Single-, Dual- and Triple-band Frequency Reconfigurable Antenna

The paper presents a frequency reconfigurable slot dipole antenna. The antenna is capable of being switched between single-band, dual-band or triple-band operation. The antenna incorporates three pairs of pin-diodes which are located within the dipole arms. The antenna was designed to operate at 2.4 GHz, 3.5 GHz and 5.2 GHz using the aid of CST Microwave Studio. The average measured gains are 1.54, 2.92 and 1.89 dBi for low, mid and high band respectively. A prototype was then constructed in order to verify the performance of the device. A good level of agreement was observed between simulation and measurement

An Electronically Reconfigurable Patch Antenna Design for Polarization Diversity with Fixed Resonant Frequency

In this paper, an electronically polarization reconfigurable circular patch antenna with fixed resonant frequency operating at Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) frequency band (2.4-2.48 GHz) is presented. The structure of the proposed design consists of a circular patch as a radiating element fed by coaxial probe, cooperated with four equal-length slits etched on the edge along x-axis and y-axis. A total of four switches was used and embedded across the slits at specific locations, thus controlled the length of the slits. By activating and deactivating the switches (ON and OFF) across the slits, the current on the patch is changed, thus modifying the electric field and polarization of the antenna. Consequently, the polarization excited by the proposed antenna can be switched into three types, either linear polarization, left-hand circular polarization or right-hand circular polarization. This paper proposes a simple approach that able to switch the polarizations and excited at the same operating frequency. Simulated and measured results of ideal case (using copper strip switches) and real case (using PIN diode switches) are compared and presented to demonstrate the performance of the antenna

Ion beam and discharge characteristics of cold cathode ion source

24-30In this work, some developments in the acceleration system of cold cathode ion source have been constructed to produce broad beam to be used in different industrial applications. An electrostatic probe with electrical circuit is constructed for study the extracted ion beam distribution. Broad beam 25 mm with ion current in the range of 1 mA is extracted from the constructed extraction system. The obtained optimum distance between the extraction grid and acceleration grid is 3 mm. The characteristics are measured to investigate the ion beam current Ib as a function of different parameters (discharge voltage Vd, gas pressure P, magnetic field intensity B and acceleration voltage Vacc). The magnetic field is collimated and intensifies the plasma that enhances the extracted beam current. The obtained cold cathode ion source can be used in different applications like surface etching, surface modification and deposition due to its long life and compactness

Critical gap analysis of merging sections at Kuala Lumpur middle ring road

At merging sections, drivers normally slow down and sometimes need to stop while seeking a suitable gap before merging with the mainstream. Thus, there will always be several observed rejected gaps and an accepted gap which can be used to determine the smallest average gap, so-called critical gap. This study was carried out to determine critical gap values at selected merging sections at the Jalan Tun Razak and the DUKE Expressway uses the Maximum Likelihood method. Data were collected by using videotaping method and the gap acceptance data were extracted for analysis. A gap acceptance event at highway merging sections in this study was redefined due to unavailability of stopping vehicles at the ramp junction. Therefore, the gap data were estimated starting from a ramp’s vehicle passing the end of gore marking to where it merges with the mainstream. The analysis of the critical gap takes into consideration accepted gaps greater than 5 seconds to avoid forced entry due to lead impedance of successive vehicles on mainstream. The critical gap values obtained in this study, according to vehicle classification were ranged between 4.5 to 5.0 seconds, which are slightly smaller if compared to critical gap values for particularly left turn from minor movement at priority junction of the Arahan Teknik (Jalan) 11/87 and the United States Highway Capacity Manual 2000. The findings shall help to study driving behavior of local drivers, especially at priority control facilities such as merging sections

Comparison Study On Pinch-Hitting Vibration Signal Analysis for Automotive Bearing: I-KazTM and I-Kaz 3D

Rotating machines are now an essential part of the automotive industry. Meanwhile, a bearing is playing the most important component of rotating machinery. To sustain the system's smooth running, maintenance methods such as preventive maintenance, breakdown maintenance, and predictive maintenance are used. Under preventive maintenance, vibration analysis is used to diagnose machines bearing faults. The main objective is to recognize bearing defects in a mechanical device by acquiring signals from the bearing using data acquisition hardware. This analysis is conducted under various load torque conditions, speeds, and defect types. A modular hardware configuration consisting of an accelerometer acquires the vibration signal. The signals are analyzed by using I-kazTM and I-kaz 3D signal analysis and its main objective is to observe the degree of dispersion data from its mean point.  This analysis resolves the issues associated with time domain analysis. This pinch-hitting analysis research was conducted in two stages.  The first stage is an experimental process that uses 3 types of bearings, the healthy (BL), inner race fault (IRF), and defect at outer race (ORF) bearing on the Machine Fault Simulator and forces with a different type of speed (1000, 1500 and 2500 rpm) and load variation (0.0564, 0.564 and 1.1298 N-m). In the second stage, computing the coefficient value and plots of signal’s I-kazTM and I-kaz 3D based on the bearings type were done accordingly. As a result, the analysis for detecting inner race fault, the deviation percentage averages calculation obtained the I-kazTM coefficient shows a better result with 96.86% by comparing to the I-kaz 3D that achieves 94.20%. Similarly, for the outer race defect, I-kazTM lead with 65.40% compared to I-kaz 3D with only 54.82%.  &nbsp

Comparison Study On Pinch-Hitting Vibration Signal Analysis for Automotive Bearing: I-KazTM and I-Kaz 3D

Rotating machines are now an essential part of the automotive industry. Meanwhile, a bearing is playing the most important component of rotating machinery. To sustain the system's smooth running, maintenance methods such as preventive maintenance, breakdown maintenance, and predictive maintenance are used. Under preventive maintenance, vibration analysis is used to diagnose machines bearing faults. The main objective is to recognize bearing defects in a mechanical device by acquiring signals from the bearing using data acquisition hardware. This analysis is conducted under various load torque conditions, speeds, and defect types. A modular hardware configuration consisting of an accelerometer acquires the vibration signal. The signals are analyzed by using I-kazTM and I-kaz 3D signal analysis and its main objective is to observe the degree of dispersion data from its mean point.  This analysis resolves the issues associated with time domain analysis. This pinch-hitting analysis research was conducted in two stages.  The first stage is an experimental process that uses 3 types of bearings, the healthy (BL), inner race fault (IRF), and defect at outer race (ORF) bearing on the Machine Fault Simulator and forces with a different type of speed (1000, 1500 and 2500 rpm) and load variation (0.0564, 0.564 and 1.1298 N-m). In the second stage, computing the coefficient value and plots of signal’s I-kazTM and I-kaz 3D based on the bearings type were done accordingly. As a result, the analysis for detecting inner race fault, the deviation percentage averages calculation obtained the I-kazTM coefficient shows a better result with 96.86% by comparing to the I-kaz 3D that achieves 94.20%. Similarly, for the outer race defect, I-kazTM lead with 65.40% compared to I-kaz 3D with only 54.82%.  &nbsp

Experimental study on mechanical properties of elastomer containing carbon nanotubes

Recently, elastomer reinforced with nanofillers have attracted great interest due to their properties. The incorporation of carbon nanotubes into elastomers improves significantly their mechanical and dynamic mechanical properties. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were used to prepare natural rubber (NR) nanocomposites. Four different NR compounds containing CNTs were investigated. Compounds were prepared by a two roll mill with conventional and efficient cure systems. The properties of the nanocomposites such as tensile strength, tensile modulus and elongation at break were studied. Results obtained show that a smaller amount of CNTs can effectively improve the performance of NR. NR with 1% CNTs composites exhibited better tensile strength compared to other compounds. The study also indicated that filler materials effect on the mechanical properties of the blends

Ion beam and discharge characteristics of cold cathode ion source

In this work, some developments in the acceleration system of cold cathode ion source have been constructed to produce broad beam to be used in different industrial applications. An electrostatic probe with electrical circuit is constructed for study the extracted ion beam distribution. Broad beam 25 mm with ion current in the range of 1 mA is extracted from the constructed extraction system. The obtained optimum distance between the extraction grid and acceleration grid is 3 mm. The characteristics are measured to investigate the ion beam current Ib as a function of different parameters (discharge voltage Vd, gas pressure P, magnetic field intensity B and acceleration voltage Vacc). The magnetic field is collimated and intensifies the plasma that enhances the extracted beam current. The obtained cold cathode ion source can be used in different applications like surface etching, surface modification and deposition due to its long life and compactness