With the aim of characterising a commercially available epoxy adhesive used for fibre-reinforced polymers strengthening applications, when submitted to different environmental conditions, mainly thermal (TC), freeze-thaw (FT), and wet-dry (WD) cycles and immersion in pure (PW) and water with chlorides (CW) for periods of exposure that lasted up to 16 months, an experimental program was carried out. Several methodologies were used in its characterization, mainly the scanning electron microscope (SEM), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), standard tensile tests (STT) coupled with digital image correlation (DIC). In general the results revealed that the chemical composition was not affected by the environmental conditions. Nevertheless, it was verified through DMA and STT that the modulus of elasticity and tensile strength of the epoxy adhesive increased in the TC, while the specimens submitted to PW and CW faced a high degradation in terms of its mechanical properties. Eventually, the glass transition temperature (Tg) was not affected by the environmental conditions, apart from the specimens subjected to TC and FT, presenting a higher and lower Tg, respectively, when compared with the reference specimens.

Green banana flour shows good potential as a functional ingredient for special-purpose foods, but there are no data in the literature concerning the use of a green banana pulp and peel flour for the development of products such as pasta. The aim of the present study was to develop tagliatelle pasta substituting the wheat flour with different concentrations of a green banana mixed pulp and peel flour. The pasta formulations were prepared replacing the wheat flour by the green banana mixed pulp and peel flour in two concentrations: 15% and 30%. A control formulation with wheat flour was also prepared. The green banana mixed pulp and peel flour presented higher ash, total fibre and total phenolic compound contents than traditional wheat flour. The pasta formulation with the addition of 15% green banana flour showed the highest ash content and the best sensory acceptability of all the formulations. It was concluded that it was possible to develop a tagliatelle pasta with satisfactory acceptance replacing the wheat flour by a green banana mixed pulp and peel flour. Keywords: Functional foods; Sensory acceptance; Bioactive compounds. ResumoA farinha de banana verde possui grande potencial como ingrediente funcional em alimentos para fins especiais. No entanto, não há dados na literatura sobre a utilização da mistura de farinha da casca e da polpa da banana verde para o desenvolvimento de produtos, como massas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver uma massa alimentícia tipo talharim, substituindo a farinha de trigo por uma mistura de farinha de polpa e de casca de banana verde, em diferentes concentrações. As formulações foram preparadas substituindo a farinha de trigo pela mistura de farinha de polpa e de casca de banana verde em duas concentrações: 15% e 30%. Uma formulação controle com farinha de trigo foi elaborada. As farinhas de polpa e de casca de banana verde apresentaram maiores teores de cinzas, fibras totais e compostos fenólicos totais. A formulação adicionada de 15% da farinha de banana verde apresentou o maior teor de cinzas e a melhor aceitabilidade entre as formulações. Desta forma, foi possível desenvolver uma massa alimentícia tipo talharim com aceitação sensorial satisfatória. Food Technol., v. 20, e2016119, 2017. Received: Sept. 02, 2016 Accepted: June 27, 2017 http://bjft.ital. The use of green banana (Musa balbisiana) pulp and peel flour as an ingredient for tagliatelle pasta Castelo-Branco, V. N. et al. Palavras-chave:

This paper addresses the durability of bond between concrete and carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) strips installed according to the near-surface mounted (NSM) technique (NSM CFRP-concrete systems) under the effects of two main groups of environmental conditions: (i) laboratory-based ageing conditions; (ii) real outdoor ageing conditions. The bond degradation was evaluated by carrying out direct pullout tests on aged specimens that were previously subjected to distinct environmental conditions for different periods of exposure. Moreover, the degradation of the mechanical properties of the involved materials was investigated. The digital image correlation (DIC) method was used to document the evolution of the deformation fields at the surface over the whole region of interest consisting of concrete and epoxy adhesive at the ligament region. This information supported the discussion about the evolution of the bond resistant mechanism developed in NSM CFRP-concrete specimens during testing, as well as the assessment of the bond quality of the system. In general, the results obtained from the durability tests conducted have shown that the different exposure environments, which may be considered as quite severe, did not result in significant damage on NSM CFRP-concrete system. The maximum decrease of about 12% on bond strength was obtained for real outdoor environments. Conversely, a maximum increase of 8% on bond strength was obtained on the specimens exposed to the temperature cycles between -15 °C and +60 °C. DIC allowed to document the stress transfer mechanisms established between the CFRP and the concrete substrate, revealing the crack patterns and the influence widths of the CFRP reinforcement strips, which were shown to be important for avoiding group effect when using multiple parallel strengthening CFRP strips.