Yes / Reverse osmosis system has been widely used for the separation of organic and non-organic pollutants present in wastewater. The main aim of this study is to develop a one dimensional steady state model based on the three-parameter Spiegler-Kedem methodology using the gPROMS software and validate it by assessing the performance of membrane rejection for the separation data of aqueous solutions of phenol under different concentrations and pressures. Considerations of the variance of pressure, flow rate, solute concentration, solvent and solute fluxes and mass transfer coefficient along the feed channel were included in the model. Furthermore, an optimization methodology for the gEST parameter estimation tool has been developed in the gPROMS and used with experimental data in order to estimate the best values of the separation membrane parameters and the friction parameter. The simulation results of this model have been corroborated by experimental data.

Yes / Reverse osmosis (RO) has found extensive applications in industry as an efficient separation process in comparison with thermal process. In this study, a one-dimensional distributed model based on a wastewater treatment spiral-wound RO system is developed to simulate the transport phenomena of solute and water through the membrane and describe the variation of operating parameters along the x-axis of membrane. The distributed model is tested against experimental data available in the literature derived from a chlorophenol rejection system implemented on a pilot-scale cross-flow RO filtration system with an individual spiral-wound membrane at different operating conditions. The proposed model is then used to carry out an optimisation study using a genetic algorithm (GA). The GA is developed to solve a formulated optimisation problem involving two objective functions of RO wastewater system performance. The model code is written in MATLAB, and the optimisation problem is solved using an optimisation platform written in C++. The objective function is to maximize the solute rejection at different cases of feed concentration and minimize the operating pressure to improve economic aspects. The operating feed flow rate, pressure and temperature are considered as decision variables. The optimisation problem is subjected to a number of upper and lower limits of decision variables, as recommended by the module’s manufacturer, and the constraint of the pressure loss along the membrane length to be within the allowable value. The algorithm developed has yielded a low optimisation execution time and resulted in improved unit performance based on a set of optimal operating conditions.

Yes / N-nitrosamine in wastewater treatment processes can contribute to several public health impacts including human carcinogens even at very low concentration. In this work, spiral-wound reverse osmosis (SWRO) process is used to remove N-nitrosamine compounds from wastewater. Effects of operating parameters of the SWRO process on the removal of N-nitrosamine, total water recovery, and specific energy consumption for a SWRO configurations are evaluated via simulation and optimisation. For this purpose, the one-dimensional distributed model developed earlier by the authors is modified by including different mass transfer coefficient correlation, temperature dependent water and solute permeability correlations and energy equations. The model is first validated by estimating a new set of model parameters using eight set of experimental data from the literature and is then used to simulate the process with and without energy recovery device to facilitate deeper insight of the effect of operating conditions on the process performance. The model is then embedded within an optimisation framework and optimisation problems to maximise N-nitrosamine rejections and to minimise specific energy consumption are formulated and solved while the operating conditions are optimized simultaneously.

Yes / Reverse osmosis (RO)is one of the most important technologies used in wastewater treatment plants due to high contaminant rejection and low utilization of energy in comparison to other treatment procedures. For single-component spiral-wound reverse osmosis membrane process, one dimensional steady state and dynamic mathematical models have been developed based on the solution-diffusion model coupled with the concentration polarization mechanism. The model has been validated against reported data for wastewater treatment from literature at steady state conditions. Detailed simulation using the dynamic model has been carried out in order to gain deeper insight of the process. The effect of feed flow rate, pressure, temperature and concentration of pollutants on the performance of the process measured in terms of salt rejection, recovery ratio and permeate flux has been investigated.

In this dissertation, we study the existence and uniqueness of positive solutions for classes of nonlinear boundary value problems. In the first study, we the ��-superlinear case, we prove the existence of a large positive solution when a parameter is small and if, in addition, the reaction term satisfies a concavity-like condition at the origin, the existence of two positive solutions for a certain range of the parameter. In the ��-sublinear case, we establish the existence of a large positive solution when a parameter is large. We also investigate the number of positive solutions for the general ��-Laplacian with nonlinear boundary conditions when the reaction termis positive. Our results can be applied to the challenging infinite semipositone case and complement or extend previous work in the literature. Our approach depends on the Krasnoselskii’s fixed point in a Banach space, degree theory, and comparison principles.

We studied the structural instabilities of one-dimensional (1D) and quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) electron-phonon systems at low temperature through two models, SuSchrieffer-Heeger (SSH) and molecular crystal (CM) with and without spin. The phase diagrams are obtained using a Kadanoff-Wilson renormalization group approach (GR). For the 1D half-filled system the study of the frequency dependence of the electronic gap allowed us to connect continuously the two limits, adiabatic and non-adiabatic. The Peierls and Cooper channels interference and the quantum fluctuations reduce the gap. A regime change occurs when the frequency becomes of the order of mean field gap, marking a quantum-classical crossover that is the Kosterlitz-Thouless type. At this level, the effective coupling behaves in power law function on frequency. For the case with spin, a gapped Peierls state is maintained in the non-adiabatic limit, while for the case without spin, the system transits to ungapped disordered state, namely the Luttinger liquid stat (LL). For the SSH model without spin, the GR confirms the existence of a threshold phonon coupling beyond which the gap is restored. The study of the rigidities of the two models without spin allowed us to trace the main features of the LL state predicted by the bosonization method. The study of the Holstein-Hubbard model has allowed us not only to reproduce the phase diagrams already obtained by the Monte Carlo method, but to highlight two additional phases, namely, free fermions phase and the bond charge-density-wave phase. We have extended this study to the quarter-filled Q1D Peierls systems at finite temperature. Within the SSH model, an unconventional superconducting phase with spin singlet symmetry SS-s emerges at low temperature when the deviation to the perfect nesting of the Fermi surface is strong enough. Peierls-SS transition is characterized by the presence of a quantum critical point at low frequency and by a power law behavior of the transition temperature as a function of frequency with an exponent identical to one of 1D system. This exponent which universality has been verified contrasts with the BCS result. Coulomb interactions have been introduced through the study of the extended SSH-Hubbard model. The extension of this work to half-filled SSH and CM cases was also performed.

<p>Severe floods caused by heavy autumn rains in year 2000 raised the question whether measures to reduce the damage from high water levels, in the area surrounding lake Glafsfjorden and along the river Byälven down to lake Vänern, are possible. One option is to reduce flow resistance along the river and thereby lower the maximum water level a given inflow would cause. Good knowledge of hydraulic and hydrological conditions is necessary in order to estimate the effect of such flow-reducing measures. In order to quantify such effect a 1-dimensional hydraulic flow model has been set up for the river Byälven using the software package MIKE 11. The model is more detailed, especially concerning topography and bathymetry, than earlier models used for studies of the river. Boundary conditions consist of measured inflows, the level of the lake Vänern and runoff calculated using the HBV-model. The model was calibrated for two different floods and a good fit to measured water levels was obtained for both these periods. Using the calibrated model critical sections, causing much flow resistance during high floods, were identified. With that knowledge different measures to reduce high water levels was adopted to the model both individually and combined with each other and the model was run with boundary conditions mainly from the flood in year 2000. The most radical measures simulated resulted in a lowering of the maximum water in the two largest reservoirs Glafsfjorden and Harefjorden with 78 and 97 cm respectively. A more modest combination of measures gave water levels 48 and 84 cm lower than a model run without changes. Some combinations of relatively small measures lowered the maximum water level by a few decimeters. The simulation results give good guidance to further investigations and decisions of actual changes. The model constitutes a useful tool when making flood maps of the area and if water level forecasts would be needed during future floods.</p> / <p>Allvarliga översvämningar i samband med höstregn år 2000 väckte frågan om det går att vidta åtgärder för att minska skadorna vid höga flöden i området runt Glafsfjorden och längs Byälvens sträckning ner till Vänern. Ett alternativ är att med åtgärder längs älven underlätta vattnets utflöde och på så sätt minska den högsta vattennivå ett givet flöde orsakar. God kunskap om hydrauliska och hydrologiska förhållanden behövs för att bedöma nyttan av olika åtgärdsalternativ. För att kunna avgöra effekterna av olika åtgärdsalternativ har en 1-dimensionell strömningsmodell satts upp för Byälven i programverktyget MIKE 11. Modellen är mer detaljerad, framförallt beträffande höjdinformationen, än tidigare modeller som använts för studier av Byälven varit. Randvillkor till modellen utgörs av registrerade inflöden, Vänerns vattenstånd och avrinning modellerad med HBV-modellen. Modellen har kalibrerats för två översvämningsperioder och god anpassning uppnåddes för de vattenstånd som dessa situationer representerar och med dess hjälp har sedan älven studerats och områden som bromsar flödet har kunnat identifieras. Med kunskap om vilka områden som begränsar flödet mest har ett antal olika åtgärder simulerats i modellen, både var för sig och kombinerade med varandra. Randvillkoren för översvämningen år 2000 behölls och förändringarna lades in i modellen. De extremaste åtgärderna som simulerats resulterade i minskningar av de högsta vattennivåerna i de två största vattenmagasinen Glafsfjorden och Harefjorden med 78 respektive 97 cm. Mer realistiska åtgärdspaket gav minskningar med i storleksordningen 48 respektive 84 cm och även relativt små ingrepp gav minskningar på några decimeter. Simuleringsresultaten ger god vägledning för vidare undersökningar av och beslut om konkreta åtgärder i Byälven. Dessutom utgör modellen ett bra verktyg för att ta fram översvämningskartor och för att prognostisera vattennivåer vid nya översvämningssituationer.</p>

<p>In this work, we study two important themes in the physics of the interacting one-dimensional (1D) electron gas: the transition from one-dimensional to higher dimensional behavior, and the role of inhomogeneity. The interplay between interactions, reduced dimensionality, and inhomogeneity drives a rich variety of phenomena in mesoscopic physics. In 1D, interactions fundamentally alter the nature of the electron gas, and the homogeneous 1D electron gas is described by Luttinger Liquid theory. We use Quantum Monte Carlo methods to study two situations that are beyond Luttinger Liquid theory --- the quantum phase transition from a linear 1D electron system to a quasi-1D zigzag arrangement, and electron localization in quantum point contacts. </p><p>Since the interacting electron gas has fundamentally different behavior in one dimension than in higher dimensions, the transition from 1D to higher dimensional behavior is of both practical and theoretical interest. We study the first stage in such a transition; the quantum phase transition from a 1D linear arrangement of electrons in a quantum wire to a quasi-1D zigzag configuration, and then to a liquid-like phase at higher densities. As the density increases from its lowest values, first, the electrons form a linear Wigner crystal; then, the symmetry about the axis of the wire is broken as the electrons order in a quasi-1D zigzag phase; and, finally, the electrons form a disordered liquid-like phase. We show that the linear to zigzag phase transition occurs even in narrow wires with strong quantum fluctuations, and that it has characteristics which are qualitatively different from the classical transition.</p><p>Experiments in quantum point contacts (QPC's) show an unexplained feature in the conductance known as the ``0.7 Effect''. The presence of the 0.7 effect is an indication of the rich physics present in inhomogeneous systems, and we study electron localization in quantum point contacts to evaluate several different proposed mechanisms for the 0.7 effect. We show that electrons form a Wigner crystal in a 1D constriction; for sharp constriction potentials the localized electrons are separated from the leads by a gap in the density, while for smoother potentials, the Wigner crystal is smoothly connected to the leads. Isolated bound states can also form in smooth constrictions if they are sufficiently long. We thus show that localization can occur in QPC's for a variety of potential shapes and at a variety of electron densities. These results are consistent with the idea that the 0.7 effect and bound states observed in quantum point contacts are two distinct phenomena.</p> / Dissertation

New analytical and numerical solutions are developed to both the kinematic approximation to the St Venant equations and the Hairsine-Rose (HR) soil erosion model in order to gain a better physical understanding of soil erosion and sediment transport in shallow overland flow. The HR model is unique amongst physically based erosion models in that it is the only one that: considers the entire distribution of the soil s sediment size classes, considers the development of a layer of deposited non-cohesive sediment having different characteristics to the original underlying cohesive soil and considers separately the erosion processes of rainfall detachment, runoff entrainment and gravitational deposition. The method of characteristics and the method of lines were used to develop both the analytical and numerical solutions respectively. These solutions were obtained for boundary and initial conditions typical of those used in laboratory flume experiments along with physically realistic constant and time dependent excess rainfall rates. Depending on the boundary and initial conditions, interesting new solutions of the kinematic wave equation containing expansion waves, travelling shocks as well as solutions which split into an upslope and downslope drying profiles were found. Numerical solutions of the HR model were applied to the experimental flume data of Polyakov and Nearing (2003) obtained under flow conditions which periodically cycled between net erosion and net deposition conditions. While excellent agreement was found with suspended sediment data, the analysis suggested that an additional transport mechanisms, traditionally not included in soil erosion models, was occurring. While the inclusion of bed-load transport improved the ii overall model prediction, it was still not sufficient. Subsequent asymptotic analysis then showed that the interaction of the flow with an evolving bed morphology was in fact far more important than bed load transport. A very interesting finding from this work showed that the traditional criterion of validating sediment transport model based solely on suspended sediment data was not sufficient as reliable predictions could be obtained even when important transport mechanisms were neglected. Experimental plots of sediment discharge or suspended sediment concentration against water discharge in overland flow have been shown to contain significant hysteresis between the falling and rising limbs of the discharge hydrograph. In the final Chapter, the numerical solution developed for the complete system of soil erosion and kinematic flow was used to show that it was possible for the HR model to simulate three of the four hysteresis loops identified in the literature. Counter clock-wise loops, clock-wise loops and figure 8 loops could all be produced as a result of starting with different initial conditions, being mi(x; 0) = 0, mi(x; 0) = pimt and mi(x; 0) = 0:5pimt respectively. This is the first time that these types of hysteresis loops have been produced by any erosion model. The generation of these hysteresis loops are physically explainable in terms of sediment availability and is consistent with data obtained on the field scale.

An exact quantum Monte Carlo algorithm for interacting particles in the spatial continuum is extended to exploit the massive parallelism offered by graphics processing units. Its efficacy is tested on the Calogero-Sutherland model describing a system of bosons interacting in one spatial dimension via an inverse square law. Due to the long range nature of the interactions, this model has proved difficult to simulate via conventional path integral Monte Carlo methods running on conventional processors. Using Graphics Processing Units, optimal speedup factors of up to 640 times are obtained for N = 126 particles. The known results for the ground state energy are confirmed and, for the first time, the effects of thermal fluctuations at finite temperature are explored.