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CHARGE NUMBER: PROJECT TITLE: PROJECT LEADER: WRITTEN BY: PERIOD COVERED: DATE OF REPORT: 1708 Physical and Chemical Properties of Tobacco B. C. LaRoy J. C. Crump July 1-31, 1981 August 6, 1981 LOOSE END TESTING (D. Full) A minor change was made to the waveform used for vibrationn testi~ng. Instead of a pure 100 Hz, a small harmonic distortion (superposition of some 200 Hz sinewave on 100 Hz) was built into the wavetables to break the syrmietry. Now the peak acceleration tending to force filler out of the rod is the same as before, but the peak acceleration tending to force it back in has been substantially reduced~. C, F r The effects of prolonged vibration (seconds to hours) and intensity of vibration (using 16, 23, 32 and 45 G"s peak acceleration) on the loss of filler from individual cigarettes (Monitor 15's) have been determined quantitatively. Using a fixed sustained peak acceleration on individual cigarettes, interrupted briefly at intervals for collection of ejected filler (for subsequent weighing), and using different peak accelerations on other cigarettes from the same can, data on the separate effects of intensity and duration of vibration were obtained. The "noise" in the data was large, but log-log plots of cummulative weight loss vs time for individual runs (11 so far) support the following preliminary conclusions: 1. With a peak acceleration of 32 G's, the weight loss after 1000 seconds is on the order of 10 to 100 mg, or typically 30 mg per cigarette, for Monitor 15's. 2. The weight loss increases (decreases) about 10-fold'for each 2-fold increase (decrease), in intensity of vibration. 3. The weight loss increases (decreases) about 10-fold for each 100- fold increase (decrease) in duration of vibration. (Slope is .5 .on log-log plot.) TEMPERATURE HUMIDITY MONITORS IN WAREHOUSES1 (B. C. LaRoy, J. C. Crump M,. Ji. Wood) ; In continued cooperation with the Leaf Department, eight additional temperature-humidity monitors have been purchase6and are

-2- being calibrated and placed in warehouses to provide continuous records of the ambient conditions. Four monitors have previously been installed in Cabarrus County Warehouse No. 6 and in Richmond Warehouse No. 2 on Commerce Road. Four of the new monitors are also being placed in Richmond Warehouse No. 2. Two are located at heights of 24 ft. and 4 ft. along the aisle midway from the front to rear of the warehouse, and two are being placed at the same height near the firewall at the rear of the warehouse. The remaining four new monitors will be located in another Richmond'warehouse which has shown a history of molding problems. MOLD ON RL2 (J. C. Crump) Studies initiated last month on potential mold problems with various flavors and additives on RL are continuing. After thirty days at moisture conditions ranging from 12% to 25% OV, no mold'has been observed on any of the samples. PROPYLENE GLYCOL3 (J. C. Crump) A current study for the purpose of differentiating between tobacco additives which affect filling power by direct plastizatilon and those which affect it indirectly through water sorption has yielded unusual observations with the addition of propylene-glycol to bright and burley tobacco. During an isothermal cycle from 30% RH to 70% RH and back, the samples sprayed with propylene-glycol gained less weight than the control on adsorption and lost more on desorption. Since this phenomenon associated with propylene-glycol has been observed previously4 and it has not been completely explained, a more detailed study has been initiated to examine the behavior of propylene-glycol in various environmentai conditions. REFERENCES 1. J. C. Crump - PM Notebook #7220, p 136. 2. J. C. Crump - PM Notebook #7220, pp 134, 137. 3. J. C. Crump - PM Notebook #7220, p 135. 4. J. C. Crump - Special Report #76-028, March 1976. /llv i