Performance of grassed swale as stormwater quantity control in lowland area

Grassed swale is a vegetated open channel designed to attenuate stormwater through infiltration and conveying runoff into nearby water bodies, thus reduces peak flows and minimizes the causes of flood. UTHM is a flood-prone area due to located in lowland area, has high groundwater level and low infiltration rates. The aim of this study is to assess the performance of grassed swale as a stormwater quantity control in UTHM. Flow depths and velocities of swales were measured according to Six-Tenths Depth Method shortly after a rainfall event. Flow discharges of swales (Qswale) were evaluated by Mean- Section Method to determine the variations of Manning’s roughness coefficients (ncalculate) that results between 0.075 – 0.122 due to tall grass and irregularity of channels. Based on the values of Qswale between sections of swales, the percentages of flow attenuation are up to 54%. As for the flow conveyance of swales, Qswale were determined by Manning’s equation that divided into Qcalculate, evaluated using ncalculate, and Qdesign, evaluated using roughness coefficient recommended by MSMA (ndesign), to compare with flow discharges of drainage areas (Qpeak), evaluated by Rational Method with 10-year ARI. Each site of study has shown Qdesign is greater than Qpeak up to 59%. However, Qcalculate is greater than Qpeak only at a certain site of study up to 14%. The values of Qdesign also greater than Qcalculate up to 52% where it shows that the roughness coefficients as considered in MSMA are providing a better performance of swale. This study also found that the characteristics of the studied swales are comparable to the design consideration by MSMA. Based on these findings, grassed swale has the potential in collecting, attenuating, and conveying stormwater, which suitable to be applied as one of the best management practices in preventing flash flood at UTHM campus

Combustion characteristics of a spark ignition engine operating with liquid lpg injection

Issues on global warming, stringent emissions regulation and unstable fuel price are among the primary reasons that lead to the usage of alternative fuels in internal combustion engines. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is one of the most popular alternative fuels for spark ignition (SI) engines that received lots of attention due to its availability and acknowledged superior properties than gasoline. However, detail analysis on latest technology of liquid LPG injection that introduces the fuel in liquid phase during injection is scarcely found. With this motivation, a comprehensive experimental study on an SI engine has been conducted in order to evaluate effects of the liquid LPG injection. A series of experiments was performed at several engine speeds ranging from 1500rpm until 4000rpm with a step size of 500rpm. During the experiments, four throttle position (TP) were tested; 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. The experimental results between liquid LPG injection and gasoline were compared. It was found that liquid LPG injection has the capability to increase the engine torque and brake power by 9.56% and 8.34%, respectively as compared to gasoline. Since the LPG has lower carbon to hydrogen ratio than gasoline, the reduction of carbon related emissions, CO2 and CO were found lower in LPG operation by 9.15% and 58.55% respectively than gasoline at all testing conditions. Meanwhile, HC and NOx were recorded higher for LPG, compared to gasoline at all testing conditions. Statistical analysis indicates that liquid LPG operation in SI engine exhibited better combustion stability with 14.87% lower coefficient of variation (COV) of maximum in-cylinder pressure peak throughout the testing than gasoline. In addition, liquid LPG injection also showed improvement on the in-cylinder pressure, rate of pressure rise (ROPR) and rate of heat release (ROHR) where the maximum plot of these parameters was found higher with the usage of liquid LPG injection than gasoline

Magnesium doped calcium phosphate sodium alginate biocomposite for bone implant application

Calcium phosphate (CaP) usually been used for bone implant application due to the similarity mineral in natural bone and it is bioactive and biocompatible material. However, CaP has low mechanical strength under load bearing condition and limited on certain application only. Therefore, sodium alginate (SA), a natural polymer is combined with CaP and doped with magnesium (Mg) to improve the properties of the CaP. CaP/SA biocomposite was successfully prepared by using precipitation method with different ratio of CaP/SA (100/0, 99/1, 97/3, 95/5, 90/10, and 80/20). 95/5 ratio of CaP/SA which the optimum properties of density, hardness, and microstructure analysis was selected to doped with Mg. The composite was then doped with different weight percentage of Mg (0 wt%, 1.0 wt%, 1.5 wt%, and 2.0 wt%) by using similar method. From FTIR analysis, the addition of Mg in CaP was observed decreasing the phosphate group intensity due to substitution of Mg in CaP that also supported in XRD analysis where new phase was formed in Mg doping that belongs to Mg-whitlockite (Ca2.71Mg0.29(PO4)2. Furthermore, the addition of SA and Mg was confirmed by EDS analysis where the mass percentage of these elements were increased as increasing the SA and Mg content. Microstructure from SEM has shown formation small and large grain with average grain size obtained 2.61 μm which leds to the strong bonding resulted maximum hardness at 5.34GPa after doped with 1.5wt%. The density also improved at similar weight percentage with 2.92g/cm3. From the result, 1.5wt% Mg that has been doped with 95/5 CaP/SA was showed the best combination based on physical and mechanical properties

Solid state morphology and band gap studies of ETS-10 supported CdS nanoparticles

Engelhard titanosilicate (ETS-10) supported cadmium sulphide (CdS) nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized by various solid state techniques including: XRD, DR UV-Vis, TEM and FESEM. The effect of different synthesis routes of CdS nanoparticles on its physicochemical character was studied. It was observed that CdS nanoparticles prepared by both in situ sulphur reduction (CdS-IS) and reverse micelle (CdS-RM) methods showed similar properties. However, CdS-IS nanoparticles are more feasible and economically practical. The reflectance measurements of the as-synthesized CdS nanoparticles are apparently blue-shifted compared to bulk CdS. This phenomenon of blue-shifted absorption edge has been ascribed to an increase in bandgap energy with a decrease in particle sizes. The bandgap of the as-synthesized CdS samples was calculated from the linear correlation of [F(R) h?]2 and h?. The bandgap of CdS in ETS-10 was noticeably slightly reduced when compared with the as-synthesized CdS (8 nm) due to the formation of cluster arrays on the pores of ETS-10

Application Of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy In Addressing The Problems Of Bulliying In The School: A Case Study

This study was to examine the theoretical approach that can be used against the client in solving a problem. This study was performed on one client at a school in Kluang, Johor who have behavior problems and negative thoughts. This study focuses on two aspects of the problems can be identified, namely the problem of aggressive acts such as bullying and fighting the teachers and the problems do not feel accepted by their friends and not loved by their parents. This study was conducted to provide a one-time counseling sessions and has been running for thirty minutes. Counselor had also sought approval for the session to be recorded as a reference and collection for the counselor. The suitable theory to used in thid session is rational emotive behaviour theory. The tecnique in REBT such as role-playing was applied in this session due to the client’s unrational behaviour. Client behave in improper manner due to the negitive thoughts. Based on counselor’s reading on theory shows that it is suitable to be applied in session as to help client to achieve his/her goals and success in life. Keywords: REBT, Bulliying, Role-playin

Analysis of factors critical to construction project success in Malaysia

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to study the principal factors that are critical to the success of a construction project in Malaysia, and determine their relative importance as perceived by different respondents. The findings of this study will provide the researcher with up-to-date information in formulating appropriate strategies to address the challenges brought about by human-related issues. The paper will only discuss the first part of the ongoing research based on the pilot survey. Design/methodology/approach - Following a thorough literature search, a total of 37 factors were consolidated and grouped into seven major categories. These factors were assembled into a questionnaire survey and distributed to clients, consultants and contractors. The respondents represent a wide range of professions, including those who are involved in design, construction, engineering, project management and quantity surveying. An analysis of the responses identified 15 factors to be accepted as critical to the success of construction projects. Findings - The results suggest a strong consistency in perception between respondents in recognising the significance of human-related factors such as competence, commitment, communication and cooperation towards the success of a construction project. These factors being the core element in relationship-based procurement reinforced the need and viability of such procurement methods to the Malaysian construction industry. Practical implications - The findings can be used to facilitate the analysis of performance of various procurement systems, as well as identifying critical elements crucial to the development of a relationship-based procurement in Malaysia. Originality/value - This paper captures the perception of construction participants regarding the critical success factors of construction projects in Malaysia and fulfils an identified need to study the critical elements vital to the development of a new procurement approach in Malaysi

The effects of pictures on the order of accessing online war stories

Research on how people read news stories has shown that readers chose to read and access news stories associated with pictures that contained an element of attraction. Researchers have found that the emotional elements within the picture could also play a role. It is unclear how neutral human interest pictures influence readers to access news stories. Is the access process influenced by less emotive pictures or more human interest elements? These issues were explored in an experiment in which 24 students participated. The experiment compared similar news that was accompanied with a human interest picture, information graphic and without information graphic. The focus of the news stories was on war news which almost always contained human interest elements that could be neutral or emotion-laden. The experiment suggested that human interest pictures of war stories could be equally effective in attracting readers to read and remember the news stories

Ketohydrazone complexes as potential emitting material in OLED

Abstract Ketohydrazone is a molecule that is able to act as a bidentate ligand through the O of C=O and N of N=C in the molecule. Three ketohydrazone ligands had been fully synthesized through the condensation reaction between 2- hydroxynaphthaldehydes with various hydrazides: salisylic hydrazide, benzyhydrazide and 2-furoic acid hydrazide in a 1:1 stoichiometry. The ligands had been characterized using infrared, 1HNMR and ultraviolet-visible spectrometer. Complexation reaction between all ligands and metals, with a stoichiometry of 1:2 for Zn (II) : ligand and 1:3 for Al(III) : ligand were carried out. All six complexes obtained were characterized using FTIR and UV-Vis spectrometer. The fluorescence properties of each ligands and complexes were investigated using luminescence spectrofluorometer excited at 406 nm. It was found that the compounds emitted blue light at ? max = 470 nm. Results showed that all the ligands and molecules synthesized have the fluorescence properties and complexation with metal enhanced the intensity of the fluorescence. It was observed that complex of Al(NDB)3 showed the best potential as an emitting material for OLED as it has the highest fluorescence intensity compared to others. Abstrak Ketohidrazon merupakan sebatian molekul yang berupaya berfungsi sebagai ligan bidentat melalui O daripada C=O dan N daripada N=C di dalam molekulnya. Tiga ligan ketohidrazon telah berjaya disintesis melalui proses kondensasi antara 2- hidroksinaftaldehida dan beberapa kumpulan hidrazida, salisilik hidrazida,, 2-furoik hidrazida, dan benzihidrazida.mengikut nisbah stoikiometri 1 : 1. Semua ligan yang telah disintesis dicirikan melalui spektroskopi IR, UV-Vis dan 1H-RMN. Tindak balas pengkompleksan antara ligan yang telah disintesis dengan dua logam yang berasingan, iaitu aluminium dan zink telah dijalankan dengan nisbah ion ligam : ligan 1 : 3 bagi pengkompleksan dengan aluminium dan 1 : 2 bagi pengkompleksan dengan zink. Enam kompleks yang terhasil dicirikan melalui spektroskopi IR dan UV-Vis. Ciri-ciri pendarfluor bagi tindak balas pengkompleksan dan ligan yang terhasil telah dikaji menggunakan spektrometer pendarfluor pada panjang gelombang pemancaran 405nm. Didapati sebatian-sebatian tersebut memancarkan cahaya biru pada ? max = 470 nm. Hasil yang diperolehi menunjukkan bahawa semua ligan dan kompleks yang disintesis menunjukkan sifat pendarfluor dan pengkompleksan dengan logam dapat meningkatkan keamatan pendarfluornya.. Kompleks Al(NDB)3 menunjukkan potensi yang terbaik sebagai bahan pemancar dalam diod pemancar cahaya organik (OLED) memandangkan kompleks ini menunjukkan keamatan pendarfluor yang tertinggi

Effects of biodiesel fuel temperature on performance and emissions of a compression ignition (CI) engine

Diesel engines are still widely needed and applicable to light duty passenger car and heavy duty vehicles. In recent years, limited supply of fossil fuel makes alternative sources of fuel especially biodiesel receiving a lot of attention in the automotive industry. However, in using biodiesel as fuel had created poor fuel-air mixing that generally will produce lower performance and higher emissions than diesel fuel. This is associated with the fuel properties especially viscosity that higher compared to diesel fuel. The aim of this present research was to investigate the effects of preheated biodiesel based crude palm oil (B5, B10 and B15) at 40oC, 50oC and 60oC on performance and emissions of diesel engine at three different load conditions, which are 0% load, 50% load and 100% load. A four-cylinder four strokes cycle, water cooled, direct injection engine was used for the experiments. The results showed that the maximum performance produced was at 0% load condition with the 60oC of heating temperature by B10 where the torque, flywheel torque and brake power increased by 11.55%, 11.42% and 4.16% respectively compared to diesel fuel. While for the emissions, the preheat temperature results on the decrement of CO emission for all load conditions and the maximum reduction recorded was 41.2%. However, the increment of fuel temperature promotes to the higher NOx emissions produced and the maximum increment recorded was 51.7%

Performance of grassed swale as stormwater quantity control in lowland area

Grassed swale is a vegetated open channel designed to attenuate stormwater through infiltration and conveying runoff into nearby water bodies, thus reduces peak flows and minimizes the causes of flood. UTHM is a flood-prone area due to located in lowland area, has high groundwater level and low infiltration rates. The aim of this study is to assess the performance of grassed swale as a stormwater quantity control in UTHM. Flow depths and velocities of swales were measured according to Six-Tenths Depth Method shortly after a rainfall event. Flow discharges of swales (QswaJc) were evaluated by Mean­Section Method to determine the variations of Manning's roughness coefficients (ncalcula1e) that results between 0.075 -0.122 due to tall grass and irregularity of channels. Based on the values of Oswalc between sections of swales, the percentages of flow attenuation are up to 54%. As for the flow conveyance of swales, Oswalc were determined by Manning's equation that divided into Ocalculate, evaluated using ncalculatc, and Octesign, evaluated using roughness coefficient recommended by MSMA (nctesign), to compare with flow discharges of drainage areas (Qpcak), evaluated by Rational Method with 10-year ARI. Each site of study has shown Octcsign is greater than Qpeak up to 59%. However, Ocalculate is greater than Qpcak only at a ce1tain site of study up to 14%. The values of Octesign also greater than Ocalculate up to 52% where it shows that the roughness coefficients as considered in MSMA are providing a better performance of swale. This study also found that the characteristics of the studied swales are comparable to the design consideration by MSMA. Based on these findings, grassed swale has the potential in collecting, attenuating, and conveying stormwater, which suitable to be applied as one of the best management practices in preventing flash flood at UTHM campus