Addressing GHG emissions from land transport in a developing country

The number of motor vehicles in Malaysia is growing at a significant rate, from around 15 million in 2005 to around 25 million in 2014. Based on the National GHG Inventory as reported to UNFCC, as a whole the transport sector has consistently remained the second largest GHG emitting sector in the country, accounting for 20% of the country’s total GHG emissions in 2014 of which about 18% comes from road transportation. In this paper, a possible approach in addressing the GHG emissions from the land transport sector is presented. The avoid-shiftimprove strategy is employed to determine the possible measures to deal with mitigating the GHG emissions. Computation of GHG emissions for 2014 revealed that car is the vehicle with the biggest contribution, due to its large numbers and also VKT. Motorcycles, on the other hand, have relatively lower GHG contribution despite its huge numbers, while goods vehicle have significant GHG contribution despite its small number of vehicles. Public transport (both rail and bus) can significantly reduce GHG emission for each passenger-kilometer compared to other alternatives. Opting for smaller vehicle can also reduce GHG emissions. Another potential solution towards lower GHG emission is adoption of electric mobility and alternative fuel

Experimental study on Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) composite subjected to three point bending using ANOVA technique

This study focuses on the evaluation of factor effect to obtain the optimum configuration on empty fruit bunch (EFB) composite for impact purposes performed by statistical analysis using light resin transfer molding (LRTM). Three factors considered in this study are resin pressure, EFB volume fraction and EFB composite thickness. There are three levels of factorial design and two factors that have been developed to relate between ultimate strength and young’s modulus. Identification on the analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to achieve the most influential factors on responses and optimum configuration. All the three considered factors influence the composite performance although only two are considered as the most influential factors on the composite performance for impact purposes

Dynamic analysis of tramcar suspension system

Suspension system plays an important role in the performance of a vehicle, especially the vehicle handling and ride comfort. The objective of this project is to analyse the passenger ride comfort of a tramcar manufactured by UTM. Numerical analysis was performed on the tramcar suspension system, where the system was modelled and simulated. A full car model was successfully developed, and validated using available experimental data from the work published by other researcher. MATLAB Simulink software was used to simulate the system and obtain the system response. The comfort level was evaluated based on the displacement and acceleration response, considering the bouncing, pitching and rolling factors. The simulation results for tramcar suspension system were then evaluated by comparing them with simulation results for Proton Waja 1.6 and available standards. Based on the evaluation, the conclusion on the tramcar ride comfort was made. It was concluded that the tramcar ride comfort is comparable to the ride comfort of a Proton Waja, and is at an acceptable level. The role of suspension spring stiffness in relation to ride quality was also analysed. From the suspension parameter analysis, it was concluded that the ride comfort of the tramcar can be improved to an optimum level by having the lowest practical spring stiffness value. The tramcar suspension spring stiffness was said to be already in the region of the lowest practical value in the sense of avoiding a very low natural frequency assimilated to motion sickness. Some suggestions have been made at the end of the report for possible improvement or extension to this study

Parametric studies on tramcar suspension system

Suspension system plays an important role in the performance of a vehicle, especially the handling and ride comfort. The role of suspension parameter, particularly spring stiffness, in relation to ride quality is being analysed in this paper. This study focused on the suspension system of a non-commercial transport for recreational purposes designed by the Mechanical Engineering Faculty of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, which is commonly known as ‘tramcar’. For the purpose of the analysis, a full car model for the tramcar suspension system was developed. The simulation on the model was performed using MATLAB Simulink software. The spring stiffness value was varied in the simulation, and the suspension response was observed. From the suspension parameter analysis, it was concluded that the ride comfort of the tramcar can be improved to an optimum level by having the lowest practical spring stiffness value. Lower suspension spring stiffness was shown to provide better ride comfort in term of lower acceleration, pitch rate and roll rate responses. However, the spring stiffness should not produce response frequencies lower than 1Hz in avoiding sensations assimilated to motion sicknes

Experimental testing of oil palm fibre composite manufactured via vacuum bagging method

The objective of this research is to compare tensile strength of oil palm fibre composite produced from oil palm fibre of different configurations. Compressed random oil palm fibre and uncompressed random oil palm fibre reinforced polyester composite were manufactured using vacuum bagging technique. The volume fractions of the fibre to the resin were 6.6:93.4 and 17:83 for compressed fibre and uncompressed fibre composites, respectively. The ratio of the polyester to hardener is 100:2. Tensile properties obtained via tensile tests as per ASTM D 638 specifications using Universal Testing machine INSTRON 5582. Load-displacement plots show that the fracture load and the slope for specimens from the same plate vary with a significant range. Stress-strain plots also have the same issue. With such data direct comparison of average value may not be giving a conclusive comparison, with a big standard deviation for both sets of specimens. Furthermore, there are two simultaneous factors in this study, namely the configuration of the oil palm fibres used and the volume ratio of the composite. Further testing and analysis is deemed to be necessary to further fine tune the fabrication process, for a conclusive comparison

Experimental study of the influence of ply orientation on DCB mode-I delamination behavior by using multidirectional fully isotropic carbon/epoxy laminates

The influence of ply orientation on the resistance to mode I delamination of multidirectional composite laminates can be assessed by Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) tests. However, one difficulty is to uncouple the global and local effects due to the stacking sequence, which is necessary for a conclusive analysis. In the present work six multidirectional DCB specimens were designed so as to obtain an uncoupled fully isotropic elastic behavior, with the same properties for the entire laminate and the two sub laminates separated by the pre-crack at mid-plane. These specimens have different ply orientations, but their elastic properties are exactly the same. Hence differences in mode I delamination behavior are only due to local fiber orientation effects. Experimental results show that the measured toughness at the crack initiation decreases with both adjacent and sub-adjacent ply angles. During the crack propagation, the plateau value of the R-curve increases with the ply angle of adjacent plies

Effects of fiber orientation of adjacent plies on the mode I crack propagation in a carbon-epoxy laminates

The influence of ply orientation on the resistance to mode I delamination of multidirectional composite laminates can be assessed by Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) tests. However, one of the difficulties associated with such a study is the change in overall elastic parameters occurring when modifying local ply orientations. The present work uses laminates with special stacking sequences allowing for isolating the orientation parameter. Multidirectional DCB specimens were designed so as to obtain an uncoupled quasi isotropic and quasi-homogeneous elastic behavior, with the same properties for the entire laminate and the two sub laminates separated by the pre crack at mid-plane. The results show that the toughness in term of GIC is slightly affected by the variation of ply orientations at the crack interface. The differences are more pronounced in the crack propagation behavior after the initiation point. Even with the same orientation at the crack interface, different subsequent ply orientations can also lead to different crack resistance behavior

Review of manufacturing process for good quality of composite assessment

This review paper focuses on the detailed technique and process of fiber fabrication until it becomes composite which is useful for the manufacturing industry. The most famous fabrication methods are the open and closed mould. In general, open mould is a method which exposes the specimen to the atmosphere and the surface condition is not controlled. Close mould, however, is the opposite to open mould, that is in closed conditions without direct contact of the atmosphere and the surface condition is controllable. The manufacturing process techniques are presented comparatively. Discussion on fiber type that is more suitable for specific techniques are also presented in this paper

Effectiveness of online and face-to-face classes : a survey among Malaysian university students for engineering courses

Since the Movement Control Order was implemented in early 2020, lectures shifted from face-to-face to online classes. Various initiatives were made to improve the experience of online classes. The use of online tools such as Padlet and Kahoot helped in generating interactive sessions and communication between lecturers and students. Some students adapted well to online classes, and some found it less interesting and difficult to follow. Engineering courses require strong understanding of concepts and mathematical calculations. Since the transition to the endemic phases, universities have gradually begun shifting back from online to face-to-face classes. However, online classes has its own advantages, and may be still be conducted in certain cases. Therefore, the aim of this research is to understand students' perception and comparison on the effectiveness of online and face-to-face classes for engineering courses. A survey was conducted among engineering courses from five universities in Malaysia. A total of 255 engineering students participated in the survey. To analyse the data, the methodology used in this paper consists of correlation analysis, the mean correlation coefficient (MCC), multiple regression model and ANOVA. The results show that there are five key factor contributes to the effectiveness and quality in engineering education. In conclusion students satisfied with the effectiveness and quality in engineering education based on five perception questions. The key outcome of this study contributes to the future implementation of online and face-to-face classes for engineering courses in Malaysian universities