Hydrodynamic Assessment of A New Nature-Based Armour Unit on Rubble Mound Breakwater for Coastal Protection

This research proposes a novel nature-based design of a new concrete armour unit for the cover layer of a rubblemoundbreakwater. Armour units are versatile with respect to shape, orientation, surface condition details, and porosity.Therefore, a detailed analysis is required to investigate the exact state of their hydraulic interactions and structuralresponses. In this regard, the performance results of several traditional armour units, including the Antifer cube,Tetrapod, X-block and natural stone, are considered for the first step of this study. Then, the related observed resultsare compared with those obtained for a newly designed (artificial coral) armour unit. The research methodology utilizesthe common wave flume test procedure. Furthermore, several verified numerical models in OpenFOAM code areused to gain the extra required data. The proposed armour is configured to provide an effective shore protection as anenvironmental-friendly coastal structure. Thus it is designed with a main trunk including deep grooves to imitate thetypical geometry of a coral type configuration, so as to attain desirable performance. The observed results and ananalytic hierarchy process (AHP) concept are used to compare the hydraulic performance of the studied traditionaland newly proposed (artificial coral) armour units. The results indicate that the artificial coral armour unit demonstratesacceptable performance. The widely used traditional armour units might be replaced by newer designs for betterwave energy dissipation, and more importantly, for fewer adverse effects on the marine environment.

Assessment of water quality suitability for agriculture in a potentially leachate-contaminated region

Dump sites pose a significant threat to groundwater resources due to the possibility of leachate leakage into the aquifer.This study investigated the impact of leachate on groundwater quality in the southwest region of Zanjan City,Iran,where groundwater is utilized for drinking,agricultural,and industrial purposes.We analyzed 18 parameters of dump site leachate,including physicochemical,heavy metals,and bacterial properties,alongside 13 groundwater samples.Sampling was conducted twice,in November 2020 and June 2021,within a five-kilometer radius of the Zanjan dump site.We utilized the Leachate Pollution Index(LPI)to evaluate potential groundwater contamination by leachate leakage from nearby dumpsite.Additionally,due to the predominant agricultural activities in the study area,various indices were employed to assess groundwater quality for agricultural purposes,such as Sodium Adsorption Ratio(SAR),Soluble Sodium Index(SSI),Kelly Ratio(KR),and Permeability Index(PI).Our analysis revealed no observed contamination related to leachate in the study area according to the LPI results.However,with the persistent pollution threat,implementing sanitary measures at the dump site is crucial to prevent potential impacts on groundwater quality.Moreover,the assessment of groundwater quality adequacy for irrigation yielded satisfactory results for SAR,KR,and PI indices.However,during both the dry(November 2020)and wet seasons(June 2021),the SSP index indicated that 80%of the samples were not classified as excellent,suggesting groundwater may not be suitable for agriculture.Overal,our qualitative study highlights the significant impact of the dry season on groundwater quality in the study area,attributed to elevated concentration levels of the investigated parameters within groundwater sources during the dry season.

Macro Rain Water Harvesting Network to Estimate Annual Runoff at Koysinjaq (Koya) District, Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Macro rainwater harvesting techniques (Macro RWH) are getting more popular to overcome the problem of water scarcity in arid and semi-arid areas. Iraq is experiencing serious water shortage problem now despite of the presence of Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. RWH can help to overcome this problem. In this research, RWH was applied in Koya City in its districts, North West Iraq. Twenty-two basins were identified as the catchment area for the application of RWH technique. Watershed modeling system (WMS), based on Soil Conservation Service-curve number (SCS-CN) method, was applied to calculate direct runoff from individual daily rain storm using average annual rainfall records of the area. Two consecutive adjustments for the curve number were considered. The first was for the antecedent moisture condition (AMC) and the second was for the slope. These adjustments increased the total resultant harvested runoff up to 79.402 × 106 m3. The average percentage of increase of harvested runoff volume reached 9.28%. This implies that water allocation is of the order of 2000 cubic meter per capita per year. This quantity of water will definitely help to develop the area.

Application of Mathematical Model to Assess Sediment Movement Pattern along Nearshore Coastal Water

Movement of sediment load and its pattern of transportation along nearshore coastal water is a very important phenomenon to be assessed for different sector of coastal Engineering. To develop and understand the physical processes responsible for shaping the ongoing evolution of the coast and to develop the management strategies to deal the impact of human activities on the coastal zone and as well as for adapting to the hazards associated with the people living on the coast, knowledge of the mechanism, processes and the pattern of sediment movement in the nearshore zone is of utmost importance. Nearshore zone is a very active area, where a series of dynamic processes occur in response to changing wave climates and sediment budgets. Nowadays mathematical modeling is an attractive alternative and becoming a very viable approach to study the sediment movement pattern with the advanced computational facilities and improved understanding on wave mechanics and sediment transport processes. It is very effective, reliable and also comfortable to study the pattern of sediment transportation including yield, distribution and management of sediment with the help of mathematical model. Validity of forecast in sediment transport depends on both mathematical modeling technique and boundary conditions.

Evaluate the Possibility of Cracking Pipe on Water Supply Network under the Age of Pipe

Minimizing water loss in water supply networks is one of the objectives for protecting water resources. Currently, the large amount of water loss is mainly due to leakage of the pipeline network. The leaking of pipe can be caused by incorrect construction, impacted by external forces, or corroded pipe material and aging. Therefore, to control and predict the cracking area on pipe, it is necessary to collect data about pipe conditions, approve the solution of technology improvement and define the ability of pipe capacity from setting up to the first preparing time. This paper will demonstrate how to evaluate corrosion pipe under the age of pipe and the impact level of internal pressure pipe at different times, and will put forward solution of effective leaking management on water supply network.

Can Integrated Water Resources Management Contribute to Sustainable Peace in the Middle East?

Water resources issue in the Middle East is an important question related to the 4th June 1967 line in the Middle Eastpeace process. This paper focuses on possibilities within the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach to contribute to the peace process between what is calledIsraeland Arab countries emphasizing fruitful cooperation to resolve the 4th June 1967 line issue. The paper shows that start of a possible cooperation could be founded on interest-based negotiations and built on IWRM principles by a simple geographical allocation plan for theLake Tiberiaswater together with a joint environmental protection plan to build cooperation instead of confrontation and integration instead of fragmentation. In a better cooperative climate, withdrawing from the 4th June 1967 line could be a possibility because negotiation results would incur safer access to sustainable water resources and a comprehensive peace.

Effect of Limited Single Irrigation on Yield of Winter Wheat and Spring Maize Relay Intercropping

A field experiment was conducted during the 2002/2003 cropping season of winter wheat （Triticum aestivum） and spring maize （Zea mays） to evaluate the effect of limited single drip irrigation on the yield and water use of both crops under relay intercropping in a semi-arid area of northwestern China. A controlled 35 mm single irrigation, either early or late, was applied to each crop at a certain growth stage. Soil water, leaf area, final grain yield and yield components such as the thousand-grain weight, length of spike, fertile spikelet number, number of grains per spike, and grain weight per spike were measured, and water use efficiency and leaf area index were calculated for the irrigated and non-irrigated relay intercropping treatments and sole cropping controls. The results showed that yield, yield components, water use efficiency, and leaf area index in the relay intercropping treatments were affected by limited single drip irrigation during various growth stages of wheat and maize. The total yields in the relay intercropping treatment irrigated during the heading stage of wheat and the heading and anthesis stage of maize were the highest among all the treatments, followed by that irrigated during the anthesis stage of wheat and silking stage of maize; so was the water use efficiency. Significant differences occurred in most yield components between the irrigated and non-irrigated relay-intercropping treatments. The dynamics of the leaf area index in the relay-intercropped or solely cropped wheat and maize showed a type of single-peak pattern, whereas that of the relay intercropping treatments showed a type of double-peak pattern. Appropriately, limited single irrigation and controlled soil water content level could result in higher total yield, water use efficiency, and leaf area index, and improved yield components in relay intercropping. This practice saved the amount of water used for irrigation and also increased the yield. Therefore, heading stage of wheat and heading and anthesis stage of maize were suggested to be the optimum limited single irrigation time for relay-intercropped wheat and maize in the semi-arid area.

A Hybrid Particle Swarm Optimization and Genetic Algorithm for Model Updating of A Pier-Type Structure Using Experimental Modal Analysis

Conventional design of pier structures is based on the assumption of fully rigid joints. In practice, the real connections are semi-rigid that cause changes in dynamic characteristics. In this study, quality of the joints is investigated by considering changes in natural frequencies. For this purpose, numerical and experimental modal analyses are carried out on related physical model of a pier type structure. When numerical results are evaluated,natural frequencies generally do not match the expected experimental results. Uncertainties in different aspects of engineering problems are always a challenge for researchers. The numerical models which are constructed on the basis of highly idealized scheme may not be able to represent all of the physical aspects of the physical one. For this study, determination of percentage of semi-rigid joints is considered as an optimization problem based on the numerical and experimental frequencies. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis is also used to determine the search space.A new technique of optimization problem is solved by a combination of smart particle swarm optimization(PSO)and genetic algorithms, and a complicated and efficient system for model updating process is introduced. It is observed that the hybrid PSO-Genetic algorithm is applicable and appropriate in model updating process. It performs better than PSO algorithm, considering the good agreement between theoretical frequencies and experimental ones,before and after model updating.

Evaluation of TIGGE Ensemble Forecasts of Precipitation in Distinct Climate Regions in Iran

The application of numerical weather prediction （NWP） products is increasing dramatically. Existing reports indicate that ensemble predictions have better skill than deterministic forecasts. In this study, numerical ensemble precipitation forecasts in the TIGGE database were evaluated using deterministic, dichotomous （yes/no）, and probabilistic techniques over Iran for the period 2008-16. Thirteen rain gauges spread over eight homogeneous precipitation regimes were selected for evaluation. The Inverse Distance Weighting and Kriging methods were adopted for interpolation of the prediction values, downscaled to the stations at lead times of one to three days. To enhance the forecast quality, NWP values were post-processed via Bayesian Model Averaging. The results showed that ECMWF had better scores than other products. However, products of all centers underestimated precipitation in high precipitation regions while overestimating precipitation in other regions. This points to a systematic bias in forecasts and demands application of bias correction techniques. Based on dichotomous evaluation, NCEP did better at most stations, although all centers overpredicted the number of precipitation events. Compared to those of ECMWF and NCER UKMO yielded higher scores in mountainous regions, but performed poorly at other selected stations. Furthermore, the evaluations showed that all centers had better skill in wet than in dry seasons. The quality of post-processed predictions was better than those of the raw predictions. In conclusion, the accuracy of the NWP predictions made by the selected centers could be classified as medium over Iran, while post-processing of predictions is recommended to improve the quality.

Roles of soil-structure interaction and damping in base-isolated structures built on numerous soil layers overlying a half-space

This study examines the roles of soil-structure interaction （SSI）, higher modes, and damping in a base-isolated structure built on multiple layers of soil overlying a half space. Closed-form solutions for the entire system, including a superstructure, seismic isolator, and numerous soil layers overlying a half-space, were obtained. The formulations obtained in this study simply in terms of well-known frequencies and mechanical impedance ratios can explicitly interpret the dynamic behavior of a base-isolated structure interacting with multiple soil layers overlying a half-space. The key factors influencing the performance of the isolation system are the damping ratio of the isolator and the ratio of the natural frequency of the fixed-base structure to that of the isolated structure by assuming that the superstructure moves as a rigid body. This study reveals that higher damping in the base isolator is unfavorable to higher mode responses that usually dominate the responses of the superstructure and that the damping mechanism plays an important role in transmitting energy in addition to absorbing energy. It is also concluded that it is possible to design a soft soil layer as an isolation system for isolating vibration energy.

Tri-directional shaking table tests of vibration sensitive equipment with static dynamics interchangeable-ball pendulum system

Recently, the high-tech industry has become a key industry for economic development in many countries. However, vibration sensitive equipment located in these industrial buildings is vulnerable during earthquakes, which may cause huge economic loss. In this study, an innovative isolator for safeguarding the vibration sensitive equipment, namely, the static dynamics interchangeable^all pendulum system （SDI-BPS） is proposed and investigated to examine its protective capability for the vibration sensitive equipment during earthquakes through a series of tri-directional shaking table tests. The experimental results illustrate that the SDI-BPS isolator can provide significant damping to rolling types of base isolation systems for reducing the bearing displacement and size, and avoid the stress concentration, which can cause damage or scratches on the rolling surface of the isolator, to prolong its life span of service. The SDI-BPS isolator also provides excellent capability in protecting the vibration sensitive equipment and exhibits a stable behavior under long terms of service loadings and earthquakes.

Application of different clustering approaches to hydroclimatological catchment regionalization in mountainous regions, a case study in Utah State

With respect to the different hydrological responses of catchments, even the adjacent ones, in mountainous regions, there are a great number of motivations for classifying them into homogeneous clusters. These motivations include prediction in ungauged basins(PUB), model parameterization, understanding the potential impact of environmental changes, transferring information from gauged catchments to the ungauged ones. The present study investigated the similarity of catchments through the hydro-climatological pure time-series of a 14-year period from 2001 to 2015. Data sets encompass more than 13,000 month-station streamflow, rainfall, and temperature data obtained from 27 catchments in Utah State as one of the eight mountainous states of the USA. The identification, analysis, and interpretation of homogeneous catchments were investigated by applying the four approaches ofclustering, K-means, Ward, and SOM(Self-Organized Map) and a newly proposed Wavelet-Entropy-based(WE-SOM) clustering method. By using two clustering evaluation criteria, 3, 5, and 6 clusters were determined as the best numbers of clusters, depending on the method employed, where each cluster represents different hydro-climatological behaviors. Despite the absence of geographic characteristics in input data matrix, the results indicated a regionalization in agreement with topographic characteristics. Considering the dependency of the hydrological behavior of catchments on the physiographic field aspects and characteristics, WE-SOM method demonstrated a more acceptable performance, compared to the other three conventional clustering methods, by providing more clusters. WE-SOM appears to be a promising approach in catchment clustering. It preserves the topological structure of data which can, as a result, be proofed in a greater number of clusters by dividing data into higher numbers of distinct clusters withsimilar altitudes of catchments in each cluster. The results showed the aptitude of wavelets to quantify the time-based variability of temperature, rainfall and streamflow, in the way contributing to the regionalization of diverse catchments.

Sediment Delivered in the Upper Part of Mosul Using Physical Model

Mosul dam is the biggest hydraulic structure in Iraq located on the River Tigris 60 km northwest of Mosul city. Its storage capacity is 11. 11 × 109 m3 and it had been in operation since 1986. A physical distorted model with movable bed having a vertical scale 1： 100 and a horizontal scale 1：1000 was used to conduct the experiments relating the water level at the reservoir and water discharge upstream the reservoir with the bed load transport rate. The model represents the first 15 km of most northern part of Mosul dam reservoir. The construction of the model was based on bathymetric survey conducted in 2009. Twenty-four experiments were executed using four different discharges （0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 L/s） which represent the average discharges in the flood period of River Tigris. At each individual discharge six operations were assumed where the reservoir＇s water level was 305, 307, 309, 310, 312, 315 meters above sea level respectively. In all the experiments conducted, bedload transport was measured in the physical model at section representing the River Tigris 1 km upstream the reservoir. The results showed that the bedload rate was decreasing when the water level within the reservoir was increasing. It was also evident that bedload transport rate dramatically decreased at level 310 meters above sea level onward. This is due to the fact that at this level represent the effect of backwater which was noticeable on the river cross section

Comparison of Different Waste Management Technologies and Climate Change Effect—Jordan

Solid waste management (SWM) strategies offer huge potentials to contribute to climate change mitigation. To assess the potentials of SWM to contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction and resource recovery, available technologies and strategies have to be analyzed. In this work, a SWM-GHG calculator was used to compare different potential strategies for waste management considering economic situation, environmental and social awareness in Jordan. Four scenarios representing the current and suggested technologies (increase recovery, biological treatment, and advance biological treatment) were studied. The results showed that a vast reduction of GHG emission of about 63,175 tons CO2-eq/year was observed in the fourth scenario where all the organic waste was recovered. Moreover, this scenario increased the net caloric values in reused waste from 8.4 to 9.6 MJ/kg. The results suggest that the SWM-GHG calculator can offer sufficiently accurate approximation of the GHG impacts of different suggested strategies in the country and can serve as an important contribution to decision makers.

Projections of future rainfall for the upper Ping River Basin using regression-based downscaling

The objective of this study was to use regression modelling, a form of statistical downscaling technique, to predict the daily rainfall occurrence and rainfall amounts for a small river basin, the upper Ping River Basin (UPRB) in northern Thailand. Daily historic (1960e2005)rainfall and a number of daily reanalysis variables (NCEP/NCAR) were used to create regression models that estimate the probabilities of rainfall occurrence (wet days) and amounts (rainfall depth) at each of 29 rain gauge stations located in and around the UPRB. The regression models were calibrated using historic (1960e1989) data and validated using historic (1990e2005) data. Regression models were later applied to historic (1960e2005) GCM outputs (MPI-ESM-LR model) which were adjusted to correspond to the selected reanalysis variables using the Nested Bias Correction (NBC) technique. Rainfall occurrence and amounts were predicted for the periods 2006e2050 and 2051e2100 for RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP8.5 scenarios. Results show that the effects of climate change vary considerably across the catchment, with significantly declines in both the number of wet days and rainfall depth in the wet- and especially the dry-season in the middle of the catchment but obviously increase slightly towards the northern part of the catchment. Since the stepwise regression was used to select the atmospheric variables to form the regression models for simulating rainfall occurrence and amount, different stations have their own predictors and can influence future rainfall to vary significantly between 29 rain gauge stations. If the top three predictors were selected to form the regression models for simulating rainfall occurrence and amount for all stations, the future rainfall characteristics possibly change and can be used to compare with those of presented in this study. It will show either atmospheric predictors or climate change scenarios would have more effect on future rainfall characteristics.

Comparison of Flow Characteristics Around Refractive and Right-angled Groins in Barotropic and Baroclinic Conditions

Groins are employed to prevent nearshore areas from erosion and to control the direction of flow. However, the groin structure and its associated flow characteristics are the main causes of local erosion. In this study, we investigate the flow patterns around refractive and right-angle groins. In particular, we analytically compare the flow characteristics around a refractive groin and study the degree of accuracy that can be achieved by using a right-angle groin of various projected lengths. To compare the flow characteristics, we replaced the right-angle groin with an approximation of a refractive groin. This replacement had the least effect on the maximum velocity of flow in the channel. Moreover, we investigated the distribution of the density variables of temperature and salinity, and their effects on the flow characteristics around the right-angle groin. A comparison of the flow analysis results in baroclinic and barotropic conditions reveals that the flow characteristic values are very similar for both the refractive and right-angle groins. The geometry of the groin, i.e., right-angle or refractive, has little effect on the maximum speed to relative average speed. Apart from the angular separation, the arm length of the groin in downstream refractive groins has less effect on other flow characteristics than do upstream refractive groins. We also correlated a number of non-dimensional variables with respect to various flow characteristics and groin geometry. These comparisons indicate that the correlation between the thalweg height and width of the channel and groin arm＇s length to projection length have been approximated using linear and nonlinear formulas regardless of inner velocity in the subcritical flow.

Determination of influential parameters for prediction of total sediment loads in mountain rivers using kernel-based approaches

It is important to have a reasonable estimation of sediment transport rate with respect to its significant role in the planning and management of water resources projects. The complicate nature of sediment transport in gravel-bed rivers causes inaccuracies of empirical formulas in the prediction of this phenomenon. Artificial intelligences as alternative approaches can provide solutions to such complex problems. The present study aimed at investigating the capability of kernel-based approaches in predicting total sediment loads and identification of influential parameters of total sediment transport. For this purpose, Gaussian process regression(GPR), Support vector machine(SVM) and kernel extreme learning machine(KELM) are applied to enhance the prediction level of total sediment loads in 19 mountain gravel-bed streams and rivers located in the United States. Several parameters based on two scenarios are investigated and consecutive predicted results are compared with some well-known formulas. Scenario 1 considers only hydraulic characteristics and on the other side, the second scenario was formed using hydraulic and sediment properties. The obtained results reveal that using the parameters of hydraulic conditions asinputs gives a good estimation of total sediment loads. Furthermore, it was revealed that KELM method with input parameters of Froude number(Fr), ratio of average velocity(V) to shear velocity(U*) and shields number(θ) yields a correlation coefficient(R) of 0.951, a Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency(NSE) of 0.903 and root mean squared error(RMSE) of 0.021 and indicates superior results compared with other methods. Performing sensitivity analysis showed that the ratio of average velocity to shear flow velocity and the Froude number are the most effective parameters in predicting total sediment loads of gravel-bed rivers.

Dynamics of Nitrogen Transformation and Removal in a Pilot High Rate Pond

The transformation and removal of nitrogen was studied in a pilot high rate pond with a surface area of 10.2 m2 and water depth of 60 cm. The pilot unit received wastewater from an existing field scale primary facultative pond at the University of Dar es Salaam. Wastewater samples were collected from the influent and effluent of high rate pond and were analyzed for physical-chemical parameters in the laboratory and in situ. An appropriate model complexity was selected, from which a conceptual model was then developed to model various processes in the system using STELLA 6.0.1 software. The study demonstrated that dominant nitrogen transformation processes in HRP were nitrification and denitrification, which transformed 0.95 and 0.87 gN/m2·d, respectively. These were followed by mineralization (0.37 gN/m2·d), ammonia uptake by microorganisms (0.34 gN/m2·d), volatilization (0.30 gN/m2·d), sedimentation (0.24 gN/m2·d), and regeneration (0.15 gN/m2·d). Uptake of nitrate was not observed because of microorganisms preference for ammonia, which was abundant in the pond. The major nitrogen transformation mechanisms in high rate pond were denitrification, net sedimentation and volatilization, which accounted for 69.1%, 7.1% and 23.8% of the total permanent removal mechanisms of nitrogen in High Rate Pond.

The fabrication of atomically thin-MoS_(2) based photoanodes for photoelectrochemical energy conversion and environment remediation:A review

Photoelectrochemical(PEC) technology has been proved a promising approach to solve the problems of energy shortages and environmental pollution damages.It can convert unlimited solar energy resources into energy forms needed by mankind.The development of highly efficient photoanodes is a key step in realizing the large-scale practical application of PEC systems.However,the development of PEC photoanodes has been severely hindered by the issues of easy recombination of photo-generated charge carriers,low photon-to-electron conversion efficiency,poor photo-corrosion resistance,and low catalytic activity.Therefore,constructing high-performance and stable photoanodes is an urgent research field to promote the progress of PEC technology.The atomically thin molybdenum disulfide(AT-MoS_(2)) with unique physical and chemical properties has been widely applied in the fabrication of PEC photoanodes.The AT-MoS_(2) based photoanodes have exhibited excellent PEC performance,which providing promising candidates for ideal PEC application.Here,we summarize the fundamental natures of MoS_(2) and present the research efforts in the preparation of AT-MoS_(2) based photoanodes.Strategies for the fabrication of high-efficient AT-MoS_(2) based photoanodes are emphasized to provide guidelines to advance emerging PEC photoanodes.Besides,perspectives for the development of more efficient AT-MoS_(2) based photoanodes are proposed.

Capacity Optimization Study of Chua Mini-Hydropower Plant at Chua River, Manica, Mozambique

Hydropower energy is one of most promising clean energy technologies, however this energy technology has many challenges. Compared with other renewable energies for example biomass, solar and wind energies, it has high capital investment cost. In Mozambique, access to conversional energy in form of electricity has been limited to most of the rural population. The objectives of the investigation research are to analyze Chua micro-hydropower plant exploration in Manica district in Mozambique and to examine the possibility of increasing energy production. The current total installed power generation capacity in Mozambique is about 939 MW. Hydropower contributes 561 MW, making a contribution of 61%. Oil contributes 27%, and natural gas contributes 12% of the total electric grid generation in Mozambique.