Mehran University Research Journal of Engineering and Technology

6

Authors: Chandio I.A., Talpur M.I.A., Qureshi T.A.

Urbanization is a challenging issue for developing countries, like Malaysia. Penang Island is one of the states of Malaysia selected as a study area where limited flat land exists. As a result, this would create urban environmental problems, such as unstable slopes and landslides due to uneven topography. The purpose of this study was to develop land suitability model for hillside development. Hence, this research aims land suitability analysis modelling for hillside development by using integrated GIS (Geographic Information System) based MCDM (Multi-Criteria Decision Making approach. The hill land portion of Penang Island was selected for hillside site development using GIS and AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) as a MCDM method for sustainable hillside development. This study found that 15% of land was highly suitable, 27% moderately suitable, 41% less suitable, and 17% not suitable. Therefore, this research can be consistently used by the concerned authorities for sustainable hillside urban planning and development. This approach can be used as a policy tool in decision making of urban planning and development.

8

Authors: Batool A., Naz N., Anjum G.A.

The socio-cultural value of open spaces normally refers to the behavior of users towards their surroundings. In the city of DGK (Dera Ghazi Khan), the wooden cots (locally known as Hamachas) are placed at almost every chowk and pathway. The Hamacha culture of the city acts as means of social interaction in the neighborhood where the people discuss personal, political and social issues in a friendly environment. This paper presents the social and cultural value of urban open spaces, specifically the placement of Hamachas in the public squares of the city. For this research, around 200 interviews with locals were conducted to gauge the role of public open spaces in shaping the culture of the city. The satisfaction index reveals that a vast majority of the users are highly satisfied with these public open spaces. The paper concludes that the use of Hamachas in open spaces plays a vital role in strengthening social ties among the locals. Other than a means for social interaction, these spaces are used for multiple activities ranging from conflict resolution to crime control. The findings of this study may be useful for future planning and design of squares/chowks and other public open spaces in other places.

8

Authors: Leghari N.,Ali A., Mangrio M.A.

Tillage practices affect physical properties of soil that are crucial for better crop production. The study was carried out to compare the efficiency of two different tillage implements and their effect on some soil physical properties. The tillage implements included cultivator and disc plow. The soil properties viz. soil moisture, bulk density and infiltration rate were determined before and after the tillage practices. However, the efficiency of tillage operation including operating speed, travel reduction and fuel consumption were taken during the tillage operation. The comparative analysis showed that the cultivator was better in reducing soil bulk density (12-18%) along with increasing the infiltration rate up to 61.5% and conserving soil moisture up to 95%. The disc plow, on the other hand, reduced the bulk density of soil more effectively with up to 21% efficiency and enhancing soil porosity (23%). However, disc plow was less efficient in increasing infiltration rate (38%) and conserving soil moisture (87-90%). Comparatively higher fuel consumption (23.3 L hr-1) was observed in operating disc plow with less operating speed (4.1 km hr-1) and higher travel reduction (27.5%). On the other hand, higher cultivator operating speed (4.76km hr-1) was observed with less travel reduction (21.8%) and fuel consumption (14.9 Lhr-1). The cultivator, being more economical and having good effects on soil properties, was the best option for tillage operations in the clay soils of cotton-wheat rotation system under semi-arid climate of Tandojam, Pakistan.

10

Authors: Younas T., Shah A., Ratlamwala T.A.H.

Scantling and rolling tolerances have gradually improved. The durability of anticorrosive property of coatings is the critical factor in safeguarding the capital investment locked up in the structure of the vessel. Understanding of reduction in corrosion rate due to protective coatings and the breakdown point of the coatings is a vital part of safe vessel operation. In this paper, surface morphology of paint scheme used in bilges water, is measured by using both optical and AFM (Atomic Force Microscope) to prevent corrosion. Both the strategies are utilized to study natural practices of diverse coatings in addition to the impact of their film development and shades. The results demonstrate that undercoat epoxy utilized within bilges water has great resistance towards corrosion in bilges water immersion test. Surface attributes of distinctive layers are noticeably unique in relation to one another in surface morphology. Mild steel coated with epoxy under coat shows better surface characteristics whereas film of primer epoxy coat has many pits as observed by percentage surface imaging of the current bilges paint scheme.

10

Authors: Akhtar J., Sheikh N.M., Syed A.A.

Digital divide is a reality in developing nations. Most of the technological advancements are available only in urban areas and rural community is still deprived of communication technology even in 21st century. To ensure the availability of Internet, TV (Television) and other high data-rate services to the rural community; use of high power ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) band broadcast should be of interest. The aim of this research work is to design a WiFi based broadcast network that provides broadband access to remote areas and to study the propagation characteristics of this network in a typical rural community in the plains of Pakistan. This paper uses extensive measurements in indoor and outdoor environments of village “Lower Kot Ratta” to develop a WiFi broadband broadcast propagation model for rural areas of Pakistan. The proposed model is simple, flexible and more suitable for rural areas as compared to existing models.

10

Authors: Rajper M.A., Memon A.G., Harijan K.

In this paper, thermodynamic analysis of 210 MW dual-fire, subcritical, reheat steam power plant, situated near Jamshoro, Pakistan has been performed. Firstly, the plant is modeled by EES (Engineering Equation Solver) software. Moreover; a parametric study is performed to assess the impacts of various operating parameters on the performance. The net power output, energy efficiency and exergy efficiency are considered as performance parameters of the plant whereas, condenser pressure, main steam pressure and main steam temperature are nominated as operating parameters. According to the results, the net power output, energy efficiency and exergy efficiency are determined as 186.5 MW, 31.37% and 30.41% respectively, under design operating conditions. The condenser contributed a major share in the total energy loss i.e. 280 MW (68.7%) followed by boiler with 89 MW (21.8%). The major exergy destructing area is found in the boiler with 350 MW (82.11%) of the total exergy destruction followed by turbine with 43.1 MW (10.12%) and condenser 12 MW (5.74 %). According to the parametric study, variation in operating parameters had great influence on the plant performance.

12

Authors: Ashraf S., Ahmad M., Munir A.

With the continued escalation in population growth and the expansion of international food trade and demand of high quality product for food security at low cost has created considerable interest in the development of new post-harvest technologies. This is particularly important for developing countries where post-harvest losses of cereals are between 10-20% and of fruits and vegetables as high as 20-100% A new solar assisted paddy dryer with central air distribution model (along the length of drying chamber) has been developed. Due to this distinct feature of the dryer high drying rate was achieved during the drying processes .Other components of the dryer are perforated drying chamber, blower and flat plat solar air collector. Dryer was evaluated using 100kg of freshly harvested paddy at 23.78% moisture content (wb). Performance evaluation results showed that the mean drying rate of the solar assisted paddy dryer was 0.87kg/hr per for every 100kg, whereas 0.46kg/hr was the sun drying rate comparatively. The faster drying rate of the dryer reveals its suability to dry the paddy for its safe storage moisture content rapidly. By using the solar assisted paddy dryer, approximately 50% saving in time was also achieved as compared with the traditional sun drying method. Solar assisted paddy dryer took 10hr for drying the 100kg paddy up to 14%, while sun drying method dried paddy up to 13.89% in 19 hours. Cost analysis also showed that, by using solar assisted paddy dryer we can dry good quality paddy at low cost as compared with the open sun drying method. For development of agriculture in the rural areas, commercial size of the solar assisted paddy dryer can be amplified and produced at community level.

12

Authors: Memon M.A., Bhatti S., Mahoto N.A.

Lifelog devices have gained much attention in recent past. These devices are capable of recording daily activities of a user such as visited places, calories burnt, heart rate, etc. However, reminiscing the past life from this huge collection has been less of a concern. We aim to assist in remembering similar past events based on the present context or situation. We designed a prototype lifelog device that captures lifelogs in the form of pictures and audio, and associates them with the device wearer’s context such as people and objects in the vicinity. The information from the past life may be used to helpusers in their current situation. In this article, we attempt to determine the type of context that is preferred by the device users to remember their past events. We found that the users are more interested to find lifelogs based on the people they meet at specific locations.