Seasonal Variation in Air Temperature and Relative Humidity on Building Areas and in Green Spaces in Beijing, China

The cooling and humidifying effects of urban parks are an essential component of city ecosystems in terms of regulating microclimates or mitigating urban heat islands(UHIs).Air temperature and relative humidity are two main factors of thermal environmental comfort and have a critical impact on the urban environmental quality of human settlements.We measured the 2-m height air temperature and relative humidity at the Beijing Olympic Park and a nearby building roof for more than 1 year to elucidate seasonal variations in air temperature and relative humidity,as well as to investigate the outdoor thermal comfort.The results showed that the lawn of the park could,on average,reduce the air temperature by(0.80±0.19)℃,and increase the relative humidity by(5.24±2.91)% relative to the values measured at the building roof during daytime.During the nighttime,the lawn of the park reduced the air temperature by(2.64±0.64)℃ and increased the relative humidity by(10.77±5.20)%.The park was cooler and more humid than surrounding building area,especially in night period(more pronounced cooling with 1.84℃).Additionally,the lawn of the park could improve outdoor thermal comfort through its cooling and humidifying effects.The level of thermal comfort in the park was higher than that around the building roof for a total of 11 days annually in which it was above one or more thermal comfort levels(average reduced human comfort index of 0.92)except during the winter.

Evaluation of Surface Relative Humidity in China from the CRA-40 and Current Reanalyses

Recently,the China Meteorological Administration(CMA)released a new Global Atmospheric Reanalysis(CRA-40)dataset for the period 1979−2018.In this study,surface relative humidity(RH)from CRA-40 and other current reanalyses(e.g.,CFSR,ERA5,ERA-Interim,JRA-55,and MERRA-2)is comprehensively evaluated against homogenized observations over China.The results suggest that most reanalyses overestimate the observations by 15%−30%(absolute difference)over the Tibetan Plateau but underestimate the observations by 5%−10%over most of northern China.The CRA-40 performs relatively well in describing the long-term change and variance seen in the observed surface RH over China.Most of the reanalyses reproduce the observed surface RH climatology and interannual variations well,while few reanalyses can capture the observed long-term RH trends over China.Among these reanalyses,the CFSR does poorly in describing the interannual changes in the observed RH,especially in Southwest China.An empirical orthogonal function(EOF)analysis also suggests that the CRA-40 performs better than other reanalyses to capture the first two leading EOF modes revealed by the observations.The results of this study are expected to improve understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the current reanalysis products and thus facilitate their application.

Validation of ERA5-Land temperature and relative humidity on four Peruvian glaciers using on-glacier observations

Weather and climate conditions drive the evolution of tropical glaciers which play an important role as water reservoirs for Peruvian inhabitants in the arid coast and semi-arid Andean region.The scarcity of long-term high-quality observations over Peruvian glaciers has motivated the extensive use of reanalysis data to describe the climatic evolution of these glaciers.However,the representativeness and uncertainties of these reanalysis products over these glaciers are still poorly constrained.This study evaluates the ability of the ERA-Land reanalysis(ERAL)to reproduce hourly and monthly 2 m air temperature and relative humidity(T2m and Rh2m,respectively)over several Peruvian glaciers.We compared the ERAL with data from four on-glacier automatic weather stations(AWS),whose hourly time series were completed with nearby stations,for the period January 2017 to December 2019.Results indicates a better performance of the reanalysis for T2m(r>0.80)than for Rh2m(~0.4<r<~0.6)in all four glaciers.Concerning the observations,both parameters show a daily cycle influenced by the presence of the glacier.This influence is more prominent during the dry months when the so-called glacier damping and cooling effects are stronger.On a monthly time scale,the ERAL validation for both parameters are better in wet outer tropical sites(RMSE between±0.2℃ for T2m and between 3%-7% for Rh2m)rather than in dry outer tropical sites(RMSE between±0.2℃ for T2m and between 3%-7% for Rh2m).Among all sites considered in the study,the Rh2m bias is the highest in the Cavalca glacier(correlation of 0.81;RMSE 13%,MAE 11% and bias 8.3%)and the lowest in Artesonraju glacier(correlation of 0.96;RMSE 3%;MAE 2.3% and bias-0.8%).Based on certain considerations outlined in this paper,it is appropriate to use ERAL to characterize T2m and Rh2m conditions on Peruvian glaciers,particularly in the wet outer tropics.

Spatial-temporal characteristics and influencing factors of relative humidity in arid region of Northwest China during 1966–2017

Playing an important role in global warming and plant growth,relative humidity(RH)has profound impacts on production and living,and can be used as an integrated indicator for evaluating the wet-dry conditions in the arid and semi-arid area.However,information on the spatial-temporal variation and the influencing factors of RH in these regions is still limited.This study attempted to use daily meteorological data during 1966–2017 to reveal the spatial-temporal characteristics of RH in the arid region of Northwest China through rotated empirical orthogonal function and statistical analysis method,and the path analysis was used to clarify the impact of temperature(T),precipitation(P),actual evapotranspiration(ETa),wind speed(W)and sunshine duration(S)on RH.The results demonstrated that climatic conditions in North Xinjiang(NXJ)was more humid than those in Hexi Corridor(HXC)and South Xinjiang(SXJ).RH had a less significant downtrend in NXJ than that in HXC,but an increasingly rising trend was observed in SXJ during the last five decades,implying that HXC and NXJ were under the process of droughts,while SXJ was getting wetter.There was a turning point for the trend of RH in Xinjiang,which occurred in 2000.Path analysis indicated that RH was negatively correlated to T,ETa,W and S,but it increased with increase of P.S,T and W had the greatest direct effects on RH in HXC,NXJ and SXJ,respectively.ETa was the factor which had the greatest indirect effect on RH in HXC and NXJ,while T was the dominant factor in SXJ.

Feasibility of Using Wood Chips to Regulate Relative Humidity Inside a Building: A Numerical Study

The use of bio-based materials in buildings has become more and more significant last years.In most of the cases,their health properties and natural provenance have made them a great solution to face global climate warming and the new policies to reduce building energy consumption.In many thermal problems,biobased materials can allow to optimize the building thermal behavior according to its energy consumption and inside comfort conditions.So it is when they are used as an insulation material in the building.However,it is not the case in this paper.In fact,the bio-based matter is rather used as a desiccant wheel to control air conditioning inside the building.The aim of this paper is to numerically verify if it is possible to use a bed of wood chips as a hygroscopic material(or a desiccant matter)in order to modify the relative humidity inside the building in Reunion Island and so improve thermal comfort.A simple model of heat and mass transfer between a bed of wood chips and building inside air has been set up and implemented into a validated building simulation code named ISOLAB.Numerical simulations were set up for the four climate zones of the island regulations and a focus has been made on the low altitude one(with high,solar irradiation,temperature and relative humidity).Simulation results give the thermal behavior of the building particularly the temperature and relative humidity of inside air temperature,and temperature and moisture content of wood chips.The obtained results lead to determine if the wood chips bed is suitable for the reference building and to verify its technical feasibility(wood species,size of the bed,integration to the building,etc.).The results show that the use of a WCB help to decrease the building inside air temperature and water content up to 10°C less and 11.6 g.kg-1 less.These are the ways to improve inside comfort conditions.Indeed,comfort analysis have shown the possibility to significantly increase building users’thermal comfort when coupled with a fan and natural ventilation,like the regulation needs for low altitude climate.In this case,a gain of 68%of year time is achieved for a building equipped with WCB system compared to one without it(6308 hours of comfort over a year with the WCB against 350 hours without WCB).So the WCB seems to be able to help reducing cooling loads in tropical climate conditions.

Compressive Strength of Metakaolin-Based Geopolymers: Influence of KOH Concentration, Temperature, Time and Relative Humidity

The influence of KOH concentration (8 and 12 M) and curing conditions as temperature (40℃ and 60℃), time (7 and 28 days) and relative humidity (85% and 95% RH), on compressive strength of metakaolin-based geopolymers (MK-based GP) was evaluated. Derived from the experimental design technique, and using a factorial design 2K with two replications in the center point, eighteen experiments were conducted. The results reveal that the best performance conditions of geopolymerization to develop a higher compressive strength of 20 MPa are 12 M KOH to 60℃ and 85% RH at 28 curing days. With these conditions, the value of relative humidity of 85%, promotes high strength compact samples, and a maximum of 42 MPa at 90 days. The results of significant, compressive design of GP showed that KOH concentration and curing relative humidity were the most important factors, followed by curing time and temperature. The GP were characterized by XRD, and their evolution on compression strength was followed by SEM.

Influence of Relative Humidity on Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Nanofibers for High-Efficiency Air Filter

The influence of relative humidity( RH) on the properties of electrospun polyvinyl alcohol( PVA) nanofibers that might determine the application of nanofibers in high-efficiency air filters is not clear. PVA nanofiber mat was prepared between two hot airthrough ES( polyethyene( PE) and polypropylene( PP) composite fiber) non-woven substrates as a sandwich structure nanofiber composite filter using an electrospinning technique combining with an ultrasonic sewing process. The filtering mechanism of the composite was discussed in detail. The effects of nanofiber diameters,nanofiber layer thickness and RH in environment on the properties of PVA nanofibers were investigated by scanning electron microscopy( SEM), X-ray diffraction( XRD), automatic filter tester and universal strength tester. The results showed that the PVA nanofiber composite fabrics had high filtration efficiency with lowpressure drop and there was a negative correlation between filtration efficiency and nanofiber diameter. After keeping in a high RH environment for several hours, the mechanical property of PVA nanofiber composites was deteriorated but the high filtration efficiency was increased.

Impact of Variegated Temperature, CO<SUB>2</SUB>and Relative Humidity on Survival and Development of Beet Armyworm <i>Spodoptera exigua</i>(Hubner) under Controlled Growth Chamber

Climate change will have a noteworthy bearing on survival, development, and population dynamics of insect pests. Therefore, we contemplated the survival and development of beet army worm, Spodoptera exigua under different temperatures, (15°C, 25°C, 35°C, and 45°C), CO2 (350, 550, 750 ppm) and relative humidity (55%, 65%, 75% and 85%) regimes. Maximum larval and pupal weights were recorded in insects reared at 25°C. The growth of S. exigua was faster at 35°C (larval period 7.4 days and pupal period 4.5 days) than at lower temperatures. At 15°C, the larval period was extended for 61.4 days and there was no adult emergence from the pupae till 90 days. The S. exigua hatchling was absent at 45°C. The larval survival ranged from 31.6% - 57.2%, maximum survival was recorded at 25°C, and minimum at 45°C. The maximum (84.27%) and minimum adult emergence were recorded in insects reared at 25°C and 35°C respectively. Maximum fecundity (384.3 eggs/female) and egg viability (51.97%) were recorded in insects reared at 25°C. Larval and pupal periods increased with an increase in CO2 concentration. The highest pupal weights (128.6 mg/larva) were recorded at 550 ppm. The highest larval survival (73.50%) was recorded at 550 ppm and minimum (37.00%) at 750 ppm CO2. Fecundity was the highest in insects reared at 550 ppm CO2 (657.4 eggs/female), and the lowest at 750 ppm. Maximum larval and pupal weights were recorded in insects reared at 75% relative humidity (RH). The growth rate of S. exigua was faster at 85% RH than at lower RH. The larval survival ranged between 40.0% - 58.5%. Maximum adult emergence (88.91%) was recorded in insects reared at 75% RH and minimum at 85% RH. Maximum fecundity (447.6 eggs/female) and the highest egg viability (72.95%) were recorded in insects reared at 75% and 65% RH respectively. Elevated temperatures and relative moistness will diminish the life cycle, while hoisted CO2 will drag the life expectancy. Therefore, there is a need for thorough assessment of the impact of climatic factors on the population dynamics of insect pests, crop losses, and sustainability of crop production.

Influence of Temperature and Relative Humidity on Air Pollution in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

In this paper we access the effects of two atmospheric variables (temperatureand relative humidity) on two important pollutants in the atmosphere(Nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO)) by using one year(2016) data of Addis Ababa. Temperature has impact on atmosphericmixing and cause for the reduction of NOx as temperature increases.There are positive correlation between temperature and CO concentrationfrom January to April with (R^2 = 0.69), negative correlation from Mayto August with (R2 = 0.92) and no correlation for the remaining months.NOx and CO have moderate positive and negative correlation with relativehumidity during the months January-April (R^2 = 0.294 for NOx and R^2 =0291 for CO) and in the months May-August are R2 = 0.97 and R2 = 0.15for NOx and CO respectively. But there are no clear correlation betweenthe NOx and CO with relative humidity from September-December.NOx concentrations during wet season was almost about twice that of thedry season, but no such difference was observed in the case of CO. Theseasonal average air temperature in wet season is relatively lower than dryseason. NOx exhibited positive and CO negative seasonal correlations withrelative humidity.

Response of Tomato Sugar and Acid Metabolism and Fruit Quality under Different High Temperature and Relative Humidity Conditions

The combined stress of high temperature and high relative air humidity is one of the most serious agrometeorological disasters that restricts the production capacity of protected agriculture.However,there is little information about the precise interaction between them on tomato fruit quality.The objectives of this study were to explore the effects of the combined stress of high temperature and relative humidity on the sugar and acid metabolism and fruit quality of tomato fruits,and to determine the best relative air humidity for fruit quality under high temperature environments.Four temperature treatments(32℃,35℃,38℃,41℃),three relative air humidity(50%,70%,90%)and four duration(3,6,9,12 d)orthogonal experiments were conducted,with 28℃,50%as control.The results showed that under high temperature and relative air humidity,the activity of sucrose metabolizing enzymes in young tomato fruits changed,which reduced fruits soluble sugar content;in addition,enzyme activities involved phosphopyruvate carboxylase(PEPC),mitochondria aconitase(MDH)and citrate synthetase(CS)increased which increased the content of organic acids(especially malic acid).Eventually,vitamin C,total sugar and sugar-acid ratio decreased significantly,while the titratable acid increased,resulting in a decrease in fruit flavor quality and nutritional quality in ripe fruit.Specifically,a temperature of 32℃and a relative air humidity of 70%were the best cultivation conditions for tomato reproductive growth period under high temperature.Our results indicating that fruit quality reduced under high temperature at the flowering stage,while increasing the relative air humidity to 70%could alleviate this negative effect.Our results are benefit to better understand the interaction between microclimate parameters under specific climatic conditions in the greenhouse environment and their impact on tomato flavor quality.

Effect of relative humidity on the desulfurization performance of calcium-based desulfurizer

Low desulfurization efficiency impedes the wide application of dry desulfurization technology,which is a low-cost and simple process,and one significant solution is the development and manufacture of high-performance desulfurizers.In this study,firstly,a steam jet mill was used to digest quicklime;then,we utilized numerical simulation to study the flow field distribution and analyze the driving factors of quicklime digestion;and lastly,the desulfurization performance of the desulfurizer was evaluated under different relative humidities.The results show that the desulfurizer prepared via the steam jet mill had better apparent activity than traditional desulfurizers.Also,the entire jet flow field of the steam jet mill is in a supersonic and highly turbulent flow state,with high crushing intensity and good particle acceleration performance.Sufficient contact with the nascent surface maximizes the formation of slaked lime.The experiments demonstrated that the operating time with 100%desulfurization efficiency and the“break-through”time for the desulfurizer prepared via the steam jet mill is longer than that of traditional desulfurizers,and has significant advantages,especially at low flue gas relative humidity.Compared with traditional desulfurizers,the desulfurizer prepared via steam jet mill expands the range of acceptable flue gas temperature,and the failure temperature is 1.625 times that of traditional desulfurizers.This work breaks through the technical bottleneck of low dry desulfurization efficiency,which is an important step in pushing forward the application of dry desulfurization.

Effects of high temperature and high relative humidity drying on moisture distribution,starch microstructure and cooking characteristics of extruded whole buckwheat noodles

Drying is a key step in starch noodle production.The effects of high temperature(60,70,80°C)and high relative humidity(65%,75%,85%)drying(HTHD)on the moisture distribution,starch microstructure and cooking characteristics of extruded whole buckwheat noodles were investigated.Compared to the conventional hot-air drying(CHAD)at 40°C,the increase in drying temperature(60–80°C)and the decrease in relative humidity(85%–65%)significantly improved drying efficiency of the extruded noodles.By adjusting drying temperature and relative humidity,the rate of moisture migration in noodles and phase transition of starch could be appropriately controlled.The optimum drying parameters(T70H75,70°C drying temperature and 75%relative humidity)showed smooth and dense network structure,resulting in the lowest cooking loss(6.61%),broken rate(0%),highest hardness(1695.17 g)and springiness(0.92).However,the total flavonoid content(TFC)and the total phenolic content(TPC)reduced by 6.81%–28.50%and 7.19%–53.23%in contrast to CHAD,and the color of buckwheat noodles became darker through HTHD.These findings showed the potential of HTHD for increasing drying efficiency and improving buckwheat noodle quality.The appropriate drying parameters could maintain a balanced relationship between moisture migration in noodles and phase transition of starch,which resulted in better cooking quality for extruded whole buckwheat noodles.Such a study is valuable for regulating the process conditions of buckwheat-based foods and promoting its commercial utilization.

Effects of mask wearing duration and relative humidity on thermal perception in the summer outdoor built environment

During the pandemic,face masks are one of the most significant self-protection necessities,but they also cause heat stress.By using the ERA5(ECMWF Reanalysis 5th Generation)database and the local weather bureau data,the effect of mask wearing on outdoor thermal sensation has been investigated by a survey conducted in the hot summer and cold winter region of eastern China in the summer of 2020.Results show that wearing a face mask for a longer period result in a higher level of discomfort,and the primary source of discomfort is hot and stuffy feelings.The effect of relative humidity is crucial for mask wearers in warm-biased thermal environments,as mean thermal sensation vote(TSV)peaks when environmental relative humidity reaches the range of 70%to 80%and decreases after this range due to the evaporation within the microclimate created by a face mask.Meanwhile,prolonged mask wearing increases participants’hot feelings,especially in warm environments.Specifically,participants wearing face masks for less than 30 min feel hot at a physiological equivalent temperature(PET)value of 34.4℃,but those who wear them for over 60 min express hot feelings even at a PET value of 24.7℃.The participants who wear a face mask while walking slowly outdoors have similar thermal sensations to those who do not wear a mask,but are in a higher activity level.The findings demonstrate that mask wearing has a crucial impact on outdoor thermal comfort assessment in a warm-biased outdoor thermal environment.

Strong dependency of the tribological behavior of CuZr-based bulk metallic glasses on relative humidity in ambient air

Thanks to their outstanding mechanical properties,Bulk Metallic Glasses(BMGs)are new alternatives to traditional crystalline metals for mechanical and micromechanical applications including power transmission.However,the tribological properties of BMGs are still poorly understood,mostly because their amorphous nature induces counter intuitive responses to friction and wear.In the present study,four different BMGs(Cu_(47)Zr_(46)Al_(7),Zr_(46)Cu_(45)Al_(7)Nb_(2),Zr_(60)Cu_(28)Al_(12),and Zr_(61)Cu_(25)Al_(12)Ti_(2))underwent ball-on-disc friction tests against 100Cr6 steel balls(American Iron and Steel Institute(AISI)52100)at different relative humidities(RHs)ranging from 20%to 80%.Controlling humidity enabled to observe a high repeatability of the friction and wear responses of the BMG.Interestingly,the friction coefficient decreased by a factor of 2 when the humidity was increased,and the wear rate of BMGs was particularly low thanks to a 3rd-body tribolayer that forms on the BMG surface,composed of oxidized wear particles originating from the ball.The morphology of this tribolayer is highly correlated to humidity.The study also identifies how the tribolayer is built up from the initial contact until the steady state is achieved.

A Deep Learning Method for Statistical Downscaling of CLDAS Relative Humidity with Different Sources of Data:Sensitivity Analysis

High-resolution relative humidity(RH)data are essential in studies of climate change and in numerical meteorological forecasting.However,because high-resolution meteorological grid data require a large number of stations,the sparse distribution of ground meteorological stations in China before 2008 has limited the development of long-term and high-resolution RH products in the China Meteorological Administration’s Land Assimilation System(CLDAS)dataset.To retrieve high-quality and high-resolution RH data before 2008,we propose a statistical downscaling model(SDM)based on a generative adversarial network(GAN)to transform the original RH data from a resolution of0.05°to 0.01°.The GAN-based SDM(GSDM)is trained with the RH of the CLDAS(0.05°)dataset after 2008 as its input,and the RH of the high-resolution CLDAS(HRCLDAS,0.01°)dataset after 2008 as its target for training.The2-m air temperature data from the HRCLDAS dataset are also included in the input,and the station observations of RH are incorporated in the target for training.To select the optimum data combination for the model,we compared three methods:(1)incorporating without auxiliary data(GSDM),(2)incorporating air temperature as an additional input(GSDM_T),and(3)incorporating air temperature as an additional input and the RH data at stations as an additional target for training(GSDM_TO).Taking the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region as an example,we trained the GSDM by using data from 2018 and tested the model performance in 2019.The experimental results showed that the GSDM_TO algorithm achieved the lowest root-mean-square error(3.85%),followed by the GSDM_T(4.01%)and GSDM(4.95%)algorithms.The proposed models showed a competitive performance and captured more local details of the RH fields than other deep learning models and traditional bilinear interpolation.In general,the GSDM_TO algorithm using a combination of different sources of data(air temperature and observed RH)achieved the best results among the various deep learning approaches,indicating that more auxiliary data and more accurate observations are beneficial in downscaling.This may be helpful for the statistical downscaling of other meteorological data.

A New Observation Operator for the Assimilation of Satellite-Derived Relative Humidity:Methodology and Experiments with Three Sea Fog Cases over the Yellow Sea

Assimilation of satellite-derived relative humidity(Satellite-RH)is capable of improving sea fog forecasts by saturating the background in the observed foggy areas.Previous studies have achieved saturation by increasing the moisture only(Method-q).However,this method can lead to large wetting and warming biases within the marine atmospheric boundary layer(MABL).A new method using an RH observation operator(Method-RH)is designed to alleviate these biases by simultaneously adjusting the moisture and the temperature.For comparison,saturation is also achieved by decreasing the temperature only(Method-t).The three Satellite-RH assimilation methods are implemented within the Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation-based three-dimensional variational system and examined for three sea fog cases over the Yellow Sea.The three cases on 28 April 2007,9 April 2009,and 29 March 2015 fail to be predicted without the Satellite-RH assimilation as their MABLs have both warming and drying,drying,and warming biases,respectively.Intercomparisons and evaluations show that Method-RH has the best overall performance of the three methods in terms of the forecast of sea fog and MABL structures as only Method-RH can fully or partially address all the bias scenarios in forecasting sea fog.Compared with Method-q,Method-RH produces more well-defined sea fog areas by adding a smaller amount of moisture as well as decreasing the temperature.Compared with Methodt,Method-RH enlarges the sea fog areas by increasing the amount of moisture in addition to the cooling.

Effects of relative humidity and PM2.5 chemical compositions on visibility impairment in Chengdu, China

To better understand the potential causes of visibility impairment in autumn and winter in Chengdu,relative humidity(RH),visibility,the concentrations of PM2.5 and its chemical components were on-line measured continuously in Chengdu from Nov.2016 to Jan.2017.Six obvious haze episodes occurred in Chengdu,with the total time of haze episodes accounted for more than 90%of the total observation period,and higher NO2 concentrations and RH were related to the high particle concentrations in haze episodes.The visibility decreased in a non-linear tendency under different RH conditions with the increase of PM2.5 concentrations,which was more sensitive to RH under lower PM2.5 concentrations.The threshold concentration of PM2.5 got more smaller with the increase of RH.During the entire observation period,organic matter(OM)was the largest contributor(31.12%to extinction coefficient(bext)),followed by NH4NO3 and(NH4)2SO4 with 28.03%and 23.01%,respectively.However,with the visibility impairment from Type I(visibility>10 km)to Type IV(visibility≤2 km),the contribution of OM to bextdecreased from 38.12%to 26.77%,while the contribution of NH4NO3 and(NH4)2SO4 to bextincreased from 19.09%and 20.20%to 34.29%and 24.35%,respectively,and NH4NO3 became the largest contributor to bextat Type IV.The results showed that OM and NH4NO3 were the key components of PM2.5 for visibility impairment in Chengdu,indicating that the control of precursors emissions of carbonaceous species and NH4NO3 could effectively improve the visibility in Chengdu.

Effect of Pre-wetted Light-weight Aggregate on Internal RelativeHumidity and Autogenous Shrinkage of Concrete

This research indicates that the gradient of internal relative humidity (IRH) decreases rapidly within 7-day curing age in HPC. The amount of water imported by pre-wetted light-weight aggregate can regulate IRH of concrete. By importing a proper amount of water, the process of the decline of IRH can be delayed and the autogenous shrinkage can be reduced. The relationship among the amount of water imported by pre-wetted lightweight aggregate, IRH and AS was established. The result provides a new method of reducing early AS and enhancing early cracking resistance of HPC.

Process performance and quality attributes of temperature and step-down relative humidity controlled hot air drying of Panax notoginseng roots

The effects of temperature and step-down relative humidity controlled hot-air drying(THC-HAD)on the drying kinetics,energy efficiency and quality,i.e.,rehydration ratio(RR),color parameters(L*,a*,b*),total color difference(ΔE*),Panax notoginseng saponins(PNS)content,and ginsenosides content(R1,Rg1,Re,Rd,Rb1)of Panax notoginseng roots were evaluated.The drying time was significantly affected by the drying temperature followed by the relative humidity(RH)of the drying air.Special combination of drying conditions,i.e.,drying temperature of 50°C,relative humidity of 40%for 3 h and then continuous dehumidification from 40%to 8%allowed to shorten the drying time by 25%compared to drying at the same temperature and continuous dehumidification.The longer was the drying time under constant high RH of drying air,the lower was the RR of dried samples.The step-down RH strategy contributed to the formation of a porous structure,enhancement of drying efficiency and quality improvement.Generally,the ginsenosides content increased with the increase in temperature,while no obvious trend was recorded for ginsenoside R1.The contents of the ginsenoside R1,Rg1,Rb1 and PNS decreased with the increase in the drying time under constant high RH.Taking into account the drying time,energy consumption and quality attributes,drying at the temperature of 50°C,constant RH of 40%for 3 h and then step-down RH from 40%to 8%was proposed as the most favorable combination of drying conditions for dehydration of whole Panax notoginseng roots.

Climatic variables: Evaporation, sunshine, relative humidity, soil and air temperature and its adverse effects on cotton production

Cotton yield is a function of growth rates,flower production rates,and flower and boll retention during the fruiting period.Information on the relationship between climatic factors and the cotton plant’s ability to produce and sustain flower buds,flowers,and bolls will allow one to model plant responses to conditions that frequently occur in the field and to predict developmental rate or the formation of these organs.This study investigates the statistical relationship between various climatic factors and overall flower and boll production.Also,the relationship between climatic factors and production of flowers and bolls obtained during the development periods of the flowering and boll stage.Further,predicting effects of climatic factors during different convenient intervals(in days)on cotton flower and boll production compared with daily observations.Evaporation,sunshine duration,relative humidity,surface soil temperature at 1800 h,and maximum air temperature,are the important climatic factors that significantly affect flower and boll production.The five-day interval was found to be more adequately and sensibly related to yield parameters.Evaporation;minimum humidity and sunshine duration were the most effective climatic factors during preceding and succeeding periods on boll production and retention.There was a negative correlation between flower and boll production and either evaporation or sunshine duration,while that correlation with minimum relative humidity was positive.