Modified Assessment Method Research Articles

A new approach to circularity assessment for a sustainable water sector: Accounting for environmental functional flows and losses

Resource recovery solutions can reduce the water sector's resource use intensity. With many such solutions being proposed, an assessment method for effective decision-making is needed. The water sector predominantly deals with biogeochemical resources (e.g., nitrogen) that are different from technical resources (e.g., industrial coagulants) in three ways: (1) they move through the environment in natural cycles; (2) they fulfil different human and environmental functions; and (3) they are subject to substantial environmental losses. Whilst several circularity assessment methods exist for technical resources, biogeochemical resources have received less attention. To address this, a well-established material circularity indicator (MCI) method is modified. This is done by redefining the terms: restoration, regeneration, and linear flows to create a new circularity assessment approach. The new approach is demonstrated in a real-life case study involving treated wastewater (TW) fertigation. The new approach reveals that using the original MCI method underestimates the circularity of resource recovery solutions involving biogeochemical resources. This is because, in the original MCI method, only the flows that are reused/recycled for human functions can be considered circular, whereas, in the new approach, one also considers flows such as N2 emission and groundwater infiltration as circular flows. Even though these may not be reuse/recycle type flows, they still contribute towards future resource availability and, thus, towards sustainability. The modified assessment method shows that TW fertigation can significantly improve nitrogen and water circularity. However, careful planning of the fertigation schedule is essential since increasing fertigation frequency leads to lower water but higher nitrogen circularity. Additionally, collecting drainage water for reuse can improve nitrogen circularity. In conclusion, using the modified MCI approach, circularity can be assessed in a manner that is better aligned with sustainability.

Developments of strain-based failure assessment diagram applications: measuring reference strain by displacement and a modified assessment method

A modified strain-based failure assessment diagram (FAD) and a method of using the displacement of the outer boundary of the load (DOBL) to measure the reference strain in strain-based FAD (SB-FAD) application are established in this paper. Measuring reference strain by DOBL is a new method of introducing displacement to characterize reference strain and has a great potential of promoting the application of strain-based FAD. A modification parameter with a physical meaning of reflecting defect size, component geometry and material properties, is introduced to improve the SB-FAD Option 2 (one important SB-FAD assessing curve) and makes the assessment method conservative and safe. For some typical 2D and 3D crack structures in engineering, the modification parameter query tables are presented for the application convenience. The modified SB-FAD Option 2 is conservative and can be well combined with the method of using DOBL to measure reference strain in SB-FAD application. The two aspects of the developments of SB-FAD are of general practicality, and are illustrated in the paper to assess the structural integrity of 3D surface cracks in reel pipeline projects.

Modification of rock mass strength assessment methods and their application in geotechnical engineering

Due to complicated structures and discontinuities in surrounding rock mass, existing empirical failure criteria cannot meet the requirements of engineering practice such as tunnels. To improve estimation accuracy on the strength of rock mass with joints, a modified chart of the Geological Strength Index using Hoek–Brown criteria was further tested to estimate rock mass strength [Lin et al. (2014) Bull Eng Geol Environ 4(73):1245–1258], and, in this paper, new strength estimation equations for jointed rock mass were then modified based on a large dataset obtained from Chinese projects. Here, standard drilling time is first introduced and described in this study, and then used as a parameter to estimate rock strength. Different empirical formulas based on joint density, rock mass classification, Hoek–Brown criteria, and elastic wave velocity are thus used to estimate rock mass strength by using data from the Jiubao tunnel. The results estimated based on different empirical formulas were similar, indicating that the modified assessment method presented in this paper can be used to estimate rock mass strength under certain circumstances. Cross-correlation of different empirical methods provides significant confidence in predicted rock mass strength calculations.

Understanding and analysis on frequency dielectric parameter for quantitative diagnosis of moisture content in paper–oil insulation system

The ageing rate of cellulose insulation materials (paper/pressboard) in oil-impregnated transformers is largely determined by moisture. In this paper, several experiments were conducted under controlled laboratory conditions to quantitatively diagnose the amount of moisture in cellulose insulation using frequency domain spectroscopy (FDS) technique, which has been proven to be an effective tool to predict the insulation condition in oil-impregnated power equipment. The frequency dielectric response in oil-impregnated pressboards, moisture content as well as test temperature, was monitored carefully, and a new dielectric characteristic parameter for the diagnosis of moisture content was proposed. In addition, the master curve technique was introduced to calibrate the temperature effect on FDS measurement results. These experiments revealed that a strong correlation exists between frequency dielectric parameter and moisture content in cellulose insulation. Such correlation can be utilised for better prediction of moisture content in paper–oil insulation. A modified assessment method for the diagnosis of moisture content in paper–oil insulation was investigated and its effectiveness was also demonstrated using a case.

Assessing Passenger Comfort and Capacity Bottlenecks in Dutch Train Stations

The performance indicator of transfer station crowdedness is one of the indicators that offers insight into the performance of the pedestrian transfer station infrastructure and the effects of adjustments (of the infrastructure, traffic demand, or the timetable) on this performance. Because the original method did not provide the expected results, this paper proposes improvements to the means of measuring and assessing this performance indicator on the basis of the levels of service defined by Fruin, complemented by the dimensions of time and frequency. The measurement plan stipulates that densities are used as the main indicator and that they can be collected by using either video or infrared sensors at a frequency of 0.1 Hz for an effective area of at least 10 m2. The modified assessment method entails the identification of Levels of Service D (comfort bottleneck) and E (capacity bottleneck) only when they last longer than 30 s. Actual bottlenecks are indicated only when these levels of service occur more than three times during a peak period and last (in sum) longer than 5 min per peak period. Further improvements to the assessment methodology relate to the use of the effective walking area, including the shy-away distances between pedestrians and obstacles, walls, and so on, rather than the observed area. Also, flow directions appear to have a considerable influence on the level of service. The paper shows the results obtained by application of the methodology to one of the measurement locations.

Parent-Child Agreement in Prepubertal Depression: Findings with a Modified Assessment Method

Lack of or low parent-child (P-C) agreement is a well-documented problem in child psychopathology assessment. This study proposed to improve this agreement by using a modified assessment approach. Ninety-three depressed prepubertal children, aged 6 to 12 years, and their mothers underwent an assessment procedure that combined multiple assessment measures given separately to child and mother (Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present Episode [K-SADS-P], Children's Depression Inventory, and traditional psychiatric interviews), confrontation of either and/or both informants with intra- and interinformant discrepancies, and senior clinician's "best estimate" clinical judgment to solve discrepant ratings. Correlational statistics (r, kappa, and z) were used to compare child's with mother's ratings on 20 K-SADS-P depressive symptoms. The major hypothesis, that using our assessment procedure, P-C agreement would be significant and moderately high (r and kappa = .40 or higher), was confirmed. The second hypothesis on dissociation of P-C agreement on behavioral versus ideational symptoms was partially confirmed; the third hypothesis on adverse effects of maternal "depression" on P-C agreement was not confirmed. Our assessment method has potential clinical application in enhancing diagnostic reliability of childhood depression assessment.