Mössbauer resonance studies on the Ca2Fe2O5-LaFeO3 system

Phases between Ca₂Fe₂O₅ and LaFeO₃ with La_1?2yCa_2yFe³⁺O_3?y formulation have been prepared in order to study the oxygen defects in perovskite-related ferrites. X-ray-diffraction analysis and magnetic measurements have confirmed the previous results i.e. the existence of a critical concentration of vacancies above which long range ordering appears. A detailed Mössbauer resonance study shows a continuous evolution of the iron environment, tetrahedra being formed even for low values of y. This result has been discussed and compared with previous ones for homologous CaTi_1?2yFe_2yO_?y phases.     

Cohesiveness and hydrodynamic properties of young drinking water biofilms

Drinking water biofilms are complex microbial systems mainly composed of clusters of different size and age. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements were performed on 4, 8 and 12 weeks old biofilms in order to quantify the mechanical detachment shear stress of the clusters, to estimate the biofilm entanglement rate ξ. This AFM approach showed that the removal of the clusters occurred generally for mechanical shear stress of about 100 kPa only for clusters volumes greater than 200 μm³. This value appears 1000 times higher than hydrodynamic shear stress technically available meaning that the cleaning of pipe surfaces by water flushing remains always incomplete. To predict hydrodynamic detachment of biofilm clusters, a theoretical model has been developed regarding the averaging of elastic and viscous stresses in the cluster and by including the entanglement rate ξ. The results highlighted a slight increase of the detachment shear stress with age and also the dependence between the posting of clusters and their volume. Indeed, the experimental values of ξ allow predicting biofilm hydrodynamic detachment with same order of magnitude than was what reported in the literature. The apparent discrepancy between the mechanical and the hydrodynamic detachment is mainly due to the fact that AFM mechanical experiments are related to the clusters local properties whereas hydrodynamic measurements reflected the global properties of the whole biofilm.     

Effect of watershed parameters on mercury distribution in different environmental compartments in the Mobile Alabama River Basin, USA

Total mercury (THg) and mono-methylmercury (MeHg) levels in water, sediment, and largemouth bass (LMB) (Micropterus salmoides) were investigated at 52 sites draining contrasting land use/land cover and habitat types within the Mobile Alabama River Basin (MARB). Aqueous THg was positively associated with iron-rich suspended particles and highest in catchments impacted by agriculture. Sediment THg was positively associated with sediment organic mater and iron content, with the highest levels observed in smaller catchments influenced by wetlands, followed by those impacted by agriculture or mixed forest, agriculture, and wetlands. The lowest sediment THg levels were observed in main river channels, except for reaches impacted by coal mining. Sediment MeHg levels were a positive function of sediment THg and organic matter and aqueous nutrient levels. The highest levels occurred in agricultural catchments and those impacted by elevated sulfate levels associated with coal mining. Aqueous MeHg concentrations in main river channels were as high as those in smaller catchments impacted by agriculture or wetlands, suggesting these areas were sources to rivers. Elevated Hg levels in some LMB were observed across all types of land use and land cover, but factors such as shallow water depth, larger wetland catchment surface area, low aqueous potassium levels, and higher Chl a concentrations were associated with higher Hg burdens, particularly in the Coastal Plain province. It is suggested that the observed large variability in LMB Hg burdens is linked to fish displacement by anglers, differences in food web structure, and sediment biogeochemistry, with surficial sediment iron oxides buffering the flux of MeHg from sediments to deeper water pelagic food webs.     

Effect of porosity and hydrostatic pressure on water absorption in a semicrystalline fluoropolymer

This paper discusses the effect of porosity and hydrostatic pressure on diffusion kinetics and equilibrium water uptake in a semicrystalline fluoropolymer. Water sorption experiments at atmospheric pressure and under water pressures up to 250 MPa were carried out during 18 months at 40 °C on reference and porous samples. Porosity of samples was induced due to a cavitation process occurring at the highest triaxiality area of waisted and notched specimens during tensile tests. Water uptake was found to be very sensitive to porosity, showing an increase in samples with a high void fraction. On the other hand, water content decreased with increasing pressure suggesting a compaction of the porous space in which water can be stored. Two models describing this water uptake behaviour were considered. The first is a classical model which assumes that sorption occurs only by diffusion following Fick’s law. Fick’s model was found to be in agreement with the experimental results. A “Langmuir-type” sorption model was also proposed to describe water uptake in porous samples, considering a two-phase water transport mechanism: one portion of the absorbed water diffuses through the polymer matrix and the other portion is stored in voids. This model was implemented in a user subroutine using ABAQUS? software and simulations were confronted to experimental sorption curves showing satisfactory agreements. The potential of the Langmuir-type sorption model resides on its availability to be coupled to a poro-mechanical model, in order to improve the understanding of coupling between the mechanical behaviour and water sorption mechanism in a porous polymer.     

Norovirus contamination on French marketed oysters

Contaminated shellfish have been implicated in gastroenteritis outbreaks in different countries. As no regulation has been set up yet regarding viral contamination of food, very few data are available on the prevalence of contaminated products on the market. This study presents data obtained from oysters collected on the French market in one producing area over a 16 month period of time. Noroviruses were detected in 9% of samples with a seasonal impact and influence of climatic events. Contamination levels were low and, surprisingly, oysters sampled directly from the producer were found to have less contamination than oysters from supermarkets.     

Poroelastic behaviour of a water-saturated limestone

This paper presents the results of an experimental study carried out on a porous, water-saturated limestone. First, a set of poroelastic parameters is obtained from a wide range of experiments (drained, undrained, pore pressure loading and unjacketed tests) conducted on the same sample at the same stress state. A “null” test, inspired from unsaturated soil testing, is added to confirm the previous results, in particular the value of the Biot coefficient. Then, the variation of the measured parameters between samples is investigated. Finally, the influence of the stress state is studied in the framework of semilinear poroelasticity. Several expressions are compared to model the evolution of the drained bulk modulus as a function of Terzaghi's effective stress.     

Ratchet effect study in Si/SiGe heterostructures in the presence of asymmetrical antidots for different polarizations of microwaves

In this work, we studied the photovoltage response of an antidot lattice to microwave radiation for different antidot parameters. The study was carried out in a Si/SiGe heterostructure by illuminating the antidot lattice with linearly polarized microwaves and recording the polarity of induced photovoltage for different angles of incidence. Our study revealed that with increased antidot density and etching depth, the polarity of induced photovoltage changed when the angle of incidence was rotated 90 degrees. In samples with large antidot density and/or a deeply etched antidot lattice, scattering was dominated by electron interaction with the asymmetrical potential created by semicircular antidots. The strong electron–electron interaction prevailed in other cases. Our study provides insight into the mechanism of interaction between microwaves and electrons in an antidot lattice, which is the key for developing an innovative ratchet-based device. Moreover, we present an original and fundamental example of antidot lattice etching through the use of a two-dimensional electron gas. This system deals with a hole lattice instead of an electron depletion in the antidot lattice region.     

泰国曼谷SOBRR斜拉桥的施工设计

详细介绍了泰国曼谷南外环线上主垮500 m的SOBRR叠合梁斜拉桥的主要施工方法,如节段的安装,悬臂施工主梁的水平锚固、边墩和边主梁联结、边跨平衡重及主跨的合龙等.     

非整数阶系统的频率辨识

使用频响数据对非整数阶系统作频域模拟和辨识.首先,定义了非整数阶微分器的频率特性,进而给出了非整数阶系统的余奎斯特曲线的绘制方法.然后,运用方程式误差的辅助变量法,根据实部和虚部频率数据进行非整数阶系统的频率辨识.最后,通过两个数字仿真来验证这种辨识方法.