• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.17 no.9
• /
• pp.1291-1295
• /
• 2004

Histology and transmission electron microscopy studies were carried out on buffalo muscles that were subjected to repeated freeze-thaw cycles at -10 and $-18^{\circ}C$. In the first freeze thaw cycle ($-10^{\circ}C$) structures of muscle showed slight change and closely resembled to those of normal muscle. There were frequent gaps in the half way across the fibres and some cracks in individual fibre were also noticed in second freeze thaw cycle. In the muscle frozen at $-18^{\circ}C$, more pronounced shrinkage with extensive damage of fibres with tearing was observed. The interfibrillar gaps were wider, shrinkage and tearing of the fibres were more distinct after second freeze-thaw cycle. After the second cycle, the interior portion showed large scale degradation of the ultrastructure. Our studies of buffalo muscle showed that under the proper condition, little structural damage takes place in the meat histology and ultrastructure under repeated freeze-thaw conditions. This study adds continued weight to the evidence that limited freeze-thaw cycles will not deteriorate the quality of meat.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.8 no.3
• /
• pp.361-375
• /
• 2015

Constructions over soft and loose soils are one of the most frequent problems in many parts of the world. Cement and cement-lime mixture have been widely used for decades to improve the strength of these soils with the deep soil mixing method. In this study, to investigate the freeze-thaw effect of sand improved by polymers (i.e., styrene-acrylic-copolymer-SACP, polyvinyl acetate-PVAc and xanthan gum) and fly ash, unconfined compression tests were performed on specimens which were exposed to freeze-thaw cycles and on specimens which were not exposed to freeze-thaw cycles. The laboratory test results concluded that the unconfined compressive strength increased with the increase of polymer ratio and curing time, whereas, the changes on unconfined compressive strength with increase of freeze-thaw cycles were insignificant. The overall evaluation of results has revealed that polymers containing fly ash is a good promise and potential as a candidate for deep soil mixing application.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.45-51
• /
• 2009

A probabilistic approach may be adopted to predict freeze and thaw depths to account for the variability of (1) material properties, and (2) contemporary and future surface energy input parameters(e.g. air temperatures, cloud cover, snow cover) predicted with global climate models. To illustrate the probabilistic approach, an example of the predicted of thaw depths in cold regions is considered. More specifically, the Stefan equation is used together with the Monte Carlo simulation technique to make a probabilistic prediction of thaw penetration. The simulation results indicate that the variability in material properties, surface energy input parameters and temperature data can lead to significant uncertainty in predicting thaw penetration.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 1998

In order to improve the cryopreservation by vitrification or slow freezing of nuclear transplant rabbit embryos, the effects of factors affecting embryo cryopreservation such as cryoprotectants, equilibration, cooling rate and post-thaw dilution on post-thaw survial and development were determined using intact embryos of morular stage. And the post-thaw development of nuclear transplanted embryos cryopreserved under the optimal conditions examined was compared between vitrification and slow freezing. The cryoprotectant solution used was ethyleneglycol-ficoll-sucrose (EFS) or ethyleneglycol-poly-vinylpyrrolidone-galactose- I (EPG- I ) for vitrification, and EPG- II for slow freezing. To examine the viability of frozen-thawed embryos, the nuclear transplanted embryos were co-cultured in TCM-199 plus 10% FBS with bovine oviduct epithelial cells(BOEC) for 24 hrs and the intact morulae were co-cultured with BOEC for 5 days and 3 days to hatching blastocyst stage in 39 ˚C 5% $CO_2$ incubator. The results obtained were as follows: Following vitrification with EFS, the post-thaw development of rabbit morulae to hatching blastocyst was significantly(P<0.05) higher in compacted stage(82.4%) than in early morular stage(60.0%). The post-thaw development of compacted morulae to hatching blastocyst was similarly high in vitrification with EFS(82.4%), EPG- I (85.0%) and in slow freezing with EPG- II (83.3%). Following vitrification with EPG- I, the post-thaw development of intact rabbit morulae to hatching blastocyst was similar as 78.0% and 85.0% in 1-step and 2-step post-thaw dilution, respectively. The post-thaw development of nuclear transplanted rabbit embryos of compacted morulae stage to hatching blastocyst was similarly 43.6% and 40.0% in vitrification with EPG- Iand slow freezing with EPG- II, respectively. These results indicated that the rabbit nuclear transplant and intact embryos of morulae stage could be well cryopreserved with either vitrification or slow freezing procedure.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.307-314
• /
• 2018

Strength of loess that experienced cyclic freeze and thaw is of great significance for evaluating stability of slopes and foundations in loess regions. This paper takes the frequently encountered loess in the Northwestern China as the study object and carried out three kinds of laboratory tests including freeze-thaw test, direct shear test and SEM test to investigate the strength behaviors of loess after cyclic freeze and thaw, and the correlation with meso-level changes in soil structure. Results show that for loess specimens at four dry densities, the cohesion decreases with freeze-thaw cycles until a residual value is reached and thus an exponential equation is proposed. Besides, little change in the angle of internal friction was observed as freeze-thaw proceeds. This may depend on the varying of soil structure, based on which a clue can be found from the surface morphology and mesoscopic scanning of loess specimens. Clearly we observed significant changes in surface morphology of loess and it tends to aggravate at higher water contents or more cycles of freeze and thaw. Moreover, freeze-thaw cycling leads to obvious changes in the meso-structure of loess including lowering the particle aggregates and increasing both the proportion of fine particles and porosity area ratio. A damage variable dependent on the ratio of porosity area is introduced based on the continuum damage mechanics and its correlation with cohesion is discussed.

• Ocean Systems Engineering
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.159-171
• /
• 2012

Reinforced concrete structures in cold coastal regions are subjected to coupled effects of service load, freeze-thaw cycles and seawater corrosion. This would significantly degrade the performance and therefore shorten the service life of these structures. In the current paper, the mechanical properties of concrete material and the structural behaviour of eccentrically loaded reinforced concrete columns under multiple actions of seawater corrosion, freeze-thaw cycles and persistent load have been studied experimentally. Results show that when exposed to alternating actions of seawater corrosion and freeze-thaw cycles, the compressive strength of concrete decreases with the increased number of freeze-thaw cycles. For reinforced concrete column, if it is only subjected to seawater corrosion and freeze-thaw cycles, the load resistance capacity is found to be reduced by 11.5%. If a more practical service condition of reinforced concrete structures in cold coastal regions is simulated, i.e., the environmental factors are coupled with persistent loading, a rapid drop of 15% - 26.9% in the ultimate capacity of the eccentrically loaded reinforced concrete column is identified. Moreover, it is observed that the increase of eccentric load serves to accelerate the deterioration of column structural behavior.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.209-217
• /
• 2018

The dynamic compressive behavior of concrete after freezing and thawing tests are investigated by using the split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) technique. The stress-strain curves of concrete under dynamic loading are measured and analyzed. The setting numbers of freeze-thaw cycles are 0, 25, 50, and 75 cycles. Test results show that the dynamic strength decreases and peak strain increases with the increasing of freeze-thaw cycles. Based on the Weibull distribution model, statistical damage constitutive model for dynamic stress-strain response of concrete after freeze-thaw cycles was proposed. At last, the fragmentation test of concrete subjected to dynamic loading and freeze-thaw cycles is carried out using sieving statistics. The distributions of the fragment sizes are analyzed based on fractal theory. The fractal dimensions of concrete increase with the increasing of both freeze-thaw cycle and strain rate. The relations among the fractal dimension, strain rates and freeze-thawing cycles are developed.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.17 no.6
• /
• pp.755-759
• /
• 2004

The present investigation was carried out to assess the effect of Sephadex (G-15) filtration on the post thaw bull semen quality and conception rate. Post thaw unfiltered (control) and Sephadex filtered semen from four healthy bulls (three cross bred and one pure bred Holstein Friesian) were subjected to microscopic examination viz. sperm concentration, individual motility, live sperm count and sperm morphology. Sixty-two healthy, normal cycling crossbred cows were inseminated with post thaw unfiltered (n=32) and filtered semen (n=30). Sephadex filtration of post thaw semen significantly (p<0.05) decreased total sperm concentration and sperm with abnormal head, mid piece and tail. The overall average total sperm concentration, head and tail defects in filtered semen decreased significantly (53.4, 1.2 and 6.4 million) than in the unfiltered semen (80.4, 2.4 and 15.7 million, respectively). However, after filtration significant (p<0.05) increase in overall average motile and live sperm concentration were observed (38.8 and 38.0) as compared to unfiltered semen (29.2 and 32.0 million, respectively). The overall conception rate recorded was 21.9% with post thaw unfiltered semen and 56.7% with filtered semen. It was concluded that Sephadex filtration of post thaw semen improved its quality and conception rate.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.27 no.8
• /
• pp.451-458
• /
• 2017

The service life of coal gangue concrete(CGC) strongly depends on the capillary water absorption, this water absorption is susceptible to freeze-thaw cycles. In this paper, the cumulative water absorption and sorptivity were obtained to study the effects of 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 % steel fiber volume fraction added on the water absorption of CGC. Sorptivity and freeze-thaw tests were conducted, and the capillary water absorption was evaluated by the rate of water absorption(sorptivity). Three prediction models for the initial sorptivity of steel fiber reinforced coal gangue concrete(SFRCGC) under freeze-thaw cycles were established to evaluate the capillary water absorption of SFRCGC. Results showed that, without freeze-thaw cycles, the water absorption of CGC decreased when steel fiber at 1.0 % volume fraction was added, however, the water absorption increased with the addition of 0.5 or 1.5 % steel fibers. Once the SFRCGC specimens were exposed to freeze-thaw cycles, the water absorption of SFRCGC significantly increased, and 1.0 % steel fiber in volume fraction added to CGC caused the lowest water absorption, except for the case of the sample without steel fibers added. The CGC with steel fiber at 1.0 % volume fraction performed better. The SFRCGC has a strong response to freeze-thaw cycles. Results also showed that the linear function prediction model is practical in the field of engineering because of its simple form and a relatively high precision. Although the polynomial prediction model presents the highest computation precision among the three models, the complicated form and too many coefficients make it impractical for engineering applications.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.772-782
• /
• 2015

This study was performed to explore the deterioration of physicochemical quality of beef hind limb during frozen storage at −20℃, affected by repeated freeze-thaw cycles. The effects of three successive freeze-thaw cycles on beef hind limb were investigated comparing with unfrozen beef muscle for 80 d by keeping at −20±1℃. The freeze-thaw cycles were subjected to three thawing methods and carried out to select the best one on the basis of deterioration of physicochemical properties of beef. As the number of repeated freeze-thaw cycles increased, drip loss decreased and water holding capacity (WHC) increased (p<0.05) till two cycles and then decreased. Cooking loss increased in cycle one and three but decreased in cycle two. Moreover, drip loss, WHC and cooking loss affected (p<0.05) by thawing methods within the cycles. However, pH value decreased (p<0.05), but peroxide value (p<0.05), free fatty acids value (p<0.05) and TBARS value increased (p<0.05) significantly as the number of repeated freeze-thaw cycles increased. Moreover, significant (p<0.05) interactive effects were found among the thawing methods and repeated cycles. As a result, freeze-thaw cycles affected the physicochemical quality of beef muscle, causing the degradation of its quality.