Analysis of the failure of cracked biscuits

Cracks or checks in biscuits weaken the material and cause the product to break at low load levels that are perceived as injurious to product quality. In this work, the structural response of circular digestive biscuits, with diameter 72 mm and thickness 7.2 mm, simply supported around the circumference and loaded by a central concentrated force was investigated by experiment and theory. Tests were conducted to quantify the distribution in breakage strength for structurally sound biscuits, biscuits with natural checks and biscuits with a single known part-through crack. For sound biscuits the breakage force is Normally distributed with a mean of 12.5 N and standard deviation of 1.2 N. For biscuits with checks, the corresponding statistics are 9.6 N ± 2.62 N respectively. The presence of a crack weakens the biscuit and strength, as measured by breakage force falls almost linearly with crack length and crack depth. The orientation of the crack, whether radial or tangential, and its location (i.e. position of the crack mid-point on the biscuit surface) are also important. Deep, radial, cracks located close to the biscuit centre can reduce the strength by up to 50%. Two separate failure criteria were examined for sound and cracked biscuits respectively. The results from these tests were in good accord with theory. For a biscuit without defects, breakage occurred when maximum biscuit stress reached or exceeded the failure stress of 420 kPa. For a biscuit with cracks, breakage occurred as above or alternatively when its critical stress intensity factor of 18 kPam0.5 was reached.

Good is generally more alike than bad in the information ecology: Investigating the case of (the ABC model of) group stereotypes

On most if not all evaluatively relevant dimensions such as the temperature level, taste intensity, and nutritional value of a meal, one range of adequate, positive states is framed by two ranges of inadequate, negative states, namely too much and too little. This distribution of positive and negative states in the information ecology results in a higher similarity of positive objects, people, and events to other positive stimuli as compared to the similarity of negative stimuli to other negative stimuli. In other words, there are fewer ways in which an object, a person, or an event can be positive as compared to negative. Oftentimes, there is only one way in which a stimulus can be positive (e.g., a good meal has to have an adequate temperature level, taste intensity, and nutritional value). In contrast, there are many different ways in which a stimulus can be negative (e.g., a bad meal can be too hot or too cold, too spicy or too bland, or too fat or too lean). This higher similarity of positive as compared to negative stimuli is important, as similarity greatly impacts speed and accuracy on virtually all levels of information processing, including attention, classification, categorization, judgment and decision making, and recognition and recall memory. Thus, if the difference in similarity between positive and negative stimuli is a general phenomenon, it predicts and may explain a variety of valence asymmetries in cognitive processing (e.g., positive as compared to negative stimuli are processed faster but less accurately). In my dissertation, I show that the similarity asymmetry is indeed a general phenomenon that is observed in thousands of words and pictures. Further, I show that the similarity asymmetry applies to social groups. Groups stereotyped as average on the two dimensions agency / socio-economic success (A) and conservative-progressive beliefs (B) are stereotyped as positive or high on communion (C), while groups stereotyped as extreme on A and B (e.g., managers, homeless people, punks, and religious people) are stereotyped as negative or low on C. As average groups are more similar to one another than extreme groups, according to this ABC model of group stereotypes, positive groups are mentally represented as more similar to one another than negative groups. Finally, I discuss implications of the ABC model of group stereotypes, pointing to avenues for future research on how stereotype content shapes social perception, cognition, and behavior.

Typikon tēs epi tou vounou tou Auxentiou sevasmias Monēs Michaēl tou Archangelou /

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Centons homériques : (Homerocentra) : Patricius, Eudocie, Optimus, Côme de Jérusalem /

Probably written over some time by various authors.

Ioannis Cantacuzeni eximperatoris Historiarum libri IV : graece et latine /

Covers mostly the years 1320-1356.

Constantini Porphyrogeniti imperatoris De cerimoniis aulae Byzantinae libri duo : graece et latine /

Includes index.

De ceremoniis aulae Byzantinae libri duo;

Mode of access: Internet.

Plays /

v. 1. Advertisement to the second edition. Introduction; Essay on the writings of Massinger / by John Ferriar, &c. The virgin-martyr. The unnatural combat. The Duke of Milan -- v. 2. The bondman. The renegado. The parilament of love. The Roman actor. The great Duke of Florence -- v. 3. The maid of honour. The picture. The Emperor of the East. The fatal dowry. A new way to pay old debts -- v. 4. The city madam. The guardian. A very woman. The bashful lover. The old law.

Il menologio di Basilio II (cod. vaticano greco 1613).

1. Testo -- 2. Tavole.

Dramatic works /

Vols. 2-4 have title: Works.

Excerpta historica iussu Imp. Constantini Porphyrogeniti confecta.

v. 1. Excerpta de legationibus: pars. 1. Excerpta de legationibus Romanorum ad gentes. pars. 2. Excerpta de legationibus gentium ad Romanos.--v. 2., pars. 1-2. Excerpta de virtutibus et vitiis.--v. 3. Excerpta de insidiis.--v. 4. Excerpta de sententiis.

Ioannis Cantacuzeni eximperatoris historiarum libri IV. Graece et latine.

Mode of access: Internet.

[Geōponika] = Geoponicorum siue de re rustica libri XX /

Includes indexes.

L'Empire grec au dixième siècle; Constantin Porphyrogénète.

Reprint of 1870 ed.

De thematibus et De administrando imperio /

Includes index.