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Biocomposites sheets were prepared by compression molding from mixtures of corn starch plasticized by glycerol as matrix and cellulose fibers, extracted from used office paper, as reinforcement filler with contents ranging from 0 to 8% wt/wt of fibers to matrix. Properties of composites were determined by mechanical tensile test, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, water absorption measurement, and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that higher fibers content raised the tensile strength and elastic modulus up to 109% and 112%, respectively, when compared to the non-reinforced thermoplastic starch (TPS). The addition of the fibers improved the thermal resistance and decreased the water absorption up to 63.6%. Scanning electron microscopy illustrated a good adhesion between matrix and fibers.

This paper describes simulation of combustion characteristics under high ambient and high injection of biodiesel combustion by using CFD simulation. Diesel engine performance and emissions is strongly couple with fuel atomization and spray processes, which in turn are strongly influenced by injector flow dynamics. The principal objective of this research is to seek the effect of temperature and pressure on the spray characteristics, as well as fuel-air mixing characteristics. Experiments were performed in a constant volume chamber at specified ambient gas temperature and pressure. This research was continued with injecting diesel fuel into the chamber using a Bosch common rail system. Direct photography technique with a digital camera was used to clarify the real images of spray pattern, liquid length and vapor penetration. The method of the simulation of real phenomenon of diesel combustion with optical access rapid compression machine is also reviewed and experimental results are presented. The liquid phase of the spray reaches a maximum penetration distance soon after the start of injection, while the vapor phase of the spray continues to penetrate downstream. The condition to which the fuel is affected was estimated by combining information on the block temperature, ambient temperature and photographs of the spray. The increases in ambient pressure inside the chamber resulting in gain of spray area and wider spray angle. Thus predominantly promotes for a better fuel-air mixing. All of the experiments will be conducted and run by using CFD. The simulation will show in the form of images.

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of beating process to the characteristics of pulp and paper produced from oil palm oil male flower spikes (OPMFS). OPMFS pulp was prepared according to chemical Soda-AQ pulping process. 60 gsm handsheet of oil palm male flower spikes paper were prepared from OPMFS pulp with four different beating times which are 0 revolution, 1000 revolutions, 2000 revolutions and 3000 revolutions. All physical and mechanical characteristics were investigated according to TAPPI and MS ISO standards. The results show that overall physical and mechanical characteristics of POMFS paper were influenced and enhanced by beating process between 0 until 3000 revolutions. This research demonstrate some potential characteristics of palm oil male flower spikes (OPMFS) paper to be investigated as a newly explored non-wood based raw material for papermaking raw material for papermaking.

Current pulp-processing in pulp and paper based industries are inefficient in removing the lignin as this compound is recalcitrant towards degradation. Transitioning from conventional pulping process into bio-delignification through utilisation of ligninase enzymes is one of the alternatives to improve the ability to fully utilize all components of wood to produce high quality fibres. Extensive research efforts have been focused on increase the production of ligninase enzymes from white rot fungi as a whole organism for industrial applications. However, enzymes activity produced from fungi are rather low as lignin modification is a secondary metabolism in which the enzyme only be expressed under particular conditions. Using genetic manipulations to incorporate genes associate for delignification isolated from different organisms such as tropical Asian wood-feeding insect into bacteria expression system will allow rapid enzyme production. This theoretical framework aims to produce an enzyme with high ligninase activity that will be used for removal of lignin during pulp-processing. These enzymes are thought to be more economically efficient in degrading lignin and involves less use of chemicals thus make this processing more environmentally friendly.Keywords: Biodelignification, Asian wood tropical insect, fungi, ligninase enzyme, bacterial expression system

In recent years, there have been a number of interests on the Palm Oil (PO) and Coconut Oil (CO) as a potential alternative dielectric insulating fluid in transformers which stimulate different types of studies on these oils properties. Among the important studies is the lightning impulse properties. This paper presents the investigation on the lightning impulse breakdown voltage of PO and CO under non-uniform electric field. The PO used in this study is Refined, Bleached and Deodorized Palm Oil (RBDPO) Olein type. The influence of the testing methods, rising-voltage and up-and-down are investigated at 2 gap distances for both oils. It was found that the lightning breakdown voltage performance for some of the RBDPO and CO are comparable to MO.

This paper presents the results of heat and compression effects on moisture content and water absorption properties in the manufacturing of disposable plate made from Pineapple Leaf Fiber-based material (PALF). The plate was made of PALF and sugarcane bagasse waste as an alternative to polystyrenes, designed to promote the green technology effort on food packaging material. Two different specimens were produced with different compositions of PALF/sugarcane bagasse series N2T8 ( 20 wt% of Pineapple leaf fiber and 80 wt% of sugarcane bagasse ) and series N8T2 ( 80 wt% of Pineapple leaf fiber and 20 wt% of sugarcane bagasse). The specimens were produced using a hot press machine set at compressing temperatures of 50°C, 100°C and 150°C with constant pressure of 0.024 MPa for 10 minutes. Moisture content and water absorption tests were carried out on the specimens to determine the moisture content and water absorption properties. The lower water absorption was obtained for specimen N8T2 because PALF potential to water resistance. This range of properties is expected to be good enough for the requirement of disposable plate and it has the potential as a suitable raw material for strength and lightweight in the manufacturing of disposable plates.

In this paper, storage effect on biodiesel properties for high blending ratio and the emission are evaluated. The blend level of biodiesel is denoted as B, followed by the percentages of pure biodiesel. The samples used are conventional diesel (STD), B80, B90 and B100 were stored at ambient temperature (24 °C) for nine week. The properties of biodiesel, acid value, flash point, viscosity, density and water content were measured according to ASTM D6751 biodiesel fuel standard. Results show there are no significant effects on it properties while stored in long duration at ambient temperature. Meanwhile, increasing biodiesel ratio is found to enhance the combustion process, resulting in decreased the HC for emissions.

This paper represents the results of using phycoremediation technology in treating the wastewater produced from food stall activity by using microalgae of Scenedesmus sp. in removal of heavy metals. Phycoremediation has advantages over physic-chemical approaches as it is can completely degrade organic pollutants without destroy the surrounding flora and fauna. Aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of microalgae Scenedesmussp to assimilate the pollutant load based on the optimum time and concentration. Characteristics of food stall wastewater need to be identified and analyse before phycoremediation process taken place. The wastewater sampling was collected at food stall during peak time i.e. at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Microalgae Scenedesmus sp. to be injected to the batch reactor based on five (5) different concentration cells. The results shows that the optimum removal of heavy metals are dominant by concentration no. 1 (C1) compare to other concentration in the treatment i.e. removal of Ferum by 88.22% and 69.63%, Copper by 60% and 53.85% at both sampling time while removal of zinc is dominant by concentration no.4 (C4) by 75.61% and 76.63% respectively.

Biomediated soil improvement, a promising new branch of microbial geotechnology; which involved multi disciplines has successfully attracted abundant attentions among researchers, geotechnical engineers, and other industries practitioners. Few of the researches were conducted to examine the potential implementation of this technique on tropical residue soil. However, the uncertainties outcomes and inconsistency of bio mediated soil improvement, especially on the clayed soil have made this technique remained at the laboratory stage. Therefore, this paper intended to provide better understanding of this technique by investigating the relation between the bacteria, cementation reagents, and tropical residue soil. The residual soil was mixed with facultative anaerobe bacteria, Bacillus Subtilis before it was compacted into a prefabricated PVC mould. The soil samples were treated with different treatment condition such as (1) control or untreated, (2) treated with cementation solution, (3) treated with bacteria only, and (4) treated with bacteria and Cementation reagent. A worth noting finding showed that the sample treated with bacteria and nutrient only has produced the highest increment of shear strength. This phenomenon might have been caused by the effect of the chemical reagent to the mineralogy of residue soil. The presence of the chemical reagents is believed to have weakened the shear strength of the tropical residual soil.

Malaysia has an abundance of agro waste material that have not been fully utilized to a maximum production. Thus, the finding of a new alternative fiber in non wood material will be favorable in paper production. Pineapple (Ananas Comosus) is the common tropical plant, which consists of coalesced berries. This pineapple is leading member of the family of Bromeliaceae and it came from genusAnanas. Fiber bundle from pineapple leaf can be separated from the cortex where it reveals the pineapple leaf fiber in multi-cellular and lignocelluloses pattern. This leaf has a ribbon-like structure and cemented together by lignin, pentosan-like materials, where it contributes to the strength of fiber [7]. All parts in pineapple from fruits to leaves could be consumed to give a health benefit for human life. Pineapple had been used as textile fiber, anti-inflammatory and also anti-helminthic agent. According to the FAO online database, the Malaysian country had consumed 255,000 tones per year and in third position in the world of consuming pineapple production. Pineapple is mainly produced as canned fruits and also coarse textiles in some Southeast Asian countries. Leaves of pineapple had been used as coarse textiles because of the fiber composition and structure inside the leaves [3]. All fibrous in non wood materials especially pineapple leaf consists of cellulose, holocellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin along with some extraneous material called extractives such as gum and resin. Previous research indicates pineapple leaf fiber contained higher cellulose content than wood fiber. Pineapple leaf fibers also consist of lignin [23], an adhesive component that binds the cellulose and hemicellulose. Pineapple leaf fiber had the lowest lignin content than other alternative fiber, which is favorable during chemical processing [12]. The chemical composition aspects have been considered in the previous literature, such as banana stem, coconut and oil palm and had been reported extensively. Pineapple leaf reported has a lowest lignin (10.5%) rather than banana stem (18.6%), oil palm (20.5%) and coconut (32.8%) that suggest can undergo bleaching more easily and have high fiber strength [12]. Besides that, pineapple leaf contains high holocelulose content (87.6%) than banana stem (65.2%), oil palm (83.5%) and coconut (56.3%) [11]. Those properties depend on the content of chemical composition in the pineapple leaf fiber, which is cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin content [15].

This research studied the electricity production from organic wastes fermentation by microbial fuel cell by using a single chamber microbial fuel cell (SCMFC). Two sizes (1 L and 10 L) of simple SCMFC were fabricated by using a cylindrical plastic tank which anode compartment and cathode compartment separated by plastic plate with hole and covered with cotton fabric. The anode electrode contacted with organic matter and microorganisms where anaerobic reaction occurred to generate electron and proton. The electrons transferred through an external circuit while the protons diffused through the solution to the cathode electrode for reducing oxygen to water. From the study of the effect of different electrode types (carbon graphite rod, zinc metal, and copper metal) to the electricity generation using the SCMFC size 1 L in fermentation with synthetic sweetness solution (22%Brix) and the effective microorganism (EM) for 36 hrs, it found that the fuel cell which used copper metal as electrode produced electricity increasing over the times and has more efficient than the other electrode types. The study of electricity generation from organic waste fermentation by using the SCMFC size 10 L and using copper metal as electrode, the results showed that the fermentation of pineapple waste produced the current density, potential density, and power density higher than the fermentation of bananas and the fermentation of food garbage with EM. An optimal period of time for the production of electricity from this microbial fuel cell is the first five days of fermentation that the cells has voltage »500 mV, the current density 25.52 mA m-2, potential density 104.69 V m-2 and power density 12.59 mW m-2, and then decline over time five days (120 hrs). Moreover the bio-liquid fertilizer and the residues from the fermentation can be further used in agricultural because of the nutrient content (N, P, K), organic carbon and organic material contents available.

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) represents a new method for producing electricity from the oxidation of organic matter. In addition, MFC offers an effective wastewater treatment. The feasibility of using POME wastewater as a substrate was investigated through a two-chambered MFC operated in batch mode for 12 days. The performance of MFC was evaluated under three different anode pH microenvironments of acidic (pH 4), neutral (pH 7) and alkaline (pH 8). Results of experiments indicated that the MFC reactor was able to generate electricity and treat POME wastewater that acted as substrate for MFC. The performance of MFC was found to be dependent on the anode pH microenvironments. Higher power density was observed at neutral condition compared to acidic and alkaline conditions. Furthermore, significant reductions in chemical oxygen demand (COD) in anode chambers were found due to the changes of pH in anode microenvironment. This indicated that effective wastewater treatment of POME in MFC batch experiments. In conclusion, MFC provides an alternative, sustainability and effective method to generate electricity and effectively treat wastewater.

Malaysia is located on the equator has resulted in having two seasons wet and dry. Both of the seasons can influence indoor air quality of buildings promoting the growth of fungal. Fungal growth can occur with the combinations of temperature, relative humidity, substrate and others. Indoor and outdoor air quality is essential for building occupants to prevent the infection diseases caused by fungal. The goal of this study is to remediate the growth indoor fungal after treated with biocides on different types of wall finishing and evaluate the efficiencies of biocides to treat indoor fungal. In this study, the biocides are utilized as a coating for coating bio-resistance. The measurements of the fungal growth are made by growing the samples on realistic wood substrates on the different wall finishing such as paints and wallpapers. The mold that grew are affecting most of the rooms is selected. The air sampler that have been used to isolate the samples of indoor fungal according to NIOSH Manual Analytical Method (NMAM 0800), a guideline provided by National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The fungal growth was evaluated using the ASTM D5590-00 standard measuring on the surface of substrate. The results show that potassium sorbate as biocide was able to reduce the indoor fungal growth depending on the type of material used in the building.

The process of combustion in coal fired power plant generates ashes, namely fly ash (FA) and bottom ash (BA). In addition, coal ash generated from coal combustion generally contains heavy metals within their compositions. These metals are toxic to the environment as well as to the human health. Fortunately, treatment methods are available for these ashes and the use of FA and BA in concrete mix is one of the few. As such, this study presents the work in determining the leachability of self-compacting concrete (SCC) incorporated with FA and BA. The ashes were obtained from Kapar Energy Ventures power plant in Kapar, Selangor. SCC mixtures incorporated with 10%, 20% and 30% FA (replacing cement) and BA (replacing sand) respectively was formulated and casted. The samples were then crushed to be extracted using Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) and heavy metals content within the samples were identified accordingly using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS). From the results, it was found that incorporation up to 30% of the ashes were safe as the leached heavy metals concentration did not exceed the regulatory levels, except for arsenic (As). On the other hand, incorporation of 20% FA and BA each in SCC provided the most economically viable product, with high strength and low leachate concentrations. In conclusion, this study will serve as a reference which suggests that FA and BA are widely applicable in concrete technology and its incorporation in SCC constitutes a potential means of adding value with appropriate mix and design.

The preliminary tests is physically and visually observed to estimate the concentrations of contaminants that can give negative effects on plants growth and at which concentration the plants can tolerate and survive. In this study, bulrush of Lepironia articulate was subjected to diesel to assess its ability to survive when exposed to diesel contaminants with different concentrations (0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 35 and 40 mL diesel/L water). The investigation was conducted in 30 days with two flow systems, free surface (FSF) and sub-surface flow (SSF), were adopted to observe in which system the plant can tolerate to diesel better. These findings will be applied in future study of phytotoxicity test to assess its ability to phytoremediate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) contamination in wastewater. At the end of diesel exposure, the result indicated that the plant growth in SFS was better compared to FSF system. The plant had shown that it could only grow and survive in concentrations of 5, 10, 20, 30, 35 and 40 mL diesel/L water in SSF and in concentrations of 5, 10 and 20 mL/L in FSF system. The results of this study will be a basis for future study that aims to study PAHs removal from water using L. articulate plants.

The wet market wastewater may lead to pollution, odour and aesthetic problems to the environment and society if not treating properly. Thus, this research was conducted to culture microalgae Scenedesmus sp. and to identify the optimal concentration of microalgae Scenedesmus sp.due to the nutrient and heavy metal removals from wet market wastewater based on laboratory scale. The samples were taken from Public Market Parit Raja, Batu Pahat at 9a.m. in the morning using grab sampling technique. The characteristics of raw wastewater and microalgae Scenedesmus sp. were determined. There are five sample wastewater (used 625ml for each five sample wastewater) with five different sample concentrations of microalgae which are 6.50x105, 49.88x104, 34.75x104, 19.63x104 and 49.88x104 cell/ml with 16 days as duration for period study. The microalgae were cultured by BBM for eight days and another eight days for treatment with replicates three times for each sample. The analysis were measured due to the nutrient and heavy metal removals which are TN, TP, TOC, Fe and Zn during eight days treatment process. Based on experimental result, the optimum efficiency removals for each concentration were achieved 45.6-86.4% of nutrients and heavy metals removal. The highest amount of nutrient and heavy metal removals after wastewater treatment by microalgae are TN 74.77%, TP 82.17%, TOC 86.36%, Fe 65.76% and Zn 84.14%. As conclusion for this experiment, Sample 2 (concentration 49.88x104 cell/ml of microalgae Scenedesmus sp.) is the optimum concentration due to the highest percentage of nutrients and heavy metals removal which achieved 65.3-82.1% which TN 65.32%, TP 76.77%, TOC 80.34%, Fe 65.76% and Zn 82.12%.

Dairy wastewater are usually much polluted due to the high level of nutrient content such as phosphate, nitrate, sulfate etc. The pollution level are indicated by few characteristics such as BOD (243 mg/L), COD (324 mg/L), pH (9.08), Total Nitrogen (65.06 mg/L), Total Organic Carbon (143.3 mg/L), Total Carbon (312.9 mg/L) and Inorganic Carbon (169.6 mg/L). In this study, Botryococcus sp., a species of green microalgae are used to determine whether it can purify dairy wastewater. In spite of that, the microalgae growth over phycoremediation process also determined daily based on hemocytometer counting. From 100% concentration of dairy wastewater, Botryococcus sp. was capable to reduce the parameters such as BOD of 73.3%, TOC of 65.1%, TC of 61.4%, IC of 58.3% and COD of 48.8% on the 15 days of phycoremediation. Meanwhile, for the 50% of dairy wastewater, the same microalgae be able to remove the parameter such as phosphate of 78.7%, BOD of 73.8%, TOC of 70%, TC of 68,8%, IC of 59.4% and COD of 50%. The overall result from this study shown that the Botryococcus sp. is useful to reduce the inorganic and organic pollutant in dairy wastewater and could be potential to be used for any different wastewater.

Nowadays, consumers are concern about the quality of water that being supplied in order to ensure the water supplied is free from any harmful substances for example like Humic Substances (HS). High concentration of HS in drinking water can cause disease for human such as stomach cancer. Thus, it is important to develop a new technique to improve the quality of drinking water. Therefore, the objective of this research is to investigate the potential of using coconut copra treated with citric acid as activated carbon in adsorbing HS contained in wastewater collected from Asajaya Treatment Plant situated in district of Samarahan, Sarawak. In this research, the optimum condition of adsorption process need to determined. As such, there are two types of parameters which are considered as constant; temperature and pH of activated carbon and variable; solid liquid ratio and residence time. As a result, this research has shown that coconut copra possess the capacity to adsorp 97.5% of HS contained in wastewater.

Biomass processing using low transition temperature mixtures (LTTMs) has the potential to become a sustainable alternative resource for production of raw materials and fuels with a neutral carbon dioxide balance. The state of art for customizing the physicochemical behaviour of these new green solvents by a prudent selection of the constituents’ nature and ratio through microwave irradiation is presented in this work. The impact of the following parameters, namely type of malic acid, molar ratio of malic acid to natural salt, water content and temperature of treatment are related to the solvation behaviour of LTTMs. An overview of the conditions for the highest efficiency in the delignification of empty fruit bunch (EFB) are described.

As the key process of weaving, sizing is one of the processes which are of great costly and serious pollution in the whole cotton-textile production chain. Great efforts had been made to study new sizing to reduce costs and environment pollution. In this paper, Methyl cellulose ether (MC) and hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose ether (HPMC) were prepared by the hemp core and further used as a textile sizing. The chemical structure of the hemp cellulose ether was characterized by the FTIR analysis. The paste viscosity was tested by the Viscometer. The sizing properties of hemp cellulose ether were evaluated by the weaving process. The results indicated that the wrap breakage rat, weft breakage rate and loom efficiency of MC and HPMC blended sizing was similar to those of PVA sizing. Compared to COD in the desizing wastewater of 3600 mg/L of PVA, the COD of hemp sizing was very small. It was 330 mg/L. Therefore, it is concluded that the hemp core ether is a new and environment-friendly textile sizing, which has low cost and contributes a healthier ecosystem.

Advanced computational methods are needed both for the design of large systems and to compute high accuracy solutions. Such methods are efficient in computation, but the validation of results is very complex, and highly skilled auditors are needed to verify them. We investigate legal questions concerning obligations in the development phase, especially for technical systems developed using advanced methods. In particular, we consider methods of resilient and robust optimization. With these techniques, high performance solutions can be found, despite a high variety of input parameters. However, given the novelty of these methods, it is uncertain whether legal obligations are being met. The aim of this paper is to discuss if and how the choice of a specific computational method affects the developer’s product liability. The review of legal obligations in this paper is based on German law and focuses on the requirements that must be met during the design and development process.

Composite materials are created as a quite complex architecture which includes a fibre reinforcement structure and matrix material. Many material parameters play a role when composite structures are modelled, e.g. in finite element models. In addition to the properties of the raw fibre and matrix materials which are used, also geometrical parameters have a significant effect on structural characteristics. Fibre reinforcement geometry together with material properties of fibre and matrix determine homogenised material properties.The first part of the paper gives an overview of the most important processes which are used in composites processing industry. The factors which affect variability are also listed, and the effect of variability on material parameters is mentioned as well. The second part of the paper elaborates the identification of geometrical variability of the fibre reinforcement structure which is encountered with one particular type of composite material, namely a twill 2/2 carbon fibre weave with an epoxy matrix.

RETRACTED PAPER: Energy conversion from ocean waves has become the need of the hour in view of the renewable energy awakening occurring all over the world. Energy conversion by Oscillating Water Column (OWC) concept has become an established technology in converting mechanical energy of ocean waves to electrical energy. But the limitations of OWC concept calls for further research and developments to make the technology commercially an attractive one. In this context Boccotti, the Italian scientist advanced the double chamber concept and the implications of the concept still remains to be investigated through model studies. This paper presents the details of a generic study carried out in a physical model device under regular waves.

In the present paper, the Preisach model of hysteresis is extended to structural analysis of trusses damaged under cyclic loading in plastic range. Parameters for the Preisach model of cyclic plasticity are obtained from uniaxial loading experiment. Damage, as a consequence of micro cracks appearance due to alternating loading in plastic domain, is modeled using brittle elements according to Preisach procedure. Results of this research are compared with the already existing in the literature. In the paper examples of trusses under various cyclic loadings are presented. Applied Mechanics and Materials

To provide fast digital communications systems, energy efficient, high-performance, low power is critical for decoding mobile receiver device. This paper proposes a low power optimization techniques in the Add Compare Select (ACS) unit for Space Time trellis codes (STTC) Viterbi decoder. STTC Viterbi decoder is used as a reference case. This paper discusses about how to lower the power in the ACS architecture, to optimize the Viterbi decoder STTC in reducing the total power consumption. Based on the results of design and analysis, power consumption Viterbi decoder modeling, low power system for STTC Viterbi decoder is proposed. Design and optimization of ACS unit in STTC Viterbi decoding is done using Verilog HDL language. Power analysis tools in the software Altera Quartus 2 is used for the synthesis of total system power consumption. Optimization strategy showed an increase of 83% power reduction compared to previous studies.

This paper presents a schlieren optical visualization technique and its application in observation of the changes of intensity in real images. Schlieren optical visualization technique system is the unique technique because it produces a neutral image easily-interpretable image of refractive-index-gradient fields. The schlieren technique remains to be one of the most powerful techniques to visualize the flow and useful as a tool in order to observe the flow characteristics, fuel-air mixing, spray evaporation and flame development. The schlieren system provides a method to viewing the flow through the transparent media. This paper present the basics technique of schlieren system especially for Z-type and two mirror schlieren system. This optical visualization photography together with digital video camera will capture the detail spray evaporation, mixture formation and flame process.

This paper compares some geotechnical properties of Kaolin, Laterite and Peat. Laterite was collected from Bukit Banang while Peat sample was collected from Parit Nipah, both locations were in Batu Pahat, Johor. Meanwhile, kaolin that was used in this research was manufactured kaolin. These soil samples were subjected to routine laboratory analysis and resulting data were analyzed statistically using a correlation analysis. A laboratory testing program consists of “Basic properties test” to obtain general information on the materials (e.g Natural moisture content, Atterberg Limit, Specific gravity, grain size analysis, chemical composition and pH) and “Geotechnical properties tests” to measure specific properties that characterize soil behaviour for design and constructability assessments (e.g Standard Proctor Test, Unconfined Compressive Strength and CBR).The results showed that the Natural/initial moisture content for laterite, peat and kaolin is 22.54%, 480.61% and 0.22% respectively. Meanwhile Specific gravity for each soil was in the range 1.50-2.79.It was also found that the pH of all soil is acidic which lay in the range of 3.76-5.95.The UCS for the optimally compacted sample of laterite is 445.77 kPa, kaolin is 199.23 kPa and for peat is 58.70 kPa. This paper summarizes the result of analysis performed on all tests conducted. Based on the results, the geotechnical property of the soil is a highly dependent with the type of soil and therefore, determining the soil characterization and the soil strength should be considered during the planning phase of any earthwork construction operation.

Relationship between stakeholder influences and environmental management practices has not yet received sufficient attention in academic research in Malaysian fleet operations. Due to the increased awareness and concern among stakeholders for environmentally friendly business processes, the two main stakeholder influences including regulatory pressures and customer pressures are considered in combination to ensure firms to behave ethically and socially responsible. Environmental management practices including effectiveness of policy, effectiveness of implementation and effectiveness of planning in environmental management are one of the effective ways of dealing with environmental risks and costs. However, there is a little empirical research on how practitioners define and incorporate stakeholder influences into overall environmental management practices, particularly in the context of fleet operations. As such, this paper proposes a model to include two stakeholder influences and three environmental management practices. It is expected that this paper will offer useful guidance for future research scholars to empirically examine the relationship between stakeholder influences and environmental management practices for sustained business performance.

This paper presents the simulation of the flexible aerator model as a new concept to generate dissolved oxygen. This method is implementing the flexible beam motion as a medium to circulate water and create wave. This paper is using the simulation to optimize the suitable parameters namely the length of flexible beam and the percentage of immerse in water. The best result of dissolved oxygen level were found during run the flexible beam aerator at 12 V with 0.65m length of flexible beam and immerses 25% in water. The flexible beam was successfully implemented as a new aerator concept where it is able to generate oxygen up to 8.6mg/L with the average Standard Oxygen Transfer Efficiency 1.84 kgO2/kWhr

The implementation of risk management (RM) increases the value of firms, reduces the cost of debts, increases profits and improves decision making. However, the debates on what determines RM adoption are still unresolved due to limited evidence of RM adoption in industrial settings. Therefore, this paper aims to propose a conceptual framework of the determinants that influence the adoption of RM. It has been found that two factors, the perception of risk management and risk perception, have often been neglected in prior research. Thus, this paper extends the existing literature by introducing these factors to the framework of RM adoption. It is suggested that future case studies can be conducted to examine the significance of these two factors.

The LVL-concrete composite (LCC) structure is a hybrid in system which the LVL member is well connected to the concrete slab by a connector to produce composite action. Various types of connector with different stiffness and shear capacity are available in the market currently. The stiffness of the connector is identified through the push-out experiment. The notch connections for LVL concrete composite beams have higher stiffness and strength compared to mechanical fasteners. This paper discusses the experimental results of symmetrical push-out tests on 3 different types of connector, 150mm rectangular notch with 10mm diameter screw, 100mm rectangular notch with 8mm diameter screw and 100mm triangular notch with 8mm diameter screw. The experimental test was shear push out to failure and the type of failure was discussed. The 150mm rectangular notch was found to be strongest among all and low cost. The 100mm rectangular notch was found to be slightly stiffer than 100mm triangular notch but 100mm triangular notch is easier to construct with only 2 cut. The maximum strength and stiffness at ultimate limit states and serviceability limit states of each type of connection were discussed in this paper.

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is currently being used by the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry in Malaysia. It has been introduced by the Director of Public Works Department (PWD) in 2007 to reduce construction costs and avoid design problems. BIM utilization in construction can detect any clash analysis during the design stage, improves efficiency of project scheduling, reduce costs and ensure high quality of the project as well as facilitate communication among construction players. Since it has been introduced by the PWD, several projects have been constructed and being constructed using BIM and one of the project is The National Cancer Institute (NCI). The project is owned by the Malaysian government. This paper discusses the application of BIM in the project, the first project launched by the Malaysian government. A literature review was conducted to explore previous BIM studies on the history of BIM, benefits and importance, barriers and challenges as well as existing BIM projects in the Malaysian construction industry. Furthermore, semi-structured interviews were carried out with the client, consultant and contractor involved in the project. The interviews results reveal necessities and benefits of implementing BIM in completing the project. BIM is necessary for construction because its implementation can increase project quality. It is useful in assisting construction players to complete projects successfully. The results provide clear evidence of the effectiveness of implementing BIM in government projects. This paper can serve as a reference for critical studies of developing a strategy approach model for BIM implementation in the Malaysian construction industry.

ISO 14649 standard, commonly recognized as STEP-NC is a data model interface for computer numerical controllers. STEP-NC goes much further that G codes and has a more comprehensive data model that overcomes the lack of process information in ISO 6983 files (G codes programming). The STEP compliant approach brings the possibility to integrate the machine controller to the overall enterprise information network, with the intention of having bi-directional data flow. This will provide the novel capability for upstream feedback of information from the numerical controller to the design and process areas in the process planning and manufacturing. This paper presents the key concepts of the proposed STEP Convertor of the STEP-CNC Mapping System. The objective of the main system is to take a generic STEP file as the input to drive a CNC machine tool. The main system is broken down into two main sub-systems, STEP Convertor and STEP-NC Translator. This paper will focus solely on the information structure and conceptualization of the STEP Convertor.

The relationship between supply chain practices and business performance has been widely investigated by many academics and practitioners; however, the relationship is not yet fully understood. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the relevance of several prominent theories in strategic management for explaining the mediating role of operational capability in the relationship between supply chain practices and business performance. The resource-based view of the firm and neo-institutional theory are reviewed for their applicability to relate supply chain practices and operational capability in explaining sustained business performance. Supply chain practices are insufficient to drive business performance. Firms need to be able simultaneously to increase efficiency through supply chain practices and to be innovative through operational capability. Specifically, operational capability is forwarded as a key firm-specific capability that can result in significant and long-term improvement in organisational sustainability. Operational capability can serve as a critical mediating factor that better transmits the ambitions of supply chain practices onto business performance. As such, this paper provides a conceptual support to urge further research to empirically evaluate the relationship between supply chain practices, operational capability and business performance.

The use of biopetrol fuel as alternative fuels in gasoline engine has been around for many years and Ethanol-petrol has the potential to be used as alternative fuel that can reduce the total CO2emission from internal petrol engine. However, the changes of bio-petrol is a very complex and need further understanding for researchers due to the relevance of the increase in the petroleum price and the future environmental regulation. This review paper focuses to ascertain a new approach in potential on ethanol-petrol blends operating with a petrol engine especially the effects of ethanol gas petrol blending ratio and variant types of ethanol on performance and emissions of petrol engine. It is shown that the variant in biopetrol blending ratio and engine operational condition are reduced engine-out emissions and increased efficiency. This paper presents on a review on three different types of ethanol like sugar cane, wheat and corn with various blended rates. Investigation framework study on how to complete the research is also included in this paper.Keywords: biopetrol, petrol engine, performance, emissions, biopetrol fuel properties