FUOYE Journal of Engineering and Technology (FUOYEJET - Federal University Oye-Ekiti)
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Effect of Chromium on Grain Refinement of LM11 Aluminium Alloy Sand Castings
Get PDFEffect of chromium on grain refinement of LM11 aluminium alloy sand castings was investigated. Three sets of aluminium alloy with different chromium content and one chromium free as reference were produced in 100 kg electric resistance furnace. Chromium addition was increased up to 0.23%. Mechanical properties and microstructure of the alloys were determined using standard methods. The grain refined castings gave higher mechanical properties than the non–grain refined casting. Casting with 0.20% chromium gave the highest mechanical Properties. Castings refined with chromium showed higher hardness and Ultimate tensile strength (UTS) values of 57 HB and 229 MPa than those refined with titanium which showed 54 HB and 220 MPa respectively. Chromium can be a good substitute for titanium as a grain refining material, when introduced at optimum quantity into Aluminium alloy-LM11 sand casting
Modification and Performance Evaluation of Cleaning System for IAR Sorghum Thresher
Get PDFSorghum is a major source of food for most families and as raw material to many industries in Nigeria. Cleaning is among the most important post-harvest operation after threshing. However, manual cleaning of crop is quite tedious, time and labour intensive. A prototype thresher has already been developed at Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR) but yet it has been associated with many difficulties during operation. Among the problems of IAR prototype sorghum thresher are low operating performance such as higher scatter loss and low cleaning efficiency thus the need for modification to improve the above mentioned parameters. This study was undertaken to modify the cleaning system of the IAR sorghum thresher with the aim of minimizing the drudgery involved in its operation and to improve its performance. The major modifications were on shaking mechanism and sieves. The number of sieves was increased from one to three while the connecting rode for shaking mechanism was changed from horizontal to vertical orientation. The sizes of the pulleys were also changed. Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) experimental design was used for determining the effect of moisture content, speed and feed rate on the cleaning performance of the machine. The maximum performance achieved were 99.95 %, 5.45 %, and 250 kg/h for cleaning efficiency, scatter loss and throughput capacity respectively
Efficiency of Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus Thunb.) Production Technologies in North Central Nigeria
Get PDFThis study is aimed at determining the efficiency of watermelon production technologies using profit model and Data Envelope Analyses. Primary data through structured questionnaire and interview were administered to 280 farmers. The result of the study shows that Conventional Watermelon Production (CWP) was more profitable ₦252,485.4 per ha compared to Scientific Watermelon Production (SWP) at a profit of ₦237,307.0 per ha. The energy use efficiency ratio of CWP at 1.49 was also higher compared to SWP which was 1.03. However, the output from scientific farms of 3014 pods as well as the scale efficiency of 0.81 was higher compared to the output and scale efficiency for the conventional farms of 2567 and 0.65 respectively. The result also indicates that scientific production system had a higher technical efficiency using Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes (CCR) model 0.73 and Banker, Charnes and Cooper (BCC) model 0.89 compared to conventional watermelon production technique with CCR and BCC of 0.59 and 0.73 respectively. The study also revealed that the scientific watermelon production system was more technically efficient and the output was higher than the conventional farming. Despite this, there is need to critically find a way of increasing energy parameters and technical efficiency in both production systems to move closer to energy optimum and efficiency frontier. This could be achieved by the integration of the two production systems to achieve low cost and efficient scientific inputs usage. On the other hand, watermelon farmers could also shift to semi-mechanized farming for higher output and to be more technically efficient
Investigation of Sub Soil Corrosion Using Electrical Resistivity Method: Federal University Oye Ekiti Phase II Campus as a case study
Get PDFElectrical Resistivity survey was carried out with the aim of identifying the degree of soil corrosion associated with the sub soil of the Federal University Oye Ekiti phase II. The sub soil resistivity of the area was surveyed and evaluated using Ohmega resistivity meter. The sub soil resistivity parameters were used to delineate the degree of the sub soil corrosion. Four electrodes were inserted into the soil/rock using the Wenner profiling, vertical electrical sounding and Dipole- Dipole array along the traverses with a spacing of 5m and n =1 to 5.In this method, artificially generated electric current(I) was injected into the ground via two current electrodes while the resulting potential difference (V) is measured by another pair of electrodes. The survey revealed that the Southwest and Northwest regions of the study area were associated with high resistivity (200-500 Ω-m).This implies that the soil structure of the region is not corrosive, while the southeast region was associated with low resistivity (20-80 Ω-m) value which implies that the sub soil structure is corrosive. The degree of corrosion increases from the western to eastern part of the study area which may be due to bedrock topography. Of all the layers investigated, the topsoil layer is highly corrosive compare to other layers
Engineering characterization of Oro Descanso underground gold mine deposit in Placetas, Cuba
Get PDFThis work reports the study on the design subject associated with the incorporation of mineral processing within the underground mining systems with its focus on the rock mass characterization of the underground gold mine, ‘Oro Descanso’ in Placeta town of the Province Villa Clara, Cuba The assessment of the rock mass is based on the geological features and geomechanical characteristic. The study applies observational and empirical methods using established empirical formulae to characterize the rock mass of the underground gold mine. The results of the discontinuities orientation and dip data; a Schmidt stereographic diagram and the Rosette diagram obtained with the aid of the Rocscience sDipV5-2004. The physical/mechanical properties of the intact rock and the distribution of the rock mass discontinuities are considered in order to suggest measures that will lead to a secure excavation of the mine workings and the drift. For this purpose, is employed. It is observed that the rock mass comprises of zones of good, fair and poor quality rocks. For this reason, the gallery and the drift shall be of 2.5 to 5 m span for a stand-up time of 10 hours to one week respectively. Systematic bolts of 1 m long, fully grouted and without tension with shotcrete of 2.5 to 5 cm thickness, reinforced with mesh is proposed for zone with poor quality rock, systematic bolts of 1 to 1.5 m long, fully grouted and without tension, reinforced with shotcrete of 2.3 cm thickness is proposed for zone of fair quality rock
Effects of a Municipal Dumpsite on Groundwater Quality in Ikole Ekiti Area, Southwest Nigeria
Get PDFA physico-chemical and bacteriological evaluation of water in three boreholes (numbered BH1, BH2, & BH3) close to a Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) disposal site at Ootunja Ekiti in Ikole Local Government Area (L.G.A.) of Ekiti State, Nigeria were carried out in order to ascertain suitability of the groundwater for potable uses. The water quality parameters obtained were compared with recommended limits of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Nigeria Standard of Drinking Water Quality (NSDWQ) for drinking water. Total dissolved solid (TDS) with a mean value of 16.64 mgl-1 was recorded. The cations and anions in the water were within the prescribed WHO and NSDWQ permissible limits. Chlorides content ranged between 12.0 and 16.0mg/l, while Nitrate content ranged from 6.12 to 7.10mg/l, quantities of heavy metals like Cadmium, Mercury and Lead varies from zero to a very minute content which is within the permissible limit of WHO and NSDWQ. Both organic content and faecal coliform count were satisfactory for water supply. The investigation shows pH values of 6.51, 7.05, and 5.79 for water samples obtained from BH1, BH2 and BH3 respectively. This indicates that the water from BH1 and BH3 were slightly acidic while water from BH 2 is neutral. The pH reading for water sample from BH3 is below the WHO and NSDWQ recommended standard
Effects of Carburization with Palm Kernel Shell/Coconut Shell Mixture on the Tensile Properties and Case Hardness of Low Carbon Steel
Get PDFThe effect of using mixtures of palm kernel shell and coconut shell as carburizers for low carbon steel at 950oC on the tensile properties and case hardness was studied. The carburizers were washed, dried, milled and sieved to 150µm particle size. They were mixed in various compositions to serve as carburizers. In each composition, 20wt% of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) was added as energizer. Tensile and hardness specimens were machined from low carbon steel. Seven tensile and seven hardness specimens were subjected to pack carburization process with different compositions of the carburizers, and thereafter quenched and tempered at 450oC for forty five minutes in a heat treatment furnace. The tensile and hardness properties show that better properties were obtained with mixtures of the carburizers compared to the use of single carburizing agent
Fingerprint Based Approach For Examination Clearance in Higher Institutions
Get PDFBiometric techniques have become a prominent option and secured means of authentication capable of sustaining the emerging ubiquitous computing. The process for allowing students to sit for an examination has been through the presentation of medium of identification such as ID cards, library cards, fees clearance cards, photo cards, etc. This method of authenticating a student for an examination has an obvious problem such as presentation of fake clearance card, impersonation and so on. The unethical manner associated with the examination is a grim issue that require the stakeholders in academic area to seek for alternative means of authenticating student for examination because, the manual paper-based clearance process is fundamentally flawed. This paper addressed all the aforementioned shortcomings and revealed the effectiveness of biometric system using fingerprint for examination clearance. The proposed examination clearance system used fingerprint identification. In identification, the system recognizes an individual by comparing his/her biometrics with every record in the database
Groundwater Quality Analysis of Domestic Water Sources from Hand Dug Wells In Gwallameji, Bauchi State
Get PDFLack of access to safe and adequate domestic water supplies contributes to poverty levels through the economic costs of poor health and the high proportion of household expenditure on safe water supplies. Gwallameji, a community on the outskirts of Bauchi town has no access to municipal water supply from Bauchi town, groundwater water, mainly hand dug wells are used as domestic water sources. The quality of water available from these hand dug wells in the community were determined by the physical, chemical and biological parameters of the water samples collected from domestic water points in the community. The results from the water samples were compared with World Health Organization (WHO) Standards for Drinking Water. High levels of Nitrate and Chromium above recommended levels from the standard were found in all water samples. Concentrations of Calcium highest value of 213mg/l and Magnesium a highest value of 22.02 mg/l at levels higher than recommended levels for drinking water were also obtained in all samples. It was recommended that restrictions on farming activities with use of fertilizers and location of latrines around domestic water sources should be enforced. Hand dug wells should be at a distance of at least 30m from soak away pits and pit latrines. Well lining and cover should be provided for all hand dug wells to reduce contamination of water from these sources. Increased and continued environmental interventions through public health education by community based health workers, awareness and sensitization campaigns should be carried out for improved household and community sanitation in the area
Design and Implementation of a Compact Home Security System
Get PDFThis paper presents the design and implementation of a compact home security system. The use of security systems in today’s home where safety is an important issue cannot be over emphasized. The high crime rates and domestic hazards has brought up the need to take proper measures to prevent intrusions and hazards. It is in this regard that the design and implementation of a compact home security system based on the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) comes in. Previous designs have used finger print protection, password protection, speech recognition, sensors with buzzer alarms, SMS and e-mail alerts but the designs were with so much complexities as well as at a cost disadvantage. The system presented here is of a minimal cost and simple design, it consists of one motion sensor, one temperature sensor, and one gas sensor. The system was designed using the ATMEGA 8 microcontroller which controls the sending of SMS to the authorized number. The motion sensor (infrared) detects the movement of people entering the house and when there is a detection of an intruder the owner is notified through an SMS. The temperature sensor in this system also initiates an SMS to the owner when the temperature exceeds a particular value. The gas sensor also works in similar manner when it detects smoke and gas thereby sending SMS alert to the owner of the house. The respective sensors detected the compromise in each situation and sent the corresponding SMS to the user. This device therefore helps to prevent intruders, accidents arising from harmful gases and fire outbreaks in homes, offices and industries