18 research outputs found

    Comparative study on the successive impact behavior of composites in ship structures

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    Composite materials are categorized to be highly sensitive to low-velocity impact events. This feature is considered as a serious limitation for their application in engineering. Therefore, understanding impact energy absorption is critical in improving composite material damage tolerance and especially under successive impacts. This work was dedicated to an experimental investigation that aims to study and compare the energy absorption ability and damage behavior of PVC-foam sandwich and GFRP laminated composites under multiple impacts occurring at small energy levels. For this purpose, low-velocity impact repeated tests were carried out until total absorption of the impact initial energy was reached. A relative energy absorption index and a rebound index were proposed in order to assess energy absorption capacity. The results indicated that, directly after the first impact, the sandwich composite formed from two 4mm laminated skins absorbed 80% of the initial impact energy, in comparison to approximately 60% for 8mm laminated composite. This performance of sandwich composite is attributed to the damping ability of the core. Also, the impact velocity rebound rate of this composite was found to be higher than that of laminates. However, impact damage is greater in composite sandwiches than in laminates

    Microbiological changes during the preparation steps of Khliaa Ezir: a traditional cured meat product of Algeria

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    Khliaa Ezir is a traditional and popular meat product, which is produced from whole beef, camel, goat or lamb meat. It is an Algerian and a ready to eat meat product that is marinated, cooked and ripened. The product is for numerous months preserved in an earthenware jar at room temperature. Microbiological investigation on Khliaa Ezir during preparation is a prerequisite and to our knowledge, this is the first study, which provide its preliminary microbiological characterization. Thus, the aim of the present work is to study the evolution of the microflora and microbiological safety of Khliaa Ezir during the main traditional preparation steps. The microbiological counts indicated that Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) are the most abundant in the product, namely during the repining and storage period. However, total Coliforms were very low in fresh beef, being eliminated after 3 days of curing. Yeasts and Molds were the highest in fresh beef, and then disappeared after cooking and during the ripening and storage step. None of the pathogenic flora during the whole preparation steps were detected. We think that the cooking temperature applied during thermal treatment (80°C) contributed to the high hygienic quality of Khliaa Ezir. On another hand, a significant increase in pH was observed during the storage period to achieve a final pH of 6.19 ± 0.01 at 30 days of storage
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