an understanding of the strength of rice grains as affected by moisture content and temperature is important for analysis and prediction of cracking and/or breakage behavior during handling and processing. further, the magnitude of these properties at various moisture contents and temperatures is needed for the accurate design of milling machinery so that grain damage is minimized. to determine...

In an attempt to understand the initial stage of seed imbibition-the wetting stage-we have examined water binding in dry soybean cotyledon tissue using water sorption isotherm curves. The sorption isotherms show three levels of water affinity: a region of strongly bound water at moisture contents below 8%, a region of weakly bound water at moisture contents between 8 and 24%, and a region of ve...

Based on seven case studies of buildings that underwent different degrees of moisture and mold damage remediation, we aimed to develop methodology for assessment of the success of the remediation process. Methods used in gauging the success included technical monitoring of performance of building structures and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, microbial monitoring of in...

Soil moisture is a key variable in dryland ecosystems since it determines the occurrence and duration of vegetation water stress and affects the development of weather patterns including rainfall. However, the lack of ground observations of soil moisture and rainfall dynamics in many drylands has long been a major obstacle in understanding ecohydrological processes in these ecosystems. It is al...

A good green building design project, designers should consider not only energy consumption, but also healthy and comfortable needs of inhabitants. In recent years, the Taiwan government paid attentions on both carbon reduction and indoor air quality issues, which be presented in the legislation of Building Codes and other regulations. Taiwan located in hot and humid climates, dampness in build...

A combined experimental and analytic approach to moisture diffusion analysis (MDA) has evolved in proof of principle form as a new instrument termed a ~ist~re ~rof~lometer .. The ob~ec~ive in m?isture profilometry is the quantitative analysis of the spat1al d1str1but~on of m?1stu~e.w1th1n compos1tes . and definition of localized internal stress fields. An electrolyt1c cell 1s ut1l1zed to record...