No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This thesis contains a brief description of the apparatus, the procedure, and the results of an investigation of the absorption of cosmic rays in thin absorbers. The existence of an anomalous maximum at a thickness of 10.5 cm. of lead is reported, which is tenatively interpreted as being caused by the production of a penetrating ionizing radiation by a neutral radiation through some seemingly unknown process. / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)

No description available.

Thesis. 1976. M.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science. / Bibliography: leaves 26-27. / M.S.

Nitrification is increasingly of concern in US potable water systems, due to changes from chlorine to chloramine as a secondary disinfectant in order to comply with new regulations for disinfectant by-products. The ammonia that is released from the chloramine decay supports nitrification. A comprehensive literature review systematically examined the complex inter-relationships between nitrification, materials corrosion and metals release. That analysis suggested that nitrification could accelerate decay of chloramine, enhance corrosion of water distribution system materials, and increase leaching of lead and copper to potable water under at least some circumstances. Moreover, that certain plumbing materials would inhibit nitrification, but that in other situations the plumbing materials would enhance nitrification. Experiments verified that nitrification could affect the relative efficacy of chlorine versus chloramine in controlling heterotrophic bacteria in premise plumbing. Without nitrification, chloramine was always more persistent and effective than chlorine in controlling biofilms. But with nitrification and in pipe materials that are relatively non-reactive with chlorine, chloramine was much less persistent and less effective than chlorine. In materials that are reactive with chlorine such as iron pipes, the relative efficacy of chloramine versus chlorine depends on the relative rate of corrosion and rate of nitrification. High rates of corrosion and low rates of nitrification favor the use of chloramine versus free chlorine in controlling bacteria. Plumbing materials had profound impacts on the incidence of nitrification in homes. Effects were due to toxicity (i.e., release of Cu⁺²), recycling of nitrate back to ammonia substrate by reaction (zero-valent iron, lead or zinc materials), or release of nutrients that are essential to nitrification by leaching from concrete or other materials. As a general rule it was determined that concrete and iron materials encouraged growth of nitrifiers in certain oligotrophic waters, materials such as lead, PVC/plastic pipe, glass and surfaces of other materials were readily colonized by nitrifiers, and materials such as copper and brass were very toxic and relatively resistant to nitrifier colonization. Dependent on circumstance, nitrification had no effect, increased or decreased aspects of materials corrosion. Nitrification markedly increased lead contamination of low alkalinity potable water by reducing the pH. In some cases nitrification dramatically decreased leaching of zinc to potable water from galvanized iron, because of lowered dissolved oxygen and reduced pH. Nitrification did not affect copper solubility in low alkalinity water, but is expected to increase copper solubility in higher alkalinity waters. Finally, nitrification in homes plumbed with PVC or plastics can drop the pH and increase leaching of lead from downstream brass materials in faucets. This can explain why some modern homes plumbed with PVC can have more lead in water when compared to homes plumbed with copper pipe. Phosphate had profound impacts on the incidence of nitrification and resulting effects on water quality. While phosphate levels below about 5 ppb could strongly inhibit nitrification due to a nutrient limitation, nitrifiers can obtain sufficient phosphate from plastic, concrete, copper and iron pipe materials to meet nutritional needs. High levels of phosphate inhibitor can reduce the concentration of Cu⁺² ions and make nitrification more likely, but phosphate can also sometimes lower the corrosion rate and increase the stability of disinfectant and its efficacy in controlling nitrifiers. Phosphate plays a key role in determining where, when and if problems with nitrification will occur in a given water distribution system. This work provides some new fundamental and practical insights to nitrification issues through a comprehensive literature review, lab experiments, solubility modeling and field studies. The results and practical tools developed can be used by utilities and consumers to predict nitrification events and resulting water quality problems, and to make rational decisions about practices such as inhibitor dosing, plumbing material selection and use of whole house filters. / Ph. D.

Potable water can become contaminated with lead and copper due to the corrosion of pipes, faucets, and fixtures. The US Environmental Protection Agency Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) is intended to target sampling at high-risk sites to help protect public health by minimizing lead and copper levels in drinking water. The LCR is currently under revision with a goal of better crafting sampling protocols to protect public health. This study examined an array of factors that determine the location and timing of "high-risk" in the context of sampling site selection and consumer health risks. This was done using field studies and well-controlled laboratory experiments. A pilot-scale simulated distribution system (SDS) was used to examine the complex relationship between disinfectant type (free chlorine and chloramine), water age (0-10.2 days), and pipe main material (PVC, cement, and iron). Redox gradients developed in the distribution system as controlled by water age and pipe material, which affected the microbiology and chemistry of the water delivered to consumer homes. Free chlorine disinfectant was the most stable in the presence of PVC while chloramine was most stable in the presence of cement. At shorter water ages where disinfectant residuals were present, chlorine tended to cause as much as 4 times more iron corrosion when compared to chloramine. However, the worst localized attack on iron materials occurred at high water age in the system with chloramine. It was hypothesized that this was due to denitrification-a phenomenon relatively unexplored in drinking water distribution systems and documented in this study. Cumulative chemical and biological changes, such as those documented in the study described above, can create "high-risk" hotspots for elevated lead and copper, with associated concerns for consumer exposure and regulatory monitoring. In both laboratory and field studies, trends in lead and copper release were site-specific and ultimately determined by the plumbing material, microbiology and chemistry. In many cases, elevated levels of lead and copper did not co-occur suggesting that, in a revised LCR, these contaminants will have to be sampled separately in order to identify worst case conditions. Temperature was also examined as a potentially important factor in lead and copper corrosion. Several studies have attributed higher incidence of childhood lead poisoning during the summer to increased soil and dust exposure; however, drinking water may also be a significant contributing factor. In large-scale pipe rigs, total and dissolved lead release was 3-5 times higher during the summer compared to the winter. However, in bench scale studies, higher temperature could increase, decrease, or have no effect on lead release dependent on material and water chemistry. Similarly, in a distribution system served by a centralized treatment plant, lead release from pure lead service lines increased with temperature in some homes but had no correlation in other homes. It is possible that changes throughout the distribution system such as disinfectant residual, iron, or other factors can create scales on pipes at individual homes, which determines the temperature dependency of lead release. Consumer exposure to lead can also be adversely influenced by the presence of particulate iron. In the case of Providence, RI, a well-intentioned decrease in the finished water pH from 10.3 to 9.7, resulted in an epidemic of red water complaints due to the corrosion of iron mains and a concomitant increase in water lead levels. Complementary bench scale and field studies demonstrated that higher iron in water is sometimes linked to higher lead in water, due to sorption of lead onto the iron particulates. Finally, one of the most significant emerging challenges associated with evaluating corrosion control and consumer exposure, is the variability in lead and copper during sampling due to semi-random detachment of lead particles to water, which can pose an acute health concern. Well-controlled test rigs were used to characterize the variability in lead and copper release and compared to consumer sampling during the LCR. The variability due to semi-random particulate detachment, is equal to the typical variability observed in LCR sampling, suggesting that this inherent variability is much more important than other common sources including customer error, customer failure to follow sampling instructions or long stagnation times. While instructing consumers to collect samples are low flow rates reduces variability, it will fail to detect elevated lead from many hazardous taps. Moreover, collecting a single sample to characterize health risks from a given tap, are not adequately protective to consumers in homes with lead plumbing, in an era when corrosion control has reduced the presence of soluble lead in water. Future EPA monitoring and public education should be changed to address this concern. / Ph. D.

The work in this thesis is focused on the development and validation of an automotive battery monitoring system that estimates the health of a lead-acid battery during engine cranking and provides a low state of health (SOH) warning of potential battery failure. A reliable SOH estimation should assist users in preventing a sudden battery failure and planning for battery replacement in a timely manner. Most commercial battery health estimation systems use the impedance of a battery to estimate the SOH with battery voltage and current; however, using a current sensor increases the installation cost of a system due to parts and labor. The battery SOH estimation method with the battery terminal voltage during engine cranking was previously proposed. The proposed SOH estimation system intends to improve existing methods. The proposed method requires battery voltages and temperature for a reliable SOH estimation. Without the need for a costly current sensor, the proposed SOH monitoring system is cost-effective and useful for automotive applications. Measurement results presented in this thesis show that the proposed SOH monitoring system is more effective in evaluating the health of a lead-acid battery than existing methods. A low power microcontroller equipped prototype implements the proposed SOH algorithm on a high performance ARM Cortex-M4F based MCU, TM4C123GH6PM. The power dissipation of the final prototype is approximately 144 mW during an active state and 36 mW during a sleep state. With the reliability of the proposed method and low power dissipation of the prototype, the proposed system is suitable for an on-board battery monitoring as there is no on-board warning that estimates the health of a battery in modern cars. / Master of Science