A PRELIMINARY NOVEL STUDY ON THE GRAVITY EFFECTS OF CURING OR DRYING ANGLE ON LAMINATED COMPOSITE STRUCTURE

The composites materials are getting more attention nowadays for its superior properties such as light weight, high structural rigidity and high resistance to environment degradation. Its wide applications for instance in construction, automobiles and aircraft are encouraged by its easy fabrication method. Thus, its demand is very great. However, the current technique for curing or drying the composites occupies ample area. It is because the composites are laid flat horizontally for about 24 hours if room temperature curing is preferred. Therefore, the composites take up much space for long hours to reach complete drying. Consequently, the optimum productivity is not achieved. In order to meet the production delivery, much cost may be involved for getting required space for curing the composites. To handle this challenge, a study on the gravity effects of curing or drying angle on laminated composite structure via vacuum bagging technique is carried out. The study aims to identify the possibility of curing the composites at a certain angle position to reduce the space required in accordance with Lean concept to minimize wastage in terms of time, space and cost. The objectives is to investigate the mechanical properties through flexural, tensile and hardness testing for the laminated composites cured between 00 - 900. Besides, the physical properties such as density, water absorption and swelling are studied since their properties may affect the product applications during service. The composite structures are divided into top, middle and bottom regions to observe whether its properties vary due to the gravity effect. The research targets to have the best curing effect between 00 - 900 and may not or negligible effects on the different region of the composite structures. In short, the research is intended to facilitate composites manufacturing factories especially Small and Medium Industry (SMI), automobiles and ship industries

A Review on Potential of Development New Weave Pattern Design using Glass Fiber and Kenaf Fiber for Intraply Composite

Mechanical properties of the laminated composite made from fabric type reinforcement can be affected by using the method of bonding and finishing due to the constructional parameter of each lamina. Hence, the new intraply between glass fiber and kenaf fiber for composite structure is proposed toward improving overall mechanical and physical properties of intraply composite structure. Implementation of natural fiber in synthetic fiber reinforced composite has high potential to be explored scientifically. This review is mainly focused on the theory and the knowledge of composite material which found over the years by various scientists and researchers as well as related studies based on the previous researches. The types and roles of matrix and fiber materials in composites are also discussed. Major findings in this review show that the characteristics of composite depend on the weave patterns and the structure of interply and intraply. Therefore, the new intraply for glass fiber and kenaf fiber in composite structure is expected to perform better in aspect of mechanical and physical properties, besides reduced the dependency to glass fiber (100%). Finally, it will propose the most effective weave pattern designs in the functional combination form of glass and kenaf fibers. The numerical results are compared with the experimental data available in literature

SYNTHESIS AND FABRICATION OF AN EFFECTUAL DYE SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL

This paper is the result of an experimental study on using zinc oxide (ZnO) as an alternative material to titanium oxide (TiO2) in the fabrication of dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The zinc oxide thin film was prepared using sol-gel route technique. ZnO powder was annealed separately at 250ºC and 500ºC. ZnO powder annealed at 500 ºC was found to be more effective compared to the one annealed at 250ºC. Higher temperature annealing condition has given significant result in producing higher grade ZnO with reduced impurity and increased absorption intensity. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Particle Size Analyzer and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (EDS) were used to study the microstructure of the material. Fabrication of DSSC was carried out using ZnO porous, natural dye, graphite, sulphuric acid and ITO glasses. Tests were conducted using natural sunlight and the results revealed that the DSSC produced has an efficiency of 25.0%., very comparable with results from other studies. Thus, an effectual DSSC has been achieved

THE FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS ON HEXAGONAL RING UNDER SIMPLE LATERAL LOADING

Lateral crushing of hexagonal ring under quasi-static loading were analysed using ABAQUS/Standard Finite Element (FE) Method package. The modes of deformation and loaddisplacement characteristics were predicted and the same were compared with experimental results. The material modelling of elastic-perfectly plastic and nominal stress-plastic strain were compared. The experimental results found that the quarter model using CPE6H with elastic-perfectly plastic material is good enough to obtain a satisfactory result

TAGUCHI’S QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ANALYSIS OF THE SME BREAD MANUFACTURING

The purpose of this study is to optimize the manufacturing process of the SME bread product using Taguchi method. The study is focused on the quality problems occurred as the outcomes of the process (quality of the bun produced) related to controllable factors of products design identified (machine temperature and length duration time) for the improvement required. By implementing the technique of analysis of variance (ANOVA), the composition of the controlled parameters, such as machine temperatures and duration times, is therefore determined and constructed into Orthogonal Array (OA) of L9(33) related to what the setting parameters produces the optimal output. To improve the quality of the manufactured product, the setting of parameter recommended in this study is A2B2C2 or A1B2C2 {(Low or High) ∩ 10minutes ∩ 200OC)}

SOLID FUEL FROM EMPTY FRUIT BUNCH FIBER AND WASTE PAPERS PART 1: HEAT RELEASED FROM CUMBUSTION TEST

This research discussed on the results obtained for each sample that have been conducted to the solid fuel briquettes made of empty fruit bunch fiber and waste papers from view of heat released during combustion test. The results shows tremendous amount of energy can be generated from these biomass compositions. The energy can easily harness to generate heat and electricity for many productive operations. Hence, the possibility result in this research is the development of solid fuel briquette by mixing the empty fruit bunch with a waste paper can be one sources of fuel energy. From the combustion analysis shows sample briquette with ratio 60:40 has given a highest value of heat released which is 162.77 kJ, whereas sample with ratio 40:60 has good burning time

Analysis and development of recycled materials for wood plastic composite product

This study is to find out the best optimum ratio of the mixed waste materials of high-density polyethylene and wood’s flour by comparing the mechanical properties of recycled product (WPC). In this study, the fabrication process of wood plastic composite (WPC) contained of virgin material, post-consumer high-density polyethylene, and wood’s flour is through a twin-screw extruder and hot compression machine. The WPC product with four different ratio filler content based on weight percentage, i.e. 0 wt %, 20 wt %, 30 wt % and 40 wt % , were tested using universal tensile machine and impact tester according to ASTM D 3039, ASTM D 790, and ASTM D 6110 . The results of experiment showed that tensile and flexural properties of the composite increased with the adding of the wood’s flour material. The testing showed, however, totally opposite to the result of the impact test. In overall, the results of observations showed that recycled WPC have better mechanical properties compared to non-recycled WPC

STUDY OF THE OPTIMUM CONDITION TOWARDS THE INDUCING PARAFFIN WAX LDPE

Low Density Polyethelene is a thermoplastic resin extracted from petroleum based, whereas the wax is an oily organic component that is contains of alkanes, ester, polyester, and hydroxyester. The purpose of this research is to find out the optimum conditions of the wax produced by inducing LDPE. The experiment is carried out by mixing the wax and LDPE into four new polymer compositions, in which the higher value of the tensile strength, Young’s modulus, and hardness are obtained by mixing between 90 wt. % LDPE with 10 wt. % wax, rather than compared to pure LDPE. The results are 8.896 MPa, 247.602 MPa and 50.9 respectively. However, only the strength impact that has a lower value as much as 31.38 %. By SEM analysis, the improvement of mechanical properties value examined in which the most suitable of optimal composition is 90 wt. % LDPE with 10 wt. % wax. The LDPE/wax mixture produces a new polymer and alters the properties of pure LDPE

A Comparision Analysis on Mechanical Properties between between Wax/LDPE Composite Versus Versus Coconut Coir/wax/LDPE Hybrid

Natural fibers are, currently, as one of potential's reinforcing fiber source. One of their potential, especially which is related to mechanical reinforcement, can be found in coconut coir. By adding wax and low density polyethylene as reinforced matrix to coconut coir, in fact, will enhance the mechanical properties of the resulting hybrid composites. Therefore, in order to find out the optimum properties of coconut coir, this study is focused on how the mechanical characteristic of coconut coir and wax produced by inducing LDPE. In this study, by mixing the coconut coir, wax, and LDPE into four new polymer compositions, we found that the higher value obtained of the tensile strength, and hardness is by mixing between 8wt. % coconut coir with 2 wt. % wax hybrid, while for impact test LDPE/wax composites showed significantly higher impact. With two different methods applied, we carry out the study through hot plate magnetic stirrer for wax and LDPE mixing, while to coconut coir, wax, and LDPE with hot press. By examining the results related to mechanical properties value, we found that the most suitable mixtures of an optimal composition is obtained with 90 wt. % LDPE, 4 wt. % wax, and 6 wt. % coconut coir. Here, the LDPE, wax, and coconut coir mixture produces a new hybrid polymer

Coconut Fiber Panel Towards Acoustical Performance

In this research, the natural material fiber was intended to replace the synthetic fiber to reduce its dependency on synthetic materials. Basically, the use of natural material can minimize the cost in terms of materials and processing as well as to conserve the environment by reducing the waste of natural material. An experimental investigation was conducted to explore the sound absorption properties of coconut fiber with and without holes reinforced polyurethane (PU) for acoustic applications. The materials used in this study were coconut fiber as a reinforcement and PU as a matrix. The absorption coefficient of the acoustic panel was measured by using impedance tube and reverberation room testing. The results reveal that S3 shows good agreement in absorption coefficient value which is 0.75 between the frequencies of 3500 to 4000 Hz. The findings of this study also suggest that the absorption coefficient of CSM coconut fiber filled with PU without holes shows better perfomance compared to CSM coconut fiber filled with PU with holes 3 mm or 6 mm. Implications of the results and future research directions are also presented