Comparison of LQR and PID Controller Tuning Using PSO for Coupled Tank System

Coupled Tank System is one of the widely used applications in industries. Like other process control, it require suitable controller to obtain the good system performances. Hence, this paper presents the study of Coupled Tank System using LQR and PID controller. Both controller parameters are tuned using Single-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). The performance of the system is compared based on the transient response in term of of Rise Time (Tr), SettlingTime (Ts), Steady State Error (ess) and Overshoot (OS).Simulation is conducted within MATLAB environment to verify the performances of the system. The result shows that both controller can be tuned using PSO, while LQR controller give slightly better results compared to PID controller

Electrocoagulation of Palm Oil Mill Effluent using Aluminium Electrodes

Electrocoagulation is a treatment method that has the potential in removing various pollutants without generating secondary pollutants which only involves simple and compact equipment. In this study, the potential to treat palm oil mill effluent using an electrocoagulation process was studied. The objectives of the study are to determine the optimum current density, the optimum retention time, and the optimum initial pH of the sample for the electrocoagulation of palm oil mill effluent using aluminium in terms of removing chemical oxygen demand, suspended solids and colour of the palm oil mill effluent. The palm oil mill effluent samples were collected from Pertubuhan Peladang Negeri Johor palm oil mill. The range of current density, retention time and initial pH used to obtain the optimum value were 20-100 A/m2, 10-30 minutes, and 2-10, respectively. The distance between the electrodes and settling time were kept constant at 5 cm and 30 minutes, respectively. The sludge volume and the variability of pH changes throughout the electrocoagulation process were also studied. Results show that the optimum conditions for the electrocoagulation process using aluminium-aluminium electrode pair are current density of 80 A/m2, retention time of 15 minutes, and initial pH of 4. This optimum condition was able to reduce chemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, and colour up to 72.75%, 96.93%, and 92.79%, respectively. At the end of electrocoagulation, the sludge volume obtained was 27.27% and pH was increased from 4.00 to 4.38. It can be concluded that the electrocoagulation process has the potential to be utilized for effective removal of chemical oxygen demand, suspended solids and colour of the palm oil mill effluent

FAKIH: A method to teach deaf people ‘reading’ Quran

Allah revealed the Quran to be practiced by all human beings irrespective of whether the humans are normal, or mentally or physically challenged. According to the Department of Malaysian Special Education, in 2002, there were 663 blind students and 3649 deaf students, all over Malaysia. However, in terms of Quran education, deaf students are far behind compared to blind students. This is because they could not hear and therefore posed a difficult situation for the teachers to teach them. Based on this initiative, Fakih methods have been introduced to eight deaf students to learn Quran in within two months. The result is very promising where six of them managed to recite Quran through hand code using Fakih method. We propose iPad application called iFakih in the future to cater the needs of disabled people to read Quran

A Comparative Study Between Weighing and Image Analysis Techniques for Predicting the Amount of Deposited Electrospun Nanofibres

Weighing and direct measurement are currently the two most common techniques used for estimating the amount of deposited nanofibres in electrospinning process. Nevertheless, due to its extremely small fibre size and mass, the task of measuring the weight or thickness of an electrospun nanofibres membrane is difficult and the results are arguable. This study evaluates the effectiveness of using greyscale image analysis for predicting the amount of deposited nanofibres compared to weighing technique. Polyvinyl alcohol electrospun nanofibres were collected at different deposition times on A4 black paper substrates. The substrates were weighed before and after deposition process and then scanned into 8 bit greyscale images. Analyses were carried out using ImageJ software, statistical analysis, high speed camera and scanning electron microscopy. At long deposition times, both techniques showed significant correlations between the measured values and deposition times. However, at short deposition times the weighing technique was found unreliable (p>0.05) compared to image analysis technique due to insignificant fibre masses compared to the weight variation of the substrates. Results suggest that image analysis technique was a better option to be used compared to weighing technique. This technique has the potential to be used as an automated online quality control in electrospun nanofibres manufacture

External attacks on automotive system through wireless communication channels

The reliance of today’s automotive system on electronics control system is expected to make the cars to be state-of-the-art vehicle. However, this technology dependency results in the cars to be exposed to attacks by the hacker through the manipulation of electronics system. Previously, for the attacker to compromise car’s system, he/she must access the car directly and internally. However, with the incorporation of wireless technologies such as Bluetooth and cellular into automotive system for example in its telematic units, the attacks are evolved from internal attacks into remote attack where the adversary does not have to internally access the car’s system. This paper analyses the vulnerabilities of the automotive system by the remote attacks performed through Bluetooth and cellular. Once the vulnerabilities were analyzed, the threats imposed by these vulnerabilities are accessed. Two scenarios namely theft and surveillance are used to exemplify the threats that are carried by the vulnerability of the automotive system to the remote attacks. From the vulnerability analysis and threat assessment, it can be deduced that the automotive system is vulnerable to attacks and proper countermeasure must be taken to curb the implication from the attacks.Keywords: Hardware Trojan, Insertion, Third-part IP, Trus

OPTIMIZATION OF COMPRESSION MOULDING PARAMETERS FOR MULTI FILLER POLYMER COMPOSITE USING TAGUCHI METHOD

Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) performance depends on the properties of bipolar plates (BP). In order to produce the best performance of BP, compression moulding parameters need to be optimized. This study determined the compression moulding parameters of Graphite (G) / Carbon Black (CB) / Carbon Fiber (CF) / Polypropylene (PP) composites using Taguchi method (TM) in order to optimize the properties of BP plate. L9 Orthogonal Array with four factors and three levels was chosen as a design of experiment for G/CB/CF/PP composition with a weight percentage of 50/25/5/20. The factors selected for this study were heating temperature, load, preheating pressing time and pressing time. The electrical conductivity value of each sample was analyzed by signal to noise ratio using TM with the larger-the-better condition in order to determine the optimum parameters. Confirmation experiment was conducted to validate the optimum parameters obtained from the TM. The electrical conductivity result of G/CB/CF/PP composites for confirmation experiment was 393.49 S/cm and it was higher than nine trials and the TM predicted value. Hence, the optimum parameters of compression moulding can be obtained using TM to improve the electrical conductivity of G/CB/CF/PP composites. TM is an effective way to get the optimal moulding parameters for G/CB/CF/PP composites and is very useful to fabricate bipolar plate for PEMFC

Artificial seed production from encapsulated micro shoots of Saintpaulia ionantha Wendl. (African Violet)

Artificial seeds were produced from encapsulated micro shoots of Saintpaulia ionantha Wendl. (African violet). The production of artificial seeds of this species gave ideal beads based on firmness, texture, size and shape of beads. The percentage of germination from encapsulated micro shoots influenced by the concentrations of sodium alginate and calcium chloride (CaCl2.2H2O) used. It was found that among the concentrations tested, 3 sodium alginate and the exposure to 1.00 mM CaCl2.2H2O solution for 30 min had produced optimal beads with firm, clear, round and uniform size and suitable for handling. It was also observed that micro shoots obtained from optimization of encapsulation matrix showed the highest percentage of germination (84). Encapsulated micro shoots exposed for 30 min in 100 mM CaCl2.2H2O solution gave the optimal time of hardening process. The findings suggested that the encapsulation method for micro shoots could be used as an alternative to artificial seed derived from somatic embryos of Saintpaulia ionantha. © 2008 Asian Network for Scientific Information

Efficacy of Punica granatum L. based cosmeceutical products in improving hydration and skin color

Objective: This study aimed to determine the efcacy of Pomegranate based cosmeceutical product as skin whitening and hydrating agents. The study are conducted by selecting marketed pomegranate skincare Materials and methods: products which are the body shop pomegranate cream and skin food pomegranate emulsion and the subjected to applied the product every night on the back of the forearm for a duration of one month. The initial and nal reading were compared and analyzed by DermaLab® Combo Handling Techniques. This study found that both products Results: showed positive result for skin whitening and hydrating activity however their superiority in terms of efcacy cannot be made due to subject compliance issue, the formulation differences as well as other environmental factors such as drinking and sun light exposure. Findings of this study suggest that the L. would be Conclusion: Punica granatum potential skin whitening and antihydrating agent in pharmaceutical or cosmeceutical products in near future

Statistical process control for failure crushing time data using competing risks model

This paper describes a Statistical Process Control (SPC) for failure crushing time data using competing risks model. The model is based on the widely known proportional hazard regression model for a variety of censoring. A competing risks model identifies the set of possible failed components given the true cause of failure. EM algorithm method is used to estimate the parameter of the model. The results of this study show that, the competing risks model performs well for SPC using SAS software