The brine and gas content of sea ice with attention to low salinities and high temperatures

Based on the well known sea ice phase diagram, equations are derived for determining the brine and gas content of sea Ice for high temperatures (range 0 to -2 °C) and low salinities. The presently widely used equations of Cox and Weeks (1982) are valid only for temperatures below -2°C. Fresh-water ice is used as a boundary condition for the equations. The relative salt concentrations in brine are_assumed to be the same as in normal (or standard) seawater. Two sets of equations are presented: 1) accurate formulae based on UNESCO standard sea water equations, and 2) approximate formulae based on general properties of weak solutions. The approximate formulae are not essentially different from the classical system which basically assumes the freezing point to be a linear function of fractional salt content. The agreement between the two approaches is excellent and the approximate system is good enough for most applications.

Robust design optimization of gas turbine compression systems

Gas turbine compression systems are required to perform adequately over a range of operating conditions. Complexity has encouraged the conventional design process for compressors to focus initially on one operating point, usually the most commonor arduous, to draw up an outline design. Generally, only as this initial design is refined is its offdesign performance assessed in detail. Not only does this necessarily introduce a potentially costly and timeconsuming extra loop in the design process, but it also may result in a design whose offdesign behavior is suboptimal. Aversion of nonintrusive polynomial chaos was previously developed in which a set of orthonormal polynomials was generated to facilitate a rapid analysis of robustness in the presence of generic uncertainties with good accuracy. In this paper, this analysis method is incorporated in real time into the design process for the compression system of a three-shaft gas turbine aeroengine. This approach to robust optimization is shown to lead to designs that exhibit consistently improved system performance with reduced sensitivity to offdesign operation.

An investigation into the potential losses of fish on the filter plates at the Hodder Water Treatment Works Stocks Reservoir

Stocks Reservoir is situated amidst the Forest of Bowland in the upper reaches of the old river valley of the Hodder. The reservoir was built in 1927 for the Fylde Water Board who primarily supplied water to Blackpool. The objective of this study is to assess the degree and likelihood of fish ingress onto the fish plates at the present and proposed stocking densities. An additional aim is to evaluate the operational implications, and if necessary suggest methods of alleviating the problem. Three spheres of study have been undertaken to achieve these objectives, these being: 1. To selectively stock the reservoir and monitor the angling club catches in order to assess the total population, relating it to fish plate losses and proposed stocking densities. 2. To monitor the fish taken from the fish plates and assess the reasons for their ingress. 3. To study the draw off tower and fish plates, and suggest ways of ameliorating or halting the loss of fish and consequent operational problems.

Study of thin-film SO2 gas sensors by photometric and ellipsometric methods

Pt-, Pd-, and Zr-doped SnO2 thin films and dopant-free VOx films were fabricated by planar magnetron sputtering. Tests for sensitivity to SO2 for all samples were conducted at 180 degreesC, and the sensitivities were investigated ex situ with photometric and ellipsometric methods at room temperature. It was found that the optical sensitivities as well as the sensitive wavelength region for SnO2 films could be tuned by doping. The Pd-doped SnO2 films had good sensitivity in the visible range, and the Zr-doped in the near IR. The dominant sensitive wavelength region for VOx films fell into the visible range, and the ratio of the sensitivity in the visible to that in the near IR increased with O-2/Ar in the depositing atmosphere. (C) 2001 society of Photo-Optical instrumentation Engineers .