Muhd Ridzuan Mansor

Selection of natural fibre reinforced composites using fuzzy VIKOR for car front hood

Weight reduction of transportation vehicles is an important method in improving fuel efficiency, reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. One of the solutions is through the application of green materials as substitutes to conventional engineering materials. However, the selection of a suitable substitute material for the intended application often imposes great challenges due to the variety of alternative materials to choose from as well as the need to satisfy multiple and conflicting requirements from various stakeholders. Therefore, the aim of this study is to use fuzzy VIKOR, the multiple criteria decision making method, to identify the appropriate type of natural fibre for fibre reinforced composites to be applied on the fibre metal laminate for car front hood to achieve the transportation weight reduction. The result suggested that M3 (kenaf) has the best criteria. Kenaf has been selected as the best natural fibre as it satisfies two compromise solutions. It has a least VIKOR index value υ = 0.5. The results of the fuzzy VIKOR demonstrate the potential of natural fibre to be applied on the fibre metal laminate structure as a car front hood; this which could reduce vehicle weight and subsequently reduce the overall vehicle CO2 gas emissions.

Conceptual Design of Kenaf Polymer Composites Automotive Spoiler Using TRIZ and Morphology Chart Methods

Spoilers are part of an automotive exterior bodywork system that acts to create additional down force for higher traction. In this paper, a new conceptual design of automotive spoiler component using kenaf polymer composites was developed using integrated TRIZ and morphology chart design method. The aim is to enable direct application of kenaf polymer composites to the spoiler design to achieve better environmental performance of the component while maintaining the required structural strength for safe and functional operation. The overall process involved two major stages, which are the idea generation and concept development. TRIZ method was applied in the idea generation stage where specific solution strategies for the design were created. In the concept development stage, the specific TRIZ solution strategies obtained were later refined into relevant alternative system elements using Morphology chart method. Finally, a new conceptual design of an automotive spoiler was developed using the combination of the identified system elements. The integrated TRIZ and morphology chart method were found to be new tools that can be used effectively in the concept design stage, especially in cases where direct material substitution is given the main focus for the new product development.

Life Cycle Assessment of Natural Fiber Polymer Composites

Widespread environmental awareness towards achieving product sustainability has spurred great efforts in using more environmental-friendly materials in product design. Among the most promising solutions to address the needs is by using natural fibers to reduce the dependence on synthetic fibers as reinforcement and filler materials for polymer composites’ construction. Many efforts have been made to fully quantify the advantages of natural fiber composites (NFC) for diverse applications such as automotive, building materials, and household appliances. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is among the efforts being undertaken related to NFC with the primary aim to determine the overall potential environmental impact of using such materials on the surroundings. Among the major advantages of performing LCA is its capability to provide a more holistic overview of the environmental impact whereby it covers the whole product life cycles from raw material extraction to end-of-life stages, hence enabling justified decisions on the suitability of using NFC for specific applications to be made scientifically. In this chapter, an overview of the LCA method is explained and subsequently followed by description of its applications involving NFC in different applications. The advantages and limitations of the LCA method related to the NFCs are also discussed as well as a final conclusion on the future directions of LCA application for NFC.

Rigidity Analysis of Kenaf Thermoplastic Composites Using Halpin-Tsai Equation

In this paper, the stiffness mechanical property of natural fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites is analyzed using composite micromechanical model. Kenaf natural fiber is selected as the reinforcement material in the composites construction while three types of commonly used automotive grade thermoplastic matrices, namely polypropylene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and polyamide 6 were selected to be reinforced with kenaf fibers. Their stiffness property was later analyzed using Halpin-Tsai micromechanical model at varying fiber content and fiber aspect ratio conditions. In all cases, theoretical results show that the kenaf reinforced thermoplastic composites stiffness increased linearly as the fiber contents were increased. Apart from that, results also show that the stiffness property also increases as the fiber aspect ratio was increased. Higher final composites stiffness property was also observed as stiffness matrix material is utilized in the composites formulation. The prediction results also provided valuable and quick insight as well as cost effective alternative to composite designers in assessing the stiffness performance of natural fiber composites especially those which are reinforced with thermoplastic matrices compared to conventional experimental technique for automotive product development purposes in addition to identifying the optimal parameter to be put into focus in their composites design to achieve the intended design performance specifications.

Soft skills development of Engineering undergraduate students through Formula Varsity

This paper examines the seven elements of soft skills promoted by Institute of Higher Learning (IHL). These soft skills are demonstrated in one of the event organized by Faculty of mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) which is kwon as Formula Varsity. The event had been participated by a number of IHL in Malaysia and received good feedback from participating institution, staff and students. In order to study the effectiveness of the event and relate it to the soft skills elements, soft skills matrices for each team has been developed and discussed. The result show good relation and fulfil all the element of the soft skills.

Conceptual Design Development

In the modern design, conceptual design is an important activity in the design process, it is constantly being emphasized that incorrect conceptual design may lead to expansive rework and problem that may happen after the product is fabricated.

Overview on Development of Natural Fiber Composite Products

Composites consist of two or more constituent materials, mainly fiber reinforcements and matrices, bonded together, as a result better properties are obtained in the final composites compared to the constituent materials. However, the constituent materials retained their unique attributes. Composite materials or composites are the materials of choice in many engineering application. They are used in various industries such as automotive, building and construction, aerospace, telecommunication, furniture and marine industries.

Manufacturing Process Selection

Another important aspect in NFC product development is manufacturing or processing stage, apart from the product design and materials selection. Similarly to materials selection stage, the manufacturing of NFC product is crucial to obtain successful transformation of the NFC raw materials into the intended final product shape and achieving the final product quality in term of functionality and appearance.

Recent Advances in Polyethylene-Based Biocomposites

Abstract Polyethylene (PE), part of the polyolefins group, is one of the major sources of commodity plastics used as the matrix in the development of biocomposite materials. PE-based biocomposites have been extensively used in both for nonstructural and structural applications, due to the low cost, recyclability, and processing advantages as compared to synthetic based composites. In this chapter, the overview on the application of PE-based biocomposites is explained which includes its role to the biocomposite formulation, various processing methods involved, and the characterization techniques applied to determine the properties of the final composites. In addition, this chapter also describes examples on the application of PE-based biocomposites in several fields such as such as structural, packaging, coating, biomedical, and medical.

Weighting Of Natural Fibre Criteria For Fibre Metal Laminate Using Entropy Method For Car Front Hood Utilization

Material selection is one of the crucial stages in design and development process which depend on various physical, mechanical and manufacturing properties. To increase the success probability of the product, the designer needs to decide the suitable material. Therefore, to increase the reliability of the product, entropy method could be applied to determine the importance of criteria for the material used. Entropy method is a highly reliable and can be adjusted to information measurement to determine weighting criteria in decision making environment. Weighting criteria of material play a very significant role in the ranking results of the material selection. Therefore, the aim of this study is to utilise entropy method to rank the main criteria of the natural fibre used in fibre metal laminate panel for car front hood design. It is important to define the main criteria of materials during the material selection process to prevent any mechanical failure and to control the raw material cost. Most of the fibre metal laminate in the market utilise synthetic fibre, while natural fibre is rarely explored. Entropy method was applied to determine the main criteria weighting of natural fibre using five criteria. The result showed the highest rank to the lowest rank for the main criteria is density, stiffness, water absorption, cost and finally availability.