Yes / Ophthalmologists rely on a device known as the Goldmann applanation tonometer to make intraocular pressure (IOP) measurements. It measures the force required to press a flat disc against the cornea to produce a flattened circular region of known area. The IOP is deduced from this force using the Imbert-Fick principle. However, there is scant analytical justification for this analysis. We present a mathematical model of tonometry to investigate the relationship between the pressure derived by tonometry and the IOP. An elementary equilibrium analysis suggests that there is no physical basis for traditional tonometric analysis. Tonometry is modelled using a hollow spherical shell of solid material enclosing an elastic liquid core, with the shell in tension and the core under pressure. The shell is pressed against a rigid flat plane. The solution is found using finite element analysis. The shell material is anisotropic. Values for its elastic constants are obtained from literature except where data are unavailable, when reasonable limits are explored. The results show that the force measured by the Goldmann tonometer depends on the elastic constant values. The relationship between the IOP and the tonometer readings is complex, showing potentially high levels of inaccuracy that depend on IOP.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-08T15:00:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1410495 bytes, checksum: 297a35ec22dfac08098347ad18406247 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-12-22 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Drying is one of the most widely used commercial processes for the preservation of agricultural products, whose maximum objective is to maintain its qualities. On the other hand, for the optimal design and control of processes and equipments it is necessary a clear understanding of the involved phenomena and the transport properties of the product being handled. In this sense two mathematical models were developed, in the configuration of an infinite plane plate, with the aim of studying the process of drying food. The first model was based on Fick's second law, to model the process of mass transfer, treated by the Classical Integral Transform Technique (CITT). The second model was developed for the analysis of the simultaneous heat and mass transfer using the equations of Luikov, where the distributions of temperature and moisture content inside the food were obtained following the formalism inherent to the Generalized Integral Transform Technique (GITT). In both models, the thermophysical properties are considered constant. The results obtained in the two models were compared and found that they are able to describe the process of drying food. The influence of thermophysical parameters relating to the simultaneous heat and mass transfer was also analyzed. The accuracy of the calculations of a heat and mass balance depends on the precision as that is known the properties of the product and the choice of reliable data for these properties is an important part to any careful analysis engineering. Thus, an inverse problem of parameters estimation, for the mass transfer, was solved through the Levenberg-Marquardt's minimization algorithm. The results obtained through the solution of the inverse problem for the effective mass diffusivity are the same order magnitude of those reported in the literature. Key words - food drying, Fick law, Luikov, GITT, inverse method. / A secagem é um dos processos comerciais mais usados na conservação de produtos agropecuários, cujo objetivo máximo é a manutenção de suas qualidades. Por outro lado, para o dimensionamento e controle ótimos dos processos e dos equipamentos é necessário um claro entendimento dos fenômenos envolvidos e das propriedades de transporte do produto que está sendo manuseado. Neste sentido, foram desenvolvidos dois modelos matemáticos, na configuração de uma placa plana infinita, com o objetivo de se estudar o processo de secagem de alimentos. O primeiro modelo foi baseado na segunda lei de Fick, para modelar o processo de transferência de massa, tratado através da Técnica da Transformada Integral Clássica (CITT). O segundo modelo foi desenvolvido para a análise da transferência simultânea de calor e massa usando-se as equações de Luikov, onde as distribuições de temperatura e teor de umidade no interior do alimento foram obtidas segundo os formalismos inerentes à Técnica da Transformada Integral Generalizada (GITT). Em ambos os modelos as propriedades termofísicas são consideradas constantes. Os resultados obtidos nos dois modelos foram comparados e constatou-se que os mesmos são capazes de descrever o processo de secagem de alimentos. Avaliou-se também a influência dos parâmetros termofísicos referentes à transferência simultânea de calor e massa. A exatidão dos cálculos de um balanço de calor e massa depende da precisão com que se conhecem as propriedades do produto e, a escolha de dados confiáveis dessas propriedades é uma parcela importante para qualquer análise cuidadosa de engenharia. Desta forma, um problema inverso de estimação de parâmetros, para a transferência de massa, foi resolvido através do algoritmo de minimização de Levenberg-Marquardt. Os resultados obtidos através da solução do problema inverso para a difusividade efetiva de massa são da mesma ordem de grandeza dos reportados na literatura.