Abstract. This paper investigates the hydraulic issues of pumping well optimization in saltwater-intruded coastal aquifers. The well field includes freshwater outflow, pumping wells, and a recharge canal. The objective is to maximize the total pumping rate subject to the constraint of no intrusion of the saltwater front into the wells. Analytical solutions are presented for one-well, two-well, and one-well-with-recharge-canal problems. For problems involving multiple pumping wells, a structured messy genetic algorithm is used to search for the optimal solution.

Four examples are investigated for the optimal and sustainable extraction of groundwater from a coastal aquifer under the threat of seawater intrusion. The objectives and constraints of these management scenarios include maximizing the total volume of water pumped, maximizing the profit of selling water, minimizing the operational and water treatment costs, minimizing the salt concentration of the pumped water, and controlling the drawdown limits. The physical model is based on the density-dependent advective-dispersive solute transport model. Genetic algorithm is used as the optimization tool. The models are tested on a hypothetical confined aquifer with four pumping wells located at various depths. These solutions establish the feasibility of simulating various management scenarios under complex three-dimensional flow and transport processes in coastal aquifers for the optimal and sustainable use of groundwater.

Conductive polymer composites (CPCs) with high electrical and thermal conductivities are demanded for bipolar plates of fuel cells. In this work, CPCs of polycarbonate (PC) filled with carbon nanotube (CNT), carbon fiber (CF), graphite (G), and their double and triple hybrids were prepared using solution casting method followed by compression molding. The results showed that the electrical percolation thresholds for the PC‐CNT and PC‐CF were ~1 wt% and ~10 wt%, respectively, while no clear threshold was found for PC‐G composites. Addition of 3–5 wt% CNT improved the electrical conductivity of PC‐CF and PC‐G systems up to 6 orders of magnitude and enhanced the thermal conductivity as much as 65%. The results of triple hybrid CPCs (with constant loading of 63 wt%) indicated that the combination of highest electrical and thermal conductivities is achieved when the CF and CNT loadings were near their percolation thresholds. Therefore, a triple filler system of 3 wt% CNT, 10 wt% CF, and 50 wt% G resulted in a composite with the through‐plane and in‐plane electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity values of 12.8 S/cm, 8.3 S/cm, and 1.7 W/m•K, respectively. The results offer a combination of properties surpassing the existing values and suitable for high‐conductivity applications such as bipolar plates. POLYM. COMPOS., 40:3189–3198, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers

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