bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Single Actuator for Rehabilitation Device of Leg Weakness
Authors: Samat Khairul Fadzli , Hussein Mohamed , Safizadeh M.R.
Published: December 2013

In this paper, the development of rehabilitation device for patients who encounter walking weakness due to post-stroke effect is presented. The kinematic analysis was carried out in the initial stage of development in order to have an efficient mechanism. As guide to design the device, the walking motion of healthy physical subject for speed of 1 km/h was used and subsequently a mechanism was designed to create similar walking motion. The device functions to inculcate the movement of thigh and calf through appropriate rotation of hip and knee. A single actuator of direct current (DC) motor is used to actuate the rotation of the hip and the knee joints mechanism. The kinematic analysis of constructed device has been performed and the results conformed the functionality of the suggested mechanism. The fabricated prototype proves the combination of DC motor and cam mechanism can actuated the movement of hip and knee joint simultaneously and subsequently reduced the power consumption.
Use of Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) Method in Remanufacturing Analysis for Engine Block
Authors: Abdullah Tajul Ariffin , Hashim Akmal , Baharudin Abu Bakar , Abd Wahab Dzuraidah
Published: December 2013

Over this recent year, a growing population that increase the economic development, capacity of landfills and critical environmental impact are gaining the importance role of remanufacturing activities. Moreover, many durable products are disposed in landfills at the end of their useful lives without undergoing by any recovery process that affect the landfill space has been decreasing in all over the world including by our country. Remanufacturing is the process by which used products are returned to their new state with minimum waste and expenditure on materials and energy. This study focus on the concept concept of remanufacturing practice in automotive sector. Malaysians have been generated wastes at a manufacturing sector especially in the automotive sector. On top of that, the conventional remanufacturing systems that have been constructed in Malaysia are not widely marketed and lack of practical applications. This study provides a remanufacturing analysis for improvement to the automotive sectors on engine block. Furthermore, this study presents the information based on the discussion of Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) to encourage the implementation of remanufacturing activities. By making the remanufacturing activities possible to implement efficiently, manufacturer may decrease their production costs, decrease refuse and landfill materials, and increase their quality management.
Effect of Percentage Ratio of Hydroxylated Biomonomer with Synthetic Epoxy of Polymer Foam for Sound Absorption Study
Authors: Adnan Noor Quratul Aine , Rus Anika Zafiah M.
Published: December 2013

Biopolymer foam was prepared based on vegetable oil and Polyol Flexible (Epoxy) with commercial Polymethane Polyphenyl Isocyanate (Modified Polymeric-MDI) with the different proportion ratio. This research is to study the acoustic property between different proportion ratio of biomonomer and epoxy. The acoustic property of biopolymer foam was examined by using an impedance tube test according to ASTM E-1050 of sound absorption coefficient (α). Based on the result obtained, mostly the values of α were consistent at the samples F. It was observed that, sample F gave the highest value of α that is 0.997 at of 3500Hz. Sample F from ratio 100:0 from epoxy to biomonomer and gave the best sound absorption than the other foam. So, different ratio give different α at different frequency (Hz).
Influence of Hot Compression Moulding of Particulate Biopolymer and their Sandwich Layups for Sound Absorption Characteristic
Authors: Latif Najibah A. , Rus Anika Zafiah M. , Ghani M. Khairul Zaimy A.
Published: December 2013

Waste cooking oils are problematic disposal especially in the developed countries. In this paper, waste cooking oil is used as raw material to produce foam. The purpose of the study is to develop the high density solid biopolymer (HDB) by using hot compression moulding technique based on flexible and rigid crosslinking agents. Physical properties such as Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and density of HDB were examined. The acoustic study of HDB sandwich layups of flexible (F) or rigid (R) has been measured using an impedance tube test according ASTM E1050 standard up to four maximum sandwich lay ups of F and R HDB in different arrangement. It was revealed that the arrangement sandwich layups of FRRF HDB sandwich gives the lowest sound absorption coefficients. The resonance frequency for RFR, FRF and FRRF were shifted to the left except for RFFR. The highest increment was 35.7 %, observed from RFR compared to the three layers of sandwich HDB. For the conclusion, RFR HDB showed that could absorb more sound, thus having higher noise reduction coefficient (NRC) than the other sandwich layups HDB at low frequency.
Evaluation of the Surface Integrity when Machining LM6 Aluminum Metal Matrix Composites Using Coated and Uncoated Carbide Cutting Tools
Authors: Mohd Hadzley Abu Bakar , Siti Sarah Ahmad , Raja Izamshah Raja Abdullah , Mohd Amran Ali , Kasim Mohd Shahir , Sulaiman Mohd Amri , Nurul Fatin Mohamad Raffi
Published: December 2013

Metal matrix composite is composite material that combines the metallic properties of matrix alloys and additional element to reinforce the product. This paper evaluates the machining performance of uncoated carbide and coated carbide in terms of surface integrity during end milling of LM6 aluminium MMC. The parameter of cutting speed, feed rate and axial depth of cut were kept constant at 3000 rpm spindle speed, 60 mm/min feed rate and 0.5 axial dept of cut. The radial depth of cut were varied from 0.01mm to 0.1 mm. The results indicated that uncoated carbide show the better performance in terms of surface roughness and surface profile, as compared to coated carbide. On the other hand, coated carbide cutting tools suffered with built-up-edge formation at the tool edge, hence caused shearing effect and deterioration at the tool-chip interface. This study is expected to provide understanding of machining metal matrix composites based materials.
Dissimilar Materials Laser Welding Characteristics of Stainless Steel and Titanium Alloy
Authors: Mohid Zazuli , Liman M.A. , Rahman M.R.A. , Rafai N.H. , Rahim Erween Abdul
Published: December 2013

Welding parameters are directly influenced by the work material properties. Thermal properties such as thermal conductivity and melting point are very important to estimate the range of power required and the allowable scanning speed. However, when two or more different materials are involved, modifying lasing parameters are not enough to counter the problems such as imbalance melting region and weak adhesion of contact surface. To counter this problem, the characteristics of welding beads formation for both materials need to be clarified. In this study, comparison of welding beads constructed using the same scanning parameters were done to understand the different and similarity of melted region for the both materials. Actual welding of the both materials were done under different offset distance to obtain a balanced melting area and well mixed melting region.
Decision Making of Screw Manufacturing for the Best Environmental and Economic Combination by Using AHP
Authors: Azlan Mohd Azwir , Buja Andy Anak , Kiong Sia Chee , Muhd Nor Nik Hisyamudin , Azlis-Sani Jalil
Published: December 2013

This study is an approach to investigate the viable impacts of screw manufacturing. At the same time, choose the suitable material and selected manufacturing process of screw by considering environmental aspects without sacrificing the economic aspect. It is important to the organisation to improve the environmental aspect. Therefore in this study, the decision making was focused on economic aspects to produce the synergy results between economic and environmental impact. The parameters involved were types of material and manufacturing process of screw which using the available data of environmental and production volume. The two different manufacturing approaches being evaluated were machining and forging process. The types of material concerned for forging process encompassed low carbon steel, alloy steel stainless steel, and aluminium alloy. On the other hand, for machining process, the material being considered in screw manufacturing were cast iron, low carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless steel and aluminium alloy. The information of environmental impacts that generated from SolidWorks Sustainability tool and screw production cost were calculate using Manufacturing cost model, both information was used in Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) analysis to obtain local priority of economic and environmental impacts. Then, the ranking of both global and local priorities from economic impact and environmental impacts had enabled the determination of appropriate material used for those selected screw manufacturing process. As result, low carbon steel was chosen for forging process whereas cast iron was excelled in machining process, at the same time, stainless steel was not suggested to be used in both two processes.
Performance of Tools Design when Helical Milling on Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) Aluminum (Al) Stack
Authors: Rahim Erween Abdul , Mohid Z. , Hamzah M.R. , Yusuf A.F. , Rahman N.A.
Published: December 2013

Hole making process is not strictly to the drilling technique where others machining could also influence to the quality in CFRP hole.Therefore, helical milling process becomes as an alternative method to produces bore on CFRP plate thus minimizing the defects. The common defects on CFRP are delamination, splintering and cracking. Meanwhile, if the CFRP stacking together with aluminum plate, burr at exit hole of aluminium plate is produced. Therefore, it is essential to control the critical machining parameters to assure a good quality of the hole. The main objective of this project is to improve the hole quality of CFRP/AL stack in terms of surface roughness using helical milling technique. In addition the cutting force and temperature will be measured as well. There are three levels of cutting speeds; two levels of feed rate and depth per helical path are made accordingly to helical milling characteristics. It was found that all tool design exhibit comparable performance for helical milling process on CFRP/Al stack.
Effect of Thickness and Permeability of Ceramic Shell Mould on In Situ Melted AZ91D Investment Casting
Authors: Jafari Hassan , Idris Mohd Hasbullah , Ourdjini Ali
Published: December 2013

The influence of ceramic shell mould thickness and permeability on investment casting of AZ91D alloy using in-situ melting technique was investigated. AZ91D granules together with melting flux were charged into two different moulds having different thicknesses and four various permeabilities; then were heated at 650°C in order to be melted. Visual inspection and scanning electron microscopes were used to characterise the surface quality of cast samples. Thermal analysis was employed to further analyse the effect of mould thickness on cooling and solidification behaviour of molten metal. The findings of this research showed that thinner mould provided higher solidification rate, which is believed to favour in-situ melting enhancement. It enabled melting of the granules at the investigated temperature resulted in suppressing mould-metal reaction and producing cast samples with good surface quality. The results also showed that the permeability of shell mould was ineffective in suppressing mould-metal reaction.
A Decision Support System (DSS) for Sustainable Production of Biofuel
Authors: Mohammadi Ashnani Mohammad Hossein , Johari Anwar , Hashim Haslenda , Hasani Elham
Published: December 2013

Great deal of concerns have been aroused after the global surge of prices of petroleum along with shrinking resources of non-renewable fossil fuel and regarding the necessity of renewable energy sources as alternative fuel. Despite the many positive characteristics of biofuels, they cause a variety of environmental, economical, and social challenges that were not known to decision-makers by usual evaluation tools such as life cycle assessment (LCA) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). This paper aims to design a Decision Support System (DSS) which covers weakness of existing assessment tools, using Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) models. Furthermore, a sustainable framework for decision making through assessing and considering wider environmental, economic, and social issues pertinent to different steps of development of biofuel is developed.
Steady - State Potential Energy Recovery Modeling of an Open Cathode PEM Fuel Cell Vehicle
Authors: Zakaria Irnie Azlin , Mustaffa Muhamad Rizuwan , Wan Mohamed Wan Ahmad Najmi , Mamat Aman Mohd Ihsan
Published: December 2013

Waste heat recovery in automotive engineering is part of the sustainable energy effort to optimize energy utilization. For vehicles running on hydrogen fuel cells, the potential of heat recovery is perceived to be limited due to the low quality energy generated from the fuel cell stack. It has been established in fuel cell operation that increasing the inlet hydrogen temperature improves the conversion efficiency through higher kinetic reaction rates. A fuel cell power plant for a mini vehicle that will be competing in Shell Eco Marathon Asia 2014 was studied to identify the potential energy recovery limits for an improved power plant design with regenerative hydrogen pre-heater. Using modeling approach for fuel cell power generation and efficiency relationships, the first-order waste energy potential was identified based on test bench studies on the electrical and thermal power relationship of the fuel cell stack performance. The corresponding result is then mapped to a driving cycle to investigate the thermal power generated during the race in both aggressive and passive driving cycle. The energy recovery potential for 4 laps course under aggressive and passive driving cycle are 529 kJ and 501.8 kJ consecutively. The mean thermal powers are 485 W and 410 W respectively which is the reference energy for extended heat exchanger design purposes.
Design of an Artificial Neural Network Pattern Recognition Scheme Using Full Factorial Experiment
Authors: Masood Ibrahim , Abidin Nadia Zulikha Zainal , Roshidi Nur Rashida , Rejab Noor Azlina , Johari Mohd Faizal
Published: December 2013

Automated recognition of process variation patterns using an artificial neural network (ANN) model classifier is a useful technique for multivariate quality control. Proper design of the classifier is critical for achieving effective recognition performance (RP). The existing classifiers were mainly designed empirically. In this research, full factorial design of experiment was utilized for investigating the effect of four design parameters, i.e., recognition window size, training data amount, training data quality and hidden neuron amount. The pattern recognition study focuses on bivariate correlated process mean shifts for cross correlation function, ρ = 0.1 ~ 0.9 and mean shifts, μ = ± 0.75 ~ 3.00 standard deviations. Raw data was used as input representation for a generalized model ANN classifier. The findings suggested that: (i) the best performance for each pattern could be achieved by setting different design parameters through specific classifiers, which (ii) gave superior result (average RP = 98.85%) compared to an empirical design (average RP = 96.5%). This research has provided a new perspective in designing ANN pattern recognition scheme in the field of statistical process control.
Management Systems Integration for Organizational Sustainability: Quality, Environmental, Occupational Health and Safety, and Energy
Authors: Mohamad Fadzilah , Abdullah Nor Hazana , Mohammad Musli , Kamaruddin Nor Kamariah
Published: December 2013

This paper identifies the trends in existing literatures on management system standards such as Quality (Q), Environmental (E), Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), and Energy (En) Management System (MS). Literatures related to these management system standards (MSSs) and its integrations published between year 1980 to 2012 have been critically analyzed. It provides a general overview of the Integrated Management System (IMS) implementation and the composition of MSSs in developing IMS in various organizations. Based on the analysis, it is firm that the integration of these four (4) MSSs has not been well established. Despite that, the recurring themes of the literatures related to IMS are mainly, model for implementation, strategies and guidelines for implementation, benefits of implementation, barriers/ problems of implementation, audit of IMS, Critical Success Factors for implementing IMS and IMS Audits.
Pinch Techniques and their Effects on Pinch Effort: A Pilot Study
Authors: Ng Poh Kiat , Bee Meng Chauw , Boon Qiao Hui , Chai Ka Xuan , Leh Shiong Lung , Jee Kian Siong
Published: December 2013

Hands are important tools for manual work. Although researchers have identified factors that influence the grip efforts of an entire hand, there appears to be limited research concerning the use of different pinch techniques and how they affect the performance of pinch effort. Therefore, the aim for this pilot study is to determine the effects of different pinch techniques on pinch effort. A total of 110 manual workers from a wooden pallet manufacturing firm participated in this study, which involved an experiment and survey to investigate the most preferred pinch technique applied on screw knobs. The techniques used were the 3-jaw chuck, pulp-2 and lateral pinch. A total of 6 screw knobs of different shapes and sizes were used. After the data were collected, descriptive and Cronbach's alpha reliability analyses were carried out. The results show that the preferred pinch technique for the small cylindrical knob, small sphere knob and all large knobs is the lateral pinch. However, the 3-jaw chuck pinch is preferred for the small 5-lobes knob. This study provides preliminary information for further research on pinch techniques and their influences on the pinching outcomes of individuals.
Applying Clockwise and Counterclockwise Torque Directions in Pinch Grips: A Descriptive Study
Authors: Ng Poh Kiat , Chai Ka Xuan , Leh Shiong Lung , Bee Meng Chauw , Boon Qiao Hui , Saptari Adi
Published: December 2013

Hand and finger-related injuries are increasingly common in the manufacturing industry. In relation to this, researchers have conducted various studies and found that a clockwise torque can produce a greater grip force than a counterclockwise torque direction, hence improving the grip control and exertion of an individual. However, there appears to be limited studies that explore this theory in the circumstances of pinch grips. Thus, the aim of this study is to explore the effects of different torque directions on the pinch grips. 6 prototype industrial screw knobs were designed, produced and evaluated by surveying 160 workers from a manufacturing firm. The results show that although the sizes are different, the effort to turn the knobs with a counterclockwise torque direction is still greater than the effort with a clockwise torque direction, which can technically mean that the pinch exertion in a clockwise torque direction is relatively greater. Based on these findings, guidelines can be developed to further improve hand tool designs and the capacity of torque exertions to potentially increase human performance and the effectiveness in tasks at the workplace.
Case Studies on the Implementation of Lean Manufacturing in the Automotive Malaysian Companies
Authors: Sahwan Mohd Azhar , Rahman Mohd Nizam A. , Deros Baba M.
Published: December 2013

Lean manufacturing is one of the initiatives that many major businesses in the world have been trying to adopt in order to remain competitive in an increasingly global market. The focus of the approach is on cost reduction by eliminating non-value added activities. Originating from the Toyota Production System, many of the tools and techniques of lean manufacturing have been widely used in discrete manufacturing. The purpose of this study is to investigate the approach of adopting lean, the tools and techniques implemented, the changes in the organizations, the problems encountered as well as the lessons learnt. This paper describes the results and findings of four industrial case studies conducted in different electrical and electronics companies in Malaysia. Interviews were conducted with the key personnel to answer some issues which were crucial in this study. Comparisons and discussion were made among the case companies. One of the key findings obtained is that people in the organization should take the lean mind-set and act in the lean way in order to make a lean initiative successful. The application of kaizen and 7 quality control tools are most popular implementation in the selected case study companies as the tools to eliminate non-value added activities.
Development of Malaysian Primary School Children Anthropometrics Data for Designing School Furniture Parameters
Authors: Yahya Mohd Shahir , Palaniandy Thiyagu , Zainun Noor Yasmin , Mohammad Musli
Published: December 2013

This paper explains the measurement of anthropometricdimensions ofprimary school children and investigation ofrisk factors associated with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among primary school children. A total of 266 students within three different schools were participated in anthropometric data measurements and questionnaire survey of the MSDs prevelance complain among them. Ten anthropometric measurements (Stature, Sitting height, Sitting shoulder height, Popliteal height, Hip breadth, Elbow seat height, Buttock-popliteal length, Buttock-knee length, Thigh clearance and Weight) were used. Martin type anthropometer set, height scale and weighing scale were used as a direct measurement method for the data collection on this study. Musculoskeletal symptoms were recorded using Modified Nordic Body Map Questionnaires. In addition Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) was used to assess the awkward posture of the school children for both designs. The results of the proposed furniture shows a better RULA final score for each group of muscles which give a score ranging from only 1 to 2 (Acceptable Posture) compared to the existing furniture that need further investigation. This anthropometrics data is very useful to the furniture manufacturer in designing school furniture in order to reduce the mismatch between furniture designed and Malaysian primary school children.
Techno-Economic Analysis of an Alkali Catalyzed Biodiesel Production Using Waste Palm Oil
Authors: Patle Dipesh S. , Ahmad Zainal
Published: December 2013

In this contribution, we present an in-depth analysis of an alkali catalyzed biodiesel production using waste palm oil. In view of the limited availability of non-renewable energy sources and the environmental concerns due to the high polluting nature of fossil fuels, biodiesel is seen as a future fuel alternative. We consider a waste palm oil with 6 % free fatty acids as a feedstock, which makes this process economically attractive. A complete process including esterification and transesterification is simulated using the Aspen Plus process simulator. The quality of a produced biodiesel is compared against different standards. In the subsequent part, the effect free fatty acid in feed oil on the overall biodiesel production is tested. In the last section of this paper, a techno-economic analysis and the scale-up study is carried out to determine the dependence of the feasibility of process on production capacity. The results show that higher capacity is desirable.
The Roles of Shape and Size in the Pinch Effort of Screw Knobs
Authors: Ng Poh Kiat , Boon Qiao Hui , Chai Ka Xuan , Leh Shiong Lung , Bee Meng Chauw , Saptari Adi
Published: December 2013

The most common body parts that sustain injuries at the workplace are the hands and fingers. In association to this, researchers have conducted various studies on grip span, forces, postures, contact area and strength. However, it appears that limited studies have been done on the design of screw knobs of ergonomic shapes and sizes for pinch grip activities. Thus, the aim of this study is to design, develop and assess screw knobs of ergonomic shapes and sizes for pinching activities. Several designs of screw knobs were designed and fabricated. The assessment of the knobs involved workers from a manufacturing firm. The ratings on the efforts to pinch and turn the knobs were collected using surveys and analyzed with reliability and descriptive and analyses. The results show that the workers mostly preferred using the small 5-lobes knob. However, the large ball knob was the least preferred knob to be used. The findings of this study can be used to create design guidelines on knob shapes and sizes to develop safer, more ergonomic and efficient knobs.
Effect of Welding Current Mode on Weld Quality Characteristics of Pulsed Current Micro Plasma Arc Welded AISI 304L Sheets
Authors: Siva Prasad Kondapalli , Srinivasa Rao Chalamalasetti , Nageswara Rao Damera
Published: December 2013

Austenitic stainless steels have gathered wide acceptance in the fabrication of components, which require high temperature resistance and corrosion resistance, such as metal bellows used in expansion joints in aircraft, aerospace and petroleum industry. In case of single pass welding of thinner sections of this alloy, pulsed current micro plasma arc welding was found beneficial due to its advantages over the conventional continuous current process. The paper focuses on studying the effect of continuous current and pulsed current in welding AISI 304 L sheets using Micro Plasma Arc Welding (MPAW) process. Welding was carried out on 0.25 mm thick AISI 304 L sheets using continuous current mode and pulsed current mode separately keeping all other welding parameters constant. Weld quality characteristics like micro structure, hardness and tensile properties are investigated and it is found that the usage of pulsed current leads to better weld quality characteristics when compared to continuous current mode.
The Effect of EDM Die-Sinking Parameters on Material Characteristic for Aluminium Composite Using Tungsten Copper Electrode
Authors: Ali Mohd Amran , Suraya Laily , Nor Halida Ilyani Kamarudin , Hussein Nur Izan Syahriah , Muhamad Mohd Razali , Manshoor Bukhari , Lajis Mohd Amri , Izamshah Raja , Hadzley Mohd , Taufik Taufik
Published: December 2013

The machining ability of electrical discharge machining (EDM) die-sinking on aluminium LM6 (Al-Sil2) as a new material is investigated.The objective of this paper is to determine the relationship between the machining parameters which are pulse-on time, pulse-off time and peak current on the material characteristics such as material removal rate (MRR), electrode wear rate (EWR) and surface roughness (Ra). Tungsten copper tool of diameter 10mm was chosen as an electrode. Design of experiment using Taguchi method was used to develop experimental matrix and optimize the MRR, EWR and Ra. The analysis was done using the Minitab software. It is found that the current and pulse on time are significantly affected the MRR, EWR and Ra while pulse off time and voltage are less significant factor that affected the responses. From the Taguchi method, the best setting of optimum value was obtained. Thus, it shows that Taguchi method is the best quality tools that can be applied for production.
Influence of Pressure Angle on Load Sharing Based Stresses in Asymmetric Normal Contact Ratio Spur Gear Drives
Authors: Marimuthu P. , Muthuveerappan G.
Published: December 2013

The aim of this paper is to investigate the influence of pressure angle on drive and coast sides in conventional design asymmetric normal contact ratio spur gear, considering the load sharing between the gear teeth pair. The multi pair contact model in finite element analysis is used to find the load sharing ratio and respective stresses. It has been found out that the predictions through multipoint contact model are in good agreement with the available literature. A unique Ansys parametric design language code is developed for this study. It is found that, the maximum fillet stress decreases up to the threshold point for drive side (35o) and coast side (25o) pressure angles, beyond this point it increases. The load share based maximum fillet and contact stresses are lower in the high pressure angle side than that of the low pressure angle side, when it is loaded at the critical loading points.
Load Sharing Based Fillet Stress Analysis of Involute Helical Gears
Authors: Prabhu Sekar R. , Muthuveerappan G.
Published: December 2013

The tooth fracture occurs due to high fillet stress developed at the root fillet region along the face width, when the tooth is normally loaded. Hence, an accurate estimation of critical loading position on the tooth along the line of contact for maximum fillet stress and its location along the face width become important to reduce the tooth fracture. In the present work, the maximum fillet stress is evaluated based on load sharing ratio using the finite element method through the multi pair loaded model and using the results, the influence of cutter tip radius and addendum height on the load sharing ratio and respective maximum fillet stress is evaluated. The maximum fillet stress is lesser in the gear drives which is generated by the full round cutter and it increases due to increase the addendum height. The location at which the maximum fillet stress occurs along the face width is determined, when the load is applied at the critical loading position in the helical gear drive.
Hydrogen Blended with Gasoline for Internal Combustion Engine Effect on Specific Fuel Consumption Based on Load Tests (L0,L1,L2)
Authors: Razali Halim , Sopian Kamaruzaman , Mat Sohif
Published: December 2013

The instability of petroleum prices in the world market has caused the price of fuel in Malaysia to increase, especially in the transportation sector. As an alternative, a research has been conducted from a technical aspect on the profitability of using hydrogen onboard as fuel for internal combustion engine. The process of producing hydrogen through chemical reaction between aluminum and hydrochloric acid (Al+HCl) has been successfully applied. Applications using a mixture of petrol with hydrogen (P+H2) as an alternative fuel in four-stroke motorcycles have been tested using a chassis dynamometer model ATV Inertial Dyno, 054-500-1K. Hydrogen requirement in the petrol mixing ratio is dependent on the operating system of the engine ignition system which is controlled by hydrogen pressure in the cylinder. Three stages of load test on the engine performance have been conducted on the chassis dynamometer, namely, load test L0 is equal 0 ampere (L0), load test L1 is equal 1 ampere, and load test L2 is equal 2. This results showed 0.7412 mole of hydrogen can be generated through the chemical reaction between 20 grams of aluminium with 250 ml of hydrochloric acid or 1 kg of aluminium can produce 37.06 moles which is equivalent to 108 grams hydrogen. Fuel economy of each load test was 6.5% (L0), 18.5% (L1) and 30% (L2) in grams per kilowatt hour. The rate used in each test load was 100 g/kWh (L0), 80.77 g/kWh (L1), and 112 g/kWh (L2) compared to petrol of 107 g/kWh (L0), 99.23 g/kWh (L1) and 162 g/kWh (L2). Results from the combustion of petrol, air and hydrogen in proportion of 100 g/kWh, 80.77 g/kWh and 112 g/kWh was able to improve the quality of combustion compared to the normal fuel consumption. The total use of sfc achieved 20.3% savings in grams per kilowatt hour for the engine (G + H2) with an average value of 98 g/kWh compared to the engine (G) with an average value of 123 g/kWh. The successful development of a prototype model with a reduction in fuel consumption in the system's ability to meet the basic needs of the internal combustion engine cycle can be beneficial to the development of the automotive industry, particularly in the transport sector.
Mono-Gas Fuelled Engine Performance and Emissions Simulation Using GT-Power
Authors: Ismail Muhammad Yusri , Alimin Ahmad Jais , Osman Shahrul Azmir
Published: December 2013

The scarcity of oil resources and the rise of crude oil price had driven the whole world to seek for an alternative fuel for automotive industry. One of the prospective alternative fuels for compression ignition (C.I.) engine is compressed natural gas (CNG). In order to operate CNG in a C.I. engine as mono-gas engine (RE), several modifications are required. The modifications that involves are compression ratio, fuel injection type, addition of spark plug and fuel itself. So as to reduce the time in preparing the experimental test bed and high cost analytical study a 1-dimensional simulation software GT-Power was introduce. The GT-Power simulation model for a 4 cylinder medium duty C.I. engine (DE) and RE has been built to study the effects of conversion process to the performance and emissions of the engine at various operational conditions: low, medium and high load conditions. As compared with DE model, results from RE model showed loss in brake power (BP) and brake thermal efficiency (BTE) by 37.3% and 19% respectively. Meanwhile, for brake specific air consumption (BSAC) RE predicted to undergo an average of 19412.6 g/kW-h and increment in volumetric efficiency by percentage of difference 22%. In other side, oxides of nitrogen (NOx) RE engine model predicted reduction of 48.1% (engine mode 1-9) and increased in hydrocarbons (HC) by 90.3.
Comparative Study of Particulate Matter (PM) Emissions in Diesel Engine Using Diesel-Methanol Blends
Authors: Yusof Ahmad Fitri , Mamat Rizalman , Mat Yasin Mohd Hafizil , Abdullah Abdul Adam , Aziz Amir Bin
Published: December 2013

In this research, Palm Oil Methyl Ester (PME) was added to methanol-biodiesel fuel in order to reduce the emissions. Thus, for diesel engines, alcohols are receiving increasing attention because they are oxygenated and renewable fuels. Therefore, in this study, the effect of PM emission level of a four cylinder, naturally aspirated, indirect injection diesel engine has been experimentally investigated by using methanol-blended diesel fuel from 0% to 20% with an increment of 5%. Thus, the effects of methanol on particulate matter (PM) components, soluble organic fraction (SOF) and dry soot (DS) using different type of fuel blends were investigated. Using a composite filter, the ester-methanol-diesel characteristic such as mass concentration in term PM, SOF and DS were analyzed under different engine operating conditions. The results show that the combination of 10% of methanol with 20% of Palm Oil Methyl Ester gives less PM emissions. Thus, PME20M10 of methanol-biodiesel fuel can reduce the PM emissions effectively for all load condition.
Performance of an Electro-Mechanical Parking Brake (EMPB) System
Authors: Rozaini Ahmad Humaizi , Ishak Mohd Razmi , Quettier Nicolas , Abu Bakar Abd Rahim , Mohd Zain Mohd Zarhamdy
Published: December 2013

A mechanical parking brake is one of the most important safety subsystems in a vehicle. Its main function is to hold a vehicle in position when parks on a flat or slope road. A typical problem of the mechanical parking brake system is that it requires a driver to apply sufficient or sometimes high pulling force to keep the vehicle stationary at any road slopes. Insufficient pulling force may cause the vehicle to move away or known as rollaway phenomenon. In order to overcome such an issue, an electro-mechanical parking brake (EMPB) is proposed and developed. The EMPB system is then tested using in-house parking brake test bench. It is found that the EMPB takes within 0.6s to fully engage and within 0.5s to disengage the system, respectively at 11.3 degrees of the road slope. Thus, current design of an EMPB system can prevent rollaway problem and also can be used as alternative replacement for the existing fully mechanical parking brake system.
Effect of Velocity on the Impact Resistance of Woven Jute Fiber Reinforced Composites
Authors: Ismail Al Emran , Zainulabidin Muhd Hafeez Bin , Roslan Mohd Nazrul , Mohd Tobi Abdul Latif , Muhd Nor Nik Hisyamudin
Published: December 2013

is present project investigated the impact penetration response of woven jute fiber reinforced composites subjected to wide range of low impact velocities. Hand layout woven jute fibers are thermally compressed to ensure no internal defects formed in the composites. Six layers of woven jutes are stacked together using different fiber orientations [0/q/0]s. Low impact velocities are used ranging between 5 – 20 m/s. Force-time, force-displacement and energy-time curves are obtained automatically during the impact tests. The results are then discussed with considering the composite fragmentations and failure mechanisms. It is found that 00 composite orientations capable to absorb sufficiently impact energy for 5 m/s but not for velocity greater than 10 m/s. When fiber orientations used between 15 – 450, the composite impact resistance increased indicating two significant peak forces. These peak forces represent different type of failure mechanisms occurred during the striker progresses.
Welding Fume Exposure among Welders in Small Size Welding Workshops in Malaysia
Authors: Hariri Azian , Leman Abdul Mutalib , Yusof Mohammad Zainal M.
Published: December 2013

Welding fumes has both acute and long term chronic hazards. Small size welding workshops often have the drawback in health and safety consciousness. This study is conducted to investigate the personal welding fumes exposure among welders in small size welding workshop. Two workshops were selected to represent a very small welding workshop (2 workers) and a medium workshop (8 workers). The main activities in these workshops were metal inert gas welding (MIG) process onto mild steel material. Welding fumes was sampled for 8 hours and analyze by the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The results of the study showed that only iron element existed notably in time weighted average (TWA) 8 hours calculation for both workshops. However, welding fumes exposure for both workshops were well below the permissible exposure limit (PEL) as stated in the Use and Standards of Exposure of Chemical Hazardous to Health regulation (USECHH) 2000 under the Malaysian Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994.
Root Causes Analysis of Disbonds and Unidentifiable Ultrasonic Indications on Composite Materials
Authors: Hussain M.I. , Mohd Zain Zuraidah , Kee Tee Lei
Published: December 2013

To ensure the structural integrity of composite materials, honeycomb sandwich panels must be inspected for defects with through-transmission ultrasonic testing. This study focused on the root causes analysis of disbonds and unidentifiable ultrasonic indications on composite materials. Disbonds is a condition that lack of adhesion between ply and core. Unidentifiable ultrasonic indications define as an unknown defect which can only identified after remove the peel ply. In this study, Minitab 16 and SPSS 16 are used in analyzing the potential causes that influences the disbonds and unidentifiable ultrasonic indications. The root causes of disbonds are core crush and core crack. Core crush and core crack may caused by high localized loads or high compaction pressure. For unidentifiable ultrasonic indications, the root cause is adhesive flood at core. Imperfect compaction pressure leads to the uneven flow of adhesive. For the area have lower pressure, probability for adhesive to accumulate is higher. Pleated or dog ear method can be implemented in bagging process to ensure better compaction mechanism. Operators must be trained and educated for better performance.
Effect of Friction Stir Welding pin Shape on Mechanical Properties of AA6061 Alloy Weldment
Authors: Idris Mohd Hasbullah , Husin Mohd Shamsul
Published: December 2013

The present study is aimed to determine the effect of friction stir welding pin; square and diamond shape on mechanical properties of butt joint AA6061 weldment. Welding was carried out at different plunge depths of 0.0, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 mm together with rotation and transverse speeds of 500 rpm and 40 mm/min, respectively. Material flow, tensile strength and hardness of the weldment were evaluated. The results indicated that joint properties were significantly affected by tool design. It was found that material flow was higher for diamond pin tool compared to that of square pin resulting in considerable increased in tensile strength of the joint. In addition, the highest tensile strength was obtained on the samples welded with square shape pin at 0.4 mm plunge depth whilst the lowest was by diamond shape at the plunge depth of 0.0 mm. Regardless of pin shape and plunge depth; asymmetrical hardness distribution was observed for all weldments. The highest hardness was found to be close to the weld line produced by the diamond shaped pin at 0.0 mm plunge depth.
Modelling and Control of Fish Feeder System
Authors: Md Zain Badrul Aisham , Jamal Muhammad Hazwan Md , Md Salleh Salihatun
Published: December 2013

Food and feeding become a major challenge in aquaculture development. The way adjustment of food delivery to pond is an important role to get the maximum return or profit to aquaculture entrepreneurs. This project presents an investigation about the fish feeding system, a system device to feed fish at predetermined amounts of food and time. Moreover, the system is designed with a computer monitored system in order to manage and control the system with simulation. This project is a simulation investigation into the development of PID controller using Matlab/Simulink software. The simulation development of the PID controller with the mathematical model of fish feeder system is done using trial and error method. The PID parameter is to be tested with a DC motor. As a result, the best value of PID controller is achieved when Kp = 100, Ki = 0.05 and Kd = 25.
Modelling Analysis on Mechanical Damage of Kenaf Reinforced Composite Plates under Oblique Impact Loadings
Authors: Roslan Mohd Nazrul , Ismail Al Emran , Hashim Mohd Yussni , Zainulabidin Muhd Hafeez Bin , Khalid S.N.A.
Published: December 2013

This research focuses on the study of oblique impact on kenaf reinforced composite plate. This study summarizes modeling analysis of targets subjected to certain angle of collisions which ranging from 0o-45o. Due to the low density, natural fiber such as kenaf fiber provides relatively good mechanical properties than glass fiber. Thus, natural fibers have high potential for better reinforcement in light weight structures such as aircraft, automobile. In this research, the velocity impact analysis is conducted by using the commercial finite element analysis software, ANSYS. A few finite element models of the nonwoven composite panel and a rigid impactor is developed using ANSYS software. Experimental investigations in determining mechanical properties and validating purposes are conducted in earlier study by using Universal Testing Machine and High Speed Impact Puncher. Total force, total energy, deformation, and energy absorption of kenaf reinforced composite for oblique impact are analyzed and discussed. The rise of oblique angle will increase the energy absorption of the composite.
Effect of Micro-EDM Parameters on Material Removal Rate of Nonconductive ZrO2 Ceramic
Authors: Sabur Abdus , Moudood Abdul , Mohammad Yeakub Ali , Maleque Mohammad Abdul
Published: December 2013

Micro-electro discharge machining (micro-EDM) technique, an advanced noncontact machining process, is used for structuring of nonconductive ZrO2 ceramic. In this study copper foil as a conductive layer is adhered on the workpiece surface to initiate the sparks and kerosene is used as dielectric for creation of continuous conductive pyrolytic carbon layer on the machined surface. Voltage (V) and capacitance (C) are considered as the parameters to investigate the process capability of machining parameters in continuous micro-EDM of ZrO2. Different voltage pulses are studied to examine the causes of lower material removal rate (MRR) in micro-EDM of nonconductive ceramics. The results showed that in micro-EDM of ZrO2 MRR increases with the increase of voltage and capacitance initially, but decreases at higher values and no significant materials are removed at capacitances higher than 1nF.
Two Degree of Freedom Vortex Induced Vibration Tests of a Riser Model Using Spring Bars
Authors: Bin Tofa Mohammad Mobassher , Maimun Adi , Ahmed Yasser Mohamed , Jamei Saeed , Kader Ab Saman , Abyn Hassan
Published: December 2013

Tests have been performed on a riser model with low mass ratio subjected to uniform flows in a towing tank at subcritical Reynolds numbers. Qualisys video motion capture system was used to measure VIV and Spring bars are used instead of commonly used parallel linkage mechanism for this kind of test. The circular cylinder of 100 mm in diameter and 1.5 m in length was towed vertically at constant speeds through the towing tank to simulate uniform current condition. Some key VIV parameters such as amplitude over diameter, lift and drag coefficients are presented against a non dimensional parameter known as reduced velocity to understand the effects of VIV on two degree of freedom system.The relative magnitude of the super-upper response branch vibration amplitudes are emphasised in this particular study. Results of this paper can be used as validation materials for CFD analysis that is very important to design riser system for oil and gas industry, also mentioned experiment procedure can be treated as a guide for future endeavour to perform similar kind of tests.
Study on Internal Helical Gear Worm Forging by Finite Element Analysis
Authors: Yang Tung Sheng , Deng Jia Yu , Chang Jie
Published: December 2013

This study applies the finite element method (FEM) to predict maximum forging load and effective strain in internal helical gear forging. Maximum forging load and effective strain are determined for different process parameters, such as modules, number of teeth, and die temperature of the internal helical gear forging, using the FEM. Finally, the prediction of the power requirement for the internal helical gear warm forging is determined. Therefore, the maximum forming force and strain distribution will be prediction for the different parameters of helical gear worm forging.
Effect of GMAW-CMT Heat Input on Weld Bead Profile Geometry for Freeform Fabrication of Aluminium Parts
Authors: Wagiman Abdullah , bin Wahab Md. Saidin , Mohid Zazuli , MAMAT AZUDDIN BIN
Published: December 2013

In developing a new method for weld based freeform fabrication, parameter affecting the geometry of single-pass need to be determined as it has great influence on dimensional accuracy and mechanical property of metallic part. In this paper, profile geometry and microstructure of single pass weld bead developed using Gas Metal Arc Welding Cold Metal Transfer (GMAW-CMT) was investigated. Observation on cross sectional weld bead indicates GMAW-CMT has capability to produce free spatter and crack defect weld bead. Profile geometry measurement shows weld bead develop at higher heat input has width size larger than the weld bead develop at lower heat input. Microstructure examination in the substrate reveals formation of columnar dendritic, cellular and planar structure while at buildup layer exhibit equiaxed dendritic structure