Showing papers in "International Journal of Integrated Engineering in 2018"
TL;DR: It can be concluded that modified Maxwell model is more accurate compared to other theoretical models for the prediction of CO2 permeability through NH2-MIL-53(Al)/CA MMMs.
Abstract: Estimation of CO2 permeability of mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) using models has importance for the design of membrane separation system. In the current article, the previously reported models were used for the calculations of CO2 permeability through new type of MMMs, NH2-MIL-53(Al)/CA. It was found that modified Maxwell model demonstrated the absolute average error (AARE %) of 1.66%, which is lower than the AARE% obtained from the other theoretical models. Besides, the results also showed that AARE% of models for the prediction of CO2 permeability was in the order of modified Maxwell model < Lewis-Nielsen model < Fleski model < Bruggeman model < Pal model< modified Fleski model < Maxwell model. Therefore, it can be concluded that modified Maxwell model is more accurate compared to other theoretical models for the prediction of CO2 permeability through NH2-MIL-53(Al)/CA MMMs.
32 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a review of coal bottom ash as a substitute for Portland cement in concrete construction is presented, which concludes that coal bottom coal is porous in nature, and cannot be used as a replacement of cement, but after the proper grinding, it possesses the good pozzolanic property and could be utilized as replacement of concrete in concrete.
Abstract: The demand of concrete is increased rapidly due to worldwide growth in infrastructural development. Consequently, consumption of concrete also raises the demand for Portland cement, because it is the fundamental material in concrete construction. The increasing demand for Portland cement is expected to be encountered by introducing new supplementary cementing materials. Considering the sustainability of construction, it is imperative to develop supplementary cementing materials from the industrial waste by-products; one of such waste is the coal bottom ash, produced by coal-based thermal power plants. Previously several studies have been conducted on the utilization of coal bottom ash in its original form as natural sand replacement but limited research has been reported on the coal bottom ash as replacement of cement. It was observed through the literature review that the original coal bottom ash is porous in nature, and cannot be used as a replacement of cement, but after the proper grinding, it possesses the good pozzolanic property and could be utilized as replacement of cement in concrete. The result of this review has indicated that ground coal bottom ash has a good potential to be utilized as supplementary cementing materials in concrete construction. The aim of this review is to summarize the previous findings on the utilization of coal bottom ash as supplementary cementing materials in concrete construction. Hence, this article will deliver the key information and valuable material for the researchers looking for the supplementary cementing materials in the field of advanced concrete technology.
26 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, straight and irregular recycled PET fibers were used to determine the compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and also the optimum percentages of recycled PET fiber in ordinary concrete.
Abstract: Plastic solid waste generation increases every year with the current consumption habit prevalent in the society nowadays. The improper disposal of plastic has been a major concern to the environment as it is not easily degradable. The issue of environmental pollution caused by polyethylene terephthalates (PET) has been extensively discussed and the best solution proposed is recycling. Therefore, one of the potential means to the problem is to recycle PET in the construction industry as fiber concrete (FC). FC is a composite material resulting from the addition of fibers to ordinary concrete. The objective of this research is to determine the compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and also the optimum percentages of recycled PET fibers in ordinary concrete. In this study, straight and irregular recycled PET fibers were used. The fibers were simply cut from PET plastic bottles. The length and width of recycled PET fiber were fixed at 50 mm and 5 mm respectively. The chosen percentages were 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0% of fiber. A water-cement ratio of 0.45 was accepted for all ranges. The tests that were conducted included the slump test, compressive strength test and splitting tensile strength test. The specimens were tested on day 7 and day 28 after the concrete was mixed. The results obtained from each test indicated that when the percentage of recycled PET fiber used increases, the values obtained from the slump test and compressive strength test decreases while the value obtained from the splitting tensile test increases
26 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors assess the level of work-life balance and determine factors that affect worklife balance in the Australian construction industry, and find that poor boundary management is responsible for the relatively low work life balance.
Abstract: The aim of this research is to assess the level of work-life balance and to determine factors that affect work-life balance in the Australian construction industry. Questionnaires were used to collect data from 89 employees of a medium-sized construction organisation in Sydney, Australia. The results show that poor boundary management is responsible for the relatively low work-life balance. Technology, business culture, commute time, salary compensation, health, and the implementation of work-life balance initiatives are factors that influence work-life balance. On one hand, technology, long work hours, and stress can have negative impacts on work-life balance. On the other hand, work-life balance initiatives supported by appropriate business culture can promote better work-life balance in the construction industry. Construction organisations should make sure that work-life balance initiatives are made known to all employees and supported by top-level managers and those at the project level, so that employees are comfortable in using them. The initiatives should also cater the diverse needs of employees.
25 citations
TL;DR: The proposed model is able to detect the novel attack while maintaining low false alarms rate and was increased from 96% to 99% and the false positive rate was as low as 2.4 %.
Abstract: Crypto-ransomware employs the cryptography to lock user personal files and demands ransom to release them. By utilizing several technological utilities like cyber-currency and cloud-based developing platforms, crypto-ransomware has gained high popularity among adversaries. Motivated by the monetary revenue, crypto-ransomware developers continuously produce many variants of such malicious programs to evade the detection. Consequently, the rate of crypto-ransomware novel attacks is continuously increasing. As such, it is imperative for detection solutions to be able to discover these novel attacks, also called zero-day attacks. While anomaly detection-based solutions are able to deal with this problem, they suffer the high rate of false alarms. Thus, this paper puts forward a detection model that incorporates anomaly with behavioral detection approaches. In this model, two types of detection estimators were built. The first type is an ensemble of behavioral-based classifiers whereas the second type is an anomaly-based estimator. The decisions of both types of estimators were combined using fusion technique. The proposed model is able to detect the novel attack while maintaining low false alarms rate. By applying the proposed model, the detection rate was increased from 96% to 99% and the false positive rate was as low as 2.4 %.
23 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of agricultural wastes on the mechanical properties of lightweight foamed concrete, LFC, were investigated using physical and chemical tests to determine the chemical composition and particle size of both BSP and POFA.
Abstract: This paper presents the effects of agricultural wastes on the mechanical properties of lightweight foamed concrete, LFC. The agricultural wastes utilized in this research are banana skin powder (BSP) and palm oil fuel ash (POFA) as cement and sand replacement, respectively. Physical and chemical tests were conducted to determine the chemical composition and particle size of both BSP and POFA. These chemical and physical properties of the raw materials are important in understanding the effects they have on the mechanical properties of lightweight foamed concrete incorporating BSP and POFA, which is designated as LFC-BSP-POFA. Cube, cylindrical, and prism specimens of LFC-BSP-POFA with density of 1800kg/m³ were cast and tested to determine its compressive strength, tensile strength, modulus of elasticity and flexural strength. Twelve (12) LFC-BSP-POFA mixtures were prepared with content of BSP as cement replacement of 0%, 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8% and 1% by weight. For each mixture, the content of POFA as sand replacement are 0% and 15%. It was found that BSP and POFA each contain 55.98% and 51.83% silicon dioxide, and 2.71% and 2.32% aluminum oxide, respectively. The particle size for these two materials as obtained from PSA test showed that both materials are considered as fine particles, which is within 0.1µm to 250 µm. These chemical composition and particle size of BSP and POFA contribute to the pozzolanic reaction in LFC. This is proven by the results obtained from the mechanical properties tests which show that the incorporation of both BSP and POFA as cement and sand replacement have some significant effects on the mechanical properties of LFC. The increase percentage of BSP and POFA incorporated in LFC had shown slight increment in its mechanical properties.
21 citations
TL;DR: The experimental results show the (MOFPA-WT) can achieve the highest recognition rates up to 85% using neural network classifier based on visual counting task as well as the EEG_ Std feature obtained the highest accuracy compared with others EEG features based onVisual counting task.
Abstract: In the modern life, the authentication technique for any system is considered as one of the most important challenges task which must careful consideration. Therefore, many researchers have developed traditional authentication systems to deal with our digital world. Recently, The Biometric techniques have been successfully provided a high level of authentication, such as fingerprint, face recognition, and voice recognition. In this paper, a new authentication system has been proposed which is based on EEG signals with hybridizing wavelet transform and multi-objective flower pollination algorithm (MOFPA-WT). The main task of MOFPA is to find the optimal WT parameters for EEG signal denoising which can extract unique features form the EEG. The proposed method (MOFPA-WT) tested using a standard EEG database which has five different mental tasks, includes baseline, multiplication, rotation, letter composing, and visual counting. To classify the EEG signals using proposed method four classification methods are applied which are, neural network, decision tree, Naive Bayes, and support vector machine. The performance of the (MOFPA-WT) is evaluated using four criteria: (i) accuracy, (ii) sensitivity, (iii) specificity, (v) false acceptance rate. The experimental results show the (MOFPA-WT) can achieve the highest recognition rates up to 85% using neural network classifier based on visual counting task as well as the EEG_ Std feature obtained the highest accuracy compared with others EEG features based on visual counting task.
20 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of previous papers in the literature on factors responsible for low power generation in Nigeria is performed, and an all-inclusive factors affecting power generation are presented and discussed.
Abstract: The low power generation in Nigeria had hindered her economic growth and industrialisation. The nation had carried out various reform to ameliorate the electric power crisis but all to no avail. The electric power crisis has made so many industries to relocate to more environmental friendly nations. Furthermore, the terrible state of the nation’s basic infrastructure such as water supply, health care system and petroleum product distribution are all symptom of an economy that is insalubrious because of the nations’ incapability to meet electric power demand. The subject of power generation in Nigeria is interesting, vital and worthy of investigation. Some researchers have investigated the root causes of low power generation in Nigeria and they came up with diverse factors responsible for the lingering electric power crisis. In this research, a review of previous papers in the literature on factors responsible for the low power generation in Nigeria is performed. From the survey, an all-inclusive factors affecting power generation in Nigeria are presented and discussed. On the basis of the number of authors that cited the individual factor, the whole factors are ranked and categorised. Finally, in this paper, general solutions are proffered to minimise /eliminate the major challenges confronting power generation in Nigeria. The research findings revealed that the major challenges confronting power generation in Nigeria are factors such as poor plant maintenance, aged/obsolete equipment and gas pipe line vandalism and that these challenges can be minimised/eliminated through structured maintenance methodology and adequate funding among others.
20 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the influence of various nano particles such as nano silica, nano Al 2 O 3, nano TiO 2, nano Fe 2 O3, nano clays, and highly dispersed carbon nano tubes in concrete is thoroughly investigated in present work with an initiative towards green concrete incorporating these waste materials as one of its ingredients.
Abstract: The advances of sustainable construction and the green building movement of the past decade have encouraged comprehensive assessment of building materials and construction practices worldwide. With superior fire resistance, strength, and a long service life, concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world. Considering the amount of concrete required for various construction works, enhancing sustainability to concrete, both in terms of concrete production and mix design would be a highly desirable prospect. Lately, nanotechnology is a promising field in terms of environmental improvements including energy savings and reduced reliance on non-renewable resources, as well as reduced waste, toxicity and carbon emissions. Nanotechnology allows enhancement of available concrete products by using nano-materials; these nano-materials could be in the form of nano-particles, nano-chemical additives, and nano–fibers in cement-based materials matrix. The usage of nano-materials results in production of concrete with lower volume of cement. The influence of addition of various nano particles such as nano silica, nano Al 2 O 3 , nano TiO 2 , nano Fe 2 O 3 , nano clays, and highly dispersed carbon nano tubes in concrete is thoroughly investigated in present work with an initiative towards ‘Green Concrete’ incorporating these waste materials as one of its ingredients
19 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed the technical, institutional and community participation aspects in the management of drainage system and the influence of BPP SIMA (the first water board in Indonesia) in handling of tidal flood.
Abstract: Floods always occur in some cities located in coastal areas of Indonesia, including in Kemijen area of Semarang city. This study aimed to analyze the technical, institutional and community participation aspects in the management of drainage system and the influence of BPP SIMA (the first water board in Indonesia) in handling of tidal flood. Primary data in this study were obtained through observation and interviews, while secondary data obtained through the study of documents and literature review. Research results showed that technical aspects of drainage management in Kemijen Semarang, still in refinement. Some of the complementary buildings of primary drainage network are still in development. In the institutional aspect, drainage management is still less than optimal because it is handled by department with a number of personnel were very inadequate. Community participation in flood management is still in the form of measures which have not been fully coordinated with the region, such as raising floor of house, access roads and pumping water elevation. BPP SIMA as water board that is responsible for providing information, training and socialization to the community in the management of drainage, is still not optimal in forming a caring community environment.
19 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the main causes of budget overrun in building projects in Malaysia through a questionnaire survey of 83 contractors, 57 clients, and 40 owners, and established a list of mitigation measures for each of the top ten significant causes.
Abstract: Completion of a construction within planned budget is one of the main criterion of project success, however budget overrun has become a recurring phenomenon in construction industry. Budget overrun can cause multiple negative effects such as loos of economy, disputes among construction stakeholders, project abandonment, and drop in construction activities. This study aims to identify causes of budget overrun in Malaysian Building projects and then to establish mitigation measures for the identified main causes. Literature review, questionnaire survey and interviews were used in this study. Detailed literature review results in identification of 28 causes of budget overrun. The main causes of budget overrun in building projects in Malaysia were investigated through a questionnaire survey of 83 contractors, 57 clients, and 40 owners. The feedback of questionnaire survey was analyzed statistically. The significant causes of budget overrun were: improper planning, variation in materials price, poor site management, lack of communication between parties, frequent design changes, incompetent contractors, mistakes during construction, shortage of site workers, delay in material procurement, and low speed of decisions making. After questionnaire survey, interviews with 16 construction exports were carried out in order to develop mitigation measures for the top ten significant causes. On the basis of interviews, a list of mitigation measures for each of the top ten significant causes were established. The findings of this study can be useful for construction practitioners in controlling budget overrun and to achieve project success.
TL;DR: In this article, the performance of cassava peel starch (CPS) extracted from cassava waste in combination with alum to act as dual coagulant for turbidity removal in raw water from Sembrong dam was investigated.
Abstract: The agricultural and food processing industries generate a significant portion of residues, refuse and waste. Conversion of these wastes into useful end product would be beneficial not only to the economy but also the environment as it reducing the solid waste disposal problem. The present study was aimed to investigate the performance of cassava peel starch (CPS) extracted from cassava peel waste in combination with alum to act as dual coagulant for turbidity removal in raw water from Sembrong dam. Comparative studies by employing both alum and CPS as primary coagulant using several series of Jar test were also conducted. Results showed that the usage of alum-CPS as dual coagulant not only enhanced the turbidity removal with maximum achievement up to 91.47%, but also significantly improve the coagulation process by reducing both alum dosage and settling time up to 50% which indicates broad prospects to be further developed as emerging green coagulant.
TL;DR: Routing scheme with Traffic Redirection and Rate Control (R-TRRC) for congestion detection and mitigation for BSNs is proposed and the experimental results shows that the propsed scheme carries out better results in terms of energy efficiency and network lifetime of B SNs.
Abstract: Advances in wireless communication technologies invented body sensor networks (BSNs) for health care systems. BSN monitor’s patients’ health remotely and automatically. It is economical and helpful solution for both patients and healthcare providers. WSN is made up of small Bio-medical sensors (BMSs) and Body Coordinator (BC). BMSs sense and transmit data continuously. As BSN consist of many BMSs, the simultaneous data transmission results in congestion in the network. Congestion causes packet drops which attempt to be retransmitted. In this work, we propose Routing scheme with Traffic Redirection and Rate Control (R-TRRC) for congestion detection and mitigation for BSNs. The experimental results shows that the propsed scheme carries out better results in terms of energy efficiency and network lifetime of BSNs.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focused on the twill yarn kenaf woven composite structure and found that orientations were significant on tensile and modulus strength performances, and they used the Taguchi method for optimization which can reduce the time consumed rather than using experimental approach.
Abstract: Natural fibres have been explored by many researchers. Natural fibres have the potential aspect to replace glass fibre in fibre-reinforced composites application. Kenaf is also one of the selected natural fibres that have bio resource profit regarding on their capability to absorb energy absorption especially. This study focused on the twill yarn kenaf woven composite structure. Composites were prepared using the hand lay-up method with different type of orientation each layered arrangement by Taguchi. The hardened composites were cured for 24 hours before it was shaped according to ASTM D3039. Taguchi method is used in this study for optimization which can reduce the time consumed rather than using experimental approach. The result shows orientations were significant on tensile and modulus strength performances. After optimizations, the values of tensile and modulus strength was 55.738 MPa and 5761.704 Joule, which is increasing 3.77% for tensile strength and 4.23% for Young modulus. By comparing fracture mechanism before and after optimizations, there was clear decreasing fracture surface. It indicated that, the mechanical behavior performances of the twill woven kenaf reinforced composites can be effectively improved by this method.
TL;DR: Signal attenuation is considered the major contributor to the TDOA estimation error and the effect of the signal attenuation based on path loss propagation model on the PE accuracy of the MLAT system is determined.
Abstract: The 3-Dimensional (3-D) position estimation (PE) accuracy of a multilateration (MLAT) system depends on several factors one of which is the accuracy at which the time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements are obtained. In this paper, signal attenuation is considered the major contributor to the TDOA estimation error and the effect of the signal attenuation based on path loss propagation model on the PE accuracy of the MLAT system is determined. The two path loss propagation models are considered namely: Okumura-Hata and the free space path loss (FSPL) model. The transmitter and receiver parameters used for the analysis are based on actual system used in the civil aviation. Monte Carlo simulation result based on square ground receiving station (GRS) configuration and at selected aircraft positions shows that the MLAT system with the Okumura-Hata model has the highest PE error. The horizontal coordinate and altitude error obtained with the Okumura-Hata are 2.5 km and 0.6 km respectively higher than that obtained with the FSPL model
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identified the major factor that contributes to delays in construction in Klang Valley, Malaysia, by considering all viewpoint from various parties that involves in construction process such as contractors, client, consultant and others.
Abstract: Construction industry has become one of the greatest income provider as it has contributed to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for Malaysia. However, construction sector has been much affected by unexpected situation such as construction delays. Delays in construction industry is one of the common problems that happened to most construction projects. By considering all viewpoint from various parties that involves in construction process such as contractors, client, consultant and others, this research identified the major factor that contributes to delays in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Questionnaires were distributed among respondents that involved in construction project in Klang Valley. The process of data analysis was conducted by using descriptive statistic that ranked the mean value of factors that contributes to delays. By using the ranking method, financial difficulties were recognized as the most significant factor that caused delays. Thus, by using the same method, some mitigation action has been proposed in order to avoid time overrun in construction
TL;DR: This paper focuses on the assumptions and boundary conditions used to model the SOFC stack by using a CFD method, and results can help elucidate the significance of assumptions and boundaries used in the CFD modeling of SOFCs.
Abstract: Performance tests are vital for the development of solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and can help determine the potential of developed SOFCs. However, the challenges in performing these tests such as cost, time, and safety limit the development of SOFCs. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can be used to numerically predict the performance of developed SOFCs. CFD methods enable the exploration of many design and operational parameters that are difficult to assess experimentally. This paper focuses on the assumptions and boundary conditions used to model the SOFC stack by using a CFD method. Through the discussions, we briefly explain several assumptions that are commonly found in SOFC modeling. These assumptions are important because they can influence the modeling processes and parameters required for simulations. The boundary conditions required for SOFC modeling are then described to provide an overview on how SOFC operations are incorporated into the model and simulations. Our results can help elucidate the significance of assumptions and boundary conditions used in the CFD modeling of SOFCs
TL;DR: In this paper, the mechanical properties of concrete containing Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) and Rice Husk Ash (RHA) as replacement of concrete in concrete and also the combination of both materials as pozzolan in one concrete mix were studied.
Abstract: The increase in agricultural waste has been one of the main concerns today. Usually, the excessive waste is dumped in the landfill without any consideration to the environment. Previous research has found that waste containing highly reactive silica can react with calcium hydroxide in concrete resulting in a compact concrete microstructure. Hence, this paper focuses on the mechanical properties of concrete containing Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) and Rice Husk Ash (RHA) as replacement of cement in concrete and also the combination of both materials as pozzolan in one concrete mix. Properties studied include its workability for fresh concrete, and compressive strength of hardened concrete. Replacement level for POFA and RHA was at 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, and 30% by weight of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). Results show that the addition of 10% to 30% of POFA and RHA reduces concrete workability from 35 mm to 20 mm for POFA and 39 mm to 21mm for RHA. Replacement of POFA and RHA at 10% has the highest compressive strength compared to other replacement level. Finally, the optimum combination for POFA and RHA to achieve the targeted strength of 30 MPa was recorded at 10% POFA and 15% RHA.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the mechanical properties of brittle epoxy resins when modified by liquid epoxidized natural rubber (LENR) for toughening purposes.
Abstract: Epoxies are defined as well-established thermoset cross-linked polymers in which the cross-linking is derived from reactions of the epoxy group. Commercial epoxy resin contains aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, or aromatic back bones. The most widely used is epichlorohydrin and bisphenol-A derived resin. Epoxies were developed, principally by Ciba AG (Switzerland) and the Dovoe and Raynolds Co. (USA) [1-3]. Epoxy resins consist of threedimensional networks or agglomerates of moderate molecular weight. As the molecular polymerize through crosslinking, their rotational and rotational freedom is reduced, which reduces the chances of the primary bonds to be set up with adjacent molecules. The tensile and comprehensive strength of epoxy resins are increased if the distance between crosslinks is shortened. Shorter crosslink distances imply high volume concentration of epoxy group and hence a higher probability of reaction of all the epoxy groups. Epoxy resin also have good properties with good stiffness, specific strength, dimensional stability, high heat distortion temperature and chemical resistance [1, 4-5, 21]. For these reasons, it is also the most common polymer used in fibre and filler reinforced polymers for structural applications. However, epoxy is known to be brittle with poor mechanical properties, in terms of strength and toughness, thus preventing the use of this polymer in applications that require stability and high mechanical performance. Many researchers reported that to toughen epoxy resin, a common method is introducing particles in the resin, including liquid rubbers, thermoplastics, copolymers, silica nanoparticles, silicate layers, core shell particles, and combinations of these [6-10]. Synthetics rubbers containing methyl, hydroxyl, carboxyl, anhydride or thiol groups potentially react with the epoxy resins. Barcia et al. [11] used hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) as surface modifier in carbon fiber reinforced, epoxy matrix composites. Rubbers with carboxyl groups in the chain however may be cured with the epoxy resin to increase elongation and to decrease the tensile strength and hardness. Bussi and Ishida [12] studied the mechanical properties of the blends of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) based epoxy resin and hydroxyl terminated, internally epoxidized polybutadiene rubber. In order to improve mechanical properties, the epoxidized rubber was pre-reacted with an excess diepoxide to achieve better bonding between the rubber particles and the epoxy continuous phase. Nigam et al. [13] studied the changes in mechanical properties of epoxy cresol novolac (ECN) resin by liquid carboxy terminated copolymer of butadiene acrylonitrile (CTBN) modification. Extensive study had been carried out to increase the toughness, and these include using glass beads, alumina Abstract: Epoxy matrix widely used in polymer composites as a reinforcement material due to its outstanding performance. Epoxy matrix exhibit good mechanical and thermal properties such as good stiffness, dimensional stability and high heat distortion temperature. However, it is known that epoxy had brittleness and exhibit low toughness. This study investigates the mechanical properties of brittle epoxy resin when modified by liquid epoxidized natural rubber for toughening purposes. Liquid epoxidized natural rubber (LENR) was introduced to the epoxy with five different loadings of 1%, 3%, 5%, 7% and 9% by weight. The mechanical strength (flexural strength, flexural modulus, tensile strength, tensile modulus and impact strength) of the rubber toughened epoxy composites were investigated. The results showed that the addition of liquid epoxidized natural rubber (LENR) had improved the flexural modulus, flexural strength and impact strength by 47%, 40%, and 22% respectively at 3% loading.
TL;DR: A smart river monitoring system (SRMS) that uses unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones and low power wide area (LPWA) communication technology to monitor and study the changes in water quality in Malaysia.
Abstract: River is a major source of water in Malaysia and one of the major threats to its sustainability is pollution. The existing methods for monitoring of water quality in rivers are manual monitoring and continuous monitoring. These methods are costly and less efficient. Hence, we propose a smart river monitoring system (SRMS) that uses unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones and low power wide area (LPWA) communication technology. The Internet of Things (IoT) and data analytic are promising techniques which provide real-time monitoring and enhances efficiency. However, due to the span of river that needs to be monitored, conventional communication technology such as Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Bluetooth are not suitable. Hence, there is the need for LPWA communication technology. We discuss the application of LPWA and UAV for sustainability of rivers in Malaysia as a case study. Preliminary results show that the use of UAV will increase the efficiency of measuring the water quality parameters compared to manual monitoring method. Also, real-time monitoring enables us to study the changes in water quality. Finally, we provide future direction in the application of UAV and LPWA for sustainability in river.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors presented the computational-based ballistic limit of laminated metal panels comprised of high-strength steel and aluminium alloy Al7075-T6 plates to necessitate a weight reduction of 25% in the existing armour steel plate using three different joining materials.
Abstract: This paper presents the computational-based ballistic limit of laminated metal panels comprised of high-strength steel and aluminium alloy Al7075-T6 plates to necessitate a weight reduction of 25% in the existing armour steel plate using three different joining materials. Numerical models of the triple-layered panels were developed using the commercial Explicit Finite Element code and were impacted by a 7.62-mm armour-piercing projectile at velocities ranging from 400 m/s to 1000 m/s. The ballistic performance of each configuration plate in terms of the ballistic limit velocity, depth of penetration and end of penetration, was quantified and considered. It was found that the panels with joining materials exhibited a better ballistic limit on an average of 1.5% than that of the panel without a joining material. The penetration depth of the panel joined by polyurethane possessed the lowest depth of 22 mm with a higher contact duration compared to the panel without a joining material. This happened because the polyurethane adhesive was better able to absorb energy at a high strain rate impact than the other joining materials. Thus, based on the investigation that was carried out, polyurethane seems to be the most interesting option for joining different metals of Ar500 and Al7075-T6 as a laminated panel for armoured vehicle applications.
TL;DR: In this article, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of air flow past a 2D model NACA0012 airfoil at high Reynolds number (Re = 3.0 x 106) at various angles of attack (-10° to 15°).
Abstract: This paper presented a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of air flow past a 2D model NACA0012 airfoil at high Reynolds number (Re = 3.0 x 106) at various angles of attack (-10° to 15°). The simulations were undertaken to inform on how the fluid flowed around the airfoil by solving the steady state governing equations of continuity and momentum conservation that are combined with one of three turbulence models Spalart-Allmaras, Realizable k-e and k-ω shear stress transport (SST). It is observed that the Realizable k- e eliminates the small separation bubble on the upper surface of the airfoil and delaying separation flow. Also, for the lift coefficient, CL and drag coefficient, CD investigated in this paper, the predicted data have good agreement with other published data.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide an overview of the challenges faced by each component such as the materials, the design of stack, fabrication cost and related research in fabricating high power SOFC stacks.
Abstract: Despite being the most efficient and quiet operation type of fuel cells, solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) deal with several constraints in terms of fabrication cost, material selection and durability issues due to their high operating temperature. The high operating temperature of SOFCs limits their stationary and large-scale applications. Moreover, these constraints restrict the commercialization of portable SOFCs. Therefore, the operation temperature of SOFCs must be reduced to overcome the aforementioned problems. However, this task is challenging because the operation temperature mainly affects the material preparation and the stack design to produce the electrical power needed for small-scale applications. This paper provides an overview of the challenges faced by each component such as the materials, the design of stack, fabrication cost and related research in fabricating high power SOFC stacks.
TL;DR: In this paper, the optimization of COD and NH3-N reduction from a stabilised leachate by zeolite (ZE) and moringa oleifera leaf powder (MP) mixture using response surface methodology (RSM) and central composite design (CCD) was reported.
Abstract: This paper reported the optimization of COD and NH3-N reduction from a stabilised leachate by zeolite (ZE) and moringa oleifera leaf powder (MP) mixture using response surface methodology (RSM) and central composite design (CCD). Quadratic polynomial equations were obtained for the removal process. An initial experiment was conducted to establish the optimum mixed ratio between ZE:MP and resulted in a ratio of 24:16. Independent variables investigated in the subsequent optimization experiments include pH ,dosage and contact time. The results revealed that the optimal reduction of COD and NH3-N from landfill leachate was considerable at pH 5.9 , optimal time of 113 minutes and 100gL-1 of adsorbent dosage with desirability value of 0.917. The upper limits for the actual versus predicted reduction were 70.14 against 69.13% and 86.94 against 86.55 % respectively for COD and NH3-N which defined that the experimental values were relatively close to the predicted values. The study also revealed that ZE:MP mixture has a very high potential for the remediation of COD and NH3-N from a stabilized leachate.
TL;DR: In this article, the potential of integrating the PAC into PES membrane was evaluated and its performance was assessed, and the results showed that the membrane with higher concentration of PAC integrated will have better performance in both pollutant removal ability as well as the membrane fouling control.
Abstract: The development of water treatment system to produce low cost & high quality effluent has become extremely important nowadays. Since year 1960, membrane technology has transformed from laboratory stage to industrial applications stage. The development of newer membrane modules in recent years helps the membrane industry growth rapidly, but the technology is still not so universal due to membrane fouling issue. Additional of PAC directly into the treatment system has proven to be a promising strategy to reduce membrane fouling and improve efficiency of the system. However, there are also drawbacks caused by excessive PAC within a treatment system. In this study, the potential of integrating the PAC into PES membrane was evaluated and its performance was assessed. The result shows that the PAC integrated membrane has higher permeation rate, which is 231 L/m 2 .hr compare to the one without PAC integrated membrane, which only has 89 L/m 2 .hr. In addition, PAC integrated membrane was able to achieve up to 81% and 67% removal rate, compared to the one without PAC integrated which only can remove 10% and 35% of COD and color respectively. Besides, the structural property of the membranes was observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed a trend where the membrane with higher concentration of PAC integrated will have better performance in both pollutant removal ability as well as the membrane fouling control.
TL;DR: The proposed Multi-Criteria Decision Making techniques combined weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment and Additive Ratio Assessment with Age Replacement Model with ARM for the determination optimum scheduled replacement time interval are validating the suitability of the proposed approaches.
Abstract: The productivity of manufacturing/service industries greatly depend on the safety and reliability of the machinery/service system use for production/service delivery. The safety and reliability of the system can only be guaranteed through efficient maintenance. Scheduled replacement is an integral element of maintenance strategies. The major challenge of the maintenance policy is the determination of the optimum interval for carrying out replacement of equipment item of machinery/service system. A number of approaches have been applied in the literature in addressing this problem but these techniques have one limitation or another. In this paper, an MCDM approaches which avoid these limitations is proposed. The proposed Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) techniques combined weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS) and Additive Ratio Assessment (ARAS) with Age Replacement Model (ARM) for the determination optimum scheduled replacement time interval. The ARM for cost, reliability and downtime are aggregated using WASPAS and ARAS methods in order to rank alternative time intervals. The WASPAS and ARAS methods outputs are compared with another well-known technique in literature. To demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approaches a numerical example was applied. The result of the analysis revealed that, WASPAS and ARAS produces similar ranking for alternatives when compared with that of TOPSIS technique in the literature which is more computationally intensive, thereby validating the suitability of the proposed approaches.
TL;DR: An efficient parallel processing algorithm to perform the task of image segmentation is proposed with the foremost aim to analyze the threshold of data size at which the proposed method outperforms sequential programming method in terms of task execution time by analyzing the distribution of average CPU cores usage and its threads over the execution time.
Abstract: The use of sequential programming is slowly getting replaced by distributed and parallel computing which is widely being used in computing industries to handle tasks with big data and various high-end computing applications comprising of huge image and video data banks. Moreover, image processing using parallel computation is also gaining momentum in today's technological era. Nowadays researchers are coming up with various methodologies to tackle high scale image processing applications by implementing parallel computing methodologies to carry out the specified image processing application task and simultaneously checking its performance against sequential programming. At the same time there are constraints on what can be done to maximize the task performance using high end multi-core CPU's with advanced buses and interconnects that offer high bandwidth with low system latency. It is to be noted that there is no availability of standardized image processing task which can be used to evaluate a single node system. In this paper, we propose an efficient parallel processing algorithm to perform the task of image segmentation with the foremost aim to analyze the threshold of data size at which the proposed method outperforms sequential programming method in terms of task execution time by analyzing the distribution of average CPU cores usage and its threads over the execution time. The proposed methodology could be useful for researchers, as it can perform multiple image segmentation in parallel, which can save a lot of time of the user. For the purpose of comparison, we also implemented the same image segmentation task using sequential method of programming in an integrated development environment platform.
TL;DR: A novel technique is suggested to improve the PAPR reduction performance in the PTS technique by combining Hadamard matrix and the popular kinds of the partitioning schemes interleaving scheme, adjacent scheme, and pseudo-random scheme.
Abstract: The partial transmit sequence (PTS) considered as one of the efficient approaches to restrain the high peak to average-power ratio (PAPR) in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) frameworks. PTS relied on partitioning the input data block and rotate them with a set of the phase vectors. In this study, a novel technique is suggested to improve the PAPR reduction performance in the PTS technique by combining Hadamard matrix and the popular kinds of the partitioning schemes interleaving scheme (IL-PTS), adjacent scheme (Ad-PTS), and pseudo-random scheme (PR-PTS). The new approach employed Hadamard matrix to change some of the subcarrier phases of the partitioning scheme in the frequency-domain. The simulation results demonstrated that the new method improved the PAPR diminishment performance better than that of the PR-PTS and Ad-PTS. However, the proposed method achieved the same PAPR performance compared with the IL-PTS scheme.
TL;DR: In this article, Trichoderma reesei H002, a filamentous ascomycete fungus isolated from a polluted site in an orchard garden, Johor, Malaysia, was experimented for its biodegradation ability to degrade diesel oil.
Abstract: Bioremediation of aquatic environment could be a response to the oil spills threats. In this paper, Trichoderma reesei H002, a filamentous ascomycete fungus isolated from a polluted site in an orchard garden, Johor, Malaysia, was experimented for its biodegradation ability to degrade diesel oil. Varying nitrogen and carbon sources, pH, agitation on diesel oil by Trichoderma reesei H002 in liquid media were examined to find their impacts on TPHs, alkane, aromatic and NSO fractions of diesel oil degradation. Glucose and yeast extract were the most suitable nutrients for the development of T. reesei H002 and increased the degradation of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs up to 94.78% at the end of the study (40 days) at 25 0C. The degradation of TPHs were performed by gravimetric analysis and degradation of alkane and aromatic fractions were confirmed by GC-FID analysis. Based on the findings of T. reesei H002 for the biodegradation of diesel oil, it can be proposed that T. reesei H002 can be applied to bioremediate diesel oil spill in aquatic environment, therefore protect the ecosystem.
TL;DR: In this paper, the earth materials resistivity and chargeability for groundwater exploration at Kampung Jongok Batu, Dungun and Kampung Paya Rawa, Besut, respectively.
Abstract: Electrical resistivity and induced polarization surveys have been conducted for groundwater exploration at two different sites of geological aged i.e. Carboniferous and Quaternary. This study discussed the earth materials resistivity and chargeability for metasedimentary rock and unconsolidated sediment for groundwater exploration at Kampung Jongok Batu, Dungun and Kampung Paya Rawa, Besut, respectively. For this study Terrameter LS2, cable, electrode, cable connector, battery and remote cable are tools for measurement. The spacing between electrodes is 5 m, maximum length of spread line is 400 m and using Pole-Dipole protocol. Via comparing between the resistivity and chargeability values able to provide better interpretation for ground water exploration for metasedimentary rock and unconsolidated quaternary sediment. The result shows the important of chargeability for refining the resistivity value for locating the groundwater position.