Flowfield-dependent variant method for moving-boundary problems

A novel numerical scheme using the combination of flowfield-dependent variation method and arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian method is developed. This method is a mixed explicit–implicit numerical scheme, and its implicitness is dependent on the physical properties of the flowfield. The scheme is discretized using the finite-volume method to give flexibility in dealing with complicated geometries. The formulation itself yields a sparse matrix, which can be solved by using any iterative algorithm. Several benchmark problems in two-dimensional inviscid and viscous flow have been selected to validate the method. Good agreement with available experimental and numerical data in the literature has been obtained, thus showing its promising application in complex fluid–structure interaction problems

Vision2020 and the English language : a study of the role of language in national development.

The research reported here is an investigation into the problems of social and economic development of a multiethic and multicultural country which has the added challenge of adopting a non-indigenous code to facilitate the development process. Malaysia's power to negotiate outcomes favourable to the interest of the country is critical for the successful attainment of the goals and objectives of VISION2020. Therefore the mechanisms of the human resource development programme have to be efficacious. The three hypotheses of this study are as follows: 1. there is a fear that the problems and challenges posed by the development plans, have been conceptually trivialised; 2. based on (1) above there is a concern that solutions proposed are inadequate and inappropriate and 3. the outcome of both (1) and (2) can lead to the potential underachievement of national goals and objectives. The study proposes a complex model for conceptualising the problem which looks at the relationship between society and language, which any solutions proposed must take into proper consideration. The study looks at the mechanisms available for the smooth absorption of new Malaysian members to new and international communities. A large scale investigation was undertaken with the researcher functioning as a participant observer. An in-depth study of one particular educational ecology yielded approximately 38 hours of interviews and 100 questionnaires. These data were analysed both for explicit information and implicit implications. By some criteria national policies appear to be having the desired effect, and can be given a clean bill of health. By others it is clear that major adjustments would be necessary if the nation is to achieve its objectives in full. Based on the evidence gathered, thr study proposes an apprenticeship approach to training programmes for effective participation of new members in the new ecologies

Chloride Resistance of Concrete Containing Palm Oil Fuel Ash

Experimental study was conducted to investigate the chloride resistance of concrete containing palm oil fuel ash (POFA). Ground POFA was used to partially replace Portland cement Type I, by 20% by weight of binder in order to prepare POFA concrete.  Water cement ratio of 0.28 was used and high water reducing admixture was added to maintain workability. POFA concrete was investigated and tested for compressive strength at ages of 7, 28 and 90 days. Rapid chloride penetration test (ASTM C1202) and salt ponding test (ASTM C1543) were conducted on standard concrete specimens to investigate the chloride resistance of concrete.  The results showed that the compressive strength of POFA concrete was improved comparing with plain concrete. The results of chloride penetration tests revealed that significant improvement in terms of chloride resistance could be obtained by using 20 % of ground POFA in concrete mix as cementing replacement material

A Framework for Research Supervision

One of the main challenges that are encountered in research development is the management of research activities. Supervisors often have difficulties in managing schedules, issues and supervision of different research activities. This is compounded by students’ poor research skills. Consequently, in this paper, we propose a knowledge management framework to point out, track, and monitor various research supervision activities. The proposed framework consists of two layers, abstract and detail. The abstract layer consists of six stages which are; basement stage, review stage, data collection stage, data analysis stage, development stage, and testing and validation stage. These stages, according to our framework, are mandatory; in other words, any research must go through the stages. To complete the task of each stage, a number of steps are defined, which constitute the detail layer. A supervisor is able to pick up appropriate steps (and not all suggested steps) from the detail layer since the complexity varies from one research to another. We discuss the results of our findings in conceiving the framework. Keywords: research development, development stage, research activities, supervision managemen

Velocity profile measurement of solid particles using LED as a light source

Optical sensors have been widely available and used in medical applications and industries for decades. Its design comes in a wide range of varieties where each are tailored based on its type, use, size, nature of investigated materials etc. In this work, we focus on the development and investigation of an optical sensing module, which uses Light Emitting Diode (LED) as the light source and LED photosensor as detector. This sensor is to measure the velocity of a solid particle in a gas flow inside a closed pipe. Various factors such as power dissipation, wavelength of the light source, switching time and cost are considered in the design process of this sensor. The cross correlation technique is used to determine the flow rate where small particles were introduced in a natural gas flow and they went through two distanced sets of sensor module. The LED beam source in the first set of sensor will be scattered when the particle crosses it then the corresponding photodetector will collect the light signal received and generates a pulse signal. The second pulse signal is generated when the particle crosses the second set of sensor after an interval of time. The time interval measured is used to calculate the velocity of the flow. An analysis of the received pulse signals is made to determine the best configurations of the sensors. At the end of this study, we were able to develop a simple, working, and cost effective sensing module

Experimental respiratory infection of goats with Mycoplasma arginini and Pasteurella haemolytica A2

Twenty-one healthy local goats of about eight months old were divided into four groups consisting of six animals in groups 1, 2 and 3 and three animals in group 4. Goats in groups 1 and 2 were inoculated intratracheally with Mycoplasma arginini. Goats in group 2 were inoculated again with Pasteurella haemolytica A2 six days later. Goats in group 3 were inoculated intratracheally with P. haemolytica A2 alone while goats in group 4 received intratracheal inoculation ofPBS. The goats were euthanised at day 1, 3 and 7 post inoculation with P. haemolytica. Four goats in group 1 and three goats in group 3 had small patches of mild pneumonic lesions. Goats in group 2 had severe lung lesions typical of pneumonic pasteurellosis at the anteroventral region of the lungs. None of the goats in group 4 had pulmonary lesions. P. haemolytica was reisolated from all goats in group 2 and from three goats in group 3 but M. arginini was not reisolated

Exploration and verification of fourth industrial revolution generic skills attributes for entry-level civil engineers

The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) requires the workforce to be equipped with new skills when existing skills need to be upgraded or improved because they are no longer in line with technological advancement in 4IR. Thus, it is crucial to determine what the new skills or 4IR skills are that can help the future workforce obtain a job after graduation. This study aimed to explore and verify the attributes of nine 4IR generic skills (GS4IR) for entry-level civil engineers in Malaysia by using a qualitative approach. An interview session was conducted with five senior engineers in the civil engineering (CE) field and three experts (two engineers in CE and one lecturer in CE faculty) for reliability data verification. The interview data were analyzed using coding analysis and presented in a matrix table. The results show 76 items identified as attributes of nine GS4IR constructs. Next, the verification of the constructs and attributes of GS4IR was obtained from Fleiss Kappa's reliability analysis to determine the overall approval index. The results of the analysis revealed an overall Kappa coefficient value of 0.61, which indicates a good level of agreement. The findings of this study consist of 58 attributes for nine constructs of GS4IR approved after the inter-rater reliability among the experts. The findings from this study are beneficial for the development of a framework of 4IR generic skills for civil engineering graduates as guidance to instill new skills in producing future engineers

The cell structure and growth rate of three species of marine microalgae (Chlorella vulgaris, Tetraselmis chuii and Isochrysis sp.) before and after cryopreservation

Three species of marine phytoplankton Chlorella vulgaris, Tetraselmis chuii and Isochrysis sp. were cultured using Conway media in 20 °C with the light intensity of 90 μmol m-2s-1 and a photoperiod of 12:12 h L/D cycle. Cells were harvested in stages at logarithmic and stationary phases. Equilibration time for cyroprotectant exposure was 10 to 20 minutes before the samples was placed in the programmable freezer for a controlled rate of cooling at -1 °C /min. The temperature was reduced uniformly from 200C until it reaches -40 °C where the samples were maintained at this temperature for 30 minutes before direct immersion into liquid nitrogen at -196 °C. Samples were stored in liquid nitrogen for one week. Percentage of viable cells was relatively higher in the stationary phase for the three species that is 95.13 % for Chlorella vulgaris, 79.09 % for Isochrysis sp. and 69.36 % for Tetraselmis chuii. The growth rate of viable cells for Chlorella vulgaris a both logarithmic and stationary phases and Tetraselmis chuii at logarithmic phase showed insignificant differences (p > 0.05) before and after cryopreservation. Tetraselmis chuii of stationary phase and Isochrysis sp. of both phases gave significant differences (p < 0.05) for growth rate before and after cryopreservation due to photo-oxidation. The cell structure after cryopreservation showed disorganization and abnormality in the ultra-structure but this did not seem to affect the growth rate of the viable cells