Now showing 1 - 10 of 13
  • Publication
    The influence of MMA esterification on interfacial adhesion and mechanical properties of hybrid kenaf bast/glass fiber reinforced unsaturated polyester composites
    ( 2021) ;
    Syed Zhafer Firdaus Syed Putra
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    ;
    Irwana Nainggolan
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    Bartłomiej Jeż
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    Marcin Nabiałek
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    ;
    Andrei Victor Sandu
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    Petrica Vizureanu
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    ;
    Dariusz Kwiatkowski
    ;
    Izabela Wnuk
    The demand for natural fiber hybrid composites for various applications has increased, which is leading to more research being conducted on natural fiber hybrid composites due to their promising mechanical properties. However, the incompatibility of natural fiber with polymer matrix limits the performance of the natural fiber hybrid composite. In this research work, the mechanical properties and fiber-to-matrix interfacial adhesion were investigated. The efficiency of methyl methacrylate (MMA)-esterification treatments on composites’ final product performance was determined. The composite was prepared using the hand lay-up method with varying kenaf bast fiber (KBF) contents of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 (weight%) and hybridized with glass fiber (GF) at 5 and 10 (weight%). Unsaturated polyester (UPE) resin and methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP) were used as binders and catalysts, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to examine the effects of MMA-esterification treatment on tensile strength and morphology (tensile fracture and characterization of MMA-esterification treatment) of the composite fabricated. The tensile strength of MMA-treated reinforced UPE and hybrid composites are higher than that of untreated composites. As for MMA treatment, 90 min of treatment showed the highest weight percent gain (WPG) and tensile strength of KBF-reinforced UPE composites. It can be concluded that the esterification of MMA on the KBF can lead to better mechanical properties and adhesion between the KFB and the UPE matrix. This research provides a clear reference for developing hybrid natural fibers, thus contributing to the current field of knowledge related to GF composites, specifically in transportation diligences due to their properties of being lightweight, superior, and involving low production cost.
      11  15
  • Publication
    Evaluation on the mechanical properties of Ground Granulated Blast Slag (GGBS) and fly ash stabilized soil via geopolymer process
    ( 2021)
    Syafiadi Rizki Abdila
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    ; ; ;
    Małgorzata Rychta
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    Izabela Wnuk
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    Marcin Nabiałek
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    Krzysztof Muskalski
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    ;
    Muhammad Syafwandi
    ;
    Marek Isradi
    This study intended to address the problem of damaged (collapsed, cracked and decreased soil strength) road pavement structure built on clay soil due to clay soil properties such as low shear strength, high soil compressibility, low soil permeability, low soil strength, and high soil plasticity. Previous research reported that ground granulated blast slag (GGBS) and fly ash can be used for clay soil stabilizations, but the results of past research indicate that the road pavement construction standards remained unfulfilled, especially in terms of clay’s subgrade soil. Due to this reason, this study is carried out to further investigate soil stabilization using GGBS and fly ash-based geopolymer processes. This study investigates the effects of GGBS and ratios of fly ash (solid) to alkaline activator (liquid) of 1:1, 1.5:1, 2:1, 2.5:1, and 3:1, cured for 1 and 7 days. The molarity of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and the ratio of sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) to sodium hydroxide (NaOH) was fixed at 10 molar and 2.0 weight ratio. The mechanical properties of the soil stabilization based geopolymer process were tested using an unconfined compression test, while the characterization of soil stabilization was investigated using the plastic limit test, liquid limit test, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results showed that the highest strength obtained was 3.15 MPA with a GGBS to alkaline activator ratio of 1.5 and Na2SiO3 to NaOH ratio of 2.0 at 7 days curing time. These findings are useful in enhancing knowledge in the field of soil stabilization-based geopolymer, especially for applications in pavement construction. In addition, it can be used as a reference for academicians, civil engineers, and geotechnical engineers.
      8  24
  • Publication
    Hybrid mold: comparative study of rapid and hard tooling for injection molding application using Metal Epoxy Composite (MEC)
    ( 2021) ;
    Safian Sharif
    ;
    Marcin Nabiałek
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    Mohd Tanwyn Mohd Khushairi
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    Mohd Azlan Suhaimi
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    ; ;
    Jerzy J. Wysłocki
    ;
    Katarzyna Błoch
    The mold-making industry is currently facing several challenges, including new competitors in the market as well as the increasing demand for a low volume of precision moldings. The purpose of this research is to appraise a new formulation of Metal Epoxy Composite (MEC) materials as a mold insert. The fabrication of mold inserts using MEC provided commercial opportunities and an alternative rapid tooling method for injection molding application. It is hypothesized that the addition of filler particles such as brass and copper powders would be able to further increase mold performance such as compression strength and thermal properties, which are essential in the production of plastic parts for the new product development. This study involved four phases, which are epoxy matrix design, material properties characterization, mold design, and finally the fabrication of the mold insert. Epoxy resins filled with brass (EB) and copper (EC) powders were mixed separately into 10 wt% until 30 wt% of the mass composition ratio. Control factors such as degassing time, curing temperature, and mixing time to increase physical and mechanical properties were optimized using the Response Surface Method (RSM). The study provided optimum parameters for mixing epoxy resin with fillers, where the degassing time was found to be the critical factor with 35.91%, followed by curing temperature with 3.53% and mixing time with 2.08%. The mold inserts were fabricated for EB and EC at 30 wt% based on the optimization outcome from RSM and statistical ANOVA results. It was also revealed that the EC mold insert offers better cycle time compared to EB mold insert material.
      2  9
  • Publication
    Contribution of interfacial bonding towards geopolymers properties in geopolymers reinforced fibers: a review
    ( 2022)
    Muhd Hafizuddin Yazid
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    ; ;
    Marcin Nabiałek
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    ; ;
    Marwan Kheimi
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    Andrei Victor Sandu
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    Adam Rylski
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    Bartłomiej Jeż
    There is a burgeoning interest in the development of geopolymers as sustainable construction materials and incombustible inorganic polymers. However, geopolymers show quasi-brittle behavior. To overcome this weakness, hundreds of researchers have focused on the development, characterization, and implementation of geopolymer-reinforced fibers for a wide range of applications for light geopolymers concrete. This paper discusses the rapidly developing geopolymer-reinforced fibers, focusing on material and geometrical properties, numerical simulation, and the effect of fibers on the geopolymers. In the section on the effect of fibers on the geopolymers, a comparison between single and hybrid fibers will show the compressive strength and toughness of each type of fiber. It is proposed that interfacial bonding between matrix and fibers is important to obtain better results, and interfacial bonding between matrix and fiber depends on the type of material surface contact area, such as being hydrophobic or hydrophilic, as well as the softness or roughness of the surface.
      22  2
  • Publication
    Warpage optimisation on the moulded part with straight drilled and conformal cooling channels using Response Surface Methodology (RSM), Glowworm Swarm Optimisation (GSO) and Genetic Algorithm (GA) optimisation approaches
    ( 2021) ; ;
    Joanna Gondro
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    Safian Sharif
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    Azlan Mohd Zain
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    Abdellah El-hadj Abdellah
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    Jerzy J. Wysłocki
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    Marcin Nabiałek
    It is quite challenging to control both quality and productivity of products produced using injection molding process. Although many previous researchers have used different types of optimisation approaches to obtain the best configuration of parameters setting to control the quality of the molded part, optimisation approaches in maximising the performance of cooling channels to enhance the process productivity by decreasing the mould cycle time remain lacking. In this study, optimisation approaches namely Response Surface Methodology (RSM), Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Glowworm Swarm Optimisation (GSO) were employed on front panel housing moulded using Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS). Each optimisation method was analysed for both straight drilled and Milled Groove Square Shape (MGSS) conformal cooling channel moulds. Results from experimental works showed that, the performance of MGSS conformal cooling channels could be enhanced by employing the optimisation approach. Therefore, this research provides useful scientific knowledge and an alternative solution for the plastic injection moulding industry to improve the quality of moulded parts in terms of deformation using the proposed optimisation approaches in the used of conformal cooling channels mould.
      1  20
  • Publication
    Geopolymer ceramic application: a review on mix design, properties and reinforcement enhancement
    ( 2022) ; ;
    Rafiza Abdul Razak
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    Ikmal Hakem Aziz
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    Marcin Nabiałek
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    Ramadhansyah Putra Jaya
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    Augustin Semenescu
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    Rosnita Mohamed
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    Geopolymers have been intensively explored over the past several decades and considered as green materials and may be synthesised from natural sources and wastes. Global attention has been generated by the use of kaolin and calcined kaolin in the production of ceramics, green cement, and concrete for the construction industry and composite materials. The previous findings on ceramic geopolymer mix design and factors affecting their suitability as green ceramics are reviewed. It has been found that kaolin offers significant benefit for ceramic geopolymer applications, including excellent chemical resistance, good mechanical properties, and good thermal properties that allow it to sinter at a low temperature, 200 °C. The review showed that ceramic geopolymers can be made from kaolin with a low calcination temperature that have similar properties to those made from high calcined temperature. However, the choice of alkali activator and chemical composition should be carefully investigated, especially under normal curing conditions, 27 °C. A comprehensive review of the properties of kaolin ceramic geopolymers is also presented, including compressive strength, chemical composition, morphological, and phase analysis. This review also highlights recent findings on the range of sintering temperature in the ceramic geopolymer field which should be performed between 600 °C and 1200 °C. A brief understanding of kaolin geopolymers with a few types of reinforcement towards property enhancement were covered. To improve toughness, the role of zirconia was highlighted. The addition of zirconia between 10% and 40% in geopolymer materials promises better properties and the mechanism reaction is presented. Findings from the review should be used to identify potential strategies that could develop the performance of the kaolin ceramic geopolymers industry in the electronics industry, cement, and biomedical materials.
      2  17
  • Publication
    Contribution of interfacial bonding towards geopolymers properties in geopolymers reinforced fibers: A review
    ( 2022)
    Muhd Hafizuddin Yazid
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    ; ;
    Marcin Nabiałek
    ;
    ; ;
    Marwan Kheimi
    ;
    Andrei Victor Sandu
    ;
    Adam Rylski
    ;
    Bartłomiej Jeż
    There is a burgeoning interest in the development of geopolymers as sustainable construction materials and incombustible inorganic polymers. However, geopolymers show quasi-brittle behavior. To overcome this weakness, hundreds of researchers have focused on the development, characterization, and implementation of geopolymer-reinforced fibers for a wide range of applications for light geopolymers concrete. This paper discusses the rapidly developing geopolymer-reinforced fibers, focusing on material and geometrical properties, numerical simulation, and the effect of fibers on the geopolymers. In the section on the effect of fibers on the geopolymers, a comparison between single and hybrid fibers will show the compressive strength and toughness of each type of fiber. It is proposed that interfacial bonding between matrix and fibers is important to obtain better results, and interfacial bonding between matrix and fiber depends on the type of material surface contact area, such as being hydrophobic or hydrophilic, as well as the softness or roughness of the surface.
      6  18
  • Publication
    Optimization of injection moulding process via Design Of Experiment (DOE) method based on Rice Husk (RH) Reinforced Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) composite properties
    Optimal parameters setting of injection moulding (IM) machine critically effects productivity, quality, and cost production of end products in manufacturing industries. Previously, trial and error method were the most common method for the production engineers to meet the optimal process injection moulding parameter setting. Inappropriate injection moulding machine parameter settings can lead to poor production and quality of a product. Therefore, this study was purposefully carried out to overcome those uncertainty. This paper presents a statistical technique on the optimization of injection moulding process parameters through central composite design (CCD). In this study, an understanding of the injection moulding process and consequently its optimization is carried out by CCD based on three parameters (melt temperature, packing pressure, and cooling time) which influence the shrinkage and tensile strength of rice husk (RH) reinforced low density polyethylene (LDPE) composites. Statistical results and analysis are used to provide better interpretation of the experiment. The models are form from analysis of variance (ANOVA) method and the model passed the tests for normality and independence assumptions.
      5  12
  • Publication
    Optimisation of shrinkage and strength on thick plate part using recycled LDPE materials
    ( 2021)
    Norshahira Roslan
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    Abdellah El-hadj Abdellah
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    Katarzyna Błoch
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    Paweł Pietrusiewicz
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    Marcin Nabiałek
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    Janusz Szmidla
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    Dariusz Kwiatkowski
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    Joel Oliveira Correia Vasco
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    ;
    Achieving good quality of products from plastic injection moulding processes is very challenging, since the process comprises many affecting parameters. Common defects such as warpage are hard to avoid, and the defective parts will eventually go to waste, leading to unnecessary costs to the manufacturer. The use of recycled material from postindustrial waste has been studied by a few researchers. However, the application of an optimisation method by which to optimise processing parameters to mould parts using recycled materials remains lacking. In this study, Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) methods were conducted on thick plate parts moulded using virgin and recycled low-density polyethylene (LDPE) materials (100:0, 70:30, 60:40 and 50:50; virgin to recycle material ratios) to find the optimal input parameters for each of the material ratios. Shrinkage in the x and y directions increased in correlation with the recycled ratio, compared to virgin material. Meanwhile, the tensile strength of the thick plate part continued to decrease when the recycled ratio increased. R30 (70:30) had the optimum shrinkage in the x direction with respect to R0 (100:0) material where the shrinkage increased by 24.49% (RSM) and 33.20% (PSO). On the other hand, the shrinkage in the y direction for R30 material increased by 4.48% (RSM) and decreased by 2.67% (PSO), while the tensile strength of R30 (70:30) material decreased by 0.51% (RSM) and 2.68% (PSO) as compared to R0 (100:0) material. Validation tests indicated that the optimal setting of processing parameter suggested by PSO and RSM for R0 (100:0), R30 (70:30), R40 (60:40) and R50 (50:50) was less than 10%.
      24  1
  • Publication
    Effect of aluminium powder on kaolin-based geopolymer characteristic and removal of Cu²⁺
    ( 2021)
    Nurliyana Ariffin
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    Przemysław Postawa
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    Mohd Remy Rozainy Mohd Arif Zainol
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    Ramadhansyah Putra Jaya
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    Agata Śliwa
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    Jerzy J. Wysłocki
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    Katarzyna Błoch
    ;
    Marcin Nabiałek
    This current work focuses on the synthesis of geopolymer-based adsorbent which uses kaolin as a source material, mixed with alkali solution consisting of 10 M NaOH and Na2SiO3 as well as aluminium powder as a foaming agent. The experimental range for the aluminium powder was between 0.6, 0.8, 1.0 and 1.2wt%. The structure, properties and characterization of the geopolymer were examined using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Adsorption capacity and porosity were analysed based on various percentages of aluminium powder added. The results indicate that the use of aluminium powder exhibited a better pore size distribution and higher porosity, suggesting a better heavy metal removal. The maximum adsorption capacity of Cu2+ approached approximately 98%. The findings indicate that 0.8% aluminium powder was the optimal aluminium powder content for geopolymer adsorbent. The removal efficiency was affected by pH, adsorbent dosage and contact time. The optimum removal capacity of Cu2+ was obtained at pH 6 with 1.5 g geopolymer adsorbent and 4 h contact time. Therefore, it can be concluded that the increase in porosity increases the adsorption of Cu2+.
      4  17