29 research outputs found
Evaluating the Impact of Renewable Energy Integration on Air Quality: A Study of Pollutant Reduction in an Urban city of Calabar
No full textThe characterization of air quality parameters was carried out in the coastal city of Calabar with the aim of reducing air pollutants in the atmosphere. Both mobile and stationary measurements were obtained. Mobile data were used for estimating air quality index and creating air quality map. The results show that the average concentration of ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen Oxides (NOx) was 0.34, 4.52, 0.53 and 0.96 ppm, respectively. The air quality index determined for each station showed that 82% of the stations were classified as “marginally polluted,” 14% were classified as “good,” and the remaining 4% were classified as “unhealthy” according to the U.S. air quality standards. Correlation analysis showed that wind speed had the highest correlation with SO2, R = -0.72, while temperature had a high correlation with ozone, R = -0.68. The 2016 polar plots show that CO sources are located in the south and southeast, NOx sources are located in the south and southwest, SO2 sources are located in the southwest, and O3 sources are located in the southeast. The 2017 polar plots show that CO sources are located in the northeast, NOx sources are located in the northwest, SO2 sources are located in the northeast, and O3 sources are located in the southwest. Citation: Udo, S., Umoh, M., & Ewona, I. (2024). Evaluating the Impact of Renewable Energy Integration on Air Quality: A Study of Pollutant Reduction in an Urban city of Calabar. Trends in Renewable Energy, 11(1), 24-51. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.17737/tre.2025.11.1.0018
Temperature Forecasting as a Means of Mitigating Climate Change and Its Effects: A Case Study of Mali
No full textTemperature forecasts and trend analyzes were carried out for several locations in Mali as an important tool for warning of potentially threatening weather events such as severe heat waves, storms, droughts and floods, which could pose a great risk to humans and their environment. Five locations (Segou, Sikasso, Kayes, Gao and Taoudenni) across Mali (170 00’N – 40 00’W) were chosen for this research work. Satellite data of annual temperature obtained from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) database for 35 years (1985-2019) was used for this work. The Mann-Kendall trend test was carried out for various locations to observe and study the trend. Four Models including Auto Regressive and Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), Exponential smoothening (ETS), TBATS (Trigonometric seasonality, Box-Cox transformation, ARMA errors, Trend and Seasonal components) and the linear model were employed to forecast average temperature for 10 years for all the locations. The model that produces the best forecast at the 95% confidence level is expected to have the lowest Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) value. The results showed that no significant trends were recorded at the considered locations. The linear model produced the best forecast for Segou, Kayes and Taoudenni, while the TBATS model produced the best forecast for Gao and the ARIMA model produced the best forecast for Sikasso.Citation: Billy, U., Udo, S., Ewona, I., Umoh, M., & Mfongang, A. (2023). Temperature Forecasting as a Means of Mitigating Climate Change and Its Effects: A Case Study of Mali. Trends in Renewable Energy, 9(2), 167-179. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.17737/tre.2023.9.2.0015
The Role of Research in Attaining Sustainable Development Goals
No full textA study on the significant roles of research in the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals was carried out to analyze the facts and figures gotten through secondary information’s to determine the resultant effect of research in the pursuance of the SDGs. This research explores various opinions of several authors and researchers towards the concept of research in totality. This study gave clear indications that research as a full concept is not a cliché and it is revolving year-in year-out in our contemporary world of interest as the need for human
survival on the planet earth gets more prioritized on the agenda of the various sustainability organizations like UNESCO, United Nations, UNEP, IISD. This is the present century’s goal and it is all NGOs and other private parastatals are enjoined to be part of this move as it is a collective effort to seeing its realization
The effects of periwinkle shell reinforcement in a grey cast iron metal matrix composite (using powder metallurgy)
No full textGrey cast iron is widely used in various engineering applications because of its cost
effectiveness and beneficial properties. However, due to the presence of graphite in its
microstructure its capacities are limited. Various engineering methods such as
compositing are researched into that may minmize these limitations and give the metal
a wider scope of application. In this project, periwinkle shell reinforced grey cast iron
composites were manufactured using the powder metallurgy method. The weight
percentage of periwinkle shell in the composite was varied in the following pattern: 5 %,
10 %, 15 %, 20 % and 25 %. The manufactured samples were subjected to various
tests namely: wear test, hardness test, tensile test, impact test and compressive test. It
was observed that the reinforcing grey cast iron with periwinkle shells improved the
wear rate, tensile strength and impact toughness of the matrix but has adverse effects
on its hardness and compressive strength
Manufacturing of Brake Pad Using Aluminium Silicon Carbide Reinforced with Alumina for Automobile Industry
No full textThe brake pad plays an integral part in the automobile industry by controlling
cars’ motion and making them safe to drive. The brake pad ensures the safety
and longevity of the vehicle. In the last century, we have seen great strides in
finding materials that best perform thermal conductivity, compressive strength
and wear-resistant. The continual search for new composites with improved
properties to substitute for the composites commonly used for the brake pad
necessitated this work. This research involves reinforcing aluminium metal with
small grits sizes of silicon carbide. Subsequently, the additions of alumina, zinc
and calcium through mechanical stir casting were adopted to produce the
samples. The samples were further tested and analysed on those particular
properties. The results illustrate that the wear resistance and thermal
conductivity were similar to those from the controlled specimen. The
composite with 70%wt of aluminium, 20%wt of SiC and 10%wt of Al2O3 is
recommended as a substitute for the conventional brake pad. It has thermal
conductivity of 93.3 W/m.K, wear resistance of 43.22 cm3/cm and a
compressive strength of 1343.3 MPa against 101.2 W/m.K, 8.10 cm3/cm and
1220.4 MPa, respectively, for the control sample
Model Selection Process in Time Series Analysis of Production System with Random Output
No full textIn time series investigation of characteristics of production system, different competing models are generally obtained particularly in production settings with stochastic
output attributable to bottleneck problems. Consequently, selecting the best model that describes a production system becomes challenging and critical because some models that fit observed data most accurately may not predict future values correctly on account to model complexities. This
research desires to demonstrate the procedure for model selection in production system with random output via the use of Adjusted Coefficient of Determination (R2 ) , Akaike and Schwarz criteria tools. Production output measurements obtained serve as input data to Autocorrelation Function and Partial Autocorrelation Function to obtain the order of Autoregressive, Autoregressive Moving Average and Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average models. The
model parameters were estimated and used for predictions and compared with original and transformed data to obtain Sum of Squared Error (SSE). Afterward, the models were subjected to
adequacy evaluation and subsequently tested with Akaike and Schwarz criteria. Among the competing models, ARIMA (3, 1, 1) model explain 66% variance of the dataset and wielded the
lowest Akaike and Schwarz values of 534.41m and 534.34m respectively and thus selected as the model that represents the production system under investigation. The approach establishes that Adjusted Coefficient of Determination in conjunction with Akaike and Schwarz criteria are adequate tools for model selection in time series investigation particularly in stochastic situatio
Effect of Fibre Glass Addition on the Mechanical Properties of Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) Composite
No full textNoise Level Investigation and Control of Household Electric Power Generator
No full textElectric power generator is an essential household facility particularly in developing countries. It exists in various capacities and makes in shops, offices, workshops and factories. The attendant environmental risks of this source of power supply are major challenges to users both at household and industrial level. Efforts through research and development are still on-going to mitigate the prevailing health hazards. This study investigates noise level of typical portable generator (2 kW/220 V) and the sound absorbance capacity of an acoustic enclosure developed from a multilayer panel made of locally sourced galvanized metal sheet (0.90 mm), Polyurethane acoustic foam (7.50 mm), Particle board (35.0 mm) and plywood (10.0 mm). The noise produced by the generator when on load and no load were considered for cases of it being placed inside and outside the enclosure and compared with acceptable OSHA safe thresholds noise level for the school environment where the study was carried out. The result shows a significant reduction of noise produced indicating a shift from very laud threshold (average of 86.23 dB (A)) for no load and no enclosure to moderately low region (average of 69.34 dB (A)) for the case of no load using enclosure. Likewise considering loaded scenario similar trend was recoded with average acoustic capacity of the enclosure of 23.20 dB (A). The effect of the enclosure is positive and the potential benefits of improved noise absorption panels to enhance better performance of the developed enclosure for office and household generators was established. Keywords: Electric Generator, Enclosure Panel, Noise control, Load, Household
Effect of particle size and weight percentage variation on the mechanical properties of periwinkle shell reinforced polymer (epoxy resin) matrix composite
No full textPolymers are very interesting and useful materials that have many applications in
various areas of engineering. Composites formed with these materials are known to
exhibit outstanding mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties. In this work, a
polymer, epoxy resin, was reinforced with a biodegradable material, periwinkle shell
(PWS) particles, using the hand lay-up method. The PWS was pulverized using a ball
mill and three sieve sizes of the PWS (75, 150, and 300 μm) were sieved out. Various
samples of the composite were produced by reinforcing the epoxy resin matrix with 10,
20, 30, 40, and 50 wt% of each of the PWS particle sieve sizes. The samples so formed
were subjected to the following mechanical tests: hardness, tensile, compressive, and
impact tests. It was found out that the samples of composites showed higher values of
the parameters tested for than ordinary epoxy resin showed. In the samples of composites,
it was found that the samples with a higher weight percentage of the PWS reinforcement
recorded higher values of those mechanical properties tested for. The higher the weight
percentage of the PWS in the composite, the greater the value of the mechanical property
tested for
Queueing Theory an Index Factor for Production Inventory Control in Automotive Industry—A Review
No full textIn this paper, various approaches to inventory control within the automotive industry
were reviewed using queueing theory. Different models used in past literature were
stated and the model considered to be most effective in this review is dock management
modeling. This model was used to analyze inventory control and how effectively
automotive industries can minimize inventory by getting the component needed in the
assembly line just in time, this helps to reduce additional costs for warehouse
maintenance and capital tied down in form of excess inventory. Analytical and
simulation models are the mathematical models that are considered in this review as
they are used in several papers by different authors
