Journal of Engineering Technology and Applied Physics

Recent Progress in Floating Solar Photovoltaic Systems: A Review from Malaysia’s Perspective

2023-07-31T11:59:06+08:00

Floating solar photovoltaic (FPV) technology has been gaining popularity in various parts of the world to address the growing clean energy demand and land scarcity challenges posed by conventional solar PV installations. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the recent progress in FPV research and actual implementations, highlighting advancements, challenges, and future prospects in this dynamic and promising field in Malaysia.

Design and Improvement of Mobility Aid Walker By Using QFD and TRIZ Method

2023-07-02T12:19:22+08:00

This research paper aims to address several challenges associated with the use of walkers, namely, the problem of incorrect posture leading to physical discomfort, increased product requirements, lack of collapsibility affecting portability, and storage issues caused by the walker's large size. To effectively overcome these challenges, a combined approach of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) is employed. The House of Quality (HOQ) is utilized as a tool to analyze the relationship matrix within the HOQ and the characteristics of the product. The TRIZ method is applied, leveraging 39 parameters and 40 Inventive Principles, to solve the identified problems. The concept development phase encompasses various techniques such as hand sketches, a sketchbook, Solidworks, and other pertinent tools. Subsequently, a prototype is developed and subjected to a validation survey. The results of the survey demonstrate a high level of satisfaction among the respondents, indicating that the walker successfully fulfills their requirements.

LoRa Based IoT Enabled Sensor Networks for Plantations

2023-07-31T12:11:04+08:00

The integration of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) technology with the Internet of Things (IoT) in agriculture plays a pivotal role in addressing a range of challenges and constraints faced by the sector, encompassing issues such as labour shortages, suboptimal farm management practises, and unpredictable weather conditions. In response to these pressing concerns, this study focuses on the development of WSN with IoT for agriculture, employing a spread spectrum modulation technique named the Long Range (LoRa) module. By leveraging LoRa devices and wireless radio frequencies, this technology serves as a versatile platform for delivering wireless, long-range, and energy-efficient communication to support small and medium-sized agricultural operations. These operations often lack adequate technological assistance due to factors such as limited expertise and the high costs associated with cutting-edge agricultural technology. The research undertakes a comprehensive exploration, involving LoRa parameter testing, Line-of-Sight evaluations, Non-Line-Of-Sight (NLOS) simulations, and sensor calibration, to assess the efficacy of LoRa-based IoT-enabled sensor networks within plantation environments. The overarching objective of this research endeavour is to provide valuable insights that contribute to the optimisation of agricultural practises through streamlined IoT solutions. By implementing practical and cost-effective strategies, the local agricultural sector stands poised to achieve seamless strides in both sustainable and efficient food production.

The Design of Low Power Op-amp for Biomedical Application

2024-03-01T20:36:26+08:00

This work presents a low-power operational amplifier (op-amp) circuit design which optimized and tailored specifically for biomedical circuit application in low power environment. The proposed op-amp design incorporates the folded cascode differential amplifier technique with a low voltage supply 1.2 V, utilizing current biasing, current mirrors, and adopted low-power circuit topologies. AC and DC analysis are carried out to analyse the performance of the proposed design. Extensive simulations executed using industrial standard EDA tool have validated the circuit design, and demonstrated a gain of 70.94 dB, UGBW of 4.90 MHz, GM of 52.70 dB, PM of 82.02 degrees, PSRR of 82.77 dB, CMRR of 100.78 dB, and total power dissipation of only 28.07 mW. Low power consumption is essential for biomedical circuit applications, and the result shows a significant power reduction without compromising other performance parameters. The proposed op-amp circuit design is suitable to be implemented in low-power and high-performance biomedical devices.

A Short Review: Photocatalysis As An Alternative Method for POME Treatment

2023-08-06T16:33:23+08:00

The liquid waste produced due to palm oil processing is called palm oil mill effluent (POME). It is challenging to manage because of its high production and inadequate treatment. The discharge of raw POME into the environment will result in multiple detrimental effects and environmental pollution. This short review compares the conventional treatment methods in Malaysia, which are the ponding system for the treatment of POME and the open or closed digesting tank. These systems are unable to achieve the standards set by the Department of Environment (DOE) of Malaysia. Photocatalysts, which are well-known as catalysts in the decomposition of organic contaminants, are suggested as an alternative method for POME treatment. The viability of using photocatalytic technology to remediate POME waste is discussed in this short review. The advancement and improvement of the nanoparticle system for POME treatment are identified based on past studies. It is aimed at providing readers with a clear comparison of conventional POME treatment methods and information on photocatalysis as an alternative POME treatment method.

Real-Time Heart Rate Classification: Advancements and Challenges

2023-07-21T16:24:15+08:00

This study focuses on the classification of heart rate, a condition with significant implications for health. The challenge lies in selecting an appropriate algorithm that can handle various types and severities of arrhythmia, enabling informed decisions and effective management. Factors such as accuracy, scalability, and efficiency are crucial for individuals without medical expertise. The selected algorithm should provide reliable classifications across different levels of severity, allowing individuals to monitor their heart rates in real-time and seek medical attention when needed. By addressing these challenges, this research aims to contribute to early diagnosis, treatment, and improved management of heart rate arrhythmia.

Design and Development of A Hemisphere Flat Base Solar Thermal Water Distillation System

2023-08-11T18:51:46+08:00

The clean water crisis around the world is mainly caused by the pollution and depletion of freshwater. There is only less than 1% of the water on Earth is in a pure and consumable state. Many people around the world actually die every single day due to the lack of access to clean, potable water and to proper sanitation which resulted in many waterborne diseases. Hence, water purification plays an extremely important role as access to clean water is fundamental to basic human rights. The objective of this paper is to develop a solar-thermal water distillation system with solar energy as its main power source to distilled water for safe consumption, hence achieving clean water purification through clean energy. The proposed hemisphere flat-based solar thermal distiller works well with the absorption of sun radiation from almost every angle with its spherical surface. The prototype works best under full sunlight conditions and is capable to purify water from various water sources to safe and ideal pH value for consumption. Solar radiation, being a clean energy and available in abundance at no cost, makes this design feasible for many and easy to scale up whenever the need arises. The simple working principle and fabrication at low cost also makes it an ideal solution in helping communities that have difficulty or no access to clean water supply.

Investigation of Flexible Job Shop with Machine Availability Constraints

2023-08-15T21:15:48+08:00

In real-world scheduling applications, machines may be unavailable during certain time periods for deterministic and stochastic reasons. This situation does not pose any problems if the jobs always have more than one machine available for processing. However, it becomes an issue if the only available machine is the one which more than one job needs for processing. Thus, the investigation of limited machine availability, along with the practical requirement to handle this feature of scheduling problems, are of huge significance. This paper examined a flexible job shop environment of a manufacturing firm to optimize different performance criteria related to makespan, due dates, priorities and penalties by using a metaheuristic approach, taking into account the precedence constraints. The work investigated the case in which all machines are available for processing and another case in which some of the machines are known in advance to be unavailable. From the results, the best schedules are analysed and the perspectives of the findings to decision-makers are discussed with the purpose of achieving high machine utilization, cost reduction and customer satisfaction.

The Review of Recent Trend for School Bus Routing Problem

2023-08-15T21:16:17+08:00

The School Bus Routing Problem (SBRP) is a complex transportation challenge involving finding optimal bus routes. This review paper provides an overview of the recent developments in SBRP research and focuses on three sub-problems: Bus Route Generation, Bus Route Scheduling, and Bus Stop Selection. The paper examines recent publications from 57 relevant articles. It highlights the increasing focus on real-world and complex scenarios, as well as the growing popularity of metaheuristic approaches in addressing SBRP challenges. The analysis reveals the significance of bus route generation, bus route scheduling, and bus stop selection, showcasing the effectiveness of machine learning and heuristic or metaheuristic algorithms in improving route quality. This study also classifies SBRP problems based on the number of schools, service surroundings (urban or rural), mixed-load scenarios, and fleet mix (homogeneous or heterogeneous). Finally, the paper explores the objectives of SBRP research, including minimising the total cost, distance, time, and number of buses. Meanwhile, the constraints of this study are the capacity of a bus, the maximum riding time, time windows, the maximum walking time between two stops and so on. This comprehensive review paper aims to offer a framework for new researchers and provides valuable insights for future research directions in this transportation area.

An Analysis of Split-Ring Resonators and Potential Barcode Application

2023-10-26T17:57:45+08:00

This paper presents an analysis of various split-ring resonator (SRR) configurations coupled with coplanar waveguides (CPW). Three distinct resonant structures are presented, namely, the S-shaped split-ring resonator (S-SRR), the conventional split-ring resonator (SRR), and a pair of SRR. Among the examined resonant structures, it is observed that the S-SRR exhibits the smallest electrical size with the corresponding resonant frequency of 1.37 GHz, while the conventional SRR has the largest electrical size with the corresponding resonant frequency of 3.34 GHz. On the other hand, the resonant frequency of a dual SRR is 2.37 GHz. However, the transmission coefficient of a dual SRR is -11.43 dB, which is higher than S-SRR (-10.02 dB) and SRR (-8.18 dB). Furthermore, this study extends the analysis between a square dual SRR and a circular dual SRR with retained area. The square SRR demonstrates a lower resonance frequency (2.23 GHz) relative to its circular counterpart (2.37 GHz). The comparison also shows that the transmission coefficient of the square configuration is -13.88 dB, which is higher than its circular counterpart (-11.43 dB). The realization of a barcode application is achieved by loading multiple S-shaped split ring resonators (S-SRRs) with varying geometric parameters adjacently onto the transmission line. By individually rotating each of these S-SRRs, it becomes possible to alter the notch magnitude, thereby positioning it within a specific designated range corresponding to a particular code. In the case of a configuration involving rotations of (0°, 45°, 90°, 0°, 45°, 90°), this approach results in the creation of a barcode denoted as "100 010 000 100 011 000". This methodology enables the encoding of information in the form of distinctive resonant responses, providing a versatile and compact means of realizing barcode applications.

Simulations for the Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered (SEIR) Model in the Forecast of Epidemic Outbreak

2023-08-15T21:16:56+08:00

Mathematical modelling based on the compartmental Susceptible – Exposed – Infected - Recovered (SEIR) model is proposed in this paper to study the pandemic outbreak. In addition, simulations from both the deterministic approach as well as the stochastic approach are implemented to validate the present study. Among each state, the transitions between different categories are simulated by using various graph models including the complete graph, the steady Erdos-Renyi graph, as well as the varying Erdos-Renyi graph. The related parameters for the SEIR model are chosen from available literature and the effect of some other factors such as the inflow or outflow of travellers in a city as well as the impact of vaccination rate is explored. Furthermore, the difference between the simulation results coming from the deterministic SEIR model and the stochastic SEIR one is examined to check the availability of the present simulation. It is found that, the stochastic simulation based on the complete graph is more consistent with the deterministic SEIR model.

Predicting Diabetes Mellitus with Machine Learning Techniques

2024-03-01T20:48:56+08:00

This study addresses the challenge of accurately identifying diabetes mellitus in individuals. Utilizing accessible online and real-world diagnostic data, we employ machine learning models, including Support Vector Machine, Random Forest, Naïve Bayes, eXtreme Gradient Boosting, and Deep Neural Network, on the PIMA Indian Diabetes and NHANES 1999-2016 datasets. Rigorous data pre-processing steps were conducted, handling null values, outliers, and imbalanced data together with data normalization. Our results reveal that the RF model achieves a 79% accuracy for binary classification on the PIMA Indian Diabetes dataset, using a 60:40 train-test split with BORUTA selected features. Meanwhile, the XGBoost model excels on the NHANES 1999-2016 dataset, achieving 92% accuracy for binary and 91% for multiclass classification respectively.

Evaluation of The Effect of Spoofing on Dual-Frequency Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)

2024-03-01T20:58:58+08:00

This paper aims to assess the impact of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) spoofing on the performance of a Garmin GPSMAP 66sr dual-frequency GNSS receiver. The evaluation is conducted through field assessments under three conditions: 1) single-frequency GPS L1 coarse acquisition (C/A) only, 2) single-frequency GPS L1 C/A and Galileo E1 open service (OS), and 3) dual-frequency GPS L1 C/A and L5, as well as Galileo E1 OS and E5a. The results emphasise the critical role of multifrequency GNSS in mitigating spoofing. In the dual-frequency multi-GNSS mode, spoofing does not occur as the GPS L5 and Galileo E5a signals remain unaffected by spoofing signals in the L1 / E1 band. In the single-frequency multi-GNSS mode, the higher number of observed GNSS satellites contributes to higher minimum spoofing power levels and longer durations between position fix loss and spoofing as compared to the GPS only mode.

Malaysian Banknote Reader Featuring Counterfeit Detection Using Fuzzy Logic Weighted Specific (FLWS) Algorithm

2024-03-01T21:11:11+08:00

To identify fake Malaysian banknotes, this research suggested a revolutionary fuzzy logic weighted specific (FLWS) approach in image processing techniques. The FLWS Algorithm has the benefit of a more accurate model because it is a human guidance learning algorithm that demands training to obtain the precise weights for each security feature. The trial outcomes also demonstrated that, for the purpose of detecting counterfeit Malaysian banknotes, the FLWS model outperformed the parallel fuzzy logic weighted averaging (FLWA) algorithm, MobileNet model, and VGG16 model. Its adoption of well-known watermark features, with specific weights assigned, and well-known machine learning techniques to distinguish between genuine Malaysian banknotes and counterfeit Malaysian banknotes gives it a clear advantage over earlier or current banknote counterfeit detection techniques.