bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The ability of exercise to meaningfully improve glucose tolerance in people living with prediabetes: A meta‐analysis
Authors: Hrubeniuk Travis J. , Bouchard Danielle R. , Goulet Eric D. B. , Gurd Brendon , Sénéchal Martin
Published: October 2019

Background

Individuals with prediabetes are likely to progress to Type 2 diabetes. Although exercise training is an established method to improve glycemic control, the degree to which this translates into meaningful improvements, particularly in individuals with prediabetes, is unclear. The purpose of this meta‐analysis was to investigate the ability of exercise training to improve 2‐hour glucose tolerance beyond the smallest worthwhile difference in individuals with prediabetes. It was hypothesized that the majority of implemented exercise programs designed for individuals with prediabetes would not result in meaningful improvements in glucose tolerance.

Methods

Searches were performed in MEDLINE, The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, SPORTDiscus, and the Cochrane Library. Included studies reported glucose tolerance using a 2‐hour oral glucose tolerance test at baseline and post‐intervention; implemented an exercise program lasting at least 12 weeks; and included adults living with prediabetes. Mean effect summaries were determined using random‐effects models. Magnitude‐based inference statistic was used to estimate the likelihood that observed changes in glucose tolerance were meaningful to patients.

Results

Nine articles were included in the meta‐analysis, producing 12 independent exercise interventions. The interventions led to an average improvement in glucose tolerance of 5.9% (95% confidence interval: 3.7%‐8.0%). Seven (58%) exercise interventions were deemed likely to benefit patients, whereas five (42%) had trivial or unclear findings.

Conclusion

While exercise intervention led to statistically significant improvements in 2‐hour glucose tolerance, the benefit for individuals living with prediabetes remains unclear. Further research is needed to delineate optimal prescription parameters for generating meaningful benefits in glucose tolerance.
What Should Cognitive Science Look Like? Neither a Tree Nor Physics
Authors: Schunn Christian D.
Published: October 2019

While pointing out important features of cognitive science, Núñez et al. (2019) also argue prematurely for the end of cognitive science. I discuss problematic analytic features in the application of hierarchical cluster analysis to journal citation data. On the conceptual side, I argue that the research programs framework of Lakatos may not be so wisely applied to cognitive science. Further, the diversity of structure in cognitive science departments may represent a rational, strategic adaptation by an interdisciplinary department to cognitive and other resource challenges rather than the sign of low progress on a discipline.
Green Supply Chain Management in Malaysian Aero Composite Industry
Authors: Wan Mahmood Wan Hasrulnizzam , Ab Rahman Mohd Nizam , Md Deros Baba
Published: October 2019

Green supply chain management (GSCM) is a concept that gaining popularity in the most region in the world. For many organisations, it is a way to demonstrate their sincere commitment to environment sustainability. This paper is then, to investigate GSCM practices in aero composite manufacturing companies, as an initiative for environmental enhancement of green management programme in Malaysia which has the potential to offer greater economic value especially in manufacture of composites material components and sub-assemblies for aircraft application. Two major companies in the sector were chosen as the location of the study. The findings show that GSCM practices in the two companies are currently moderate; and, most of the practices have significant relationship to each other. Lean manufacturing system was became most preferable approach to support the development of green supply chain practices.
An Implementation of Set Parts Supply System in the Malaysian Automotive Industry
Authors: Mohd Jainury Suhartini , Ramli Rizauddin , Ab Rahman Mohd Nizam , Omar Azhari
Published: October 2019

The automotive manufacturers are facing a challenge in producing variety of products to fulfill the customer demand. A large number of different types of parts forces manufacturers to improve the method of supplying parts on the assembly line. This paper presented an innovation system of supplying parts called Set Parts Supply (SPS) which has been implemented in a mixed-model assembly line. The basic idea of SPS is the process of selection parts and assemble parts are done by different operator at different area. This research is concentrated on the activities in SPS implementation and the design consideration for the equipment through a case based approach. After the implementation, it can be ascertained that the inventory has been reduced, the reduction of waste can be achieved and the shop floor are wellâ€“organized.
Modeling of Supply Chain for Defective Goods Using Jit-Logistics
Authors: Ghasimi Salah Alden , Ramli Rizauddin , Saibani Nizaroyani
Published: October 2019

Supply chain management (SCM) is a field of study which covers a wide range of research issues involving strategic to operational models. In the past two decades, SCM has drawn much attention from manufacturers and organizations for optimizing their operations. In this paper, a mathematical model to optimize costs of the supply chain for defective and repairable goods through the application of just-in-time (JIT) logistics is proposed. The hypothesis is that the defective goods are repairable and some of them are considered as scraps. The aim of this model is to minimize the total cost of production, maintenance, freight, reworking, scrap goods and shortage to retailers. The proposed model is novel and LINGO has been used to solve it. The validity of the model was proven by testing 12 sample problems and the results showed correctness and fine function of the model. Based on the data parameters, this model can also determine which manufacturer or distributor in the particular period of the production needs to be active. The model is applicable for all producers that are encountering with problem of producing of defective goods.
A Survey on the Barriers of Benchmarking Implementation in Malaysia Oil Palm Industry
Authors: Mahmud Fatimah , Md Deros Baba , Abdul Wahab Dzuraidah , Ab Rahman Mohd Nizam
Published: October 2019

Malaysia is the largest producer and exporter of palm oil. Nevertheless, Malaysia may soon lose its position if there are lacks of initiatives to sustain it. Benchmarking can be used to stimulate process improvement by determining best practices across oil palm organizations through understanding critical success factors which enabled higher performance in leading organizations. The main objective of this paper is to identify benchmarking barriers that hinder or disrupt the benchmarking implementation in oil palm industry. To achieve these objectives, 700 sets of questionnaire were distributed among oil palm planters and millers in Malaysia. The survey results had indicated that the three main obstacles faced in implementing benchmarking in oil palm industry are: lack of understanding of benchmarking knowledge, lack of clarity with regard to specific areas to be benchmarked and management culture. In the authorsâ€™ opinion this survey findings would be useful and considerable interest to all level of benchmarking practitioners in the oil palm industry.
A New Design of Multi-Functional Portable Patient Bed
Authors: Mohammed M. N. , Khrit N. G. , Abdelgnei M. A. , Abubaker Es. , Muftah A. F. , Omar M. Z. , Salleh M. S.
Published: October 2019

A patientâ€™s portable bed defined as a very special designed bed used for patients denotes the â€œspecial designâ€ of such a device which has typical features meeting the needs of a bedridden patient. It is also defined as an advanced device or mechanism used to carry and transfer a patientâ€™s body which is typically developed to meet the patientâ€™s physical demands such as mobility or movement. A new method in a rehabilitation bed for transporting a bedridden patient is developed and applied to avoid staying at hospital with costly medical treatment and such obstacles, therefore to conquer these problems, the proposed design of the bed is formulated based on literature survey as well as consult the medical staff. This paper discusses the specification ,mechanism design and evaluating healthcare activities for development of a new style of active bed that provides high mobility with comfortable sleeping for bedridden persons and it also can meet the demands of those who may be required to take hospital beds to use at home particularly in a case of nursing disabled persons.
The Investigation of a Micro-Component Machined on a Custom-built Miniature Machine Tool
Authors: Abdul Shukor Syaimak
Published: October 2019

Custom-built Miniature Machine Tools (MMTs) are now becoming more popular with the demand for reduced energy consumption and workshop floor when machining small/medium batch size micro-components. This paper investigates the capability of a custom-built 4-axis MMT through machining an â€œadapted standardâ€Ÿ of micro-testpiece. The experiments have been carried out in two different materials: Carbon Steel (AISI 1040) and Titanium Alloyed (TiAl6V4) using solid carbide flat end mill cutters with 0.6mm diameter. From here, the surface quality and geometrical accuracy of the machined testpiece are evaluated and analysed. The investigation has shown that acceptable geometrical accuracies and surface quality of the machined micro-parts can be achieved using the in-house developed MMT. These results show that the use of the custom-made MMT does not hinder the micro-milling process to produce a good and satisfactory surface quality (Ra=0.04-0.07Î¼m) and acceptable geometrical accuracy.
Application of a Computer Based System for Statistical Process Control in a Semiconductor Company : A Case Study
Authors: Khamis Nor Kamaliana , Md Deros Baba , Saibani Nizaroyani , Ahmad Sabki Syamsinar Baizura
Published: October 2019

The use of Statistical Process Control (SPC) in the manufacturing process has been historically proven to increase the quality of the product. Recent trends show that companies are becoming increasingly reliant on computer based-SPC because it can save a significant amount of time compared with traditional SPC. In addition, labor-intensive tasks, such as manual data collection and entry, can be eliminated, thus reducing human error. This paper aims to prove the benefits of computer based system for SPC known as e-SPC in a semiconductor manufacturing environment. Specifically, this paper will present the case studyâ€Ÿs finding that show how one semiconductor manufacturing companyâ€Ÿs use of e-SPC can detect a process abnormality at an early stage and in real time compared with manual SPC. The case study involves interviews with the company representatives and observations on the manufacturing environment. This paper will also show how e-SPC can be used to control and then to stabilize the manufacturing operation. In conclusion, this paper demonstrates that e-SPC can significantly improve the performance of a manufacturing environment. Moreover, this paper can also be used as a reference for the implementation of e-SPC in any company.
Retailerâ€™s Ordering and Discounting Policies Under Advance Sales Discount and Trade Credit Based on Sharia
Authors: Saleh Chairul , Leuveano Achmad Chairdino , Lagaida Reny , Muhammad Md. Razali
Published: October 2019

The use of conventional model to minimize the inventory cost creates a disturbance between the sellers and buyers. It creates a usury since the payment conducts to interest paid and interest earned. In this paper, sharia principle is implemented, that is Bai Al Istishna which allows credit period and margin agreement as the payment. The model is engaged to replenishment cycle time and price discount policy to attract the customerâ€™s demand which based on sharia principle. This paper provides a useful mathematical model based on sharia principles in order to usury/interest can be eliminated in the trading process.
A Study on the Difference Between Radical Innovation and Incremental Improvement in Pre-Development Practices of NPD Projects
Authors: Abu Noor Hidayah , Md Deros Baba , Abd Wahab Dzuraidah , Ab Rahman Mohd Nizam , Nordin Norani
Published: October 2019

This paper presents an exploratory study of pre-development practices in Malaysian food and beverage manufacturing SMEs. A questionnaire survey is used to explore the difference in pre-development implementation practices between radical and incremental new product development (NPD) projects. The survey was performed at 164 food and beverage manufacturing SMEs. The respondents were chosen from those who are directly involved with pre-development practices, such as the owner/CEO of the SMEs. The analysis was conducted using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software version 17. Descriptive statistics and independent-samples t-test were carried out to generate and validate the results observed. The significant difference values for independent-samples t-test is less than .05 (p≤0.05). Survey results revealed the differences in pre-development implementation practices between radical and incremental NPD projects for several activities in pre-development phases. Incremental NPD projects considered listening to customer needs (p=0.00) is an important activity during idea generation phase, however radical NPD projects emphasis that analysis of competitors‟ products (p=0.02) and continuous product improvement (p=0.00) are crucial. Mean while during development of new product concept phase, and project evaluation phase radical NPD projects were more innovative compared to incremental NPD projects in several activities such as creating prototypes/product samples, linking company‟s operational capabilities with proposed product, and conducting a formal risk analysis. The significant values of the activities were between 0.00 and 0.04 which is lower than significant level 0.05.
Advantages and Limitations of Using Nano Sized Powders for Powder Injection Molding Process: A Review
Authors: Rajabi Javad , Muhamad Norhamidi , Sulong Abu Bakar , Fayyaz Abdolali , Wahi Azizah
Published: October 2019

Powder injection molding (PIM) is among the most known forming techniques that use material powders. This technique has been widely evaluated for the production of large scale and small components using metal and ceramic powders. Nano particles have larger surface-to-volume ratio compared with large-sized particles, thus they display high surface area. Some merits in the application of nano-sized particles in the PIM process includes increasing its comparative density at a low sintering temperature, decreasing sintering temperature, decreasing grain size of sintered bodies, increasing hardness value, and improving surface properties. However, it also has several disadvantages, which include increasing the viscosity behaviour of feedstock, oxidation, and agglomeration. This article reviews current studies on the effects of nano-sized particles on the PIM process and finding solutions to address its disadvantages.
Optimization of Injection Molding Parameters by Data Mining Method in PIM Process
Authors: Wahi Azizah , Muhamad Norhamidi , R. Jamaludin Khairur , Rajabi Javad , Madraky Abbas
Published: October 2019

Data Mining is a method that can be used to analyze large amount of data and produce useful information. In this study, clustering which is one of data mining tasks is used to clustered machine based on the injection moulding data. This paper is the first documented results on the optimization of Injection Moulding via Data Mining. Powder injection moulding is a process to produce near net shape with intricate part in mass production. This work focus on the optimization of injection molding process with combination of fine, coarse and bimodal water atomized SS 316L powder particles. The parameters involved in the optimization are injection pressure, injection temperature, mould temperature, holding pressure, injection rate, holding time, powder loading, cooling time and particle size. These variables are based on the defect score, green density and green strength. The key influencer report shows that the most influencing factors are injection rate, holding pressure as well as mould temperature where defect score lower than 2.4 can be achieved. The density higher than 5.34g/cm3 is also influenced most by the mould temperature. The result also shows that the optimize condition can be achieved by using bimodal particle. Injection rate and mould temperature gives the highest impact on the defect score and green strength value. While highest green density is significantly affected by powder loading and injection pressure.
Sintering Schedule for Near-Net Shapping of Mechanical Components Formed Through Warm Compaction Route
Authors: Rahman M. M. , M. Nor S. S. , Ariffin A. K.
Published: October 2019

This paper presents the characterization of solid state sintering schedule for the production of near-net shape mechanical components through warm compaction route. A lab-scale warm forming rig was designed and fabricated which enabled the generation of green compacts at elevated temperature. The feedstock from iron powder ASC 100.29 was prepared by mechanically mixing the powder with 0.4wt% zinc stearate for 30 minutes. The feedstock was formed at 180ºC to generate green compacts. The defect-free green compacts were subsequently sintered in an inert gas fired sintering furnace for different sintering schedules. The sintered products were characterized through mechanical testing and microstructure evaluation. The result revealed that the mechanical properties and microstructures of sintered products are affected by sintering parameters. Results shown that part sintered at 1000oC, 10oC/min heating rate for 60 minutes give the highest bending strength of 630 MPa and relative density of 0.869 g cm-3. It also exhibited acceptable dimensional changes which is below 1%. It can observed by micrograph part at sintering temperature of 1000ºC, neck formation is also observed and more metal-metal bonding is visible. From this study, the suitable sintering parameters are identified for the production of near-net shape yet high quality mechanical component.
Simulation Behaviour of Precast Concrete Connection with Embedded Box Section under Static Loading
Authors: Rezaei Mehdi , Osman S. A. , Shanmugam N. E. , Mutalib A. A.
Published: October 2019

This study is concerned with 18 precast concrete beam-column connections incorporating embedded steel box-section using Finite Element (EF) modelling. The variables considered were: length and width of the embedded steel member. The results indicate that connection containing a wider flange of the embedded member can resist more vertical loading. Also, the deflection at ultimate load increases as the width of the embedded steel section increase. Generally, there are a few design methods available in the codes; this study also evaluates the available design formulas using FE simulation results and the data from other researchers. From the evaluation and the analysis it was shown that twice the width of the embedded width should be taken as the effective width of the connection when the PCI (Precast Concrete Institute) design equations are used.
Oxygen Transfer through Air Entrainment in Riparian Riffles: A Case Study of Seomjin River, Korea
Authors: Kim Jin-Hong
Published: October 2019

Field investigation on the oxygen transfer through the air entrainment, the riffle geometries, and the relationships between the efficiency of the oxygen transfer and the hydraulic parameters in the riparian riffles were performed. Investigation of the air entrainment and measurements of the oxygen transfer in the riffles were conducted. Types of bed height in the riffles were upward convex. Slopes of the water surface and the river bed were steeper at the downstream rather than at the upstream part. Air entrainment occurred more frequently in the edged gravels rather than in the round and edgeless gravels, and it was formed mainly from behind the trailing edges of the gravels. Oxygen transfer was found to be proportional to the flow velocity, the flow discharge, and the Froude number, but not closely related to the particle diameter. Average value of oxygen transfer in the riffles of the study area was about 0.085, which shows good habitat condition for the aquatic creatures.
Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter Data Analysis of Turbulent Flow of Vortex Generator Cylinder
Authors: Mohd Razali Siti Fatin , Abdul Wahab Mohd Azim Safwan
Published: October 2019

The demand to suppress vortex-induced vibration (VIV) in the offshore industry is increasing nowadays. VIV is one of the biggest impacts that caused fatigue damage to the marine risers and pipelines. In exploring the mechanisms of VIV reduction by vortex generators (VGs), the experimental measurements in a water flume were performed. The experiments compared the wake of a stationary bare cylinder with a VGs cylinder at a uniform flow with Reynolds number 8,400. The velocity measurement was sampled at a frequency of 200 Hz and was measured by an Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) instrument. From the ADV data, it was found that the signal correlations of turbulent flow and the percentage of acceptable data after the filtering process using WinADV of VG cylinder flow was higher than those of bare cylinder, and quite similar with the no-cylinder wake.
Iris Segmentation for Non-ideal Images
Authors: Zainal Nasharuddin , Radman Abduljalil , Ismail Mahamod , Nordin Md Jan
Published: October 2019

Iris recognition has been regarded as one of the most reliable biometric systems over the past years. Previous studies have shown that the performance of iris recognition systems highly dependent on the performance of their segmentation algorithms. Iris segmentation is the process to isolate the iris region from the surrounded structures of the eye image. However, several iris segmentation algorithms have been developed in the literature, but their segmentation and recognition accuracies drastically degrade with non-ideal iris images acquired in less constrained conditions. Thus, it is crucial to develop a new iris segmentation method to improve iris recognition using non-ideal images. Hence, the objective of this paper is an iris segmentation method on the basis of optimization to isolate the iris region from non-ideal iris images such those affected by reflections, blurred boundaries, eyelids occlusion, and gaze-deviation. Experimental results on the off axis/angle West Virginia University (WVU) iris database demonstrated the superiority of the developed method over state-of-the-art iris segmentation methods considered in this paper. The performance of an iris recognition algorithm based on the developed iris segmentation method was observed to be improved.
Active Learning in Fiber Optic Course Using Applied Education Game
Authors: Arsad N. , Shaari S. , Bakar A. A. A. , Rahman M. S. A.
Published: October 2019

The strategy or method used in the learning process affect the result of learning. The wrong strategy will make students feel bored and lazy to attend class. In general, the learning method that is mostly used in universities around the world is center learning where the lecturer will give speak and the students will listen and take notes. This study was done in two classes i.e. a master’s degree module and a bachelor degree course in the Department of Electrical, Electronics and System Engineering, National University of Malaysia. A total of 31 students were used as respondents (sample) that consists of 61.3% male and 38.7% female, where 41.9% of them are doing bachelor degrees and the other 58.1% doing master’s degrees. This research show that 45% of respondents strongly agree and 55% of respondents agree that education games are more enjoyable than conventional lectures. 68% of respondents strongly agree and 29% of respondents agree that they like to study fiber optic using games. Furthermore, 58% of respondents strongly agree and 39% of respondents agree that they could remember fiber optic principles using the educational game.
Measuring Student Satisfaction Towards iPVD
Authors: Abd. Rahmani Norliza , Sheikh Abdullah Siti Rozaimah , Esa Faezah , Muhamad Ali Nazlena
Published: October 2019

This paper examines student satisfaction towards iPVD software. Students were given a brief introduction on this software and required to access online. The URL for iPVD during testing period is http://103.18.247.37/vessel. A survey form was designed by focusing on a variety of iPVD aspects and compared with ASME Manual Code. Results obtained from this survey analysis help us to improve the performance and quality of iPVD software. It was found that students prefer to use iPVD software for calculation with huge data that require accuracy. However, knowledge in basic of calculation such as ASME Manual Code is necessary in using this software.
Soot Particle Evolution and Transport in a Direct Injection Diesel Engine
Authors: Ahmar Zuber Muhammad , Wan Mahmood Wan Mohd Faizal , Harun Zambri , Zainol Abidin Zulkhairi
Published: October 2019

Particle-based in-cylinder soot distribution study is becoming more important as the rules and regulations pertaining to particulate emission of diesel-powered vehicles have been increasingly more stringent. This paper focuses on the investigation of soot size evolution and its distribution and transport inside an engine cylinder. The overall process of soot formation includes soot nucleation, surface growth, oxidation, coagulation and agglomeration. The present study considers only soot surface growth, oxidation and coagulation to predict the in-cylinder soot particle size. The soot surface growth model was based on Hiroyasu’s soot formation model while soot oxidation was referred to Nagle & Strickland-Constable’s soot oxidation model. Coagulation rate was defined using Smoluchowski’s equation with constant proposed by Wersborg. From this study, it is demonstrated that soot particles with relatively larger size are gathered in the centre of the cylinder while smaller soot particles are found to be in the region near the wall. Soot number density is considerably high at the start of combustion and reduces sharply afterward while the soot particle size shows the opposite trend. Soot formation rate was found to be dominant at earlier crank angle and is overcome by soot oxidation and coagulation processes that caused lower soot number density but higher soot particle size.
LEARNING PROGRAMMING USING OBJECTS-FIRST APPROACH THROUGH FOLKTALES
Authors: Siew Woei Ling , Othman Imran Hazimin , Kee Man Chuah
Published: October 2019

Teaching programming to the amateur programmers and non-programmers with design and educational technology background are tough. Needless to say, it is pertinent for them to have some basic programming skills. We realized the needs to motivate the potential programmers therefore, proposed the integration of folktales in learning programming. This paper shares an approach of teaching programming using the folktales to create awareness also to simulate the amateur and non-programmers interested with folktales at the same time motivated to complete a creation of digital story using 3D programming software, Alice and Unity. Mixed-methods approach revealed participants’ positive behavior towards learning programming although it was perceived difficult. The finding also indicates that they can understand the programming language and successfully explored the software to create a digital story.
PAPER TOY AS A MODERN STORYTELLING AID AMONG CHILDREN (EDUCATION)
Authors: Mat Sin Nur Syuhada , Ali Zakaria
Published: October 2019

This paper explains the use of paper toys whose special features are itemized, as a modern storytelling aid. This new approach is an innovative technique approach in teaching children to tell stories. Digital learning and live storytelling practice can enhance the cognitive intelligence, analytical thinking, and psychomotor development among 3 to 6-year olds. These paper toys are designed to be transforming into mobile applications. This way is practical for on-line business concept and at the same time to reach high demand in teaching 21st century children.
AMINE MODIFIED MESOSTRUCTURED SILICA NANO PARTICLES ENHANCED ADSORPTION OF PHENOL
Authors: Salleh N.F.M. , Jalil A.A. , Triwahyono S. , Nordin S.N. , Kamarudin N.H.N. , Effendi J.
Published: October 2019

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) were synthesized and modified with (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) using co-condensation (co-MSN) and post-grafting (post-MSN) methods. Both modification methods seem to alter the crystallinity, surface area, and pore volume as compared to the unmodified MSN. The activity of all MSNs was tested for the adsorptive removal of phenol. Co-MSN showed significantly good adsorptivity towards 10 mg L-1 of phenols, followed by post-MSN and MSN. It was found that the highest activity of co-MSN was resulted from the additional higher adsorption energy from the quaternary alkylammonium groups (Si–C–C–C–[N+–(CH3)3]) of cationic template and also from the amine group of the APTES functionalization, which showed more advantages as compared to post-MSN and MSN.
COMPARISON OF EMISSION FACTORS FROM BIOMASS BURNING FACILITIES
Authors: Hanafi Nur H. , Hassim Mimi H. , M. Setapar Siti H. , Rashid M.
Published: October 2019

Among different types of environmental imbalances, air pollution has been a global environmental and health issue with serious implications to both the surrounding and public health. One of the significant sources of atmospheric particles and gaseous pollutants is biomass burning. Even though biomass is the main source for alternative energy, this activity releases a large amount of air pollutants, which can cause serious effects on the ambient air quality, public health and climate. Emission of pollutants from biomass burning process and operation can be represented by emission factor. The interest of this paper is to compare the existing emission factors established for different type of biomasses. From the comparison, cereal waste gives the highest emission factor of PM (75±21g/kg), whereas the emission factor of element carbon emission rates being relatively higher from rice straw (57.7±27.9g/kg) and lower from wheat straw (0.42±0.23 g/kg). The emission factor of organic carbon is also considerably higher from rice straw burning (335.4±88.0 g/kg) and very much lower from Florida sugarcane burning  (0.16±0.09 g/kg) wheareas corn stover had the highest emission factors of NO, NOx and CO2. Besides comparison of the established emission factors, the associated factors affecting the EFs establishment were also studied. Among the various factors with significant influence on the resulted emission factors are type of biomass, source of emission, condition of combustion (operating temperature and pressure), capacity of feedstock and Air Pollution Control (APC) system.
EFFECTS OF OBSTACLES ON PREMIXED HYDROGEN-AIR MIXTURES EXPLOSION IN CLOSED PIPE
Authors: Sulaiman S.Z. , Kasmani R.M. , Mustafa A.
Published: October 2019

Results of experiments on explosion premixed hydrogen-air are presented. The data covers a wide range of hydrogen concentration between 13 to 54 % v/v (Ф= 0.4 to 1.8). The experimental work was performed in a closed pipe containing 90 degree bends with a volume of 0.42 m3operating at ambient conditions. This study was carried out to determine the severity of hydrogen explosion in a closed pipe with length over diameter (L/D) ratio of 51. The results indicate that the worst case accident for hydrogen-air mixture occur at concentration slightly above stoichiometric (Ф 1.2) or 36% v/v. It is also found that pressure downstream the bending region experienced an increase of about 2 times, compared to pressure at the bend. It can be said that a strong backflow or retonation reflecting from the end pipe wall influentthe maximum overpressure downstreamof the bend and this phenomenon was highlighted.
NaOH TREATED SPENT BLEACHING EARTH
Authors: Mat Ramli , Othman Siti Norbainah , Johari Anwar , Hassim Mimi Haryani , Wan Sulaiman Wan Rosli
Published: October 2019

Spent bleaching earth (SBE) was treated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and used for the removal of methylene blue (MB). Adsorption test of treated SBE was carried out to evaluate the removal efficiency of MB. It showed that the maximum uptake of MB was at 76.9 mg/g using SBE treated with 3.0 M NaOH which is equivalent to 76% removal of MB. The effect of increasing initial concentration on the removal of MB showed that higher initial concentration leads to higher surface loading which reduces its removal potential. The effect of SBE dosage on the removal of MB pointed to the maximum removal percentage of 95% at 100 mg SBE dosage
ISOMERIZATION OF C5-C7 LINEAR ALKANES OVER WO3-ZRO2 UNDER HELIUM ATMOSPHERE
Authors: Triwahyono Sugeng , Abdul Jalil Aishah , Azman Hairul Amiza , Mamat Che Rozid
Published: October 2019

The effect of WO3 on the properties and catalytic isomerization of C5-C7 linear alkanes over ZrO2 was studied under helium atmosphere. The WO3-ZrO2 was prepared by impregnation of Zr(OH)4 with an aqueous (NH4)6[H2W12O40], followed by calcination at 1093 K for 3 h in air. The amount WO3 was 10 wt%. XRD and BET studies showed that the introduction of WO3 stabilizes the tetragonal phase of ZrO2, leading to larger surface area and stronger acidity of ZrO2. Pyridine FTIR study verified the interaction of WO3 with ZrO2 formed strong Lewis and Bronsted acid sites. The presence of WO3 increased the catalytic isomerization of C5-C7 linear alkanes. The conversion of C5, C6 and C7 reached 1.3, 2.6 and 5.1 %, respectively. While the selectivity of isopentane, isohexane and isoheptane reached 15.6, 20.5 and 19.5 %, respectively. The high activity of WO3-ZrO2 was due to the ability of WO3 to adsorb and dissociate linear alkane to form hydrogen and alkane radical in which the atomic hydrogen underwent to the formation of protonic acid sites and hydride. The presence of protonic acid sites and hydride determined the activity of WO3-ZrO2.
SPRINGBACK EFFECT OF AUTOMOTIVE LOWER ARM COMPONENT PREPARED VIA BURRING PROCESSING
Authors: Buang Muhamad Sani , Abdullah Shahrul Azam , Saedon Juri , Abdullah Hashim
Published: October 2019

Complex components of the sheet metal forming process need to be designed with high precision and accuracy in order to prevent defects and misalignment of the end products. One of the sheet metal cool stamping process for these complex automotive components is burring which is the forming of a flange around a hole made in a piece of sheet metal. Springback is a common defect during the burring process. The aims of this paper are to investigate the springback effect and improve shape accuracy of hole burring by inner burring process of lower arm part for automotive lower arm part. The springback defects at hole burring usually happened on the inner burring process. Experimental stretch flanging for cold stamping process of inner burring process was used to investigate the reasons of springback effect around the burred hole for a lower arm part of high strength steel (HSS) sheets SPFH590. From the two designs of burring punch dies, the result shows the values of springback effect for clearance -0.15 which have a big gap at hole burring A arm and B arm diameters, are larger than clearance -0.34 which have small gap for inner burring process of lower arm part. The experimental analysis shows that springback is proportionally related to the punch-die clearance parameter of the tool profile where the springback increase as the clearance increases.
CRASH ANALYSIS OF RACING CAR NOSE CONE SUBJECTED TO FULL FRONTAL IMPACT
Authors: Abdul Aziz Nuraini , Zulkifli Norzima , A. Hamid Amar Ridzuan
Published: October 2019

Racing a car involves high-speed and having high possibility to crash either among the racer or hitting the bench. Concerning the driver safety, impact structures such as nose cone is designed to absorb the race car kinetic energy to limit the decelerations acting on the human body. In this study, analysis of different type of nose cone material were conducted. The objective is to find the highest specific energy absorption (SEA) based on three different materials which are mild steel, aluminium and composite material. The nose cone was modelled using CATIA V5R16 while the crash simulation was done using LS-DYNA and LS-Prepost software with an average velocity of 80km/hour according to United States New Car Assessment Program (US-NCAP) frontal impact velocity and based on European Enhanced Vehicle-safety Committee.  The simulation results show that fiberglass E with thickness of 2.6 mm and lay-up configurations of [0°/30°/60°/90°/120°] give the highest internal energy and specific energy absorption of 41.28845 kJ and 6.9104 kJ/kg. This concludes that fiberglass E is a suitable material to build a lightweight structure compared to steel and aluminium.
SUSPENSION OPTIMIZATION USING DESIGN OF EXPERIMENT (DOE) METHOD ON MSC/ADAMS-INSIGHT
Authors: Ikhsan N. , Ramli R. , Alias A.
Published: October 2019

In this paper, the optimum setting for suspension hard points was determined from a half vehicle suspension system. These optimized values were obtained by considering the Kinematic and Compliance (K&C) effects of a verified PROTON WRM 44 P0-34 suspension model developed using MSC/ADAMS/CAR. For optimization process, multi body dynamic software, MSC/ADAMS/INSIGHT and Design of Experiment (DoE) method was employed. There were total of 60 hard points (factors) in x, y and z axis-direction for both front and rear suspension while toe, camber and caster change were selected as the objective function (responses) to be minimized. The values of 5 mm, 10 mm and 15 mm were used as relative values of factor setting to determine the factor range during optimization process. The hard point axis-direction that has the most effects on the responses was identified using the Pareto chart to optimize while the rests were eliminated. As expected result, a new set of suspension system model with a selected of Kinematic and Compliance (K&C) data set were obtained, and compared with the verified simulation data when subjected to the vertical parallel movement simulation test to determine the best setting and optimum suspension hard points configuration.
INVESTIGATION OF GUIDE VANE SWIRL AND TUMBLE DEVICE TO IMPROVE IN-CYLINDER AIR FLOW FOR COMPRESSION IGNITION ENGINE RUNNING WITH BIODIESEL
Authors: Saad Idris , Bari Saiful
Published: October 2019

Biodiesel is expected to become the main alternative fuel for transportation purposes in the coming future as a result of the recession of crude oil. The main advantage that makes biodiesel the first choice as a substitute for petroleum-based fuel is that biodiesel can be used in a compression ignition engine (CI) with minor modification. Unfortunately, with biodiesel, the engine experiences reductions in power and torque, and increases in fuel consumption and carbon deposits inside the combustion chamber mainly due to lower calorific value and heavier molecules present in the biodiesel. One of the solutions to minimize this problem is to increase the in-cylinder air motion and use this to break up the heavier molecules and mix these molecules with air. To achieve this, a high turbulent flow is required inside the cylinder. This paper presents the model of the Guide Vane Swirl and Tumble Device (GVSTD) to develop an organized in-cylinder turbulent flow. The basic model of GVSTD consists of simple fins imposed inside the intake system. Through computer simulations, the results of air flow characteristics are compared with a conventional intake system. The height of GVSTD vanes was varied at 25%, 50% and 75% of the intake runner radius. The results show that in-cylinder velocity, turbulence kinetic energy and absolute pressure at the start of the injection increase around 41%, 6% and 3%, respectively more than the ordinary system which is expected to improve the mixing of biodiesel and air resulting in better combustion.
SNR ANALYSIS ON L-BAND MOBILE SATELLITE SYSTEM UNDER BUILDING EFFECT
Authors: Basri Nur Fadzilah , Baco Saturi , Wan Zainal Abidin W. A. , Basri Saufi Affendy
Published: October 2019

This paper presents the method to analyse the effect of building on the L-band Mobile Satellite (MS) system using low-power Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. The method includes measurement, experimental and data analysis. The analysis of the signal performance under building effect measurement was carried out with respect to the signal to noise ratio (SNR), elevation and azimuth angle. In measurement method, the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) sentences obtained from the satellite via GPS receiver was used to get the signal propagation parameters. The NMEA Extractor used to extract the NMEA data using C++ programming language and Ngraph software to construct the graphical presentation for analysis method. The analysis shows relationship between SNR and elevation and azimuth angle. The comparison between open space and building effect was carried out and the results have shown that the presence of the building affect the quality of the satellite signal received.
FIXED POINT RH EQUILIBRIUM OF GAS SENSOR TEST CHAMBER USING SIMPLE AIR BUBBLER METHOD
Authors: Abd Rashid Amirul , Saad Nor Hayati , Chia Sheng Daniel Bien , Wai Yee Lee , Jaffar Ahmed
Published: October 2019

Relative Humidity (RH) is considered as one of the important variable to be controlled during testing and characterizing of metal oxide gas sensor. This is because the metal oxide can easily react with the hydrogen and oxygen molecule of the water vapor which associated with RH level. In this paper, the effect of using nitrogen as carrier to feed the analyte to the sensor inside a 40 liter capacity container has been studied. When Nitrogen gas was supplied to the chamber, the RH value dropped significantly from initial ~67 % RH to ~7 % RH within one hour duration. As an alternative, a simple bubbler system was introduced to minimize the drop of RH. The bubbler which was filled with 100% distilled water or mixed with a certain percentage of glycerol are able to maintain the RH to a certain level for a certain period of time.
DESIGN SELECTION AND ANALYSIS OF ENERGY REGENERATIVE SUSPENSION
Authors: Abdullah Mohd Azman , Jamil Jazli Firdaus , Mohamad Muhammad Afiq , Rosdi Rahiman Salmi , Ramlan Mohamed Noor Ikhwan
Published: October 2019

Nowadays, world demand for alternative fuels has led to an advanced research and development of hybrid and electrical vehicles. This paper presents the design development and analysis of energy regenerative suspension (EReSS) system to harvest wasted energy from vibration of a vehicle. The source of the wasted energy is the kinetic energy produced by the vibrating structures of the vehicle. Electromagnetic method was used to harvest the wasted energy. Several design concepts of the EReSS are discussed and proposed in this paper. Three-dimenstional (3D) modeling of the EReSS was performed using the Computer-Aided-Drafting (CAD). Design analysis was performed in order to find the best conceptual design of the EReSS, which then it will be fabricated. From the design analysis, the EReSS is attached as retrofit, outside the suspension system, and it will not disrupt the current suspension system. By the help of a moving suspension system,  it helps vehicles to move smoothly on irregular road surface conditions.
CFD ANALYSIS OF UNSTEADY FLOWS DUE TO SUPERCRITICAL HEAT ADDITION IN HIGH SPEED CONDENSING STEAM
Authors: Abd Malek Norhazwani , Jamaluddin Syarir Akram , Yusoff Mohd Zamri , Hasini Hasril
Published: October 2019

This study is mainly to investigate the unsteady flows due to supercritical heat addition in high speed condensing steam in steam turbines. To achieve this, condensation flow characteristic is investigated on 2D converging-diverging nozzle. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code (FLUENT package) that adopted the Eulerian-Eulerian approach for modeling wet steam flow, was used. The condensing flow is governed by the compressible Navier-Stokes equations in conjunction with a wet steam multiphase model. The turbulence model selected for this work is Spalart Allmaras model which is based on the Reynolds Averaged Navier Stoke (RANS) model available in FLUENT. Results are then compared with previous researchers that use different methods including user defined code and experiment. The importance of this research study is to determine the accuracy of the software and method used and to compare the results with other researchers.The current work shows good agreement with the experimental data done by Skilling [1] and 2D calculations done by Yusoff et al. [2]. It is found from the numerical simulation results that the supercritical heat addition has caused the flow in the condensing steam to retard and gives rise to pressure oscillations. The unsteady supercritical heat addition reveals promising results indicating the capability of FLUENT to calculate this phenomenon which might cause instability in turbine channel.
MEASUREMENT OF FLOW IN CIRCULAR ELASTIC TUBE
Authors: Mahat Muhamad Mazwan , Kasolang Salmiah , Tharazi Izdihar , Izzati R. Nazirul
Published: October 2019

Impedance pump is a simple valveless pumping mechanism which typically used in viscosity measurement device to assist pumping of fluid. It is typically connected to an elastic tube in a circulatory system of a more rigid tube. In conventional mechanical circulatory support systems using rotary pump, the pumping mechanism was exposed to turbulent stresses. Hence,  this may cause damage to blood cells flowing through the impeller. There has been initial work on finding alternative solution using the impedance pump system. However,  substantial findings are not yet sufficient to fully understand the mechanism. The purpose of this research is to extend the investigation on impedance pump by specifically looking at the effect of structural parameters on the elastic tube and the flow behaviour. In this study, a closed loop impedance pump system was set up to demonstrate blood flow circulatory system where the mixture of glycerine and water was used as the working fluid. Three variables were regulated namely voltage, tube thickness, and tube length was used in order to get the flowrate of the working fluid. Based on the results, it was found that  tube thickness of 1 mm and a length of 200 mm had produced the highest flowrate in the region 75 ml/min.
DEMONSTRATION OF WATERSHED SEGMENTATION ON SIMULATED SURFACE TOPOGRAPHY DATA
Authors: Ismail Mohd Fauzi , Mohd Zaini Nor Hidayawati , Jaafar Talib Ria , Che Pin Nuraini
Published: October 2019

Surface texture comprises of many features of interest, which may or may not be essential for surface functional requirements. Features on the surface topography data refers to the peak, pit and the relationship between them; instead of the point on the valleys only. Hence, the objective of this paper is to demonstrate the watershed segmentation on the simulated surface topography data. Watershed segmentation is applied on the selected areal surface texture to determine the regions of the features of the hill and dales. The segmentation of the features is developed by using MATLAB. The developed application is then validated with the simulated topography data. The application’s result on the simulated data shows that, the watershed segmentation method works as intended.