The greenhouse industry is facing significant challenges such as the demand for more efficient use of energy and natural resources and prevention of detrimental environmental impacts. Reducing negative environmental impacts can be achieved by utilizing recycled and environmentally friendly products and by optimizing the use of water and root zone substrates. New and advanced root zone substrates are currently tested as substitute for natural soils in greenhouse agriculture. They can be inert non-organic materials such as rockwool and perlite. These are mined products from the earth, and are difficult to dispose after use. Natural substrates such as peat are being consumed faster than being regenerated. A new potential substrate that consists of recycled foamed glass aggregates is considered an alternative, as it is environmentally friendly, non-toxic and disposable. Experiments with foamed glass aggregates and with foamed glass aggregate/coconut coir mixtures indicated that the yield of greenhouse tomatoes was not statistically significant different (α=0.05) when compared to rockwool. To investigate the potential application of recycled glass as a root zone substrate, physical and hydraulic properties were measured. For comparison, the same measurements were completed for rockwool, coconut coir, perlite, and PET/PE fibers as well as for a mixture of coconut coir and recycled glass. The water characteristics (WC) determined for each substrate exhibited distinct air entry potentials, which provided information for irrigation scheduling, water storage and aeration for optimum plant growth conditions. Coconut coir and rockwool exhibited a unimodal shaped water retention curve, while foamed glass aggregates and perlite exhibited bimodal shaped curves. The obtained substrate properties were used as input paramaters for HYDRUS- 2D/3D model to simulate water mass balance and matric potential distributions within a typical growth container of foamed glass aggregates. The simulated matric potential and water content distributions were compared to tensiometer measurements of matric potential in the foamed glass aggregates. The simulations compared favorably with laboratory experiments measured under controlled environmental conditions.

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Baigiamojo darbo tikslas – ištirti vilnos pluošto paviršiaus hidrofobiškumo įtaką dažiklių sorbcijai vilnos pluošte ir dažinių fizikinėms savybėms. Naujų antrachinoninių dažiklių RB 5-37 Mėlynojo ir RB 4-35 Žaliojo sintezė buvo atlikta Kauno Technologijos universitete, Organinės chemijos katedroje, prof. V. Mickevičiaus grupėje. Siekiant nustatyti, kokį pluoštą ir kokiomis sąlygomis intensyviausiai dažo naujieji dažikliai, atlikti parengiamieji tyrimai su multipluoštiniu audiniu (ISO 105 F10 DW), kurį sudaro vilna, poliakrilatas, poliesteris, poliamidas, medvilnė ir diacetatas. Bandymo metu buvo nustatyta, jog tiriamieji antrachinoniniai dažikliai intensyviausiai dažo vilną ir poliamidą. Tolimesni tyrimai atlikti naudojant standartinį vilnonį audinį (ISO 150/F – 1985 (E)). Siekiant įvertinti hidrofobinio paviršinio barjero įtaką dažiklių difuzijai jame, bandymai atlikti su standartiniu vilnos audiniu ir su audiniu, nuo kurio paviršiaus buvo pašalintas hidrofobinis sluoksnis. Vilnos pluošto ekstrakcija buvo atlikta naudojant metanolio ir chloroformo tirpiklių mišinį, Soksleto aparatu, 10 ciklų. Taip pat buvo atlikti dažymo kinetiniai tyrimai bei dažyto audinio pavienių siūlų mechaninių savybių tyrimai, t. y. vilnonio siūlo trūkimo jėga bei vilnonio siūlo trūkimo ištįsa, naudojantis dinamometru. Atlikus tyrimą su dviem naujai susintetintais dažikliais nustatyta, kad Žaliasis Dažiklis, kuris skyrėsi nuo Mėlynojo nitro funkcine grupe, intensyviau sorbavosi vilnos pluošte... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of the hydrophobicity of wool fibre surface on the sorption of the dyes and on the physical properties of dyed wool fibre. New Anthraquinonic RB 5-37 Blue and Green RB 4-35 dyes synthesis was carried out by Professor V. Mickevičius group at Kaunas University of Technology, Department of Organic Chemistry. The multifiber fabric (ISO 105 F10 DW), composed of wool, polyacrylates, polyester, nylon, cotton and the diacetate was used in order to determine the fiber and the conditions under which the new dyes intensively dye. The dyeing results showed that new dyes wool fibers and polyamide dyed intensively. The standard wool fabric (ISO 150 / F - 1985 (E)) was used for further dyeing experiments. The standard wool fabric without pretreatment and wool fabric extracted with methanol and chloroform solvents mixture were used in order to evaluate hydrophobic wool surface barrier effect on dye diffusion in to wool fabric. It has also been done a kinetic study of dyeing process and dyed wool fiber single thread mechanical properties testing, i.e. breaking force and extension at break using a dynamometer. The investigation of the dyeing kinetic using two newly synthesized dyes showed that the Green dye which differs from the Blue by NO2 functional group, better penetrates into the wool fabric, irrespective of what was the composition of the dyeing solution. The data of equilibrium dye concentration indicates that independently of the... [to full text]

The goal of wind-waves research is to predict the waves field and its effect on the environment. That environment could be natural or imposed by human endeavour. The mechanism of wind generated waves is described in the present work as a wind-bulk flow interaction rather than as a mechanical process which only transfers the wind energy to the wave. In the light of this description, the generation and growth of surface waves are functions of the physical properties of the interface, density of the bulk flow perturbations and wind shear stress. While the present models for the prediction of surface growth and evolution show some consistence - in some cases - with observations that were conducted in laboratories and in real fields, the work presented in this thesis justifies and explains the inconsistency or contradictions in other cases between the observations and the predictions. Also, physical interpretations for observations, for example wave growth with fetch, are suggested in the present work. To illustrate the physical mechanism responsible for wave generation and growth under the effect of wind action, two approaches are used. The first involves studying the effect of the physical properties of the water surface on atmospheric input into the bulk and thus the effect on the formation and growth of capillary waves. The second involves studying the correlation between the wave formation and growth and the density of the bulk perturbations. Wide ranges of previous data are used to analyse the effect of the physical properties of the water surface on wave generation and growth mechanism for the first approach. Also, a group of experiments using the PIV system (Particle Image Velocimetry) were conducted to study the correlation between the wind speed, bulk flow evolution and wind-waves‟ generation and growth for the second approach. The main physical parameters which are responsible for the generation and growth of capillary waves are determined. The Ohnesorge number is modified to predict the generation and growth of surface waves. In the second part, additional physical parameters of the bulk flow are introduced to illustrate the correlation between the wind generated waves and bulk flow evolution. A new parameter is used to scale the transition of the bulk flow from laminar flow to turbulent flow or the transition of the water surface from an undisturbed surface to a fully disturbed surface. The history of wind-wave research is relatively short. Although there were basic developments in the 18th century, a concentrated effort really began as a result of the military imperative of the Second World War. These developments were however, largely empirical. A theoretical frame work began to develop with the studies of wind-wave generation in the last century. The present work is conducted to fill some gaps in wind generated surface waves research and to introduce new approaches to simplify understanding wind-waves field and its effect on the environment.

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The aim of the thesis is to determine the levels of the physical and mechanical properties of chosen sedimentary (siliciclastic) rocks and also to describe their microstructural nature. With respect to the intended use of the studied material (building stone raw material) the laboratory testing methods are presented. The samples were taken from the drill cores and also from the surface blocks in locality "Zlatý lom" Březín situated in western Bohemia. The microstructural phenomena in the samples were studied using optical microscopy and digital image analyses. According to Folk's classification (1980) the name of the rock was lithic arkose. The strength testing methods were represented by unconfined compressive strength and the Brazilian test. The rest of the mechanical parameters were determined in form of Young's modulus, shear modulus and Poisson's ratio. Special emphasis was given to the hydric expansion (after full immersion) test. The other physical methods were used in order to describe the pore space and real density of samples. For this purposes the absorption test, mercury intrusion porosimetry and helium pycnometry were performed. Besides the porosity value, the pore-size distribution histograms were obtained. In order to calculate the theoretical density of the rock MINLITH and MODES...

Master of Science / Department of Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources / Jason J. Griffin / Heat and drought tolerance make shantung maple (Acer truncatum) and caddo sugar maple (A. saccharum) good candidates for midwestern landscapes. Improving cutting propagation or mound layering techniques could increase the availability of these species. The influence of time of year, cutting position, and auxin concentration, formulation, and solvent on rooting of stem cuttings of shantung maple was investigated. Semi-hardwood cuttings rooted best (55%). Generally, rooting percentage decreased as indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) concentration increased. Cutting position, auxin formulation, and solvent did not affect rooting. Mean root number and mean root length were unaffected by treatments. Results suggest semi-hardwood cuttings and low IBA concentrations [< 2500 ppm (0.25%)] promote rooting. Auxin concentration influenced rooting of caddo and shantung maple mound layered shoots. Rooting peaked at 15,000 ppm (1.5%) IBA for both caddo (71%) and shantung maples (34%). Mean root number for caddo, but not shantung, increased as IBA concentration increased. Differences in mean root length were not significant. Growers may now propagate caddo maple by mound layering. For shantung maple propagation, stem cuttings are recommended. Propagation substrates can strongly influence rooting success of stem cuttings. Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) chips (ERC) have been suggested as a propagation substrate component. This report investigated ERC as a perlite substitute in a 3 perlite: 1 sphagnum peat moss (v/v) rooting substrate. Stem cuttings of spreading euonymus (Euonymus kiautschovicus), forsythia (Forsythia x intermedia), English ivy (Hedera helix), lantana (Lantana camara), and coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) were rooted in substrates containing increasing concentrations of ERC hammer milled to pass a 4.8 mm (0.19 in) screen. All species rooted well (≥95%) in all substrates except forsythia which rooted poorly in all substrates (8% to 36%). ERC did not affect mean root number or mean root length in any species except spreading euonymus where mean root number peaked at 0% and 100% ERC content and mean root length decreased with increasing ERC content. Bulk density, container capacity, and total porosity increased as ERC replaced perlite. Physical properties of all substrates were suitable for cutting propagation. ERC can effectively replace perlite in rooting substrates for many ornamental species.