the hydraulic characteristic of an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket fixed film (uasb-ff) were studied by changing two important hydraulic factors that can impact significantly on the hydraulic regime of the uasb-ff bioreactor: the up-flow velocity (vup) and biogas production rate (qg). the analysis of the reactor hydraulic performance was performed by studying hydraulic residence time distribut...

A range of continental-scale soil datasets exists in Europe with different spatial representation and based on different principles. We developed comprehensive pedotransfer functions (PTFs) for applications principally on spatial datasets with continental coverage. The PTF development included the prediction of soil water retention at various matric potentials and prediction of parameters to ch...

In this paper, we present a backstepping based fuzzy logic (FL) scheme for the active control of vehicle suspension systems using the two-degrees of freedom or 1/4 car model. The full dynamics of a novel hydraulic strut are considered. The servo-valve dynamics are also included. A fuzzy logic system is used to estimate the nonlinear hydraulic strut dynamics. The backstepping fuzzy logic scheme ...

This paper addresses the energy-inefficiency problem of four-degrees-of-freedom (4-DOF) hydraulic manipulators through redundancy resolution in robotic closed-loop controlled applications. Because conventional methods typically are local and have poor performance for resolving redundancy with respect to minimum hydraulic energy consumption, global energy-optimal redundancy resolution is propose...

An essential requirement for an operating PEM fuel cell is providing proper water content in the membrane. To avoid water flooding an appropriate water balance is required. Here, an analytic model of a planar membrane humidifier for PEM fuel cell is proposed where the effect of dimensional parameters includes membrane thickness, membrane area and channel hydraulic diameter are investigated. A N...

The control of plant transpiration by stomata under water stress and recovery conditions is of paramount importance for plant performance and survival. Although both chemical and hydraulic signals emitted within a plant are considered to play a major role in controlling stomatal dynamics, they have rarely been assessed together. The aims of this study were to evaluate (i) the dynamics of chemic...

This paper summarises the impact of major earthquakes, 2010–2011, on Christchurch’s water supply network and what recovery measures have been applied, what worked well, what did not and why. A number of issues related to the open nature of the Christchurch water supply network were identified during earthquakes. It was difficult to manage large water supply pressure zones during the post-earthq...

Since a large amount of nanopores exist in tight oil reservoirs, fluid transport in nanopores is complex due to large capillary pressure. Recent studies only focus on the effect of nanopore confinement on single-well performance with simple planar fractures in tight oil reservoirs. Its impacts on multi-well performance with complex fracture geometries have not been reported. In this study, a nu...

The power management controller of a hybrid vehicle orchestrates the operation of onboard energy sources, namely engine and auxiliary power source with the goal of maximizing performance objectives such as the fuel economy. The paper focuses on optimization of the power management strategy of the refuse truck with parallel hydraulic hybrid powertrain. The high power density of hydraulic compone...

This thesis documents my personal contribution to the development of a hydraulic-based actuation system for a solar trough collector. The goal of this project was to design the actuation system using hydraulic actuators for a four meter solar collector prototype in Pittsfield, New Hampshire. After considering several hydraulic system architectures and conducting in-depth analysis into two of th...