FUOYE Journal of Engineering and Technology (FUOYEJET - Federal University Oye-Ekiti)
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Development of an Automatic Body Mass Index Measurement Machine
Get PDFThe potential occurrence of certain illnesses can be easily diagnosed through measurements of some health indicators. One of such parameters is the Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI is simply the ratio of mass (kg) of a body to the square of its height (m2). This research presents the design and construction of an automated BMI measurement machine for medical purposes. It consists of three major units: the weighing unit (5 – 200 kg); height-measuring unit (0.02 – 2 m) and the processing unit. The weighing unit is made up of load button cell and load cell amplifier while the height-measuring unit consists of ultrasonic sensor. The analog differential output voltage from load cell is connected to arduino microcontroller via a Programmable Gain Amplifier (PGA) integrated with Analogue-to-Digital Converter (ADC). The two units are connected to an open source arduino uno which computes mass-to-body ratio and sends the output results (mass, height and BMI) to the liquid crystal display (LCD). The weighing system was calibrated against a precision digital weighing system and it gave a correlation of 0.99. The height measurement was also compared with manual height measurement using a tape rule which gave a correlation of 0.97. The developed Instrument is cost effective and has high positive correlation with the standards (weighing scale and tape rule), it is therefore recommended for the measurement of weight, height and BMI. Keywords— load button cell, load cell amplifier, ultrasonic, body mass index, arduino un
Experimental Evaluation of Optimum Water to Air Flow Ratio in an Induced Draft Wet Cooling Tower
Get PDFCooling towers are devices used to dissipate waste thermal heat to the ambient environment. Appropriate cooling water and air flow rates are necessary to ensure optimum cooling power and cooling efficiency. Also, a simple design is required for cost effectiveness and minimal maintenance issues. This paper experimentally evaluates the cooling power, cooling efficiency, as well as the optimum water to air flow ratio in a spray type induced draft wet cooling tower. The cooling tower, 6 kW cooling capacity, was developed to operate without packings. The experiments were conducted for three different air flow rates and six different water flow rates. Four different inlet water temperatures of 35, 40, 45 and 50 oC were used. The temperature range is a typical range for inlet water temperature to the cooling tower for an absorption cooling system. For each of the inlet water temperatures, air and water flow rates were varied. The effects of this variation on cooling power and cooling efficiency were studied. Effect of varying water to air flow ratio on cooling power and cooling efficiency were studied. Results showed that the cooling power increased with increasing water flow rate, while the cooling efficiency decreased with increasing water flow rate. Decreasing the air flow rate was seen to cause a decrease in both cooling power and cooling efficiency. Maximum cooling power and cooling efficiency of 5.33 kW and 63% respectively were obtained. An optimum water to air flow ratio of 1.6 was obtained. The cooling tower was seen to have operated satisfactorily without packings. Keywords— cooling tower, cooling power, cooling efficiency, flow ratio, thermal energ
A Modified Energy-Efficient Clustering with Splitting and Merging for Wireless Sensor Networks using Cluster-Head Handover Mechanism
Get PDFEnergy efficiency is one of the most important challenges for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). This is due to the fact that sensor nodes have limited energy capacity. Therefore, the energy of sensor nodes has to be efficiently managed to provide longer lifetime for the network. To reduce energy consumption in WSNs, a modified Energy Efficient Clustering with Splitting and Merging (EECSM) for WSNs using Cluster-Head Handover Mechanism was implemented in this research. The modified model used information of the residual energy of sensor nodes to select backup Cluster Heads (CHs) while maintaining a suitable CH handover threshold to minimize energy consumption in the network. The backup CHs take over the responsibilities of the CHs once the handover threshold is reached. The modified model was validated in terms of network lifetime and residual energy ratio with EECSM using MATLAB R2013a. Average improvements of 7.5% and 50.7% were achieved for the network lifetime and residual energy ratio respectively which indicates a significant reduction in energy consumption of the network nodes. Keywords— Clustering, Energy-Efficiency, Handover, Lifetime, Wireless Sensor Networ
An Improved Anomalous Intrusion Detection Model
Get PDFThe volume of cyber-attack targeting network resources within the cyberspace is steadily increasing and evolving. Network intrusions compromise the confidentiality, integrity or availability of network resources causing reputational damage and the consequential financial loss. One of the key cyber-defense tools against these attacks is the Intrusion Detection System. Existing anomalous intrusion detection models often misclassified normal network traffics as attacks while minority attacks go undetected due to an extreme imbalance in network traffic data. This leads to a high false positive and low detection rate. This study focused on improving the detection accuracy by addressing the class imbalanced problem which is often associated with network traffic dataset. Live network traffic packets were collected within the test case environment with Wireshark during normal network activities, Syncflood attack, slowhttppost attack and exploitation of known vulnerabilities on a targeted machine. Fifty-two features including forty-two features similar to Knowledge Discovery in Database (KDD ’99) intrusion detection dataset were extracted from the packet meta-data using Spleen tool. The features were normalized with min-max normalization algorithm and Information Gain algorithm was used to select the best discriminatory features from the feature space. An anomalous intrusion detection model was formulated by a cascade of k-means clustering algorithm and random-forest classifier. The proposed model was simulated and its performance was evaluated using detection accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity as metrics. The result of the evaluation showed 10% higher detection accuracy, 29% sensitivity, and 0.2% specificity than the existing model. Keywords— anomalous, cyber-attack, Detection, Intrusio
Engine Performance of a Gardener Compression Ignition Engine using Rapeseed Methyl Esther
Get PDFThis paper presents an experimental investigation on the influence of engine speed on the combustion characteristics of a Gardener compression ignition engine fueled with rapeseed methyl esther (RME). The engine has a maximum power of 14.4 kW and maximum speed of 1500 rpm. The experiment was carried out at speeds of 750 and 1250 rpm under loads of 4, 8, 12, 16 and 18 kg. Variations of cylinder pressure with crank angle degrees and cylinder volume have been examined. It was found that RME demonstrated short ignition delay primarily due to its high cetane number and leaner fuel properties (equivalence ratio (φ) = 0.22 at 4kg). An increase in thermal efficiency but decrease in volumetric efficiency was recorded due to increased brake loads. Variations in fuel mass flow rate, air mass flow rate, exhaust gas temperatures and equivalence ratio with respect to brake mean effective pressure at engine speeds of 750 and 1250 rpm were also demonstrated in this paper. Higher engine speed of 1250 rpm resulted in higher fuel and air mass flow rates, exhaust temperature, brake power and equivalent ratio but lower volumetric efficiency. Keywords— combustion characteristics, engine performance, engine speed, rapeseed methyl Esthe
Development of Obstacle and Pit-Detecting Ultrasonic Walking Stick for the Blind
Get PDFThis project focused on improving mobility for a blind person by creating an obstacle and pit detecting walking stick using ultrasonic sensors. The project comprised of both hardware and software. The hardware consists of ultrasonic sensors, buzzers and a microcontroller, while the software consists of Arduino Integrated Development Environment (Arduino IDE), which was used to program the microcontroller. A Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) casing was used to house the hardware components. The ultrasonic sensor that detects obstacles was programmed to detect obstacles at a distance of 100 cm or below and causes the buzzer to sound so as to alert the blind person. Another ultrasonic sensor was programmed to identify pit at a depression of 18 cm and above. This stick was tested to detect obstacles by 80 different blindfolded individuals within a room with different objects placed at different positions. Results showed that the percentage reduction of collision rate when comparing the developed ultrasonic walking stick to a normal white cane is 90.1%. This shows that the ultrasonic walking stick is reliable for domestic use by a blind person. Keywords— Arduino, ATmega328 Microcontroller, Blind walking stick, Mobility aid, Smart cane, Ultrasonic sensor
A Review on the Prospect for the Development of Nanostructured and Nanocomposite Aluminium-Alloyed Austempered Ductile Iron
No full textThis review paper has established austempered ductile iron (ADI) as a classical material that has spectra of properties achieved by altering some processing parameters through heat treatment procedures. Concerted efforts have been made to equally explore the use of additives as additional materials to this all important alloy. The use of modifiers at ultra-fine or nano-scale level as additive to the melt prior casting has also been reviewed. However, the continuous quest for innovative approaches of upgrading the structural and mechanical characteristics of ductile irons has open up interest in the development of nanostructured and nanocomposite components in bulky iron bearing materials. This paper cross-examines few available literatures on the nanostructured ADI with the aim of adopting similar methodology in the development of nanostructured aluminium-alloyed DI and nanostructured aluminium-alloyed ADI. Emphasy is laid on reviewing the production techniques and treatment parameters on the processing of the developed nanostructured aluminium-alloyed DI and/or aluminium-alloyed DI nanocomposites and with respect to their usage at low, moderate and extremely high and low temperatures. Keywords— aluminium-alloyed austempered ductile iron; development; nano-tructured; nanocomposite; processing; modifier
Development of Models for Charring Rate of Selected Construction Timber Species in Southwestern Nigeria
Get PDFThe performance of Nigeria timber species under fire exposure to prevent collapse of structure has not been adequately investigated. This study was to determine the charring rate models of some selected timber species mostly used for constructional purposes in Southwestern Nigeria. Six species out of ten identified timbers were selected for studies. They are: Afara, Iroko, Opepe, Mahogany, Mansonia, and Teak. The densities of the timber species were determined at Moisture Contents (MC) of 9.0, 12.0, and 15.0%. Samples from each of the selected species, were exposed to fire at temperature ranges of 20° to 230° C for 30 minutes; 20° to 300° C for 60 minutes; 230° to 600° C for 30 minutes. Empirical statistical model was developed for charring rate of the timber species. The models were analysed using ANOVA at . At 30 minutes fire exposure (20 to 230° C), Afara of 9.0, 12.0 and 15.0% MC had the highest mean charring rates of 0.84±0.02mm/min, 0.82±0.02mm/min and 0.82±0.02mm/min respectively, while Opepe had the lowest charring rates of 0.48±0.02 mm/min, 0.48±0.02 mm/min and 0.47±0.02 mm/min at the three MC levels. This study indicated that density was a major predictor of the charring rate of constructional timber. Opepe which had the highest density also exhibited the lowest charring rate of all the species tested and is useful and recommended to ensure the safety and comfort of occupants in case of fire outbreaks
Regression Analysis of Biogas Production from the Co-Digestion of Water Hyacinth and Pig Dung
Get PDFThe aim of this study is to determine the best mix of water hyacinth (WH) to be co-digested with pig dung (PD) in order to maximize biogas production in terms of quantity. 11 mix ratios of WH to PD were evaluated and each experimental run was assessed over a period of 40 days. The data obtained were analyzed using regression analysis and non-linear parameter estimation model. From the results obtained, 3 WH: 7 PD co-digestion mix recorded the highest daily yield of 9.5 L of biogas on the 20th day, starting its gas production on the 3rd day and ending on the 34th day. The results also showed that WH single-substrate digestion produced a cumulative biogas volume of 32.18 L which corresponds to 5.14 L/kg of WH and PD single-substrate digestion produced a cumulative gas volume of 94.47 L corresponding to 15.1 L/kg of PD. 3 WH: 7 PD had the highest cumulative gas volume of 140 L which corresponds to 22.45 L/kg. Similarly, the highest maximum biogas production rate of 9.874057 L/day was observed for the 3 WH: 7 PD co-digestion mix and this was recorded on the 17th day of digestion. From the results obtained the best mix of the PD-aided WH digestion is 3 WH: 7 PD.Keywords— Biogas, Co-digestion, Cumulative, Pig Dung, Water Hyacint
Processing of Hyperspectral Data using Wavelet Transform
Get PDFRemote sensor technology has encouraged series of research work in the area of signal and image processing. This is because the application of remote sensor has made it possible to obtain different types of signals and images from different places all over the world. In most cases, data obtained from hyperspectral images are found to be too voluminous and noisy. This, to a certain extent affects the accuracy of the result obtained when such signals or images are further processed for some applications. Previous research works have not sufficiently addressed this fundamental problem. Therefore, this research work is out to make use of Wavelet Transform for processing signals obtained from hyperspectral images with a view to denoise and reduce the data dimensionality without losing part of its content. Having undergone the process of denoising, the quality of the image or signal is drastically improved in terms of its clarity and size. This produces a better result when such signal is used for some applications. The system was implemented using MatLab wavelet tool. Hence, the result obtained is found to be better than the previous ones. The result also produced an hyperspectral spectrum/signal that has been thoroughly denoised and dimensionally reduced to an acceptable size within a very short computational time