Mixed-emulsifier stabilised emulsions: Investigation of the effect of monoolein and hydrophilic silica particle mixtures on the stability against coalescence

An experimental circulating water loop has been constructed to study the deposition of hematite particles of average diameter 320 nm on polypropylene pipe walls in the ranges pH 4–11, Re 3300–17,700 at 25 °C. Real-time turbidimetric measurements were used to measure the deposited concentrations. Results showed that the deposition rate increased when pH decreased and when the flow rate increased. Adhesion was observed even under repulsive electrostatic conditions (pH > 7), where the surfaces of hematite and polypropylene were both negative, indicating that the kinetic energy of at least a part of the particles surpassed the electrostatic repulsive potentials. The experimental curves were fitted by a model assuming simultaneous adhesion and removal of particles, leading to adhesion and removal rate constants, whose values depend on pH and flow rate. Removal is negligible below pH 9.     

Competitive adsorption of surfactants and hydrophilic silica particles at the oil-water interface: interfacial tension and contact angle studies

The effect of surfactants' type and concentration on the interfacial tension and contact angle in the presence of hydrophilic silica particles was investigated. Silica particles have been shown to have an antagonistic effect on interfacial tension and contact angle in the presence of both W/O and O/W surfactants. Silica particles, combined with W/O surfactant, have no effect on interfacial tension, which is only dictated by the surfactant concentration, while they strongly affect interfacial tension when combined with O/W surfactants. At low O/W surfactant, both particles and surfactant are adsorbed at the interface, modifying the interface structure. At higher concentration, interfacial tension is only dictated by the surfactant. By increasing the surfactant concentration, the contact angle that a drop of aqueous phase assumes on a glass substrate placed in oil media decreases or increases depending on whether the surfactant is of W/O or O/W type, respectively. This is due to the modification of the wettability of the glass by the oil or water induced by the surfactants. Regardless of the surfactant's type, the contact angle profile was dictated by both particles and surfactant at low surfactant concentration, whereas it is dictated by the surfactant only at high concentration.     

Stress intensity factor determination error by the method of caustics

The caustics created at a crack tip under biaxial loading are examined using both the closed form and the approximate solution. Particular attention is given to the caustics and their initial curves created by rays reflected from the rear and front surfaces of the specimen in addition to those in the transverse direction of the cracked specimen. These quantities can differ by more than 30% depending on whether the exact or the approximate solution is used for determining the stress intensity factors which can deviate as much as 80%. The crack length also affects the outcome. Larger errors are committed by the approximate solution for caustics that are closer to the crack tip. The advantage of using the normalized distance from the crack tip is discussed in contrast to using the absolute distance. Incorrect experimental measurements are also discussed in relation to the resulting error for evaluating the crack tip stress intensity factor.     

Crack initiation direction from interface of bonded dissimilar media

Debonded region of an interface between two dissimilar materials are modeled as a line crack that tends to enhance the initiation of failure by fracture. Depending on the load that interacts with dissimilar materials, no a priori knowledge of how failure would initiate from an existing interface crack is assumed. By application of the strain energy density criterion, potential crack initiation sites are obtained for different biaxial loading states and materials with dissimilar properties.Numerical results are obtained for an epoxy/aluminum medium. In each case, a finite line segment of debonding is assumed. Uniform stresses are applied normal and parallel to the interface so that a biaxial load factor k determines the relative magnitude of biaxiality. Positive and negative k correspond, respectively, to applied tension and compression parallel to the interface. For a fixed ratio of the elastic moduli, crack initiation angles measured from the interface would increase with positive k and decrease with an increase of negative k. These findings are presented for different values of k. The direction of maximum yield initiation could also be determined from the stationary values of the strain density function. These locations are identified with elements that undergo excessive distortion while the possible fracture sites are assumed to coincide with regions where dilatational effects would dominate.     

Magnetoelectroelastic composite with poling parallel to plane of line crack under out-of-plane deformation

The three-dimensional field equations can in general be regarded as the sum of in-plane and out-of-plane deformation. The method for the general solution is the same for both although the boundary conditions could make a difference. If a particular solution in exact form may be found for the out-of-plane case, the same may not hold for the in-plane case. Hence, there may be a good reason for discussing the out-of-plane crack problem in certain situations that should be emphasized. Otherwise, the reason may lie in the exploration of possible application to the in-plane problem, a direct solution of which would have required a considerable effort. The contribution of this work rests on the new findings for the case of poling parallel to the crack in a magnetoelectroelastic composite made of BaTiO₃–CoFe₂O₄. The inclusions are BaTiO₃ and the matrix is CoFe₂O₄. Several new features of the solution were not expected before hand.Unlike in-plane deformation with poling normal to the crack plane, maximum crack growth enhancement is found to occur in the BaTiO₃–CoFe₂O₄ composite for a volume fraction of about 50%. Crack retardation increases as the volume fraction of the inclusions either increase or decrease. The occurrence of this same phenomenon in Mode I and II remain to be investigated. Poling direction of magnetic and electric field for line defects can have a significant effect on crack growth for magnetoelectroelastic materials. The foregoing conclusions are based on predictions made from the strain energy density criterion.     

Colloidal aspects of eating

This paper is an overview of the work currently carried out on the microstructural approach to reduce unhealthy ingredients in everyday foods, while maintaining the positive eating aspects of the original product. Fat reduction is discussed in detail as an example of how the approach might be used. In particular, we will cover the very new approach using tribology based physical measurements and relate this to oral response as opposed to using rheological measurements. Materials such as low fat, air/oil-in-water and water-in-water emulsions as well as sheared (or fluid) gels will be discussed as this approach has allowed physical, chemical and sensory properties of high fat content foods to be matched by structures containing considerably less fat. This microstructural approach to the engineering challenge of fat replacement has proved very successful in the development of mayonnaise, cream and sauces with good eating properties. If the approach discussed continues to be developed, they promise significant advancement and rewards on the formulation of healthy everyday foods which are perceived by the consumer as indulgent.     

Investigation into the potential ability of Pickering emulsions (food-grade particles) to enhance the oxidative stability of oil-in-water emulsions

In this study the potential ability of food-grade particles (at the droplet interface) to enhance the oxidative stability was investigated. Sunflower oil-in-water emulsions (20%), stabilised solely by food-grade particles (Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and modified starch (MS)), were produced under different processing conditions and their physicochemical properties were studied over time. Data on droplet size, surface charge, creaming index and oxidative stability were obtained. Increasing the food-grade particle concentration from 0.1% to 2.5% was found to decrease droplet size, enhance the physical stability of emulsions and reduce the lipid oxidation rate due to the formation of a thicker interfacial layer around the oil droplets. It was further shown that, MCC particles were able to reduce the lipid oxidation rate more effectively than MS particles. This was attributed to their ability to scavenge free radicals, through their negative charge, and form thicker interfacial layers around oil droplets due to the particles size differences. The present study demonstrates that the manipulation of emulsions' interfacial microstructure, based on the formation of a thick interface around the oil droplets by food-grade particles (Pickering emulsions), is an effective approach to slow down lipid oxidation.     

Triterpenoids from Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. Tissue Cultures

A chemical study on tissue cultures from leaves and flowers of E. camaldulensis Dehnh . afforded the new natural product (2α,3β)‐2,3,23‐trihydroxy‐13,28‐epoxyurs‐11‐en‐28‐one (dryobalanolide) together with the known pentacyclic triterpenoids: betulinic acid, oleanolic acid, ursolic acid, (2α,3β)‐2,3,23‐trihydroxyolean‐12‐en‐28‐oic acid (arjunolic acid), (2α,3β)‐2,3,23‐trihydroxyurs‐12‐en‐28‐oic acid (asiatic acid), (2α)‐2‐hydroxyursolic acid, (2α)‐2‐hydroxyoleanolic acid (maslinic acid), as well as β‐sitosterol. The extracts and the isolated compounds were evaluated against eleven human pathogenic microorganisms, exhibiting a very interesting antibacterial spectrum of activities.     

Entropy and Network Centralities as Intelligent Tools for the Investigation of Terrorist Organizations

In recent years, law enforcement authorities have increasingly used mathematical tools to support criminal investigations, such as those related to terrorism. In this work, two relevant questions are discussed: “How can the different roles of members of a terrorist organization be recognized?” and “are there early signs of impending terrorist acts?” These questions are addressed using the tools of entropy and network theory, more specifically centralities (degree, betweenness, clustering) and their entropies. These tools were applied to data (physical contacts) of four real terrorist networks from different countries. The different roles of the members are clearly recognized from the values of the selected centralities. An early sign of impending terrorist acts is the evolutionary pattern of the values of the entropies of the selected centralities. These results have been confirmed in all four terrorist networks. The conclusion is expected to be useful to law enforcement authorities to identify the roles of the members of terrorist organizations as the members with high centrality and to anticipate when a terrorist attack is imminent, by observing the evolution of the entropies of the centralities.