Migration of the Industrial Wastewater in Fractured Rock Masses Based on the Thermal-Hydraulic-Mechanical Coupled Model

Industrial wastewater may have a long-time effect on the environment and human life as it goes underground and causes serious pollution continuously. To have a well understanding of the migration of such wastewater is a basic task for industrial wastewater treatment as well as industrial design. To study the migration mechanism of industrial wastewater in rock formations, the governing equations such as mechanics, seepage, heat, and mass transfer are reviewed, referenced, and proposed. The thermal (T)-hydraulic (H)-mechanical (M) coupled model of the multimedia of matrix-fault and matrix-fracture-fault is established. The influence of the fault and the fractures on the pressure distribution and contaminant migration is analyzed. The influence of fault length, width, dip angle, permeability, and temperature of wastewater on contaminant migration is parametrically studied. The following results can be obtained. (1) The fracture quantitively affects the concentration distribution, while the fault dominates the concentration distribution and contaminant migration. (2) The migration of the contaminants can be geometrically divided into 3 zones along the direction of the fault: the saturation zone, the rapid diffusion zone, and the concentration decrease zone. (3) There is a peak of the concentration along the bottom of the model. The position of the peak is the projection of the endpoint of the fault. (4) The fault length has the most significant effect on contaminant accumulation. The temperature of the wastewater has the minimum effect on the contaminant accumulation. (5) The accumulation of concentrations can be divided into 2 stages, the slow growth stage (before 20 years) and the rapid growth stage (after 20 years). The main channel of contaminant migration in the slow growth stage is a fault. During the rapid growth stage, the contaminants penetrate through the rock matrix as well as the fault.

Metabolically Healthy Obesity—Heterogeneity in Definitions and Unconventional Factors

The concept of heterogeneity among obese individuals in their risk for developing metabolic dysfunction and associated complications has been recognized for decades. At the origin of the heterogeneity idea is the acknowledgement that individuals with central obesity are more prone to developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease than those with peripheral obesity. There have been attempts to categorize subjects according to their metabolic health and degree of obesity giving rise to different obese and non-obese phenotypes that include metabolically unhealthy normal-weight (MUHNW), metabolically healthy obese (MHO), and metabolically unhealthy obese (MUO). Individuals belonging to the MHO phenotype are obese according to their body mass index although exhibiting fewer or none metabolic anomalies such as type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and/or unfavorable inflammatory and fribinolytic profiles. However, some authors claim that MHO is only transient in nature. Additionally, the phenotype categorization is controversial as it lacks standardized definitions possibly blurring the distinction between obesity phenotypes and confounding the associations with health outcomes. To add to the discussion, the factors underlying the origin or protection from metabolic deterioration and cardiometabolic risk for these subclasses are being intensely investigated and several hypotheses have been put forward. In the present review, we compare the different definitions of obesity phenotypes and present several possible factors underlying them (adipose tissue distribution and cellularity, contaminant accumulation on the adipose tissue, dysbiosis and metabolic endotoxemia imposing on to the endocannabinoid tone and inflammasome, and nutrient intake and dietary patterns) having inflammatory activation at the center.

Mechanism of Saline Deposition and Surface Flashover on High-Voltage Insulators near Shoreline: Mathematical Models and Experimental Validations

This paper deals with sea salt transportation and deposition mechanisms and discusses the serious issue of degradation of outdoor insulators resulting from various environmental stresses and severe saline contaminant accumulation near the shoreline. The deterioration rate of outdoor insulators near the shoreline depends on the concentration of saline in the atmosphere, the influence of wind speed on the production of saline water droplets, moisture diffusion and saline penetration on the insulator surface. This paper consists of three parts: first a model of saline transportation and deposition, as well as saline penetration and moisture diffusion on outdoor insulators, is presented; second, dry-band initiation and formation modelling and characterization under various types of contamination distribution are proposed; finally, modelling of dry-band arcing validated by experimental investigation was carried out. The tests were performed on a rectangular surface of silicone rubber specimens (12 cm × 4 cm × 8 cm). The visualization of the dry-band formation and arcing was performed by an infrared camera. The experimental results show that the surface strength and arc length mainly depend upon the leakage distance and contamination distribution. Therefore, the model can be used to investigate insulator flashover near coastal areas and for mitigating saline flashover incidents.