Effects of extraction temperature, extraction pressure and nozzle diameter on micronization of cholesterol by RESS process

Micronized cholesterol particles were produced via the Rapid Expansion of Supercritical CO₂ Solutions (RESS) process. Taguchi design was used for designing the experimental plan to investigate the effects of three parameters including extraction temperature (40-60 °C), extraction pressure (100-160 bar) and nozzle diameter (0.15-0.24 mm) on the size and morphology of the cholesterol particles produced by the RESS process. The characterization of the particles was carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements to evaluate the performance of RESS process. The average particle size of the original material was 55 μm ± (2.84) while the average particle size of cholesterol after size reduction via the RESS process was between the minimum of 0.62 μm ± (0.03) and the maximum of 4.83 μm ± (0.18) depending upon the experimental conditions used. It was observed that both increasing the temperature from 40 to 60 °C and increasing the nozzle diameter from 0.15 to 0.24 mm result a reducing effect on the average particle size, whereas extraction pressure (100-160 bar) change has slight effect on the average particle size.     

Experimental study on permanent deformation characteristics of coarse-grained soil under repeated dynamic loading

Practical assessment of subgrade settlement induced by train operation requires developing suitable models capable of describing permanent deformation characteristics of subgrade filling under repeated dynamic loading. In this paper, repeated load triaxial tests were performed on coarse-grained soil (CGS), and the axial permanent strain of CGS under different confining pressures and dynamic stress amplitudes was analysed. Permanent deformation behaviors of CGS were categorized based on the variation trend of permanent strain rate with accumulated permanent strain and the shakedown theory. A prediction model of permanent deformation considering stress state and number of load cycles was established, and the ranges of parameters for different types of dynamic behaviors were also divided. The results indicated that the variational trend of permanent strain rate with accumulated permanent strain can be used as a basis for classifying dynamic behaviors of CGS. The stress state (confining pressure and dynamic stress amplitude) has significant effects on the permanent strain rate. The accumulative characteristics of permanent deformation of CGS with the number of load cycles can be described by a power function, and the model parameters can reflect the influence of confining pressure and dynamic stress amplitude. The study’s results could help deepen understanding of the permanent deformation characteristics of CGS.