Design and calibration of a fuel consumption measurement system for a diesel tractor

 One of the best methods to measure fuel consumption of a tractor engine is using flow meter sensors on the tractor. In this study, a system for measuring fuel consumption was designed. The measurement system was installed on the engine of a 72.3 KW John Deere 3140 tractor. In this system, an electronic board was used to receive and save digital pulses sent by the flow meter sensors. One of the sensors was installed where fuel enters the injector pump, another flow meter was located where fuel returns to the tank. Accuracy of sensors in both the laboratory test and when working in field conditions were compared. Some capabilities of the system are:  measuring fuel consumption of the engine in temporal or local circumstances, showing instantaneous fuel consumption, and easy installation without significant effects on the engine under common working conditions. Keywords: Fuel consumption, Sensor, Flow meter, Tractor, Engineering  &nbsp

Some Physical Properties of 'Sonnati Salmas' Apricot Pit

In this study, some physical properties of apricot pit of cv. ‘Sonnati Salmas' were determined at 5.11, 11.23 and 16.48 % wet base moisture contents. Physical properties such as dimensions, geometric mean diameter, sphericity, surface area, bulk density, true density, porosity, volume, weight and coefficient of static friction on various surfaces were determined as a function of pit moisture content. Length, width, thickness, geometric mean diameter and surface area of pits increased with increasing moisture content. Sphericity decreased from 72.16 to 72.10 %, 1000 grain mass and grain volume increased from 1402.43 to 1437.32 g and 1.49 to 1.51 cm3, respectively. Porosity decreased from 49.457 to 48.404 %, true density and bulk density increased from 1043.97 to 1045.51 kg/m3 and 527.65 to 539.44 kg/m3, respectively. The coefficient of static friction increased as the moisture content increased. These results are necessary for designing of equipments for processing, conveying, separating and packing apricot pit

Modified Atmosphere Packaging: A Progressive Technology for Shelf-Life Extension of Fruits and Vegetables

Packaging and storage are the final phases in the food industry. Quality preservation, improving safety and reduction of postharvest losses waste are some objectives of the packaging engineering. One of techniques that widely used in packaging of fruits and vegetables are modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). In MAP for fresh fruits and vegetable the air of packaging headspace replaces with a predetermined atmospheric gases different in proportion from that of air. Oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen are the main gases used in MAP for injection to the headspace of pack. The choice and ratio of gases are very dependent upon the material that being packed. respiration rate of crop, O2 and CO2 permeability of package material, volume of headspace present inside the package and storage temperature are some factors that affect the quality of MA packaging. Polymeric films are widely used in MAP engineering. The most application of polymeric films for MAP are in flexible package structures. In many cases the plastic packaging films are combined with one another or with other materials such as paper or aluminum through coating, lamination, coextrusion and metallization processes. The equipment used in MAP is divided into two main categories: pillow wrap and chamber. Flexible pillow wrapping machines are composed of Horizontal Form-Fill-Seal (HFFS) machines and Vertical Form-Fill-Seal (VFFS) systems. This paper reviews some recent developments in MAP technology applied for fruits and vegetables

On-site measurement of soil moisture content using an acoustic system

Precision agriculture is a farming management concept based on observing and responding to intra-field variations.  One of the most important soil properties in farming is soil moisture content and it is necessary to develop new technique for measuring this property in a precision farming system.  This study investigates the measurement of moisture content in soil using an on-site, easy to use and real-time acoustic wave system.  The system consists of the propagation of acoustic waves such as sweep frequency sound wave (10-300 Hz) and multiple tone sound waves (120 Hz) through the soil.  Some properties of these acoustic waves enable estimation of soil water content such as peak amplitude (A), total power (TP), total harmonic distortion (THD) and signal to noise ratio (SNR).  The results showed that the best model for estimating the soil moisture content was the model that expressed relationship between A and soil moisture content with R2 = 0.999 (using sweep frequency) and relationship between TP and soil moisture content with R2 = 0.999 (using multiple tone).  It is argued that the change in the sound characteristics related to the soil moisture content can be used for a continuous monitoring and control of irrigation of crops.   Keywords: acoustic waves, soil moisture content, sound propertie

Combining ability and gene action of some tomato genotypes under low light condition

Limitations in access to electricity in rural areas and substantial cost of supplemental lightning necessitate breeding as response to low light conditions. Seven inbred lines of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and their F1 hybrids, including reciprocals, developed through a 7×7 full diallel cross were evaluated under two different levels of light. Mean square for light (L) effect was significant for total yield, average fruit weight and days to first flower. Variation attributable to Genotypes and genotype × light (G×L) interaction had significant effect on all studied traits except days to ripening for which G×L interaction was not significant. Diallel analysis across two environments indicated that general (GCA), specific (SCA) and reciprocal combining ability (REC) were significant for all characters implying importance of additive and non-additive gene action along with cytoplasmic effects on genetic expression of yield, yield components and earliness. Ratio of SCA variance to SCA variance and estimates of narrow sense heritability (h2n.s) demonstrated higher weight of additive effects in inheritance of yield, fruit number and days to ripening, while indicating predominance of non-additive effects for fruit weight and early flowering. Interactions GCA×L and SCA×L were significant for almost all studied features. A particular genotype could not be recommended for all traits, but variation among genotypes in response to ambient light was promising for feasibility of plant breeding for non-optimal light intensity and duration

Five Pistacia

Pistacia, a genus of flowering plants from the family Anacardiaceae, contains about twenty species, among them five are more popular including P. vera, P. atlantica, P. terebinthus, P. khinjuk, and P. lentiscus. Different parts of these species have been used in traditional medicine for various purposes like tonic, aphrodisiac, antiseptic, antihypertensive and management of dental, gastrointestinal, liver, urinary tract, and respiratory tract disorders. Scientific findings also revealed the wide pharmacological activities from various parts of these species, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral, anticholinesterase, anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, antidiabetic, antitumor, antihyperlipidemic, antiatherosclerotic, and hepatoprotective activities and also their beneficial effects in gastrointestinal disorders. Various types of phytochemical constituents like terpenoids, phenolic compounds, fatty acids, and sterols have also been isolated and identified from different parts of Pistacia species. The present review summarizes comprehensive information concerning ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacological activities of the five mentioned Pistacia species

Multivariable optimization of carbon nanoparticles synthesized from waste facial tissues by artificial neural networks, new material for downstream quenching of quantum dots

In this study, water-soluble carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) were synthesized by using waste facial tissue as a non-recyclable waste and the efficiency of CNPs in quenching mechanism of cadmium-telluride quantum dots (QDs) was investigated. In addition, CNPs synthesis was modeled by using artificial neural networks (ANN). To find the optimum model, ANN was trained by using different algorithms. Then, the generated models were statistically assessed and subsequently, the capability of the selected model for predicting the mean diameter size of the nanoparticles was verified. Based on the results, the model GA-4-7-1 had the most optimal statistical characteristics. Furthermore, the most pronounced effect on mean diameter size was associated to HNO3 concentration while temperature demonstrated the least influence. Moreover, the quenching study confirmed the capability of the synthesized CNPs in quenching QDs

Effect of Sewage Sludge on Some Macronutrients Concentration and Soil Chemical Properties

Sewage sludge as an organic fertilizer has economic benefits. Land application of sewage sludge improves some soil chemical and physical properties. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of sewage sludge on soil chemical properties and macronutrient concentration in acid and calcareous soils. The study was carried out in a greenhouse using factorial experiment design as completely randomized with three replications. Treatments included : four levels of 0 or control, 50, and 100, 200 ton ha-1 sludge and one level of chemical fertilizer (F) consisting of 250 kg ha-1 diammonium phosphate and 250 kg ha-1 urea, and soil including soils of Langroud, Lahijan, Rasht, and Isfahan. As a major vegetable , crop spinach (Spinacea oleracea) was grown in the treated soils. Soils samples were analyzed for their chemical properties after crop narvesting. Application of sewage sludge significantly increased plant available k, P, total N, organic matter, electrical conductivity and cation exchange in the soils. Soils pH significantly decreased as a result sewage sludge application. The effect of sewage sludge on plant yield was significant. Overall, the results indicated that sewage sludge is potentially a valuable fertilizer. However, the sludge effect on soil EC and heavy metals should be taken into consideration before its widespread use on cropland

Criteria definition and approaches in green supplier selection – a case study for raw material and packaging of food industry

This paper formulates an integrated framework for deciding about the green supplier selection criteria in food supply chain and also proposes different methods that account for single and multiple sourcing of supplier selection. Green supplier selection relies on green criteria, so determination of suitable set of criteria will affect decision-maker results directly. In this research, an operational model including combination of general and environmental criteria is introduced for green supplier selection criteria in raw material and packaging of food industry. This model reviewed a literature on general and environmental criteria that help us to know and make a set of common green criteria. Afterward, weighting criteria and collecting of sub-criteria are done by an expert team using the Analytic Hierarchy Process and Delphi method. The expert team tried to propose important and practical sub-criteria which are well fitted to food industry. Finally, in the section of supplier selection, two kinds of qualitative and quantitative data are discussed when single and multiple sourcing are required, respectively. Fuzzy Grey Relational Analysis is proposed to ranking suppliers in presence of qualitative and imprecise data. Also linear programming is used to present a model which can select the best suppliers and allocate the orders among them optimally