The Influence of Package Size and Flute Type of Corrugated Boxes on Load Bridging in Unit Loads

Shipping pallets often are designed with the assumption that the payload carried is flexible and uniformly distributed on the pallet surface. However, packages on the pallet can act as a series of discrete loads, and the physical interactions among the packages can add stiffness to the pallet/load combination. The term ‘load bridging’ has been used to describe this phenomenon. The study reported in this paper investigated the relationships of package size, corrugated flute type and pallet stiffness to load bridging and the resulting unit‐load deflection. The experimental results indicated that an increase in box size changed the unit‐load deflection by as much as 75%. Flute type was found to impact load bridging and the resulting unit‐load deflection. Changing the corrugated box flute type from B‐flute or BC‐flute to E‐flute reduces the unit‐load deflection by as much as 40%. Also, experimental data indicates that the effect of package size and corrugated board flute type on pallet deflection is the greatest for low stiffness pallets. The results provide information that can be used to design unit loads that use material more efficiently. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impossible spaces: maximizing natural walking in virtual environments with self-overlapping architecture

Walking is only possible within immersive virtual environments that fit inside the boundaries of the user's physical workspace. To reduce the severity of the restrictions imposed by limited physical area, we introduce "impossible spaces," a new design mechanic for virtual environments that wish to maximize the size of the virtual environment that can be explored with natural locomotion. Such environments make use of self-overlapping architectural layouts, effectively compressing comparatively large interior environments into smaller physical areas. We conducted two formal user studies to explore the perception and experience of impossible spaces. In the first experiment, we showed that reasonably small virtual rooms may overlap by as much as 56% before users begin to detect that they are in an impossible space, and that the larger virtual rooms that expanded to maximally fill our available 9.14 m x 9.14 m workspace may overlap by up to 31%. Our results also demonstrate that users perceive distances to objects in adjacent overlapping rooms as if the overall space was uncompressed, even at overlap levels that were overtly noticeable. In our second experiment, we combined several well-known redirection techniques to string together a chain of impossible spaces in an expansive outdoor scene. We then conducted an exploratory analysis of users' verbal feedback during exploration, which indicated that impossible spaces provide an even more powerful illusion when users are naive to the manipulation.     

The microstructural,melting, rheological,and sensorial properties of high-overrun frozen desserts

Air incorporated during dynamic freezing influences the development of the microstructure and the final texture of frozen desserts. Frozen desserts were manufactured with 100–175% overrun from a constant ice cream mix formulation. Microstructural elements (fat, air, and ice phases) of the frozen desserts were then investigated and related to the melting, rheological, and sensory properties of the product. Mean ice crystal and air cell size were found to decrease with increasing overrun, and the extent of fat destabilization increased. Frozen desserts manufactured with higher overrun had slower drip-through rate and better shape retention after melting at ambient conditions, demonstrating that fat destabilization and the interplay of fat, air, and serum phases affect the melting behavior. Structural elements also influenced the rheological behavior, as measured by oscillatory thermo-rheometry. Frozen desserts had similar rheological properties at temperatures below the freezing point due to the presence of ice, and the values of G′ and G″ (solid-like and viscous-like character, respectively) increased with increasing overrun above the freezing point, corresponding to a more solid-like structure. Slight differences in sensory denseness and breakdown were detected, but sensory texture was not significantly different for the frozen desserts studied. This study provided insights into the role of air in ice cream and frozen desserts, and its influence on product texture.     

Method development and survey of Sudan I–IV in palm oil and chilli spices in the Washington,DC, area

Sudan I, II, III and IV dyes are banned for use as food colorants in the United States and European Union because they are toxic and carcinogenic. These dyes have been illegally used as food additives in products such as chilli spices and palm oil to enhance their red colour. From 2003 to 2005, the European Union made a series of decisions requiring chilli spices and palm oil imported to the European Union to contain analytical reports declaring them free of Sudan I–IV. In order for the USFDA to investigate the adulteration of palm oil and chilli spices with unapproved colour additives in the United States, a method was developed for the extraction and analysis of Sudan dyes in palm oil, and previous methods were validated for Sudan dyes in chilli spices. Both LC-DAD and LC-MS/MS methods were examined for their limitations and effectiveness in identifying adulterated samples. Method validation was performed for both chilli spices and palm oil by spiking samples known to be free of Sudan dyes at concentrations close to the limit of detection. Reproducibility, matrix effects, and selectivity of the method were also investigated. Additionally, for the first time a survey of palm oil and chilli spices was performed in the United States, specifically in the Washington, DC, area. Illegal dyes, primarily Sudan IV, were detected in palm oil at concentrations from 150 to 24 000 ng ml^–1. Low concentrations (< 21 µg kg^–1) of Sudan dyes were found in 11 out of 57 spices and are most likely a result of cross-contamination during preparation and storage and not intentional adulteration.     

Fashion retailing – past,present and future

This issue of Textile Progress reviews the way that fashion retailing has developed as a result of the application of the World Wide Web and information and communications technology (ICT) by fashion-retail companies. The review therefore first considers how fashion retailing has evolved, analysing retail formats, global strategies, emerging and developing economies, and the factors that are threatening and driving growth in the fashion-retail market. The second part of the review considers the emergence of omni-channel retailing, analysing how retail has progressed and developed since the adoption of the Internet and how ICT initiatives such as mobile commerce (m-commerce), digital visualisation online, and in-store and self-service technologies have been proven to support the progression and expansion of fashion retailing. The paper concludes with recommendations on future research opportunities for gaining a better understanding of the impacts of ICT and omni-channel retailing, through which it may be possible to increase and develop knowledge and understanding of the way the sector is developing and provide fresh impetus to an already-innovative and competitive industry.     

Fear and anxiety as separable emotions: An investigation of the revised reinforcement sensitivity theory of personality.

The Gray and McNaughton (2000) theory draws on a wide range of animal data to hypothesize that the emotions of fear and anxiety are separable. The authors tested their hypothesis in two studies. The first study examined associations between scores on questionnaire measures of fear, anxiety, and neuroticism; correlational analysis revealed that fear and anxiety are not interchangeable constructs. The second study examined associations between scores on questionnaire measures of fear/anxiety and performance in a military training setting; regression analysis revealed that fear captured significant variance in performance that was not shared with anxiety. These results imply that hypotheses derived from nonhuman animal data may hold important implications for understanding human emotion and motivation, especially in relation to fear and anxiety. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

GOME level 1-to-2 data processor version 3.0: a major upgrade of the GOME/ERS-2 total ozone retrieval algorithm

The global ozone monitoring experiment (GOME) was launched in April 1995, and the GOME data processor (GDP) retrieval algorithm has processed operational total ozone amounts since July 1995. GDP level 1-to-2 is based on the two-step differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) approach, involving slant column fitting followed by air mass factor (AMF) conversions to vertical column amounts. We present a major upgrade of this algorithm to version 3.0. GDP 3.0 was implemented in July 2002, and the 9-year GOME data record from July 1995 to December 2004 has been processed using this algorithm. The key component in GDP 3.0 is an iterative approach to AMF calculation, in which AMFs and corresponding vertical column densities are adjusted to reflect the true ozone distribution as represented by the fitted DOAS effective slant column. A neural network ensemble is used to optimize the fast and accurate parametrization of AMFs. We describe results of a recent validation exercise for the operational version of the total ozone algorithm; in particular, seasonal and meridian errors are reduced by a factor of 2. On a global basis, GDP 3.0 ozone total column results lie between -2% and +4% of ground-based values for moderate solar zenith angles lower than 70 degrees. A larger variability of about +5% and -8% is observed for higher solar zenith angles up to 90 degrees.     

Computer security: A current assessment

The basic question of computer vulnerability is initially explored, including disaster planning and computer fraud. Threat analysis is approached from the viewpoints of cost/benefit trade-offs as well as EDP auditing. A risk analysis approach is used in approaching a possible solution to the problems of vulnerability. Also included are such topics as managing the security function, physical and administrative controls, communications security, data integrity, interactive controls, post-processing procedures, training and qualifications of staff and software security.     

The roughness of abraded metal surfaces

Equations that give the c.l.a. roughness of metals after they have been slid against various grades of abrasive paper are derived and confirmed experimentally.     

Characteristics of sustained-load cracking and hydrogen effects in Ti-6AI-4V

Sustained-load cracking (SLC) characteristics of Ti-6A1-4V are significantly influenced by 1) exposure temperature, 2) hydrogen content, and 3) basal plane crystallographic texture. The stress intensity applied to precracked specimens did not play a major role in affecting crack initiation or crack growth rate except that there would appear to be a required minimum level. Increasing hydrogen content raises the temperature at which SLC occurs and increases crack growth rate. A model for SLC has been proposed based on hydride precipitation at the crack tip and subsequent crack propagation by creep, cleavage, andJor interfacial separation at the hydrideJmatrix interface. Formerly with the Boeing Commercial Airplane Co., is presently an Engineering Consultant.