Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
1, June 2014
KDN PP5476/10/2012 (030203) ISSN 0126-513X
CONTENTS
1
Z., Zahrizan1; Nasly, Mohamed Ali1; Ahmad, Tarmizi Haron1; Amanda Marshall-Ponting2; and Zuhairi, Abd. Hamid3
1
Faculty of Civil Engineering and Earth Resources, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Gambang, Kuantan
2
School of Build Environment, University of Salford Manchester, Salford, United Kingdom
3
Construction Research Institute of Malaysia (CREAM),
Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), Cheras, Kuala Lumpur
E-mail: 1zahrizan@ump.edu.my; 1nasly@ump.edu.my; 1ahmadtarmizi@ump.edu.my;
2
A.J.Marshall-Ponting@salford.ac.uk; 3zuhairi@cidb.gov.my
ABSTRACT
In Malaysia, Building Information Modelling (BIM) has recently gained attraction from construction players and
some of them have applied it to several projects. By utilising the BIM process, the construction players have the
opportunity to plan, coordinate and design in an integrated approach. This is one of the many benefits that they could
gain and resulting in increased productivity. Despite these benefits, the implementation of BIM in the Malaysian
construction industry is still lagging behind Singapore, for instance. Thus, it warrants a study such as the present to
determine what are the actual barriers that hamper its implementation and what are the driving factors that could
enhance its pace of implementation in the Malaysian construction industry. In this study, a questionnaire survey
based on Convenience Sampling Method was carried out to gather the possible barriers and driving factors for
BIM implementation among the Malaysian construction players. Additionally, Relative Importance Indices (RII)
were used to analyse the data obtained and to identify those barriers and driving factors for the implementation of
BIM in this country. Consequently, results of this study revealed that the main barriers for implementing the BIM
are: 1) Lack of knowledge about BIM, 2) Reluctance and/or no insistence shown by the Malaysian construction
industry players (Clients, Contractors and Consultants alike) on the use or implementation of BIM. The driving
factors, on the other hand, that could lead to the speeding up of the implementation of BIM are: 1) Support and
enforcing the implementation of BIM by the Government, 2) promote BIM training program and 3) Initiatives of
senior management of the related industry players. In conclusion, for successful wide spread application of BIM
in Malaysia, a good push from the government alone is far from enough. All other construction industry players
mentioned must assume their roles well in promoting the use of BIM in their construction projects.
Keywords: Building Information Modelling, BIM, Malaysian Construction Industry, Barriers, Driving Factors
1.0 Introduction
In Malaysia, the construction industry has been identified
as an area that plays an important part in contributing to the
Malaysian economy and contributes to approximately 3 to
5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually
[1]. Although the Malaysian construction industry plays a
significant role contributing to the growth of Malaysias
economy, in the era of globalisation the Malaysian
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
4.0 Methodology
In this study, an exploratory survey was used to discover
and identify the relative importance of the barriers and
the driven factors in implementing Building Information
Modelling (BIM) in the Malaysian construction industry
from the perception of clients, consultants and contractors.
The survey questionnaire consists of three sections. The
first section was to identify the respondents profile.
The second section of the questionnaire focused on the
barriers factors in implementing BIM and the last section
of the questionnaire was designed to identify the relative
importance of the driving factors in implementing BIM.
In order to identify the relative importance of the
barriers in implementing BIM, there was a total of 15
variables used while to identify the relative importance
of the driving factors in implementing BIM, there was a
total of 19 variables used and these variables were grouped
into two categories: External Push and Internal Push. All
these variables were selected from the literature. The
respondents were asked to select their choices through
open-ended questions by ticking a column of the relative
importance of each of the question. A five-point Likert
scale ranging from 1 which represented the least important
to 5 which represented the most important was being used
to capture the importance of the barriers and the driving
factors in implementing Building Information Modelling
(BIM) in the Malaysian construction industry.
Clients
Consultants
Contractors
TOTAL
Questionnaire
distributed
Responses
returned
50
50
50
150
4
37
7
48
Percentage
of
responses
8%
74%
14%
32%
Pi Ui
N(n)
(1)
Where:
RII = Relative Importance Indices
Pi = Respondents rating
Ui = Number of respondents placing an identical
weighting/rating
N = Sample size
n = The highest attainable score (in this study n is 5)
The value for RII ranges from 0 to 1 and the factors which
scored the highest value of RII are the most important
factors.
4
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
RII
0.950
0.804
0.592
0.608
0.650
Overall Rank
1
8
15
14
12
SD
0.437595
0.668106
0.988408
0.898186
0.668437
0.650
13
0.437595
0.950
0.838
0.779
0.779
0.817
0.675
0.875
2
4
9
10
6
11
3
0.437595
0.733869
0.831292
0.831292
0.918679
0.866025
0.761438
0.833
0.808
5
7
0.753244
0.988408
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
Overall Rank
Rank in
Group
SD
0.805
0.488
0.892
0.842
0.904
0.950
19
5
7
4
1
9
3
5
2
1
0.711793
0.824062
0.92157
0.850271
0.437595
0.763
0.879
12
6
7
4
0.981884
0.916505
0.792
10
0.797825
0.733
0.775
13
0.952786
0.700
16
0.989305
0.721
0.608
0.842
0.792
0.733
0.800
0.950
0.683
0.925
15
18
8
11
14
9
2
17
3
7
10
3
5
6
4
1
9
2
0.983688
0.742576
0.92157
0.797825
0.952786
0.71459
0.437595
0.646869
0.703336
RII
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
6.0 Conclusion
Many evidence show that Building Information Modelling
(BIM) can enhance the construction performance but the rate
of implementation of BIM in the Malaysian construction
industry has been at a slow pace. A number of factors
that contributes to this situation are identified such as (1)
Lack of knowledge about BIM, (2) Clients do not request/
enforce BIM and (3) Reluctance from clients, contractors
or consultants to implement BIM. These issues need to be
addressed accordingly if the government wants to see the
Malaysian construction industry able to compete globally.
Besides that, supports from the government also play a
significant role to increase the pace of BIM implementation
in the Malaysian construction industry. However, by just
having a strong support from the government alone is not
practical; therefore, the Malaysian construction players
such as clients, consultants and contractors must play
their own role by shifting the paradigm from using the
traditional approach into a more innovative approach. To
do this, the Malaysian construction industry needs the BIM
implementation strategy and guide to ensure both parties:
the government and the industry players work together to
ensure the success in implementing BIM in Malaysia. It
can be concluded that the construction industry in Malaysia
needs to evolve by upgrading the current construction
approach, whether in terms of practice, management or
technology in order to meet the global standard.
REFERENCES
[1] CIDB, Construction Industry Review 1980-2009 (Q1).
Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2009.
[2] Zaini, B.O., Malaysian construction industry: challenges
and demands. Key note address delivered on July 11
2000 in 3rd Annual Convention of Malaysian Structural
Steel Association, Kuala Lumpur, 2000 in Abdul Razak
Bin Ibrahim, Matthew H. Roy, Zafar Ahmed and Ghaffar
Imtiaz. (2010). An investigation of the status of the
Malaysian construction industry, Benchmarking: An
International Journal Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 294-308, 2010.
[3] Alshawi S., Irani Z. and Baldwin L., Benchmarking
information technology investment and benefits
extraction, Benchmarking: An International Journal,
Vol. 10, No. 4, 414-423, 2003.
[4] Baldwin, A., Betts, M., Blundell, D., Hansen, K. L. and
Thorpe, T., Measuring the benefits of IT innovation, in M
Betts (ed.), Strategic management of IT in construction,
Blackwell Science, Oxford, pp. 288-310, 1999.
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
profiles
Zahrizan Zakaria started his career as an Engineer for a contractor company for 5 years after obtaining his
BEng (Hons) in Civil Engineering from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) in 1999. He gained his Master Degree
in Civil from Universiti Malaysia Pahang in 2007 and appointed as a lecturer at Faculty of Civil Engineering and Earth
Resources, Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) since then. Currently he was continuing his study at UMP at PhD level
in the field of IT in construction focusing on Building Information Modelling. His research interest is within the area
of Strategic Management of IT in Construction; Culture and organisational issues related to construction companies;
Managing change and IT implementation; Social aspects of urban regeneration and sustainability.
Nasly Mohamed Ali was appointed as a Professor at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Earth Resources,
Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) since 2003. Before she joins UMP, she was a professor at Faculty of Civil
Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). She obtained her Diploma in Civil Engineering from UTM in
1977. After graduated she appointed as Assistant Lecturer UTM. In 1980, she gained her first class BSc (Hons) Civil
Engineering from University of Strathclyde. She was being offered to continue her study in PhD majoring in structural
at University of Strathclyde and obtain her PhD in 1986. Because of her passion in information system, she enrols as a
Master Degree student majoring in Information Technology Management at UTM and obtained her master degree in
2002. Her research interest and expertise are within the area of application of information systems for the construction
application; managing change and IT implementation; Finite Elements; Structural dynamic (wind engineering and
earthquake engineering) and prefabricated building construction.
Ahmad Tarmizi Haron currently attached at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Earth Resources, Universiti
Malaysia Pahang (UMP) as a senior lecturer. He obtained her first degree in BEng (Hons) in Civil Engineering
majoring in Construction Management from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in 2003. After that he is pursuing his
Master in Construction Management at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and gained his Master Degree in 2005. After
graduated from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, he serves as lecturer at Universiti Malaysia Pahang from 2005 until
2007 before continue his study in PhD at University of Salford. He obtained his PhD in Building Information Modelling
from University of Salford in 2013. His research interest and expertise are within the area of IT in construction,
construction management, Culture and organisational issues related to construction companies; Managing change
and IT implementation. He actives in involving with local construction working committee such as appointed by
CIDB Malaysia as External Independent Reviewer for CIDB BIM Access Portal and as Research and Technical
Committee for Building Information Modelling for Industrialised Building System which is appointed by CREAM
CIDB Malaysia.
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
Amanda Marshall Ponting currently attached at the School of Built Environment, University of Salford
as a senior lecturer. She obtained her first degree in BSc (Hons) in Applied Psychology from Liverpool John Moores
University in 1999. She then gained her Master in Resources Informatics from University of Manchester in 2000 and
her PhD in nD modelling from University of Salford in 2006. Her actives in many international working committees
such developing Intel-City Roadmap Project and developing research links between the USA and the EU and funded
by the NSF (National Science Foundation, USA). Her research interest and expertise are within the area of application
of information systems in the Built Environment (GIS, VR, the internet, planning participation systems, multidimensional modelling); Culture and organisational issues related to construction companies; Managing change and
IT implementation; Social aspects of urban regeneration and sustainability.
Zuhairi Abd. Hamid is the Executive Director of the Construction Research Institute of Malaysia (CREAM), a
research institute established under the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) which he joined in January,
2006. He has over 27 years of experience in the construction industry and started his professional career as a civil and
structural engineer with the Public Works Department of Malaysia in 1984. He has worked under various capacities
such as a road, bridge, building and district engineer, assistant director of planning, and a forensic and structural
design engineer. Later, in 1998 he joined CIDB as a senior manager at the Technology Development Division and was
then appointed to his current post at CREAM. He holds a B.Eng. (Hons.) Civil from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, a
Masters Degree in Structural Dynamic Engineering from the Kanazawa University, Japan and a PhD in IT Construction
majoring in Healthcare Facilities Management from the University of Salford, United Kingdom. He is a Professional
Engineer (P.Eng.) in the Board of Engineers Malaysia, a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (FIEM) and
also sits as a Board Member in the United Nation support International Research Council, CIB Conseil International
du Btiment (International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction). He also serves as
construction industry advisor to UTM, UTHM, UNITEN, UPNM and UiTM.
10
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
Ir. Dr Ng Kok Chiang*1, Dr Nadia Tan Mei Lin2, Dr Michelle Tan Tien Tien3
1
Leong Hing Sdn. Bhd., No. 1, Jalan P4/7, Seksyen 4, Bandar Teknologi Kajang, 43500 Kajang, Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia
2
Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
3
The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia
*Corresponding author: kokchiang.ng@leonghing.com
ABSTRACT
The bifurcation and chaos phenomena appeared in power system have become a focus subject at present. It
has become apparent about a decade ago that power converters exhibit various types of non-linear behaviour
which includes all kinds of bifurcations and chaos. Even basic DC/DC converters exhibit bifurcation and chaos
phenomena as well as parallel-connected DC/DC converters and PFC system. The main source of such non-linearity
is the switching mechanism of the converters. Non-linear components of the converter circuit and control scheme
such as the use of naturally-sampled, constant-frequency PWM further contribute to the non-linear behaviour of
converters such as a DC-to-DC buck converter. Thus, all feedback controlled power converters exhibit certain
non-linear phenomena over a specific breadth of parameter values. Despite being commonly encountered by power
electronics engineers, these non-linear phenomena are by and large not thoroughly understood by engineers. This
paper examines the bifurcation behaviour of the buck converter in an ideal case when the input voltage is varied.
The computer simulation scheme, PSPICE is employed to model the behaviour of the ideal buck converter. For
certain values of the input voltage, Vin instability occurs. The analysis and conclusion presented in this paper will
provide an overview of the bifurcation behaviour of the DC-to-DC buck converter, aspiring to draw attention of the
power electronics and the circuits and systems communities to a field that is not often researched and examined.
Keywords: Bifurcation, Chaos, Non-linear Behaviour, Buck Converter
1.0 Introduction
The mechanisms of bifurcation and chaos are so complex
that there is not a unified criterion to identify them.
Bifurcation is also known as the emergence of a further
pattern of behaviour or string of states for a system. It
can be thought of as a qualitative change in an attractors
structure when a control parameter is smoothly changed.
The qualitative change is followed by a change of the
stability in the attractor too [1]. A simple example
would be that of a fixed attractor that might cave in to a
periodic oscillation, and a periodic attractor that might
become unstable and be replaced with a chaotic attractor
when stress on the system is increased. Successive
bifurcations are normally attained when the value of some
characteristic parameter is increased. An analogy would
be that of a person walking down the road. The longer the
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
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Ir. Dr Ng Kok Chiang, Dr Nadia Tan Mei Lin and Dr. Michelle Tan Tien Tien
12
2.0 Methodology
The PSPICE Model for this study The PSPICE schematic
of the closed-loop voltage feedback buck converter
used in this study is depicted in Figure 1. The circuit is
very similar to that proposed by Fossas and Olivar [6].
The changes made in this PSPICE circuit however are
the replacement of one of the comparators with a gain
of 8.4 in the Fossas and Olivars paper with an ideal
multiplier, and a difference comparator which forms the
error amplifier circuit of the buck converter. The switched
buck converter circuit in this study uses a PWM integrator
circuit. The PWM circuit consists of the wave generator,
the error amplifier and an infinite gain comparator. The
PWM controls the ideal switch, S1 and is the most complex
part of the switched regulator of the buck converter [6].
All the components used in this PSPICE model are ideal
components. Both the switches S1 and S2 have zero on and
infinite off resistance, and can switch instantaneously.
Both the S1 and S2 switches work in a complementary
manner. When S1 is on, S2 will be off and the input voltage
supplies energy to the load resistance and the inductor. On
the other hand, when S2 is off and S1 is on, the inductor
current decays while flowing through the switch S2 and at
the same time transfers some of the stored energy to the
load resistor. The output voltage is controlled by setting
the frequency of the sawtooth generator to be of constant
switching frequency and by altering the on-interval of the
switch. The switch ratio which can be characterised as the
ratio of the on-time to the switching period is changed
through the PWM switching. As the switches turn off and
turn on in a complementary way, instantaneously allowing
bi-directional current flow, the discontinuous conduction
mode can be assumed to be avoided. Such mechanisms of
the switches also cater for the existence of light load levels
[6, 8-10].
Procedures in Obtaining the Waveforms for Bifurcation
Behaviour The value of Vin as the bifurcation parameter
in the PSPICE model of the buck converter in Figure 1
is varied throughout the series of simulations carried out
to obtain the bifurcation waveforms. The simulations are
carried out with other circuit parameters held constant. The
fixed value parameters which include the reference voltage
Vref, the load resistor R, the inductor L, the capacitor C,
switching frequency f of the ramp generator, and the ramp
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
11.3 V
ii)
Load Resistor, R
22 ohm
iii)
Inductor, L
20 mH
iv)
Capacitor, C
47 F
v)
Switching Frequency, f
(Period = 400 s)
2.5 kHz
vi)
3.8 V
vii)
8.2 V
The input voltage Vin is varied from 20V to 40V and the
buck converter circuit is simulated at the different values
of Vin. The corresponding voltage and current waveforms
FFT spectrum, and trajectories (phase portrait diagrams)
are shown in the Discussion and Results section for all
cases from when the circuit started out in stable state
and progressed through to period-1, period-2, period-4,
and thereafter to chaos via routes of period-doubling
bifurcation.
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
Equation 1
13
Ir. Dr Ng Kok Chiang, Dr Nadia Tan Mei Lin and Dr. Michelle Tan Tien Tien
When vco (t) > vramp (t) (i.e. S1 is off and S2 is on):
Equation 2
Equation 8
Equation 3
Equation 5
Equation 6
and
Equation 7
14
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
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Ir. Dr Ng Kok Chiang, Dr Nadia Tan Mei Lin and Dr. Michelle Tan Tien Tien
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
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Ir. Dr Ng Kok Chiang, Dr Nadia Tan Mei Lin and Dr. Michelle Tan Tien Tien
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
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Ir. Dr Ng Kok Chiang, Dr Nadia Tan Mei Lin and Dr. Michelle Tan Tien Tien
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
4.0 Conclusion
Being one of the simplest of the DC-to-DC converters, the
buck converter is chosen to be the subject of this study
because of its widespread representation of the circuit
to many practical DC-to-DC converters. Also, due to
its extensive applications in industrial and engineering
applications, the knowledge of the system behaviour in
different regions of parameter space should be crucial,
especially in designing the buck converter for sensitive
equipment. The bifurcation phenomenon and chaos in
the voltage mode controlled buck converter has been
investigated with the modelling and simulation of the buck
converter in PSPICE in this study. It has been found that
the buck converter system experiences the normal period
doubling bifurcations leading to a stepwise transition from
period-1 behaviour to chaos. Figures 5, 9, 13, 17, and 21
are phase portrait diagrams which show the progression of
the change from period-1 to period-2, period-4, period-8,
and lastly to chaotic operation of the buck converter
when Vin is varied from 20V to 33V. For low values of
the input voltage, the system is periodic, but as the input
voltage is increased the system bifurcates into period-2
orbit and subsequently into period-4 and period-8 orbits
when the input voltage is increased further. When border
collision occurs at a much higher input voltage, the system
inevitably moves into the chaotic region. The bifurcation
pathway that is observed involves that of smooth period
doubling. Period doubling bifurcation concerns the break
of symmetry as can be seen in the trajectory waveforms. It
is also known as the sudden appearance of a qualitatively
different behaviour when a parameter of the circuit is
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
References
[1] G. Chen, J.L. Moiola and H.O. Wang Bifurcations:
Control and Anti-Control, IEEE Circuits and Systems
Society Newsletter, vol. 10, no. 2, June/July 1999, pp.
4-31.
[2] M.H. Rashid, Power Electronics Circuits, Devices, and
Applications, (Third Edition) University of West Florida:
Pearson Prentice Hall International Edition, 2004.
[3] C.K. Tse, Recent Development in the Study of Nonlinear
Phenomena in Power Electronics Circuits, IEEE Circuits
and Systems Society Newsletter, March Issue, pp. 14-48,
2000.
[4] C.K. Tse and M. di Bernardo, Complex Behavior in
Switching Power Converters, Proceedings of IEEE,
Special Issue on Application of Nonlinear Dynamics to
Electronic and Information Engineering, vol. 90, no. 5,
pp.768-781, May 2002.
[5] J. Baillieul, R.W. Brockett, and R.B. Washburn,
Chaotic Motion in Nonlinear Feedback Systems, IEEE
Transactions on Circuits and Systems, vol. 27, no. 11, pp.
990-997, November 1980.
[6] E. Fossas and G. Olivar, Study of chaos in the buck
converter, IEEE Transactions on Circuits Systems I, vol.
43, pp. 13-25, Jan. 1996.
[7] D.C. Hamill and D.J. Jefferies, Subharmonics and Chaos
in a Controlled Switched-mode Power Converter, IEEE
Transactions on Circuit Systems I, vol. 35, pp. 1059-1061,
August 1988.
21
Ir. Dr Ng Kok Chiang, Dr Nadia Tan Mei Lin and Dr. Michelle Tan Tien Tien
22
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
profiles
NG KOK CHIANG graduated from the University of Western Australia with first class honours in Bachelor of
Engineering in Electrical & Electronics and Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Accounting, Investment Finance
(Derivatives), and Managerial Accounting. He then furthered his studies to the University of Nottingham, UK and
graduated with a PhD in Engineering having worked in the area of renewable energy and its storage for three and
a half years. Ir. Dr Ng Kok Chiang in his course of research and work had liaised with various organisations such
as E.ON (Power and Gas), Lockheed Martin, Jaguar/Land Rover (supercapacitors in automotive industry/electric
cars), Battelle (lab management and commercialisation), Malaysia Rubber Board (energy management, artificial
intelligent, control, and electronics), and MOSTI (Fabrication of Advanced Supercapacitors). He is currently the
Chief Technology Officer of MyBig Sdn. Bhd. and a Professional Engineer with the R&D Centre at Leong Hing Sdn.
Bhd. involved in research and prototyping projects in collaboration with various Malaysian Government Agencies
and research bodies. Among the prominent solutions founded were the advanced switching mechanism in the Nexcap
storage to efficiently capture minuscule trickle of charges, intelligent control systems incorporating power electronics
device, and the advanced Sunopy solar system.
NADIA TAN MEI LIN was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She received the B.Eng. (Hons.) degree from the
University of Sheffield, Sheffield, U.K., in 2002, the M.Eng. degree from Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Kajang,
Malaysia, in 2007, and the Ph.D. degree from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan, in 2010, all in electrical
engineering. Since October 2010, she has been a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Electrical Power Engineering,
Universiti Tenaga Nasional. Her current research interests include power conversion systems and bidirectional
isolated dc-dc converters. Dr Tan is a Graduate Member of the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM), a Member
of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), and a Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE).
MICHELLE TAN TIEN TIEN is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering at
the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. She received her BEng. degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering
at Swansea University, Wales, UK where she also completed her PhD on using one dimensional Zinc Oxide nanowires
for bio-sensing application. Michelles current research focuses on the synthesis and characterisation of nanomaterials
for bio-sensing applications, with emphasis on graphene, metal oxide and graphene/metal oxide composites. Besides
that, her research also focuses on incorporating graphene composites for application in critical and hard environments,
such as aerospace applications, of which is currently funded by the Ministry of Science Technology & Innovation
(MOSTI), Malaysia.
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
23
ABSTRACT
The synthesis of CNTs/(Sn+Mn)Ox nanocomposites were first attempted through combining the hydro-oxidation
of SnCl2 to SnO2 and the reduction of KMnO4 to MnO2 onto CNTs in this work. The reducing presence of SnCl2
accelerated the deposition of MnO2 from 7 days to a day. Subsequently, CNTs/(Sn+Mn)Ox nanocomposites were
characterised by X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and
galvanostatic charge-discharge. These microstructure and electrochemical results indicated that this nanocomposite
showed synergetic effect in term of specific capacitance, charge storage capacities and exceptional cycling stability.
All these enhanced electrochemical properties were attributed to increased surface area, increased utilisation of
co-deposited cassiterite-type SnO2 nanoparticulates and birnessite MnO2 monolayer. Additionally, their improved
electronic conductivity facilitated better mass transport of ions during charging and discharging process. Based on
the findings above, CNTs/(Sn+Mn)Ox nanocomposite will be served as promising and affordable positive electrode
materials for high performance supercapacitors.
Keywords: Energy Storage, Cassiterite, Manganese Oxide, Nanocomposites, Supercapacitors
1.0 Introduction
The depletion of fossil fuel has urged the development of
more sustainable energy sources. Extensive efforts have
been put for developing more sustainable energy storage
devices such as supercapacitors. Supercapacitors fill in
the gap between conventional capacitors and batteries
by showing best power characteristics. They provide
higher power densities, higher energy densities and longer
cycle life [1]. The superior electrochemical performance
of supercapacitors is mainly attributed to the electrode
materials used. Three main materials for fabricating
supercapacitors are metal oxide [2], electronically
conducting polymer [3] and carbon-based supercapacitors
[4].
24
In the case of carbon-based supercapacitors, carbonnanotubes (CNTs) have been heavily used as electrode
materials. The interconnected nanoporous structure
of CNTs specifically opened mesopores allows better
mass transport of ions during charging and discharging
than activated carbon. Moreover, CNTs are much better
than activated carbon in term of conductivity, corrosion
resistance, mechanical strength, temperature stability and
ease of functionalization. Due to those forementioned
properties of CNTs, the development of carbon nanotubebased (CNTs) supercapacitors was first adopted in
American aerospace and military application. These
sectors heavily rely on the use of supercapacitors as energy
storage devices in their light weight hybrid system such as
electric satellite, pulse power and propulsion systems [5].
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
25
2.0 Methodology
Synthesis of the CNTs/(Sn+Mn)Ox nanocomposites 1.0g
of SnCl2 salt (Sigma-Aldrich, 98%) was dissolved in 50.0
mL of deionised H2O with 1.0 mL of HCl (30% w.t.) and
continuously stirred for 1 hour before the addition of acid
treated multi-walled CNTs (L. MWNTs-1030, >95%, 1030 nm in diameter, 5-15 m in length, amorphous carbon <
3%). 10mg of acid-treated CNTs were immersed in SnCl2
solution to synthesise nanocomposites with the mixedoxide loadings of 60% w.t. Subsequently, 1.21 g of KMnO4
was added to obtain a Sn:Mn ratio of 1:1 in the deposited
oxides. The mixtures were stirred at 200 rpm for 24 hours.
After 24-hr stirring, brown precipitate was settled at the
bottom of the flask. The products were filtered and washed
with deionised H2O prior to 24-hour drying at 60C. The
dried products were ground using an agate and pestle.
Chemical and structural characterisation of
CNTs/(Sn+Mn)Ox nanocomposites The ground
nanocomposites were characterised by an Environmental
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM, Philips FEI XL30
FEG-ESEM), a low resolution TEM (LR-TEM, JEOL
2000FX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD, Hiltonbrooks DG3
generator plus Philips PW1050/25 goniometer, CuK
radiation). A Micromeritics ASAP 2020 V3.01 H BET
surface area analyser was used to evaluate the surface area
of the nanocomposites powders. All samples were dried
thoroughly in the conventional oven before the degassing
and further heating at 100 C for 60 minutes in the machine.
Nitrogen sorption isotherms and textural properties of the
materials were determined at 77 K using liquid nitrogen
in a conventional volumetric method. The surface areas of
the nanocomposites were calculated using the BrunauerEmmett-Teller (BET) technique based on adsorption data
in the partial pressure (P/P0) range of 0.05-0.35.
Preparation of nanocomposite thin-films on
electrode for electrochemical studies 95% w.t. CNTs/
(Sn+Mn)Ox nanocomposite of different oxide loading
and 5% w.t. PTFE binder (60% w.t. aqueous emulsion
of polytetrafluroethylene, Aldrich) were thoroughly
dispersed in 4ml of deionised water. 10.0 l of the mixture
was cast onto epoxy-sheathed graphite electrode (0.25cm
in diameter) to form a very thin nanocomposite film using
electronic micropipette (EDP3 Rainin LTS 10-100 L
with wide orifice tips). Thin nanocomposite films (65m
on average thickness) on graphite electrodes were dried
in desiccators overnight before electrochemical studies
26
(AUTOLAB PGSTAT30) in a one-compartment threeelectrode cell with the Ag/AgCl (2M KCl) reference
electrode and a graphite counter electrode at room
temperature.
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
27
Figure 3: TEM images of the CNTs/(Sn+Mn)Ox 60% w.t. nanocomposite at different magnifications
(1)
28
3 (f) and (g). The bright spots on the darker fibrils were
the deposited metal oxides through redox reaction.
Agglomerates with thickness of 5-10 nm were observed
in Figure 3 (e). This was believed that those agglomerates
were mixture of nanoparticulates of SnO2 and MnO2
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
(2)
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
29
(SnO2 Ka+)surface
(3)
(MnO2)surface + xK+ + xe
(MnO2 Kx+)surface
(4)
SnOOKa
(5)
MnO2 + xK+ + xe
MnOOKx
(6)
30
SnO2 + bH+ + be
SnOOHb
(7)
MnO2 + yH+ + ye
MnOOHy
(8)
(9)
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
Reduction:
Sn(IV)O2 + Mn(IV)O2 +(a+x)K+ + (b+y)H+ +
(a+b+x+y)e g Sn(IV)(a+b)OOKaHb + Mn(III)(x+y)
Mn(IV)1-(x+y)OOKxHy
(10)
Redox:
SnO2 + MnO2 + (a+x)K+ + (b+y)H+ +
(a+b+x+y)e
SnOOKaHb + MnOOKxHy
(11)
Figure 6: (a) Cyclic voltammograms and (b) mass-normalised capacitance vs. potential (vs. Ag/AgCl) of the CNTs/(Sn+Mn)Ox
60% w.t. nanocomposite at various scan rates (5, 10, 20, 50, 70 and 100 mV/s) in 2.0 M KCl.
Arrow indicates increasing scan rates
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
31
Figure 7: Potential-time plots from the galvanostatic charge-discharge test of the CNTs/(Sn+Mn)Ox 60% w.t. nanocomposites
at different normalised currents (0.4, 0.8, 1.6, 3.2, and 6.4 A/g) in 2.0 M KCl. Mass of nanocomposites on each of the electrode:
0.10 mg.
32
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
Figure 8: (a) Mass and (b) electrode specific capacitance of the CNTs/(Sn+Mn)Ox 60% w.t. nanocomposite at different charge/
discharge normalised currents (0.4, 0.8, 1.6, 3.2, and 6.4 A/g). Mass of active material on each of the electrode: 0.10 mg.
0.4
0.0011
-0.0013
373.27
301.03
337.15
0.0092
6.4
0.0290
-0.0484
220.33
132.32
176.33
0.0586
Table 1: The parameters measured from the potential-time curves from the galvanostatic charge-discharge test and the
calculated values of the capacitance and iR drop for the CNTs/(Sn+Mn)Ox 60% w.t. nanocomposite for the potential range
from -0.1 to 0.9 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) in 2.0 M KCl. Mass of the CNTs/(Sn+Mn)Ox 60% w.t. nanocomposite on the electrode:
0.10mg.
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
33
Figure 9: The changes in (a-c) cyclic voltammograms and (d-f) the corresponding normalised capacitance vs. potential (vs. Ag/
AgCl) plots of the 3rd, 40th, 350th and 1000th cycle for the CNTs/(Sn+Mn)Ox 60% w.t. nanocomposite at a scan rate of 20
mV/s in 2.0 M KCl. Mass of CNTs/(Sn+Mn)Ox 60% w.t. on the electrode: 0.10mg.
34
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
35
Figure 12: Complex plane impedance plots of the CNTs/(Sn+Mn)Ox (a) 30% and (b) 60% w.t. nanocomposite at various bias
potentials (vs. Ag/AgCl) of 0, 0.2, 0.5 and 0.8 V. Mass of nanocomposite on each of the electrode: 0.10 mg.
4.0 Conclusion
In conclusion, the synthesis of CNTs/(Sn+Mn)Ox 60% w.t.
nanocomposite through combining the hydro-oxidation of
SnCl2 to SnO2 and the reduction of KMnO4 to MnO2
was successfully achieved in a day due to the reducing
presence of SnCl2. The acceleration of MnO2 deposition
from 7 days to a day was caused by the acidic condition
facilitated by SnCl2 solution. The structural destruction of
CNT was observed in SEM and TEM images. However,
this length reduction of CNTs was compensated with the
increase in their fibril diameter by the uneven co-deposition
of SnO2 and MnO2 nanoparticulates. The formation of
cassiterite SnO2 (JCPDS 41-1445) and monoclinic MnO2
(JCPDS 42-1317) was confirmed in the determination
36
5.0 References
[1] M. Endo, et al, High Power Electric Double Layer
Capacitors (EDLCs) Form Operating Principle to Pore
Size Control in Advanced Carbons, 2 Carbon Science,
2001. p117-128.
[2] Q.L. Fang, et al, Ruthenium Oxide Film Electrodes Prepared
at Low Temperature for Electrochemical Capacitors.
Electrochemical Society, 2001. 148J: pA833-A837.
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
37
[44] Wu, N.L., C.Y. Han, and S.L. Kuo, Enhanced performance
of SnO2 xerogel electrochemical capacitor prepared by
novel crystallization process. Journal of Power Sources,
2002. 109(2): p. 418-421.
38
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
profiles
IR. DR. NG KOK CHIANG graduated from the University of Western Australia with first class honours in Bachelor
of Engineering in Electrical & Electronics and Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Accounting, Investment Finance
(Derivatives), and Managerial Accounting. He then furthered his studies to the University of Nottingham, UK and
graduated with a PhD in Engineering having worked in the area of renewable energy and its storage for three and
a half years. Ir. Dr. Ng Kok Chiang in his course of research and work had liaised with various organisations such
as E.ON (Power and Gas), Lockheed Martin, Jaguar/Land Rover (supercapacitors in automotive industry/electric
cars), Battelle (lab management and commercialisation), Malaysia Rubber Board (energy management, artificial
intelligent, control, and electronics), and MOSTI (Fabrication of Advanced Supercapacitors). He is currently the
Chief Technology Officer of MyBig Sdn. Bhd. and a Professional Engineer with the R&D Centre at Leong Hing Sdn.
Bhd. involved in research and prototyping projects in collaboration with various Malaysian Government Agencies
and research bodies. Among the prominent solutions founded were the advanced switching mechanism in the Nexcap
storage to efficiently capture minuscule trickle of charges, intelligent control systems incorporating power electronics
device, and the advanced Sunopy solar system. Ir. Dr. Ng Kok Chiang is also a certified Green Building Facilitator and
a Professional Member of the Malaysia Green Building Confederation. He is currently serving as one of the committee
in the Electrical Engineering Technical Division and the Secretary/Treasurer of the Consulting Engineering Special
Interest Group at the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia.
MS. SIEW SHEE LIM obtained her BSc and MEng in Chemical Engineering at University at Buffalo, New York
(USA) in 2004 and 2005 respectively. After her attainment of MEng degree, she worked as an Assistant Professor
in University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus since 2006. She managed to secure a MOSTI eScience Fund in 2007
and worked on the synthesis of nanoscaffolds for bone regeneration. She successfully completed this eScience Project
in 2009 and is currently working her part time PHD study on the fabrication and functionalisation of nanocomposite
scaffolds using cost effective bioactive compounds. She is co-author of 2 scientific, 1 education journal papers and a
few others in the pipeline.
DR. CHUANG PENG did his BEng in China before coming to the UK in 2003. After obtaining his MSc (2004)
and PhD (2007) in Environmental Engineering and Chemical Engineering respectively, he worked as a research
associate for another three years in the University of Nottingham. Dr. Peng is specialised in materials electrochemistry,
particularly, the development of supercapacitors for energy storage with high power demands. This includes the
synthesis and characterisation of new electrode materials, and the design, testing and optimisation of supercapacitor
units and high voltage stacks. Dr. Peng has also undertaken researches on photo-electro-catalysis and electro-Fenton
process for decontamination of water. He is the author/co-author of 16 scientific journal papers, with accumulated
citations in excess of 260. After joining the CSM in September 2011, Chuang has broadened his research interests to
include various applications of materials electrochemistry in renewable energy and environmental technologies.
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
39
ABSTRACT
The decay of the grid-generated turbulence has been investigated numerically by solving the time-dependent threedimensional Navier-Stokes equations with k-e turbulence model for a compressible fluid. Turbulence grids are
placed in the shock tube to generate shock induced turbulence in the wake of the grid plate. All turbulent fluctuations
are computed along the longitudinal distance in the wake of the grid plate in the shock tube and it is observed that
the decay of the turbulence and the decay of Turbulence Kinetic Energy (TKE) level are accelerated along the
downstream direction and the percentage of decay depends on the strength of incident shock wave. Due to stronger
compressibility effects on decaying turbulent field, all length scales are decreased along the downstream direction.
The decay of dissipation rate of TKE is observed along the downstream direction for gradually decreasing the
turbulence intensity in the wake of the grid plate.
Keywords: Shock wave; Turbulence decay; Navier-Stokes equations; Turbulence model; Turbulent region;
Turbulence grids.
1.0 Introduction
In this paper, the investigations on the decay of gridgenerated turbulence in the shock tube are conducted
and it is one of the innovative works on grid-generated
turbulence. Due to turbulence decay, the strength of the
turbulence in the wake of the grid plate gradually decreases
which may create problems in interaction of reflected
shock with homogeneous, isotropic turbulence.
The turbulence decay in turbulent flow fields is of
great practical importance in engineering applications.
These types of phenomena are commonly seen in
aeromechanical systems and in combustion processes as
well as in high-speed rotor flows. For designing aeromechanism systems such as transport aircraft of supersonic
and hypersonic speed, the shock/turbulence interaction
as well as turbulence decay in shock induced turbulent
field are the important phenomena. After computing the
turbulence fluctuations, a numerical simulation was carried
out by Jinnah and Takayama [1] at different strengths of
40
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
41
1
2
ct2 (u2+v2+w2)
and e = cm k2
42
=max
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
, pi is the
43
u=
The RMS value of longitudinal velocity fluctuation in
x-axis,
<u> =
and
Uav is (1/n)
in z-direction.
The RMS longitudinal turbulence intensity variations
are determined along the centerline of the selected
turbulent region in the wake of the turbulence grids. The
decay phenomena in 3D turbulent field are observed along
the longitudinal direction and the variations of turbulence
decay are determined along the longitudinal direction by
taking the reference value as an initial value. It is observed
in Fig.4 that the decay rate at the near region of the grid
44
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
k=
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
45
and
46
4 Conclusions
A numerical simulation has been conducted to determine
the decay of the 3D turbulence in the wake of the
turbulence grids along the centerline of the shock tube. The
present computational results indicate that the turbulence
decaying phenomena in the wake of the turbulence grids
are the key factors during interaction with shock, reflected
from the end wall of the shock tube. The use of the present
technique has the advantage to get the different turbulence
fields where the intensity of the turbulence varies along
the downstream direction of the shock wave. So due to
the turbulence decay, it is possible to get the outcomes of
the shock wave interaction with turbulence of different
strengths and the interaction results provide the important
information on shock wave interaction with different
strengths of turbulent fields. The behavior of turbulence
properties are analyzed due to turbulence decay in the wake
of the turbulence grids. It is observed from the decaying
phenomena that all turbulent length scales decrease and
this result agrees with other existing computational results.
The dissipation rate of turbulence kinetic energy depends
on the turbulence strength and due to turbulence decay
along the longitudinal direction; the dissipation rate of
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
References
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
47
profiles
Dr. Mohammad Ali Jinnah is an Associate Professor in Department of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering,
Islamic University of Technology (An Organ of the OIC), Bangladesh. He obtained his Ph.D. from Tohoku University,
Sendai, Japan in 2005 specialising in Shock Wave interaction with turbulent flow.
48
Journal The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 75, No. 1, June 2014)
Journal - The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 68, No.3, September 2007)
References in the text should be cited following the Harvard style, with the
following format:
49
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Journal - The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (Vol. 68, No.3, September 2007)
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Expertise: Modeling of quantum mechanical effects in Nanoscale
MOSFETs, microelectronics engineering
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Metallurgy and Materials Science Research Institute
Chulalongkorn University
Soi Chula 12, Phyathai Road
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