Mirleau-Thebaud V^1,2, J Dayde¹, JD Scheiner^1,3,4

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.86, pp. 53-67, 2017, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2017.86.053

Abstract Soil compaction represents an important issue in the actual context of agricultural system sustainability. Research on the various developments of root systems under tillage has been explored for many crops, whether for the biomass area or the underground, but very little concerns Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). The objectives of the study were to understand the impact of soil tillage and of the induced mechanically compacted soil on: i) sunflower’s root system architecture, ii) biomass area iii) production. Two complementary experiments were realized in the south of France (France’s main sunflower production area). In both experiments, increased More >

A. Ja¹, A. Cheddadi¹

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.13, No.4, pp. 235-249, 2017, DOI:10.3970/fdmp.2017.013.235

Abstract This paper reports on the natural convection within a very narrow horizontal annular cavity filled with a porous medium saturated by a binary fluid. The main objective of this study is the identification of the effect of Lewis number on the flow structure and on the heat and mass transfer rates, in a cavity of very small radius ratio R=1.05, in the case of equal buoyancy forces (N=1), for a Rayleigh number Ra=50. The dimensionless governing equations were solved by the centered Finite Difference method using the ADI scheme. Several multicellular flows appear during the variation of More >

Meng Li^1,2, Jixiong Zhang^1,3, Nan Zhou¹, Qiang Zhang¹

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.113, No.2, pp. 183-194, 2017, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2017.113.189

Abstract To study the influence of coal mining on the stability of river levees, a mechanical model of mining-induced river levee deformation was established. This was based on the mining-induced deformation characteristics of river levees and the application of a typical surface subsidence function. Meanwhile, a failure criterion was proposed for river levees. Using some examples, the deformation of, and stress distribution through, river levees under the influence of mining were obtained: the maximum tensile stress on the bottom of the river levee was less than the tensile strength, under which circumstance the river levee remained More >

Arzu Turan Dincel¹, Surkay D. Akbarov^2,3

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.53, No.3, pp. 249-270, 2017, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2017.053.265

Abstract This paper deals with the mathematical modelling and 3D FEM study of the energy release rate (ERR) in the band crack’s front contained in the orthotropic thick rectangular plate which is stretched or compressed initially before the loading of the crack's edge planes. The initial stretching or compressing of the plate causes uniformly distributed normal stress to appear acting in the direction which is parallel to the plane on which the band crack is located. After the appearance of the initial stress in the plate it is assumed that the crack's edge planes are loaded… More >

L.S. Melro^1,2, L.R. Jensen¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.53, No.2, pp. 109-127, 2017, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2017.053.111

Abstract Molecular dynamics simulations were applied in order to calculate the Young’s modulus of graphene functionalized with carboxyl, hydroxyl, carbonyl, hydrogen, methyl, and ethyl groups. The influence of the grafting density with percentages of 3, 5, 7, and 10% and the type of distribution as a single cluster or several small clusters were also studied. The results show that the elastic modulus is dependent on the type of functional groups. The increasing coverage density also evidenced a decrease of the Young’s modulus, and the organization of functional groups as single cluster showed a lesser impact than More >

B. Venkateswarlu^a, P.V. Satya Narayana^b,*

Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol.7, pp. 1-9, 2016, DOI:10.5098/hmt.7.16

Abstract This paper studies the Soret and Dufour effects on MHD flow of a Casson fluid past a stretching sheet in the presence of chemical reaction, viscous dissipation and variable thermal conductivity. The fluid is taken to be electrically conducting and the flow is induced by a stretching surface. The governing partial differential equations are transformed into non-linear ordinary differential equations using similarity transformations. The resulting equations are then solved numerically by shooting method. The impact of various stimulating parameters on the flow, heat and mass transfer characteristics are analyzed and discussed in detail through graphs. More >

Yang G^1,2, Z Zhang¹, G Zhang³, H Zhang², X Han³, CA Busso⁴

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.85, pp. 100-107, 2016, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2016.85.100

Abstract Phosphorus is an essential macronutrient for all living plants and plant production. Simultaneously, atmospheric nitrogen deposition also affects plant productivity at a global scale. However, few studies have investigated how plants respond to P addition while simultaneously considering N deposition. We investigated plant biomass, nutrient status and stoichiometric ratios on Potentilla tanacetifolia in response to P fertilization under contrasting N addition rates in a typical meadow steppe in Inner Mongolia, China. Aboveground biomass of P. tanacetifolia increased under increasing levels of P fertilization under conditions of N addition. However, there was no significant change in biomass when… More >

Gul B¹, M Islam², S Ahmad³, S Gul¹

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.85, pp. 94-99, 2016, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2016.85.094

Abstract Spatial and temporal patterns of aboveground biomass and nutritive value of rangeland species with respect to the influence of grazing and soil moisture were investigated. The research was conducted during two years at the Tomagh Research Station, near Sanjawi, Ziarat District, Balochistan, Pakistan. This area is protected from grazing since 1998; however, some of the area is open for grazing. Three sites were selected for research purposes: a protected plain, a protected hilly, and an unprotected plain grazed area. Sampling was carried out during the spring, summer and autumn seasons. Results revealed that soil moisture More >

Aleksander Prociak^*, Elźbieta Malewska, Szymon Bąk

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 78-85, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634129

Abstract In this article, the results of the foaming process analysis of fl exible polyurethane with different isocyanate indexes are presented. Two types of flexible polyurethane foams (FPURF) were obtained: (1) by using petrochemical components and a rapeseed-oil-based polyol (used in the amount of 20 wt%), (2) by using petrochemical components and cellulose as a natural fi ller in the amount of 3 php (per hundred parts of polyol). The characteristic parameters of the foaming process, such as the foam’s growth velocity, the core temperature and dielectric polarization, were measured using a Foamat device. Moreover, the More >

M.A. Pérez-Limiñana^*, M.M. Sánchez-Navarro, M.J. Escoto-Palacios, F. Arán-Aís, C. Orgilés-Barceló

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 3-8, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634119

Abstract The tanning i ndustry generates very large quantities of industrial wastes. The advancement of European policy and legislation protecting the environment has prompted the transformation of tannery solid waste materials into valuable co-products, useful to be recycled or employed in other industries. The objective of this work is to obtain gelatine from tannery wastes, in order to reuse it as natural microencapsulating agent in the production of active materials with functional properties. Concretely, this paper focuses on the influence of the extraction temperature on gelatine properties and its microencapsulating ability. An alternative enzymatic pre-treatment to More >