{"id":24557,"date":"2018-06-18T11:02:47","date_gmt":"2018-06-18T15:02:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/?p=24557"},"modified":"2022-03-16T10:56:42","modified_gmt":"2022-03-16T14:56:42","slug":"orange-peels-safer-bridges-emergency-inhalers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/orange-peels-safer-bridges-emergency-inhalers\/","title":{"rendered":"Orange Peels Hold Secret to Design of Safer Bridges, Emergency Inhalers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to researchers at the University of Central Florida (UCF), the secret to constructing safer bridges or creating effective vehicles for delivering airborne medicine may lie in a familiar, but unexpected place &#8212; the peels of oranges.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When an orange is squeezed, microjets in the peel release a thin stream of fragrant oil. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Through an in-depth analysis of the mechanical structure of the orange peel, UCF Assistant Professor of Engineering <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/mae.ucf.edu\/people\/faculty\/andrew-dickerson\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Andrew K. Dickerson<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and graduate student Nicholas M. Smith have <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/today.ucf.edu\/orange-peels-may-hold-secret-airborne-medicine-safer-bridges\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">determined the specific mechanisms<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> through which this oil is released.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The research is published in <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pnas.org\/content\/early\/2018\/06\/06\/1720809115\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Proceedings from the National Academy of Sciences<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The mechanics<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It all has to do with the structure of the layers in the orange peel. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A hard outer layer serves as a protective function, and is hard to puncture. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A second layer underneath has a white, spongy texture. This layer contains microscopic pockets of the fragrant oil. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The spongy material is flexible and capable of absorbing impact, but when squeezed to a particular pressure will puncture a hole in the outer layer of the peel. <\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_24570\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-24570\" style=\"width: 830px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-24570\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Reservoir-after-rupture3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"830\" height=\"623\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Reservoir-after-rupture3.jpg 830w, https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Reservoir-after-rupture3-1832x1374.jpg 1832w, https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Reservoir-after-rupture3-1376x1032.jpg 1376w, https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Reservoir-after-rupture3-1044x783.jpg 1044w, https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Reservoir-after-rupture3-632x474.jpg 632w, https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Reservoir-after-rupture3-536x402.jpg 536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-24570\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image: University of Central Florida<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When this happens and the pockets of oil are broken, the microjets propel the fragrant oil hidden within the lower layer with astounding force. The oil is released at an average rate of 22 mph and accelerates 5,000 Gs, equivalent to 1,000 times the force astronauts experience at launch.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"High-speed microjets burst from citrus peels (slowed 83X)\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BWQKwhO4axU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2><b>Real-world applications<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The researchers believe that knowledge about this biological function could be utilized in visionary designs across various fields. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dickerson envisions two potential design applications.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cImagine cheap, single use <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">emergency inhalers distributed as needed at public clinics or remote villages,\u201d he said. \u201cThe lightweight foam pad would come wrapped in a plastic pouch and protected from bending by a cardboard sleeve.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cTo use, the foam is extracted from its sleeve and positioned near the mouth,\u201d he continued. \u201cThe user gives it a little squeeze, as if folding the foam pad in two. Jets burst from the shiny, thin membrane covering one side of the pad (this side up). The jets create a brief fine mist easily inhaled by the user. The device is now expended and dispensable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Such an inhaler could be designed to be easily portable, low-cost, dispensable, maybe even biodegradable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He also envisions a unique system for monitoring the structural integrity of bridges.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBridge members bend, flex, and twist,\u201d he said. \u201cThese sorts of actions cause <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">oil gland reservoirs in citrus to burst. We envision similarly designed \u2018skins\u2019 embedded pasted onto man-made structural members. Above a critical degree of bending or twisting, they could be designed to release a dye embedded in tiny reservoirs in the outermost surface, giving us a visual (or olfactory) warning.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Portable inhalers, color-changing bridge safety systems &#8212; unique concepts such as these may be only the tip of the iceberg. Once in the hands of creative engineers worldwide, there\u2019s no telling how this research could be utilized.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before these visions can become reality, however, more research needs to be done into the function of orange peel microjets.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cFirst, we need to work out size and proportions,\u201d Dickerson said in a statement. \u201cIt\u2019s important to understand exactly how the microjets work and how to tune their stability for medical application. The size of droplets and the amount of medication they carry is critical. We\u2019ve got a ways to go before applications can be explored.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Learning from nature<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The researchers believe that studying nature can provide interesting and unique ways of looking at engineered systems. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dickerson, who is an expert in fluid dynamics, has already done extensive research into natural designs. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He has, for example, researched the dynamics of wet dogs and other mammals <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/mae.ucf.edu\/dickerson\/index.php\/research\/mammals-shake-at-tuned-frequencies\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">shaking their fur<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, as well as the way that <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/mae.ucf.edu\/dickerson\/index.php\/research\/mosquitoes-survive-raindrop-collisions-by-virtue-of-their-low-mass\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mosquitoes survive collisions<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with drops of water during rain storms. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These two studies could offer insight for engineers and biologists alike. The first demonstrates how to dry large surfaces quickly, while the second could help us generate targeted strategies to resist mosquitoes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNature has many iterations, generations, and millenia to trial design,\u201d said Dickerson. \u201cNature is our greatest teacher. Is nature perfect? No, but it has many lessons to teach us and we are just starting to scratch the surface.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to researchers at the University of Central Florida (UCF), the secret to constructing safer bridges or creating effective vehicles for delivering airborne medicine may lie in a familiar, but unexpected place &#8212; the peels of oranges. When an orange is squeezed, microjets in the peel release a thin stream of fragrant oil. Through an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":24543,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[241,230,229,252,243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-medical-breakthrough","category-news","category-lead-stories","category-university-of-central-florida","category-health"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/orange-peel.jpeg",830,533,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/orange-peel-224x144.jpeg",224,144,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/orange-peel-300x193.jpeg",300,193,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/orange-peel.jpeg",830,533,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/orange-peel.jpeg",830,533,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/orange-peel.jpeg",830,533,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/orange-peel.jpeg",830,533,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Sam Benezra","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/author\/sam-benezra\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"According to researchers at the University of Central Florida (UCF), the secret to constructing safer bridges or creating effective vehicles for delivering airborne medicine may lie in a familiar, but unexpected place &#8212; the peels of oranges. When an orange is squeezed, microjets in the peel release a thin stream of fragrant oil. Through an&hellip;","featured_media_src_url":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/orange-peel.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}