Afe Babalola University Based Journals
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Communication as a Panacea for Resolving Crises in Energy Industry: The Case of Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company
Full text linkCommunication is the process by which people exchange information through a common set of symbols. It is appropriate to describe modern society as a knowledge society, in which ideas and information enabled by engineering are highly valued and knowledge has a big impact on the development process, including engineering education. However, the key to acquisition of knowledge is communication, thus the importance of communication in any ecosystem cannot be overemphasized; it is the life upon which an institution derives its existence. Without adequate communication, goals and aspiration of an organization will be difficult to achieve. The purpose of this research study which targets Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) is to re-emphasize the importance of communication in resolving crisis, most especially in the energy sector where every effort made by the federal government of Nigeria to ensuring smooth delivery of uninterrupted supply of electricity for the consumption of hoi polloi to adequately facilitate engineering education. The results revealed that horizontal communication is an effective tool for crisis resolution. It also revealed that employees of IKEDC do not receive sufficient horizontal information to perform their duties successfully, and upward communication has not helped in resolving the energy issues. The study's objective is to ensure a steady power supply for the efficient operation of engineering education by encouraging the best possible use of IKEDC's current infrastructures through horizontal communication
Development and Performance Evaluation of a Poultry Bird Defeathering Machine
Full text linkThe poultry processing industry is under high demand due to the increasing demand for chicken meat worldwide, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, where manual defeathering is the norm. The primary objectives of this study were the design, construction, and performance evaluation of a chicken defeathering machine using locally accessible materials. Standard equations and formulae were used in the design of the machine's main parts, which include the electric motor, sheave, belt, pulley, bearing, feather plate, rubber fingers, cylindrical drum, and rubber pluckers. Fifteen cockerel chickens of different weights were evaluated at three different speeds of 450, 500, and 550 rpm in order to assess the performance of the chicken feather plucking machine. The data obtained was analyzed using Excel 13. The highest defeathering efficiency of 84.49% was recorded at a machine speed of 450 rpm, followed by a defeathering efficiency of 81.70% at a machine speed of 500 rpm, while the lowest defeathering efficiency of 80.98% was recorded at a machine speed of 550 rpm, respectively. The highest plucking time of 22.80 s was recorded at a machine speed of 450 rpm, followed by a plucking time of 20.40 s at a machine speed of 500 rpm, while the lowest plucking time of 19.80 s was recorded at a machine speed of 550 rpm, respectively. It will take an average of 21.00 seconds to defeat a medium cockerel used for the testing of the defeathering, which implies that the developed defeathering machine can defeat 171 chickens per hour. The machine is powered by a 5.5-hp, three-phase electric motor and has a production cost of $250, with the construction materials being locally available at affordable costs. The machine is recommended to both small and medium-scale farmers and food processors due to its simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and improvement over the previous ones in terms of efficiency and capacity
Biosorption of Chromium and Nickel from Industrial Oil Mill Wastewater Using Groundnut Pod Waste Activated Carbon
Full text linkGroundnut shell activated carbon was developed and characterized by chemical activation using phosphoric acid (H3PO4) for the uptake of Cr and Ni in a batch biosorption process. The purpose of this study was to reduce the spread of heavy metals in industrial oil mill wastewater. In this study characterization of activated carbon using, surface chemistry (FTI-IR), surface area (BET), surface morphology, and elemental identification (SEM/EDX) were all carried out, and the BET surface area was 689.41 m2/g for groundnut shell activated carbon. This study was also executed to determine the optimum biosorption efficiency parameters for Cr and Ni removal using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to obtain maximum biosorption efficiency. The factors considered were temperature (25-55oC), adsorbent dosage (0.2-3 g) and contact time (1-2 hrs). Biosorption efficiency was the response. ANOVA analysis was carried out to analyse the most effective factor in experimental design response. The optimum conditions for removal of Cr and Ni were adsorbent dosage 0.40 g, contact time 1.1 hr and temperature 42.02 oC, which shows the maximum biosorption efficiency of 97.1% for Cr removal and 94.8% for Ni removal. Isotherm models analyses showed that the biosorption process was best fitted to Langmuir model and was physical. Results of the kinetic studies and thermodynamic parameters revealed that the biosorption process followed a pseudo-second-order, endothermic, and spontaneous in nature
Exploring the Expediency of Waste Materials as Modifiers for Bitumen Mixes
Full text linkThis research explores industrial waste materials (waste plastic bottle and waste sachet water) as potentially modifiers for Hot Bitumen Mix (HBM) and Warm Bitumen Mix (WBM). This research becomes necessary because of the poor performance of HBM and WBM. Review of literature revealed that independent use of Waste Plastic Bottle (WPB) and Waste Sachet Water (WSW) significantly enhanced the performance of HBM and WBM. However, literature is scanty on blended use of WPB and WSW. The HBM samples were produced using 60/70 penetration grade of bitumen. Additive (sasobit) was added to the bitumen at 3.5 wt. % of the bitumen for the production of WBM. The HBM and WBM were modified by incorporating blended WPB and WSW thereby forming a composite mixture. The composite was varied at a proportion of 0 – 18 wt. % at 2% interval by 1:1 of the bitumen. The index properties of the HBM and WBM were analyzed. The modified HBM and WBM samples were characterized for microstructure using the X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF). The softening point and penetration index increased with increasing composite mixtures. The penetration reduced with increasing content of the composites. However, the optimum performances were obtained at 10 and 14 wt. % of WPB and WSW for HBM and WBM replacement, respectively, with specific gravity, penetration index, ductility and viscosity of 96, 54, 92, and 75% for HBM and 91, 32, 88, and 89% for WBM, higher than the control mix, respectively. The XRF revealed an enhancement in the adhesion and interlocking in the mineral structure. Exploring WPB and WSW as a modifier for the bitumen mixtures is feasible due to the improved performance of the bitumen mixes. Furthermore, incorporation of the waste materials through their conversion into useful raw materials is an environmental way of waste disposal, and sustainability
Early Fault Detection in Electro-Pneumatic Actuators using Mathematical Modelling and Machine Learning: A Bottling Company Case Study
Full text linkThis research examines the vital problem of detecting anomalies at an early stage within industrial systems by studying an electro-pneumatic double-acting cylinder actuator used in a bottling facility production line. The occurrence of malfunctions in valves leads to operational inefficiencies, and both planned and unplanned downtime, and additional maintenance expenses. The study contributes a new dual method that unites mathematical modelling and machine learning to overcome the limitations of conventional anomaly detection methods. The predictive model created for the actuator assessed its typical operation by evaluating pressure fluctuations, timing behaviour and displacement performance. Establishing baseline parameters through this process allowed the creation of synthetic datasets for normal operational standards. Real-time measurement points were validated through a baseline reference and machine learning models based on support vector machines received training data from labelled sets. The application of feature selection methods helped find essential variables to boost performance metrics in models. The research created valuable insights by reaching 90% success in operational state identification between normal and anomalous conditions across various test scenarios, which leads to an adaptable predictive maintenance system. The bottling company applied the case application, which led to 25% less machine downtime alongside better maintenance schedules, together with improved reliability during production. The research outcomes match the objectives of Agenda 2063 set by the African Union by supporting industrial development alongside innovation and sustainable economic expansion as well as meeting SDG targets such as Goal 9.4 and Goal 12.6 for sustainable industrial practices. This study provides essential information for industrial optimization policies through operational efficiency measures that demonstrate global significance for predictive maintenance systems. The scientific methods alongside their research results deliver important knowledge regarding industrial ecosystems in Africa and across the world by tackling regional and worldwide sustainable productivity issues
Design and Implementation of a Renewable Energy System for Wind Turbine Power Analysis at Ikot Akpaden Community
Full text linkRenewable energy plays a crucial role in sustainable development by enhancing human development and economic productivity. Analyzing the pipeline of installed wind farms across Africa reveals that the continent has substantial wind resources, with the potential to expand capacity by over 900% through the addition of 140 planned projects. The design and implementation of a renewable energy system for wind turbine power analysis in Ikot Akpaden Community serve as a valuable demonstration of wind energy’s effectiveness in mitigating high carbon flaring and other environmental pollutants, benefiting both the present and future environment. The analysis evaluates wind velocity and its significant power output based on the design parameters of the system in used. The experiment is carried out between the hours of 8:00 am to 9:00 pm for 7 days. Results show that wind velocity of Akpaden community varies between 2.67 m/s to 4.57 m/s with an average wind velocity of 4.03 m/s, there are limitation of some hours of the day without significant wind velocity but there is no complete 24 hours of a day that could be without free flow of wind energy. Using a wind turbine with a minimum sweep area of 0.283 m2, the power output produced by the available wind velocity ranges from 3.0 W to 8.82 W in a second, therefore by comparison with the theoretical power output of 11.32 W using the system designed parameters, there is 78 percent efficiency in the system design. Also, there is significant drop in power output between the hours of 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm as it is shown on the graphical representation which is as a result of decrease in the wind velocity of the area within that time. It is therefore seen that there is a useful power available in the wind velocity of the study region in which when it is collected and stored, can serve as a useful energy for student during their experiment and research purpose. The wind turbine's output power can be improved to a desired percent using turbine with larger blade radius and sweep area
Development of a Fingerprint-Based Attendance Monitoring System
Full text linkThis paper presents the design and execution process of a fingerprint-based attendance system at Bells University of Technology for Electrical/Electronics Engineering Department, to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of student attendance monitoring. Traditional methods often suffer from errors, are tedious, and capable of being manipulated. The developed system employs fingerprint (biometric) technology, offering a secure, dependable, and tamper-proof solution to these issues. By capturing and verifying students' fingerprints, the system makes sure that only the appropriate individual marks the attendance, effectively eliminating problems like impersonation. The system consists of two modes namely: register and record modes respectively. Firstly, fingerprint data was extracted and stored in a database. For attendance taking, after a user’s fingerprint is placed on the device, checks for similarity is done in connection with the database and the user is marked as present if a match is found. Thereafter, the information is uploaded. With the proposed system, the time taken per student to mark attendance was 6.16 seconds while for the manual method, it was 22.25 seconds per person. The fingerprint-based system streamlines attendance management by automating the recording process, thus saving time for both students and lecturers. It enhances data accuracy by removing the potential for human error and provides a reliable method for maintaining and retrieving attendance records. Additionally, the system offers improved data security, as biometric data is less likely to be compromised compared to the manual method
Analysis of Nonlinear Control Strategies for Quadrotor Stability and Trajectory Tracking
Full text linkThe quadrotor control as nonlinear and underactuated systems is a huge challenge in getting a fine stabilization and trajectory tracking. The present work seeks to introduce a novel hybrid control structure composed of an Internal Model Control-based Proportional-Integral (IMC-PI) controller, with the integration of a Sliding Mode Controller (SMC) and an Extended State Observer (ESO). The main purpose is to achieve improvement of stability and tracking performance under dynamic flight operations. A six degrees of freedom (6-DoF) dynamic model is developed under rigid body structure and proportional thrust-drag assumptions. An IMC-PI controller is initially employed to stabilize the Euler angles and vertical position but is not able to control the lateral positions (x and y). For this, a hybrid SMC-ESO method is incorporated for enhanced robustness along with precise path tracking. Simulation results reveal that while the stand-alone IMC-PI controller can stabilize altitude and orientation within 3 seconds, it cannot converge to the complete position. Nevertheless, the hybrid controller achieves very precise moving in complex trajectories (helical and figure-eight) within 25 seconds, which outperforms the stand-alone solution. The results confirm the viability of the hybrid controller in autonomous UAV operations where stability and precision are of particular importance
Characterization and Comminution Energy Determination of Anka Manganese Ore for Steelmaking Applications
Full text linkThe global demand for manganese continues to rise due to its critical role in steelmaking and emerging battery technologies. This study investigates the physicochemical properties and comminution energy requirements of manganese ore from the Anka deposit in Zamfara State, Nigeria. A comprehensive characterization was conducted using Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (ED-XRFS), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Particle size analysis was carried out on the as-received sample, followed by a grindability test. The chemical analysis confirmed a high MnO content (52.112%), while mineralogical assessments identified pyrolusite and jacobsite as dominant phases. SEM-EDS analysis revealed the interlocking nature of manganese, iron, silicon, and aluminium within the ore matrix. Particle size analysis identified the optimal liberation size at -125+90 µm, assaying 53.973% MnO. Grindability tests using quartz and iron as reference ores yielded work index values of 11.34 kWh/ton and 14.62 kWh/ton, respectively. The average energy expended during grinding was 5.06 kWh. These findings provide a basis for designing energy-efficient beneficiation processes for Anka manganese ore, contributing to sustainable resource utilization and industrial cost reduction
A “Her-Storical” Conceptualization of the “Umuada” Traditional Institution of Eastern Nigeria
Full text linkThis study explores a sociocultural organization of women in EasternNigeria through the lens of feminist and historical scholarship. The aim isto examine the historical evolution, roles, and contributions of the Umuadawithin their communities, particularly in conflict resolution, culturalpreservation, and socioeconomic development. Utilizing a qualitativemethodology, the research draws from oral histories, archival records,and ethnographic observations to provide a nuanced understanding ofthe institution. The findings reveal that the Umuada, far from being aperipheral group, have played pivotal roles as custodians of traditions,mediators in family and communal disputes, and advocates for women’srights within the patriarchal structure of Igbo society. Despite these contributions, the study highlights the challenges posed by modernity, urbanization, and diminishing communal ties to the relevance andfunctionality of the institution. Major conclusions emphasize the need toreimagine and integrate the Umuada into contemporary frameworks forcommunity development and gender advocacy, by ensuring their sustainedimpact in a rapidly changing sociocultural landscape. By foregroundingthe experiences and agency of these women, the study contributes to thebroader discourse on African feminism and indigenous knowledge systems