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Abstract Building energy performance is often inadequate given design goals. While different types of assessment methods exist, they either do not consider design goals and/or are not general enough to integrate new and innovative energy concepts. Furthermore, existing assessment methods focus mostly on the building and system level while ignoring more detailed data. With the availability and affordability of more detailed measured data, the increased number of measured data points requires a structure to organize these data. This paper presents the Energy Performance Comparison Methodology (EPCM), which enables the identification of performance problems based on a comparison of measured data and simulated data representing design goals. The EPCM is based on an interlinked building object hierarchy that structures the detailed performance data from a spatial and mechanical perspective. This research is developed and tested on multiple case studies that provide real-life context and more generality compared to single case studies.

Abstract. Flooding in the Amazon basin is frequently attributed to modes of large-scale climate variability, but little attention is paid to how these modes influence the timing and duration of floods despite their importance to early warning systems and the significant impacts that these flood characteristics can have on communities. In this study, river discharge data from the Global Flood Awareness System (GloFAS 2.1) and observed data at 58 gauging stations are used to examine whether positive or negative phases of several Pacific and Atlantic indices significantly alter the characteristics of river flows throughout the Amazon basin (1979–2015). Results show significant changes in both flood magnitude and duration, particularly in the north-eastern Amazon for negative El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phases when the sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly is positioned in the central tropical Pacific. This response is not identified for the eastern Pacific index, highlighting how the response can differ between ENSO types. Although flood magnitude and duration were found to be highly correlated, the impacts of large-scale climate variability on these characteristics are non-linear; some increases in annual flood maxima coincide with decreases in flood duration. The impact of flood timing, however, does not follow any notable pattern for all indices analysed. Finally, observed and simulated changes are found to be much more highly correlated for negative ENSO phases compared to the positive phase, meaning that GloFAS struggles to accurately simulate the differences in flood characteristics between El Niño and neutral years. These results have important implications for both the social and physical sectors working towards the improvement of early warning action systems for floods.

Abstract Adsorbent-based carbon capture is only feasible if adsorption-desorption cycles are both fully regenerating and efficient. This work proposes a regenerative pH swing process and a pH swing regenerative adsorbent that are inspired by natural CO2 conversion by carbonic anhydrase biocatalysts found in mammalian red blood cells. The main objective is to develop, test and analyze a synthetic pH Swing Adsorption (pHSA) system as well as a pHSA compatible solid adsorbent to capture CO2 from a simulated ambient air gas stream. The lead developed adsorbent is a carbon black co-activated with potassium carbonate and nitrogenous copolymer that is impregnated with immobilized bovine carbonic anhydrase and thereby deemed “BCA/KN-CB”. BCA/KN-CB has preliminarily demonstrated both competitive CO2 adsorption capacity and limited regenerative ability under experimental pHSA conditions. In addition, BCA-based adsorbents achieved higher adsorption capacities than non-BCA adsorbent counterparts. The BCA/KN-CB adsorbent displayed both large point of zero charge (PZC) swings and regenerative stability. The proposed pHSA system requires essentially zero energy expenditure to achieve intended environments for capture and regeneration. With 1 kg of adsorbent, pHSA has the ability to capture 1 kg CO2 in less than 4 h of cycling. The tested pHSA adsorbent can also capture more than 96% of total CO2 in a given raw gas stream flowing through the capture chamber. This proof-of-concept study of a pH swing adsorption/biocatalytic adsorbent system suggests the potential to effectively operate under ambient conditions and exhibit advantageous operational efficiencies to other high-profile CO2 capture systems.

Two bacterial species were isolated from cultures of Methanobacillus omelianskii grown on media, containing ethanol as oxidizable substrate. One of these, the S organism, is a gram negative, motile, anaerobic rod which ferments ethanol with production of H2 and acetate but is inhibited by inclusion of 0.5 atm of H2 in the gas phase of the medium. The other organism is a gram variable, nonmotile, anaerobic rod which utilizes H2 but not ethanol for growth and methane formation. The results indicate that M. omelianskii maintained in ethanol media is actually a symbiotic association of the two species.

The diffusivity and solubility of fluorine in solid nickel were determined using the following solid-state electrochemical cells: Co + CoF2| BaF2| Ni | BaF2| Co + CoF2 Co + CoF2| CaF2| BaF2| Ni | BaF2| CaF2| Co + CoF2 In the temperature range 1023 to 1223 K, the diffusion coefficient of fluorine in solid nickel is given by: 1 $$D_F (cm^2 /s) = (2.13_{ - 1.54}^{ + 5.54} ) \times 10^{ - 3} \exp (( - 118,600 \pm 12,000J/mol)/RT)$$ The dissolution of atomic fluorine in solid nickel obeys Sieverts’ law; however, the solubility results showed considerable scatter. In the temperature range 1073 to 1223 K, the mean solubility of fluorine in solid nickel, corresponding to the equilibrium Ni + NiF2, follows the relationship: N -F S (at. pct) = 5.73 x 10-3 exp((10,850 J/mol)/RT)

AbstractClimate change poses new and unique challenges that threaten lives and livelihoods. Given the increasing risks and looming uncertainty of climate change, increasing attention has been directed towards adaptation, or the strategies that enable humanity to persist and thrive through climate change the best it can. Though climate change is a global problem often discussed at the national scale, urban areas are increasingly seen as having a distinct role, and distinctive motivation and capacity, for adaptation. The 12 articles in this special issue explore ways of understanding and addressing climate change impacts on urban areas. Together they reveal young but rapidly growing scholarship on how to measure, and then overcome, challenges of climate change. Two key themes emerge in this issue: 1) that we must identify and then overcome current barriers to urban adaptation and 2) frameworks/metrics are necessary to identify and track adaptation progress in urban settings. Both of these themes point to the power of indicators and other quantitative information to inform priorities and illuminate the pathway forward for adaptation. As climate change is an entirely new challenge, careful measurement that enables investment by private and public parties is necessary to provide efficient outcomes that benefit the greatest number of people.

This report discusses the following topics on the operation of DOE Tritium facilities: Environment, Safety, and Health Aspects of Tritium; Management of Operations and Maintenance Functions; Safe Shutdown of Tritium Facilities; Management of the Facility Safety Envelope; Maintenance of Qualified Tritium Handling Personnel; DOE Tritium Management Strategy; Radiological Control Philosophy; Implementation of DOE Requirements; Management of Tritium Residues; Inconsistent Application of Requirements for Measurement of Tritium Effluents; Interdependence of Tritium Facilities; Technical Communication among Facilities; Incorporation of Confinement Technologies into New Facilities; Operation/Management Requirements for New Tritium Facilities; and Safety Management Issues at Department of Energy Tritium Facilities.

Abstract Flow behavior of particles in a two-dimensional spouted bed with a draft tube is studied using a continuous kinetic-friction stresses model. The kinetic stress of particles is predicted from kinetic theory of granular flow, while the friction stress is computed from a model proposed by Johnson et al. (1990) . A stitching function is used to smooth from the rapid shearing viscous regime to the slow shearing plastic regime. The distributions of concentration and velocities of particles are predicted in the spouted bed with a draft tube. Simulated results compare with the vertical velocity of particles ( Zhao et al., 2008 ) measured and in the spout bed with draft plates and solid circulation rate ( Ishikura et al., 2003 ) measured in the spouted bed with a draft tube. The impact of the friction stress of particles on the spout, annulus, fountain and entrancement regions is analyzed in gas–solid spouted bed with a draft tube. Numerical results show that the gas flow rate through the annulus increases with the increase of the entrainment zone. The solids circulation rate decreases with the decrease of inlet gas velocity and the height of the entrainment zone. The effect of spouting gas velocity on distributions of concentration, velocity and particle circulation is discussed.