bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
INVESTIGATION OF THERMAL DEGRADATION OF POULTRY PROCESSING DEWATERED SLUDGE USING THERMOGRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS METHOD
Authors: Aniza N. , Hassan S. , Nor M. F. M. , Kee K. E. , T. Aklilu
Published: October 2015

Thermal degradation of Poultry Processing Dewatered Sludge (PPDS) was studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) method. The effect of particle size on PPDS samples and operational condition such as heating rates were investigated. The non-isothermal TGA was run under a constant flow of oxygen at a rate of 30 mL/min with temperature ranging from 30ºC to 800ºC. Four sample particle sizes ranging between 0.425 mm to 2 mm, and heating rate between 5 K/min to 20 K/min were used in this study. The TGA results showed that particle size does not have any significant effect on the thermogravimetry (TG) curves at the initial stage, but the TG curves started to separate explicitly at the second stage. Particle size may affect the reactivity of sample and combustion performance due to the heat transfer and temperature gradient. The TG and peak of derivative thermogravimetry (DTG) curves tend to alter at high temperature when heating rate is increased most likely due to the limitation of mass transfer and the delay of degradation process.
PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SODIUM LAURYL ETHER SULPHATE MODIFIED LAYERED DOUBLE HYDROXIDES
Authors: Jamal Siti Hasnawati , Wan Yunus Wan Md Zin , Mohd Kasim Noor Azilah , Khim Ong Keat , Ahmad Mansor
Published: October 2015

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) has attracted much attention of many industrialists as well as academicians as these materials can be used as catalysts, adsorbents, anion exchangers, stabilizers and fillers for polymers. The materials which consist of divalent and trivalent cations, and anions are nontoxic and easy to prepare. In addition, the exchangeability of their anions makes them easy to be modified to increase their hydrophobicity property through anion exchange process using long chain surfactant anions. In this study, sodium lauryl ether sulphate (SLES) modified LDHs was prepared by co precipitation of LDHs and followed SLES ions modification via ion exchange process.  Intercalations of the anions into the LDHs layers were confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis.  The presence of functional groups before and after modification was studied by FTIR spectrometry. Thermalgravitmeric analysis also was carried out to determine the amount of surfactant intercalated into LDHs.
FLEXURAL AND TENSILE PROPERTIES OF KENAF/GLASS FIBRES HYBRID COMPOSITES FILLED WITH CARBON NANOTUBES
Authors: Sapiai Napisah , Jumahat Aidah , Mahmud Jamaluddin
Published: October 2015

The usage of nanofillers reinforcement in polymer matrix has been recently explored for natural fibres composites to improve mechanical properties of polymers. In this study, 0.5 wt% , 0.75 wt% and 1.0 wt% of Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were added into epoxy resin. The CNTs-modified epoxy resins were then used to produce kenaf/glass hybrid composites. The laminates were prepared using dry filament winding machine and hand lay up method. All samples were tested according to the ASTM Standards, i.e. D790 and D3039  for flexural properties and tensile properties, respectively. Experimental results obtained showed that the flexural strength decreases with increasing CNTs content, while the flexural modulus increases with increasing CNTs content. The tensile strength was found to decrease with the addition of 0.5 and 0.75 wt% CNTs but increase with the addition of 1.0 wt% CNTs. Hybridization with glass also showed an improvement in flexural and tensile properties of kenaf composite.
ANALYSIS OF PEDESTRIAN-LEVEL WIND VELOCITY IN FOUR NEIGHBOURHOODS IN KLANG VALLEY
Authors: Abd Razak Azli , Mohd Rodzi Mohd Azhari , Jumali Amirul Hakim , Zaki Sheikh Ahmad
Published: October 2015

Urban ventilation is important for the purpose of pollution dispersion, indoor ventilation for free running buildings and urban thermal comfort. In comparison to suburban cities, high-density cities have very low wind speeds at pedestrian level due to the densely built buildings blocking the wind and creating stagnant zones locally. Under this circumstance, field measurements were performed to investigate the performance of pedestrian wind at four major cities in Klang Valley. Mean wind speed was measured using anemometers at 1 minute data interval for 3 hours  and the  data collection for each case were obtained at pedestrian level. The mean wind speed ratio was plotted against the frontal area ratio and plan area ratio. The result indicates that: (1) the mean wind speed dramatically decreases with the increase of plan area ratio and (2) the mean wind speed exponentially decreases with the increase of frontal area ratio and qualitatively agrees with the power law relationship which is proposed by previous researcher. In addition, the frontal area ratio is considered as a better parameter to evaluate the performance of urban ventilation.
EFFECTS OF PALM OIL METHYL ESTER (POME) ON FUEL CONSUMPTION AND EXHAUST EMISSIONS OF DIESEL ENGINE OPERATING WITH BLENDED FUEL (FOSSIL FUEL + JATROPHA OIL METHYL ESTER (JOME))
Authors: Abdullah N. R. , Michael Z. , Asiah A. R. , Helmisyah A. J. , Buang S.
Published: October 2015

Biodiesel is used widely as an alternative fuel for diesel engine due to biodegradable, oxygenated, renewable and compatible with diesel engines . In fact, biodiesel emission has decreased the levels of potentially carcinogenic compounds. However, a certain biodiesel such as Jatropha Oil Methyl Ester (JOME) has resulted in the increase of specific fuel consumption and higher NOx emissions. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate the effects of Palm Oil Methyl Ester (POME) in the blended fuel (Fossil fuel + JOME) on the fuel consumption and exhaust emission. Experiments were carried out at a constant engine speed (2000 rpm) with variable of engine loads. Results show that the addition of POME leads to the significant reduction in brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), Total hydrocarbons (THCs),  carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide (NOx) emissions. This study shows a huge difference for Total hydrocarbons emission of blends with 5% POME compared to blends with 10% and 15% of POME. Carbon monoxide emission for blends with 15% POME is the lowest at constant engine speed with various engine loads which in average is 53% lower than blends of 5% POME. This is because blends with higher percentage of POME has higher cetane number hence shortened the ignition delay resulted  in the lower possibility of formation of rich fuel zone and thus reduces CO emissions.  Moreover, the higher percentage of POME also resulted in lower NOx emission regardless of engine loads. The blends with 15% POME had the lowest NOx emission which is 25% less compared with the blends of 5% POME.  The study recommended that, additional POME to the blended fuel can be considered as a good initiative to improve blended fuel property for diesel engine due to its potential to improve engine emissions and reduce brake specific fuel consumption. In conclusion, the blends of POME into (Fossil fuel + JOME) improves engine emission without significantly increasing fuel consumption.
SOLID FUELS FROM DECANTER CAKE AND OTHER PALM OIL INDUSTRY WASTE
Authors: Dewayanto Nugroho , Mohd Husin Mohd Haizal , Nordin Mohd Ridzuan
Published: October 2015

Palm oil milling plant generates about 4 – 5 wt % of decanter cake from the total weight of fresh fruit bunch processed. The decanter cake was dried overnight in an oven at 105 °C to reduce moisture content before it could be used as solid fuel. Thermogravimetry analysis, pyrolysis and combustion of the dried decanter cake were performed to characterise it. The proximate analysis indicated that the dried decanter cake contained 5 wt% moisture, 65 wt% volatile, 11 wt% fixed carbon and 19 wt% ash. The calorific value of the solid fuel from decanter cake was determined using oxygen bomb calorimeter. Its’ higher heating value (HHV) was determined to be 17.96 MJ/kg, comparable to that of other biomass either from palm oil waste or other agricultural waste. The solid fuel from decanter cake is found to be a suitable replacement for other biomass and coke based solid fuels.
CODING TEMPLATE OF SENSORLESS SUN TRACKING USING AZIMUTH-ELEVATION MODE
Authors: Norain I. , Zulfattah Z. M. , Emy Zairah A. , M. Y. Halyani , Firdaus H. M. S.
Published: October 2015

The next explosion  in solar power research was in 1997 as consequence to Kyoto Protocol. This protocol outlined the effect of greenhouse emission which endangers our Earth. As the result, research in solar power field started to take its path again. This work is a part of the UTeM project to build the first CST model in South East Asia and was aimed to develop an azimuth-elevation-mode-based template using MATLAB programming for the calculation of the heliostat position with respect to the heat absorber mounted at the top of the CST. This template will serve as the calculation platform to control the movement of the heliostat using a two-axis motion system so that the sun light will be redirected perfectly to the absorber all day long. Since the heliostat normal vector depends on sun position vector, both vectors were calculated by the program and were set as the output of the program. The input from the user will be the Cartesian coordinate of the heliostat and absorber by taking the absorber tower frontal surface and its base as the origin and also the date. The result will be in vector form and will change automatically according to the Sun movement. These values will be programmed in the micro controller which will control the motion system of the heliostat, which will be done by the Control Department of UTeM. The program´s functionality was proved via several verifications and its accuracy which is 0.0005  as stated and verified via comparison with analytical calculations. From the verifications, it can be seen that difference of the numerical and analytical results varied from 0.0000 to 0.0005 which validates the statement of minimum accuracy of the numerical calculated results is 5/10,000.
A SIMPLIFIED TECHNIQUE TO DISTINGUISH UNBALANCE AND MISALIGNMENT USING FREQUENCY DOMAIN OPERATING DEFLECTION SHAPE
Authors: Mohd Mishani Mohd Bakar , Zhi Chao Ong , Wen Tong Chong , Shin Yee Khoo , Abdul Rahman Abdul Ghaffar
Published: October 2015

Machinery fault can be identified by performing Condition-Based Monitoring (CBM) program which rely on the machinery vibration data. However, the data which represented by the time wave and vibration spectrum requires technically trained personnel to understand and diagnose. In this research, a simplified technique through visualization of the Operating Deflection Shape (ODS) is proposed. The technique combines both the data of vibration amplitude and phase measurement. An ODS of a general machinery arrangement can be visualized from 4 measurement points. The technique is performed and tested in laboratory condition. Future CBM program should implement this technique because it helps untrained personnel to be able to distinguish primary machinery fault such as unbalance and misalignment easily by visualizing the machine motion.
FORCE APPROPRIATION METHOD FOR TWO DEGREES OF FREEDOM NONLINEAR SYSTEM
Authors: Mohd Sani Mohd Shahrir , Abdul Rani Muhamad Norhisham , Yunus Mohd Azmi , Mat Isa Ahmad Azlan , Roslan Liyana
Published: October 2015

In this paper, the vibrations of structures are investigated via force appropriation method in which modes are excited individually by forces. Multivariate mode indicator function (MMIF) is used in the modal testing for investigating the prospective nonlinearities in the structures. The method is applied to simulate two degree of freedom with simple nonlinearities. The results are presented and evaluated to indicate that the method has advantages when it comes to involving in mode by mode identification. Results calculated from modal assurance criteria (MAC) and modal purity indicator (MPI) show that the qualities of evaluating a pure normal mode are in satisfactory. This suggests that force appropriation method for nonlinear structures is reliable and efficient, particularly in terms of the isolation of individual modes and determination of high quality modal parameters.
NUMERICAL MODELING OF THE BALLISTIC LIMIT IN THE HYDRODYNAMIC RAM
Authors: Aziz M. R. , Kuntjoro W. , David N. V.
Published: October 2015

This paper presents the ballistic limit study for the water-filled aluminum tank. The objective was to determine the ballistic limit for the rear tank wall by using numerical method. Commercial software Altair Hyperworks 12.0 was employed for this study. The finite element coupled with smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) was developed to model the perforation of fragment simulating projectile (FSP) towards water-filled tank. Verification of the results was done by comparing with the experiment results. The results showed that there were four main phase failures occurred, which were shock phase, drag phase, cavitation phase and exit phase. The ballistic limit for the rear wall was 479.27 m/s.
LOCATING CONTAMINATED GROUND LAYER USING WAVE PROPAGATION METHOD
Authors: Awang Haryati , Yusof Dayang Affrileawatty
Published: October 2015

Seismic wave refraction method is a field test that normally uses to determine ground or subsurface profile particularly the depth of bedrock under the ground surface. However, due to rapid development in ground exploration the function of this test increased rapidly with the growth of urbanisation development especially for environmental sustainability purposes. In Malaysia the need of this test is in high demand due to rapid development especially in urban area as it is a cost and time effective method. The increase in demand for this kind of ground exploration is because it is a non-destructive method where no drilling is required in order to obtain the unseen underground profile and information. One of the most significant uses of seismic wave test is for detecting the unseen underground contamination layer.   This paper presents result of a study that was carried out to detect the ground layer contaminated with leachate. Contaminated ground with leachate sometimes solidifies to form solid plum. These hazardous substances may seep through loose soil spreading to the lower gradient downwards until it reaches impermeable stratum or bedrock. In order to achieve the objective, this study was carried out using seismic refraction method to locate the contamination layer under the ground surface. A physical model by a wooden tank was constructed and filled in with contaminated ground layers as a simulation to real condition on field.  The two layers of different types of ground material; sand and concrete are the main medium where the time of travelling wave was measured. Findings of this study shows that it is reliable to use wave propagation technique in detecting layer of contamination   underground as the actual profile and seismic wave profile matched to each other.
FINITE ELEMENT MODELLING OF SOIL-STRUCTURE INTERACTION
Authors: K. David Thevaneyan , Krishnamoorthy Renga Rao , Jais I. B. Mohamed
Published: October 2015

This paper presents background information relevant to the modelling of soil-structure interaction. The interaction between the structural element (i.e. pile foundation or abutments) and the soil medium is believed to have the potential to alter considerably the actual behaviour of any structure. Modelling of the structural element is rather simple and straightforward when compared to modelling the structure in interaction with soil. It is known that the structural analysis simplifies soil behaviour, while geotechnical analysis simplifies structural behaviour. The choice of an appropriate soil constitutive model may have significant influence on the accuracy of soil-structure interaction analyses. A 2D finite element analysis on a pile-cap-pile-soil model replicating actual field work was performed in this paper using OASYS SAFE to further substantiate the choice of an appropriate soil constitutive model for the purpose of soil-structure interaction modelling.
CALIBRATION OF OPTICAL SILICONE TACTILE SENSOR
Authors: Ayub Muhammad Azmi , Mohamed Rosli Nurul Fathiah , Esa Abdul Halim , Abdul Latif Amir , Jaafar Roseleena
Published: October 2015

This paper presents the calibration and development of a computer algorithm to analyze the deformation behavior of the changes in the diameter of a silicone tactile sensor using an image processing technique. In addition, the scope of the work also aims to evaluate the sensor’s sensitivity. Unfortunately, the current design and the system of tactile sensor is not suitable for soft tissue characterization because the sensor system uses multiple optical waveguide transduction technique which is relatively large in diameter size, not flexible and less accurate which is lack of ‘sense of touch’. Hence, an image processing algorithm has been developed using image processing software. The results indicate significant increase in the change in the diameter images. The overall image analysis technique involves the following main stages: image acquisition (capturing of images) and image processing (thresholding, noise filtering, component labeling, and geometric properties). The use of fiber scope and as well as an effective image analysis computer algorithm will facilitate and automate the process for sensing information. This study results in finding the mathematical model of a new technique to establish the sensitivity value of the silicon tactile sensor where a higher sensitivity indicates a more sensitive sensor. The outcomes of this research shows that the functionality of the developed new image analysis computer algorithm technique is suitable to establish the sensing information on the ‘sense of touch’ such as hardness, roughness and other physical characteristics of the surfaces.
A NUMERICALLY CONSISTENT MULTIPHASE POISEUILLE FLOW COMPUTATION BY A NEW PARTICLE METHOD
Authors: Ng K. C. , Hwang Y. H. , Sheu T. W. H. , Yusoff M. Z.
Published: October 2015

Recently, there is a rising interest in simulating fluid flow by using particle methods, which are mesh-free. However, the viscous stresses (or diffusion term) appeared in fluid flow governing equations are commonly expressed as the second-order derivatives of flow velocities, which are usually discretized by an inconsistent numerical approach in a particle-based method. In this work, a consistent method in discretizing the diffusion term is implemented in our particle-based fluid flow solver (namely the Moving Particle Pressure Mesh (MPPM) method). The new solver is then used to solve a multiphase Poiseuille flow problem. The error is decreasing while the grid is refined, showing the consistency of our current numerical implementation.
DEVELOPMENT OF A KL RIVER DRIVING CYCLE FOR PHERB POWERTRAIN
Authors: Salisa A. R. , Atiq W. H. , Norbakyah J. S.
Published: October 2015

This paper presents the development of a Kampung Laut (KL) river driving cycle for plug-in hybrid electric recreational boat (PHERB). A hybrid energy storage system between batteries and ultracapacitors are used in PHERB powertrain, which is effectively function together to enhance the driving performance and energy efficiency. The real world speed-time data for KL river driving cycle is collected using global positioning system. The route is selected based on daily traffic of KL river boat. The developed driving cycle consist of 1361 s, with a distance of 1.27 km, and an average speed and a maximum speed of 9.34 km/h and 34.30 km/h, respectively. The results obtained from this analysis are within reasonable range and satisfactory.
DESIGN OF EXPERIMENT USING MINITAB FOR SCREENING BREATH SENSOR WORKABILITY PERFORMANCE
Authors: Yusoff Noriah , Saad Nor Hayati , Nabipoor Mohsen , Sulaiman Suraya , Abd. Ghawi Nor Mu’minah , Jaffar Ahmed , Abd Rashid Amirul
Published: October 2015

The breath sensor device is fabricated using a capacitive Inter-Digitated-Electrode (IDE) platform sensor that is designed to detect moisture in human breath. The sensing material that is used to detect the presence of the moisture is Carbon-Nanotube (CNT). There are four main factors that were understudied in determining the workability performance of the sensor device such as the CNT structure, temperature, relative humidity and IDE platform design. Using Design of Experiment (DOE) approach an experimental study was conducted to investigate the effect of each factor to the performance that is aimed for the breath sensor device in relation to its response factor; capacitance (pF). It is essential to identify which factors or variables that give the significant effect to the workability performance of the breath sensor device and its functionality performance eventually. This useful insight is needed before optimization of the process can be done to further enhanced the breath sensor overall performance.
EFFECT OF RELATIVE DENSITY AND VELOCITY TOWARDS DYNAMIC RESPONSE OF METAL FOAM
Authors: Y. Mohd Azman , S. Juri , H. Hazran , M. N. NorHafiez , R. Dong
Published: October 2015

Dynamic response of ALPORAS aluminium foam has been investigated experimentally and numerically. The dynamic response is quantified by the force produced as the foam deforms as a function of time. Quasi-static tests are conducted to determine the quasi-static properties of the foam. In the impact test, the aluminium foams are fired towards a rigid load-cell and the force signals developed are recorded. Experimental dynamic stress is also compared with theoretical prediction using existing theory. Finite element model is constructed using LS-DYNA to simulate the impact test. Results from the experiment, finite element analysis and theoretical prediction are in acceptable agreement. Finally, parametric studies have been conducted using the verified model to investigate the effect of impact velocity and relative density towards the dynamic response of the foam projectile. It is found that the dynamic response of the foam is more sensitive towards impact velocity as compare with the foam relative density.
SINGLE AND DOUBLE SHOT BLASTING TREATMENT OF 304 STAINLESS STEEL
Authors: Khairulmaini M. , Alias S. K. , Abdullah B. , Said J. M. , Sulong N. , Mazni M. , Jenal N.
Published: October 2015

Properties enhancement through surface modification has been established as a method to improve the dispersion quality of case hardening treatment. Improvement of dispersion thickness layers resulted in properties enhancement of metallic material. This study investigates the effect of shot blasting parameters which are single (SB) and double (DB) sand blasting on boronizing dispersion layer of 304 stainless steel. Boronizing treatment is conducted using paste boron at temperature of 900˚C for 6 hours holding time. The dispersion layer measurement and phase identification were evaluated through optical microscope and XRD analysis. Vickers hardness test and surface roughness analysis were also conducted .The result shows that noticeable enhancement of dispersion layer thickness was observed after conducting double sand blasting as compared to single sand blasting. Thicker dispersion layer leads to the increment of hardness value and also enhancement in surface roughness properties.
INFLUENCE OF SUBSTRATE MATERIALS ON THE STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF ZNO THIN FILMS PREPARED BY RF MAGNETRON SPUTTERING
Authors: Ahmad S. , Md Sin N. D. , Roslan Liyana , Pahroraji Hazriel Faizal , Alias S. K. , Sulaiman S. A. , Hashim Siti Mardini , Berhan M. N. , Rusop M.
Published: October 2015

ZnO films were deposited on glass and SiO2/Si substrate by RF magnetron sputtering technique using high purity ZnO target at various RF power. The structural properties of ZnO thin film deposited on glass and SiO2/Si substrate were studied. The structural properties of the films were carried out by the surface profiler and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). It was found that the average grain size of ZnO increases with increasing RF power and ZnO deposited on SiO2/Si substrate with RF power between 50-150 Watt gave the lower average grain size which is desired for the gas sensor applications.
EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE FIBRED LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE (EPSF-LWC) AS A LOAD BEARING WALL PANEL
Authors: Abd Rahim Jamilah , Hamzah Siti Hawa , Mohd Saman Hamidah
Published: October 2015

This study was conducted to determine the optimum mix proportion of lightweight concrete (LWC) containing expanded polystyrene (EPS) and steel fiber which is designated as Expanded Polystyrene Fibred Lightweight Concrete (EPSF-LWC) for load bearing wall application. In order to produce LWC, EPS beads were chosen as lightweight aggregate because it gives advantages in term of energy absorbing capacity which suitable for structure that would be exposed to impact like shear wall. However, EPS beads possess zero strength. Therefore, steel fibre was added to improve LWC strength and also to reduce occurrence of micro and macro crack. In the mix design method, the percentage of EPS beads adding to the mix are differ while the percentage of steel fibre is same. The result showed optimum mix design was the one that contained 30% of EPS and 0.5 % of steel fibre and is designated as M8. The compressive strength EPSF-LWC of mix proportion designated as M8 is 19.51 MPa with density 1939 kg/m3. It is greater than 17 MPa as the requirement for structure component application that stated in the BS8110. Hence, reinforced and unreinforced EPS-LWC wall panels were constructed to determine the maximum loading that wall can sustain and deflection profile EPSF-LWC wall panel for the loaded to failure. The wall was set up under pinned-fixed end support condition. The sample was modelled using finite element analysis (FEA) for validation with experimental programme.  The maximum loading capacity was found to be 908.20 kN and 853.40 kN for each reinforced (WR5) and unreinforced (WUR5) of EPSF-LWC wall panel. These loading were 31% to 35% less than finite element analysis. However, WR5 and WUR5 EPSF-LWC wall panel was deformed in single curvature profile for both experimental and FEA. Maximum deflection for WR5and WUR5 of EPSF-LWC recorded is 10.27 mm and 12.95 mm occurred at 0.7 heights (H) of wall panel. According to Euler buckling load theory, the location of maximum lateral displacement of wall panel sample is influenced by the type of fixity at end support of the sample.
LEAN TQM LEADERSHIP MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN MALAYSIAN AUTOMOTIVE COMPANIES
Authors: Mohd.Salleh Noor Azlina , Kasolang Salmiah , Jaffar Ahmed , Abdul Halim Nurul Hayati
Published: October 2015

Lean Total Quality (LTQ) Leadership Management System is a system whereby Leadership Management practices is integrated to Lean Manufacturing (LM) and TQMs’ principles. The main goal is to achieve total Leadership Management efficiency by optimizing financial and non-financial profits. A survey questionnaire was developed and analyzed by SPSS. 30 highly active automotive companies in Malaysia had participated in the surveys. The results suggest that all the companies are highly implementing the leadership attributes in LM and TQM. It was also discovered that most companies agreed on the need for effective leadership in managing a systematic manufacturing operations. The proposed Lean TQM Leadership framework (a synergy from 4 awards practices and 4 systems) established in this study based on the results obtained, is believed to offer a preliminary insight on the level of Leadership Management. Companies may use the framework as the initial steps towards more improvement in managing a profitable performance. Future studies can be steered to access the status of Leadership Management practices in other companies and industries.
EVALUATION OF DIFFERENT TYPE OF GLOVE USING VIBRATING HAND TOOL
Authors: Mas’aud Nurul Hanna , Abdullah Bulan
Published: October 2015

The paper presents satisfaction survey of the glove conditions while using vibrating hand tool in a manufacturing industry. The effects of vibration can cause health issues to the workers especially to those who are using vibrating hand tools. Hand held vibrating tools have become the common use in the manufacturing area. A study stated that many researchers have found that vibration exposures have become a common health problem in manufacturing industries. The research scope and objectives are to evaluate the satisfaction level of the workers using different types of gloves as well as to see how effective they are at reducing vibration exposure. The input data were collected by satisfaction survey among 30 respondents. There are three types of gloves conditions; (i) without glove, (ii) knitted glove and (iii) fingerless anti-vibration glove. The comparison of worker’s satisfaction level between these three conditions was summarized. It clearly showed that the use of fingerless anti-vibration glove is the most comfortable among the workers. The main advantage is that the fingers and thumb remain uncovered resulting in unconstructed movements.
COMPRESSIVE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF POROUS TI-6AL-4V WITH PALM STEARIN BINDER SYSTEM
Authors: Mohamad Nor N. H. , Saedon J.B , Kasim N. A. A. , Ismail M. H. , Husain Hazran
Published: October 2015

Most Ti-6Al-4V implant used today are often much stiffer than human bone. However, the young modulus of those Ti-6Al-4V implants can be reduced through the formation of porous structure. Palm stearin binder system with an addition of sodium chloride as space holder has been established in the fabrication of porous Ti-6Al-4V. Thus, this paper focuses on the compressive mechanical properties of porous Ti-6Al-4V with utilization of palm stearin binder system along with sodium chloride (NaCl) as the space holder. The evaluated compositions consist of the powder volume fraction of 63vol% and 65vol%. The samples were compacted by thermal compacting machine at temperature of 160oC. Two different debinding processes involved, which are heptane solvent and water leaching. Then the samples were sintered up to three different temperatures, which are 1200oC, 1250oC and 1300oC. Mechanical properties of the porous Ti-6Al-4V were characterized by axial compression testing. The maximum compressive stress and Young’s modulus of the samples were determined to be 403.87MPa and 9.92GPa.
ENGINE PERFORMANCE VALIDATION OF THE OPTIMAL DESIGN OF EXPERIMENT VALVETRAIN PARAMETERS
Authors: Mohd Alias Mohd Shahrudin , Saad Nor Hayati , Saedon Juri , Hassan Nor Hidayahti
Published: October 2015

Early stage of engine valvetrain noise improvement involves the implementation of Design of Experiment (DOE) specifically the Taguchi methodology to identify the optimum valvetrain parameters which resulted in significant noise improvement. The parameters are consist of seven controlled factors such as cylinder head tappet bore diameter, mechanical tappet diameter, valve spring load, camshaft exhaust and intake waviness together with tappet exhaust and intake clearance. The confirmation run which was previously completed yields the valvetrain noise level at 67.07db SPL by 1 meter distance in completed vehicle during idling condition. In order to satisfy the final quality of the optimal valvetrain, a test is carried out to validate the performance curve on a dynamometer according to benchmark specification. The objective of the test is to validate the optimal valvetrain based on the experimental result which minimum manufacturing target shall be achieved to indicate that the engine is operated within its intended design. The performance test was conducted at the manufacturing plant on an eddy current dynamometer which runs for 11 hours. As results, the performance are within the standard with approximate increased by 6.9% as compared with baseline valvetrain and confirmed by several follow-up tests made on the improved valvetrain. In order to verify and address the main engine output of the optimal valvetrain, brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) and emissions test results are then presented at the end of this paper.
THERMAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF CNC MACHINE TOOL SPINDLE FOR CONSISTENT MACHINING ACCURACY
Authors: Kasim Ajmain , Kuntjoro Wahyu , Kasolang Salmiah
Published: October 2015

This paper describes the research on the management of energy efficiency in controlling the machining accuracy of CNC machining centre. The focus is manipulating temperature distributions over the spindle head of CNC machining center without existing external cooling system and replacing with indigenous thermal management system. A proposed system configuration is presented by adapting a customized spindle head cover consists of several thermal electric coolers (TEC) acts as cooling pad to reach optimized temperature distributions and at the same time maintaining the accuracy of machining operation. It is anticipated the preliminary result of such configuration shall be obtained once the simplified prototype ready to be tested.
INVESTIGATION ON CR, MRR AND SR OF WIRE ELECTRICAL DISCHARGE MACHINING (WEDM) ON HIGH CARBON STEEL S50C
Authors: Abdullah Bulan , Mad Nordin Mohammad Faezeen , Mohamad Basir Muhamad Hafizuddin
Published: October 2015

The purpose of this project is to study the encouragement of three machining parameters on wire electrical discharge machining that consist of peak current (IP), pulse OFF time (OFF) and wire tension (WT) to three machining responses which are cutting rate (CR), material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness (SR) on high carbon steel (S50C). Brass wire with diameter 0.25 mm was used as the cutting tool for machining a high carbon steel (S50C) using Mitsubishi FX Wire Electrical Discharge Machine (WEDM). The machining parameters such as pulse off time, wire tension and peak current were determined by referring from the guideline in the manual book for Mitsubishi FX Wire Electrical Discharge Machine (WEDM). The calculation of material removal rate and cutting rate were obtained using mathematical equation. The surface roughness was measured using optical measurement “Alicona Infinite Focus” machine. The relationship between material removal rate and surface roughness shows that the optimum machine parameter using brass wire as the electrode is C1. From the spark analysis using brass wire as the machine’s electrode, the deeper the spark occurred, the higher value of the surface roughness.
DESIGN OF WEARABLE DEVICE TO ASSIST CEREBRAL PALSY CHILDREN IN STANDING AND WALKING
Authors: Mahamud Farid , Anuar Adzly
Published: October 2015

Most children with cerebral palsy (CP) have difficulties in standing and walking. They would normally require assistive device to help in standing and walking. This paper describes the process that was carried out to design a wearable brace for the lower limb. This brace is intended to provide support during standing and walking for ambulant CP children. Design requirements were drawn up by conducting surveys and interviews with parents, CP child caregivers, and CP children. Safety is very crucial for the device, where special care is made to ensure it would not pose any hazard to the children and also the caregivers. Based on these information and the anthropometric measurements, the device has been designed and analyzed using 3D CAD software. From the analysis, the device shown to function as expected.
3D PRINTER’S PARAMETER OPTIMIZATION FOR POTENTIAL PATIENT SPECIFIC IMPLANT FABRICATION
Authors: Abdullah Abdul Manaf , Mohamad Dasmawati , Tuan Rahim Tuan Noraihan Azila , Md Akil Hazizan , Ahmad Rajion Zainul
Published: October 2015

This study attempted to investigate the effect of printing orientation and layer height on mechanical and topological properties of printed ABS specimens. 2 printing orientations (xy and yz) with 3 different layer heights (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3mm) were chosen and specimens were printed utilizing a 3D printer. Tensile, morphological and topological properties were evaluated utilizing Universal Testing Machine (Shimadzu AGX-2plus), FESEM and surface profilometer respectively. Statistical analysis of two-way Anova was carried out to investigate the relationship of layer height and printing orientation on the tensile strength and surface roughness of the specimens
DRIVER’S MENTAL WORKLOAD: TASK PERFORMANCE AND MENTAL WORKLOAD
Authors: Makhtar Ahmad Khushairy , Itoh Makoto
Published: October 2015

It is known that unnecessary increase of driver’s mental workload may be a cause of road traffic crashes. In the recent decades, mental workload’s level detection has been one of the major interesting research subjects in today’s society. This paper discussed the relationship between driver’s performance and mental workload level. The results reveal that there is a significant effect on driving task performance to participants’ mental workload while performing different level of secondary task and driving task.
SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL PATTERN OF ROAD ACCIDENTS AND CASUALTIES IN PENINSULAR MALAYSIA
Authors: Shahid Shamsuddin , Minhans Anil , Che Puan Othman , Hasan Sitti Asmah , Ismail Tarmizi
Published: October 2015

Road traffic accidents are often found to follow some spatial and temporal patterns as the factors that influence road accident changes with space and time. Knowledge on spatial and temporal variability of accident can be helpful for optimizing resources in order to improve traffic security management. The objective of the present study is to assess the spatial and temporal variation in the incidence of road traffic accidents and casualties across the states of peninsular Malaysia. Recent trends in number of accidents, casualties and fatalities are also accessed using non-parametric statistical method. The results show more accidents but lower fatalities in more urbanized and developed states, and lower accident levels but more serious fatalities in less urbanized or developed states of Peninsular Malaysia. Trend analysis reveals increasing number of accidents, but decreasing number casualties in recent years in most of the states of Peninsular Malaysia. The temporal analysis shows clear seasonal pattern in accident in some states of Malaysia. Most of the accidents are found to occur in festive month of Hari Raya Puasa festival followed by the month of mid-year school holiday. It is expected that the finding of the study will help in making recommendations in order to improve road safety and reduce road traffic accident in Malaysia.
ASSESSMENT OF DELAYS AT ROUNDABOUT
Authors: Che Puan Othman , Muhamad Nor Nur Syahriza , Peay Sien Tan
Published: October 2015

Traffic delay is the additional travel time that experienced by a road user beyond what would reasonably be desired for a given trip.  It is also a standard parameter that used to measure the performance of an intersection. This study concerns with the delay experienced by the drivers at a roundabout. The main objective is to evaluate the applicability of the existing theoretical delay models to estimate delays. Data pertaining to the analysis of delay was collected at a conventional roundabout in a sub-urban area. The t-test were conducted. The result shows that the observed delay at a conventional roundabout can be estimated using Akcelik & Troutbecks theory as there is no significant different between both observed and theoretical delay at 95% confident level. Whereas the observed delay has significant different if compared with theoretical delay estimated using Kimber & Hollis theory and CETUR formula. On the other hand, all of the theoretical and observed delay at the roundabout falls in the LOS A. However, more data are required in order to validate the result of this study.
EFFECTS OF SHORT TERM AGING ON DYNAMIC CREEP PROPERTIES OF ASPHALT MIXTURES
Authors: Hamzah Meor Othman , Omranian Seyed Reza
Published: October 2015

Many factors affect pavement service life. Aging as one of these factors occurs due to binder volatilization and oxidation. Aging increases binder viscosity and subsequently results in stiffer mixtures. Transportation of asphalt mixture from plant to field may cause variations in the levels of aging. This study attempts to determine the effects of aging on mixture permanent deformation or rutting during transportation from plant to field and to simulate the aging conditions in the laboratory. The rutting parameters evaluated include creep stiffness, cumulative strain, creep modulus and creep rates of mixtures collected from plant, field and samples artificially produced in the laboratory. The results showed that temperature increment significantly changed mixtures rutting properties, while aging during mixture transportation from plant to field has no effect on rutting. It was also found that artificially aging the mixtures by varying aging duration that conducted for this study, cannot exactly simulate the plant and field aging conditions.
EDIBLE BIRD NEST SHAPE INSPECTION USING FOURIER DESCRIPTOR (FD) AND FARTHEST FOURIER POINT SIGNATURE (FFPS) METHOD
Authors: Sa’ad F. S. A. , Ibrahim M. F. , Shakaff A. Y. M. , Zakaria A.
Published: October 2015

Swiftlets are birds contained within the four genera Aerodramus, Hydrochous, Schoutedenapus and Collocalia. To date, the bird nest grading is based on weight, shape and size. Current inspection and grading for raw, edible bird nest were performed visually by expert panels. This conventional method is relying more on human judgments and often biased. A novel hybrid method from Fourier Descriptor (FD) method and Farthest Fourier Point Signature (FFPS) was developed using Charge Coupled Device (CCD) image data to grade bird nest by its shape and size. From the result, the hybrid method was able to differentiate different shape such as super AAA, super and corner grade depending on the Swiftlet species and geographical origin. The Wilks' lambda analysis was invoked to transform and compress the data set comprising of a large number of interconnected variables to a reduced set of varieties. Overall, the vision system was able to correctly classify 92.6 % of the super AAA, super and Corner shaped grades using the combined FD and FFPS features.
MEL-FREQUENCY BAND STRUCTURE BASED FEATURES FOR MOTOR IMAGERY TASK CLASSIFICATION
Authors: M. P. Paulraj , Teh Jackie
Published: October 2015

Differentially enabled communities face much difficulties and challenges in their life time while commuting from one place to another. Power wheelchairs were designed to aid the movement of these differentially enabled subjects and a Brain Computer Interface can also be applied to replace the existing conventional joystick method of controlling the movement of a wheelchair without using hands. In this research work, a simple protocol is proposed to record the EEG signals emanated from a subject while the subject performed four different kinesthetic motor imagery tasks. The noise present in the EEG signals are removed and three different feature sets, namely, power spectral density, Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients and Mel-frequency band structure based energy features are extracted. The extracted features are then associated to the type of motor imagery tasks and three multi-layer Perceptrons trained with Levenberg-Marquardt method are developed. The performance of the three Perceptron models are evaluated in term of classification rate and compared. From the results, it is observed that the Perceptron model trained with Mel-frequency band structure based features has yielded a higher classification accuracy for all 5 subjects, which is between 92.64-97.72%. The obtained result clearly indicates that the Mel-frequency band structure based features has potential to classify the four different motor imagery tasks.
CONCEPTUAL DESIGN FOR ROBOT-AIDED ANKLE REHABILITATION DEVICE
Authors: Shahrol Aman Muhammad Nazrin Shah , Basah Shafriza Nisha , Wan Ahmad Wan Khairunzam , Abu Bakar Shahriman
Published: October 2015

Ankle injury is one of physical injury that can happen whether in sports or in domestic accidents. The injury can take from weeks to months to recover and requires physiotherapy treatment for effective recovery. Currently, there are established treatments for ankle rehabilitation in hospital such as endurance training and range-of-motion training. However, the success of rehabilitation for ankle injury directly depends on physiotherapy administered by experts. This conventional therapy treatment requires patients to frequently visit to hospital which is tedious and costly. To solve this, researchers have introduced a number of robot-aided ankle rehabilitation devices which has been developed in the last decade. However, those devices are bulky and do not designed for portability and configurability – which is an important feature for patients undergoing rehabilitation at home. In this paper, we proposed a concept based on robot-aided ankle rehabilitation device to assist patients undergo rehabilitation procedures. We focused on all patients’ need especially based on important features such as portability and configurability of the device. Standard design process were followed including concept generation and concept selection according to all relevant criteria using Morphological Charts and Pugh Method.  A Pulley Driven Cable Based Parallel Mechanism robot-aided ankle rehabilitation device has been selected based on selections from 5 different concept design generated. We show that a design based on parallel mechanisms should provide the needed portability and configurability. This result provides an insight for a portable and configurable robot-aided ankle rehabilitation device.
FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS OF AN AUTOMATED DETECTION OF PHYSICAL DEFECT VIA COMPUTER VISION
Authors: Zhao Por Jing , Basah Shafriza Nisha , Abdul Shukor Shazmin Aniza
Published: October 2015

High demand of building construction has been taking places in the major city of Malaysia. However, despite this magnificent development, the lack of proper maintenance has caused a large portion of these properties deteriorated over time. The implementation of the project - Automated Detection of Physical Defect via Computer Vision - is a low cost system that helps to inspect the wall condition using Kinect camera. The system is able to classify the types of physical defects -crack and hole - and state its level of severity.The system uses artificial neural network as the image classifier due to its reliability and consistency. The validity of the system is shown using experiments on synthetic and real image data. This automated physical defect detection could detect building defect early, quickly, and easily, which results in cost saving and extending building life span.
STATE-DEPENDENT BOUNDARY LAYER METHOD FOR ATTITUDE CONTROL OF SATELLITE
Authors: Hussain Nurul Syazwani , Basri Hassrizal Hasan , Yaacob Sazali
Published: October 2015

Sliding mode control is known to be robust against parameter uncertainties and external disturbances. Based on the dynamic equation of motion, a sliding mode controller is designed to solve this problem. However, for the sliding surface to be attractive, a switching function is used in the control law, which caused chattering of the control signal. In order to avoid this, a boundary layer method is considered in the modified controller. So this paper proposes new boundary layer designs that resolve the problem in control accuracy and control signal smoothness in sliding mode control. The propose design improve the system state to almost zero with no chattering in the control signals.