Electromechanical Probing of Ionic Currents in Energy Storage Materials

The electrochemical processes in energy storage materials are generally linked with changes of molar volume of the host compound. Here, the frequency dependent strain response of 1D electrochemically active systems to periodic electric bias is analyzed. The sensitivity and resolution of these electrochemical strain measurements are compared to the current-based electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The resolution and detection limits of interferometric and atomic force microscopy based systems for probing electrochemical reactions on the nanoscale are analyzed.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, 2 appendices, submitted to Appl. Phys. Let

The association of shift work and coronary heart disease risk factors among male factory workers in Kota Bharu, Kelantan

Shift work is one of the work hour systems in which a relay of employees extends the period of production beyond the conventional 8-hour working day. It has been found to be associated with various health problems and there is concern that shift workers are at higher risk to develop risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD). The study was undertaken to examine relationships between shift work and CHD risk factors, namely hypertension, dyslipidaemia (either hypercholesterolaemia, hyper-low density lipoprotein-cholesterolaemia, hypo-high density lipoprotein-cholesterolaemia or hypertriglyceridaemia), high body mass index (BMI), hyperglycemia and physical inactivity among male factory workers in a factory in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. METHODS: This study was a contrived cross-sectional study of 76 shift and 72 day workers from one ofthe factories in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Data was collected through a questionnaire on psychosocial and life-style factors, anthropometric and blood pressure measurement, fasting blood sugar and fasting lipid proJiles analyses. RESULTS: The prevalence of hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia and high body mass index (BMO were significantly higher among shift workers compared to day workers. There was no difference in the prevalence of hyperg[ycemia, hypo-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterolaemia, hyper-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterolaemia and physical inactivity. When the shiji workers were compared with the day workers, the aajusted odds ratio (OR) for hypertension, high BMI andphysical inactivity were 9.1 (95% CI 1.4-56.8), 2.9 (95% CI 1.3-6.1) and 7.7 (95% CI 2.1-27.5) respectively. There was neither association of shift work with dyslipidaemia, nor with hyperglycemia. CONCLUSIONS: There were positive association between shiji work and hypertension, high BMI andphysical inactivity which denotes a higher risk of CHD risk factors among shift workers compared to day workers

Prediction of the flow inside a micro gas turbine combustor

The main purpose of this study is to predict the flow dynamics inside a micro gas turbine combustor model. The flow field inside the combustor is controlled by the liner shape and size, wall side holes shape, size and arrangement (primary, secondary and dilution holes), and primary air swirler configuration. Air swirler adds sufficient swirling to the inlet flow to generate central recirculation region (CRZ) which is necessary for flame stability and fuel air mixing enhancement. Therefore designing an appropriate air swirler is a challenge to produce stable, efficient and low emission combustion with low pressure losses. Four axial flat vane swirlers with 20 °, 30 °, 45 ° and 60 ° vane angle corresponding to swirl number of 0.27, 0.42, 0.74, and 1.285 respectively were used in this analysis to show vane angle effect on the internal flow field. The flow behavior was investigated numerically using CFD solver FLUENT 6.2. This study has provided physical insight into the flow pattern inside the combustion chamber. Results show that the swirling action is augmented with the increase in the vane angle, which leads to increase in the turbulence strength, recirculation zone size, and amount of recirculated mass. However, all these happen at the expense of the increase in pressure losses. In case of 20 ° swirler (swirl number < 0.4), the produced swirling flow is not enough to generate CRZ

The comparison of various gas turbine inlet aircooling methods for various ambient condition trough energy and exergy analysis

The strong influence of climate conditions on gas turbine behavior is well known. During the summer season the output of gas turbines falls to a value that is less than the rated output under high temperature conditions. Cooling the turbine inlet air can increase output power considerably, because cooled air is dense, giving the turbine a higher mass flow rate and resulting in increased turbine output and efficiency. This study is to use the energy and exergy analysis method to evaluate the air cooling method used for enhancing the gas turbine power plant. In addition, the effect of inlet air cooling method on the output power, exergy efficiency and exergy destruction have been analyzed. Also at the end of the paper the comparison of two mentioned methods has been investigated

Assessing the Capability and Priority of Enterprise Architecture Implementation in Malaysian Public Sector

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is an integrated approach of information systems, processes, organisation and people in aligning business and information technology together. However, there is a discrepancy in public sector EA implementation whereby the developing countries are still grappling with issues in the implementation while those developed countries are already harvesting the EA benefits and value. Hence, this study aims to investigate the capability and priority of public sector of the developing countries in implementing the EA by proposing an assessment model. The assessment model is based on Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach. There are 27 EAI capability and priority criteria identified and grouped into six categories according to BSC perspectives namely Internal Process, Learning and Growth, Authority Support, Cost, Technology and Talent Management. Followed by AHP pairwise comparison in calculating the rank of each criterion which is presented via three case studies from Malaysian Public Sector agencies

Prediction of Citizens' Decisions on Transport Mode Choice in Bandung City, Indonesia by Using General Linear Model Given Existing Level of Pedestrian Friendly Environment

Significant contribution of non-motorized transport to energy and environment has changed the view of people on walking or cycling as one of transport modes. While promoting mass rapid transport, modern cities tend to promote pedestrianization as well to encourage people to walk instead of relying on motorized transport. Creating pedestrian friendly environment in particular parts of the city, especially in CBD, is one such attempt. This study tries to investigate the correlation between perceptions of the citizens on pedestrian friendly environment (PFE) and their decision on the choices of transport modes. The central business district of Bandung City in Indonesia was chosen as the study area. A questionnaire-based research was used to acquire data on citizens' perception. Eight variables were employed to understand citizens' perception on PFE. The result shows that PFE does influence citizens' decision on their transport modes choice

An Engineering Ethics Case Study Review: Petrobras P-36 Accident

In 2001, the world largest oil production in the coast of Brazil was sank due to the series of explosions. This accident claimed 11 lives of crew members and 1 of 4 main support columns affected and lame. The purpose of this case study is to learn from previous experience about the engineering failure from engineering ethics viewpoints which cover the responsible of an engineer to keep safety of people around and maintain of environmental care

Radio frequency radiation measurement for base tower station safety compliances: a case study in Pulau Pinang Malaysia

The residence of Pulau Pinang and Malaysia generally are worried with the possible health effects due to Base Tower Station (BTS) radiation. Particularly, the residents of Pulau Pinang are utilizing their mobile phones for multiple kind of tasks including communications, browsing the internet and other applications. With the recent advances in mobile communication technologies, the end user demanded a better coverage, great communication services, and faster speed for internet browsing. To fulfill the demand, service provider and communication companies are providing plenty of communication base tower leading to the beliefs of that the tower emitted radiation and cause harmful effect to human health and voiced out and complain to the municipal councils in Malaysia. In this paper, a measurement was conducted to study electromagnetic fields (EMF) radiation level in Pulau Pinang. The measurement is compared with the international standard provided by International Commission of Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Far field measurement of different values of long term evolution (LTE) exposure was demonstrated in radiofrequency (RF) shielded environment. LTE850, LTE1800 and LTE2600 field exposure was compared in term of its’ electrical field and power density that adhere to the standard provided by ICNIRP

LSCF-CuO as Promising Cathode for IT SOFC

Infiltration of copper oxide towards LSCF was done in order to enhance cathode performance due to superior properties, including high electrical conductivity and high catalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction. Samples were synthesized at different temperatures using the sol-gel route. The TGA results showed that LSCF achieved complete perovskite formation when calcined above 600 °C and DTA showed the formation of lattice oxygen at 550 °C. XRD analysis showed no shifted peaks and nano size levels were achieved when samples were calcined at 700 °C and 800 °C. SEM and BET showed similar analysis patterns, where the particle size increased as the calcining temperature was increased. EIS analysis further verified that the polarization resistance of the sample calcined at 700 °C was as small as 0.161 Ω, compared to 1.524 Ω with a calcination temperature of 800 °C. The activation energy of LSCF-CuO was found to be 122.2 kJ/mol, which is much lower than for conventional LSCF

A Review On Agile Decision Making In Crisis Management

Agility in decision making has a potential to resolve crisis management; therefore a specific agile decision making technique should be implemented in crisis management. Crisis management requires the agility in decision making in order to resolve the crisis. The decision made has to be flexible enough so that the solution can be delivered on time. In having the decision, there are people that will contribute some suggestion, opinion, experience or knowledge. The virtual knowledge sharing is the vital part on delivering the agile decision making. This paper reviews such methods on agile decision making towards crisis management and the relation with virtual knowledge sharing