Impact of Freezing Process on Salt Diffusivity of Seafood: Application to Salmon (Salmo salar) Using Conventional and Pressure Shift Freezing

The depression of the melting temperature of ice under pressure permits to obtain a rapid freezing of foods. The expected benefit lies in reduced water diffusion from the intra- toward the extracellular media, resulting in a reduced drip loss during thawing. Beside, the modification of the cellular structure induced by ice formation may affect the mass diffusivity of the flesh. In the present study, salmon was used as a model food. Slabs of salmon (1-cm thick) were frozen using blast air and pressure shift freezing at 200 MPa. The impact of the freezing process on the mass diffusivity of salt was evaluated using an aqueous solution (NaCl, 3% w/w). Results indicate that the effective mass diffusivity was slightly increased in comparison to non-frozen flesh when a rapid freezing process was used. This may be attributed to a change in the permeability of cell membranes caused by freezing and high pressure.     

Robust nonlinear controller based on control Lyapunov function and terminal sliding mode for buck converter

This paper studies the sliding mode control (SMC) and terminal SMC (TSMC) techniques of output voltage regulation in dc–dc buck converters. In this paper, the conventional terminal sliding manifold (TSM), fast terminal sliding manifold, and adaptive terminal sliding manifold are investigated by using hysteresis‐modulated control. In addition, proportional‐integral‐derivative‐shaped TSM, PI‐shaped TSM, and proportional‐integral‐derivative‐integral‐shaped TSM are proposed in order to overcome the problems of conventional TSMs. Furthermore, a new continuous controller based on control Lyapunov function (CLF), with pre‐settable‐fixed switching frequency, is suggested. CLF‐based controller (CLF‐bC) is also adapted to the discontinuous digital input of the buck converter. In the proposed CLF‐bC, the switching frequency is completely independent and pre‐settable. Stabilization, reference tracking, high performance dynamic response, robustness against parameter uncertainties, and rejection of disturbances (e.g., input voltage changes and load variations) are some advantages of the proposed controllers. Impact of the controllers' parameters on the performance of the system is also summarized. Finite‐time stability of TSMs and proposed CLF‐bC, and the robustness of CLF‐bC against parameter variations and disturbances are mathematically proved. Performance of the proposed Adaptive TSMC (ATSMC), proportional‐integral‐derivative‐TSMC, and CLF‐bC has been verified through matlab simulations and compared with the conventional SMC and TSMC strategies. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

3D experimental and numerical analysis of wind flow around domed-roof buildings with open and closed apertures

This paper presents experimental and numerical study of airflow distribution around a reduced-scale model of a common type of domed-roof building. Measurements are performed in an open loop wind tunnel. A new modified Counihan scheme is developed for constructing a part-depth atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). Measured quantities include: wind velocity profile, turbulence intensity and airflow pattern around the building. To conduct the experiments, a 1:54 scale model of a real domed-roof building with six windows and an aperture on the roof is fabricated and placed in the test section of the wind tunnel. In addition, using a numerical modeling, turbulent airflow around such scale model in the wind tunnel is simulated and airflow field inside and outside the model as well as ventilating discharge coefficient are computed. It is illustrated that, airflow around this type of building contains complex adjacent recirculation flows. The building with open apertures has acceptable discharge coefficient for ventilation, which can be a factor to ensure comfort condition for residents as well as complying with energy-saving considerations.     

Characterization and Investigation of Magnetic and Microwave Properties of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube/SrFe10MnSn0.5Ti0.5O19 Nanocomposites

SrFe₁₀MnSn_0.5Ti_0.5O₁₉/multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) nanocomposites with different volume percentages of MWCNT content were synthesized by a sol–gel method. The results of x-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry analyses demonstrated that the SrFe₁₀MnSn_0.5Ti_0.5O₁₉ nanoparticles were attached on the external surfaces of the MWCNTs. Mössbauer spectroscopy indicates that the substituted cations preferentially occupy the 12k sites. Magnetic properties were measured using a vibrating-sample magnetometer, and microwave absorption properties were investigated using a vector network analyzer. It was found that, with increasing volume percentage of MWCNT content, the saturation magnetization as well as the coercivity decrease, but the reflection loss widely increases. To investigate the effect of sample thickness on the absorption properties, different values of thickness (1.6 mm, 1.7 mm, 1.8 mm, 1.9 mm, and 2 mm) were selected. The results showed that, with increasing thickness of the absorber, the reflection loss and bandwidth broadly increase.     

A High Gain and Low Flicker Noise CMOS Mixer with Low Flicker Noise Corner Frequency Using Tunable Differential Active Inductor

This paper presents the design of a high conversion gain and low flicker noise down conversion CMOS double balanced Gilbert cell mixer using \(0.18\,\upmu \hbox {m}\) CMOS technology. The high conversion gain and low flicker noise mixer is implemented by using a differential active inductor (DAI) circuit and cross-coupled current injection technique within the conventional double-balanced Gilbert cell mixer. A cross-coupled current bleeding circuit is used to inject the current to the switching stage to decrease the flicker noise. Instead of spiral inductor, a DAI with high tunability of the inductor and quality factor is used to tune out the parasitic capacitance effect and decrease the leakage current that has a harmonic component and produce the flicker noise. By tuning the DAI, the flicker noise corner frequency is reduced to 150 Hz. The proposed circuit is simulated with Cadence Spectra and the simulation results shows the NF of 11.2 dB, conversion gain of 23.7 dB and IIP3 of \(-6\)  dB for an RF frequency of 2.4 GHz. The excellent LO-RF, LO-IF, RF-LO and RF-IF isolations of \(-60, -110, -52\) and \(-64\)  dB are achieved respectively. The total power consumption is 10.5 mW from a 1.8 V DC power supply.     

A discrete spectral analysis for determining quasi-linear viscoelastic properties of biological materials

The viscoelastic behaviour of a biological material is central to its functioning and is an indicator of its health. The Fung quasi-linear viscoelastic (QLV) model, a standard tool for characterizing biological materials, provides excellent fits to most stress–relaxation data by imposing a simple form upon a material''s temporal relaxation spectrum. However, model identification is challenging because the Fung QLV model''s ‘box’-shaped relaxation spectrum, predominant in biomechanics applications, can provide an excellent fit even when it is not a reasonable representation of a material''s relaxation spectrum. Here, we present a robust and simple discrete approach for identifying a material''s temporal relaxation spectrum from stress–relaxation data in an unbiased way. Our ‘discrete QLV’ (DQLV) approach identifies ranges of time constants over which the Fung QLV model''s typical box spectrum provides an accurate representation of a particular material''s temporal relaxation spectrum, and is effective at providing a fit to this model. The DQLV spectrum also reveals when other forms or discrete time constants are more suitable than a box spectrum. After validating the approach against idealized and noisy data, we applied the methods to analyse medial collateral ligament stress–relaxation data and identify the strengths and weaknesses of an optimal Fung QLV fit.     

Analysis of the Mechanical Stability of Boreholes Drilled in Sedimentary Rocks

This article presents the method and results of wellbore stability analysis for three common reservoir lithologies consisting of a consolidated sandstone, a shaly sandstone, and a limestone formation. The effect of stress anisotropy on the mechanical stability of wellbores is evaluated while varying the inclination angle from 0 to 90°, for both the Mohr-Coulomb and the Drucker-Prager failure criteria. The selected failure criterion, and the in-situ rock stress regime are found to have significant effects on the safe drilling fluid density required to maintain wellbore integrity. According to some field examples, the Drucker-Prager failure criterion appears to systematically mimic rock conditions more realistically than the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion. The simulated consolidated sandstone formation is found more stable with lesser drilling fluid density, at any inclination angle, than the simulated shaly sandstone formation. The simulated limestone formation is even more stable than the consolidated sandstone at all inclination angles since it requires lighter fluid density to prevent wellbore collapse. For all these rock types, the higher the deviation angle (from vertical), the higher the drilling fluid density needed for maintaining wellbore integrity. For the depth and rock conditions simulated, both consolidated and shaly sands are unstable in a strike-slip stress regime, but stable in an extensional stress regime. The simulated limestone formation was found stable in both stress regimes. However, in an extensional stress regime, the limestone formation required lighter fluid density to maintain wellbore integrity than in a strike-slip stress regime. This article introduces the theory of using a practically-oriented model to assess the mechanical stability of a wellbore in a linearly-elastic stress field. The model can be used to determine the range of mechanically stable well inclinations for a given formation, and to suggest drilling-fluid density programs tailored to efficient and safe drilling.