Effect of Different Moisture Contents on Crystallized State of Microwave Modified Tapioca Starch

Effect of microwave modification on tapioca starch at different moisture contents was studied with polarized light microscope. It was observed that loss of birefringence was initiated at hilum of granule. The polarization cross of most granules had become somewhat unclear, and reduction in clarity of the polarization cross was proportioned with the moisture contents of native starch as modification by microwave. When the moisture contents reached to 35.0%, the polarization cross of most granules was lost, and the critical point of native starch was 30% in microwave modification.

The impacts of oxytetracycline on humification during manure composting can be alleviated by adjusting initial moisture contents as illustrated by NMR

Oxytetracycline(OTC)residues have been found in soil and water,and they may pose potential risks to agricultural ecological environments.One of the most impactful ways for OTC to enter the soil and water environments is through excrement used as organic fertilizer.Therefore,it is important to remove OTC during manure composting and to understand the transformation of the organic materials during composting in the presence of OTC.In the present paper,chicken manure and wheat sawdust spiked with OTC were composted under different initial moisture contents(MC)to evaluate the degradation of OTC and changes of organic matter during the composting process.The MC has a significant effect on OTC degradation during composting.A higher MC of 65% was more conducive to OTC degradation(77.4%)and compost maturity compared to the lower MC.However,the higher MC of 65%could increase the ammonia volatilization by promoting nitrification compared to the lower MC.An increase in the initial MC could improve the composting temperature.NMR results illustrated that the presence of OTC could affect the internal transformation of aliphatics,and OTC inhibited compost humification.Thus,an initial MC of 55–65% can alleviate the impacts of OTC on humification during manure composting.

The lateral pressure coefficient at rest of expansive soils in landfill at various vertical stresses and moisture contents

When expansive soils in the original location are artificially transferred to landfill in different seasons,and subject to engineering activities afterwards,the corresponding deformation and stability of retaining structures become unpredictable.This necessitates the determination of lateral pressure coefficient at rest(k_(0) value)for expansive soils in landfill.Considering compaction,excavation of expansive soils,as well as construction of landfill in different seasons,series of stepwise loading and unloading consolidation tests at various moisture contents were carried out in this work to explore the evolution characteristics of k_(0) value and assess the dependence of k_(0) value on vertical stress and moisture content.Besides,scanning electron microscope(SEM)was used to track the change in microstructural features with vertical stresses.The results indicated that the k_(0) value of expansive soil shows a pronounced nonlinearity and is inextricably linked with vertical stress and moisture content,based on which a prediction formula to estimate the variation in k_(0) value with vertical stress during loading stage was proposed;there is a significant exponential increase in k_(0) value with overconsolidation ratio(OCR)during unloading stage,and OCR dominates the release of horizontal stress of expansive soil;SEM results revealed that with an increase in vertical stress,the anisotropy of expansive soil microstructure increases dramatically,causing a significant directional readjustment,which is macroscopically manifested as an initially rapid increase in k_(0) value;but when vertical stress increases to a critical value,the anisotropy of microstructure increases marginally,indicating a stable orientation occurring in the soil microstructure,which causes the k_(0) value to maintain a relatively stable value.

An experimental investigation on acoustic emission characteristics of sandstone rockburst with different moisture contents

Rockburst occurred frequently during deep mining in China. The mechanism of rockburst is very complicated and related to many factors. In order to investigate the influence of moisture contents of rockmass on rockburst, we conducted a series of laboratory rockburst experiments of sandstone under three different moisture contents by the Modified True-Triaxial Apparatus (MTTA),in which the acoustic emission (AE) system was employed to monitor the internal damage of rock mass. A high-speed video camera was utilized to record the detail of rockburst. Based on the experimental results, the AE characteristics, such as AE count,AE energy, and AE frequency, were analyzed. The rockburst process, type, and indensity under different moisture contents were discussed. The research results show that with the increase of moisture contents, rock strength was soften, the elastic and the cumulative damage of the rock were reduced, resulting in a gradual decrease in AE cumulative counts and cumulative energy over the course of rockburst. This study provides an experimental basis and reference for better understanding to the rockburst mechanism and control.

A NEW INSTRUMENT FOR MEASURING LOCAL MOISTURE CONTENTS IN MOIST POROUS MEDIA

A new instrument was developed for measuring the local moisture content in moist porous media based on the needle-type capacitance sensor and single-chip microprocessor technique. The working principle, the structure and characteristics of the hardware and software of the instrument were presented. The dynamic response characteristics and reliability of the instrument were experimentally determined. As an example, the instrument was employed to measure the heat and mass transport properties of a moist porous material. The experimental results show that the instrument can be used for measuring the local moisture content in moist porous media and would be an effective tool for determining the heat and mass transport properties in moist porous media.

Comparing tractive performance of steel and rubber single grouser shoe under different soil moisture contents

Steel and rubber are two kinds of materials which are often used for the tracks of off-road vehicles.The objective of this study was to compare tractive performances of steel and rubber grouser shoes under different soil moisture contents.In this study,the tractive performance of single grouser shoe was predicted by soil parameters and three-dimensional shearing model.The soil used in this study was clay soil,and ten different soil moisture contents ranged from 8.58%to 54.36%were applied for investigation of soil parameters.For each soil moisture content,the penetration test,direct shearing test,density and soil moisture content measurement have been performed to obtain the required soil parameters.The experimental results showed that thrust and running resistance of steel single grouser shoe had similar trends to those of rubber single grouser shoe.The thrust of rubber single grouser shoe was always greater than that of steel single grouser shoe with the increase of soil moisture content,and as well as the running resistance.However,the traction of rubber single grouser shoe had a different trend to that of steel single grouser shoe.The traction of steel single grouser shoe was always greater than that of rubber single grouser shoe at any given moisture content except at the stage of less than 15%moisture content.From the experimental results,it can be concluded that the steel single grouser shoe performed better than rubber single grouser shoe in traction for the soil used in this study.

Effects of soil mechanical properties on the height and tractive performance of rubber grouser at different moisture contents

Rubber tracked vehicles are commonly used on agricultural machinery that perform agricultural operations such as rice harvesting in soft paddy fields with low bearing capacity.Research was carried out to assess the influence of soil moisture content and mechanical properties on the tractive performance of a rubber grouser with three heights(45 mm,55 mm,60 mm).The direct shear test and penetration test were used in this study,which was based on a semi-empirical approach of determining tractive parameters.Direct shear tests were used to measure soil shear strength parameters such as cohesion,adhesion,internal and exterior friction angles.The results of the penetration test were used to determine tractive parameters such as soil thrust,running resistance,and traction,for the penetration test,a device was designed and developed.The experimental results revealed that soil cohesion and adhesion increased linearly with increasing soil moisture content,however adhesion dropped after 30.7%.Similarly,the soil thrust initially increased till 21.5%then decreased.Furthermore,running resistance had a decreasing trend over soil moisture content whereas maximum traction achieved for 45 mm grouser height at 21.5%moisture content.It was concluded that a rubber grouser with 45 mm height had better traction rather than 55 mm and 60 mm,it can be suitably used for designing a track system for a crawler vehicle(e.g.,harvester)leading to its greater adoption among the farmers.

Dry Matter Accumulation,Moisture Content in Maize Kernel and Their Influences on Mechanical Harvesting

[Objective] The aim of this study was to investigate the dry matter accumulation,moisture content in maize kernel and their influences on mechanical harvesting.[Methods] Using Zhengdan 958,Xianyu 335,Hongda 8 and Liyu 16 as experimental materials,we preliminarily measured the dynamic changes of dry matter accumulation and moisture content with the days after pollination lasted,and investigated the effect of moisture content in kernels on mechanical harvesting of Zhengdan 958 and Liyu 16.[Results] During summer growing season,Zhengdan 958 and Liyu 16 became physiologically mature and suitable for harvesting at about 51 days after pollination,Xianyu 335 and Hongda 8 required 58 days to become physiologically mature and suitable for harvesting after pollination.At physiologically mature stage,the moisture contents in kernels of Zhengdan 958,Xianyu 335,Hongda 8 and Liyu 16 were respectively 33.74%,28.86%,32.05% and 35.24%,respectively.Adopting mechanical harvesting at physiologically mature stage,the kernel loss rate of Zhengdan 958 and Liyu 16 was consistent with the range of mechanical operation index（kernel loss rate of 0.84%≤2%）,while the percentage of broken kernels did not accord with the range of mechanical operation index（kernel crashing rate of 10.12%≧1%）.The results indicate that Zhengdan 958 and Liyu 16 are not suitable for mechanical harvesting using full feeding combine havester.[Conclusion] This study provided theoretical basis for improving the maize harvest index under delayed harvesting.

Effects of Fertilization on Moisture Content of Soils in the Loess Hilly-gully Region

[Objective] The aim of this study was to study the influence of plants on the soil moisture content under different fertilization.[Method] Using sainfoin,sweet clover,Astragalus adsurgens,alfalfa,ryegrass,little flower,white clover as experimental material,this study explored the effects of soil moisture on the improvement of soil quality.[Result] Results showed that the soil moisture content of different plants follows as：sainfoin 〉sweet clover 〉Astragalus adsurgens 〉alfalfa perennial ryegrass 〉small crown 〉white clover,and the average moisture content reached 24.13% which was 2.45% higher than that of control group.At planting white clover,sweet clover,under the condition of 7 kinds of crops,in the treatments without fertilizer and with organic fertilizer,soil moisture content of soil in 0-20 cm grew significantly.[Conclusion] The application of organic fertilizer and growing of plants would improve soil moisture in abandoned fields,enhance the ability of soil water supply,and improve soil fertility.

Effects of Ground Mulching Treatments on Soil Moisture Content in Second-generation Seed Garden of Pinus elliottii

Different ground mulching treatments were designed to observe the effects on soil moisture content in a second-generation seed orchard of Pinus elliottii. The results showed that： （1） there were extreme differences in soil moisture content Ⅰ and soil moisture content Ⅲ, but no obvious difference in soil moisture content II was observed; and （2） the high-to-low order of soil moisture content Ⅰ under different ground mulching treatments was white film〉sawdust〉black film〉the control, and the highest value was higher than the lowest one by 26.69%; the high-to-low order of soil moisture content Ⅱ under different ground mulching treatments was white film〉black film〉sawdust〉the control, and the highest value was higher than the lowest one by 20.64%; and the high-to-low order of soil moisture content Ⅲ under different ground mulching treatments was black film〉white film〉sawdust〉the control, and the highest value was higher than the lowest one by 26.61%.

Effects of Soil Moisture Content and p H on Residual Dynamics of Chlorothalonil in Acidified Soil

[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the residual dynamics of chlorothalonil in acidified soil under different conditions of soil moisture content and pH. [Method] By simulation tests, the effects of different soil moisture content and pH on chlorothalonil residues in acidified soil were analyzed. [Result] Under different conditions of soil moisture content and pH, the residual quantity of chlorothalonil in acidified soil was reduced gradually with the extension of incubation time. To be specific, the reduction rate of chlorothalonil residues in soil was extremely high within the first three days and slightly declined at 3-7 d; after 7 d, the residual quantity of chlorothalonil in soil was reduced slowly and steadily. [Conclusion] This study provides the reference for soil environmental remediation and maintenance of a health cultivation system.

Real-time Monitoring Scheme of Soil Moisture Content in Paddy Field

The monitoring of soil moisture content in paddy field is one of important parts and contents of regional soil moisture monitoring. But a good monitoring scheme hasn’t been established. A real-time monitoring scheme of soil moisture content in paddy field was put forward from two key links of soil moisture content monitoring and field water-layer monitoring. This scheme could meet the alternative monitoring requirements of soil moisture content in water layer and none-water layer. It had a good maneuverability and could provide references for practical work.

A distributed measurement method for in-situ soil moisture content by using carbon-fiber heated cable

Moisture content is a fundamental physical index that quantifies soil property and is closely associatedwith the hydrological, ecological and engineering behaviors of soil. To measure in-situ soil moisturecontents, a distributed measurement system for in-situ soil moisture content （SM-DTS） is introduced.The system is based on carbon-fiber heated cable （CFHC） technology that has been developed to enhancethe measuring accuracy of in-situ soil moisture content. Using CFHC technique, a temperature characteristicvalue （Tt） can be defined from temperatureetime curves. A relationship among Tt, soil thermalimpedance coefficient and soil moisture content is then established in laboratory. The feasibility of theSM-DTS technology to provide distributed measurements of in-situ soil moisture content is verifiedthrough field tests. The research reported herein indicates that the proposed SM-DTS is capable ofmeasuring in-situ soil moisture content over long distances and large areas.

Performance evaluation of two types of heated cables for distributedtemperature sensing-based measurement of soil moisture content

Distributed temperature sensing(DTS)using heated cables has been recently developed for distributed monitoring of in-situ soil moisture content.In this method,the thermal and electrical properties of heated cables have a significant influence on the measurement accuracy of soil moisture content.In this paper,the performances of two heated cables,i.e.the carbon-fiber heated cable(CFHC)and the metalnet heated cable(MNHC),are studied in the laboratory.Their structures,uniformity in the axial direction,measurement accuracy and suitability are evaluated.The test results indicate that the MNHC has a better uniformity in the axial direction than CFHC.Both CFHC and MNHC have high measurement accuracy.The CFHC is more suitable for short-distance measurement(500 m),while the MNHC can be used for longdistance measurement(>500 m).

Influence of soil moisture content on pullout properties of Hippophae rhamnoides Linn. roots

Plant root system plays an important role in preventing soil erosion and improving slope stability.However,its performance is significantly affected by soil moisture content,and the role of soil moisture in root reinforcement is not fully understood.In this study,the influence of soil moisture on root pullout properties was studied by experiments.Vertical in-situ pullout tests under four different levels of soil matric suction(12 kPa,18 kPa,24 kPa,30 kPa)were carried out on roots of sea buckthorn plants(Hippophae rhamnoides Linn.)which were artificially cultivated for 7 months.Diameter and length of the root system of sea buckthorn were investigated.The results showed that a very significant correlation was observed between root diameter(D)and root length(L)(P<0.01),and root diameter decreased with soil depth.When soil bulk density was constant,peak pullout force(F)and friction coefficient of root-soil interface(μ)decreased with increasing gravimetric soil moisture content in power functions.Soil moisture content significantly affected root pullout resistance because the increase of soil moisture content decreased the friction coefficient between the roots and soil.Root diameter at breakage point(Db)and length of root segment left in soil(Lb)were increased with soil moisture content.In addition,peak pullout force of the roots increased in a power function with root diameter at the soil surface(D0)and in a linear function with total root length(L).The results provided an experimental basis for quantifying the effects of soil moisture content on soil reinforcement by plant roots.

Prediction model of moisture content of dead fine fuel in forest plantations on Maoer Mountain,Northeast China

Preventing and suppressing forest fires is one of the main tasks of forestry agencies to reduce resource loss and requires a thorough understanding of the importance of factors affecting their occurrence.This study was carried out in forest plantations on Maoer Mountain in order to develop models for predicting the moisture content of dead fine fuel using meteorological and soil variables.Models by Nelson(Can J For Res 14:597-600,1984)and Van Wagner and Pickett(Can For Service 33,1985)describing the equilibrium moisture content as a function of relative humidity and temperature were evaluated.A random forest and generalized additive models were built to select the most important meteorological variables affecting fuel moisture content.Nelson’s(Can J For Res 14:597-600,1984)model was accurate for Pinus koraiensis,Pinus sylvestris,Larix gmelinii and mixed Larix gmelinii—Ulmus propinqua fuels.The random forest model showed that temperature and relative humidity were the most important factors affecting fuel moisture content.The generalized additive regression model showed that temperature,relative humidity and rain were the main drivers affecting fuel moisture content.In addition to the combined effects of temperature,rainfall and relative humidity,solar radiation or wind speed were also significant on some sites.In P.koraiensis and P.sylvestris plantations,where soil parameters were measured,rain,soil moisture and temperature were the main factors of fuel moisture content.The accuracies of the random forest model and generalized additive model were similar,however,the random forest model was more accurate but underestimated the effect of rain on fuel moisture.

Untangling the influence of soil moisture on root pullout property of alfafa plant

Root pullout property of plants was of key importance to the soil reinforcement and the improvement of slope stability. To investigate the influence of soil moisture on root pullout resistance and failure modes in soil reinforcement process, we conducted pullout tests on alfalfa(Medicago sativa L.) roots at five levels(40, 30, 20, 10 and 6 kPa) of soil matric suction, corresponding to respectively 7.84%, 9.66%, 13.02%, 19.35% and 27.06% gravimetric soil moisture contents. Results showed that the maximal root pullout force of M. sativa decreased in a power function with increasing soil moisture content from 7.84% to 27.06%. Root slippage rate increased and breakage rate decreased with increasing soil moisture content. At 9.66% soil moisture content, root slippage rate and breakage rate was 56.41% and 43.58%, respectively. The threshold value of soil moisture content was about 9.00% for alfalfa roots in the loess soil. The maximal pullout force of M. sativa increased with root diameter in a power function. The threshold value of root diameter was 1.15 mm, because root slipping force was greater than root breaking force when diameter >1.15 mm, while diameter ≤1.15 mm, root slipping force tended to be less than root breaking force. No significant difference in pullout forces was observed between slipping roots and breaking roots when they had similar diameters. More easily obtained root tensile force(strength) is suggested to be used in root reinforcement models under the condition that the effect of root diameter is excluded as the pullout force of breaking roots measured in pullout tests is similar to the root tensile force obtained by tensile tests.

Does nitrogen application rate affect the moisture content of corn grains?

Nitrogen fertilizer application is an important measure to obtain high and stable corn yield,and the moisture content of corn grains is an important factor affecting the quality of mechanical grain harvesting.In this study,four different nitrogen fertilizer treatments from 0 to 450 kg ha^(–1) pure nitrogen were set for a planting density of 12.0×10^(4) plants ha^(–1) in 2017 and 2018,and 18 different nitrogen fertilizer treatments from 0 to 765 kg ha^(–1) pure nitrogen were set for planting densities of 7.5×10^(4) and 12.0×10^(4) plants ha^(–1) in 2019,to investigate the effect of nitrogen application rate on the moisture content of corn grains.Under each treatment,the growth of corn,leaf area index(LAI)of green leaves,grain moisture content,and grain dehydration rate were measured.The results showed that,as nitrogen application increased from 0 to 765 kg ha^(–1),the silking stage was delayed by about 1 day,the maturity stage was delayed by about 1–2 days,and the number of physiologically mature green leaves and LAI increased.At and after physiological maturity,the extreme difference in grain moisture content between different nitrogen application rates was 1.9–4.0%.As the amount of nitrogen application increased,the corn grain dehydration rate after physiological maturity decreased,but it did not reach statistical significance between nitrogen application rate and grain dehydration rate.No significant correlation was observed between LAI at physiological maturity and grain dehydration rate after physiological maturity.In short,nitrogen application affected the grain moisture content of corn at and after physiological maturity,however,the difference in grain moisture content among different nitrogen application rates was small.These results suggest that the effect of nitrogen application on the moisture content of corn grains should not be considered in agricultural production.

The Characteristic Relationship Between Oil Uptake and Moisture Content during the High Temperature Immersion Frying of Thin Potato Crisps

Thin potato crisps (2mm) were fried at 170℃, 180℃ and 190℃ for varioustimes from 10s to 180s inclusive. It was found that definite oil uptake, moisture loss trends existduring the frying process. No significant difference in the oil uptake or moisture loss ratesbetween flat-cut and ridge-cut crisps exists. Also found in this study was that an increased oiltemperature promoted higher moisture loss rates. In turn, the higher moisture loss rates contributedto a higher oil uptake rate. It was found, based on the volumetric plots of oil content υs. watercontent, that the oil uptake rate was proportional to the moisture loss rate. As a result, it hasbeen shown that there is a possibility of having a characteristic curve of oil uptake againstmoisture content.

Measurement of lumber moisture content based on PCA and GSSVM

Lumber moisture content(LMC) is the important parameter to judge the dryness of lumber and the quality of wooden products.Nevertheless the data acquired are mostly redundant and incomplete because of the complexity of the course of drying,by interference factors that exist in the dryness environment and by the physical characteristics of the lumber itself.To improve the measuring accuracy and reliability of LMC,the optimal support vector machine(SVM) algorithm was put forward for regression analysis LMC.Environmental factors such as air temperature and relative humidity were considered,the data of which were extracted with the principle component analysis method.The regression and prediction of SVM was optimized based on the grid search(GS) technique.Groups of data were sampled and analyzed,and simulation comparison of forecasting performance shows that the main component data were extracted to speed up the convergence rate of the optimum algorithm.The GS-SVM shows a better performance in solving the LMC measuring and forecasting problem.