We present results from an international model comparison study of the Full-Scale Emplacement (FE) experiment in Opalinus Clay at the Mont Terri Laboratory, Switzerland. Based on a provided parameter set the teams decided which parameters they adopted for their models, whether they considered the excavation and the ventilation phase in addition to the heating phase and if they included technical features like the shotcrete or the EDZ. The teams were able to reproduce the measured parameters temperature, relative humidity and pore pressure. The modelled results for temperature agree very closely between the teams especially in the sensors in Opalinus Clay. All teams were able to reproduce the redistribution of water in the bentonite backfill due to heating. The evolution of the relative humidity showed similar trends with differences in the intensity of the dry out effect. To model the pore pressure evolution is more complex because it comprises the full interaction of the coupled THM processes. The spread between the pore pressure modelled by the teams was larger, with some teams overestimating the pressure increase due to heating and some teams overestimating the extent of drainage. The agreement of modelled results with measurements improves with larger distance to the heater. We conclude that the EDZ and the shotcrete potentially influence the behaviour of the rock causing higher differences closer to the heater. Further research is needed to better implement those influences into the models.Based on the calibrated models, the future evolution of temperature, relative humidity and pore pressure was predicted over the next 10 years following a change of the heat power applied in 2023 and 2024. Again, the predicted temperatures agree very closely between the teams. Most teams do not expect an increase in relative humidity during the next 10 years after the initial dry-out.
The SuperRail project, backed by the French government, will be the first installation of a high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cable system on a commercially operated railway electric grid. The project's goal is to develop, manufacture, install and operate a HTS DC cable system at the Montparnasse railways station in Paris. HTS technology provides here the only viable solution to increase the power supply from the railway traction substation to a group of railway tracks in such densely populated areas, strengthening and securing the railway grid, and helping to meet national low-carbon emission targets. Two 60 m long 1.5 kV-3.5 kA HTS DC cables made of 2G conductors will be installed in parallel. They are designed to meet stringent load requirements and to sustain a 67 kA-100 ms short-circuit current. Prior to the installation at Montparnasse, a 35-m HTS cable type test loop was installed and tested at the SNCF Railway Test Agency (SNCF-AEF). This loop includes two terminations, one joint, and a cooling system. This paper provides a detailed description of the type test loop and of the type test results, including thermal cycles, pressure tests, dielectric and lightning impulse tests, nominal current tests, system losses characterization, fault current test, and V-I characterization. The results confirm that the cable system met its design specifications, qualifying it for the SuperRail installation and for future railway projects.
Volcanoes have the potential to erupt abruptly, ejecting ash into the atmosphere and posing risks, among others, to civil aviation. Such explosive eruptions often occur unnoticed, complicating the air traffic management efforts of Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres (VAACs) of the International Civil Aviation Organization. Explosive eruptions are efficient sources of infrasound that, thanks to the low attenuation in the atmosphere, allow volcano monitoring at long (up to >1000 km) distances. The Volcanic Information System (VIS) is a recent framework for detecting eruptive events in near real-time (considering the slow propagation of infrasound), based on infrasound observations from one or several arrays of infrasound sensors. Several studies have already proved the efficiency of long-range infrasound monitoring and VIS in particular, but a systematic and global validation has not yet been done. In the current study, we investigate the reliability of VIS based on 10 years (2010-2019) of data provided by 16 infrasound arrays of the International Monitoring System operated by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. The dataset contains eruptions with a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 2 (mild explosions) to 4 (very energetic explosions with a high ash column). In order to estimate the rate of false positives, VIS records are compared with reports from the Global Volcanism Program. Our results show that VIS is well designed for large (VEI > 3) and long-lasting (Sub-Plinian/Plinian) events, as well as for highly repeated Vulcanian/Strombolian explosions. On the other hand, it typically misses single explosive, transient (few seconds) eruptive events. Good results on true detected events are obtained within 1000 km and up to 2000 km range under downwind propagation conditions. Unresolved ambiguity often remains for cases with small angular separation between volcanoes with respect to the infrasound array. We tackle the issue of azimuth resolution by considering volcanic sectors rather than single edifices. This approach can still provide critical information to the VAACs for triggering independent and extended analysis on ongoing volcanic eruptions.
The detection capability of the global infrasound International Monitoring System (IMS) deployed to monitor compliance with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty is highly variable in space and time. Previous studies estimated the source energy of near-surface explosions from remote observations using empirical yield-scaling relations. However, these relations simplify the complexities of infrasound propagation. In order to reduce the variance in the predicted wave attenuation, massive numerical propagation simulations are carried out by exploring a wide range of realistic atmospheric scenarios. An analytical expression is proposed to model transmission losses at distances up to 4,000 km. This attenuation relation is validated using multi-year near- and far-field records of volcanic eruptions from Mount Etna, Italy, as a benchmark. An idealized explosive source model is combined with transmission loss and measured noise statistics to quantify the 90% probability detection threshold of the IMS network. This approach yields high-resolution detection capability simulation results with limited computational resources. Simulations predict that explosions equivalent to 500 t of TNT equivalent would be detected by at least two stations at any time of the year, with the detection capability being best during the solstice periods. Due to the high spatio-temporal variability of the winds in the ground-to-stratosphere levels, threshold variations can reach one order of magnitude from seasonal down to semi-diurnal scales.
Vaccination-induced protection against influenza is greatly diminished and increasingly heterogeneous with age. We investigated longitudinally (up to five time points) a cohort of 234 vaccinated >65-year-old vaccinees with adjuvanted vaccine FluAd across two independent seasons. System-level analyses of multiomics datasets measuring six modalities and serological data revealed that poor responders lacked time-dependent changes in response to vaccination as observed in responders, suggestive of systemic dysregulation in poor responders. Multiomics integration revealed key molecules and their likely role in vaccination response. High prevaccination plasma interleukin-15 (IL-15) concentrations negatively associated with antibody production, further supported by experimental validation in mice revealing an IL-15-driven natural killer cell axis explaining the suppressive role in vaccine-induced antibody production as observed in poor responders. We propose a subset of long-chain fatty acids as modulators of persistent inflammation in poor responders. Our findings provide a potential link between low-grade chronic inflammation and poor vaccination response and open avenues for possible pharmacological interventions to enhance vaccine responses.
