Journal of Engineering and Technology (JET)

TABLE OF CONTENTS VOL. 14 NO. 2 (2023)

IDIL — 2023-12-31

Table of Contents Vol. 14 No. 2 (2023)

RIDE INDEX PERFORMANCES OF HIGH-SPEED RAILWAY TRAINS

M. Ibrahim — 2023-12-31

Railway trains are becoming one of the important transportations in nowadays era due to their effective means of travelling from one place to another place. Therefore, many researchers work toward increasing the ride quality and performance of railway vehicles. The aim of this paper is to analyze the ride index of three different trains which are French Thalys Y230A, German ICE 3, and China CRH2 trains through simulation. The model focuses on six degrees of freedom (6DOF) and the Sperling Index Method is used to determine the ride index for each train. Three elements such as mass, spring and damper are connected in series and modelled in MATLAB/Simulink. The system can be used to simulate the dynamic behavior of the mass under varied conditions, such as a variety of initial conditions, different spring and damping constants, and various external forces. The results obtained from the graph can be concluded as the ride index performances of the trains.

PREDICTING THE LOAN DEFAULT USING MACHINE LEARNING ALGORITHMS: A CASE STUDY IN INDIA

WEN TING LOO — 2023-12-31

The main income of banks was generated from mobilizing the deposits to borrow to applicants. Although applying for loans is becoming common, banks still need to take the risk that the applicants may have a loan default. In this study, the objectives are to predict the risk of loan default using 6 types of machine learning (Logistic Regression, Decision Tree, Random Forest, K-Nearest Neighbor, Support Vector Machine, and Naïve Bates), compare the machine learning algorithms to choose the most suitable algorithms for predicting the risk of loan default, and help the decision maker in approving or rejecting the loan requests. The dataset is focused on India with their behaviour to determine their risk. Using the Jupyter Notebook (Python) to build the model and evaluate each model. There are 5 types of evaluation metrics (Accuracy, Precision, Recall, F1-Score and Average) are used to determine the champion model among the six machine learning algorithms. In this study, K-Nearest Neighbor is the champion model because this model scored the highest in all the evaluation metrics, which is 0.89. Although machine learning algorithms can help to determine the risk of flagging, the decision maker should take some actions to decrease the risk of loan default such as creating a clear plan for the payment reminders and providing a convenient way.

ADVANCE DESIGN OF DUAL AXIS SOLAR TRACKING SYSTEM USING FUZZY LOGIC

M. H. A. Babiker — 2023-12-31

The demand for solar-generated power has surged in recent years due to the adverse environmental effects associated with fossil fuel usage, which have led to the proliferation of dangerous diseases. The efficiency of solar systems in generating power is heavily dependent on solar radiation intensity. Consequently, the primary challenge in improving solar systems lies in achieving high efficiency during daylight hours. This paper introduces a novel dual-axis solar tracker mechanism designed to optimize the capture of solar radiation by solar panels, regardless of weather conditions. The proposed solar tracking system employs fuzzy logic control to track the sun's position at any given time. By calculating the sun's relative position using Earth's angles, the system provides the necessary instructions to adjust the stepper motor, accordingly, thereby tracking the movement of the sun and maximizing light radiation. MATLAB Simulink was employed to simulate the proposed approach, and the results demonstrate superior energy production compared to a fixed system. The proposed solar tracking system achieves a power output of 10141.220 kW/m² with an accuracy of approximately 6%, surpassing the fixed system's output of 9920.346 kW/m². Experimental tests were conducted using a solar panel and the dual-axis solar tracker to evaluate the system's performance. The solar tracker was programmed to accurately follow the sun's path throughout the day, and measurements were taken at various times. The experimental results indicate that the proposed solar tracking system outperforms a fixed system even under cloudy conditions, offering enhanced energy generation and improved overall efficiency for solar systems. Thus, the dual-axis solar tracker presented in this study represents an effective mechanism for enhancing the efficiency of solar systems.

APPLICATION OF MT METHOD OF MAHALANOBIS-TAGUCHI SYSTEM IN METHADONE FLEXI DISPENSING PROGRAM

S. N. A. M. Zaini — 2023-12-31

Patient under methadone flexi dispensing (MFlex) program are required to perform blood tests like lipid profile. To verify the patient does have a lipid disorder, a doctor analyses 3 parameters such as cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol. However, the present system lacks a robust ecology for categorization and optimization due to imprecise measuring methods and a lack of rationale for major elements that impact diagnostic accuracy. The goal is to implement the Mahalanobis-Taguchi system (MTS) into the MFlex programme. The data was acquired at the Bandar Pekan clinic and included 34 lipid profile measures. For classification and optimization, two categories of MTS techniques are being used, which are RT-Method and T-Method. As a result of the lipid profile analysis, the healthy Mahalanobis distance (MD) is 1.0000, whereas the unhealthy MD is 79.5876. Positive contributions are made by parameters 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 17, 18, 23, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 33, and 34. 15 unknown samples were diagnosed with varying degrees of positive and negative contribution to obtain a smaller MD. The best recommended way has been typed 5 from overall 6 modifications. Finally, the pharmacist acknowledged that MTS could tackle the issue of MFlex programme categorization.

SAFETY CULTURE AWARENESS AND PRACTICES IN THE MALAYSIAN MINING INDUSTRY: A PRELIMINARY STUDY

S. N. Ismail — 2023-12-31

Presently, safety culture is receiving attention for the prevention of mining disaster or accidents. The mining industry in Malaysia has been around for 200 years and fortunately, to date, there is no large-scale mining disaster that has occurred in Malaysia. However, that led to a lack of study on the safety culture in Malaysian mining industry. The study aims at exploring the current status of safety culture awareness and practices in Malaysian mining industry. A qualitative, open-ended interview session was conducted in April 2021 via the online Google Meet platform. Six mining experts had agreed and volunteered to be involved in the interview session. Three themes were created: (1) Significance of safety culture in mining; (2) Factors that make up the safety culture in mining industry; and (3) Adopting safety culture in mining industry. Three themes and eight sub-themes were validated by the mining expert interviewers. In conclusion, the current status of safety culture awareness and practices in mining industry is very low. It was observed that there was a huge gap between small-scale and large-scale mining operation in Malaysia. For small-scale mining operation, it was below 50%, where one of expert claimed it to be approximately 30%. It is recommended that the top management of mining companies have their mindset changed, not only focusing on the profit but to strengthen the safety aspects as well. A good safety culture will increase the workers and operational productivities and prevent mining accident or disaster in Malaysia in the near future.

A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW ON DIFFERENT PATH PLANNING METHODS FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES

A. Vinayak — 2023-12-31

Autonomous vehicles are an active field where research is going on to improve the vehicle's capability to travel autonomously from one place to another. Vehicle must progress through different levels of control structure to navigate through different environments. Among those path planning plays a major role in autonomous vehicles navigation as different planning methods need to be used for planning the path at different intersections for the vehicle. However, AVs still face some challenges in urban intersections such as roundabouts, obstacle avoidance, which need to be resolved for completely automated path planning in AVs. So, this paper presents an overview on different path planning methods implemented in autonomous navigation. A description on different path planning methods and implementation of these methods by different authors is presented.

RELIABILITY, AVAILABILITY, MAINTAINABILITY AND SAFETY (RAMS) IN RAILWAY’S ASSURANCE SYSTEM AND IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES: A REVIEW

M. A. Muhammed Nor — 2023-12-31

RAMS forms an integral part of railway’s system assurance. It integrates reliability engineering, availability or performance calculation, maintenance strategies and system safety. While RAMS is widely implemented in other industries like petroleum, aviation and chemical, the practice in railway is relatively new. RAMS task needs to be implemented from earliest phase of system design, tendering, project execution, operation up to decommissioning. Due to its compulsory extensive involvement of railway personnel as well as authorities, RAMS is not being fully utilized as an assurance tool in railway industry. This paper will introduce the core components of RAMS and their stakeholders.

EFFECT OF MESH REFINEMENT ON VERTICAL AND LATERAL VELOCITY PROFILES OF THE WAKE FLOW BEHIND A SPIRE USING COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMIC (CFD)

M. A. Fitriady — 2023-12-31

The application of CFD to simulate the phenomenon based on a wind tunnel experiment has been widely studied. A large number of cells may produce accurate results but requires a high computational load. In this study, the effect of mesh refinement on the vertical and lateral velocity profiles of the wake flow behind a single spire is discussed. Three different mesh refinement levels, i.e. coarse, medium and fine, each with 9 million, 12.7 million, and 16.9 million cells were applied to the computational domain. The standard k-ε model was used as turbulence model. The variable mesh was generated by using blockMesh and snappyHexMesh features in the OpenFoam® software. The results show that there is slightly difference between each case, which reduced as the distance increase in both vertical, and sreamwise direction. However, there is a significant difference in the time needed to complete the iteration for each case whereby the shortest time was obtained by the coarse case. Hence, it is more feasible to adopt the coarse case to simulate the wake flow behind a single spire.

BIODEGRADABILITY EFFECTS ON THE PHA/NFC NANOCOMPOSITE

A. W. A. Razak — 2023-12-31

Plastic has been harmful to the environment and lead to endless pollution due to years of disposal. However, its usage is undeniable hence an alternative to using biodegradable plastic replacing regular plastic is highly recommended. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) have all characteristics needed as a biodegradable plastic. However, it exhibits brittleness, poor thermo- mechanical properties, and low heat distortion temperature. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of nanofibril cellulose (NFC) addition on the biodegradability properties of PHA composite. The biodegradation properties were investigated using a soil burial test. The samples were incubated for 7, 14, 21, and 28 days under control conditions, and weight loss for both characterizations was recorded to identify the effectiveness of NFC in the PHA composite. The results shows that the weight of samples was decreased with an increase in incubation time, while its percentage of weight loss was increased as the hydrophilicity of NFC caused the sample to degrade at a higher rate. Although PHA/NFC samples were having a lag time at the earliest stage, it is then degraded better than pure PHA after 21 days. In conclusion, the addition of NFC has greatly improved PHA properties where PHA/NFC 8% is the most sufficient nanocomposite to turn PHA into promising biodegradable plastics and safe for daily usage.

DEVELOPMENT OF REGISTRY OF INHABITANTS RECORD MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: A SUPPORT TOOL FOR LOCAL GOVERNANCE

Madelyn Manun-og — 2023-12-31

The registry of inhabitants plays a crucial role in the development initiatives of a country. It is a foundation for better planning and effective service delivery, particularly in calamities, identifying vulnerable sectors, and maintaining peace and order. During the assessment, a digitalization system was suggested to enhance the local unit's record management. Thus, this study aimed to design and develop a record management system that addresses the challenges encountered by the local officials in the registry of inhabitants. The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) framework and the Agile methodology have been employed in developing the system that involve requirement analysis, system design, implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance phase. User tests have been conducted to check if the system's functionalities have been guaranteed. The system was evaluated using the system usability scale (SUS), and another evaluation patterned after the ISO 9126-1 software quality model standard was administered to measure the system's functionality, usability, efficiency, reliability, and reliability maintainability. It revealed that the developed system meets the users' needs and requirements and the high acceptance rate from the local units indicates the system's success. Therefore, other local government units should consider adopting the system as a support tool for local governance.

SMART INDOOR GREENHOUSE MONITORING SYSTEM USING INTERNET OF THINGS

Ida Syafiza Md Isa — 2023-12-31

Growing indoor plants is an intricate task that needs a lot of attention to ensure healthy houseplants besides producing a good amount of yield. Many parameters including soil moisture and environment parameters such as humidity, temperature and light intensity need to be monitored for the healthy growth of the plant, hence requires a lot of effort. However, with the advancement in the Internet of Things technology, monitoring these parameters can be done without human intervention. Therefore, this work proposed a solution that creates a favourable environment for the plant using an Internet of Things-based system by monitoring the soil moisture and environment parameters such as humidity, temperature, and light intensity where these data will be uploaded to the cloud server for monitoring purposes. Besides, considering the tight schedule of most users, the system is integrated with an automatic watering, cooling and lighting system which will operate based on the monitored data. In this work, a microcontroller unit (MCU) is used to control the systems and a UBIDOTS server is used to perform the data logging system. A testbed experiment has been conducted for four weeks, and the results show that the proposed system has high reliability. Besides, the results also show that the height of the plant is increasing during the four weeks duration, hence showing that the system is working effectively even without human intervention.

AUTOMATED CLOTHESLINE RETRIEVAL SYSTEM: MONITORING THE SYSTEM USING BLYNK APPLICATION

SITI FATIMAH SULAIMAN — 2023-12-31

A conventional clothesline retrieval system relies on manual intervention for promptly collecting laundry, lacking the automated features and smart functionalities of modern innovations, making it lack the convenience of modern automation. This project addresses a prominent issue with such systems: the need for manual intervention to collect laundry before rain. This inconvenience prompted the development of an innovative clothesline with automatic movement and smart features. The system employs Direct Current (DC) geared motors, which respond to external weather conditions via a rain sensor connected to NodeMCU. This NodeMCU establishes connectivity with a home Wi-Fi network and Blynk server, enabling real-time rainfall monitoring and push notifications based on weather conditions. The results are impressive, with the clothesline moving automatically to shelter when rain is detected and back out when it subsides. Users receive timely alerts for both rainy and sunny conditions. This advanced system greatly enhances household laundry routines, offering significant benefits in residential areas.

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF HOVERCRAFT AMPHIBIOUS ROBOT LOCOMOTION FOR UNMANNED MISSIONS

Yusof — 2023-12-31

Unmanned aerial vehicles have been popular for unmanned missions like monitoring, data collection, and rescue operation. These wide varieties of applications in military, search and rescue, and civil areas require the unmanned vehicle to traverse multiple environments such as land, water, and air. However, Unmanned vehicle maneuvering in these dynamic and unstructured environments increases the complexity of the design and development of Unmanned vehicles. Thus, there is a requirement to design simpler models, lower control capability, and prototype development with lower hardware requirements. The study aims to design and develop an amphibious vehicle integrating hovercraft capability that allows the system to traverse in a different environment with a lower transformation mechanism and simpler control design. The Hovercraft amphibious robot is designed using Solidworks, and a prototype is developed. For the evolved design and the functionality of the developed system is evaluated. The hovercraft was lifted and was propelled by the thrust system. It was able to carry craft weight 1.34 kg and hovered with an air cushion of 0.5 inch. The developed system with an IoT system plugin will serve in the data collection, sample collection, and monitoring of disaster-prone water bodies and amphibious reconnaissance missions.

DEVELOPMENT OF A LIBRARY NAVIGATION SYSTEM USING DIJKSTRA’S ALGORITHM

A. A. M. Salleh — 2023-12-31

The aim of this article is to explore the potential of indoor navigation systems for library users, an area that has not been fully explored in previous research. The design of library buildings, which typically feature multiple floors and hundreds of book racks, poses a challenge for users to locate specific books or articles. As traditional navigation signals such as Global Positioning System signals have been found to be unreliable for indoor navigation, this article proposes a navigation system using the shortest distance algorithm to assist library users. To test the proposed system, we implemented the Dijkstra algorithm in a navigation software prototype using the real USIM library layout as a case study. The algorithm was able to assist users in navigating the library even with obstacles, by providing the shortest path from a given starting point to a desired destination. The results of this study demonstrate the potential for indoor navigation systems in libraries and highlight the effectiveness of the Dijkstra algorithm in providing accurate and efficient route planning for users. This research provides a foundation for future studies exploring the application of navigation systems in other indoor environments and the development of more sophisticated algorithms to further improve navigation accuracy and efficiency.

A COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION OF NANO PHASE MATERIALS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY APPLICATIONS AT BUILDINGS

Lutfu S.Sua — 2023-12-31

Nanotechnology has recently received increasing attention owing to its ability for enhancing the materials’ features, improving efficiencies, and reducing sizes of devices. The contribution of energy devices based on nano phase change materials to energy conservations and worldwide gas emission degradation is of current interest. In this study, phase change materials developed for utilization in renewable energy implementations for constructions and the general thermo-physical features of these materials are investigated. In the light of these features, prominent parameters were determined. With the support of professionals working on this subject, comparative evaluations of these parameters were made according to their importance in applications for renewable energy systems at buildings.

UNCERTAINTY PROPAGATION IN PROBABILISTIC SAFETY ANALYSIS USING LOGNORMAL DISTRIBUTION

Mohammed BOUFENAR — 2023-12-31

ncertainty analysis, which is one of the major elements in Probabilistic Safety Assessments (PSA) of Nuclear Power Plants (NPP's), involves quantifying the uncertainties of the occurrence of accident scenarios. The traditional approximations used in current PSA models are limited, and normally conservative, based on not fully accounting for the dependence between Minimal Cut Sets (MCS). In this work, a mathematical development of an approximation method to propagate the uncertainty of lognormal distributions is carried out by modifying the approach suggested by Fenton and Wilkinson. When the uncertainties of basic events are modelled with lognormal random variables, the top event frequency or probability is well approximated as the sum of the correlated lognormal random variables. This study focuses on how to minimize or eliminate the adverse effect of Rare Event Approximation (RAE) that induces the overestimated top event mean value. The probability distribution of the case study top event presented in this work is compared with analyses available in the literature using different approaches, such as Monte Carlo and Fenton-Wilkinson (FW) method. The application of this method to propagate uncertainty of lognormal distributions results in a better estimation of the top event probability distribution. It is shown how the cut set information for a model can be used together with the analytic expression to give closed-form approximation for the top event uncertainty distribution. This approach appears attractive and can provide a reasonable approximation, without incurring the computational expense.

AN EFFECTIVE INSOLES SHOES FOR BLIND PEOPLE FOR MOBILITY ASSISTANCE

Muhammad Aiman Mohd Razin — 2023-12-31

Our eyes play a significant role in our daily life. Given that it allows us to perceive the world around us, eyesight is arguably the most precious gift we may possess. Some individuals, meanwhile, have difficulties with vision that make it difficult for them to envision such objects. Such people will have trouble moving about freely in public areas. Detecting elevation changes is a crucial component of mobile accessibility. These include obstacles like steps, curbs, and potholes that alter the level of the ground or a floor which is widespread in indoor as well as outdoor environments. In order to traverse these shifts safely and successfully, blind or visually impaired people must be able to recognize them and gauge their distance from one another and their extent. This requires the ability to perceive depth, which can be difficult for people with visual problems. The objective of this research is to develop a smart footwear that offers assistance in ascending and descending staircases by utilizing an IMU sensor to detect the user's movements. Prior to the development of a controller, the system undergoes mathematical and physical modelling. The process of mathematical modelling is carried out with consideration of the mobility patterns of individuals with visual impairments. The smart footwear was designed using Solidwork software to create a 3D virtual model. Furthermore, the shoe is designed to incorporate ultrasonic sensors that detect obstacles or barriers, and subsequently notify users through vibrations. As a consequence, the intelligent footwear is capable of unlocking the heels in response to the detection of low or high elevation, and emitting vibrations in the event of an obstacle being detected in its path. The expectation is that the utilization of this device will enhance the self-assurance of individuals with visual impairment to ambulate autonomously.

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A DELTA ROBOT FOR PICK AND PLACE APPLICATION USING GEOMETRIC ANALYSIS METHOD

Ho Yi Tam — 2023-12-31

This paper discusses the development work to design and build a three-axes Delta robot for pick and place applications. A 3D model of the Delta robot was designed using SolidWorks. The kinematics algorithm of the robot was formulated using geometric analysis method. The 3D model of the robot was subsequently imported into CoppeliaSim robotic simulation software to test the feasibility of the design and its kinematics algorithm. The prototype of the Delta robot was then built after a successful simulation test. To control the robot, a software of robotic manipulation and control was written in C# language using Microsoft.Net framework. Experiments were carried out to test the performance of the prototype. As a result, the Delta robot was able to perform its motion at a repeatability of 1.49 mm with positioning accuracy of 98.1%. In conclusion, the prototype of the Delta robot has shown high repeatability and accuracy in its motion.

DEVELOPMENT OF AN IOT-BASED HAND GESTURE MONITORING SYSTEM FOR DISABLED PERSON USING FLEX SENSOR

Natasha Ismaliyana Ismail — 2023-12-31

The Internet of Things (IoT) has revolutionized various healthcare technologies, enabling innovative solutions for monitoring, and assisting disabled people. In this paper, a method for utilizing IoT and flex sensors to develop a hand gesture monitoring system for disabled persons who cannot communicate verbally will be presented. By adapting wearable technology on glove, the system captures hand gestures to facilitate communication and enhance caretaker monitoring. The IoT-based platform used is Blynk, which was connected via the ESP8266 Wi-Fi module through the Arduino Uno board with flex sensors fixed on the glove. The flex sensors measured the resistance value produced when the sensors were bent according to hand gestures, to trigger the alarm on Arduino Uno and notifications in the Blynk apps. These notifications provide real-time updates of the disabled person’s hand gestures. Consequently, caretakers can remotely monitor the disabled person needs without requiring constant presence around the disabled person.

DEVELOPMENT OF AN IOT SCADA SYSTEM FOR A CHEMICAL MANUFACTURING PLANT

Chow Hoe Liew — 2023-12-31

A chemical plant in operation requires human workers to manually switch chemical hoses from different chemical tanks to a mixer tank every work shift following the production schedule. Due to manual works, the production system is exposed to human error where the workers sometimes connect wrong hoses resulting incorrect chemical composition to the mixer tank, hence causes tremendous losses to the company. Therefore, an IoT SCADA is proposed and developed to solve this problem. This paper discusses the proposed structure of an integrated system involves SCADA, IoT and OPC UA in helping the chemical plant in their digital transformation journey to Industry 4.0.

SIGNIFICANCE OF VISCOUS DISSIPATION AND POROSITY EFFECTS IN A HEATED SUPERHYDROPHOBIC MICROCHANNEL

Godwin Ojemeri — 2023-12-31

The theoretical treatment of heat enhancement flow for an electrically conducting and viscous dissipative fluid traveling vertically through a thermodynamic system where the parallel plates are constantly heated in a slit microchannel filled with porous material is investigated in this work. One surface had super-hydrophobic slip and a temperature jump, whereas the other did not. The perturbation technique (semi-analytical method) was employed to solve the nonlinear and coupled leading equations. It is concluded from this analysis that the fluid temperature and velocity were found to increase as the viscous dissipation term increased. Similarly, the function of Darcy's porous number is to significantly strengthen the fluid velocity, and these effects are stronger at the heated super-hydrophobic surface, whereas the mounting level of the magnetic field is seen to drastically weaken the fluid motion in the microchannel. Setting the Brickman number, Br, to zero and the porous parameter, K, to 1000, so that the term becomes insignificant, Jha and Gwandu (2017)'s work is retrieved, verifying the accuracy of the current analysis. Further, the outcomes of this research can have possible applications in the lubrication industry and biomedical sciences and have proved very useful to designers in increasing the performance of mechanical systems when viscous dissipation is involved, as well as heat transfer in micro-channels, as it is in combustion.