Santrauka Darbo apimtis 52 puslapiai, įskaitant 39 paveikslėlius ir 4 lenteles. Informacijos šaltinių sąraše 35 šaltiniai. Darbo pradžia 2007 09 01, pabaiga 2009 05 28. Tyrimų objektas. Trijų tipų karvidžių mikroklimatas: apšiltintu stogu 400 vietų boksinė karvidė; šalta 240 vietų boksinė karvidė, bei 130 vietų su perdengimu pusiau gili karvidė. Tyrimų tikslas – įvertinti įvairiai apšiltintų karvidžių mikroklimatą šiltuoju ir šaltuoju metų laikotarpiu, bei nustatyti šilumos nuostolius tvartuose. Išnagrinėjus literatūroje paskelbtus tyrimų duomenis galima daryti išvadą, norint, kad gyvulių produktyvumas būtų didžiausias, o pašarų sąnaudos – mažiausios, karvidėje optimali rekomenduotina temperatūra turi būti nuo -7 iki +24 oC. Tačiau mokslininkų nustatyta, kad jei gyvulius gerai šersime ir jie bus produktyvūs, tai minus 15 oC ir dar žemesnė temperatūra nėra pavojinga. Šiltuoju metų laikotarpiu tyrimais nustatyta, kad karvidžių mikroklimato parametrai buvo optimalūs ir neviršijo rekomenduojamų normų, o šaltuoju metų laikotarpiu santykinis oro drėgnis 15,3 % viršijo optimalius mikroklimato reikalavimus, o ypač didelis buvo iki 95 % apšiltintoje pusiau gilioje karvidėje. To priežastis, kad norint palaikyti tvarte aukštesnę temperatūrą buvo per daug pridaryti vėdinimo kanalai. Apskaičiavus šilumos nuostolius karvidėse nustatėme, kad didžiausi šilumos nuostoliai būna su pašalinamu iš patalpos oru (81 % nuo bendrų nuostolių). / Summary Scope of work pageis 52, including 39 pictures and 4 tables. The information sources listed 35 sources. Beginning in 2007 09 01, the end of 2009 05 28. Work item. Three types of cowsheds microclimate: warm roof of 400 seats box cowshed; cold of 240 seats box cowshed, and 130 seats with a semi-deep reroof cowshed. The aim - evaluate the warm various cowsheds microclimate warm and cold seasons, and to determine the heat losses from stables. The examination of the literature published research data it can be concluded for that animal productivity is highest, while feed costs - the minimum, recommended cowshed optimum temperature must be between -7 to +24 oC. However, researchers found that if the stock is well feeder, and they will be productive, it is minus 15 ° C and lower temperatures are not dangerous. In warm season during the research found that cowsheds microclimatic parameters were optimized and did not exceed the recommended rate, and cold season period, the relative humidity is 15,3% above the optimum microclimatic requirement, in particularly was high up to 95% in the warm semi-deep cowshed. The reason that, in order to maintain a higher temperature in the stables during impose a lot of ventilation ducts. Calculated heat loss cowsheds found that the maximum heat loss is to be with removable from the room air (81 % of the total losses).

Baigiamasis darbas atliktas Lietuvos žemės ūkio universitete 2008 – 2009 metais. Darbo tikslas: ištirti drėgnio įtaką kukurūzų grūdų ir jų sampilo fizinėms savybėms. Šiam tikslui nustatyti reikalinga išspręsti šiuos uždavinius: 1) Nustatyti skirtingo drėgnio kukurūzų grūdų: ilgį, plotį, aukštį, tūrį ir paviršiaus plotą; lyginamąjį paviršiaus plotą; 1000 grūdų masę; tikrąjį tankį bei sampilo tankį ir poringumą, laisvo byrėjimo kampą). 2) Palyginti skirtingo drėgnio kukurūzų grūdų fizines savybes ir nustatyti jų pasikeitimo dėsningumus. Kukurūzai Lietuvoje yra sąlyginai naujas grūdinis augalas, todėl nesusiformavusios jų grūdų nuėmimo, paruošimo laikymui ir laikymo technologijos bei tradicijos. Priešingai nei kitiems grūdiniams augalams, jiems būdingas labai didelis pradinis drėgnis (30 – 40%), kuris lemia kukurūzų grūduose vykstančių fiziologinių ir mikrobiologinių procesų intensyvumą bei jų savybes – grūdų stambumą, birumą, tankį, paviršiaus plotą, šilumines bei aerodinamines savybes ir kt. Nuo šių savybių priklauso transportavimo įrenginių, valomųjų ir džiovyklų darbas bei reikalavimai jų reguliavimui ir projektavimui. Nevienodas kukurūzų grūdų ilgio, pločio ir aukščio sumažėjimas lėmė jo formos ir lyginamojo paviršiaus ploto pokyčius: išgaravus 27 % drėgmės, kukurūzų grūdų formos koeficientas padidėjo nuo 0,8 iki 0,97, todėl grūdai tapo apvalesnės formos ir jų lyginamasis paviršiaus plotas sumažėjo 7,4 %, nuo 0,901 mm2/mm3 (38,4 ±0,39 %) iki 0,834 mm2/mm3 (11,4 ±0,43 %)... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Concluding the work done at the University of Agriculture of Lithuania 2008 - 2009 year. The aim: to investigate the influence of moisture content of maize grain and sampilo their physical properties. For this purpose, to establish necessary to solve the following tasks: 1) Identify the different moisture content of maize grain: length, width, height, volume and surface area, leveling the surface area, 1000 grain weight, density and sampilo the actual density and porosity, the free crumble angle). 2) Compare differences in moisture content of maize grain and determine the physical properties of the exchange laws. Maize Lithuania is a relatively new crop, so not their grain harvesting, preparation and storage in the storage technology and tradition. In contrast to other cereal crops, they are characterized by very high initial moisture content (30 - 40%), which leads to the maize grain ongoing physiological and microbiological processes and their properties - grain size, flow, density, surface area, thermal and aerodynamics, and others. Since these properties belong to the transport equipment, laundry and dryers work and the requirements of the regulatory and design. A difference in maize grain length, width and height decrease due to its shape and surface area of comparative changes: 27% of evaporation of moisture, maize grain shape factor increased from 0.8 to 0.97, the grains became apvalesnės form, and their comparative surface area decreased by 7, 4%, from 0.901 mm2/mm... [to full text]

Magistro darbe tiriama paliktų biologinės įvairovės medžių atsparumas neigiamiems aplinkos veiksniams. Darbo objektas – pušies biologinės įvairovės medžiai paliekami kirtavietėse, Veisiejų miškų urėdijos miškuose. Darbo tikslas – ištirti kirtavietėje paliekamų pušies biologinės įvairovės medžių atsparumą neigiamiems aplinkos veiksniams ir jų išlikimo priklausomybę nuo medžių ir aplinkos sąvybių. Darbo metodika – Lauko tyrimų metu surinkta informacija apie Veisiejų miškų urėdijose plynas kirtavietes ir jose biologinei įvairovei paliktus medžius. Iš kiekvienų plynais kirtimais kirstų kirtaviečių buvo pasirinktos 42 kirtavietės. Atliekant tyrimą buvo bandyta išaiškinti atskirų medžių atsparumą aplinkos poveikiui, priklausomai nuo jų individualių ir aplinkos savybių. Buvo mėginama apskaičiuoti žuvusių medžių dalį, priklausomai nuo kirtavietės reljefo, augavietės sąlygų ir dirvos įdirbimo. Darbo rezultatai – Per tiriamą 2003-2005 metų laikotarpį vidutinis paliktų medžių skaičius plynose kirtavietėse viename hektare išaugo 1,1 karto, bet jų vidutinis skersmuo sumažėjo. Vadinasi su kiekvienais metais buvo paliekama vis daugiau, bet smulkesnių medžių. Tačiau geriausiai – išlieka stambios 51-60 cm skersmens pušys. Daugiausia pušų žuvo 20- 30 cm skersmens. Geriau išlieka grupėmis paliekami medžiai nei medžiai paliekami pavieniui. Didelę reikšmę medžių išlikimui turi vėjas – apie trekštadalį žuvusių medžių žuvo dėl vėjo, buvo nulaužti, juos galima vadinti potencialų negyvos medienos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The Master thesis analyzes the resistance of the trees reserved for biodiversity to the negative environmental factors. Object of the work: the pine trees which are reserved for biodiversity in the clear-cut areas of the forestry of Veisiejai. Aim of the work: to research the resistance to the negative environmental factors of the pine trees left in the stalls for biological diversity and to determine their dependence on the trees and environmental conditions. Methods of work: The data about the clear-cut areas of the forestry of Veisiejai and the trees left in those stalls for biological diversity were collected during the field research. Out of the numerous clear-cut areas 42 were selected to participate in the research. The attempt was made to evaluate the resistance of particular trees to the environmental factors depending on the individual characteristics of the trees and the environmental conditions. An effort was made to count the perished trees depending on the conformation of the stall, the conditions of the setting and the preparation of the land. Result of the work: The average number of reserved trees in the clear-cut areas increased 1.1 times per hectare during the researched period of 2003-2005, but the average tree trunk diameter decreased. This signifies that each year more trees were reserved, but the reserved trees were thinner. However, the most resistant are the thick pine trees, with the trunk diameter of 51-60 cm. Most of the pine trees which... [to full text]

The cement industry releases large quantities of CO₂ into the atmosphere during the manufacture of Portland Cement. The intrinsic property of the cement to reabsorb some of this CO₂ over its life time through a process called recarbonation has been investigated. This thesis reports on the development of an accelerated recarbonation apparatus for studying the recarbonation of crushed concrete under controlled conditions. The apparatus involved a series of airtight desiccators into which were placed the crushed concrete samples. The desiccators were then filled to ~50,000 ppm CO₂, which is significantly greater than the ~380 ppm by volume CO₂ available in the earth’s atmosphere. The CO₂ concentration was then monitored with respect to time inside the desiccator using CO₂ specific infrared probes. Two concrete design strengths of 20MPa and 40MPa with various crushed particle sizes were exposed to conditions of 50-60 % relative humidity, a temperature of 20 ± 1.5 °C, an exposure period of 21 days and a maximum CO₂ concentration of ~50,000 ppm by volume. The CO₂ uptake measured by the infrared probes was verified using other detection methods of FTIR, TGA, XRF, phenolphthalein indicator and the weight gain of the crushed concrete samples. The research found that a concrete of 20 MPa design strength and a water to cement ratio of 0.67 could absorb 12-83 % of the original calcination emissions for particle sizes <40, <20 and <10 mm in the 21 day time period. Similar behaviour was also exhibited by the 40 MPa design strength (w/c 0.49) but the extent of CO₂ uptake was not as pronounced. The 40 MPa (w/c 0.49) design mix absorbed 9-70 % of the original calcination emissions for the same particle sizes of <40, <20 and <10 mm. It was found that significant quantities of CO₂ could be absorbed by the smaller crushed sizes of <10 and <20 mm for both design mixes, owing to their much larger surface area. It was also found that about 80 % of the total CO₂ absorbed occurred within the first 10 days of exposure. It is envisaged that the results contained in this thesis will assist in future investigations into crushed concrete recarbonation.

Percent Moisture Content (MC %) of wood is defined to be the weight of the moisture in the wood divided by the weight of the dry wood times 100%. Equilibrium Moisture Content (EMC), moisture content at environmental equilibrium is a very important metric affecting the performance of wood in many applications. For best performance in many applications, the goal is to maintain this value between 6% and 8%. EMC value is a function of the temperature and the relative humidity of the surrounding air of wood. It is very important to maintain this value while processing, storing or finishing the wood. This thesis develops a special purpose sensor and processor system to be implemented as a small hand-held device used to sense, calculate and display the value of EMC of wood depending on surrounding environmental conditions. Wood processing industry personnel would use the hand-held EMC calculating and display device to prevent many potential problems that can show significant affect on the performance of wood. The design of the EMC device requires the use of sensors to obtain the required inputs of temperature and relative humidity. In this thesis various market available sensors are compared and appropriate sensor is chosen for the design. The calculation of EMC requires many arithmetic operations with stringent precision requirements. Various arithmetic algorithms and systems are compared in terms of meeting required arithmetic functionality, precision requirements, and silicon implementation area and gate count, and a suitable choice is made. The resulting processor organization and design is coded in VHDL using the Xilinx ISE 6.2.03i tool set. The design is synthesized, validated via VHDL virtual prototype simulation, and implemented to a Xilinx Spartan2E FPGA for experimental hardware prototype testing and evaluation. It is tested over various ranges of temperature and relative humidity. Comparison of experimentally calculated EMC values with the theoretical values of EMC derived for corresponding temperature and relative humidity points resulted in validation of the EMC processor architecture, functional performance and arithmetic precision requirements.

Significant variability in cured leaf tobacco-specific nitrosamine (TSNA) content is commonly observed when sampling within dark air-curing barns. This variability may be due to inconsistency in the curing environment within different areas of the barn. A study was initiated in 2012 through support from a CORESTA Study Grant to evaluate if leaf TSNA content is related to microenvironmental conditions in the barn. Seed screened for low conversion of nicotine to nornicotine (sc) and high converter (HC) selections of TR Madole dark tobacco were cured in barns near Princeton and Lexington, Kentucky in 2012 and 2013. Temperature and relative humidity were measured with data loggers placed at 27 locations within each barn for the duration of curing. TSNA content was determined from 20-leaf samples collected from each selection at each of the 27 locations within each barn. There were no significant effects of individual data logger placement in either variety selection on hours above 24°C temperature, hours above 80% relative humidity, or TSNA; therefore, we investigated these data within 3-dimensional aspects of tier, room, and bent within each barn. There were various effects of tier, room, and bent on temperature, relative humidity, and TSNA; but limited significant relationships between temperature, relative humidity, and TSNA.

Interactions of colloidal particles with surfaces occur in natural and engineered systems, and they influence the transport of contaminants through diffusion, aggregation, filtration, and sedimentation. To quantify the transport and fate of colloidal particles and their influence on environmental systems, it is important to understand their interactions with surfaces. These interactions are influenced by physical and chemical surface properties such as hydrophobicity, charge density, and roughness, as well as environmental conditions such as relative humidity (RH). In atmospheric systems, RH induces the capillary force and also influences the contributions of van der Waals and electrostatic forces. To investigate the role of surface properties and RH in the interaction of colloidal particles with surfaces, atomic force microscopy was employed to measure the adhesion and friction forces of colloidal particles including Bacillus thuringiensis spores, silica, and gold at various experimental conditions with several types of surfaces including mica, silica, and radioactive gold. Contributions to the adhesion force by van der Waals, capillary, and electrostatic forces were theoretically calculated and compared to measured forces. Through experimental results and theoretical studies, it was identified how surface properties of interacting surfaces and experimental conditions influence the interfacial interactions of colloidal particles in atmospheric systems. The role of RH in adhesion and friction depends on the hydrophobicity or contact angles of interacting surfaces and surface roughness. Relative humidity also influences the contribution of electrostatic force to the total adhesion force by screening the strength of surface potential or providing a passage for charge leakage. The results of this thesis provide a better understanding of particulate processes that are influenced by the interactions of colloidal particles with surfaces and can be useful in monitoring and control of contamination in atmospheric systems.

The vine mealybug, Planococcus ficus (Signoret) (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae) is a pest with significant economic impact on the grape growing industry in South Africa and other parts of the world. With the isolation and synthesizing of the vine mealybug sex pheromone in 2001, new control options for the integrated management of the vine mealybug have been created. The status of sex pheromone monitoring as a tool in the integrated management of the vine mealybug has been evaluated from different perspectives. A significant quantitative difference in male vine mealybug trap catch numbers has been observed between wine and table grape vineyards and results indicated that there were differences in the susceptibility of grape cultivars to vine mealybug. Currently, the delta trap design is the accepted trap design for vine mealybug monitoring. No studies have yet been conducted to determine the optimum trap parameters like size or design. Population pressure may have an influence on the qualitative efficiency of various trap designs. The basis for degree-day forecasting models has been established adequately. However, refinements need to be done and the incorporation of factors such as humidity and regionality also need to be considered. Daily maximum temperatures fluctuating around the upper developmental threshold temperature for prolonged periods of time seemed to suppress population numbers. Different vineyard management practices exist for wine and table grape production. While an action threshold of 65 vine mealybug males per trap per two-week period seems an acceptable threshold for table grape production, it may not be appropriate for wine grape (or raisin grape) production. Using sex pheromone traps for population monitoring is a valid technique in the arsenal of management tactics against the vine mealybug. However, refinements and validation of research results must be done further to build credibility into the monitoring system. / Thesis (M. Environmental Science)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Electrostatic charge generation in gas-solid fluidized beds is a significant industrial problem. Associated problems include particle agglomeration and particle wall fouling. In the polymerization industry this may result in "sheets" of fused polymer, due to exothermic reaction causing the melting of the polymer, which can fall off and block the distributor plate disrupting fluidizing gas flow. Additionally, blockage of the catalyst feed or the polymer removal system can take place or the product can become non-uniform. All of these problems require shut-down of the reactor which results in lost production time. While this phenomena has been identified for many years, the mechanisms involved are not well understood, especially wall fouling and the distribution of charge within the bed. Isolation of individual parameters such as hydrodynamics, operating conditions, and material involved is necessary to evaluate how each parameter impacts charge generation during fluidization. In this thesis, the fluidization system consisted of a stainless steel column, two online Faraday cups, and a retractable distributor plate. This system allowed for the simultaneous measurement of charge within different regions of the bed: the entrained fine particles, the particles adhered to the column wall, and the bulk of the bed. Additionally, mass and particle size distributions were measured and images of the layer of particles adhered to the column wall were taken for comparison. This allowed for a charge distribution comparison and evaluation of wall fouling. Three different parameters were investigated: duration of fluidization, column wall material, and relative humidity of fluidizing gas. Fluidization time was studied for 15, 30, 60, 120, 180, and 360 min; relative humidity was investigated for 0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80% relative humidity. Both fluidization time and relative humidity were evaluated at four different fluidization gas velocities, two each in the bubbling and slugging flow regimes. Column wall material was evaluated for a stainless steel and carbon steel column at two gas velocities, one each in the bubbling and slugging flow regimes. Fluidization time was found to influence wall fouling in the bubbling flow regime as the particle layer continued to build as fluidization progressed. In the slugging flow regime, the particle layer developed within 15 minutes of the onset of fluidization. The bubbling flow regime was shown to have a greater capacity for charge generation than the slugging flow regime. This was due to the vigorous mixing in the bubbling flow regime resulting in more particle-particle interactions. Column wall material was shown to influence wall fouling in the slugging flow regime due to the differences in surface roughness of the columns. This was due to the particle-wall contacts resulting in frictional charging which is the predominant charging mechanism in this flow regime. Charge was also impacted in the bubbling flow regime in those particles that were adhered to the column wall. Relative humidity was found to influence wall fouling at the lowest gas velocity tested. However, variations in generation of charge occurred at all fluidization gas velocities tested; the charge-to-mass ratios for the particles adhered to the column wall in the slugging flow regime decreased with high relative humidities. This was due to either the formation of a water film layer on the column wall or instantaneous surface water films on the particles throughout fluidization.

Fibre-optic sensing techniques for application in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEMFC) are presented in this thesis. Temperature, relative humidity (RH) and air-water two-phase flow sensors are developed and demonstrated based on optical fibre Bragg gratings (FBG). Bragg gratings offer the following characteristics that warrant their development for application in PEMFCs: small size, environmental compatibility and the possibility of multiplexed multi-parameter sensing. Contributions of this work are in novel sensor development and implementation strategies. Important installation design considerations include the sensor proximity to the catalyst layer, sensor strain relief and minimal bending of the fibre. With these considerations, the dynamic and steady-state performance of FBG temperature sensors distributed throughout the flow-field of a single cell PEMFC was validated with a co-located micro-thermocouple. In the development of FBGs for in situ measurement of relative humidity, a polyimide-coated FBG based RH sensor is presented with significantly improved response time and sensitivity over previously reported designs. The RH inside a PEMFC under transient operating conditions is monitored. Step increases in current induce significantly larger increases in RH near the outlet than near the inlet of the cell, and associated transients within the fuel cell are found on a time scale approaching the sensor response time. Finally, to complete the suite of FBG sensors for water management in PEMFCs, an evanescent field based FBG sensor embedded in a microchannel for the measurement of two-phase flow dynamics is presented. Using high speed video for validation, it is established that the novel sensor enables the measurement of droplet average velocity and size in flow regimes representative of an operating fuel cell. / Graduate