Despite the relevance of social innovations in the sustainable development, little is known about the drivers that help to spread them. Innovative ideas are developed to meet the needs of local communities and therefore often remain at a regional level; nevertheless, diffusion and scaling are necessary in order to lead to a societal change. This thesis analyses the case of Suspended Coffees, a successful diffusion of a social innovation in Germany. The research focuses on businesses adopting the social innovation to examine the drivers of diffusion. 24 interviews with business owners and two in-depth expert interviews with the German coordination body were conducted. The results illustrate (1) the existence of social needs, (2) the strong personal motivations of adopters, and (3) the compatibility of the innovation with adopting businesses and the social ecosystem, as main drivers of the diffusion. The study thereby expands the limited research in the field of the diffusion of social innovations.

Une étude expérimentale sur le transfert des particules en suspension dans les milieux poreux est menée au laboratoire sur des colonnes remplies de sable en utilisant des techniques de traçage. Les effets du milieu poreux, de la taille des particules et de la polydispersivité de ces particules sur leur transport et dépôt sont étudiés. Des injections impulsion et des injections en continue de particules en suspension monodisperses (Latex) et polydisperses (Kaolinite) à différentes vitesses d’écoulement ont été réalisées. Deux milieux poreux de granulométries serrées et un troisième milieu poreux constitué du mélange des deux précédents sont utilisés. Par ailleurs, pour étudier l’effet de la taille et de de la polydispersivité des particules injectées, trois populations monodisperses de particules de latex ainsi que trois mélanges de ces dernières ont été utilisés. Les paramètres caractérisant le transport et le dépôt des particules en suspension sont déterminés en utilisant la solution analytique de l’équation convection-dispersion avec une cinétique de dépôt de premier ordre. L’effet de sélection de taille est étudié à partir des analyses granulométriques des particules prélevées dans les effluents à différents moments de la restitution et des particules déposées à différents horizons dans le milieu poreux. Les résultats ont montré que la vitesse d’écoulement, la distribution granulométrique du milieu poreux, la taille et la polydispersivité des particules en suspension jouent un rôle important dans le transport et le dépôt dans les milieux poreux. / An experimental study on the transfer of suspended particles in porous media is conducted in laboratory columns filled with sand using tracing techniques. The effects of the porous medium, the particle size and the polydispersity of the particles on their transport and deposition are investigated. Pulse injections and continuous injections of monodisperse suspended particles (latex) and polydisperse (kaolinite) under different flow velocities were performed. To study the effect of porous media grain size distribution on the transport and deposition of polydisperse suspended particles, three sands filled columns were used : Fine sand, Coarse sand, and a third sand obtained by mixing the two last sands in equal weight proportion. Furthermore, to investigate the effects of size and polydispersivity of the suspended particles, three populations of monodisperse latex particles and a forth population obtained by mixing the last three populations in equal volume proportion were used. The transport and deposition parameters of suspended particles were determined using the analytical solution of convection-dispersion equation with a first order deposition kinetics. The size selection effect is analyzed using particle-size analysis of the recovered particles in the effluent at different time intervals of injection and the deposited particles in the porous medium. The results showed that the flow velocity, porous media grain size distribution, the size and the polydispersity of the suspended particles play an important role in the transport and the deposition in porous media.

La dynamique des matières en suspension joue un rôle primordial au sein de la zone côtière en étant le principal vecteur de matière particulaire depuis les sources (rivières) vers les puits (marges continentales, canyons sous-marins, océan profond). Le suivi de cette dynamique, notamment pendant les évènements de crues des fleuves et des tempêtes, est primordial afin d’estimer les budgets sédimentaires des marges continentales, de suivre l’évolution des habitats benthiques et de déterminer le rôle de cette dynamique dans le transport de contaminants. Cette thèse a pour objet l’étude des impacts de tels évènements sur la dynamique des particules en suspension au sein du Golfe du Lion (Méditerranée). Une approche multiplateforme, couplant les différentes plateformes de mesures existantes (campagne en mer, glider, satellite, mouillage, bouée côtière) et basée sur la mesure de la turbidité en terme quantitatif et qualitatif a été adoptée. Les résultats ont permis de décrire 1) la dynamique des néphéloïdes en fonction des forçages (vents, vagues, courants) durant des évènements de crue du Rhône et de tempête marine, 2) la variabilité spatiale et temporelle de l’assemblage particulaire lors de ces mêmes évènements par une caractérisation in situ et 3) de montrer le rôle des plateformes autonomes du type gliders dans le suivi de la dynamique des matières en suspension en zone côtière. / Coastal suspended particulate matter dynamics play a main role in the fate of land-derived material from the source (rivers) to sink (continental margins, submarine canyons, deep sea). The monitoring of this dynamic, especially during flooding and storm conditions, is decisive to understand factors impacting sedimentary budgets of continental margins, health of benthic habitats and spread of contaminants. The aim of this PhD is to study the impacts of such events on the suspended particles dynamics over the shelf of the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediteranean). A multi-platform approach, combining existing observation platforms (survey, glider, satellite, mooring and coastal buoy) and based on the measurement of the turbidity was adopted. Results enabled to describe 1) the impacts of forcings (winds, waves, currents) on the dynamics of nepheloid layers during flooding and storm conditions, 2) the variability of the particle assemblage during such events through an in situ characterization and 3) the role of gliders in the monitoring of suspended particles dynamics within the coastal zone.

The purpose of this study is to gain some first insights into the role of burst-like turbulent motions in sediment suspension over a sandy channel bed, during typical conditions of strong sediment transport with active bedforms. The focus is the suspension mechanism that maintains sizeable sediment concentrations away from the bed, where much of the downstream transport occurs, rather than entrainment at the sediment boundary itself. Flow components downstream and normal to the mean boundary, along with the output of an optical suspended sediment sensor, were monitored 1 m above the bed. The main study data were collected in a 10 m deep channel of the Fraser River near Mission, British Columbia, Canada. Velocities averaged 1.4 m/s at the surface and 0.9 m/s at the sensors, where mean suspended sediment concentrations were 500 mg/l; decimetre height small dunes on the backs of larger, metre amplitude dunes covered the channel bed. Many hours of data were recorded at 5 Hz, allowing multi-second scale turbulent motions as well as multi-minute oscillations to be resolved in both the velocity and turbidity records. Burst-like "ejection and inrush" motions were identified, producing a high degree of intermittency in momentum exchange: 80% of the mean Reynolds stress at the 1 m level is produced during 12% of the record duration. The burst recurrence period appears to be significantly greater than predicted by applying the conventional outer flow scaling in this environment. It is hypothesised that the non-uniform shear and pressure gradient conditions over the various scales of bedforms on the river floor may somehow affect mean burst periodicity, modifying the recurrence scaling developed over flat boundaries. The determination of a burst recurrence timescale from one-point data is inherently imprecise however and, as elsewhere, a continuous variation of return periods with relative magnitude of extreme (u'v') events is observed. The optical turbidity (OBS) time series reveals that these intermittent burst-like motions are, as expected, very important in vertically mixing sediments across the 1 m level in the flow; for example violent ejections, occurring only 1% of the time and contributing some 10% to mean turbulent momentum flux, appear to account for 6% of the total vertical sediment flux. The statistical association between the momentum and sediment mixing efficiencies of any ejection appears to be only moderately strong, however; very intense suspension can be associated with rather "weak" ejections (in terms of stress), and vice-versa. Differences between momentum and sediment mixing effects of a given ejection may partly be related to the "crossing trajectories effect"; sand grains continually fall out of the eddies that bear them, so the momentum and sediment "contents" of an eddy at 1 m off the bed are not perfectly linked. Turbulent sediment suspension is, like momentum exchange, a highly intermittent process in itself. After selecting turbulent events only for suspension efficiency, the largest ones, occupying only 5% of the time, contribute approximately one half of the total vertical sediment flux. There is no indication that the conventional scaling of burst recurrence corresponds to the occurrence of any distinctive event level for suspension. Interestingly, burst-like turbulent motions are not the only flow oscillations contributing to suspension in the high flow conditions of the study. Multi-minute period flow perturbations at 1 m off the bed significantly assist burst-scale turbulent motions in driving the upward sediment mixing. In summary, turbulent mixing of both momentum and sediment at 1 m over a typical sandy river bed is dominated by intermittent, intense "burst-like" events. However, the extrapolation of intermittent "bursting" concepts and structural constants from small-scale laboratory flows to the larger fluvial environment may be misleading. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

Please read the abstract in the section front of this document. / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Chemical Engineering / unrestricted

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第22032号 / 理博第4536号 / 新制||理||1651(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院理学研究科地球惑星科学専攻 / (主査)准教授 成瀬 元, 教授 生形 貴男, 准教授 堤 昭人 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

This master’s thesis deals with use of central spring unit at Formula Student car. Thanks to CFD simulations, aerodynamics properties of the car was found out according to different position of suspended mass. Within kinematic design of both axles a parameters of spring unit of both axles were defined as well. Whole design was made to increase overall performance of the car thanks to the aerodynamic forces.

The Odlezelské Lake is a natural, landslide-dammed lake in western Bohemia. Its lake basin is silting intensely and its volume decreases; it will be completely silted in the future. This work aims to evaluate the siltation of the lake primarily by evaluating the suspended load regime of its tributaries and comparison with data from bathymetric measurements. Within this work, data from the station network of the Department of Physical Geography of the Faculty of Science of the Charles University were used, which was statistically processed in order to describe the hydrological and suspended load regime. In addition, flow speeds in the inflow part of the lake were measured during two precipitation-runoff events using ADCP. The results show that most of the suspended load is transported during flood episodes, in contrast to the runoff, there is a significant interannual variability in the suspended load regime. Oppositely, the comparison of the suspended load regime and the bathymetric data proved as impossible due to a high sensitivity of the data.

Tunnels have become increasingly important in the development of road networks to meet rising transportation demands. Washing of road tunnels must be performed regularly to ensure traffic safety. The washing procedure generates significant amount of polluted wash water. Before discharge to a receiving water body, treatment is necessary to avoid potential degradation of the water quality. In this study, 12 in situ sedimentation experiments were conducted to evaluate treatment efficiency of sedimentation, with and without the addition of chemical flocculent. The findings showed that untreated tunnel wash water was highly polluted with total suspended solids (804-9690 mg/l), PAHs (0.4–29 μg/l) and heavy metals. Most pollutants were associated with the particulate material. Significant correlations (r2 > 0.95) were found between suspended solids and metals. Efficient removal of pollutants was possible by sedimentation with addition of flocculent. Within 20 hours of sedimentation low concentrations were reached of suspended solids (<15mg/l), PAHs (<0.1 μg/l), Cd (<0.05 μg/l), Cr (< 8 μg/l), Hg (<0.02 μg/l), Pb (<0.5 μg/l) and Zn (< 60 μg/l). The results confirm the possibility to treat tunnel wash water with sedimentation and flocculation and to discharge treated wash water to a recipient, provided particular attention is given to very sensitive water bodies.

The introduction of pavement, buildings, and other impervious surfaces to urban landscapes greatly influences the quantity and quality of urban stormwater runoff. In this study, we designed and implemented modern stormwater monitoring technologies to establish a “smart” stormwater sensor network within the Northwest Field Canal (NWFC), an urban water conveyance located in Logan, Utah, USA. This network was designed to collect flow and water quality data at high frequencies and simultaneously at multiple locations. The observatory’s innovative method of inter-site communication and changing sampling frequencies during storm events was able to capture short duration events at the upstream and downstream ends of the NWFC and at multiple outfalls in the canal simultaneously without human intervention. We then investigated statistical regression models between turbidity and TSS so as to predict TSS at high frequencies. Finally, the addition of the high-frequency discharge data in the calibration procedure for a stormwater simulation model developed using the Environmental Protection Agency’s Stormwater Management Model did little to improve model performance at the downstream end of the canal, but did provide important insight into the overall contribution of discharge from individual stormwater outfalls to the NWFC. The results of this study inform water professionals on how to build and operate automated monitoring systems and how to create high-frequency estimates of TSS and TP loads in urban water systems.