Regularity of transportation for cohesive bank-collapsed materials

The transportation of bank-collapsed materials is a key issue among river evolution processes. In this study, a series of flume experiments were conducted to monitor riverbank collapse processes and to explore the regularity of transportation for cohesive collapsed materials. The collapsed materials, both the bed and suspended loads, that transformed from collapsed materials were intensively evaluated under experimental conditions. The results showed that the collapsed materials contributed to 12～20 % sedimentation in situ, 8～14 % suspended loads and 70～80 % bed loads. In addition, the bed load motion efficiency coefficient (eb), suspended load motion efficiency coefficient (es) and sediment carrying capacity factor (U3/gRω) were introduced to describe the transportation of collapsed materials in terms of energy dissipation. This research provides theoretical and practical benefits for predicting channel evolution processes.

Development of a 6-DOF Testing Platform for Multirotor Flying Vehicles with Suspended Loads

The development of multirotor vehicles can often be a dangerous and costly undertaking due to the possibility of crashes resulting from faulty controllers. The matter of safety in such activities has primarily been addressed through the use of testbeds. However, testbeds for testing multirotor vehicles with suspended loads have previously not been reported. In this study, a simple yet novel testing platform was designed and built to aid in testing and evaluating the performances of multirotor flying vehicles, including vehicles with suspended loads. The platform allows the flying vehicle to move with all six degrees of freedom (DOF). Single or three-DOF motions can also be performed. Moreover, the platform was designed to enable the determination of the mass properties (center of mass and moments of inertia) of small multirotor vehicles (which are usually required in the development of new control systems). The applicability of the test platform for the in-flight performance testing of a multirotor vehicle was successfully demonstrated using a Holybro X500 quadcopter with a suspended load. The test platform was also successfully used to determine the mass properties of the vehicle.

A critical review on flocculants and flocculation

The article critically reviews the applications of biopolymers in the area of water treatment. A number of biopolymers were reported for their flocculation behavior for treating the wastewater and making it suitable for various industrial as well as agricultural purposes via chemical alteration onto its backbone. Wastewater treatment was followed by flocculation process using standard ‘Jar test protocol’. Minute quantities of dosage were found be ideal to diminish the organic, biological and suspended loads from wastewater sample. The process of flocculation using biopolymers was also found economically suitable compared to other various processes applied in water treatment.