A comprehensive study of hazelnut oil composition with comparisons to other vegetable oils,particularly olive oil.

Crude and refined hazelnut oils from different countries were characterised by major and minor compounds. Fatty acids, triacylglycerides, waxes, sterols, methyl-sterols, terpenic and aliphatic alcohols, tocopherols, tocotrienols and hydrocarbons were identified and quantified by gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. The levels of these chemical compounds in hazelnut oils together with the equivalent carbon numbers and triacylglyceride carbon numbers, were compared with the results of analyses of samples of other vegetable oils. The statistical procedure of cluster analysis was used to characterise hazelnut oils versus other edible oils.     

Assessment of different techniques for quantification of α-Al(FeMn)Si and β-AlFeSi intermetallics in AA 6xxx alloys

During homogenisation of AA 6xxx aluminium alloys, the platelike β-AlFeSi intermetallic phase will transform to a less Si-rich and more spheroidised α-Al(FeMn)Si phase which is more favourable for extrusion. In this study, several quantitative methods, which determine the relative volume fraction of α-Al(FeMn)Si and β-AlFeSi, are compared and an assessment of each method is made. The methods used are optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in combination with electron dispersive X-ray (EDX) using polished samples, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) on intermetallics, extracted through selective dissolution of the Al matrix. The highest accuracy is obtained by using SEM/EDX analysis and applying two criteria.     

Structural and surface properties of thermally prepared Ti/RhxTi(1−x)Oy electrodes: I—influence of preparation parameters

Electrodes of Rh_xTi_(1−x)O_y nominal composition were prepared by thermal decomposition of the chloride or nitrate precursor salts dissolved in strongly acidic medium and applied by brush to both sides of a Ti° support. A systematic study of the influence of calcination temperature and time as well as oxygen flux was conducted. The coatings were characterised by SEM, EDAX, XRD, open circuit potential measurements and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Visible-ultraviolet spectrophotometry was employed to identify the chemical form of the precursor in solution while thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to assess the decomposition temperature ranges. Optimisation of the coating preparation parameters showed coatings obtained from [Rh(H₂O)₆](NO₃)₃ precursor dissolved in HNO₃ 1:2 (v/v) and fired at 430 °C for 2 h in a 5 l min⁻¹ oxygen stream-furnished stable electrodes having the highest electrochemically active surface area.     

Method of electrodialysis stack testing with the feed solution concentration regulation

A technique to test electrodialysis (ED) stacks designed to desalt dilute solutions is developed. The technique permits obtaining reproducible data on laboratory and medium-scale units useful for predicting mass transfer characteristics of large ED stacks. Quasi-steady state of desalination process is the main condition to obtain such data. This state can be attained by applying recycling hydraulic modes and special devices to maintain constant pH, or pH and concentration of the feed solution. To obtain data for scaling, it is necessary to apply a fixed voltage on the stack and to use a constant flow rate of the feed solution during the experiment, the feed solution concentration may vary with the time. Specifications of the stacks studied, rational hydraulic and electrical modes of testing are considered.     

Modelling of membrane nanofiltration—pore size distribution effects

The effects of log-normal pore size distributions on the rejection of uncharged solutes and NaCl at hypothetical nanofiltration membranes have been assessed theoretically. The importance of pore radius-dependent properties such as solvent viscosity and dielectric constant is increased by the introduction of a pore size distribution in calculations. However, the effect of porewise variation in viscosity is less apparent when considered at a defined applied pressure rather than at a defined flux, showing a further advantage of basing theoretical analysis of nanofiltration in terms of applied pressure.Truncated pore size distributions gave better agreement than full distributions with experimental rejection data for a Desal-DK nanofiltration membrane. Such truncation is in agreement with the findings of atomic force microscopy (AFM). Analysis of uncharged solute rejection data alone could not give useful information about membrane pore size distribution. Neither could such a distribution be obtained quantitatively directly from AFM images. However, use of the shape of the distribution obtained by AFM in conjunction with experimental rejection data for an uncharged solute allows calculation of corrected distributions. Importantly, incorporation of such a corrected pore size distribution in calculations of NaCl rejection gave better agreement with experimental data, compared to calculations assuming uniform pores, at high pressure, the region of industrial interest.     

Graphs of linear clique-width at most 3

A graph has linear clique-width at most k if it has a clique-width expression using at most k labels such that every disjoint union operation has an operand which is a single vertex graph. We give the first characterisation of graphs of linear clique-width at most 3, and we give the first polynomial-time recognition algorithm for graphs of linear clique-width at most 3. In addition, we present new characterisations of graphs of linear clique-width at most 2. We also give a layout characterisation of graphs of bounded linear clique-width; a similar characterisation was independently shown by Gurski and by Lozin and Rautenbach.     

Characterisation of a desktop LCD projector

A typical desktop LCD projector was characterised. Having determined the optimum settings of the brightness and contrast controls, measurements were made with a spectroradiometer to establish the additivity of the primaries, inter-channel dependence, colour gamut, tone scale, contrast, spatial non-uniformity, temporal stability and viewing angle variation. Four mathematical models were compared for their accuracy in predicting the colours generated by the display for arbitrary signal inputs. A new model was developed for the S-shaped electro-optical transfer function of the LCD device, and was extended to predict the anomalous colour tracking of the primaries.     

Characterisation of different types of dispersoids present in homogenised Al–4·5Zn–1Mg alloy containing Zr,Cr and Mn

Abstract

In the present paper, various types of dispersoids possibly formed during homogenisation of AA7020 alloy containing Cr, Zr and Mn are described. It shows that, in addition to the Zr containing dispersoids, three other types of dispersoids may be present in the homogenised microstructure of AA7020 aluminium alloy. These dispersoids are Cr and Mn containing ones and the one with a mixture of different elements. The Zr and Cr containing dispersoids are formed in the grain interior at all of the homogenisation conditions. However, the Mn containing ones form only in the grain boundary regions in the vicinity of Al₁₇(Fe_3·2,Mn_0·8)Si₂ particles at temperatures ?510°C and holding times longer than 4 h.     

Characterisation of corrosion products formed on steel rebars

Abstract

In this study, corrosion products on steel reinforcing bars (rebars) exposed in mortar contaminated with chlorides were characterised. For this purpose, scanning electron images were taken on steel surface and energy dispersive spectrometry analyses, as well X-ray diffraction was employed for quantitative characterisation using the Rietveld method. The main phases present were maghemite, goethite, lepidocrocite and akaganeite.

Dans cette étude, on a caractérisé les produits de corrosion de barres de renforcement en acier (barres d’armature) exposées dans du mortier contaminé par des chlorures. À cette fin, on a pris des images au microscope électronique à balayage, à la surface de l’acier, et l’on a employé des analyses de spectroscopie à dispersion d’énergie ainsi que la diffraction des rayons X pour la caractérisation quantitative, en utilisant la méthode de Rietveld. Les principales phases présentes consistaient en maghémite, en goéthite, en lépidocrocite et en akaganéite.     

A numerical database for ultrasonic defect characterisation using array data: Robustness and accuracy

Elastodynamic scattering matrices are known to contain geometrical information about a given scatterer, such as its size and shape. Here, the extent to which this scattered information can be retrieved using an ultrasonic array and used to characterise defects for Non-Destructive Evaluation is explored. Experimentally measured defect scattering matrices are compared to a database of possible scatterers and the nearest neighbour used to characterise the defect's geometry in terms of crack length and orientation. As an example, a database of scattering matrices for small (lengths 0.2–2.0 mm) cracks at a range of frequencies (2–20 MHz) is formed. The short range similarity (i.e. that between close neighbours) and the long range similarity (i.e. uniqueness) are used to understand the uncertainties inherent in this approach. In addition, the effect of spatially coherent noise, such as grain scattering in a polycrystalline metal, on the scattered information content is quantified. It is shown that as the noise level or frequency increases, so the information retrievable from a given crack is reduced, setting bounds on the accuracy of characterisation possible from a given ultrasonic dataset.