IDENTIFICATION OF THE RECEDING EVAPORATION FRONT IN CONVECTIVE FOOD DRYING

We investigate experimentally the behaviour of the receding evaporation front during the drying of food products by measuring the temperature distribution profile within the potato slab. The effect of key process parameters on the receding speed of this evaporation front is investigated. We show that the square root of the drying time varies linearly with the transient position of the front. Also, the receding velocity of the front is seen to be related to the drying rate of the product as the front decelerates inward to the center of the material.     

EFFECT OF OSMOTIC PRE-TREATMENT AND INFRARED RADIATION ON DRYING RATE AND COLOR CHANGES DURING DRYING OF POTATO AND PINEAPPLE

A combination of intermittent infrared and continuous convection heating was used to dry various osmotically pretreated sample of potato (in solutions of 10%, 20% and 30% NaCl) and pineapple (in solutions of 30%, 50%, 70% Brix). The effect of drying conditions on color changes of potato and pineapple was investigated. The Hunter color scale parameters (redness, yellowness and lightness) were measured to quantify the color changes. With appropriate choice of infrared intermittency as well as osmotic pretreatment, it is possible to reduce the overall color change while maintaining high drying rates. As expected, osmotic pretreatment resulted in a shift in the sorption isotherms for both products.     

Effect of hygroscopic materials on water vapor permeation and dehumidification performance of poly(vinyl alcohol) membranes

In this study, two hygroscopic materials, inorganic lithium chloride (LiCl) and organic triethylene glycol (TEG) were separately added to poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) to form blend membranes for air dehumidification. Water vapor permeation, dehumidification performance and long‐term durability of the membranes were studied systematically. Membrane hydrophilicity and water vapor sorbability increased significantly with higher the hygroscopic material contents. Water vapor permeance of the membranes increased with both added hygroscopic material and absorbed water. Water permeation energy varied from positive to negative with higher hygroscopic content. This observation is attributed to a lower diffusion energy and a relatively constant sorption energy when hygroscopic content increases. Comparatively, PVA/TEG has less corrosive problems and is more environmentally friendly than PVA/LiCl. A membrane with PVA/TEG is observed to be highly durable and is suitable for dehumidification applications. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44765.     

Effect of ambient conditions on drying of herbs in solar greenhouse dryer with integrated heat pump

An even span solar greenhouse dryer was built and applied to dry Java tea (Orthosiphon aristatus) and Sabah snake grass (Clinacanthus nutans Lindau). Findings showed that the solar greenhouse dryer performs satisfactorily during clear weather except at nighttime and rainy day due to product rehydration which is heavily influenced by high relative humidity from ambient air. Integrating of heat pump into the solar greenhouse dryer has successfully reduced the room relative humidity by 10–15%. Also, heat pump has mitigated the product rehydration issue by maintaining room relative humidity at maximum of 65% throughout the drying period. The drying rate of Java tea was improved three to fourfold, i.e., from 0.004–0.008 to 0.018–0.025?g H₂O/g DM min, whereas 10% of drying time was saved for both Java tea leaf and Sabah snake grass leaf with the assistance of heat pump system. Meanwhile, the supply of dry air from the heat pump system with a magnitude of 0.25–0.50?m/s helps in enhancing the drying rate of the herbs as well as minimizing the nonuniformity of drying temperature and relative humidity inside the solar greenhouse dryer.     

CONVECTIVE DRYING OF BANANA,GUAVA AND POTATO PIECES : EFFECT OF CYCLICAL VARIATIONS OF AIR TEMPERATURE ON DRYING KINETICS AND COLOR CHANGE

ABSTRACT

Pieces of banana, guava and potato were dried in a two-stage heat pump dryer capable of precise control of air humidity with predetermined cyclic variations of air temperature entering the drying chamber. The air temperature variations tested were : a cosine, a reversed cosine and three different square wave profiles with peak-to-valley variations from 20^°C to 40^°C. The cycle time was about 60 minutes with drying time of approximately 300 minutes. The drying samples were placed on trays in a thin layer. With appropriate choice of temperature-time variation, it is possible to reduce the overall color change while maintaining high drying rates.     

Impact of conditioning regimens and time on adhesion of a fiber post to root dentin using two resin cements

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of irrigation protocols on the bond strength of a glass fiber post bonded to dentin using two resin cements. In 200 root-filled teeth, post space was prepared and divided into five groups (n?=?40) based on the irrigation protocol: group 1 (3% sodium hypochlorite), group 2 (3% sodium hypochlorite – 17% Ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid), group 3 (a mixture of sodium hypochlorite and etidronic acid), group 4 (sodium hypochlorite – QMix), and group 5 (distilled water). Samples were subdivided into two subgroups (n?= 10) and fiber posts were cemented using subgroup A (Self-adhesive dual-cure resin cement; SEA) or B (dual-cure resin cement following an etch-and-rinse protocol, ER). Push-out bond strength was performed after 24 h and four months (n?= 10) and failure modes were categorized. Statistical analysis of data was carried out by appropriate analyses (p < 0.05). The irrigation protocol and the resin cement had a significant impact on push-out bond strength. Subgroup A group showed lower bond strength than B at both time periods when 3% NaOCl–17% EDTA and 1:1 mixture of 6% NaOCl + 18%EA protocols were used. Three percent NaOCl used in combination with 17% EDTA or QMix significantly decreased the push-out bond strength of ER at the end of four months (p < 0.05). In conclusion, dual-cure resin cements bonded with etch-and-rinse protocol showed highest bond strength when a mixture of NaOCl and etidronic acid was used as root canal irrigant. These values were differentially influenced by time.     

Deposition of carbon nitride films by filtered cathodic vacuum arc combined with radio frequency ion beam source

Atomically smooth carbon nitride films were deposited by an off-plane double bend filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) technique. A radio frequency nitrogen ion source was used to supply active nitrogen species during the deposition of carbon nitride films. The films were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), XPS and Raman spectroscopy. The internal stress was measured by the substrate bending method. The influence of nitrogen ion energy (0–1000 eV) on the composition, structure and properties of the carbon nitride films was studied. The nitrogen ion source greatly improves the incorporation of nitrogen in the films. The ratio of N/C atoms in the films increases to 0.40 with an increase in the ion beam energy to 100 eV. Further increase in the ion beam energy leads to a slight decrease in the N/C ratio. XPS results show that nitrogen atoms in the films are chemically bonded to carbon atoms as C---N, C=N, and CN bonds, but most of nitrogen atoms are bonded to sp² carbon. The increase in nitrogen ion energy leads to a decrease in the content of nitrogen atoms bonded to sp² carbon, and an increase in the content of nitrogen atoms bonded to sp³ and sp¹ carbon. Raman spectra indicate an increase in the sp² carbon phase in carbon nitride films with an increase in nitrogen ion energy. The increase in sp² carbon fraction is attributed to the decrease in internal stress with increasing nitrogen ion energy.     

Cellular neural networks with non-linear and delay-type template elements and non-uniform grids

The cellular neural network (CNN) paradigm is a powerful framework for analogue non-linear processing arrays placed on a regular grid. In this paper we extend the current repertoire of CNN cloning template elements (atoms) by introducing additional non-linear and delay-type characteristics. In addition, architectures with non-uniform processors and neighbourhoods (grid sizes) are introduced. With this generalization, several well-known and powerful analogue array-computing structures can be interpreted as special cases of the CNN. Moreover, we show that the CNN with these generalized cloning templates has a general programmable circuit structure (a prototype machine) with analogue macros and algorithms. the relations with the cellular automaton (CA) and the systolic array (SA) are analysed. Finally, some robust stability results and the state space structure of the dynamics are presented.     

Application of geothermal absorption air-conditioning system: A case study

Possible applications of geothermal energy are increasingly attracting worldwide interest as a low carbon source of energy. Sedimentary basins offer an accessible low grade geothermal heat source to launch energetically efficient air-conditioning systems. The natural temperature, porosity and permeability of these sedimentary basins may be sufficient to provide usable geothermal power for heat-driven sorption air-conditioning system. In the Perth metropolitan region, hot sedimentary aquifers with temperatures between 70 and 100 °C are generally available at around 3 km depth or shallower. This paper outlines the possible application of a large scale geothermal absorption air-conditioning system to provide baseload cooling to the main campus of the University of Western Australia (UWA). The conceptual design of this system is proposed. The design considerations and the performance outcomes are presented. The economic analysis based on the real-time cooling load profile at the UWA and the chiller operation scheme demonstrates the viablity of geothermal absorption air-conditioning system. This paper will help engineers appreciate the opportunities and barriers to geothermal applications, the latest developments and how this technology may help to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions.     

Boom or Bust?: Which way are U.S. winds blowing?

The U.S. is the largest energy market in the world, purchasing most of the world’s oil and natural gas resources. As a result, the nation’s dependence on foreign fuel has been a source of major concern because of the vulnerability it introduces to its economic and political security. The country does, however, have a largely untapped local energy resource that could theoretically provide twice the amount of its electricity production requirements — wind. Godfrey Chua, Emerging Energy Research reports.