Effect of temperature on raw whole milk density and its potential impact on milk payment in the dairy industry

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of temperature on whole milk density measured at four different temperatures: 5, 10, 15, and 20 °C. A total of ninety-three individual milk samples were collected from morning milking of thirty-two Holstein Friesian dairy cows, of national average genetic merit, once every two weeks over a period of 4 weeks and were assessed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for milk composition analysis. Density of the milk was evaluated using two different analytical methods: a portable density meter DMA35 and a standard desktop model DMA4500M (Anton Paar GmbH, UK). Milk density was analysed with a linear mixed model with the fixed effects of sampling period, temperature and analysis method; triple interaction of sampling period x analysis method x temperature; and the random effect of cow to account for repeated measures. The effect of temperature on milk density (ρ) was also evaluated including temperature (t) as covariate with linear and quadratic effects within each analytic method. The regression equation describing the curvature and density–temperature relationship for the DMA35 instrument was ρ = 1.0338−0.00017T−0.0000122T² (R² = 0.64), while it was ρ = 1.0334 + 0.000057T−0.00001T² (R² = 0.61) for DMA4500 instrument. The mean density determined with DMA4500 at 5 °C was 1.0334 g cm⁻³, with corresponding figures of 1.0330, 1.0320 and 1.0305 g cm⁻³ at 10, 15 and 20 °C, respectively. The milk density values obtained in this study at specific temperatures will help to address any bias in weight–volume calculations and thus may also improve the financial and operational control for the dairy processors in Ireland and internationally.     

Magnetic Behaviour of Granular GdMnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> Film

The present study deals with the investigation of magnetic properties along with morphological and microstructure analyses of a multiferroic GdMnO₃ film fabricated on Si(100) substrate by the pulsed laser deposition technique. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopic analysis suggests that the film is fabricated in the form of diffused layers having different stoichiometric proportions. Raman spectroscopy signifies that few modes present in the film are associated with MnO₆ octahedra and some extra peaks indicating the mixed phase formation in tuning with the Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. Atomic force microscopy confirms the granular nature of the film. Field-cooled and zero-field-cooled thermal magnetization curves show irreversible behaviour extending well above room temperature, which is associated with spin disorder. The presence of Gd⁺³ state and Mn⁺³/Mn⁺⁴ mixed states in the uppermost layers of the film was confirmed by near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure. Subsequently, in association with these observations, the film is a weak ferromagnetic at 5 K and even at room temperature.     

Optimal monolithic configuration for heat integrated ethanol steam reformer

A design concept for optimal design of monolith catalyst is presented through modeling of transport–kinetic interactions in a monolith catalyst. We argue that reactors employing monolithic catalysts should be based on its optimal choice of geometry. In line with that argument, we present a thorough analysis of the geometrical parameters influencing the performance of non-isothermal reactor operation. In this study, an optimal monolith configuration is estimated to be a combination (d_h, t_w) of (0.9 mm, 0.2 mm) for a compact ethanol reformer to produce hydrogen for portable applications where maximum volumetric reactor activity exists. A three-dimensional modeling framework is developed for the resulting optimal monolithic catalyst design that couples the reforming section with a suitable heat source in a recuperative way. As a result, greater ethanol conversion is obtained from the monolith channels near the periphery of the block. The coupling with combustion could predict the formation of cold and hot spots inside the reactor, their nature being dependent on the flow configuration. Further, the effect of altering the feed inlet operating conditions over the variation of ethanol conversion and temperature inside the reactor is also analyzed. The increase in reforming inlet velocity decreases the outlet conversion and shifts the cold spot, forward and deeper in co-flow configuration. The decreasing inlet feed temperature enhances the transfer of heat, eliminating the cold spot.     

Numerical study of heat and moisture transport through concrete at elevated temperatures

This research article focuses on numerical investigation of heat and moisture transport through concrete exposed to high temperatures such as fire. The conservation equations for moisture and energy transport through concrete have been represented in terms of temperature, pore pressure and vapor content as field variables. As the resulting governing equations are coupled and non-linear, the equations were solved numerically using Galerkin’s weighted residual finite element method and an iterative solution technique. After validating the model, a detailed simulation study has been carried out to understand the role of gradients of temperature, pore pressure and vapor content on heat and moisture transport through concrete exposed to ISO 834 fire curve. Results obtained at the end of 30 minutes exposure of concrete show that the temperature gradients become very steep after 12 minutes of exposure of concrete, which in turn results in increased vapor generation and 93% of vapor generation is completed at the end of 20 minutes. Due to steep temperature gradient along the length of concrete, condensation of vapor takes place which is followed by blockage of pores giving rise to sudden peak pore pressure rise and 97% of peak pore pressure is attained at the end of 18 minutes itself. It is observed that for the initial 18 minutes, the peak pore pressure front and peak vapor content front follow the same path and after 18 minutes the peak vapor content front moves slightly ahead of the peak pore pressure front.     

Strain rate- and temperature-dependent tensile properties of an epoxy-based, thermosetting, shape memory polymer (Veriflex-E)

In this study, the inelastic deformation behavior of an epoxy-based, thermally triggered shape memory polymer resin, known as Veriflex-E, was investigated. The experimental program was designed to explore the influence of strain rate on monotonic loading at various temperatures which is needed to establish the design space of SMPs in load bearing applications. Thermally actuated shape memory polymers can be thought of as having two phases separated by the glass transition temperature (T _g ). At temperatures below the T _g , Veriflex-E exhibits a high elastic modulus and positive, non-linear strain rate sensitivity in monotonic loading. The Poisson’s ratio at room temperature is independent of the strain rate, but dependent upon the strain magnitude. As the temperature is increased, the strain rate sensitivity in monotonic loading decreases. Well above the T _g , the elastic modulus drops by several orders of magnitude. In this high temperature region, the material achieves strain levels well above 100% and Poisson’s ratio is constant at 0.5 regardless of strain rate or strain magnitude.     

A thermomechanical constitutive model for an epoxy based shape memory polymer and its parameter identifications

This paper presents a three-dimensional (3D) finite deformation thermomechanical model to study the glass transition and shape memory behaviors of an epoxy based shape memory polymer (SMP) (Veriflex E) and a systematic material parameter identification scheme from a set of experiments. The model was described by viscoelastic elements placed in parallel to represent different active relaxation mechanisms around glass transition temperature in the polymer. A set of standard material tests was proposed and conducted to identify the model parameter values, which consequently enable the model to reproduce the experimentally observed shape memory (SM) behaviors. The parameter identification procedure proposed in this paper can be used as an effective tool to assist the construction and application of such 3D multi-branch model for general SMP materials.     

Fully dense hot pressed calcium cobalt oxide ceramics

The processing parameters have been optimized to achieve highly pure and fully dense pellets of calcium cobalt oxide (Ca₃Co₄O₉) from solid-state ball milled calcium carbonate and cobalt oxide mixtures, calcined at optimized temperature and time, and consolidated by hot-pressing. The microscopic, spectroscopic, and thermal analysis suggest samples with longer ball-milling time require less calcination time for synthesizing highly pure crystalline phases of Ca₃Co₄O₉, and provide 99.2 ± 0.5% relative density.     

Statistical timing and power analysis of VLSI considering non-linear dependence

Majority of practical multivariate statistical analysis and optimizations model interdependence among random variables in terms of the linear correlation. Though linear correlation is simple to use and evaluate, in several cases non-linear dependence between random variables may be too strong to ignore. In this paper, we propose polynomial correlation coefficients as simple measure of multi-variable non-linear dependence and show that the need for modeling non-linear dependence strongly depends on the end function that is to be evaluated from the random variables. Then, we calculate the errors in estimation resulting from assuming independence of components generated by linear de-correlation techniques, such as PCA and ICA. The experimental results show that the error predicted by our method is within 1% error compared to the real simulation of statistical timing and leakage analysis. In order to deal with non-linear dependence, we further develop a target-function-driven component analysis algorithm (FCA) to minimize the error caused by ignoring high order dependence. We apply FCA to statistical leakage power analysis and SRAM cell noise margin variation analysis. Experimental results show that the proposed FCA method is more accurate compared to the traditional PCA or ICA.     

Dielectric and magnetoelectric properties of co-fired PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3–Co0.6Zn0.4Mn0.3Fe1.7O4–PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 trilayer composites

In this paper we report the dielectric and magnetoelectric (ME) properties of co-fired Pb_0.52Ti_0.48O₃–Co_0.6Zn_0.4Mn_0.3Fe_1.7O₄–PbZr_0.52Ti_0.48O₃ (PZT–CZFMO–PZT) trilayer composites prepared using Mn and Zn simultaneously substituted CoFe₂O₄ (Co_0.6Zn_0.4Mn_0.3Fe_1.7O₄) as a magnetostrictive phase. For PZT–CZFMO–PZT composites, the maximum values of longitudinal and transverse ME voltage coefficient (α _E33 and α _E31 ) were observed to be comparable in magnitude contrary to the usual trend (α _E31 much greater than α _E33 ) for ME composite structures. The highest transverse ME voltage coefficient α _E31 ~64 mV/cm Oe (at an applied ac magnetic field of frequency ~1 kHz) was obtained for the composite containing the thickest layer of CZFMO. The dielectric constant spectra for PZT–CZFMO–PZT composites demonstrated very high values of resonance frequency (~47–81 MHz) and band width (~9–13 MHz).