“… the best handbook on membrane technology, which is currently on the market... ”–Membrane News (on the previous edition)Building on the success of the previous edition, Membrane Technology and ...Applications Third Editionprovides a comprehensive overview of separation membranes, their manufacture and their applications. Beginning with a series of general chapters on membrane preparation, transport theory and concentration polarization, the book then surveys several major areas of membrane application in separate chapters. Written in a readily accessible style, each chapter covers its membrane subject thoroughly, from historical and theoretical backgrounds through to current and potential applications. Topics include reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, pervaporation, microfiltration, gas separation and coupled and facilitated transport; chapters on electrodialysis and medical applications round out the coverage.NEW TO THE THIRD EDITIONNew sections on the use of membranes in the chlor-alkali industry, membrane distillation, pressure retarded osmosis and constant flux-variable pressure ultrafiltrationZeolite and ceramic membranes, submerged membrane modules, and fuel cell membranesSubstantially enhanced chapters on ultrafiltration, pervaporation and membrane contactorsUpdates to every chapter to reflect the developments in the field
Estimation of fragility functions using dynamic structural analysis is an important step in a number of seismic assessment procedures. This paper discusses the applicability of statistical inference ...concepts for fragility function estimation, describes appropriate fitting approaches for use with various structural analysis strategies, and studies how to fit fragility functions while minimizing the required number of structural analyses. Illustrative results show that multiple stripe analysis produces more efficient fragility estimates than incremental dynamic analysis for a given number of structural analyses, provided that some knowledge of the building's capacity is available prior to analysis so that relevant portions of the fragility curve can be approximately identified. This finding has other benefits, given that the multiple stripe analysis approach allows for different ground motions to be used for analyses at varying intensity levels, to represent the differing characteristics of low-intensity and high-intensity shaking. The proposed assessment approach also provides a framework for evaluating alternate analysis procedures that may arise in the future.
The membrane gas separation industry is 35 years old and growing at a significant rate. Development of higher selectivity and higher permeance membranes would result in faster growth. This paper will ...analyze the barriers that have inhibited the development of these membranes. We start by reviewing the lessons that can be drawn from the past 35 years of experience. We then review the needs and most promising research directions for new materials in current and future membrane applications.
This paper describes an algorithm to efficiently select ground motions from a database while matching a target mean, variance, and correlations of response spectral values at a range of periods. The ...approach improves an earlier algorithm by Jayaram et al. 2011. Key steps in the process are to screen a ground motion database for suitable motions, statistically simulate response spectra from a target distribution, find motions whose spectra match each statistically simulated response spectrum, and then perform an optimization to further improve the consistency of the selected motions with the target distribution. These steps are discussed in detail, and the computational expense of the algorithm is evaluated. A brief example selection exercise is performed, to illustrate the type of results that can be obtained. Source code for the algorithm has been provided, along with metadata for several popular databases of recorded and simulated ground motions, which should facilitate a variety of exploratory and research studies.
Membrane gas separation is a mature and expanding technology. However, the availability of better membrane materials would promote faster growth. In this Perspective we analyze the state of the art ...of membrane materials, including polymers and hybrid materials, as well as the current issues and barriers, and finally, we outline future research directions in membrane science. Development of new membrane materials for large scale separations will rely on a multidisciplinary approach that embraces the broad fields of chemical and materials engineering, polymer science, and materials chemistry.
Dynamic structural analysis often requires the selection of input ground motions with a target mean response spectrum. The variance of the target response spectrum is usually ignored or accounted for ...in an ad hoc manner, which can bias the structural response estimates. This manuscript proposes a computationally efficient and theoretically consistent algorithm to select ground motions that match the target response spectrum mean and variance. The selection algorithm probabilistically generates multiple response spectra from a target distribution, and then selects recorded ground motions whose response spectra individually match the simulated response spectra. A greedy optimization technique further improves the match between the target and the sample means and variances. The proposed algorithm is used to select ground motions for the analysis of sample structures in order to assess the impact of considering ground-motion variance on the structural response estimates. The implications for code-based design and performance-based earthquake engineering are discussed.