The water cycle in closed ecological systems: Perspectives from the Biosphere 2 and Laboratory Biosphere systems

To achieve sustainable, healthy closed ecological systems requires solutions to challenges of closing the water cycle – recycling wastewater/irrigation water/soil medium leachate and evaporated water and supplying water of required quality as needed for different needs within the facility. Engineering Biosphere 2, the first multi-biome closed ecological system within a total airtight footprint of 12,700 m² with a combined volume of 200,000 m³ with a total water capacity of some 6 × 10⁶ L of water was especially challenging because it included human inhabitants, their agricultural and technical systems, as well as five analogue ecosystems ranging from rainforest to desert, freshwater ecologies to saltwater systems like mangrove and mini-ocean coral reef ecosystems. By contrast, the Laboratory Biosphere – a small (40 m³ volume) soil-based plant growth facility with a footprint of 15 m² – is a very simplified system, but with similar challenges re salinity management and provision of water quality suitable for plant growth. In Biosphere 2, water needs included supplying potable water for people and domestic animals, irrigation water for a wide variety of food crops, and recycling and recovering soil nutrients from wastewater. In the wilderness biomes, providing adequately low salinity freshwater terrestrial ecosystems and maintaining appropriate salinity and pH in aquatic/marine ecosystems were challenges. The largest reservoirs in Biosphere 2 were the ocean/marsh with some 4 × 10⁶ L, soil with 1 to 2 × 10⁶ l, primary storage tank with 0 to 8 × 10⁵ L and storage tanks for condensate and soil leachate collection and mixing tanks with a capacity of 1.6 × 10⁵ L to supply irrigation for farm and wilderness ecosystems. Other reservoirs were far smaller – humidity in the atmosphere (2 × 10³ L), streams in the rainforest and savannah, and seasonal pools in the desert were orders of magnitude smaller (8 × 10⁴ L). Key technologies included condensation from humidity in the air handlers and from the glass space frame to produce high quality freshwater, wastewater treatment with constructed wetlands and desalination through reverse osmosis and flash evaporation were key to recycling water with appropriate quality throughout the Biosphere 2 facility. Wastewater from all human uses and the domestic animals in Biosphere 2 was treated and recycled through a series of constructed wetlands, which had hydraulic loading of 0.9–1.1 m³ day⁻¹ (240–290 gal d⁻¹). Plant production in the wetland treatment system produced 1210 kg dry weight of emergent and floating aquatic plant wetland which was used as fodder for the domestic animals while remaining nutrients/water was reused as part of the agricultural irrigation supply. There were pools of water with recycling times of days to weeks and others with far longer cycling times within Biosphere 2. By contrast, the Laboratory Biosphere with a total water reservoir of less than 500 L has far quicker cycling rapidity: for example, atmospheric residence time for water vapor was 5–20 min in the Laboratory Biosphere vs. 1–4 h in Biosphere 2, as compared with 9 days in the Earth’s biosphere. Just as in Biosphere 2, humidity in the Laboratory Biosphere amounts to a very small reservoir of water. The amount of water passing through the air in the course of a 12-h operational day is two orders of magnitude greater than the amount stored in the air. Thus, evaporation and condensation collection are vital parts of the recycle system just as in Biosphere 2. The water cycle and sustainable water recycling in closed ecological systems presents problems requiring further research – such as how to control buildup of salinity in materially closed ecosystems and effective ways to retain nutrients in optimal quantity and useable form for plant growth. These issues are common to all closed ecological systems of whatever size, including planet Earth’s biosphere and are relevant to a global environment facing increasing water shortages while maintaining water quality for human and ecosystem health. Modular biospheres offer a test bed where technical methods of resolving these problems can be tested for feasibility.     

面向大飞机项目全生命周期的产学研合作模式研究

基于全生命周期的视角,将大飞机的生命周期划分为3个主要的阶段:飞机研发设计阶段、飞机工程制造阶段、飞机商业运营阶段.对应提出了3种不同的产学研合作模式:企业大学共同创新的战略型合作模式、企业工程化主导的协同型合作模式；企业商业化主导的价值型合作模式.通过对这3种模式的剖析,以期为大飞机研制过程中产学研合作模式的选择提供理论支撑.     

Solar Variation and Stratospheric Response

We have shown in several recent publications that it is necessary to group the meteorological data according to the phase of the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) throughout the year, in order to find a clear signal of the 11-year sunspot cycle (SSC). This work is summarized here. It is the purpose of this paper (1) to update earlier results of the solar cycle – QBO relationship for the northern winter, (2) to stress the interaction between the hemispheres and (3) to summarize the influence of the QBO on the solar variability signal, as well as the influence of the solar variability signal on the QBO throughout the year. For this, the constructed annual mean of the solar cycle – QBO relationship is introduced.     

A new approach to solar cycle forecasting

We describe a novel approach for determining the timing of the solar cycle and tracking its evolution relative to other cycles. This method also has predictive capability for forecasting the cycle “onset.” Based on current trends, we expect that Cycle 23 will be about 1 year longer than the previous two cycles.     

涵道比调节对核心机驱动风扇级与高压压气机匹配性能影响

根据某核心机驱动风扇级与高压压气机匹配气动布局的特点,建立了匹配状态点关联预估简化方程并发展了匹配性能预估程序。基于两个压缩部件性能试验数据,进行了典型匹配状态涵道比预估及特点分析,研究了等转速下涵道比调节对两个压缩部件工作状态点变化规律以及匹配性能影响。结果表明:(1)涵道比设置不合理将会导致压缩部件发生旋转失速或喘振现象,从而影响两者的匹配工作;(2)随着涵道比增大,核心机驱动风扇级工况点逐渐从近喘点向堵塞点方向偏移,而高压压气机的工况点变化趋势正好相反。核心机驱动风扇级的流量变化范围比高压压气机的窄,这使得匹配总压比-流量特性线更加陡峭;(3)存在最佳匹配涵道比使稳定工作裕度和近失速边界匹配总压比达到最大,并且此时的匹配峰值总效率接近最大匹配峰值总效率;(4)随着匹配转速的提高,典型匹配涵道比呈现逐渐减小趋势,外涵流量在85%换算转速时达到最大,因此在进行外涵流道设计需全面考虑压气机的工作特性。      

一种解决时频不确定问题的长码捕获算法

针对长周期伪码信号捕获中时频域的不确定问题,在理论模型分析的基础上,提出了一种长周期伪码捕获算法.该算法对接收信号进行时域混频及叠加处理,并转换到频域进行多次圆周移动,从而克服频偏引发的相关峰不确定问题;同时,通过连续积累和批处理手段克服了收发钟差引发的伪码时间不确定问题和信息翻转引发的相关峰不确定问题.理论分析和仿真结果表明:该算法在信噪比大于-25 dB的条件下,可以克服时频域的不解定问题;进一步,该算法与传统算法进行了比较,处理精度及处理复杂度都优于传统算法.     

铸型搅动法细晶铸造对K418B合金整体涡轮组织和力学性能的影响

铸型搅动法细晶铸造使Ｋ４１８Ｂ合金整体涡轮获得了细小、均匀的等轴晶粒,改善了合金中初生ＭＣ和γ′相的分布形态,并使它们的平均尺寸减小。细晶铸造Ｋ４１８Ｂ合金整体涡轮材料在４５０～６５０℃的低周疲劳寿命至少是普通铸造的４倍。     

TC17钛合金高温超高周疲劳实验

自主研发了高温超声疲劳(20kHz)实验系统,并完成了TC17钛合金在室温、200℃和350℃条件下的疲劳性能实验研究.结果表明:TC17钛合金的动态弹性模量随温度升高呈线性减小.S-N曲线在室温下呈直线下降趋势,但在200℃和350℃条件下,S-N曲线在疲劳寿命为107周次处出现明显的拐点.断口分析表明疲劳裂纹萌生于试件表面或次表面,没有发现裂纹萌生于内部的情形,TC17钛合金的裂纹萌生可不依赖于试件内部的夹杂物或缺陷.高温不仅促进了裂纹的萌生还促进了裂纹的扩展.     

K418合金的组织对低周疲劳性能的影响

研究了Ｋ４１８合金不同宏观组织（晶粒度）对低周疲劳性能的影响，同时研究了不同热处理状态下合金组织中的γ’相及其对合金的低周疲劳性能的影响。     

旁路放气循环高速单轴涡喷发动机安装性能模拟

针对Ma3.5旁路放气循环单轴涡喷发动机,提出一种压气机旁路放气计算方法,建立基于进/排气系统特性数据库的涡轮发动机安装性能计算模型,分析压气机旁路放气对压气机共同工作线和发动机高空高速推力性能的影响,给出压气机旁路放气量的调节原则,计算发动机安装性能、进/排气安装阻力沿飞行轨迹的变化规律。计算结果表明:当飞行马赫数大于2.3后需打开压气机旁路放气,旁路放气阀门面积和放气流量均随着飞行马赫数的增大基本呈线性增大趋势;通过压气机旁路放气,可显著改善单轴涡喷发动机在高空高速飞行条件下的稳定性和安装推力性能,在飞行马赫数3.0附近,可实现安装推力提高30%以上;在跨声速至飞行马赫数2.0区间内,推力安装损失最大,约为非安装推力的25%～30%。