Effect of pulsed ultrasound treatment compared to continuous mode on microbiological and quality of Mirabelle plum during postharvest storage

The effects of pulsed and continuous ultrasound treatment on microbiological and physiological quality of Mirabelle plum fruit were investigated. Freshly harvested Mirabelle plum was treated with 30‐kHz pulsed and continuous ultrasound at 20 °C for 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 min and subsequently stored at 4 °C for 10 days. The total count of bacteria, total fungi, decay index, titratable acidity (TA), total soluble solids (TSS), colour, texture, ascorbic acid content and total phenolics was measured. The results showed that pulsed and continuous ultrasonic treatment significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the number of microorganisms and improved the quality of Mirabelle plums during storage. Increasing pretreatment time enhanced the positive effects of pulsed and continuous ultrasound. Also, in terms of the total count of bacteria, total fungi, titratable acidity and total phenolics, the pulsed and continuous ultrasound did not show a significant difference (P < 0.05). However, pulsed ultrasound was better compared to continuous mode in preservation of TSS, colour, texture and ascorbic acid content of the fruit during storage. Our results demonstrated that pulsed ultrasound is an appropriate method for improving safety and maintaining the quality of Mirabelle plum fruit.     

Hybrid sonochemic urea-nitrate combustion preparation of CuO/ZnO/Al2O3 nanocatalyst used in fuel cell-grade hydrogen production from methanol: Effect of sonication and fuel/nitrate ratio

Fuel cell-grade hydrogen production has been studied via steam reforming of methanol (SRM) over a series of CuO/ZnO/Al₂O₃ nanocatalysts fabricated by the combustion method. The effect of sonication and urea/nitrate ratio on the characteristics and catalytic properties of the prepared catalysts has been investigated. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), Particle Size Distribution (PSD), energy dispersive x-ray (EDX), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and FTIR analyses XRD patterns showed positive influence of urea/nitrate ratio on CuO and ZnO crystallite sizes. The ultrasonic mixing of primary gel compared with conventional mixing led to lower crystallite size. FESEM images showed that the sample mixed by sonication with a urea/nitrate ratio of 1 had more homogeneous morphology with narrow particle size distribution. EDX results proved the presence of all metals on the surface of the nanocatalysts and better consistence between the gel and surface composition of elements in samples prepared by sonication. Catalytic performance showed that sonication during the mixing of primary gel dramatically increased the methanol conversion. It was also proved that increasing the amount of urea led to lower catalytic activity. The ultrasound-treated nanocatalyst with urea/nitrate?=?1 was the best sample in terms of activity and selectivity. It was stable in the SRM for 1200?min without considerable change in methanol conversion and product selectivity.     

The efficiency and comparison of novel techniques for cell wall disruption in astaxanthin extraction from Haematococcus pluvialis

The efficiency of various techniques pulsed electric field (PEF), ultrasound (US), high‐pressure microfluidisation (HPMF), hydrochloric acid (HCl) and ionic liquids (ILs) for cell wall disruption in astaxanthin extraction from Haematococcus pluvialis was compared. The results indicated that ILs, HCl and HPMF treatment were shown the most efficient for cell disruption with more than 80% astaxanthin recovery. While the cell wall integrity of H. pluvialis cyst cell was less affected by US and PEF treatment. It was found that imidazolium‐based ILs showed the greater potential for cell disruption than pyridinium‐based and ammonium‐based ILs. Among all the ILs examined, 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium chloride ([Bmim] Cl) exhibited efficient cell disruption and capability of astaxanthin recovery at mild condition (pretreatment with 40% IL aqueous solution at 40 °C, followed by extraction with methanol at 50 °C) without extensive energy consumption and special facility requirement. In addition, recyclability of ILs was excellent.     

Detecting recrystallization in a single crystal Ni-base alloy using resonant ultrasound spectroscopy

The use of resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) as a nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technique for Ni-base single crystal superalloys has been investigated. Manufacture of single crystal superalloys can be challenging due to the prevalence of defects induced during single crystal growth or subsequent processing. Common defects involve the presence of misoriented (non-single crystal) material that change the bulk elastic properties and, as a result, are detectable by RUS. To control the extent of misoriented material, recrystallization induced by shot peening the surface of the single crystal has been studied. RUS was then used to determine the presence and depth of misoriented material due to recrystallization. Recrystallization of shot peened cylindrical single crystal specimens occurred to a depth of 80 μm and 178  μm during subsequent heat treatments. Experimental average resonance frequency shifts of 1.835% ±1.704% and 2.380% ±2.910%, respectively, were measured over a frequency range from 20–200 kHz when compared to the baseline shot peened condition. Finite element (FE) models using the ABAQUS Lanczos Eigen frequency solver assessed the influence of recrystallization as a function of depth from the surface and showed good agreement with the measured resonance frequency shifts. For the greatest NDE sensitivity on production-scale turbine blades and other gas turbine components, a coupled RUS measurement and FE modeling approach is essential, and has the potential to improve single crystal processing approaches and manufacturing yields.     

Influence of magnetic annealing on high-frequency magnetic properties of FeCoNd films

FeCoNd thin film with thickness of 166 nm has been fabricated on silicon (1 1 1) substrates by magnetron co-sputtering and annealed for one hour under magnetic field at different temperatures (T_a) from 200 °C to 700 °C. The As-deposited and annealed FeCoNd film samples at T_a ≤ 500 °C were amorphous while the ones obtained at T_a ≥ 600 °C were crystallized. We found that the perpendicular anisotropy field gradually decreases as the annealing temperature increases from room temperature to 300 °C. A well induced in-plane uniaxial anisotropy is achieved at the annealing temperature between 400 and 600 °C. The variation of the dynamic magnetic properties of annealed FeCoNd films can be well explained by the Landau-Lifshitz equation with the variation of the anisotropy field re-distribution and the damping constant upon magnetic annealing. The magnetic annealing might be a powerful post treatment method for high frequency application of magnetic thin films.     

炼油厂污油超声破乳脱水

以含水量（体积分数）20%~30%的中石化扬子炼油厂提供的污油为研究对象,在实验室条件下,采用超声波破乳技术进行脱水研究。在超声频率为20 kHz的条件下,考察了超声的其他参数对污油脱水的影响。结果表明：超声辐照时间为5min、超声激励电压为100V、超声辐照后热沉降温度为60℃、沉降时间为2h时,污油破乳脱水效果比较好,作用后,污油含水率可以降低到3.2%。按照小试得到的最佳工艺参数进行中试实验,其污油破乳脱水效果跟预计的结果相当,含水率可以降低到7.2%。     

超声与静电场协同作用对水电导率的影响

超声和静电场的协同作用对水的电导率产生明显的影响。首先通过单独的超声和静电场作用,研究了其对水电导率的影响,并通过改变超声和静电场的强度,发现在一定范围内,随着超声功率的增大,水电导率随时间逐渐提高,而单独的静电场对水的电导率没有明显影响。最后,通过超声和电场的协同作用,发现水的电导率相对其单独作用有了明显的提高,并且,随着超声电功率和静电场强度的增大,水的电导率提高明显。     

基于主动超声的轴流水泵空化监测方法研究

空化是影响液流机械使用寿命与性能的主要因素之一.提出一种主动超声探测方法,该方法通过透射方式对空化区域或其附近发射高频超声波,流体的运动会对其中传播的超声波产生影响,流体运动信息调制到超声载波上,通过对已调超声信号的解调,得到流场相关信息.以不同状态下的轴流泵空化流场实验数据为依据,结合高速摄像验证手段,建立基于支持向...