A design of precision linear z-transverse antenna positioner

An antenna positioner is essential device in avionics as a testing instrument. It must be able to move the antenna under test (AUT) to the required position precisely and accurately. This research focuses on the design of precision linear z-traverse antenna positioner. It comprises designs of mechanical, electrical and control system. Besides, knowledge on software design is also of paramount important because the designed instrument run by own developed control algorithm. It is a positioner powered by a DC motor as an actuator which is equipped by a user friendly graphical user interface (GUI) written uniquely featured with several distinct and systematic operating modes and flexible data display. PID (Proportional, Integral and Derivative) controller embedded in GUI is also capable to move AUT to the target in shortest time with no or minimum overshoot and steady state error. In this research, PID controller was tuned to suit the application with the aid of MATLAB® simulation. The system was then calibrated. Based on calibrated data, it was then optimized to yield more accurate result by mean of correction through software compensation. The result was then analyzed and discussed. A very precise instrument with standard deviation m µ s 94 . 8 = was successfully designed. It was designed to be used in two ways with accuracy of approximately m µ 50 ± or 29ppm for high accuracy usage and approximately m µ 300 ± or 176ppm for lower accuracy usage. As a consequence, procedures of design and developing a positioner both theoretically and practically were acquired

A study on the profile of solid waste and its reduction alternatives at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), Pagoh Campus, Muar, Johor

Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) Pagoh campus is a new branch of UTHM campus situated at the Pagoh Education Hub, Johor. No studies have been conducted to determine the amount and types of waste generated in this campus, as well as the waste reduction initiatives. It is important to find out the generation and composition of waste before any recommendations for an integrated solid waste management program can be made. A mixed-method approach which comprised of quantitative and qualitative data collection was used to achieve the objectives of this research. This research revealed the results of a waste audit conducted for 10 consecutive weeks on the campus which includes the academic zone, cafeteria zone and laboratory zone. From the quantitative results, it can be summarized the average solid waste generation rate in UTHM Pagoh campus varied during regular lecture weeks, mid-semester break, and Ramadan lecture weeks, which were 203.90 kg/day, 93.96 kg/day, and 24.48 kg/day respectively. The cafeteria has been identified as the main contributor to solid waste generation on campus. The composition of the waste generated consisted of 66.9 % food waste, 19.0 % residual waste, 7.1% plastic, 4.3 % paper, 0.7 % metals, 0.7 % beverage cartons, 0.5 % aluminum, 0.6 % of other organic waste, 0.2 % of other non-organic waste and 0.1 % glass. From the qualitative data collection, the interview results revealed that the main obstacle in implementing a good SWM in the campus was the students’ and staffs’ attitude towards solid waste issues. Other challenges elaborated by the respondents include low awareness, insufficient facilities, and financial constraints. From the waste collected, it was found that a potential income of RM 330.98 could be obtained from the sales of recyclable waste. In addition, results from the cost-benefit analysis revealed that the implementation of a composting machine was found feasible to be implemented in the campus. Based on the results, proposals on the awareness campaigns, waste separation models and policy to improve the quality of SWM on the campus are provided to reduce the solid waste generated strategically

Study on the Effect of Ultrasonic Wave Amplitude on Deemulsification of Crude Oil to enhance Production Process

One of the most challenging issues faced by the oil and gas industry is the formation of crude oil emulsion. The emulsion formation will lead to inconsistency in the production performance, which directly affects the economic growth of the industry. Based on previous researches, traditional practices by the industry mainly focus on the thermal, demulsifiers, and electrical methods on crude oil de-emulsification process. Current de-emulsification methods are less effective as they long time for the separation process to complete. Thus, this research is intended to study the effect of the ultrasonic wave on demulsification process as a new approach in solving crude oil emulsion related problem. Ultrasonic wave has high potential in enhancing the separation rate as it has been used in oil sludge treatment. Three tests were conducted on each treated emulsion to study the behaviour for more intensive analysis which are Bottle Test, Cross- Polarized Microscope (CPM) and Karl Fischer (KF) titration. Crude oil from Terengganu Crude Oil Terminal (TCOT) produced by PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd were utilised throughout the research. The combination of the parameters were studied and analysed to identify the optimum demulsification process by using the Design Expert 6 software. Ultrasonic irradiation was performed and compared with base sample

Glory as Power in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans

The subject of “glory”, used to translate the Greek term δόξα, has been relatively neglected in Pauline scholarship. Due to the wide semantic range of δόξα, the few studies on glory in Paul’s epistles have focused on certain aspects of it, such as its association with honour, effulgence or immortality. Although the association of glory with power has been noted by classical and biblical scholars, it has not been explored in detail within the Pauline corpus, particularly Romans where the connection is immediately evident in Romans 1:18-21 and 6:4. This study attempts to address this lacuna by exploring the relationship between glory and power in Romans by: (1) focusing on the concept of glory through paying attention to δόξα and other terms that are closely related to it, in particular honour and shame language, and (2) examining it from both Jewish and Graeco-Roman backgrounds since both traditions were probably influential on Paul’s Roman audience. Our exploration of the correlations of glory with power in the Graeco-Roman and Jewish traditions demonstrates the centrality of glory/honour in the ancient Mediterranean world, with glory/honour often denoting or connoting power. Glory is often a function of power, and power a function of glory/honour, such that the two mutually reinforce each other. This provides insights into the ways in which they could have shaped Paul’s understanding of their relationship. Our journey of glory through Romans traces the variegated connections between glory and power, under the categories of divine, human, eschatological and communal glory/power, and across a wide range of Pauline theological themes, providing fresh insights into Paul’s theology of glory and his arguments in Romans

Dyed Wastewater Treatment via Ionic Liquids

Currently, Waste water generated by the textile industry is one of the main issues that contribute to the water pollution. This is due to the fact that, this type of industry consumes large amount of process water and chemicals and therefore, produces high volume of highly polluted discharged water. Due to its dreadful impacts towards the environment and aquatic livings, various researches have been conducted to treat these effluents. Presently, various methods have been established by the researchers such as the biological, chemical and physical treatment. Associated with that, removal of dyes via ionic liquids is one of the techniques, which is still not widely applied by industries but it has been discovered to be able to treat dyed wastewaters. Since the research of ionic liquid for this application is still at surface level, the major concerns such as process efficiency in terms of economic and residual water quality and at the same time, to improve the amount of dye removal with minimal usage of ionic liquids. In this research project, experiments have to be carried out by varying few parameters, which are concentration of dyes in waste water, pH, temperature and effect of types of ionic liquids. Results from the parameters tested will be analyzed quantitatively in percentage of dye removed per unit mass of ionic liquids with the help of UV-Vis spectrophotometer

Electroosmotic Flow in Microchannel with Black Silicon Nanostructures

Although electroosmotic flow (EOF) has been applied to drive fluid flow in microfluidic chips, some of the phenomena associated with it can adversely affect the performance of certain applications such as electrophoresis and ion preconcentration. To minimize the undesirable effects, EOF can be suppressed by polymer coatings or introduction of nanostructures. In this work, we presented a novel technique that employs the Dry Etching, Electroplating and Molding (DEEMO) process along with reactive ion etching (RIE), to fabricate microchannel with black silicon nanostructures (prolate hemispheroid-like structures). The effect of black silicon nanostructures on EOF was examined experimentally by current monitoring method, and numerically by finite element simulations. The experimental results showed that the EOF velocity was reduced by 13 ± 7%, which is reasonably close to the simulation results that predict a reduction of approximately 8%. EOF reduction is caused by the distortion of local electric field at the nanostructured surface. Numerical simulations show that the EOF velocity decreases with increasing nanostructure height or decreasing diameter. This reveals the potential of tuning the etching process parameters to generate nanostructures for better EOF suppression. The outcome of this investigation enhances the fundamental understanding of EOF behavior, with implications on the precise EOF control in devices utilizing nanostructured surfaces for chemical and biological analyses

Sejong Open Cluster Survey (SOS). 0. Target Selection and Data Analysis

Star clusters are superb astrophysical laboratories containing cospatial and coeval samples of stars with similar chemical composition. We have initiated the Sejong Open cluster Survey (SOS) - a project dedicated to providing homogeneous photometry of a large number of open clusters in the SAAO Johnson-Cousins' $UBVI$ system. To achieve our main goal, we have paid much attention to the observation of standard stars in order to reproduce the SAAO standard system. Many of our targets are relatively small, sparse clusters that escaped previous observations. As clusters are considered building blocks of the Galactic disk, their physical properties such as the initial mass function, the pattern of mass segregation, etc. give valuable information on the formation and evolution of the Galactic disk. The spatial distribution of young open clusters will be used to revise the local spiral arm structure of the Galaxy. In addition, the homogeneous data can also be used to test stellar evolutionary theory, especially concerning rare massive stars. In this paper we present the target selection criteria, the observational strategy for accurate photometry, and the adopted calibrations for data analysis such as color-color relations, zero-age main sequence relations, Sp - Mv relations, Sp - Teff relations, Sp - color relations, and Teff - BC relations. Finally we provide some data analysis such as the determination of the reddening law, the membership selection criteria, and distance determination.Comment: 21 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in J. of Korean Astronomical Society (JKAS