Design and development of auxiliary components for a new two-stroke, stratified-charge, lean-burn gasoline engine

A unique stepped-piston engine was developed by a group of research engineers at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), from 2003 to 2005. The development work undertaken by them engulfs design, prototyping and evaluation over a predetermined period of time which was iterative and challenging in nature. The main objective of the program is to demonstrate local R&D capabilities on small engine work that is able to produce mobile powerhouse of comparable output, having low-fuel consumption and acceptable emission than its crankcase counterpart of similar displacement. A two-stroke engine work was selected as it posses a number of technological challenges, increase in its thermal efficiency, which upon successful undertakings will be useful in assisting the group in future powertrain undertakings in UTM. In its carbureted version, the single-cylinder aircooled engine incorporates a three-port transfer system and a dedicated crankcase breather. These features will enable the prototype to have high induction efficiency and to behave very much a two-stroke engine but equipped with a four-stroke crankcase lubrication system. After a series of analytical work the engine was subjected to a series of laboratory trials. It was also tested on a small watercraft platform with promising indication of its flexibility of use as a prime mover in mobile platform. In an effort to further enhance its technology features, the researchers have also embarked on the development of an add-on auxiliary system. The system comprises of an engine control unit (ECU), a directinjector unit, a dedicated lubricant dispenser unit and an embedded common rail fuel unit. This support system was incorporated onto the engine to demonstrate the finer points of environmental-friendly and fuel economy features. The outcome of this complete package is described in the report, covering the methodology and the final characteristics of the mobile power plant

The inter-rater and intra-rater reliability analysis of workplace ergonomic risk assessment

Observation tools have found wide application in ergonomic assessment of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) because of their ease of use, ability to be used by multiple users with less specialised training and less operation time. However, their major challenge remains the reliability of their findings. Since MSD is a multidisciplinary problem, there is need for observation tools to be precise when used by practitioners from different professions. This study therefore, investigated the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of workplace ergonomic risk assessment (WERA) observation tool. Thirteen ergonomics and safety stakeholders, from four different professions were trained and thereafter, independently asked to carry out risk assessment of ten different videos-captured work activities. WERA was used to evaluate the participants’ exposure to six physical risk factors of MSDs in six body regions, so as to determine their risk level. The assessment was repeated after two weeks. The interclass reliability analysis was carried out using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) with the two-way mixed model and absolute agreement as the preferred types. Two of the tasks, tyre extraction and quay crane operation were rated as high risked with an exposure rating greater than 60%, while the remaining eight were medium-risked. The body regions with high probability of MSD exposure were the neck (70%), leg (60%), wrist (60%) and back (50%). Inter-rater reliability (ICC) of the activities by the professionals ranged between 0.97 and 0.99 while intra-rater reliability of the participants ranged between 0.81 and 1.0. The reliability analysis demonstrated consistency among the different professionals using WERA. Therefore,there is a need to urgently redesign the tasks and carry out ergonomic interventions in the work activities assessed

Supplier perceptions of dependencies in supplier–manufacturer relationship

The purpose of this research is to explore the relationship between supplier’s dependency and the relationship orientation of supplier-manufacturer relationship. The main tools of data collection instrument used was a questionnaire which was administrated to a total sample of 210 managers is classified by job title and respondents are also classified by their job functions are corporate executives, purchasing, manufacturing or production, material, and operation from Malaysia electrical and electronic manufacturing industry.The response rate was 26% while 96% were usable questionnaires. Sample selection was based on random sampling.The data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and correlation between independent and dependent variables. The analyses involved statistical methods such as reliability and validity tests and multiple regressions. The findings show that the supplier perceives dependency has a significant relationship with relationship orientation statically

Physical fatigue assessment for intrastate bus driver

Fatigue is considered a psychological or mental fatigue type characterized by subjective feelings of a disinclination to continue driving, drowsiness, fatigue, and deduction motivation. Bus drivers in Malaysia have been facing physical fatigue from driving for many years. Therefore, investigating the psychophysiological factor that related to fatigue could improve understanding and management for fatigue in the transport industry. Physical factors are divided by two parts that is upper and lower body. The objective of this study is to identify the cause, determine the level and analyze the physical fatigue on bus driver. There were two methods applied in this study, which were Modified Nordic Questionnaires that represent subjective measurement and surface Electromyography (sEMG) the objective measurement. Results from sEMG showed neck and upper back muscle groups leads to fatigue as the muscle is running out of energy based from the graph. Through the sEMG data, it can determine the level of physical fatigue on bus driver and analyzed the physical fatigue. Findings of this study from the questionnaire data analysis using the Statistical Package Social Science software, it is proved that physical fatigue really occurred to the intrastate bus driver. Results also showed significant correlation relationship between physical and mental

Sound HIV knowledge and common misconceptions about HIV among university students

The objective of the study was to determine the proportion of sound HIV knowledge and common misconceptions about HIV among university students. A set of pre tested and validated questionnaire assessing sound HIV knowledge and common misconceptions about HIV was used in this cross sectional study. HIV knowledge was defined as sound when one was able to identify correctly two ways of preventing the sexual transmission of HIV and reject three major misconceptions about HIV. Out of 300 respondents, 298 completed the questionnaire giving a response rate of 99.3%. A total of 40.9% of university students have sound HIV knowledge. The majority of those who lacked sound HIV knowledge were young (60.2%) and female (60.4%). A significant proportion still believed that HIV can be transmitted via social contact (13.8%), by sneezing or coughing (11.4%) and mosquito bites (10.1%). About 6.7% were believed wrongly that HIV can be treated by vaccine and healthy-looking people cannot have HIV

Process design in degumming and bleaching of palm oil

Palm oil (Elaeis guineensis) industry is one of the major contributors to the Malaysia economic growths. The palm oil supply from Malaysia has increased apparently over the last two decades due to vast increase in production. Crude palm oil (CPO) obtained from the mesocarp of palm oil fruit undergoes several stages of refining processes in order to produce refined, bleached palm oil (RBDPO). Currently, in Malaysia, the type of refining used is physical refining. This method involved the processing stages of degumming, bleaching and deodorization. From refiners point of view, degumming and bleaching processes are recognized as critical areas in the palm oil refinery and need to be carefully monitored, because any imperfection during these processes will tremendously affect the later stages of refining processes and finally affect the finished product. These stages are identified as the major contributors to the total operating cost of the plant due to the cost of chemicals (phosphoric acid and bleaching earth) that are being used in these processes. In this research, a process model for degumming and bleaching operation will be designed in order to help the refiners to predict the exact ratio of phosphoric acid and bleaching earth to the crude palm oil. By doing so, we hope to reduce the operating costs and time of the overall palm oil refining process. Therefore at the end of this research, with the ANN model designed, the bleaching and degumming efficiency can be improved thus can help to boost the Malaysian palm oil industry

Učinci grupnoga rada i rodnih razlika kod matematičkih dostignuća

This study investigated the effects of group learning and gender differences in mathematical performance in co-educational schools. A total of 88 students in grade 9 in Natore, Bangladesh participated in the study. The research design employed for this study was a quasi-experimental equivalent control group with pre- and post-test design. The experimental group (n=44) underwent the group learning mode whilst in the control group (n=44), the conventional mode of learning was applied for 15 weeks. The independent-samples t-test and MANOVA with repeated measures were used to analyze the data. The results showed a significant effect of group learning, and a significant gender difference in mathematical performance. The findings revealed that the experimental group students outperformed the control group students, and both male and female students in the experimental group improved their mathematical performance with the performance of female students being better than that of male students after group learning integration. Hence, it can be concluded that group learning enhanced mathematics performance for female students while the male counterparts did not benefit as much as the female group. Therefore, group learning may be an approach that can be professionally incorporated to develop female students\u27 performance in Bangladesh.Ovo istraživanje imalo je za cilj proučiti učinke grupnoga rada i rodnih razlika na matematička dostignuća u rodno mješovitim školama. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo ukupno 88 učenika devetog razreda iz Natorea u Bangladešu. Koristila se metoda polueksperimentalne istovjetne kontrolne grupe s testom prije i poslije. Eksperimentalna grupa (n=44) bila je podvrgnuta grupnom radu, dok je kontrolna grupa (n=44) bila podvrgnuta konvencionalnim načinima učenja u trajanju od 15 tjedana. Nezavisni t-test i MANOVA analiza s ponovljenim mjerenjima korišteni su za obrađivanje podataka. Rezultati pokazuju značajne učinke grupnoga rada i značajne rodne razlike u matematičkim dostignućima. Nalazi otkrivaju da je eksperimentalna grupa učenika nadmašila kontrolnu grupu učenika, a učenici i učenice u eksperimentalnoj grupi poboljšali su svoja matematička dostignuća s tim da su učenice imale bolje rezultate od učenika nakon uvođenja grupnoga rada. Zaključak ovog istraživanja je da grupni rad poboljšava matematička dostignuća za učenice, dok učenici ne profitiraju toliko kao učenice. Iz toga slijedi da bi grupni rad mogao biti pristup koji se može profesionalno uključiti da bi se poboljšali dosezi učenica u Bangladešu

Učinci grupnoga rada i rodnih razlika kod matematičkih dostignuća

This study investigated the effects of group learning and gender differences in mathematical performance in co-educational schools. A total of 88 students in grade 9 in Natore, Bangladesh participated in the study. The research design employed for this study was a quasi-experimental equivalent control group with pre- and post-test design. The experimental group (n=44) underwent the group learning mode whilst in the control group (n=44), the conventional mode of learning was applied for 15 weeks. The independent-samples t-test and MANOVA with repeated measures were used to analyze the data. The results showed a significant effect of group learning, and a significant gender difference in mathematical performance. The findings revealed that the experimental group students outperformed the control group students, and both male and female students in the experimental group improved their mathematical performance with the performance of female students being better than that of male students after group learning integration. Hence, it can be concluded that group learning enhanced mathematics performance for female students while the male counterparts did not benefit as much as the female group. Therefore, group learning may be an approach that can be professionally incorporated to develop female students\u27 performance in Bangladesh.Ovo istraživanje imalo je za cilj proučiti učinke grupnoga rada i rodnih razlika na matematička dostignuća u rodno mješovitim školama. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo ukupno 88 učenika devetog razreda iz Natorea u Bangladešu. Koristila se metoda polueksperimentalne istovjetne kontrolne grupe s testom prije i poslije. Eksperimentalna grupa (n=44) bila je podvrgnuta grupnom radu, dok je kontrolna grupa (n=44) bila podvrgnuta konvencionalnim načinima učenja u trajanju od 15 tjedana. Nezavisni t-test i MANOVA analiza s ponovljenim mjerenjima korišteni su za obrađivanje podataka. Rezultati pokazuju značajne učinke grupnoga rada i značajne rodne razlike u matematičkim dostignućima. Nalazi otkrivaju da je eksperimentalna grupa učenika nadmašila kontrolnu grupu učenika, a učenici i učenice u eksperimentalnoj grupi poboljšali su svoja matematička dostignuća s tim da su učenice imale bolje rezultate od učenika nakon uvođenja grupnoga rada. Zaključak ovog istraživanja je da grupni rad poboljšava matematička dostignuća za učenice, dok učenici ne profitiraju toliko kao učenice. Iz toga slijedi da bi grupni rad mogao biti pristup koji se može profesionalno uključiti da bi se poboljšali dosezi učenica u Bangladešu