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This paper presents the peridynamic (PD) numerical model for simulating a tensile test until total fracture for a brittle polymeric material namely polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). U-notched and V-notched specimens were used to investigate the effect of the notches on the elongation and fracture of PMMA. The tensile elongation of PMMA exhibits nonlinearity with respect to the applied load, while the fracture occurs when the material stress has reached the ultimate tensile stress of the material. Similar elongation and fracture properties were applied on PD simulations. Two types of elongation equation are used namely brittle and ductile equations to form PD-brittle and PD-ductile models. The published experimental data of tensile fracture test on notched PMMA specimens are used as reference to validate the simulations of the PD models. The PD numerical force-extension curves have good quantitative similarity for V-notched specimen but adequate quantitative similarity for U-notched specimen. As for the quality of the fractured specimen shape, the PD simulations have good similarity for the V-notched specimen but adequate similarity for the U-notched specimen. The plot of the internal force distribution from the simulations of PD shows good qualitative similarity to the plot of the stress distribution from the published data of FEM in terms of stress concentration. From the PD results, it is observed that the PD-ductile model has better capability in producing accurate simulation of the notched specimens than the PD-brittle model.

By combining the traditional slip casting technique and existing polymer rotary moulding concept a new process namely Ceramic Slip Rotary Moulding (CSRM) machine was established. The CSRM machine was developed to control parameters such as temperature (heating and cooling), time and speed. It is suitable for producing hollow ceramic products especially for ceramic materials such as fine bone china, which is a soft material used for tableware and art ware products due to its brightness and high strength. This research mainly focuses on the preparation of five different particle sizes of fine bone china measurements; 106 μm, 125 μm, 202 μm, 250 μm, and 300 μm respectively by using the CSRM machine. Different particle sizes of the fine bone china materials were tested to check the accurate and suitable wall thickness by controlling the temperature, speed, time and also the weight of the slip to get the best quality of fine bone china products. The parameters obtained will be the guidelines for the overall test to produce the best hollow fine bone china products.

A type of porous resin was proposed to replace the existing plaster mould for Ceramic Slip Rotary Moulding (CSRM) system. The proposed resin is often used in high pressure casting of ceramic sanitary ware and table ware. The effect of resin mould in terms of mechanical strength (flexural properties), porosity percentage and percentage of water absorption as well as moulding process were recorded and compared with previous studies of plaster mould. Five (5) samples of porous resin were prepared according to ASTM 790 for flexural test and ASTM D570 for water absorption test. To determine the porosity percentage, mercury porosimeter test was conducted. The result shows that higher the water plaster ratio resultant in higher porosity percentage and water absorption. The result showed that, the proposed porous resin has great potential in replacing plaster mould as mould material for CSRM system. The mould has a uniform open pore to enable the filtration process to take place within the mould and the slip and has a great mechanical strength. However, porous resin is still a semi-permanent mould with definite service life.

Magnesium phosphate glasses co-doped with Er3+/Nd3+ concentration were prepared using melt quenching technique and thermal annealing process was proposed to control any defects found in the glass samples. The physical and optical properties of the samples were investigated. The amorphous nature of the samples were confirmed using X-ray diffraction pattern. It shows that all samples are in amorphous state. The optical band gaps and Urbach energies were obtained from the optical absorption spectra. The studyshows that the optical band gap energy,Eopt isincreasingas the Nd2O3 content increased. Meanwhile, Urbach energies, ΔE decreased due to increase of Nd2O3 content. The results obtained from this study shows that the optical band gap, Eopt and the Urbach energy, ΔE are intherange of 3.95 –3.98 eV and 0.367 –0.437 eV respectively.

Compressive strength of concrete is the major mechanical properties of concrete that need to be focused on. Poor compressive strength will lead to low susceptibility of concrete structure towards designated actions. Many researches have been conducted to enhance the compressive strength of concrete by incorporating new materials in the concrete mixture. The dependencies towards natural resources can be reduced. Therefore, this paper presents the results of an experimental study concerning the incorporation of artificial lightweight bubbles aggregate (LBA) into cementations mixture in order to produce comparable compressive strength but at a lower densities. Three concrete mixtures containing various percentages of LBA, (10% - 50% of LBA) and one mixture used normal aggregate (NA) were prepared and characterized. The compressive strength of LBA in concrete was identified to be ranged between 39 MPa and 54 MPa. Meanwhile, the densities vary between 2000 kg/m3 to 2300 kg/m3.

This paper presents the effect of inserting swirler outlet orifice plate of different sizes at the exit plane of the radial air swirler in liquid fuel burner system. Tests were carried out with three different orifice plates with area ratios (orifice area to swirler exit area ratio) between 0.7 and 1.0 using 280 mm inside diameter combustor of 1000 mm length. Several tests were conducted using the commercial diesel as fuel. The fuel was injected at the back plate of the 45o vane angle swirler outlet using a central fuel injector with a single fuel nozzle pointing axially outwards. The aim of the insertion of orifice plates is to create the swirler pressure loss at the swirler outlet phase in order to maximise the swirler outlet shear layer turbulence to assist the fuel/air mixing. In the present work, the orifice plate with smaller area ratios exhibited very low NOX emissions for the whole operating equivalence ratios. The NOX reduction of more than 20 percent is achieved for orifice with 0.7 area ratio compared to 1.0 area ratio. Other emission such as carbon monoxide is increased with the decrease in the orifice area ratios. The results from this experiment show that good combustion is achieved by using smallest area ratios of orifice plate.

A series of wet braking tests has been performed using two different pad materials. Brake tests were conducted in different operating conditions i.e. dry, humid air and wet environment in which both pad samples were tested against grey cast iron disc at certain sliding speed and contact pressure. Wear analysis was performed to find correlation between presence of water and changes in brake pad wear characteristics. The results revealed that regardless of the frictional behaviour, wear rate for both pad materials tested at humid air and wet braking is significantly lower than in dry results.

Some machining process requires coolant to reduce the cutting temperature and helps to flush away the chips from the cutting zone. However, conventional flood coolant possesses some issues towards workers and the environment, regarding health and waste management. The implementation of Minimal Quantity Lubrication (MQL) as an alternative technique seems to be promising although the effectiveness of this technique were influenced by several factor. In turning process for instance, the distance of nozzle to the cutting zone contributes to the variation of machining performance. This study is to compare the effect on cutting performance between two internal MQL nozzle designs. The cutting tool holder were modified to have two internal MQL oil channel. The oil channel design were tested and the performance was evaluated in terms of cutting speed and cutting temperature for different cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut. The result shows that the single channel performs better in terms of cutting force while dual channel significantly improve the cutting temperature.

Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) is one of the solid waste in Malaysia and had trouble with the ash removal. Therefore, the use of waste oil palm ash can overcome the problem of solid waste. POFA is a pozzolanic material and it can act as a replacement of cement (OPC) to produce concrete with higher strength and low cost. POFA quality will increase as the range made up to a medium level of fineness in the size of 50 microns. POFA used to replace OPC is 0%, 10%, 30% and 50% by weight percent of OPC. POFA concrete compressive strength will be tested after a curing process that concrete age of 7 days and 28 days. POFA concrete density is also tested and compared with OPC concrete. Results showed that compressive strength POFA lower than normal concrete. On the other hand, the replacement of cement by 10% POFA shows a record high in compressive strength compared with other POFA mixing at the age of 7 days and 28 days. Fineness pozzolanic POFA is the best material and can be used as a cement replacement alternative.

In this work, the characterization of porous silicon (PS) for potential visible light emission was investigated by simulation. SILVACO TCAD simulator was used to simulate PS by using process simulator, ATHENA and device simulator, ATLAS. Different pore diameter sizes of the PS structures were constructed. The structural, optical and electrical characteristics of the structures PS were investigated by current-voltage (I-V), current gain, spectral response and the energy band gap. It was observed that PS enhances the current gain compare to bulk Si and exhibited photo emission in the visible spectrum which constitutes to the quantum confinement effect of the Si in the PS structures.

In order to promote the efficient use of composite materials in civil engineering infrastructure, effort is being directed at the development of design criteria for composite structures. Insofar as design with regard to behavior is concerned, it is well known that a key step is to investigate the influence of geometric differences on the non-linear behavior of the panels. One possible approach is to use the validated numerical model based on the non-linear finite element analysis (FEA). The validation of the composite panel’s element using Trim-deck and Span-deck steel sheets under axial load shows that the present results have very good agreement with experimental references. The developed finite element (FE) models are found to reasonably simulate load-displacement response, stress condition, giving percentage of differences below than 15% compared to the experimental values. Trim-deck design provides better axial resistance than Span-deck. More concrete in between due to larger area of contact is the factor that contributes to its resistance.

Water abstraction for water treatment of portable water especially riverbank filtration (RBF) is essential to be safe and clean. Due to the awareness towards the spread of contaminants and deterioration of water resources, the needs of artificial barrier is seen as crucial. An artificial barrier is a man-made vertical barrier to pre-treat the abstraction water from the water intake structure. The proposed artificial barrier is a mixture of sand (local soil), granular activated carbon (GAC) and zeolite. In this study, the three adsorbents were tested for their adsorption and permeability. The effects of adsorbent dose on the adsorption of the turbidity, iron and zinc were investigated. After treatment with sand, the levels of turbidity, iron and zinc were observed to decrease by 93.7%, 85.15% and 68.5%, respectively. For GAC, the levels of turbidity, iron and zinc decreased by 96.9%, 99.2% and 36.3%, respectively. The reduction on the levels of turbidity, iron and zinc was preferable by zeolite with 98.3%, 93.0% and 98.8%, respectively. By using Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm, the result indicated that the adsorption of adsorbents mostly obeyed Freundlich model. The relationship is an empirical equation which has an asymptotic maximum as pressure increase without bond.

This paper presents the clustering technique for distributed generation planning considering load models. The study concerns on the effect of different load model prior to the DG installation for single objective implementation in loss minimization scheme. The clustering technique is performed in order to identify the DG placement for DG planning. Results from the study could be beneficial for the energy commission and utility to perform the DG installation as a compensating technique. The proposed technique was tested on 69-Bus Distribution System.

This paper presents the analysis on load models for cost optimization for distributed generation planning. The Embedded Meta EP – Firefly Algorithm technique is performed in order to identify the optimal distributed generation sizing. The result obtained show that the proposed technique has an acceptable performance to simulate the data and voltage dependent load models have a significant effect on total losses of a distribution system consequently will affect the cost of the system.

This paper presents a new approach known as Modified Swarm Firefly Algorithm (MSFA) technique in solving Directional Overcurrent Relays (DOCRs) coordination problem by minimizing the operating time of primary relays at near-end fault. DOCRs coordination requires the optimal values of Time Multiplier Setting (TMS) whereas the pickup current (Ip) values are based on load and data fault. The proposed technique is tested on IEEE 14-bus system and is compared with Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). The simulation results revealed that the MSFA technique outperformed PSO in terms of minimizing fitness values.

This paper demonstrates the implementation of P&O MPPT controller. The proposed controller was written and compiled in mikroC and later incorporated to a low cost PIC18F4550 microcontroller. Open loop simulation using Proteus Isis was conducted to test the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. Results obtained from simulation proved the effectiveness of the proposed controller making it suitable for hardware implementation.

Malaysia nowadays depends heavily on conventional energy resource for generating electricity and transportation. This will give negative impact and trigger other problems if not well managed. Therefore, it is very important to increase the use of renewable energy especially the tidal energy as the tidal energy is more predictable and reliable renewable energy source. A kinetic energy produced by the tidal differences will be used to generate electricity and involves the use of a tidal turbine. There are two approaches that are being used to harness the tidal energy for the generation of electricity which are barrage approach and tidal stream approach. This paper identify the potential region along west coast of peninsular Malaysia that has higher potential power generation for harnessing tidal energy and study which approach suitable to be applied. From the results, show that the highest potential power generation for harnessing tidal energy is at Pelabuhan Klang with the average power availability is 591.19kW while the lowest is at Tanjung Keling with the average potential power generation is 52.75kW.

Switches fault in power converter has become compelling issues over the years. To reduce cost and maintenance downtime, a good fault detection technique is an essential. In this paper, the performance of STFT and S transform techniques are analysed and compared for voltage source inverter (VSI) switches faults. The signal from phase current is represented in jointly time-frequency representation (TFR) to estimate signal parameters and characteristics. Then, the degree of accuracy for both STFT and S transform are determined by the lowest value of mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). The results demonstrate that S transform gives better accuracy compare to STFT and is suitable for VSI switches faults detection and identification system.

This paper presents sizing software for the design of a solar farm system. The sizing software provides few guidelines to the designer for the planning procedure before the final of optimum array configuration is decided. Some specifications that the designer may consider are the type of PV module, the type of inverter, the available space for installation, the required energy per year and also the sum of money to be allocated for the instalment. The output result of this software will be the suggestion of possible configuration of the total number of modules in series per string with the total number of strings in parallel. This software also does the prediction of the system performances such as final yield, specific yield and performance ratio. The expected income is provided by the software is based on the Feed-in Tariff rates and the energy generated by the system.

The installation of distributed generation (DG) gives advantages to the environment such as, it contribute in the reduction of non-peak operating cost, diversification of energy resources, lower losses thus improving overall organization. These advantages might be rescinded if no proper location and sizing of DGs are considered before the DG’s installation. This paper offers an optimal location and sizing of multiple DGs using heuristic method called gravitational search algorithm (GSA). The suggested algorithm is tested on 13-bus radial distribution system. This method is being compared with particle swarm optimization (PSO) in terms of system power loss, voltage deviation and total voltage harmonic distortion (THDv). GSA shows the ability to locate and sized DG optimally with a better performance and more reliable than PSO.

Renewable energy is an alternative option that can be substituted for future energy demand. Many type of battery are used in commerce to propel portable power and this makes the task of selecting the right battery type is crucial. This paper presents the analysis of voltage charging and discharging for lead acid battery using time-frequency distribution (TFD) which is spectrogram. Spectogram technique is used to represent the signals in the time-frequency representation (TFR). The parameter of a signal such as instantaneous root mean square (RMS) voltage, direct current voltage (VDC) and alternating current voltage (VAC) are estimated from the TFR to identify the signal characteristics. This analysis, focus on lead-acid battery with nominal battery voltage of 6 and 12V and storage capacity from 5 until 50Ah. The battery is a model using MATLAB/SIMULINK and the results show that spectrogram technique is capable to identify and determine the signal characteristic of Lead Acid battery.

This paper compares overall efficiency of trapezoidal BLDC motor which is excited by trapezoidal drive and sinusoidal drive. The different characteristics and performance of trapezoidal Brushless DC (BLDC) motor is formed by driving methods. Sinusoidal drive that excites trapezoidal BLDC motor generates greater maximum torque than trapezoidal drive. However, with regard to high frequency loss caused by a pulse width modulation (PWM) carrier and switching loss, the trapezoidal drive has potential to achieve higher efficiency than the sinusoidal drive. Thus, these two drive methods excite trapezoidal BLDC motor are compared to study the efficiency performance. The motors drives are simulated by using MATLAB and their efficiency are measured. The results show that the trapezoidal BLDC motor with trapezoidal drive has higher efficiency compared to trapezoidal BLDC motor with sinusoidal drive.

Programmable logic controller (PLC) is a basic and essential element in the engineering of industrial automation. Therefore, basic knowledge of the early stages of PLC plays an important role, especially for mechatronics and manufacturing engineering students. However, due to limited equipment available, high cost equipment, high trainer student ratios, and low reliability of existing equipment, many educational institutions do cannot provide the sufficient resources necessary to help students to become proficient with PLC technology. To alleviate these main problems, the PLC Trainer Kit Simulator is to be developed and used in the Automation Lab at Polytechnic of Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah (POLIMAS). The PLC Trainer Kit Simulator will be used to help student on PLC applications for basic course in JF506 Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory. This study is a descriptive study with a quantitative approach. Evaluation will be determined based on pre-test and post-test. This paper reviews the necessity of the simulation kit prior to its implementation. It is expected that, the teaching and learning processes could become more effective thus contribute to positive impacts on students’ interest in learning PLC.

This paper presents a selective harmonic elimination (SHE) modulation technique for cascaded H-bridge (CHB) multilevel inverter. The main advantage of the proposed SHE concept is its simple implementation to eliminate the specific order harmonics. The procedures used to achieve the appropriate switching angles are presented. The switching angles are offline computed using the Newton-Raphson method. The SHE scheme of the adopted inverter uses the relationship between the angles and a sinusoidal reference waveform through some combinational logic gates. Theoretical results are verified by the experimental work of a single-phase 7-level CHB inverter employing an Altera DE2 field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Results show the inverter producing an optimum stepped output voltage when selected low-order harmonics are eliminated and the voltage total harmonic distortion (THD) is improved.

Batteries are essential components of most electrical devices and one of the most important parameters in batteries is storage capacity. It represents the maximum amount of energy that can be extracted from the battery under certain specified condition. This paper presents the analysis of charging and discharging battery signal using periodogram. The periodogram converts waveform data from the time domain into the frequency domain and represents the distribution of the signal power over frequency. This analysis focuses on four types of batteries which are lead-acid (LA), lithium-ion (Li-ion), nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) and nickel-metal-hydride (Ni-MH). This paper used battery model from MATLAB/SIMULINK software and the nominal voltage of each battery is 6 and 12V while the capacity is 10 and 20Ah, respectively. The analysis is done and the result shows that varying capacity produce different power at a frequency and voltage at DC component.

Micro milling of super alloy materials such as nickel based alloys such as Inconel 718 is challenging due to the excellent of its mechanical properties. Therefore, new techniques have been suggested to enhance the machinability of nickel based alloys by pre-heating the workpiece’s surface to reduce its strength and ductility. The prediction of fluctuated temperature distribution generated by pulsed wave laser in laser assisted micro milling (LAMM) is crucial. The selection of processing parameter by minimize the effect on the processing characteristic is decisive to ensure the machining quality is high. Determining the effect of heat generated in underneath surface is important to make sure that the cutting tools are able to cut the material with maximum depth of cut and minimum defects in terms of tool wear and tool life. In this study the simulation was carried by using Ansys APDL. In order to confirm the actual and distribution irradiation of temperature from simulation, an experimental was done to validate the results. The experiment was conducted by using Nd:YAG laser with wavelength 1064 nm.

Titanium is a lightweight metal with an outstanding combination of properties which make it the material of choice for many different applications. This paper investigates the structure, surface characteristics and electrical properties of the Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) thin film, deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The deposition temperature was 1000°C with 3 different positions of the glass substrates. The surface morphologies were examined using a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and an atomic force microscopy (AFM). In order to investigate the structural properties, the TiO2thickness was measured using a surface profiler. The optical properties of TiO2were measured using an ultraviolet visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis). The surface morphology was found to be sensitive to the deposition parameters and the growth TiO2is more uniform when the position of substrate is closed to the starting material.

In the last years, there is an increasing acknowledgment of our impact on the environment due to our lifestyle, while the need to adopt a more sustainable approach as to our consumption habits emerges as of particular significance. This trend regards industrial sectors affecting the consumption habits and, especially, electronic industry where the short life cycles and the rapidly developing technology have led to increased e-waste volumes, such as discarded electronic equipment. Waste Electric and Electronic Product or E-waste is referred to all kind of electric and electronic equipments and appliances that is thrown by users. The majority of such elements result in landfills because it is inexpensive disposal option. The E-waste has become a matter of concern because of toxic and hazardous present in electronic goods and if not properly managed. This equipments are a complicated assembly of thousand material, many of which one highly toxic such as brominates substances, toxic gases, toxic metals, biologically active material, acids, plastics and plastics additives. However, their partial recyclability, due to their material composition along with the unavoidable restrictions in landfills, has led to the development of retrieval techniques for their recycling and re-use, highlighting the significance of e-waste recycling, not only from a waste management aspect but also from a valuable materials' retrieval aspect. This paper provides an overview of E-waste generation and management in Malaysia, which, with rapid economic growth and urbanization, is becoming a major social and environmental issue. Thus, major concern for E-waste management in Malaysia has addressed to environmental protection, compared to quantity control. The challenge now is to make the practice effectively in the many different contexts in Malaysia.

Lightweight aggregate for concrete was produced by utilizing palm-based polyurethane (PU) as a substantial material. New types of green PU were prepared by reacting palm kernel oil polyol (PKO-p) with 2, 4-methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (crude MDI). Six attempts on rigid PU were investigated to determine the reaction time, density, compressive strength, and thermal conductivity. An additional polyol showed high density between 200-300 kg/m3. The compressive strength and thermal conductivity improved to 11.5 MPa and 0.060 W/mK, respectively. As a conclusion, the results of palm-based PU showed excellent properties established the lightweight aggregate and insulation material in the concrete technology.

Currently in concrete technology a lot of materials were introduced to improve the quality and properties of concrete. Additional materials include the use of steel fibers into the concrete mix. With the used of steel fibers, it can enhance the strength of the concrete. In this research, two parameters will be investigated which is the volume friction of the steel fiber and the length of the steel fiber. End-hooked steel fiber with the length of 33 mm and 50 mm and the percentage of steel fiber 0.5 %, 1.0 % and 1.5 % used in this research. The size of the mold used is 100 mm x 100 mm x 100 mm. The characteristics during the fresh concrete were also investigated by conducting the slump test, compaction test and vebe test. All the samples has been cured in the water for 7th, 14th and 28th days for the compressive strength test. Based on result, it was concluded that the optimum percentage of steel fiber in this report was 1.0 % for the end-hooked steel fiber with 33 mm length which provided the highest compressive strength at 28 days.

In recent years, minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) machining is regarded as a promising method for reducing machining cost and cutting fluid, while improving cutting performance. However the effectiveness and the working principle of MQL are still questionable with very few explanations provided. The aim of this study is to determine the optimum distance between the nozzle and tool tip and appropriate flow pattern of the mist flow for minimum quantity lubricant using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and Computer Fluid Dynamic (CFD) for optimizing the spraying conditions thus reducing the lubricant consumption. The spray from the nozzle with outlet diameter of 2.5mm is analysed using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to measure the mist flow velocity and identify the flow pattern. The input pressure of 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4MPa will be discharged throughout the experiment. Higher pressure produce more mass flow rate which helps in reducing the cutting force and cutting temperature efficiently and prolong tool life. Thus the appropriate distance can reduce lubricant consumption and increase the cooling and lubricating ability with best nozzle position. The applied distance increases the efficiencies of MQL applied during machining process.

Functional recovery of upper limb after stroke is crucial to restore the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL). This paper presents a robotic rehabilitation approach based on repetitive exercise aimed to help stroke survivors relearn the skills of finger flexion and extension at the comfort of their home. The finger rehabilitation device deploysShape Memory Alloy(SMA) wires as an actuation approach to deliver three degrees of freedom per finger module. The advantages and challenges of using SMA wires rather than conventional actuators are discussed. A prototype of the finger rehabilitation device was built using PLA material and experiments have been conducted for the purposes of feasibility study. Tests conducted on the wires suggest that it has to have sufficient weight and also has to be stretching at high temperature rather than room temperature in order to have an optimum range of recovery.

Ultrasonic Tomography has a dominant role in industry to generate cross sectional images of any object. In this paper, method of designing an Ultrasonic Tomography System due to the propagation manner of ultrasonic wave inside the various materials is investigated. The correct method of mounting of Ultrasonic sensors and behavior of the ultrasonic wave propagation in different layers has been simulated by the use of finite element software (COMSOL Multiphysics 3.5). To increase in practical nondestructive evaluation and inspection, we should increase our understanding of the basic physics and wave mechanics associated with guided wave inspection. A suitable ultrasonic sensor base on its efficiency and satisfying the simulation criteria is found and practically implemented on the surface of metal pipe. it is done by estimating the resonance frequency of sensor due to manner of ultrasonic wave propagation in different frequencies shown in simulation results. The proposed optimum frequency for the applied sensors is 40 kHz in which is tested practically and experimental results prove the high efficiency of this system.

This article highlights the importance of management review in the implementation, maintenance and continuous improvement of the environmental management system (EMS). According to the audit requirements, top level management of the organization must analyze the environmental management system at predetermined intervals, in order to ensure that the EMS is properly, adequate and effective maintained. Three main concepts are explored: the motivations for ISO 14001certification, the perceived benefits of this certification and specific requirements and documents for certification audit of EMS which are used at management reviews.

Green composite material has become the most desired material to replace polymer composites made from fossil oil. Besides having advantages over its biodegradability and quality performances, the material sources are abundant and renewable. Therefore, this research focused on developing green composite which is derived from a combination of pineapple leaf fibers (PALF) and Polylactide (PLA). PALF is extracted from pineapple leaves which are easily found during harvesting pineapple plantation. In order to study the influences of different fibres characterization, the fibres were extracted from different types of pineapple available in Malaysia, namely Moris Gajah, Jasopine, Maspine, and N36. The main objective of this study was to investigate the physical and mechanical properties of this green composite. The physical testing was carried out to determine water absorption while the tensile and bending tests were conducted for mechanical testing. For the purpose of comparing the material properties, PALF reinforced polypropelene (PP) was developed too. Based on the result, Jasopine fibre shows the highest tensile and flexural strength for the combination of both polymers in comparison to the other types of PALF.

One of the requirements of ISO 14001 is that the organization must ensure that any person, including personnel working for and on behalf of organization, that have the potential to cause significant environmental impacts is well trained and competent. The personnel competencies can be defined by education, training and/or appropriate experience. In this regard, this paper briefly present requirements and specific documents for proper audit of requirement 4.4.2 that will constitute evidence of practical implementation of SR EN ISO 14001:2005.

Open-switch and short-switch in a three-phase voltage source inverter (VSI) have a possibility to fault due to problems of switching devices.Any failure of the system in these applications may incur a cost and risk human live. Therefore, knowledgeon the fault mode behaviour of an inverter is extremely important from the standpoint of system design improvement, protection and fault detection. This paper presents detailed simulation results on condition monitoring and fault behaviour of VSI. The results obtained from the developed monitoring system allows user to identify the fault current. The developed system showed the capability in detecting the performance of VSI as well as identifying the characteristics of type of faults. This system provides a precaution and early detection of fault, thus reduces high maintenance cost and prevent critical fault from happening.

This paper presents the characteristics of the doped polysilicon nanowire for pH sensors. The fabrication involved two chromium mask designs. Example the first mask is used for the polysilicon nanowire pattern and the other one is for pad patterning. It involved of photolithography, deposition, etching and wet oxidation process. Different length, number of polysilicon are fabricated and then subjected to voltage, current and pH measurement. APTES is being introduced to improve the sensitivity of the polysilicon nanowire. For the low pH, the conductivity is high, while for the high pH, the conductivity is low. The impact on investigating length is insignificant to the sensitivity of the doped polysilicon nanowire.

Optimization gap size and integration of TiO2nanoparticles thin film produce a sensitive sensor device. Sol-gel spin coated TiO2nanoparticles thin film is coated on a conventional fabricated IDEs with gap sizes of 7 μm, 10 μm, 14 μm and 17 μm which is then validated through electrical characterization. I-V characteristics of without and with TiO2thin film of various gap sizes are subjected to pH test are then plotted to describe the resistance of the devices and correlate with the sensitivity measurement. Sensing devices show that devices with larger spacing and greater pH values have higher current. On the other hand, integration of TiO2thin film reduced the resistance of devices. Among the four gap sizes, 7 μm gap sized device is the most sensitive one due to the tremendous difference after small amount of pH dropped on surface, thus lowering the detection limit.

Functionalized of Multi Wall Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs) were demonstrated using the nitric acid (HNO3) oxidation technique in order to get opened caps, removing carbonaceous and metal particles impurities for carboxylic groups (-COOH). The surface morphology and the existence of the carboxyl-group on the MWCNTs were examined using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), respectively. The carboxylic groups were observed at the peak of 1640.40cm-1via FTIR and indicate the absorbance intensity of the functionalized MWCNTs is 2.22 A which is higher than raw material. Furthermore, SEM image shows the bundle of structure on the raw MWCNTs signified the Van der Waals interaction between MWCNTs while after functionalized a groovy CNTs wall were observed due to presence of carboxyl group at the defect sites.

One of the characteristics of longitudinal development of extensive air showers is the number of charged particles and depth of shower maximum in extensive air showers as a function of primary energy, which is often used to reconstruct the elemental composition of primary cosmic rays. Studying of extensive air shower characteristics was performed by investigating the longitudinal development parameters depending on Heitler model for different primary particles. The simulation of the number of charged particles and depth of shower maximum (NandXmax) in extensive air showers of particle cascades was performed using AIRES code for SIBYLL hadronic model for different primary particles like electron, positron, gamma quanta and iron nuclei at the energy range 1014-1019eV. The comparison between the simulated longitudinal development ofNandXmaxusing SIBYLL hadronic model with two hadronic models (QGSJET99 ans SIBYLL16) has shown an opportunity for determination of cosmic ray cascade interactions in extensive air showers.

Power quality is main issue because of the impact to electricity suppliers, equipments, manufacturers and user.To solve the power quality problem, an analysis of power quality disturbances is required to identify and rectify any failures on power system. Most of researchers apply fourier transform in power quality analysis, however the ability of fourier transform is limited to spectral information extraction that can be applied on stationary disturbances. Thus, time-frequency analysis is introduced for analyzing the power quality distubances because of the limitation of fourier transform. This paper presents the analysis of real power quality disturbances using S-transform. This time-frequency distribution (TFD) is presented to analyze power quality disturbances in time-frequency representation (TFR). From the TFR, parameters of the disturbances such as instantaneous of root mean square (RMS), fundamental RMS, total harmonic distortion (THD), total nonharmonic distortion (TnHD) and total waveform distortion (TWD) of the disturbances are estimated. The experimental of three phase voltage inverter and starting motor are conducted in laboratory to record the real power quality disturbances. The disturbances are recorded via data logger system which is mplemented using LabVIEW while the analysis is done using Matlab in offline condition. The results show that S-transform gives good performance in identifying, detecting and analyzing the real power quality disturbances, effectively.

The simulation of Cherenkov light Lateral distribution function (LDF) in Extensive Air Showers (EAS) initiated primary particles such as primary calcium, argon, proton iron nuclei, neutron and nitrogen have been performed using CORSIKA program for conditions and configurations of Tunka133 EAS Cherenkov array. The simulation was fulfilled at the high energy range 1014-1016eV for four different zenith angles 0o, 10o, 15oand 30o. The results of the simulated Cherenkov light LDF are compared with the measurements of Tunka133 EAS array for the same particles and energy range mentioned above. This comparison may give the good ability to reconstruct the energy spectrum and mass composition of the primary cosmic ray particles in EAS. The main feature of the given approach consists of the possibility to make a library of Cherenkov light LDF samples which could be utilized for analysis of real events which can be detected with different EAS arrays and reconstruction of the primary cosmic rays energy spectrum and mass composition of EAS particles.

Usage of waste materials as concrete mixture can reduce the waste management crisis in the world. Used tyres were widely researched as an alternative source of aggregates replacement in concrete mixture. This research is to study the behaviour of concrete incorporating rubber tyre crumb as fine aggregate replacement. The workability, compression strength and water absorption of this concrete will be determined and then compared to normal concrete. Motorcycle inner tube will be used as rubber source and it will be shredded to crumbs. Three samples of concrete with rubber as fine aggregates were prepared. Rubber crumbs will be used to replace fine aggregates in 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5% in mass. Normal concrete were prepared separately as control for comparison. Concrete mixture of 1:2:4 and 0.5 of water cement ratio were used. Slump test were done to test the workability of each mix. Twelve sample cubes from (150mm x 150mm x 150mm) each mix were prepared and cured for 7, 14 and 28 days. Compression tests were performed for each mix cube at age 7, 14 and 28 days. Water absorption test were done at age 28 days. Results revealed that rubberized concrete has better workability than normal concrete. They also have smaller compressive value and higher water absorption compared to normal concrete.