Abstract: Break-up processes have been investigated in an SMX-Sulzer static mixer. Oil/water and water/oil dispersions have been studied over a range of Reynolds, Weber and viscosity numbers. A semiempirical model has been developed for the prediction of mean drop size by equating the disruptive force acting upon the drop to the cohesive forces due to surface and viscous resistance to breakage. To establish the model, the liquid–liquid dispersions are assumed to be pseudo-fluids and the energy dissipation rate is calculated from pressure drop measurements expressed through a capillary model. Experimental data are correlated with Reynolds and Weber numbers and are analysed in order to show the influence of surface and viscous resistance on the breakage process.

Abstract: An effective algorithm based on improved time-domain averaging is proposed to detect tool flute breakage during end milling using feed-motor current signatures. The algorithm proposed is demonstrated to be effective in detecting tool flute breakage in real time through a series of milling experiments, and is also demonstrated to be insensitive to the effects for transients, such as cutter runout, entry/exit cuts, and noise in the feed-motor current signals. The results show that the approach has an excellent online application potential for tool flute breakage detection in end milling.

Abstract: Comminution of food is the composite result of selection and breakage. Selection is characterised by the chance that a food particle will at least be damaged by the teeth during chewing. For any size, this chance equals the ratio between the weight of damaged or broken particles and that of all initial particles. The breakage process refers to fracturing of selected particles. The aim was to examine whether a reduced chewing performance of pre-orthognathic surgery patients is due to an impairment of selection, breakage or both. Eight cubes of 8.0 mm of the silicone-rubber Optosil " were used as a test food to determine chewing efficiency for 12 patients (skeletal Angle Class II and dental Angle Class II, subdivision 1) and 12 controls (class I molar relation). Selection and breakage were determined in one-chew experiments using various particle sizes. Chewing efficiency was significantly lower for the patients than for the controls. The selection chance was significantly smaller for the patients, in particular for smaller (< or = 4.8 mm) particles. The degree of breakage was lower for the patients, in particular for medium-sized particles of 4.8 mm. These findings suggest that the reduced chewing performance of pre-orthognathic surgery patients is due to an impairment of both selection and breakage.

Abstract: Two types of unidirectional carbon fibre, one of high strength (DHMS) and another of medium strength (VLMS) reinforced vinylester resin composites have been examined for their impact fatigue behaviour over 104 impact cycles for the first time. The study was conducted using a pendulum type repeated impact apparatus specially designed and constructed for the purpose. A well-defined impact fatigue behaviour (S-N type curve) curve has been demonstrated. It showed a plateau region of 10–102 cycles immediately below the single cycle impact strength, followed by progressive endurance with decreasing impact loads, culminating in an endurance limit at about 71% and 85% of the single impact strength for DHMS-48 and VLMS-48, respectively. Analysis of the fractured surfaces revealed primary debonding, fibre breakage and pull-out at the tensile zone of the samples and a shear mode of fracture with breakage of fibre bundles at the compressive zone of the samples. The occurrence of a few major macrocracks in the matrix with fibre breakage at the high load-low endurance region and development of multiple microcracks in the matrix, coalescing and fibre breakage at the low-load-high endurance region have been inferred to explain the fatigue behaviour of the composites examined.

Abstract: PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a filmlike filter for preventing glass breakage, which solves the problem of double reflection due to an air layer by direct application to the view side of a plasma display panel, which is easily applied, contributes toward reducing weight and thickness and lowering cost and which has a significant glass breakage preventing effect, and to provide a plasma display device with the filter. SOLUTION: An antireflection film 12 is disposed on one face 11a of a glass breakage preventing layer 11 comprising a composite material of a transparent organic high polymer and an organized layered clay mineral and the other face 11b is made adhesive to form the objective filmlike filter 1 for preventing glass breakage and this filter 1 is directly applied to the view side of a plasma display panel 21 via the adhesive face of the glass breakage preventing layer 11 to form the objective plasma display device 2.

Abstract: In the present study, the factors having an affect on the difference effect of Mg-alloy, such as the role of monovalent ion, chunk breakage and surface protective film are discussed in detail. The degree of difference effect of as-cast magnesium alloy increases with Al content and applied external potential. The chunk breakage of precipitate was observed under open circuit potential, as well as applied external potential. Also, the precipitate which is disrupted as chunk type maintained its original morphology as that of as-cast alloy among the corrosion products after a corrosion test. It is thought that chunk breakage is a secondary factor bearing on the difference effect, which varies only the degree of the difference effect, Δ. The main cause for the difference effect of Mg-alloy which reveals a negative sign is due to the corrosion behavior of the surface protective film which is influenced on the Al content of the Mg-rich matrix, e.g., the repassivation tendency.

Abstract: In a tripartite exploration of the effects of traumatic breakage in the parasitic clonal plant Cuscuta corymbosa,experimental breakage had significant negative effects upon stem extension of ramets distal to a break and the level of that effect depended upon the number of ramets in the severed fragment. Regular monitoring of clonal individuals transplanted onto naturally occurring, native host species revealed that breakage in individuals growing under natural conditions ranged from 2 to 66% of all interramet connections and significantly affected distance between ramets and stolon generation in ramets associated with a break. Simulations revealed that these responses to breakage would significantly change the ‘‘shape’’ of a clonal individual in a manner capable of affecting probabilities of encounter with patchily distributed resources. Nonetheless, the observed levels of breakage had no discernible effect on biomass accumulation, although individuals that survived into the dry season and thus gained the potential to reproduce in additional seasons had a significantly lower rate of breakage than those that did not. We suggest that the lack of a relationship between breakage and within-season biomass accumulation is an indication that parasite response to breakage is gauged to expected levels of breakage for the habitat. We note that the capacity of ramets to survive disconnection significantly decreased the loss of tissue that would occur if subunits did not possess the potential to function independently.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for the accurate monitoring of a granule during compression testing is provided and enables the study of breakage mechanisms that cause particle failure during compression. The method involves compressing a granule or particle with the apparatus and the apparatus is a spring device that combines a spring in parallel with the granule or particle and a spring in series with the granule or particle. Under failure conditions, sudden deformation of the granule or particle results in fast relaxation of the granule or particle during breakage and allows very careful granule breakage. Measuring or recording devices coupled to the apparatus provide for the detailed study of breakage conditions at the moment of failure and lend incite into the compression strength characteristics of the granule or particle.

Abstract: PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a plasma breaking method and a plasma breaker capable of reducing energy loss due to reflected stock waves and breakage in a breakage electrode. SOLUTION: By arranging an inserting material 41 inside a hole (prepared hole) 31 previously provided in a breaking object 30, the inside of the hole 31 is formed into a desired internal shape. In this way, the advancing direction of a shock wave generated from the tip of the breakage electrode 11 is controlled. As to the internal shape, a conical shape projecting toward the depth of the hole 31 is desirable.

Abstract: The undesirable breakage of agglomerates is a problem present in almost all operations involving the handling of these materials. The response of agglomerates to mechanical loading has traditionally been related to the total porosity of the structure. However, there is at present no universally accepted model which relates the internal structure of the agglomerates with their breakage propensity. This Thesis addresses the preparation and impact breakage of agglomerates of large primary particles with well-quantified interparticle adhesion and structure, using experimental and numerical simulation techniques, namely the Distinct Element Method (DEM). The agglomerates structure is manipulated in both cases by introducing a well-known number of large voids of controlled sizes. For the experimental part of the work, this required the development of a novel agglomeration technique, which allows good control of the interparticle bond properties and void size and number. The detailed observations of the impact process and of the impact product show two main patterns of breakage for the experimental agglomerates. The first one is the local disintegration of the impact site into small debris, producing a bimodal size distribution of the impact product, with fines made of small clusters and the residual fragment. The second pattern consists of the generation of large fracture planes, which split the agglomerates into relatively large fragments. For the numerical simulation, only the local damage pattern has been observed. The local structure of the impact site has been shown to have a significant effect on the pattern and the extent of breakage. Impact breakage is shown to increase with impact velocity and macro-void number and to decrease with interparticle bond strength. The macro-void size is shown to have a smaller influence on the agglomerate breakage. Finally, experimental and DEM agglomerates with matching physical properties have been prepared and their breakage behaviours have been compared. The results show satisfactory agreement when localised damage takes place, thus confirming the potential of the combination of the two techniques, i.e. experiments and numerical simulations. There is no agreement between the simulation and experiments for the case of fragmentation. This issue needs to be addressed in future work. This work is the first attempt to compare experiments and DEM simulations on a rigorous basis. It has addressed the case of brittle bond behaviour. Other modes of bond breakage need to be addressed in the future, in order to provide a comprehensive mapping of agglomerate failure.

Abstract: PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a structure for preventing breakage of glass in which a transparent material for preventing the breakage of glass is laminated directly on a glass substrate, an air layer is eliminated, and double reflections of external light are prevented and which can be made light and thin and has a large effect for preventing the breakage of glass SOLUTION: In the structure for preventing the breakage of glass, a surface glass breakage preventing material (1), the glass substrate, and a metal plate are arranged in turn, and an internal glass breakage preventing material (2) of an elastomer 1×10 9 Pa or below in dynamic modulus of shearing elasticity or a viscoelastic material is placed between the glass substrate and the metal plate The impact fracture energy (B) of the structure when a steel ball 50 mm in diameter and 500 g in weight is dropped on the surface glass breakage preventing material (1) is at least 12 times as large as the impact fracture energy (A) of a structure without the internal glass breakage preventing material (2) COPYRIGHT: (C)2002,JPO

Abstract: The effect of temperature on moisture reduction rate and soybean qualities using a two-dimensional spouted bed dryer has been studied. Air velocity was varied in a range of 15.86-20.50 m/s, with a fixed holdup of 25 kgs. The soybeans with initial moisture levels varying between 28 and 32% dry basis were dried to 12-17% dry basis using inlet air temperatures of 120-150°C. The experimental results indicate that higher temperatures provide faster moisture reduction rate. The qualities of soybean have also been considered in terms of stress cracking, breakage, urease activity and protein solubility in 0.2% KOH. It is shown that the percentages of cracking and breakage depend on temperature, final moisture content and degree of collision of kernel with deflector. The percentages of stress crack and breakage lie in the range of 50-60% and of 3-24%, respectively. The urease activity and protein solubility are accepted with slightly changing in the protein quality.

Abstract: The behaviour of coarse pure lead particles in different dry laboratory tumbling mills was investigated. It was modelled with first-order transfer rates to represent the various mass transfers observed, namely flattening, folding, agglomeration, breakage and smearing unto the mill shell and grinding media.This paper presents the models used and the experimental program of the grinding of lead shots, both spherical and flattened, with the Bond rod and ball mills. All five mechanisms were observed, particularly breakage and smearing in the rod mill, and folding and flattening in the ball mill. Agglomeration was only observed in the ball mill, during an intermediate phase of grinding. Particulate breakage generally required an induction time, which is believed to be associated with the formation and propagation of cracks at the edge of flakes. The different phases of each test were fitted into various models. The model which yielded the best fit generally corresponded with the dominant transfer mechanism observed. The reliability of parametric estimation generally became worse as the number of the model parameters increased.

Abstract: It is easy to remove bubbles from a liquid phase using their buoyancy under the gravitational field on the ground. However, bubble removal from the liquid phase is difficult under microgravity. In this study, bubble breakage on an air-water interface by centrifugal force was experimentally investigated under microgravity for the design of a space station bioreactor. Under our experimental conditions, the mean bubble breakage time of the air-water system at 1G was 0.16 s, with a standard deviation of 0.023 s. The bubble breakage time at the air-water interface in a centrifugal force field under microgravity ranged from 0.27 to 1.27 s. Under our experimental conditions, bubble frequency had no effect on the bubble breakage time at 0.047G. The mean bubble breakage time under microgravity increased with decreasing centrifugal acceleration. Although the bubble breakage time at the air-water interface under microgravity is longer than at 1G, the bubbles at the air-water interface were often broken by centrifugal force.

Abstract: PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently and accurately determine an existence of a tool breakage. SOLUTION: In this device determining a breakage of a tool 5 by a needle 3 attached on a rotary shaft 2 of a motor 1 controlled by a controller 4, the motor 1 is forwardly and reversely rotated for detecting breakage of two tools 5 with one controller 4, and a rotation range of the motor 1 is regulated for preventing erroneous determination caused by contact of the needle 3 to an interfering object.

Abstract: PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To discriminate between a breakage of a handpiece and a breakage of blade. SOLUTION: The breakage of the bad handpiece and the breakage of the bad blade in an ultrasonic surgical system can be discriminated by monitoring the rate of change in a resonance frequency and the rate of change in a resonance impedance when a driving frequency changes. When the system reaches a resonance, a control system is locked at the resonance frequency. When not being locked and not being retrieved, the rate of change in the frequency and the rate of change in the impedance are compared to obtain respective maximum rates in the changes which are stored in a nonvolatile memory of an ultrasonic generator. If each rate of the change is higher than that which is typically expected due to the temperature change using the longest blade, a 'bad blade' message is displayed on a LCD. COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Abstract: The research foundation of this paper was the thermal breakage model of single pane glass. Based on the computing software of single pane glass thermal breakage, the thermal breakage model of double pane glass was designed. At the same time, the process of heat conduction in the inside face and its internal space and the mechanism of the successive breakage were also carefully analyzed.

Abstract: PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a faulty stop or overlooking conventionally caused in a loom. SOLUTION: This method for setting a threshold voltage for detecting the blowing breakage comprises determining a value of a difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of signals from a blowing breakage feeler in a first period defined so as to include at least a period before and after the detection period of the blowing breakage in a state of a weft yarn absent in a detection region, determining the average value of signals from the blowing breakage feeler in a second period determined independently of the detection period of the blowing breakage and the first period without including signals when the weft yarn is detected and setting the value obtained by adding the value of the difference to the determined average value as the threshold value for detecting the blowing breakage.

Abstract: In some previous papers we have developed a model for the dynamics of liquid-liquid dispersions including some new features, among which the socalled volume scattering phenomenon, as a third mechanism of evolution, besides coalescence and breakage. So far we confined to binary breakage. The present paper analyses the more general case in which more than two droplets may be produced as the result of breakage or volume scattering. The main point is the introduction of a probability function for each breakage mode: from this point of view the paper completes our approach to the description of the dynamics of droplets dispersions which are spatially homogeneous.