Spray drying egg using either maltodextrin or nopal mucilage as stabilizer agents.

In this work, a comparative study between spray drying (SD) of fresh egg by either maltodextrin (MD) or nopal-mucilage (MN) as stabilizing vectors was made. The powders obtained were characterized for drying performance, moisture content, chemical proximate analysis, thermal analysis (TGA), chemical composition (FTIR), microscopy (SEM) and rheology (viscoelasticity and steady state simple shear viscosity). Infrared analysis showed that MN has the effect of a thickening agent rather than an encapsulating one. Results indicated that SD egg with MN produced a high thermal and mechanical stable product and rendered the highest drying performance, producing a more uniform and defined sphere-shaped morphology in comparison to egg SD either alone and with MD.

Actuation of flexoelectric membranes in viscoelastic fluids with applications to outer hair cells.

Liquid crystal flexoelectric actuation uses an imposed electric field to create membrane bending, and it is used by the outer hair cells (OHCs) located in the inner ear, whose role is to amplify sound through generation of mechanical power. Oscillations in the OHC membranes create periodic viscoelastic flows in the contacting fluid media. A key objective of this work on flexoelectric actuation relevant to OHCs is to find the relations and impact of the electromechanical properties of the membrane, the rheological properties of the viscoelastic media, and the frequency response of the generated mechanical power output. The model developed and used in this work is based on the integration of: (i) the flexoelectric membrane shape equation applied to a circular membrane attached to the inner surface of a circular capillary and (ii) the coupled capillary flow of contacting viscoelastic phases, such that the membrane flexoelectric oscillations drive periodic viscoelastic capillary flows, as in OHCs. By applying the Fourier transform formalism to the governing equation, analytical expressions for the transfer function associated with the curvature and electrical field and for the power dissipation of elastic storage energy were found.

Dynamic wetting model for the isotropic-to-nematic transition over a flat substrate.

Phase ordering over solid substrates is a ubiquitous and important soft material transformation process whose description incorporates wetting, anchoring and phase transition kinetics. In this paper the kinetics of the isotropic-to-nematic isothermal phase transition over a flat solid surface in a growing spherical drop is analyzed based on the Landau-de Gennes Q-tensor order parameter equations. The model, based on a previously derived interface force balance and a newly derived contact line force balance, is shown to be consistent with the generic model of conservative interface and contact line motions. The advancing dynamic contact angle equation is extracted from kinematic compatibility between the moving isotropic-nematic interface and contact line. A tractable surface phase transition kinetic model obtained by focusing on the dominant phase transition and wetting driving forces yields: (i) the constant advancing dynamic contact angle θ, and (ii) the contact line speed as a function of undercooling ΔT. It is shown that as undercooling increases, the surface phase transition mode approaches the bulk phase transition mode, such that θ approaches π. The elastic and wetting parameters that control the phase transformation process are identified and experiments for their determination are defined. These dynamic wetting and surface phase transition results significantly expand existing characterization methods of LC-substrate interfaces based on static phase transition droplet methods.

Bioinspired model of mechanical energy harvesting based on flexoelectric membranes.

Membrane flexoelectricity is an electromechanical coupling process that describes membrane electrical polarization due to bending and membrane bending under electric fields. In this paper we propose, formulate, and characterize a mechanical energy harvesting system consisting of a deformable soft flexoelectric thin membrane subjected to harmonic forcing from contacting bulk fluids. The key elements of the energy harvester are formulated and characterized, including (i) the mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion efficiency, (ii) the electromechanical shape equation connecting fluid forces with membrane curvature and electric displacement, and (iii) the electric power generation and efficiency. The energy conversion efficiency is cast as the ratio of flexoelectric coupling to the product of electric and bending elasticity. The device is described by a second-order curvature dynamics coupled to the electric displacement equation and as such results in mechanical power absorption with a resonant peak whose amplitude decreases with bending viscosity. The electric power generation is proportional to the conversion factor and the power efficiency decreases with frequency. Under high bending viscosity, the power efficiency increases with the conversion factor and under low viscosities it decreases with the conversion factor. The theoretical results presented contribute to the ongoing experimental efforts to develop mechanical energy harvesting from fluid flow energy through solid-fluid interactions and electromechanical transduction.

Study of the antioxidant properties of extracts obtained from nopal cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) cladodes after convective drying.

BACKGROUND: The process of convective drying was evaluated in terms of the bioactive compounds contained in nopal samples before and after dehydration. Total polyphenol, flavonoid, flavonol, carotene and ascorbic acid contents were determined in undehydrated and dehydrated samples. Two drying temperatures (45 and 65 °C) and two air flow rates (3 and 5 m s(-1) ) were evaluated. The rheology of samples under the best drying conditions was also studied, since it provides important information regarding processing (mixing, flow processing) as well as the sensory attributes (texture) of rehydrated samples. RESULTS: Non-Newtonian shear-thinning behaviour was observed for samples dried at 45 °C, while samples dried at 65 °C showed shear-thickening behaviour, possibly caused by thermal chain scission of high-molecular-weight components. CONCLUSION: The best conditions for bioactive compound preservation were a drying temperature of 45 °C and an air flow rate of 3 m s(-1) , resulting in 40.97 g phenols, 23.41 g flavonoids, 0.543 g ß-carotene and 0.2815 g ascorbic acid kg(-1) sample as shown in table 3.