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Synthetic plastic is a material that is difficult to decompose in the environment and causes serious problems in long term such as an increase in the volume of waste. To reduce plastic waste, biodegradable composite (biocomposite) is expected to overcome this problem. Natural cellulose fiber can be used as a filler in biopolymer matrix based biocomposite. This study aims to determine the tensile properties, fracture morphology, and biodegradation rate of biocomposite from Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) and sugarcane bagasse fiber. The test of biocomposite samples was carried out with a tensile test, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and soil burial test. The results show that the highest tensile strength and modulus elasticity was in PVA pure film for 2.15 MPa and 3.468 MPa, respectively. The addition of cellulose fiber from sugarcane bagasse in the PVA matrix does not have a strengthening effect on the tensile strength of the biocomposite. This is due to the presence of porosity, agglomeration, and poor bonding between the matrix and fiber according to the SEM observation. The biodegradation rate showed that all biocomposite samples were degraded in the soil and had weight loss above 40% after 15 days of burial in the soil.

This research article elaborates on the conceptual design development of a sustainable bionanocomposite bracket for bracing installation in composite cross arm structures. The product design development employed the hybrid techniques of the theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ), morphological chart, and analytic network process (ANP) methods. The current bracket design in the braced composite cross arm is composed of heavy and easy-to-rust steel material. Therefore, this research aims to develop a new bionanocomposite bracket design to replace the heavy and easy-to-rust steel bracket. This research also aims to implement a concurrent engineering approach for the conceptual design of bionanocomposite bracket installation to enhance the overall insulation performance. A preliminary process was implemented, which covered the relationship between the current problem of the design and design planning to build a proper direction to create a new design product using TRIZ. Later, the TRIZ inventive solution was selected based on the engineering contradiction matrix with specific design strategies. From the design strategies, the results were refined in a morphological chart to form several conceptual designs to select the ANP technique to systematically develop the final conceptual design of the bionanocomposite bracket for the cross arm component. The outcomes showed that Concept Design 1 scored the highest and ranked first among the four proposed designs. The challenges of the bionanocomposite bracket design for cross arm structures and the improvement criteria in concurrent engineering are also presented.

The rapid rise in global oil prices, the scarcity of petroleum sources, and environmental concerns have all created severe issues. As a result of the country’s rapid expansion and financial affluence, Malaysia’s energy consumption has skyrocketed. Biodiesel and solar power are currently two of the most popular alternatives to fossil fuels in Malaysia. These two types of renewable energy sources appear to be viable options because of their abundant availability together with environmental and performance competence to highly polluting and fast depleting fossil fuels. The purpose of adopting renewable technology is to expand the nation’s accessibility to a reliable and secure power supply. The current review article investigates nonconventional energy sources added with nanosized metal particles called as nanomaterials including biodiesel and solar, as well as readily available renewable energy options. Concerning the nation’s energy policy agenda, the sources of energy demand are also investigated. The article evaluates Malaysia’s existing position in renewable energy industries, such as biodiesel and solar, as well as the impact of nanomaterials. This review article discusses biodiesel production, applications, and government policies in Malaysia, as well as biodiesel consumption and recent developments in the bioenergy sector, such as biodiesel property modifications utilizing nanoparticle additions. In addition, the current review study examines the scope of solar energy, different photovoltaic concentrators, types of solar energy harvesting systems, photovoltaic electricity potential in Malaysia, and the experimental setup of solar flat plate collectors (FPC) with nanotechnology.

Owing to the increasing global pollution due to the use of conventional plastic materials, biodegradable films and sheets have been given prominent importance owing to their efficiency in replacing traditional plastic materials. In the recent times, due to globalization and industrialization, the minimization of the use of synthetic petroleum-based materials has been in practice by the global community, and increase in the use of natural materials like biomass waste in place of traditional materials promoting the green and sustainable technology development. Such production of alternative biomaterials development from the lignocellulosic fiber-reinforced composite films and laminates has been seriously investigated by engineers, technologists, and materialists owing to their sustainability, renewability, low toxicity, and abundantly available. Banana is one among the largely consumed tropical crop globally which is due to the quantity of cultivation and the availability of calorific values in the fruit. It is also a fruit which is potentially rich in starch content with more than 65 % of starch. This banana starch can be considered as a potential material for the manufacturing of coating material, edible sheet, food preservation and packaging owing to its innocuous, less cost, and biodegradability. The application of banana starch is dictated by the functional, structural and physicochemical properties of the developed material. But an unmodified native banana starch may not be characterized with all the necessary properties for any customized application. In order to widen the application band of the banana starch, it has to be modified by using enzymes, chemical, and physical methods. This review comprehensively deals with the extraction and synthesis of banana starch from various sources, their modification, properties of the banana starch and its characterization. Some aspects regarding the hybridization of the banana starch with nanoparticles has also been given.

Bio-based materials must be studied to replace polymers from petrochemical sources in packaging applications. However, using polymers from petrochemical sources has caused consumer and environmental concerns. Therefore, synthetic and non-synthetic materials that can be used for packaging applications, scale-up methods, industrial uses, sustainability assessments, and end-of-life alternatives will all be included in this study. Synthetic polymers, e.g., polylactic acid (PLA), polyethylene furanoate (PEF), polybutylene succinate (PBS), and non-synthetic polymers, including waxes, lipids, proteins, starch, cellulose, and polyhydrodialkanoate (PHAs), are some of the bio-based compounds that will be covered in this work. Besides that, more attention is paid to surface modification techniques and coatings, multilayers, biocomposites, and additives used to modify material characteristics, particularly gas and moisture barriers and biodegradability. In sum, this research offers a comprehensive analysis of bio-based packaging materials, including processing, and an assessment of sustainability and available alternatives.

Dry powder products are highly sensitive to oxygen and water vapour and must have a long shelf life. Currently, they are vacuum-packaged in sachets whose walls are made of a composite film that stops oxygen and water vapour from entering the package. Most of these composites are not biodegradable, a situation that the most agricultural company now wants to change to gain in sustainability. According to National Geography (2019), every year, about 8 million tons of plastic waste escapes into the oceans from coastal nations, with some estimates ranging to at least 400 years to break down. Over the years, there is huge interest in the development and use of biobased packaging materials, however, most of these materials are brittle and have low mechanical properties. Thus, in order to overcome these drawbacks, blended polymers with the reinforcement of nanocellulose are recommended. The aim of this paper is to review packaging films with oxygen barrier properties similar to those of the conventional films but also having biodegradable properties. From the literature, the oxygen permeability coefficient improved with the high strength, modulus, and ductility, as the nanocellulose was reinforcing with biopolymer. This might be due to nanocellulose that contributes to the higher stretchability of the composite biofilms. A fine dispersion of nanocellulose throughout the polymer host promoted several improved properties of the composite biofilms. In addition, nanocellulose had greatly enhanced oxygen and water vapour barrier properties. It would indeed push the usability of biopolymers forward, and certainly, prompt wider application of biodegradable polymers in the fields of environmental protection such as biodegradable food packaging.

The existing cross arms in high transmission towers are made of pultruded glass fibre reinforced polymer composite (PGFRPC). The moisture, temperature change in the atmosphere, and other environmental factors affect the performance of these members and cause a complete failure. It is apparent that any material used in such applications is susceptible to attack from environmental factors. Therefore, a feasible solution for this issue is to enhance the PGFRPC with a composite-filled sandwich structure as an alternative that could sustain longer than the existing cross arms due to its superior performance under bending and compressive loads. This paper presents a case study on experimental and analytical mechanical performance of both PGFRPCs and composite-filled sandwich structure. In this review, the composite-filled sandwich structure is proposed as an alternative to the conventional PGFRPC.

Cross arms are mainly made up of wood (conventional) and pultruded glass fiber reinforced polymer composite (modern) installed in suspension tower. However, the creep response of both materials has not been fully covered in many literatures to explain the long-term durability of the current cross arm design. Thus, it is necessary to find the creep trends and models to evaluate the behavior in the tropical outdoor environment. The creep properties of Balau wood and pultruded composite at load of 10, 20 and 30 % of ultimate flexural stress were evaluated from quasi-static flexural test results. Using several creep numerical models, the creep properties of wood and composite cross arms were modelled. The results showed that the GFRP had a significant value of flexural strength, while Balau wood performed better in flexural modulus. In terms of creep properties, GFRP specimen exhibited high creep resistance with greater stability during transition from elastic to viscoelastic phase. From numerical modelling perspective, the simulated creep trends from Burger and Norton models were deviated from the experimental data. Subsequently, the most suitable creep model to forecast the creep behavior for wood and composite specimens was Findley model. All in all, pultruded composite is the most appropriate durable material to be applied in cross arms, while Findley model is a suitable model to represent creep performance of anisotropic materials.

The development of environmentally benign silicone composites from sugar palm fibre and silicone rubber was carried out in this study. The mechanical, physical, and morphological properties of the composites with sugar palm (SP) filler contents ranging from 0% to 16% by weight (wt%) were investigated. Based on the uniaxial tensile tests, it was found that the increment in filler content led to higher stiffness. Via dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), the viscoelastic properties of the silicone biocomposite showed that the storage modulus and loss modulus increased with the increment in filler content. The physical properties also revealed that the density and moisture absorption rate increased as the filler content increased. Inversely, the swelling effect of the highest filler content (16 wt%) revealed that its swelling ratio possessed the lowest rate as compared to the lower filler addition and pure silicone rubber. The morphological analysis via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the sugar palm filler was evenly dispersed and no agglomeration could be seen. Thus, it can be concluded that the addition of sugar palm filler enhanced the stiffness property of silicone rubber. These new findings could contribute positively to the employment of natural fibres as reinforcements for greener biocomposite materials.

Materials that exhibit highly nonlinear behaviour are intricate to study. This is due to their physical properties, as they possess a very large deformation. Silicone rubber is among the materials that can be classified as possessing such characteristics, despite their being soft and frequently applied in medical applications. Due to their low mechanical properties, however, it is believed that a filler addition could enhance them. This study, therefore, aims to investigate the effect of the addition of bamboo cellulosic filler to silicone rubber in terms of its compressive properties in order to quantify its material constants using the hyperelastic theory, specifically the Neo-Hookean and Mooney–Rivlin models. The specimens’ compressive properties were also compared between specimens immersed in seawater and those not immersed in seawater. The findings showed that the compressive properties, stiffness, and compressive strength of the bamboo cellulosic fibre reinforced the silicone rubber biocomposites, improved with higher bamboo filler addition. Specimens immersed in seawater showed that they can withstand a compressive load of up to 83.16 kPa in comparison to specimens not immersed in seawater (up to 79.8 kPa). Using the hyperelastic constitutive models, the Mooney–Rivlin model displayed the most accurate performance curve fit with the experimental compression data with an R2 of up to 0.9999. The material constant values also revealed that the specimens immersed in seawater improved in stiffness property, as the C1 material constant values are higher than for the specimens not immersed in seawater. From these findings, this study has shown that bamboo cellulosic filler added into silicone rubber enhances the material’s compressive properties and that the rubber further improves with immersion in seawater. Thus, these findings contribute significantly towards knowledge of bamboo cellulosic fibre–reinforced silicone rubber biocomposite materials.

Natural cellulosic fibres, such as kenaf, have potential for use as replacement of man-made fibres in polymeric composites. The rapid depletion of synthetic resources, such as petroleum, and the growing consciousness of global environmental problems related to synthetic products push toward the acceptance of natural fibres as biocomposite components. Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) is a multipurpose hibiscus species used to make engineered wood, clothing, packing material, rope and twine. Kenaf is essentially made up of cellulose (about 70%), predicting its excellent mechanical performance. Kenaf fibres are chemically treated before mixing with other polymer resins to enhance their fibre properties. Based on the previous literature, the effect of chemical treatment on the dynamic mechanical performance of kenaf cellulosic biocomposites remains unexplored. The present review focuses on the recent works on the influence of major chemical treatments used on kenaf fibre, such as alkaline, silane and acetylation on fabricated biocomposites. The present review also unveils other chemical treatments (e.g. zein and amino acid) and combined treatments on the fibre to improve the biocomposites’ dynamic mechanical behaviour.

The leading objective of this experimental study is to perform a Short-term Creep Testing on samples (coupon test) obtained from a private company in order to learn the durability of the Unsaturated Polyester Resin (UPR) material with and without Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) on the applied cross-arm application according to ASTM E139. Through the method of flexural test jig (three point bending test) along with the usage of the furnace chamber HK160, samples then examined with initial temperature of 30°C until it breaks down. Result has been evaluated using conventional method for predicting the life-long purpose of the samples for future reference and analysis. The configurations or the patterns of the failure through (conventional) method recorded for short term test inside HK160 Chamber furnace fails at temperature of 120°C for samples without CaCO3 the samples fails and crack. Therefore, the samples with due to the material of UPE with FRP in a bar shape are said to have Ultimate Temperature for Failure of 120°C. Further details are crucial for advance analysis in the future research purposes.

The effect of calcium carbonate on the creep phenomenon of glass fiber/unsaturated polyester resin composites (GFRP) (obtained by pultrusion) was investigated due to failure that happened during installation of one of the composite transmission tower. To assess long-term creep and predict the life of composites, a conventional bending method with 45-day creep and time-temperature superposition principle (TTSP) were used. In the conventional method, the composites (with and without calcium carbonate) underwent only slight deformation. It was found that their lifetime could be 25 years. However, based on the standard curve obtained by the TTSP method, significant differences were shown in the stability of calcium carbonate composite samples at 95°C (111 days) and 160°C (11 days). It was found that the addition of calcium carbonate extends the service life of the tested composites. Thus, the results obtained by the conventional method do not reflect the real behavior of the samples over time. On the other hand, the TTSP method allows better estimation of the long-term durability of composites.

Wood and composites cantilever beam structure has gained attention among researchers in the current years due to its universal structural applications, such as bridges, aeroplane wings, buildings, and transmission towers. However, when the structure is exposed to a constant loading for a very long time, it induces a structural collapse due to creep deformation. Therefore, it is essential to understand and identify the initial creep that can lead to structural collapse. In this study, wood and composite materials exhibit the same structural material morphology which performs as anisotropic material as it majorly contributes to failure. In this study, a state-of-the-art review of creep analysis and engineering design is carried out, with particular emphasis on the creep methodology of a cantilever beam. The existing theories and creep design approaches are grouped into two analysis methods, namely experimental and numerical approaches. To be more specific, the experimental works involved two main methods, namely load-based (conventional) and temperature-based (accelerated) techniques. Selected creep test on cantilever beam structure and coupon scale of wood and composite were highlighted and proposed as the building blocks for a prospective structural creep methodology. These aids build confidence in the underlying methods while guiding future work and areas, especially for long-term service of full-scale structure. At the end, the challenges of creep behaviour description accuracy and improvement on the strength criteria in engineering design were presented.

The hybridisation of conceptual design methods is presented in the development of multi-operations creep flexural test rig. The paper explains the integration of theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ), Morphological chart, and Analytic Network Process (ANP) method to ensure the quality function is fulfilled with the essential requirements. The objective of this project is to produce and choose the best design concept for the product development depending on the product design specifications (PDS). In the early stage of product development, the TRIZ contradiction principles and 40 TRIZ inventive solutions were applied as the guidance tools. To refine the specification of the product design, the principle solution parameters were detailed systematically with the aid of morphological chart. In this article, four innovative conceptual designs of the multi-operations creep flexural test rig were produced and the selection process was conducted using ANP method to perform the multi-criteria decision making process in selecting the best concept design. Keywords: Conceptual design, TRIZ, Morphological chart, Analytic Network Process, Flexural creep, Test rig

Concrete is a composite material that is commonly used in the construction industry. It will certainly be exposed to fires of varying intensities when used in buildings and industries. The major goal of this article was to look into the influence of mineral additions such as foundry sand and marble dust on the residual characteristics of concrete. To examine the behavior of residual characteristics of concrete after fire exposure, marble dust was substituted for cement and fine sand was substituted for foundry sand in varying amounts ranging from 0% to 20%. It aided in the better disposal of waste material so that it might be used as an addition. The purpose of the experiment was to see how increased temperatures affected residual properties of concrete, including flexural strength, compressive strength, tensile strength, static as well as dynamic elastic modulus, water absorption, mass loss, and ultrasonic pulse velocity. At temperatures of 200 °C, 400 °C, 600 °C, 800 °C, and 1000 °C, the typical fire exposure behavior of concrete was investigated. The effects of two cooling techniques, annealing and quenching, on the residual properties of concrete after exposure to high temperatures were investigated in this study. Replacement of up to 10% of the cement with marble dust and fine sand with foundry sand when concrete is exposed to temperatures up to 400 °C does not influence the behavior of concrete. At temperatures above 400 °C, however, the breakdown of concrete, which includes marble dust and foundry sand, causes a rapid deterioration in the residual properties of concrete, primarily for replacement of more than 10%.

Ever since the introduction of 3D printing, industries have seen an exponential growth in production and efficiency. Three-dimensional printing is the process of additive manufacturing (AM) in which the conventional method of material removal is challenged. Layer-on-layer deposition is the basic principle of the AM. Additive manufacturing technologies are used to create 3D-printed objects. An object is built in an additive technique by laying down successive layers of material until the object is complete. Each of these layers can be viewed as a cross-section of the item that has been lightly cut. When compared to traditional production methods, 3D printing allows the creation of complicated shapes with less material. In conventional methods, the materials go through several damages due to the tool–workpiece contact creating friction between them and the dissipated heat that damages the material. Overcoming the conventional method of machining with the help of 3D printing is a new advancement in the industries. The process involves using non-conventional methods for the machining of the parts. This research was oriented towards the chemical vapor jet drilling of the acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) materials. ABS materials are highly machinable and can be recycled for further usage. This paper focused on the usage of acetone as the chemical for drilling. The surface roughness and circularity of the drilled hole was taken into account for this research paper. We set up a manual experiment to run tests and get results. A vapor jet machine was designed with acetone as the core for the vapor. Various analyses were also formulated and conducted during experimentations. Surface roughness analysis provided the insight of roughness after the machining with the help of acetone vapor jet spray. SEM and micro-image parameters were also considered for more clear and advanced reports. In this research paper, DSC and FTIR analysis were performed to understand changes in the internal structure and the material properties of the ABS. Moreover, the research aimed to investigate the effect of various inputs processing parameters such as pressure, flow rate, and stand-off distance on the surface roughness and circularity of ABS workpiece material. The Taguchi L9 orthogonal array design was utilized to conduct tests by chemical vapor jet drilling using acetone and to evaluate the performance of the set-up while reducing the influence of interfering factors in order to provide reliable surface finish and circularity results. The results and conclusion of the research paper aimed to determine the most suitable parameters for the non-conventional acetone vapor jet drilling of the ABS material. The theoretical calculations predicted 1.64432 and 0.3289080 values of surface roughness and circularity, respectively. On the other hand, the experimental values were recorded as 1.598 for surface roughness and 0.322 for circularity. Therefore, a negligible error of 0.046 for surface roughness and 0.0031 for circularity, respectively, was noted which validate the statistical equations and the consistency of the combined vapor jet drilling process.

The present study investigates the preference index of natural fibers such as sisal, coir, and rice straw fibers in stone matrix asphalt mixtures (SMA), using waste marble as filler. Waste marble was used as the filler in asphalt mixtures and was crushed by abrasion machine and sieved according to SMA filler requirements. The SEM topography and EDS analysis of sisal, coir, and rice straw fibers were also carried out. The Marshall test was conducted, which is the most acceptable, cost-effective, and widely adopted method to estimate the optimum bitumen and to examine several Marshall Measures, such as flow value, voids filled with bitumen (VFB), stability, voids in mineral aggregate (VMA), and air voids (VA). Furthermore, tests were performed on the specimen with the optimum amount of bitumen, different percentages of fibers, and waste marble as filler to calculate drain down, moister sensitivity, and Marshall Stability. Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques were implemented to obtain subjective and objective weights, which were further used to compute the values of the preference index of natural fiber contents. The outcomes revealed favorable results for the usage of marble dust as filler in Stone Matrix Asphalt (SMA). In addition, the preference index upshots are inclined toward the usage of rice straw over coir followed by sisal fiber. It was observed that the value of the preference index in rice straw at 0.3 varied from 0.918, 0.925, and 0.931 in rice straw using equal, objective, and subjective weights, respectively. The maximum drain down value observed is 0.335 based on ASTM-D 6390 and IRC-SP-79 are against 0.3 percent natural fiber. Moreover, as per the prescribed limit of MoRTH, because of the thin film around aggregates, moisture susceptibility characteristics, i.e., better resistance to moisture, were enhanced by more than 80%.

Concrete is commonly used as a construction material because of the important properties is broadly utilized as development materials within the development segment. Unfortunately, the component of cement within the concrete results in many side-effects such as affecting the environment. Therefore, this paper presented the review of essential to seek out an alternative materials which may be utilized as cement replacement materials by reutilizing agricultural waste ash. Selected agricultural waste ash which are Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA), Rice Husk Ash (RHA), Groundnut Shell Ash (GSA), Sugarcane Bagasse Ash (SBA) and Oyster Shell Powder (OSP) were review in terms of their compressive strength and slump height of the mixture. The treated palm oil ash which is going to be used as partial cement replacement material for the proper design mix and optimal ash replacement. The replacement percentage of palm ash in the concrete were set at 10%, 20%, and 30% by weight with the optimal replacement ratio of the supplementary cementitious content. Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) is a material that having sufficient requirements to be a good pozzolana and cementitious material according to ASTMC618 in terms of chemical composition. POFA is a material that consists high silica contents. By having more silica contents, it will help to improve the properties, in particular its compressive strength, bond strength, and abrasion resistance. After conducting several research, it was concluded that the optimal replacement for POFA is 20% and it is better to have finer POFA. POFA also proved some of the important properties is the CO2 emissions would be reduce.

In this chapter, it reveals on the review of safety in composite laboratory. Throughout this topic, it elaborates on the steps and safety measures needed to be taken in the laboratory in three periods such as before, during and after handling composites. Several safety and protective equipment also have been mentioned to allow reader to understand the functions and post-effect if not wearing or using it appropriately. On the top of that, specific composite processes such as pyrolysis would potentially cause several hazards, which could harm the operator during its handling process. Thus, this part deliberates comprehensively on the composite processes step-by-step and its hazards which could harm the users. At the end, the emergency safety equipment such as fire extinguisher and emergency showers explains thoroughly in the manuscript, which functions during post-accident events. This manuscript also presents the guidelines of important facts and basic concepts that can be used as a guide to preventing accidents and injuries in Biocomposite Technology Laboratory, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). The objective of these guidelines is to be used to prevent accidents and injuries in biocomposite laboratories in particular while increasing the safety and health of students/customers.

This chapter discusses on the introductory and background of safety and health in general aspect. In this section, the elaborations on theories and theroretical frameworks of accident and its causes are outlined accordingly. Later, this section narrows toward the foundation of safety and health in term of composites and engineering perspectives, such as safety engineering, chemical engineering, ergonomics and human factor engineering, industrial engineering and fire protection engineering. The preventive concepts and strategies in order to comprehend the accidents occurred in workplaces were also revealed. Lastly, this section identifies the details on significance and importance of safety and health monitoring.

This chapter introduces the basic fundamental and concept for design for safety. It reveals the technical gaps between design for safety and current state of the art to produce a new products. This chapter introduces the background of design for safety which covers those ten paradigms for safe designs to guide the designer to do right things at the right times. Moreover, the several concurrent engineering approaches have been described and used to be integrate with the design for safety in order to produce a new product. Detail discussions has been expanded with its examples and current progresses.