Implementation of a Nomarsky interferometer for the characterization of ablative laser propulsion processes

En este trabajo se presenta la implementación de un interferómetro de Nomarsky diseñado para medir el impulso específico de combustibles utilizados en sistemas de propulsión por ablación láser. En primer lugar se validó la técnica con combustibles conocidos. Posteriormente, se aplicó a la medición del impulso específico de combustibles binarios metal/sal desarrollados por nuestro grupo de investigación [1]. Esto permitió a su vez, determinar la eficiencia de dichos combustibles.In this paper the implementation of a Nomarsky interferometer designed for the measurement of the specific impulse of propellants used in laser ablative propulsion are presented. The technique was first validated with known propellants. Subsequently, it was applied to the measurement of the specific impulse of binary metal/salt propellants developed by our research group [1]. This allowed the efficiency of these propellants to be determined.Fil: Toro Salazar, Cinthya Emma. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo Estratégico para la Defensa. Ministerio de Defensa. Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo Estratégico para la Defensa; ArgentinaFil: Rinaldi, Carlos Alberto. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia de Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia de Desarrollo Tecnológico y Proyectos Especiales. Departamento de Micro y Nanotecnología; ArgentinaFil: Azcárate, María Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo Estratégico para la Defensa. Ministerio de Defensa. Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo Estratégico para la Defensa; Argentin

Effect of Addition of Green Coffee Parchment on Structural, Qualitative and Chemical Properties of Gluten-Free Bread

Green coffee parchment (GCP) is becoming interesting, due to the diffusion of wet processing in which coffee parchment is collected separately; it is one of the less studied coffee by-products, but it is reported to be rich in phenolic compounds and dietary fiber. The addition of GCP (355–500 μm) at 2 % to gluten-free breads was investigated in terms of physical properties (volume, moisture content, water activity, crumb grain, texture, and color), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total phenol content during three days of storage. Moreover, the effects of GCP on sensorial characteristics, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), and oxidative stability was evaluated. From the sensorial analysis, bread with 2% addition resulted in being acceptable for consumers with no significant differences from the control, while 4% of GCP was discarded by consumers, as it resulted in being too bitter. Moreover, GCP at 2% addition did not modify volume, moisture content, and water activity. On the contrary, GCP deeply affected the color with a darker aspect that was appreciated by consumers. Regarding texture, 2% of GCP did not affect hardness, cohesiveness, and staling process during storage. Interestingly, 2% of GCP significantly improved the TAC and oxidative stability of the bread; in accordance with these results, 2% of GCP reduced the HMF content, thanks to its antioxidant compounds

Detecting Plasma Produced by Laser in a Micromachining System as In-process Control

Automated systems have been used in industries with high-volume production because automation has led, for example, the possibility to reduce costs, increase productivity, and increase accuracy, among others. On the other hand, it is also known that the processing laser is ideal for all kind of controls. In this sense, the amount of material produced and removed by laser irradiation on the surface of the substrate might be used as a control variable. Therefore, plasma detector could be used as part of the control system in the machining process in gaseous environments. This work presents the results of the preliminary characterization of this detector designed to measure theplasma generated during laser machining in air (Pamb and Tamb).Fil: Toro Salazar, Cinthya Emma. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; ArgentinaFil: Lasorsa, Carlos Alberto. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; ArgentinaFil: Rinaldi, Carlos Alberto. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Effects of high hydrostatic pressure on physico-chemical and structural properties of two pumpkin species

The effects of high pressure treatments (200, 400, 600MPa for 5 min) and a thermal treatment (85°C for 5 min) were evaluated on cubes of two pumpkin species (Cucurbita maxima L. var. Delica and Cucurbita moschata Duchesne var. Butternut) up to 2 months of refrigerated storage. Increasing the pressure, small parenchyma cells from the pumpkin tissue exhibited collapses and separations, especially for Butternut. This species showed a lower hardness than Delica at time 0. For both species, 400MPa and thermal treatment were the most effective in the inactivation of pectinmethylesterase, which reactivated after 2 months, especially for Butternut. Colorimetric parameters decreased after all treatments. Antioxidant activity resulted affected by pressure, showing a significant increase during storage especially for the samples treated at 200MPa after 2 months, comparable to the thermal treated ones. Among the tested treatments, 400MPa may be considered as the best option for the quality retention during storage

New Method for Nanosecond Laser Machining

The technique of micro-machining assisted by laser is the most recent and flexible process for the design of complex devices. To be able to micro-machine hard materials with precision it is necessary to study the parameters that control and limit the capabilities of this laser process. Several articles have shown that if it applies a lot of energy in a localized area there are hot-affected zones (HAZ), even when a femtosecond laser is used. Hence, the challenge in the laserbased micromachining is to improve the quality of machining, i.e. depleting the HAZ in the prototypes. In this work, changing the optical properties of the substrate, good quality silicon micro-machining has been obtained with a nanosecond Q-switched laser.Fil: Toro Salazar, Cinthya Emma. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; ArgentinaFil: Lasorsa, Carlos Alberto. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Haedo; ArgentinaFil: Sánchez Aké, Citlali. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Villagran Muñiz, Mayo. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Rinaldi, Carlos Alberto. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

High pressure and thermal processing on the quality of zucchini slices

AbstractIn response to the market demand for low processed vegetables, high-pressure treatments (400,600 MPa; 1,5 min) were applied on zucchini slices and compared to a traditional blanching treatment. Histological observations, texture and color analysis, pectinmethylesterase (PME) and antioxidant (DPPH) activities were measured and compared to untreated samples. The histological observations revealed that the longer high-pressure treatments (5 min) led to more extended cell lysis and dehydration than the shorter ones (1 min) and blanching. High-pressure treatments resulted less effective than blanching on PME inactivation, with the best results obtained at 400 MPa for 1 min. Comparable texture parameters were observed for high-pressured and blanched samples. The negative correlation found between PME activity and the texture parameter 'distance of the first peak force' revealed an effect of PME on the texture recovery after treatments. High pressure led to a general browning of zucchini parenchyma and to DPPH drop. The correlations found between DPPH and color suggest the common nature of the phenomena. The influence of pressure and time on the studied parameters was revealed by two-way ANOVA. Principal component analysis clustered together the four high-pressure-treated samples, being clearly divided by blanched and untreated ones

Effect of different atmospheric and subatmospheric cooking techniques on qualitative properties and microstructure of artichoke heads

Quartered Violetto artichokes were cooked with different treatments (boiling, steaming, sous vide and vacuum cooking) at the same cooking value at the thermal centre. Then, the physical (moisture content, texture and colour), histological and chemical (phenolic, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and furan content, total antioxidant capacity) features of bracts and hearts were assessed. A deeply modified microstructure was observed in boiled and steamed samples with an evident decrease in hardness both for bracts and hearts. Lightness of two anatomical parts was decreased by all the treatments (with the exception of sous vide bracts). The highest total colour difference was recorded for steamed samples, whereas the lowest was noted for sous vide samples. Steamed and sous vide artichoke exhibited the highest total phenolic content and total antioxidant capacity. Sous vide samples exhibited the highest concentrations of HMF, 2-furan-methanol and 2,4-dihydroxy-2,5-dimetyl-3(2H)-furanone, whereas the by-product 5-metylfuraldheide was only detected in the steamed product