Journal of Applied Science and Advanced Engineering

Experimental Development of a PIC-Based Intelligent Energy Management Controller for Voltage Regulation and Load Prioritization in Standalone Photovoltaic Home Systems

Rifki Muhida, Ari Legowo, Muhammad Riza, Erry Y. T. Adesta, Riza Muhida — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0700

This paper presents the experimental development and evaluation of a PIC16F877A-based intelligent controller for voltage regulation and load prioritization in standalone photovoltaic (PV) home energy systems. The proposed system integrates a photovoltaic panel, battery storage, inverter, and embedded controller into a unified platform for efficient energy management. The controller continuously monitors battery voltage using an analog-to-digital converter and implements a threshold-based control strategy to disconnect non-critical loads when the voltage drops below 11.7 V. Experimental results show that the PV system maintains stable voltage characteristics within approximately ±3%, while the output current varies significantly with solar irradiance, exhibiting fluctuations of more than 60% under varying environmental conditions. The proposed controller effectively regulates system operation by dynamically managing load distribution, thereby preventing deep battery discharge and improving overall system reliability. In addition, the integration of auxiliary subsystems, such as automatic lighting and motion detection, enhances energy efficiency by reducing unnecessary power consumption. The findings demonstrate that the proposed low-cost PIC-based controller provides a practical and effective solution for intelligent energy management in standalone PV systems, particularly in off-grid residential applications.

Nanofluids for Automotive Radiators: A Review of Thermophysical Properties, Stability, Heat Transfer Performance, and Future Research Directions

Amogh Sambare — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0700

The persistent demand for compact, high-efficiency automotive cooling systems has driven significant research into nanofluids as next-generation coolants. This review critically examines recent advances in mono, hybrid, and ternary nanofluids applied to automotive radiators, synthesising over experimental and numerical studies published between during last decade. Key thermophysical properties such as thermal conductivity, dynamic viscosity, density, and specific heat capacity are discussed alongside the principal factors governing their variation with nanoparticle concentration, temperature, particle geometry, and base fluid composition. Nanofluid preparation methodologies (one-step and two-step) and strategies for stabilising colloidal dispersions such as including surfactant addition, ultrasonication, pH control, and zeta potential management are evaluated against practical longevity requirements. Empirical correlations for property estimation are tabulated and critically compared. Heat transfer performance data from radiator studies are synthesised, revealing that carbon-based nanofluids (graphene, MWCNTs) consistently outperform metal-oxide counterparts in thermal conductivity enhancement (up to 161.8%), while hybrid and ternary formulations demonstrate superior combined performance due to synergistic inter-particle effects. Practical challenges such as including erosion, clogging, agglomeration, and increased pumping power requirements are assessed with emphasis on long-term system reliability. The review concludes with a structured agenda for future research, highlighting the need for standardised testing protocols, machine-learning-assisted property prediction, and compatibility studies with modern radiator materials.

Stress Analysis and Integrity Assessment of Offshore Gas Production Piping Systems Using CAESAR II and ASME B31.3

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0700

Offshore gas production piping systems operate under high-pressure and elevated-temperature conditions, requiring accurate stress analysis to verify code compliance and ensure reliable structural performance. This study investigates the stress behavior of a piping system connecting a production well to a test manifold using analytical calculations and CAESAR II simulations in accordance with ASME B31.3. Engineering data, including piping geometry, material specifications, operating conditions, and support configurations, were obtained from project design documents. Sustained and thermal expansion stresses were first estimated using simplified analytical calculations and subsequently verified using CAESAR II simulations. The maximum sustained stress occurred at Node 9100, with analytical and numerical values of 124.00 MPa and 96.70 MPa, respectively, corresponding to a deviation of 28.24%. For the thermal expansion load case, the maximum stress was observed at Node 9320, yielding analytical and numerical values of 2.89 MPa and 2.44 MPa, respectively, with a deviation of 18.45%. These deviations are primarily attributed to the simplified assumptions adopted in the analytical calculations, differences in boundary condition representation, and the more detailed three-dimensional pipe flexibility modeling incorporated in CAESAR II. All calculated stresses remained below the allowable stress limits specified by ASME B31.3 (177.20 MPa for sustained loading and 206.84 MPa for thermal expansion loading). Therefore, the investigated piping system satisfies the code allowable stress requirements under the evaluated sustained and thermal expansion loading conditions. The findings demonstrate that simplified analytical calculations can provide a practical independent engineering verification of numerical simulations during preliminary piping design, while CAESAR II remains essential for comprehensive code-compliance evaluation.

Automated Mobile Platform for transporting a Residential Garbage Bin to the Collection Point

Omar Ayman Hamzeh, Judhi Prasetyo — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0700

Waste disposal is a routine yet physically demanding household task. For residents of villas and townhouses, manually transporting garbage bins to roadside collection points presents significant challenges, particularly for elderly and mobility-impaired individuals. Missed scheduled pickups can result in waste overflow. To address this problem, this paper presents the design and evaluation of an autonomous mobile platform prototype capable of transporting a 35-liter trash bin to a collection point and returning within a residential driveway. The prototype utilizes an electric toy car as its base, incorporating an ESP-32 microcontroller, ultrasonic sensors for obstacle detection, infrared (IR) sensors for boundary navigation, and relay modules to actuate a garage door. The system was evaluated over 80 trials. During daytime testing, the final rotational maneuver achieved a 20% full-journey success rate, as intense ambient sunlight frequently overpowered the IR sensors. In contrast, nighttime trials yielded a 65% full-journey success rate, demonstrating improved performance when the sensors were not affected by daylight. These findings indicate that the IR sensors' sensitivity to daylight and the chassis' alignment issues during rotation limited the prototype's reliability, as the chassis struggled to realign with the boundary line after completing a U-turn. In summary, while the prototype demonstrates proof of concept and potential for automated waste transportation, further refinement of the navigational system and rotational maneuver is required for consistent and reliable operation.

Mechanical Control System Design for Mass-Based Sorting of Oil Palm Fresh Fruit Bunches

Abdul Khair Junaidi, Dodi Sofyan Arief, Dalil Dalil, Fadhil Fajri — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0700

Fresh fruit bunch sorting process palm oil (FFB) in palm oil mills still uses manual methods and relies on harvesters or graders, therefore a smart machine vision tool was created based on multispectral imaging for sorting and grading oil palm fresh fruit bunches. This tool functions as a sorting tool for fresh oil palm fruit bunches. This tool is designed for a sorting system based on mass ≤ 5kg as well as mechanisms and working systems of mechanical controls on sorting tools. Oil palm fresh fruit bunches are weighed using the load cell in the sorter, and then the results of the FFB weight reading on the load cell will be aligned using other digital scales that have been calibrated using the linear regression method. Regression equation results from 15 FFB samples were obtained, yielding an increased coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.99. Therefore, a schematic design of the microcontroller control system will be obtained as well as the mechanism and working system of mechanical control on the palm fruit sorting tool based on mass.

A Novel Cascaded-Clamping Technique for Reliable High-Gain Discrete Boost Converters

Asif Eakball Emon — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0700

Discrete boost converters are still very important for power applications that need to be cheap, easy to change, and educational. However, it has a big problem when trying to get high voltage gain from low input sources. Conventional designs often don't work well below 5V because of IC oscillator thresholds, and single-transistor switching stages are not very efficient and put a lot of stress on the circuit. This work fills in these gaps by creating a new architecture that focuses on reliability and includes a discrete astable multivibrator, a cascaded BJT driver network, and an active Zener clamping-regulation circuit. The proposed converter clearly works well with an input voltage as low as 1V, has a voltage gain of more than 2.5, and reaches a peak efficiency of 94.6%, all while keeping great line/load regulation and transient response. These important results, which were confirmed by simulation and experimental prototyping, show that the design is better than most IC-based converters in terms of input range and light-load efficiency. The study presents a thoroughly characterized, reproducible framework that revitalizes the practical application of discrete BJT-based power electronics, presenting a resilient alternative for low-voltage energy harvesting, prototyping, and educational initiatives.