Combined Tide and Storm Influence on Facies Sedimentation of Miocene Miri Formation, Sarawak

This study was conducted on the sedimentary rocks belonging to the Miri Formation (Middle – Late Miocene). The primary objective of the present study is to provide additional interpretation on the stratigraphy of the Miri Formation in the Miri Field based on the new information gathered from new outcrops in the area. Five outcrops were examined in detail on sedimentology and stratigraphy. Based on lithology, sedimentary structures, bedding geometry and traces fossil, the sediments of the Miri Formation were grouped into fourteen lithofacies. Influence of tide and storm during the depositional processes of the formation were indicated by the group of two main facies associations which are: (i) tide-dominated estuary; and (ii) wave-and-storm dominated facies associations. The tide-dominated estuary system of the Miri Formation are includes variety of sub environments: estuary mouth or tidal channel and sand bars (characterized by trough cross-stratified sandstone with mud drapes facies), estuary channel or upper flow regime of sand flat (characterized by parallel stratified sandstone with mud-laminas facies), mixed-tidal flat (characterized by wavy and flaser bedded sandstone facies), and mud-tidal flat (characterized by rhythmic stratified sandstone-mudstone and lenticular bedding facies). The wave-and-storm dominated varied from lower to middle shoreface (characterized by hummocky cross-stratified sandstone and rhythmic parallel stratified sandstone and laminated siltstone facies), upper shoreface (characterized by swaley cross-stratified sandstone), lower shoreface (interbedded to bioturbated sandstone and siltstone facies), and offshore transitional (characterized by bioturbated sandstone and mudstone interbedding with parallel to hummocky cross-stratified sandstone facies). Penelitian ini dilakukan pada batuan sedimen penyusun Formasi Miri (Miosen Tengah - Akhir). Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mendapatkan interpretasi tambahan pada stratigrafi Formasi Miri di Lapangan Miri berdasarkan informasi baru yang dikumpulkan dari singkapan batuan baru di daerah tersebut. Lima singkapan tersebut diteliti secara rinci berdasarkan aspek sedimentologi dan stratigrafi. Berdasarkan litologi, struktur sedimen, geometri perlapisan dan fosil jejak, sedimen penyusun Formasi Miri dikelompokkan ke dalam empat belas litofasies. Pengaruh pasang surut dan badai selama proses pengendapan formasi diindikasikan dari adanya dua kelompok gabungan fasies utama antara lain: (i) didominasi oleh pasang-surut muara, dan (ii) didominasi oleh gabungan fasies gelombang dan badai. Sistem yang didominasi pasang surut muara pada Formasi Miri meliputi variasi sub-lingkungan: mulut muara atau alur pasang surut, dan gosong sungai (dicirikan oleh fasies batupasir dengan perlapisan saling silang dengan lempung yang mengapung), alur muara atau rezim aliran bagian atas dari dataran pasir (dicirikan oleh fasies batupasir berlapis paralel dengan lumpur berlapis), campuran pasang surut normal (dicirikan oleh fasies batupasir berlapis), dan lumpur pasang surut normal (dicirikan oleh fasies batupasir berlapis ritmik-batulumpur dan perlapisan lenticular). Dominasi pengaruh gelombang dan badai bervariasi dari rendah ke menengah (dicirikan oleh fasies batupasir berlapis silang yang hummocky dan batupasir berlapis paralel berulang dan batulanau berlapis), muka pantai bagian atas (dicirikan oleh batupasir berlapis silang yang swaley), muka pantai bagian bawah (fasies batupasir dan batulanau yang bersisipan sampai bioturtbasi), dan transisi lepas pantai (dicirikan oleh fasies batupasir bioturbasi dan batulumpur yang bersisipan dengan batupasir berlapis paralel sampai berlapis silang yang hummocky)

Rectification of Sabah Stilt House Using Shear Wall Subjected to Earthquake

A moderate earthquake with 6.0-magnitude hit Sabah in 2015 especially in Ranau, Sabah has been labelled as one of the most powerful earthquakes ever in Malaysia. Numerous buildings in Sabah have become defective with the severity level of damages as absolute (non-repairable) in the RC beam-column joints and soft-storey structures. Seismic design and construction requirements were not considered in most buildings in Sabah. Hence, this research is to investigate how to mitigate the effect of earthquake on the low-rise building using a more practical and economical method. A stilt house model is developed using ABAQUS software to determine the behaviour of the stilt, low-rise building subjected to earthquake by constructing shear wall at the short columns support. There are 4 models constructed namely, frame model without shear wall (W1), with shear wall of 100mm (W2), 300mm (W3) and 500mm (W4). The results of seismic response are evaluated and compared. Different length of shear wall affects the displacement and stress of the frame model. As shear wall length increases, the displacement, stress at columns and stress at walls decreases. Thus, adding a shear wall can be used to retrofit stilt houses and a credible way to mitigate damage due to earthquake load for new houses along hill slope

Filament winding technique, experiment and simulation analysis on tubular structure

Filament winding process has emerged as one of the potential composite fabrication processes with lower costs. Filament wound products involve classic axisymmetric parts (pipes, rings, driveshafts, high-pressure vessels and storage tanks), non-axisymmetric parts (prismatic nonround sections and pipe fittings). Based on the 3-axis filament winding machine has been designed with the inexpensive control system, it is completely necessary to make a relative comparison between experiment and simulation on tubular structure. In this technical paper, the aim of this paper is to perform a dry winding experiment using the 3-axis filament winding machine and simulate winding process on the tubular structure using CADWIND software with 30°,45°,60° winding angle. The main result indicates that the 3-axis filament winding machine can produce tubular structure with high winding pattern performance with different winding angle. This developed 3-axis winding machine still has weakness compared to CAWIND software simulation results with high axes winding machine about winding pattern, turnaround impact, process error, thickness, friction impact etc. In conclusion, the 3-axis filament winding machine improvements and recommendations come up with its comparison results, which can intuitively understand its limitations and characteristics

A conceptual framework on the role of road safety management intervention in overcoming road accident

Road accident is a critical problem faced by most countries around the world. Literature showed that human factors contribute the most with 80% of the road accidents in Malaysia. Traffic violation behaviour is one of the human factors leading to the road accident causation. To overcome the drivers' traffic violation behaviour and reduce the accident involvement statistics, the Malaysian government has implemented road safety management intervention of soft enforcement approaches (road safety campaign, education and training) and hard enforcement approaches (penalty, surveillance, fines and tickets). The objective of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of road safety management intervention through the implementation of soft and hard enforcement approaches in overcoming the road accident involvement. Literatures demonstrated inconsistent findings on the effectiveness of the soft and hard enforcement approaches, which further suggest these variables as the moderators for this study. This study will be conducted on young drivers within the age of 18 to 25 years old who have been involved in road accident within the past 12 months. The research finding will provides the answer for accident involvement among young drivers and further confirms the effectiveness of road safety intervention in Malaysia

Phenotypic Properties of Collagen in Dentinogenesis Imperfecta Associated with Osteogenesis Imperfecta

Introduction: Dentinogenesis imperfecta type 1 (OIDI) is considered a relatively rare genetic disorder (1:5000 to 1:45,000) associated with osteogenesis imperfecta. OIDI impacts the formation of collagen fibrils in dentin, leading to morphological and structural changes that affect the strength and appearance of teeth. However, there is still a lack of understanding regarding the nanoscale characterization of the disease, in terms of collagen ultrastructure and mechanical properties. Therefore, this research presents a qualitative and quantitative report into the phenotype and characterization of OIDI in dentin, by using a combination of imaging, nanomechanical approaches. Methods: For this study, 8 primary molars from OIDI patients and 8 primary control molars were collected, embedded in acrylic resin and cut into longitudinal sections. Sections were then demineralized in 37% phosphoric acid using a protocol developed in-house. Initial experiments demonstrated the effectiveness of the demineralization protocol, as the ATR-FTIR spectral fingerprints showed an increase in the amide bands together with a decrease in phosphate content. Structural and mechanical analyses were performed directly on both the mineralized and demineralized samples using a combination of scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and Wallace indentation. Results: Mesoscale imaging showed alterations in dentinal tubule morphology in OIDI patients, with a reduced number of tubules and a decreased tubule diameter compared to healthy controls. Nanoscale collagen ultrastructure presented a similar D-banding periodicity between OIDI and controls. Reduced collagen fibrils diameter was also recorded for the OIDI group. The hardness of the (mineralized) control dentin was found to be significantly higher (p<0.05) than that of the OIDI (mineralized) dentine. Both the exposed peri- and intratubular dentinal collagen presented bimodal elastic behaviors (Young's moduli). The control samples presented a stiffening of the intratubular collagen when compared to the peritubular collagen. In case of the OIDI, this stiffening in the collagen between peri- and intratubular dentinal collagen was not observed and the exposed collagen presented overall a lower elasticity than the control samples. Conclusion: This study presents a systematic approach to the characterization of collagen structure and properties in OIDI as diagnosed in dentin. Structural markers for OIDI at the mesoscale and nanoscale were found and correlated with an observed lack of increased elastic moduli of the collagen fibrils in the intratubular OIDI dentin. These findings offer an explanation of how structural changes in the dentin could be responsible for the failure of some adhesive restorative materials as observed in patients affected by OIDI

3D Numerical modelling on the thermal performance of reinforced concrete encased wide-flanged steel column

This paper presents the development and verification of a three-dimensional (3D) numerical modelling to predict the thermal performance of reinforced concrete encased wideflanged steel (RCEWFS) column. The numerical model was developed using finite element software, ABAQUS. Then, the verified model was used to determine the suitable value for heat transfer conductance, time step and mesh size that provide the most reliable prediction against the experimental results. The parametric studies were also conducted to study the effect of rising time of fire exposure, section size, and flange width of I-section on the thermal performance of the RCEWFS column. From this study, it can be concluded that the predictions by the 3D numerical model are reliable and accurate. The study on the contour of the model shows that the thermal behaviour of concrete is non-linear

Ground Motion Observation of Sabah Earthquakes on the Use of Next Generation Attenuation (NGA) Ground-Motion Models

Ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) are being used for the estimation of the ground motion parameters which are needed for the design and evaluation of important structures. The seismic hazard may contribute greatly to the total risk; therefore the selection of appropriate GMPEs may have a substantial influence on the design and safety evaluation. For low-seismicity areas, however, the available database of strong ground motion measurements is limited, with determination of an appropriate GMPE been a rather difficult task. The objective of this study is to evaluate the next generation attenuation (NGA) ground-motion models to be applied in Sabah region. In this study, six next generation attenuation (NGA) models have been selected to be evaluated. The representation of all NGA models, are compared with the Sabah ground motion database comprises 209 two horizontal-component acceleration time series recorded within 10 to 1000 km of source to site distances for 173 earthquakes with moment magnitudes (MW) ranging between 3.0–6.0. The comparisons are made using analyses of root of the mean square (RMS) and residuals. Two GMPEs present better residual fits than other models with smaller RMS value and indicates better estimation of the peak ground acceleration (PGA). Based on these findings, it is recommended on using the NGA relations for seismic hazard assessment of Sabah