Zakaria Che Muda

Evaluation of green roof as green technology for urban stormwater quantity and quality controls

Promoting green design, construction, reconstruction and operation of buildings has never been more critical than now due to the ever increasing greenhouse gas emissions and rapid urbanizations that are fuelling climate change more quickly. Driven by environmental needs, Green Building Index (GBI) was founded in Malaysia to drive initiative to lead the property industry towards becoming more environment-friendly. Green roof system is one of the assessment criteria of this rating system which is under category of sustainable site planning and management. An extensive green roof was constructed in Humid Tropics Center (HTC) Kuala Lumpur as one of the components for Stormwater Management Ecohydrology (SME) in order to obtain scientific data of the system. This paper evaluates the performance of extensive green roof at Humid Tropics Center with respect to urban heat island mitigation and stormwater quantity and quality controls. Findings indicate that there was a reduction of around 1.5°C for indoor temperature of the building after installation of green roof. Simulations showed that the peak discharge was reduced up to 24% relative to impervious brown roof. The results show an increment of pH and high concentration of phosphate for the runoff generated from the green roof and the runoff water quality ranged between class I and II under INWQS.

Application of salt extracted peanut seeds in the pretreatment of palm oil mill effluent (POME)

AbstractThis paper presents a study on the effectiveness of salt extracted peanut seeds after oil extraction as a novel coagulant for turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal in palm oil mill effluent (POME) pretreatment process. The coagulation activity was investigated for the peanuts seeds after its oil extraction. The active coagulation component was extracted using three different concentrations of sodium chloride (NaCl), namely 0, 1 and 2 mol/l. The initial turbidity, TSS and COD of POME were found to be 11,684 NTU, 22,784 and 63,955 mg/l, respectively. The results show that extraction of coagulation active component from peanut seeds using NaCl improved the removal efficiency of the tested constituents. Accordingly, the higher NaCl concentration resulted in a low optimum dosage of peanut seeds and higher removal of turbidity, TSS and COD. Peanut seeds extracted with 2 mol/l reduced TSS to 1,218 mg/l (94.7% removal). On the other hand, peanut seeds extracted w...

Microwave Incinerated Rice Husk Ash (MIRHA) and Used Engine Oil (UEO): Towards Sustainable Concrete Production

Rice is a primary source of food for billions of people and covers 1% of the earth’s surface. On average 20% of the rice paddy is husk, giving an annual total production of 120 million tones. Nowadays, there are two common methods used to dispose the rice husk which is either it is being dump or burnt. Rice husk ash (RHA) which is produced by burning paddy husk led to the issue of ozone layer depletion. It also causes damage to the land and the surrounding area where it is being dumped. Previous studies have pointed out that RHA produced contains more than 80% pure silica and if properly prepared, it is in an active form which behaves very much like cement. Same goes with used engine oil (UEO). Many people are aware that UEO shouldn’t be dumped, but recycled. It is incredibly toxic stuff and a gallon can contaminate one million gallons of water. Pouring it on land doesn’t reduce the risk either as it can seep down into the water table.The objective of this research is to obtain an optimum percentage of inclusion of microwave incinerated rice husk ash (MIRHA) as a cement replacement and UEO in order to produce a better concrete in terms of compressive strength compared to normal OPC concrete. The test results showed MIRHA concrete performed better than normal OPC concrete and the incorporation of UEO and MIRHA in concrete showed the compressive strength give better performance.

Impact resistance performance of green construction material using light weight oil palm shells reinforced bamboo concrete slab

This paper investigate the performance of lightweight oil palm shells (OPS) concrete with varied bamboo reinforcement content for the concrete slab of 300mm x 300mm size reinforced with different thickness subjected to low impact projectile test. A self-fabricated drop-weight impact test rig with a steel ball weight of 1.2 kg drop at 1 m height has been used in this research work. The main variables for the study is to find the relationship of the impact resistance against the amount of bamboo reinforcement and slab thickness. A linear relationship has been established between first and ultimate crack resistance against bamboo diameters and slab thickness by the experiment. The linear relationship has also been established between the service (first) crack and ultimate crack resistance against the bamboo reinforcement diameter for a constant spacing for various slab thickness using 0.45 OPS and 0.6 OPS bamboo reinforced concrete. The increment in bamboo diameter has more effect on the first crack resistance than the ultimate crack resistance. The linear relationship has also been established between the service (first) crack and ultimate crack resistance against the various slab thickness. Increment in slab thickness of the slab has more effect on the crack resistance as compare to the increment in the diameter of the bamboo reinforcement.

Plagiarism in Publications Using the Unpublished Raw Data of Archived Research

It is obligatory to educate student researchers before they start their work by teaching them about the various types of plagiarism and how to avoid them. It is also vital that research supervisors take into account the sources of data that are explored in their students’ manuscripts. This article tries to draw the reader’s attention to the importance of avoiding all types of plagiarism in their research.

Hydrological assessment for mini hydropower potential at Sungai Pahang @ Temerloh

Sg Pahang at Temerloh was considered for assessment of hydropower potential using hydrological analysis method and hydrological model. The available data related to topography, soil, land use, weather and discharge pertaining to the study catchment were used to characterize the catchment. The characterization was required for water resources hence hydropower assessment. The hydrology of the study catchment was simulated through the model. This hydrological study is required due to the proposed mini hydroelectric power plant at Pulau Temerloh. It is essential to evaluate the existing river flow characteristic and to model the environmental flow assessment of the river. Two rainfalll stations, JPS Temerloh and Pintu Kawalan Paya Kertam Station are selected to develop the Rainfall Intensity Duration frequency (RIDF) Curve to determine the rainfall intensity of the area. Daily river flow were recorded at Sg Pahang at Temerloh and Sg Pahang at Lubok Paku were used to develop the Flow Duration Curve (FDC) to study the characteristic of Sungai Pahang flow. The 7 days low flow with 10 years return period (7Q10 low flow) was obtained using both Gumbel Method and Log Pearson Type III Method. The results from FDC shows that 50% percentage of time the Sg Pahang @ Temerloh is exceeded over a historical period is 400 m3/s and 50% percentage of time the Sg Pahang @ Lubok Paku is exceeded over a historical period is 650 m3/s. The required environmental flow are set to be 7Q10 low flow which is 64.215 m3/s for Sg Pahang at Temerloh and 79.24 m3/s for Sg Pahang at Lubok Paku. The results show the water resources are abundant and hence boost the mini hydropower potentiality at Sg Pahang.

Optimization of Structural Design for Sustainable Construction of Transmission Tower Based on Topographical Algorithm

Optimization of transmission tower structures is traditionally based on either optimization of members sizes with fixed topographical shape or based on structural analysis modelling strategies without taking cognizance of fabrication and constructability issue facing the contractors . This paper look into an integrated optimum design approach strategies whereby size, shape and topology are combined together with the fabrication issues in the construction of the transmission tower. The topographical algorithm is based on changing the inclination degree of the legs of the tower at first with optimum individual members sizing and later rationalized member sizes are performed through member groupings for the ease fabrication and construction of the transmission tower. The optimum weight using topographical algorithm obtained for the transmission tower is 10,924 kg for singular members and 18,430 kg for element grouping at 10° inclination angle.

Impact Resistance Performance of Kenaf Fibre Reinforced Concrete

This paper investigate the performance of kenaf fibre mesh reinforced concrete (KFMRC) with varied kenaf fibre mesh reinforcement content for the concrete slab of 300mm × 300mm size reinforced with different mesh diameter at constant spacing with varied slab thickness subjected to low impact projectile test. A self-fabricated drop-weight impact test rig with a steel ball weight of 1.236 kg drop at 0.40 m height has been used in this research work. The main variables for the study is to find the relationship of the impact resistance against the amount of mesh reinforcement and slab thickness. A linear relationship has been established between first and ultimate crack resistance against kenaf fiber diameters by the experiment. The linear relationship has also been established between the service (first) crack and ultimate crack resistance against the slab thickness. The threshold (highest) values for service crack and ultimate crack is 47.9 N/mm2 and 130.58 N/mm2 respectively observed and computed for 50 mm slab with 7 mm diameter mesh.

A Conceptual Framework for Procurement Decision Making Model to Optimize Supplier Selection: The Case of Malaysian Construction Industry

This paper intends to fathom the current state of procurement system in Malaysia specifically in the construction industry in the aspect of supplier selection. This paper propose a comprehensive study on the supplier selection metrics for infrastructure building, weight the importance of each metrics assigned and to find the relationship between the metrics among initiators, decision makers, buyers and users. With the metrics hierarchy of criteria importance, a supplier selection process can be defined, repeated and audited with lesser complications or difficulties. This will help the field of procurement to improve as this research is able to develop and redefine policies and procedures that have been set in supplier selection. Developing this systematic process will enable optimization of supplier selection and thus increasing the value for every stakeholders as the process of selection is greatly simplified. With a new redefined policy and procedure, it does not only increase the companys effectiveness and profit, but also make it available for the company to reach greater heights in the advancement of procurement in Malaysia.

Impact Resistance Behaviour of Light Weight Rice Husk Concrete with Bamboo Reinforcement

This paper investigate the performance of lightweight rice husk concrete (LWRHC) with varied bamboo reinforcement content for the concrete slab of 300mm × 300mm size reinforced with varied slab thickness subjected to low impact projectile test. A self-fabricated drop-weight impact test rig with a steel ball weight of 1.236 kg drop at 0.65 m height has been used in this research work. The main variables for the study is to find the relationship of the impact resistance against the amount of bamboo reinforcement and slab thickness. A linear relationship has been established between first and ultimate crack resistance against bamboo diameters and slab thickness by the experiment. The linear relationship has also been established between the service (first) crack and ultimate crack resistance against the bamboo reinforcement diameter and slab thickness. 5% RH content exhibit better first and ultimate crack resistance up to 1.80 times and up to 1.72 times respectively against 10% RH content.