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A Tuskegee University research team has developed paper from inedible sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas), peanut (Arachis hypogea), and soybean (Glycine max) plant residues for NASA's Advanced Life Support Program (ALS) for sustaining human life in space. The objective was to develop papers that could be used as a media for inocula and characterize their physical and mechanical properties. The tensile fracture behavior, micromorphological analysis, and fracture surface examination of peanut shells, sweetpotato stems, soybean pods, and a combination of sweetpotato stems (60%) / peanut shells (40%) papers were also investigated. The ultimate strength was 2.6 MPa, 9.2 MPa, 7.1 MPa and 6.5 MPa, respectively. All samples performed well as a media inocula.

This paper reviews an integrated testing approach for investigating the effects of fluid dynamics phenomena on racecar performance. The approach is based upon a combination of advanced optical diagnostic techniques with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models to provide a comprehensive understanding of the aerodynamic response of the car. Advanced optical diagnostic techniques available include pressure sensitive paint (PSP, surface flow visualization, aerodynamic loads), temperature sensitive paint (TSP, temperature map and heat transfer), particle image velocimetry (PIV, air velocity and streamlines), and stereovideogrammetry (model movement under loading). The current state of development of these techniques allows a complete integrated systems approach to testing including: hardware, acquisition-analysis software, and a comprehensive comparison with CFD predictions. All of these techniques have a unique hardware platform (Figure 1).

The use of three different plasticizers sorbitol, glycerol, and polyethylene glycol were investigated in the production of edible peanut protein films. Eight films of each plasticizer type were prepared with plasticizer to protein ratios of 2:5 (28.6%), 3:5 (37.5%), 4:5 (44.5%), and 5:5 (50%). The effect of plasticizer content on the mechanical properties was studied. Sorbitol-plasticized films exhibited maximum strength and modules at 44.5% plasticizer content. For glycerol-plasticized films, with the increase of plasticizer content, both the elastic modulus and the strength of the films decreased. Polyethylene glycol-plas-ticized edible peanut protein films were not evaluated mechanically because they were too brittle to be tested. Correlation between the mechanical properties and the morphological features of these films was established. The sorbitol- and glycerol-plasticized films demonstrated promising results towards future food packaging and preservation applications.