Steps towards a consumer-driven ‘concept innovation machine’ for food and drink

Innovation is often left to insight and serendipity. A lot of what researchers call innovation is actually a process by which one can make the individual consumer or practitioner more ‘creative’. Although it is important to work with the creative individual in hopes of coming up with the better ‘idea’ and new product/service opportunity, an equally valid albeit novel and counterintuitive approach systematizes creativity in a ‘research-driven machine’. This paper presents an approach to the systematization, based upon the point of view that creativity and innovation comprise the recombination of components into new blends. Given this point of view, to then spur innovation requires a systematic database that the user can access, with tools to help manipulate that database. The paper shows how such a database can be constructed and then used to create a novel product. The approach provides a general framework for the sensory professional to become more involved in the early stages of product development, where the focus is on the conceptual aspects of food features rather than on their physical manifestations in actual products.     

A new approach for sequential experimental design for model discrimination

Model discrimination procedures are useful tools for selection of the best mathematical models to be used to represent a specific chemical process. The present paper presents and discusses a new sequential discrimination procedure, which makes use of model probabilities and concentrates the efforts on models with higher probabilities. Model probabilities are determined based on simple statistical arguments. Four numerical examples illustrate the application of the proposed discrimination procedure. The obtained results indicate that the new procedure is able to discriminate kinetic models with fewer experiments when compared to other procedures and also indicates when model discrimination is not possible and, thus, when the sequential design must be halted. Furthermore, the speed of the proposed discrimination procedure can be controlled by tuning a design parameter which reflects the analyst's mood (confidence) towards the discrimination problem and allows for increase or decrease of the number of experiments required for model discrimination during the sequential procedure.     

Prediction of higher heating values for saturated fatty acids from their physical properties

Higher heating values (HHVs) of fatty acids (C₄–C₁₈) were measured and correlated using linear least square regression analysis. Equations were developed for the estimation of the HHVs of saturated fatty acids from their molecular weight (Mw), density (DN) and carbon number (CN). These equations are HHV = 0.0518 Mw + 29.76, HHV = −93.4 DN + 122.67 and HHV = 0.7271 CN + 31.419 with R² values of 0.9895, 0.9798, and 0.9895, respectively. The correlations may be used for HHV estimation of mixtures of fatty acids developed from vegetable oils.     

Influence of electroosmotic treatment on the hydro-mechanical behaviour of clayey silts: preliminary experimental results

Preliminary results of an investigation focused on the influence of electrokinetic treatment on the mechanical and hydraulic behaviour of clayey soils are presented. The experimental programme aims at providing a contribution to the sustainability of contaminant extraction or containment via electroosmosis. Changes in the hydraulic and mechanical properties of two illitic clayey soils, subjected to a DC electric field, were investigated. Samples of the two soils were subjected to electrokinetic filtration, for different periods of time, and under different constant loads. Afterwards, they were tested under one-dimensional compression to detect changes in stiffness and hydraulic conductivity due to the electrical treatment. After the application of a DC field for a few hours, a small reversible increment in the average soil stiffness was observed, with respect to the untreated soil, while the hydraulic conductivity was not affected substantially. Dramatic changes of the mechanical and hydraulic soil properties, correlated to changes of the soil pH, were observed following non-conditioned electrokinetic treatment with duration of the order of days.     

液态金属钠高温沸腾实验回路应力分析与强度计算

本文主要完成了液态金属钠高温沸腾实验回路的应力分析与计算，确定了回路高温区连接管系的布置型式和支吊架系统，是该回路总体设计的重要组成部分。     

大角度倾转法在碳化物研究中的应用

蠕变过程中碳化物形貌，类型，数量和分布状态的变化直接影响着材料的高温性能，因而在材料的蠕变得到了广泛的重视，介绍了一种在碳膜萃取复型样品上利用Ｈ－８００透射电子显微镜的双倾样品台进行了大角度倾转，来观察碳化物形貌并鉴定其类型的试验方法。     

Decisive arrival law parameters and a general finite capacity queueing problem

This paper addresses the problem of finding the parameters of the arrival law which most significantly influence expected occupation and loss of a finite capacity queue. The input process is supposed to be ergodic and wide sense stationary. We show that it is mostly possible to fit an MMPP(2) to the decisive parameters of observational data. Numerical examples illustrate the importance of the decisive parameters, called key parameters, and also show the accuracy of the proposed fitting procedure. Finally, in the appendix we present the solution of the finite capacity queueing problem with Special Semi Markov Process (SSMP) arrivals and a general service strategy.     

中型孔径小梯段露天石方深孔水压爆破

介绍了一种石方开挖新技术－－露天石方深孔水压爆破技术。用试验的方法，通过和常规石方爆破进行类比，从而研究了此项新技术在中型孔径小梯段应用条件下的各种爆破参数，并进行了定性和定量分析，得到了一些初步的结论。     

覆膜砂工艺参数优化的研究

通过对覆膜全过程的分析和优化实验，确定影响覆膜砂性能的工艺因素主要有：原砂的加热温度、加入树脂后的混砂时间、加入固化剂的混砂时间等，为了获得最佳的工艺参数，对各个工艺参数进行了正交实验。实验结果表明：为获得较高的热态抗拉强度，可以选用砂温180℃，加树脂后的混砂时间为100S，加固化剂后的混制时间为40S，加硬脂酸钙后的混制时间为30S；为获得较好的常温抗拉强度，可以选用砂温180℃，加树脂后的混砂时间为80s，加固化剂后的混制时间为30s，加硬脂酸钙后的混制时间为20s。     

Production of β-SiC by pyrolysis of rice husk in gas furnaces

Short fibers and fine particles of β-SiC were obtained by pyrolysis of Colombian rice husk (RH). The synthesis of SiC was carried out in a gas furnace: a mathematical model was developed in order to design and build this equipment and the process was optimized using an experimental design that included variables such as temperature, pyrolysis time, type of catalyst, and process atmosphere. The obtained material was characterized by using FTIR, DRX and SEM for microstructural characterization and EDS technique for chemical analysis.