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Microbial and analytical characterization of Chhu-A traditional fermented milk product of the Sikkim Himalayas

2016-07-20T05:10:57Z

Title: Microbial and analytical characterization of Chhu-A traditional fermented milk product of the Sikkim Himalayas Authors: Dewan, Sailendra; Tamang, Jyoti Prakash Abstract: Chhu, a traditional fermented milk product prepared from cow milk or yak milk in Sikkim, India, contains: lactic acid bacteria (LAB), 8.1-8.8; yeasts, 6.0-6.9; and total viable counts, 8.9-9.2 Log cfu/g. No mould was detected, LAB were identified as Lactobacillus alimentarius, Lb. farciminis, Lb. salivarius, Lb. bifermentans. Lb. brevis and Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, all of which showed a high degree of hydrophobicity, suggesting a possible probiotic character, Yeasts were identified as Saccharonivcopsis crataegensis and Candida castellii. LAB produced a wide spectrum of enzymes. None of the strains produced bacteriocin and biogenic amines. Most strains of LAB coagulated skim milk with a moderate drop in pH. A proximate composition of Chhu was similar to a typical cheese. Page(s): 747-752

Neural network for short-term predictions of ambient particulate matter around thermal power plant

2016-07-20T05:03:49Z

Title: Neural network for short-term predictions of ambient particulate matter around thermal power plant Authors: Sriram, G; Mohan, N Krishna; Gopalasarny, V Abstract: A three-layer neural network model has been developed to predict suspended particulate matter (SPM) in and around a thermal power plant at Neyveli. The feed forward supervised neural network-the back propagation was used to train the network. Utilizing the meteorological data along with SPM data for all the six monitoring stations surrounding the thermal power plant, the neural gave better predictions. The aim of the present research work is to construct a forecasting model that would be suitable for the use of future planning and developments. Page(s): 639-645

Stress analysis on the major parts of a bulb turbine using FEA-A case study

2016-07-20T04:48:32Z

Title: Stress analysis on the major parts of a bulb turbine using FEA-A case study Authors: Kuppuswamy, N; Rudramoorthy, R; Mayilsamy, K Abstract: In the bulb turbine, main shaft and stay column play important role. Main shaft is positioned horizontally. More stress concentration occurs near the junction of stay column with concrete at the top and bottom, since the entire load is being taken care of by stay columns at the top and bottom. A finite element analysis (FEA) has been made using ANSYS software to find out structural stability with stress distribution for bulb turbine and the reasons for high vibration and vertical cracks in the concrete structure of the powerhouse. Results from FEA analysis show that the bulb turbine operation is safe when the stay columns are fitted with pipe jacks. This method reduces stress concentration at the junction of stay column with concrete. Page(s): 402-409

Development of bitumen emulsion based cold mix technology for construction of roads under different climatic conditions of India

2016-07-20T05:09:55Z

Title: Development of bitumen emulsion based cold mix technology for construction of roads under different climatic conditions of India Authors: Pundhir, N K S; Nunda, P K Abstract: To develop environment and ceo-friendly cold mix technology, field trials were conducted using bitumen emulsion on Jammu-Srinagar Highway NH-1A near Patnitop (J&K) under snow bound arc a, Jowai-Badarpur Road NH-44 near Silchar (Assam) under heavy rainfall and H-S Road near Hanumangarh (Rajasthan) under desert climate. Specifications adopted were 25 mm semi dense bituminous concrete (SDBC) and 20 mm premix carpet (PMC) for laying test sections with bitumen emulsion and control section with paving bitumen 80/100. Laboratory mix design for SDBC with bitumen emulsion was developed using Marshall method. Marshall specimens or cold mix were prepared, cured at 40°C for 3 days and tested at 25°C for stability and flow value. Post construction performance evaluation has been carried out at 6-month intervals for 5-6 years. SDBC and PMC with bitumen emulsion performed better or comparable with that of conventional paving grade bitumen. Due to low viscosity, bitumen emulsion penetrated into cracks and helped in sealing them during tack coating, which resulted into retardation of reflective cracks on overlays. Performance of SDBC with bitumen emulsion was also found comparable with that of paving grade bitumen. Page(s): 729-743