Thermal characterisation of Composite Insulation Panels using a vacuum insulated core

Composite Insulation Panels (CIPs) are used in building envelopes due to their thermal insulation properties, lightweight, aesthetics and ease of production and installation. In this paper, an advanced thermal insulation core material (vacuum insulation) with a thermal conductivity of 5-8 mWm-1K-1 has been investigated as core material for enhancing the thermal insulation performance of CIPs. Results revealed a significant reduction in heat loss and improvement in thermal performance of the vacuum insulation compared to that of the conventional extruded polystyrene (XPS) core material. It was determined that the CIP with a vacuum insulation core had a thermal transmission of 0.38 Wm-2K-1 compared to 0.78 Wm-2K-1 for XPS core of equivalent thickness at the centre of the panel. This represents a 51% reduction in heat loss through the vacuum insulated CIP

Influence of acoustic membrane on sound and thermal properties of building façade panels

This paper compares the acoustic and thermal insulation performance of an extruded polystyrene (XPS) sandwich panel with either one or two additional layers of acoustic membrane of similar overall thickness of 28mm. Samples were prepared by bonding single and double layers of mass-loaded vinyl (MLV) membrane between extruded polystyrene (XPS) core and aluminium facings. Results show that the presence of a single MLV sound barrier layer resulted in a three dB improvement in weighted sound reduction index (Rw) over one-third octave band centre frequency of 100 Hz - 3150 Hz, Rw increasing from 35 dB to 38 dB. The addition of two layers led to an Rw increase of only a further dB to 39 dB. However, the weight of the panel increased from 9.4 kg/m2 to 13.8 kg/m2 for the single MLV layer and to 19.2 kg/m2 for the double MLV layer. The thermal transmission (U-value) with one layer of MLV membrane increased from 1.08 Wm-2K 1to 1.14 Wm-2K 1, an increase of 6% whereas a 12% increase in the U-value was found for the double MLV membrane (1.21 Wm-2K 1) as a result of reducing the thickness of the XPS to accommodate the MLV layers. The addition of MLV membranes, therefore, enhances the sound insulation performance but to the detriment of weight and thermal characteristics

Development of vacuum insulation panel with low cost core material

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University LondonBrunel Universit

Omphalocele and macroglossia: a case of Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome

Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) is a pediatric overgrowth disorder which predisposes to tumor development. The following case study examined a prenatal finding of omphalocele with postnatal findings of macroglossia and cutaneous hemangioma, ultimately leading to a diagnosis of BWS. This case highlighted the features of BWS, the diagnostic principles and the importance of a multidisciplinary team approach to its management

Protease activity of extracellular enzyme produced by B. subtilis isolated from soil

Background: Proteases produced by enzymatic method are more environments friendly than chemical process, and they have tremendous potential in the leather industry and in other several industries. In this study extracellular protease producing non pathogenic Bacillus subtilis was isolated from soil sample and relationship between sporulation and extracellular protease synthesis in large scale cultivation was studied. The enzyme was further characterized, purified, and tested for potential application. Result: The molecular weight of the protease was found to be ~30 KDa. Enzyme activity was checked on the presence of different metal ions and effectors. The enzyme was slightly modulated by MG++ ion, and significantly by Hg++ ion, while Zn++ ion slightly decrease the proteolytic activity. Sulfahydryl reagents, DTT slightly and β-ME significantly inhibit the enzyme. EDTA showed no effect on the enzyme suggesting that the enzyme might not be metalloprotease. PMSF, a known serine protease inhibitor was seen to totally inhibit the enzyme which indicates that the enzyme is a serine protease. The optimum enzyme activity was observed after 22 hours of incubation of B. subtilis at 37o C. Conclusions: Crude enzyme contains 285 units of enzyme which have direct dehairing activity. The enzyme was also seen to be able to remove blood and curry stain from clothes; making it a very promising candidate to be used in a leather and detergent industry. Apart from protease the bacterium was also seen to have lipase and collagenase activity. So, the bacteria are potentially good candidate for industrial application

IN VITRO EVALUATION OF SUN PROTECTION FACTOR (SPF) OF A CREAM FORMULATION PREPARED FROM EXTRACTS OF MUSA ACCUMINATA (L.), PSIDIUM GUJAVA (L.) AND PYRUS COMMUNIS (L.)

Objectives: Use of phytoconstituents, especially obtained from fruits extract with high content of flavonoids has gained considerable importancein personal care products such as creams and lotions. Finding new results and data through experiments will be helpful for both researchers andindustry on the subject. The purpose of this study was to evaluate in-vitro sunscreen activity of a cream formulation containing the fruit extract ofMusa accuminata, Psidium gujava and Pyrus communis based on their flavonoid contents.Methods: Extraction of fruits to include maximum quantity of flavonoids was carried out using solvent system comprising of methanol (35%),ethanol (35%), and distilled water (30%). The cream was formulated and tested for the physicochemical parameters such as color, odor, pH andspreadability. While total flavonoid content was determined by aluminum chloride colorimetric method. The in-vitro sun protection factor (SPF) ofcream formulation and commercially available sunscreen was determined by ultraviolet spectrophotometric method.Results: The total flavonoid content of cream formulation was found to be 45.81±8.49 and expressed in terms of standard quercetin equivalentμg/g. The SPF value for the cream formulation was recorded as 3.90, whereas commercially available sunscreen it was 12.26, indicating that creamformulation has photoprotective activity and may be used to develop a good cosmetic formulation and to explore its commercial viability.Conclusion: Use of phytoconstituents, especially those obtained from fruits extract with high content of flavonoids has gained considerableimportance in personal care products such as creams and lotions. Finding new results and data through experiments will be helpful for bothresearchers and industry on the subject. The proposed spectrophotometric method is simple and rapid for SPF determination. Due to the high costand time consumption relating to in vivo SPF determination andsome ethical issues for the volunteers, the in vitro method is gaining more importance.Keywords: Antioxidants, Formulation, In-vitro sun protection factor, Photoprotection, Fruit extract, Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy.Â

Latency reduction by dynamic channel estimator selection in C-RAN networks using fuzzy logic

Due to a dramatic increase in the number of mobile users, operators are forced to expand their networks accordingly. Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN) was introduced to tackle the problems of the current generation of mobile networks and to support future 5G networks. However, many challenges have arisen through the centralised structure of C-RAN. The accuracy of the channel state information acquisition in the C-RAN for large numbers of remote radio heads and user equipment is one of the main challenges in this architecture. In order to minimize the time required to acquire the channel information in C-RAN and to reduce the end-to-end latency, in this paper a dynamic channel estimator selection algorithm is proposed. The idea is to assign different channel estimation algorithms to the users of mobile networks based on their link status (particularly the SNR threshold). For the purpose of automatic and adaptive selection to channel estimators, a fuzzy logic algorithm is employed as a decision maker to select the best SNR threshold by utilising the bit error rate measurements. The results demonstrate a reduction in the estimation time with low loss in data throughput. It is also observed that the outcome of the proposed algorithm increases at high SNR values