Abstract: In this study, the effect of extrusion process parameters of a locally developed extruder on the expansion of extrudates of the flour and starch of maize and cassava which are grown in Nigeria in large quantity was characterised. These were compared with those of wheat flour which is commonly used for the production of alimentary paste. The parameters considered include feed moisture (30, 40, 50 % d.b.), extruder temperature (40, 70, 100oC) varied by continuous running of the machin...
AbstractA two-dimensional transient heat conduction equation was solved by finite- difference method to predict temperature variations within the maize (Zea mays) bin. The mathematical model comprises the center, interior and exterior heat transfer equations. Variables used include bin diameter, bin-wall material, grain temperatures, grain thermal and air properties. Software was developed for the model in Visual Basic. Temperatures within the silo were predicted at radii 0.0m (silo center), ...
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 Background of the Study 1 Statement of the Problem 6 Objectives of the Study 7 Justification for the Study 8 Scope and Limitations of the Work 9 Scope 9 Limitations 9 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 10 2.1 Small Hydropower Systems 10 2.1.1 Types of Hydroelectricity Generation 13 2.1.1.1 Conventional Hydroelectricity 13 2.1.1.2 Run-of-the-river Hydroelectricity 14 2.1.1.3 Pumped-storage Hydrelectricity 15 2.1.1.4 Tidal Hydroelectricity 15 2...
ABSTRACT This project is on the enhancement of the performance of an Ubakala clay sample for use as drilling mud. A sample of Nigerian clay (Ubakala clay) was used for the project. The clay sample was collected in a raw state, processed and experiments conducted on viscosity which is a very important property of drilling mud. Various concentrations of sodium carbonate were mixed with the clay sample and experiments were conducted to determine the viscosities of the control and the cla...
ABSTRACT Most organizations are deploying e-business solutions because of its numerous advantages, such as, increased productivity, reduced transactions costs, wider coverage and increased speed to market. The present academic offices in developing countries still use paper-based approach for most of their activities. Data and information are logged into files, folders and excel sheets which are printed, bound and saved into drawers that are rarely used again for other purposes. In the un...
ABSTRACT This work presents comparative study of strength of truss reinforced concrete beam and conventional reinforced concrete beam. Two sets of 0.15 x 0.15 x 1m beams were cast. One set was cast using truss as a system of reinforcement at spacing of 100mm, 150mm and 200mm. The other set was cast using longitudinal bars and links at spacing of 100mm, 150mm, and 200mm as the conventional reinforcement. In all 27 truss and 27 conventional reinforcement beams were cast. Three mix ratios we...
ABSTRACT The purpose of this work is to use the energy approach in the form of direct variational principle (Rayleigh-Ritz method) for buckling analysis of thin rectangular plates with various boundary conditions using Taylor series shape functions. To do this, thin rectangular flat plate of various boundary conditions with three dimensions Ly, Lx and t was analyzed in this research. Ly and Lx are secondary and primary in-plane dimensions respectively and t is the plate thickness. The bou...
ABSTRACT Some mechanical properties of water melon rind and pawpaw peel reinforced Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and Linear Low Density, (LLDPE) composites have been studied. Two sets of filler loaded LDPE and LLDPE composites were prepared using the injection moulding techniques at a processing temperature of 1900C Dispersing agent, silicon oil, was added to the composite as a plasticizer to improve flow, processability and to reduce the brittleness of the product. A comprehensive ...
ABSTRACT This experimental study optimized the cutting parameters (depth of cut, feed rate, spindle speed) in turning EN24 steel (0.4% C) with hardness 40+2 HRC. In this, turning operation were carried out on EN24 steel by carbide P-30 cutting tool with minimum lubrication and the combination of the optimal levels of the parameters was obtained. In order to study the performance characteristics in turning operation, Taguchi method (consisting of the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (S-N Ratio) and A...
ABSTRACT Liquid-Liquid Equilibrium (LLE) data of Butyric acid-Water-Toluene ternary system were determined experimentally at a temperature of 30oC and 1 atmosphere. The complete phase diagram was obtained by determining the solubility curve and the tie-lines. The reliability of the experimental tie-line data was ascertained by using the Othmer and Tobias plot. Also, the UNIFAC model equations were used to estimate the activity coefficients of the system using the interaction parameters fo...
ABSTRACT This research work focused on the Prediction of Compressive strength of Saw dust Ash-Cement concrete using Artificial Neural Network method. Neural Networks offer a number of advantages including requiring less formal statistical training, ability to implicitly detect complex non-linear relationship between dependent and independent variables, ability to detect all possible interactions between predictor’s variables, and availability of multiple training algorithms. A 5-20-1 ne...
ABSTRACT An experimental study of the passive cooling of a building using longwave night sky radiation in Owerri, Nigeria is presented. The experimental rig consists of a standard (3.0 x 3.0 x 2.5m) room, flat plate sky radiator, heat exchanger, storage tank, water pump, interconnecting pipes and another standard room to act as control for the experiment. This test rig is a rectangular building made from 15.24cm hollow blocks. It has two windows located in the east and the south facing wa...
ABSTRACT The quality of water from Otamiri River, Nworie River and Bore hole water as sources of municipal water supply system in Owerri has been evaluated by analyzing samples of raw water collected from Otamiri River and Nworie River and comparing them with selected borehole and treated water samples. Some selected borehole water analyses were carried out for their physiochemical parameters, major ions, nutrients and bacteriological quality. The obtained values from the analysis are:- A...
ABSTRACT This research presents a flexible design model and robust algorithm for simulation of a crude oil plant which consists of a main column with several side strippers and pumparounds. The model is developed in commercial software HYSYS, Pro/II and Aspen Plus, in order to evaluate the performance of the simulation of these models on personal computers. The development of the mathematical model of the equipments of the unit is based on the relations that are presented in the equilibri...
ABSTRACT The effect of cement particle size of Portland cement on the properties of cement mortar and paste were investigated. This was done at a definite mix and water-cement ratio. Fresh clinkers collected from Dangote Cement Factory was ground together with 3% gypsum using disc grinder. The chemical compositions of the clinker and gypsum were determined using XRF. Five different sieve sizes comprising (212, 180, 90, 63, 45) m were used to characterize the cement sample finen...