This study focused on three potential problems with the operation of aerobic package treatment systems: hydraulic retention time, laundry detergents, and hydraulic surges. To determine the effect of hydraulic retention time on system performance, six bench scale activated sludge systems were constructed. Wastewater from an actual residence was collected twice per week and fed to the small activated sludge systems. Two of the systems had a hydraulic retention time of 2 days, two had a hydraulic retention time of 1 day and two had a hydraulic retention time of 0.5 days. Effluent quality was stable and good with regard to chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia (NH)-N) and seemed to be independent of hydraulic retention time. All of the systems performed well, despite considerable variability in influent strength. To study the effect of high concentrations of laundry detergents on the operation of package treatment systems, three of the six laboratory systems were fed high concentrations of detergent. Other than some residual COD from the detergent, no effect on system performance was observed. The final component of the study was the modification of an existing package treatment system to equalize flows from an automatic washing machine. After a month of operation the modified system produced a more constant effluent quality, than did the unmodified system. The field system, with and without modification, had a low mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) concentration (35 mg/L). This was probably the result of the long hydraulic retention time. As a result of the low MLSS the system, with and without modification, did not meet Virginia effluent requirements for BODs, TSS or D.O. or generally accepted levels of NH₃-N. / Master of Science

[pt] No projeto de uma usina nuclear PWR, é necessário verificar se os limites de projeto dos seus componentes são respeitados mesmo em condições de operação anormal. O presente trabalho representa uma evolução do programa Sardan, desenvolvido para simulação de transitórios em PWR s. Os novos aspectos incorporados na versão Sardan 2, são: análise da vareta de combustível ou diferenças finitas, modelo de canal aberto para o subcanal crítico e implantação de um modelo simplificado para o sistema de controle automático. O programa foi testado em acidentes condição II, em particular, retirada descontrolada de um conjunto de barras de controle, queda de um conjunto de barras de controle, diluição descontrolada de boro, e os resultados obtidos considerados satisfatórios. / [en] In the design of a PWR nuclear plant it is necessary to verify if the design limits are respected, even under abnormal operation condition. The present work represents an evolution of SARDAN code, developed to simulate transients in PWR, the new aspects incorporeted in SARDAN 2 are: the fuel ROD analysis in finite- diference, an open channel model for the critic subchannel analysis and the introduction of a simplified model for the automatic control system. The program has been tested in accident condition II, in special, uncontrolled ROD cluster assembly bank withoraw, dropped full-length assembly group, uncontrolled Boron dilution, and the results obtained were considered satisfactory.

Introduktion: Ökad migration av människor mellan länder har bidragit till språkliga ochkulturella variationer i samhället. Det ställer högre krav på hälso- och sjukvården och utmanarambulanspersonal i sitt arbete när det saknas ett gemensamt språk. Syfte: Att belysaambulanspersonalens upplevelser när det förekom språkliga barriärer i prehospital vård.Metod: En litteraturöversikt vars resultat baserades på 13 vetenskapliga artiklar; sexkvalitativa, sex kvantitativa och 1 av mixad metod. Analysen genomfördes enligt Whittemoreoch Knafls modell. Resultat: Resultatet presenteras i form av fyra kategorier: upplevdautmaningar i det vårdande mötet, patientsäkerhet och vårdkvalitet, ambulanspersonalenshandläggning och behov av utveckling samt sju subkategorier. Konklusion: Språkliga barriärerinnebar en ökad risk för missförstånd och felbehandling. Ambulanspersonalen hanteradespråkliga barriärer genom anpassningsstrategier för verbal och icke- verbal kommunikation.Informationsbrist och kunskapsbrist påverkade vårdkvalitet och patientsäkerhet. Detidentifierades behov av anpassade hjälpmedel för prehospitalt bruk och utbildningefterfrågades för att nå ökad förståelse vilket kunde underlätta kulturell anpassning ochförbättra ambulanssjukvårdens patientsäkerhet och vårdkvalitet. Det saknades riktlinjer kringspråkbarriärer prehospitalt. / Introduction: Increased migration between countries have increased the presence of culturaland language variations, which enhances demands on the healthcare and on ambulancepersonnel when they are caring with the presence of language barriers. Aim: The purpose ofthis paper was to illuminate ambulance personnel ́s experiences of language barriers inprehospital care. Method: A literature review with results from 13 scientific articles; sixqualitative, six quantitative and one with mixed method. The analysis was based on the methodfrom Whittemore and Knafl. Results: The result is presented in four categories: experiencedchallenges in the caring meeting, patient safety and quality of care, the ambulance personnel ́shandling and need for development as well as seven subcategories. Conclusion: Languagebarriers increased the risk of misunderstanding and maltreatment. Ambulance personnelhandled language barriers through strategies such as adapting to the situation and throughverbal and non-verbal communication. Lack of information and knowledge affected quality ofcare and patient safety. Need for custom aids designed for prehospital settings and educationwas requested to reach increased understanding, which could simplify cultural adaption andimprove prehospital quality of care and patient safety. Guidelines regarding language barrierswere missing.

No description available.

No description available.

Astrophysical phenomena such as exploding primordial black holes (PBHs), gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), compact object mergers, and supernovae, are expected to produce a single pulse of electromagnetic radiation detectable at the low-frequency end of the radio spectrum. Detection of any of these pulses would be significant for the study of the objects themselves, their host environments, and the interstellar/intergalactic medium. Furthermore, a detection of a radio transient from an exploding PBH could be a signature of an extra spatial dimension, which would drastically alter our perception of spacetime. However, even upper limits on the existence of PBHs, from transient searches, would be important to discussions of cosmology. We describe a method to carry out an agnostic single-dispersed-pulse search, and apply it to data collected with the Eight-meter-wavelength Transient Array (ETA). ETA is a radio telescope dedicated to searching for transient pulses. It consists of 12 crossed-dipole antenna stands with Galactic-noise-limited performance from 29-47 MHz. There is a vast amount of data collected from an ETA observation. It is therefore greatly beneficial to use a computer cluster, which works in parallel on different parts of a data set, in order to carry out a single-pulse search quickly and efficiently. Each spectrogram in a data set needs to be analyzed individually, without reference to the rest, in order to utilize a computer cluster's capabilities. The data reduction software has been developed for single-dispersed-pulse searches, and is described in this thesis. The data reduction involves sweeping through the collected data with a dedispersion routine assuming a range of dispersion measures. The resulting time series are searched with multiple matched filters for signals above a signal-to-noise threshold. Applying the single pulse search to ~ 30 hours of ETA data did not yield a compelling detection of an astrophysical signal. However, from ≈ 5 hours of interference-free data we find an observational upper limit to the rate of exploding PBHs of r ≈ 4.8 × 10⁻⁷ pc⁻³ y⁻¹ for a PBH with a fireball Lorentz-factor f = 10^4.3. This limit is applicable to PBHs in the halo of the Galaxy to distances ≲ 2 kpc, and dispersion measures ≲ 80 pc cm⁻³ . We also find a source-agnostic rate limit ≲ 0.25 events y⁻¹ deg⁻² for pulses of duration < 3 s, and having apparent energy densities ≳ 2.6 × 10⁻²³ J m⁻² Hz⁻¹ at 38 MHz. / Ph. D.

Worldwide water distribution infrastructure system is old and deteriorating. A water system with its myriad appurtenances (including pumps and valves and tanks) is susceptible to hydraulic transients resulting in high and low pressure waves alternatively passing through the network. While both low and high pressure events structurally tax the already weak system, there is copious evidence indicating intrusion of contaminants into the drinking water pipes from the pipe's exterior environment due to low pressure events associated with water hammer phenomenon. These contaminants enter into the drinking water as the home plumbing system is a passive recipient from the water main. While the major (municipal) system is readily recognized as a vast infrastructure system of nearly 1,409,800 km of piping within the United States, the minor (plumbing) system that is at least 5 to 10 times larger is generally not well analyzed. In this study, an experimental plumbing rig was designed and implemented that replicates the range of pressures encountered in actual minor water distribution systems. This research addresses how a pressure transient triggered within a house and from municipal systems can impact the service line with a possible suction effect. Experimental results on low pressure events and the accompanying numerical modeling showed good agreement. The experiment also enabled visualization of the various pressure transient phenomena. It is demonstrated that hydraulic transients triggered from water mains result in low pressures events (up to -10 psig) in service lines which can allow possible intrusion of microbial and chemical contaminants at the service line. Structural integrity of service line and hydraulic integrity at water mains should be maintained to minimize any public health risks. In the USA, about 90% of residential drinking water plumbing systems use copper pipes. Pinhole leaks in copper plumbing pipes have become a nationwide concern because these leaks cause property damage, lower property values, and result in possibility of adversely affecting homeowners' insurance coverage. In addition, resulting mold damage may cause health concerns. This research also addresses the concerns of the affected homeowners by enabling them to decide on whether to continue to repair or replace their plumbing system, the factors to be considered in a replacement decision, and the type of material to use for replacement. Plastic pipes such as PEX (cross-linked polyethylene), CPVC (Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride), and copper are considered in present analysis. Other alternatives include an epoxy coating technique on the existing piping systems, without the need to tear into walls. Multiple attributes of a plumbing system including cost (material plus labor charges), taste and odor impacts, potential for corrosion, longevity of the pipe system, fire retardance, convenience of installation or replacement, plumber or general contractor's opinions or expertise, and proven record in the market are considered. Attributes and material rankings are formalized within the framework of the preference elicitation tools namely AHP (Analytical Hierarchical Process). Surveys are conducted with selected homeowners in pinhole leak prone area in Southeastern US Community to observe their revealed and stated preferences. Participants' overall preference tradeoffs are reported in addition to comparing their revealed and stated preferences. Health effects, taste and odor of water turned out to be the most important factors from the survey. In real life, however, homeowners were not well aware of these safety issues related with plumbing materials. It is recommended that water professionals should work on bridging the gap between public perception and research results related to major and minor systems. / Ph. D.

With deregulation, diagnosis and maintenance of power equipment, especially power transformers, become increasingly important to keep power systems in reliable operation. This dissertation systematically studied two kinds of transformer failure and abnormality cases, and then developed a new Internet based Virtual Hospital (VH) for power equipment to help power equipment diagnosis and maintenance. A practical case of generator-step-up (GSU) transformer failures in a pumped storage plant was extensively studied. Abnormal electrical phenomena associated with GSU transformers, including switching transients and very fast transients (VFT), and lightning, were analyzed. Simulation showed that circuit breaker restriking could be a major cause of transformer successive failures, and current surge arrester configuration did not provide enough lightning protection to GSU transformers. Mitigation of abnormal electrical phenomena effects on GSU transformers was proposed and discussed. The study can be a complete reference of troubleshooting of other similar transformer failures. Geomagnetically induced current (GIC) is another possible cause of transformer abnormality. A simplified method based on the equivalent magnetizing curve for transformers with different core design was developed and validated to estimate harmonic currents and MVar drawn by power transformers with a given GIC. An effective indicator was proposed using partial harmonic distortion, PHD, to show when the transformer begins saturating with the input GIC. The developed method has been applied to a real time GIC monitoring system last year for a large power network with thousands of transformers. A new Internet based Virtual Hospital (VH) for Power Equipment was conceptually developed to share experience of power equipment diagnosis and maintenance, and update the existing diagnostic techniques and maintenance strategies, and a comprehensive information model was developed for data organization, access, and archiving related to equipment diagnosis and maintenance. An Internet based interactive fault diagnostic tool has been launched for power transformers based on dissolved gas analysis (DGA). The above results and findings can help improving power equipment diagnosis and utility maintenance strategies. / Ph. D.

Este trabalho apresenta um conjunto de métodos para a proteção e o monitoramento de transformadores de potência baseado em sistemas inteligentes e na aplicação das transformadas de Clarke e Wavelet. A abordagem inteligente utilizada permite analisar a condição operativa dos transformadores de potência e detectar a ocorrência de defeito interno, distinguindo-a de outras situações de operação, como, a energização, a energização solidária, a saturação dos transformadores de corrente e a sobreexcitação. As tomadas de decisão das técnicas desenvolvidas são realizadas pela lógica fuzzy após o pré-processamento dos sinais de entrada por meio de diversos métodos, os quais variam de acordo com o algoritmo que esta sendo executado. Os algoritmos propostos foram testados por meio de simulações realizadas através do software Alternative Transients Program (ATP). É importante salientar que nas simulações do ATP foram modelados diversos equipamentos que constituem o sistema elétrico de potência, incluindo um gerador síncrono com regulação de velocidade, linhas de transmissão com variação em frequência, transformadores de potência com suas respectivas curvas de saturação, transformadores de potencial e de corrente. Estas modelagens tiveram por objetivo gerar dados das distintas situações de operação para a verificação e análise da metodologia proposta. Os resultados da pesquisa mostram a aplicabilidade dos algoritmos propostos na proteção e no monitoramento dos transformadores de potência, mesmo nas condições mais adversas, como na ocorrência da saturação dos transformadores de corrente, uma vez que os sinais de entrada distorcidos pela saturação são corrigidos por uma rede neural artificial. Os resultados apresentados comparam as respostas obtidas pelas técnicas propostas em relação às saídas de um relé comercial, habilitado à proteção diferencial percentual. / This work presents a set of methods for protecting and monitoring power transformers based on intelligent systems and the application of Clarke and Wavelet transforms. The intelligent approach allowed us to analyze the operating condition of power transformers and it discriminates between an internal fault and different operating conditions, as energization, sympathetic inrush, saturation of current transformers and overexcitation. Decision making is performed by fuzzy logic after the preprocessing of the input signals through various methods, varying according to which algorithm is running. It is important to point out that in the simulations using ATP many different power system equipment had been modeled, including a synchronous generator with speed regulation, transmission lines with variation in frequency, power transformers with their saturation curves, potential transformers and current transformers. The objective of these tests was to generate data for distinct situations for the verification and the analysis of the proposed methodologies. The results of the research show the applicability of the algorithms considered in protection and monitoring of power transformers, even in adverse conditions, such as saturation of current transformers, since the input signals are distorted by CT saturation corrected by artificial neural network. The results are compared to the ones presented by a commercial percentage differential relay.

Nesta pesquisa, apresentam-se os principais eventos relacionados com a proteção de transformadores e sua correlação com os distúrbios de qualidade da energia elétrica (QEE). Neste sentido, foi desenvolvido um algoritmo que utiliza a transformada Wavelet (TW) e a lógica Fuzzy (LF) para classificar os eventos transitórios associados à proteção de transformadores. Estes eventos foram observados em um sistema elétrico de potência (SEP) simulado com a utilização do software Alternative Transients Program (ATP). Importa ressaltar que o sistema modelado apresenta transformadores ligados em paralelo, possibilitando o estudo de eventos decorrentes desta situação, como a energização solidária (Sympathetic Inrush). Por este SEP, modelado sobre parâmetros reais, foram simuladas várias situações transitórias, que provocam o aparecimento de correntes diferenciais, sendo estas direcionadas para análise do algoritmo desenvolvido. Afirma-se que, nos testes realizados, o algoritmo proposto apresentou um desempenho satisfatório perante as mais variadas situações a que foi submetido, identificando as causas das correntes diferenciais, sejam proporcionadas por defeitos ou por outras condições de operação aplicadas. / In this research, the main events related to the transformer protection and its correlation with the power quality disturbances (PQ) are presented. In this context, an algorithm based on Wavelet transform (WT) and Fuzzy logic (FL) was developed to classify the transient events associated with the transformer protection. These events were observed in an electrical power system (EPS) simulated using the Alternative Transients Program (ATP) software. It should be emphasized that the modeled system presents transformers connected in parallel, allowing the study of events of this situation, such as sympathetic inrush. For the simulated EPS, modeled based on real parameters, various transients situationswere simulated, causing the appearance of differentials currents which were directed to the analysis. The proposed algorithm showed a satisfactory performance tomany situations, identifying the causes of the differentials currents, either provided by faults or other operation conditions.