Effects of ultrasound treatment on the starch properties and oil absorption of potato chips

As a non-thermal processing method, the ultrasound treatment prior to the frying process has been demonstrated with great potential in reducing the oil absorption of fried food. This research aimed to evaluate the effect of ultrasound pretreatment on starch properties, water status, pore characteristics, and the oil absorption of potato slices. Ultrasound probe set with two power (360 W and 600 W) at the frequency of 20 kHz for 60 min was applied to perform the pretreatments. The results showed that ultrasound pretreatment led to the surface erosion of starch granules and higher power made the structure of starch disorganized. Moreover, the fraction of bound water and immobilized water were changed after ultrasonic pretreatment. Pores with the minor diameters (0.4–3 μm and 7–12 μm) were formed after ultrasound pretreatment. The penetrated surface oil (PSO) content, and structure oil (STO) content were reduced by 27.31% and 22.25% respectively with lower power ultrasound pretreatment. As the ultrasound power increased, the surface oil (SO) content and PSO content increased by 25.34% and 12.89% respectively, while STO content decreased by 38.05%. By using ultrasonic prior to frying, the quality of potato chips has been greatly improved.     

Investigation into the erosion of explosive-emission liquid-metalcathodes

The erosion rate has been measured for capillary-type and needle-type liquid-metal cathodes. The erosion drop fraction composition and percentage have been determined. For the needle-type liquid-metal cathodes, the erosion of the core has been discovered and investigated. To describe this erosion, a simple analytical model has been proposed     

Aliphatic polyester-grafted starch composites by in situ ring opening polymerization

Catalyzed Ring-Opening Polymerization (ROP) of lactones, such as ε-caprolactone and δ-valerolactone, has been investigated for preparing aliphatic polyester-grafted corn starch compositions. The polymerization has been carried out either in bulk (without solvent) or in 10 wt% granular starch in toluene suspension, after adequate activation of the starch surface amylose/amylopectin hydroxyl groups into aluminum alkoxides. This activation has been done by in situ reaction with triethylaluminum and has proved to be very effective in promoting fast ROP and also covalent grafting of the polyester chains onto the starch surface. Drying of the starch granules constitutes a key-step of the proposed process. The actual fixation of the initiator onto the starch surface has been checked by XPS analysis whereas good adhesion between the two components has been evidenced by SEM observations. Growth of the polyester chains on the starch granules has been followed by the increase of the mean diameter of the 'encapsulated' granules as attested by laser scattering granulometry.     

流化床埋管磨损的实验研究

本文对流化床内埋管的布置与磨损的关系进行了实验研究和理论分析，得到了管束的节距和布置高度对磨损特性的影响规律，并据此提出了埋管的防磨原则。实验表明，只有满足一定的条件，最大的埋管磨损速率才可能出现在底排管上，顺列管束才可能比错列管束磨损轻。     

Physicochemical,structural, and digestive properties of pea starch obtained via ultrasonic-assisted alkali extraction

As a new and clean extraction technology, ultrasonic extraction has been demonstrated with great potential in the preparation of modified starch. In order to increase its added value, it is necessary to modify pea starch to enlarge its application. In this study, the efficiency of combining ultrasonic with alkali in the extraction of pea starch was evaluated and compared to conventional alkali extraction. Ultrasonic-assisted alkali extraction conditions were optimized using single-factor experiments and response surface methodology. The results revealed that maximum yield of pea starch (54.43 %) was achieved using ultrasound-assisted alkali extraction under the following conditions: sodium hydroxide solution with a concentration of 0.33 %, solid/alkali solution ratio of 1:6 (w/v), ultrasonic power of 240 W, temperature of 42 °C, and extraction time of 22 min. The ultrasound-assisted alkali extraction yielded 13.72 % greater pea starch than conventional alkali extraction. On the other hand, morphological, structural, and physicochemical properties of the obtained starch isolates were evaluated. The ultrasound-assisted alkali extraction resulted in pea starch with greater amylose content, water-solubility, swelling power, and viscosity compared with conventional alkali extraction. Furthermore, ultrasonication influenced the morphological properties of pea starch granules, while the molecular structure and crystal type were not affected. Moreover, the ultrasonic-assisted extraction produced starch with a slightly greater resistant starch content. Therefore, ultrasonic-assisted extraction can be suggested as a potential method for extracting pea starch with improved functional properties.     

Mineralogy, size, morphology and porosity of aggregates and their relationship with soil susceptibility to water erosion

Soil erosion has been considered as the main process related to losses of soil mass and decrease of productivity in cultivated lands as well as on e of the most important processes in landscape evolution. Attention has been paid to many pedological variables affecting intensity of erosion, but little to the influence of iron compounds on the type, size, shape and porosity of soil aggregates. In the present study, three lithopedodomains which were assumed to be closely related to the dominant lithology of the soil parent material, varying in the degree of water erosion intensity, were selected for further analysis which focused mainly on the influence of iron oxide mineralogy on the soil aggregation. Powder X-ray diffractometry, 80 K Mössbauer data and SEM images are used to correlate all these variables with observed erosion activity in the field. The present data indicate that the more the soil is rich in iron (hematite and/or goethite) or aluminium (gibbsite) (hydr)oxide, the smaller are its aggregates and is porous. Soils derived from metabasic rocks are much more susceptible to collapse under wetting than those from other lithologies. They have the highest iron and clay content. Schist-derived soil is richer in muscovite, has bigger aggregates and porous and are less prone to collapse, while the granite-derived soil presents relatively intermediate resistance, when humid.     

Ultrasound field distribution and ultrasonic oxidation desulfurization efficiency

Ultrasonic oxidation desulfurization (UODS) has been considered a promising method for deeply desulfurization technology since it can be carried out using mild conditions. During the last few decades many experimental investigations have been carried out on optimizing the reaction condition such as ultrasonic irradiation time, oxidizing reagents amount, kind of organic acid and so on. But limited work has been reported on the influence of the ultrasonic cavitation field distribution. In this work, the relative intensity of the cavitation events has been measured with the aluminum foil erosion method in a commonly used ultrasonic cleaning vessel both in horizontal and vertical directions. The aluminum foil erosion image was then collected into computer by a scanner. In addition, the image processing program of MATLAB software was used to pretreat the erosion image and find out the positions of the erosion points so that the ratio of the erosion area to the entire area can be calculated which helped to quantify the measurement result since the erosion ratios was the representation of the cavitation intensity. The desulfurization efficiency was then measured in different position of the vessel. The results match well with the cavitation field distribution results which indicate that the cavitation field distribution can be used to guide the UODS process.     

An experimental study of the dependence on the current intensity ofthe erosion of thoriated tungsten cathodes in plasma arcs

The erosion occurring in thoriated tungsten cathodes used in transferred plasma torches operating with current intensities ranging from 30 to 210 A has been experimentally investigated. The cathode erosion rate was determined by measuring the cathode's weight loss after arcing, and the eroded cathode surface was explored by a scanning electron microscope and an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer. It has been discovered that a critical current intensity, I_CR ~ 50 A, exists for which the cathode erosion rate becomes maximum     

Preparation of starch stabilized silver nanoparticles with spatial self-phase modulation properties by laser ablation technique

Silver nanoparticles inside the starch solution have been successfully fabricated by laser ablation of a silver plate immersed in starch solution. The ablation has been done using a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at 10 Hz repetition rate. The starch solution allows for the formation of silver nanoparticles with uniform particle diameters and well dispersed. The ablation was performed at different time durations to study the influence of the laser ablation time on efficiency of particle formation and sizes. The Spatial Self-phase modulation phenomena which can determine the nonlinear optical property of the samples were also investigated for starch solutions containing silver nanoparticles.     

Experimental and numerical analysis of the high-speed deformation and erosion damage of the titanium alloy VT-6

The temporal characteristics of the dynamic fracture of the titanium alloy VT-6 have been investigated under high-speed loading conditions. A relationship has been established between the process of dynamic tension of the specimen according to the Kolsky method and the surface erosion damage. A numerical analysis of the experimental data has been carried out. The method of erosion loading has been further developed as a tool for the dynamic testing of strength properties of materials.     

Investigations of Nozzle Materials in SF6 Circuit Breakers

With a puffer and a self-blast type SF6 circuit breaker (CB), various nozzle materials have been investigated. In addition, a small-scaled model SF6 breaker has been attached to a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOFMS) in order to study the exhausted gas contaminated with ablated material. The experimental results clearly show an influence of the nozzle material on the interrupting capability of the SF6 CB. The observed nozzle ablation is mainly determined by the geometry of the arcing device. The erosion of the nozzle and the chemical composition of arced SF6 gas depend slightly on the quality of the PTFE nozzles only.     

Prediction of Cassava Starch Edible Film Properties by Chemometric Analysis of Infrared Spectra

Cassava starch has been shown to make transparent and colorless flexible films without any previous chemical treatment. The functional properties of edible films are influenced by starch properties, including chain conformation, molecular bonding, crystallinity, and water content. Fourier‐transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy in combination with attenuated total reflectance (ATR) has been applied for the elucidation of the structure and conformation of carbohydrates. This technique associated with chemometric data processing could indicate the relationship between the structural parameters and the functional properties of cassava starch–based edible films. Successful prediction of the functional properties values of the starch–based films was achieved by partial least squares regression data. The results showed that presence of the hydroxyl group on carbon 6 of the cyclic part of glucose is directly correlated with the functional properties of cassava starch films.     

Leading Edge Erosion of a Low-Energy Beam Injected into a Gas in a Magnetic Field

The leading edge erosion of a low-energy high-current electron beam injected into a low-energy neutral gas in a magnetic field has been investigated. The system’s parameters at which a virtual cathode arises, the erosion duration of the beam leading edge, and the time of complete charge neutralization have been determined.     

Effect of the pulse repetition rate on the composition and ioncharge-state distribution of pulsed vacuum arcs

The plasma composition and ion charge-state distributions of pulsed vacuum arcs have been investigated for carbon, aluminum, silver, platinum, and tantalum cathodes using a time-of-flight (TOF) charge-to-mass spectrometer. With the exception of carbon, it was found that all results depend on the arc pulse repetition rate, a fact which, up to now, has not been reported in the literature. It is shown that adsorption of gas on the cathode between are pulses leads to contamination of the metal plasma and to a reduction of metal ion charge states. These usually undesired effects can be avoided by operating at high arc pulse repetition rates of order 10 Hz or more. The results can be interpreted in terms of cathode spot type 1 (on contaminated cathode surfaces) and type 2 (on clean surfaces) which are well known from their different brightness and erosion behaviour. The transition between these modes was found to be gradual     

Dynamic fracture of the surface of an aluminum alloy under conditions of high-speed erosion

The kinetics of fracture and deformation of the standard aluminum alloy AD1 and a similar alloy subjected to severe plastic deformation by high-pressure torsion under conditions of high-speed erosion has been investigated. It has been shown that, with an increase in the loading rate, the fraction of the brittle component on the fracture surface of the standard material, as well as the thickness of the damaged layer, increases more significantly than that for the material after the severe plastic deformation by high-pressure torsion. A relationship of the surface roughness of the material after the erosion with the loading rate and the thickness of the erosion-damaged layer has been established.     

An undercutting model of atomic oxygen for multilayer silica/alumina films fabricated by plasma immersion implantation and deposition on polyimide

Multilayer silica/alumina films were created by plasma immersion implantation and deposition to protect against atomic oxygen (AO) in low earth orbit environment. The AO erosion mechanism of polyimide under multilayer silica/alumina films has been investigated using a ground-based AO simulator and Monte Carlo model. The results demonstrate that protective films are detached and plumped due to AO undercutting, and the exterior silica film is partly detached proven by chemical composition depth profile and erosion patterns. The undercutting model involving collision, diffusion, reaction, gas releasing, and retroaction on films is proposed. Based on the model, scattered impingement has serious erosion, although AO does not directly attack interior polymer. AO erosion predictions at two neighborhood cracks are first studied by Monte Carlo model for various incidence angles of AO. The protective film between cracks hinders the escape of AO, and accelerates the erosion.     

Influence of Surface Contaminations on Cathode Processes of Vacuum Discharges

The influence of surface contaminations on the ignition and maintenance of vacuum discharges is discussed qualitatively. Surface analysis of the electrodes and gas analysis during the discharges demonstrate that fresh electrodes contain always impurities within the upper surface layers, which affect the behaviour of vacuum arcs and vacuum breakdowns. The most effective way for cleaning the surfaces are the discharges themselves, if they burn in UHV. During that cleaning the following variations have been found: Are cathodes spots change from rapid moving ones with small erosion (type 1) to slow ones with strong erosion (type 2). The ignition of nanosecond discharges needs higher field strength and field emission current density. Polishing effects by short discharges (< 5 ns) become more pronounced. Erosion craters in nanosecond discharges increase.     

DIAMOND MICRO- AND NANOSTRUCTURING BY ACCELERATED CLUSTER EROSION

Reactive accelerated cluster erosion (RACE) has been used for direct micro- and nanostructuring of bulk diamond. Carbondioxide nanoparticles of about 1000 molecules are accelerated to 100keV energy in order to erode a staircase structure or a toothed wheel into diamond by using appropriate movable or fixed masks. Non-reactive erosion by argon clusters is slower but more effectively polishing. Large-scale molecular dynamics simulations show the nanoparticle impacts to lead to transient craters which relax to a very smooth surface via collective elastic recovery. The enhanced or reduced erosion of the respective cluster material is illuminated.     

Charged particle erosion of solid rare gases and dilute rare gas alloys

We present the first experimental results on electron-induced erosion of solid neon. The measurements are interpreted qualitatively within a new model invoking excitation transport by free excitons and their subsequent decay at the surface. The model accounts for the magnitude of the observed yield and the energy dependence. A theoretically predicted decrease in the erosion yield due to doping with a heavier rare gas, in casu argon, has been observed experimentally. The strong influence of very small amounts of different types of impurities makes sample purity a crucial problem in investigations of the erosion of solid rare gases.     

Investigations of products of copper electrode erosion in an AC plasmatron

The products of the erosion of a hollow copper electrode of an ac plasmatron operating in air have been examined. It has been shown using elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, X-ray phase analysis, and differential thermal analysis that the main components of the erosion products are copper trihydroxide nitrate (II), copper oxide (II), copper oxide (I), and copper hydroxide carbonate (II).