Necati Kayaalp

Climate change alters precipitation regimes, affecting flood hazard and sustainable urban development. This study assesses flood exposure of planned development and emergency assembly areas in Bismil and Çınar, Diyarbakır, Turkey, for 2023–2048. Precipitation projections from HadGEM2-ES, MPI-ESM-MR, and GFDL-ESM2M in RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 were bias-corrected using Equidistant Quantile Mapping (EQM) to develop intensity–duration–frequency (IDF) curves. HEC-HMS generated 100-year design hydrographs, HEC-RAS 2D simulated flooding, and GIS-based overlay analyses quantified exposure. In Çınar, maximum water depths ranged from 2.64 to 4.22 m, and inundation areas from 0.300 to 0.383 km². In HadGEM2-ES RCP8.5, exposed planned development areas increased from a reference value of 0.117 to 0.128 km², while exposed emergency assembly areas increased from 0.033 to 0.035 km². In Bismil, maximum water depths ranged from 6.39 to 7.41 m, and inundation areas from 4.320 to 5.932 km²; no overlap occurred with the evaluated development or assembly areas under any scenario. However, this absence does not imply that other parts of Bismil face no flood hazard. These differences highlight the need for district-specific exposure assessments. The framework identifies exposed development and assembly areas, supporting climate-adaptive land-use planning and sustainable urban resilience.

In a standard diffuser system in a membrane bioreactor (MBR), uneven air distribution scouring the membrane surface causes transmembrane pressure to reach its ultimate value earlier, which requires membrane cleaning more frequently. In this study, a Venturi-integrated innovative diffuser design is proposed to improve membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology. The proposed design aims to increase filtration efficiency by creating a homogeneous scouring effect on the membrane surface. To compare the performance of the proposed diffuser configuration (V-MBR) with that of a conventional diffuser (S-MBR), computational fluid dynamics models were established for each of the two configurations. The results showed that the V-MBR model produced about 50% higher average shear stress on the membrane surfaces. Statistical analysis also showed that the V-MBR model generally produced low variance and non-zero shear stress values. Along with shear stress distribution, other parameters such as volume fraction, velocity, turbulent kinetic energy, and turbulent eddy distribution were evaluated to compare the performance of two diffuser system configurations. These parameters also supported the superior performance of the new V-MBR model over the conventional S-MBR. It is concluded that homogeneous shear stress distribution on the membrane surface is an important parameter that increases filtration efficiency by preventing the formation of dead zones.

Global climate change is a phenomenon resulting from the complex interaction of human influences and natural factors. These changes lead to imbalances in climate systems as human activities such as greenhouse-gas emissions increase atmospheric gas concentrations. This situation affects the frequency and intensity of climate events worldwide, with floods being one of them. Floods manifest as water inundations due to factors such as changes in rainfall patterns, rising temperatures, erosion, and sea-level rise. These floods cause significant damage to sensitive areas such as residential areas, agricultural lands, river valleys, and coastal regions, adversely impacting people's lives, economies, and environments. Therefore, flood risk has been investigated in decision-making processes in the Diyarbakır province using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method and future disaggregation of global climate model data. HadGEM-ES, GFDL-ESM2M, and MPI-ESM-MR models with RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios were used. Model data were disaggregated using the equidistance quantile matching method. The study reveals flood-risk findings in the HadGEM-ES model while no flood risk was found in the GFDL-ESM2M and MPI-ESM-MR models. In the AHP method, flood risk analysis was conducted based on historical data across Diyarbakır and interpreted alongside future rainfall data.

Although climate models can highlight potential shifts in intensity–duration–frequency (IDF) curves, their limited geographical and temporal resolutions limit their direct use in predicting sub-daily heavy precipitation. To use global or regional model outputs to predict urban short-term precipitation, approaches that give the requisite level of spatial and temporal downscaling are required, and these processes remain one of the difficulties that have demanded intensive effort in recent years. Although no novel methods are given in this work, there are few studies in the literature that investigate the impact of climate change on the analysis and design of infrastructure-related engineering structures. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to determine the potential changes in IDF curves because of climate change. The equidistance quantile matching method was used to turn future rainfall forecast data from global climate models (HadGEM2-ES, MPI-ESM-MR, and GFDL-ESM2M) corresponding to RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios into standard duration rainfall data, and new IDF curves were generated. These IDF curves corresponded very well with those generated from observed data (R2 ≈ 1). The HadGEM2-ES model predicts up to a 25% rise in rainfall intensity, whereas the other two models expect up to a 50% drop.

Due to the increasing population and the pollution of existing water resources because of various factors, the need for water in the world is increasing. This requires building additional water distribution systems along with rehabilitation of existing systems. The cost of transmission and distribution constitutes more than half of the total cost of water supply systems. For this reason, by the optimum design of pipeline systems, the cost of water supply can be reduced. In this study, the optimization of pipe diameters in three networks, Two- Loop, Hanoi and GoYang, was carried out by a combination of two metaheuristic algorithms, namely Biogeography based optimization (BBO) and invasive weed optimization (IWO) under the same constraints. In addition, the Combined Gravity Network was successfully optimized with the current method for the first time in the literature.

The aim of this study is to model a hydrogenotrophic denitrification process in a venturi-integrated submerged membrane bioreactor (MBR) system. The MBR was operated in batch mode using feed concentrations of 100 and 150 mg NO₃-N/L. In contrast to most of the denitrification process models that represent the mixed culture with one composite biomass parameter, the biomass was subdivided into two main categories in this modelling study: mainly nitrate-reducing biomass and mainly nitrite-reducing biomass. The determination coefficients (r²) in the range of 0.97–0.99 indicate that the model successfully simulates the concentrations of nitrate- and nitrite-nitrogen in the bioreactor. The maximum specific growth rate of nitrite-reducing biomass (0.06 h⁻¹) was found to be higher than that of nitrate-reducing biomass (0.0002 h⁻¹). Similarly, the growth yield coefficient of nitrite-reducing biomass was higher than that of nitrate-reducing biomass (0.44 vs. 0.31 g biomass/g substrate). The kinetic and stoichiometric coefficients obtained from this modelling study suggest that the limiting step determining the overall conversion rate of hydrogenotrophic denitrification process is the conversion of nitrite to nitrogen gas. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

In this study, for the first time, a venturi device was integrated into a submerged membrane bioreactor (MBR) to improve membrane surface cleaning and bioreactor oxygenation. The performances of a blower and the venturi device were compared in terms of membrane fouling and bioreactor oxygenation. Upon comparing membrane fouling, the performances were similar for a low operation flux (18 L/m².h); however, at a medium flux (32 L/m².h), the venturi system operated 3.4 times longer than the blower system, and the final transmembrane pressure was 1/3 that of the blower system. At the highest flux studied (50 L/m².h), the venturi system operated 5.4 times longer than the blower system. The most notable advantage of using a venturi device was that the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration of the MBR was in the range of 7 to 8 mg/L at a 3 L/min aeration rate, while the DO concentration of the MBR was inadequate (a maximum of 0.29 mg/L) in the blower system. A clean water oxygenation test at a 3 L/min aeration rate indicated that the standard oxygen transfer rate for the venturi system was 9.5 times higher than that of the blower system.