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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #50642
Title: DISCUSSION ON "STRANGE ATTRACTORS AND CHAOS IN WASTEWATER FLOW"

Author
item FERNANDEZ G P - 6220-10-25
item GARBRECHT J D - 6220-10-25

Submitted to: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Chaos theory provides a new method to analyze the properties of a long record such as rainfall or runoff record. This discussion presents the potential hazards of incorrectly applying this method to the analysis of wastewater flows. We showed that the results of the analysis of three wastewater flow records reported by Angelbeck and Minkara (1994) are questionable. Important flaws in the analysis and inadequate data do not justify their conclusions.

Technical Abstract: This paper discussed some methodological shortcomings in the search for strange attractors and in the assessment of deterministic chaos in wastewater flow. Correlation dimensions of three wastewater flow series reported by Angelbeck and Minkara (1994) are shown to be spurious and may have been an artifact of relatively short and autocorrelated data sets. The available data sets used were simply inadequate to provide accurate an meaningful calculation of the dimension. The firm confirmation of chaotic dynamics and presence of strange attractor in wastewater flow series would require analysis of a much longer data set.