• Title/Summary/Keyword: Natural moisture content

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Wood and Cellular Properties of 4 New Hevea Species

  • Allwi, Norul Izani Md.;Sahri, Mohd. Hamami;Chun, Su-Kyoung
    • Journal of the Korea Furniture Society
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    • v.19 no.4
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    • pp.273-282
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    • 2008
  • Increasing demand for timber and the depletion of natural forest have encouraged utilization of many non-popular species. The understanding of wood properties and behavior is important to evaluate the potential of these species to produce high quality end products. This study determines the anatomical and physical properties of Hevea species viz Hevea pauciflora, Hevea guianensis, Hevea spruceana, Hevea benthamiana and Hevea brasiliensis. Each sample tree was cut into three different portions along the height (bottom- B, middle- M and upper -T parts) and two radial samples (outer- O and inner- I parts). H. brasiliensis clone RRIM 912 exhibited the longest fibre with $1214{\mu}m$, followed by H. benthamiana (HB, $1200{\mu}m$), H. pauciflora (HP, $1189{\mu}m$), H. spruceana (HS, $1158{\mu}m$) and H. guianensis (HG, $1145{\mu}m$). Fibre length has a positive correlation with specific gravity. The largest fibre diameter ($24.9{\mu}m$) and lumen diameter ($12.5{\mu}m$) were recorded in H. guianensis. The highest moisture content was obtained from H. spruceana (64.34%) compared to the lowest with 60.01% (Clone RRIM912). The higher moisture content is normally associated with lower strength. Overall, the properties of clone RRIM 912 is found to be comparatively better because of higher strength due to longer fibre length, thicker cell walls and higher specific gravity than the other Hevea species. Therefore, this species can be used as a general utility timber.

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A Study on Development of Computer model for Evaluating the Effective Rainfall on Upland Soil (밭 토양에서의 유효강우량 산정을 위한 전산모델 개발에 관한 연구)

  • 고덕구;정하우
    • Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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    • v.24 no.1
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    • pp.63-72
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    • 1982
  • To maintain an optimum condition for the plant growth on upland soil, the irrigation planning after the natural rainfall should be given enormous considerations on the rainfall effectiveness. This study has been intended to develop the computer model for estimating the effec- tiveness of the rainfall. The computer model should also estimated the infiltration due to the rainfall and the soil moisture deficiency at the root zone of the plant. For this purpose, the experiments of infiltration using rainfall simulator and the observations of the change of soil moisture content before and after rainfall were carried out. Needed input data for the developed model include final infiltration capacity and field capacity of the soil, porosity of the top soil, root depth of the plant, rainfall intensity and duration, and the Horton's decay coefficient. Among the needed input data for the developed model, final infiltration capacity and Horton's decay coefficient were determined by the experiments of infiltration. And from the result of the experiments, it is found that there is a great correlation between initial infiltration capacity and initial moisture content. And it is also found that the infiltration due to rainfall can be estimated with the Horton's equation. The developed model was tested by the experimental data with two rainfall intensities. Tests were conducted on the different root depths at each rainfall. Observed and estimated effective rainfalls were found to have great correlation. The result of the experiments showed that the effectiveness of the rainfall were 100%, so the comparisons were conducted by the comsumption rates of infiltration at each depth. The developed model can be also used for estimating the deficiency of rainfall, if the rainfall is not sufficient to the needed soil moisture. But, test was not carried out.

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Effect of Application Time and Rate of Diquat on Preharvest Field Drying of Rice (작물건조제 Diquat의 벼 수확전처리 건조효과 및 이용성)

  • Kwon, Y.W.;Shin, J.C.
    • KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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    • v.26 no.2
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    • pp.147-156
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    • 1981
  • Most of the currently available rice threshers in Korea are of head-feeding type originally developed for threshing paddy at grain moisture content of 15 to 17% on wet basis. And prevailing rice harvesting system is swathing or cutting and bundling upright rice crop at a maturity stage of grain moisture content of ca. 28 to 20%, followed by transient natural drying in the field and threshing at grain moisture content of about 17%. The system often allows rather high field loss of rice both quantitatively and qualitatively. These necessitate use of a preharvest desiccant, and diquat has been registered recently as a rice desiccant. Aim of the present study is to determine the best time and rate of diquat application and to evaluate its utility as a rice desiccant under its optimal usage conditions in Korea. Diquat was not so effective for japonica rice varieties while it was very effective for the new varieties bred from indica x japonica crosses. The best time of application was the period from 2 days before to 3 days after physiological maturity of grain (moisture content of 28% w.b.) and the optimal rate was about 330g of diquat ion/ha. Applying diquat at the right time and rate dropped grain moisture to 15 to 16% (w.b.) within a week after treatment in contrast to that of 20 to 24% in untreated rice. Desiccation of rice crop with diquat resulted in 10 to 15% increase in grain resistance to shattering and significant reduction in percent green rice. However, there was no reduction in milled rice yield and percent whole kernel and was no change in the percent chalky rice and percent tinted rice. Diquat use appears highly desirable, if there is no residue problem which has not been studied in the present study.

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A Study on CBR Characteristics of National Highway in Yeongnam Region (영남지역 국도에 사용된 흙의 CBR 특성에 관한 연구)

  • Park, Yeong-Mog;Lee, Go-Hyeun;Kim, Nak-Seok;Cho, Gyu-Tae
    • KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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    • v.36 no.3
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    • pp.535-543
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    • 2016
  • This study has been carried out to evaluate the CBR characteristics and the correlations among every soil properties of National road in Yeongnam region. Total of 480 soil samples were collected from 41 administrative districts for more than 30 years. Their physical and mechanical properties such as natural water content, the Atterberg limit, No. 200 sieve passing, the compaction test and the CBR test results were involved. The soils in Yeongnam region, SM, SC, SP and CL by USCS have predominated approximately 79%. The test results show that average CBR values of gravel and sand range from 12.7% to 20.3% and those of silt and clay range from 4.8% to 7.1%. It means that average CBR values of fine grained soils are less than a half of coarse grained one. Natural water content, No. 200 sieve passing, optimum moisture content and maximum dry density of soils are well correlated with CBR values. Especially, it presents that No. 200 sieve passing is the best correlation factor with CBR value. If consider the partition off this region into 6 zones of classified by mother rock, the correlation between CBR value and every soil properties tends to increase. It is suggested that tables, figures and the regressions described in this paper may be available for designers and engineers to understand the characteristics of an embankment materials in Yeongnam region.

Effects of Soft Steam Treatments on Quality Characteristics of Potatoes (감자의 품질특성에 대한 저온스팀 열처리 방식의 효과)

  • Cheigh, Chan-Ick;Lee, Jin-Hee;Chung, Myong-Soo
    • The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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    • v.25 no.1
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    • pp.50-56
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    • 2012
  • This paper examines the effects of various methods of soft steaming(i.e., forced convection-boiler, forced convection-fan, and natural convection) on the quality of potatoes. In particular, the paper investigates the effects of cooking conditions (the steaming method, the treatment time, and the temperature) on the color(L, a, b), moisture content, texture profile, and ascorbic acid of potatoes. The results indicate that not only the cooking method, the treatment time, and the temperature but also the heat transfer mechanism had considerable influence on potato quality. In addition, natural convection steaming was superior to other treatment methods in terms of nutrient retention and texture maintenance. The results of this study should be useful for establishing commercial standards for processing potatoes and improving the quality of thermally processed foods.

Study on the Small Grain Bin for the Improvement of Grain Drying and Storage (곡물건조저장법 개선을 위한 농가용 Grain Bin에 관한 연구)

  • 김성래
    • Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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    • v.16 no.1
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    • pp.3263-3291
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    • 1974
  • Experimental work of grain bin was carried out to develop the methods of natural air in-bin drying and storage. The method is considered to be more economical, labour saving, and an effective countermeasure to grain loss. To examine the possibility of farm use of the grain bin and to analyze the related factors concerned with in-bin grain drying and storage, ambient air conditions (especially the change of air temperature and relative humidity) and grain quality during drying and storage periods were investigated. A laboratory model bin was constructed to investigate the effect of different forced air conditions on the drying characteristics of rice. In addition, a grain bin with 2.2m diameter and 1.8m height, considered to be the optimum size for the average Korean farm, was constructed and tested to examine the drying and storing characteristics of rice. The weather data analyzed in this study was the nine-year (from 1964 to 1972) record of air temperature and relative humidity in the Suweon area, and the thirty-year (from 1931 to 1960) record of pentad normal relative humidity and air temperature in the Seoul area. From the results of the weather data analyses, the adequate air delivery hours (which was arbitrary defined as the condition to give less than 75% relative humidity) to dry the rice during October were about nine hours (from approximately 10 A.M. to 7 P.M, ) a day, in which the average air temperature was about 15.9$^{\circ}C$ and average relative humidity was 66%. The occurence of days having three hours of such conditions was 1, 2, and 1-day within the 1st, 2nd add last 10-day periods for the month of October, respectively. Therefore, it may be considered that the weather condition in October was satisfactory for the forced natural air drying. The results of the laboratory model bin test were analyzed to obtain the drying curve and drying rate for different drying stages and grain layers in the bin corresponding to various conditions of forced natural air. A drying experiment with a prototype grain bin showed that an approximate 5 percent grain moisture gradient through a 1.6 meter grain deposit was observed after 80 hours of intermittent drying, giving an over dried zone in the lower grain layers and an extremely high grain moisture zone in the upper layers. This indicates that an effective measure should be taken to reduce this high moisture gradient. In order to investigate the drying characteristics of bulk grain in a layerturning operation a grain bin test was performed. This showed a significant improvement of uniform drying. In this test, approximate 107 hours were required to dry a depth of 1.6 meter of grain from an initial moisture content of 22.2 percent to a moisture content of 16.7 percent using an air delivery rate of 2.8 cubic meter per a minute per every cubic meter of grain. This resulted in a 2 percent moisture gradient from the top to the bottom of the bin. During storage period, till the end of June the average temperature of grain was 2~3$^{\circ}C$ higher than ambient air temperature. But during July when the grain moisture content went up slightly (less than 1 percent), the average temperature of the grain also increased to 3~5$^{\circ}C$ higher than ambient air temperature. It is therefore recommended that for safe grain storage, grain should not be stored in sheet metal bins after mid May. From the above results, in-bin rice drying and storage can be used effectively on Korean farms. It is strongly recommended that the use of grain-bin system should be implemented for farm use to improve farm drying and storage of rice.

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Experimental investigation for partial replacement of fine aggregates in concrete with sandstone

  • Chandar, K. Ram;Gayana, B.C.;Sainath, V.
    • Advances in concrete construction
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    • v.4 no.4
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    • pp.243-261
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    • 2016
  • This research study focuses on utilizing sandstone which is overburden waste rock in coal mines to use in concrete as a replacement of fine aggregate. Physical properties of sandstone like water absorption, moisture content, fineness modulus etc., were found to be similar to conventional fine aggregate. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis was carried out for analysing elemental composition of sandstone. There was no sulphur content in sandstone which is a good sign to carry the replacement. Fine aggregate was replaced with sandstone at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% by volume and moulds of concrete cubes and cylinders were prepared. Compressive strength of concrete cubes was tested after 3, 7 and 28 days and split tensile & flexural strength was determined after 28 days. The strength was found to be increasing marginally with increase in sandstone content. Fine aggregate that was replaced by 100% sandstone gave highest strength among all the replacements for the compressive, split tensile and flexural strengths. Though increase in strength was marginal, still sandstone can be an effective replacement for sand in order to save the natural resource and utilize the waste sandstone.

Changes in the Chemical Compositions of Chopi(Zanthoxylum piperitum DC.) (초피(Zanthoxylum piperitum DC.) 품종과 수확시기에 따른 화학성분의 변화)

  • 김용두;강성구;최옥자;정현숙;장미정;서재신;고무석
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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    • v.30 no.2
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    • pp.199-203
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    • 2001
  • Chopi, Zanthaxylum piperitum DC., has been used as natural spice traditionally in the Far East countries including Korea. This study was performed with the object of providing basic data, firstly for the decision of the appropriate harvesting time for traditional use of chopi and secondly for developing a new spice satisfying the national dietary custom from chopi as raw material. Concerning the conte수 and its change of the proximate composition, the content of moisture and crude protein decreased in all sample, while the content of fiber and ash tended to increased with the lapse of harvest time. The content of mineral elements tended to increase in every sample with the lapse of harvest time, and contents of K and P were higher than that of Ca, Na and Mg. Every sample showed the highest content of 15~16 components of total amino acids at the first period and the content decreased gradually with the lapse of harvest time. On the basis of the first period, every sample showed the highest content of aspartic acid, the lowest content of methionine and the trace of cysteine. Free amino acids increased considerably with the lapse of harvest time for peels of chopi and minchopi broth, while the amount for leaves increased on the contrary.

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Developing a Scanner for Assessing Foliage Moisture

  • Nakajima, Isao;Ohyama, Futoshi;Juzoji, Hiroshi;Ta, Masuhisa
    • Journal of Multimedia Information System
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    • v.6 no.3
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    • pp.155-164
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    • 2019
  • We intended to confirm that microwave attenuation by tree leaves is strongly linked to water content in leaves. We sampled natural broadleaves, including Japanese cinnamon, and investigated their effects on the microwave (3 to 20 GHz) frequency characteristics using a network analyzer. Experiments determined that microwave attenuation by foliage increases as a linear function of frequency per unit weight (gram). As the frequency increases, the spatial resolution increases, but the phase difference (imaginary component) increases. So we solved the dispersion of phase difference by sweeping the frequency and taking the intermediate value. Based on these experimental results, we developed a microwave scanner on 10Ghz to describe foliage moisture as a image and to enable assessments of leaf condition. Photosynthesis is the process whereby plants synthesize oxygen and sugars from carbon dioxide and water, thereby converting light energy into chemical energy. Since water is a major parameter of photosynthesis, the quantity of water accumulated inside a leaf reflects leaf health. The equipment described here and related microwave technologies will help assess the capacity of leaves to absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Medium optimization for keratinase production by a local Streptomyces sp. NRC 13S under solid state fermentation

  • Shata, Hoda Mohamed Abdel Halim;Farid, Mohamed Abdel Fattah
    • Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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    • v.56 no.2
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    • pp.119-129
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    • 2013
  • Thirteen different Streptomyces isolates were evaluated for their ability to produce keratinase using chicken feather as a sole carbon and nitrogen sources under solid state fermentation (SSF). Streptomyces sp. NRC 13S produced the highest keratinase activity [1,792 U/g fermented substrate (fs)]. The phenotypic characterization and analysis of 16S rDNA sequencing of the isolate were studied. Optimization of SSF medium for keratinase production by the local isolate, Streptomyces sp. NRC13S, was carried out using the one-variable-at-a-time and the statistical approaches. In the first optimization step, the effect of incubation period, initial moisture content, initial pH value of the fermentation medium, and supplementation of some agro-industrial by-products on keratinase production were evaluated. The strain produced about 2,310 U/gfs when it grew on chicken feather with moisture content of 75% (w/w), feather: fodder yeast ratio of 70:30 (w/w), and initial pH 7 using phosphate buffer after 8 days. Based on these results, the Box-Behnken design and response surface methodology were applied to find out the optimal conditions for the enzyme production. The corresponding maximal production of keratinase was about 2,569.38 U/gfs.