EVO-NFC: Extra Virgin Olive Oil Traceability Using NFC Suitable for Small-Medium Farms

none1noFood traceability is a fundamental requirement for the agriculture of the future. A food traceability system should ensure food safety and quality control, allow authentication, fraud prevention and control by the authority, improve consumers' safety and confidence. The agri-food supply chain is complex and difficult to handle due to the presence of various stakeholders and control authorities. Consequently, the complexity and the cost of traceability systems make it inapplicable for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This work defines of a food traceability system using existing low cost digital technologies with the possibility to be integrated into a database for public authority controls. Smartphone applications allow consumer involvement and a bidirectional interaction between the company and the consumer. This work proposes the use of smartphone with NFC technology in every phase of the food chain bringing the information to the final consumer. An advantage of the proposed system is the low cost and easy to use, allowing its diffusion in small and micro farms, regional typical products, bio productions. The applications developed and the database architecture have been customized to the extra virgin olive oil process. Final considerations evidence the economic advantage of the traceability system.openConti M.Conti, M

Pressure effects for crystal growth in a closed system

We analyze the growth of a crystal from its supercooled liquid in a closed domain (constrained growth), taking into account the effects due to the different densities ρs and ρl of the solid and liquid phases. We assume ρl>ρs, i.e., the liquid expands upon solidification. Then, the growth is contrasted by an increasing pressure, which results in a continuous decrease of the coexistence temperature and the effective supercooling. These phenomena have been simulated in two dimensions through a modified version of the classic phase-field model. We observe that for spherical growth the interface temperature reflects almost instantaneously the change of the coexistence temperature. For dendritic growth, we observed a relaxation time for the dendrite tip velocity and the tip radius which is comparable to the characteristic time of the process; however, after the first fast transient, the growth dynamics seems to follow the changing pressure with no appreciable lag. The onset of the morphological instability is slightly anticipated in respect to free growth

Advection flow effects in the growth of a free dendrite

The growth of a free dendrite into a supercooled liquid is simulated through a modified version of the phase-field model, which takes into account the advection flow due to the different densities ρs and ρl of the solid and liquid phases. The intensity of the flow is maximal at the dendrite tip and decays far from the surface of the crystal. At fixed undercooling, as the density ratio ρs/ρl increases, we observe a decrease of the tip velocity, while the tip radius increases. The Peclet number is shifted with respect to the pure diffusive value. The onset of the morphological instability, which is responsible for the origin of the dendrite from a growing circular germ, is slightly anticipated by the flow effects

Modeling of failure probability for reliability and component reuse of electric and electronic equipment

none2noRecently, the concept of "circular economy", the design for end-of-life, the problem of reduction of waste of electronic and electrical equipment are becoming more and more important. The design of electronic systems for end-of-life considers the possibility of their repair, reuse and recycle, in order to reduce waste. This work proposes a new accurate model of failure probability density, that includes the failure probability of a used component in new equipment. The model has been tested, in conjunction with the International Electrotechnical Commission and Telcordia standard, in real industrial production. Eight years of historical faults have been analyzed and used to derive the fault models of the components. The model and analysis have been used for the analysis of real electronic products. The reuse of components could make an improvement to the reliability of the equipment.openConti M.; Orcioni S.Conti, M.; Orcioni, S