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Challenges in managing university land use to generate income: A review
No full textPublic universities have recently struggled to maintain operating costs due to a budget reduction from Federal Government. Thus, universities must diversify their revenue streams by utilizing the land as one of their valuable assets. However, since the university is not a for-profit institution, it is difficult for them to generate income from land use. This study examines the challenges that universities encounter when managing the usage of their land for the purpose of generating income. The challenges are determined using content analysis of secondary data and the result of this study has identified the four main challenges
21st century engineering learning and teaching: Malaysian perceptive and direction
No full textEngineering education in Malaysia has been recognized by the Washington Accord (WA) since 2009. The International Engineering Alliance continuously updates the requirements for the Program Learning Outcomes according to the needs of the current and future global graduating engineers that member countries of the WA must fulfill. Recent requirements emphasize lifelong learning, complex problem solving, engineering activities, and computing and digital tools capabilities geared towards developing engineering graduates ready for 21st century challenges. When brought upon engineering educators, these increasing requirements posed a dilemma because most are not trained to educate students beyond what they have experienced in their previous formal learning processes, which may be irrelevant for today's learners. In a survey conducted by the UK Royal Academy of Engineering, engineering knowledge and skills are the topmost needed challenges to meet the needs of the 4th Industrial Revolution. Thus, to transform engineering education in Malaysia, the gap between the needs of the current and future engineering requirements, with the current engineering education practices, must be determined. Hence, this study aims to identify the gaps in Malaysian engineering education towards preparing 21st century ready educators, study the transition of engineering educators in their attempt to implement innovative education, and finally develop a framework for transforming engineering education through the infusion of innovative teaching and learning to support the development of the future-ready educators. The study uses a mixed-method research design to identify the gaps through document analysis, interviews, questionnaire surveys, and focus group discussions (FGD) among engineering education providers and industry players. The data will be analyzed and triangulated to chart the gaps in engineering education toward preparing 21st century educators. Later, this result will be used to develop the directions, actions, and transformation framework. The findings from this study will be used to formulate Malaysian national policy for transforming future-ready engineering educators who can excel and be on the leading edge of knowledge, innovation, and humanistic values to develop quality engineers in the 21st century. In this work-in-progress paper, only the initial part of the research, which is part of the document analysis, under the training construct, is reported
Highly active biphasic anatase-rutile Ni-Pd/TNPs nanocatalyst for the reforming and cracking reactions of microplastic waste dissolved in phenol
No full textSolvent-based recycling of plastic can offer the main improvement when it is employed for pyrolysis-catalytic steam reforming. In this research, plastic waste dissolved in phenol was used as a feed for catalytic cracking and steam reforming reactions for valuable liquid fuels and hydrogen production, which is gaining the attention of researchers globally. Microplastic wastes (MPWs) are tiny plastic particles that arise due to product creation and breakdown of larger plastics. They can be found mainly in several habitats, including seas and freshwater ecosystems. MPWs harm aquatic species, turtles, and birds and were chosen to recover in this study that can be reacted on the catalyst surface. Biphasic anatase-rutile TiO2 with spherical-shaped support for Ni and Pd metals with nanosized particles was synthesized via the hydrothermal treatment method, and its chemical and physical properties were characterized accordingly. According to temperature-programmed desorption of carbon dioxide (CO2-TPD) and temperature-programmed reduction of hydrogen (H2-TPR) results, the incorporation of Pd into Ni/TNPs enhanced the basicity of the support surface and the redox properties of catalysts, which were strongly linked to the improved hydrogen yield (71%) and phenol conversion (79%) at 600 °C. The Ni-Pd/TNPs nanocatalyst, with remarkable stability for 72 h of time on stream, is a promising catalyst for the MPW-phenol cracking and steam reforming reactions toward H2 production for clean energy generation and other environmental applications. Besides, this study has also highlighted the opportunities of overcoming the risk of microplastic waste and converting it into valuable fuels such as decamethyltetrasiloxane, phenanthrene, methyl palmitate, benzenepropanoic acid, benzoic acid, azulene, xanthene, anisole, biphenyl, phthalic acid, diisooctyl phthalate, etc
Photo-triggered sustainable adhesive based on itaconic acid
No full textPhotoadhesives have been beneficial for a plethora of applications due to advantages in spatiotemporal control, flexible operating temperature, and in situ applicability. As a sustainable approach, bio-based precursors have been applied for the production of photoadhesives. However, the use of toxic chemicals and incorporation of petroleum-based chemicals in the synthesis process is inevitable. In this study, a photocurable itaconic acid-based polyester, poly(1,3-propanediol-co-citrate-co-itaconate-co-1,12-dodecanedioate) (IAP), was developed from bio-based precursors through a facile, catalyst-free, and solvent-free polycondensation process without use of toxic chemicals. Ultraviolet (UV)-triggered photocross-linking in the presence of a photoinitiator was found to induce adhesion capability in IAP. With 30 min of UV exposure, IAP presented an adhesion strength of 1286.0 ± 19.2 kPa against acrylic substrates. Remarkable adhesion strengths to stainless steel, wood, glass, and polytetrafluoroethylene substrates were also achieved. Due to photo-induced reduction in hydrophilicity of IAP, the polymer was able to repel water at the adhesive-substrate interface upon in situ underwater photocuring, leading to successful wet adhesion. Subsequently, excellent photo-adhesion was also obtained from in situ photocuring of IAP in seawater, simulated body fluid, and silicon oil. This study provides insights into the development of a photo-enhanced and versatile adhesive through green engineering
Spherical amphibian robot design with novel driving principle
No full textThe advantage of spherical robots is utilized in the development of amphibian robots. It leverages the spherical advantage in terms of mobility and concealment to operate underwater. The main issue when developing the robot is that the robot is not conceal properly. Mainly when travel underwater. Robot that applied propeller as the actuator capable to conceal the equipment but different actuator needed for terrestrial locomotion. Therefore, a suitable combination of both terrestrial and underwater actuators that capable to perform multiple motion axis with minimal energy consumption is crucially needed. The objective of this paper is to represent a novel amphibian spherical robot design with its driving principle in terrestrial and underwater motion. The proposed spherical robot consists of 4 motor and 1 water pump. Terrestrial motion applied servo motor to roll the sphere in surge while yawing motion was control by a pendulum that rotates around the x-axis controlled by another servo motor. When travel underwater, surge motion was achieved by using the propeller and ballast will maintain the depth. To change the thrust direction, servo motor will rotate the sphere body to a certain degree which makes it possible to perform heave and surge motion at the same time. Diving and floating motion utilized the variable ballast and the propeller to optimize the robot energy usage and performance. The flow test shows that the resistance is higher when the size is bigger. The hydrodynamic forces act to the robot is the same in all directions. Therefore, the proposed robot should experience the same magnitude of noise in all directions when traveling underwater
Study of VGG-19 depth in transfer learning for COVID-19 X-Ray image classification
No full textModern-era largely depends on Deep Learning (DL) in a lot of applications. Medical Images Diagnosis is one of the important fields nowadays because it is related to human life. But this DL requires large datasets as well as powerful computing resources. At the beginning of 2020, the world faced a new pandemic called COVID-19. Since it is new, shortage of reliable datasets of a running pandemic is a common phenomenon. One of the best solutions to mitigate this shortage is taking advantage of Deep Transfer Learning (DTL). DTL would be useful because it learns from one task and could work on another task with a smaller amount of dataset. This paper aims to examine the application of the transferred VGG-19 to solve the problem of COVID-19 detection from a chest x-ray. Different scenarios of the VGG-19 have been examined, including shallow model, medium model, and deep model. The main advantages of this work are two folds: COVID-19 patient can be detected with a small number of data sets, and the complexity of VGG-19 can be reduced by reducing the number of layers, which consequently reduces the training time. To assess the performance of these architectures, 2159 chest x-ray images were employed. Reported results indicated that the best recognition rate was achieved from a shallow model with 95% accuracy while the medium model and deep model obtained 94% and 75%, respectively
Mechanical properties and microstructural behavior of uniaxial tensile-loaded anisotropic magnetorheological elastomer
No full textMagnetorheological elastomers (MREs) are well-known for their ability to self-adjust their mechanical properties in response to magnetic field influence. This ability, however, diminishes under high-strain conditions, a phenomenon known as the stress-softening effect. Similar phenomena have been observed in other filled elastomers, hence, the current study demonstrates the role of fillers in reducing the effect and thus maintaining performance. Anisotropic, silicone-based MREs with various carbonyl iron particle (CIP) concentrations were prepared and subjected to uniaxial tensile load to evaluate high-strain conditions with and without magnetic influence. The current study demonstrated that non-linear stress–strain behavior was observed in all types of samples, which supported the experimental findings. CIP concentration has a significant impact on the stress–strain behavior of MREs, with about 350% increased elastic modulus with increasing CIP content. Microstructural observations using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) yielded novel micro-mechanisms of the high-strain failure process of MREs. The magnetic force applied during tension loading was important in the behavior and characteristics of the MRE failure mechanism, and the discovery of microcracks and microplasticity, which was never reported in the MRE quasi-static tensile, received special attention in this study. The relationships between these microstructural phenomena, magnetic influence, and MRE mechanical properties were defined and discussed thoroughly. Overall, the process of microcracks and microplasticity in the MRE under tensile mode was primarily formed in the matrix, and the formation varies with CIP concentrations
Effect of WEDM parameters on material removal rate and kerf’s width of cobalt chromium molybdenum using full factorials design
No full textThe use of non-conventional process for machining superalloys provides a better alternative compared to conventional machining. Conventional tool oriented processes like CNC machining demands higher manufacturing cost resulted from higher tool wear rate. In contrast, modern machining processes like Wire Electro-Discharge Machining (WEDM) eliminates such cost by offering contactless machining. This research investigated the effect of WEDM machining parameters, namely pulse-on-time (Ton, 2 µs–6 µs), pulse-of-time (Toff, 10 µs–30 µs), and peak current (Ip, 10A–14A) on the material removal rate (MRR), kerf’s width and surface integrity when machining cobalt chromium molybdenum (CoCrMo). Design of Experiment (DOE) with experimental runs of 11 full factorials design was deployed to determine the optimum parameter interaction. The result was analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and mathematical models were developed to determine the relationship between the machining parameters and process performance (MRR and kerf’s width). Confirmation tests were then performed to ensure the adequacy of the result. It was found that the most significant parameter that affected both MRR and kerf’s width was pulse-on-time (Ton). The optimum result could be achieved when pulse-on-time (Ton) was set at a high level (6 µs) for MRR and low level (2 µs) for kerf’s width
Precision irrigation management using machine learning and digital farming solutions
No full textFreshwater is essential for irrigation and the supply of nutrients for plant growth, in order to compensate for the inadequacies of rainfall. Agricultural activities utilize around 70% of the available freshwater. This underscores the importance of responsible management, using smart agricultural water technologies. The focus of this paper is to investigate research regarding the integration of different machine learning models that can provide optimal irrigation decision management. This article reviews the research trend and applicability of machine learning techniques, as well as the deployment of developed machine learning models for use by farmers toward sustainable irrigation management. It further discusses how digital farming solutions, such as mobile and web frameworks, can enable the management of smart irrigation processes, with the aim of reducing the stress faced by farmers and researchers due to the opportunity for remote monitoring and control. The challenges, as well as the future direction of research, are also discussed
Analysis of partial discharge activity in high voltage XLPE insulation as a function of different void sizes and locations using the capacitance model
No full textPartial Discharge (PD) in power cables occur due to some air impurities in the insulation system, such air impurities lead to void across the insulating system and deterioration of the power cable over time. In this research paper, the PD activity within high voltage Cross-linked Polyethylene (XLPE) insulation was analyzed in the presence of various void sizes and locations using a modified version of the three-capacitance model. The simulation was carried out by designing a PD model in MATLAB, Simulink, in which a real-life scenario of PD was simulated that consider all void parameters. Three different positions of void were taken as samples for this research study near to the conductor, near to the middle of insulation and near to the outer sheath. The void sizes considered for this research study were ten different cavity sizes. Results showed that as location of void is closer to the conductor, PD amplitude gets higher