Comparison of thermal comfort performance of two different types of road vehicle climate control systems

The performance of climate control systems in vehicles becomes more and more important, especially against the background of the important relationship between compartment climate and driver mental condition and, thus, traffic safety. The performance of two different types of climate control systems, an un-air-conditioned heating/cooling device (VW) and an air-conditioning climate control unit (BMW), is compared using modern and practical evaluation techniques quantifying both the dynamic 3-D temperature distribution and the local air refreshment rate. Both systems suffer from considerable temperature gradients: temperature gradients in the U-AC (VW) car up to 8-9 degrees C are encountered, while the AC (BMW) delivers clear improvement resulting in temperature gradients of 5-6 degrees C. The experiments clearly demonstrate the effect of the presence of even a single passenger on the thermal regime, increasing the existing thermal discrepancies in the compartment with 15% independent of ventilation rate. Furthermore, in terms of air refreshment rates in the vehicle compartment, an air-conditioning unit halves the air refreshment time at all positions in the vehicle cabin, delivering a significant improvement in terms of human comfort. Similarly, extra air inlets in the back compartment of a car deliver progress in terms of cabin refreshment rate (93 s down to 50 s).     

Sensory and compositional attributes of melting‐ and non‐melting‐flesh peaches for the fresh market

A study was conducted to determine differences in sensory and compositional characteristics of melting‐flesh (MF) and non‐melting flesh (NMF) fresh market peach genotypes. Sensory results showed that the NMF fruit (‘Oro A’ and FL 86‐28C) were ‘harder’, less ‘juicy’ and more ‘rubbery’ than their MF (FL 90‐20 and ‘TropicBeauty’) counterparts. A principal component analysis of the sensory data showed a clear distinction between the textural aspects of MF and NMF fruit, but not between their flavour aspects. Likewise, chemical analysis showed that while differences in pH, titratable acidity, and soluble solids were detected among the four genotypes, no consistent grouping could be made based on the MF/NMF nature of the fruit. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry     

The effect of phospholipids and water on the isothermal crystallisation of milk fat

Different amounts of phospholipids (0.00‐0.07%) and water (0.00‐0.70%) were added to milk fat. The mixtures were crystallised under isothermal conditions and the crystallisation was monitored by differential scanning calorimetry and pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance. The crystallisation behaviour was described with the Avrami and Gompertz model which was fitted by non‐linear regression. Variance analysis revealed significant effects, whereas especially the induction time was influenced: higher concentrations of water seemed to decrease the induction time, while higher amount of phospholipids delayed the onset of crystallisation. No interaction effects between phospholipids and water were observed. An attempt to explain the effect of phospholipids on the induction time, based on the molecular interactions between phospholipids and triglycerides is proposed. This principle can be applied for sn‐1, 2 diglycerides as well.     

Site-directed mutagenesis and X-ray crystallography of two phospholipase A2 mutants: Y52F and Y73F

Tyr52 and Tyr73 are conserved amino acid residues throughoutall vertebrate phospholipases A₂. They are part of an extendedhydrogen bonding system that links the N-terminal -NH⁺₃ -groupto the catalytic residues His48 and Asp99. These tyrosines werereplaced by phenylalanines in a porcine pancreatic phospholipaseA₂ mutant, in which residues 62–66 had been deleted (62–66PLA₂).The mutations did not affect the catalytic properties of theenzyme, nor the folding kinetics. The stability against denaturatlonby guanidine hydrochloride was decreased, however. To analysehow the enzyme compensates for the loss of the tyrosine hydroxylgroup, the X-ray structures of the Y52F and AY73F mutants weredetermined. After crystallographic refinement the final crystallographicR-factors were 18.1% for the %Y52F mutant (data between 7 and2.3 Å resolution) and 19.1% for the Y73F mutant (databetween 7 and 2.4 Å resolution). No conformational changesoccurred in the mutants compared with the 62–66PLA₂, butan empty cavity formed at the site of the hydroxyl group ofthe former tyrosine. In both mutants the Asp99 side chain losesone of its hydrogen bonds and this might explain the observeddestabilization.     

Effects of Low-dose Electron Beam Irradiation on Respiration, Microbiology, Texture, Color, and Sensory Characteristics of Fresh-cut Cantaloupe Stored in Modified-atmosphere Packages

Fresh‐cut cantaloupe was placed in modified‐atmosphere packages (4% oxygen, 10% carbon dioxide) and irradiated at 0 (control), 0.5, and 1.0 kGy. Irradiated samples had a lower and more stable rate of respiration than non‐irradiated samples over about 20 d. Total plate counts were higher (P < 0.05) in non‐irradiated control samples through day 11 (Trial 1) and for all dates tested (Trial 2). Color and texture remained stable for the duration of each study as measured by instruments and trained sensory panels. Sensory evaluation rated the 1.0‐kGy sample highest in “sweetness” and “cantaloupe flavor intensity” and lowest in “off‐flavor” after 17 (±3) d of storage. Low‐dose electron beam irradiation of fresh‐cut cantaloupe with modified‐atmosphere packaging offers promise as a method of extending shelf life.     

Modelling mass transfer phenomena and quantification of ventilation performance in a full scale installation

This paper outlines development of a low order model that can be used for control purposes and quantification of ventilation performance in ventilated systems. First informative pollutant transport data is generated using numerical simulations. Later on, identification procedures are followed to build a low order transfer function model from the CFD generated input–output data. The obtained results demonstrate that first order model can sufficiently describe the dominant mass transfer dynamics in the ventilated air space. Afterwards classical mass balance equation is used to explain the objectively formulated model in a meaningful manner. The developed model is compact in structure and accurate in nature making it an ideal input for model based controller algorithm development. Furthermore its model parameter is found to be an inverse of the local mean age of air. Therefore the model can also be used to assess ventilation performance.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">In-situ</Emphasis> observations of lattice parameter fluctuations in austenite and transformation to bainite

The isothermal transformation of high-carbon austenite-to-bainitic ferrite has been investigated with the in-situ technique of time-resolved X-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation. The measurements indicate that prior to transformation, the austenite divided into regions with significantly different lattice parameters. It is possible that this is due to the development of carbon-rich and carbon-poor regions in the austenite, as a precursor to transformations including the bainite reaction. The lattice parameter became uniform as transformation progressed and the fraction of carbon-poor austenite decreased. The ferrite itself exhibited a large range of lattice parameters during the early stages of transformation, due to the trapping of carbon.     

Global Stability Analysis of a Nonlinear Model of Internet Congestion Control With Delay

We address global stability of a model for the TCP/AQM congestion control protocol. This model represents the dynamics of a single link and single source, and consists of a nonlinear differential equation with a time-delay. We make use of absolute stability theory and integral-quadratic constraints to give conditions under which the dynamics are globally asymptotically stable