THE SCIENCE OF CLEANING OF DAIRY FOULING LAYERS

The science underlying the removal of dairy fouling layers, and particularly the dissolution of proteinaceous deposits in alkaline solution, is relatively poorly understood even though this is a critical feature of many cleaning-in-place operations. We report key results from a series of investigations on heat-induced gels of β- lactoglobulin, the primary whey protein component in milk and whey foulant. These model systems were used to elucidate the reaction behaviour of gels and aggregates whereby the proteinaceous material is converted to a softer, swollen form that can then be removed by fluid shear or diffusion. We show that several features, such as the occurrence of an optimal pH for cleaning, can be related by analogy to the behaviour of synthetic polyelectrolyte polymers. The structure and history of the foulant, pH, ionic strength and salt concentration in the cleaning solution are all shown to be important factors in the chemistry of inter- and intra-molecular interactions explaining why it has been difficult to generalise about the mechanisms involved and to write simple models of their kinetics

SIMULTANEOUS CONSIDERATION OF FLOW AND THERMAL EFFECTS OF FOULING IN CRUDE OIL PREHEAT TRAINS

Given models linking flow resistance and fouling resistance it becomes possible to simulate the effects of fouling on the hydraulic performance of a refinery pre-heat train. Such a simulation has been used here to identify when plant throughput will be limited by pressure drop; how throughput can be improved through the cleaning of individual exchangers and groups of exchangers; and how much production can be maintained when individual exchangers are taken off-line. Determination of better operating strategy requires a simulation of both hydraulic and thermal performance. In this paper we implement a pragmatic linked model and consider the results from a set of simulations

FLUID DYNAMIC GAUGING IN DUCT FLOWS – EXPERIMENTS AND CFD SIMULATIONS

The technique of fluid dynamic gauging (FDG) has been developed to measure the thickness of deformable foulant deposits on solid immersed in liquid, in real time and in situ, with a precision of ± 10 micron. Suction is imposed across a gauging nozzle; the flow rate of liquid through the nozzle allows calculation of the proximity of the nozzle to the surface of the deposit. The technique has been demonstrated by Tuladhar et al. (2000) to work well in quasi-static situations, where the bulk liquid is not moving apart from the gauging flow, and in duct flows. FDG in the quasi-static mode has recently been extended by Chew and co-workers (2004a) using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of the gauging flow fields to allow the forces imposed on the foulant to be estimated, and thereby test its mechanical strength. We term this technique ‘enhanced FDG’. This paper describes the extension of enhanced FDG to simple duct flows, which requires numerical solution of the governing fluid flow equations in the geometries under consideration. The geometry is that employed by Tuladhar et al. (2003), namely a long duct of square cross-section. The experimental results of the present study are compared with the experimental results from Tuladhar et al. (2003) and Chew et al. (2004b). The CFD results of the study are mainly compared with the present experimental results and with the numerical results from Chew et al. (2004a)

Solitons and Vertex Operators in Twisted Affine Toda Field Theories

Affine Toda field theories in two dimensions constitute families of integrable, relativistically invariant field theories in correspondence with the affine Kac-Moody algebras. The particles which are the quantum excitations of the fields display interesting patterns in their masses and coupling and which have recently been shown to extend to the classical soliton solutions arising when the couplings are imaginary. Here these results are extended from the untwisted to the twisted algebras. The new soliton solutions and their masses are found by a folding procedure which can be applied to the affine Kac-Moody algebras themselves to provide new insights into their structures. The relevant foldings are related to inner automorphisms of the associated finite dimensional Lie group which are calculated explicitly and related to what is known as the twisted Coxeter element. The fact that the twisted affine Kac-Moody algebras possess vertex operator constructions emerges naturally and is relevant to the soliton solutions.Comment: 27 pages (harvmac) + 3 figures (LaTex) at the end of the file, Swansea SWAT/93-94/1

Linking routinely collected social work, education and health data to enable monitoring of the health and health care of school-aged children in state care (‘looked after children’) in Scotland: a national demonstration project

Background and objectives: Children in state care (‘looked after children’) have poorer health than children who are not looked after. Recent developments in Scotland and elsewhere have aimed to improve services and outcomes for looked after children. Routine monitoring of the health outcomes of looked after children compared to those of their non-looked after peers is currently lacking. Developing capacity for comparative monitoring of population based outcomes based on linkage of routinely collected administrative data has been identified as a priority. To our knowledge there are no existing population based data linkage studies providing data on the health of looked after and non-looked after children at national level. Smaller scale studies that are available generally provide very limited information on linkage methods and hence do not allow scrutiny of bias that may be introduced through the linkage process. Study design and methods: National demonstration project testing the feasibility of linking routinely collected looked after children, education, and health data. Participants: All children in publicly funded school in Scotland in 2011/12. Results: Linkage between looked after children data and the national pupil census classified 10,009 (1.5%) and 1,757 (0.3%) of 670,952 children as, respectively, currently and previously looked after. Recording of the unique pupil identifier (Scottish Candidate Number, SCN) on looked after children returns is incomplete, with 66% of looked after records for 2011/12 for children of possible school age containing a valid SCN. This will have resulted in some under-ascertainment of currently and, particularly, previously looked after children within the general pupil population. Further linkage of the pupil census to the NHS Scotland master patient index demonstrated that a safe link to the child’s unique health service (Community Health Index, CHI) number could be obtained for a very high proportion of children in each group (94%, 95%, and 95% of children classified as currently, previously, and non-looked after respectively). In general linkage rates were higher for older children and those living in more affluent areas. Within the looked after group, linkage rates were highest for children with the fewest placements and for those in permanent fostering. Conclusions: This novel data linkage demonstrates the feasibility of monitoring population based health outcomes of school aged looked after and non-looked after children using linked routine administrative data. Improved recording of the unique pupil identifier number on looked after data returns would be beneficial. Extending the range of personal identifiers on looked after children returns would enable linkage to health data for looked after children who are not in publicly funded schooling (i.e. those who are pre- or post-school, home schooled, or in independent schooling)

Incorporating Deposit Ageing into Visualisation of Crude Oil Preheat Train Fouling

Funder: University of CambridgeAbstract: Fouling is an acute problem in crude oil preheat train heat exchangers as it affects the thermal and hydraulic performance of individual units as well as the network. Ageing of fouling deposits complicates these interactions and effective tools for visualising these effects are needed. The modified temperature field plot construction, devised by Graham Polley and co-workers in 2002, allows the impact of fouling on pressure drop and heat duty across individual units and the preheat train to be presented in a systematic way. The simple deposit ageing model of Ishiyama et al. (AIChEJ 56:531–545, 2010a) was incorporated into the analysis of a simple preheat train based on that presented by Panchal and Huang-Fu (Heat Transfer Eng 21:3–9, 2000) to calculate the impact of ageing on fouling dynamics and network performance. The modified temperature field plot is shown to be effective in communicating the impact of fouling and ageing, allowing a designer or operator to be able to interpret correctly what might otherwise be conflicting trends or unexpected behaviour

PT Invariant Complex E (8) Root Spaces

We provide a construction procedure for complex root spaces invariant under antilinear transformations, which may be applied to any Coxeter group. The procedure is based on the factorisation of a chosen element of the Coxeter group into two factors. Each of the factors constitutes an involution and may therefore be deformed in an antilinear fashion. Having the importance of the E(8)-Coxeter group in mind, such as underlying a particular perturbation of the Ising model and the fact that for it no solution could be found previously, we exemplify the procedure for this particular case. As a concrete application of this construction we propose new generalisations of Calogero-Moser Sutherland models and affine Toda field theories based on the invariant complex root spaces and deformed complex simple roots, respectively

Path Integral Variational Methods for Strongly Correlated Systems

We introduce a new approach to highly correlated systems which generalizes the Fermi Hypernetted Chain and Correlated Basis Function techniques. While the latter approaches can only be applied to systems for which a nonrelativistic wave function can be defined, the new approach is based on the variation of a trial hamiltonian within a path integral framework and thus can also be applied to relativistic and field theoretical problems. We derive a diagrammatic scheme for the new approach and show how a particular choice of the trial hamiltonian corresponds exactly to the use of a Jastrow correlated ansatz for the wave function in the Fermi Hypernetted Chain approach. We show how our new approach can be used to find upper bounds to ground state energies in systems which the FHNC cannot handle, including those described by an energy-dependent effective hamiltonian. We demonstrate our approach by applying it to a quantum field theoretical system of interacting pions and nucleons.Comment: 35 RevTeX pages, 7 separated ps figures available on reques

Ultraviolet Fixed Points in Gauge and SUSY Field Theories in Extra Dimensions

We consider gauge field theories in $D>4$ following the Wilson RG approach and show that they possess the ultraviolet fixed points where the gauge coupling is dimensionless in any space-time dimension. At the fixed point the anomalous dimensions of the field and vertex operators are known exactly. These fixed points are nonperturbative and correspond to conformal invariant theories. The same phenomenon also happens in supersymmetric theories with the Yukawa type interactions.Comment: LaTeX, 10pp. v2: Comments and references adde

Extrusion-spheronisation of highly loaded 5-ASA multiparticulate dosage forms

The aim of the current work was to develop an extrusion-spheronisation (E-S) route to manufacture pellets with a high loading ( 6590. wt%) of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA). Ram extrusion studies, supported by centrifuge testing, were employed to investigate the effect of the chemical (acidity) and physical (particle size and shape) characteristics of 5-ASA on the ability of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC)-based pastes to retain water when subjected to pressure. Liquid phase migration (LPM) within the paste during the extrusion, and hence variation in water content of extrudates and reproducibility of the final E-S product, was generally observed. The extent of LPM was found to be related to both the drug loading and its physical properties, most notably the particle shape (needle-like). A reduction in particle size, combined with a change in the shape of the 5-ASA particles, allowed LPM to be reduced considerably or eliminated. The performance of colloidal grades of MCC (Avicel RC591 and CL611) as alternative extrusion aids to the standard Avicel PH101 was also investigated: these proved to be superior aids for the highly loaded 5-ASA pastes as their greater water retention capacity mitigated LPM. Combining these results yielded a route for manufacturing pellets with 5-ASA loading 6590. wt%