A Novel Graphite-Based Sorbent for Oil Spill Cleanup

The performance of an innovative material based on expanded graphite, Grafysorber® G+ (Directa Plus), has been tested through laboratory, tank, and confinement tests for oil removal in case of an oil spill and water treatment. In addition to the ability to retain oil, the possibility of reusing this material after regeneration via squeezing was also evaluated. As a comparison, the same experimental tests were conducted using polypropylene flakes (PP), the material currently most used to deal with spill accidents. Oils with different chemical and physical properties were used, namely kerosene, diesel, and crude oil. From the laboratory tests, the capacity of Grafysorber® G+ to retain oil was found to be directly proportional to the viscosity of the latter, with adsorption values ranging from 76.8 g/g for diesel to 50.8 g/g for kerosene, confirming the potential of the innovative material compared to the PP. Cyclical use tests have confirmed certain reusability of the material, even if its adsorbent capacity decreases significantly after the first cycle and continues to decrease in subsequent cycles, but a less marked manner. Finally, some considerations based on the adsorption capacities were found to suggest that the adoption of the new material is also economically preferable, resulting in savings of 20 to 40% per kg of hydrocarbon treated.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF LOCALLY FABRICATED MECHANICAL SURFACE AERATOR

Experimental analysis for a fabricated Low-Speed surface aerator that can be used in wastewater and water treatment is presented in this research. The designed impeller configuration was tested to determine its power consumption, standard oxygen transfer rate (SOTR), and standard aeration efficiency (SAE). Impeller oxygen transfer and power consumption in a scaled laboratory tank were measured during aeration phase. The impeller was consisting of 8 inclines flat blades with an angle of 45° from center of the disc, was operated at 3 different immersion depths and 5 different rotational speeds for examining the impact of such factors on impeller efficiency. The results recorded that the best standard aeration efficiency for this configuration is (0.206 Kg. O2/KW.hr) at 120rpm and 7cm depth of the submersion, i.e. submersion depth to impeller diameter (h/D) ratio equals 0.175. Submergence depth increase beyond this limit would result in SAE decrease and definitely result into more power consumption.

Reburial potential and survivability of the striped venus clam (Chamelea gallina) in hydraulic dredge fisheries

The striped venus clam (Chamelea gallina) is the main edible bivalve living in Italian waters. According to Regulation (EU) 2020/2237, undersized specimens (total length of the shell, < 22 mm) must be returned to the sea. C. gallina specimens of different size classes that had undergone hydraulic dredging and mechanized sorting were analysed for reburial ability in a laboratory tank and for survivability in the laboratory (135 clams, 21 days) and at sea (320 clams, 15 days). In the tank experiments, the reburial times (T50 and T90) and the upper (+) and lower (−) confidence intervals (CIs) of the whole sample were about 4 h (CI+ 4.4, CI− 3.6) and 8 h (CI+ 8.2, CI− 7.7), respectively, and were significantly shorter for the medium-sized clams (22–24.9 mm) than for the smallest (< 21.9 mm) and the largest (> 25 mm) specimens. For the field survivability experiments, clams under and above the minimum conservation reference size were placed in separate metal cages. Survival rates were 94.8% and 96.2% respectively in the laboratory and at sea, without significant differences between the two experiments or among size classes. These findings conclusively demonstrate that C. gallina specimens returned to the sea have a very high survival probability and that they can contribute to mitigate the overexploitation of natural populations.

A 3D underwater robotic collective called Blueswarm

A swarm of agile fish-robots uses vision-based implicit coordination to demonstrate self-organizing behaviors in a laboratory tank.

INCREASING THE STABILITY OF THE SAND CUSHION BY PRESTRESSING THE REINFORCING LAYERS OF GEOSYNTHETICS

The use of prestressing of geosynthetics allows accelerate their inclusion in work, reduce deformations and gaining bearing capacity of artificial foundation. The article presents results of research of two methods of construction reinforced sand cushions. In the first case, the effect of prestressing is achieved due to a certain order of layer-by-layer soil compaction of the cushion, in the second - by laying of the swellable material between the contours of the foundations. The experiments were carried out in a laboratory tank with a pneumatic loading device. There are three stamps united by a common frame on the surface of the cushion. To assess the stress-strain state of the soil foundation, the non-contact digital tracer imaging method was used. The experimental results are presented in the graphs form of the dependence of the stamp settlement on pressure and vector fields of particle movements. Modeling has confirmed the high efficiency of prestressing. The ultimate pressure on the soil foundation with two-layer horizontal reinforcement and prestressing of the reinforcing layers in the first method was 195 kPa, in the second method - 165 kPa, whereas in the absence of prestressing this value was 110 kPa. Foundation deformations also decreased significantly.

Acoustic Study of Wave-Breaking to Enhance the Understanding of Wave Physics

The sound of waves breaking on shore, or against an obstruction or jetty, is an immediately recognizable sound pattern which could potentially be employed by a sensor system to identify obstructions. If frequency patterns produced by breaking waves can be reproduced and mapped in a laboratory setting, a foundational understanding of the physics behind this process could be established, which could then be employed in sensor development for navigation. This study explores whether wave-breaking frequencies correlate with the physics behind the collapsing of the wave, and whether frequencies of breaking waves recorded in a laboratory tank will follow the same pattern as frequencies produced by ocean waves breaking on a beach. An artificial “beach” was engineered to replicate breaking waves inside a laboratory wave tank. Video and audio recordings of waves breaking in the tank were obtained, and audio of ocean waves breaking on the shoreline was recorded. The audio data was analysed in frequency charts. The video data was evaluated to correlate bubble sizes to frequencies produced by the waves. The results supported the hypothesis that frequencies produced by breaking waves in the wave tank followed the same pattern as those produced by ocean waves. Analysis utilizing a solution to the Rayleigh-Plesset equation showed that the bubble sizes produced by breaking waves were inversely related to the pattern of frequencies. This pattern can be reproduced in a controlled laboratory environment and extrapolated for use in developing navigational sensors for potential applications in marine navigation such as for use with autonomous ocean vehicles.

Experimental and numerical study of the resonant feature of internal gravity waves in the case of ‘dead water’ phenomenon

&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&amp;#8216;Dead water&amp;#8217; phenomenon, which is essentially a ship-wave in a stratified fluid is studied experimentally in a laboratory tank. Interfacial waves are excited by a moving ship model in a quasi-two-layer fluid, which leads to the development of a drag force that reaches the maximum at the largest wave amplitude in a critical &amp;#8216;resonant&amp;#8217; towing speed, whose value depends on the structure of the vertical density profile. We utilize five ships of different lengths but of the same width and wet depth. The experimental analysis focuses on the variability of the interfacial wave amplitudes and wavelengths as a function of towing speed in different stratifications. Data evaluation is based on linear two- and three-layer theories of freely propagating interfacial waves and lee waves. We observe that although the internal waves have considerable amplitude, linear theory still gives a surprisingly adequate description of subcritical to supercritical transition and the associated amplification of internal waves.&lt;/p&gt;