Narrow Results

We have examined extended structures, bridges and arches, in computer generated, non-sequentially stabilized, hard sphere deposits. The bridges and arches have well-defined distributions of sizes and shapes. The distribution functions reflect the contraints associated with hard particle packing and the details of the restructuring process. A subpopulation of string-like bridges has been identified. Bridges are fundamental microstructural elements in real granular systems and their sizes and shapes dominate considerations of structural properties and flow instabilities such as jamming.

We have examined extended structures, bridges and arches, in computer generated, non-sequentially stabilized, hard sphere deposits. The bridges and arches have well-defined distributions of sizes and shapes. The distribution functions reflect the contraints associated with hard particle packing and the details of the restructuring process. A subpopulation of string-like bridges has been identified. Bridges are fundamental micro-structural elements in real granular systems and their sizes and shapes dominate considerations of structural properties and flow instabilities such as jamming.

The application of count techniques in thermophilic-dry anaerobic reactor of Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW) requires an adequate pre-treatment due to high content in solids present in the effluent. Therefore, an experiment was designed to select the best conditions of pre-treatment. Four conditions were assayed: without pre-treatment, shaking (60 seconds), addition of tensioactive agent (20µL of Tween 80 with a concentration [5µg/µL]) and sonication (5 seconds). The technique of quantification used to determine the best pre-treatment was the DAPI epifluorescence microscopy method. All quantitative data were checked for normality before Paired-Samples T Test and an analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Spss v11.5 program. It can be concluded that the most appropriate pre-treatment applied for microbiological count of high solids content samples was the addition of Tween 80 and 120 seconds of shaking.