The performance of nonstructural components in critical infrastructure, such as nuclear power plants (NPPs), has been primarily based on experience and historical data. This topic has been attracting increased interest from researchers following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011. This disaster demonstrated the importance of using batteries in NPPs as an auxiliary power system, where such systems can provide the necessary power to mitigate the risk of serious accidents. However, little research has been conducted on such nonstructural components to evaluate their performance following the post- Fukushima safety requirements, recommended by several nuclear regulators worldwide [e.g., Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC)]. To address this research gap, this dissertation investigates the lateral performance of an auxiliary battery power system (ABPS) similar to those currently existing/operational in NPPs in Canada. The ABPS was experimentally tested under displacement-controlled quasi-static cyclic fully-reversed loading that simulates lateral seismic demands. Due to the presence of sliding batteries, the ABPS was then tested dynamically under increased ground motion levels on a shake table. The experimental results demonstrated that the design guidelines and fragility curves currently assigned to battery rack systems in the FEMA P58 prestandards do not encompass all possible failure mechanisms. A 3D numerical model was also developed using OpenSees software. The model was validated using the experimental results. The model results showed that the lateral performance of ABPS with different configurations (i.e. different lengths, tiers, and seismic categories) is influenced by the capacity of the L-shaped connection between the side rails and the end rail. However, the model was not able to predict all the damage states from the dynamic experimental tests, since the rocking/sliding/impact behavior of the batteries is a highly complex nonlinear problem by nature and beyond the scope of this study. The model presented is limited to the assessment of the lateral performance of different ABPS statically. This dissertation demonstrated the difference between the observed behavior of laboratory-controlled lateral performance tests of ABPSs operational/existing in NPPs and the behavior of ABPSs found in the literature that relied on limited historical and experience data. Finally, this dissertation laid the foundations for the need to further investigate the behavior of other safety-related components in NPPs and assess their compliance with new post-Fukushima design requirements. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Der Cr2O3 ist einer der wichtigsten Katalysatoren im Chlor/Fluor (Cl/F) Austauschreaktionen für die Produktion von chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) Alternativen. Es wird als ein ausgezeichneter heterogener Katalysator für Fluorierung Reaktionen gegründet. Die Dismutierung von CCl2F2 wurde verwendet, um die Wirkung von Halogenierung von Chrom(III) Oxyd auf Cl/F-Austauschreaktionen zu untersuchen und um den Unterschied zwischen den inaktiven und aktiven Katalysatoren herauszufinden. Die heterogenen Reaktionen wurden in einem tubular-flow Ni Reaktor und auch unter simulierten Reaktionsbedingungen in einem Reaktor durchgeführt, wo nach der Reaktion die Photoelektronspektroskopie (XPS) und die Auger-Elektronspektroskopie (XAES) Analysen konnte direkt ohne Luftkontakt, unter so genannt "in - situ" Bedingungen gefolgt werden. Es wurde gezeigt, dass die Probleme der Behandlung von Cr (III) 2p Photoelektronenspektren so gelöst werden können, dass ihnen relevante Daten für die chemische Charakterisierung von Oberflächen entnommen werden können. Hochaufgelöste Photoelektronspektroskopie von Cr2O3 Pulverproben zeigte deutlich die Existenz von spektralen Strukturen, die mit Multiplet-Aufspaltungen im jeweiligen Cr 2p Spektrum verbunden sind. Das Spektrum kann durch eine Peakfit-Analyse vertieft interpretiert werden in dem die Anfangswerte für die Peakparameter der Multiplet-Strukturen den jeweiligen Cr L2,3 XANES Spektren entnommen werden. Vom theoretischen Gesichtspunkt sollte dasselbe Verfahren auch eine Analyse der Cr 2p Photoelektronenspektren von alpha-CrF3, CrCl3 und anderen Chrom (III) Verbindungen ermöglichen. Die Unterschiede, die im Experiment für die Cr2O3, alpha-CrF3 und CrCl Photoelektronenspektren beobachtet werden, deuten auf die Tatsache, dass, obwohl in all diesen Fällen dieselben Multiplet-Aufspaltungen für Cr3+ erwartet werden, individuelle Einflüsse der Symmetrie und Ligandenfelder die Endgestalt des jeweiligen Cr 2p Photoelektronenspektrums definieren. Eine Analyse von Cr 3s Spektren kann zusätzlich wertvolle Finger-print Informationen zu chemischen Zuständen von Chrom in Cr (III) Verbindungen erbringen. Sowohl ex-situ als auch ´´in-situ´´ ESCA zeigen, dass sobald CCl2F2 zu Cr2O3 an 390 °C geführt wird, Fluorierung sowie Chlorierung an der Katalysator-Oberfläche findet statt. Wenn die XPS Oberflächenzusammensetzung etwa 4 Atom - % Fluorierung und 6 Atom - %-Chlorierung erreicht, wird die maximale katalytische Aktivität erhalten. Die längeren Reaktionszeiten ändern bedeutsam die erhaltene Oberflächenzusammensetzung von aktiviertem Chrom(III) Oxyd nicht. Der Fluorierung und Chlorierung von Chrom(III) Oxyd wurden weiter durch verschiedenen HF und HCl Behandlungen ebenso untersucht. Die aktivierten Chrom(III) Oxyd Proben und Referenzproben mit der weithin bekannten chemischen Struktur wurden auch durch Kantennahe Röntegenabsorptionsuntersuchungen (XANES), Flugzeit-statischesekundärionenmassenspektroskopie (TOF-SSIMS), Rasterelektronenmikroskopie (SEM), Fluor-Festkörper-NMR, Pyridin-FTIR, Nasschemie (F und Cl) Analyse, Pulver Röntgensbeugung (XRD) und Oberflächen (BET) Analyse untersucht. Die Ergebnisse der Referenzproben Cr2O3, Cr (OH) 3, CrF2 (OH), CrF3.3H2O, Alpha-CrF3, Beta-CrF3 und CrCl3 und aktivierte Cr2O3 Proben wurden verglichen. Die angewandten Charakterisierungsmethoden schlagen vor, dass die Bildung der Chrom-Oxydchlorid-Fluorid-Arten, bzw. Chrom-Oxyd Halogenide, an der Oberfläche ist genügend die katalytische Aktivität zu versorgen. Die Anwesenheit jedes CrF3 und/oder CrCl3 Phasen auf den aktivierten Chrom(III) Oxyd Proben wurde nicht entdeckt. / The Cr2O3 is one of the most important catalysts in the chlorine/fluorine (Cl/F) exchange reactions for the production of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) alternatives. It is established as an excellent heterogeneous catalyst for fluorination reactions. The dismutation of CCl2F2 was used to probe the effect of halogenation of chromia on Cl/F exchange reactions in order to find out the difference between the inactive and active catalysts. The heterogeneous reactions were performed in a continuous flow Ni reactor and also under simulated reaction conditions in a reactor where after the reaction the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and the X-ray excited Auger electron spectroscopy (XAES) analyses could be followed directly without air contact, under so called ´´in-situ´´ conditions. In order to be able to apply the Cr(III) 2p XPS analysis in the proper manner the spectroscopic features of the chromium(III) compounds of O, F and Cl were re-investigated. Latest generation of XPS spectrometers, which are able to analyze non-conductive powders with ultimate energy resolution, were used to reveal multiplet splitting features and satellite emission in the Cr 2p spectra. The energy positions of the multiplets were determined by total electron yield (TEY)- X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. Using both high resolution XPS and XANES spectra a peak-fit analysis, which is also applicable for normally resolved Cr 2p XPS spectrum, was proposed. In order to overcome the known background problem by drawing the background in the broad Cr 2p window including the high binding energy satellite, a modified Shirley background, which is a combination of a linear and Shirley function, was used. Moreover, the spectroscopic features of the Cr(III) 3s XPS spectrum, which is relatively simpler than the Cr 2p one, were also surveyed. An alternative chemical analysis was proposed by using chemical state plots for Cr 3s. Both ex- and in-situ ESCA show that as soon as Cr2O3 is conducted to CCl2F2 at 390 °C fluorination as well as chlorination takes place at the catalyst surface. When the XPS surface composition reaches approximately 4 atom-% fluorination and 6 atom-% chlorination, maximum catalytic activity is obtained. Applying longer reaction times do not change significantly the obtained surface composition of the activated chromia. The fluorination and chlorination of chromia was further investigated by various HF and HCl treatments as well. The activated chromia samples and reference samples with well known chemical structure were also characterized by XANES, time of flight - static secondary ion mass spectroscopy (TOF-SSIMS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fluorine solid state NMR, pyridine-FTIR, wet chemical (F and Cl) analysis, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and surface area (BET) analysis. The results for the references Cr2O3, Cr(OH)3, CrF2(OH), CrF3.3H2O, alpha-CrF3, beta-CrF3 and CrCl3 and activated Cr2O3 samples were compared. The applied characterization methods suggest that the formation of chromium oxide chloride fluoride species, e.g. chromium oxide halides, at the surface is sufficient to provide catalytic activity. The presence of any CrF3 and/or CrCl3 phases on the activated chromia samples was not detected.

Gruvavfall, i form av gråberg, från Kiirunavaara-gruvan i Kiruna, norra Sverige undersöktes för att se om surt lakvatten kan bildas från gråberget och om detta kan ha en påverkan på hur mycket kväve som kan lakas ut från gråberget. För detta ändamål gjordes dels en mineralogisk undersökning av gråberget, med siktning, röntgendiffraktion (XRD) och grundämnesanalys och dels laborativa skakförsök. Från skakförsöken, där olika kornstorlekar (8-16 mm, 2-4 mm och mindre än 1 mm) blandades med avjoniserat vatten med L/S-kvoten 10, kunde förändringar i pH, alkalinitet och lösta joner undersökas över en 10-veckors period.                       De främsta mineralen i gråberget i Kiirunavaara visades vara plagioklas, kvarts och biotit. I gråberget finns även 18 g pyrit/kg gråberg. Skakförsöken indikerar att lakvattnet från gråberget i Kiirunavaara är alkaliskt med ett pH över 9. Vittring av sulfidmineral sker, men neutraliseras av buffrande mineral som kalcit och ingen potential till produktion av surt lakvatten finns. Kväveutlakningen sker främst under de första dygnen, men mer än hälften av de kväveföreningar som antas finnas i gråberget lakas inte ut. Både nitrat och ammonium visade signifikanta korrelationer med pH, där högre pH-värden tydde på högre nitratkoncentrationer och lägre pH-värden på högre ammoniumkoncentrationer. Detta indikerar att även om inget samband kunde ses mellan produktion av surt lakvatten och kväveutlakning, så är mängden av olika kväveföreningar som lakas ut beroende av lakvattnets pH-värde. / Mining waste rock from the Kiirunavaara-mine in northern Sweden was studied to determine if there is a potential for production of acid mine drainage (AMD), if there is a leaching of nitrogen compounds from the waste rock and if a correlation between the two processes can be seen. A mineralogical characterization of the waste rock was done through dry sieving, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and elemental analysis. Through shake flask experiments, where waste rock of three different grain sizes (8-16 mm, 2-4 mm and less than 1 mm) were mixed with deionized water (L:S-ratio of 10), the change in pH, alkalinity and dissolved ions during a 10-week period was determined.                       The waste rock in Kiirunavaara was found to consist mainly of plagioclase, quartz and biotite, but the waste rock also contains 18 g pyrite per kg waste rock. The shake flask experiments indicate that the mine drainage from the waste rock in Kiirunavaara is alkaline, with a pH above 9. Weathering of sulphide minerals occur, but are neutralised by buffering minerals such as calcite and thus no potential for AMD-production exists. The leaking of nitrogen compounds occurs mainly during the first few days. Both ammonium and nitrate showed significant correlations with pH, where lower pH-values typically exhibited higher ammonium concentrations, while higher pH-values correlated with higher nitrate concentrations.

Abstract Efficient production of biologically functional recombinant proteins is a cornerstone of modern biotechnological research. Laboratory-scale protein production is most commonly accomplished in simple shaking bioreactors such as shake flasks. However, productivity of these cultures is often severely limited by low biomass yield and non-optimal growth conditions regarding medium composition, pH and oxygen supply. In many cases, poor culture performance can constitute a major research bottleneck. This study aims to improve recombinant protein production in shaking Escherichia coli cultures by use of enzyme-controlled, fed-batch-like glucose feeding in a rich medium, and by investigating the effects of culture aeration on different aspects of protein production. The results show that the enzymatic fed-batch medium can provide higher cell densities, volumetric protein yields and, in some cases, improved product solubility or activity compared to traditionally used media. While these improvements could be obtained in ordinary shaking vessels, the results also demonstrate that cultivation in shake flasks with elevated aeration capacity can further improve cell density and volumetric productivity in the fed-batch medium. However, enhanced aeration may also have an adverse effect on the expression of certain proteins such as Fab antibody fragments. Maximum volumetric Fab yield was achieved under reduced aeration rates, and lower oxygen availability also contributed to substantially increased accumulation of periplasmically produced Fab fragments into extracellular medium. Hence modification of aeration conditions and medium composition can be used to control periplasmic/extracellular product localization as outlined in this study. Moreover, high aeration was detrimental to expression in a glycerol-based lactose autoinduction medium, but this strict dependency on aeration level could be mitigated and robustness of expression improved by an autoinduction medium based on the enzymatic glucose feeding as the supporting carbon source instead of glycerol. The results of this study can be utilized to improve volumetric productivity, protein solubility and control of product localization in small-scale protein production, as well as to facilitate robust and efficient high-throughput protein expression for such applications as structural and functional characterization. / Tiivistelmä Biologisesti aktiivisten vierasproteiinien tehokas tuottaminen on yksi bioteknologisen tutkimuksen kulmakivistä. Laboratoriomittakaavan proteiinituotto toteutetaan yleisimmin yksinkertaisissa ravistelubioreaktoreissa, kuten ravistelupulloissa. Näiden viljelmien tuottavuutta rajoittaa kuitenkin usein biomassan matala saanto sekä epäoptimaaliset olosuhteet kasvualustan koostumuksen, pH:n ja hapen suhteen. Monissa tapauksissa viljelmän heikko tuottavuus muodostaa tutkimukselle merkittävän pullonkaulan. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoite on parantaa vierasproteiinien tuottoa Escherichia coli –ravisteluviljelmissä hyödyntäen entsymaattisesti kontrolloitua, panossyöttökasvatusta jäljittelevää glukoosisyöttöä rikkaassa kasvualustassa, sekä selvittää ilmastuksen vaikutusta proteiinituoton eri osatekijöihin. Tulosten mukaan glukoosisyöttöön perustuva kasvualusta mahdollistaa korkeamman solutiheyden sekä proteiinituoton verrattuna tavallisimmin käytettyihin kasvualustoihin. Joissain tapauksissa myös proteiinin liukoisuus tai aktiivisuus voi parantua. Vaikka nämä edut pystyttiin saavuttamaan myös tavanomaisissa ravistelupulloissa, voidaan panossyöttökasvualustan solutiheyttä ja tuottoa tilavuutta kohti edelleen lisätä käyttämällä korkeamman ilmastustehokkuuden ravistelupulloja. Toisaalta tehostetun ilmastuksen havaittiin olevan mahdollisesti haitallista tiettyjen proteiinien, kuten Fab-vasta-ainefragmenttien, tuotolle. Fab-fragmenttien maksimaalinen tuotto saavutettiin ilmastustehokkuutta laskemalla. Lisäksi matalampi hapen saatavuus edisti periplasmaan ohjattujen Fab-fragmenttien kerääntymistä solunulkoiseen kasvualustaan. Näin ollen ilmastusolosuhteita ja kasvualustan koostumusta muokkaamalla voidaan vaikuttaa tuotteen lopulliseen sijoittumiseen. Korkean ilmastustehokkuuden havaittiin myös olevan haitallista proteiinituotolle glyserolipohjaisessa autoinduktiokasvualustassa. Tätä riippuvuutta ilmastuksen tasosta pystyttiin vähentämään ja autoinduktion luotettavuutta parantamaan käyttämällä kasvualustaa jossa hiililähteenä toimii glyserolin sijaan entsymaattinen glukoosisyöttö. Tutkimuksen tuloksia hyödyntäen voidaan parantaa vierasproteiinien saantoa, liukoisuutta ja periplasmisen/solunulkoisen kerääntymisen säätelyä, sekä mahdollistaa luotettava ja tehokas proteiinituotto viljelmien suurta lukumäärää vaativiin sovelluksiin, kuten proteiinien rakenteen ja toiminnan tutkimukseen.

Hydraulic fracturing operations utilized for shale gas production result in the generation of a large volume of flowback and produced water that contain suspended material, salts, hydrocarbons, metals, chemical additives, and naturally-occurring radioactive material. The water is impounded at drilling sites or treated off-site, resulting in significant generation of residual solids. These are either buried on site or are disposed in lined landfills. The objective of this study was to determine the levels of heavy metals and other elements of concern that will leach from these residual solids when placed in typical disposal environments. For this purpose, laboratory leaching experiments were employed wherein representative samples were brought into contact with a liquid to determine the constituents that would be leached by the liquid and potentially released into the environment. The samples used included sludge resulting from the physicochemical treatment of process water (TS), sludge solidified with cement kiln dust (SS), raw solids obtained by gravity separation of process water (RS), and drilling mud (DM). The samples were subjected to both single extraction (i.e. Shake Extraction Test, SET) and multiple extraction (i.e. Immersion Test, IT) leaching tests. For the shake extraction test, samples were mixed with a specific amount of leaching solution without renewal over a short time period. In the immersion test, samples were immersed in a specific amount of leaching solution that was periodically renewed over a longer period of time. For both these tests, analyses were performed on the filtered eluate. The tests were performed as per standards with modifications. Distilled de-ionized water, synthetic acid rain (pH ~ 4.2), weak acetic acid (pH ~ 2.88), and synthetic landfill leachate were used as leaching solutions to mimic specific disposal environments. Alkali metals (Li, K, Na), alkaline earth metals (Ba, Ca, Mg, Sr) and a halide (Br), which are typically associated with Marcellus shale and produced waters, leached at high concentrations from most of the residual solids sample. The SS sample, due to its stabilization with CKD, had a lower extraction efficiency as compared to the unconsolidated TS and RS samples. In EF 2.9 and EF SLL, the leaching took place under acidic conditions, while for EF DDI and EF 4.2, the leaching occurred in alkaline conditions. EF 2.9 and EF SLL were determined to be the most aggressive leaching solutions, causing the maximum solubility of most inorganic elements. Thus, high amounts of most EOCs may leach from these residual solids in MSW landfills disposed under co-disposal conditions. Agitation, pH and composition of the leaching solution were determined to be important variables in evaluating the leaching potential of a sample. The results of this study should help with the design of further research experiments being undertaken to develop environmentally responsible management/disposal strategies for these residual solids and also prove useful for regulatory authorities in their efforts to develop specific guidelines for the disposal of residuals from shale gas production operations. / Master of Science

This final thesis is divided into two parts. The first, theoretic part is focused on issue about industrial concrete floors, their production and adjustment. Special attention is paid to the mineral shakes, steel fibres and concrete, which is used to these constructions. There are more information about specific standardized tests of steel fibre concrete and some damages of concrete floors in other chapters. Second part of the diploma thesis is practical. Theoretical knowledge are applied to the actual construction. Survey methodology and diagnostic work are also desribed. Data processing and evaluation with the commentary is also attached to this part. The conclusion summarizes the results and selected findings relating to the issue are also included there.