Online Port E-Compound System

The development of various systems for local shipping port operation and management has been significant in the last several years along with the rapid growth of port activities. This project serves the purpose to suggest a new compound system to replace the existing system for use by local port management body. Focusing on improving the functions and capabilities of the existing system, the project detects weaknesses of the current system and investigates possible improvements that can be made prior to the requirements imposed by port management. The architecture and process flow of the existing system are referred as the basic guideline for the entire development process. System users and Information Technology personnel of Kuantan Port as the target research area are consulted during the early stages of the development process via interviews to assist in system analysis. Based on the findings from this study, a new compound system is proposed for use as an enhanced system containing necessary and additional features to port management body

Water absorption of environment friendly sugar palm fibre reinforced vinyl ester composites at different fibre arrangements

A study on water absorption of sugar palm fibre reinforced vinyl ester (VE) composites at different fibre arrangements is presented in this paper. Hand lay-up method was used in preparing the composites and water absorption was determined using a balance and water absorption equation. Results revealed that unidirectional fibre composites demonstrate the lowest value of water absorption compared to bidirectional fibre composites (0°/90° and ±45° fibre arrangements) but all composites showed high water absorption compared to neat VE, which may be attributed to incompatibility between fibre and matrix in composites that led to micro bubble and void

Kenaf fibre: its potential and review on bending fatigue of hollow shaft composites

The fast growing use of composite in many applications has been focused on sustainable and renewable reinforced composites. Natural fibres were introduced and increasingly used due to their availability and environmental issues. Kenaf is the most common natural fiber used as reinforcement in polymer matrix composites (PMC). Therefore, this study analyzes the bending fatigue for kenaf fiber hollow shaft composite. The wet filament winding technique was used to prepare the composite specimens for the bending fatigue test. Different orientation angles (45° and 90°) and reinforced with aluminum were studied

Split-disk properties of kenaf yarn fibre-reinforced unsaturated polyester composites using filament winding method

There are many contributions from synthetic fibres in the world of industrial composites over the years. However, they contain hazardous properties to humans causing irritation when exposed to the skin and eye. Inhalation of fibrous synthetic can cause lung cancer with its deadly effects. There have been studies and researches conducted on natural fibres to replace synthetic fibres as it is believed the latter are more environmental-friendly and pose less health risks to humans. The aim of this study was to investigate hoop tensile properties of the composite hollow shaft for different winding angles and PVC reinforcement produced via the filament winding technique. For this purpose, split-disk tests (according to ASTM D-2290 standard) were performed for the specimens produced with two different winding angles such as 45o and 90o winding angle. By determining the hoop tensile strength and modulus of these specimens, the effects of filament-winding processing parameter in winding angle were evaluated. Experiments successfully showed that the mechanical properties such as tensile properties of kenaf yarn fibre reinforced unsaturated polyester hollow tube at 90° and 45° winding angle with and without PVC. The value was 15% for the different winding angles and 25% for the different winding angles with and without PVC. The results indicate that 90° fibre winding angle kenaf yarn fibre unsaturated polyester with PVC has the highest hoop tensile strength compared with other composite specimens. The experiments concluded that the orientation on fibre angle has a significant impact on the hoop tensile strain, hoop tensile modulus and hoop tensile strength properties

Mechanical properties of hybrid glass/sugar palm fibre reinforced unsaturated polyester composites

A research has been carried out to investigate the mechanical properties of composites made by hybridizing sugar palm fibre (Arenga pinnata) with glass fibre into an unsaturated polyester matrix. Hybrid composites of glass/sugar palm fibre were fabricated in different weight ratios of strand mat glass fibres: sugar palm fibres 4:0, 4:1, 4:2, 4:3, 4:4, and 0:4. The hybrid effects of glass and sugar palm fibre on tensile, flexural and impact properties of the composites were evaluated according to ASTM D5083, ASTM D790 and ASTM D256 respectively. Results have been established that properties of hybrid glass/sugar palm composites such as tensile strength, tensile modulus, elongation at break, toughness, flexural strength, flexural modulus and impact strength are a function of fibre content. The failure mechanism and the adhesion between fibres/matrix were studied by observing the scanning electron micrographs of impact fracture samples. In general, the incorporation of both fibres into unsaturated polyester matrix shows a regular trend of increase in the mechanical properties

Optimization of adhesion strength and microstructure properties by using response surface methodology in enhancing the rice husk ash-based geopolymer composite coating

As a result of their significant importance and applications in vast areas, including oil and gas, building construction, offshore structures, ships, and bridges, coating materials are regularly exposed to harsh environments which leads to coating delamination. Therefore, optimum interfacial bonding between coating and substrate, and the reason behind excellent adhesion strength is of utmost importance. However, the majority of studies on polymer coatings have used a one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) approach. The main objective of this study was to implement statistical analysis in optimizing the factors to provide the optimum adhesion strength and to study the microstructure of a rice husk ash (RHA)-based geopolymer composite coating (GCC). Response surface methodology was used to design experiments and perform analyses. RHA/alkali activated (AA) ratio and curing temperature were chosen as factors. Adhesion tests were carried out using an Elcometer and a scanning electron microscope was used to observe the microstructure. Results showed that an optimum adhesion strength of 4.7 MPa could be achieved with the combination of RHA/AA ratio of 0.25 and curing temperature at 75 °C. The microstructure analysis revealed that coating with high adhesion strength had good interfacial bonding with the substrate. This coating had good wetting ability in which the coating penetrated the valleys of the profiles, thus wetting the entire substrate surface. A large portion of dense gel matrix also contributed to the high adhesion strength. Conversely, a large quantity of unreacted or partially reacted particles may result in low adhesion strength

Seaweeds as renewable sources for biopolymers and its composites: a review

Background: The rising environmental awareness has driven efforts for the development of renewable materials for various end-use applications. The trend of using biopolymer in combination with organic or non-organic filler has increased rapidly in recent years. Seaweed is a versatile organism that produces various kinds of polysaccharides i.e. agar, carrageenan and alginate that are extensively used in the development of biopolymer. Biopolymers derived from seaweed polysaccharides possess promising features as they are renewable, biodegradable, biocompatible, and environment-friendly. The aims of this paper are to review research related to the seaweed and its biopolymers for various applications. Methods: Research articles related to the seaweed and its biopolymers are reviewed. The summary of seaweed composites and seaweed biopolymers modification are provided. Results: Seaweed has been used for various applications ranging from food, thickening agent, natural medicine, biofuel, biosorbent material, etc. Seaweed was also used as reinforcement to improve the mechanical properties of polymer composites. Various modifications have been done on seaweed biopolymer to improve the properties of the materials such as blending with other polymers, the addition of compatibilizer, and reinforcement with other materials. The potential of seaweed polymers i.e. agar, carrageenan, and alginate in various applications such as packaging and pharmaceutical show promising characteristics for applications. Conclusion: Seaweed is a highly potential source for renewable biopolymers. These biopolymers have shown great characteristics for various applications due to their unique film-forming ability and excellent mechanical properties. These properties can be further improved following various modification techniques i.e. reinforcement and blending. The potential of seaweed as filler in polymer composites provides evidence to improve the thermal, physical, and mechanical properties of the synthetic polymer matrix. It can be concluded that seaweed is a highly potential renewable resource for the development of biocompatible and environmentally friendly materials

Quasi-static crush behaviour of environmentally friendly kenaf/wool epoxy composites elliptical tube

This current study is to investigate the behaviour of the kenaf/wool natural fibre. Reinforced composite elliptical cones with different content of fibre for each of the two types separately in absorbing energy and the load capacity, the lack studies about the composite elliptical tube, our focus was on this shape of shells of effect content of fibre for each of the two types separately. Various fibre contents were considered, including 30 wt%, 35 wt% and 40 wt%. The composite elliptical tubes were subjected to an axial quasi-static crushing test to achieve the study objectives; the methodology has been divided into three main sections concerning the problem statement, the first section is the mandrels preparation; the second section is specimen's fabrication process and finally is the crushing test. This study concerns the usage of the composite elliptical tube as a collapsible energy absorbing device within an automobile structure, which is supported at the distal end (i.e. the point of attachment) by a stronger structure and is designed to behave in a manner more similar to the quasi-static axial regular progressive mode. Therefore, quasi-static axial compression tests were performed on the tubes using INSTRON universal servohydraulic testing machine. The materials used in this study are polymer resin and kenaf/wool fibres. Environmentally friendly kenaf and wool fibre were used in this study due to several advantages such as environmentally benign, lightweight, low cost, no health risk, and availability. Results showed that including 30 wt% has a higher value of load- caring capacity and energy-absorption capability than including 35wt% and including 40 wt%. The results also show that the wool fibre has a higher value of load-carrying capacity and energy-absorption capability than kenaf fibre

Thermoplastic sugar palm starch composites

Chapter 9 discusses the development of biodegradable materials derived from sugar palm starch. Due to the increasing environmental problems arising from the disposal of non-biodegradable plastics, the development of biopolymers has gained increasing attention from researchers as substitutes for conventional petroleum-based plastic. Among biopolymers, starch has been considered the most promising material because it is low in cost, highly abundant, renewable and fully biodegradable. This biopolymer can be transformed into thermoplastic starch in the presence of heat and plasticizer. Recent research has focused on the development of thermoplastic starch utilizing a new source of starch, sugar palm (Arenga pinnata). Unfortunately, thermoplastic sugar palm starch presents some drawbacks, such as poor mechanical properties, high sensitivity to moisture, and low thermal degradation. Therefore, various studies have been carried out to overcome these drawbacks, such as blending thermoplastic sugar palm starch with other biopolymers and reinforcement with various natural fibers to enhance the properties of this bio-based material