Effects of Surface Concentration on Drying Behavior of Carbohydrate Solutions

As the surface properties of the drying materials are very important not only for the drying rate but also for the quality change during drying, the effects of surface concentration on the drying behavior of liquid foods (sugar solutions) were investigated by isothermal drying experiments and by numerical calculation experiments. The isothermal drying experiments with gelled sugar solution systems (sucrose and maltodextrin) were carried out at various relative humidity (RH) values (RH = 0 to 84%). Separate experiments were carried out for determination of the desorption isotherms.

The isothermal drying curves of sugar solutions at RH = 0 to 51% were very similar. Numerical simulations also showed that the drying curves of these sugars at the surface concentration = 0 and 0.1 are almost the same, although the concentration distributions are different.

When a small amount of gelatin was added to sugar solutions, the drying rate decreased remarkably as the gelatin might form a thin film (skin) near the surface, and consequently the retention of ethanol increased.     

Variations in Spectral Slope in Lake Taihu,a Large Subtropical Shallow Lake in China

Spectral slope (S), describing the exponential decrease of the absorption spectrum over a given wavelength range, is an important parameter in the study of of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) dynamics, and also an essential input parameter in remote sensing models. Furthermore, S is often used as a proxy for CDOM composition, including the ratio of fulvic to humic acids and molecular weight. The relative broad range in S values reported in the literature can be explained by the different spectral ranges and fitting methods used. A single exponential model is used to fit the S values for 17 investigations involving 458 samples in Lake Taihu from January to October in 2004. The average S value was 15.18 ± 1.39 μm⁻¹ for the range of 280–500 nm, which fell within the range reported in the literature. The frequency distribution of S value basically obeyed a normal distribution. Significant differences in S values between summer and other seasons showed that phytoplankton degradation was one of the important sources of CDOM in summer, whereas CDOM mainly came from the river input in other seasons. Furthermore, the estimated S value decreased with increasing wavelength range used in regression. The maximum and minimum values derived from the regression were 17.89 ± 1.25 μm⁻¹ and 13.62 ± 2.11 μm⁻¹ for the wavelength ranges of 280–380 nm and 400–500 nm, respectively, a decrease of 23.9%. S values significantly decreased with the increase of CDOM absorption coefficients. CDOM absorption coefficients could be more appropriately estimated from exponential model introducing the variation of S with absorption coefficients, making them useful for a remote sensing bio-optical model of Lake Taihu. DOC-specific absorption coefficient a*(λ) and the parameter M describing molecular size of the humic molecules could also be used as a proxy for the sources and types of CDOM. A general relationship was found between S and a*(λ), and M values. S increased with the decrease of DOC-specific absorption coefficient and the increase of M corresponding to the decrease of molecular weight.     

Radiation transmission through a composite pure water layer of uniform and depth-dependent extinction characteristics

The paper describes the calculation of the beam solar radiation transmission across the uniform salinity upper convecting zone (UCZ) and the salinity stratified gradient zone (GZ), when the extinction coefficient is not only wavelength but also salinity-concentration dependent, assuming that the effect of scattering to be negligible. The results are useful in determining the effects of dissolved salt ions on pure water transmission, at least according to the existing measured data in the literature.     

Application of SiC-Si functionally gradient material to thermoelectric energy conversion device

Because of its high–temperature chemical stability, SiC ceramic is a promising material for high-temperature device applications such as thermoelectric energy converters. However, the electrical conductivity of SiC ceramic is too low for it to be used as a thermoelectric energy converter at the cold junction. Therefore, we propose a SiC-Si functionally gradient material (FGM) in order to improve the electrical conductivity of the SiC ceramic at the cold junction. An SiC rod was fired in a temperature gradient furnace. One end of the SiC rod was maintained at 2473 K and the other end was maintained at 1973 K for 30 min. After firing, the porous SiC edge fired at 1973 K was dipped into molten Si in order to infiltrate molten Si into the porous SiC. The microstructure of the FGM is classified into three regions: the SiC-Si composite material; the porous SiC ceramic; and the densified SiC ceramic. The electrical conductivity, the Seebeck coefficient and the thermal conductivity for each region of SiC-Si FGM was measured at 300 K; a figure of merit was calculated. The figure of merit of the SiC-Si FGM at the cold junction, at room temperature, was 10⁸ times higher than that of a nongradient SiC ceramic.     

An analytical expression for the power coefficient of an ideal horizontal-axis wind turbine

The paper shows that an analytical evaluation of the power coefficient C_p for an ideal horizontal-axis wind turbine can be made via an expression giving the direct relationship of C_p and the axial induction factor a. The results obtained agree closely with those obtained numerically from the usual integral expression involving several variables.     

Al2O3—TiB2陶瓷刀具材料的高温氧化及其对刀具耐磨性能的影响

研究了Ａｌ２Ｏ３－ＴｉＢ２陶瓷刀具材料在１０００℃下的氧化行为，用ＸＲＤ、ＳＥＭ分析了氧化后的相组成及显微结构。结果表明：Ａｌ２Ｏ３－ＴｉＢ２陶瓷材料在１０００℃空气中氧化增重符合抛物线规律；随ＴｉＢ２含量的增加，该材料的抗氧化能力下降。     

Distribution and Fate of Escherichia coli in Lake Michigan Following Contamination with Urban Stormwater and Combined Sewer Overflows

Escherichia coli distribution and persistence in nearshore Lake Michigan were assessed following heavy rains and sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) and combined sewer overflow (CSO) events over a 5-year period, including an 18-day period following 25.4 cm of rainfall in which intensive studies were conducted following multiple CSO and SSO events. E. coli levels in the Milwaukee estuary and harbor following SSO and CSO events ranged from 10⁴ to nearly 10⁵ CFU/100 mL, which were significantly higher (p ≤ 0.05) than levels following rainfall alone. Sites outside of the breakwall but within the contamination plume (e.g., within 2 km of the harbor) were an order of magnitude lower. Locations 2–5 km from the harbor ranged from below detection limits, of < 1 to 5 CFU/100 mL. E. coli levels corrected for dilution based on specific conductivity measurements were lower than what would be expected for loss due to dilution alone, suggesting a combination of die-off and dilution, were responsible for the rapid disappearance of these organisms outside of the harbor. E. coli and fecal coliforms measured concurrently demonstrated that fecal coliforms could be recovered longer than E. coli in the open waters of the lake. E. coli isolated directly from sewage treatment plant influent were found to have a marked increase in antibiotic resistance traits for ten antibiotics commonly used in the human population compared with isolates from two animal sources of fecal pollution. However, E. coli obtained from sewage impacted water (n = 2,513) and from stormwater impacted water (n = 1,465) collected the previous year when there were no sewage overflows, were found to have no significant difference (p < 0.05) in the frequency of resistance when comparing the two conditions. E. coli survival characteristics and population dynamics are most likely influenced by multiple factors in complex systems such as the watershed/estuarine/lake environments of the Great Lakes.     

Drying of Chestnuts (Castanea sativa Mill.) after Osmotic Dehydration with Sucrose and Glucose Solutions

Chestnuts were dehydrated by using a combined method of osmotic dehydration followed by air drying. Samples were osmotically pretreated with sucrose (60% w/w) and glucose (56% w/w) for 8 h, air-dried at temperatures of 45, 55, and 65°C, at a relative humidity of 30% and at a velocity of 2.7 m·s^-1 and the experimental data of the drying kinetics were obtained. Whole samples were dried with different peelings: (a) removal of endocarp and pericarp (peeled) and (b) additionally the internal rough surface (cut). In all cases, cut chestnuts show greater drying rates than peeled samples, indicating that a significant mass transfer resistance in the layer nearest to the surface takes place. Peeled samples pretreated with sucrose solutions behave in a similar way to untreated samples. For the rest of the samples, the cut samples osmotically treated with sucrose solutions and all the samples treated with the glucose solution, the drying rates decrease during drying. Drying kinetics are successfully modeled by employing a diffusional model that takes the shrinkage into account. The effective coefficient of water diffusion was evaluated and correlated with temperature. The quality of the final product was monitored by color change. In spite of the fact that the total color difference is not modified by the osmotic treatment, the L*, a*, and b* color coordinates of cut samples treated with sucrose and glucose solutions do undergo changes; the L* and a* coordinates change less than the b*.     

提高高铬白口铸铁磨球冲击抗力的技术关键

当高铬白口铸铁含铬量为18%～28%,Cr/C值是8￣9,铸铁的显微组织是回火马氏体 少量残余奥氏体(<5%) M7C3碳化物,则磨球具有高的冲击韧性和断裂韧性K1C,具有高的冲击抗力,表现出低的冲击剥落量。