ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, praises and thanks to the God, the Almighty, for His
showers of blessings throughout my research work to complete the research
successfully.
Words cannot express my gratitude to my professor in Machinery, Sir Paul,
for his invaluable patience and feedback, for giving me the opportunity to do
research and providing invaluable guidance throughout this research. His
dynamism, vision, sincerity and motivation have deeply inspired me. He has
taught me the methodology to carry out the research and to present the research
works as clearly as possible. It was a great privilege and honor to work and study
under his guidance. I am extremely grateful for what he has offered me. I would
also like to thank him for his friendship, empathy, and great sense of humor. I
could not have undertaken this journey without him who generously provided
knowledge and expertise. 
I am extremely grateful to my parents for their love, prayers, caring and
sacrifices for educating and preparing me for my future.
Lastly, I would be remiss in not mentioning my girlfriend, Mary-Ann M.
Asuncion, for her love, understanding, valuable prayers, continuing support to
complete this research work, for her editing help, late-night feedback sessions,
and moral support. Her belief in me has kept my spirits and motivation high during
this process.
Finally, my thanks go to all the people who have supported me to complete
the research work directly or indirectly.

i
ii