The Influence of the Properties of Thermal - Insulation Materials on the Thermomoist Indicators of a Building

One of the basic measures of energy efficiency in residential buildings is the reduction of heat and coolant pressure, when external structures - walls, ceilings - contain thermal insulation material, as a result of which heat and cold losses are reduced, as a result of air-and moisture permeability. Their number is largely determined by the climatic zone of the building, construction, sources of heat and cold, fuel and electricity prices in this region. In such practice, first of all, attention is paid to the problems of the optimal thickness of the thermal insulator, the installation location, since improper installation in the structure can cause water condensation, which will lead to partial wear of the structure, since the properties of reinforced-concrete layers will deteriorate. This concerns the peculiarities of carrying out thermal insulation works and their necessity both in under construction and in buildings in use. However, even in these conditions, when discussing the thermal effect of thermal insulation on structures, due attention is not paid to individual structures, especially walls, moisture problems. Consideration of insulators with more or less efficient energy and heat engineering characteristics, when it was found that there is a significant difference between their results and effects, aroused particular interest in the study of the problem. This is followed by a study of the influence of the presence of thermal insulation in the structure on the cold load required for cooling, revealed a pattern of cost changes in the case of insulating materials with more or less properties - foam.

Identification of key parameters producing rainfall

o"kkZ ds eq[; izkpyksa dk irk yxkus ds fy, bl 'kks/k i= ls 'kks/kdrkZvksa us m".kdfVca/kh; o"kkZ ekiu fe’ku ¼Vh- vkj- ,e- ,e-½ mixzg vk¡dM+k vk/kkj dh tk¡p dh gSA bl rF; dks le>us ds mijkUr fd c<+us okys ok;q iklZy ds }kjk ikuh ds ok"ihdj.k] ok"i ds la?kuu vkSj m"ek ÅtkZ ds laogu ls es?k cursa gS vkSj o"kkZ gksrh gSA 'kks/kdrkZvksa us ok;qeaMy dh fofHkUu Å¡pkbZ;ksa ij o"kkZ izfØ;k ds eq[; lg;ksfx;ksa ds :i esa es?k nzo ty ¼lh-,y-MCY;w-½] o"kZ.k ty ¼ih-MCY;w-½ rFkk xqIr m"ek ¼,y-,p-½ ds ckjs esa tkudkjh izkIr djuh vkjaHk dj nh gSSA bu vk¡dM+ksa dks cgq lekJ;.k fun’kZ esa Mkyk x;k gSA ;g ik;k x;k gSS fd o"kkZ vkSj bu izkpyksa esa egRoiw.kZ lglaca/k gSA blls LFkkfir gq, dk;kZRed laca/kksa ls fdlh Hkh le; o"kkZ dk vkdyu fd;k tk ldrk gS c’krZs dkWyeuj lh-,y-MCY;w-] ih-MCY;w- vkSj ,y-,p- eku miyC?k gksaA ,d ;k nks ds LFkku ij bu lHkh rhuksa izkpyksa dks cgq lekJ;.k fun’kZ esa 'kkfey djus ds QyLo:i o"kkZ dk csgrj iwokZuqeku yxk;k tk ldk gSA lh- ,y- MCY;w-] ,y- ,p- vkSj ih- MCY;w- ds chp egRoiw.kZ lglaca/k gSaA In search of the key parameters causing rainfall, the authors have explored Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite data base. By realizing the fact that evaporation of water, condensation of vapour and transport of heat energy by a rising air parcel are all about formation of cloud and rain, the authors have started their quest considering cloud liquid water (CLW), precipitation water (PW) and latent heat (LH) at different altitudes of the atmosphere as major contributors to rainfall mechanism. These data have been fitted to multiple regressions. It is found that significant correlations exist between rainfall and these parameters. The functional relationships so established are able to estimate surface rainfall at any instant, provided columnar CLW, PW and LH values are available. Inclusion of all the three parameters in multiple regression leads to better predictability of rainfall, instead of one or two. Significant correlations exist between CLW, LH and PW.

Risk of Using Capillary Active Interior Insulation in a Cold Climate

The retrofitting of cultural heritage buildings for energy efficiency often requires the internal thermal insulation of external walls. Most of the in situ studies of capillary active interior insulation were performed in mild oceanic climate regions, and they showed an excellent performance. However, as a large part of Central–Eastern Europe belongs to a continental climate with cold winters and long periods of temperatures below the freezing temperature, the applicability of the capillary active interior insulation in cold climate was studied. The hydrothermal behaviour of the three walls was determined—each consists of one of three different interior insulations—and the original wall is made of historic regular solid bricks. Two interior thermal insulations were capillary active (aerated cellular concrete, calcium silicate) and one vapour-tight (glass foam). A hot box–cold box experiment and a steady-state model were used to demonstrate an increase in the original wall mass due to the water condensation only when the capillary active interior insulation is used. The combination of the water condensation and the low sub-zero temperature may lead to a risk of freeze–thaw damage to the original wall. The numerical simulation of the water vapour condensation for the considered walls for the Slovenian town Bled with sub-zero average winter temperatures was performed to obtain the whole temperature and moisture profile. It showed good agreement between an experimentally and numerically obtained amount of water condensation. The capillary active interior insulation proved to be unsuitable for improving the thermal insulation of buildings in cold continental climate, and only a vapour-tight system can be recommended.

Evaluating the coating process of titanium dioxide nanoparticles and sodium tripolyphosphate on cucumbers under chilling condition to extend the shelf-life

Cucumber is a highly perishable fruit, that can easily suffer from water loss, condensation, shriveling, yellowing and decay. The present investigation aim was to extending the shelf-life of cucumber using eco-friendly sodium tripolyphosphate and nano-material. Decay; hardness; succinate dehydrogenase activity (SDH); condensation and shriveling rates; and visual quality assessments of cucumbers fruits were evaluated during 21 days of storage period at 10 °C. There was a slight incidence of decay among (Chitosan/Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles) CS-TiO2 and (Chitosan/Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles/Sodium Tripolyphosphate) CS-TiO2-STP samples, which reported the lowest decay incidence 2.21% in CS-TiO2, while CS-TiO2-STP did not show any decay at end of storage period. CS-TiO2-STP recorded the lowest value in SDH activity 0.08 ∆OD min−1 mg protein−1. Very slight hardness, water condensation, and shriveling were detected in CS-TiO2 samples, while CS-TiO2-STP was the lowest compared with other SC samples and control. In general, CS-TiO2-STP treatment was found most potential to enhance the postharvest shelf life of cucumber throughout the storage period up to 21 day.