Trend in lightweight automotive materials for improving fuel efficiency and reducing carbon emission

Depletion of fossil fuels and greenhouse gases is an essential issue in the development of the automotive industry. From the design stage, material selection becomes the most crucial factor. Therefore, this article discusses the development of lightweight automotive materials for increasing fuel efficiency and reducing carbon emissions. Material reliability is assessed by how much weight reduction can be achieved, production costs, safety and durability. Ferro materials (mild steel, High Strength Steel, and Advanced High Strength Steel), non-ferrous (aluminium and magnesium alloy), and Fiber Reinforced Plastics (FRP) have been proven to reduce the total weight of vehicles up to 12.6%. Confirmation of statistical data from the literature illustrates the possibility of using lightweight material to achieve zero CO2 emission. In addition, the 12.6% weight reduction still meets the vehicle safety factor

Tensile properties of wood sawdust fibre reinforced epoxy composites

This study conducts an extensive examination of the tensile properties of epoxy resin composites strengthened with wood sawdust fiber. It emphasizes the potential of these composites as a sustainable and cost-effective substitute in the automotive industry. Sawdust particles with a mesh size of 100 and weights of 10%, 20%, and 30% are mixed with epoxy resin in this experiment so that tensile stress and tensile modulus under load can be observed in detail. The fabrication process involved the manual lay-up of tensile specimens. The results indicate that the tensile properties of composites containing 20% sawdust are an unexpected 30% superior to those comprising 10% filler loading. In contrast, micrograph tensile fracture examinations unveiled the presence of agglomeration and air bubble, factors that compromised the accuracy of the findings. The results demonstrate the critical nature of optimizing the sawdust content to attain the optimal equilibrium in the mechanical properties of composites. It is recommended that future applications implement additional microstructural control measures and refine the fabrication process to enhance precision and dependability

Measurement of indoor air quality parameters in daycare centres in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

This paper focuses on the monitoring of indoor air quality parameters, namely: indoor temperature, humidity, velocity, particulate matter, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in day care centres. This study selected 15 day care centres located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. These day care centres were categorized as follows: (1) day care centers near an industrial area, (2) day care centers near a main road, and (3) day care centers in a residential area. The obtained data showed that the values for the indoor air quality parameters in all day care centres were still well below the recommended value according to the Department of Safety and Health, Malaysia. The day care centers near an industrial area had the highest value of carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide as compared to the day care centers near a main road and the day care centers in a residential area. The average concentrations of carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide in the day care centers near an industrial area were 3.67 ppm and 801.56 ppm respectively. Meanwhile, the carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide in the day care centers near a main road area and the day care centers in a residential area were 3.13 ppm, 768.22 ppm, 2.92 ppm and 733.70 ppm, respectively

Effects of alkali treatments on the tensile properties of pineapple leaf fibre reinforced high impact polystyrene composites

A study on the effects of alkali treatment and compatibilising agent on the tensile properties of pineapple leaf fibre (PALF) reinforced high impact polystyrene (HIPS) composite is presented in this paper. The tensile properties of natural fibre reinforced polymer composites are mainly influenced by the interfacial adhesion between the matrix and the fibres. In this study, several chemical modifications were employed to improve the interfacial matrix-fibre bonding and this resulted in the enhancement of tensile properties of the composites. In this study, the surface modification of pineapple fibre with alkali treatments and compatibilizer were used to improve the adhesion between hydrophilic pineapple fibre and hydrophobic polymer matrix. There are two concentrations of NaOH treatments and compatibilizer used in this study, namely, 2 and 4 wt. %. The results show that the alkali treated fibre and the addition of compatibilising agent in PALF/HIPS composites have improved the tensile strength and tensile modulus of the composites

Assessment of children's health and indoor air contaminants of day care centre in industrial area

Background: Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the most commonly used indicators of indoor air quality (IAQ) in industrial area. The higher concentration level of CO2 and particulate matter (PM10) in day care centre could affect children’s health. The objective of this study was to assess children’s health symptom, and measure the CO2 and PM10 concentration level as IAQ parameters in different locations of day care centres near the industrial area at Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Hulu Langat as urban, suburban and rural areas respectively. Methods: The data of children’s health symptom were collected from the distributed questionnaire. Results: The day care centres (DCC) in Kuala Lumpur has the highest number of children’s illness frequency of more than four times annually (11%), followed by the highest number of children who experienced asthma (5.3%), wheezing (3.3%) and coughing (10%). The results of data collection of day care centres in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Hulu Langat ranged between 629-830 ppm, 587-823 ppm and 600-830 ppm for CO2 level, and 60.80-78.60 mg/m3, 56.90-80.50 mg/m3 and 59.90-79.10 mg/m3 for PM10 level. The statistical analysis for CO2 level between areas was significantly different (P<0.05). Conclusion: Day care centers in Kuala Lumpur have the highest mean rate of CO2 and PM10 as well as frequency of children’ illness which could identify traffic congestion and less greenery of a densely populated city

Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calometric (DSC) analysis of pineapple leaf fibre (PALF) reinforced high impact polystyrene (HIPS) composites

This paper studied the thermal behaviour of pineapple leaf fibre (PALF) reinforced high impact polystyrene (HIPS) composite. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) analysis were used to measure the thermal characteristic of HIPS/PALF composites. In particular, the TGA analysis was utilized to measure the degradation and decomposition of materials in neat polystyrene, pineapple fibre, and the composites. The measurements were carried out in the temperature of 25°C – 800°C, at a heating rate of 20°C min-1 and the nitrogen gas flow was 50 mL min-1. The temperature of the DSC analysis was programmed to be between 25°C – 300°C. The results from TGA analysis show that the addition of pineapple fibre has improved the thermal stability of the composites as compared to neat HIPS. In addition, the effects of compatibilising agent and surface modification of PALF with alkali treated were also determined and compared

Monitoring of indoor air quality parameters in the day-care centres in tropical country

Indoor air quality monitoring in various public premises such as school, day-care centre, office and industrial factory buildings has attracting many scientist, researchers as well as academicians. Since most people spends their daily activity outside their house, poor indoor air quality in all sort of location of public places can be related with their health and life comfort as human beings. This paper involved in monitoring the indoor air quality in two location of day-care centre. First location is Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, being the capital city of Malaysia. Second location is Selangor, which could be categories as suburban area. Temperature, humidity, air velocity, particulate matter (PM10), carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2) were measured as the parameters of indoor air quality in this study. Total 30 day-care centres in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor were selected for this study. The monitoring was conducted during the day-care centre operating hours from 9am to 5pm (8hours) using IAQ meter TSI 8762 for measurement of temperature, humidity, CO and CO2, Dust Trak TSI 8520 for the measurement of PM10 and VeloCalc TSI 9555 for the measurement of air velocity. The CO, CO2and PM10 levels indicated that the city of Kuala Lumpur has higher pollutant levels than suburban area or Selangor

Flow and heat transfer simulation analysis of 3D compact heat exchanger

One of the most common heat exchangers (HEs) utilized in the industry is a compact heat exchanger due to its superior advantage over other types of heat exchangers. Various geometric (fin spacing, tube inclination angle, etc) and process (such as flow velocity, temperature, etc) parameters affect the performance of such compact HEs. The objective of this paper is to investigate the effects of fin spacing, tube inclination angle, and airflow velocity for both tube configurations which are inline and staggered arrangements on heat transfer and pressure drop performance of fin-and-tube HEs. A three-dimensional (3D) numerical method with the aid of Ansys FLUENT software was carried out for the laminar flow condition. Based on the obtained results, the highest average heat transfer coefficient was observed at 120° for both tube arrangements while the lowest average pressure drop penalty is at 30°. Therefore, the recommended inclination angle when high heat transfer is needed is at 120° while if the pumping power is the major problem, 30 °or 150° is recommended

Characterization of mechanical and thermal properties of esterified lignin modified polypropylene composites filled with chitosan fibers

A comparative study was performed on the use of esterified alkaline lignin (AAL) and esterified organosolv lignin (AOSL) as the interfacial modifying agent to improve the properties of polypropylene-chitosan composites. Chitosan was chemically modified through a reaction with the esterified lignin in an alcohol medium. The composites were prepared using an internal mixer and hot-pressed method. Both modified chitosan showed a different chemical structure upon modification with the esterified lignins as confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectra. With a lower molecular weight, the AOSL attachment on the chitosan surface resulted in more efficiency in decreasing hydrophilic characters. Tensile tests showed the increased tensile strength by 32.15% and 26.43% for AOSL-modified composites and AAL-modified composites as compared with the unmodified composites. Overall, the AOSL was superior in improving the mechanical strength and thermal stability of the composites, while the AAL exhibited the most apparent enhancement in ductility and crystallization

Numerical Analysis of Battery Thermal Management System of Electric Vehicle

This study is modelling the direct liquid cooling system of battery used in Electric Vehicle. The purpose of the study is to investigate the performance of the Li-ion battery model under different input of parameters and to evaluate the optimum parameters for the battery thermal management system model to maintain at its peak performance. SolidWorks and ANSYS are used to model and simulate the battery whereas MINITAB software is selected for conducting the statistical analysis. Heat flux, mass flow rate at the inlet and the thickness of the battery model has been selected as input of the simulation. The obtained results show that the heat transfer coefficient is increasing with the higher heat flux and mass flowrate but decreasing with the thickness of the battery model. Pressure drop remains constant when heat flux varies but increasing with mass flow rate and inversely proportional with the thickness of battery. For statistical analysis, an optimum value for the parameters is proposed to maintain the battery to operate with a highest heat transfer coefficient but lowest in pressure difference. Overall, the study has been conducted successfully and fulfilled the objectives stated