Image Analysis as a Tool for Estimation of Red Peppers’ Color

Red pepper is an excellent source of natural red color. The estimation of color is of great importance, as it is being used for grading red peppers to suit various applications in the food industry. A novel method for quick and easy determination of the color of red peppers by analyzing the color images obtained from a flatbed scanner was developed and validated. ImageJ software was used for measuring the RGB values of the images and the RGB values thus obtained were converted into the industrially accepted American Spice Trade Association (ASTA) color values in red peppers by using an empirical formula. The results were compared with color values obtained through ASTA chemical analytical method. The developed image analysis method was used for the analysis of red peppers with color values ranging from 15 to 154 ASTA units. The image analysis method showed good agreement with the chemical method for color values ranging from 40 to 140 ASTA units. The new method is also fast and easy to adopt and is deemed useful in the field, of processing and storage facilities, where access to sophisticated instrumentation for color estimation and color stability studies is limited.</p

Formulation and Validation of Turmeric and Black Pepper Flavored Probiotics

The beneficial or harmless microorganisms naturally found in the digestive tract have major roles in modulating the physiological functions of the host. Probiotics are live microbial feed supplement that helps to improve the intestinal microbial balance and thus imparts beneficial health effects. Spices are established sources of natural agents for food flavor and color. In this study, probiotic curd formulations containing varying contents of turmeric and black pepper were prepared and evaluated for the viability of aerobic bacteria during the shelf life of 15 days and consumer acceptability. Based on the results of the viability studies and sensory evaluation, acceptable compositions of a probiotics curd formulation flavored with turmeric and black pepper were arrived at. The formulation with 1.0 and 0.5 % turmeric and black pepper respectively was found to maintain the required levels of probiotic bacteria during the storage for 15 days and was well accepted in the sensory evaluation.</p

MICROCHANNEL OPTIMIZATION FOR HEAT DISSIPATION FROM A SOLID SUBSTRATE

ABSTRACT A computational model was developed to analyze and optimize the convective heat transfer for water flowing through rectangular microchannels fabricated in a silicon substrate. A baseline case was analyzed by solving the nondimensional governing equations. Using a quasi three-dimensional computational model, the velocity and temperature distributions were obtained and the numerical results were then used to determine the overall dimensionless thermal resistance for the convective heat transfer from the substrate to the fluid. To validate the numerical model, the average Nusselt numbers as determined by the numerical model were compared with experimental results available in the literature, for channels with comparable hydraulic diameters. The procedure for arriving at an optimum geometric configuration and arrangement of microchannels on the substrate, subject to given design constraints, so that the thermal resistance is at a minimum, is described and demonstrated using the computational model

Selection of Conditions for Cellulase and Xylanase Extraction from Switchgrass Colonized by Acidothermus cellulolyticus

Solid-state fermentation has been widely used for enzyme production. However, secreted enzymes often bind to the solid substrate preventing their detection and recovery. A series of screening studies was performed to examine the role of extraction buffer composition including NaCl, ethylene glycol, sodium acetate buffer, and Tween 80, on xylanase and cellulase recovery from switchgrass. Our results indicated that the selection of an extraction buffer is highly dependent on the nature and source of the enzyme being extracted. While a buffer containing 50 mM sodium acetate at pH 5 was found to have a positive effect on the recovery of commercial fungal-derived cellulase and xylanase amended to switchgrass, the same buffer had a significant negative effect on enzyme extraction from solid fermentation samples colonized by the bacterium Acidothermus cellulolyticus. Xylanase activity was more affected by components in the extraction buffers compared to cellulase. This study demonstrated that extraction followed by diafiltration is important for assessing enzyme recovery from solid fermentation samples. Reduction in activity due to compounds present in the switchgrass extracts is reversible when the compounds are removed via diafiltration

Simulation and validation of in-cylinder combustion for a heavy-duty Otto gas engine using 3D-CFD technique

Utsläpp från bilar har spelat stor roll de senaste decennierna. Detta har lett till ökad användning av Otto gasmotorer som använder naturgas som bränsle. Nya motordesigner behöver optimeras för att förbättra motorens effektivitet. Ett effektivt sätt att göra detta på är genom användningen av simuleringar för att minska ledtiden i motorutvecklingen. Verifiering och validering av simuleringarna spelar stor roll för att bygga förtroende för och förutsägbarhet hos simuleringsresultaten. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att föreslå förbränningsmodellparametrarna efter utvärdering av olika kombinationer av förbrännings- och tändmodeller för Otto förbränning, vad gäller beräkningstid och noggrannhet. In-cylindertrycksspår från simulering och mätning jämförs för att hitta den bästa kombinationen av förbrännings- och tändmodell. Inverkan av tändtid, antal motorcykler och randvillkor för simuleringsresultatet studeras också. Resultaten visar att ECFM-förbränningsmodellen förutsäger simuleringsresultaten mer exakt när man jämför med mätningarna. Effekten av tändningstiden på olika kombinationer av förbrännings- och tändningsmodell utvärderas också. Stabiliteten hos olika förbränningssimuleringsmodeller diskuteras också under körning för fler motorcykler. Jämförelse av beräkningstid görs även för olika kombinationer av förbrännings- och tändmodeller. Resultaten visar också att flamspårningsmetoden med Euler är mer känslig för cellstorlek och kvalitet hos simuleringsnätet, jämfört med övriga studerade modeller. Rekommendationer och förslag ges om nät- och simulerings-inställningar för att prediktera förbränningen på ett så bra sätt som möjligt. Några möjliga förbättringsområden ges som framtida arbete för att förbättra noggrannheten i simuleringsresultaten.Emission from automobiles has been gaining importance for past few decades. This has gained a lot of impetus in search for alternate fuels among the automotive manufacturers. This led to the increase usage of Otto gas engine which uses natural gas as fuel. New engine designs have to be optimized for improving the engine efficiency. This led to usage of virtual simulations for reducing the lead time in the engine development. The verification and validation of actual phenomenon in the virtual simulations with respect to the physical measurements was quite important.  The aim of this master thesis is to suggest the combustion model parameters after evaluating various combination of combustion and ignition models in terms of computational time and accuracy. In-cylinder pressure trace from the simulation is compared with the measurement in order to find the nest suited combination of combustion and ignition models. The influence of ignition timing, number of engine cycles and boundary conditions on the simulation results are also studied. Results showed that ECFM combustion model predicts the simulation results more accurately when compare to the measurements. Impact of ignition timing on various combination of combustion and ignition model is also assessed. Stability of various combustion simulation models is also discussed while running for more engine cycles. Comparison of computational time is also made for various combination of combustion and ignition models. Results also showed that the flame tracking method using Euler is dependent on the mesh resolution and the mesh quality.  Recommendations and suggestions are given about the mesh and simulation settings for predicting the combustion simulation accurately. Some possible areas of improvement are given as future work for improving the accuracy of the simulation results.

Simulation and validation of in-cylinder combustion for a heavy-duty Otto gas engine using 3D-CFD technique

Utsläpp från bilar har spelat stor roll de senaste decennierna. Detta har lett till ökad användning av Otto gasmotorer som använder naturgas som bränsle. Nya motordesigner behöver optimeras för att förbättra motorens effektivitet. Ett effektivt sätt att göra detta på är genom användningen av simuleringar för att minska ledtiden i motorutvecklingen. Verifiering och validering av simuleringarna spelar stor roll för att bygga förtroende för och förutsägbarhet hos simuleringsresultaten. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att föreslå förbränningsmodellparametrarna efter utvärdering av olika kombinationer av förbrännings- och tändmodeller för Otto förbränning, vad gäller beräkningstid och noggrannhet. In-cylindertrycksspår från simulering och mätning jämförs för att hitta den bästa kombinationen av förbrännings- och tändmodell. Inverkan av tändtid, antal motorcykler och randvillkor för simuleringsresultatet studeras också. Resultaten visar att ECFM-förbränningsmodellen förutsäger simuleringsresultaten mer exakt när man jämför med mätningarna. Effekten av tändningstiden på olika kombinationer av förbrännings- och tändningsmodell utvärderas också. Stabiliteten hos olika förbränningssimuleringsmodeller diskuteras också under körning för fler motorcykler. Jämförelse av beräkningstid görs även för olika kombinationer av förbrännings- och tändmodeller. Resultaten visar också att flamspårningsmetoden med Euler är mer känslig för cellstorlek och kvalitet hos simuleringsnätet, jämfört med övriga studerade modeller. Rekommendationer och förslag ges om nät- och simulerings-inställningar för att prediktera förbränningen på ett så bra sätt som möjligt. Några möjliga förbättringsområden ges som framtida arbete för att förbättra noggrannheten i simuleringsresultaten.Emission from automobiles has been gaining importance for past few decades. This has gained a lot of impetus in search for alternate fuels among the automotive manufacturers. This led to the increase usage of Otto gas engine which uses natural gas as fuel. New engine designs have to be optimized for improving the engine efficiency. This led to usage of virtual simulations for reducing the lead time in the engine development. The verification and validation of actual phenomenon in the virtual simulations with respect to the physical measurements was quite important.  The aim of this master thesis is to suggest the combustion model parameters after evaluating various combination of combustion and ignition models in terms of computational time and accuracy. In-cylinder pressure trace from the simulation is compared with the measurement in order to find the nest suited combination of combustion and ignition models. The influence of ignition timing, number of engine cycles and boundary conditions on the simulation results are also studied. Results showed that ECFM combustion model predicts the simulation results more accurately when compare to the measurements. Impact of ignition timing on various combination of combustion and ignition model is also assessed. Stability of various combustion simulation models is also discussed while running for more engine cycles. Comparison of computational time is also made for various combination of combustion and ignition models. Results also showed that the flame tracking method using Euler is dependent on the mesh resolution and the mesh quality.  Recommendations and suggestions are given about the mesh and simulation settings for predicting the combustion simulation accurately. Some possible areas of improvement are given as future work for improving the accuracy of the simulation results.

Lipid nanostructures in butter oil: Structural and physicochemical characterization

Butter oil is derived from butter and constitutes of triglycerides along with small amounts of other lipids and fat-soluble components. Food grade lipids can be easily sourced from butter oil which finds a great potential in various ancient, modern as well as emerging applications. Due to almost “all fat” content, butter oil is not soluble in water, but it can be emulsified or combined with other components to enhance its applicability. In order to develop and optimize various applications, it is vital to identify self-assembled nanostructures formed within the butter oil. This report involves nanostructural studies by small (SAXS) and wide (WAXS) angle X-ray scattering and microstructural analysis of butter and butter oil using microscopic techniques. Both butter and butter oil display various polymorphs, detected by WAXS, but in general, the self-assembled nanostructure was identified to be a lamellar phase with the lattice parameter of about 41.8 Å. Physicochemical properties of butter oil, namely solubility, density, thermal behavior, functional groups and molecular structure elucidation also contribute to this report