We developed a numerical method for computing the effective properties of a microstructure. The method is particularly efficient and accurate for microstructures with a diffuse-interface description similar to those generated from phase-field simulations. In particular, we considered the diffusive transport property of a microstructure by solving the steady-state diffusion equation using a Four...

The influence of pretreatment methods like physical, chemical, combined and hybrid treatments on the Turkey berry (Solanum torvum) fruits to enhance water diffusion during drying was assessed due removing a waxy layer peel. Pretreated untreated samples were dried at 70 ?C 4 m/s air flow in fluidized bed dryer. Fruits pretreated with abrasion blanching have lowest time good vitamin C content ret...

We have constructed tapered fiber-optic microsensors with a tip diameter of less than 10 microm to measure profiles of backscattered light in biofilms, which are thin layers of micro-organisms firmly attached to surfaces. The observed response agrees well with local effective diffusivity microelectrode measurements, with R(2) > 0.85. A strong relation between signal intensity and wavelength has...

Nutrient concentration profiles are affected by the mass transport outside the biofilm, inside the biofilm, and by the structure of the biofilm. To understand the distribution of biofilm activity, it is necessary to correlate the local nutrient concentration, local mass transport in the biofilm and the biofilm structure. The correlations among surface averaged dissolved oxygen concentration, su...

Axial diffusion in a two-dimensional channel of smoothly varying geometry can be approximately described as one-dimensional diffusion in the entropy potential with position-dependent effective diffusivity by means of the modified Fick-Jacobs equation. In this paper, Brownian dynamics simulations are used to study the range of applicability of such a description, as well as the accuracy of the e...

ABSTRACT: Roasting is one of the widespread methods for processing of nuts and beans that significantly enhances the flavor, color, texture and appearance of the products. In this research the kinetics and modeling of soybean roasting using combined infrared-hot air system and consumption of energy were investigated. The effect of the hot air temperature (160, 180 and 200 ºC), infrared powers (...

We consider the motion of a particle in a periodic two dimensional flow perturbed by small (molecular) diffusion. The flow is generated by a divergence free zero mean vector field. The long time behavior corresponds to the behavior of the homogenized process that is diffusion process with the constant diffusion matrix (effective diffusivity). We obtain the asymptotics of the effective diffusivi...

The objective of this study was to determine the drying behavior of 2-phase olive mill waste (2POMW) under isothermal microwave-convection drying conditions. 2POMW samples were dried in a thin layer in a variable-power pilot microwave oven with impinging air, using a feedback controller to maintain sample temperature at one of four levels. Moisture loss and shrinkage of the samples were recorde...

This study investigated the effects of temperature on drying behavior and kinetic features lily scales. A series experiments were carried out at 65, 75, 85 °C to dry scales in a laboratory air-ventilated oven dryer. Drying was found significantly affect times rates. The rate curves suggested that process occurred entirely within descending period. During simulation kinetics, Page Logarithmic mo...