A perspective of the Malaysian highway energy consumption and future power supply

In this short communication, we discuss the energy consumption trends in the Malaysian road transport sector, with a special emphasis on the energy losses due to vehicle aerodynamic drag on highways. The recent trends of energy consumption in the Malaysian road transport sector are reviewed. It is evidently shown that the aerodynamic losses represented exceed 1.2. MTOE annually since 2002. A novel concept of vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) farms for harvesting aerodynamic energy losses on Malaysian highways is preliminarily proposed. The novel concept aims at providing a sustainable and green energy source for the lighting of the highway network in the country

Boil-off gas formation inside large scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) tank based on specific parameters

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) fleets are coasting with various condition and behavior. These variable leads to different type of LNG fleets build every year with unavoidable generated Boil-off Gas (BOG). Estimation of BOG generated inside LNG tank play significant role in determines the ship specification and management method of BOG including venting, propulsion or requalification. Hence, in the present study, the right choices of boundary condition and parameter have been implementing in order to have good estimation amount of BOG evaporates for specific LNG tank. Three dimensional model of cargo with capacity 160000 m3 LNG carrier are simulate using ANSYS Fluent with specific ambient air temperature of 5oC and ambient seawater temperature of 0oC have been chosen as a calculation case, gain the total heat transfer rate and Boiloff Rate (BOR). The result shows that the calculation model and simulation are feasible with typical LNG fleet specification and International Marine Organization (IMO) standard

A state approach to the management of concurrent design task design of symmetrical woble plate compressor

This paper discusses how state space control concepts may be applied to the modelling and control of coupled, concurrent design tasks subjected to unexpected, dynamic disturbances. The Homogeneous State Space (HSS) model determines the natural response shape of the design process and predicts the number of iterations before all the design tasks are completed, while the Non-Homogeneous State-Space (NHSS) model precisely monitors and controls the stability and the convergence rate of each design task. The amount of additional work or resources required by each task at every stage of iteration can be determined; this facilitates workload distribution and resource allocation in design task planning and scheduling. A case study of the design of a new symmetrical wobble plate compressor is discussed to validate the proposed models in monitoring and controlling the stability of design tasks under the influence of unexpected disturbance

Piston ring assembly for a new natural gas vehicle symmetrical multistage wobble-plate compressor

Natural gas is an alternative fuel of choice in the market today due to the increase in the price of petroleum, as well as out of environmental concerns. Pressure requirement for a natural gas vehicle (NGV) storage tank is 3000 psig (206 bars). Thus, at NGV refueling facilities, the natural gas need to be stored at a higher pressure in order to refuel the NGV at the pressure required. Compressors are needed in the compression process at the refueling facilities. A new compressor design for natural gas refueling appliance has been developed which is the symmetrical multistage wobble-plate compressor. This compressor design is the newest variation of the axial reciprocating piston compressor. The success of the compressor design in compressing gas depends on the piston ring assembly design. Through this paper, the process of designing the piston ring assembly and considerations taken for this new compressor design were explained. The results presented are those from preliminary tests using air on the working fluid. Real tests on natural gas are to be organised utilising all the experience and lesson learnt from that on air

Reducing soak air temperature inside a car compartment using ventilation fans

This article presents an investigation on the effects of using ventilation fans on the air temperature inside a car passenger compartment when the car is parked under the sun. It was found from a measurement that the air temperature inside the passenger compartment could raise up to 48°C. Computational fluid dynamics method was used to develop model of the compartment and carry out flow simulations to predict the air temperature distribution at 1 pm for two conditions: without ventilation fans and with ventilation fans. The effects of fan location, number of fans used and fan airflow velocity were examined. Results of flow simulations show that a 17% temperature reduction was achieved when two ventilation fans with airflow velocity of 2.84 m/s were placed at the rear deck. When three fans were used, an additional 3.4% temperature reduction was attained. Placing two ventilation fans at the middle of the roof also reduced the air temperature by 17%. When four fans were used a further 4.8% temperature reduction was achieved. Increasing the airflow velocity at the four fans placed at the roof, from 2.84 m/s to 15.67 m/s, caused only a small reduction in the air temperature inside the passenger compartment

Evaluation on the tribological properties of double fractionated palm olein at different loads using pin-on-disc machine

The use of vegetable oil-based lubricant as a lubricant in various applications has increased and it is eyed by the industry due to its superior tribological properties, besides possessing the potential to replace petroleum-based lubricants. Palm olein is one of alternative lubricants that could be suitable and attractive as a lubricant to be studied due to its advantages and large production in the country. Thus, in this study, the behavior of palm olein characteristics was investigated by using pin-on-disc experiment, in which a hemispherical pin was loaded against the rotating grooved disc. The experiments via sliding were performed with pin-on-disc tester using pure aluminum as the material for hemispherical pin and SKD11 for disc. The test was implemented by dropping continuous flow of palm olein as lubricating oil on sliding surface at different loads applied, which were 10N, 50N, and 100N. The wear rate of the pin and the friction coefficient were also investigated. Moreover, the surface roughness before and after the experiment was analyzed as well. All the results obtained were compared to hydraulic oil and engine oil- SAE 40. From the analysis, the friction coefficient acquired from lubricated with palm olein was the lowest for both conditions. The wear rate obtained for the three lubricants increased from 10N to 100N load for palm oil, but decreased for hydraulic and engine oil-SAE 40. Meanwhile, the wear rate obtained for lubrication with hydraulic oil showed the lowest value compared to Engine oil-SAE 40 and double fractionated palm olei

Optical fibre chemical sensor for trace vanadium(V) determination based on newly synthesized palm based fatty hydroxamic acid immobilized in polyvinyl chloride membrane

Fatty hydroxamic acid (FHA) immobilized in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) has been studied as a sensor element of an optical fibre chemical sensor for V(V). By using this instrument, V(V) in solution has been determined in the log concentration range of 0–2.5 (i.e. 1.0–300 mg/L). The detection limit was 1.0 mg/L. The relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) of the method for the reproducibility study at V(V) concentration of 200 mg/L and 300 mg/L were calculated to be 2.9% and 2.0%, respectively. Interference from foreign ions was also studied at 1:1 mole ratio of V(V):foreign ions. It was found that, Fe(III) ion interfered most in the determination of vanadium(V). Excellent agreement with ICP-AES method was achieved when the proposed method was applied towards determination of V(V)

SOIL TEMPERATURE CONTROL FOR GROWING OF HIGH-VALUE TEMPERATE CROPS ON TROPICAL LOWLAND

Low soil temperature (14℃–20℃) favours growing of high-value temperate crops that are known to have higher return per hectare of land than other widely cultivated crops, thereby presenting increased income to farmer. However, due to high soil cooling load, growing these crops on tropical lowland area is a challenge except through greenhouse farming or on few cool higher altitudes with resemblance of temperate climate. Greenhouse farming involves cooling the entire volume of planting zone and is energy intensive, while few cool highlands are not sufficient to achieve food security in this direction. This study aims at application of chilled water for direct cooling of soil, to create favorable soil conditions for optimal performance of planted temperate crops. However, soil cooling using vapour compression refrigeration system may not be economically viable. Solar thermal chilled water production system is presented in this study to supply the cooling. The system consists of absorption refrigeration system and dimensioned size of soil bed with chilled water pipe network. The study includes modeling of soil cooling load to determine the refrigeration power required to overcome such load. The modeled system matched well with the experiment; having standard deviation of 1.75 and percentage error of 12.24%. Parametric analysis of the soil cooling showed that temperatures of cooled soil were significantly affected by chilled water flow rates. The regression equation developed from the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is suitable for predicting cooled soil temperature. The cooling process is technically feasible, with potential for greenhouse gas emission reduction

Modification of RBD palm kernel and RBD palm stearin oil with ZDDP additive addition

Vegetable oils have gained worldwide concern due to environmental issues since it is biodegradable, renewable and environmental-friendly. However, the limitations of vegetable oils such as having low oxidation stability and poor low temperature properties need to be solved. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the tribological behavior of refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) palm kernel and RBD palm stearin by using a modified pin-on-disc tester. The influence of an anti-wear/extreme pressure (AW/EP) additive on the anti-friction and anti-wear characteristics was also evaluated. The experiment was carried out by varying zinc-dialkyl-dithiophosphate (ZDDP) additive concentration of 1wt%, 3wt% and 5wt%; load of 1kg, sliding speed of 2.5 m/s, test duration of 60 minutes and at room temperature. The findings have revealed that without an additive, RBD palm kernel and RBD palm stearin have high friction coefficient and wear as compared with synthetic oils. The addition of additives helps in the improvement of tribological performance of tested vegetable oils. It can be concluded that vegetable oils have a great potential to be used as a petroleum-based substitute

Silicon treatment in oil palms confers resistance to basal stem rot disease caused by Ganoderma boninense

Basal stem rot (BSR) disease, which is caused by the fungus Ganoderma boninense, is the major disease of oil palm in Malaysia and causes economic losses in the oil palm industry around the world. Plants that are treated with silicon (Si) show enhanced host resistance, perhaps because the accumulation of silica in host cell walls deters the pathogen from penetrating host tissues. In this study, oil palm seedlings were treated with five Si sources (silicon oxide, potassium silicate, calcium silicate, sodium silicate, and sodium meta-silicate) at four concentrations (0, 800, 1200, and 2000 mg L−1) to evaluate the effects of Si treatment on the growth and resistance to G. boninense of oil palm. Treatment played a role in keeping the G. boninense infection below the threshold for BSR initiation by restricting the fungus from entering and traveling through host tissues, as assessed by foliar symptoms and examinations of the root and bole for infection. At eight months after inoculation, palms in the control group, which had received no supplemental Si fertilizer, demonstrated the highest levels of disease severity, with estimated 95% cell damage and high physiological stress caused by G. boninense. Inoculation of seedlings with SiO2 at a concentration of 1200 mg L−1 was most effective in suppressing BSR and provided a 53% disease reduction compared with other treatments. Silicon nutrition also reduced the numbers of primary roots infected and of stem tissues that developed lesions