Ana Luísa Fonseca

Assistant Researcher
Physics Dept., FCT NOVA

METROVAC | 244 - Ed. I

10534
alapf@campus.fct.unl.pt

Research Areas

The scientific activity developed in the last years has been mostly directed for two main technological applications: - vacuum metrology and cork characterization studies. Both contributions were developed using vacuum technology.


Concerning vacuum metrology, the work developed to fill several gaps in calibrations services that did not exist in Portugal. Within the same subject, related to the European project EMPIR, advances have been achieved about the development of a new ionization gauge. The first results about a numerical simulation of an ionisation gauge using SIMION were published in an international journal.


Regarding cork characterization studies, besides the last publications (modeling the pressure inside cork under vacuum), other studies have been developed: for more than 18 mounts the gas permeation of cork stoppers in real bottling conditions was measured, for different cork stoppers types; part of this studies allowed to evaluate the role of the glass and stopper interface for controlling gas transfer in bottling conditions, using non treated and treated surface cork. The influence of the bottling storing position on gas permeability was also investigated. Moreover, the effect of temperature in the gas transport through the cork was also determined.


The cork transport mechanisms and other studies have been accomplished by Cefitec but it is necessary to promote the resolution of TCA mitigation, contributing, for instance, to the reduction of the use of synthetic stoppers. This group has already done some preliminary results experiments concerning this topic however there are many questions that are still open.




Main publications

 


Silva, R.; Bundaleski, N.; Fonseca, A. L.; Teodoro, O. M. N. D.  3D-Simulation of a Bayard Alpert ionisation gauge using SIMION program. Vacuum 164, 300-307 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vacuum.2019.03.039


 


Bundaleski, N.; Fonseca, A. L.; Teodoro, O. M. N. D. Pressure evolution inside a cork stopper under vacuum. Vacuum 161, 375-382 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vacuum.2019.01.009


 


Fonseca, A.P.; Teodoro, O.M.N.D. Design and characterization of R134a reference leaks. Int. J. Refrig. 100, 463-470 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2019.02.007


 


Teodoro, O.M.N.D.; Fonseca, A. L.; Pereira, H.; Moutinho, A. M. C. Vacuum Physics Applied to the Transport of Gases Through Cork. Vacuum 109, 397-400 (2014).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vacuum.2014.06.004


 


Fonseca, A. L.; Brazinha, C.; Pereira, H.; Crespo, J. G.; Teodoro, O. M. N. D. Permeability of Cork for Water and Ethanol. J. Agric. Food Chem. 61, 9672-9679 (2013). 
https://doi.org/10.1021/jf4015729


 


Brazinha, C.; Fonseca, A. P.; Pereira, H.; Teodoro, O.M.N.D.; Crespo, J. G. Gas transport through cork: modelling gas permeation based on the morphology of a natural polymer material. J. Membrane Sci. 428, 52-62 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2012.10.019


 


Faria, D. P.; Fonseca, A. L.; Pereia, H.; Teodoro, O.M.N. D. Permeability of cork to gases. J. Agric. Food Chem. 59, 3590-3597 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1021/jf200491t





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ORCID: 0000-0001-9761-6562


Scopus Author ID: 49863416700