Browsing by Author "Sandanuwan, T"

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item: Conference-Full-text
Atmospheric cold plasma to improve printability of polyethylene terephthalate
(IEEE, 2021-07) Sandanuwan, T; Hendeniya, N; Attygalle, D; Amarasinghe, DAS; Weragoda, SC; Samarasekara, AMPB; ; Hemachandra, K; Adhikariwatte, W; Rathnayake, M
Though paper is still the most common substrate in the printing industry, polymeric substrates are becoming common by the day. Commercially available polymers such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polypropylene (PP) surfaces have lower density of polar functional groups. Thus, the adhesion characteristics of these materials are naturally poor. Consequently, producing a quality print on such polymer substrates has become a challenge. Hence, surface modification has become a necessity for such surfaces. This study investigates the technical viability of cold plasma-based surface treatment technologies on polymeric materials. The effect of plasma pre-treatment, on the printability of PET substrates, was studied. The surfaces of these polymer substrates were subjected to different cold plasma treatments, using 80% N2 and 20% O2 as feed gas. The study covers the effect of the plasma dose and the plasma intensity on the printability and the degree of surface modification. The study determined the optimum plasma conditions for quality and durable prints.
item: Conference-Full-text
Atmospheric pressure plasma treatment as a cost-effective and eco-friendly pre-treatment method to enhance seed perfomance in germination and early seedling growth
(IEEE, 2021-07) Hendeniya, N; Sandanuwan, T; Amarasinghe, DAS; Attygalle, D; Weragoda, S; Ranaweera, B; Rathnayake, K; Lalanka, M; Adhikariwatte, W; Rathnayake, M; Hemachandra, K
Novel methods of improving the seed quality have gained a lot of attention recently, cold atmospheric pressure plasma being one of the most promising methods. The effects of cold atmospheric pressure plasma treatment of chili - MI 2 (Capsicum annuum L.) and snake gourd - MI short (Trichosanthes cucumerina) seeds have been compared with a conventional fungicide seed coating and a biological coating treatment. The plasma exposure times used were 4min, 6min and 10min. Cold atmospheric pressure plasma treatment has shown improved effects on seed germination for both Capsicum annuum L. and Trichosanthes cucumerina seeds. Both seed types showed the best germination results under 6 min treatment while displaying the best Seed Vigor Index through 4 min plasma treatment. Compared with the coating treatments, cold atmospheric pressure plasma has shown a significant stimulation in seed germination and early growth.
item: Conference-Full-text
Moisture transportation in polyester fabrics by plasma printed wicking channels
(IEEE, 2021-07) Gunarathna, RNP; Sandanuwan, T; Amarasinghe, DAS; Attygalle, D; Weragoda, SC; Hendeniya, N; Adhikariwatte, W; Rathnayake, M; Hemachandra, K
By dissipating the absorbed moisture on clothes quickly, the wearer's comfortability can be improved. Wicking plays a vital role in transporting sweat away through the fabric from the generation areas of the body. Usually, this transportation is an undirected random process. It transports moisture in all possible directions, making large wet patches on the cloths, and these could lead to the wearer's discomfort. This paper reports a method to transport moisture away through predefined paths to predefined locations on weft knitted polyester fabric. The moisture transportation paths were printed on the fabric using a dielectric barrier discharge plasma gun. The results show the effectiveness of the proposed channel printing process for moisture management on the clothing.
item: Conference-Full-text
Shelf life extension of cavendish banana fruit using cold plasma treatment
(IEEE, 2020-07) Sandanuwan, T; Attygalle, D; Amarasinghe, S; Weragoda, SC; Ranaweera, B; Rathnayake, K; Alankara, W; Weeraddana, C; Edussooriya, CUS; Abeysooriya, RP
Access to bio-safe food being a worldwide concern in recent years, a significant interest has emerged towards research on organic farming and innovative food processing technologies. Cold plasma technology-based treatments are gaining popularity as it can disinfect surfaces while being a biosafe eco-friendly process. The interaction of ions, electrons, free radicals, and excited-state atomic and molecular species with surfaces makes them free from organic contaminants. Recent studies have shown that the high energy species in plasma can efficiently disable microbial pathogens such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses. This study investigates the deactivation of Colletotrichum musae, Fusarium semitectum, and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides fungi that causes crown rot on Cavendish banana using a locally fabricated cold plasma treatment machine. Colletotrichum musae, Fusarium semitectum, and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides have been identified as the main cause for crown rot disease in Sri Lanka, which has recorded losses over 85% for untreated bananas. The results show that the percentage disease index (PDI) for cold plasma treated samples were significantly lower than the controlled, and the fungicide treated samples while not adversely affecting the physicochemical and sensory properties of the banana fruit.