Engineering education in higher learning institute faces new challenges due to the rise of COVID-19 cases whereby classes have to be conducted online. In this regards, the use of learning management systems (LMS) are imperative for open and distance learning (ODL). The aim of this paper is to assess ODL using such LMS platform. Study was conducted in Faculty of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia where it involved a total of 51 academic staff. A quantitative method using online questionnaire was applied to evaluate main preferences of LMS for ODL, main purposes of LMS and issues arises from using such LMS platform. Results show that a variety of LMS has been utilized to support the ODL and majority of the academician showed positive feedback on the usefulness of such LMS. The only main concerns from the educators are plagiarism from the students that could create doubts and none trustworthy results on their performances. Otherwise, LMS is indeed an essential platform for ODL and must be encouraged to all educators such that it can be further improved and continuously utilized in the future.
This paper discusses the prospect of utilization of solar energy for aquaponics operation. Aquaponic is a platform for farmers to simultaneously grow fish and plants in a same unit. It is sustainable and produces little waste. The need of pumps for continuous water recirculation and air supply within the system could be a hindrance in the aquaponics operation especially if the unit is nowhere near any power outlet. It is indeed a visible solution as Malaysia located at equator and receives average sunlight ~9 hours a day throughout the year with solar intensity as high as 1800-1900 kWh/m2. The work presents detail equipment for establishment of suitable solar PV system for aquaponics operation and reviews utilities of aquaponics platform that can be supported using solar energy. Possible integration of Internet-of-Things (IoT) for remote monitoring of such solar operated aquaponics unit is also discussed. Analysis showed that even when operated with full energy supply for only 12 hours, the yield and growth rates of the crop and fish grown in the system powered remains unaffected. This signified the potential for the use of solar energy as alternative energy for operation of the aquaponics unit. The main advantage perhaps is the realization of aquaponics setup in remote area where electricity is not accessible. Installation cost may be relatively high (100W PV system could cost nearly RM 600 for installation) but for a long run, it is highly beneficial as utility cost and cost for installing the national grid can be significantly reduced. Summarizing, the project introduced the concept of smart farming via aquaponics for a sustainable production of crop and fish using a renewable and clean solar energy for its operation.
The Covid-19 pandemic crisis has transformed project-based education into virtual lab and non-experimental work. Student final year project (FYP) course particularly is in critical since it has bigger credit, involves more skill set development and conducted in two semesters. In this work, we highlighted the implementation of Arduino in FYP where the main objective of the work is to investigate the effectiveness of Arduino home based final year project for chemical engineering student’s cognitive, psychomotor and affective skills. Comparison on learning satisfaction, obtainment of student skills and reflection from both student and examiners were thoroughly discussed. Surveys showed that student were reluctant to carry out the project in the beginning; however, they began to show more interest on the project as they started to understand the basic principle of Arduino operation. Both students and the examiners agreed that Arduino-based project had given significant impact on student cognitive skills at the level of Application, Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation. On top of that, the psychomotor and affective skills were simultaneously and successfully developed in the remote learning process. It is evident that the proposed Arduino home-based FYP is affordable and effective for the development of student skill sets despite being supervised virtually.
Three TWIP steels based on the composition Fe-23Mn-3Si-3.3Al with different carbon concentrations were examined. The alloys were produced by rapid solidification in an experimental apparatus designed to simulate direct strip casting conditions. Examination of the driving force for solidification for this alloy showed the preference for BCC and FCC solidification were very close for this composition, within 10% of one another. This factor combined with the high undercooling resulted in the change in the primary solidified phase. Chemical analysis of the as-cast strip showed inter-dendritic segregation of Si and Al, but negligible segregation of Mn. A simple heat treatment was sufficient to chemically homogenise all alloys and produce microstructures comprising a fully austenitic structure, consistent with thermodynamic predictions.
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