Numerical modeling of wave propagation in anisotropic viscoelastic laminated materials in transient regime: Application to modeling ultrasonic testing of composite structures

Composite laminate structures remain an important family of materials used in cutting-edge industrial areas. Building efficient numerical modeling tools for high-frequency wave propagation in order to represent ultrasonic testing experiments of these materials remains a major challenge. In particular, incorporating attenuation phenomena within anisotropic plies, and thin intermediate isotropic layers between the plies often represent significant obstacles for standard numerical approaches. In our work, we address both issues by proposing a systematic study of the fully discrete propagators associated to the Kelvin-Voigt, Maxwell, and Zener models, and by incorporating effective transmission conditions between plies using the mortar element method. We illustrate the soundness of our approach by proposing intermediate one-dimensional and two-dimensional numerical evidence, and we apply it to a more realistic configuration of a curved laminate composite structure in a three-dimensional setting.     

Combined application of electrolysed water and ultrasound to improve the sanitation of knives in the meat industry

This study investigated the effect of the combination of basic electrolysed water (BEW) and slightly acid electrolysed water (SAEW) with ultrasound (US) for cleaning and sanitation of the knives used in slaughtering processes. The knives were sonicated in a US bath using two modes of operation (normal and sweep) in two steps: (i) 5 min with BEW and (ii) 10 min with SAEW at 35 °C. The microbiological counts and the possible changes in the physical structure of the knives were evaluated. The association BEW + SAEW + US, in the sweep mode, provided lower mesophilic, enterobacterial, Staphylococcus aureus and yeast counts when compared to the values recommended by the international legislation. In addition, these conditions removed all organic residues from the knife blades and promoted the highest migration rate of the residues to the US water bath (12.35 mg/L·min), without modifications in the knife blades. Thus, cleaning and sanitation of knives was feasible with the association of BEW + SAEW + US, which could be a useful alternative for the meat industry.     

A macro-element strategy based upon spectral finite elements and mortar elements for transient wave propagation modeling. Application to ultrasonic testing of laminate composite materials

Proposing efficient numerical modeling tools for high-frequency wave propagation in realistic configurations, such as the one appearing in ultrasonic testing experiments, is a major challenge, especially in the perspective of inversion loops or parametric studies. We propose a numerical methodology addressing this challenge and based upon the combination of the spectral finite element method and the mortar element method. From a prior decomposition of the scene of interest into “macro-elements,” we show how one can improve the performances of the standard finite element procedures in terms of memory footprint and computational load. Additionally, using this decomposition, we are able to efficiently reconstruct important modeling features on-the-fly, such as orientations of anisotropic materials or splitting directions of perfectly matched layers formulations, altogether in a robust and efficient manner. We believe that this strategy is particularly suitable for parametric studies and sensitivity analysis. We illustrate our strategy by simulating the propagation of an ultrasonic wave into an immersed and curved anisotropic laminate 3D specimen flawed with an internal circular delamination of varying size, thus showing the efficiency and the robustness of our approach.     

Antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of cajazeira leaves (Spondias mombin) extracts

Cajazeira leaves (Spondias mombin) have their highlighted use as antioxidant and natural antimicrobial, which justifies the objective of this work to evaluate the biological activities of different extracts. In order to evaluate the antioxidant and antimicrobial potentials of the cajazeira leaves, extractions at low pressure and high pressure were performed. The low pressure extractions (PLE) were carried out using Soxhlet (SOX) and tip ultrasound, using different solvents. Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) was evaluated at temperature of 40?60°C and pressure of 150?300 bar besides extraction with cosolvent. Higher yields were obtained with the use of more polar solvents at LPE. The extracts obtained by SOX with ethanol and others polar solvents presented the best TPC values and antioxidant activity. The extracts at LPE with hexane and ethyl acetate and SFE presented better antimicrobial activity. Through liquid chromatography of high efficiency, it was possible to identify compounds with recognized biological activity, like ellagic acid, gallic acid and catechin.     

Effect of RF magnetron sputtering parameters on the optimization of the discharge capacity of ternary lithium oxide thin films

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - The increasing demand for lithium-ion batteries has stimulated the investigation of new compounds in order to reduce the costs and the...     

Nuclear DNA barcodes for cod identification in mildly-treated and processed food products

Gadoids are a group of fish with historical importance in the fishing industry. The high demand for cod is one of the reasons why cod products are often mislabelled, and numerous observations have been made on the replacement of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) by cheaper species or its illegal capture in contravention of fish quotas. Fish species identification is traditionally based on morphological features, but this may be difficult in case of heat-treated or processed products, or where the species look similar, as in the Gadoid group. DNA-based approaches (using either nuclear or mitochondrial DNA) are most commonly used in this case, due to their high specificity and to the high resilience of the target molecules to food processing techniques. In this article, we identified, using an automated screening approach, novel barcode regions and their associated primers in the nuclear genome, to be used for the efficient identification of Gadoids. The barcode regions were tested on official and commercial samples, raw or mildly treated products, like frozen, or salted, as well as pre-cooked complex mixtures and processed samples, using next-generation sequencing (NGS) technique. The method proposed could complement existing fish identification strategies in establishing an efficient framework to detect and prevent frauds along the food chain.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Ti-Nb2O5 Catalysts for Discoloration Reaction of Bromophenol Blue and Indigo Carmine Dyes

Topics in Catalysis - This work investigated the photodegradation of bromophenol blue (BPB) and indigo carmine (IC) dye under UV–Visible light using pure oxides of titanium and niobium, as...     

老有所养 葡萄牙某老人之家

<正>本项目始于2015年,直至2018年才完工。这是一个专为老年人设计的医疗保健住宅,包括10间双人间和4间单人间,所有的房间都配有自己独立的私人设施。该项目主要为了缓解现有医疗保健中心床位紧张的矛盾,建筑师从功能上考虑,在现有建筑和扩建部分之间建立了内部联系和必要的交通流线。建筑师从可用的基地面积以及与现有建筑的连接需要等方面出发,拟定了扩建     

Blockchain-oriented dynamic modelling of smart contract design and execution in the supply chain

Recently, the applications of Blockchain technology have begun to revolutionise different aspects of supply chain (SC) management. Among others, Blockchain is a platform to execute the smart contracts in the SC as transactions. We develop and test a new model for smart contract design in the SC with multiple logistics service providers and show that this problem can be presented as a multi-processor flexible flow shop scheduling. A distinctive feature of our approach is that the execution of physical operations is modelled inside the start and completion of cyber information services. We name this modelling concept ‘virtual operation’. The constructed model and the developed experimental environment constitute an event-driven dynamic approach to task and service composition when designing the smart contract. Our approach is also of value when considering the contract execution stage. The use of state control variables in our model allows for operations status updates in the Blockchain that in turn, feeds automated information feedbacks, disruption detection and control of contract execution. The latter launches the re-scheduling procedure, comprehensively combining planning and adaptation decisions within a unified methodological framework of dynamic control theory. The modelling complex developed can be used to design and control smart contracts in the SC.     

Strategy for a Scale‐up Correlation in a Dissolved Air Flotation Chamber

Beginning with a laboratory‐scale physical model, a scale‐up correlation for a pilot unit project was determined based on the analysis of dynamic similarity correlations involving the predominant phenomena of a dissolved air flotation (DAF) chamber. The implantation costs of pilot units require special strategies due to the lack of correlations of this type, as novel flotation methods have been considered strictly from an economic standpoint. With the aid of computational fluid dynamics and videos of microbubble and floc flow, inertia and gravity were identified as the predominant phenomena in a DAF chamber. The strategy described herein is simple and reduces the likelihood of future risks in scale‐up investments.