AN EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF THE GOVERNING MOISTURE MOVEMENT PHENOMENA IN THE PAPER COATING PROCESS. II. EXPERIMENTAL

This paper investigates the moisture movement in the paper coating process experimentally and theoretically. The experimental data is obtained by coating a base paper with a laboratory coater and by scraping off some of the coating color after a certain amount of time. The moisture content of the material, which has been scraped off, is measured and the amount of liquid absorbed from the coating color by the base paper is determined. The laboratory results are similar to measurements made on a pilot-coating machine. The mathematical solution is based on the diffusion of water vapor in air and taken the vapor partial pressure in a hygroscopic material, i.e. paper. The measurements and a theory based on vapor diffusion show that the moisture content of the base paper is an important parameter when trying to determine the loss of water from the coating color to the base paper. This kind of dependency cannot be explained by theories based on water movement in the liquid phase by capillary suction, as is discussed in Berg et al., 2000, Part I: Theoretical Aspects.     

AN EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF THE GOVERNING MOISTURE MOVEMENT PHENOMENA IN THE PAPER COATING PROCESS. I. THEORETICAL ASPECTS

The most important issue when coating paper is the modelling of the moisture movement in the coating process, since the water movement pattern is strongly connected to binder movement and the final structure of fibres and coating colour, which in turn affects the final printing properties of the paper. Therefore, we are now studying a novel laboratory method to determine the dynamic water movement in a hygroscopic porous media, i.e. the liquid movement in the paper coating process. The experimentally determined physical properties yield information relevant to the mass and energy balances of a real paper coating process. We have also studied the widely used Lucas-Washburn capillary suction theory in combination with the build-up of a filter-cake in the coating colour. The study shows, that the water loss from the coating colour into a hygroscopic material can be well explained by applying vapour diffusion into the base paper as the governing mass transfer mechanism.     

Softening of wood polymers induced by moisture studied by dynamic FTIR spectroscopy

The softening of the wood polymers is very important in the utilization of wood fiber products. To better to understand how the hemicelluloses interact with the other wood polymers in the fiber ultrastructure and contribute to the mechanical properties of the wood, their softening inside the cell wall of pulp fibers was studied by dynamic FTIR spectroscopy under humid conditions. The two hemicelluloses of spruce, glucomannan and xylan, exhibited different softening behaviors indicating a different organization of the two hemicelluloses inside the cell wall. Lignin in mechanical pulp showed a more viscoelastic behavior already under dry conditions than the polysaccharides of the cell wall. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 94: 2032–2040, 2004     

Key factors for achieving project success in integration of automotive mechatronics

In this paper, we present a multiple case study on integration of automotive mechatronic components. Based on the findings, we identify that the root causes of problems in integration are largely related to decisions omitted in electronic strategy. We present and recommend use of checklists defining key factors to address in order to achieve successful integration projects in terms of cost and quality. Our recommendations are defined by checklists for critical decisions in areas: functionality, platform, integration, and stakeholder involvement. The recommendations are established based on practitioner experience and then validated in a multiple case study. Five cases of integration are studied for different heavy vehicles in one company, and the fulfillment of our recommendations is measured. Finally we define project success criteria and we compare the level of fulfillment with the project success in terms of time plan and resource consumption. The main contribution of this study is the validated recommendations, each including a set of checkpoints that defines recommendation fulfillment. We also present defining characteristics to identify a high-risk project. We provide a set of observable project properties and show how they affect project risk.     

An Event Algebra Extension of the Triggering Mechanism in a Component Model for Embedded Systems

In this article we present how the component triggering in SaveCCM, a component model intended for embedded vehicular systems, can be extended by means of an event algebra. The extension allows components to be triggered by complex event patterns, and not only by clock signals or single external events.Separating the detection of triggering conditions from the definition of the triggered services permits more general components and thus improves component reusability. Providing event detection mechanisms within the component model means that triggering conditions are explicitly available for system analysis at design time.An event algebra is used to define the complex triggering conditions. This algebra has a relatively simple declarative semantics and well documented algebraic properties, which facilitates formal and informal reasoning about the system. The algebra also ensures that detection of triggering conditions can be efficiently implemented with limited resources, which is critical in embedded applications.