Flexural Strength of Interlocking Compressed Earth Brick (ICEB) Unit

This paper presents the flexural strength of the ICEB unit. The flexural strength is important in determining the strength of the masonry unit. About 260 units of ICEB consist three type of unit were tested on flatwise (bed direction) and inverted direction, with the different shape at the top and bottom of the ICEB. The unit was loaded at midspan through a steel bearing plate of 6.4 mm thickness and 38.1 mm width. Specimens were supported at both ends which are free to rotate in the longitudinal and transverse directions during the test. The highest flexural strength of ICEB is Wall Brick for both flatwise and inverted direction which is 2.36 N/mm2 and 2.15 N/mm2, respectively. For flatwise direction, Beam Brick has the lowest flexural strength which is 1.55 N/mm2, and in inverted direction Column Brick flexural strength is lower than Beam Brick which is 1.65 N/mm2. ICEB can be used in construction and has the equal properties as other common brick and block at the market nowadays

DEVELOPMENT OF REINFORCED THERMOPLASTIC ELASTOMER WITH KENAF BAST FIBRE FOR AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENT

Abstract This paper compared mechanical properties of kenaf fibre (KF

Simulation of Operational Conditions of Fassip-02 Natural Circulation Cooling System Experimental Loop

The natural circulation is considered in the design of emergency passive core cooling system in a nuclear power plant. In that context, in order to investigate the characteristics of the natural circulation, FASSIP-02 experimental loop is designed. This paper simulates the various operational conditions with different condition of the heater power, the pipe insulation and the expansion tank's valve using RELAP5 code. The objective is to obtain the best operational conditions of FASSIP-02 once it is built. The simulation results show that the until 50,000 s the steady state condition could not be achieved yet when the heater power greater than 10 kW. The pipe insulation reduced the heat loss to the environment and in turn it causes faster increase of the water temperature inside the pipe. While, if the expansion tank's valve is closed during the operation, the pressure inside the loop would increase, faster when the heater power is higher. It is concluded that in all cases to avoid the saturation condition, the heater power should be maintained lower than 10 kW, especially when the loop pipe is insulated

A knowledge-driven GIS modeling technique for groundwater potential mapping at the Upper Langat Basin, Malaysia.

The aim of this paper is to use a knowledge-driven expert-based geographical information system (GIS) model coupling with remote-sensing-derived parameters for groundwater potential mapping in an area of the Upper Langat Basin, Malaysia. In this study, nine groundwater storage controlling parameters that affect groundwater occurrences are derived from remotely sensed imagery, available maps, and associated databases. Those parameters are: lithology, slope, lineament, land use, soil, rainfall, drainage density, elevation, and geomorphology. Then the parameter layers were integrated and modeled using a knowledge-driven GIS of weighted linear combination. The weightage and score for each parameter and their classes are based on the Malaysian groundwater expert opinion survey. The predicted groundwater potential map was classified into four distinct zones based on the classification scheme designed by Department of Minerals and Geoscience Malaysia (JMG). The results showed that about 17% of the study area falls under low-potential zone, with 66% on moderate-potential zone, 15% with high-potential zone, and only 0.45% falls under very-high-potential zone. The results obtained in this study were validated with the groundwater borehole wells data compiled by the JMG and showed 76% of prediction accuracy. In addition statistical analysis indicated that hard rock dominant of the study area is controlled by secondary porosity such as distance from lineament and density of lineament. There are high correlations between area percentage of predicted groundwater potential zones and groundwater well yield. Results obtained from this study can be useful for future planning of groundwater exploration, planning and development by related agencies in Malaysia which provide a rapid method and reduce cost as well as less time consuming. The results may be also transferable to other areas of similar hydrological characteristics