SPME-GC-MSD for Determination of Nine Phenyl Compounds in Snow Water in Beijing China

Solid phase microextraction (SPME) then capillary gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection have been used for determination of nine phenyl compounds in snow water in Beijing City. Headspace extraction with a fiber coated with 100 µm PDMS was used to extract the compounds. Extraction and desorption times were optimized at 8 and 2 min, respectively. Relative standard deviation (RSD) of the analytical method was found to be less than 5%. The linear range was wide and limits of detection were less than 5 ng mL⁻¹ for the nine target analytes. Several phenyl compounds at ng mL⁻¹ levels were detected in snow samples in Beijing, indicating the corresponding air pollution.     

Simultaneous and Fast Detection of Anions in Snow Using Short Tube by Capillary Zone Electrophoresis

A capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method applied short-effective length of capillary (11 cm) and low separation voltage (5 kV) was developed for the fast and quantitative determination of Cl m , $ {\rm NO}_2^ - $ , $ {\rm SO}_4^{2 - } $ , $ {\rm NO}_3^ - $ , $ {\rm HCO}_3^ - $ in snow sample. Baseline separation of inorganic anions and organic anions was achieved within 55 s. Indirect absorbance detection of anions was accomplished with a chromate - based background electrolyte modified with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and acetonitrile at pH 9.5. The effect of the pH, the concentration of electrolyte and modifiers on the resolution was investigated. The application of electrokinetic injection using butyric acid as internal standard created the described method fast, sensitive, and quantitative, with good relative standard deviation (RSD), for migration times from 0.1 to 0.3% and for peak areas from 1.8 to 4.0%. The limits of detection (LOD) were 0.03 mg L m 1 Cl m , 0.1 mg L m 1 $ {\rm NO}_2^ - $ , 0.07 mg L m 1 $ {\rm SO}_4^{2 - } $ , 0.08 mg L m 1 $ {\rm NO}_3^ - $ , 0.05 mg L m 1 F m , and 0.2 mg L m 1 $ {\rm HCO}_3^ - $ , respectively. Standard addition recoveries of Cl m , $ {\rm NO}_2^ - $ , $ {\rm SO}_4^{2 - } $ , $ {\rm NO}_3^ - $ , F m , and $ {\rm HCO}_3^ - $ in snow sample were between 91 and 104%. This method has been shown promising results for the determination of small anions in snow sample.     

Evaluation of drawbar performance of winter tyres for special purpose vehicles

Driving on ice is still a risky activity. Research has investigated the factors contributing to the friction mechanism and has reported experimental studies of pneumatic tyres on ice in order to develop models that predict tractive and braking performance on ice/snow. Therefore, developing testing methods to obtain relevant experimental data for the validation of models is equally important.There are agricultural and industrial vehicles which are also designed for pulling but there are no specific studies reporting experimental tests on traction force of such machines in snowy conditions. However, this issue is very topical, as demonstrated by the appearance on the market of winter tyres for such vehicles.This study presents a method for testing winter tyres in outdoor test facilities with a focus on traction performance. The conclusions will serve in future investigations as a concise knowledge source to develop improved testing facilities and tyre–ice interaction models, aiding the development of better tyre designs and improved vehicle safety systems.The functional tests hereafter described have been carried out with the aim of evaluating the possibility of measuring the influences of different technique solutions on the performance of certain 17.5 R25 sized industrial tyres.     

Modeling and testing of snow penetration

Penetration by a cone into snow is commonly used to characterize snow properties. However, the effects of the diameter and half-angle of the cone on the mechanical properties of snow have not been systematically studied. In addition, no estimation of material parameters in a physically-based model has been made such that the results from penetration provide only an index of snow properties. In this paper, modeling and experimental methods are used to examine the effects of cone geometry on the maximum penetration force and associated hardness, with penetrometers ranging from 2.5 to 4 mm in diameter, 15° to 45° in cone half-angle, and testing both fine-grained and coarse-grained snows. The material point method, in conjunction with the Drucker–Prager cap plasticity model, was used to obtain the theoretical penetration force-distance relationship. Global sensitivity studies were conducted that indicate that the cohesion accounts for 86% of the penetration force, followed distantly by friction angle which accounts for 27%. A general trend, for the simulation results was established: for a given half-angle, the penetration force increases with the increase of diameter which holds for most of the test data as well; for a given diameter, the penetration force decreases with the increase of half-angle, which holds for some of the test data. In addition, for a given half-angle, the hardness decreases with the increase of diameter; for a given diameter, the hardness decreases with the increase of half-angle. To take into consideration the uncertainty of test data, a simple interval-based metric was used to compare test data with simulation results; the comparison was satisfactory. The material parameters from the simulations can thus be considered as calibrated ones for the snow studied.     

I.I. Rabi: The Two Cultures and the Universal Culture of Science

I set forth and discuss I.I. Rabis views on the nature of science and society, focusing specifically on Rabis views on science and government, science and education, and science and religion. I also explore the influence of Rabi and C.P. Snow on each other. In the 1960s, Rabi set forth his mature and boldest positions, advocating science as the center of education and science as the replacement for religion. His positions culminate in science as the universal culture. I highlight Rabi not only as a scientist and public servant, but also as a public intellectual actively engaged with and connected to major issues of his time.Michael A. Day is Professor of Physics at Lebanon Valley College. He holds doctorates in both physics and philosophy.     

Exploring cold regions autonomous operations

The US Army must update its vehicle fleet to be better equipped for potential future military conflicts in northern climates (US Army, 2017). This process involves considering manned, optionally manned, and unmanned vehicles as viable options in the future. Optionally manned and unmanned vehicles in the armed forces have substantial benefits because they can operate without direct driver input or are able to perform missions deemed too dangerous for troops. Optionally manned vehicles allow the driver to shift some, or all, focus away from the task of driving the vehicle. In some cases, these autonomous vehicles may perform better than a human driver by rapidly sensing and reacting to terrain changes. Onboard sensing and decision making are equally applicable to both fully autonomous and teleoperated vehicles. This work will focus on the terrain sensing, waypoint navigation, and teleoperation potential of an optionally manned or unmanned vehicle. Results from a vehicle demonstration on two different terrain conditions will provide the basis for additional terrain sensing and autonomous vehicle development work in the coming year.     

Analytical model of longitudinal tire traction in snow

An analytical model to estimate longitudinal traction of a tire in snow was developed and verified to have good predictability in comparison with measurements. Snow traction of a tire is composed of four kinds of forces in this model: braking force attributable to snow compression, shear force of snow in void (space between tread blocks), frictional force, and digging force (edge effect generated by sipes and blocks). The mechanical characteristics of snow were considered in the prediction of braking force and shear force, but were not considered in the prediction of other forces. The contribution of shear force of snow in void and the frictional force was large in static traction (traction just before a tire slips). On the other hand, the contributions of digging force and frictional force were large in situations involving high slip ratios.     

Experimental measurements of acoustical properties of snow and inverse characterization of its geometrical parameters

Snow is a sound absorbing porous sintered material composed of solid matrix of ice skeleton with air (+water vapour) saturated pores. Investigation of snow acoustic properties is useful to understand the interaction between snow structure and sound waves, which can be further used to devise non-destructive way for exploring physical (non-acoustic) properties of snow. The present paper discusses the experimental measurements of various acoustical properties of snow such as acoustic absorption coefficient, surface impedance and transmission losses across different snow samples, followed by inverse characterization of different geometrical parameters of snow. The snow samples were extracted from a natural snowpack and transported to a nearby controlled environmental facility at Patsio, located in the Great Himalayan range of India. An impedance tube system (ITS), working in the frequency range 63–6300 Hz, was used for acoustic measurements of these snow samples. The acoustic behaviour of snow was observed strongly dependent upon the incident acoustic frequency; for frequencies smaller than 1 kHz, the average acoustic absorption coefficient was found below than 0.4, however, for the frequencies more than 1 kHz it was found to be 0.85. The average acoustic transmission loss was observed from 1.45 dB cm⁻¹ to 3.77 dB cm⁻¹ for the entire frequency range. The real and imaginary components of normalized surface impedance of snow samples varied from 0.02 to 7.77 and −6.05 to 5.69, respectively. Further, the measured acoustic properties of snow were used for inverse characterization of non-acoustic geometrical parameters such as porosity, flow resistivity, tortuosity, viscous and thermal characteristic lengths using the equivalent fluid model proposed by Johnson, Champoux and Allard (JCA). Acoustically derived porosity and flow resistivity were also compared with experimentally measured values and good agreement was observed between them.     

Laboratory simulation of Hg<Superscript>0</Superscript> emissions from a snowpack

Snow surfaces play an important role in the biogeochemical cycle of mercury in high-latitude regions. Snowpacks act both as sources and sinks for gaseous compounds. Surprisingly, the roles of each environmental parameter that can govern the air–surface exchange over snow are not well understood owing to the lack of systematic studies. A laboratory system called the laboratory flux measurement system was used to study the emission of gaseous elemental mercury from a natural snowpack under controlled conditions. The first results from three snowpacks originating from alpine, urban and polar areas are presented. Consistent with observations in the field, we were able to reproduce gaseous mercury emissions and showed that they are mainly driven by solar radiation and especially UV-B radiation. From these laboratory experiments, we derived kinetic constants which show that divalent mercury can have a short natural lifetime of about 4–6 h in snow.     

青藏高原雪冰样品中低含量水溶金属离子分析方法对比研究

从采自青藏高原阿汝和古里雅冰川的两支冰芯中选取31个样品,分别用三种仪器对比分析K^+、Na^+、Ca^2+、Mg^2+四种水溶金属离子,寻求最佳分析方案。分析结果对比发现,电感耦合等离子体发射光谱(ICP-OES)法在K+测量中存在困难,而离子色谱(IC)法和电感耦合等离子体质谱(ICP-MS)法均能够满足要求,且分析结果具有高度的一致性,四种离子的相关系数(R2)均在0.97以上,且并未出现ICP-MS法比IC法测量值明显偏高的现象。因此,除IC法外,ICP-MS法也是检测青藏高原雪冰样品中水溶金属离子的有效手段,其测定速度更快,且可以同时进行微、痕量元素检测,适用于大批量冰芯样品的快速分析。