi, Juliana; Santos Amorim, Ricardo S; Messias, Indira A M; Biudes, Marcelo Sacardi

2013-01-01

The Pantanal is a biodiversity hotspot comprised of a mosaic of landforms that differ in vegetative assemblages and flooding dynamics. Tree islands provide refuge for terrestrial fauna during the flooding period and are particularly important to the regional ecosystem structure. Little soil CO₂ research has been conducted in this region. We evaluated soil CO₂ dynamics in relation to primary controlling environmental parameters (soil temperature and soil water). Soil respiration was computed using the gradient method using in situ infrared gas analyzers to directly measure CO₂ concentration within the soil profile. Due to the cost of the sensors and associated equipment, this study was unreplicated. Rather, we focus on the temporal relationships between soil CO₂ efflux and related environmental parameters. Soil CO₂ efflux during the study averaged 3.53 µmol CO₂ m⁻² s⁻¹, and was equivalent to an annual soil respiration of 1220 g C m⁻² y⁻¹. This efflux value, integrated over a year, is comparable to soil C stocks for 0-20 cm. Soil water potential was the measured parameter most strongly associated with soil CO₂ concentrations, with high CO₂ values observed only once soil water potential at the 10 cm depth approached zero. This relationship was exhibited across a spectrum of timescales and was found to be significant at a daily timescale across all seasons using conditional nonparametric spectral Granger causality analysis. Hydrology plays a significant role in controlling CO₂ efflux from the tree island soil, with soil CO₂ dynamics differing by wetting mechanism. During the wet-up period, direct precipitation infiltrates soil from above and results in pulses of CO₂ efflux from soil. The annual flood arrives later, and saturates soil from below. While CO₂ concentrations in soil grew very high under both wetting mechanisms, the change in soil CO₂ efflux was only significant when soils were wet from above.

Climate Influences the Content and Chemical Composition of Foliar Tannins in Green and Senesced Tissues of Quercus rubra

PubMed Central

Top, Sara M.; Preston, Caroline M.; Dukes, Jeffrey S.; Tharayil, Nishanth

2017-01-01

Environmental stresses not only influence production of plant metabolites but could also modify their resorption during leaf senescence. The production-resorption dynamics of polyphenolic tannins, a class of defense compound whose ecological role extends beyond tissue senescence, could amplify the influence of climate on ecosystem processes. We studied the quantity, chemical composition, and tissue-association of tannins in green and freshly-senesced leaves of Quercus rubra exposed to different temperature (Warming and No Warming) and precipitation treatments (Dry, Ambient, Wet) at the Boston-Area Climate Experiment (BACE) in Massachusetts, USA. Climate influenced not only the quantity of tannins, but also their molecular composition and cell-wall associations. Irrespective of climatic treatments, tannin composition in Q. rubra was dominated by condensed tannins (CTs, proanthocyanidins). When exposed to Dry and Ambient*Warm conditions, Q. rubra produced higher quantities of tannins that were less polymerized. In contrast, under favorable conditions (Wet), tannins were produced in lower quantities, but the CTs were more polymerized. Further, even as the overall tissue tannin content declined, the content of hydrolysable tannins (HTs) increased under Wet treatments. The molecular composition of tannins influenced their content in senesced litter. Compared to the green leaves, the content of HTs decreased in senesced leaves across treatments, whereas the CT content was similar between green and senesced leaves in Wet treatments that produced more polymerized tannins. The content of total tannins in senesced leaves was higher in Warming treatments under both dry and ambient precipitation treatments. Our results suggest that, though climate directly influenced the production of tannins in green tissues (and similar patterns were observed in the senesced tissue), the influence of climate on tannin content of senesced tissue was partly mediated by the effect on the chemical composition of tannins. These different climatic impacts on leaves over the course of a growing season may alter forest dynamics, not only in decomposition and nutrient cycling dynamics, but also in herbivory dynamics. PMID:28559896

Dry/Wet Cycles Change the Activity and Population Dynamics of Methanotrophs in Rice Field Soil

PubMed Central

Ma, Ke; Conrad, Ralf

2013-01-01

The methanotrophs in rice field soil are crucial in regulating the emission of methane. Drainage substantially reduces methane emission from rice fields. However, it is poorly understood how drainage affects microbial methane oxidation. Therefore, we analyzed the dynamics of methane oxidation rates, composition (using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism [T-RFLP]), and abundance (using quantitative PCR [qPCR]) of methanotroph pmoA genes (encoding a subunit of particulate methane monooxygenase) and their transcripts over the season and in response to alternate dry/wet cycles in planted paddy field microcosms. In situ methane oxidation accounted for less than 15% of total methane production but was enhanced by intermittent drainage. The dry/wet alternations resulted in distinct effects on the methanotrophic communities in different soil compartments (bulk soil, rhizosphere soil, surface soil). The methanotrophic communities of the different soil compartments also showed distinct seasonal dynamics. In bulk soil, potential methanotrophic activity and transcription of pmoA were relatively low but were significantly stimulated by drainage. In contrast, however, in the rhizosphere and surface soils, potential methanotrophic activity and pmoA transcription were relatively high but decreased after drainage events and resumed after reflooding. While type II methanotrophs dominated the communities in the bulk soil and rhizosphere soil compartments (and to a lesser extent also in the surface soil), it was the pmoA of type I methanotrophs that was mainly transcribed under flooded conditions. Drainage affected the composition of the methanotrophic community only minimally but strongly affected metabolically active methanotrophs. Our study revealed dramatic dynamics in the abundance, composition, and activity of the various type I and type II methanotrophs on both a seasonal and a spatial scale and showed strong effects of dry/wet alternation cycles, which enhanced the attenuation of methane flux into the atmosphere. PMID:23770899

Interfacial spreading effects on one-dimensional organic liquid imbibition in water-wetted porous media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McBride, J. F.; Simmons, C. S.; Cary, J. W.

1992-10-01

The spreading coefficient, Csp, determines whether an organic immiscible liquid, OIL, will form a lens ( Csp < 0) or will spread spontaneously ( Csp > 0) on a water surface. An OIL that forms a lens does not perfectly wet the water surface and therefore has a contact angle greater than 0°. The one-dimensional rate at which an OIL spreads spontaneously on a water surface is proportional to the square root of Csp. Of the OIL's that pose a contaminant threat to the subsurface, the majority has a non-zero Csp. To test the influence of such interfacial spreading phenomena on OIL infiltration in a pristine vadose zone, upward OIL and water imbibition infiltration experiments were performed in glass-bead columns, moistened with water, by using OIL's with different Csp. An analytical model for saturated liquid front rise was used to inversely estimate the effective capillary pressure head at the front and the average liquid conductivity. A nonspreading OIL ( Csp ≪ 0) exhibited a reduced capillary pressure head in the water-wetted glass beads. A spontaneously spreading OIL ( Csp ≫0) manifested an enhanced capillary pressure head. Reduced capillary pressure head was associated with an increase in average conductivity, and enhanced capillary pressure head was associated with a decrease in average conductivity when compared to the average water conductivity during water imbibition. The employed experimental method and mathematical analysis of dynamic flow, subject to interfacial spreading phenomena, are practical for quantifying parameters for use in sharp-front OIL infiltration models, but more research is needed to determine how to incorporate the spreading coefficient in numerical multiphase flow models.

Growth, Survival, and Death of Bacteria and Fungi Following Wet-up of Seasonally Dried Soil Revealed by Heavy Water Stable Isotope Probing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blazewicz, S.; Nuccio, E. E.; Lim, H.; Schwartz, E.; Brodie, E.; Firestone, M.

2013-12-01

The rapid increase in microbial activity that occurs when a dry soil is rewetted has been well documented and is of great interest due to implications of changing precipitation patterns on soil C dynamics. Several studies have shown minor net changes in microbial population diversity or abundance following wet-up, but the gross population dynamics of bacteria and fungi resulting from soil wet-up are virtually unknown due to the technical difficulties associated with such measurements. Here we applied DNA stable isotope probing with H218O coupled with quantitative PCR and high throughput sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes to characterize taxonomic composition of bacteria and to describe new growth, survival, and mortality of bacteria and fungi following the rewetting of a seasonally dried California annual grassland soil. Total microbial abundance revealed little change throughout the 7-day post-wet incubation, but there was substantial turnover of both bacterial and fungal populations (49 and 52% respectively). New growth was linear between 24 and 168 hours for both bacteria and fungi with average growth rates of 2.3 x 108 bacterial 16S rRNA gene copies gdw-1 h-1 and 4.3 x 107 fungal ITS copies gdw-1 h-1. While bacteria and fungi differed in their mortality and survival characteristics during the 7-day incubation, mortality that occurred within the first 3 hours was similar with 25 and 27% of bacterial and fungal gene copies disappearing from the pre-wet community, respectively. The rapid disappearance of gene copies indicates that cell death, occurring either during the extreme dry down period (preceding 5 months) or during the rapid change in water-potential due to wet-up, generates a significant pool of available C that likely contributes to the large pulse in CO2 associated with wet-up. Sequential bacterial growth patterns observed at the phylum and order levels suggest that an ecologically coherent response was observable at coarse taxonomic levels with growth isolated to a limited number of orders within the first 24 hours, whereas the majority of growing organisms were detected between 24-72 hours post wet-up. Temporal changes in community composition suggest a degree of resilience in response to this abrupt environmental change; composition of new growth first diverges from the original community composition but eventually a trajectory towards the original composition was observed. A dynamic assemblage of growing and dying organisms controlled the CO2 pulse, but the balance between death and growth resulted in relatively stable total population abundances even after a profound and sudden change in environment.

Influence of wind and river discharge on the vertical exchange process in the Pearl River Estuary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, B.; Peng, S.

2016-02-01

Vertical exchange process is controlled by the buoyancy input from river discharge and the momentum input by wind forcing. This study investigates the vertical exchange process in the Pearl River Estuary by using a 3-D numerical model. The vertical exchange time (VET) is used to quantify the magnitude of vertical exchange process in response to changing local wind and river discharge. During the dry season, it only takes about 2 days for the surface layer water mass being transported to the bottom layer. During the wet season, such transport will take more than 20 days in a large portion of the main channel. The water in the slope area can be well ventilated. Linear regression of VET indicates that water column stratification can be used to estimate the VET and up to 71% of the variance can be accounted. The estimation by using river runoff can only account for about 49% of the variance. The effects of wind speed and direction are investigated separately. Neither river runoff nor the stratification can properly predict the VET during the typical wet season. Further investigations are needed to reveal the dynamics of vertical exchange process and find out other factors that influence the VET during the wet season.

Generalized Stability Analysis of Capillary Flow in Slender V-Grooves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, Nicholas; Troian, Sandra

2017-11-01

Spontaneous capillary flow, an especially rapid process in slender open microchannels resembling V-grooves, is of significant importance to many applications requiring passive robust flow control. Many types of biomedical devices for point-of-care use in developing countries are being designed around this principle. Important fundamental work by Romero and Yost (1996) and Weislogel (1996) elucidated the behavior of Newtonian films in slender V-grooves driven to flow by the streamwise change in capillary pressure due to the change in radius of curvature of the circular arc describing the interface of wetting or non-wetting fluids. Self-similar solutions describing Washburn type dynamics were found but other solutions are possible. Here we extend the Romero and Yost model to include a variety of inlet and outlet boundary conditions and examine the transient growth and generalized stability of perturbations to steady state and self-similar flows. Although most cases examined for wetting fluids exhibit robust stability against small perturbations, some exceptions reveal unstable flow. In total, these results support decades of experimental work which has found this method of flow control to be especially reliable, robust and self-healing. The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the 2016 NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory President's and Director's Fund as well as a 2017 NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship.

Laws of spreading: When hydrodynamic equations are not enough

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kavehpour, Pirouz; Mohammad Karim, Alireza; Rothstein, Jonathan; Davis, Stephen

2017-11-01

For nearly 50 years, most of the researchers in the area of wetting and spreading have used a relationship between the dynamics contact angle and velocity and the equilibrium contact angle. Different forms of this relationship are known as Tanner's law, Hoffman-Voinov-Tanner law or Cox model, all of them are derived based on hydrodynamics assumptions. In this talk, we will discuss several common situations that this relationship is not valid and we propose a new way to look at spreading problem and its underlying physics. Our experimental result agrees with this interpretation of spreading dynamics. In addition, the experimental study has been performed using forced spreading with tensiometer to obtain the dependence of dynamic contact angle to the contact line velocity to describe the spreading dynamics of Newtonian liquids on the micro-textured surfaces. The effect of the geometrical descriptions of the micro-posts along with the physical properties of liquids on the spreading dynamics on micro-textured Teflon plates have been also studied. It was shown that hydrodynamic results are not valid for certain combination of fluid/solid systems.

Flowering dynamics and pollinator visitation of oilseed echium (Echium plantagineum)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Echium (Echium plantagineum L.) is an alternative oilseed crop in summer-wet temperate regions that provides floral resources to pollinators. Its seed oil is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as stearidonic acid, which is desired highly by the cosmetic industry. We examined flowering dynamics, polli...

Tribology experiment. [journal bearings and liquid lubricants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wall, W. A.

1981-01-01

A two-dimensional concept for Spacelab rack 7 was developed to study the interaction of liquid lubricants and surfaces under static and dynamic conditions in a low-gravity environment fluid wetting and spreading experiments of a journal bearing experiments, and means to accurately measure and record the low-gravity environment during experimentation are planned. The wetting and spreading process of selected commercial lubricants on representative surface are to the observes in a near-zero gravity environment.

Sixty-two years of change in subtropical wet forest structure and composition at El Verde, Puerto Rico

Treesearch

A.P. Drew; J.D. Boley; Y. Zhao; F.H. Wadsworth

2009-01-01

A plot established in 1943 in a subtropical wet forest at the Luquillo Experimental Forest of Puerto Rico has been assessed periodically for changes in species and size of all trees >4cm diameter. Forest dynamics on a 0.72ha plot (EV-3) at 400masl at El Verde show recovery principally from hurricanes of 1928 and 1932, timber stand improvement in 1958, and from...

Timing of wet snow avalanche activity: An analysis from Glacier National Park, Montana, USA.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Peitzsch, Erich H.; Hendrikx, Jordy; Fagre, Daniel B.

2012-01-01

Wet snow avalanches pose a problem for annual spring road opening operations along the Going-to-the-Sun Road (GTSR) in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. A suite of meteorological metrics and snow observations has been used to forecast for wet slab and glide avalanche activity. However, the timing of spring wet slab and glide avalanches is a difficult process to forecast and requires new capabilities. For the 2011 and 2012 spring seasons we tested a previously developed classification tree model which had been trained on data from 2003-2010. For 2011, this model yielded a 91% predictive rate for avalanche days. For 2012, the model failed to capture any of the avalanche days observed. We then investigated these misclassified avalanche days in the 2012 season by comparing them to the misclassified days from the original dataset from which the model was trained. Results showed no significant difference in air temperature variables between this year and the original training data set for these misclassified days. This indicates that 2012 was characterized by avalanche days most similar to those that the model struggled with in the original training data. The original classification tree model showed air temperature to be a significant variable in wet avalanche activity which implies that subsequent movement of meltwater through the snowpack is also important. To further understand the timing of water flow we installed two lysimeters in fall 2011 before snow accumulation. Water flow showed a moderate correlation with air temperature later in the season and no synchronous pattern associated with wet slab and glide avalanche activity. We also characterized snowpack structure as the snowpack transitioned from a dry to a wet snowpack throughout the spring. This helped to assess potential failure layers of wet snow avalanches and the timing of avalanches compared to water moving through the snowpack. These tools (classification tree model and lysimeter data), combined with standard meteorological and avalanche observations, proved useful to forecasters regarding the timing of wet snow avalanche activity along the GTSR.

Atmospheric icing of structures: Observations and simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ágústsson, H.; Elíasson, Á. J.; Thorsteins, E.; Rögnvaldsson, Ó.; Ólafsson, H.

2012-04-01

This study compares observed icing in a test span in complex orography at Hallormsstaðaháls (575 m) in East-Iceland with parameterized icing based on an icing model and dynamically downscaled weather at high horizontal resolution. Four icing events have been selected from an extensive dataset of observed atmospheric icing in Iceland. A total of 86 test-spans have been erected since 1972 at 56 locations in complex terrain with more than 1000 icing events documented. The events used here have peak observed ice load between 4 and 36 kg/m. Most of the ice accretion is in-cloud icing but it may partly be mixed with freezing drizzle and wet snow icing. The calculation of atmospheric icing is made in two steps. First the atmospheric data is created by dynamically downscaling the ECMWF-analysis to high resolution using the non-hydrostatic mesoscale Advanced Research WRF-model. The horizontal resolution of 9, 3, 1 and 0.33 km is necessary to allow the atmospheric model to reproduce correctly local weather in the complex terrain of Iceland. Secondly, the Makkonen-model is used to calculate the ice accretion rate on the conductors based on the simulated temperature, wind, cloud and precipitation variables from the atmospheric data. In general, the atmospheric model correctly simulates the atmospheric variables and icing calculations based on the atmospheric variables correctly identify the observed icing events, but underestimate the load due to too slow ice accretion. This is most obvious when the temperature is slightly below 0°C and the observed icing is most intense. The model results improve significantly when additional observations of weather from an upstream weather station are used to nudge the atmospheric model. However, the large variability in the simulated atmospheric variables results in high temporal and spatial variability in the calculated ice accretion. Furthermore, there is high sensitivity of the icing model to the droplet size and the possibility that some of the icing may be due to freezing drizzle or wet snow instead of in-cloud icing of super-cooled droplets. In addition, the icing model (Makkonen) may not be accurate for the highest icing loads observed.

Using ensembles in water management: forecasting dry and wet episodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van het Schip-Haverkamp, Tessa; van den Berg, Wim; van de Beek, Remco

2015-04-01

Extreme weather situations as droughts and extensive precipitation are becoming more frequent, which makes it more important to obtain accurate weather forecasts for the short and long term. Ensembles can provide a solution in terms of scenario forecasts. MeteoGroup uses ensembles in a new forecasting technique which presents a number of weather scenarios for a dynamical water management project, called Water-Rijk, in which water storage and water retention plays a large role. The Water-Rijk is part of Park Lingezegen, which is located between Arnhem and Nijmegen in the Netherlands. In collaboration with the University of Wageningen, Alterra and Eijkelkamp a forecasting system is developed for this area which can provide water boards with a number of weather and hydrology scenarios in order to assist in the decision whether or not water retention or water storage is necessary in the near future. In order to make a forecast for drought and extensive precipitation, the difference 'precipitation- evaporation' is used as a measurement of drought in the weather forecasts. In case of an upcoming drought this difference will take larger negative values. In case of a wet episode, this difference will be positive. The Makkink potential evaporation is used which gives the most accurate potential evaporation values during the summer, when evaporation plays an important role in the availability of surface water. Scenarios are determined by reducing the large number of forecasts in the ensemble to a number of averaged members with each its own likelihood of occurrence. For the Water-Rijk project 5 scenario forecasts are calculated: extreme dry, dry, normal, wet and extreme wet. These scenarios are constructed for two forecasting periods, each using its own ensemble technique: up to 48 hours ahead and up to 15 days ahead. The 48-hour forecast uses an ensemble constructed from forecasts of multiple high-resolution regional models: UKMO's Euro4 model,the ECMWF model, WRF and Hirlam. Using multiple model runs and additional post processing, an ensemble can be created from non-ensemble models. The 15-day forecast uses the ECMWF Ensemble Prediction System forecast from which scenarios can be deduced directly. A combination of the ensembles from the two forecasting periods is used in order to have the highest possible resolution of the forecast for the first 48 hours followed by the lower resolution long term forecast.

Experimental and numerical studies on the treatment of wet astronaut trash by forced-convection drying

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arquiza, J. M. R. Apollo; Morrow, Robert; Remiker, Ross; Hunter, Jean B.

2017-09-01

During long-term space missions, astronauts generate wet trash, including food containers with uneaten portions, moist hygiene wipes and wet paper towels. This waste produces two problems: the loss of water and the generation of odors and health hazards by microbial growth. These problems are solved by a closed-loop, forced-convection, heat-pump drying system which stops microbial activity by both pasteurization and desiccation, and recovers water in a gravity-independent porous media condensing heat exchanger. A transient, pseudo-homogeneous continuum model for the drying of wet ersatz trash was formulated for this system. The model is based on the conservation equations for energy and moisture applied to the air and solid phases and includes the unique trash characteristic of having both dry and wet solids. Experimentally determined heat and mass transfer coefficients, together with the moisture sorption equilibrium relationship for the wet material are used in the model. The resulting system of differential equations is solved by the finite-volume method as implemented by the commercial software COMSOL. Model simulations agreed well with experimental data under certain conditions. The validated model will be used in the optimization of the entire closed-loop system consisting of fan, air heater, dryer vessel, heat-pump condenser, and heat-recovery modules.

Model of wet chemical etching of swift heavy ions tracks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorbunov, S. A.; Malakhov, A. I.; Rymzhanov, R. A.; Volkov, A. E.

2017-10-01

A model of wet chemical etching of tracks of swift heavy ions (SHI) decelerated in solids in the electronic stopping regime is presented. This model takes into account both possible etching modes: etching controlled by diffusion of etchant molecules to the etching front, and etching controlled by the rate of a reaction of an etchant with a material. Olivine ((Mg0.88Fe0.12)2SiO4) crystals were chosen as a system for modeling. Two mechanisms of chemical activation of olivine around the SHI trajectory are considered. The first mechanism is activation stimulated by structural transformations in a nanometric track core, while the second one results from neutralization of metallic atoms by generated electrons spreading over micrometric distances. Monte-Carlo simulations (TREKIS code) form the basis for the description of excitations of the electronic subsystem and the lattice of olivine in an SHI track at times up to 100 fs after the projectile passage. Molecular dynamics supplies the initial conditions for modeling of lattice relaxation for longer times. These simulations enable us to estimate the effects of the chemical activation of olivine governed by both mechanisms. The developed model was applied to describe chemical activation and the etching kinetics of tracks of Au 2.1 GeV ions in olivine. The estimated lengthwise etching rate (38 µm · h-1) is in reasonable agreement with that detected in the experiments (24 µm · h-1).

Curvature singularity and film-skating during drop impact

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duchemin, Laurent; Josserand, Christophe

2011-09-01

We study the influence of the surrounding gas in the dynamics of drop impact on a smooth surface. We use an axisymmetric model for which both the gas and the liquid are incompressible; lubrication regime applies for the gas film dynamics and the liquid viscosity is neglected. In the absence of surface tension a finite time singularity whose properties are analysed is formed and the liquid touches the solid on a circle. When surface tension is taken into account, a thin jet emerges from the zone of impact, skating above a thin gas layer. The thickness of the air film underneath this jet is always smaller than the mean free path in the gas suggesting that the liquid film eventually wets the surface. We finally suggest an aerodynamical instability mechanism for the splash.

Dispersion of aerosol particles in the atmosphere: Fukushima

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haszpra, Tímea; Lagzi, István; Tél, Tamás

2013-04-01

Investigation of dispersion and deposition of aerosol particles in the atmosphere is an essential issue, because they have an effect on the biosphere and atmosphere. Moreover, aerosol particles have different transport properties and chemical and physical transformations in the atmosphere compared to gas phase air pollutants. The motion of a particle is described by a set of ordinary differential equations. The large-scale dynamics in the horizontal direction can be described by the equations of passive scalar advection, but in the vertical direction a well-defined terminal velocity should be taken into account as a term added to the vertical wind component. In the planetary boundary layer turbulent diffusion has an important role in the particle dispersion, which is taken into account by adding stochastic terms to the deterministic equations above. Wet deposition is also an essential process in the lower levels of the atmosphere, however, its precise parameterization is a challenge. For the simulations the wind field and other necessary data were taken from the ECMWF ERA-Interim database. In the case of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (March-April 2011) radioactive aerosol particles were also released in the planetary boundary layer. Simulations (included the continuous and varying emission from the nuclear power plant) will be presented for the period of 14-23 March. Results show that wet deposition also has to be taken into consideration in the lower levels of the atmosphere. Furthermore, dynamical system characteristics are evaluated for the aerosol particle dynamics. The escape rate of particles was estimated both with and without turbulent diffusion, and in both cases when there was no wet deposition and also when wet deposition was taken into consideration.

Experimental study of vertical stress profiles of a confined granular bed under static and dynamic conditions.

PubMed

Mandato, S; Cuq, B; Ruiz, T

2012-07-01

In a wet agglomeration process inside a low shear mixer, the blade function is to induce i) homogenization of the liquid sprayed on the powder surface and ii) a stress field able to transfer the mechanical energy at the particle scale. In this work we study the mechanical state of a confined powder bed through the analysis of stress distributions (by force measurements) in a rectangular cell in two cases: for a classical model powder (i.e. glass beads) and a complex powder (i.e. wheat semolina). Two types of vertical stress profiles are obtained according to the type of measurements carried out in the powder bed, either locally (at different positions in the cell) or globally (at the entire base). The global vertical stress profile follows Janssen's model and the local vertical stress profile highlights a critical length, identified as the percolation threshold of the force network, and a shielding length near the bottom, which is similar to an influence length of the side walls. In the context of wet agglomeration, the results allow to consider the role of the characteristic lengths in the mixing bowl under vertical mechanical solicitation.

Effect of rainfall seasonality on carbon storage in tropical dry ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rohr, Tyler; Manzoni, Stefano; Feng, Xue; Menezes, Rômulo S. C.; Porporato, Amilcare

2013-07-01

seasonally dry conditions are typical of large areas of the tropics, their biogeochemical responses to seasonal rainfall and soil carbon (C) sequestration potential are not well characterized. Seasonal moisture availability positively affects both productivity and soil respiration, resulting in a delicate balance between C deposition as litterfall and C loss through heterotrophic respiration. To understand how rainfall seasonality (i.e., duration of the wet season and rainfall distribution) affects this balance and to provide estimates of long-term C sequestration, we develop a minimal model linking the seasonal behavior of the ensemble soil moisture, plant productivity, related C inputs through litterfall, and soil C dynamics. A drought-deciduous caatinga ecosystem in northeastern Brazil is used as a case study to parameterize the model. When extended to different patterns of rainfall seasonality, the results indicate that for fixed annual rainfall, both plant productivity and soil C sequestration potential are largely, and nonlinearly, dependent on wet season duration. Moreover, total annual rainfall is a critical driver of this relationship, leading at times to distinct optima in both production and C storage. These theoretical predictions are discussed in the context of parameter uncertainties and possible changes in rainfall regimes in tropical dry ecosystems.

Destabilization, Propagation, and Generation of Surfactant-Stabilized Foam during Crude Oil Displacement in Heterogeneous Model Porous Media.

PubMed

Xiao, Siyang; Zeng, Yongchao; Vavra, Eric D; He, Peng; Puerto, Maura; Hirasaki, George J; Biswal, Sibani L

2018-01-23

Foam flooding in porous media is of increasing interest due to its numerous applications such as enhanced oil recovery, aquifer remediation, and hydraulic fracturing. However, the mechanisms of oil-foam interactions have yet to be fully understood at the pore level. Here, we present three characteristic zones identified in experiments involving the displacement of crude oil from model porous media via surfactant-stabilized foam, and we describe a series of pore-level dynamics in these zones which were not observed in experiments involving paraffin oil. In the displacement front zone, foam coalesces upon initial contact with crude oil, which is known to destabilize the liquid lamellae of the foam. Directly upstream, a transition zone occurs where surface wettability is altered from oil-wet to water-wet. After this transition takes place, a strong foam bank zone exists where foam is generated within the porous media. We visualized each zone using a microfluidic platform, and we discuss the unique physicochemical phenomena that define each zone. In our analysis, we also provide an updated mechanistic understanding of the "smart rheology" of foam which builds upon simple "phase separation" observations in the literature.

Numerical solution of the Saint-Venant equations by an efficient hybrid finite-volume/finite-difference method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lai, Wencong; Khan, Abdul A.

2018-04-01

A computationally efficient hybrid finite-volume/finite-difference method is proposed for the numerical solution of Saint-Venant equations in one-dimensional open channel flows. The method adopts a mass-conservative finite volume discretization for the continuity equation and a semi-implicit finite difference discretization for the dynamic-wave momentum equation. The spatial discretization of the convective flux term in the momentum equation employs an upwind scheme and the water-surface gradient term is discretized using three different schemes. The performance of the numerical method is investigated in terms of efficiency and accuracy using various examples, including steady flow over a bump, dam-break flow over wet and dry downstream channels, wetting and drying in a parabolic bowl, and dam-break floods in laboratory physical models. Numerical solutions from the hybrid method are compared with solutions from a finite volume method along with analytic solutions or experimental measurements. Comparisons demonstrates that the hybrid method is efficient, accurate, and robust in modeling various flow scenarios, including subcritical, supercritical, and transcritical flows. In this method, the QUICK scheme for the surface slope discretization is more accurate and less diffusive than the center difference and the weighted average schemes.

Whole-eye transplantation: a look into the past and vision for the future.

PubMed

Bourne, D; Li, Y; Komatsu, C; Miller, M R; Davidson, E H; He, L; Rosner, I A; Tang, H; Chen, W; Solari, M G; Schuman, J S; Washington, K M

2017-02-01

Blindness afflicts ~39 million people worldwide. Retinal ganglion cells are unable to regenerate, making this condition irreversible in many cases. Whole-eye transplantation (WET) provides the opportunity to replace diseased retinal ganglion cells, as well as the entire optical system and surrounding facial tissue, if necessary. Recent success in face transplantation demonstrates that this may be a promising treatment for what has been to this time an incurable condition. An animal model for WET must be established to further enhance our knowledge of nerve regeneration, immunosuppression, and technical aspects of surgery. A systematic review of the literature was performed to evaluate studies describing animal models for WET. Only articles in which the eye was completely enucleated and reimplanted were included. Study methods and results were compared. In the majority of published literature, WET can result in recovery of vision in cold-blooded vertebrates. There are a few instances in which mammalian WET models demonstrate survival of the transplanted tissue following neurovascular anastomosis and the ability to maintain brief electroretinogram activity in the new host. In this study we review in cold-blooded vertebrates and mammalian animal models for WET and discuss prospects for future research for translation to human eye transplantation.

The Evolution of El Nino-Precipitation Relationships from Satellites and Gauges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Curtis, Scott; Adler, Robert F.; Starr, David OC (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

This study uses a twenty-three year (1979-2001) satellite-gauge merged community data set to further describe the relationship between El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and precipitation. The globally complete precipitation fields reveal coherent bands of anomalies that extend from the tropics to the polar regions. Also, ENSO-precipitation relationships were analyzed during the six strongest El Ninos from 1979 to 2001. Seasons of evolution, Pre-onset, Onset, Peak, Decay, and Post-decay, were identified based on the strength of the El Nino. Then two simple and independent models, first order harmonic and linear, were fit to the monthly time series of normalized precipitation anomalies for each grid block. The sinusoidal model represents a three-phase evolution of precipitation, either dry-wet-dry or wet-dry-wet. This model is also highly correlated with the evolution of sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific. The linear model represents a two-phase evolution of precipitation, either dry-wet or wet-dry. These models combine to account for over 50% of the precipitation variability for over half the globe during El Nino. Most regions, especially away from the Equator, favor the linear model. Areas that show the largest trend from dry to wet are southeastern Australia, eastern Indian Ocean, southern Japan, and off the coast of Peru. The northern tropical Pacific and Southeast Asia show the opposite trend.

Applying dynamic data collection to improve dry electrode system performance for a P300-based brain-computer interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clements, J. M.; Sellers, E. W.; Ryan, D. B.; Caves, K.; Collins, L. M.; Throckmorton, C. S.

2016-12-01

Objective. Dry electrodes have an advantage over gel-based ‘wet’ electrodes by providing quicker set-up time for electroencephalography recording; however, the potentially poorer contact can result in noisier recordings. We examine the impact that this may have on brain-computer interface communication and potential approaches for mitigation. Approach. We present a performance comparison of wet and dry electrodes for use with the P300 speller system in both healthy participants and participants with communication disabilities (ALS and PLS), and investigate the potential for a data-driven dynamic data collection algorithm to compensate for the lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in dry systems. Main results. Performance results from sixteen healthy participants obtained in the standard static data collection environment demonstrate a substantial loss in accuracy with the dry system. Using a dynamic stopping algorithm, performance may have been improved by collecting more data in the dry system for ten healthy participants and eight participants with communication disabilities; however, the algorithm did not fully compensate for the lower SNR of the dry system. An analysis of the wet and dry system recordings revealed that delta and theta frequency band power (0.1-4 Hz and 4-8 Hz, respectively) are consistently higher in dry system recordings across participants, indicating that transient and drift artifacts may be an issue for dry systems. Significance. Using dry electrodes is desirable for reduced set-up time; however, this study demonstrates that online performance is significantly poorer than for wet electrodes for users with and without disabilities. We test a new application of dynamic stopping algorithms to compensate for poorer SNR. Dynamic stopping improved dry system performance; however, further signal processing efforts are likely necessary for full mitigation.

Enzymatic corn wet milling: engineering process and cost model

PubMed Central

Ramírez, Edna C; Johnston, David B; McAloon, Andrew J; Singh, Vijay

2009-01-01

Background Enzymatic corn wet milling (E-milling) is a process derived from conventional wet milling for the recovery and purification of starch and co-products using proteases to eliminate the need for sulfites and decrease the steeping time. In 2006, the total starch production in USA by conventional wet milling equaled 23 billion kilograms, including modified starches and starches used for sweeteners and ethanol production [1]. Process engineering and cost models for an E-milling process have been developed for a processing plant with a capacity of 2.54 million kg of corn per day (100,000 bu/day). These models are based on the previously published models for a traditional wet milling plant with the same capacity. The E-milling process includes grain cleaning, pretreatment, enzymatic treatment, germ separation and recovery, fiber separation and recovery, gluten separation and recovery and starch separation. Information for the development of the conventional models was obtained from a variety of technical sources including commercial wet milling companies, industry experts and equipment suppliers. Additional information for the present models was obtained from our own experience with the development of the E-milling process and trials in the laboratory and at the pilot plant scale. The models were developed using process and cost simulation software (SuperPro Designer®) and include processing information such as composition and flow rates of the various process streams, descriptions of the various unit operations and detailed breakdowns of the operating and capital cost of the facility. Results Based on the information from the model, we can estimate the cost of production per kilogram of starch using the input prices for corn, enzyme and other wet milling co-products. The work presented here describes the E-milling process and compares the process, the operation and costs with the conventional process. Conclusion The E-milling process was found to be cost competitive with the conventional process during periods of high corn feedstock costs since the enzymatic process enhances the yields of the products in a corn wet milling process. This model is available upon request from the authors for educational, research and non-commercial uses. PMID:19154623

Adsorption of gluconate and uranyl on C-S-H phases: Combination of wet chemistry experiments and molecular dynamics simulations for the binary systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Androniuk, Iuliia; Landesman, Catherine; Henocq, Pierre; Kalinichev, Andrey G.

2017-06-01

As a first step in developing better molecular scale understanding of the effects of organic additives on the adsorption and mobility of radionuclides in cement under conditions of geological nuclear waste repositories, two complementary approaches, wet chemistry experiments and molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulations, were applied to study the sorption behaviour of two simple model systems: gluconate and uranyl on calcium silicate hydrate phases (C-S-H) - the principal mineral component of hardened cement paste (HCP). Experimental data on sorption and desorption kinetics and isotherms of adsorption for gluconate/C-S-H and U(VI)/C-S-H binary systems were collected and quantitatively analysed for C-S-H samples synthesised with various Ca/Si ratios (0.83, 1.0, 1.4) corresponding to various stages of HCP aging and degradation. Gluconate labelled with 14C isotope was used in order to improve the sensitivity of analytical detection technique (LSC) at particularly low concentrations (10-8-10-5 mol/L). There is a noticeable effect of Ca/Si ratio on the gluconate sorption on C-S-H, with stronger sorption at higher Ca/Si ratios. Sorption of organic anions on C-S-H is mediated by the presence of Ca2+ at the interface and strongly depends on the surface charge and Ca2+ concentration. In parallel, classical MD simulations of the same model systems were performed in order to identify specific surface sorption sites most actively involved in the sorption of gluconate and uranyl on C-S-H and to clarify molecular mechanisms of adsorption.

Wet Tectonics: A New Planetary Synthesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grimm, K. A.

2005-12-01

Most geoscientists (and geoscience textbooks) describe plate tectonics as a `solid-Earth' phenomenon, with fluids playing an important role in discrete geodynamic processes. As a community of diverse research specialists, the critical role of water is being widely elucidated, however these diverse studies do not address the fundamental origin and operation of the global plate tectonic phenomenon, and its expressions in planetary geodynamics and geomorphology. The Wet Tectonics hypothesis extends well beyond the plate tectonics paradigm, to constitute a new synthesis of diverse geoscience specializations and self-organizing complexity into a simple, internally consistent and explicitly testable model. The Wet Tectonics hypothesis asserts that Earth's plate tectonic system arose from and is the explicit and dynamic result of water interacting with the hot silicate mantle. The tectosphere is defined as an interactive functional (rather than structural, compositional or rheological) entity, a planetary-scale dynamic system of plate formation, plate motion, and rock/volatile recycling. Earth's tectosphere extends from the base of the asthenosphere to the top of the crust, arising and evolving as a dynamic pattern of organization that creates, orders and perpetuates itself. Earth's tectosphere is energetically-open, materially ajar (steady-state operation may not require sub-asthenospheric inputs; shifts between distinct tectonic modes may result from changes in coupling between the tectosphere and subasthenospheric reservoirs) and chemically-closed (i.e. the tectosphere recycles its own wastes). Water is a fundamental requirement in all of the constituent processes of Earth's tectosphere, including seafloor spreading, slab cooling/subsidence, plate motion, asthenosphere rheology, and subduction (where crustal and volatile recycling occur). As a working hypothesis, we suggest that the dynamic and persistent hydrosphere and tectosphere on planet Earth are fully interdependent and co-evolving phenomena. The concept of autocatalytic hypercycles has been adapted from molecular biology to resolve the apparent paradox of circular causality amongst the coupled phenomena of liquid water oceans and `plate tectonics'. This new planetary synthesis presents fundamental implications for geological, geophysical, Earth system and planetary sciences, as well as novel hypotheses concerning plate drive (gravity sliding ± slab pull), origin of plate tectonics (Hadean, >=4.4Ga), biogeochemical cycling (balanced global fluxes of water into and out of the tectosphere; is the asthenosphere continuously rehydrated via lateral advection) and planetary geomorphology (simple contrasts between Mars, Earth and Venus).

Drop dynamics on a thin film: Thin film rupture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carlson, Andreas; Kim, Pilnam; Stone, Howard A.

2011-11-01

The spreading of a water drop on an oil film that covers a solid substrate is a common event in many industrial processes. We study in experiments the dynamics of a water drop on a thin silicone oil film and quantify its interaction with the solid substrate that supports the film. The oil film becomes unstable and ruptures for solids that are hydrophilic. We determine the ``waiting time,'' the time it takes the water drop to drain the silicone film. This timescale is found to highly depend on how well water wets the solid, illustrating the interplay between intermolecular and hydrodynamic forces in the phenomenon. A phase diagram for the thin film stability is extracted based on waters equilibrium contact angle on the solid, which shows that we can either promote or inhibit de-wetting. As water comes in direct contact with the solid, it spreads and peels off the silicone film. We show the influence of viscosity, equilibrium contact angle and film height on the opening radius of the hole formed as the solid de-wets.

Mixed Cassie-Baxter wetting states on a porous material stabilized by electrowetting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lambert, Jérôme; Gauchet, Lucien; Crassous, Jérôme

2017-07-01

Electrowetting is used to force imbibition in model porous plates. These porous plates are sintered disordered bronze bead packings that are homogeneously coated with a constant-thickness layer of parylene. Cycles of increasing and decreasing voltage trigger the imbibition of a ionized water sessile drop by changing its contact angle with the porous material from non-wetting to wetting shapes. During a cycle, a drop experiences partial imbibition and a strong hysteresis of its contact angle with the porous plate. Since the imbibition process quickly stabilizes, we adopt an equilibrium description of the wetting properties of the drop on the porous plate. Our model, based on the Cassie-Baxter approach, shows that three different wetting states are experienced by the drop, one of which being made possible only by the modification of the contact angle inside the pores. Our model describes the experimental results very well.

Significance of Bioturbated Layer (BTL) and Deep Groundwater Storage on Runoff in Steep Saprolitic Tropical Lowlands Catchment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Y.; Ogden, F. L.; Zhu, J.

2016-12-01

Bioturbated soil layers (BTLs) play a significant role in hydrological response and provisioning of ecosystem services in steep, saprolitic, tropical lowlands catchments. In this study, a new physically-based model formulation was developed for testing of runoff generation hypotheses. A main feature in the model formulation is explicit simulation of hydrological processes in the BTL including macropores, which our field observations show are ubiquitous, and deep groundwater stores that provide streamflow during the dry season The numerical model developed includes two main flow paths in the BTL, including one-dimensional (1D) vertical infiltration and two-dimensional (2D) lateral flows in both macropores and the soil matrix. Hydrological processes incorporated along with the BTL processes include intercepted rainfall, evapotranspiration, 2D surface flow and 1D deep groundwater discharge. This model was first tested in a 6.5 ha secondary succession catchment, that is under study by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Agua Salud project in Panama, which is dominated by steep slopes. With the incorporation of lateral macropore flow mechanism in the BTL, the model performs better than only including soil matrix flow in the BTL especially in simulating baseflow dynamics, which illustrates the importance of preferential flow from the BTL to stream discharge dynamics. The increase in the BTL thickness promotes more flow through the BTL and increases storage in both the BTL and the deep groundwater reservoir, but decreases the total streamflow and overland flow. Lateral macropore diameter distribution influences flows more than the macropore number or distribution type. The model has thus far passed falsification tests during the early wet season. Complexity in subsurface storage and base flow generation offer a new challenge for this model. The overall objective is to develop a model formulation that is useful in practical applications related to land-use management, provisioning of ecosystem services, and water security in similar tropical settings with distinct dry and wet seasons or in the humid tropics during periods of drought.

More than Drought: Precipitation Variance, Excessive Wetness, Pathogens and the Future of the Western Edge of the Eastern Deciduous Forest.

PubMed

Hubbart, Jason A; Guyette, Richard; Muzika, Rose-Marie

2016-10-01

For many regions of the Earth, anthropogenic climate change is expected to result in increasingly divergent climate extremes. However, little is known about how increasing climate variance may affect ecosystem productivity. Forest ecosystems may be particularly susceptible to this problem considering the complex organizational structure of specialized species niche adaptations. Forest decline is often attributable to multiple stressors including prolonged heat, wildfire and insect outbreaks. These disturbances, often categorized as megadisturbances, can push temperate forests beyond sustainability thresholds. Absent from much of the contemporary forest health literature, however, is the discussion of excessive precipitation that may affect other disturbances synergistically or that might represent a principal stressor. Here, specific points of evidence are provided including historic climatology, variance predictions from global change modeling, Midwestern paleo climate data, local climate influences on net ecosystem exchange and productivity, and pathogen influences on oak mortality. Data sources reveal potential trends, deserving further investigation, indicating that the western edge of the Eastern Deciduous forest may be impacted by ongoing increased precipitation, precipitation variance and excessive wetness. Data presented, in conjunction with recent regional forest health concerns, suggest that climate variance including drought and excessive wetness should be equally considered for forest ecosystem resilience against increasingly dynamic climate. This communication serves as an alert to the need for studies on potential impacts of increasing climate variance and excessive wetness in forest ecosystem health and productivity in the Midwest US and similar forest ecosystems globally. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bio-inspired reversible underwater adhesive.

PubMed

Zhao, Yanhua; Wu, Yang; Wang, Liang; Zhang, Manman; Chen, Xuan; Liu, Minjie; Fan, Jun; Liu, Junqiu; Zhou, Feng; Wang, Zuankai

2017-12-20

The design of smart surfaces with switchable adhesive properties in a wet environment has remained a challenge in adhesion science and materials engineering. Despite intense demands in various industrial applications and exciting progress in mimicking the remarkable wet adhesion through the delicate control of catechol chemistry, polyelectrolyte complex, and supramolecular architectures, the full recapitulation of nature's dynamic function is limited. Here, we show a facile approach to synthesize bioinspired adhesive, which entails the reversible, tunable, and fast regulation of the wet adhesion on diverse surfaces. The smart wet adhesive takes advantage of the host-guest molecular interaction and the adhesive nature of catechol chemistry, as well as the responsive polymer, allowing for screening and activation of the interfacial interaction simply by a local temperature trigger in an on-demand manner. Our work opens up an avenue for the rational design of bioinspired adhesives with performances even beyond nature.

Nutrient and mercury deposition and storage in an alpine snowpack of the Sierra Nevada, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pearson, C.; Schumer, R.; Trustman, B. D.; Rittger, K.; Johnson, D. W.; Obrist, D.

2015-06-01

Biweekly snowpack core samples were collected at seven sites along two elevation gradients in the Tahoe Basin during two consecutive snow years to evaluate total wintertime snowpack accumulation of nutrients and pollutants in a high-elevation watershed of the Sierra Nevada. Additional sampling of wet deposition and detailed snow pit profiles were conducted the following year to compare wet deposition to snowpack storage and assess the vertical dynamics of snowpack nitrogen, phosphorus, and mercury. Results show that, on average, organic N comprised 48% of all snowpack N, while nitrate (NO3--N) and TAN (total ammonia nitrogen) made up 25 and 27%, respectively. Snowpack NO3--N concentrations were relatively uniform across sampling sites over the sampling seasons and showed little difference between seasonal wet deposition and integrated snow pit concentrations. These patterns are in agreement with previous studies that identify wet deposition as the dominant source of wintertime NO3--N deposition. However, vertical snow pit profiles showed highly variable concentrations of NO3--N within the snowpack indicative of additional deposition and in-snowpack dynamics. Unlike NO3--N, snowpack TAN doubled towards the end of winter, which we attribute to a strong dry deposition component which was particularly pronounced in late winter and spring. Organic N concentrations in the snowpack were highly variable (from 35 to 70%) and showed no clear temporal, spatial, or vertical trends throughout the season. Integrated snowpack organic N concentrations were up to 2.5 times higher than seasonal wet deposition, likely due to microbial immobilization of inorganic N as evident by coinciding increases in organic N and decreases in inorganic N in deeper, aged snow. Spatial and temporal deposition patterns of snowpack P were consistent with particulate-bound dry deposition inputs and strong impacts from in-basin sources causing up to 6 times greater enrichment at urban locations compared to remote sites. Snowpack Hg showed little temporal variability and was dominated by particulate-bound forms (78% on average). Dissolved Hg concentrations were consistently lower in snowpack than in wet deposition, which we attribute to photochemically driven gaseous re-emission. In agreement with this pattern is a significant positive relationship between snowpack Hg and elevation, attributed to a combination of increased snow accumulation at higher elevations causing limited light penetration and lower photochemical re-emission losses in deeper, higher-elevation snowpack. Finally, estimates of basin-wide loading based on spatially extrapolated concentrations and a satellite-based snow water equivalent reconstruction model identify snowpack chemical loading from atmospheric deposition as a substantial source of nutrients and pollutants to the Lake Tahoe Basin, accounting for 113 t of N, 9.3 t of P, and 1.2 kg of Hg each year.

Competitive Wetting in Active Brazes

DOE PAGES

Chandross, Michael Evan

2014-05-01

We found that the wetting and spreading of molten filler materials (pure Al, pure Ag, and AgAl alloys) on a Kovar ™ (001) substrate was studied with molecular dynamics simulations. A suite of different simulations was used to understand the effects on spreading rates due to alloying as well as reactions with the substrate. Moreover, the important conclusion is that the presence of Al in the alloy enhances the spreading of Ag, while the Ag inhibits the spreading of Al.

The 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoro-methylsulfonyl)-imide ionic liquid nanodroplets on solid surfaces and in electric field: A molecular dynamics simulation study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Dengpan; Vatamanu, Jenel P.; Wei, Xiaoyu; Bedrov, Dmitry

2018-05-01

Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to study the wetting states of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoro-methylsulfonyl)-imide ionic liquid (IL) nanodroplets on surfaces with different strengths of van der Waals (VDW) interactions and in the presence of an electric field. By adjusting the depth of Lennard-Jones potential, the van der Waals interaction between the solid surface and ionic liquid was systematically varied. The shape of the droplets was analyzed to extract the corresponding contact angle utilized to characterize wetting states of the nanodroplets. The explored range of surface-IL interactions allowed contact angles ranging from complete IL spreading on the surface to poor wettability. The effect of the external electrical field was explored by adding point charges to the surface atoms. Systems with two charge densities (±0.002 e/atom and ±0.004 e/atom) that correspond to 1.36 V/nm and 2.72 V/nm electric fields were investigated. Asymmetrical wetting states were observed for both cases. At 1.36 V/nm electric field, contributions of IL-surface VDW interactions and Coulombic interactions to the wetting state were competitive. At 2.72 V/nm field, electrostatic interactions dominate the interaction between the nanodroplet and surface, leading to enhanced wettability on all surfaces.

The effects of wettability and trapping on relationships between interfacial area, capillary pressure and saturation in porous media: A pore-scale network modeling approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raeesi, Behrooz; Piri, Mohammad

2009-10-01

SummaryWe use a three-dimensional mixed-wet random pore-scale network model to investigate the impact of wettability and trapping on the relationship between interfacial area, capillary pressure and saturation in two-phase drainage and imbibition processes. The model is a three-dimensional network of interconnected pores and throats of various geometrical shapes. It allows multiple phases to be present in each capillary element in wetting and spreading layers, as well as occupying the center of the pore space. Two different random networks that represent the pore space in Berea and a Saudi Arabia reservoir sandstone are used in this study. We allow the wettability of the rock surfaces contacted by oil to alter after primary drainage. The model takes into account both contact angle and trapping hystereses. We model primary oil drainage and water flooding for mixed-wet conditions, and secondary oil injection for a water-wet system. The total interfacial area for pores and throats are calculated when the system is at capillary equilibrium. They include contributions from the arc menisci (AMs) between the bulk and corner fluids, and from the main terminal menisci (MTMs) between different bulk fluids. We investigate hysteresis in these relationships by performing water injection into systems of varying wettability and initial water saturation. We show that trapping and contact angle hystereses significantly affect the interfacial area. In a strongly water-wet system, a sharp increase is observed at the beginning of water flood, which shifts the area to a higher level than primary drainage. As we change the wettability of the system from strongly water-wet to strongly oil-wet, the trapped oil saturation decreases significantly. Starting water flood from intermediate water saturations, greater than the irreducible water saturation, can also affect the non-wetting phase entrapment, resulting in different interfacial area behaviors. This can increase the interfacial area significantly in oil-wet systems. A qualitative comparison of our results with the experimental data available in literature for glass beads shows, with some expected differences, an encouraging agreement. Also, our results agree well with those generated by the previously developed models.

The moving confluence route technology with WAD scheme for 3D hydrodynamic simulation in high altitude inland waters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yonggui; Yang, Yinqun; Chen, Xiaolong; Engel, Bernard A.; Zhang, Wanshun

2018-04-01

For three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations in inland waters, the rapid changes with moving boundary and various input conditions should be considered. Some models are developed with moving boundary but the dynamic change of discharges is unresolved or ignored. For better hydrodynamic simulation in inland waters, the widely used 3D model, ECOMSED, has been improved by moving confluence route (MCR) method with a wetting and drying scheme (WAD). The fixed locations of water and pollutants inputs from tributaries, point sources and non-point sources have been changed to dynamic confluence routes as the boundary moving. The improved model was applied in an inland water area, Qingshuihai reservoir, Kunming City, China, for a one-year hydrodynamic simulation. The results were verified by water level, flow velocity and water mass conservation. Detailed water level variation analysis and velocity field comparison at different times showed that the improved model has better performance for simulating the boundary moving phenomenon and moving discharges along with water level changing than the original one. The improved three-dimensional model is available for hydrodynamics simulation in water bodies where water boundary shifts along with change of water level and have various inlets.

Using monitoring, LiDAR and MODFLOW to Estimate Hyporheic Fluxes for a Dynamic Large River Riparian Area

EPA Science Inventory

In unrevetted reaches, the Willamette River in northwest Oregon is a dynamic anastomosing system. Riparian zones are frequently divided into multiple islands during most of the wet winter season. The dividing stream channels are mostly absent during the dry summer season. This po...

Integration of a Physically based Distributed Hydrological Model with a Model of Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling: A Case Study at the Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory, Puerto Rico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bastola, S.; Dialynas, Y. G.; Bras, R. L.; Arnone, E.; Noto, L. V.

2015-12-01

The dynamics of carbon and nitrogen cycles, increasingly influenced by human activities, are the key to the functioning of ecosystems. These cycles are influenced by the composition of the substrate, availability of nitrogen, the population of microorganisms, and by environmental factors. Therefore, land management and use, climate change, and nitrogen deposition patterns influence the dynamics of these macronutrients at the landscape scale. In this work a physically based distributed hydrological model, the tRIBS model, is coupled with a process-based multi-compartment model of the biogeochemical cycle to simulate the dynamics of carbon and nitrogen (CN) in the Mameyes River basin, Puerto Rico. The model includes a wide range of processes that influence the movement, production, alteration of nutrients in the landscape and factors that affect the CN cycling. The tRIBS integrates geomorphological and climatic factors that influence the cycling of CN in soil. Implementing the decomposition module into tRIBS makes the model a powerful complement to a biogeochemical observation system and a forecast tool able to analyze the influences of future changes on ecosystem services. The soil hydrologic parameters of the model were obtained using ranges of published parameters and observed streamflow data at the outlet. The parameters of the decomposition module are based on previously published data from studies conducted in the Luquillio CZO (budgets of soil organic matter and CN ratio for each of the dominant vegetation types across the landscape). Hydrological fluxes, wet depositon of nitrogen, litter fall and its corresponding CN ratio drive the decomposition model. The simulation results demonstrate a strong influence of soil moisture dynamics on the spatiotemporal distribution of nutrients at the landscape level. The carbon in the litter pool and the nitrate and ammonia pool respond quickly to soil moisture content. Moreover, the CN ratios of the plant litter have significant influence in the dynamics of CN cycling.

Simulation study of free-energy barriers in the wetting transition of an oily fluid on a rough surface with reentrant geometry.

PubMed

Savoy, Elizabeth S; Escobedo, Fernando A

2012-11-20

When in contact with a rough solid surface, fluids with low surface tension, such as oils and alkanes, have their lowest free energy in the fully wetted state. For applications where nonwetting by these phillic fluids is desired, some barrier must be introduced to maintain the nonwetted composite state. One way to create this free-energy barrier is to fabricate roughness with reentrant geometry, but the question remains as to whether the free-energy barrier is sufficiently high to prevent wetting. Our goal is to quantify the free-energy landscape for the wetting transition of an oily fluid on a surface of nails and identify significant surface features and conditions that maximize the wetting free-energy barrier (ΔGfwd*). This is a departure from most work on wetting, which focuses on the equilibrium composite and wetted states. We use boxed molecular dynamics (BXD) (Glowacki, D. R.; Paci, E.; Shalashilin, D. V. J. Phys. Chem. B2009, 113, 16603-16611) with a modified control scheme to evaluate both the thermodynamics and kinetics of the transition over a range of surface affinities (chemistry). We find that the reentrant geometry of the nails does create a free-energy barrier to transition for phillic chemistry whereas a corresponding system on straight posts wets spontaneously and, that doubling the nail height more than doubles ΔGfwd*. For neutral to phillic chemistry, the dewetting free-energy barrier is at least an order of magnitude higher than that for wetting, indicating an essentially irreversible wetting transition. Transition rates from BXD simulations and the associated trends agree well with those in our previous study that used forward flux sampling to compute transition rates for similar systems.

Potential Arctic tundra vegetation shifts in response to changing temperature, precipitation and permafrost thaw

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Kolk, Henk-Jan; Heijmans, Monique M. P. D.; van Huissteden, Jacobus; Pullens, Jeroen W. M.; Berendse, Frank

2016-11-01

Over the past decades, vegetation and climate have changed significantly in the Arctic. Deciduous shrub cover is often assumed to expand in tundra landscapes, but more frequent abrupt permafrost thaw resulting in formation of thaw ponds could lead to vegetation shifts towards graminoid-dominated wetland. Which factors drive vegetation changes in the tundra ecosystem are still not sufficiently clear. In this study, the dynamic tundra vegetation model, NUCOM-tundra (NUtrient and COMpetition), was used to evaluate the consequences of climate change scenarios of warming and increasing precipitation for future tundra vegetation change. The model includes three plant functional types (moss, graminoids and shrubs), carbon and nitrogen cycling, water and permafrost dynamics and a simple thaw pond module. Climate scenario simulations were performed for 16 combinations of temperature and precipitation increases in five vegetation types representing a gradient from dry shrub-dominated to moist mixed and wet graminoid-dominated sites. Vegetation composition dynamics in currently mixed vegetation sites were dependent on both temperature and precipitation changes, with warming favouring shrub dominance and increased precipitation favouring graminoid abundance. Climate change simulations based on greenhouse gas emission scenarios in which temperature and precipitation increases were combined showed increases in biomass of both graminoids and shrubs, with graminoids increasing in abundance. The simulations suggest that shrub growth can be limited by very wet soil conditions and low nutrient supply, whereas graminoids have the advantage of being able to grow in a wide range of soil moisture conditions and have access to nutrients in deeper soil layers. Abrupt permafrost thaw initiating thaw pond formation led to complete domination of graminoids. However, due to increased drainage, shrubs could profit from such changes in adjacent areas. Both climate and thaw pond formation simulations suggest that a wetter tundra can be responsible for local shrub decline instead of shrub expansion.

Critical Zone Co-dynamics: Quantifying Interactions between Subsurface, Land Surface, and Vegetation Properties Using UAV and Geophysical Approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dafflon, B.; Leger, E.; Peterson, J.; Falco, N.; Wainwright, H. M.; Wu, Y.; Tran, A. P.; Brodie, E.; Williams, K. H.; Versteeg, R.; Hubbard, S. S.

2017-12-01

Improving understanding and modelling of terrestrial systems requires advances in measuring and quantifying interactions among subsurface, land surface and vegetation processes over relevant spatiotemporal scales. Such advances are important to quantify natural and managed ecosystem behaviors, as well as to predict how watershed systems respond to increasingly frequent hydrological perturbations, such as droughts, floods and early snowmelt. Our study focuses on the joint use of UAV-based multi-spectral aerial imaging, ground-based geophysical tomographic monitoring (incl., electrical and electromagnetic imaging) and point-scale sensing (soil moisture sensors and soil sampling) to quantify interactions between above and below ground compartments of the East River Watershed in the Upper Colorado River Basin. We evaluate linkages between physical properties (incl. soil composition, soil electrical conductivity, soil water content), metrics extracted from digital surface and terrain elevation models (incl., slope, wetness index) and vegetation properties (incl., greenness, plant type) in a 500 x 500 m hillslope-floodplain subsystem of the watershed. Data integration and analysis is supported by numerical approaches that simulate the control of soil and geomorphic characteristic on hydrological processes. Results provide an unprecedented window into critical zone interactions, revealing significant below- and above-ground co-dynamics. Baseline geophysical datasets provide lithological structure along the hillslope, which includes a surface soil horizon, underlain by a saprolite layer and the fractured Mancos shale. Time-lapse geophysical data show very different moisture dynamics in various compartments and locations during the winter and growing season. Integration with aerial imaging reveals a significant linkage between plant growth and the subsurface wetness, soil characteristics and the topographic gradient. The obtained information about the organization and connectivity of the landscape is being transferred to larger regions using aerial imaging and will be used to constrain multi-scale, multi-physics hydro-biogeochemical simulations of the East River watershed response to hydrological perturbations.

Incorporation of a dynamic root distribution into CLM4.5: Evaluation of carbon and water fluxes over the Amazon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yuanyuan; Xie, Zhenghui; Jia, Binghao

2016-09-01

Roots are responsible for the uptake of water and nutrients by plants and have the plasticity to dynamically respond to different environmental conditions. However, most land surface models currently prescribe rooting profiles as a function only of vegetation type, with no consideration of the surroundings. In this study, a dynamic rooting scheme, which describes root growth as a compromise between water and nitrogen availability, was incorporated into CLM4.5 with carbon-nitrogen (CN) interactions (CLM4.5-CN) to investigate the effects of a dynamic root distribution on eco-hydrological modeling. Two paired numerical simulations were conducted for the Tapajos National Forest km83 (BRSa3) site and the Amazon, one using CLM4.5-CN without the dynamic rooting scheme and the other including the proposed scheme. Simulations for the BRSa3 site showed that inclusion of the dynamic rooting scheme increased the amplitudes and peak values of diurnal gross primary production (GPP) and latent heat flux (LE) for the dry season, and improved the carbon (C) and water cycle modeling by reducing the RMSE of GPP by 0.4 g C m-2 d-1, net ecosystem exchange by 1.96 g C m-2 d-1, LE by 5.0 W m-2, and soil moisture by 0.03 m3 m-3, at the seasonal scale, compared with eddy flux measurements, while having little impact during the wet season. For the Amazon, regional analysis also revealed that vegetation responses (including GPP and LE) to seasonal drought and the severe drought of 2005 were better captured with the dynamic rooting scheme incorporated.

Dynamics of Liquids in Edges and Corners (DYLCO): IML-2 Experiment for the BDPU

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Langbein, D.; Weislogel, M.

1998-01-01

Knowledge of the behavior of fluids possessing free surfaces is important to many fluid systems, particularly in space, where the normally subtle effects of surface wettability play a more dramatic and often surprising role. DYLCO for the IML-2 mission was proposed as a simple experiment to probe the particular behavior of capillary surfaces in containers of irregular cross section. Temperature control was utilized to vary the fluid-solid contact angle, a questionable thermodynamic parameter of the system, small changes in which can dramatically influence the configuration, stability, and flow of a capillary surface. Container shapes, test fluid, and temperature ranges were selected for observing both local changes in interface curvature as well as a global change in fluid orientation due to a critical wetting phenomenon. The experiment hardware performed beyond what was expected and fluid interfaces could be readily digitized post flight to show the dependence of the interface curvature on temperature. For each of the containers tested surfaces were observed which did not satisfy the classic equations for the prediction of interface shape with constant contact angle boundary condition. This is explained by the presence of contact angle hysteresis arising from expansion and contraction of the liquid during the heating and cooling steps of the test procedure. More importantly, surfaces exceeding the critical surface curvature required for critical wetting were measured, yet no wetting was observed. These findings are indeed curious and pose key questions concerning the role of hysteresis for this critical wetting phenomena. The stability of such surfaces was determined numerically and it is shown that stability is enhance (reduced) when a surface is in its 'advancing' ('receding') state, The analysis shows complete instability as the critical wetting condition is reached. The case of ideal dynamic wetting is addressed analytically in detail with results of significant flow characteristics presented in closed form. The solutions indicate a square root of T dependence of the capillary 'rise' rate which is corroborated by drop tower tests. The analysis clearly shows that infinite time is necessary for surfaces to reorient at the critical wetting transition.

An Analysis of Simulated Wet Deposition of Mercury from the North American Mercury Model Intercomparison Study

EPA Science Inventory

A previous intercomparison of atmospheric mercury models in North America has been extended to compare simulated and observed wet deposition of mercury. Three regional-scale atmospheric mercury models were tested; CMAQ, REMSAD and TEAM. These models were each employed using thr...

Environmental controls in the water use patterns of a tropical cloud forest tree species, Drimys brasiliensis (Winteraceae).

PubMed

Eller, Cleiton B; Burgess, Stephen S O; Oliveira, Rafael S

2015-04-01

Trees from tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF) display very dynamic patterns of water use. They are capable of downwards water transport towards the soil during leaf-wetting events, likely a consequence of foliar water uptake (FWU), as well as high rates of night-time transpiration (Enight) during drier nights. These two processes might represent important sources of water losses and gains to the plant, but little is known about the environmental factors controlling these water fluxes. We evaluated how contrasting atmospheric and soil water conditions control diurnal, nocturnal and seasonal dynamics of sap flow in Drimys brasiliensis (Miers), a common Neotropical cloud forest species. We monitored the seasonal variation of soil water content, micrometeorological conditions and sap flow of D. brasiliensis trees in the field during wet and dry seasons. We also conducted a greenhouse experiment exposing D. brasiliensis saplings under contrasting soil water conditions to deuterium-labelled fog water. We found that during the night D. brasiliensis possesses heightened stomatal sensitivity to soil drought and vapour pressure deficit, which reduces night-time water loss. Leaf-wetting events had a strong suppressive effect on tree transpiration (E). Foliar water uptake increased in magnitude with drier soil and during longer leaf-wetting events. The difference between diurnal and nocturnal stomatal behaviour in D. brasiliensis could be attributed to an optimization of carbon gain when leaves are dry, as well as minimization of nocturnal water loss. The leaf-wetting events on the other hand seem important to D. brasiliensis water balance, especially during soil droughts, both by suppressing tree transpiration (E) and as a small additional water supply through FWU. Our results suggest that decreases in leaf-wetting events in TMCF might increase D. brasiliensis water loss and decrease its water gains, which could compromise its ecophysiological performance and survival during dry periods. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Using Statistical Mechanics and Entropy Principles to Interpret Variability in Power Law Models of the Streamflow Recession

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dralle, D.; Karst, N.; Thompson, S. E.

2015-12-01

Multiple competing theories suggest that power law behavior governs the observed first-order dynamics of streamflow recessions - the important process by which catchments dry-out via the stream network, altering the availability of surface water resources and in-stream habitat. Frequently modeled as: dq/dt = -aqb, recessions typically exhibit a high degree of variability, even within a single catchment, as revealed by significant shifts in the values of "a" and "b" across recession events. One potential source of this variability lies in underlying, hard-to-observe fluctuations in how catchment water storage is partitioned amongst distinct storage elements, each having different discharge behaviors. Testing this and competing hypotheses with widely available streamflow timeseries, however, has been hindered by a power law scaling artifact that obscures meaningful covariation between the recession parameters, "a" and "b". Here we briefly outline a technique that removes this artifact, revealing intriguing new patterns in the joint distribution of recession parameters. Using long-term flow data from catchments in Northern California, we explore temporal variations, and find that the "a" parameter varies strongly with catchment wetness. Then we explore how the "b" parameter changes with "a", and find that measures of its variation are maximized at intermediate "a" values. We propose an interpretation of this pattern based on statistical mechanics, meaning "b" can be viewed as an indicator of the catchment "microstate" - i.e. the partitioning of storage - and "a" as a measure of the catchment macrostate (i.e. the total storage). In statistical mechanics, entropy (i.e. microstate variance, that is the variance of "b") is maximized for intermediate values of extensive variables (i.e. wetness, "a"), as observed in the recession data. This interpretation of "a" and "b" was supported by model runs using a multiple-reservoir catchment toy model, and lends support to the hypothesis that power law streamflow recession dynamics, and their variations, have their origin in the multiple modalities of storage partitioning.

High-Resolution Subtropical Summer Precipitation Derived from Dynamical Downscaling of the NCEP-DOE Reanalysis: How Much Small-Scale Information Is Added by a Regional Model?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lim, Young-Kwon; Stefanova, Lydia B.; Chan, Steven C.; Schubert, Siegfried D.; OBrien, James J.

2010-01-01

This study assesses the regional-scale summer precipitation produced by the dynamical downscaling of analyzed large-scale fields. The main goal of this study is to investigate how much the regional model adds smaller scale precipitation information that the large-scale fields do not resolve. The modeling region for this study covers the southeastern United States (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and North Carolina) where the summer climate is subtropical in nature, with a heavy influence of regional-scale convection. The coarse resolution (2.5deg latitude/longitude) large-scale atmospheric variables from the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)/DOE reanalysis (R2) are downscaled using the NCEP Environmental Climate Prediction Center regional spectral model (RSM) to produce precipitation at 20 km resolution for 16 summer seasons (19902005). The RSM produces realistic details in the regional summer precipitation at 20 km resolution. Compared to R2, the RSM-produced monthly precipitation shows better agreement with observations. There is a reduced wet bias and a more realistic spatial pattern of the precipitation climatology compared with the interpolated R2 values. The root mean square errors of the monthly R2 precipitation are reduced over 93 (1,697) of all the grid points in the five states (1,821). The temporal correlation also improves over 92 (1,675) of all grid points such that the domain-averaged correlation increases from 0.38 (R2) to 0.55 (RSM). The RSM accurately reproduces the first two observed eigenmodes, compared with the R2 product for which the second mode is not properly reproduced. The spatial patterns for wet versus dry summer years are also successfully simulated in RSM. For shorter time scales, the RSM resolves heavy rainfall events and their frequency better than R2. Correlation and categorical classification (above/near/below average) for the monthly frequency of heavy precipitation days is also significantly improved by the RSM.

Modeling the impact of Plasmodium falciparum sexual stage immunity on the composition and dynamics of the human infectious reservoir for malaria in natural settings.

PubMed

Ouédraogo, André Lin; Eckhoff, Philip A; Luty, Adrian J F; Roeffen, Will; Sauerwein, Robert W; Bousema, Teun; Wenger, Edward A

2018-05-01

Malaria transmission remains high in Sub-Saharan Africa despite large-scale implementation of malaria control interventions. A comprehensive understanding of the transmissibility of infections to mosquitoes may guide the design of more effective transmission reducing strategies. The impact of P. falciparum sexual stage immunity on the infectious reservoir for malaria has never been studied in natural settings. Repeated measurements were carried out at start-wet, peak-wet and dry season, and provided data on antibody responses against gametocyte/gamete antigens Pfs48/45 and Pfs230 as anti-gametocyte immunity. Data on high and low-density infections and their infectiousness to anopheline mosquitoes were obtained using quantitative molecular methods and mosquito feeding assays, respectively. An event-driven model for P. falciparum sexual stage immunity was developed and fit to data using an agent based malaria model infrastructure. We found that Pfs48/45 and Pfs230 antibody densities increased with increasing concurrent gametocyte densities; associated with 55-70% reduction in oocyst intensity and achieved up to 44% reduction in proportions of infected mosquitoes. We showed that P. falciparum sexual stage immunity significantly reduces transmission of microscopic (p < 0.001) but not submicroscopic (p = 0.937) gametocyte infections to mosquitoes and that incorporating sexual stage immunity into mathematical models had a considerable impact on the contribution of different age groups to the infectious reservoir of malaria. Human antibody responses to gametocyte antigens are likely to be dependent on recent and concurrent high-density gametocyte exposure and have a pronounced impact on the likelihood of onward transmission of microscopic gametocyte densities compared to low density infections. Our mathematical simulations indicate that anti-gametocyte immunity is an important factor for predicting and understanding the composition and dynamics of the human infectious reservoir for malaria.

Hydrocentric view of Agro-ecosystem Resiliency to Extreme Hydrometeorological and Climate Events in the High Plains, US.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Munoz-Arriola, Francisco; Sharma, Ashutosh; Werner, Katherine; Chacon, Juan-Carlos; Corzo, Gerald; Goyal, Manish-Kumar

2017-04-01

An increasing incidence of Hydrometeorological and Climate Extreme Events (EHCEs) is challenging food, water, and ecosystem services security at local to global contexts. This study aims to understand how a large-scale representation of agroecosystems and ecosystems respond to EHCE in the Northern Highplains, US. To track such responses the Variable Infiltration Capacity model (VIC) Land Surface Hydrology model was used and two experiments were implemented. The first experiment uses the LAI MODIS15A2 product to capture dynamic responses of vegetation with a time span from 2000 to 2013. The second experiment used a climatological fixed seasonal cycle calculated as the average from the 2000-2013 dynamic MODIS15A2 product to isolate vegetation from soil physical responses. Based on the analyses of multiple hydrological variables and state variables and high-level organization of agroecosystems and ecosystems, we evidence how the influence of droughts and anomalously wet conditions affect hydrological resilience at large scale.

Assessing the Added Value of Dynamical Downscaling Using ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

In this study, the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) is used to ascertain the added value of dynamical downscaling over the contiguous United States. WRF is used as a regional climate model (RCM) to dynamically downscale reanalysis fields to compare values of SPI over drought timescales that have implications for agriculture and water resources planning. The regional climate generated by WRF has the largest improvement over reanalysis for SPI correlation with observations as the drought timescale increases. This suggests that dynamically downscaled fields may be more reliable than larger-scale fields for water resource applications (e.g., water storage within reservoirs). WRF improves the timing and intensity of moderate to extreme wet and dry periods, even in regions with homogenous terrain. This study also examines changes in SPI from the extreme drought of 1988 and three “drought busting” tropical storms. Each of those events illustrates the importance of using downscaling to resolve the spatial extent of droughts. The analysis of the “drought busting” tropical storms demonstrates that while the impact of these storms on ending prolonged droughts is improved by the RCM relative to the reanalysis, it remains underestimated. These results illustrate the importance and some limitations of using RCMs to project drought. The National Exposure Research Laboratory’s Atmospheric Modeling Division (AMAD) conducts research in support of EPA’s mission t

Water and heat transport in boreal soils: Implications for soil response to climate change

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fan, Z.; Neff, J.C.; Harden, J.W.; Zhang, T.; Veldhuis, H.; Czimczik, C.I.; Winston, G.C.; O'Donnell, J. A.

2011-01-01

Soil water content strongly affects permafrost dynamics by changing the soil thermal properties. However, the movement of liquid water, which plays an important role in the heat transport of temperate soils, has been under-represented in boreal studies. Two different heat transport models with and without convective heat transport were compared to measurements of soil temperatures in four boreal sites with different stand ages and drainage classes. Overall, soil temperatures during the growing season tended to be over-estimated by 2-4??C when movement of liquid water and water vapor was not represented in the model. The role of heat transport in water has broad implications for site responses to warming and suggests reduced vulnerability of permafrost to thaw at drier sites. This result is consistent with field observations of faster thaw in response to warming in wet sites compared to drier sites over the past 30. years in Canadian boreal forests. These results highlight that representation of water flow in heat transport models is important to simulate future soil thermal or permafrost dynamics under a changing climate. ?? 2011 Elsevier B.V.

Water and heat transport in boreal soils: Implications for soil response to climate change

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fan, Zhaosheng; Harden, Jennifer W.; Winston, G.C.; O'Donnell, Jonathan A.; Neff, Jason C.; Zhang, Tingjun; Veldhuis, Hugo; Czimczik, C.I.

2011-01-01

Soil water content strongly affects permafrost dynamics by changing the soil thermal properties. However, the movement of liquid water, which plays an important role in the heat transport of temperate soils, has been under-represented in boreal studies. Two different heat transport models with and without convective heat transport were compared to measurements of soil temperatures in four boreal sites with different stand ages and drainage classes. Overall, soil temperatures during the growing season tended to be over-estimated by 2–4 °C when movement of liquid water and water vapor was not represented in the model. The role of heat transport in water has broad implications for site responses to warming and suggests reduced vulnerability of permafrost to thaw at drier sites. This result is consistent with field observations of faster thaw in response to warming in wet sites compared to drier sites over the past 30 years in Canadian boreal forests. These results highlight that representation of water flow in heat transport models is important to simulate future soil thermal or permafrost dynamics under a changing climate.

Stabilizing detached Bridgman melt crystal growth: Model-based nonlinear feedback control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yeckel, Andrew; Daoutidis, Prodromos; Derby, Jeffrey J.

2012-12-01

The dynamics and operability limits of a nonlinear-proportional-integral controller designed to stabilize detached vertical Bridgman crystal growth are studied. The manipulated variable is the pressure difference between upper and lower vapor spaces, and the controlled variable is the gap width at the triple-phase line. The controller consists of a model-based nonlinear component coupled with a standard proportional-integral controller. The nonlinear component is based on a capillary model of shape stability. Perturbations to gap width, pressure difference, wetting angle, and growth angle are studied under both shape stable and shape unstable conditions. The nonlinear-PI controller allows a wider operating range of gain than a standard PI controller used alone, is easier to tune, and eliminates solution multiplicity from closed-loop operation.

Population Dynamics of an Insect Herbivore over 32 Years are Driven by Precipitation and Host-Plant Effects: Testing Model Predictions.

PubMed

Price, Peter W; Hunter, Mark D

2015-06-01

The interaction between the arroyo willow, Salix lasiolepis Bentham, and its specialist herbivore, the arroyo willow stem-galling sawfly, Euura lasiolepis Smith (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae), was studied for 32 yr in Flagstaff, AZ, emphasizing a mechanistic understanding of insect population dynamics. Long-term weather records were evaluated to provide a climatic context for this study. Previously, predictive models of sawfly dynamics were developed from estimates of sawfly gall density made between 1981 and 2002; one model each for drier and wetter sites. Predictor variables in these models included winter precipitation and the Palmer Drought Severity Index, which impact the willow growth, with strong bottom-up effects on sawflies. We now evaluate original model predictions of sawfly population dynamics using new data (from 2003-2012). Additionally, willow resources were evaluated in 1986 and in 2012, using as criteria clone area, shoot density, and shoot length. The dry site model accounted for 40% of gall population density variation between 2003 and 2012 (69% over the 32 yr), providing strong support for the bottom-up, mechanistic hypothesis that water supply to willow hosts impacts sawfly populations. The current drying trend stressed willow clones: in drier sites, willow resources declined and gall density decreased by 98%. The wet site model accounted for 23% of variation in gall population density between 2003 and 2012 (48% over 30 yr), consistent with less water limitation. Nonetheless, gall populations were reduced by 72%. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Using Electromagnetic Induction Technique to Detect Hydropedological Dynamics: Principles and Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Qing; Liao, Kaihua; Doolittle, James; Lin, Henry

2014-05-01

Hydropedological dynamics including soil moisture variation, subsurface flow, and spatial distributions of different soil properties are important parameters in ecological, environmental, hydrological, and agricultural modeling and applications. However, technical gap exists in mapping these dynamics at intermediate spatial scale (e.g., farm and catchment scales). At intermediate scales, in-situ monitoring provides detailed data, but is restricted in number and spatial coverage; while remote sensing provides more acceptable spatial coverage, but has comparatively low spatial resolution, limited observation depths, and is greatly influenced by the surface condition and climate. As a non-invasive, fast, and convenient geophysical tool, electromagnetic induction (EMI) measures soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) and has great potential to bridge this technical gap. In this presentation, principles of different EMI meters are briefly introduced. Then, case studies of using repeated EMI to detect spatial distributions of subsurface convergent flow, soil moisture dynamics, soil types and their transition zones, and different soil properties are presented. The suitability, effectiveness, and accuracy of EMI are evaluated for mapping different hydropedological dynamics. Lastly, contributions of different hydropedological and terrain properties on soil ECa are quantified under different wetness conditions, seasons, and land use types using Classification and Regression Tree model. Trend removal and residual analysis are then used for further mining of EMI survey data. Based on these analyses, proper EMI survey designs and data processing are proposed.

Time-Dependent Wetting Behavior of PDMS Surfaces with Bioinspired, Hierarchical Structures.

PubMed

Mishra, Himanshu; Schrader, Alex M; Lee, Dong Woog; Gallo, Adair; Chen, Szu-Ying; Kaufman, Yair; Das, Saurabh; Israelachvili, Jacob N

2016-03-01

Wetting of rough surfaces involves time-dependent effects, such as surface deformations, nonuniform filling of surface pores within or outside the contact area, and surface chemistries, but the detailed impact of these phenomena on wetting is not entirely clear. Understanding these effects is crucial for designing coatings for a wide range of applications, such as membrane-based oil-water separation and desalination, waterproof linings/windows for automobiles, aircrafts, and naval vessels, and antibiofouling. Herein, we report on time-dependent contact angles of water droplets on a rough polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface that cannot be completely described by the conventional Cassie-Baxter or Wenzel models or the recently proposed Cassie-impregnated model. Shells of sand dollars (Dendraster excentricus) were used as lithography-free, robust templates to produce rough PDMS surfaces with hierarchical, periodic features ranging from 1 × 10(-7) to 1 × 10(-4) m. Under saturated vapor conditions, we found that in the short term (<1 min), the contact angle of a sessile water droplet on the templated PDMS, θ(SDT) = 140 ± 3°, was accurately described by the Cassie-Baxter model (predicted θ(SDT) = 137°); however, after 90 min, θ(SDT) fell to 110°. Fluorescent confocal microscopy confirmed that the initial reduction in θ(SDT) to 110° (the Wenzel limit) was primarily a Cassie-Baxter to Wenzel transition during which pores within the contact area filled gradually, and more rapidly for ethanol-water mixtures. After 90 min, the contact line of the water droplet became pinned, perhaps caused by viscoelastic deformation of the PDMS around the contact line, and a significant volume of water began to flow from the droplet to pores outside the contact region, causing θ(SDT) to decrease to 65° over 48 h on the rough surface. The system we present here to explore the concept of contact angle time dependence (dynamics) and modeling of natural surfaces provides insights into the design and development of long- and short-lived coatings.

Effect of Hydrofluoric Acid Etching Time on Titanium Topography, Chemistry, Wettability, and Cell Adhesion

PubMed Central

Zahran, R.; Rosales Leal, J. I.; Rodríguez Valverde, M. A.; Cabrerizo Vílchez, M. A.

2016-01-01

Titanium implant surface etching has proven an effective method to enhance cell attachment. Despite the frequent use of hydrofluoric (HF) acid, many questions remain unresolved, including the optimal etching time and its effect on surface and biological properties. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of HF acid etching time on Ti topography, surface chemistry, wettability, and cell adhesion. These data are useful to design improved acid treatment and obtain an improved cell response. The surface topography, chemistry, dynamic wetting, and cell adhesiveness of polished Ti surfaces were evaluated after treatment with HF acid solution for 0, 2; 3, 5, 7, or 10 min, revealing a time-dependent effect of HF acid on their topography, chemistry, and wetting. Roughness and wetting increased with longer etching time except at 10 min, when roughness increased but wetness decreased. Skewness became negative after etching and kurtosis tended to 3 with longer etching time. Highest cell adhesion was achieved after 5–7 min of etching time. Wetting and cell adhesion were reduced on the highly rough surfaces obtained after 10-min etching time. PMID:27824875

A model for ionic polymer metal composites as sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonomo, C.; Fortuna, L.; Giannone, P.; Graziani, S.; Strazzeri, S.

2006-06-01

This paper introduces a comprehensive model of sensors based on ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs) working in air. Significant quantities ruling the sensing properties of IPMC-based sensors are taken into account and the dynamics of the sensors are modelled. A large amount of experimental evidence is given for the excellent agreement between estimations obtained using the proposed model and the observed signals. Furthermore, the effect of sensor scaling is investigated, giving interesting support to the activities involved in the design of sensing devices based on these novel materials. We observed that the need for a wet environment is not a key issue for IPMC-based sensors to work well. This fact allows us to put IPMC-based sensors in a totally different light to the corresponding actuators, showing that sensors do not suffer from the same drawbacks.

Evidence of Teleconnections between the Peruvian central Andes and Northeast Brazil during extreme rainfall events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sulca, J. C.; Vuille, M. F.; Silva, F. Y.; Takahashi, K.

2013-12-01

Knowledge about changes in regional circulation and physical processes associated with extreme rainfall events in South America is limited. Here we investigate such events over the Mantaro basin (MB) located at (10°S-13°S; 73°W-76°W) in the central Peruvian Andes and Northeastern Brazil (NEB), located at (9°S-15°S; 39°W-46°W). Occasional dry and wet spells can be observed in both areas during the austral summer season. The main goal of this study is to investigate potential teleconnections between extreme rainfall events in MB and NEB during austral summer. We define wet (dry) spells as periods that last for at least 3 (5) consecutive days with rainfall above (below) the 70 (30) percentile. To identify the dates of ocurrence of these events, we used daily accumulated rainfall data from 14 climate stations located in the Mantaro basin for the period 1965 to 2002. In NEB we defined a rainfall index which is based on average daily gridded rainfall data within the region for the same period. Dry (wet spells) in the MB are associated with positive (negative) OLR anomalies which extend over much of the tropical Andes, indicating the large-scale nature of these events. At 200 hPa anomalous easterly (westerly) zonal winds aloft accompany wet (dry) spells. Composite anomalies of dry spells in MB reveal significant contemporaneous precipitation anomalies of the opposite sign over NEB, which suggest that intraseasonal precipitation variability over the two regions may be dynamically linked. Indeed upper-tropospheric circulation anomalies over the central Andes extend across South America and appear to be tied to an adjustment in the Bolivian High-Nordeste Low system. Dry (wet) spells in NEB are equally associated with a large-scale pattern of positive (negative) OLR anomalies; however, there are no related significant OLR anomalies over the MB during these events. Dry (wet) spells are associated with robust patterns of anomalous wind fields at both low and upper levels, caused by a changing position of the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ) toward the southwest (northeast). But, there is no coincident robust pattern of wind anomalies over the Mantaro Basin. In conclusion, dry spells in the Mantaro basin appear to be dynamically linked to wet spells in NEB, since 62% of all dry events in MB coincide with wet spells in NEB (35% of all events). The dynamical link explaining the observed teleconnection and the resulting dipole pattern between precipitation extremes in the MB and NEB region, respectively, appears to be related to intraseasonal variability in the Bolivian High - Nordeste Low system. Only 26.53% of all wet spells, however, coincide with dry spells in NEB (12.15% of all events). While circulation anomalies that affect precipitation extremes in the MB have the potential to also affect the precipitation characteristics in NEB, the opposite is not the case. Extreme events in NEB are primarily affected by NE-SW displacement in the SACZ, a mechanism that is of little relevance for precipitation extremes in the MB.

Studies on Mathematical Models of Wet Adhesion and Lifetime Prediction of Organic Coating/Steel by Grey System Theory.

PubMed

Meng, Fandi; Liu, Ying; Liu, Li; Li, Ying; Wang, Fuhui

2017-06-28

A rapid degradation of wet adhesion is the key factor controlling coating lifetime, for the organic coatings under marine hydrostatic pressure. The mathematical models of wet adhesion have been studied by Grey System Theory (GST). Grey models (GM) (1, 1) of epoxy varnish (EV) coating/steel and epoxy glass flake (EGF) coating/steel have been established, and a lifetime prediction formula has been proposed on the basis of these models. The precision assessments indicate that the established models are accurate, and the prediction formula is capable of making precise lifetime forecasting of the coatings.

Studies on Mathematical Models of Wet Adhesion and Lifetime Prediction of Organic Coating/Steel by Grey System Theory

PubMed Central

Meng, Fandi; Liu, Ying; Liu, Li; Li, Ying; Wang, Fuhui

2017-01-01

A rapid degradation of wet adhesion is the key factor controlling coating lifetime, for the organic coatings under marine hydrostatic pressure. The mathematical models of wet adhesion have been studied by Grey System Theory (GST). Grey models (GM) (1, 1) of epoxy varnish (EV) coating/steel and epoxy glass flake (EGF) coating/steel have been established, and a lifetime prediction formula has been proposed on the basis of these models. The precision assessments indicate that the established models are accurate, and the prediction formula is capable of making precise lifetime forecasting of the coatings. PMID:28773073

Projections of rising heat stress over the western Maritime Continent from dynamically downscaled climate simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Im, Eun-Soon; Kang, Suchul; Eltahir, Elfatih A. B.

2018-06-01

This study assesses the future changes in heat stress in response to different emission scenarios over the western Maritime Continent. To better resolve the region-specific changes and to enhance the performance in simulating extreme events, the MIT Regional Climate Model with a 12-km horizontal resolution is used for the dynamical downscaling of three carefully selected CMIP5 global projections forced by two Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) scenarios. Daily maximum wet-bulb temperature (TWmax), which includes the effect of humidity, is examined to describe heat stress as regulated by future changes in temperature and humidity. An ensemble of projections reveals robust pattern in which a large increase in temperature is accompanied by a reduction in relative humidity but a significant increase in wet-bulb temperature. This increase in TWmax is relatively smaller over flat and coastal regions than that over mountainous region. However, the flat and coastal regions characterized by warm and humid present-day climate will be at risk even under modest increase in TWmax. The regional extent exposed to higher TWmax and the number of days on which TWmax exceeds its threshold value are projected to be much higher in RCP8.5 scenario than those in RCP4.5 scenario, thus highlighting the importance of controlling greenhouse gas emissions to reduce the adverse impacts on human health and heat-related mortality.

A Combined Experimental and Numerical Modeling Study of the Deformation and Rupture of Axisymmetric Liquid Bridges under Coaxial Stretching.

PubMed

Zhuang, Jinda; Ju, Y Sungtaek

2015-09-22

The deformation and rupture of axisymmetric liquid bridges being stretched between two fully wetted coaxial disks are studied experimentally and theoretically. We numerically solve the time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations while tracking the deformation of the liquid-air interface using the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) moving mesh method to fully account for the effects of inertia and viscous forces on bridge dynamics. The effects of the stretching velocity, liquid properties, and liquid volume on the dynamics of liquid bridges are systematically investigated to provide direct experimental validation of our numerical model for stretching velocities as high as 3 m/s. The Ohnesorge number (Oh) of liquid bridges is a primary factor governing the dynamics of liquid bridge rupture, especially the dependence of the rupture distance on the stretching velocity. The rupture distance generally increases with the stretching velocity, far in excess of the static stability limit. For bridges with low Ohnesorge numbers, however, the rupture distance stay nearly constant or decreases with the stretching velocity within certain velocity windows due to the relative rupture position switching and the thread shape change. Our work provides an experimentally validated modeling approach and experimental data to help establish foundation for systematic further studies and applications of liquid bridges.

Whole-eye transplantation: a look into the past and vision for the future

PubMed Central

Bourne, D; Li, Y; Komatsu, C; Miller, M R; Davidson, E H; He, L; Rosner, I A; Tang, H; Chen, W; Solari, M G; Schuman, J S; Washington, K M

2017-01-01

Blindness afflicts ~39 million people worldwide. Retinal ganglion cells are unable to regenerate, making this condition irreversible in many cases. Whole-eye transplantation (WET) provides the opportunity to replace diseased retinal ganglion cells, as well as the entire optical system and surrounding facial tissue, if necessary. Recent success in face transplantation demonstrates that this may be a promising treatment for what has been to this time an incurable condition. An animal model for WET must be established to further enhance our knowledge of nerve regeneration, immunosuppression, and technical aspects of surgery. A systematic review of the literature was performed to evaluate studies describing animal models for WET. Only articles in which the eye was completely enucleated and reimplanted were included. Study methods and results were compared. In the majority of published literature, WET can result in recovery of vision in cold-blooded vertebrates. There are a few instances in which mammalian WET models demonstrate survival of the transplanted tissue following neurovascular anastomosis and the ability to maintain brief electroretinogram activity in the new host. In this study we review in cold-blooded vertebrates and mammalian animal models for WET and discuss prospects for future research for translation to human eye transplantation. PMID:27983731

Description and field analysis of a coupled ground-water/surface-water flow model (MODFLOW/BRANCH) with modifications for structures and wetlands in southern Dade County, Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Swain, E.D.; Howie, Barbara; Dixon, Joann

1996-01-01

A coupled surface-water model (BRANCH) and ground-water model (MODFLOW) model were tested to simulate the interacting wetlands/surface-water/ ground-water system of southern Dade County. Several options created for the MODFLOW ground- ground-water model were used in representing this field situation. The primary option is the MODBRANCH interfacing software, which allows leakage to be accounted for between the MODFLOW ground-water model and the BRANCH dynamic model for simulation of flow in an interconnected network of open channels. A modification to an existing software routine, which is referred to as BCF2, allows cells in MODFLOW to rewet when dry--a requirement in representing the seasonal wetlands in Dade County. A companion to BCF2 is the modified evapotranspiration routine EVT2. The EVT2 routine changes the cells where evapotranspiration occurs, depending on which cells are wet. The Streamlink package represents direct connections between the canals and wetlands at locations where canals open directly into overland flow. Within the BRANCH model, the capability to represent the numerous hydraulic structures, gated spillways, gated culverts, and pumps was added. The application of these modifications to model surface-water/ground-water interactions in southern Dade County demonstrated the usefulness of the coupled MODFLOW/BRANCH model. Ground-water and surface-water flows are both simulated with dynamic models. Flow exchange between models, intermittent wetting and drying, evapotranspiration, and hydraulic structure operations are all represented appropriately. Comparison was made with a simulation using the RIV1 package instead of MODBRANCH to represent the canals. RIV1 represents the canals by user-defined stages, and computes leakage to the aquifer. Greater accuracy in reproducing measured ground- water heads was achieved with MODBRANCH, which also computes dynamic flow conditions in the canals, unlike RIV1. The surface-water integrated flow and transport two-dimensional model (SWIFT2D) was also applied to the southeastern coastal wetlands for comparison with the wetlands flow approximation made in MODFLOW. MODFLOW simulates the wetlands as a highly conductive upper layer of the aquifer, whereas SWIFT2D solves the hydrodynamic equations. Comparison in this limited test demonstrated no specific advantage for either method of representation. However, much additional testing on a wider variety of geometric and hydraulic situations, such as in areas with greater tidal or other dynamic forcing effects, is needed to make definite conclusions. A submodel of the existing southern Dade County model schematization was used to examine water-delivery alternatives proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. For this application, the coupled MODFLOW/BRANCH model was used as a design tool. A new canal and several pumps to be tested to maintain lower water levels in a residential area (while water levels in the Everglades are raised) were added to the model schematization. The pumps were assumed to have infinite supply capacity in the model so that their maximum pumping rates during the simulation could be used to determine pump sizes.

Applying Hillslope Hydrology to Bridge between Ecosystem and Grid-Scale Processes within an Earth System Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subin, Z. M.; Sulman, B. N.; Malyshev, S.; Shevliakova, E.

2013-12-01

Soil moisture is a crucial control on surface energy fluxes, vegetation properties, and soil carbon cycling. Its interactions with ecosystem processes are highly nonlinear across a large range, as both drought stress and anoxia can impede vegetation and microbial growth. Earth System Models (ESMs) generally only represent an average soil-moisture state in grid cells at scales of 50-200 km, and as a result are not able to adequately represent the effects of subgrid heterogeneity in soil moisture, especially in regions with large wetland areas. We addressed this deficiency by developing the first ESM-coupled subgrid hillslope-hydrological model, TiHy (Tiled-hillslope Hydrology), embedded within the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) land model. In each grid cell, one or more representative hillslope geometries are discretized into land model tiles along an upland-to-lowland gradient. These geometries represent ~1 km hillslope-scale hydrological features and allow for flexible representation of hillslope profile and plan shapes, in addition to variation of subsurface properties among or within hillslopes. Each tile (which may represent ~100 m along the hillslope) has its own surface fluxes, vegetation state, and vertically-resolved state variables for soil physics and biogeochemistry. Resolution of water state in deep layers (~200 m) down to bedrock allows for physical integration of groundwater transport with unsaturated overlying dynamics. Multiple tiles can also co-exist at the same vertical position along the hillslope, allowing the simulation of ecosystem heterogeneity due to disturbance. The hydrological model is coupled to the vertically-resolved Carbon, Organisms, Respiration, and Protection in the Soil Environment (CORPSE) model, which captures non-linearity resulting from interactions between vertically-heterogeneous soil carbon and water profiles. We present comparisons of simulated water table depth to observations. We examine sensitivities to alternative parameterizations of hillslope geometry, macroporosity, and surface runoff / inundation, and to the choice of global topographic dataset and groundwater hydraulic conductivity distribution. Simulated groundwater dynamics among hillslopes tend to cluster into three regimes of wet and well-drained, wet but poorly-drained, and dry. In the base model configuration, near-surface gridcell-mean water tables exist in an excessively large area compared to observations, including large areas of the Eastern U.S. and Northern Europe. However, in better-drained areas, the decrease in water table depth along the hillslope gradient allows for realistic increases in ecosystem water availability and soil carbon downslope. The inclusion of subgrid hydrology can increase the equilibrium 0-2 m global soil carbon stock by a large factor, due to the nonlinear effect of anoxia. We conclude that this innovative modeling framework allows for the inclusion of hillslope-scale processes and the potential for wetland dynamics in an ESM without need for a high-resolution 3-dimensional groundwater model. Future work will include investigating the potential for future changes in land carbon fluxes caused by the effects of changing hydrological regime, particularly in peatland-rich areas poorly treated by current ESMs.

Dynamic wet-ETEM observation of Pt/C electrode catalysts in a moisturized cathode atmosphere.

PubMed

Yoshida, Kenta; Bright, Alexander N; Ward, Michael R; Lari, Leonardo; Zhang, Xudong; Hiroyama, Tomoki; Boyes, Edward D; Gai, Pratibha L

2014-10-24

The gas injection line of the latest spherical aberration-corrected environmental transmission electron microscope has been modified for achieving real-time/atomic-scale observations in moisturised gas atmospheres for the first time. The newly developed Wet-TEM system is applied to platinum carbon electrode catalysts to investigate the effect of water molecules on the platinum/carbon interface during deactivation processes such as sintering and corrosion. Dynamic in situ movies obtained in dry and 24% moisturised nitrogen environments visualize the rapid rotation, migration and agglomeration of platinum nanoparticles due to the physical adsorption of water and the hydroxylation of the carbon surface. The origin of the long-interconnected aggregation of platinum nanoparticles was discovered to be a major deactivation process in addition to conventional carbon corrosion.

COMPARISONS OF SPATIAL PATTERNS OF WET DEPOSITION TO MODEL PREDICTIONS

EPA Science Inventory

The Community Multiscale Air Quality model, (CMAQ), is a "one-atmosphere" model, in that it uses a consistent set of chemical reactions and physical principles to predict concentrations of primary pollutants, photochemical smog, and fine aerosols, as well as wet and dry depositi...

Linking multi-temporal satellite imagery to coastal wetland dynamics and bird distribution

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pickens, Bradley A.; King, Sammy L.

2014-01-01

Ecosystems are characterized by dynamic ecological processes, such as flooding and fires, but spatial models are often limited to a single measurement in time. The characterization of direct, fine-scale processes affecting animals is potentially valuable for management applications, but these are difficult to quantify over broad extents. Direct predictors are also expected to improve transferability of models beyond the area of study. Here, we investigated the ability of non-static and multi-temporal habitat characteristics to predict marsh bird distributions, while testing model generality and transferability between two coastal habitats. Distribution models were developed for king rail (Rallus elegans), common gallinule (Gallinula galeata), least bittern (Ixobrychus exilis), and purple gallinule (Porphyrio martinica) in fresh and intermediate marsh types in the northern Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Texas, USA. For model development, repeated point count surveys of marsh birds were conducted from 2009 to 2011. Landsat satellite imagery was used to quantify both annual conditions and cumulative, multi-temporal habitat characteristics. We used multivariate adaptive regression splines to quantify bird-habitat relationships for fresh, intermediate, and combined marsh habitats. Multi-temporal habitat characteristics ranked as more important than single-date characteristics, as temporary water was most influential in six of eight models. Predictive power was greater for marsh type-specific models compared to general models and model transferability was poor. Birds in fresh marsh selected for annual habitat characterizations, while birds in intermediate marsh selected for cumulative wetness and heterogeneity. Our findings emphasize that dynamic ecological processes can affect species distribution and species-habitat relationships may differ with dominant landscape characteristics.

Evaporation from a partially wet forest canopy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hancock, N. H.; Sellers, P. J.; Crowther, J. M.

1983-01-01

The results of experimental studies of water storage in a Sitka-spruce canopy are presented and analyzed in terms of model simulations of evaporation. Wet-branch cantilever deflection was measured along with meteorological data on three days in August, 1976, to determine the relationship of canopy evaporation to wind speed and (hence) aerodynamic resistance. Two versions of a simple unilayer model of sensible and latent heat transport from a partially wet canopy were tested in the data analysis: model F1 forbids the exchange of heat between wet and dry foliage surfaces; model F2 assumes that this exchange is highly efficient. Model F1 is found to give results consistent with the rainfall-interception model of Rutter et al. (1971, 1975, 1977), but model F2 gives results which are more plausible and correspond to the multilayer simulations of Sellers and Lockwood (1981) and the experimental findings of Hancock and Crowther (1979). It is inferred that the role of eddy diffusivity for water vapor is enhanced relative to momentum transport, and that the similarity hypothesis used in conventional models may fail in the near vicinity of a forest canopy.

Development of a New Arterial-Line Filter Design Using Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis

PubMed Central

Herbst, Daniel P.; Najm, Hani K.

2012-01-01

Abstract: Arterial-line filters used during extracorporeal circulation continue to rely on the physical properties of a wetted micropore and reductions in blood flow velocity to affect air separation from the circulating blood volume. Although problems associated with air embolism during cardiac surgery persist, a number of investigators have concluded that further improvements in filtration are needed to enhance air removal during cardiopulmonary bypass procedures. This article reviews theoretical principles of micropore filter technology and outlines the development of a new arterial-line filter concept using computational fluid dynamics analysis. Manufacturer-supplied data of a micropore screen and experimental results taken from an ex vivo test circuit were used to define the inputs needed for numerical modeling of a new filter design. Flow patterns, pressure distributions, and velocity profiles predicted with computational fluid dynamics softwarewere used to inform decisions on model refinements and how to achieve initial design goals of ≤225 mL prime volume and ≤500 cm2 of screen surface area. Predictions for optimal model geometry included a screen angle of 56° from the horizontal plane with a total surface area of 293.9 cm2 and a priming volume of 192.4 mL. This article describes in brief the developmental process used to advance a new filter design and supports the value of numerical modeling in this undertaking. PMID:23198394

Development of a new arterial-line filter design using computational fluid dynamics analysis.

PubMed

Herbst, Daniel P; Najm, Hani K

2012-09-01

Arterial-line filters used during extracorporeal circulation continue to rely on the physical properties of a wetted micropore and reductions in blood flow velocity to affect air separation from the circulating blood volume. Although problems associated with air embolism during cardiac surgery persist, a number of investigators have concluded that further improvements in filtration are needed to enhance air removal during cardiopulmonary bypass procedures. This article reviews theoretical principles of micropore filter technology and outlines the development of a new arterial-line filter concept using computational fluid dynamics analysis. Manufacturer-supplied data of a micropore screen and experimental results taken from an ex vivo test circuit were used to define the inputs needed for numerical modeling of a new filter design. Flow patterns, pressure distributions, and velocity profiles predicted with computational fluid dynamics software were used to inform decisions on model refinements and how to achieve initial design goals of < or = 225 mL prime volume and < or = 500 cm2 of screen surface area. Predictions for optimal model geometry included a screen angle of 56 degrees from the horizontal plane with a total surface area of 293.9 cm2 and a priming volume of 192.4 mL. This article describes in brief the developmental process used to advance a new filter design and supports the value of numerical modeling in this undertaking.

Exogenic geomorphic processes dynamics at the Black Sea coast, Russia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuznetsova, Yulia; Tsvetkova, Daria

2017-04-01

Nowadays there is an obvious grow of anthropogenic load going on in many areas worldwide. Under such conditions, intensive activation of a number of exogenic geomorphic processes may be observed. Moreover, if natural environment is aggressive itself their dynamics and rates may reach enormous values. Our work is conducted at the Black Sea coast, known for its mountainous topography, wet subtropical climate and intensive anthropogenic development (especially during the last decade due to the recent Olympic games). We chose two key basins near Sochi, Russia to study a number of presented exogenic processes, including rill, gully and channel erosion, weathering, suffusion and piping, soil creep. A set of field study methods is used to monitor the processes dynamics since 2005 (and late 1970s for soil creep). In addition, soil erosion rates and landslide susceptibility were modelled to get information of the watersheds dynamics. This is ongoing work, but the results of the passed period of observations will be resented. Special attention is paid to the processes connectivity and their input into sediment redistribution over the river basins.

Wettability Control on Fluid-Fluid Displacements in Patterned Microfluidics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, B.; Trojer, M.; Cueto-Felgueroso, L.; Juanes, R.

2014-12-01

Two-phase flow in porous media is important in many natural and industrial processes like geologic CO2 sequestration, enhanced oil recovery, and water infiltration in soil. While it is well known that the wetting properties of porous media can vary drastically depending on the type of media and the pore fluids, the effect of wettability on fluid displacement continues to challenge our microscopic and macroscopic descriptions. Here we study this problem experimentally, starting with the classic experiment of two-phase flow in a capillary tube. We image the shape of the meniscus and measure the associated capillary pressure for a wide range of capillary numbers. We confirm that wettability exerts a fundamental control on meniscus deformation, and synthesize new observations on the dependence of the dynamic capillary pressure on wetting properties (contact angle) and flow conditions (viscosity contrast and capillary number). We compare our experiments to a macroscopic phase-field model of two-phase flow. We use the insights gained from the capillary tube experiments to explore the viscous fingering instability in the Hele-Shaw geometry in the partial-wetting regime. A key difference between a Hele-Shaw cell and a porous medium is the existence of micro-structures (i.e. pores and pore throats). To investigate how these micro-structrues impact fluid-fluid displacement, we conduct experiments on a planar microfluidic device patterned with vertical posts. We track the evolution of the fluid-fluid interface and elucidate the impact of wetting on the cooperative nature of fluid displacement during pore invasion events. We use the insights gained from the capillary tube and patterned microfluidics experiments to elucidate the effect of wetting properties on viscous fingering and capillary fingering in a Hele-Shaw cell filled with glass beads, where we observe a contact-angle-dependent stabilizing behavior for the emerging flow instabilities, as the system transitions from drainage to imbibition.

Thermophysics Characterization of Kerosene Combustion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Ten-See

2000-01-01

A one-formula surrogate fuel formulation and its quasi-global combustion kinetics model are developed to support the design of injectors and thrust chambers of kerosene-fueled rocket engines. This surrogate fuel model depicts a fuel blend that properly represents the general physical and chemical properties of kerosene. The accompanying gaseous-phase thermodynamics of the surrogate fuel is anchored with the heat of formation of kerosene and verified by comparing a series of one-dimensional rocket thrust chamber calculations. The quasi-global combustion kinetics model consists of several global steps for parent fuel decomposition, soot formation, and soot oxidation, and a detailed wet-CO mechanism. The final thermophysics formulations are incorporated with a computational fluid dynamics model for prediction of the combustor efficiency of an uni-element, tri-propellant combustor and the radiation of a kerosene-fueled thruster plume. The model predictions agreed reasonably well with those of the tests.

Climate Shocks and Migration: An Agent-Based Modeling Approach.

PubMed

Entwisle, Barbara; Williams, Nathalie E; Verdery, Ashton M; Rindfuss, Ronald R; Walsh, Stephen J; Malanson, George P; Mucha, Peter J; Frizzelle, Brian G; McDaniel, Philip M; Yao, Xiaozheng; Heumann, Benjamin W; Prasartkul, Pramote; Sawangdee, Yothin; Jampaklay, Aree

2016-09-01

This is a study of migration responses to climate shocks. We construct an agent-based model that incorporates dynamic linkages between demographic behaviors, such as migration, marriage, and births, and agriculture and land use, which depend on rainfall patterns. The rules and parameterization of our model are empirically derived from qualitative and quantitative analyses of a well-studied demographic field site, Nang Rong district, Northeast Thailand. With this model, we simulate patterns of migration under four weather regimes in a rice economy: 1) a reference, 'normal' scenario; 2) seven years of unusually wet weather; 3) seven years of unusually dry weather; and 4) seven years of extremely variable weather. Results show relatively small impacts on migration. Experiments with the model show that existing high migration rates and strong selection factors, which are unaffected by climate change, are likely responsible for the weak migration response.

Climate Shocks and Migration: An Agent-Based Modeling Approach

PubMed Central

Entwisle, Barbara; Williams, Nathalie E.; Verdery, Ashton M.; Rindfuss, Ronald R.; Walsh, Stephen J.; Malanson, George P.; Mucha, Peter J.; Frizzelle, Brian G.; McDaniel, Philip M.; Yao, Xiaozheng; Heumann, Benjamin W.; Prasartkul, Pramote; Sawangdee, Yothin; Jampaklay, Aree

2016-01-01

This is a study of migration responses to climate shocks. We construct an agent-based model that incorporates dynamic linkages between demographic behaviors, such as migration, marriage, and births, and agriculture and land use, which depend on rainfall patterns. The rules and parameterization of our model are empirically derived from qualitative and quantitative analyses of a well-studied demographic field site, Nang Rong district, Northeast Thailand. With this model, we simulate patterns of migration under four weather regimes in a rice economy: 1) a reference, ‘normal’ scenario; 2) seven years of unusually wet weather; 3) seven years of unusually dry weather; and 4) seven years of extremely variable weather. Results show relatively small impacts on migration. Experiments with the model show that existing high migration rates and strong selection factors, which are unaffected by climate change, are likely responsible for the weak migration response. PMID:27594725

Thermophysics Characterization of Kerosene Combustion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Ten-See

2001-01-01

A one-formula surrogate fuel formulation and its quasi-global combustion kinetics model are developed to support the design of injectors and thrust chambers of kerosene-fueled rocket engines. This surrogate fuel model depicts a fuel blend that properly represents the general physical and chemical properties of kerosene. The accompanying gaseous-phase thermodynamics of the surrogate fuel is anchored with the heat of formation of kerosene and verified by comparing a series of one-dimensional rocket thrust chamber calculations. The quasi-global combustion kinetics model consists of several global steps for parent fuel decomposition, soot formation, and soot oxidation and a detailed wet-CO mechanism to complete the combustion process. The final thermophysics formulations are incorporated with a computational fluid dynamics model for prediction of the combustion efficiency of an unielement, tripropellant combustor and the radiation of a kerosene-fueled thruster plume. The model predictions agreed reasonably well with those of the tests.

Stochastic modeling of total suspended solids (TSS) in urban areas during rain events.

PubMed

Rossi, Luca; Krejci, Vladimir; Rauch, Wolfgang; Kreikenbaum, Simon; Fankhauser, Rolf; Gujer, Willi

2005-10-01

The load of total suspended solids (TSS) is one of the most important parameters for evaluating wet-weather pollution in urban sanitation systems. In fact, pollutants such as heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phosphorous and organic compounds are adsorbed onto these particles so that a high TSS load indicates the potential impact on the receiving waters. In this paper, a stochastic model is proposed to estimate the TSS load and its dynamics during rain events. Information on the various simulated processes was extracted from different studies of TSS in urban areas. The model thus predicts the probability of TSS loads arising from combined sewer overflows (CSOs) in combined sewer systems as well as from stormwater in separate sewer systems in addition to the amount of TSS retained in treatment devices in both sewer systems. The results of this TSS model illustrate the potential of the stochastic modeling approach for assessing environmental problems.

Mid- and long-term runoff predictions by an improved phase-space reconstruction model.

PubMed

Hong, Mei; Wang, Dong; Wang, Yuankun; Zeng, Xiankui; Ge, Shanshan; Yan, Hengqian; Singh, Vijay P

2016-07-01

In recent years, the phase-space reconstruction method has usually been used for mid- and long-term runoff predictions. However, the traditional phase-space reconstruction method is still needs to be improved. Using the genetic algorithm to improve the phase-space reconstruction method, a new nonlinear model of monthly runoff is constructed. The new model does not rely heavily on embedding dimensions. Recognizing that the rainfall-runoff process is complex, affected by a number of factors, more variables (e.g. temperature and rainfall) are incorporated in the model. In order to detect the possible presence of chaos in the runoff dynamics, chaotic characteristics of the model are also analyzed, which shows the model can represent the nonlinear and chaotic characteristics of the runoff. The model is tested for its forecasting performance in four types of experiments using data from six hydrological stations on the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. Results show that the medium-and long-term runoff is satisfactorily forecasted at the hydrological stations. Not only is the forecasting trend accurate, but also the mean absolute percentage error is no more than 15%. Moreover, the forecast results of wet years and dry years are both good, which means that the improved model can overcome the traditional ''wet years and dry years predictability barrier,'' to some extent. The model forecasts for different regions are all good, showing the universality of the approach. Compared with selected conceptual and empirical methods, the model exhibits greater reliability and stability in the long-term runoff prediction. Our study provides a new thinking for research on the association between the monthly runoff and other hydrological factors, and also provides a new method for the prediction of the monthly runoff. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Digital data collection in forest dynamics plots

Treesearch

Faith Inman-Narahari; Christian Giardina; Rebecca Ostertag; Susan Cordell; Lawren Sack

2010-01-01

Summary 1. Computers are widely used in all aspects of research but their application to in-field data collection for forest plots has rarely been evaluated. 2. We developed digital data collection methods using ESRI mapping software and ruggedized field computers to map and measure ~30 000 trees in two 4-ha forest dynamics plots in wet and dry...

Interpreting the rich-get-richer effect in precipitation change under global warming: issues at monsoon scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neelin, J.; Langenbrunner, B.; Meyerson, J. E.

2012-12-01

Precipitation changes under global warming are often discussed in terms of wet areas receiving more precipitation and dry areas receiving less, sometimes termed the "rich-get-richer" effect. Since the first use of this term, it has been known that contributions can be broken diagnostically into a relatively straightforward tendency associated with moisture increases acted on by the climatological circulation and dynamical feedbacks associated with changes in circulation. A number of studies indicate the latter to be prone to yield scatter in model projections of precipitation change. At the spatial scales of the major monsoon regions, substantial contributions from dynamical feedbacks tend to occur. Factors affecting this dependence will be reviewed with an eye to asking how the community can make succinct statements without oversimplifying the challenges at the regional scale.

Direct Determination of the Base-Pair Force Constant of DNA from the Acoustic Phonon Dispersion of the Double Helix

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Eijck, L.; Merzel, F.; Rols, S.; Ollivier, J.; Forsyth, V. T.; Johnson, M. R.

2011-08-01

Quantifying the molecular elasticity of DNA is fundamental to our understanding of its biological functions. Recently different groups, through experiments on tailored DNA samples and numerical models, have reported a range of stretching force constants (0.3 to 3N/m). However, the most direct, microscopic measurement of DNA stiffness is obtained from the dispersion of its vibrations. A new neutron scattering spectrometer and aligned, wet spun samples have enabled such measurements, which provide the first data of collective excitations of DNA and yield a force constant of 83N/m. Structural and dynamic order persists unchanged to within 15 K of the melting point of the sample, precluding the formation of bubbles. These findings are supported by large scale phonon and molecular dynamics calculations, which reconcile hard and soft force constants.

Hochauflösendes Monitoring von Karst-Grundwasserressourcen beiderseits des Jordangrabens - Konzepte und Anwendungsbeispiele

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmidt, Sebastian; Grimmeisen, Felix; Ries, Fabian; Goldscheider, Nico; Sauter, Martin

2018-03-01

In the semi-arid eastern Mediterranean water supply is highly dependent on karst aquifers. The region is characterized by multi-year dry and wet cycles combined with high hydrological dynamics, especially during intense precipitation events. The investigated karst regions in the West Bank and Jordan are experiencing strong urbanization within the groundwater catchments and hence a rising impact on water quality. Therefore, high resolution monitoring data are required for the assessment of available water resources and the hydrogeological characterization of the karst systems. These measurements are focused on the (natural) meteorological input signals and the system output signals at the karst springs. Also soil moisture and ephemeral runoff dynamics are investigated. The monitoring data enable (1) hydrogeological characterization of the aquifers, (2) estimation of groundwater recharge via soil water balance and reservoir models, and (3) assessment of contamination dynamics in groundwater (e. g. nitrate and E. coli concentrations), allowing an optimized raw water management. Several examples illustrate the importance of high-resolution hydrological monitoring data.

Tuning and predicting the wetting of nanoengineered material surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramiasa-MacGregor, M.; Mierczynska, A.; Sedev, R.; Vasilev, K.

2016-02-01

The wetting of a material can be tuned by changing the roughness on its surface. Recent advances in the field of nanotechnology open exciting opportunities to control macroscopic wetting behaviour. Yet, the benchmark theories used to describe the wettability of macroscopically rough surfaces fail to fully describe the wetting behaviour of systems with topographical features at the nanoscale. To shed light on the events occurring at the nanoscale we have utilised model gradient substrata where surface nanotopography was tailored in a controlled and robust manner. The intrinsic wettability of the coatings was varied from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. The measured water contact angle could not be described by the classical theories. We developed an empirical model that effectively captures the experimental data, and further enables us to predict the wetting of surfaces with nanoscale roughness by considering the physical and chemical properties of the material. The fundamental insights presented here are important for the rational design of advanced materials having tailored surface nanotopography with predictable wettability.The wetting of a material can be tuned by changing the roughness on its surface. Recent advances in the field of nanotechnology open exciting opportunities to control macroscopic wetting behaviour. Yet, the benchmark theories used to describe the wettability of macroscopically rough surfaces fail to fully describe the wetting behaviour of systems with topographical features at the nanoscale. To shed light on the events occurring at the nanoscale we have utilised model gradient substrata where surface nanotopography was tailored in a controlled and robust manner. The intrinsic wettability of the coatings was varied from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. The measured water contact angle could not be described by the classical theories. We developed an empirical model that effectively captures the experimental data, and further enables us to predict the wetting of surfaces with nanoscale roughness by considering the physical and chemical properties of the material. The fundamental insights presented here are important for the rational design of advanced materials having tailored surface nanotopography with predictable wettability. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Detailed characterization of the nanorough substrates and model derivation. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr08329j

A novel linear physical model for remote sensing of snow wetness and snow density using the visible and infrared bands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varade, D. M.; Dikshit, O.

2017-12-01

Modeling and forecasting of snowmelt runoff are significant for understanding the hydrological processes in the cryosphere which requires timely information regarding snow physical properties such as liquid water content and density of snow in the topmost layer of the snowpack. Both the seasonal runoffs and avalanche forecasting are vastly dependent on the inherent physical characteristics of the snowpack which are conventionally measured by field surveys in difficult terrains at larger impending costs and manpower. With advances in remote sensing technology and the increase in the availability of satellite data, the frequency and extent of these surveys could see a declining trend in future. In this study, we present a novel approach for estimating snow wetness and snow density using visible and infrared bands that are available with most multi-spectral sensors. We define a trapezoidal feature space based on the spectral reflectance in the near infrared band and the Normalized Differenced Snow Index (NDSI), referred to as NIR-NDSI space, where dry snow and wet snow are observed in the left diagonal upper and lower right corners, respectively. The corresponding pixels are extracted by approximating the dry and wet edges which are used to develop a linear physical model to estimate snow wetness. Snow density is then estimated using the modeled snow wetness. Although the proposed approach has used Sentinel-2 data, it can be extended to incorporate data from other multi-spectral sensors. The estimated values for snow wetness and snow density show a high correlation with respect to in-situ measurements. The proposed model opens a new avenue for remote sensing of snow physical properties using multi-spectral data, which were limited in the literature.

Action versus Result-Oriented Schemes in a Grassland Agroecosystem: A Dynamic Modelling Approach

PubMed Central

Sabatier, Rodolphe; Doyen, Luc; Tichit, Muriel

2012-01-01

Effects of agri-environment schemes (AES) on biodiversity remain controversial. While most AES are action-oriented, result-oriented and habitat-oriented schemes have recently been proposed as a solution to improve AES efficiency. The objective of this study was to compare action-oriented, habitat-oriented and result-oriented schemes in terms of ecological and productive performance as well as in terms of management flexibility. We developed a dynamic modelling approach based on the viable control framework to carry out a long term assessment of the three schemes in a grassland agroecosystem. The model explicitly links grazed grassland dynamics to bird population dynamics. It is applied to lapwing conservation in wet grasslands in France. We ran the model to assess the three AES scenarios. The model revealed the grazing strategies respecting ecological and productive constraints specific to each scheme. Grazing strategies were assessed by both their ecological and productive performance. The viable control approach made it possible to obtain the whole set of viable grazing strategies and therefore to quantify the management flexibility of the grassland agroecosystem. Our results showed that habitat and result-oriented scenarios led to much higher ecological performance than the action-oriented one. Differences in both ecological and productive performance between the habitat and result-oriented scenarios were limited. Flexibility of the grassland agroecosystem in the result-oriented scenario was much higher than in that of habitat-oriented scenario. Our model confirms the higher flexibility as well as the better ecological and productive performance of result-oriented schemes. A larger use of result-oriented schemes in conservation may also allow farmers to adapt their management to local conditions and to climatic variations. PMID:22496746

A nonlinear coupled soil moisture-vegetation model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Shikuo; Liu, Shida; Fu, Zuntao; Sun, Lan

2005-06-01

Based on the physical analysis that the soil moisture and vegetation depend mainly on the precipitation and evaporation as well as the growth, decay and consumption of vegetation a nonlinear dynamic coupled system of soil moisture-vegetation is established. Using this model, the stabilities of the steady states of vegetation are analyzed. This paper focuses on the research of the vegetation catastrophe point which represents the transition between aridness and wetness to a great extent. It is shown that the catastrophe point of steady states of vegetation depends mainly on the rainfall P and saturation value v0, which is selected to balance the growth and decay of vegetation. In addition, when the consumption of vegetation remains constant, the analytic solution of the vegetation equation is obtained.

Screening and structure-based modeling of T-cell epitopes of Nipah virus proteome: an immunoinformatic approach for designing peptide-based vaccine.

PubMed

Kamthania, Mohit; Sharma, D K

2015-12-01

Identification of Nipah virus (NiV) T-cell-specific antigen is urgently needed for appropriate diagnostic and vaccination. In the present study, prediction and modeling of T-cell epitopes of Nipah virus antigenic proteins nucleocapsid, phosphoprotein, matrix, fusion, glycoprotein, L protein, W protein, V protein and C protein followed by the binding simulation studies of predicted highest binding scorers with their corresponding MHC class I alleles were done. Immunoinformatic tool ProPred1 was used to predict the promiscuous MHC class I epitopes of viral antigenic proteins. The molecular modelings of the epitopes were done by PEPstr server. And alleles structure were predicted by MODELLER 9.10. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation studies were performed through the NAMD graphical user interface embedded in visual molecular dynamics. Epitopes VPATNSPEL, NPTAVPFTL and LLFVFGPNL of Nucleocapsid, V protein and Fusion protein have considerable binding energy and score with HLA-B7, HLA-B*2705 and HLA-A2MHC class I allele, respectively. These three predicted peptides are highly potential to induce T-cell-mediated immune response and are expected to be useful in designing epitope-based vaccines against Nipah virus after further testing by wet laboratory studies.

The Fate of Saharan Dust Across the Atlantic and Implications for a Central American Dust Barrier

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nowottnick, E.; Colarco, P.; da Silva, A.; Hlavka, D.; McGill, M.

2011-01-01

Saharan dust was observed over the Caribbean basin during the summer 2007 NASA Tropical Composition, Cloud, and Climate Coupling (TC4) field experiment. Airborne Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL) and satellite observations from MODIS suggest a barrier to dust transport across Central America into the eastern Pacific. We use the NASA GEOS-5 atmospheric transport model with online aerosol tracers to perform simulations of the TC4 time period in order to understand the nature of this barrier. Our simulations are driven by the Modem Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) meteorological analyses. We evaluate our baseline simulated dust distributions using MODIS and CALIOP satellite and ground-based AERONET sun photometer observations. GEOS-5 reproduces the observed location, magnitude, and timing of major dust events, but our baseline simulation does not develop as strong a barrier to dust transport across Central America as observations suggest. Analysis of the dust transport dynamics and lost processes suggest that while both mechanisms play a role in defining the dust transport barrier, loss processes by wet removal of dust are about twice as important as transport. Sensitivity analyses with our model showed that the dust barrier would not exist without convective scavenging over the Caribbean. The best agreement between our model and the observations was obtained when dust wet removal was parameterized to be more aggressive, treating the dust as we do hydrophilic aerosols.

Three-dimensional lattice Boltzmann simulations of microdroplets including contact angle hysteresis on topologically structured surfaces

DOE PAGES

Ba, Yan; Kang, Qinjun; Liu, Haihu; ...

2016-04-14

In this study, the dynamical behavior of a droplet on topologically structured surface is investigated by using a three-dimensional color-gradient lattice Boltzmann model. A wetting boundary condition is proposed to model fluid-surface interactions, which is advantageous to improve the accuracy of the simulation and suppress spurious velocities at the contact line. The model is validated by the droplet partial wetting test and reproduction of the Cassie and Wenzel states. A series of simulations are conducted to investigate the behavior of a droplet when subjected to a shear flow. It is found that in Cassie state, the droplet undergoes a transitionmore » from stationary, to slipping and finally to detachment states as the capillary number increases, while in Wenzel state, the last state changes to the breakup state. The critical capillary number, above which the droplet slipping occurs, is small for the Cassie droplet, but is significantly enhanced for the Wenzel droplet due to the increased contact angle hysteresis. In Cassie state, the receding contact angle nearly equals the prediction by the Cassie relation, and the advancing contact angle is close to 180°, leading to a small contact angle hysteresis. In Wenzel state, however, the contact angle hysteresis is extremely large (around 100°). Finally, high droplet mobility can be easily achieved for Cassie droplets, whereas in Wenzel state, extremely low droplet mobility is identified.« less

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

Ba, Yan; Kang, Qinjun; Liu, Haihu

In this study, the dynamical behavior of a droplet on topologically structured surface is investigated by using a three-dimensional color-gradient lattice Boltzmann model. A wetting boundary condition is proposed to model fluid-surface interactions, which is advantageous to improve the accuracy of the simulation and suppress spurious velocities at the contact line. The model is validated by the droplet partial wetting test and reproduction of the Cassie and Wenzel states. A series of simulations are conducted to investigate the behavior of a droplet when subjected to a shear flow. It is found that in Cassie state, the droplet undergoes a transitionmore » from stationary, to slipping and finally to detachment states as the capillary number increases, while in Wenzel state, the last state changes to the breakup state. The critical capillary number, above which the droplet slipping occurs, is small for the Cassie droplet, but is significantly enhanced for the Wenzel droplet due to the increased contact angle hysteresis. In Cassie state, the receding contact angle nearly equals the prediction by the Cassie relation, and the advancing contact angle is close to 180°, leading to a small contact angle hysteresis. In Wenzel state, however, the contact angle hysteresis is extremely large (around 100°). Finally, high droplet mobility can be easily achieved for Cassie droplets, whereas in Wenzel state, extremely low droplet mobility is identified.« less

Modelling rainfall interception by a lowland tropical rain forest in northeastern Puerto Rico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schellekens, J.; Scatena, F. N.; Bruijnzeel, L. A.; Wickel, A. J.

1999-12-01

Recent surveys of tropical forest water use suggest that rainfall interception by the canopy is largest in wet maritime locations. To investigate the underlying processes at one such location—the Luquillo Experimental Forest in eastern Puerto Rico—66 days of detailed throughfall and above-canopy climatic data were collected in 1996 and analysed using the Rutter and Gash models of rainfall interception. Throughfall occurred on 80% of the days distributed over 80 rainfall events. Measured interception loss was 50% of gross precipitation. When Penman-Monteith based estimates for the wet canopy evaporation rate (0.11 mm h -1 on average) and a canopy storage of 1.15 mm were used, both models severely underestimated measured interception loss. A detailed analysis of four storms using the Rutter model showed that optimizing the model for the wet canopy evaporation component yielded much better results than increasing the canopy storage capacity. However, the Rutter model failed to properly estimate throughfall amounts during an exceptionally large event. The analytical model, on the other hand, was capable of representing interception during the extreme event, but once again optimizing wet canopy evaporation rates produced a much better fit than optimizing the canopy storage capacity. As such, the present results support the idea that it is primarily a high rate of evaporation from a wet canopy that is responsible for the observed high interception losses.

A systems approach to college drinking: development of a deterministic model for testing alcohol control policies.

PubMed

Scribner, Richard; Ackleh, Azmy S; Fitzpatrick, Ben G; Jacquez, Geoffrey; Thibodeaux, Jeremy J; Rommel, Robert; Simonsen, Neal

2009-09-01

The misuse and abuse of alcohol among college students remain persistent problems. Using a systems approach to understand the dynamics of student drinking behavior and thus forecasting the impact of campus policy to address the problem represents a novel approach. Toward this end, the successful development of a predictive mathematical model of college drinking would represent a significant advance for prevention efforts. A deterministic, compartmental model of college drinking was developed, incorporating three processes: (1) individual factors, (2) social interactions, and (3) social norms. The model quantifies these processes in terms of the movement of students between drinking compartments characterized by five styles of college drinking: abstainers, light drinkers, moderate drinkers, problem drinkers, and heavy episodic drinkers. Predictions from the model were first compared with actual campus-level data and then used to predict the effects of several simulated interventions to address heavy episodic drinking. First, the model provides a reasonable fit of actual drinking styles of students attending Social Norms Marketing Research Project campuses varying by "wetness" and by drinking styles of matriculating students. Second, the model predicts that a combination of simulated interventions targeting heavy episodic drinkers at a moderately "dry" campus would extinguish heavy episodic drinkers, replacing them with light and moderate drinkers. Instituting the same combination of simulated interventions at a moderately "wet" campus would result in only a moderate reduction in heavy episodic drinkers (i.e., 50% to 35%). A simple, five-state compartmental model adequately predicted the actual drinking patterns of students from a variety of campuses surveyed in the Social Norms Marketing Research Project study. The model predicted the impact on drinking patterns of several simulated interventions to address heavy episodic drinking on various types of campuses.

Hydrological and hydraulic models for determination of flood-prone and flood inundation areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aksoy, Hafzullah; Sadan Ozgur Kirca, Veysel; Burgan, Halil Ibrahim; Kellecioglu, Dorukhan

2016-05-01

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are widely used in most studies on water resources. Especially, when the topography and geomorphology of study area are considered, GIS can ease the work load. Detailed data should be used in this kind of studies. Because of, either the complication of the models or the requirement of highly detailed data, model outputs can be obtained fast only with a good optimization. The aim in this study, firstly, is to determine flood-prone areas in a watershed by using a hydrological model considering two wetness indexes; the topographical wetness index, and the SAGA (System for Automated Geoscientific Analyses) wetness index. The wetness indexes were obtained in the Quantum GIS (QGIS) software by using the Digital Elevation Model of the study area. Flood-prone areas are determined by considering the wetness index maps of the watershed. As the second stage of this study, a hydraulic model, HEC-RAS, was executed to determine flood inundation areas under different return period-flood events. River network cross-sections required for this study were derived from highly detailed digital elevation models by QGIS. Also river hydraulic parameters were used in the hydraulic model. Modelling technology used in this study is made of freely available open source softwares. Based on case studies performed on watersheds in Turkey, it is concluded that results of such studies can be used for taking precaution measures against life and monetary losses due to floods in urban areas particularly.

Three-Dimensional Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Modeling of Preferential Flow Dynamics at Fracture Intersections on a High-Performance Computing Platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kordilla, J.; Bresinsky, L. T.

2017-12-01

The physical mechanisms that govern preferential flow dynamics in unsaturated fractured rock formations are complex and not well understood. Fracture intersections may act as an integrator of unsaturated flow, leading to temporal delay, intermittent flow and partitioning dynamics. In this work, a three-dimensional Pairwise-Force Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (PF-SPH) model is being applied in order to simulate gravity-driven multiphase flow at synthetic fracture intersections. SPH, as a meshless Lagrangian method, is particularly suitable for modeling deformable interfaces, such as three-phase contact dynamics of droplets, rivulets and free-surface films. The static and dynamic contact angle can be recognized as the most important parameter of gravity-driven free-surface flow. In SPH, surface tension and adhesion naturally emerges from the implemented pairwise fluid-fluid (sff) and solid-fluid (ssf) interaction force. The model was calibrated to a contact angle of 65°, which corresponds to the wetting properties of water on Poly(methyl methacrylate). The accuracy of the SPH simulations were validated against an analytical solution of Poiseuille flow between two parallel plates and against laboratory experiments. Using the SPH model, the complex flow mode transitions from droplet to rivulet flow of an experimental study were reproduced. Additionally, laboratory dimensionless scaling experiments of water droplets were successfully replicated in SPH. Finally, SPH simulations were used to investigate the partitioning dynamics of single droplets into synthetic horizontal fractures with various apertures (Δdf = 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0 mm) and offsets (Δdoff = -1.5, -1.0, -0.5, 0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 mm). Fluid masses were measured in the domains R1, R2 and R3. The perfect conditions of ideally smooth surfaces and the SPH inherent advantage of particle tracking allow the recognition of small scale partitioning mechanisms and its importance for bulk flow behavior.

Resolving terrestrial ecosystem processes along a subgrid topographic gradient for an earth-system model

USGS Publications Warehouse

Subin, Z M; Milly, Paul C.D.; Sulman, B N; Malyshev, Sergey; Shevliakova, E

2014-01-01

Soil moisture is a crucial control on surface water and energy fluxes, vegetation, and soil carbon cycling. Earth-system models (ESMs) generally represent an areal-average soil-moisture state in gridcells at scales of 50–200 km and as a result are not able to capture the nonlinear effects of topographically-controlled subgrid heterogeneity in soil moisture, in particular where wetlands are present. We addressed this deficiency by building a subgrid representation of hillslope-scale topographic gradients, TiHy (Tiled-hillslope Hydrology), into the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) land model (LM3). LM3-TiHy models one or more representative hillslope geometries for each gridcell by discretizing them into land model tiles hydrologically coupled along an upland-to-lowland gradient. Each tile has its own surface fluxes, vegetation, and vertically-resolved state variables for soil physics and biogeochemistry. LM3-TiHy simulates a gradient in soil moisture and water-table depth between uplands and lowlands in each gridcell. Three hillslope hydrological regimes appear in non-permafrost regions in the model: wet and poorly-drained, wet and well-drained, and dry; with large, small, and zero wetland area predicted, respectively. Compared to the untiled LM3 in stand-alone experiments, LM3-TiHy simulates similar surface energy and water fluxes in the gridcell-mean. However, in marginally wet regions around the globe, LM3-TiHy simulates shallow groundwater in lowlands, leading to higher evapotranspiration, lower surface temperature, and higher leaf area compared to uplands in the same gridcells. Moreover, more than four-fold larger soil carbon concentrations are simulated globally in lowlands as compared with uplands. We compared water-table depths to those simulated by a recent global model-observational synthesis, and we compared wetland and inundated areas diagnosed from the model to observational datasets. The comparisons demonstrate that LM3-TiHy has the capability to represent some of the controls of these hydrological variables, but also that improvement in parameterization and input datasets are needed for more realistic simulations. We found large sensitivity in model-diagnosed wetland and inundated area to the depth of conductive soil and the parameterization of macroporosity. With improved parameterization and inclusion of peatland biogeochemical processes, the model could provide a new approach to investigating the vulnerability of Boreal peatland carbon to climate change in ESMs.

Seasonal Variations in Mercury Deposition over the Yellow Sea, July 2007 through April 2008

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

Ghim, Young Sung; Oh, Hyun Sun; Kim, Jin Young

Spatial and temporal variations of mercury, including dry and wet deposition fluxes, were assessed over Northeast Asia, targeting the Yellow Sea, using meteorology and chemistry models. Four modeling periods, each representative of one of the four seasons, were selected. Modeling results captured general patterns and behaviors, and fell within similar ranges with respect to observations. However, temporal variations of mercury were not closely matched, possibly owing to the effects of localized emissions. Modeling results indicated that dry deposition is correlated with wind speed, while wet deposition is correlated with precipitation amount. Overall, the wet deposition flux of 66 ng/m2-day wasmore » about twice as large as the dry deposition flux of 32 ng/m2-day, when averaged over the four modeling periods. Dry deposition occurred predominantly in the form of reactive gaseous mercury (RGM). In contrast, RGM accounted for only about two-thirds of wet deposition, while particulate mercury accounted for the remainder.« less

Contact Line Instability Caused by Air Rim Formation under Nonsplashing Droplets.

PubMed

Pack, Min; Kaneelil, Paul; Kim, Hyoungsoo; Sun, Ying

2018-05-01

Drop impact is fundamental to various natural and industrial processes such as rain-induced soil erosion and spray-coating technologies. The recent discovery of the role of air entrainment between the droplet and the impacting surface has produced numerous works, uncovering the unique physics that correlates the air film dynamics with the drop impact outcomes. In this study, we focus on the post-failure air entrainment dynamics for We numbers well below the splash threshold under different ambient pressures and elucidate the interfacial instabilities formed by air entrainment at the wetting front of impacting droplets on perfectly smooth, viscous films of constant thickness. A high-speed total internal reflection microscopy technique accounting for the Fresnel reflection at the drop-air interface allows for in situ measurements of an entrained air rim at the wetting front. The presence of an air rim is found to be a prerequisite to the interfacial instability which is formed when the capillary pressure in the vicinity of the contact line can no longer balance the increasing gas pressure near the wetting front. A critical capillary number for the air rim formation is experimentally identified above which the wetting front becomes unstable where this critical capillary number inversely scales with the ambient pressure. The contact line instabilities at relatively low We numbers ( We ∼ O(10)) observed in this study provide insight into the conventional understanding of hydrodynamic instabilities under drop impact which usually require We ≫ 10.

Force Transmission Modes of Non-Cohesive and Cohesive Materials at the Critical State.

PubMed

Wang, Ji-Peng

2017-08-31

This paper investigates the force transmission modes, mainly described by probability density distributions, in non-cohesive dry and cohesive wet granular materials by discrete element modeling. The critical state force transmission patterns are focused on with the contact model effect being analyzed. By shearing relatively dense and loose dry specimens to the critical state in the conventional triaxial loading path, it is observed that there is a unique critical state force transmission mode. There is a universe critical state force distribution pattern for both the normal contact forces and tangential contact forces. Furthermore, it is found that using either the linear Hooke or the non-linear Hertz model does not affect the universe force transmission mode, and it is only related to the grain size distribution. Wet granular materials are also simulated by incorporating a water bridge model. Dense and loose wet granular materials are tested, and the critical state behavior for the wet material is also observed. The critical state strength and void ratio of wet granular materials are higher than those of a non-cohesive material. The critical state inter-particle distribution is altered from that of a non-cohesive material with higher probability in relatively weak forces. Grains in non-cohesive materials are under compressive stresses, and their principal directions are mainly in the axial loading direction. However, for cohesive wet granular materials, some particles are in tension, and the tensile stresses are in the horizontal direction on which the confinement is applied. The additional confinement by the tensile stress explains the macro strength and dilatancy increase in wet samples.

Force Transmission Modes of Non-Cohesive and Cohesive Materials at the Critical State

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

This paper investigates the force transmission modes, mainly described by probability density distributions, in non-cohesive dry and cohesive wet granular materials by discrete element modeling. The critical state force transmission patterns are focused on with the contact model effect being analyzed. By shearing relatively dense and loose dry specimens to the critical state in the conventional triaxial loading path, it is observed that there is a unique critical state force transmission mode. There is a universe critical state force distribution pattern for both the normal contact forces and tangential contact forces. Furthermore, it is found that using either the linear Hooke or the non-linear Hertz model does not affect the universe force transmission mode, and it is only related to the grain size distribution. Wet granular materials are also simulated by incorporating a water bridge model. Dense and loose wet granular materials are tested, and the critical state behavior for the wet material is also observed. The critical state strength and void ratio of wet granular materials are higher than those of a non-cohesive material. The critical state inter-particle distribution is altered from that of a non-cohesive material with higher probability in relatively weak forces. Grains in non-cohesive materials are under compressive stresses, and their principal directions are mainly in the axial loading direction. However, for cohesive wet granular materials, some particles are in tension, and the tensile stresses are in the horizontal direction on which the confinement is applied. The additional confinement by the tensile stress explains the macro strength and dilatancy increase in wet samples. PMID:28858238

Effects of surface-active organic matter on carbon dioxide nucleation in atmospheric wet aerosols: a molecular dynamics study.

PubMed

Daskalakis, Vangelis; Charalambous, Fevronia; Panagiotou, Fostira; Nearchou, Irene

2014-11-21

Organic matter (OM) uptake in cloud droplets produces water-soluble secondary organic aerosols (SOA) via aqueous chemistry. These play a significant role in aerosol properties. We report the effects of OM uptake in wet aerosols, in terms of the dissolved-to-gas carbon dioxide nucleation using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Carbon dioxide has been implicated in the natural rainwater as well as seawater acidity. Variability of the cloud and raindrop pH is assumed in space and time, as regional emissions, local human activities and geophysical characteristics differ. Rain scavenging of inorganic SOx, NOx and NH3 plays a major role in rain acidity in terms of acid-base activity, however carbon dioxide solubility also remains a key parameter. Based on the MD simulations we propose that the presence of surface-active OM promotes the dissolved-to-gas carbon dioxide nucleation in wet aerosols, even at low temperatures, strongly decreasing carbon dioxide solubility. A discussion is made on the role of OM in controlling the pH of a cloud or raindrop, as a consequence, without involving OM ionization equilibrium. The results are compared with experimental and computational studies in the literature.

Modelling deposition and air concentration of reduced nitrogen in Poland and sensitivity to variability in annual meteorology.

PubMed

Kryza, Maciej; Dore, Anthony J; Błaś, Marek; Sobik, Mieczysław

2011-04-01

The relative contribution of reduced nitrogen to acid and eutrophic deposition in Europe has increased recently as a result of European policies which have been successful in reducing SO(2) and NO(x) emissions but have had smaller impacts on ammonia (NH(3)) emissions. In this paper the Fine Resolution Atmospheric Multi-pollutant Exchange (FRAME) model was used to calculate the spatial patterns of annual average ammonia and ammonium (NH(4)(+)) air concentrations and reduced nitrogen (NH(x)) dry and wet deposition with a 5 km × 5 km grid for years 2002-2005. The modelled air concentrations of NH(3) and dry deposition of NH(x) show similar spatial patterns for all years considered. The largest year to year changes were found for wet deposition, which vary considerably with precipitation amount. The FRAME modelled air concentrations and wet deposition are in reasonable agreement with available measurements (Pearson's correlation coefficients above 0.6 for years 2002-2005), and with spatial patterns of concentrations and deposition of NH(x) reported with the EMEP results, but show larger spatial gradients. The error statistics show that the FRAME model results are in better agreement with measurements if compared with EMEP estimates. The differences in deposition budgets calculated with FRAME and EMEP do not exceed 17% for wet and 6% for dry deposition, with FRAME estimates higher than for EMEP wet deposition for modelled period and lower or equal for dry deposition. The FRAME estimates of wet deposition budget are lower than the measurement-based values reported by the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection of Poland, with the differences by approximately 3%. Up to 93% of dry and 53% of wet deposition of NH(x) in Poland originates from national sources. Over the western part of Poland and mountainous areas in the south, transboundary transport can contribute over 80% of total (dry + wet) NH(x) deposition. The spatial pattern of the relative contribution of national sources to total deposition of NH(x) may change significantly due to the general circulation of air. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ecohydrology and biogeochemistry of seasonally-dry ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, X.; Porporato, A. M.

2010-12-01

The composition and the dynamic in various types of seasonally dry ecosystems are largely determined by rainfall seasonality and distribution. The intermittency of rainfall in these ecosystems has played a dominant role in the life cycle of native plants such that phenological events such as growth or reproduction have oftentimes become synchronized with the onset of the dry or the wet season. Characteristic amongst such types of ecosystems are the tropical dry and Mediterranean ecosystems, both of which receive similar amount of precipitation yet are markedly distinct in their synchronization of rainfall fluctuations and temperature. Seasonally dry ecosystems cover more than 16 million square kilometers in the tropics, with short but intense wet seasons followed by long dry seasons and elevated temperature throughout the year. Native vegetation grows during the wet season and adopts dormancy or seasonal deciduousness to cope with the dry season. In the Mediterranean climates, precipitations and temperature are out of phase, with wet temperate winters and hot dry summers. Dimorphic root systems are prevalent, where deep rooted plants exploit the winter recharge while the shallow rooted species take advantage of the infrequent summer rains. Using a stochastic soil moisture model we analyze how temporal shifts, or the lack thereof, in temperature and precipitation patterns affect the development of water stress during the dry season and its feedbacks on soil-plant biogeochemistry. We especially focus on the role of differences in temperature and seasonal potential evapotranspiration between tropical dry and Mediterranean climates. We also compare irrigation needs and the effects of projected climatic conditions in those regions. Understanding how plants adopt different water use strategies in the context of shifted climatic patterns will shed light on how these regions of high biodiversity may cope with rapidly-changing climatic conditions.

Identifying and Modeling Dynamic Preference Evolution in Multipurpose Water Resources Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mason, E.; Giuliani, M.; Castelletti, A.; Amigoni, F.

2018-04-01

Multipurpose water systems are usually operated on a tradeoff of conflicting operating objectives. Under steady state climatic and socioeconomic conditions, such tradeoff is supposed to represent a fair and/or efficient preference. Extreme variability in external forcing might affect water operators' risk aversion and force a change in her/his preference. Properly accounting for these shifts is key to any rigorous retrospective assessment of the operator's behaviors, and to build descriptive models for projecting the future system evolution. In this study, we explore how the selection of different preferences is linked to variations in the external forcing. We argue that preference selection evolves according to recent, extreme variations in system performance: underperforming in one of the objectives pushes the preference toward the harmed objective. To test this assumption, we developed a rational procedure to simulate the operator's preference selection. We map this selection onto a multilateral negotiation, where multiple virtual agents independently optimize different objectives. The agents periodically negotiate a compromise policy for the operation of the system. Agents' attitudes in each negotiation step are determined by the recent system performance measured by the specific objective they maximize. We then propose a numerical model of preference dynamics that implements a concept from cognitive psychology, the availability bias. We test our modeling framework on a synthetic lake operated for flood control and water supply. Results show that our model successfully captures the operator's preference selection and dynamic evolution driven by extreme wet and dry situations.

Pore-scale modeling of capillary trapping in water-wet porous media: A new cooperative pore-body filling model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruspini, L. C.; Farokhpoor, R.; Øren, P. E.

2017-10-01

We present a pore-network model study of capillary trapping in water-wet porous media. The amount and distribution of trapped non-wetting phase is determined by the competition between two trapping mechanisms - snap-off and cooperative pore-body filling. We develop a new model to describe the pore-body filling mechanism in geologically realistic pore-networks. The model accounts for the geometrical characteristics of the pore, the spatial location of the connecting throats and the local fluid topology at the time of the displacement. We validate the model by comparing computed capillary trapping curves with published data for four different water-wet rocks. Computations are performed on pore-networks extracted from micro-CT images and process-based reconstructions of the actual rocks used in the experiments. Compared with commonly used stochastic models, the new model describes more accurately the experimental measurements, especially for well connected porous systems where trapping is controlled by subtleties of the pore structure. The new model successfully predicts relative permeabilities and residual saturation for Bentheimer sandstone using in-situ measured contact angles as input to the simulations. The simulated trapped cluster size distributions are compared with predictions from percolation theory.

Linking Vital Rates of Landbirds on a Tropical Island to Rainfall and Vegetation Greenness

PubMed Central

Saracco, James F.; Radley, Paul; Pyle, Peter; Rowan, Erin; Taylor, Ron; Helton, Lauren

2016-01-01

Remote tropical oceanic islands are of high conservation priority, and they are exemplified by range-restricted species with small global populations. Spatial and temporal patterns in rainfall and plant productivity may be important in driving dynamics of these species. Yet, little is known about environmental influences on population dynamics for most islands and species. Here we leveraged avian capture-recapture, rainfall, and remote-sensed habitat data (enhanced vegetation index [EVI]) to assess relationships between rainfall, vegetation greenness, and demographic rates (productivity, adult apparent survival) of three native bird species on Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands: rufous fantail (Rhipidura rufifrons), bridled white-eye (Zosterops conspicillatus), and golden white-eye (Cleptornis marchei). Rainfall was positively related to vegetation greenness at all but the highest rainfall levels. Temporal variation in greenness affected the productivity of each bird species in unique ways. Predicted productivity of rufous fantail was highest when dry and wet season greenness values were high relative to site-specific 5-year seasonal mean values (i.e., relative greenness); while the white-eye species had highest predicted productivity when relative greenness contrasted between wet and dry seasons. Survival of rufous fantail and bridled white eye was positively related to relative dry-season greenness and negatively related to relative wet-season greenness. Bridled white-eye survival also showed evidence of a positive response to overall greenness. Our results highlight the potentially important role of rainfall regimes in affecting population dynamics of species on oceanic tropical islands. Understanding linkages between rainfall, vegetation, and animal population dynamics will be critical for developing effective conservation strategies in this and other regions where the seasonal timing, extent, and variability of rainfall is expected to change in the coming decades. PMID:26863013

Linking Vital Rates of Landbirds on a Tropical Island to Rainfall and Vegetation Greenness.

PubMed

Saracco, James F; Radley, Paul; Pyle, Peter; Rowan, Erin; Taylor, Ron; Helton, Lauren

2016-01-01

Remote tropical oceanic islands are of high conservation priority, and they are exemplified by range-restricted species with small global populations. Spatial and temporal patterns in rainfall and plant productivity may be important in driving dynamics of these species. Yet, little is known about environmental influences on population dynamics for most islands and species. Here we leveraged avian capture-recapture, rainfall, and remote-sensed habitat data (enhanced vegetation index [EVI]) to assess relationships between rainfall, vegetation greenness, and demographic rates (productivity, adult apparent survival) of three native bird species on Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands: rufous fantail (Rhipidura rufifrons), bridled white-eye (Zosterops conspicillatus), and golden white-eye (Cleptornis marchei). Rainfall was positively related to vegetation greenness at all but the highest rainfall levels. Temporal variation in greenness affected the productivity of each bird species in unique ways. Predicted productivity of rufous fantail was highest when dry and wet season greenness values were high relative to site-specific 5-year seasonal mean values (i.e., relative greenness); while the white-eye species had highest predicted productivity when relative greenness contrasted between wet and dry seasons. Survival of rufous fantail and bridled white eye was positively related to relative dry-season greenness and negatively related to relative wet-season greenness. Bridled white-eye survival also showed evidence of a positive response to overall greenness. Our results highlight the potentially important role of rainfall regimes in affecting population dynamics of species on oceanic tropical islands. Understanding linkages between rainfall, vegetation, and animal population dynamics will be critical for developing effective conservation strategies in this and other regions where the seasonal timing, extent, and variability of rainfall is expected to change in the coming decades.

Comparative study of chaotic features in hourly wind speed using recurrence quantification analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adeniji, A. E.; Olusola, O. I.; Njah, A. N.

2018-02-01

Due to the shortage in electricity supply in Nigeria, there is a need to improve the alternative power generation from wind energy by analysing the wind speed data available in some parts of the country, for a better understanding of its underlying dynamics for the purpose of good prediction and modelling. The wind speed data used in this study were collected over a period of two years by National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) from five different stations in the tropics namely; Abuja (7050'02.09"N and 6004'29.97"E), Akungba (6059'05.40"N and 5035'52.23"E), Nsukka (6051'28.14"N and 7024'28.15"E), Port Harcourt (4047'05.41"N and 6059'30.62"E), and Yola (9017'33.58"N and 12023'26.69"E). In this paper, recurrence plot (RP) and recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) are applied to investigate a non-linear deterministic dynamical process and non-stationarity in hourly wind speed data from the study areas. Using RQA for each month of the two years, it is observed that wind speed data for the wet months exhibit higher chaoticity than that of the dry months for all the stations, due to strong and weak monsoonal effect during the wet and dry seasons respectively. The results show that recurrence techniques are able to identify areas and periods for which the harvest of wind energy for power generation is good (high predictability) and poor (low predictability) in the study areas. This work also validates the RQA measures (Lmax, DET and ENT) used and establishes that they are similar/related as they give similar results for the dynamical characterization of the wind speed data.

On the relative role of fire and rainfall in determining vegetation patterns in tropical savannas: a simulation study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spessa, Allan; Fisher, Rosie

2010-05-01

Tropical savannas cover 18% of the world's land surface and are amongst the most productive terrestrial systems in the world. They comprise 15% of the total terrestrial carbon stock, with an estimated mean net primary productivity (NPP) of 7.2 tCha-1yr-1 or two thirds of NPP in tropical forests. Tropical savannas are the most frequently burnt biome, with fire return intervals in highly productive areas being typically 1-2 years. Fires shape vegetation species composition, tree to grass ratios and nutrient redistribution, as well as the biosphere-atmosphere exchange of trace gases, momentum and radiative energy. Tropical savannas are a major source of emissions, contributing 38 % of total annual CO2 from biomass burning, 30% CO, 19 % CH4 and 59 % NOx. Climatically, they occur in regions subject to a strongly seasonal ‘wet-dry' regime, usually under monsoonal control from the movement of the inter-tropical convergence zone. In general, rainfall during the prior wet season(s) determines the amount of grass fuel available for burning while the length of the dry season influences fuel moisture content. Rainfall in tropical savannas exhibits high inter-annual variability, and under future climate change, is projected to change significantly in much of Africa, South America and northern Australia. Process-based simulation models of fire-vegetation dynamics and feedbacks are critical for determining the impacts of wildfires under projected future climate change on i) ecosystem structure and function, and ii) emissions of trace gases and aerosols from biomass burning. A new mechanistic global fire model SPITFIRE (SPread and InTensity of FIRE) has been designed to overcome many of the limitations in existing fire models set within Dynamic Global Vegetation Models (DGVMs). SPITFIRE has been applied in coupled mode globally and southern Africa, both as part of the LPJ DGVM. It has also been driven with MODIS burnt area data applied to sub-Saharan Africa, while coupled to the LPJ-GUESS vegetation model. Recently, SPIFTIRE has been coupled to the Ecosystem Demography (ED) model, which simulates global vegetation dynamics as part of the new land surface scheme JULES (Joint UK Environment Simulator) within the QUEST Earth System Model (http://www.quest-esm.ac.uk/). This study forms part of on-going work to further improve and test the ability of JULES to accurately simulate the terrestrial carbon cycle and land-atmosphere exchanges under different climates. Using the JULES (ED-SPITFIRE) model driven by observed climate (1901-2002), and focusing on large-scale rainfall gradients in the tropical savannas of west Africa, the Northern Territory (Australia) and central-southern Brazil, this study assesses: i) simulated versus observed vegetation dynamics and distributions, and ii) the relative importance of fire versus rainfall in determining vegetation patterns. A sensitivity analysis approach was used.

Viscosity and Wetting Property of Water Confined in Extended Nanospace Simultaneously Measured from Highly-Pressurized Meniscus Motion.

PubMed

Li, Lixiao; Kazoe, Yutaka; Mawatari, Kazuma; Sugii, Yasuhiko; Kitamori, Takehiko

2012-09-06

Understanding fluid and interfacial properties in extended nanospace (10-1000 nm) is important for recent advances of nanofluidics. We studied properties of water confined in fused-silica nanochannels of 50-1500 nm sizes with two types of cross-section: (1) square channel of nanoscale width and depth, and (2) plate channel of microscale width and nanoscale depth. Viscosity and wetting property were simultaneously measured from capillary filling controlled by megapascal external pressure. The viscosity increased in extended nanospace, while the wetting property was almost constant. Especially, water in the square nanochannels had much higher viscosity than the plate channel, which can be explained considering loosely coupled water molecules by hydrogen bond on the surface within 24 nm. This study suggests specificity of fluids two-dimensionally confined in extended nanoscale, in which the liquid is highly viscous by the specific water phase, while the wetting dynamics is governed by the well-known adsorbed water layer of several-molecules thickness.

The method of neutron imaging as a tool for the study of the dynamics of water movement in wet aramid-based ballistic body armour panels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reifler, Felix A.; Lehmann, Eberhard H.; Frei, Gabriel; May, Hans; Rossi, René

2006-07-01

A new non-destructive method based on neutron imaging (neutron radiography) to determine the exact water content in aramid-based soft body armour panels is presented. While investigating the ballistic resistance of aramid-based body armour panels under a wet condition, it is important to precisely determine their water content and its chronological development. Using the presented method, the influence of water amount and location on impact testing as well as its time dependence was shown. In the ballistic panels used, spreading of water strongly depended on the kind of quilting. Very fast water migration could be observed when the panels were held vertically. Some first results regarding the water distribution in wet panels immediately after the impact are presented. On the basis of the presented results, requirements for a standard for testing the performance of ballistic panels in the wet state are deduced.

Hydrophobic Gating of Ion Permeation in Magnesium Channel CorA.

PubMed

Neale, Chris; Chakrabarti, Nilmadhab; Pomorski, Pawel; Pai, Emil F; Pomès, Régis

2015-07-01

Ion channels catalyze ionic permeation across membranes via water-filled pores. To understand how changes in intracellular magnesium concentration regulate the influx of Mg2+ into cells, we examine early events in the relaxation of Mg2+ channel CorA toward its open state using massively-repeated molecular dynamics simulations conducted either with or without regulatory ions. The pore of CorA contains a 2-nm-long hydrophobic bottleneck which remained dehydrated in most simulations. However, rapid hydration or "wetting" events concurrent with small-amplitude fluctuations in pore diameter occurred spontaneously and reversibly. In the absence of regulatory ions, wetting transitions are more likely and include a wet state that is significantly more stable and more hydrated. The free energy profile for Mg2+ permeation presents a barrier whose magnitude is anticorrelated to pore diameter and the extent of hydrophobic hydration. These findings support an allosteric mechanism whereby wetting of a hydrophobic gate couples changes in intracellular magnesium concentration to the onset of ionic conduction.

Results of hydrologic monitoring of a landslide-prone hillslope in Portland’s West Hills, Oregon, 2006–2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, Joel B.; Godt, Jonathan W.; Baum, Rex L.; Coe, Jeffrey A.; Ellis, William L.; Jones, Eric S.; Burns, Scott F.

2017-09-15

The West Hills of Portland, in the southern Tualatin Mountains, trend northwest along the west side of Portland, Oregon. These silt-mantled mountains receive significant wet-season precipitation and are prone to sliding during wet conditions, occasionally resulting in property damage or casualties. In an effort to develop a baseline for interpretive analysis of the groundwater response to rainfall, an automated monitoring system was installed in 2006 to measure rainfall, pore-water pressure, soil suction, soil-water potential, and volumetric water content at 15-minute intervals. The data show a cyclical pattern of groundwater and moisture content levels—wet from October to May and dry between June and September. Saturated soil conditions tend to last throughout the wet season. These data show the hydrologic response of the monitored area to rainfall and provide insight into the dynamics of rainfall-initiated landsliding. This report details the monitoring methods and presents data collected from January 10, 2006, through January 23, 2017.

Elucidating proline dynamics in spider dragline silk fibre using 2H-13C HETCOR MAS NMR.

PubMed

Shi, Xiangyan; Yarger, Jeffery L; Holland, Gregory P

2014-05-14

(2)H-(13)C HETCOR MAS NMR is performed on (2)H/(13)C/(15)N-Pro enriched A. aurantia dragline silk. Proline dynamics are extracted from (2)H NMR line shapes and T1 in a site-specific manner to elucidate the backbone and side chain molecular dynamics for the MaSp2 GPGXX β-turn regions for spider dragline silk in the dry and wet, supercontracted states.

Seasonal changes in the assembly mechanisms structuring tropical fish communities.

PubMed

Fitzgerald, Daniel B; Winemiller, Kirk O; Sabaj Pérez, Mark H; Sousa, Leandro M

2017-01-01

Despite growing interest in trait-based approaches to community assembly, little attention has been given to seasonal variation in trait distribution patterns. Mobile animals can rapidly mediate influences of environmental factors and species interactions through dispersal, suggesting that the relative importance of different assembly mechanisms can vary over short time scales. This study analyzes seasonal changes in functional trait distributions of tropical fishes in the Xingu River, a major tributary of the Amazon with large predictable temporal variation in hydrologic conditions and species density. Comparison of observed functional diversity revealed that species within wet-season assemblages were more functionally similar than those in dry-season assemblages. Further, species within wet-season assemblages were more similar than random expectations based on null model predictions. Higher functional richness within dry season communities is consistent with increased niche complementarity during the period when fish densities are highest and biotic interactions should be stronger; however, null model tests suggest that stochastic factors or a combination of assembly mechanisms influence dry-season assemblages. These results demonstrate that the relative influence of community assembly mechanisms can vary seasonally in response to changing abiotic conditions, and suggest that studies attempting to infer a single dominant mechanism from functional patterns may overlook important aspects of the assembly process. During the prolonged flood pulse of the wet season, expanded habitat and lower densities of aquatic organisms likely reduce the influence of competition and predation. This temporal shift in the influence of different assembly mechanisms, rather than any single mechanism, may play a large role in maintaining the structure and diversity of tropical rivers and perhaps other dynamic and biodiverse systems. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

Integrated detoxification methodology of hazardous phenolic wastewaters in environmentally based trickle-bed reactors: Experimental investigation and CFD simulation.

PubMed

Lopes, Rodrigo J G; Almeida, Teresa S A; Quinta-Ferreira, Rosa M

2011-05-15

Centralized environmental regulations require the use of efficient detoxification technologies for the secure disposal of hazardous wastewaters. Guided by federal directives, existing plants need reengineering activities and careful analysis to improve their overall effectiveness and to become environmentally friendly. Here, we illustrate the application of an integrated methodology which encompasses the experimental investigation of catalytic wet air oxidation and CFD simulation of trickle-bed reactors. As long as trickle-bed reactors are determined by the flow environment coupled with chemical kinetics, first, on the optimization of prominent numerical solution parameters, the CFD model was validated with experimental data taken from a trickle bed pilot plant specifically designed for the catalytic wet oxidation of phenolic wastewaters. Second, several experimental and computational runs were carried out under unsteady-state operation to evaluate the dynamic performance addressing the TOC concentration and temperature profiles. CFD computations of total organic carbon conversion were found to agree better with experimental data at lower temperatures. Finally, the comparison of test data with simulation results demonstrated that this integrated framework was able to describe the mineralization of organic matter in trickle beds and the validated consequence model can be exploited to promote cleaner remediation technologies of contaminated waters. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Wetting-mediated collective tubulation and pearling in confined vesicular drops of DDAB solutions.

PubMed

Haidara, Hamidou

2014-12-21

Whether driven by external mechanical stresses (shear flow) or induced by membrane-active peptides and/or proteins, the collective growth of tubules in membranous fluids has seldom been reported. The pearling destabilization of these membranous tubules which requires an activation of the shape distortion, often induced by optical tweezers, membrane-active biomolecules or an electrical field, has also rarely been observed under mild experimental conditions. Here we report such events of collective tubulation and pearling destabilization in sessile drops of a didodecyl-dimethylammonium bromide (DDAB) vesicular solution that are confined by a surrounding oil medium. Based on the wetting dynamics and the features of the tubulation process, we show that the growth of the tubules here relies on a mechanism of "pinning-induced pulling" from the retracting drop, rather than the classical hydrodynamic fingering instability. We show that the whole tubulation process is driven by a strong coupling between the bulk properties of the ternary (DAAB/water/oil) system and the dynamics of wetting. Finally, we discuss the pearling destabilization of these tubules under vanishing static interface tension and quite mild tensile force arising from their pulling. We show that under those mild conditions, shape disturbances readily grow, either as pearling waves moving toward the drop-reservoir or as Rayleigh-type peristaltic modulations. Besides revealing singular non-Rayleigh pearling modes, this work also brings new insights into the flow dynamics in membranous tubules anchored to an infinite reservoir.

A multi-scale methodology for comparing GCM and RCM results over the Eastern Mediterranean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samuels, Rana; Krichak, Simon; Breitgand, Joseph; Alpert, Pinhas

2010-05-01

The importance of skillful climate modeling is increasingly being realized as results are being incorporated into environmental, economic, and even business planning. Global circulation models (GCMs) employed by the IPCC provide results at spatial scales of hundreds of kilometers, which is useful for understanding global trends but not appropriate for use as input into regional and local impacts models used to inform policy and development. To address this shortcoming, regional climate models (RCMs) which dynamically downscale the results of the GCMs are used. In this study we present first results of a dynamically downscaled RCM focusing on the Eastern Mediterranean region. For the historical 1960-2000 time period, results at a spatial scale of both 25 km and 50 km are compared with historical station data from 5 locations across Israel as well as with the results of 3 GCM models (ECHAM5, NOAA GFDL, and CCCMA) at annual, monthly and daily time scales. Results from a recently completed Japanese GCM at a spatial scale of 20 km are also included. For the historical validation period, we show that as spatial scale increases the skill in capturing annual and inter-annual temperature and rainfall also increases. However, for intra-seasonal rainfall characteristics important for hydrological and agricultural planning (eg. dry and wet spells, number of rain days) the GCM results (including the 20 km Japanese model) capture the historical trends better than the dynamically downscaled RegCM. For future scenarios of temperature and precipitation changes, we compare results across the models for the available time periods, generating a range of future trends.

Differential effects of canopy trimming and litter deposition on litterfall and nutrient dynamics in a wet subtropical forest

Treesearch

W.L. Silver; S.J. Hall; Grizelle Gonzalez

2014-01-01

Humid tropical forests have the highest rates of litterfall production globally, which fuels rapid nutrient recycling and high net ecosystem production. Severe storm events significantly alter patterns in litterfall mass and nutrient dynamics through a combination of canopy disturbance and litter deposition. In this study, we used a large-scale long-term manipulation...

Theory of few photon dynamics in light emitting quantum dot devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carmele, Alexander; Richter, Marten; Sitek, Anna; Knorr, Andreas

2009-10-01

We present a modified cluster expansion to describe single-photon emitters in a semiconductor environment. We calculate microscopically to what extent semiconductor features in quantum dot-wetting layer systems alter the exciton and photon dynamics in comparison to the atom-like emission dynamics. We access these systems by the photon-probability-cluster-expansion: a reliable approach for few photon dynamics in many body electron systems. As a first application, we show that the amplitude of vacuum Rabi flops determines the number of electrons in the quantum dot.

A connectivity-based modeling approach for representing hysteresis in macroscopic two-phase flow properties

DOE PAGES

Cihan, Abdullah; Birkholzer, Jens; Trevisan, Luca; ...

2014-12-31

During CO 2 injection and storage in deep reservoirs, the injected CO 2 enters into an initially brine saturated porous medium, and after the injection stops, natural groundwater flow eventually displaces the injected mobile-phase CO 2, leaving behind residual non-wetting fluid. Accurate modeling of two-phase flow processes are needed for predicting fate and transport of injected CO 2, evaluating environmental risks and designing more effective storage schemes. The entrapped non-wetting fluid saturation is typically a function of the spatially varying maximum saturation at the end of injection. At the pore-scale, distribution of void sizes and connectivity of void space playmore » a major role for the macroscopic hysteresis behavior and capillary entrapment of wetting and non-wetting fluids. This paper presents development of an approach based on the connectivity of void space for modeling hysteretic capillary pressure-saturation-relative permeability relationships. The new approach uses void-size distribution and a measure of void space connectivity to compute the hysteretic constitutive functions and to predict entrapped fluid phase saturations. Two functions, the drainage connectivity function and the wetting connectivity function, are introduced to characterize connectivity of fluids in void space during drainage and wetting processes. These functions can be estimated through pore-scale simulations in computer-generated porous media or from traditional experimental measurements of primary drainage and main wetting curves. The hysteresis model for saturation-capillary pressure is tested successfully by comparing the model-predicted residual saturation and scanning curves with actual data sets obtained from column experiments found in the literature. A numerical two-phase model simulator with the new hysteresis functions is tested against laboratory experiments conducted in a quasi-two-dimensional flow cell (91.4cm×5.6cm×61cm), packed with homogeneous and heterogeneous sands. Initial results show that the model can predict spatial and temporal distribution of injected fluid during the experiments reasonably well. However, further analyses are needed for comprehensively testing the ability of the model to predict transient two-phase flow processes and capillary entrapment in geological reservoirs during geological carbon sequestration.« less

Nonlocality and Short-Range Wetting Phenomena

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parry, A. O.; Romero-Enrique, J. M.; Lazarides, A.

2004-08-01

We propose a nonlocal interfacial model for 3D short-range wetting at planar and nonplanar walls. The model is characterized by a binding-potential functional depending only on the bulk Ornstein-Zernike correlation function, which arises from different classes of tubelike fluctuations that connect the interface and the substrate. The theory provides a physical explanation for the origin of the effective position-dependent stiffness and binding potential in approximate local theories and also obeys the necessary classical wedge covariance relationship between wetting and wedge filling. Renormalization group and computer simulation studies reveal the strong nonperturbative influence of nonlocality at critical wetting, throwing light on long-standing theoretical problems regarding the order of the phase transition.

Nonlocality and short-range wetting phenomena.

PubMed

Parry, A O; Romero-Enrique, J M; Lazarides, A

2004-08-20

We propose a nonlocal interfacial model for 3D short-range wetting at planar and nonplanar walls. The model is characterized by a binding-potential functional depending only on the bulk Ornstein-Zernike correlation function, which arises from different classes of tubelike fluctuations that connect the interface and the substrate. The theory provides a physical explanation for the origin of the effective position-dependent stiffness and binding potential in approximate local theories and also obeys the necessary classical wedge covariance relationship between wetting and wedge filling. Renormalization group and computer simulation studies reveal the strong nonperturbative influence of nonlocality at critical wetting, throwing light on long-standing theoretical problems regarding the order of the phase transition.

Future Simulated Intensification of Precipitation Extremes, CMIP5 Model Uncertainties and Dependencies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bador, M.; Donat, M.; Geoffroy, O.; Alexander, L. V.

2017-12-01

Precipitation intensity during extreme events is expected to increase with climate change. Throughout the 21st century, CMIP5 climate models project a general increase in annual extreme precipitation in most regions. We investigate how robust this future increase is across different models, regions and seasons. We find that there is strong similarity in extreme precipitation changes between models that share atmospheric physics, reducing the ensemble of 27 models to 14 independent projections. We find that future simulated extreme precipitation increases in most models in the majority of land grid cells located in the dry, intermediate and wet regions according to each model's precipitation climatology. These increases significantly exceed the range of natural variability estimated from long equilibrium control runs. The intensification of extreme precipitation across the entire spectrum of dry to wet regions is particularly robust in the extra-tropics in both wet and dry season, whereas uncertainties are larger in the tropics. The CMIP5 ensemble therefore indicates robust future intensification of annual extreme rainfall in particular in extra-tropical regions. Generally, the CMIP5 robustness is higher during the dry season compared to the wet season and the annual scale, but inter-model uncertainties in the tropics remain important.

Colloid-polymer mixtures under slit confinement.

PubMed

Pérez-Ramírez, Allan; Figueroa-Gerstenmaier, Susana; Odriozola, Gerardo

2017-03-14

We report a NVT molecular dynamic study of colloid-polymer mixtures under slit confinement. For this purpose, we are employing the Asakura-Oosawa model for studying colloidal particles, polymer coils, and hard walls as the external confining field. The colloid-polymer size ratio, q, is varied in the range 1⩾q⩾0.4 and the confinement distance, H, in 10σ c ⩾H⩾3σ c , σ c being the colloidal diameter. Vapor-liquid coexistence properties are assessed, from which phase diagrams are built. The obtained data fulfill the corresponding states law for a constant H when q is varied. The shift of the polymer and colloidal chemical potentials of coexistence follows a linear relationship with (H-σ c ) -1 for H≳4σ c . The confined vapor-liquid interfaces can be fitted with a semicircular line of curvature (H-σ c ) -1 , from which the contact angle can be obtained. We observe complete wetting of the confining walls for reservoir polymer concentrations above and close to the critical value, and partial wetting for reservoir polymer concentrations above and far from it.

A mean curvature model for capillary flows in asymmetric containers and conduits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yongkang; Tavan, Noël; Weislogel, Mark M.

2012-08-01

Capillarity-driven flows resulting from critical geometric wetting criterion are observed to yield significant shifts of the bulk fluid from one side of the container to the other during "zero gravity" experiments. For wetting fluids, such bulk shift flows consist of advancing and receding menisci sometimes separated by secondary capillary flows such as rivulet-like flows along gaps. Here we study the mean curvature of an advancing meniscus in hopes of approximating a critical boundary condition for fluid dynamics solutions. It is found that the bulk shift flows behave as if the bulk menisci are either "connected" or "disconnected." For the connected case, an analytic method is developed to calculate the mean curvature of the advancing meniscus in an asymptotic sense. In contrast, for the disconnected case the method to calculate the mean curvature of the advancing and receding menisci uses a well-established procedure. Both disconnected and connected bulk shifts can occur as the first tier flow of more complex compound capillary flows. Preliminary comparisons between the analytic method and the results of drop tower experiments are encouraging.

How books are wet by water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jungchul; Kim, Ho-Young

2013-11-01

It is well known that a sheet of paper, a hydrophilic porous medium, imbibes water via capillary action. The wicking on two-dimensional sheets has no preferred direction, in general. However, when water is spilled on a book, a number of pieces of paper fastened together on one side, we notice that corners are wet first compared to the rest of the area. This is because the wicking along the sharp corner experiences weaker resistance than that into pores within paper. We study a simple model of this wicking dynamics in the context of the surface-tension-driven vertical rise of a liquid along a corner of folded paper. We find that the liquid height at the corner follows a power law different from that at the corner formed by impermeable walls (A. Ponomarenko, D. Quere, and C. Clanet, J. Fluid Mech. 666, 146-154, 2011). The difference is caused by the fact that the Laplace pressure that drives the vertical rise is independent of the liquid height on permeable walls (paper) while it increases with height at the corner of impermeable walls. The experiments are shown to be consistent with our theory.

Colloid-polymer mixtures under slit confinement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pérez-Ramírez, Allan; Figueroa-Gerstenmaier, Susana; Odriozola, Gerardo

2017-03-01

We report a NVT molecular dynamic study of colloid-polymer mixtures under slit confinement. For this purpose, we are employing the Asakura-Oosawa model for studying colloidal particles, polymer coils, and hard walls as the external confining field. The colloid-polymer size ratio, q, is varied in the range 1 ⩾q ⩾0.4 and the confinement distance, H, in 10 σc ⩾H ⩾3 σc , σc being the colloidal diameter. Vapor-liquid coexistence properties are assessed, from which phase diagrams are built. The obtained data fulfill the corresponding states law for a constant H when q is varied. The shift of the polymer and colloidal chemical potentials of coexistence follows a linear relationship with (H-σc ) -1 for H ≳4 σc . The confined vapor-liquid interfaces can be fitted with a semicircular line of curvature (H-σc ) -1, from which the contact angle can be obtained. We observe complete wetting of the confining walls for reservoir polymer concentrations above and close to the critical value, and partial wetting for reservoir polymer concentrations above and far from it.

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.

Direct Numerical Simulations of Dynamic Drainage and Imbibition to Investigate Capillary Pressure-Saturation-Interfacial Area Relation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Konangi, S.; Palakurthi, N. K.; Karadimitriou, N.; Comer, K.; Ghia, U.

2017-12-01

We present results of pore-scale direct numerical simulations (DNS) of drainage and imbibition in a quasi-two-dimensional (40µm thickness) porous medium with a randomly distributed packing of cylindrical obstructions. The Navier-Stokes (NS) equations are solved in the pore space on an Eulerian mesh using the open-source finite-volume computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code, OpenFOAM. The Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) method is employed to track the evolution of the fluid-fluid interface; a static contact angle is used to account for wall adhesion. From the DNS data, we focus on the macroscopic capillary pressure-saturation (Pc-Sw) relation, which is known to be hysteretic, i.e., this relation is flow process (such as drainage, imbibition and scanning curves) and history dependent. In order to overcome the problem of hysteresis, extended theories of multiphase flow hypothesized that the inclusion of specific interfacial area as a state variable will result in a unique relation between capillary pressure, saturation and interfacial area (Pc-Sw-awn). We study the role of specific interfacial area on hysteresis in the macroscopic Pc-Sw relation under non-equilibrium (dynamic) conditions. Under dynamic conditions, capillary pressure depends on the rate of change of the wetting phase saturation, and the dynamic Pc-Sw relation includes the changes caused by viscous effects. Simulations of drainage and imbibition are performed for two capillary numbers by controlling the flow rate of the non-wetting (polydimenthlysiloxane oil) and wetting (water) fluids. From these simulations, the Pc-Sw curves will be estimated; the Pc-S-awn surface will be constructed to determine whether the data points from drainage and imbibition processes fall on a unique surface under transient conditions. Different macroscopic capillary pressure definitions based on phase-averaged pressures and interfacial area will be evaluated. Understanding macroscopic capillary pressure definitions and the uniqueness of the Pc-S- awn relation is step towards complete description of two-phase flow at the Darcy scale.

Simulation of the Tsunami Resulting from the M 9.2 2004 Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake - Dynamic Rupture vs. Seismic Inversion Source Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vater, Stefan; Behrens, Jörn

2017-04-01

Simulations of historic tsunami events such as the 2004 Sumatra or the 2011 Tohoku event are usually initialized using earthquake sources resulting from inversion of seismic data. Also, other data from ocean buoys etc. is sometimes included in the derivation of the source model. The associated tsunami event can often be well simulated in this way, and the results show high correlation with measured data. However, it is unclear how the derived source model compares to the particular earthquake event. In this study we use the results from dynamic rupture simulations obtained with SeisSol, a software package based on an ADER-DG discretization solving the spontaneous dynamic earthquake rupture problem with high-order accuracy in space and time. The tsunami model is based on a second-order Runge-Kutta discontinuous Galerkin (RKDG) scheme on triangular grids and features a robust wetting and drying scheme for the simulation of inundation events at the coast. Adaptive mesh refinement enables the efficient computation of large domains, while at the same time it allows for high local resolution and geometric accuracy. The results are compared to measured data and results using earthquake sources based on inversion. With the approach of using the output of actual dynamic rupture simulations, we can estimate the influence of different earthquake parameters. Furthermore, the comparison to other source models enables a thorough comparison and validation of important tsunami parameters, such as the runup at the coast. This work is part of the ASCETE (Advanced Simulation of Coupled Earthquake and Tsunami Events) project, which aims at an improved understanding of the coupling between the earthquake and the generated tsunami event.

Modeling the unmeasurable: scaling soil physiology from microns to meters and seconds to centuries (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schimel, J.; Xu, X.; Lawrence, C. R.

2013-12-01

Models are essential tools for linking microbial dynamics to their manifestations at large scales. Yet, developing mechanistically accurate models requires data that we often don't have and may not be able to get, such as the functional life-span of an extracellular enzyme. Yet there are approaches to condense complex microbial dynamics into 'workable' models. One example is in describing soil responses to moisture pulses. We developed a family of five separate models to capture microbial dynamics through dry/wet cycles. The simplest was a straight multi-pool, 1st-order decomposition model, with versions adding levels of microbial mechanism, culminating in one that included exoenzyme-breakdown of detritus. However, this identified the critical mechanism, not as exoenzymes, but as the production of a bioavailable C pool that accumulates in dry soil and is rapidly metabolized on rewetting. A final version of the model therefore stripped out explicit enzymes but retained separate polymer breakdown and substrate use; this model was the most robust. A second pervasive question in soil biology has been what controls the size of the microbial biomass across biomes? We approached this through a physiological model that regulated microbial C assimilation into biomass by two processes: initial assimilation followed by ongoing maintenance. Assimilation is a function of substrate quality, while maintenance is regulated by climate--notably the period of the year during which microbes are active. This model was tested against a global dataset of microbial biomass. It explains why, for example, deserts and tundra have relatively high proportions of their organic matter in microbial biomass, while the low substrate quality and long active periods common in temperate conifer forests lead to low biomass levels.

Development of AN Atmospheric Aerosol Model for Studies of Global Budgets and Effects of Airborne Particulate Material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giorgi, Filippo

A microphysics-removal Atmospheric Aerosol Model (AAM) is developed for use in General Circulation Models (GCM) to study global budgets and effects of particulate material. In this model the particle population is assumed to be composed of a set of log-normal modes whose time evolution due to microphysical processes is described via prognostic equations for an appropriate number of moments of the particle size distribution. This newly devised technique, by making use of a small number of prognostic equations for the aerosol variables and utilizing optimized numerical procedures, renders the model computationally efficient, hence particularly suitable for use in complex 3D GCMs. Detailed parameterizations of particle coagulation, sedimentation, dry deposition, and wet removal are incorporated into the AAM. The coagulation term includes only intramodal Brownian coagulation; the sedimentation term is proportional to the vertical divergence of the gravitational settling flux; dry depositions is calculated in terms of a surface deposition velocity dependent upon surface wind speed, surface drag coefficient, particle size and density, and characteristics of the surface roughness elements; wet removal is included as an in-cloud scavenging term dependent upon the local GCM-produced precipitation rates. The AAM is incorporated into a GCM and is applied to two types of studies: (1) Characteristics of the particle wet and dry removal processes. The rainout-determined lifetimes of soluble particulate (or gaseous) compounds are found to depend, because of the episodic and asymmetric nature of precipitation, not only on the amount of precipitation but also on the characteristics of the storm cycle and the direction of the species' main flow. Calculated dry deposition velocities are sensitive, in a complicated fashion, to both meteorological factors and particle dynamics. (2) Climatic and environmental impact of massive particulate injections following a full-scale nuclear war, with emphasis on the sensitivity of the simulated effects to the inclusion of particle microphysics. Rainout is found to be a crucial element in regulating aerosol loadings and residence times, and consequently in determining global impacts, whereas coagulation and dry deposition introduce only second order effects. A generally milder global impact is predicted than those suggested by previous studies.

Statistical treatment for the wet bias in tree-ring chronologies: A case study from the InteriorWest, USA

Treesearch

Yan Sun; Matthew F. Bekker; R. Justin DeRose; Roger Kjelgren; S. -Y. Simon Wang

2017-01-01

Dendroclimatic research has long assumed a linear relationship between tree-ring increment and climate variables. However, ring width frequently underestimates extremely wet years, a phenomenon we refer to as ‘wet bias’. In this paper, we present statistical evidence for wet bias that is obscured by the assumption of linearity. To improve tree-ring-climate modeling, we...

Comparison of Two Stochastic Daily Rainfall Models and their Ability to Preserve Multi-year Rainfall Variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamal Chowdhury, AFM; Lockart, Natalie; Willgoose, Garry; Kuczera, George; Kiem, Anthony; Parana Manage, Nadeeka

2016-04-01

Stochastic simulation of rainfall is often required in the simulation of streamflow and reservoir levels for water security assessment. As reservoir water levels generally vary on monthly to multi-year timescales, it is important that these rainfall series accurately simulate the multi-year variability. However, the underestimation of multi-year variability is a well-known issue in daily rainfall simulation. Focusing on this issue, we developed a hierarchical Markov Chain (MC) model in a traditional two-part MC-Gamma Distribution modelling structure, but with a new parameterization technique. We used two parameters of first-order MC process (transition probabilities of wet-to-wet and dry-to-dry days) to simulate the wet and dry days, and two parameters of Gamma distribution (mean and standard deviation of wet day rainfall) to simulate wet day rainfall depths. We found that use of deterministic Gamma parameter values results in underestimation of multi-year variability of rainfall depths. Therefore, we calculated the Gamma parameters for each month of each year from the observed data. Then, for each month, we fitted a multi-variate normal distribution to the calculated Gamma parameter values. In the model, we stochastically sampled these two Gamma parameters from the multi-variate normal distribution for each month of each year and used them to generate rainfall depth in wet days using the Gamma distribution. In another study, Mehrotra and Sharma (2007) proposed a semi-parametric Markov model. They also used a first-order MC process for rainfall occurrence simulation. But, the MC parameters were modified by using an additional factor to incorporate the multi-year variability. Generally, the additional factor is analytically derived from the rainfall over a pre-specified past periods (e.g. last 30, 180, or 360 days). They used a non-parametric kernel density process to simulate the wet day rainfall depths. In this study, we have compared the performance of our hierarchical MC model with the semi-parametric model in preserving rainfall variability in daily, monthly, and multi-year scales. To calibrate the parameters of both models and assess their ability to preserve observed statistics, we have used ground based data from 15 raingauge stations around Australia, which consist a wide range of climate zones including coastal, monsoonal, and arid climate characteristics. In preliminary results, both models show comparative performances in preserving the multi-year variability of rainfall depth and occurrence. However, the semi-parametric model shows a tendency of overestimating the mean rainfall depth, while our model shows a tendency of overestimating the number of wet days. We will discuss further the relative merits of the both models for hydrology simulation in the presentation.

Dynamic Chemically Driven Dewetting, Spreading, and Self-Running of Sessile Droplets on Crystalline Silicon.

PubMed

Arscott, Steve

2016-12-06

A chemically driven dewetting effect is demonstrated using sessile droplets of dilute hydrofluoric acid on chemically oxidized silicon wafers. The dewetting occurs as the thin oxide is slowly etched by the droplet and replaced by a hydrogen-terminated surface; the result of this is a gradual increase in the contact angle of the droplet with time. The time-varying work of adhesion is calculated from the time-varying contact angle; this corresponds to the changing chemical nature of the surface during dewetting and can be modeled by the well-known logistic (sigmoid) function often used for the modeling of restricted growth, in this case, the transition from an oxidized surface to a hydrogen-terminated silicon surface. The observation of the time-varying contact angle allows one to both measure the etch rate of the silicon oxide and estimate the hydrogenation rate as a function of HF concentration and wafer type. In addition to this, at a certain HF concentration, a self-running droplet effect is observed. In contrast, on hydrogen-terminated silicon wafers, a chemically induced spreading effect is observed using sessile droplets of nitric acid. The droplet spreading can also be modeled using a logistical function, where the restricted growth is the transition from hydrogen-terminated to a chemically induced oxidized silicon surface. The chemically driven dewetting and spreading observed here add to the methods available to study dynamic wetting (e.g., the moving three-phase contact line) of sessile droplets on surfaces. By slowing down chemical kinetics of the wetting, one is able to record the changing profile of the sessile droplet with time and gather information concerning the time-varying surface chemistry. The data also indicates a chemical interface hysteresis (CIH) that is compared to contact angle hysteresis (CAH). The approach can also be used to study the chemical etching and deposition behavior of thin films using liquids by monitoring the macroscopic droplet profile and relating this to the time-varying physical and chemical interface phenomena.

Modeling the eco-physiology of the purple mauve stinger, Pelagia noctiluca using Dynamic Energy Budget theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Augustine, Starrlight; Rosa, Sara; Kooijman, Sebastiaan A. L. M.; Carlotti, François; Poggiale, Jean-Christophe

2014-11-01

Parameters for the standard Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) model were estimated for the purple mauve stinger, Pelagia noctiluca, using literature data. Overall, the model predictions are in good agreement with data covering the full life-cycle. The parameter set we obtain suggests that P. noctiluca is well adapted to survive long periods of starvation since the predicted maximum reserve capacity is extremely high. Moreover we predict that the reproductive output of larger individuals is relatively insensitive to changes in food level while wet mass and length are. Furthermore, the parameters imply that even if food were scarce (ingestion levels only 14% of the maximum for a given size) an individual would still mature and be able to reproduce. We present detailed model predictions for embryo development and discuss the developmental energetics of the species such as the fact that the metabolism of ephyrae accelerates for several days after birth. Finally we explore a number of concrete testable model predictions which will help to guide future research. The application of DEB theory to the collected data allowed us to conclude that P. noctiluca combines maximizing allocation to reproduction with rather extreme capabilities to survive starvation. The combination of these properties might explain why P. noctiluca is a rapidly growing concern to fisheries and tourism.

Does the Budyko curve reflect a maximum power state of hydrological systems? A backward analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Westhoff, Martijn; Zehe, Erwin; Archambeau, Pierre; Dewals, Benjamin

2016-04-01

Almost all catchments plot within a small envelope around the Budyko curve. This apparent behaviour suggests that organizing principles may play a role in the evolution of catchments. In this paper we applied the thermodynamic principle of maximum power as the organizing principle. In a top-down approach we derived mathematical formulations of the relation between relative wetness and gradients driving runoff and evaporation for a simple one-box model. We did this in an inverse manner such that when the conductances are optimized with the maximum power principle, the steady state behaviour of the model leads exactly to a point on the asymptotes of the Budyko curve. Subsequently, we added dynamics in forcing and actual evaporations, causing the Budyko curve to deviate from the asymptotes. Despite the simplicity of the model, catchment observations compare reasonably well with the Budyko curves subject to observed dynamics in rainfall and actual evaporation. Thus by constraining the - with the maximum power principle optimized - model with the asymptotes of the Budyko curve we were able to derive more realistic values of the aridity and evaporation index without any parameter calibration. Future work should focus on better representing the boundary conditions of real catchments and eventually adding more complexity to the model.

Does the Budyko curve reflect a maximum-power state of hydrological systems? A backward analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Westhoff, M.; Zehe, E.; Archambeau, P.; Dewals, B.

2016-01-01

Almost all catchments plot within a small envelope around the Budyko curve. This apparent behaviour suggests that organizing principles may play a role in the evolution of catchments. In this paper we applied the thermodynamic principle of maximum power as the organizing principle. In a top-down approach we derived mathematical formulations of the relation between relative wetness and gradients driving run-off and evaporation for a simple one-box model. We did this in an inverse manner such that, when the conductances are optimized with the maximum-power principle, the steady-state behaviour of the model leads exactly to a point on the asymptotes of the Budyko curve. Subsequently, we added dynamics in forcing and actual evaporation, causing the Budyko curve to deviate from the asymptotes. Despite the simplicity of the model, catchment observations compare reasonably well with the Budyko curves subject to observed dynamics in rainfall and actual evaporation. Thus by constraining the model that has been optimized with the maximum-power principle with the asymptotes of the Budyko curve, we were able to derive more realistic values of the aridity and evaporation index without any parameter calibration. Future work should focus on better representing the boundary conditions of real catchments and eventually adding more complexity to the model.

Dynamic pore-scale network model (PNM) of water imbibition in porous media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, J.; McDougall, S. R.; Sorbie, K. S.

2017-09-01

A dynamic pore-scale network model is presented which simulates 2-phase oil/water displacement during water imbibition by explicitly modelling intra-pore dynamic bulk and film flows using a simple local model. A new dynamic switching parameter, λ, is proposed within this model which is able to simulate the competition between local capillary forces and viscous forces over a very wide range of flow conditions. This quantity (λ) determines the primary pore filling mechanism during imbibition; i.e. whether the dominant force is (i) piston-like displacement under viscous forces, (ii) film swelling/collapse and snap-off due to capillary forces, or (iii) some intermediate local combination of both mechanisms. A series of 2D dynamic pore network simulations is presented which shows that the λ-model can satisfactorily reproduce and explain different filling regimes of water imbibition over a wide range of capillary numbers (Ca) and viscosity ratios (M). These imbibition regimes are more complex than those presented under drainage by (Lenormand et al. (1983)), since they are determined by a wider group of control parameters. Our simulations show that there is a coupling between viscous and capillary forces that is much less important in drainage. The effects of viscosity ratio during imbibition are apparent even under conditions of very slow flow (low Ca)-displacements that would normally be expected to be completely capillary dominated. This occurs as a result of the wetting films having a much greater relative mobility in the higher M cases (e.g. M = 10) thus leading to a higher level of film swelling/snap-off, resulting in local oil cluster bypassing and trapping, and hence a poorer oil recovery. This deeper coupled viscous mechanism is the underlying reason why the microscopic displacement efficiency is lower for higher M cases in water imbibition processes. Additional results are presented from the dynamic model on the corresponding effluent fractional flows (fw) and global pressure drops (ΔP) as functions of capillary number and viscosity ratio. These results indicate that unsteady-state (USS) relatively permeabilities in imbibition should be inherently rate dependent.

Human skin wetness perception: psychophysical and neurophysiological bases.

PubMed

Filingeri, Davide; Havenith, George

2015-01-01

The ability to perceive thermal changes in the surrounding environment is critical for survival. However, sensing temperature is not the only factor among the cutaneous sensations to contribute to thermoregulatory responses in humans. Sensing skin wetness (i.e. hygrosensation) is also critical both for behavioral and autonomic adaptations. Although much has been done to define the biophysical role of skin wetness in contributing to thermal homeostasis, little is known on the neurophysiological mechanisms underpinning the ability to sense skin wetness. Humans are not provided with skin humidity receptors (i.e., hygroreceptors) and psychophysical studies have identified potential sensory cues (i.e. thermal and mechanosensory) which could contribute to sensing wetness. Recently, a neurophysiological model of human wetness sensitivity has been developed. In helping clarifying the peripheral and central neural mechanisms involved in sensing skin wetness, this model has provided evidence for the existence of a specific human hygrosensation strategy, which is underpinned by perceptual learning via sensory experience. Remarkably, this strategy seems to be shared by other hygroreceptor-lacking animals. However, questions remain on whether these sensory mechanisms are underpinned by specific neuromolecular pathways in humans. Although the first study on human wetness perception dates back to more than 100 years, it is surprising that the neurophysiological bases of such an important sensory feature have only recently started to be unveiled. Hence, to provide an overview of the current knowledge on human hygrosensation, along with potential directions for future research, this review will examine the psychophysical and neurophysiological bases of human skin wetness perception.

The relative importance of physical erosion and soil water dynamics on chemical weathering and soil formation: learning from field and model results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vanwalleghem, T.; Román, A.; Giraldez, J. V.

2015-12-01

A new model is presented that integrates the effect of landscape evolution and soil formation. This model is based on a daily spatially-explicit soil water balance. Average soil water content, temperature and deep percolation fluxes are linked to weathering and soil formation processes. Model input (temperature and precipitation) for the last 25 000 years was generated on a daily time by combining palaeoclimate data and the WXGEN weather generator. The soil-landscape model was applied to a 48 km2 semi-natural catchment in Southern Spain, with soils developed on granite. Model-generated runoff was used for a first validation against discharge observations. Next, soil formation output was contrasted against experimental data from 10 soil profiles along two catenas. Field data showed an important variation in mobile regolith thickness, between 0,44 and 1,10m, and in chemical weathering along the catena. Southern slopes were characterized by shallower, stonier and carbon-poor soils, while soils on north-facing slopes were deeper, more fine-textured and had a higher carbon content. Chemical depletion fraction was found to vary between 0,41 and 0,72. The lowest overall weathering intensity was found on plateau positions. South facing slopes revealed slightly lower weathering compared to north facing slopes. We attribute this to higher runoff generation and physical erosion rates on north facing slopes, transporting weathered material downslope. Model results corroborate these findings and show continuously wet soils on north-facing slopes with more runoff generation and a steady deep percolation flux during the wet winter season. On south-facing slopes, infiltration is higher and percolation is more erratic over time. Soils on the footslopes then were shown to be significantly impacted by deposition of sediment through lateral erosion fluxes.

Water movement in glass bead porous media: 1. Experiments of capillary rise and hysteresis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, T. X.; Biggar, J. W.; Nielsen, D. R.

1994-12-01

Experimental observations of capillary rise and hysteresis of water or ethanol in glass beads are presented to improve our understanding of those physical processes in porous media. The results provide evidence that capillary rise into porous media cannot be fully explained by a model of cylinders. They further demonstrate that the "Ink bottle" model does not provide an adequate explanation of hysteresis. Glass beads serving as a model for ideal soil are enclosed in a rectangular glass chamber model. A TV camera associated with a microscope was used to record the processes of capillary rise and drainage. It is clearly shown during capillary rise that the fluid exhibits a "jump" behavior at the neck of the pores in an initially dry profile or at the bottom of the water film in an initially wet profile. Under an initially dry condition, the jump initiates at the particle with smallest diameter. The jump process continues to higher elevations until at equilibrium the surface tensile force is balanced by the hydrostatic force. The wetting front at that time is readily observed as flat and saturated. Under an initially wet condition, capillary rise occurs as a water film thickening process associated with the jump process. Trapped air behind the wetting front renders the wetting front irregular and unsaturated. The capillary rise into an initially wet porous medium can be higher than that into an initially dry profile. During the drying process, large surface areas associated with the gas-liquid interface develop, allowing the porous medium to retain more water than during the wetting process at the same pressure. That mechanism explains better the hysteresis phenomenon in porous media in contrast to other mechanisms that now prevail.

Water Vapor Exchange in a Costa Rican Lower Montane Tropical Forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andrews, R.; Miller, G. R.; Cahill, A. T.; Moore, G. W.; Aparecido, L. M. T.

2015-12-01

Because of high canopy interception in tropical forests, evaporation from wet canopy surfaces makes up a sizeable portion of the total water vapor flux. The modeling complexities presented by changing canopy wetness, along with a scarcity of land-atmosphere flux exchange data from tropical forests, means evapotranspiration (ET) processes have been poorly represented in the tropics in land-surface modeling schemes. To better understand tropical forest ET, we will evaluate the influence of canopy wetness and various micrometeorological data on ET partitioning and total ET flux. We have collected flux data from a lower montane forest in Costa Rica at a newly established AmeriFlux site, which notably has the highest mean annual precipitation of any site in the network. The site features a 39-m canopy tower, equipped with two eddy covariance systems (LI-7200, LI-COR), a CO2/H2O atmospheric profile system (AP200, Campbell Scientific), leaf wetness sensors (LWS, Decagon Devices), sap flow sensors, and a soil respiration chamber (LI-8100A, LI-COR) as well as an array of other micrometeorological sensors. At the site, total ET is driven primarily by available energy, and to a lesser extent, by vapor pressure deficit. Average daily latent energy fluxes peak at values of 160, 75, and 35 W m-2 for dry, partially wet, and wet canopy conditions respectively. Correlations between latent energy flux and all other variables are strongest for drier canopy conditions. Complex relationships between canopy wetness and tropical forest ET cause the environmental controls on these fluxes to be significantly different from those in other biomes. As a result, a new modeling paradigm is needed to more accurately model ET differences between tropical forests and other vegetation types.

Study of microwave drying of wet materials based on one-dimensional two-phase model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salomatov, Vl V.; Karelin, V. A.

2017-11-01

Currently, microwave is one of the most interesting ways to conduct drying of dielectric materials, in particular coal. In this paper, two processes were considered - heating and drying. The temperature field of the coal semi-mass in the heating mode is found analytically strictly with the use of integral transformations. The drying process is formulated as a nonlinear Stephen problem with a moving boundary of the liquid-vapor phase transformation. The temperature distribution, speed and drying time in this mode are determined approximately analytically. Parametric analysis of the influence of the material and boundary conditions on the dynamics of warming up and drying is revealed.

MECA Symposium on Mars: Evolution of its Climate and Atmosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baker, Victor (Editor); Carr, Michael (Editor); Fanale, Fraser (Editor); Greeley, Ronald (Editor); Haberle, Robert (Editor); Leovy, Conway (Editor); Maxwell, Ted (Editor)

1987-01-01

The geological, atmospheric, and climatic history of Mars is explored in reviews and reports of recent observational and interpretive investigations. Topics addressed include evidence for a warm wet climate on early Mars, volatiles on Earth and on Mars, CO2 adsorption on palagonite and its implications for Martian regolith partitioning, and the effect of spatial resolution on interpretations of Martian subsurface volatiles. Consideration is given to high resolution observations of rampart craters, ring furrows in highland terrains, the interannual variability of the south polar cap, telescopic observations of the north polar cap and circumpolar clouds, and dynamical modeling of a planetary wave polar warming mechanism.

Melt infiltration of silicon carbide compacts. I - Study of infiltration dynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asthana, Rajiv; Rohatgi, Pradeep K.

1992-01-01

Countergravity, pressure-assisted infiltration with a 2014 Al alloy of suitably tamped porous compacts of platelet shaped single crystals of alpha (hexagonal) silicon carbide was used to measure particulate wettability and infiltration kinetics under dynamic conditions relevant to pressure casting of composites. A threshold pressure P(th) for ingression of the infiltrant was identified based on the experimental penetration length versus pressure profiles for a range of experimental variables which included infiltration pressure, infiltration time, SiC size and SiC surface chemistry. The results showed that P(th) decreased whereas the penetration length increased with increasing SiC size and infiltration time. Cu-coated SiC led to lower P(th) and larger penetration lengths compared to uncoated SiC under identical conditions. These observations have been discussed in the light of theoretical models of infiltration and the kinetics of wetting.

Development of the Fully Adaptive Storm Tide (FAST) Model for hurricane induced storm surges and associated inundation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teng, Y. C.; Kelly, D.; Li, Y.; Zhang, K.

2016-02-01

A new state-of-the-art model (the Fully Adaptive Storm Tide model, FAST) for the prediction of storm surges over complex landscapes is presented. The FAST model is based on the conservation form of the full non-linear depth-averaged long wave equations. The equations are solved via an explicit finite volume scheme with interfacial fluxes being computed via Osher's approximate Riemann solver. Geometric source terms are treated in a high order manner that is well-balanced. The numerical solution technique has been chosen to enable the accurate simulation of wetting and drying over complex topography. Another important feature of the FAST model is the use of a simple underlying Cartesian mesh with tree-based static and dynamic adaptive mesh refinement (AMR). This permits the simulation of unsteady flows over varying landscapes (including localized features such as canals) by locally increasing (or relaxing) grid resolution in a dynamic fashion. The use of (dynamic) AMR lowers the computational cost of the storm surge model whilst retaining high resolution (and thus accuracy) where and when it is required. In additional, the FAST model has been designed to execute in a parallel computational environment with localized time-stepping. The FAST model has already been carefully verified against a series of benchmark type problems (Kelly et al. 2015). Here we present two simulations of the storm tide due to Hurricane Ike(2008) and Hurricane Sandy (2012). The model incorporates high resolution LIDAR data for the major portion of the New York City. Results compare favorably with water elevations measured by NOAA tidal gauges, by mobile sensors deployed and high water marks collected by the USGS.

Viscoelastic and fatigue properties of model methacrylate-based dentin adhesives

PubMed Central

Singh, Viraj; Misra, Anil; Marangos, Orestes; Park, Jonggu; Ye, Qiang; Kieweg, Sarah L.; Spencer, Paulette

2013-01-01

The objective of the current study is to characterize the viscoelastic and fatigue properties of model methacrylate-based dentin adhesives under dry and wet conditions. Static, creep, and fatigue tests were performed on cylindrical samples in a 3-point bending clamp. Static results showed that the apparent elastic modulus of the model adhesive varied from 2.56 to 3.53 GPa in the dry condition, and from 1.04 to 1.62 GPa in the wet condition, depending upon the rate of loading. Significant differences were also found for the creep behavior of the model adhesive under dry and wet conditions. A linear viscoelastic model was developed by fitting the adhesive creep behavior. The developed model with 5 Kelvin Voigt elements predicted the apparent elastic moduli measured in the static tests. The model was then utilized to interpret the fatigue test results. It was found that the failure under cyclic loading can be due to creep or fatigue, which has implications for the failure criterion that are applied for these types of tests. Finally, it was found that the adhesive samples tested under dry conditions were more durable than those tested under wet conditions. PMID:20848661

Wood-adhesive bonding failure : modeling and simulation

Treesearch

Zhiyong Cai

2010-01-01

The mechanism of wood bonding failure when exposed to wet conditions or wet/dry cycles is not fully understood and the role of the resulting internal stresses exerted upon the wood-adhesive bondline has yet to be quantitatively determined. Unlike previous modeling this study has developed a new two-dimensional internal-stress model on the basis of the mechanics of...

A Multi-Resolution Assessment of the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) Model v4.7 Wet Deposition Estimates for 2002 - 2006

EPA Science Inventory

This paper examines the operational performance of the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model simulations for 2002 - 2006 using both 36-km and 12-km horizontal grid spacing, with a primary focus on the performance of the CMAQ model in predicting wet deposition of sulfate (...

Modeling Water and Nutrient Transport through the Soil-Root-Canopy Continuum: Explicitly Linking the Below- and Above-Ground Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, P.; Quijano, J. C.; Drewry, D.

2010-12-01

Vegetation roots provide a fundamental link between the below ground water and nutrient dynamics and above ground canopy processes such as photosynthesis, evapotranspiration and energy balance. The “hydraulic architecture” of roots, consisting of the structural organization of the root system and the flow properties of the conduits (xylem) as well as interfaces with the soil and the above ground canopy, affect stomatal conductance thereby directly linking them to the transpiration. Roots serve as preferential pathways for the movement of moisture from wet to dry soil layers during the night, both from upper soil layer to deeper layers during the wet season (‘hydraulic descent’) and vice-versa (‘hydraulic lift’) as determined by the moisture gradients. The conductivities of transport through the root system are significantly, often orders of magnitude, larger than that of the surrounding soil resulting in movement of soil-moisture at rates that are substantially larger than that through the soil. This phenomenon is called hydraulic redistribution (HR). The ability of the deep-rooted vegetation to “bank” the water through hydraulic descent during wet periods for utilization during dry periods provides them with a competitive advantage. However, during periods of hydraulic lift these deep-rooted trees may facilitate the growth of understory vegetation where the understory scavenges the hydraulically lifted soil water. In other words, understory vegetation with relatively shallow root systems have access to the banked deep-water reservoir. These inter-dependent root systems have a significant influence on water cycle and ecosystem productivity. HR induced available moisture may support rhizosphere microbial and mycorrhizal fungi activities and enable utilization of heterogeneously distributed water and nutrient resources To capture this complex inter-dependent nutrient and water transport through the soil-root-canopy continuum we present modeling results using coupled partial differential equations of transport in soils and roots along with that for nutrient dynamics. We study the feedbkack of HR on the dynamics of water and nitrogen cycling in the soil and how these dynamics influence root water and nitrogen uptake and consequently carbon assimilation by the canopy. The forcing data is obtained from the Ameriflux Tower located in Blodgett Forest, Sierra Nevada, California. We consider single-species (Ponderosa Pine) and multi-species (overstory Ponderosa Pine and understory shrubs) interaction. When single species is considered, the near surface soil-moisture available from HR during dry summer season is an important source of evaporation and contributes significantly to the total ET flux. However, when multi-species interactions are taken into account, the soil-water from the HR becomes an important source of transpiration from the understory. The results also show that passive plant nitrogen uptake is higher when HR is present and it is critical for sustaining expected rates of carbon assimilation.

A constructed wet meadow model for forested lands in the Southwest

Treesearch

Dave Pawelek; Roy Jemison; Daniel Neary

1999-01-01

Improving primary roads in the Zuni Mountains of New Mexico must take into consideration the wet meadows and upland areas. This study looks at spring flow rates, erosion, channels and changes in plant cover and composition. The goal is to help planners design environmentally sensitive roadways for wet meadow areas.

Numerical study of the effects of contact angle and viscosity ratio on the dynamics of snap-off through porous media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Starnoni, Michele; Pokrajac, Dubravka

2018-01-01

Snap-off is a pore-scale mechanism occurring in porous media in which a bubble of non-wetting phase displacing a wetting phase, and vice-versa, can break-up into ganglia when passing through a constriction. This mechanism is very important in foam generation processes, enhanced oil recovery techniques and capillary trapping of CO2 during its geological storage. In the present study, the effects of contact angle and viscosity ratio on the dynamics of snap-off are examined by simulating drainage in a single pore-throat constriction of variable cross-section, and for different pore-throat geometries. To model the flow, we developed a CFD code based on the Finite Volume method. The Volume-of-fluid method is used to track the interfaces. Results show that the threshold contact angle for snap-off, i.e. snap-off occurs only for contact angles smaller than the threshold, increases from a value of 28° for a circular cross-section to 30-34° for a square cross-section and up to 40° for a triangular one. For a throat of square cross-section, increasing the viscosity of the injected phase results in a drop in the threshold contact angle from a value of 30° when the viscosity ratio μ bar is equal to 1 to 26° when μ bar = 20 and down to 24° when μ bar = 20 .

The Extinction of Dengue through Natural Vulnerability of Its Vectors

PubMed Central

Williams, Craig R.; Bader, Christie A.; Kearney, Michael R.; Ritchie, Scott A.; Russell, Richard C.

2010-01-01

Background Dengue is the world's most important mosquito-borne viral illness. Successful future management of this disease requires an understanding of the population dynamics of the vector, especially in the context of changing climates. Our capacity to predict future dynamics is reflected in our ability to explain the significant historical changes in the distribution and abundance of the disease and its vector. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we combine daily weather records with simulation modelling techniques to explain vector (Aedes aegypti (L.)) persistence within its current and historic ranges in Australia. We show that, in regions where dengue presently occurs in Australia (the Wet Tropics region of Far North Queensland), conditions are persistently suitable for year-round adult Ae. aegypti activity and oviposition. In the historic range, however, the vector is vulnerable to periodic extinction due to the combined influence of adult activity constraints and stochastic loss of suitable oviposition sites. Conclusions/Significance These results, together with changes in water-storage behaviour by humans, can explain the observed historical range contraction of the disease vector. For these reasons, future eradication of dengue in wet tropical regions will be extremely difficult through classical mosquito control methods alone. However, control of Ae. aegypti in sub-tropical and temperate regions will be greatly facilitated by government policy regulating domestic water-storage. Exploitation of the natural vulnerabilities of dengue vectors (e.g., habitat specificity, climatic limitations) should be integrated with the emerging novel transgenic and symbiotic bacterial control techniques to develop future control and elimination strategies. PMID:21200424

Modeling the Effects of Nanopatterned Surfaces on Wetting States of Droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Ke; Zhao, Yanping; Ouyang, Gang; Li, Xinlei

2017-04-01

An analytic thermodynamic model has been established to quantitatively investigate the wetting states of droplets on nanopatterned surfaces. Based on the calculations for the free energies of droplets with the Wenzel state and the Cassie-Baxter state, it is found that the size and shape of nanostructured surfaces play crucial roles in wetting states. In detail, for nanohole-patterned surfaces, the deep and thin nanoholes lead to the Cassie-Baxter state, and contrarily, the shallow and thick nanoholes result in the Wenzel state. However, the droplets have the Wenzel state on the patterned surfaces with small height and radii nanopillars and have the Cassie-Baxter state when the height and radii of nanopillars are large. Furthermore, the intuitive phase diagrams of the wetting states of the droplet in the space of surface geometrical parameters are obtained. The theoretical results are in good agreement with the experimental observations and reveal physical mechanisms involved in the effects of nanopatterned surfaces on wetting states, which implies that these studies may provide useful guidance to the conscious design of patterned surfaces to control the wetting states of droplets.

Edge-to-Stem Variability in Wet-Canopy Evaporation From an Urban Tree Row

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Stan, John T.; Norman, Zachary; Meghoo, Adrian; Friesen, Jan; Hildebrandt, Anke; Côté, Jean-François; Underwood, S. Jeffrey; Maldonado, Gustavo

2017-11-01

Evaporation from wet-canopy (E_C) and stem (E_S) surfaces during rainfall represents a significant portion of municipal-to-global scale hydrologic cycles. For urban ecosystems, E_C and E_S dynamics play valuable roles in stormwater management. Despite this, canopy-interception loss studies typically ignore crown-scale variability in E_C and assume (with few indirect data) that E_S is generally {<}2% of total wet-canopy evaporation. We test these common assumptions for the first time with a spatially-distributed network of in-canopy meteorological monitoring and 45 surface temperature sensors in an urban Pinus elliottii tree row to estimate E_C and E_S under the assumption that crown surfaces behave as "wet bulbs". From December 2015 through July 2016, 33 saturated crown periods (195 h of 5-min observations) were isolated from storms for determination of 5-min evaporation rates ranging from negligible to 0.67 mm h^{-1}. Mean E_S (0.10 mm h^{-1}) was significantly lower (p < 0.01) than mean E_C (0.16 mm h^{-1}). But, E_S values often equalled E_C and, when scaled to trunk area using terrestrial lidar, accounted for 8-13% (inter-quartile range) of total wet-crown evaporation (E_S+E_C scaled to surface area). E_S contributions to total wet-crown evaporation maximized at 33%, showing a general underestimate (by 2-17 times) of this quantity in the literature. Moreover, results suggest wet-crown evaporation from urban tree rows can be adequately estimated by simply assuming saturated tree surfaces behave as wet bulbs, avoiding problematic assumptions associated with other physically-based methods.

Modeling dry and wet deposition of sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium ions in Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve, China using a source-oriented CMAQ model: Part I. Base case model results.

PubMed

Qiao, Xue; Tang, Ya; Hu, Jianlin; Zhang, Shuai; Li, Jingyi; Kota, Sri Harsha; Wu, Li; Gao, Huilin; Zhang, Hongliang; Ying, Qi

2015-11-01

A source-oriented Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model driven by the meteorological fields generated by the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was used to study the dry and wet deposition of nitrate (NO3(-)), sulfate (SO4(2-)), and ammonium (NH4(+)) ions in the Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve (JNNR), China from June to August 2010 and to identify the contributions of different emission sectors and source regions that were responsible for the deposition fluxes. The model performance is evaluated in this paper and the source contribution analyses are presented in a companion paper. The results show that WRF is capable of reproducing the observed precipitation rates with a Mean Normalized Gross Error (MNGE) of 8.1%. Predicted wet deposition fluxes of SO4(2-) and NO3(-) at the Long Lake (LL) site (3100 m a.s.l.) during the three-month episode are 2.75 and 0.34 kg S(N) ha(-1), which agree well with the observed wet deposition fluxes of 2.42 and 0.39 kg S(N) ha(-1), respectively. Temporal variations in the weekly deposition fluxes at LL are also well predicted. Wet deposition flux of NH4(+) at LL is over-predicted by approximately a factor of 3 (1.60 kg N ha(-1)vs. 0.56 kg N ha(-1)), likely due to missing alkaline earth cations such as Ca(2+) in the current CMAQ simulations. Predicted wet deposition fluxes are also in general agreement with observations at four Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET) sites in western China. Predicted dry deposition fluxes of SO4(2-) (including gas deposition of SO2) and NO3(-) (including gas deposition of HNO3) are 0.12 and 0.12 kg S(N) h a(-1) at LL and 0.07 and 0.08 kg S(N) ha(-1) at Jiuzhaigou Bureau (JB) in JNNR, respectively, which are much lower than the corresponding wet deposition fluxes. Dry deposition flux of NH4(+) (including gas deposition of NH3) is 0.21 kg N ha(-1) at LL, and is also much lower than the predicted wet deposition flux. For both dry and wet deposition fluxes, predictions from the 12-km resolution nested domain are similar to those from the 36-km resolution parent domain. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Digital Rock Simulation of Flow in Carbonate Samples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klemin, D.; Andersen, M.

2014-12-01

Reservoir engineering has becomes more complex to deal with current challenges, so core analysts must understand and model pore geometries and fluid behaviors at pores scales more rapidly and realistically. We introduce an industry-unique direct hydrodynamic pore flow simulator that operates on pore geometries from digital rock models obtained using microCT or 3D scanning electron microscope (SEM) images. The PVT and rheological models used in the simulator represent real reservoir fluids. Fluid-solid interactions are introduced using distributed micro-scale wetting properties. The simulator uses density functional approach applied for hydrodynamics of complex systems. This talk covers selected applications of the simulator. We performed microCT scanning of six different carbonate rock samples from homogeneous limestones to vuggy carbonates. From these, we constructed digital rock models representing pore geometries for the simulator. We simulated nonreactive tracer flow in all six digital models using a digital fluid description that included a passive tracer solution. During the simulation, we evaluated the composition of the effluent. Results of tracer flow simulations corresponded well with experimental data of nonreactive tracer floods for the same carbonate rock types. This simulation data of the non-reactive tracer flow can be used to calculate the volume of the rock accessible by the fluid, which can be further used to predict response of a porous medium to a reactive fluid. The described digital core analysis workflow provides a basis for a wide variety of activities, including input to design acidizing jobs and evaluating treatment efficiency and EOR economics. Digital rock multiphase flow simulations of a scanned carbonate rock evaluated the effect of wettability on flow properties. Various wetting properties were tested: slightly oil wet, slightly water wet, and water wet. Steady-state relative permeability simulations yielded curves for all three ranges of wetting properties. The wetting variation affected phase mobility and residual phase saturations for primary oil flood and floods with varying ratios of oil and water.

Solid-Liquid Interface Thermal Resistance Affects the Evaporation Rate of Droplets from a Surface: A Study of Perfluorohexane on Chromium Using Molecular Dynamics and Continuum Theory.

PubMed

Han, Haoxue; Schlawitschek, Christiane; Katyal, Naman; Stephan, Peter; Gambaryan-Roisman, Tatiana; Leroy, Frédéric; Müller-Plathe, Florian

2017-05-30

We study the role of solid-liquid interface thermal resistance (Kapitza resistance) on the evaporation rate of droplets on a heated surface by using a multiscale combination of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and analytical continuum theory. We parametrize the nonbonded interaction potential between perfluorohexane (C 6 F 14 ) and a face-centered-cubic solid surface to reproduce the experimental wetting behavior of C 6 F 14 on black chromium through the solid-liquid work of adhesion (quantity directly related to the wetting angle). The thermal conductances between C 6 F 14 and (100) and (111) solid substrates are evaluated by a nonequilibrium molecular dynamics approach for a liquid pressure lower than 2 MPa. Finally, we examine the influence of the Kapitza resistance on evaporation of droplets in the vicinity of a three-phase contact line with continuum theory, where the thermal resistance of liquid layer is comparable with the Kapitza resistance. We determine the thermodynamic conditions under which the Kapitza resistance plays an important role in correctly predicting the evaporation heat flux.

Observation instrument of dynamic frictional interface of gel engineering materials with polarized optical microscopic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamada, Naoya; Wada, Masato; Kabir, M. Hasnat; Gong, Jin; Furukawa, Hidemitsu

2013-03-01

Gels are soft and wet materials that differ from hard and dry materials like metals, plastics and ceramics. These have some unique characteristic such as low frictional properties, high water content and materials permeability. A decade earlier, DN gels having a mechanical strength of 30MPa of the maximum breaking stress in compression was developed and it is a prospective material as the biomaterial of the human body. Indeed it frictional coefficient and mechanical strength are comparable to our cartilages. In this study, we focus on the dynamic frictional interface of hydrogels and aim to develop a new apparatus with a polarization microscope for observation. The dynamical interface is observed by the friction of gel and glass with hudroxypropylcellulose (HPC) polymer solution sandwiching. At the beginning, we rubbed hydrogel and glass with HPC solution sandwiching on stage of polarization microscope. Second step, we designed a new system which combined microscope with friction measuring machine. The comparison between direct observation with this instrument and measurement of friction coefficient will become a foothold to elucidate distinctive frictional phenomena that can be seen in soft and wet materials.

Coffee-stain growth dynamics on dry and wet surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boulogne, François; Ingremeau, François; Stone, Howard A.

2017-02-01

The drying of a drop containing particles often results in the accumulation of the particles at the contact line. In this work, we investigate the drying of an aqueous colloidal drop surrounded by a hydrogel that is also evaporating. We combine theoretical and experimental studies to understand how the surrounding vapor concentration affects the particle deposit during the constant radius evaporation mode. In addition to the common case of evaporation on an otherwise dry surface, we show that in a configuration where liquid is evaporating from a flat surface around the drop, the singularity of the evaporative flux at the contact line is suppressed and the drop evaporation is homogeneous. For both conditions, we derive the velocity field and we establish the temporal evolution of the number of particles accumulated at the contact line. We predict the growth dynamics of the stain and the drying timescales. Thus, dry and wet conditions are compared with experimental results and we highlight that only the dynamics is modified by the evaporation conditions, not the final accumulation at the contact line.

Elasticity modulated Electrowetting of a sessile liquid droplet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Sumit; Subramanian, Sri Ganesh; Dasgupta, Sunando; Chakraborty, Suman

2017-11-01

The sessile liquid droplets on the elastic and soft deformable surface produce strong deformation near the three-phase contact line (TPCL). The capillary and elastic forces play an important role during this deformation, and deteriorate the wetting behaviour of a sessile drop. The present work combines the effects of liquid viscosity and substrate elasticity on the dynamics of EWOD. The influence of decreasing film elasticity and viscosity on the electrowetting response of a sessile drop is experimentally investigated by delineating the changes in equilibrium apparent contact angles on substrates with varying Young's modulus of elasticity. The increase in viscosity of the liquid leads to greater electrowetting for non-deformable substrates whereas; the dynamics are not greatly affected in case of soft substrates. Although the viscosity appears to be an influential factor, the dynamics are more skewed towards the substrate rigidity. The vertical component of Young's force creates a wetting ridge at the three-phase contact line, the height of which is a direct function of the substrate rigidity. The produced ridges reduce the overall wettability of the droplet.

Water Dynamics at Protein-Protein Interfaces: Molecular Dynamics Study of Virus-Host Receptor Complexes.

PubMed

Dutta, Priyanka; Botlani, Mohsen; Varma, Sameer

2014-12-26

The dynamical properties of water at protein-water interfaces are unlike those in the bulk. Here we utilize molecular dynamics simulations to study water dynamics in interstitial regions between two proteins. We consider two natural protein-protein complexes, one in which the Nipah virus G protein binds to cellular ephrin B2 and the other in which the same G protein binds to ephrin B3. While the two complexes are structurally similar, the two ephrins share only a modest sequence identity of ∼50%. X-ray crystallography also suggests that these interfaces are fairly extensive and contain exceptionally large amounts of waters. We find that while the interstitial waters tend to occupy crystallographic sites, almost all waters exhibit residence times of less than hundred picoseconds in the interstitial region. We also find that while the differences in the sequence of the two ephrins result in quantitative differences in the dynamics of interstitial waters, the trends in the shifts with respect to bulk values are similar. Despite the high wetness of the protein-protein interfaces, the dynamics of interstitial waters are considerably slower compared to the bulk-the interstitial waters diffuse an order of magnitude slower and have 2-3 fold longer hydrogen bond lifetimes and 2-1000 fold slower dipole relaxation rates. To understand the role of interstitial waters, we examine how implicit solvent models compare against explicit solvent models in producing ephrin-induced shifts in the G conformational density. Ephrin-induced shifts in the G conformational density are critical to the allosteric activation of another viral protein that mediates fusion. We find that in comparison with the explicit solvent model, the implicit solvent model predicts a more compact G-B2 interface, presumably because of the absence of discrete waters at the G-B2 interface. Simultaneously, we find that the two models yield strikingly different induced changes in the G conformational density, even for those residues whose conformational densities in the apo state are unaffected by the treatment of the bulk solvent. Together, these results show that the explicit treatment of interstitial water molecules is necessary for a proper description of allosteric transitions.

Using Isotopic Age of Water as a Constraint on Model Identification at a Critical Zone Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duffy, C.; Thomas, E.; Bhatt, G.; George, H.; Boyer, E. W.; Sullivan, P. L.

2016-12-01

This paper presents an ecohydrologic model constrained by comprehensive space and time observations of water and stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen for an upland catchment, the Susquehanna/Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory (SSH_CZO). The paper first develops the theoretical basis for simulation of flow, isotope ratios and "age" as water moves through the canopy, to the unsaturated and saturated zones and finally to an intermittent stream. The model formulation demonstrates that the residence time and age of environmental tracers can be directly simulated without knowledge of the form of the underlying residence time distribution function and without the addition of any new physical parameters. The model is used to explore the observed rapid attenuation of event and seasonal isotopic ratios in precipitation over the depth of the soil zone and the impact of decreasing hydraulic conductivity with depth on the dynamics of streamflow and stream isotope ratios. The results suggest the importance of mobile macropore flow on recharge to groundwater during the non-growing cold-wet season. The soil matrix is also recharged during this season with a cold-season isotope signature. During the growing-dry season, root uptake and evaporation from the soil matrix along with a declining water table provides the main source of water for plants and determines the growing season signature. Flow path changes during storm events and transient overland flow is inferred by comparing the frequency distribution of groundwater and stream isotope histories with model results. Model uncertainty is evaluated for conditions of matrix-macropore partitioning and heterogeneous variations in conductivity with depth. The paper concludes by comparing the fully dynamical model with the simplified mixing model form in dynamic equilibrium. The comparison illustrates the importance of system memory on the time scales for flow and mixing processes and the limitations of the dynamic equilibrium assumption on estimated age and residence time.

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Carbon Nanotubes in Water

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walther, J. H.; Jaffe, R.; Halicioglu, T.; Koumoutsakos, P.

2000-01-01

We study the hydrophobic/hydrophilic behavior of carbon nanotubes using molecular dynamics simulations. The energetics of the carbon-water interface are mainly dispersive but in the present study augmented with a carbon quadrupole term acting on the charge sites of the water. The simulations indicate that this contribution is negligible in terms of modifying the structural properties of water at the interface. Simulations of two carbon nanotubes in water display a wetting and drying of the interface between the nanotubes depending on their initial spacing. Thus, initial tube spacings of 7 and 8 A resulted in a drying of the interface whereas spacing of > 9 A remain wet during the course of the simulation. Finally, we present a novel particle-particle-particle-mesh algorithm for long range potentials which allows for general (curvilinear) meshes and "black-box" fast solvers by adopting an influence matrix technique.

Flow in porous media, phase and ultralow interfacial tensions: Mechanisms of enhanced petroleum recovery

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

Davis, H.T.; Scriven, L.E.

1991-07-01

A major program of university research, longer-ranged and more fundamental in approach than industrial research, into basic mechanisms of enhancing petroleum recovery and into underlying physics, chemistry, geology, applied mathematics, computation, and engineering science has been built at Minnesota. The original focus was surfactant-based chemical flooding, but the approach taken was sufficiently fundamental that the research, longer-ranged than industrial efforts, has become quite multidirectional. Topics discussed are volume controlled porosimetry; fluid distribution and transport in porous media at low wetting phase saturation; molecular dynamics of fluids in ultranarrow pores; molecular dynamics and molecular theory of wetting and adsorption; new numericalmore » methods to handle initial and boundary conditions in immiscible displacement; electron microscopy of surfactant fluid microstructure; low cost system for animating liquid crystallites viewed with polarized light; surfaces of constant mean curvature with prescribed contact angle.« less

A STRONGLY COUPLED REACTOR CORE ISOLATION COOLING SYSTEM MODEL FOR EXTENDED STATION BLACK-OUT ANALYSES

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

Zhao, Haihua; Zhang, Hongbin; Zou, Ling

2015-03-01

The reactor core isolation cooling (RCIC) system in a boiling water reactor (BWR) provides makeup cooling water to the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) when the main steam lines are isolated and the normal supply of water to the reactor vessel is lost. The RCIC system operates independently of AC power, service air, or external cooling water systems. The only required external energy source is from the battery to maintain the logic circuits to control the opening and/or closure of valves in the RCIC systems in order to control the RPV water level by shutting down the RCIC pump to avoidmore » overfilling the RPV and flooding the steam line to the RCIC turbine. It is generally considered in almost all the existing station black-out accidents (SBO) analyses that loss of the DC power would result in overfilling the steam line and allowing liquid water to flow into the RCIC turbine, where it is assumed that the turbine would then be disabled. This behavior, however, was not observed in the Fukushima Daiichi accidents, where the Unit 2 RCIC functioned without DC power for nearly three days. Therefore, more detailed mechanistic models for RCIC system components are needed to understand the extended SBO for BWRs. As part of the effort to develop the next generation reactor system safety analysis code RELAP-7, we have developed a strongly coupled RCIC system model, which consists of a turbine model, a pump model, a check valve model, a wet well model, and their coupling models. Unlike the traditional SBO simulations where mass flow rates are typically given in the input file through time dependent functions, the real mass flow rates through the turbine and the pump loops in our model are dynamically calculated according to conservation laws and turbine/pump operation curves. A simplified SBO demonstration RELAP-7 model with this RCIC model has been successfully developed. The demonstration model includes the major components for the primary system of a BWR, as well as the safety system components such as the safety relief valve (SRV), the RCIC system, the wet well, and the dry well. The results show reasonable system behaviors while exhibiting rich dynamics such as variable flow rates through RCIC turbine and pump during the SBO transient. The model has the potential to resolve the Fukushima RCIC mystery after adding the off-design two-phase turbine operation model and other additional improvements.« less

Wet deposition of mercury at Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet.

PubMed

Huang, Jie; Kang, Shichang; Wang, Shuxiao; Wang, Long; Zhang, Qianggong; Guo, Junming; Wang, Kang; Zhang, Guoshuai; Tripathee, Lekhendra

2013-03-01

Quantifying the contribution of mercury (Hg) in wet deposition is important for understanding Hg biogeochemical cycling and anthropogenic sources, and verifying atmospheric models. Mercury in wet deposition was measured over the year 2010, in Lhasa the capital and largest city in Tibet. Precipitation samples were analyzed for total Hg (HgT), particulate-bound Hg (HgP), and reactive Hg (HgR). The volume-weighted mean (VWM) concentrations and wet deposition fluxes of HgT, HgP and HgR in precipitation were 24.8 ng L-1 and 8.2 μg m-2 yr-1, 19.9 ng L-1 and 7.1 μg m-2 yr-1, and 0.5 ng L-1 and 0.19 μg m-2 yr-1, respectively. Concentrations of HgT and HgP were statistically higher during the non-monsoon season than during the monsoon season, while HgR concentrations were statistically higher during the monsoon season than during the non-monsoon season. Most HgT, HgP and HgR wet deposition occurred during the monsoon season. Concentrations of HgP and HgR were 77% and 5% of the HgT on average (VWM), respectively. Concentrations of HgT and HgP were weakly negatively correlated with precipitation amount (r2 = 0.09 and 0.10; p < 0.05), indicating that below-cloud scavenging of Hg from the local atmosphere was an important mechanism contributing Hg to precipitation. High HgP%, as well as a significant positive correlation between HgT and HgP, confirms that Hg wet deposition at Lhasa was primarily occurring in the form of atmospheric HgP below-cloud scavenging. Moreover, the HgT concentration, rather than the precipitation amount, was found to be the governing factor affecting HgT wet deposition flux. A comparison among modeled wet and dry deposition fluxes, and measurements suggested that estimates of both wet and dry Hg deposition fluxes by the GEOS-Chem model were 2 to 3 times higher than the measured annual wet flux. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Monitoring of soil salinization in Northern Tarim Basin, Xinjiang of China in dry and wet seasons based on remote sensing].

PubMed

Yao, Yuan; Ding, Jian-Li; Zhang, Fang; Wang, Gang; Jiang, Hong-Nan

2013-11-01

Soil salinization is one of the most important eco-environment problems in arid area, which can not only induce land degradation, inhibit vegetation growth, but also impede regional agricultural production. To accurately and quickly obtain the information of regional saline soils by using remote sensing data is critical to monitor soil salinization and prevent its further development. Taking the Weigan-Kuqa River Delta Oasis in the northern Tarim River Basin of Xinjiang as test object, and based on the remote sensing data from Landsat-TM images of April 15, 2011 and September 22, 2011, in combining with the measured data from field survey, this paper extracted the characteristic variables modified normalized difference water index (MNDWI), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and the third principal component from K-L transformation (K-L-3). The decision tree method was adopted to establish the extraction models of soil salinization in the two key seasons (dry and wet seasons) of the study area, and the classification maps of soil salinization in the two seasons were drawn. The results showed that the decision tree method had a higher discrimination precision, being 87.2% in dry season and 85.3% in wet season, which was able to be used for effectively monitoring the dynamics of soil salinization and its spatial distribution, and to provide scientific basis for the comprehensive management of saline soils in arid area and the rational utilization of oasis land resources.

Modifications of steam condensation model implemented in commercial solver

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sova, Libor; Jun, Gukchol; ŠÅ¥astný, Miroslav

2017-09-01

Nucleation theory and droplet grow theory and methods how they are incorporated into numerical solvers are crucial factors for proper wet steam modelling. Unfortunately, they are still covered by cloud of uncertainty and therefore some calibration of these models according to reliable experimental results is important for practical analyses of steam turbines. This article demonstrates how is possible to calibrate wet steam model incorporated into commercial solver ANSYS CFX.

Development of the scientific heritage of M.E. Deich in the sphere of the gas dynamics of two-phase media (On the 100th anniversary of his birthday)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avetisyan, A. R.; Lazarev, L. Ya.

2017-07-01

This article is a brief overview of some scientific and engineering ideas in the sphere of two-phase gas dynamics that were developed by the team of the Problem Laboratory of Turbomachines, Department of Steam and Gas Turbines, Moscow Power Engineering Institute (NRU MPEI, National Research University), under the leadership of Mikhail Efimovich Deich since 1963 and the analysis of their development and influence on the current state of the problem. At the early stages of the studies on two-phase media, the problem of the measurement of physical parameters of phases was especially urgent. The characteristics of probes for the measurement of one-phase flows in the presence of drops were studied, and the corrections for the influence of the second phase were obtained. However, the main focus was the development of new methods, and the optical method using a laser light source that is currently used at the leading laboratories of the world was chosen as the main method. The study of the wet-steam flow in nozzles is one of the first stages of the research on the problem. In these studies, the wave structure of supersonic wet-steam flows (condensation jumps and shock waves, Mach waves, turbulent condensation, periodic condensation nonstationarity, etc.) was investigated in detail. At present, like in the earlier studies, much attention is paid to the study of the influence of the addition of surface-active substance (SASs) on the wet-steam flow. The study of the wet-steam motion in steam-turbine stages was performed simultaneously with physical studies as the practical application of the obtained results. The development of computer technology in the 21st century contributed to the elaboration of the theoretical methods for the calculation of wet-steam flows in elements of power devices.

Wet-surface–enhanced ellipsometric contrast microscopy identifies slime as a major adhesion factor during bacterial surface motility

PubMed Central

Ducret, Adrien; Valignat, Marie-Pierre; Mouhamar, Fabrice; Mignot, Tâm; Theodoly, Olivier

2012-01-01

In biology, the extracellular matrix (ECM) promotes both cell adhesion and specific recognition, which is essential for central developmental processes in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. However, live studies of the dynamic interactions between cells and the ECM, for example during motility, have been greatly impaired by imaging limitations: mostly the ability to observe the ECM at high resolution in absence of specific staining by live microscopy. To solve this problem, we developed a unique technique, wet-surface enhanced ellipsometry contrast (Wet-SEEC), which magnifies the contrast of transparent organic materials deposited on a substrate (called Wet-surf) with exquisite sensitivity. We show that Wet-SEEC allows both the observation of unprocessed nanofilms as low as 0.2 nm thick and their accurate 3D topographic reconstructions, directly by standard light microscopy. We next used Wet-SEEC to image slime secretion, a poorly defined property of many prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms that move across solid surfaces in absence of obvious extracellular appendages (gliding). Using combined Wet-SEEC and fluorescent-staining experiments, we observed slime deposition by gliding Myxococcus xanthus cells at unprecedented resolution. Altogether, the results revealed that in this bacterium, slime associates preferentially with the outermost components of the motility machinery and promotes its adhesion to the substrate on the ventral side of the cell. Strikingly, analogous roles have been proposed for the extracellular proteoglycans of gliding diatoms and apicomplexa, suggesting that slime deposition is a general means for gliding organisms to adhere and move over surfaces. PMID:22665761

Earth System Modeling Tested for CLM4.5 in a Costa Rican Tropical Montane Rainforest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, J.; Miller, G. R.; Cahill, A. T.; Aparecido, L. M. T.; Moore, G. W.

2017-12-01

Terrestrial ecosystems in the tropics are important for global carbon and water cycling, which makes modeling of their land-surface processes essential for accurate understanding of land-atmosphere interactions. However, modeling of tropical regions, especially mountainous ones, is known to be subject to significant errors in the prediction of evapotranspiration. Our previous work has highlighted the effects of the prolonged wetness experienced by such sites, focusing on carbon and water exchange at the leaf/stand level. Here, we explore the implications these findings have for modeling at the stand/canopy scale. This study examined the performance of the Community Land Model (CLM4.5) against measurements from a tropical montane rainforest in Costa Rica. The study site receives over 4,000 mm of mean annual precipitation. Measurements include leaf temperatures, transpiration (sap flows), fluxes via eddy-covariance, and vertical profiles of H2O and CO2 concentrations, micrometeorological variables, and leaf wetness. In this work, results from point-scale CLM4.5 were compared to canopy data. The model fails to capture the effects of frequent rainfall events and mountainous topography on the variables of interest (temperatures, leaf wetness, and fluxes). We found that soil and leaf temperatures were overestimated (≈ +2°C) at noon and underestimated (≈ -1°C) during the night; daily transpiration was approximately double than that observed. Simulated leaf wetness deviated significantly from the measurements, both in timing and extent, which affected temperatures and evapotranspiration partitioning. Slope effects appeared in the average diurnal variations of surface albedo and carbon flux from actual data but were not captured in CLM. Our investigation indicated that interception and aerodynamic resistance models contribute to model errors, suggesting potential improvements for modeling in very wet and/or mountainous regions.

WVR-GPS comparison measurements and calibration of the 20-32 GHz tropospheric water vapor absorption model.

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

Keihm, S. J.; Bar-Server, Y.; Liljegren, J. C.

2002-06-01

Collocated measurements of opacity (from water vapor radiometer brightness temperatures) and wet path delay (from ground-based tracking of global positioning satellites) are used to constrain the model of atmospheric water vapor absorption in the 20-32 GHz band. A differential approach is presented in which the slope of opacity-versus-wet delay data is used as the absorption model constraint. This technique minimizes the effects of radiometric calibration errors and oxygen model uncertainties in the derivation of a best-fit vapor absorption model. A total of approximately five months of data was obtained from two experiment sites. At the Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART)more » site near Lamont, Oklahoma, three independent water vapor radiometers (WVRs) provided near-continuous opacity measurements over the interval July-September 1998. At the NASA/Goldstone tracking station in the California desert two WVRs; obtained opacity data over the September-October 1997 interval. At both sites a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) receiver and surface barometer obtained the data required for deriving the zenith wet delays over the same time frames. Measured values of the opacity-versus-wet delay slope parameter were obtained at four WVR frequencies (20.7, 22.2, 23.8, and 31.4 GHz) and compared with predictions of four candidate absorption models referenced in the literature. With one exception, all three models provide agreement within 5% of the opacity-versus-wet delay slope measurements at all WVR frequencies at both sites. One model provides agreement for all channels at both sites to the 2-3% level. This absorption model accuracy level represents a significant improvement over that attainable using radiosondes.« less

Human skin wetness perception: psychophysical and neurophysiological bases

PubMed Central

Filingeri, Davide; Havenith, George

2015-01-01

The ability to perceive thermal changes in the surrounding environment is critical for survival. However, sensing temperature is not the only factor among the cutaneous sensations to contribute to thermoregulatory responses in humans. Sensing skin wetness (i.e. hygrosensation) is also critical both for behavioral and autonomic adaptations. Although much has been done to define the biophysical role of skin wetness in contributing to thermal homeostasis, little is known on the neurophysiological mechanisms underpinning the ability to sense skin wetness. Humans are not provided with skin humidity receptors (i.e., hygroreceptors) and psychophysical studies have identified potential sensory cues (i.e. thermal and mechanosensory) which could contribute to sensing wetness. Recently, a neurophysiological model of human wetness sensitivity has been developed. In helping clarifying the peripheral and central neural mechanisms involved in sensing skin wetness, this model has provided evidence for the existence of a specific human hygrosensation strategy, which is underpinned by perceptual learning via sensory experience. Remarkably, this strategy seems to be shared by other hygroreceptor-lacking animals. However, questions remain on whether these sensory mechanisms are underpinned by specific neuromolecular pathways in humans. Although the first study on human wetness perception dates back to more than 100 years, it is surprising that the neurophysiological bases of such an important sensory feature have only recently started to be unveiled. Hence, to provide an overview of the current knowledge on human hygrosensation, along with potential directions for future research, this review will examine the psychophysical and neurophysiological bases of human skin wetness perception. PMID:27227008

Evaluation of atmospheric nitrogen deposition model performance in the context of U.S. critical load assessments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, Jason J.; Chung, Serena H.; Johansen, Anne M.; Lamb, Brian K.; Vaughan, Joseph K.; Beutel, Marc

2017-02-01

Air quality models are widely used to estimate pollutant deposition rates and thereby calculate critical loads and critical load exceedances (model deposition > critical load). However, model operational performance is not always quantified specifically to inform these applications. We developed a performance assessment approach designed to inform critical load and exceedance calculations, and applied it to the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S. We quantified wet inorganic N deposition performance of several widely-used air quality models, including five different Community Multiscale Air Quality Model (CMAQ) simulations, the Tdep model, and 'PRISM x NTN' model. Modeled wet inorganic N deposition estimates were compared to wet inorganic N deposition measurements at 16 National Trends Network (NTN) monitoring sites, and to annual bulk inorganic N deposition measurements at Mount Rainier National Park. Model bias (model - observed) and error (|model - observed|) were expressed as a percentage of regional critical load values for diatoms and lichens. This novel approach demonstrated that wet inorganic N deposition bias in the Pacific Northwest approached or exceeded 100% of regional diatom and lichen critical load values at several individual monitoring sites, and approached or exceeded 50% of critical loads when averaged regionally. Even models that adjusted deposition estimates based on deposition measurements to reduce bias or that spatially-interpolated measurement data, had bias that approached or exceeded critical loads at some locations. While wet inorganic N deposition model bias is only one source of uncertainty that can affect critical load and exceedance calculations, results demonstrate expressing bias as a percentage of critical loads at a spatial scale consistent with calculations may be a useful exercise for those performing calculations. It may help decide if model performance is adequate for a particular calculation, help assess confidence in calculation results, and highlight cases where a non-deterministic approach may be needed.

Evaluation of the oleophilicity of different alkoxysilane modified ceramic membranes through wetting dynamic measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Nengwen; Ke, Wei; Fan, Yiqun; Xu, Nanping

2013-10-01

Wettability has been recognized as one of the most important properties of porous materials for both fundamental and practical applications. In this study, the oleophilicity of Al2O3 membranes modified by four alkoxysilanes with different length of alkyl group was investigated through oil wetting dynamic test. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimertric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were measured to confirm that ceramic membrane surfaces have been grafted with alkoxysilanes without changing the membrane morphology. A high speed video camera was used to record the spreading and imbibition process of oil on the modified membrane surface. The value of oil contact angle and its change during the wetting process were used to characterize the membrane oleophilicity. Characterization results showed that the oleophilicity of the modified membranes increased along with the increasing of the silane alkyl group. The influence of oleophilicity on the filtration performance of water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions was experimentally studied. A higher oil flux was obtained for membranes grafted with a longer alkyl group, indicating that increase oleophilicity can increase the membrane antifouling property. This work presents a valuable route to the surface oleophilicity control and testing of ceramic membranes in the filtration of non-polar organic solvents.

Access to food outlets and children's nutritional intake in urban China: a difference-in-difference analysis.

PubMed

Wang, Rui; Shi, Lu

2012-06-30

In recent years supermarkets and fast food restaurants have been replacing those "wet markets" of independent vendors as the major food sources in urban China. Yet how these food outlets relate to children's nutritional intake remains largely unexplored. Using a longitudinal survey of households and communities in China, this study examines the effect of the urban built food environment (density of wet markets, density of supermarkets, and density of fast food restaurants) on children's nutritional intake (daily caloric intake, daily carbohydrate intake, daily protein intake, and daily fat intake). Children aged 6-18 (n = 185) living in cities were followed from 2004 to 2006, and difference-in-difference models are used to address the potential issue of omitted variable bias. Results suggest that the density of wet markets, rather than that of supermarkets, positively predicts children's four dimensions of nutritional intake. In the caloric intake model and the fat intake model, the positive effect of neighborhood wet market density on children's nutritional intake is stronger with children from households of lower income. With their cheaper prices and/or fresher food supply, wet markets are likely to contribute a substantial amount of nutritional intake for children living nearby, especially those in households with lower socioeconomic status. For health officials and urban planners, this study signals a sign of warning as wet markets are disappearing from urban China's food environment.

Mean curvature model for a quasi-static advancing meniscus: a drop tower test

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yongkang; Tavan, Noel; Weislogel, Mark

A critical geometric wetting condition resulting in a significant shift of a capillary fluid from one region of a container to another was recently demonstrated during experiments performed aboard the International Space Station (the Capillary Flow Experiments, Vane Gap test units, bulk shift phenomena). Such phenomena are of interest for advanced methods of control for large quantities of liquids aboard spacecraft. The dynamics of the flows are well understood, but analytical models remain qualitative without the correct capillary pressure driving force for the shifting bulk fluid—where one large interface (meniscus) advances while another recedes. To determine this pressure an investigation of the mean curvature of the advancing meniscus is presented which is inspired by earlier studies of receding bulk menisci in non-circular cylindrical containers. The approach is permissible only in the quasi-static limit. It will be shown that the mean curvature of the advancing bulk meniscus is related to that of the receding bulk meniscus, both of which are highly sensitive to container geometry and wetting conditions. The two meniscus curvatures are identical for any control parameter at the critical value identified by the Concus-Finn analysis. However, they differ when the control parameter is below its critical value. Experiments along these lines are well suited for drop towers and comparisons with the analytical predictions implementing the mean curvature model are presented. The validation opens a pathway to the analysis of such flows in containers of great geometric complexity.