Due to rapid urbanisation, people in metropolises spend the majority of their time indoors. Indoor mould contamination, as one of the most pungent biohazards in built environments, can ubiquitously present in humid areas and potentially compromise the health of occupants. Governmental institutions like the World Health Organisation and United States Environmental Protection Agency have put forward guidelines for indoor mould prevention. However, these guidelines normally require occupants to maintain a low indoor humidity (<75% or even 40%), and thus, in tropical and subtropical areas, one of the most widely used approaches to prevent indoor mould contamination is to continuously operate air-conditioners or dehumidifiers (AC/D). The 24 h operation of AC/D, however, conflicts with the requirement of energy sustainability, and hence posits a trade-off between sustainability and indoor mould hygiene. The aim of this study was to facilitate the development of sustainable and effective mould prevention strategies for indoor environments. The literature on currently adopted mould prevention strategies including that target moisture (24 h AC/D), temperature (air-conditioning system and cool wall paint) and nutrient (dust removal) elements as well as new nanoparticles technology (Ag, TiO 2 and MgO nanoparticles), was reviewed and the main limitations of these strategies were discussed. It was found that none of these current mould prevention measures has addressed both sustainability and mould hygiene on balance, urging further investigations. Therefore, the objective of the first phase investigation was to develop sustainable cause-specific mould control measures in built environments. A case study of a mould contaminated site was conducted to illustrate the micro-environments that contribute to mould contamination in buildings. The currently used 24-h AC/D approach was compared with and ranked against other sustainable alternatives. The results of this case study suggest that determining an effective non-24 h AC/D management regime tends to be a sustainable and user-friendly solution. To develop such a regime, understanding the critical mechanisms regulating indoor mould responses to water dynamics is essential. Thus, the objective of the second phase was to characterise the critical mechanism regulating the growth of common indoor moulds under water dynamics. It was hypothesised that oxidative stress is associated with the growth of indoor moulds under water dynamics. Using Cladosporium cladosporioides as a model, both its pre-germination and germinated spores were exposed to daily wet-dry cycles. Afterwards, the growth was assessed and cellular H 2 O 2 concentration and catalase activity were measured. It was found that under water dynamics, the longer growth delay in C. cladosporioides was associated with a higher encountered oxidative stress, with 12-12 wet-dry cycle (12 h wet, 12 h dry) showing the longest delay and highest oxidative stress. Pearson correlation and linear regression analysis suggest a positive correlation between growth delay and oxidative stress under water dynamics (R 2 =0.85, P<0.0001). Moreover, pre- germination spores generally exhibited shorter growth delay, lower cellular H 2 O 2 concentration and higher catalase activity. Collectively, these results suggest that the growth of C. cladosporioides is associated with oxidative stress under water dynamics. After revealing the association between the growth of C. cladosporioides and oxidative stress under water dynamics, at the third phase, this finding was extrapolated to different mould species (C. cladosporioides, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus penicillioides), water activity (a w ) (0.4 a w , 0.6 a w and 0.8 a w ) and temperature levels (19 °C and 28 °C). In addition, the antioxidant responses of treated moulds, including antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione reductase and glutathione peroxidase) were monitored. The results showed that lower water activity levels imposed higher oxidative stress to moulds, and A. penicillioides exhibited the highest tolerance which displayed the highest antioxidant activities and encountered lowest oxidative damage under water dynamics. Moreover, no significant difference was measured in terms of the survival, oxidative stress and antioxidant responses between these two temperature levels. The third phase of the study, for the first time discovered the reason contributing to the different resistance towards water dynamics among common indoor moulds, and further confirmed the important role of oxidative stress adaptation in withstanding transient water supply. In conclusion, this study reveals the critical role of oxidative stress adaptation in helping moulds to cope with changing water conditions, which may shed light on a new perspective for the future development of indoor mould prevention strategies. It also indicates that longer operation time of AC/D each day may not necessarily lead to better prevention of mould contamination, suggesting that in order to sustainably prevent mould contamination, one should operate reasonable non-24 h AC/D each day (12 h/day according to the examined species in this study) to yield a more stressful wet-dry cycle to moulds. The outcomes of this study foster the development of novel and sustainable indoor mould prevention strategies

Due to rapid urbanisation, people in metropolises spend the majority of their time indoors. Indoor mould contamination, as one of the most pungent biohazards in built environments, can ubiquitously present in humid areas and potentially compromise the health of occupants. Governmental institutions like the World Health Organisation and United States Environmental Protection Agency have put forward guidelines for indoor mould prevention. However, these guidelines normally require occupants to maintain a low indoor humidity (<75% or even 40%), and thus, in tropical and subtropical areas, one of the most widely used approaches to prevent indoor mould contamination is to continuously operate air-conditioners or dehumidifiers (AC/D). The 24 h operation of AC/D, however, conflicts with the requirement of energy sustainability, and hence posits a trade-off between sustainability and indoor mould hygiene. The aim of this study was to facilitate the development of sustainable and effective mould prevention strategies for indoor environments. The literature on currently adopted mould prevention strategies including that target moisture (24 h AC/D), temperature (air-conditioning system and cool wall paint) and nutrient (dust removal) elements as well as new nanoparticles technology (Ag, TiO 2 and MgO nanoparticles), was reviewed and the main limitations of these strategies were discussed. It was found that none of these current mould prevention measures has addressed both sustainability and mould hygiene on balance, urging further investigations. Therefore, the objective of the first phase investigation was to develop sustainable cause-specific mould control measures in built environments. A case study of a mould contaminated site was conducted to illustrate the micro-environments that contribute to mould contamination in buildings. The currently used 24-h AC/D approach was compared with and ranked against other sustainable alternatives. The results of this case study suggest that determining an effective non-24 h AC/D management regime tends to be a sustainable and user-friendly solution. To develop such a regime, understanding the critical mechanisms regulating indoor mould responses to water dynamics is essential. Thus, the objective of the second phase was to characterise the critical mechanism regulating the growth of common indoor moulds under water dynamics. It was hypothesised that oxidative stress is associated with the growth of indoor moulds under water dynamics. Using Cladosporium cladosporioides as a model, both its pre-germination and germinated spores were exposed to daily wet-dry cycles. Afterwards, the growth was assessed and cellular H 2 O 2 concentration and catalase activity were measured. It was found that under water dynamics, the longer growth delay in C. cladosporioides was associated with a higher encountered oxidative stress, with 12-12 wet-dry cycle (12 h wet, 12 h dry) showing the longest delay and highest oxidative stress. Pearson correlation and linear regression analysis suggest a positive correlation between growth delay and oxidative stress under water dynamics (R 2 =0.85, P<0.0001). Moreover, pre- germination spores generally exhibited shorter growth delay, lower cellular H 2 O 2 concentration and higher catalase activity. Collectively, these results suggest that the growth of C. cladosporioides is associated with oxidative stress under water dynamics. After revealing the association between the growth of C. cladosporioides and oxidative stress under water dynamics, at the third phase, this finding was extrapolated to different mould species (C. cladosporioides, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus penicillioides), water activity (a w ) (0.4 a w , 0.6 a w and 0.8 a w ) and temperature levels (19 °C and 28 °C). In addition, the antioxidant responses of treated moulds, including antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione reductase and glutathione peroxidase) were monitored. The results showed that lower water activity levels imposed higher oxidative stress to moulds, and A. penicillioides exhibited the highest tolerance which displayed the highest antioxidant activities and encountered lowest oxidative damage under water dynamics. Moreover, no significant difference was measured in terms of the survival, oxidative stress and antioxidant responses between these two temperature levels. The third phase of the study, for the first time discovered the reason contributing to the different resistance towards water dynamics among common indoor moulds, and further confirmed the important role of oxidative stress adaptation in withstanding transient water supply. In conclusion, this study reveals the critical role of oxidative stress adaptation in helping moulds to cope with changing water conditions, which may shed light on a new perspective for the future development of indoor mould prevention strategies. It also indicates that longer operation time of AC/D each day may not necessarily lead to better prevention of mould contamination, suggesting that in order to sustainably prevent mould contamination, one should operate reasonable non-24 h AC/D each day (12 h/day according to the examined species in this study) to yield a more stressful wet-dry cycle to moulds. The outcomes of this study foster the development of novel and sustainable indoor mould prevention strategies

This study was conducted to record seasonal variations in the epiphyllous sooty mold colonies found on citrus leaves in two central Florida citrus groves, to determine basic patterns of fungal growth throughout the year and to determine whether these general patterns are correlated with regional climatological data. The results indicated general seasonal variations in the reproductive units of five of the fungi from the colony. In the study, correlations were seen between the two Ascomycetes, Treubiomyces pulcherrimus and Trichomerium didymopanacis. They were found fruiting most abundantly during the winter and spring. Reproductive units of two asexual sooty mold species (Podoxyphium citricolum and Tripospermum roupalae) were found in greater abundance during the summer. A third fungus, Pithomyces atro-olivaceous, was found with high numbers of reproductive units during the winter and it is suggested that this species is a transient of the sooty mold colony. No reasons for the cycling of the sooty mold colony were clearly defined. The presence of biological similarities between the fungal cycle and the climatological data and insect cycles observed in the field may contribute to sooty mold colony seasonal variations.

Generally, the model developed in this investigation predicted quite well the values of the parameters measured experimentally. In certain cases, deviations were observed, but these were due to known factors which have been described in the previous section. This model represents the first link in a chain that is just beginning. The end use of the program will be in DOC feed-forward control applications for injection molding cycles. Several improvements can be made on this model. First, a more detailed analysis should yield a better relationship between the volumetric flow rate and the pressure at a given point. This is necessary because the volumetric flow rate should be smoothly decreased in order to keep the runner entrance pressure at the constant preset injection pressure. In this investigation, a power law relationship was used. This exponential relationship proved to decrease the volumetric flow rate faster than it should have. This caused some oscillations in the predicted temperature and pressure values. It was observed from the experimental data that a linear relationship could do the job, and that the volumetric flow rate should be decreased at each time interval as the pressure increased, instead of waiting until the preset injection pressure was reached as it was done in this investigation. Second, a non-linear regression fit should be performed on the experimental data available for heat capacity and thermal conductivity. The regression equations could be used in the model. This will reduce the consistently high temperatures predicted by the model. Third, the model should be extended to take into account the heat transferred to the wall of the channels. In this investigation a constant wall temperature was assumed in order to simplify the initial development of the model. At this point the finite difference grid used in the model could be extended to include the metal containing the cooling channels where the temperature is known. The inclusion of this feature could be accomplished with a small programming effort. Finally better packing and cooling models could be developed. The cooling model proved to be the poorest of the proposed models. An extra effort to develop a better cooling model was not considered to be necessary, because this investigation was more concerned with the filling and packing stages, which are the critical stages for gate design purposes. / Ph. D.

O uso de componentes injetados de plástico aumentou nos últimos anos na maioria dos segmentos industriais. Como resultado, os processos envolvidos no projeto e na fabricação de moldes de injeção ganharam uma significativa atenção devido a grande complexidade, necessidade de baixo custo e, principalmente, curto tempo de manufatura. O uso de técnicas de Prototipagem e Ferramental Rápido (Rapid Prototyping/Rapid Tooling) surgiram como opções para esse setor, visando à rápida obtenção de peças protótipos. Porém, um dos desafios ainda presente está em garantir que as peças protótipos resultantes dessas técnicas atendam todas as dimensões solicitadas em aplicações reais. Este trabalho aborda a aplicação de materiais alternativos para a fabricação de moldes híbridos de injeção, dentro do conceito de Ferramental Rápido, com o objetivo de contribuir para uma melhor compreensão da influência desses materiais na qualidade final das peças protótipos obtidas. Um molde experimental, instrumentalizado com sensores de temperatura e, com uma das cavidades intercambiável, foi projetado e manufaturado para a injeção de uma peça de referência. As diferentes propriedades dos materiais utilizados na cavidade intercambiável, principalmente as propriedades térmicas, foram analisadas, bem como a influência dessas no produto final. Doze configurações diferentes (material da cavidade temperatura do molde) foram definidas para a obtenção de amostras. O experimento foi definido com o apoio de simulação matemática computacional. As amostras obtidas foram analisadas com relação as suas propriedades mecânicas (resistência ao impacto e à tração), propriedades físicas (dimensionamento, estudo morfológico e de cristalinidade) e propriedades químicas onde o grau de contaminação por metais pesados foi avaliado. As conclusões obtidas nesse trabalho mostram a importância da influência do material da cavidade do molde, e apresentam uma correlação das diferentes variáveis de processo com as propriedades obtidas nas peças protótipos injetadas através de técnica de Ferramental Rápido. / Submitted by Marcelo Teixeira (mvteixeira@ucs.br) on 2014-05-14T19:23:43Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Deives R Bareta.pdf: 9212045 bytes, checksum: 2808a91c52ab325c093e19f6e0199ed0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-05-14T19:23:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Deives R Bareta.pdf: 9212045 bytes, checksum: 2808a91c52ab325c093e19f6e0199ed0 (MD5) / The application of plastic components has grown significantly in most of industrial segments during last years. This has attracted considerably attention for the injection mould design and manufacturing processes, which is one of the most expensive phases of injected plastic components development process. Techniques such as Rapid Prototyping/Rapid Tooling have appeared as potential solution in the field. However, one issue not resolved is how the prototypes obtained by these techniques can attend all features demanded by a true prototype. This research explores the application of softer alternative material to hybrid prototype injection moulds within the concept of rapid tooling, providing a better understanding about the influence of these materials in the final properties of plastic injected prototypes. An experimental injection mould, assembled with temperature sensors, and with interchangeability of the moulding blocks (core and cavity) has been designed and manufactured based on a tubular reference component. The different properties of the core materials, in special thermal, have been analyzed, as well as their influence on the reference component. A set of twelve configurations (core material mould temperature) have been defined to obtain the samples. Mathematical computational simulation was used to identify the more appropriate injection moulding parameters. The final samples have been analyzed in terms of mechanical properties (stress-strain and impact), physical properties (dimensions, morphology and crystallinity) and chemical properties. The conclusions show the influence of alternative materials, applied to core injection mould, on the final injected components. Also, a relationship between the different injection moulding parameters and the final prototype component properties are discussed.

O uso de componentes injetados de plástico aumentou nos últimos anos na maioria dos segmentos industriais. Como resultado, os processos envolvidos no projeto e na fabricação de moldes de injeção ganharam uma significativa atenção devido a grande complexidade, necessidade de baixo custo e, principalmente, curto tempo de manufatura. O uso de técnicas de Prototipagem e Ferramental Rápido (Rapid Prototyping/Rapid Tooling) surgiram como opções para esse setor, visando à rápida obtenção de peças protótipos. Porém, um dos desafios ainda presente está em garantir que as peças protótipos resultantes dessas técnicas atendam todas as dimensões solicitadas em aplicações reais. Este trabalho aborda a aplicação de materiais alternativos para a fabricação de moldes híbridos de injeção, dentro do conceito de Ferramental Rápido, com o objetivo de contribuir para uma melhor compreensão da influência desses materiais na qualidade final das peças protótipos obtidas. Um molde experimental, instrumentalizado com sensores de temperatura e, com uma das cavidades intercambiável, foi projetado e manufaturado para a injeção de uma peça de referência. As diferentes propriedades dos materiais utilizados na cavidade intercambiável, principalmente as propriedades térmicas, foram analisadas, bem como a influência dessas no produto final. Doze configurações diferentes (material da cavidade temperatura do molde) foram definidas para a obtenção de amostras. O experimento foi definido com o apoio de simulação matemática computacional. As amostras obtidas foram analisadas com relação as suas propriedades mecânicas (resistência ao impacto e à tração), propriedades físicas (dimensionamento, estudo morfológico e de cristalinidade) e propriedades químicas onde o grau de contaminação por metais pesados foi avaliado. As conclusões obtidas nesse trabalho mostram a importância da influência do material da cavidade do molde, e apresentam uma correlação das diferentes variáveis de processo com as propriedades obtidas nas peças protótipos injetadas através de técnica de Ferramental Rápido. / The application of plastic components has grown significantly in most of industrial segments during last years. This has attracted considerably attention for the injection mould design and manufacturing processes, which is one of the most expensive phases of injected plastic components development process. Techniques such as Rapid Prototyping/Rapid Tooling have appeared as potential solution in the field. However, one issue not resolved is how the prototypes obtained by these techniques can attend all features demanded by a true prototype. This research explores the application of softer alternative material to hybrid prototype injection moulds within the concept of rapid tooling, providing a better understanding about the influence of these materials in the final properties of plastic injected prototypes. An experimental injection mould, assembled with temperature sensors, and with interchangeability of the moulding blocks (core and cavity) has been designed and manufactured based on a tubular reference component. The different properties of the core materials, in special thermal, have been analyzed, as well as their influence on the reference component. A set of twelve configurations (core material mould temperature) have been defined to obtain the samples. Mathematical computational simulation was used to identify the more appropriate injection moulding parameters. The final samples have been analyzed in terms of mechanical properties (stress-strain and impact), physical properties (dimensions, morphology and crystallinity) and chemical properties. The conclusions show the influence of alternative materials, applied to core injection mould, on the final injected components. Also, a relationship between the different injection moulding parameters and the final prototype component properties are discussed.

Tooling design for manufacturing processes refers to direct tooling for making a part such as molds and dies for injection molded parts and metal stampings, or for supporting machining operations such as jigs and fixtures. This paper summarizes some of the R&D activities in those areas over a period of 20 years in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore. It is notable that increasing use of computer tools has turned what is used to be known as a “black art” into a discipline embracing both heuristic and scientific analyses. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

No description available.

In this research, initial studies were done to determine the effect of various methods of presentation involving chemical preservatives, water activity ($ rm a sb{w}$), and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) on mold growth in an agar model system. Results showed that preservatives could completely inhibit mold growth for 2-40d depending on concentration and pH used. Gas packaging (60% or 80% CO$ sb2$), oxygen absorbents, alone or in combination with potassium sorbate, could also inhibit mold growth for $>$40d at ambient storage temperature using a Response Surface Methodology (RSM) approach. / The effects of various methods of applying potassium sorbate into pizza crusts via direct incorporation into the batter, surface spraying, and impregnation of packaging material with potassium sorbate to control mold spoilage of pizza crusts were also investigated. Results showed that the antimicrobial effect of potassium sorbate was negligible when the packaging material was impregnated with the inhibitor but more pronounced when it was incorporated directly into the dough or sprayed onto the product's surface. The inhibitory effect of potassium sorbate increased as both the pH and the inoculum level decreased. / Shelf life studies using low concentrations of potassium sorbate (1000 and 2000 p.p.m.) and MAP, alone and in combination with each other, showed that potassium sorbate, gas packaging or oxygen absorbents (Ageless FX) could extend the shelf life of pizza crusts and decrease the growth rate of molds, bacteria and yeast. Furthermore, when pizza crusts were packaged in 60% CO$ sb2$ or with an oxygen absorbent, in combination with potassium sorbate (1000-2000 p.p.m.), a shelf life of 42d was possible without compromising the sensory shelf life of the product. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

No description available.