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Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Adebayo, A. A.,

Osho, S. O.

Yusuf, B. M

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND SECURITY CHALLENGES

Adebayo, A. A., Osho, S. O. and Yusuf, B. M.

Department of Electrical / Electronic Engineering,

The Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti

aadeolar@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT: This paper takes a critical look at the security challenges facing Nigeria as a

nation, the effects of the challenges on the nation, the measures that are put in place to

combat the challenges, the need for more awareness by the people and the attendant

development that are possible through a secured environment. The impact of Information and

Communication Technologies at obtaining a secured nation which will in turn lead to

national development

KEYWORDS:security, national development, ICT, challenges, combating

INTRODUCTION

Security issues have become a great

challenge for our nation and the world at

large. For a very long time now all nations

have been facing one security challenge or

the other. The Oxford Advanced Learners

Dictionary (2005) defined security as “the

activities involved in protecting a country,

building or person against attack, danger,

etc” while it is defined as “things that are

done to keep a person , building or country

safe from danger or crime” by the

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary

English for Advanced Learners (2009).

From the definitions of security it can be

seen that it is an act that is very important

to the livelihood of a nation because if

there is no assurance of security in a nation

it becomes difficult for such a nation to

experience development because a people

living in fear cannot be able to move on.

The case of insecurity has become a great

challenge to the world. The levels at which

crimes are committed today is no longer

the same as before as crime has moved to

an advanced level which is beyond the

level capable of curbing by an ordinary

man. Gonad, 2010 is of the opinion that

the variety or types of criminal acts are

also on the increase. Crimes such as

assassination, kidnapping, acid baths,

terror attacks, 419 and other cybercrimes

are now the rage, such that preventing

crimes is now a very serious business.

Security challenge in Nigeria has take on a

new look with the government each day

trying to fashion a way to combat it. With

the bombing of the UN House in Abuja,

Nigeria on August 26 2011, the issue of

security challenge has now taken a new

dimension, quoting the minister of state for

the Federal Capital Territory “security now

is the number one on the agenda nationally

at the states and local government levels”.

The minister further stressed that its move

is in partnership with the Federal

Government and all the security agencies.

Another commentator also said that “more

practical and peaceful means should be

engaged in trying to obtain security. Many

states in the country are also fashioning

out different ways of providing security for

their populace (The Punch, 2011).

The case of security as it is defined is not

just an act that is to be saddled on

government alone but also every

individual, organisations and parastatals

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should be up and doing in order to move

the nation forward.

The objective of this paper is to examine

the security challenges and examine ways

of combating them so that there can be

national development.

Categories of Security Issues and

Technologies In Use

Physical Security

Physical security describes measures that

are designed to deny access to

unauthorized personnel (including

attackers or even accidental intruders)

from physically accessing a building,

facility, resource, or stored information;

and guidance on how to design structures

to resist potentially hostile acts (Task

Committee; Structural Engineering

Institute, 1999). Physical security can be as

simple as a locked door or as elaborate as

multiple layers of barriers, armed security

guards and guardhouse placement (Home

Safety Tips, 2011). Good physical security

uses the concept of layered defense, in

appropriate combinations to deter and

delay intrusions (passive defense), and

detect and respond to intrusions (active

defense). Ultimately it should be too

difficult, risky or costly to an attacker to

even attempt an intrusion. However, strong

security measures also come at a cost, and

there can be no perfect security. It is up to

a security designer to balance security

features and a tolerable amount of

personnel access against available

resources, risks to assets to be protected

and even aesthetics. There are also life-

cycle sustaining costs to consider.

(Wikipedia, 2011).

Physical security is not a modern

phenomenon. Physical security exists in

order to deter or prevent persons from

entering a physical facility. Historical

examples of physical security include city

walls, moats, etc.

Technologies for Physical Security

The technology used for physical security

has changed over time. While in past eras,

there was no passive infrared (PIR) based

technology, electronic access control

systems, or video surveillance system

(VSS) cameras, the essential methodology

of physical security has not altered over

time. Fundamentally, good physical

security is a combination of defensive

principles designed to: deter, delay, detect,

and respond (and ultimately, deny access)

to intrusions into critical physical spaces

(Physical Security, 2011)

. The first two actions of deter and delay

are considered passive defense, while the

remaining are active in nature.

Elements of Physical Security

The following are the elements to physical

security:

obstacles, to frustrate trivial attackers

and delay serious ones; to include:

explosion protection;

detection systems, such as

surveillance systems, alarms, security

lighting, security

detection systems, such as

surveillance systems, alarms, security

lighting, security guard patrols or

closed-circuit television cameras, to

make it likely that attacks will be

noticed; and

securityresponses, to repel, catch or

frustrate attackers when an attack is

detected.

In a well-designed system, these features

must complement each other (Anderson,

2001).

Information Security

Information security means protecting

information and information systems from

unauthorized access, use, disclosure,

disruption, modification, perusal,

inspection, recording or destruction

(United States Code, 2011)

Information security is concerned with the

confidentiality, integrity and availability of

data regardless of the form the data may

take: electronic, print, or other forms.

The field of information security has

grown and evolved significantly in recent

years. There are many ways of gaining

entry into the field as a career. It offers

many areas for specialization including:

securing network(s) and allied

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infrastructure, securing applications and

databases, security testing, information

systems auditing, business continuity

planning and digital forensics science, etc.

Governments, military, corporations,

financial institutions, hospitals, and private

businesses amass a great deal of

confidential information about their

employees, customers, products, research,

and financial status. Most of this

information is now collected, processed

and stored on electronic computers and

transmitted across networks to other

computers.

Should confidential information about a

business' customers or finances or new

product line fall into the hands of a

competitor, such a breach of security could

lead to lost business, law suits or even

bankruptcy of the business. Protecting

confidential information is a business

requirement, and in many cases also an

ethical and legal requirement.

(Wikipedia(b), 2011)

For the individual, information security

has a significant effect on privacy, which

is viewed very differently in different

cultures.

Right from time immemorial the need for

information security had been considered

very important by man and so kings coded

their messages so that in case the

information gets into a wrong hand it is

not possible for the person to read such

messages up till now when there has been

a rapid advancement in the area of

telecommunication.

Elements of Information Security

The basic principles of information

security are confidentiality, integrity and

availability.

Confidentiality is the term used to prevent

the disclosure of information to

unauthorized individuals or systems.

Confidentiality is necessary (but not

sufficient) for maintaining the privacy of

the people whose personal information a

system holds.

Ways by which confidentiality is breached

takes varying form like Permitting

someone to look over your shoulder at

your computer screen while you have

confidential data displayed on it could be a

breach of confidentiality. If a laptop

computer containing sensitive information

about a company's employees is stolen or

sold, it could result in a breach of

confidentiality. Giving out confidential

information over the telephone is a breach

of confidentiality if the caller is not

authorized to have the information.

Integrity

Integrity means that data cannot be

modified undetectably. Integrity is violated

when a message is actively modified in

transit. Information security systems

typically provide message integrity in

addition to data confidentiality.

Availability

For any information system to serve its

purpose, the information must be available

when it is needed. This means that the

computing systems used to store and

process the information, the security

controls used to protect it, and the

communication channels used to access it

must be functioning correctly.

Technologies in Place for Information

Security

Various technologies are in place for

securing information, some of which are

digital signatures and public key

encryption to establish authenticity and

non-repudiation.

Another is the use of software and data to

monitor and control access to information

and computing systems. For example:

passwords, network and host based

firewalls, network intrusion detection

systems, access control lists, and data

encryption are logical controls. The use of

doors, locks, heating and air conditioning,

smoke and fire alarms, fire suppression

systems, cameras, barricades, fencing,

security guards, cable locks, etc.,

separating the network and work place into

functional areas are also physical controls.

Defense in Depth

Information security must protect

information throughout the life span of the

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information, from the initial creation of the

information on through to the final

disposal of the information. The

information must be protected while in

motion and while at rest. During its

lifetime, information may pass through

many different information processing

systems and through many different parts

of information processing systems. There

are many different ways the information

and information systems can be threatened.

To fully protect the information during its

lifetime, each component of the

information processing system must have

its own protection mechanisms. The

building up, layering on and overlapping

of security measures is called defense in

depth. The strength of any system is no

greater than its weakest link. Using a

defence in depth strategy, should one

defensive measure fail there are other

defensive measures in place that continue

to provide protection (Wikipedia (b),

2011).

CONCLUSION

As it has been seen security issues has

become a great challenge to mankind and

the way out and means of combating this

problem is a great issue for development to

be experienced. Nigeria will only become

the envy of others if it becomes a society

where life and information is secured and

this can only be possible if the available

technologies are improved upon and

adequately used to bring about

development.

REFERENCES

Anderson, Ross (2001). Security

Engineering.Wiley.ISBN 978-0-471-

38922-4.

Gonad, E. G. (2010). Emerging

Technologies for Combating Security

Challenges in

Organisations.Proceedings of the 1st

International Conference of Institute

of Electrical and Electronics

Engineers Inc., Abuja. June 17-19,

Vol. 1 No. 1

"Home Safety

Tips".Yourlocalsecurity.com.

http://yourlocalsecurity.com/security-

tips.html. Retrieved 2011-03-31

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary

English, 2009. Longman

Dictionary of Contemporary

English.4th

Edition.Pearson Education

Worldwide. United Kingdom.

Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary,

2005. Oxford Advanced Learners

Dictionary, 7th

Edition. Great

Clarendon Street, Oxford, United

Kingdom.

Physical Security,

2011.http://lenlong.dyndns.org/webres

ources/Temp%207208/UNH%20Pilot

%20Course/INTROSecurity%20Awar

eness%20Practical%20elements%20of

%20Security-Intro.ppt Retrieved 23 –

10 - 2011

Task Committee; Structural Engineering

Institute (1999).Structural Design for

Physical Security.ASCE.ISBN 978-0-

7844-0457-7.

The Punch, 2011. Security now

number one. 26 – 08 - 2011

United State Code,

2011.http://www.law.cornell.edu/usco

de/44/3542.htmlRetrieved 22 – 10 –

11

Wikipedia, 2011. Security. Retrieved

22 – 10 – 2011

Wikipedia, 2011.Information Security.

Retrieved 23 – 10 – 2011

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(Source: Wikipedia(b), 2011)

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Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Bamisaye, A.J

Ekejiuba C.O

Ademiloye I.B

DESIGN OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR MOBILE USERS

Bamisaye, A.J., Ekejiuba C.O and Ademiloye I.B

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria

ABSTRACT: Design of Knowledge Management system that will provide enabling Computer

Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) applications services to provide an appropriate

adaptation to the user and the situation in which he/she is working is presented in this paper.

Also presented is how this system can be designed to support users in different situations

exploiting contextual data, users’ preferences, and profiles involving artefacts such as;

documents, multimedia files, e.t.c. The Multimedia Interaction for Learning and Knowing

(MILK) and early steps made in the Middleware And Integrated Service Support (MAIS)

project is also presented.

KEYWORDS: Knowledge Management, Mobile Communication Systems, Multimedia

Interaction for Learning and Knowing, Middleware and Integrated Service

Support

INTRODUCTION

We presented a work that focus on

Knowledge Management services enabling

CSCW applications to provide an

appropriate adaptation to the user and the

situation in which the user is working. The

ultimate goal of our services is facilitating

the job of applications supporting situated

action and learning (Lave, and

Wenger,1991], [Suchman,1987] of mobile

people involved in their every-day

collaborative work activities. This focus on

knowledge Management and, on the other

hand, on cooperative work of mobile

knowledge workers shapes the

requirements for adaptation and

personalization to the user’s context.“Any

information that can be used to

characterize the situation of an entity”

[Dey,2001] and it “includes [...] even the

social situation; e.g., whether you are with

your manager or with a co-

worker”[Schilit,1994]. For our services,

the collection, representation, and use

itself of contextual data have a twofaced

objective. On the one hand, contextual data

enable a suitable adaptation of the

behaviour of CSCW applications. On the

other hand, as already recognized in

various researches e.g., [Agostini,et al,

1996], [www.milkforum.com],

[Rodden,1996], [Tollmar,1996]), users’

awareness—i.e. providing contextual

information regarding the cooperative

work processes in which users are

involved—enables people to act more

effectively. Moreover, we believe that not

only the current user situation is relevant

but also the complete history of actions

and interactions among people, objects,

data, and applications creating the unique

actual situation of the user. Finally, to

allow a finer adaptation and

personalization, the activity the user is

doing as well as information about the

“content” of the activity itself (e.g.,

messages, documents) contribute to enrich

contextual data. Practically, our solution is

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based on (meta-) data about the context

and the user allowing—among other

things—to extract the more appropriate

knowledge for a specific situation of the

user. In this paper we address these issues

by explaining how our knowledge

management system has been designed to

support users in different situations

exploiting contextual data. We focus on

users with specific characteristics. In fact,

from the beginning of the MILK project

[www.milkforum.com], two business

organizations have been involved as end-

users of the system. The users participate

to the system design and have been

observed to discover their needs and

understand their context of work. At the

end, they tested the resulting system. A

complete description of users’

requirements is out of the scope of this

paper (for more details see [Agostini et

al,2003 ]); however, the most

characterizing aspect is that they are

mobile workers. In other words,

employees of both companies are forced to

frequently move on their day-by-day

activities due to various reasons (e.g.,

external meeting with clients, different

office branches). The rest of the paper

presents our approach and features.

Sections in this paper briefly illustrates,

describes and provides; the general

interactions among pertinent modules

composing the whole system and system

organizes knowledge; the adaptation

regarding the specific user’s situation; and

the personalization features based on

user’s characteristics respectively.

METHODOLOGY

The Knowledge Management (KM) engine

of the MILK system is composed of

various cooperating sub-systems and

modules [Agostini,et al,2003]. The core

supporting the adaptation and

personalization of end-user applications is

the Metadata Management System

(MMS). It relies on various further sub-

systems sketched in Figure 1. We exploit

the MAIS [Arcelli,et al,2004]

functionalities for capturing realtime

updated information about the user local

environment in terms of spatial location,

physical, and technological environment

(e.g., communication channels, devices,

network bandwidth); applications can also

obtain relevant information for the Quality

of Services. The MMS, to provide its

services, is aware of the various

interactions between the end-user

applications and the MAIS middleware.

Practically, the MMS is the hub between

all data flows and interactions between

users and applications, systems and

middleware services, etc. Note that—to

ensure the right level of abstraction from

any particular technology, device and

situation—application modules are

separated from presentation module (s)

(see next Section for more details).

The MMS is part of the KM system. The

KM system includes also a Data

Management System (DMS) and a

component devoted to track the history of

interactions. The various KM components

have been designed as web services

[Agostini, et al,2003], [Boselli,et al,2003].

The KM system we developed captures

and integrates various kinds of knowledge

associated with organizational issues

(meeting minutes, work plans...) and

ongoing work (working documents,

finalized reports...). This knowledge

includes information about people and

their activities. The organization of this

knowledge is centered on a profiling

mechanism that associates common

knowledge descriptions with objects of

different nature. The objective is to be able

to integrate knowledge associated with

objects –elements in our terminology– like

documents, people, communities and

projects comprehensively. The key factor

is the ability of comparing and contrasting

elements of any type to compute various

kinds of relationships. The MMS

component addresses the issues of

computing and maintaining profiles and

relationships. Moreover, artifact replaces

the traditional concept of document. An

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artifact is a compound object collecting

various files, each of them being a

different representation of the same

conceptual content –e.g., the full-text and

slide presentation for a paper. This allows

the system providing people the most

appropriate representation in accord with

the activities they are performing and with

the specific situation. Moreover, a single

representation can have different file

formats (e.g., HTML, pdf, ppt for a

presentation). Finally, since MILK

supports versioning to track document

evolutions, versions of any representation

may also be available. The system supplies

users with preferred file formats and

newest versions. Summarizing, we

maintain: information about different

representations for artifacts; qualifying

information describing such artifacts (i.e.,

a set of metadata); and, information related

to them (e.g., discussions, e-mails...).

SERVICE ADAPTATION BASED ON

CONTEXT

The functionalities provided by our system

support adaptation and personalization

according to the context of use. Even if

adaptation and personalization are strictly

interleaved and are not separated phases,

let us first focus on adaptation. In MILK,

three main contexts of use, arisen from

users’ analysis, have been considered (i.e.,

office–via PC, social–via large interactive

screens, and mobile–via cell phones). In

accord, three specific presentation

managers have been developed. They have

the goal of providing the more appropriate

presentation of the knowledge. The more

appropriate knowledge to be shown,

instead, is selected and ordered by the

MMS. Therefore, presentation managers

can exploit contextual information

received from the MAIS middleware and

the more appropriate knowledge received

from the MMS for adapting the final user

interaction. The above-mentioned concept

of representation has been introduced to

obtain a finer content adaptation based on

the context. In fact, different contexts may

require different formats and modes for

accessing an artifact. In particular,

different representations are selected

according to the device used to access

information, since some representations

may be unsuitable for certain technology.

For example, it is not attractive to watch a

presentation or read a technical paper on a

mobile phone. The introduction of

representations is motivated by the

characteristics of the used channel too. For

example, if the user is connected to a fast

network, he/she has few limitations in

accessing any kind of representations.

However, if he/she is in an environment

with a slow connection, or no network

connection is available, then synthetic

representations are the only representations

available for her/him. The MAIS

middleware is in charge of detecting

available channels and their characteristics

to let an application select the best

available representation. A further reason

for supporting multiple representations is

to address the issue of presenting the

content of documents in different formats.

The system adapts to display the right

format according to the situation. To

address all possible situations several

aspects related to the activity of the user

need to be considered. For example, a user

working alone in his/her office should be

able to access artifacts and related

information differently as when he/she is

in a social situation such as a meeting. In

the former case probably more detailed

information is needed and no privacy

filtering is applied. In the latter, more

synthetic information is suitable and no

private or personal information should be

displayed. Note that in both cases the user

may use the same device, for example a

laptop computer. Different combinations

of the aspects considered above define a

specific situation. We focused on a limited

list of the most relevant situations; they are

derived from MILK case studies and have

been selected with the collaboration of

MILK test-users. Some possible situations

have not been considered, since they are

not reasonable; for example, a user

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interacting with a large screen when

traveling by train. Each situation

corresponds to a specific representation.

Of course, each single user can specify all

these associations or personalize default

system associations. In Table I we provide

some typical situations with a selection of

factors describing them.

The first column shows different situations

in which a user is involved, while the other

columns show some elements to be

considered for selecting the situation. We

do not claim to be general but, on the

contrary, we focus in a specific domain:

business workers with a high mobility;

organizations with multiple sites; and,

continuous changes of work places with a

simultaneous presence of different devices.

The MAIS middleware is in charge of

discovering some aspects of situation.

However, it is not able to directly capture

all aspects that define a situation, for

example the high-level parameter defining

the kind of activity the user is doing. In

MILK, the end-user organizations

preferred to explicitly provide some of

these parameters to the system; in fact,

they consider that the automatic deduction

of these parameters is still too error-prone

and in an early phase of development. To

better illustrate those situations let us

describe a scenario that we have

experimentally implemented. Mike is head

of Customer Relations for an international

firm. While he was reviewing a set of

confidential documents trough his PC, he

received a call from a customer for an

urgent meeting. Leaving his office in a

hurry, he took just his mobile phone.

When in the taxi, he wants to continue the

interrupted work using his mobile phone.

MAIS senses that Mike is using a mobile

phone and that he is accessing data

through a slow connection channel, the

MMS accordingly selects the proper

representation of documents. Thus Mike is

able to skim the plain text of those

documents he was browsing on his PC

moments ago. During the meeting with the

customer, they started to discuss the

feasibility of some technical modifications

to the last customer’s order. Mike’s mobile

sensed his new location and the presence

of other people’s laptops and of a large

interactive screen. Thanks to these

information, integrated with the MMS and

the KB data, the system is able to propose

a selected list of possible situations. Mike

selects the Customer Meeting situation.

Specifying some keywords in the query

form, Mike finds a set of documents

closely related to that customer. Note that,

private documents are not extracted due to

the presence of external people in the same

room. He is able to find at once the

document containing the technical

specifications he needs to discuss. Finally,

he uses the mobile phone for redirecting

and displaying the document in the large

screen. It is worth to note that, thanks to

the (meta-)data handled by the MMS,

further capacities of adaptation to the

context are possible. In fact, the

knowledge retrieved can be easily shown

and organized in different ways; in MILK

we developed three main ways. Within the

first mode, called the View with Context

metaphor [Agostini,et al,2003 ], [Boselli,et

al 2003], an element is presented

surrounded by all its related information;

that is, related documents, people,

communities, projects, and so on. A

different visualization reflects the

organizational structure of the data. For

example, the tasks of our end-users are

projects oriented. Thus, they need to

classify their documents according to their

belonging to specific projects. In our

experiments we designed a hierarchical

structure representing the specific

organization of the company. However, in

general, the structure can be adapted to

different needs, simply defining the criteria

to organize the data. A further way –

specifically introduced for large interactive

screens [Bamisaye et al,2011]– is

represented by a set of clusters; each

cluster represents a thematic area in which

all elements related to that area are

grouped. A number of layout rules are

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used for facilitating a quick overview and

for representing information about clusters

(e.g., the size of clusters depends on the

overall amount of activity).

USER PROFILING AND SERVICE

PERSONALIZATION

A key issue for KM systems is providing

tailored information for users based not

only on the query they submit, but also

depending on their working context and

their interests. Both user interests and

working context are relevant aspects to

consider when retrieving information. As

an example, consider a user looking for

information on java programming

language. If the user is a technical worker,

he/she probably needs information about

programming in java or however technical

information about it. If the user is a

commercial worker, he/she is probably

looking for commercial analysis of the use

of java programming language. Similarly,

the context affects the kind of information

needed by the user. If a user is working at

her/his desk writing a paper he/she needs

other papers on the same topic, if the user

is presenting her/his activities in a

commercial presentation, he/she needs

commercial reports. Thus, to provide

useful information for a user is

fundamental to take into account in the

retrieval process the subject of documents,

her/his interests and the environment

he/she is working in. In particular, MILK

system provides the user with a

personalized view of the information

retrieved. It provides two ways to discover

information: the traditional query model

and the View with Context metaphor. In

both cases, the information is first

retrieved based on the similarity between

elements or between an element and the

query, and then it is ranked and filtered

according to user interests and context. In

what follows we will focus on the View

with Context, since the query model can be

considered as variations of the View with

Context model.

To deal with the issues described above,

the information stored in the system has

first to be organized. This task is made by

the MMS associating each element with a

profile that captures relevant aspects for

correlating, filtering and ranking. Profiles

represent a flexible set of metadata

collecting information about different

aspects of an element. In particular,

semantic information is collected,

representing the content and the meaning

of a document, the interests and expertise

of a person, etc. Moreover, generic

attributes associated with elements, like

the title of a document or the name of a

person, are part of an element profile.

Finally, also dynamic properties connected

to the history of elements, for example,

how many times a document has been

read, are collected in the profiles. Profiles

are useful since they organize information,

and allow the computation of correlation

between elements. Moreover, profiles are

useful also to personalize the information

showed, as well as the correlation

algorithms. In this direction profiles allow

the system to support user activities and

change the system behaviour according to

user interests and user context of use. In

fact, the system, through the profile

associated with a user, knows her/his

interests and thus rank and filter

information according to them. In this way

each user has a personalized view of the

information. Moreover, since our end-

users deal with different environments and

with different activities during their day-

by-day work, the criteria of filtering and

ranking may change. For example, the data

can be filtered depending on the place

where the user is. In a public environment

the system filters the displayed elements in

order to show only the public information.

Thus if a user is looking at some

documents on her/his laptop, when he/she

connects her/his laptop in a public room to

make a presentation of her/his activities

private documents will not be showed. Our

system provides the user the capability to

create different personalities starting from

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her/his own profile and modifying it, in

order to represent different points of view

associated with different situations of

work. The user decides which profile

he/she needs in a specific situation and

these criteria are used by the system to

filter and rank information. Profiles

provide also a way to construct different

paths to navigate the knowledge of the

system. Suppose a user has found the

View with Context of a certain document.

Since he/she recognizes that the related

information found by the system is not

tailored for her/his needs, he/she has the

capability to control and modify her/his

View with Context, editing the profile of

the document, deleting topics he/she is not

interested in and adding relevant topics not

considered in the document. In this way

he/she can refine the retrieval process and

through different steps he/she can discover

new information relevant to her/his current

interests.

CONCLUSIONS

The integration of MILK with MAIS is an

on-going development. The main goal is to

achieve an implicit deduction which

automatically captures the user’s situation.

However, we stress the fact that our

approach of collaborating with end-users

on the design of the system is successful;

therefore, the characterization of the

possible meaningful situations and the

definition of their enforceability still have

to be done with the full collaboration of

the end-users. Moreover, to reach a

suitable solution, it is necessary allowing

users to personalize the system views for

achieving a total customization of the

system behaviour.

REFERENCES

Agostini, A. Albolino, S. Boselli, R. De

Michelis, G. De Paoli D, and Dondi,

R “Stimulating knowledge discovery

and sharing,” in Proc. of theConf. on

Supporting Group Work, ACM, New

York, 2003, pp. 248–257.

Agostini, A,De Michelis G, Grasso, M.

Prinz, W and Syri, A (1996)

“Contexts, work processes and

workspaces,” Computer

SupportedCooperative Work. The

Journal of Collaborative Computing,

vol. 5, no. 2-3, pp. 223–250,.

Arcelli, F., Raibulet, C., Tisato, F. and

Adorni, M. (2004) “Architectural

reflection in adaptive systems,” in

Proc. of the Conf. on

SoftwareEngineering and

Knowledge Engineering, Banff,

Alberta, Canada, pp. 74-79.

Bamisaye, A.J,Ekejiuba C.O and Ojo A.J

(2011) ''Telecommunication

Engineering and Entrepreneur

Opportunities'' Paper presented at

the 7th

Engineering Forum:

Engineering Innovations and

Entrepreneurship: Gateway to

National Development. November 8-

11, 2011. School of Engineering,

The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti,

Nigeria.

Boselli, R., De Paoli, F., and Dondi, R.,

(2003) “Knowledge organization and

retrieval in the MILK system,” in

Proc. of Conf. on

SoftwareEngineering and

Knowledge Engineering, San

Francisco,pp. 372- 376.

Dey, A. K.(2001) “Understanding and

using context,” Personal and

Ubiquitous Computing, vol. 5, no. 1,

pp. 4-7,.

Lave, J and Wenger, E., (1991). Situated

learning.Legitimate peripheral

participation. Cambridge University

Press, Cambridge,

MILK: Multimedia Interaction for

Learning and Knowing, European

Commission - IST Project no.

33165, www.milkforum.com

Rodden. T (1996) “Populating the

application: a model of awareness

for cooperative applications,” in

Proc. of the Conf. on Computer

SupportedCooperative Work-

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

12

CSCW’96, ACM, New York, pp.

87–96.

Schilit, B.,Adams,N and Want,R (1994),

“Context-aware computing

applications,” in Proc. of the

Workshop on Mobile Computing

Systemsand Applications, IEEE,

New York, 1994, pp. 85–90.

Suchman, L.(1987) Plans and situated

actions: the problem of human

machine interaction. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press,.

Tollmar, K.,Sandor,O., and Schömer,A.

(2005) “Supporting social awareness

@ work design and experience,” in

Proc. of the Conf. on

ComputerSupported Cooperative

Work, ACM, New York, pp. 298–

307. International Journal of

Computer, Information, and Systems

Science, and Engineering.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

13

Table 1: Some Examples of Typical Situations

Situation

name

Device Net speed Place People involved

Destop PC fast user's office user

Internal

meeting

large screen fast room meeting project's members

Customer

meeting

mobile slow other customer

Social Area mobile and large

screen

slow social area public

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

14

Figure 1: Overview of System Architecture

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

15

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Olanrewaju, T. O.

Bello, K. I.

DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF A MANUALLY OPERATED

DOMESTIC MULTI-PASTE MIXING MACHINE

1Olanrewaju, T. O. &

2Bello, K. I.

olanyinks26@yahoo.com and kayjnr@yahoo.com 1,2

Department of Agricultural Engineering and Water Resources,

Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin

ABSTRACT: Processing paste or dough into finished food like ‘amala’, ‘semovita’, ‘eba’ etc

requires mixing which are mostly strenuous, tiring and discourages house wives from

preparing them. A manually operated domestic multi paste mixing machine was developed

and tested. Results reveal that the machine performs satisfactorily in mixing ‘amala’ and

‘semovita’ without having any ‘seed’ when compared with the traditional method of

preparing these samples but that of ‘semovita’ developed ‘seed’, which was suspected to be

responsible for the finnes modulus of ‘semovita’ which was difficult to achieve uniform

mixing. The paste formed from yam flour and ‘eba’ were gelatinous and favourable for

consumption.

KEYWORDS: Paste, dough, mixing, develop, domestic, ‘seed’, strenuous, tiring

INTRODUCTION

Mixing (or blending) as described by

Fellows (2000) is a unit operation in which

a uniform mixture is obtained from two or

more components, by dispersing one with

the other(s). Mixing is intended solely as a

processing aid or to alter the eating quality

(palatability) of foods. Mixing could also

be the dispersing of components, one

throughout the other which occurs in

innumerable instances in the food industry

and is probably the most commonly

encountered of all process operations. As

mixing proceeds, samples will increasingly

contain more of the components, in

proportions approximating to the overall

proportions of the components in the

whole container. Complete mixing could

then be defined as that state in which all

samples are found to contain the

components in the same proportions as in

the whole mixture.

Mixing could be solid mixing, liquid

mixing, gaseous mixing or a combination

of any.

All mixers do some work on materials

being mixed and produce some

temperature increase which is often most

desirable to minimize this temperature rise.

When food products are mixed, there are a

number of aspects that are different to the

other industrial mixing applications

amongst them are:

i- Mixing is often used primarily to

develop desirable product

characteristics, rather than simply

ensure homogeneity.

ii- It is often multi-component,

involving ingredients of different

physical properties and quantities.

iii- It may often involve high viscosity

or non-newtonian liquids

iv- Some components may be fragile

and damaged by over – mixing.

v- There may be complex relationships

between patterns and products

characteristics.

Efficient mixing could be achieved in high

viscosity liquids as in pastes, or doughs by

creating and recombining fresh surfaces in

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

16

the food as often as possible. However,

because the material does not easily flow,

it is necessary either to move the mixer

blades through the vessel or to move the

food to the mixer blades.

Different action is needed in mixing high-

viscosity liquids which occurs by kneading

the material against the vessel wall or into

other material, folding unmixed food into

the mixed part and shearing to stretch the

material (Earle, 1983; Norman and Joseph,

2007; Fellows, 2000).

Mixing is necessary to ensure that the

proportion of each component complies

with legislative standards and ensure that

food poisoning or partially cooked foods

are not consumed. Processing of paste or

dough into finished food like ‘amala’,

‘semovita’, ‘eba’ etc requires mixing

which are mostly strenuous, tiring and

discourages house wives from preparing

them, hence, the need to develop and test a

manually operated domestic multi-paste

mixing machine.

LITERATURE REVIEW

There are several mixers depending on the

materials to be mixed which could be the

combination of solids with solids, liquids

with liquids, liquids with solids, gases with

liquids etc.

The selection of a correct size and type of

mixer depends on the type and amount of

food being mixed and the speed of

operation needed to achieve the required

degree of mixing with minimum energy

consumption. More viscous liquids are

mixed using slow-speed vertical-shaft

impellers such as multiple paddle agitators

or, more commonly, counter-rotating

agitators to develop high shearing forces.

Mixers are also chosen to do some special

kinds of work on heavy viscous materials

while they are being mixed. Such mixers

may have arms that knead dough, paddles

and arms, such working mixers are

designed with precise geometries to

minimize efficiency and energy

requirements and as well achieve the

mixing – working operation.

The most commonly used mixer for these

very heavy materials as described by Earle

(1983) is the kneader which employs two

contra-rotating arms of special shape that

fold and shear the material across a cusp,

or division, in the bottom of the mixer.

The arms are of so-called sigmoid shape.

They rotate at differential speeds, often in

the ratio of nearly 3:2. Developments of

this machine include types with multiple

sigmoid blades along extended troughs, in

which the blades are given a forward twist

and the material makes its way

continuously through the machine.

Screw conveyor mixers as described by

Fellows (2000) are typical of the type

known as continuous rotor-stator mixers,

having a horizontal rotor fits closely into a

slotted stationary casing or barrel. Single

or twin screws are used to convey viscous

foods and pastes through the barrel and to

force it through perforated plates or grids.

The small clearance between the screw and

the barrel wall causes a shearing and

kneading action.

Moreover, the paddle agitators are another

kind of mixer that have wide flat blades

measuring 50 – 70% of the vessel diameter

and rotate at 20 – 150 rpm/min. The blades

are often pitched to promote longitudinal

flow in unbaffled tanks.

A kneading machine was modified and the

performance evaluated by Oladeji (2007).

The machine was tested with throughput

capacity of 0.00934kg/sec at a speed of

440 rpm with density before and after

mixing found to be 0.00543 kg/M3 and

0.005137 kg/M3 respectively.

Another type of machine reported by Earle

(1983) employs very heavy contra-rotating

paddles, whilst a modern continuous mixer

consists of an interrupted screw which

oscillates with both rotary and

reciprocating motion between pegs in an

enclosing cylinder. The important

principle in these machines is that the

material has to be divided and folded and

also displaced, so that fresh surfaces

recombine as often as possible.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

17

The Chorleywood process, developed in

England for softer wheat, uses an under

four-minute high-speed, 360 rpm, mixing

cycle to produce a developed dough mass,

which can be divided, and proofed into

baking tins within ten minutes of the

mixing cycle. The Chorleywood process

mixes approximately 360 kg of dough in

less than 4 minutes in a large Tweedy

mixer, which was originally designed for

the mixing of polymeric resins, but has

been adapted for bread making. The

production line mixers consist of a variety

of specific models of various ages, but

they are all capable of delivering a 300 kg

dough mass within 4 minutes. Three

angled baffles are fixed to the side walls

and act to deflect the dough back into the

center of the mixer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Design Consideration

The design of this machine entails some

factors like the properties of the fluids to

be mixed, the Newtonian nature, visco-

elastic nature and rheological properties.

The mechanical properties in terms of

shear stress, deformation and the

properties of the materials selected to

avoid contamination with the product that

could results to food poisoning were as

well looked into. Other factors considered

include material availability, cost,

durability and the ease of feeding and

discharge to avoid clogging, the techno-

economic factors of the machine were as

well considered.

Design Analysis

The index of mixing is quantified

using the expression

22

0

22

0

rSS

SSM

……………...1

Source: (Earle, 1983)

Where

deviationdardsrandomS

deviationdardsinitialS

mixingofIndexM

r tan

tan

2

2

0

The mixing index when related to time

is expressed with the equation

kteM 1 …………………2

Source: (Earle, 1983)

Where

M = Mixing Index

t = Time (seconds)

K = Consistency Index

The power requirements for mixing

was evaluated from the expression

53dN

PN p

…………………..3

Where

P = Agitation Power

ρ = Density

N = Rotation Speed

d = Rotor Diameter

In selecting the gear required to transmits

the motion in the machine, a bevel gear

was selected using the expression below in

determining the equivalent number of teeth

coscos

22

NPRPRN ee ……4

Source: (Gary et al, 1984)

Where

Ne = Equivalent Number of Teeth

N = Number of Teeth

R = Pitch Radius

Re = Equivalent Pitch Radius

Γ = pitch Angle

The pitch angle was determined

from the expression

cos_

sintan

1

2

1

NN

…..…5

Source: (Gary et al, 1984)

Σ = Angle of intersection.

The volume of the pot smelted was

determined using the expression

hrv 2 …………………....6

Source: (Ayankoha, 2007)

Machine Description

The multi-paste mixing machine was

fabricated using local materials with ease

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

18

of operation and maintenance. It has the

following components as shown in figure

1.

i. The Frame: The frame is made of

angle iron which is dimensioned and

cut to form a triangular shape ensuring

that the mixing unit is well positioned

and stabilized to avoid tumbling of the

material due to agitation during

mixing process.

ii. The Mixing Unit: This is the machine

part that consist of the mixing

compartment; where the paste is made

and stirred and agitation process is

done through a protruding vertical

stainless steel shaft with a stainless

steel paddle attachment that actually

does the mixing. It is fabricated from

an aluminium pot with a slot provision

for fixing the pot unto the frame.

iii. Heating Unit: This is made from an

electrical heating element with the

orientation of the coil changed to suit

the intended purpose. The heating

element is coiled inside a rectangular

sheet metal having its frame that

supports the weight of the mixing unit

and provided with a protective slotted

metal allowing the heat produced from

the element get to the mixing unit

through the combination of radiation

and conduction. It can be removed or

detached from the entire mixing

machine.

iv. The Handle: This is the part that

transmits lateral motion through

horizontal shaft attached to the bevel

gear into rotational motion of the

paddles via a bearing on the upper part

of the frame holding the vertical shaft

and also allowing it to rotate freely in

the mixing unit when mixing is done.

Operating Principle of the Machine

The machine is developed to alleviate the

stress involved in mixing paste or dough

like ‘amala’, ‘semovita’ etc. The required

quantity of water is poured into the mixing

unit through the opening on the cover. The

heating unit is then plugged to a socket

providing the required heat needed to boil

the water; through the same opening when

the water is boiled, the powder is then

poured into the mixing unit and the handle

turned simultaneously to stir the powder

and the boiled water. When the desired

paste is formed, the powder is no longer

poured into the mixing unit and the mixing

continues until a gelatinous paste is

formed through consistent mixing and

heat. Thereafter, the heat is removed by

switching off the socket and the desirable

paste scooped out by removing the cover

or loosening the bolt attaching the mixing

unit (pot) to the frame in order to ease

scooping and washing of the pot.

Test performance

The machine was tested when the design

and fabrication was completed by boiling

water and preparing a paste of ‘amala’,

‘eba’ and ‘semovita’ considering the time

required for preparing the paste, the

volumetric capacity of the paste that can

be prepared at a goal, the ‘seed’ developed

during mixing of the paste. All these

parameters were measured and recorded in

the table below:

The results from the test conducted on the

multi-paste mixing machine were

compared with the traditional method of

preparing samples considered, it was

revealed that the time taken in preparing

the paste with the machine takes 4.59

minutes was better than the traditional

method that mostly takes 10 minutes. The

machine was not favourable in preparing

‘semovita’ because there were some

‘seeds’ discovered, indicating that the

finness modulus of ‘semovita’ could not

make it blend with water easily, also, the

paddle could not effectively stir the

‘semovita’ powder and blend it to form a

homogenous paste.

CONCLUSION

The multi-paste mixing machine designed

and developed in the department of

Agricultural Engineering, Kwara State

Polytechnic, Ilorin using local materials

with ease of operation and maintenance.

The machine was tested in preparing a

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

19

paste from yam flour, ‘semovita’ and ‘eba’

which was found to be effective for yam

flour and ‘eba’ but has some ‘seed’s when

used in preparing a paste from ‘semovita’,

it was suspected that the finness modulus

of ‘semovita’ was responsible for it not

blending with water. The paste formed

from yam flour and ‘eba’ were gelatinous

and favourable for consumption.

Reference

Ayankoha, M. W. (2007). New School

Physics for Senior Secondary

Schools.Revised Edition. Africana

First Publisher Limited. Ibadan. Pp

191 -193.

Earle, R. L. (1983). Unit Operations in

Food Processing.The New Zealand

Institute of Food Science and

Technology (Inc).

Fellows, P. J. (2000).Food Processing

Technology, Principles and Practice.

Woodhead Publishing Limited.

England. Pp 118 – 132.

Gary,K., Lester, T. and Paul, C. (1984).

Design of Agricultural

Machinery.John Wiley and Sons. New

York. Pg. 248.

Oladeji, I. A. (2007).Modification and

Performance Evaluation of a

Kneading Machine. Project submitted

in the Department of Agricultural

Engineering and Water Resources,

Institute of Technilogy, Kwara State

Polytechnic, Ilorin. Pg 25.

Norman, N. P. and Joseph, H. H.

(2007).Food Science.CBS Publishers

and Distributors pvt.Ltd. New Delhi.

Pg 411.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

- 20 -

Table 1: Results showing the tests conducted on the multi-paste mixing machine

Samples

Considered

Mass of

Samples

Mi (kg)

Volume of

Water Used

(cl)

Time taken

to boil water

T (mins.)

Time taken

for paste to

form

T (mins.)

Mass of

paste after

Mixing

Mf (kg)

Yam Flour 0.3 50 2.19 2.4 1.0

‘semovita’ 0.8 100 2.56 3.11 2.9

‘eba’ 0.3 50 2.26 2.3 1.6

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

- 21 -

Figure 1: Isometric and orthographic views of the multi-paste mixing machine

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

- 22 -

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Oloko, S.A

Idowu, D.O.O

Ogueh Esther

AN ASSESSMENT OF LOSSES IN THE PRODUCTION OF LAFUN

Oloko, S.A.*1

; Idowu, D.O.O.2& Ogueh Esther

1

1Department of Agricultural and Bio-Environmental Engineering

2Department Of Agricultural Technology,

The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

ABSTRACT: The study was undertaken to determine the losses in the production of Lafun.

Weight loss and proximate analysis were carried out on the nutritional value for both wet

and dry samples of the sweet and bitter cassava. The difference in nutritional losses between

the sweet and bitter sample was small, also the weight content differs with the bitter sample

having a high hydrocynaide content of 162.46 ml/mg being reduced to 11.99 ml/mg while the

sweet sample with little content of 50.29 ml/mg is reduced to 7.04 ml/mg. Calcium nutrient

has the highest percentage loss from both the sweet and bitter cassava and protein the lowest

percentage of loss from both samples. Bitter cassava sample has the highest percent loss in

drying and sweet cassava sample has the lowest percentage loss in fermentation.

KEYWORDS: Cassava samples, peeling, grinding; nutritional value, Losses, Weight, drying,

fermentation, dewatering; Hydrocianide contents

INTRODUCTION Cassava or Manioc (Manihot esculenta) is

a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae

(spurgy family) native to South America

that is extensively cultivated as an annual

crop in Tropical and sub-tropical regions

for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major

source of carbohydrates (Wikipedia,

2004).

Cassava is the third largest source of

carbohydrates for human food in the

world, with Africa is largest centre of

production (Wikipedia, 2004)

In the past few decades, cassava has

quietly taken over thousands of hectares

and become the staple food over 200

million Africans, or more than one-quarter

of the continent’s population (Spore,

2005).

According to FAO figures, Africa

produced 103 metric tons of cassava tubers

on 18 million hectares of land in 2004

(Spore, 2005).

Cassava processing in Nigeria is crude and

labour intensive. Even though cassava

products are traditionally regarded as

staple food of the poor masses evidence

has vividly shown that all classes in the

Nigeria society whether rich, poor, literate

or illiterate consume cassva products

(Oloko, et al, 2006).

Cassava is an ancient root crop whose

domestication began 500 – 7000BC. It has

its genetic origin in Latin America and the

Amazon region as the center of

domestication (Oyeku et al, 2007).

The utilization level of cassava is driven

almost entirely by good use at 97% with

key little industrial application, alcohol,

bio-fuel, ethnomedicine and other uses

(Wakipedia, 2004).

The presidential initiative on cassava is

yielding positive results for the first time,

the nation is finding industrial use of

cassava flour (Lafun) to be used in wheat –

cassava composition flour production for

bread and confectioneries. A bill which

has been passed into law (Oyeku et al,

2007).

During cassava (Lafun) processing, there

are some losses in both quantity and

quality of Lafun which varies from

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

23

different producers and processing

methods employed during processing.

The objective of this study was to assess

some losses that occur during the

production of Lafun which reduces the

nutritional value and quantity of the Lafun.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fleshly harvested cassava tubers of less

than twelve months of planting of the two

types of cassava (Sweet and Bitter) were

used.

Freshly harvested cassava (Sweet and

Bitter types) was weighed and divided into

three samples from each type, each having

the same weight respectively. After which

the loss assessment was determined from

losses in weight and nutritional losses

using traditional method.

The fleshly harvested cassava tubers were

sorted using visual assessment. The

defective tubers and extraneous matters

were separated and discarded. The process

involved in Lafun production is illustrated

in Fig. 1.

Stages at which losses in weight occurs

was determined such as during peeling,

fermentation, dewatering, drying and

milling while the nutritional content of the

fresh tuber cassava was determined before

processing and after processing. The same

analysis was carried out in the Lafun flour

to find their difference in value which is

the losses during production.

Proximate analysis was used to determine

the following nutrients: crude protein, Ash,

Moisture, Vitamin C, Iron, Calcium, Lipid,

Crude fibre, and carbohydrates. Also, the

hydrocyanide acid of the fresh tuber

cassava and the flour was determined.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Tables 1 to 11 shows the results obtained

in the weight from peeling to grinding

levels, nutritional levels, loss of nutrients,

loss of weights and the determination of

nutritional losses in both sweet and bitter

cassava samples respectively.

Tables 12 to 15 shows various percentage

losses from weight to nutrients

respectively.

Based on the results obtained from the

production process for determining the

weight loss and proximate analysis carried

out on the nutritional value for both wet

and dry samples of the sweet and bitter

cassava, from Tables 1 and 2, the stages

involved in the production of the Lafun

were shown.

It can be deduced from the results in

Tables 3 and 4, the various stages at which

losses occur in the production and Tables 5

to 8 showing the nutritional values of the

sweet and bitter cassava both at wet and

dry samples with the content level of all

the nutrients in sweet and bitter samples

are different.

From tables 9 to 12, the difference in

nutritional losses between the sweet and

bitter sample is small; also the weight

content of 162.46ml/mg being reduced to

11.99ml/mg while the sweet sample with

little content of 50.29ml/mg been reduced

to 7.04ml/mg.

In Table 16, the total loss of weight of

bitter cassava is of slight differences to

that of the sweet and the loss in nutrients

of sweet sample is greater than that of

bitter sample.

CONCLUSIONS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS Losses in Lafun production are the major

criteria that determine the quantity f output

and the quality of the Lafun products in

terms of the percentage of the available

nutrients in the Lafun flour.

Traditional fermentation method of

producing Lafun results in high losses due

to some of the following reasons: due to

room temperature used; manual peeling

which results in sticking of some parts of

fresh cassava tuber to the peel; sun –

drying method which exposed the product

to insect, rodent and diseases and during

solar drying, the products were exposed to

contaminants, foreign bodies and some

valuable nutrients were lost from the flour.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

24

To avoid high losses during Lafun

production, the traditional method of

Lafun production should be improved

upon by using fermentation starter, sweet

cassava tuber should be used for lafun

production because of its low cyanide

content (7.04ppm), but when using bitter

cassava, fermentor should be used to help

reduce the cyanide acid to a safe level and

at the appropriate temperature 50 – 55°C.

Finally, the use of a more controlled

drying method (heated air or batch drier)

to maintain nutritional and quality value of

the product should be encouraged.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors gratefully acknowledge the

assistances of Engrs. B.J. Agun, and T.A.

Ayelegun; Messrs B.A. Oyewole, O.A.

Oyedele and F.S. Omotayo, all in the

Department of Agricultural and Bio-

Environmental Engineering, the Federal

Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti during the course

of the research.

REFERENCES

Oloko, S.A.; Falegan, T. and Agbetoye,

L.A.S. (2006): Investigation into the

present status of Gari Processing in

Ondo State. Nigerian Journal of

Industrial and Systems Studies.Vol. 5,

No. 2. Pp. 13-18.

Oyeku, O.M.; Ogundeji, R.K.; Adeyewo,

F.S.; Kupoluyi, C.M. and Asiru, O.B.

(2007): An Economic Assessment of

Commercial Production of High

Quality Cassava Flour. Journal of

Applied Sciences. 10(2): 7003 –

7014.

Spore (2005): Cassva – Booming Outputs

Meet Flagging Markets. Issue 120.

December, 2005. Pp. 4-5.

Wikipedia (2004): Cassava. Pp. 1-8.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

25

Table 1: Weight of Sweet Cassava Samples from Peeling to Grinding Level

ITEM A (Kg) B (Kg) C (Kg)

Weight before peel

Weight after peel

Weight of peel

Weight after fermentation

Weight after dewatering

Weight after drying

Weight after grinding

10.00

7.60

2.4

6.80

5.38

1.95

1.85

10.00

7.50

2.50

7.05

6.20

2.15

2.05

10.00

7.55

2.45

6.42

5.00

2.00

1.85

Table 2: Weight of Bitter Cassava Samples from Peeling to Grinding Level

ITEM A (Kg) B (Kg) C (Kg)

Weight before peel

Weight after peel

Weight of peel

Weight after fermentation

Weight after dewatering

Weight after drying

Weight after grinding

10.00

7.63

2.05

6.30

4.20

2.00

1.90

10.00

7.64

2.25

6.00

4.40

1.80

1.70

10.00

7.63

2.12

5.78

4.43

2.15

2.05

Table 3: Weight Loss of Sweet Cassava Samples from Peeling to Grinding Level

ITEM A (Kg) B (Kg) C (Kg)

Weight loss from peeling

Weight loss from fermentation

Weight loss from dewatering

Weight loss due to drying

Weight loss due to grinding

2.40

0.80

1.42

3.43

0.10

2.50

0.35

0.85

4.07

0.10

2.45

0.73

1.23

3.57

0.12

Table 4: Weight Loss of Bitter Cassava Samples from Peeling to Grinding Level

ITEM A (Kg) B (Kg) C (Kg)

Weight loss from peeling

Weight loss from fermentation

Weight loss from dewatering

Weight loss due to drying

Weight loss due to grinding

2.37

1.45

2.10

2.20

0.10

2.36

1.50

1.60

2.55

0.15

2.37

1.58

1.68

2.34

0.12

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

26

Table 5: Nutritional Values of Sweet Wet Cassava Samples

ITEM A B Average

Ash

Crude Fibre

Lipids

Carbohydrate

Calcium

Iron

Vitamin C

Protein

2.95

2.41

1.08

88.24

23.63

9.52

10.26

1.22

2.67

2.65

0.87

86.92

18.44

8.00

11.47

1.09

2.81

2.53

0.98

87.58

21.04

8.76

10.87

1.16

Table 6: Nutritional Values of Sweet Dry Cassava Samples

ITEM A B Average

Ash

Crude Fibre

Lipids

Carbohydrate

Calcium

Iron

Vitamin C

Protein

1.83

1.47

0.46

82.16

10.64

6.24

4.91

1.07

1.94

1.69

0.62

85.72

11.11

5.96

6.44

1.02

1.89

1.58

0.54

83.94

10.88

6.10

5.68

1.25

Table 7: Nutritional Values of Bitter Wet Cassava Samples

ITEM A B Average

Ash

Crude Fibre

Lipids

Carbohydrate

Calcium

Iron

Vitamin C

Protein

3.04

2.84

0.96

87.63

26.57

8.94

9.43

1.18

3.12

2.92

1.13

88.45

23.11

9.62

12.10

1.26

3.08

2.88

1.05

88.04

24.84

9.28

10.77

1.22

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

27

Table 8: Nutritional Values of Bitter Dry Cassava Samples

ITEM A B Average

Ash

Crude Fibre

Lipids

Carbohydrate

Calcium

Iron

Vitamin C

Protein

1.06

1.76

0.76

86.39

12.63

6.90

10.30

0.84

1.21

1.84

0.51

87.64

14.14

6.57

9.62

0.91

1.14

1.80

0.64

87.02

13.39

6.74

9.99

0.88

Table 9: Determination of Nutritional Losses

Nutrients Fresh cassava tuber Lafun flour

Protein

Ash

Moisture

Iron (Fe)

Calcium (Ca)

Lipid

Crude fibre

Carbohydrate

Hydrocyanide

Vitamin C

XP

XA

Xm

XFe

XCa

Xlipid

Xcf

XCHO

XHCH

XVit C

Y P

Y A

Y m

Y Fe

Y Ca

Y lipid

Y cf

Y CHO

Y HCN

Y Vit C

LOSS IN PROTEIN = XP - YP

LOSS IN ASH = XA - YA

LOSS IN MOISTURE = Xm - Ym

LOSS IN VITAMIN C = Xvit C – Yvit C

LOSS IN IRON = XFe - YFe

LOSS IN CALCIUM = XCa - YCa

LOSS IN LIPID = Xlipid - Ylipid

LOSS IN CRUDE FIBRE = Xcf - Ycf

LOSS IN CARBOHYDRATE = XCHO - YCHO

LOSS IN HYDROCYANIDE = XHCN - YHCN

OTAL NUTRITIONAL LOSS = SUM OF (XP – YP + XA – YA + Xm – Ym ….XHCN - YHCN

Table 10: Losses of nutrients in Sweet Samples and Bitter Samples

NUTRIENT SWEET BITTER

Ash

Crude Fibre

Lipid

Carbohydrate

Calcium

Iron

Vitamin C

Protein

0.92

0.95

0.44

3.64

10.16

2.66

5.19

0.11

1.94

1.08

0.41

1.02

11.45

2.54

0.78

0.34

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

28

Table 11: Loss of Weight in Sweet Samples and Bitter Samples

ITEMS SWEET BITTER

Weight loss from peeling

Weight loss from fermentation

Weight loss from dewatering

Weight loss from drying

Weight loss from grinding

2.45

0.73

1.23

3.57

0.12

2.37

1.58

1.68

2.34

0.12

Table 12: Percentage of Nutrient Losses in Sweet Sample

NUTRIENT LOSSES IN PERCENTAGE (%)

Ash

Crude fibre

Lipids

Carbohydrates

Calcium

Iron

Vitamin C

Protein

3.82

3.95

1.83

15.12

42.21

11.05

21.56

0.46

Table 13: Percentage of Nutrient Losses in Bitter Sample

NUTRIENT LOSSES IN PERCENTAGE (%)

Ash

Crude fibre

Lipids

Carbohydrates

Calcium

Iron

Vitamin C

Protein

9.92

5.52

2.10

5.21

58.54

12.98

3.99

1.74

Table 14: Percentage of Weight Losses in Sweet Samples

STAGES OF LOSSES IN LOSSES IN PERCENTAE (%) WEIGHT

Weight loss from peeling 3.20

Weight loss from fermentation 9.00

Weight loss from dewatering 15.20

Weight loss from drying 44.10

Weight loss from grinding 1.50

Table 15: Percentage of Weight Losses in Bitter Cassava Samples

STAGES OF LOSSES IN LOSSES IN PERCENTAE (%) WEIGHT

Weight loss from peeling 29.30

Weight loss from fermentation 19.50

Weight loss from dewatering 20.80

Weight loss from drying 28.90

Weight loss from grinding 1.50

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

29

Table 16: Total Percentage Loss in Nutrients and Weight of Sweet and Bitter Cassava

SWEET

Percentage of loss of Nutrients 17.73

Percentage remaining 82.27

BITTER

Percentage of loss of Nutrients 13.85

Percentage of remaining 86.15

SWEET

Percentage of loss in Weight 81.00

Percentage remaining 19.00

BITTER

Percentage of loss in Weight 81.90

Percentage remaining 19.10

Table 17: Moisture contents in Sweet and Bitter Cassava

Moisture

Content of Wet

Moisture

Content of Dry

% Loss in Moisture

Sweet

Bitter

56.87

62.12

3.16

3.04

94.44

95.10

Table 18: Hydrocianide Contents in Sweet and Bitter Cassava Sample

Hydrocyanide

Content of wet

Hydrocyanide

Content of dry

% Loss in

Hydrocyanide

Sweet

Bitter

57.33

160.32

7.04

11.99

87.72

92.50

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

30

Fig: 1: Processing chart of Lafun Production. Source: FIRRO, 2004.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

31

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

P. O. Ajewole

K. E. Elegbeleye

ESTIMATION OF INDUCED COMPACTION BY TRACTOR TYRES ON THE

SOILS OF TEACHING AND RESEARCH FARMS, THE FEDERAL

POLYTECHNIC, ADO-EKITI

*P. O. Ajewole & K. E. Elegbeleye

Department of Agricultural Engineering,

The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria.

* ajepet2005@yahoo.com, Mobile: +2347068675264

ABSTRACT: The teaching and research farm of The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti has

been under annual cultivation for over 20 years. In recent times, tractors and other heavy

farm machinery are used on the farm to do work such as ploughing, harrowing, ridging and

planting. These agricultural mechanization operations have negative compaction effects on

the soil which also reduces crop growth and performance. This study was carried out to

estimate the induced compaction by tractor tyres on the soils of the teaching and research

farm. Five plot areas (5m x 5m) were randomly selected on the farm. A 70 hp Massey

Ferguson tractor was made to traffic each plot area in 5 passes. At each pass of the tractor,

parameters such as soil moisture content, bulk density, penetration resistance and rut depth

were measured in five replicates. The statistical analysis of data collected showed that the

moisture content decreases as number of tractor passes increases while the bulk density,

penetration resistance and rut increases with the tractor passes. The mean values compaction

parameters obtained for the five tractor passes ranges between 15.64% and 30.6% wet basis

for soil moisture content, 1211.88kg/m3 and 1646.72kg/m

3 for bulk density, 65.6N/m

2 and

105.44N/m2 for penetration resistance, 1.9cm and 9.9cm for rut depth. At 0.05 level of

significance, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the compaction parameters shows that

there is no significant difference in the mean values obtained at different plots while there is

significant difference in the values obtained at different tractor passes for all the parameters.

KEYWORDS: teaching, mechanization, tractor, Ferguson

INTRODUCTION

Tractorisation of farm operations is

inexpedient as Nigerian population

increases if agricultural food supply must

meet the ever increasing demand of the

population. For high productivity in terms

of cultivation of large farm land area, the

use of farm tractors and other heavy

machinery on agricultural soils is

inevitable. Raper (2005) reported that

efficient mechanization in agriculture is a

major factor underlying high productivity.

Larger machinery is often related with

timeliness, higher work rates and lower

labour requirements. The drawback of it is

that large machinery usually means

increased machinery weight which

increases the danger of soil compaction.

As Ranford et al. 2001 reported,

compaction is the densification of soil

through the application of mechanical

energy resulting in a reduction of pore

spaces. Soils compaction has negative

effects on seed emergence and yield

parameters of crops. Soil compaction

affects the physical, chemical, and

biological properties of soils and is one of

the main causes of agricultural soil

degradation. Antille et al (2008) reported

that soil compaction alleviation is usually

costly in terms of the energy and power

that the process of soil loosening required.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

32

Since the compaction of agricultural soil

occurred when the soil particles are

rearranged in such a manner that they are

brought closer to each other, the soil bulk

density and porosity are affected. Other

soil properties such as hydraulic

conductivity, aeration, moisture

availability, infiltration rate are affected

and leading to decreased crops yields.

Availability, infiltration rate are affected

and leading to decreased crops yields.

Recently, the Federal Ministry of

Agriculture and Rural Development

embarked on tractorization programme

with a view to making tractors and

implements available to the Nigerian

farmers through Private Partnership [PPP]

arrangement. The success of the

programme would also engender the

problem of soil compaction which will

then lead to decreased crops in the field if

it is not considered from the onset of

programme.

The effect of soil compaction cannot be

over emphasized because many

researchers have come up with various

reports on how soil compaction affected

the root development and yield of several

crops adversely (Albas et al., 1994)).

Adeoti (1997) reported that even though

the top soil is being relieved during tillage

operation, the sub soil is correspondingly

being compacted. Ogunjirin and Kamal

(1999) reported that most tyre inflation

pressure specified for tractor tyre are not

adhered to, thus the continual need to

investigate the effect of tractor tyre

inflation pressure on soil compaction. It

was further asserted that tractor passes on

the field increases soil bulk density

between 0 and 20cm depth. They also

reported that at a tyre inflation pressure of

165kPa, the tractive performance was

poorest and quality of tillage operation was

very poor. It was further reported that the

soil bulk density increases with increase in

soil compaction which invariably

decreases the pore spaces in the soil.

Compaction due to agricultural machinery

or vehicular compaction is of two types:

shallow compaction and deep compaction.

Shallow compaction was defined as any

compaction occurring within the normal

tillage zone. However, shallow compaction

is usually temporary since it can be

eliminated by normal tillage. Deep

compaction may be defined as compaction

that occurs below the normal tillage zone.

It is caused by weight of vehicle or force

applied to the soil, and is mostly affected

by the maximum axle weight. Wheel

traffic is considered the main causes of soil

compaction in agricultural production.

Agricultural traffic is the main cause of

decreased structural soil macroporosity

(Botta et al., 2002). According to them

therefore, the challenges to attain a

suitable seedbed while minimizing traffic

induced compaction, so that the physical

properties of the soil do not diminish

normal root growth. They also reported

that among the several penalties that over

compaction produce in agricultural soils.

Many other researchers have investigated

surface and subsurface compaction (due to

machinery traffic) and their effects on

agricultural production (Botta et al., 2002;

Horn et al., 2004, Becerral et al., 2010.

Botta et al., 2010).

The main objectives of this study are to

measure compaction parameters as a result

of tractor traffic and to assess the level of

soil compaction caused by tractor tyre

traffic on the teaching and research farm of

The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti,

Nigeria.

METHODOLOGY

Experimental plot: The research study

was conducted in the experimental plot

located at the teaching and research farm

of the department of Agricultural

Engineering, The Federal Polytechnic,

Ado Ekiti, which lies in the South West

rain forest zone of Nigeria, with

geographical coordinate of latitude 7o 14

11

North and longitude 5o 15

11 East. The

particle analysis of the soil at the site

indicated that the soil type is a sandy loam.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

33

Preparation of Experimental Field: The

site is one hectare arable land cultivated

about three years ago. The site was

manually cleared to avoid compaction due

to machinery on the land. The

experimental plot was of length and width

50m by 30m respectively, divided into six

transects each of 50m length by 5m width,

in which one was used as a control plot.

The division was done with the use of pegs

and rope with measuring tape after

clearing and stumping. A 70Hp rear wheel

drive tractor was used for the experiment

with the rear tyre size of 18.4R30 and front

tyre size of 7.50R16 with the tyre inflation

pressure of rear tyre 18kpa and front tyre

24kpa. Plates 1 and 2 show the

experimental plot before and during

clearing respectively. Plate 3 shows the

tractor used for the experiment.

Experimental Design: The plot was

divided into five transects each of 50m by

5m. There was also a control plot of the

same dimensions as the transect. The

experiment was laid out in a 5 x 5 factorial

design with a total of four treatment

combination replicated five times. The

responses monitored in the course of the

experiment was bulk density, moisture

content, penetration resistance, and rut

depth. These were taken at five different

passes of the traffic tyre on each transect

plot.

Measurement of Initial Field Condition

Soil samples were carefully collected from

the test plots to measure soil physical

properties before the commencement of

the experiment. The data collected is

shown in Table1 below.

Determination of Compaction

Parameter Bulk density was measured by the cylinder

core soil sampler method. Five

measurements were obtained per plot.

Moisture content was measured with a

moisture meter (ELE model). Moisture

content was verified by gravimetric

method. Soil penetration resistance PR,

was determined by using proctor

penetrometer spring type, complete with

stainless steel adaptor, stem for larger

needle weight 2.0kg (model EL516-010,

ELE). Data were recorded at five places

per plot, and the total measurement was 25

per plot. Rut depth was measured using a

manually made profile meter similar to

that reported (Botta et al, 2009). The bar

was placed across the wheel tracks,

perpendicular to the direction of travel and

rods position to conform to the shape of

the depression. For each traffic treatment,

penetration resistance bulk density,

moisture content and rut depth were

measurement at 10m intervals along a 50m

transect within the tractor tracks (left and

right). All measurement was made in the

center line of the tracks because this is

where the compressive effects tend to

concentrate. Penetration resistance,

moisture content and bulk density were

also measured in the control treatment

where no tracks had passed.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The data of initial soil condition is

presented in Table 1 while the data of

moisture content, bulk density, penetration

resistance and rut depth are presented in

Table 2-5. The descriptive statistics of the

compaction parameters was done using

SPSS while the analysis of variance

(ANOVA) was done using Microsoft

Excel 2007. The line graphs plotted are

shown in Fig. 1-4.

It was generally observed that the soil

moisture content decreases as the number

of tractor passes increase while the bulk

density, penetration resistance and rut

depth increase with the number of tractor

passes as can be seen from Fig. 1-4. From

Table 3 and Fig. 2, it can be seen that the

values of bulk density increased from

1214.8kg/m at 1 pass to 1640.4kg/m. Also

at the 5 passes, it increased from 1203kg/m

to 1617.6kg/m. This may be due to the fact

that compaction increased with the number

of passes. A similar trend was observed in

all the plots. From the ANOVA of bulk

density at 0.05 level of significance it was

found that there is significant difference

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

34

between the mean values of bulk density at

different tractor passes while there is no

significant difference in the values

obtained at different plots. It can be

deduced that the soil response to tractor

traffics are the same in all the plots of the

farm.

A variation was observed in the results of

penetration resistance as shown in Tables 4

and 10. The values increased from

70.4N/m to the 111.4 in the 1 pass, from

70.2N/m to 107.4N/m at 2 passes and the

value varies at 3 passes. However a further

increase was recorded between fourth

passes and fifth passes. ANOVA of the

penetration resistance data also shows that

there is significance difference in the

values at different tractor passes while

there is no significant difference from plot

to plot. The variation in the number of

passes could be because the more the

number of passes of agricultural vehicles

the higher the compaction.

A large reduction was obtained for values

of moisture content shown in Table 2 and

Fig. 1 with a minimum of 26% in plot 1

and a maximum of 8.5% in plot 4. This

could be as a result of the topography of

the area. The higher mean values of 7.8cm

depth were measured for rut depth after 5

passes of the tractor tyre in plot 2. This

could be because the soil at that plot has

the highest moisture content. The lowest

moisture content value was obtained at the

plot 1 and plot 5 after 5 passes of the

tractor tyre.

The ANOVA of both moisture content and

rut depth at 0.05 level of significance

shows that there is no significant

difference in the values obtained from plot

to plot while there is significant difference

between the values obtained at different

tractor passes.

It can therefore be concluded that soil

moisture content decreases with increase

in number of tractor passes on agricultural

soil while the bulk density, penetration

resistance and rut depth increases with the

tractor passes.

CONCLUSION

Compaction parameters (Bulk density,

moisture content, penetration resistance,

Rut depth) of soils of teaching and

research farm, The Federal Polytechnic

Ado-Ekiti, were determined after multiple

passes of 60HP tractor on different five

plots.

The level of compaction was assessed in

respect at the rut tracks created by the

tractor wheel after different levels of

passes.

Based on the result obtained in this study,

there was decrease in moisture content

after multiple passes of tractor tyre on each

plot. Large increment was obtained for the

values of density due to the weight of the

tractor on the soil as a result of frequent

passes which has reduced the void spaces

in the soil. Also, the value obtained for

penetration resistance and rut depth were

increased with number of passes.

From the result obtained, a valuable record

has been obtained to discourage multiple

passes of vehicles during agricultural

operations. This is necessary as records

show that compaction reduces the

germinability of seed and general growth

of plants as a result of increased bulk

density, low air space (porosity) and

reduced soil moisture.

REFERENCES

Adeoti, S. J. (1997): Comparative

performance of three powers Tillage

System in Alleviating Soil

Compaction and on Sorghum Yield.

Paper presented at the International

Soil Tillage Researcher Organization,

ISTRO, Symposium NCAM, and

Ilorin Nigeria.

Albas, J., Wanink, F., Van den Akker, J.

and Van den Werf, H.M.G. (1994):

Impact of traffic induced Compaction

of Sandy Soils on Yield of Silage

Maize in the Netherland Soil Tillage

Research 29: 157-165.

Antille, D. L., Ansorge D. and Godwin, R.

J (2008): The Effects of Tyre size on

soil Deformation and soil Bulk

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

35

changes. A Paper presented at

ASADE Annual International

Meeting, Rhode Island convention

centre, Rhode Island June 29-July 2,

2008.

Becerra, A. T., Botta, G. F. and Tourn, F.

B. (2009): Effect of the number

Tractor passes on soil rut depth and

compaction in two tillage regimes.

Soil and Tillage Reserarch, 103: 381-

386.

Botta, G.F., Jorajuria, D.,H. Rosatto and C.

Ferrero (2006): Light tractor traffic

frequency on soil compaction in the

rolling pampa region of Argentina.

Soil and Tillage Research 86: 9-14

Horn, R., Vossbrink, J., and Becker S.

(2004). Modern forestry vehicles and

their impacts on soil physical

properties, Soil and Tillage Research,

79: 207-219

Ogunjirin, O.A and Kamal, A.R

(1991).Effect of tyre inflation pressure

and speed of operation on tractor

Tractive operation.

Raper, R. L (2005) Vehicle traffic effects

on soil. Journal of Terramechanics 42

(3-4): 259-280.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

36

Table 1: Initial soil condition before tractor pass

No of Plot Moisture Content

(% wet basis)

Bulk Density

(kg/m3)

Penetration Resistance

(N/m3)

Plot 1

Plot 2

Plot 3

Plot 4

Plot 5

Control plot

31

29.6

29.4

28.2

34.8

20.8

1179.4

1187.2

1211.2

1197.8

1201.2

1013.0

106.4

107.6

106.8

104.4

106.4

99.8

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

37

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1 2 3 4 5

Tractor Passes

Mo

istu

re C

on

ten

t (%

we

t b

as

is)

Plot 1

Plot 2

Plot 3

Plot 4

Plot 5

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

1 2 3 4 5

Tractor Passes

Bu

lk D

ensi

ty (

Kg

/m^

3)

Plot 1

Plot 2

Plot 3

Plot 4

Plot 5

Fig 1: Graph of Moisture content (% wet basis) against the number of tractor passes

Fig 2: Graph of bulk density (kg/m3) against the number of tractor passes

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

38

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

1 2 3 4 5

Tractor Passes

Pen

etra

tio

n R

esis

tan

ce (

N/m

^2

)

Plot 1

Plot 2

Plot 3

Plot 4

Plot 5

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

1 2 3 4 5

Tractor Passes

Ru

t D

epth

(cm

) Plot 1

Plot 2

Plot 3

Plot 4

Plot 5

Fig 4: Graph of rut depth (cm) against the number of tractor passes

Fig 3: Graph of penetration resistance (N/m2) against the number of tractor passes

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

39

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Bamisaye A.J

Alake T.J

OVERVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS STUDIES ON THE POTENTIAL DANGERS OF

MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATION FREQUENCIES AND MODULATIONS ON

EXPOSED POPULATION

Bamisaye A.J & Alake T.J

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria

ayobamisaye@gmail.com

ABSTRACT: Mobile Telecommunication is one of the fastest growing technologies in the

world. The effects of its frequencies and modulations to the exposed population are

considered in this paper. Experimental studies examining a variety of effects on all levels of

the organism, ranging from effects on single cells to effects which manifest themselves as

reactions of the entire body, there have been a number of epidemiological studies in order to

establish the possible causal correlations between higher exposures to HF EMFs

.Recommendations on the reduction of the effects of EMFs of Mobile Telecommunication on

humans was presented.

KEYWORDS: Electromagnetic Fields, mobile communication, modulation, frequency and

health

INTRODUCTION

No technology covering virtually entire

countries with its emissions has ever been

rolled out as quickly as mobile

telecommunications. This technology

which comprises of either Frequency

Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time

Division Multiple Access (TDMA) or

Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)

are EMFs based (There techniques of

transmission is RF EMFs)[Bamisaye and

Kolawole, 2010]. At the same time, there

are only few direct studies of the potential

health risks of typical mobile

telecommunications frequencies and

modulations for the exposed population.

Also, many of the existing studies worked

with high intensities, which will only be

found in rare cases in the real environment.

High intensities of high frequency

electromagnetic fields can heat the

absorbing tissue and trigger stress

reactions in the body and thus with rising

temperatures lead to thermal damage.

Effects from high intensity high frequency

EMFs, also known as thermal effects, on

the central nervous system, the immune

system, the cardiovascular system and the

reproductive system including teratogenic

effects, have been proven for mammals

with a multitude of experiments [Bohr and

Bohr,2000]. The results of studies of the

thermal effects of high frequency EMFs

form the basis of the recommendations of

the International Commission on Non-

Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP),

which, in the past, were the basis for the

guidelines set by the government in many

countries. The base guideline was an upper

limit on the Specific Absorption Rate

(SAR), i.e. the amount of energy absorbed

by the body from the field within a given

unit of time.

According to ICNIRP, thermal damage

will not occur at SAR values of under 4

W/kg and exposure levels of 0.4 W/kg for

professional exposures and 0.08W/kg for

the general population are considered safe.

Parallel to the experiments examining

thermal effects, there have been a growing

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

40

number of studies examining the effects on

the body of HF EMFs at sub‐thermal

intensities. We now have a plethora of

experimental studies examining a variety

of effects on all levels of the organism,

ranging from effects on single cells to

effects which manifest themselves as

reactions of the entire body. In addition to

the experimental studies, there have been a

number of epidemiological studies in order

to establish the possible causal correlations

between higher exposures to HF EMFs, for

example was found near base stations, and

health damage amongst the population

groups with higher exposures. The mobile

telecommunications situation reflects, once

again, the dilemma already known from

chemical toxicology [D’Andrea,1991].

The study of potential health effects cannot

generally compete with the speed of

technical development and the roll out of

the product. The extremely fast roll out of

the mobile telecommunications technology

and the accompanying public fear of the

potential danger of this technology have

stimulated research insofar that now we

have more studies examining the effects of

frequencies and modulations as used in

mobile telecommunications on biological

systems. There are also a growing number

of experiments using lower intensities,

reflecting the real conditions of exposure

in the vicinity of base stations and

equipment, so that effects found in the

studies can be extrapolated into real life

conditions. The number of studies which

examine the physiological effects of real

mobile exposures is still very low,

compared to the degree of penetration

achieved by the technology and the

number of (potentially) exposed persons.

The World Health Organization [WHO,

2005] amongst others, have only recently

begun to develop targeted strategies to

examine the potential health risk from

mobile telecommunications and results can

earliest be expected within several years.

In the meantime, it is only possible to

assess the potential dangers of mobile

telecommunications using the results

generated by uncoordinated research,

which is still mainly orientated towards

topics and criteria of relevant to science

only, rather than addressing the

requirements of society as a whole. Faced

with a state of incomplete scientific

research it is necessary to chose between

two fundamentally different assessment

theories when planning to assess the

potential health risks of new technologies.

Table 1 below illustrates some typical

artificial sources of electromagnetic fields

with frequency and intensity. Natural

sources like the magnetic field of the earth

are not included. Note, however, that big

variations occur.

Section 2 examines the health risks to

Humans resulting from exposure to EMF

of mobile telecommunications; section 3

discusses about Infertility and Teratogenic

Effects and evaluation of results from

experiments; sections 4 and 5 conclude

and recommend the precautionary measure

needed in relation to exposures to EMFs of

Mobile Telecommunications respectively.

Health Risks to Humans Resulting

From Exposure to the Electromagnetic

Fields of Mobile Telecommunications

The triggering of an illness caused by an

(environmental) pollutant and the

development of this illness are a

multi‐phased process, which begins with a

biological, biochemical or biophysical

primary interaction of the pollutant with

the biological system and ends with the

manifestation of the illness. During the

different phases of the process, the body’s

own repair mechanisms can intervene and

impede the further development of the

illness. An assessment of the potential

health risks of electromagnetic fields as

they are used for mobile

telecommunications should therefore be

mainly based on studies conducted directly

on humans, because extrapolations from

animal studies or even in vitro [Balcer-

Kubiczek,1985]studies on cell cultures

only have limited validity for effects in

humans, due to the difference in

susceptibilities and the lack of organic

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

41

interactions in cell cultures. However, due

to the ethical limits to the research on

humans, it is unavoidable to use results

from experiments with animals, single

organs or cells in order to discover the

biological and physiological mechanisms.

Cancer: Given the results of the present

epidemiological studies, it can be

concluded that electromagnetic fields with

frequencies in the mobile

telecommunications range do play a role in

the development of cancer. This is

particularly notable for tumours of the

central nervous system, for which there is

only one epidemiological study so far,

examining the actual use of mobile

phones. The most striking result of this

study was an obvious correlation between

the side at which the phone was used and

the side at which the tumour occurred. The

brain tumour incidence however was only

slightly increased. A (hypothetical)

explanation of such a finding could for

example be that mobile fields have a

promoting effect on previously initiated

(multiple) tumours, triggering a defence

mechanism in the body which is capable of

suppressing unpromoted tumours. [Colt

and Blair,1998]

Higher risks were also demonstrated for

several forms of leukaemia.

Although the studies in relation to

testicular cancer were examining particular

exposure conditions (emitting equipment

worn partly on the body at hip level),

given the high risk factor found, a possible

risk cannot be excluded, especially not for

mobile users wearing the devices in

standby mode on their belts. The

epidemiological findings for testicular

cancer also need to be interpreted in

conjunction with the results of the studies

of fertility problems occurring in relation

to high frequency electromagnetic fields.

The risk factors for cancers other than

testicular cancer are only moderately

increased, but not negligible, considering

this technology will potentially reach full

coverage of the entire population.

[D’Andrea,1991]

Reliable conclusions about a possible

dose‐response‐relationship cannot be made

on the basis of the present results of

epidemiological studies, but an increase of

cancer risk cannot be excluded even at

power flux densities as low as 0.1 W/m2.

In long‐term animal experiments, the

carcinogenic effect of pulse modulated

high frequency fields was demonstrated

for power flux densities of circa 3 /

(mouse, exposure duration 18 months, 30

minutes per day, SAR (mouse) circa 0.01

W/kg) [Wang and Lai,2000]. On the

cellular level, a multitude of studies found

the type of damage from high frequency

electromagnetic fields which is important

for cancer initiation and cancer promotion.

Chromosome aberrations and micronuclei

occurred at power flux densities from 5

W/m2. Neoplastic cell transformation and

an enhanced cell proliferation were

demonstrated for Specific Absorption

Rates of below 0.5W/kg, and individual

studies demonstrated that the obvious

disturbance of the communication between

cells, which is a prerequisite for the

uninhibited proliferation of cells that is

characteristic for cancer development,

occurs at just a few /

[D’Andrea,1991].

Infertility and Teratogenic Effects

Teratogenic effects of a pollutant can – as

with the carcinogenic effect – either be

caused by the triggering of a genetic defect

or a harmful impact on the foetal

development. The formation of a genetic

malformation during its initiation phase is

analogous to carcinogenesis, i.e.

teratogenic effects are also caused by

direct or indirect impact on the DNA and

disruptions of the endogenous repair

mechanisms [Bohr and Bohr,2000] . Later

damages of the foetus can either be caused

by direct effects of the pollutant on the

foetus or by reactions to the pollutant

within the mother’s organism, which

would then be passed on to the foetus.

Evaluation of Results and Analysis from

Experiments

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

42

However there are a much larger number

of studies available, in which the health

effects of high frequency electromagnetic

fields in humans were examined (Table 2).

Just under a quarter of all results relative to

exposures with low frequency pulse or

amplitude modulated high frequency

fields, such as they are used for mobile

telecommunications, even if the carrier and

modulation frequencies are in most cases

not identical with those of mobile

telecommunications.

A statistical evaluation of the results is

presented in Table 2. Here, we list for

every illness how many studies or separate

results are available, how many of these

show a relative risk RR >1 and how many

are statistically significant. Almost all the

studies, in which the total cancer risk

without any differentiation according to

tumor form were examined, showed a risk

factor of RR>1. Half of the studies

resulted in statistically significant risk

factors with a maximum value of 2.1,

which corresponds to a doubling of the

statistical risk to develop cancer from

exposure to high frequency

electromagnetic fields. A similar picture

was found in relation to tumors of the

nervous system, especially brain tumors.

Here, the maximum value for relative risk

found was 3.4. Eleven of the total of 15

studies yielded a positive result, more than

half of which were statistically significant.

The incidence of breast cancer in relation

to high frequency fields must be examined

separately for men and women. All three

studies relating to the breast cancer

incidence in women yielded risk factors

greater than 1, the statistically significant

values were 1.15 and 1.5. For men, risk

factors of up to 2.9 were found; however,

not all were statistically significant. Of the

total of 16 results for leukaemia without

further differentiation of the illness, 13

were positive (RR>1), more than half of

these results were statistically significant.

The highest statistically significant value

for the relative risk was 2.85. Amongst the

results of the differentiated studies, the

following are notable: lymphatic

leukaemia (7 results, 5 positive, 4

statistically significant, RR maximum

value: 2.74) and acute myeloic leukaemia

(4 different studies, 3 positive results, 2

statistically significant, maximum RR

value: 2.89). Mobile Telecommunications

and Health with regards to the correlation

of high frequency electromagnetic fields

from radar and other sources and testicular

cancer, three studies have been conducted.

All lead to statistically significant risk

factors with a maximum value of 6.9. The

studies regarding cardio‐vascular diseases

did not result in a clear picture, not least

because of the multitude of the symptoms

examined. All four studies of fertility

problems in relation to the exposure of

men to microwaves indicate increased risk.

In two studies statistically significant risk

factors of up to 2.7 were found. With

regards to irregular courses of pregnancies

and malformations in children of mothers

which had been exposed to high frequency

fields, there are a large number of studies

with positive results, of which only two fit

into the frequency range relevant to our

report. Both of these studies found

statistically significant positive results

with risk factors of up to 2.36. Of the

studies of cancer risk of children whose

fathers had been exposed to

electromagnetic fields, only two

correspond to the quality criteria required

for inclusion into this report. Both indicate

an increased risk, but only one result is

statistically significant at a value of

RR=2.3.(With regards to the cancer risk of

children in correlation to the exposure of

their parents, see also Colt & Blair 1998).

Regarding the disruption of motor

functions as well as psychological

functions and wellbeing, there is only one

valid study for the frequency bands

relevant to this report, which yielded a

slightly increased risk factor. However

since other studies of transmitters with

frequencies below 100 MHz resulted in

serious indications of increased risk,

indicating that this problem should be

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

43

given more attention in the future, we also

included the study of Zhao et al. (1994),

although it didn’t meet our quality

standards with regards to the statistical

evaluation. Unfortunately, the majority of

the studies do not state the actual strength

of the exposures. Measurements are only

available for the radio and television

transmitter used for the studies of Hocking

et al. (1996) and McKenzie et al. (1998).

The mean power flux densities for all 16

municipalities affected by this transmitter

were 3.3 10‐3W/m2 within the range from

2.6 10‐4 to 1.46 10‐2W/m2 (McKenzie et

al. 1998).

CONCLUSION

An assessment of the potential health risks

of electromagnetic fields as they are used

for mobile telecommunications should

therefore be mainly based on studies

conducted directly on humans, because

extrapolations from animal studies or even

in vitro studies on cell cultures only have

limited validity for effects in humans, due

to the difference in susceptibilities and the

lack of organic interactions in cell cultures.

The analysis of the results of the studies

for all stages shows the effect of EMFs on

humans; however this can be prevented or

reduced.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Precautionary Health Protection in

Relation to Exposures to

Electromagnetic Fields of Mobile

Telecommunications

With mobile telecommunications we have

to differentiate two exposure situations:

exposure of residents near base

stations

exposure of mobile users when using

the devices

To limit exposure to an acceptable degree,

if this is possible at all, there is need for

different strategies for the two different

exposure groups.

Exposures from Base Stations

In humans, harmful organic effects of high

frequency electromagnetic fields as used

by mobile telecommunications have been

demonstrated for power flux densities

from 0.2W/m2. Already at values of 0.1

W/m2 such effects cannot be excluded. If a

security factor of 10 is applied to this

value, as it is applied by ICNIRP and

appears appropriate given the current

knowledge, the precautionary limit should

be 0.01 / . This should be rigorously

adhered to by all base stations near

sensitive places such as residential areas,

schools, nurseries, playgrounds, hospitals,

churches, Mosques and all other places at

which humans are present for longer than

4 hours. We recommend the precautionary

limit of 0.01 / independent of the

carrier frequency. The rough dependency

on frequency with higher limits outside of

the resonance range, as it is applied in the

concept of SAR, is not justifiable given the

results of the scientific studies which

conclusively prove non‐thermal effects of

high frequency fields.

Exposures of Mobile Phone Users

Given the state of technology now and in

the foreseeable future, it is currently

technically impossible to apply the

recommended maximum value for mobile

base stations also to the use of mobile

phones. However, a lowering of the

guidelines to a maximum of 0.5 /

should urgently be considered. A particular

problem in this exposure group is posed by

children and adolescents, not only because

their organism is still developing and

therefore particularly susceptible, but also

because many adolescents have come to be

the most regular users of mobile phones.

Furthermore, particular efforts should be

made to lower the exposures during calls.

It would be recommendable to conduct

(covert) advertising campaigns

propagating the use of headsets. It would

also be important to develop

communications and advertising aiming at

minimising the exposures created by

carrying mobile phones in standby mode

on the body.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

44

REFERENCES Balcer-Kubiczek E.K. and Harrison G.H.

(1985), ''Evidence for microwave

carcinogenicity in vitro

Carcinogenesis'' 6 (6) 859-864

Bamisaye, A.J and Kolawole, M.O.

(2010),‘ Evaluation of Downlink

Performance of A Multiple-Cell, Rake

Receiver Assisted CDMA Mobile

System’, Wireless Sensor

Network(WSN) ,vol. 2,no 1,1-6

Bohr H. and Bohr J. (2000), ''Microwave

enhanced kinetics observed in ORD

studies of a protein

Bioelectromagnetics'' 21 68-72.

Colt J.S. & Blair A. (1998), ''Parental

occupational exposure and risk of

childhood cancer Environ. Health

Perspect''. 106 (Suppl.3)909-925.

D’Andrea J.A. (1991) Microwave

radiation absorption: behavioral

effects Health Physics 61, 129-140.

Hocking B., Gordon I.R., Grain H.L. &

Hatfield G.E. (1996) Cancer Incidence

and mortality and proximity to TV

towers Med. J. Australia 165 601-605

McKenzie D.R., Yin Y. & Morrell S.

(1998) Childhood incidence of acute

lymphoblastic leukemia and exposure

to broadcast radiation in Sydney - a

second look Aust. N. Z. J. Public

Health 22 360-367.

Wang B. & Lai H. (2000) Acute exposure

to pulsed 2450-MHz microwaves

affects water-maze performance of

rats Bioelectromagnetics 21 52-56

WHO (World Health

Organization).Electromagnetic fields

and public health. Electromagnetic

Hypersensitivity. WHO Fact sheet

No296. Geneva: World Health

Organization; 2005.

Zhao Z., Zhang S., Zho H., Zhang S., Su

J., & Li L. (1994) The effects of

radiofrequency (<30 MHz) radiation

in humans Rev. Environ. Health 10

213- 215

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

45

Table 1. Typical sources of electromagnetic fields

Frequency

range Frequencies Some examples of exposure sources

Static 0 Hz VDU (video displays); MRI and other diagnostic /

scientific instrumentation; Industrial electrolysis;

Welding devices

ELF 0-300 Hz Powerlines; Domestic distribution lines, Domestic

appliances; Electric engines in cars, train and

tramway; Welding devices

IF

300 Hz – 100

kHz

VDU; anti theft devices in shops, hands free access

control systems, card readers and metal detectors;

MRI; Welding devices

RF

100 kHz – 300

GHz

Mobile telephony; Broadcasting and TV; Microwave

oven; Radar, portable and stationary radio

transceivers, personal mobile radio; MRI

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46

Table 2: Overview over the results of epidemiological studies with regards to the health risks

of high frequency electromagnetic exposures

Illness

Number

of

studies

(results)

Studies

(results) with

RR>1

Statistically

significant

results

All illnesses 2 0 0

Cancer, unspecified 6 (7) 5 (6) 3

Brain tumours unspecified and tumours of the

nervous system unspecified 14 (21) 10 (15) 6 (7)

Cancer (eyes) 1 1 1

Cancer of the respiratory organs, lung cancer 5 2 1

Chest cancer, men 2 2 0

Breast Cancer, women Cancer of the 3 3 2

lymphatic and blood forming

system unspecified 4 4 1

Leukaemia unspecified 12 (16) 9 (13) 5 (7)

Acute leukaemia unspecified 4 4 0

Lymphatic leukaemia unspecified 4 (7) 2 (5) 1 (4)

Acute lymphatic leukaemia 2 2 0

Chronic lymphatic leukaemia 4 4 1

Leukaemia, non lymph. non-myelo 1 (4) 1 (4) 1 (2)

Lymphoma, Hodgkin-Syndrome 5 (7) 3 (4) 1

Testicular cancer 3 (5) 3 (5) 3 (4)

Uterine cancer 1 1 1

Skin cancer 4 3 1

Cardio-vascular diseases 4 (5) 3 (4) 1

Infertility, reduced fertility, men 4 (5) 3 (4) 1

Infertility, reduced fertility, women 1 1 0

Miscarriages, stillbirths, malformations and

other birth defects 2 (3) 2 (3) 2

Cancer, offspring (parental exposure) 2 2 1

Neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer’s 1 1 0

Disruptions of motor and psychological

functions and well-being 2 (9) 2 (9) 1 (7)

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47

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

P. O. Ajewole

E. O. Adeosun

DESIGN, FABRICATION AND TESTING OF A LOW-COST INTER-ROW

WEEDER FOR RURAL FARMERS

*P. O. Ajewole & E. O. Adeosun

Department of Agricultural Engineering,

The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria.

* ajepet2005@yahoo.com, Mobile: +2347068675264

ABSTRACT: An Inter-row weeder was designed, fabricated and tested for working between

rows maize crops. The structural features of the weeder include parts like a 110mm diameter

hollow drum, two circular plates that cover the open ends of the drum and which also hold

the drive shaft that passes through the drum, four blades with slanting cutting edges equally

spaced and welded longitudinally to the drum, the frame, the support wheels, and a 5.5hp

(4.124kW), 3600rpm petrol engine which drives the weeder shaft through a belt drive. The

height of cut is adjustable and the weeder can cut weeds at a height up to 3cm above the

ground level and up to 2cm below the ground level. The machines works better on a

harrowed and fairly level land. Parameters such as speed of travel, time of operation, age

and type of weeds, field capacity, weeding efficiency and fuel consumption were considered

during the testing. The weeding efficiency obtained was 91.51% and the effective weeding

capacity was 0.0829ha/hr at a working width of 0.4m. The weeder is easy to operate and

maintain with fuel consumption of 0.5litre/hr. The total cost of producing the machine is

N80,280.00.

KEYWORDS: Weeding, Weeder, Herbicides

INTRODUCTION

In the annual planting of field crops, there

are major activities to improve crop

production such as land preparation,

weeding, fertilizer application, harvesting,

cleaning, drying and storage. Among these

activities, weeding is the most labour

intensive operation (Parish, 1990).

Weeding accounts for about 25% of the

total labour requirement (900-1200 man-

hours/hectare) during a cultivation season

(Nag and Dutta, 1979). Weeding is one of

the farming activities that is time-

dependent. Thus delay and negligence in

weeing operation affect the crop yield up

to 30 to 60 percent (Singh, 1988).

Manual weeding is common in Nigeria

where about 75% of the population is

engaged in farming. This method is labour

intensive and is one of the major problems

of farming in Nigeria. The resultant effect

is that youths detest farming and engage in

rural-urban migration in search of greener

pastures. Mechanical weeding is not yet

popular in Nigeria as there are no effective

row crop weeders (Olukunle and

Oguntunde, 2006).

In Europe, the use of herbicides was

rapidly accepted by many farmers and

Nigeria is no exception. Chemical control

of weeds by using herbicides became an

accepted part of crop husbandry, although

a few farmers always questioned the

widespread use of chemicals in farming,

and the concept of organic farming

necessitated a non-chemical approach to

weed control (Parish, 1990). The recent

upsurge in environmental awareness of the

public, interest in organic food production

and some health problems with herbicide

use has led to a range of techniques and

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

48

machines being developed for non-

chemical weed control.

Duval (1997) reported that mechanical

weed control allows farmers to reduce or

even eliminate herbicide use and

contribute to a better environment. He

gave a comparison of mechanical weeding

versus use of herbicides and proved that

mechanical weeding has more advantages

than the use of herbicides as shown in

Table 1 below:

As a result of the environmental pollution

and health risk that the use of herbicides

poses to farmers, there is need for

development of row crop weeders to

ensure the removal of drudgery associated

with farming and reduction of labour

requirement of weeding which accounts

for 25% of farm labour requirement during

a growing season.

Various research efforts have been made to

develop mechanical weeders. At the

Federal University of Technology, Akure

(FUTA), Nigeria, Ademosun et al (2003)

reported the development of various

machines machines for weeding and

harvesting while Olukunle and Oguntunde

(2006) designed a row crop weeder which

uses nail brushes to remove weeds.

Mganilwa et al (2003) also developed and

assessed an engine powered hand held

weeder in Tanzania while Yadav and Pund

(2007) developed a manual weeder in

India. Despite the above research efforts,

there is still need for the design of a low

cost weeder which requires minimal power

and low fuel consumption. In this study, an

effort has been made to design an inter-

row weeder which uses blades having

slanting cutting edges which are arranged

on a rotating drum. The weeder was

designed to work in between rows of

common crops such as maize and cassava.

MATERIALS AND METHOD

Design Concept and Considerations:

The factors considered in the design of the

inter-row weeder include size and strength,

depth and evenness of cutting, availability

and cost of fabrication materials, crop row

spacing and power requirement.

i. Size and Strength: The machine was

designed in such a way that it will not

be too bulky or heavy. Most parts of

the machine made of mild steel which

is moderately light and has adequate

strength. The total length of the

machine was also chosen to be

910mm while the width as 560mm.

ii. Depth and evenness of cutting: The

cutting section designed consists of a

rotating drum on which four opposing

slating blades are arranged. Slanting

cutting edges were chosen so that the

contact area of the blades with the soil

per unit can be reduced. This will

result in less draft per unit time as the

blades rotate, less load on the motor,

and more uniform cutting.

iii. Availability and cost of fabrication

materials: Most parts of the machine

were made of mild steel because of its

availability and affordable cost

iv. Crop row spacing. The spacing

between crops of commonly grown

crops in the south western part of the

country such as maize and cassava is

between 75cm and 90cm. Therefore

the weeder cutting width was chosen

to be 40cm so that the weeder can

weed a row in two passes. The 40cm

cutting width also determined the

weeder drum length and length of the

cutting blades

v. Power requirement: This was

considered based on the soil resistance

and the weight of the drum and cutting

blades, so that the power input to the

machine will be sufficient to do the

weeding.

Design Calculations

Determination of Draught Requirement

of the Weeder

Draught, D = w x dw x Rs

(Yadav and Pund, 2007)

Where w = cutting width of the

weeder (m)

dw = depth of cut (m)

Rs = Soil Resistance (N/m2)

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49

D = Draught (N)

The maximum depth of cut chosen is

20mm (0.02m) while the width of cut is

400mm (0.4m). The soil resistandce, Rs for

soils in South West Nigeria range from

150KPa to 800KPa (Manuwa and

Ademosun, 2007).

Taking Rs to be 800KPa (0.8 x 106N/m

2),

Total Draught requirement of the weeder =

0.4 x 0.02 x 0.8 x 106#

=

6400N = 652.4kg.

Determination of Power Requirement

The power input required for

weeding operation was calculated by

considering both the draught and the

travelling speed using the following

equation:

Power (hp) =

(Yadav and

Pund, 2007)

Where D = Draught (kg)

S = Travelling speed (m/s)

From previous designed weeders,

Olukunle and Oguntunde (2006) reported

the travelling speed of a row crop weeder

to vary from 0.25m/s to 5m/s while Yadav

and Pund (2007) reported the average

travelling speed of a weeder to be

20m/min (0.33m/s)/

Taking the average speed to be 0.35m/s

Power required for weeding =

= 3.04hp = 2.28kW

Determination of the Torque

transmitted to the Weeding Drum and

the Cutting Blades

Using a 5.5hp petrol engine motor with the

speed of 3600rpm, the torque that would

be transmitted by the motor is given as:

T =

Where N = speed in rpm = 3600rpm, P =

Power input of the motor = 5.5 x 750W =

4125W and T = Torque transmitted by the

engine motor (Nm)

T =

= 10.94Nm

Assuming the transmission efficiency to be

80%, the torque transmitted to the weeding

drum is:

T = 10.94 x 0.8

= 8.752Nm

2.2.4 Determination of the Speed of the

Weeding Drum and Cutting Blades

The speed required at the cutting

blades in rpm is given as:

N =

Where N = speed of the drum and the

cutting blades (rpm), P = Power required

for weeding = 2.28 x 103W and T =

Torque transmitted to the drum and the

blades = 8.752Nm

:. N =

= 2487.71rpm

Determination of the Weeder Pulley

Diameter

N1D1 = N2D2

Where N1 = speed of the petrol engine

motor = 3600rpm, D1 = diameter of the

pulley on the engine motor = 60mm

(0.06m), N2 = speed of the weeder =

2487.71rpm and D2 = diameter of the

weeder pulley (m)

D2 =

= 0.0868

= 86.8mm

Determination of the shaft diameter

The shaft design was based on the strength

of mild steel and is controlled by

maximum shear theory. The shaft would

be subjected to torsional and bending loads

only (no axial load). The ASME code

equation for a solid shaft which combines

torsion and bending loads by applying the

maximum shear theory is given as:

√( ) ( )

(Hall, 1988)

Where d = shaft diameter (m), σs =

allowable shear stress (N/m2), Kb =

combined shock and fatigue factor applied

to bending moment, Kt = combined shock

and fatigue factor applied to torsional

moment, Mt = torsional moment (Nm), Mb

= bending moment (Nm)

σs = 40N/m2 for shaft with key way, for

gradually applied load, Kb = Kt = 1.5 and

Mt = Torque on the weeder shaft =

8.752Nm (from section 2.2.3)

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50

From the shearing force and bending

moments diagrams of the weeder, the

resultant bending obtained, Mb =

889.062Nm

Therefore, the shaft diameter is calculated

as follows:

√( ) ( )

d = 0.0554m = 55.4mm

C = ½(D1 + D2) + D1

Where C = centre to centre distance (m),

D1 = Diameter of the larger (weeder)

pulley (m), and D2 = Diameter of the

smaller (motor) pulley (m)

C = ½ (0.0868 + 0.06) + 0.0868

= 0.1602m = 160.2mm

(ii) Length of Belt

Length of an open belt drive is given as

( )

( )

Where L = length of the belt (m), D =

diameter of the larger pulley = 0.241, d =

diameter of the smaller pulley = 0.06m and

C = centre to centre distance = 0.3915m

)1602.0(4

06.00868.0)1602.0(2

2

06.00868.02

L

= 0.0552 = 55.2m

The belt designation A59 was selected for

the belt drive.

Description of the Weeder and

Fabrication Procedure

Description of the weeder

The isometric and exploded views of the

weeder are presented in Fig. 1-3 below:

Fabrication Procedure

The fabrication procedure of the major

components of the weeder is described as

follows:

(i) Drum, Shaft and Cutting Blades

Assembly

The drum is a galvanized steel pipe of

110mm diameter, 450mm length and 3mm

thickness. The drum was closed at both

ends with two end plates. Four cutting

blades of the mild steel material were

welded longitudinally along the surface of

the drum. The blades were made slanting

at the cutting edge making the width at one

end to be 40mm and the width at the other

end to be 30mm. The four blades were

alternately arranged on the drum with the

longer end of a blade in the same direction

with the shorter edge of the adjacent blade.

The shaft is of 55mm diameter and is of

mild steel material. It was cut to a length

of 600mm and is concentrically mounted

in the drum.

(ii) Frame, Handle and Motor Seat

The frame was built of two 50 x 50 x 5mm

mild steel square pipes of 700mm length,

50 x 50 x 5mm mild steel square pipe of

length 550mm for bracing the two 700mm

pipes, and a 50 x 50 x 5mm square pipe

which holds the depth wheel. The four

components were welded together and

they support all other parts of the weeder.

The handle was constructed using two

50mm square pipes of length 650mm. The

two pipes were braced at the top with a

cylindrical hollow pipe of 30mm diameter.

Both the petrol engine motor seat and the

handle were also welded to the frame.

(iii) Land and Depth Control Wheels

The weeder was mounted on 3 wheels with

the two bigger land wheels at the back

while the other wheel is at the front and it

serves as depth control wheel. A long bolt

was screwed into the threaded on the depth

control wheel so that the depth of cut of

the weeder can be adjusted.

(iv) Belt Guard

The guard was constructed using mild steel

plate of SWG 16. It covers the weeding

drum so as to prevent the operator from

stones and trashes which may be thrown

during weeding operation.

(v) Petrol Engine Seat

The seat was cut out of a 5mm thick mild

steel plate to a length of 520mm and width

of 250mm. It was welded to the frame near

the base of the weeder handle. Holes for

bolting the petrol engine motor to the

frame were drilled on the seat.

Testing of the weeder

A field test was carried out at the Teaching

and Research Farm of The Federal

Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti on a 2 hectares

maize farm planted in rows. The farm site

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

51

had been ploughed and harrowed before

planting. The field was planted with

yellow maize variety with an inter-row

spacing of 75cm. The moisture content of

the soil at the time of testing the weeder

was 43% wet basis and the maize age was

about 2 months at the flowering stage with

an average plant height of 2.6m. During

the time of testing, the field had four types

of weeds namely: stubborn weed, goat

weed, elephant grass and spear grass.

The fabricated weeder was started and

placed between two maize rows of

measured row length. As the weeding

operation started, a stop watch was

simultaneously switched on. Time was

recorded when the 10m length of the field

was completed. The weeder completed the

weeding of a row in two passes, thus

making a total row length of 20m. Turning

and maneuvering time as non-productive

time was also recorded. The same

procedure was repeated for other 5 rows.

The effective cutting width for each row

was measured by using a tape measure.

Depth of cut was also randomly measured

by a caliper. After weeding, samples of cut

and surviving weeds are collected from an

area of 1m x 1m and dried. The samples

collection was repeated 4 more times and

each sample cut weeds and surviving

weeds in each collection were weighed.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The average weeding time per row, is

shown in Table 2. Based on this time, the

average weeding speed was determined as

ratio of row length to time of weeding for

each row. The non-productive time is time

lost during turning and maneuvering.

* The effective weeding width for all the

rows was 0.45m

Table 3 also shows the weight of dried cut

weeds and weight of dry matter of

survived weeds collected in area of 1m x

1m randomly from the weeded rows, and

repeated in 5 trials. The weeding

efficiency for each trial was calculated

from:

100

sc

c

fww

wE

Where Ef = weeding efficiency (%), wc =

weight of dry matter of cut weeds, ws =

weight of dry matter of survived weeds.

The Effective Weeding Capacity of the

weeder was determined using equation:

Effective Weeding Capacity =

S x W x Ef x hrha /3600

104

Where S = average weeding speed (m/s),

W = effective weeding width (m), and Ef =

Weeding Efficiency (%)

From Tables 2 and 3, the average weeding

speed, S and the weeding efficiency, Ef are

0.0815m/s and 91.51 respectively. The

effective cutting width is 0.4m. Therefore,

Effective Weeding Capacity =

0.0815 x 0.4 x 91.51 x hrha /3600

104

= 0.0829 ha/hr

The field capacity of the fabricated weeder

was found to be 0.0829ha/hr, which was

relatively high compared to other existing

mechanical weeders. This implies that an

operator working at the obtained speed of

0.0815m/s will weed 0.66ha in a day of 8

working hours.. It was observed that the

field capacity reduces as the effective

cutting width is reduced. It was also

observed that the bladeds penetrated into

the soil and pulverized it well to the depth

ranging from 1cm to 3cm below soil level,

though at higher depth, the weeder tends to

be clogged and the operation is hindered.

The weeding efficiency for the

weeder was found to be 91.51% which

shows that the weeder is relatively

efficient. The fuel consumption was found

to be 0.5litres/hr which means that the

weeder will only need 4 litres of petrol per

day of 8 working hours. This means that

the machine is economically affordable for

rural farmers.

CONCLUSION

In this research work, an inter-row weeder

was designed, fabricated and tested. The

machine is easy to construct, operate and

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

52

maintain. The weeder has a weeding

efficiency of 91.51% which was found to

be satisfactory. The total cost of

production is N80,280. Its effective

weeding capacity of 0.0829ha/her and fuel

consumption of 0.5 litres/hr makes the

machine economically justifiable. The

machine would be very usefully for rural

farmers who could not afford the cost of a

tractor and tractor mounted weeders.

REFERENCES

Ademosun, O. C., Adewumi, B. A.,

Olukunle, O. J. and Adesina, A. A.

(2003): Development of Indigenous

Machines for Weeding and Grain

Harvesting. FUTA Experience.

FUTAJEET 3(20, 77-84.

Duval, J. (1997): Mechanical Weed

Control in Cereals. Ecological

Agriculture Projects (EAP)

Publication-72.McGill University

(Macdonald Campus), Canada.

www.macdonald.mcgill.ca

Hall, A. S. (1988): Theory and Problems

of Machine Design. McGraw-Hill

Book Co. USA. Pp 114-120, 290-296.

Manuwa, S and Ademosun, O. C. (2007):

Draught and Soil Disturbance of

Model Tillage Tines Under Varying

Soil Parameters. Agricultural

Engineering International: the CIGR

Ejournal. Manuscript PM 06 106. Vol.

IX. March, 2007.

Nag, P. K. and Dutta, P. (1979):

Effectiveness of Some Simple

Agricultural Weeders with reference

to Physiological Responses. Journal of

Human Ergonomics 8:11-21.

Olukunle, O. J. and Oguntunde, P. (2006):

Design of a Row Crop Weeder.

Conference on International

Agricultural Research for

Development.Tropentag 2006,

University of Bonn, Germany.

http://www.tropentag.de/2006/abstract

s/full/313.pdf

Parish, S. (1990): A Review of Non-

Chemical Weed Control Techniques.

Biological Agriculture and

Horticulture, A B Academic

Publishers, Great Britain. Vol. 7 Pp.

117-137.

Singh, G. (1988): Development and

Fabrication Techniques of Improved

Grubber. Agricultural Mechanisation

in Asia, Africa and Latin America

24(4): 16-18.

Yadav, R. and Pund, S. (2007):

Development and Ergonomic

Evaluation of a Manual Weeder.

Agricultural Engineering

International: the CIGR EJournal.

Manuscript PM 07 022. Vol. IX.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

53

Table 1: Comparison of mechanical weeding with the use of herbicides

Advantages Disadvantages

Mechanical

Weeding

Herbicides

* Maintains yields

* Maintains or reduces

cost of weed control

* Aerates soil, stimulates

crop growth

* Breaks soil crust

* Gives nearly complete

weed control

* Covers large area in

less time

* Leaves an average 20% more weeds in

the field than herbicides

* Timing is crucial

* Stony surfaces reduce degree of

coverage

* Needs drier soil condition to operate

* Results in environmental pollution

* The price of herbicides is subject to

price fluctuation

* Involves health risks such as

respiratory problems and cancer for

applicants

Table 2: Average weeding speed for different rows

Row number Time taken to weed

(s)

Average speed per row

(m/s)

Turning time

(s)

1

2

3

4

5

6

Average

240

2250

233

243

260

248

245.67

0.083

0.080

0.086

0.082

0.077

0.081

0.0815

50

40

50

50

40

60

48.33

Table 3: Determination of weeding efficiency, Ef

Trial Weight of dry matter of

cut weeds,

Wc (g)

Weight of dry matter of

survived weeds,

Ws (g)

Weeding Efficiency,

Ef (%)

1

2

3

4

5

11.8

13.9

14.6

12.5

10.4

1.2

1.4

1.1

0.9

1.2

Average

90.77

90.85

92.99

93.28

89.66

91.51

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

54

(i) Centre to Centre Distance between the Weeder Pulley and Motor Pulley

β β

α1

α2

C D1 (weeder pulley)

D1 (engine pulley)

Fig. 1: Isometric view of the weeder Fig. 2: Isometric view of the weeder

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

55

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

E.A Oluwasola

TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA

E.A Oluwasola,

Department of Civil Engineering,

Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State.

akinnolu@gmail.com, +2348036151941

ABSTRACT: This term paper considered transport infrastructure and economic growth in

Nigeria. Findings from the study show that in the three national development plans in

Nigeria, road transportation system has been given more priority followed by water and air.

It was found that the local government authority controls about 67% of the total road

network in Nigeria. The contribution of transport to total gross domestic product has been on

the downward trend in spite of the fact that 20% of annual budget is put on roads projects at

both state and the federal level. The estimated loss to the Nigerian economy as a result of

poor state of the roads is about N450 billion yearly. The empirical part of the study shows

that no causality was found between road development and economic growth in Nigeria.

However, the long run part of the VECM estimation shows that the lag value of road

development variable is very significant in the determination of economic growth in Nigeria.

The short run dynamics of growth rate of the economy revealed that the error correction

terms of road development variables as well as its lag values are not significant in the

determination of economic growth in Nigeria. It is therefore recommended that rather than

construct new roads, policy makers should adequately maintain the existing roads as this will

further reduce cost of transportation of goods and services, thereby reducing poverty and

boosting economic growth in Nigeria.

KEYWORDS: security, national development, transportation, VECM, combating

INTRODUCTION The history of transportation in Nigeria

dates back to the pre – colonial era. Within

this period, transportation facilities such as

roads, railways, air transport facilities were

really non-existent with emphasis then on

the bush path. At present, the modes of

transport in Nigeria include road, railways,

airways, inland waterways, coastal waters,

the deep sea, and the pipeline (Anyanwu,

et al. 1997). The potential significance of

road development for investment, trade,

growth and poverty alleviation has long

been recognized. Not only does road

transport infrastructure facilitate the direct

provision of services to consumers, it also

provides intermediate inputs that enter into

the production of other sectors and raise

factory productivity.

By lowering the cost and reducing the time

of moving goods and services to where

they can be used more efficiently, road

development adds value and spurs growth.

Over time this process results in increasing

the size of markets which is a precondition

for realizing economies of scale. Good

road projects clearly contribute to poverty

reduction by improving the living

conditions of people and by augmenting

the opportunities available for trade and

employment. The economic development

of Nigeria has reflected the development

of her transport systems. This is

particularly true of the road transport

system, which is by far the most widely

used mode of transport in the country. Of

all commodity movements to and from the

sea-ports, at least two-thirds are now

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

56

handled by road transport while up to 90%

of all other internal movements of goods

and persons take place by roads

(Onakomaiya, undated).

Transport can contribute to the economy

directly through addition to capital stock

via increases in transport infrastructure.

Transport provides the arteries through

which the economic life of the people,

information and raw materials as well as

finished products can be moved from one

place to the other. This therefore helps to

build and maintain the society thereby

leading to economic growth. It is in that

context that the paper considers road

development and economic growth in

Nigeria.

Road development in Nigeria

Anyanwu et al (1997) documented that the

history of road transport in Nigeria dates

back to1904 when Lord Luggard

attempted the construction of a mule road

linking Zaria and Zungeru both in the

Northern States of Nigeria. The road was

later extended from Zaria to Sokoto,

Katsina and Maiduguri. However, the road

linking Ibadan and Oyo constructed in

1906 is recorded to be the first motorable

road ever constructed in Nigeria. At

independence in 1960, the Nigerian

landscape was dotted with a skeletal

network of trunk roads as well as

secondary and feeders roads that exhibited

the characteristics which reflected the

purpose of their construction. They were

narrow and winding, being simply meant

to facilitate the evacuation of agricultural

produce from the interior to the ports for

exports in addition to serving as links

between scattered human settlements thus

permitting ease of administration.

In 1925, the central government of Nigeria

set up a Road Board. By 1926, H.E.

Walker proposed a skeleton trunk road

system to link the major administrative

centres in the country. These roads were

designed as a frame upon which the

network of secondary roads could be built

thus enabling the general road system to be

considered as a co-coordinated whole-

rather as a jigsaw of small disjointed

sections. The total length of roads

maintained by the government rose soon

from 6,160 km (5,875 miles) in to 9,453

km (5,875 miles).

Data from the various publications of the

Federal Office of Statistics in Nigeria

show that as at 1951, out of the total of

44,414 km of road in Nigeria, 1,782 km

were surfaced, though the roads were

lacking in standard designs and were

single lane with sharp bends and poor

drainage system. Total road length

increased from 44,414 km in 1951 to

114,768 km in 1980. While tarred road

increased in length from 1782 km in 1951

to 28632 km in 1980, earth/gravel road

increased from 4232 km in 1951 to 86136

km in 1980. The Central Bank of Nigeria

(2003) documented that the estimated

current total road network in Nigeria is

about 200,000 km.

Classification and investment in road

development in Nigeria

The Nigeria road system is classified into

four broad categories. These are; the

federal trunk ‘A’ roads, under federal

government ownership and they are

developed and maintained by the federal

government. The federal trunk ‘F’ roads

were formerly under state ownership but

were taken over by the federal government

with a view to upgrading them to federal

highway standards. The trunk ‘B’ roads

are under the ownership and management

of the component states. The trunk ‘C’

roads are under the local government

ownership and management. Each tier of

government has the responsibility for

planning, construction and maintenance of

the network of roads under its jurisdiction.

As documented by the Central Bank of

Nigeria (2003), the current network of

roads is shared among the three tiers of

government as shown in table1.

It is obvious from table 1that the local

government roads ownership accounts for

about 67%. This therefore shows that local

government controls about 130,600 km

roads, state government 30,500 km and

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

57

federal government, 32,100 km.

As regards investment, the various

governments in Nigeria have given priority

attention to road development over the

years. From table 2 below, during the first

National Development Plan, 1962-68, a

total of N150.6 million was allocated to

road development. The votes for the road

sub-sector ranged from 7% in the then

Western Region to 25% in the Northern

Region and a national average of 11% for

all projected investments. In keeping with

the objective of rational allocation of

scarce resources, the federal allocation of

N70.8 million was meant to provide for a

minimum, essential road development

programme which had been enveloped on

the basis of a system of priority rating

(Onakomaiya, undated).

In this first national development plan,

emphasis was placed on the development

of the:

o widening, straightening and

surfacing of Trunk ‘A’ roads

o construction of new Niger bridge

from Onitsha to Asaba and

o Construction of a second Mainland

bridge in Lagos.

After the civil war, under the Second

National Development Plan, the general

policy on transport was to promote

coordination and rationalization of

investment decisions in transport sector

(Federal Government of Nigeria, FGN,

1970). The road development programme

was to focus on the creation of a national

road network of primary and secondary

arteries which would outcross the existing

Trunk ‘A’ and ‘B’ network. The primary

roads would be those connecting the

prominent cities of the country with each

other and with the ocean terminals (Lagos,

Warri, Port-Harcourt and Calabar) and

main border crossing. The secondary road

network would connect important centers

within the primary and secondary roads

network. The states would concentrate

principally on minor roads within the

primary and secondary roads.

From table 3 above, under the second

national development plan, the total

projected investment was N2,050,738

million while total allocation to transport

was N485.189 million. The focus of road

development under this plan was the

rehabilitation of the roads that were

adversely affected by the civil war.

Under the third national development plan,

total public investment was N32,855.016

million. The allocation to road transport

was N5,430.436 million while allocation

to roads as percentage of transport sector

was 73.12%. Roads as a percentage of all

public investments were 16.25%. A total

of N7.303.068 million was allocated to the

transport sector out of the total of

N32,855.016 million for total investment.

Out of the amount allocated to the

transport sector, allocation to road was

N5,340.436 million representing a total of

73.12% allocated for road development.

Table four below reflects this:

In the fourth national development plan

(1981-1985), the sum of N7, 457.912

million was allocated to road development

out of a total of N10, 706.616 million

allocated to transport sector development.

The other transport modes; rail, air and

water shared 30%.

Inspite of government efforts at

encouraging road development the

contribution of road transportation to gross

domestic product has not been

encouraging. According to the Central

Bank of Nigeria (2004), as at 1981, the

total contribution of road transportation to

gross domestic product was N6718.5

million representing 3.27%. This fell to

N4852.3 million in 1991, representing

1.83% contribution to gross domestic

product. It however increased to N6667.7

million in 2001 representing a contribution

of 1.94%. This further increased to 2.03%

representing a contribution of N8407.9

million to total gross domestic product.

Problems of road development in

Nigeria

A survey on the state of the road was

carried out by the Central Bank of Nigeria

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

58

between 11th to 13th December 2002

along the six geopolitical zones in the

country (South-South, South-East, South

West, North-East, North-West and North

Central). The survey indicated that most of

the roads especially in the Southern and

Eastern parts of the country were in a very

poor condition and required complete

rehabilitation. The report documented that

some of the roads were constructed over

30 years ago and had not been

rehabilitated for once. The survey of the

Central Bank on road status in Nigeria

further showed that from February 1997 to

December 2001, a total of 96 road

contracts, mainly rehabilitation,

reconstruction and expansion were

awarded by the Federal Ministry of Works

at a total contract sum of N186.999 billion.

Of the total, 20 contracts worth N20.24

billion were for the South-South zone, 19

contracts worth N55.346 billion in the

South-West, 18 contracts valued at

N45.122 billion in the North Central, 14

contracts worth N26.774 billion in the

North-East, 13 contracts valued N21.603

billion in the South-East and 12 with the

contract sum of N17.915 billion in the

North. At the end of 2002, only 23 of the

projects have been completed; 9 in the

South-West and in the South-South, 2 each

in the North Central and North-West as

well as one each in the South-East and

North-East. The survey indicated that the

state of the roads in Nigeria has remained

poor for a number of reasons which

include: faulty design, lack of drainage

system and very thin coatings that are

easily washed away. Others are excessive

use of the roads network given the

underdeveloped nature of railways and

water ways which could serve as

alternative means of transport, absence of

an articulated road Programme and

inadequate funding for road maintenance.

Estimated losses to the Nigerian economy

arising from the poor state of roads is

about N450 billion yearly (Vanguard,

2008).

Impulse response The impulse response function shows that

a one standard deviation shock on growth

rate of gross domestic product induces a

positive economic growth in the first year;

this fell in the second year and became

negative in the third year. A shock to

growth rate of gross domestic period has a

long lasting effect to its self after the

fourth year. Unfortunately, a one standard

deviation shock on road development has a

negative impact on growth rate of gross

domestic product throughout the period.

The result further shows that a one

standard deviation shock on total exports

and capital shock only induces slightly

positive impact on growth rate of gross

domestic product between the second and

the third period.

CONCLUSION AND POLICY

IMPLICATION

The study shows that in the three national

development plans in Nigeria, road

transportation system has been given more

priority followed by water and air

transportation system. It was found that the

local government authority controls about

67% of the total road network in Nigeria.

The contribution of transport to total gross

domestic product has been on the down

ward trend and estimated losses to the

Nigerian economy as a result of poor state

of the roads is about #450 billion yearly.

On the empirical part of the study, no

causality was found between road

development and economic growth in

Nigeria. There is indirect causality via

capital stock. The short run dynamics of

growth rate of the economy revealed that

the error correction term of road

development variables as well as its lag

values is not significant in the

determination of economic growth in

Nigeria. It is therefore recommended that

rather than construct new roads, policy

makers should adequately maintain the

existing roads as this will further reduce

cost of transportation of goods and

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

59

services therefore reducing poverty and

boost economic growth in Nigeria.

REFRENCES Anyanwu, J.C; Oaikhena, H., Oyefusi, A.

and Dimowo, F.A. (1997).The

Structure of the Nigerian

Economy (1960-1977) Onitsha,

Nigeria: Joanne Educational

Publishers Ltd

Central Bank of Nigeria (2003).Highway

Maintenance in Nigeria: Lessons from

the other Countries Research

Department, Central Bank of Nigeria

Occasional Paper No.27

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN,

(2004).Statistical Bulletin Vol. 15

December.

Federal Government of Nigeria, FGN

(1970), Second national development

plan (Lagos, Federal Ministry of

Information pp197-207).

Dickey, D.A. and Fuller, W.A. (1979).

“Distribution of the estimators for

autoregressive time series with a unit

root” Journal of American Statistical

Association Vol. 74 pp 427 -431

Filani, M.O. (1978). Highways and farm

access development in Ondo State

component of the 4th national

development plan, 1980-1985, Report

of the proceedings of the Workshop

on development Strategies for the

1980s, Akure.

Federal Office of Statistics,

(Various).Annual abstract of statistics

Lagos, Nigeria.

Federal Office of Statistics (1960-1973).

Digest of statistics,Lagos, Nigeria.

Johansen, S. and Juselius, K. (1990).

“Maximum likelihood estimation and

inference on cointegration with

application to the demand for money”

Oxford Bulletin of Economics and

Statistics Vol. 521, p 169 - 210

Onakomaiya, S.O. (Undated), “Highway

development in Nigeria: a review of

policies and programmes 1900-1980”

NISER Monograph Series No.5,

Nigerian Institute of Social and

Economic Research.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

60

Table 1: Structure of road ownership in Nigeria

Federal State roads Local govt. roads Total Percentage

Paved main roads 26,500 10,400 36,900 19%

Unpaved main

roads

5,600 20,100 25,700 13%

Urban roads 21,900 21,900 11%

Main rural roads 72,800 72,800 38%

Village access

roads

35,900 35,900 19%

Total 32,100 30,500 130,600 193,200 100%

Percent 17% 16% 67% 100%

Source: Central Bank of Nigeria (2003)

Table 2: First national development plan 1962-68: highway development

Total allocation

for all sector

(N million)

Allocation to

road

development

(N million)

Road as (%)

of total

allocation

Actual

expenditure on

roads (N

million)

Actual as (%)

of expected

expenditure on

roads

East 152.0 17.7 11.64 11.0 62%

North 197.6 49.4 25.00 24.6 50%

West 180.6 12.7 7.03 15.4 12.1%

Federal 825.0 70.8 8.58 NA NA

Total 1,355.2 150.6 11.11 –– ––

Source: First National Development Plan (1962 – 1968)

Table 3: Allocation to road development during the Second National Development Plan,

1970-74

Region Total project

investments

(N million)

Total allocation

to transport

(N million)

Allocation to

road sub

sector (N

million)

Road

allocation as

(%) transport

allocation

Road

allocation as

(%) of total

investment

Federal 1,110.188 334.266 187.716 56.16 19.96

All states 940.550.6 150.932 144.872 95.98 13.05

Total 2,050.738 485.189 332.588 68.59 16.23

Source: Second National Development Plan (1970 – 1974)

Table 4: Allocation to road development in the Third National Development Plan, 1975–1980

Total public

investment

(N million)

Allocation to

transport sector

(N million)

Allocation to

road transport

(N million)

Total allocation to

road as (%) of

transport sector

Road as (%)

of all public

investments

Federal 26,169.115 6,274,342 4,355.960 69.43 16.65

All states 6,689.901 1,028,726 948,476 95.63 14.21

Total 32,855,016 7,303,068 5,430.436 73.12 16.25

Source: Third National Development Plan (1975 – 1980)

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

61

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Nenuwa O.B.

Jimoh B.O.

Obasi R.A

BLASTS DESIGN FOR IMPROVED FRAGMENTATION IN RAYCON QUARRY,

ORE, ONDO STATE

*Nenuwa O.B.1, Jimoh B.O.

1 and Obasi R.A.

2

1Mineral Resources Engineering Department,

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria 2Geology Department, Ekiti state University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria

*Corresponding author: solanenuwa@yahoo.com 08035827611

ABSTRACT: This work employs Konya formula to set geometric dimensions for the

parameters used in blast design for aggregate quarry. Raycon Quarry, Ore, Ondo State was

used as the case study. The blast-hole diameter and depth of hole were the independent

variables used in the design while the burden, spacing, sub-drilling, collar distance and

stiffness ratios were the dependent variables. The computed geometric dimensions of the

blast design obtained were different from those used at the quarry. The modified blast design

which conforms to the Konya formula wills however; give better fragmentation with reduced

production cost than those adopted at the quarry. It is therefore recommended that geometric

dimensions should be computed when planning a blast design in an aggregate quarry

operation.

KEYWORDS: Blasts design, aggregate quarry, burden, spacing, sub-drilling, collar

distance, stiffness ratio

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of blasting is to convert rock

from one solid piece of geologic material

to several smaller pieces capable of being

moved or excavated by available

equipment. To accomplish this there are

two major factors to consider:

fragmentation and movement, or throw. If

the fragmentation is too large, the

equipment will be unable to excavate the

rock; and if the fragmentation is too small,

the blasting has accomplished more than

necessary and therefore the cost is higher

than it should be. If the blast creates

insufficient movement, the blasted rock

will be in such a position that it is broken

but not moved enough to excavate easily.

If, however, there is too much movement

of the rock, there may be damage to

surrounding property or even injury to

personnel. For years, blasting was done on

a hit-or-miss basis, the blaster would on

the basis of experience choose the blast

design that would seem likely to give the

desired results. Often, in gaining

experience, the blaster received

undesirable results as too many blasts

proved to be both uneconomical and

unsafe (Hemphill, 1981).

It is well accepted that performance of

basic mining operations such as excavation

and crushing rely on a fragmentation

which has been pre-conditioned by the

blast. By pre-condition, it means well

fragmented, sufficiently loose with

adequate muck pile profile (Scott et al.,

1999). There is a body of evidence that

blasting affects mineral liberation

(Hustrulid, 1999). The orientation of drill

holes, pattern of spacing and orientation of

free faces will determine the efficiency of

open pit blast (Ash, 1963).

Proper selection of drilling and blasting

patterns ensures fragmentation

optimization, which minimizes or

eliminates the need for secondary blasting.

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Structural geological investigation of Ore

(granite deposit) shows that two main

joints sets are observable in the area. The

two main joint sets with dip and dip

direction, 84/318 and 84/024 respectively

are the dominant sets in this quarry. The

joint set 1 is having average spacing of

3.16m while the joint set 2 is having an

average spacing of 2.79m as in Table I and

II. The rock mass classification using

RMR (Rock Mass Rating) and Q-system

indicates that the deposit falls in a category

of very good rock. The deposit is having a

structural rating of 90 which denotes an

outcrop with a very large block and the

point load index for Ore granite is

18.8MPa. Using the block size and point

load index, the deposit falls in extremely

strong rock which will require drilling and

blasting to achieve in-situ breakage (Saliu

et al., 2007).

The choice of bench height is the first

aspect of the blast design that will be fixed

for a given operation. Sizing of primary

loading equipment depends on bench

height and hence the expected height of

the muck pile. The bench height will often

be chosen during preliminary planning

stage and is rarely altered thereafter (Firth

et al., 2002). The size of blasthole is the

first consideration of any blast design. The

blasthole diameter along with the type of

explosive being used and the type of rock

being blasted will determine the burden.

All other blast dimensions are functions of

the burden. In many operations, one is

limited to a specific size borehole based on

available drilling equipment (Dick et al.,

1987). Whenever operators try to increase

the hole spacing more than twice that of

the burden, the problem of incomplete

breakage occurs and results in a poor

fragmentation (Gregory, 1973).

An increase in bench height for a given

burden makes the bench more flexible,

giving better fragmentation (Smith, 1976).

A smaller stiffness ratio implies greater

stiffness which in turn offers greater

resistance to breakage in bench blasts

(Lundborg et al., 1975). Rai, 2002 is of the

opinion that poor breakage along the collar

region may be attributed to the increased

bench stiffness. A bench height-to-burden

ratio of 2.5 to 3 provides the ideal situation

for fragmentation as smaller values than

these results in a ‘cratering’ effect which

generates flyrock, airblast, vibrations and

oversizes (Sarathy, 1991).

Based on a study of the impact of stiffness

ratio on the fragmentation of sandstone

strata in an opencast coal mine, it can be

concluded that for moderately hard,

medium-to-fine-grained sandstone

benches, stiffness ratio exerts considerable

impact on fragmentation. For such benches

the fragment size first decreases and then

increases with an increase in stiffness

ratio. Rai, et al points out that the point of

inflexion corresponds to a magnitude of

almost 3, which means that for moderately

high, medium-to-fine-grained sandstone

benches, optimum results in terms of

fragment size and distribution are obtained

at stiffness ratio of almost 3. The potential

problems in relation to the changes in

stiffness ratio are summarized in Table III.

The main objective of this work is to set

the most economic geometric dimensions

for the parameters (burden, spacing, sub-

drilling, collar distance and stiffness ratio)

used in blasts design that will be suitable

for optimum fragmentation in aggregate

quarry.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The blasts design data shown in Table IV

were collected from Raycon Quarry in

Ore, Ondo state, Nigeria. The data were

then modified using Konya’s formula (Eq.

i – ix) to serve as a guide to the prediction

of the best blast design that will ensure

efficient fragmentation as shown in Table

V. Fig. I is an isometric view of a bench

blast showing some parameters which are

used in blasts design. The studies were

performed on granite deposit with point

load index of 18.8MPa and density of

about 2.75g/cm3. The main explosive used

as the column charge is ANFO with

density of about 0.85g/cm3 while a

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63

cartridge of dynamite is loaded at the

bottom of the hole to increase the

explosive energy.

The Konya formula is as stated below:

B =(2ρe/ρr + 1.5)d (i)

Si=(H + 2B)/3(for instantaneous initiation

and when H < 4B) (ii)

=2B(for instantaneous initiation and when

H ≥ 4B) (iii)

Sd=(H+7B)/8 (for delayed initiation and

when H < 4B) (iv)

= 1.4B (for delayed initiation and when H

≥ 4B) (v)

T=0.7B (vi)

J =0.3B (vii)

H =D – J (viii)

S.R =H/B (ix)

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table IV shows the details of the blast

geometry and parameters in the blast

design adopted at Raycon Quarry in Ore,

Ondo state. Their present design is

associated with poor fragmentation and

characterized with big boulders which will

make secondary blasting imperative. The

design is used for bench blasting with 8m,

13m and 15m hole depth. The hole

diameter ranges from 38 - 175mm for 8m

hole depth; 63 - 200mm for 13m hole

depth and 88 - 200mm for 15m hole depth

respectively. The burden and spacing for a

particular hole diameter and hole depth are

also specified.

Table V shows the modified blast

geometry and other relevant parameters in

the blast design for the quarry as generated

from the Konya formula. It indicates the

values of the major parameters required for

bench blasting which includes: diameter of

hole, depth of hole, burden, spacing, sub-

drilling and collar distance. The stiffness

ratio and a remark for each design are

indicated.

This study shows that the diameter of hole

and depth of hole are critical parameters

which are determined by the type and

capacity of the drilling and excavation

equipment available on site. Therefore,

they are the independent variables in the

design. The depth of hole is a function of

the bench height of the blast. On

comparing Tables IV and V, it is evident

that the burden increases as the diameter of

hole increases and also increases with

depth of hole. The modified burdens are

lower than the ones used in the quarry. It is

also noted that the spacing is a function of

the method of initiation and the spacing for

instantaneous initiation is higher than

those adopted at the quarry while the

spacing for delayed initiation is lower than

those used at the quarry.

Table V includes sub-drilling and collar

distance which are additional blast

parameters required for a more efficient

blasting operation. The table also specifies

the stiffness ratio of each design which is a

measure of the efficiency of blasting

operation. The result showed that design

B1, B2, B7, B8, B9, B13 and B14 will

yield no increase in benefit as their

stiffness ratios are greater than 4. Design

B15 will produce excellent fragmentation

as stiffness ratio is approximately equal to

4. Design B3, B4, B10, B11, B16 and B17

will produce good fragmentation as

stiffness ratio is approximately equal to 3

while Design B5, B6, B12 will yield fair

fragmentation as stiffness ratio is

approximately equal to 2.

CONCLUSION

The modified blast design in Table V

conforms to the Konya formula and will

yield better fragmentation with reduced

production cost and minimum secondary

blasting. Design B15 will produce

excellent fragmentation but may be

associated with environmental problems

like air blast, flyrocks and ground

vibration; Design B3, B4, B10, B11, B16

and B17 will produce good fragmentation

with minimal environmental problems.

This is therefore recommended. Design

B5, B6 and B12 will produce fair

fragmentation while design B1, B2, B7,

B8, B9, B13 and B14 will yield no

increase in benefit because they increase

production cost. It should therefore be

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64

discarded. The burden, spacing, sub-

drilling and collar distance are all

important geometric blast parameters that

depend on the diameter of hole and depth

of hole. The spacing when using

instantaneous initiation is different from

spacing when using delayed initiation.

In order to avoid poor fragmentation, high

production cost and also minimize

environmental problems like air blast,

flyrocks and ground vibration, it is

therefore recommended that geometric

dimensions should be computed when

planning a blast design and the blast

should be designed so that the stiffness

ratio is greater than 2 but less than or equal

to 4.

REFERENCES

Ash R.L. (1963):Mechanics of rock

breakage (Part 1,2,3,4). Pit and

Quarry, No.56,Vol.2, 3.

Atlas Powder Co. (1987): Explosives and

rock blasting. Naple Press, USA.

647pp.

Dick, R.A., L.R. Fletcher, and D.V.

Andrea (1987): Explosives and

blasting procedures manual.Bureau of

Mines Information Circular 8925. pp.

57-74.

Firth, I.R. and Mousset-Jones, P. (2002):

Drilling and blasting practices in

Nevada’s open pit mines (Technical

paper). SME publications dept.

Gregory C.E. (1979): Explosives for North

American Engineers. Trans Tech

Publications, Rockport, MA. 303pp.

Hagan T.N. (1986): The influence of some

uncontrollable blast parameters upon

muckpile characteristics and open pit

mining costs, Proc. Conf. large open

pit mining, Australia inst. Min.

Netall/Inst. :123-132.

Hemphill G.B. (1981): Blasting

operations. McGraw-Hill, Inc. pp. 83-

107

Hustrulid, W. (1999): Blasting principles

for open pit mining Vol.1 A.A.

Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherland,

382pp.

Konya, C.J. and Walter E.J. (1990):

Surface blast design, Prentice Hall

Publishing, New Jersey, USA, 303pp.

Konya, C.J. (1995): Blast Design, Pub. by

Intercontinental Development

Corporation, Ohio 44064, USA.

Langefors, U. and Kihlstrom, B. (1978):

The Modern Technique of Rock

Blasting, Halsted Press, New York.

pp. 18-86

Lundborg, N., Persson, P.R.,

Peterson,A.L., and R. Holmberg.

(1975): Keeping a lid on flyrock in

open-pit blasting. Engrg.& Min. Jour.

Rai, P. (2002): Evaluation of the effects of

some blast design parameters on

fragmentation in opencast mines,

Ph.D. Thesis.(Unpublished)

Rai, P., A.K. Ranjan and B. Singh. (2005):

A study of the impact of stiffness ratio

on the fragmentation of sandstone

strata in an opencast coal mine.

Saliu M.A and J.M Akande. (2007):

Drilling and blasting pattern selection

for fragmentation optimization in

Raycon Quarry Ore, Ondo state. Jour.

Of Engrg and Applied Sciences.

2(12): 1768-1733.

Sarathy, M.O. (1991): Delay blasting – An

inexpensive tool for reduced total

mining costs, The Ind. Min. &Engrg.

Jour.: 51–58.

Scott, A. Kanchibotla, S., and Morel, S.

(1999): Blasting for mine to mill

optimization, in proceedings

Explo’99. The Australian Institute of

Mining and Metallurgy in association

with the Western Australian School of

Mines: 3-8.

Smith, N.S. (1976): Burden rock stiffness

and its effects on fragmentation in

bench blasting, Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. of

Missouri, USA.

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65

NOMENCLATURE

B = Burden (feet)

ρe= Specific gravity of explosive

ρr= Specific gravity of rock

d = Diameter of explosive (inches)

Si= Spacing (feet) for instantaneous

initiation

Sd= Spacing (feet) for delayed initiation

H = Bench height

D= Depth of hole

T= Collar distance or stemming

J= Sub-drilling

S.R = Stiffness ratio

Table I: Volumetric joint count parameters of Ore granite deposit

Joint

sets

Average spacing (S)

in meters

Number of joints/

Scanline (N)

Length of

scanline(L) in meter

Set 1 3.16 26 80

Set 2 2.79 19 50

Table II: Surface roughness condition variables for Ore granite deposit

Variable Condition Rating

Surface roughness (Rr) Slightly rough 3

Surface weathering (Rw) None 6

Infilling (Rf) None 6

Table III: The potential problems related to changes in stiffness ratio (Konya, 2005)

Stiffness ratio 1 2 3 >4

Fragmentation Poor Fair Good Excellent

Air blast Severe Fair Good Excellent

Flyrock Severe Fair Good Excellent

Ground vibration Severe Fair Good Excellent

Stiffness ratios above 4 yield no increase in benefit

Table IV: The details of the blast geometry and parameters in the blast design adopted at

Raycon Quarry, Ore, Ondo State

Design No. Diameter of hole

(mm)

Depth of hole

(m)

Burden

(m)

Spacing

(m)

A1 38 8.0 1.5 1.7

A2 63 8.0 2.6 2.8

A3 88 8.0 2.8 3.1

A4 100 8.0 3.0 3.0

A5 150 8.0 4.0 4.5

A6 175 8.0 4.5 5.0

A7 63 13.0 2.2 2.8

A8 88 13.0 3.1 3.5

A9 100 13.0 3.4 4.0

A10 150 13.0 5.0 5.5

A11 175 13.0 5.5 6.0

A12 200 13.0 5.5 6.0

A13 88 15.0 3.4 3.5

A14 100 15.0 4.0 4.4

A15 150 15.0 5.5 6.0

A16 175 15.0 6.0 6.5

A17 200 15.0 6.0 6.5

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66

Table V: The details of the modified blast geometry and other relevant parameters in the blast

design obtained from Konya formula

Design

No.

Diam.

of hole

(mm)

Depth

of hole

(m)

Burde

n (m)

Spacin

g Si(m)

Spacin

g Sd

(m)

Sub-

drillin

g J (m)

Colla

r

dist.,

T (m)

Stiff-

ness

ratio

Re-

mark

B1 38 8.0 1.0 2.0 1.4 0.3 0.7 7.7 N/B

B2 63 8.0 1.6 3.2 2.2 0.5 1.1 4.7 N/B

B3 88 8.0 2.2 3.9 2.8 0.7 1.5 3.3 Good

B4 100 8.0 2.5 4.1 3.1 0.8 1.8 2.9 Good

B5 150 8.0 3.8 4.8 4.2 1.1 2.7 1.8 Fair

B6 175 8.0 4.4 5.2 4.7 1.3 3.1 1.5 Fair

B7 63 13.0 1.6 3.2 2.2 0.5 1.1 7.8 N/B

B8 88 13.0 2.2 4.4 3.1 0.7 1.5 5.6 N/B

B9 100 13.0 2.5 5.0 3.5 0.8 1.8 4.9 N/B

B10 150 13.0 3.8 6.5 4.8 1.1 2.7 3.1 Good

B11 175 13.0 4.4 6.8 5.3 1.3 3.1 2.7 Good

B12 200 13.0 5.0 7.2 5.8 1.5 3.5 2.3 Fair

B13 88 15.0 2.2 4.4 3.1 0.7 1.5 6.5 N/B

B14 100 15.0 2.5 5.0 3.5 0.8 1.8 5.7 N/B

B15 150 15.0 3.8 7.2 5.1 1.1 2.7 3.7 Excell

ent

B16 175 15.0 4.4 7.5 5.6 1.3 3.1 3.1 Good

B17 200 15.0 5.0 7.8 6.1 1.5 3.5 2.7 Good

Sidenotes spacing for instantaneous initiation, Sddenotes spacing for delayed initiation and

N/B means No increase in benefit.

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Fig. I: Isometric view of a bench blast

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68

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

E.A Oluwasola

THE CHALLENGES AND THE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR NIGERIA’S URBAN

ENVIRONMENT: A RAILWAY STRATEGY

E.A Oluwasola

Department of Civil Engineering,

Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State.

akinnolu@gmail.com, +2348036151941

ABSTRACT: The rail network in the country stands at 3,557 kilometers with 3,505

kilometers still on the narrow gauge. While the rails stagnated, the roads are lengthened. As

at 2005, about 193,200 kilometers of road were available in the country. These roads carry

more than 90 percent of domestic freight and passengers. The result was that too much

pressure was brought to bear on the available road infrastructure, thereby causing incessant

collapse and necessary huge financial outlay for maintenance and repairs. It was against this

backdrop that the Federal Government realized the need to re-engineer the railway system to

align with its vision of an integrated transport system for the country before the year 2020.

Funding of the project has been identified as the biggest obstacle to its execution. The

government had at one time toyed with the idea of raising funds from the capital market for

the project, but this has not been activated or yielded any result.

KEYWORDS: railway, national development, maintenance, challenges, strategy

INTRODUCTION

The need to strike a good balance between

Man’s activities and their impact on the

physical environment has remained a

topical issue among scholars, and

administrators alike. The term “sustainable

development” has become a global cliché

to describe man’s attempt to control and

reverse the negative consequences of his

domination of the earth. The World

Conference on Environment Development

(WCED) in 1987 defined Sustainable

Development as “the economic and social

development that meets the needs of the

current generation without undermining

the ability of future generations to meet

their own needs”. Such developments

involve the orientation of technological,

institutional and physical changes to make

them consistent with the future human

needs as well as the present (Filani 2005).

Obviously, the rapid increase in the size

and concentration of human colonies since

the turn of the last century undoubtedly

has continued to tilt the delicate balance

between man and his environment. The

concentration of human population in

urban areas around the world has been

induced by the emergence of the industrial

age of civilization resulting in an array of

problems that are economical, social and

environmental (Mabogunje 1980).

Although the severity of these problems

and their nature vary from country to

country, they remain conditions which are

neither consistent with the present needs

nor those of the future.

The millennium development goals are an

attempt to conceptualize some of the most

serious challenges facing mankind. An

eight-point agenda by the United Nations

(UN) was set as a global strategy to redress

these problems by the year 2015. One of

the agenda set for this deadline is the

sustainable development of cities around

the world. The Nigerian experience as far

as the sustainable development of its cities

is concerned is quite appalling. The

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69

country as a matter of fact ranks very low

among countries on all the eight-point

agenda. A recent ranking by UN shows

that Nigeria ranks 20th among countries

with an impending food shortage crisis

despite its large geographic territory and

human capital. The country also ranks a

high regarding the prevalence of life

threatening diseases such as HIV/AIDS,

infant/ maternal mortality, road traffic

accidents and mortality. A United Nations

Human and Development (UNHD) report

in 2006 I. A. ADEMILUYI AND O. A.

DINA in fact ranked Nigeria 19th among

the least livable countries of the world,

behind war torn Rwanda. This ranking by

the apex international agency poses a fresh

challenge for the government to improve

the living standard in the country. It is,

however, a fact that the rate of population

increase and its unbalanced distribution in

Nigeria are clearly unsustainable, and the

population growth directly and indirectly

affects Nigeria’s economic development

especially in the areas of per capital

income, size of labour force, infrastructure

distribution, and new jobs required among

others. The immediate and remote role of

transportation, particularly the railways in

the emergence, growth and over-

urbanization of major cities in Nigeria

must be carefully examined before

adequate measures for sustainable growth

can be proffered. Again, transport a

primary source of air pollution, may be

critical to any effort aimed at improving

the environment, which perhaps is the

central concern of environmentalists.

Again, a balanced growth may be critical

to the government’s ability to adequately

address the eight-point agenda of the

millennium development goals. This

article therefore, examines the role of the

railways as a strategy in containing over-

urbanization of Nigerian cities and

promoting sustainable development

through improvement in living conditions

of the major urban areas of the country to

meet the millennium goals set for 2015.

CHALLENGES OF SUSTAINABLE

BUILT-UP ENVIRONMENT IN

NIGERIA

The challenges to sustainable built-up

environment in Nigeria cities and urban

areas are embodied in urbanization. Some

of the common negative consequences

resulting from urbanization are shortage

of/overcrowding in residential buildings,

lack of housing funds, prevalence and

growth of slum communities, and poor

public sanitary conditions. Others include

community neglect, traffic congestion,

inadequate parking facilities, competition

for land, incessant flooding and drainage

problem, prevalence of illegal

development, heavy environmental

pollution, refuse disposal problems,

inadequate physical planning, social vices,

low funding of planning activities, law

enforcement problems, poor sanitary

habits of city dwellers, poor

infrastructures, corruption, and

infrastructure decay.

Urbanization in Nigeria pre-dates colonial

administration of the country. Cities like

Sokoto, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Ede, Ilorin, Iwo

and Oshogbo had population varying from

50,000 to 100, 000 inhabitants as of the

19th Century. There were at least 25 cities

known to have over 20,000 inhabitants at

this period (Egunjobi 2002). These

settlements developed from ancient

commercial trading activities; the level of

urbanization of some them is traceable to

their pre-colonial administrative, religious

and defence functions (Mabogunje 1968).

Three notable factors contributed to

urbanization during the colonial

administration in Nigeria: the explorations

of export commodities, introduction of

modern transport (railway) and colonial

administrative policies (Onokerhoraye and

Omuta 1986). One of such administrative

policies was the Township Ordinance Act

of 1917 that not only provided conditions

for native administration, but also

classified towns into first, second and third

class settlements. This classification

apparently influenced decisions on

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70

investment in infrastructure and modern

urban services by the colonial

administration (Onokerhoraye and Omuta

1986). Thus Lagos, the only first class

town under this categorization, was the

first to be lit up with electricity, while

second-class towns like Kaduna,

Abeokuta, Kano etc. got electricity supply

several years after Lagos was lit up in

1896. Investment in transport

infrastructure also ensured these cities

experienced rapid population growth as

human agglomeration took its toll on them.

As of 1972, no fewer than 340 cities had

population more than 20,000; thirty-eight

cities had between 100- 500 thousand

inhabitants; three had more than 500,000

inhabitants (Egunjobi 2002).

Least livable countries in the world 1 Niger 11 Congo (DRC) 21 Eritrea

2 Sierra Leone 12 Malawi 22 Senegal

3 Mali 13 Zambia 23 Gambia

4 Burkina faso 14 Ivory Coast 24 Haiti

5 Guinea- Bissau 1 5 Benin 25 Mauritania

6 Central African Republic 16 Tanzania 26

Kenya

7 Chad 17 Angola 27 Zimbabwe

8 Ethiopia 18 Guinea 28 Yemen

9 Burundi 19 Nigeria 29 Lesotho

10 Mozanbique 20 Rwanda 30 Djibouti

Source: UNHD Report 2006

Post-colonial policies such as

decentralization of the administrative

structure of Nigeria between the early

seventies and mid-nineties from a three

region system of government to 12

federating states, and from 12 to 19 to the

present 36 states, affected urbanization

significantly. The implication of the

different administrative decentralization

exercises for the population of urban areas

of Nigeria is obvious: state capitals

continued to enjoy priority attention in

terms of infrastructure outlay, especially

road projects. The populations of the state

capitals continued to rise chiefly as a result

of migration of job seekers from suburban

and rural communities. Today, state

capitals in Nigeria remain the most

urbanized parts of the country and a few of

them are currently battling over-

urbanization.

The city of Lagos remains a classical

example of an urban settlement grappling

with effects of over-urbanization. Its status

as port city and former federal capital

made it a center for commerce and

industry for the whole nation. The

unparalleled economic, political and

infrastructural benefits that have accrued

to the state since independence have

naturally attracted human agglomeration.

The state population record shows that the

city which had about five thousand

inhabitants about two centuries ago,

recorded a population of about nine

million inhabitants in 2006 (i.e. about

6.4% of Nigeria’s population), making it

the most densely populated part of the

country and Africa (N.P.C. 2007).

Transportation remains the driving force

behind economic and socio-economic

interaction and change (Ogunsanya 2002;

Oyesiku 2003).

Transportation has played multifarious

roles in the unsustainable direction the

growth of urban areas has so far taken in

the country. First, it is the principal source

of air and noise pollution in urban areas

that arose from the dominant use of

automobiles for movement. Motorized

transport produces harmful by-products

like carbon monoxide and lead that are

spread ubiquitous in large doses on a daily

basis in urban areas. These harmful

pollutants are a principal contributor to the

greenhouse effect that is the source of

global warming currently being

experienced all over the world.

Another negative effect of the transport

system on the built-up environment in

Nigeria is the country’s high motor

accident and fatality rates. This important

means of transportation ranks among the

top killers of the country’s citizens

(Ogunsanya 2002). The high level of

recklessness associated with driving and

the hazardous infrastructural outlay of road

transport take a heavy toll on human life

and property annually. Lastly, the

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71

perennial of road traffic congestions and

hold-ups often experienced in the major

cities like Lagos, Port-Harcourt, Benin,

Abuja and Ibadan often lead to loss of

productive man hours daily. The waste of

non-renewable resources like petrol and

diesel, coupled with stress, psychological

pressure, and higher cost of vehicle

maintenance is not consistent with present

or future needs of a livable environment.

Railway Development in Nigeria

Of all the overland transport modes in

Nigeria, the railway is the oldest and

perhaps has the greatest carrying capacity.

Railway development in began in Nigeria

in 1898 with the Lagos – Ibadan line that

was completed in 1901. Its original

conception by the colonial authorities was

to open up the country to trade with

England as well as an instrument of

administrative control, regional growth

and development, politics and military

control (Robinson et al. 1961; Ademiluyi

2006a). The Lagos – Ibadan line was

extended to Jebba in 1909, and this line

later joined the Kano – Baro line in 1915.

In the East of Nigeria, the Port- Harcourt

line reached Enugu in 1916. Between 1916

and 1966, the railway line was connected

to 205 towns and cities like Jos, Kaduna,

Zaria, Namoda, Nigwu, Ifo, Maiduguri and

Gombe. Alesa – Eleme oil refinery to

Eleheruwa in Port-Harcourt was connected

to Enugu line in 1966 thereby making the

road network even more desirable to

commuters.

Challenges of Railway Development in

Nigeria

The Nigerian railway system has several

problems that are worth mentioning. Some

of these are poor track structure consisting

of single-track narrow gauge, steep

gradients and sharp curves, poor

maintenance, and poor track equipment

limiting maximum permissible speed to 65

km/h. Others include shortage of

locomotives and rolling stocks, corruption

and bad management, poor

equipment/state of technology, neglect of

rail system for road transport development

by government, frequent interference with

NRC management, myriads of pensioners,

and a volatile labour union (Abubakar

2002). Also, of all transport modes

commonly used in Nigeria, the rail sub-

sector remains the relatively most

neglected in terms of investment and

transformation (Jakpa 1981; Adesanya

1998; Elechi 1998; Ademiluyi 2006b).

However, several attempts have been made

in recent years to give the Nigeria Railway

Corporation (NRC) a new lease of life,

having been caught in the throes of neglect

and mismanagement over the years. Such

initiatives include the contractual

agreement between Nigeria and Rail

Indian Technical and Economic Services

(RITES) between 1978–1982; the

‘Ogbemudia Revolution’ that turned

around local rail transport; the

rehabilitation project carried out by the

Chinese Civil Engineering Construction

Corporation (CCECC) between 1995 –

1999 (Odeleye 2000). The rehabilitation

exercise of CCECC ended with marginal

improvement in the service of NRC. In

1994, the number of passengers carried by

the NRC increased from 784,491 to

2,889,977, representing a 360% increase in

traffic. The revenue generated did not

however follow a similar pattern of

increase. Revenue generated increased by

152%. No significant increase was

recorded for freight traffic between 1994

and 1995, and earnings expectedly did not

show any significant increase. Between

1996 and 1999, there was evidence of a

marginal increase in the total revenue on a

yearly basis due to the increase recorded in

freight patronage. It is pertinent to note

that passenger traffic had been on steady

decline by an average of 60% between

2004 and 2006. The year 2006 is

Railway construction in Nigeria

Section Year of construction

Lagos - Ibadan 1898 – 1901

Ibadan – Jebba 1901 – 1909

Kano - Baro 1911

Jebba – Minna 1961 – 1915

Portharcourt – Enugu 1916

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72

Enugu - Maduguri 1916 – 1924

Kaduna - Kafanchan 1927

Kafanchan – Jos 1927

Kafanchan - Bauchi 1958 – 1961

Bauchi - Gombe 1961 – 1963

Ajaokuta – Itape (standard gauge) 1990

Portharcourt – Onne Under construction

Source: Nigeria Railway Corporation 2007

The Nigerian railway network comprises

3,505 kilometers of narrow gauge

(1.067m), single track running parallel

through north-west to south-west and from

south-east to north-east of the country.

1788km of this network is on 1,600 sharp

curves between 4 and 10 degrees, and this

has reduced the maximum permissible

speed to 65km/h (Odeleye 2000).

Regrettably, almost five decades after

independence, no major track extension

has been made to the existing network.

The existing network is still essentially

what the colonial administration left

behind as inherited by the first indigenous

administration of the country in 1960.

The shift in government priority to the

development of infrastructure for

motorized transportation led to the neglect

of the rail network. This gradually took a

toll on the performance and financial

balance of the Nigerian Railway

Corporation (NRC), the administrators of

the Nigerian railways. Twelve years after

independence, the NRC began recording

financial losses, a trend that has not only

continued but has increased in enormity. In

1981 alone, the corporation recorded a loss

of more than N83 million and since then

the lost has been continuous. In fact, in the

recent times, there has been a persistent

downward trend in Nigeria Railway’s

fortunes (Solarin 2000; Abubakar 2002;

Ademiluyi 2006a). The patronage of the

railways dwindled due to the rapid

increase in the use of motorized transport.

The neglect of the rail system by the public

is consequent on its inability to improve its

operational efficiency and speed over time.

The latest effort to revamp the fortunes of

rail transit in Nigeria came when the

federal government initiated the rail

modernization effort in November 2006.

The first of the three phases of the upgrade

entails the construction of double track

(standard gauge) from Lagos to Kano.

Another major feature of the project is the

construction of a fast rail from Lagos to

the capital city of Abuja. Table 4 shows

some of the cities to be served by the new

rail lines, minimum land space and

provides the cheapest travel cost for

commuters compared with other means of

land transportation (Ademiluyi 2006a).

The expansion of the modern rail service

in Nigeria will go a long way in reducing

the level of environmental pollution and

improving the livability standards of

Nigerian cities. The use of modern rail cars

for both intra-city and inter-city movement

will also reduce the level of noise pollution

in the urban environment. As more people

are encouraged to “join the train”, the daily

demand for motorized transport for both

private and public transport will likely be

cut down. This will automatically translate

to reduction in the amount of pollution

from carbon monoxide in the built-up

environment, thus ensuring a healthier

environment for today’s and tomorrow’s

inhabitants. Furthermore, it will likely

have impact on the demand for, supply and

pricing of Petroleum products, especially

Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), the energy

resource for motor transport. Reviving the

fortunes of this means of transport may

prove crucial to stabilizing cost of travel

for commuters and avert the incessant

national industrial actions occasioned by

increases in pump prices of petroleum

products.

The rail system will be particularly useful

in cities like Lagos and Abuja as an intra-

city means of transport as a way of

mitigating the current pattern of chaos

commonly associated with urban

transportation. The rail system could be

crucial in the management of peak hour

chaos in these cities. Furthermore, rail

transport requires less land resources for

its operations unlike the road network that

requires a massive chunk of land.

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73

Railway and Sustainable Built-Up

Environment

There is ample evidence in the literature

such as O’conor (1965), Leinbach (1975),

Mabogunje (1980), Igben (1981),

Onakomaiya (1983), Hilling (1996), Amos

(2005), Bullock (2005), Sharp (2005),

among others to support the profound

impact of rail transport on the socio-

economic development and transformation

of a nation. Also, rail transport has a

number of advantages over other means of

transportation in terms of environmental

friendliness. The progressive

transformation in rail motive power has

made the railway not only faster, but also

to attain a zero environmental pollution

status through the introduction of the

electric train.

Rapid population increase that tends to

stretch infrastructure beyond its capability

is a challenge governments in Nigeria and

around the world are facing. These

increases are particularly fueled by

migration from the less developed or

economically disadvantaged regions. The

city of Lagos is facing a similar challenge;

it is perhaps the most densely populated

part of Africa and has attained a megapolis

status due to continued influx of migrants

seeking better opportunities. A modernized

rail transport may discourage people from

migrating to major cities like Abuja and

Lagos as it may be more reasonable on the

economy of scale for them to remain

where they are since they can access their

destination in a short time and at a

reasonable cost without recourse to change

of residence. Furthermore, it could also

encourage more people to move out from

most of these congested cities and reside

where there is less economic and social

pressure. Demand for shelter has been a

critical issue that affects the face of cities

in Nigeria and the world over. Most over-

urbanized cities of the world face the

daunting challenge to meet the demand for

shelter in them and if unmet often give rise

to growth and prevalence of shanty-towns

and slum areas. A functional and

modernized rail transport can ensure that

home search goes beyond the state

territory. With modern trains able to move

at a speed in excess of 270 km/h and able

to access the heart of any city to deliver its

passengers, home search can extend

beyond state boundaries. People living as

far as Ilorin or Benin both about 300km

from Lagos can choose to make their

living in Lagos or the federal capital in

Abuja, traveling in and out on a daily basis

without necessarily residing in either city.

In the case of Abuja, residents in need of

cheaper accommodation may decide to

extend their search to neighboring Minna,

Suleja, Jos or Kaduna and still meet up

their daily schedule for work/social

engagement. The implication of this for

effort aimed at attaining sustainability of

urban environment is very obvious: there

will be a better balance of agglomeration

and spread across the federating states that

make up Nigeria. As more choices are

available to explore, better and indeed

cheaper accommodation can be sought,

putting less pressure on such basic

infrastructures as electricity,

transportation, health facilities etc. In

addition, the challenge of developing city

core and its fringe may become less taxing,

as slum and squatter settlements will be

easily contained.

The United Nations indicates that

developing nations like Nigeria have their

urban cities harbouring about forty percent

(40%) of their population. Future estimates

for developing countries show that the

figure will increase to fifty-three percent or

more (53%) by the year 2020. This is a

source of worry going by the problems and

challenges presently faced in ensuring that

urban areas of Nigeria become functional,

livable, and aesthetically pleasing.

Urbanization has been the primary reason

commonly advanced by scholars for the

present deplorable state of many cities in

the country. While this article does not

contest this view, it however suggests that

urbanization itself may have been further

driven over the years by the

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74

underdeveloped state of public

transportation particularly rail transport.

Although railways may have fueled the

initial growth of urban areas in the colonial

and early post-colonial period due to its

strategic place in the mobility of Nigerians

at that period in time, its long period of

neglect may be critical in explaining the

over- urbanization and decay in major

cities of Nigeria. Modern rail system as

existing in many of the developed

countries has not only become a tool for

urban containment and regional balance, it

remains crucial to attaining and

maintaining a sustainable urban

environment. This article concludes that

any effort aimed at improving the face of

Nigerian cities as the nation progresses to

sustainable growth and meeting the

millennium development goal in 2015 may

in part depend on a successful

revitalization and modernization of the rail

system.

CONCLUSION

The role of the rail transport in fostering a

better living condition and sustainable

builtup environment in Nigeria cannot be

overemphasized. The paper has not

suggested that developing railway

transport alone can attain sustainable

development in Nigeria’s built-up

environment to meet the millennium

development goals. Rather, it has drawn

attention to the railway as a critical tool for

making planning activities more effective

by acting as an agent for population

distribution. In view of the benefits

highlighted in this paper, it is imperative

now more than ever to revive the

operations of the Nigerian railways and

bring them to the level that is obtainable in

advanced countries of the world.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The role of the railway as a tool for

regional balance and again as a tool for

urban containment cannot therefore be

over-emphasized in view of its success in

achieving this feat in developed countries

like Britain and other European countries.

The means is also noted to be a key factor

in achieving a timely and efficient

transport system in Nigeria that will be

based on intermodal dependence (Badejo

2007). The Federal Government of Nigeria

must therefore take serious steps to revive

rail transportation if any meaningful feat is

to be achieved in the millennium

development goals in the country. The

decision of the Obasanjo-led civilian

administration to revive the fortunes of the

Railway by initiating the rail

modernization is commendable. The need

to ensure a timely completion of the first

phase of the project is imperative; this will

allow Nigerians to perhaps have a taste of

the versatility of the rail system for

moving both passengers and goods.

Thirdly, states and cities to be serviced by

the rail project must ensure that existing

transport networks are properly integrated

to the rail terminus in order to ensure

proper access and circulation. Lastly, the

Federal Government of Nigeria must

ensure the full participation of the private

sector in the operation and management of

the Nigerian rail system.

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76

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Sanmi Adeoti

Akintunde T B

IMPROVED TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT: EFFECTIVE PARKING OPTION IN ADO

EKITI

1Sanmi Adeoti &

2Akintunde T B

1Department of urban and Regional Planning

adeotisanmi@yahoo.com. 2Department of urban and Regional Planning

The Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti

ABSTRACT: The role of parking facilities in transport system cannot be over emphasized

since every moving vehicle requires a place for rest. Yet, little attention is paid on this

important aspect of transport system in cities of developing countries like Nigeria

particularly Ado Ekiti with increasing traffic flow. The development made the paper to aim at

effective parking option for the traffic problem in Ado Ekiti while empirical design approach

was employed to take proper inventory of pattern of parking in all the major land use areas,

determine the parking intensity of the Centre Business District (CBD) and the parking

challenges. The findings which were properly analyzed revealed shortage of parking facilities

which is more pronounced at CBD that make motorists to opt for illegal on street parking

resulting in narrowing down of carriage way with all the shortcoming and lapses The paper

finally recommends provision of adequate parking facilities (on and off street parking) with

appropriate legislation to curb the act.

KEYWORDS: Traffic, Motorist, Parking and Management

INTRODUCTION Traffic, according to the Advanced Oxford

English Dictionary, stands for the

movement of vehicles, person and other

moving object along road and street for

specific purpose. From this statement, the

actual generators of traffic are people,

goods, vehicles and places. Bruton (1975)

pointed out that the pattern and volume of

traffic flow depends much on the forms of

settlement. Hence, different types of land

use generate different and variable traffic

flow. Ratcliff (1979) equally noted that

with increasing population, expanding

urban area, rising car ownership, greater

demand for space by every method of

transport, ever inflating traffic peak getting

shaper and shaper with growing

completion for land from every quarters,

the situation continue to worsen.

Many traffic management measures have

been introduced overtime to combat the

menace of urban traffic problems globally.

John (1981) considers it worthwhile the

necessity for introducing a comprehensive

package of traffic scheme and policy

toward an efficient traffic system. In fact,

the package rather than being a capital

intensive, it is more of management

intensive in nature

Today, cities worldwide are still gasping

with problems of reducing the traffic

congestion on their roads and providing

adequate parking facilities for the soaring

vehicular population. According to Obot

(2009), in Nigeria, like other places where

cars are one of the dominant modes of

transportation, urban circulation is one of

the most obvious problems while parking

facilities seems to be neglected and

overlooked as an element of transportation

development

It is important to note that similar parking

problems are conspicuously noticeable in

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77

Ado Ekiti. As a matter of fact, parking

space are either nonexistence or grossly

inadequate in the major land use areas of

the town, therefore, making illegal and

unauthorized parking along the road to be

the order of the day, narrowing down the

carriage way which led to heavy traffic

congestion .

The main thrust of the paper is therefore to

appraise the dimension of these problems

by taking the inventory of all parking

facilities, take note of deficiency in the

location distribution of the facilities,

identifying the major constraint of this

development and make the necessary

suggestion as a way forward

Conceptual Frame- work and Review of

Literature

The concept of this paper is based on

Traffic Management Scheme which was

formulated in line with the popular

Transportation System Management

(TSM) of USA. The scheme like TSM was

developed with a package of different

strategies. According to Adesanya (1985)

the strategies are being used by

transportation professional in developed

and developing countries for improving air

quality, conserving energy and increasing

transportation efficiency and mobility

through coordinated operation and

management of existing urban

transportation facilities services.

The package is grouped into five sections

as listed below:

Improve vehicular flow by removal of

on street parking/offloading along the

street ,one way traffic flow and traffic

channelization

Preferential treatment of high

occupancy vehicle through freeway

bus lane, bus and carpool lane on city

major route(arterial) and peak period

trunk restriction

Parking management by provision of

adequate parking facilities with

parking regulations

Transit and para-transit services by

proper security measure, provision of

traffic shelter and terminals.

Transit management efficiency

measures through maintenance

policies and evaluation of route

system performance

The package as a matter of fact operates on

inexpensive plans of which the

implementation improves capacity of

existing transportation facilities.

Generally, the problems of traffic flow are

as a result of population growth and

affluent of the urban dwellers. Kemper

(1975) pointed out that most developing

countries witnessed increasing traffic flow

in their cities as result of increasing

population trend and the fast economic

development but fall short of parking

facilities. For instance, Fasakin (2006)

explained that the documented progress of

urbanization in Nigeria was put as follows

20% in 1970; 23% in 1984; 38% in 1991;

40% in 1996 and 43% in 2004. Available

data from the Federal Office of statistics

revealed that in the 1980s the average

annual vehicle registration stood at 98, 552

(Fos1988). The graphical presentation of

vehicle registration in Nigeria

between1999 and 2003 indicated an

increase of almost 1000000 with an

average of about 200,000 per annual.

Oyesiku (2003) also pointed out that the

country witnessed an increase of over 300

percent of vehicle fleet between 1999 and

2001.

The continuous increase of motorization in

the country, particular in urban areas as a

result of population growth couple with

increase in car ownership made demand

for more infrastructural facilities in the

area of parking space. As a matter of fact,

demand for parking is as important as

transport itself because every moving

vehicle with time do come to rest. Hence,

there is a need to make adequate provision

for parking. According to Ifesanyan (2007)

it has been estimated that out of 8760

hours in a year (365days) the car runs on

an average of 400 hours (17 days) leaving

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78

about 8360 hours (348 days) for parking.

Parking demand is equally influenced by

the type of function of land use and the

quality of the public transport system. At

the same time, the amount of parking

facilities needed at a particular place is a

function of land use in that place.

According to Okoko(2006) the Central

Business District (CBD) where there is a

concentration of commercial activities

demand for more parking facilities.

Unfortunately, there is a limited amount of

land space for parking facilities in Nigeria

cities particularly at the CBD where

parking facilities have to compete with

other land use activities therefore makes

parking more difficult. According to

Adeniji (1981) the insufficient of parking

facilities in our towns and cities has made

illegal parking to be popular. Obot (2009)

pointed out that in Uyo, there are no

designated parking spaces except the

recent one provided at the Ibom Plaza

which has already proved insufficient,

therefore making unauthorized and

indiscriminate parking along the streets

within the urban core a severe impediment

to smooth urban movement. Abuja

experience is even the worst. According to

Alenche (2011) getting a parking lot at

anywhere in Abuja is a tug of war as

parkers struggle daily to secure luxurious

parking space within the offices and the

shopping corridors in Abuja.

Study Area.

Ado Ekiti, the State capital is located on

the Latitude 70 14’ North of the Equator

and Longitude 50 15’ East of Greenwich

Meridian. The town is centrally and

strategically located in Ekiti land to give

way for maximum spatial interaction with

all towns in the state. The existing road

network that link Ado Ekiti with these

towns and other towns in the neighbouring

states are Ado-Akure; Ado-Omuo Aran;

Ado-Ilesa; and Ado-Ikare roads. Others are

Ado-Ilawe and Ado-Afao roads.

The political system of the country has

made the town to witness many

administrative, demographic, economic

and spatial changes. For instance, the

genesis of Ado Ekiti as a capital for Ekiti

people could be traced back to 1916 when

the town became the administrative

headquarter of Ekiti Native Authority.

Since then the town has remained as an

administrative headquarter, despite the

various local government reforms the

country has witnessed .Finally, the town

became the state capital in 1996 when

Ekiti State was created.

The administrative changes over the years

have contributed immensely to the

population growth and development of the

town. The past population census revealed

that the population of the town which was

about 20,000 in 1921 rose to over 150,000

in 1963 and jumped to almost 400,000 by

2006 census. The rapid population growth

tremendously affects the physical

development and expansion of the town.

According to Odeyemi (2006), the area of

the town increased from 6.9km2

in 1961

to about 36.7km2 in 2006. Actually, the

wave of developmental expansion has

extended to Ajebamidele, Falegan,

Omisanjana and Ido along the south axis

while to the north, it is fast approaching

Iworoko.

Method of study

The study utilized both secondary and

primary data. The primary data are the

field work while the secondary data are the

reference books, The design instrument of

the primary data are observation,

structured interview and administered

questionnaire

The observatory survey takes note of ways

of parking for services at major institutions

which include notable offices, banks,

hospitals, markets, churches and mosques.

The survey also takes record of the license

plate number of each illegal parked vehicle

(on street parking) within the shopping

corridor of the city center over a week

between the hour of 8 am and 6 pm at an

hour interval

The town was divided into six zones to

administered 180 questionnaires. The

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79

questionnaire was designed to determine

the parking pattern at the working,

shopping, recreating worshiping and

business activity area of the town. The six

zones are:Oke ila, Dallimon, Afao

road/Housing area; State hospital

Adebayo,Opopogboro and Adehun;

Omisanjana, Ilawe road and GRA; Basiri,

Ilesa road and Ajitadidun;

Okebola,Ajilosun and Coke-cola/area

finally, Mathew, Odo Ado and Ureje area.

In each of the zone, 30 respondents who

are households of car ownership were

randomly sampled

The collected data were analysis using

descriptive statistic of tables and graphical

presentations.

Analysis of Findings

Analysis of data was undertaken at two

levels. The first level is about the general

attributes of parking in term of mode of

parking, reason of parking, parking

duration, parking cost and parking

implications. These attributes relate with

working, shopping, recreating worshiping

and business activity in the town.

Mode of parking: It is clearly noted that

on street parking is more present at

shopping and places of worship. From fig

1, 57 percent of shoppers parked on the

street which is the highest while 15percent

use parking space. At the same time, 54

percent of workers make use of the

parking space to represent the highest

Reason for parking: As a matter of fact,

majority of the parkers consider lack of

parking space as a reason for their parking

system while improper location has the

least. For instance, 55 percent of the

shoppers, closely followed by 50 percent

of the worshippers gave lack of parking

facilities as reason for their choice.

However, 62 percent of workers see proper

location of parking space for their action.

Parking duration: Except the working

environment where parkers parked for

long period others parked between an hour

and two hours or even less than an hour.

According to fig3, 78 percent shoppers

spent less than an hour for parking closely

followed by 69 percent of parkers on

business activity. .At the same time 92

percent of workers spent the longer hours

of the day for parking

Parking cost: Free parking is order of the

day in all area of human activities in the

town Fig 4 clearly showed that religion

activity with 98 percent operates the

highest free parking closely followed by

recreation activity with 91 percent.

However, 15 percent of shoppers paid

token amount for parking, representing the

highest paying sector.

Parking implication: Generally the

parkers noted that the majority of their

parking environments are heavily prone to

insecurity and accident. As a matter of fact

66 percent of worshippers realized that the

environment where they normally park is

not only prone to insecurity but equally

prone to accident while 61 percent of

shoppers have the same feeling. It is

important to note that the workers with 45

percent feel free of insecurity and accident

for their parking. See fig 5

It is equally noted that in most cases,

particularly at the CBD, the on street

parking reduces the width of carriage way,

there by contributing heavily to traffic

congestion, slow movement of vehicle and

consequent delay of travelers. see plate

The second level is concern with parking

demand within the shopping corridor of

the Centre Business District (CBD) which

actually involves the parking occupancy

and the parking turnover rate

Occupancy of parking: Actually the

occupancy of parking has never been

evenly distributed over time .From the

available data, the occupancy of parking

reached the peak at 6 p.m with 205

vehicles while the lowest realm is equally

at 12 noon with 155 vehicles .At the same

time, the day of the week that recorded the

highest occupancy of parking on

Wednesday with about 207 vehicles while

Tuesday of the week has the least vehicles

as occupancy of parking.

Turning-over of parking: Just like the

occupancy of parking, the turning over of

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

80

parking also experiences uneven

distribution over time. The peak period is

at 6pm with 190 vehicles. The day of the

week with the highest frequency of turning

over is Wednesday while Tuesday of the

week has the least record.

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

Although majority of the respondents

noted that they usually park in

environment that is prone to insecurity and

accident. This action is attributed to the

lack of parking space in most places of

human activity in the town According to

Okoko(2006) and Obot (2009) improper

and unauthorized parking facilities within

the city centre do not only contribute to

traffic obstruction but cause serious traffic

nuisance, The improper parking is

prominent at the shopping corridor of the

CBD and the religion institutions. For

instance, apart from Oja Oba that has two

small nearby parking space, other markets

like Odo Ado, Bisi Okesa and Fayose are

provided with no parking facilities. The

ugly situation spread it tentacles to all

religion institutions except a few like

Catholic cathedral at Ijigbo and Emmanuel

Anglican cathedral at Okesa

Parking demand generally is a function of

the intensity of land use. Therefore,

Wednesday of the week that fall on the

market day of Oja Oba does not only

contribute to the increase of traffic

intensity at the CBD but equally make the

occupancy of parking rate in the area to

witness same. Likewise, relax of traffic

regulation between 4 pm and 6pm makes

both intensity and rate of occupancy of

parking to experience gradual increment.

The highest percentage of short duration of

parking at the shopping environment really

contributes to the high rate of parking turn

over.

CONCLUSION AND

RECOMMENDATION

In conclusion, available records clearly

revealed that cities of developing countries

witness more of traffic flow due to

population growth and increase of income

without corresponding parking facilities.

As a matter of fact, the study empirically

established that lack of parking facilities in

almost all land use areas of Ado Ekiti and

barrier of parking facilities location at

shopping prescient made on street parking

to dominate the townscape. Therefore

leads to persistent congestion, poor traffic

movement and eventual delay of

passengers.

In order to reduce the ugly situation,

government must take proactive measures

not only in the provision of this facility at

appropriate places but also create enabling

environment for private participation. This

can be better achieved by identifying

suitable vacant land that must be well

designed with directional signs and

pedestrian walkway for car park

development

There should be provision for on street

parking to argument parking demand

where the road carriage way is wide

enough to accommodate parking facility

As a matter of policy, government need to

formulate parking standard to decide how

much each individual development should

provide, at where and of what kind.

Finally, for proper implementation, there

must be proper management plan as well

as enforcement legislation

REFERENCE

Adeniyi S A (1981), Public transport and

urban development strategy in Nigeria.

Unpublished PhD Thesis. University of

Wales

Adesanya M F (1983) Traffic management

scheme Njgerian Institute of Social and

Economic Research (NISER), University

of Ibadan

Bruton M J (1975), Introduction to

transportation planning. The Built

Environment Series, Hutchinson & co

(publisher) Ltd, London

Fasakin J O (2006), Asymmetries in

philosophy and practice of physical

planning in Nigeria. Inaugural Lecture

Series 43 delivered at Federal University

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

81

of TechnologyAkure on Tuesday April 11,

2006

Fos (1988) Federal Office of Statistic,

Lagos

Ifesanya A O (2007) Car park facilities

and economic prospect: A case study of

the University of Ibadan. The Excellence

Journal of the Academic Staff Union of

Polytechnics.Ado Ekiti chapter. No 1.

Dumpsy print and publisher

Kemper A (1979), Architectural

handbook. John Wiley and son, New York

Obot J D et al (2009), Intra Urban traffic

and parking demand in Uyo urban area.

Global Journal of Social Studies Vol 11

No 2 pp61-68

Okoko E (2006), Urban transportation

planning and modeling. Millennium

publisher Akure

Oyesiku O K(2003), Sustainable

Transportation Strategies for intermediate

cities in Nigeria. Journal of the Nigerian

Institute of Town Planners VolXVI pp35-

44

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

82

Source: Field work 2011

Source: Field work 2011

Source: Field work 2011

Fig 2: Reason for parking

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

wor

king

shop

ping

recr

eatio

n

relig

ion

busine

ss

lack of parking

poor location

good location

Fig 3: Duration of parking

0

20

40

60

80

100

wor

king

shop

ping

recr

eatio

n

relig

ion

busine

ss

an hour parking

few hour parking

long hour parking

Fig 1:Mode of parking

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

working shopping recreation religion business

street parking

open parking

parkingspace

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

83

Source: Field work 2011

Source: Field work 2011

Plate: 1 Illegal parking area

Source: Field work 2011

Fig 5: Parking implications

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

wor

king

shop

ping

recr

eatio

n

relig

ion

busine

ss

prone to

accident/insecurity

prone to accident

only

free from

accident/insecurity

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

84

Fig 6: Daily average of parking demand

in hours

0

50

100

150

200

250

form

of v

ehicle

9am

11am 1p

m3p

m5p

m

previously

counted

currently

counted

turn over no

Series4

Fig 7: Hour average of parking demand

on daily basis

0

50

100

150

200

250

Mon

day

Tuesd

ay

Wedn

esday

Thurs

day

Friday

Already

counted

Now

counted

Turn over

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

85

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Ajibola O.O

Adewuyi B.O

Oloruntoba D.T

DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF WEAR TEST JIG FOR

ALUMINIUM ALLOY SUBSTRATE IN HYDRAULIC FLUID

1Ajibola O.O,

2Adewuyi B.O &

3Oloruntoba D.T

2,3Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Dept,

Federal University of Tech., Akure, Nigeria 1Dept. of Mineral Resources Engineering,

Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria

olawaleegunlae@yahoo.com, tayo_adewuyi@yahoo.com, oloruntobadt@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT: Aluminium alloys are found useful in automotive engine cylinder, master brake

and clutch cylinder. The work investigates the tribological behaviour of Aluminium alloy

used in master brake and clutch cylinder calliper. The use of wear test rig is very popular in

assessing the wear resistance of metallic substrates. The results often reflect wear resistance

of the inner core of the sectioned substrate in absence of fluid which can cause corrosion on

the surfaces having the immediate contact with the counter-face. To assess the level of wear

that occurs on the surface of a component subjected to wear by friction/abrasion and

corrosion, a wear test jig was designed, fabricated, tested and evaluated using aluminium

alloy substrate. The study reports the design, construction and testing of a wear test jig to be

used in the evaluation of synergetic effect of friction and hydraulic fluid on the wear of

aluminium alloy. The machine design features the complete master cylinder unit, hydraulic

fluid reservoir, pushing rod and coupling, right and left L-mounting stands,

electric/motorised jigging device, fastening bolt and nut, and wooding platform. The electric

powered jig can be regulated and operated at varying speeds. The fabrication was tested on

batches of as-cast and as-received (commercially available) aluminium alloy samples; the

wear was assessed based on the ASTM standards of calculating wear volume. The machine is

cheap and simple to operate.

KEYWORDS: Aluminium alloys, surface, inner-core, wear test jig

INTRODUCTION

Wear, fatigue failure, corrosion, and

oxidation all begin at the surface and can

rapidly lead to stress concentration,

fracture, increased friction, and other

problems caused by the formation of wear

debris and corrosion products. Wear is a

mechanical material deterioration process

occurring on rubbing or impacting

surfaces, while corrosion involves

chemical or electrochemical reactions of

the material. Corrosion may accelerate

wear and vice versa (Watson et al, 1995).

Hence there can be corrosion accelerated

wear or wear accelerated corrosion.

(wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribology,

wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribocorrosion).

Aluminium alloys are widely used in many

engineering applications such as

automotive engines, in cylinder blocks and

crankcases due to the weight savings, the

aluminium cylinder heads, crankcase of

the corvair, master brake and clutch

cylinder. (wikipedia.org/wiki/Master

cylinder). This is no doubt has contributed

to the combination of light weight–high

strength characteristics of the component

under application. Nevertheless cylinder

components (including hydraulic brake

and clutch) contribute to around 30% of

total friction in an automotive engine (Pari

et al, 2008). Hydraulic fluid is used in

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86

hydraulic brake and clutch applications in

automobiles. Most brake fluids used today

are glycol-ether based. The combination of

friction and fluid has the potential to cause

wear of the aluminium alloy component

under application. Hence, the need to

assess the wear characteristics of the

material under application (Madsen, 1987).

The use of wear test rig is very popular in

assessing the wear resistance of metallic

substrates. The result reflected resistance

to wear of the inner core of the substrate

under investigation and sometime does not

represent what happen on the surfaces

having the immediate contact. To assess

the level of wear that occur on the surface

of this component, a wear test jig was

designed, fabricated, tested and evaluated

using a cast aluminium alloy.

MATERIALS AND METHOD

Design Parameters and Considerations

Various parameters considered in the

design and construction of the wear test jig

include;

Material properties of Aluminium alloy

substrate (Table 1), Properties of

Hydraulic Brake oil (Table 2), Chemical

composition of aluminium alloy substrates

(Table 3). Material selection

characteristics (tensile strength, density,

ductility, formability, workability and

corrosion resistance).The Material

selection table (Table 4).Hardness

characteristic of Aluminium alloys, Wear

resistance and Wear volume. Wear rate

factors (Speed of Contact, Clutching cycle,

Wearing Load), pH and Temperature of

fluid, Design calculations (Mass Loss,

Wear volume, Wearing load and electric

power calculation, Corrosion rate) and the

design drawings.

Material selection characteristics Selecting the right alloy for this

application entails considerations of its

tensile strength, density, ductility,

formability, and workability and corrosion

resistance.

Wear resistance and Wear volume

The maximum volume of wear that can

occur is described by: W = Ad where W is

the volume of material removed, A is the

cross-sectional area of the groove, and d is

the distance slid. The cross-sectional area

of the groove A is dependent on the

abrasive grain shape and the depth of

penetration, p given by:

A = k 1p where k is constant-

dependent on the shape.

The depth of penetration, p, is again

dependent on the shape of the grain; the

load, L; and the hardness, H, of the

material:

k is affected by some factors such as: the

possibility of plowing rather than cutting;

the abrasive grain may roll and avoid

wear; the abrasive grain may break down

and not be effective during the latter part

of its contact path;

(Archard's equation) which

was derived for adhesive wear but has

proven very useful in abrasive wear, as

well.

Wear resistance, R, which is simply

defined as the reciprocal of wear volume:

Hardness characteristic of Aluminium

alloys

A number of equations have been used for

correlations between wear and other

properties. The Archard equation for a

relationship of wear with hardness;

Khrushchov 1974 demonstrated the

correlation with hardness and proposed an

empirical correlation with elastic modulus

whereE is the elastic modulus.

Consideration of wear rate factors

Temperature.Abrasive wear would

increase as the temperature rises, because

the hardness and yield strength decrease.

Whereas, for aluminum and copper, the

temperature increased from ambient to 673

K, very little change in the abrasive wear

rate was observed.

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87

Speed of Contact.The rate of abrasive

wear slightly increases with increasing

speed in the range from 0 to 2.5 m/s; an

increase in wear being attributed to

frictional heating.

Clutching cycle

This is the total number of revolution or

oscillation made by the piston per minute

Clutching cycle =

Total number of revolution or oscillation

Total time (minute)

Wear Load. Abrasive wear has been

shown to be proportional to load,

following the Archard equation.

pH and Temperature

Since friction generates heat, there is

tendency for temperature change and the

occurrence of condensation. pH meter and

thermometer were provided as accessories

to monitor effect of pH and temperature

change on the wear characteristic of the

specimen.

Properties of Hydraulic Brake oil

The physical and chemical properties

(composition) of the hydraulic fluid as

presented by the manufacturer are shown

in Table 2. The necessary information on

the properties of the hydraulic fluid was

considered in the design.

Product/Chemical Name: DOT 3 brake

fluid. Chemical Formula: Not applicable,

this product is a mixture of glycols / glycol

ethers. Manufacturer: Dot Chemicals, Inc.

Crosby, Texas

Standardization of parameters

The ASTM Standards (G77, G99, G117,

119-04) on the wear test procedures and

measure were considered adequately

necessary in the design and evaluation of

results.

Design calculation

Mass Loss Measures of Wear

Wear loss was determined by measuring

either mass change or dimensional change.

Original part or specimen (or equivalent)

weighed Wi, and that the weight Wf of the

object after wear exposure was determined

and subtracted from the original to

determine the difference in weight (mass

change).

Wear loss (Wl) = Wf - Wi

where Wf - Wi is mass change

Density = mass / volume

ρ = m/v (gcm-3

)

m = Wl = Wf - Wi (g)

v = ρ / m (cm3) where ρ =

density, m = mass, v = volume, f = final, i

= initial

Wear volume Wv(mm3)

Wv = AL

v = Wv = AL

AL = ρ / m

AL = ρ / (Wf - Wi) (mm3)

where A = cross sectional area, L =

length of specimen

Wear resistance R

R = 1/ (ρ / Wl)

Wearing load and electric power

calculation

Power = work /time

Work = force x distance = [wear

load / cross section Area] x distance

Force = load / cross section Area

Power =

[load / cross section Area] x distance

Time

P = L x d

A t

where A = cross sectional area, d =

diameter of specimen

Wear rate = wear loss per area per time =

(Wf - Wi) / At = Wl / At (mgmm-2

s-1

)

where Wl = wear loss (mg), A =

area (mm2), t = time (s)

Wear efficiency Ew = wear loss x 100%

original weight

Ew= Wl x 100%

W where W =

original weight, Wl = wear loss

CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

The major components of the separator

include the machine parts

a. Wooden platform.

b. Electric/Motorised jigging device.

c. Pushing rod and coupling with the

Right and Left L- guard plates.

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88

d. Complete master cylinder unit and

hydraulic oil reservoir (Cylindrical

plastic hopper). Fastening bolt and nut

e. Accessories: pH meter, thermometer,

multi-meter (AVO meter)

Master cylindrical volume = 0.02474m3

Cylindrical hopper volume = 0.00154m3

Maximum volume of oil feed =

0.02628m3.

Power driven electric jig; Phase

= single,

Power rating = 0.15kw

Oscillation = 1,225 rev/min

Wooden platform is made of wooden

material cut and fastened together by nails.

Cylindrical Hopper oil feed is a plastic

material reservoir through which the

hydraulic fluid is stored and fed into the

master cylinder. A 100mm calliper (test

piece) aluminium alloy is inserted into the

master cylinder. The rubber seal around

the machine specimen (calliper) ensure a

perfect suction of the fluid into the master

cylinder. The Power driven jig supplies the

wearing load requirement for the wear of

the aluminium alloy specimen (calliper) in

the cylinder: The electric jig is a single-

phase 0.15kw, 1,425rev/min which carry

the weight of the specimen. The electric

jig is connected to the master cylinder by

pushing rod and coupling network. The

jigging speed of the electric jig also

provides small rigorous oscillatory motion

to the calliper and vibration which is

stabilised by the two right and left

mounting or guard plates. The electric jig

is connected to 220V AC mains supply

and switched on or off by the regulating

switch.

The guard plates: there are two guard

plates made of 3mm steel sheets cut and

folded into right and left L-shapes fixed to

the wooden platform by fastening bolts

and nuts. The electric jig is mounted on the

L-guard plate, permanently fixed to the

platform. The R-guard plated is adjustable;

it can be moved forward and backward for

a control adjustment. It holds the master

cylinder in position using bolts and nuts.

Assemblage and Operation

Assemblage: The mentioned parts

described above were assembled into a

unique rigid body with the aid of bolts and

nuts. The lower units of the frame were

held down with bolt and nuts and

supported by the weight of the electric jig.

Provisions of two slots were made to

control the adjustment of right guard plate

during dismantling and installation. It is

very easy to change any part during

servicing or maintenance.

TESTING AND EVALUATION

Chemical composition of test substrates

The chemical compositions of Aluminium

alloy sample is determined using Atomic

Absorption Spectrometer (AAS) Thermo

series 2000 Model at the Project

Development and design Laboratory,

Materials/Metallurgy division, FIRRO,

Lagos. The chemical composition and the

hardness (HBN) of Sample are presented

in Table 3.

The hardness tests of Aluminium alloy

samples were determined using Brinell

Hardness Testing Machine at Metallurgical

and Material Engineering Department of

Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife,

Osun State. The hardness value is 63.8

HBN

Preparation of test specimen

As received aluminium alloy (As received)

sample were sourced from the automobile

repair shops in Ado Ekiti. The aluminium

alloy samples used in this study were

prepared according to ASTM (G 119-04)

standard procedure. About 3000g of as-

received sample was and melted in electric

furnace under a controlled atmosphere.

The molten alloy was sand cast into

300mm long by 33mm diameter rods from

which the tests specimen were cut and

machined to 100mm long by 12mm

diameter specifications.

Wear test Procedures (with and without

Hydraulic fluid) The wear test jig (Plate 1-4), was used in

determining the wear resistance of

aluminium alloy substrate with and

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89

without hydraulic fluid. The machine

consists of two major functioning

components: the master brake/clutch

cylinder (which houses the aluminium

alloy piston/calliper sample) connected by

the pushing rod and coupling and attached

to the electric power jig. The jig oscillates

via to and fro movement of the pushing

rod and coupling parts which cause the

wear of the aluminium alloy substrates

inside the master cylindrical brakes/clutch.

The machine oscillates at 1225 revolution

per minute.

The aluminium alloy substrate (calliper or

piston) specimen was inserted inside

master cylinder of the wear test jig after

measuring the initial weight of the

specimen. The machine was powered ‘ON’

to jig the aluminium alloy thereby causing

some wearing effect on it during the

operation of the machine. The specimen

was jig at different clutching times (1, 10,

20, 30, 25, 35, 45, 60, 55, 65, 70, 80, 90,

95, 110, 120, 145, 180, 210, 220 minutes)

of revolution (1,225 to 269,500 clutching

cycles). The final weight of the specimen

was measured using a very sensitive digital

weight meter. The experiment was first

performed without filling the oil cavity

with bake oil and later performed with the

use of hydraulic fluid for necessary

comparison of the wear rate.

The wear loss was determined by the

difference in the final and initial weights

of the inserted specimen. The wear volume

Wv of aluminium alloy substrate was also

determined. The machine was operated at

1225 clutching cycles per minute. The

results of surface wear tests of samples (Al

alloy) with and without hydraulic fluid are

presented in Tables 5 and 6.

Wear Efficiency This was determined for samples from

different test time and the efficiency is on

weight loss bases.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Wear test (with and without Hydraulic

fluid)

The results of surface wear tests of Al

alloy with and without Hydraulic fluid are

presented in Tables 5 and 6. The results

show lower wear volume in hydraulic fluid

(Table 6) than in the wear experiment

without hydraulic fluid. (Table 5) showing

that there was higher wear resistance to

wear in the presence of hydraulic fluid.

The efficiency of the machine was

determined from the equation as Ew. =

(0.0672/53.5758) x 100% = 0.1254%

CONCLUSION AND

RECOMMENDATION

The need to research into the new

scientific methods of testing and

evaluating wear has given rise to the

development of the wear test jig. There are

numerous opportunities to be exploited

and changes to make for more impact and

development of the engineering tools in

Africa. This is believed can come through

the joint efforts of engineering research

making and in the development of the little

technology we have acquired. The design

and construction of this laboratory model

is to carry out wear test on aluminium

alloys. This work considered the relevant

basic engineering principle in designing

and construction of a wear test jig. The jig

was tested and found to be suitable for

wear test of aluminium alloys. It is

believed that the improvement on this

model should consider the grey areas to

reduce the level of various errors. The

machine was assessed to have performed a

little above average and could be used for

small scale experimentation. Some of

those questions that remain unsolved in the

present state of the test jig include the

calibration, standardisation and easy

accessibility in replacing the test piece.

REFERENCES

Archard J. F, Contact and Rubbing of Flat

Surfaces, J. Appl. Phys., Vol 24, 1953,

p 981 inFriction, Lubrication, and

Wear Technology, ASM HandbookVol

18, 1992, pp340-341

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

90

ASTM G77 Standard Test Method for

Ranking Resistance of Materials to

Sliding Wear Using Block-on-Ring

Wear Test

ASTM G99 Standard Test Method for

Wear Testing with a Pin-on-Disk

Apparatus

ASTM G117 Standard Guide for

Calculating and Reporting Measures

of Precision Using Data

from Interlaboratory Wear or Erosion

Tests

ASTM (G 119-04) Standard Guide for

Determining Synergism between

Wear and Corrosion

http// www.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master cylinde

r retrieved on February 15, 2010

http// www.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribology

retrieved on March 25, 2010.

http// www.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribocorrosion

retrieved on March 25, 2010.

Khrushchov M.M (1974) Principles of

Abrasive Wear, Wear, Vol 28, 1974, p

69-88

Madsen, B. W., (1987) Measurement of

Wear and Corrosion Rates Using a

Novel Slurry Wear Test,” Materials

Performance, Vol 26, No. 1, 1987,

pp.21–28.

Pari, Hariharan, Raj, Rajendran,

Pandiarajan, Ganesh, Rasu,

Elansezhian (2008) Study on the

performance of electroless nickel

Coating on aluminium for cylinder

liners. Madras, India.

Soemantri S., McGee A.C., and Finnie I.,

(1985) Some Aspects of Abrasive

Wear at Elevated Temperatures,

Proceedings of the International

Conference on Wear of Materials,

American Society of Mechanical

Engineers, 1985, p 338.

Watson S. W., Friedersdorf F. J., Madsen

B. W., Cramer S. D., (1995) Wear

181-183, (1995) pp476-484

Table 1: Material properties of Aluminium alloy substrate

Property Value

Density 2.70 gcm−3

Melting point 660.32 °C,

Molar heat capacity 24.200 J·mol−1·K−1

Young's modulus 70 GPa

Shear modulus 26 GPa

Bulk modulus 76 GPa

Table 2: Composition / Information on Ingredients

Ingredient Name % wt or % vol

Triethylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether 5 - 50

Triethylene Glycol Monoethyl Ether 5 - 50

Triethylene Glycol Monobutyl Ether 5 - 50

Tetraethylene Glycol Monobutyl Ether 5 - 20

Polyethylene Glycol 5 - 20

Diethylene Glycol Monobutyl Ether 5 - 20

Diethylene Glycol 5-15

Diethylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether <5

Diethylene Glycol Monoethyl Ether <5

Polyalkylene Glycol Monobutyl Ether 5 - 20

Polyalkylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether 5 - 20

Polyalkylene Glycols 5 - 20

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91

Trade Secret Inhibitor Package <3

Physical State Liquid

Vapour Density (Air = 1) >1

Density 8.33 to 9.02 lb/gal

Specific Gravity (H2O=1, at 4 °C): 1.000 to 1.070

pH 10.0 – 11.5

Water Solubility Soluble

Boiling Point 480°F (248.9°C)

Table 3: Chemical analysis of aluminium alloy samples

Sample Al Si Mg Fe Mn Cu Zn Cr Ti Hardness

As-

received

98.87 0.38 0.40 0.23 0.001 0.01 0.001 0.001 0.001 63.8HBN

Table 4: Materials Selection

Machine Parts Materials Justification/Characteristics

Wooden platform Seasoned pine wood Strong, cheap, workable and

available

Pushing rod and coupling

with the Right and Left L-

guard plates.

2mm steel plate Strong, cheap, malleable

Complete master cylinder

unit and hydraulic oil

reservoir (Cylindrical

plastic hopper).

Aluminium alloy Cheap, available, ductile, strong,

non-corrosive at room temperature

and air.

Motorised jig 220v, 1225rev/min Low energy consumption, adjustable

pH meter with

thermometer

Digital Accurate

multi-meter (AVO meter) Digital Accurate

Fastening bolt and nut Steel electrodes Firm joint, cheap, strong and

adjustable.

Coating Gloss paints Water-proof, durable

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92

Table 5: Wear test (without brake fluid) of Al-alloy substrates.

Clutching

time (Mins)

Clutching

cycle

Weight

loss (g)

Wear loss

Wl (g)

Wear volume

Wv=Wl/ρ (mm3)

1 1225 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

10 12250 0.0008 0.0008 0.0003

20 24500 0.0018 0.0026 0.0010

25 30625 0.0037 0.0063 0.0023

30 36750 0.0013 0.0076 0.0028

35 42875 0.0011 0.0087 0.0032

45 55125 0.0012 0.0099 0.0037

55 67350 0.0018 0.0106 0.0039

60 73500 0.0029 0.0135 0.0050

65 79625 0.0037 0.0172 0.0064

70 85750 0.0032 0.0204 0.0076

80 98000 0.0008 0.0212 0.0079

90 110250 0.0112 0.0324 0.0120

95 116375 0.0059 0.0383 0.0142

110 134750 0.0082 0.0468 0.0173

120 147000 0.0109 0.0550 0.0203

140 171500 0.0042 0.0592 0.0219

145 177625 0.0057 0.0649 0.0240

180 220500 0.0014 0.0663 0.0246

210 257250 0.0007 0.0670 0.0248

220 269500 0.0002 0.0672 0.0249

Table 6: Wear test (with brake fluid) of Al-alloy substrates

Clutching time

(Minutes)

Clutching

cycle

Weight

loss (g)

Wear loss

(g)

Wear volume

Wv=wl/ρ (mm3)

1 1225 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

10 12250 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

20 24500 0.0001 0.0001 0.0000

25 30625 0.0005 0.0006 0.0002

30 36750 0.0006 0.0012 0.0004

35 42875 0.0008 0.0020 0.0007

45 55125 0.0010 0.0030 0.0011

55 67350 0.0011 0.0041 0.0015

60 73500 0.0015 0.0056 0.0021

65 79625 0.0011 0.0067 0.0025

70 85750 0.0021 0.0088 0.0033

80 98000 0.0024 0.0112 0.0042

90 110250 0.0029 0.0141 0.0052

95 116375 0.0026 0.0167 0.0062

110 134750 0.0030 0.0197 0.0073

120 147000 0.0036 0.0233 0.0086

140 171500 0.0044 0.0277 0.0103

145 177625 0.0038 0.0315 0.0117

180 220500 0.0044 0.0403 0.0149

210 257250 0.0049 0.0452 0.0167

220 269500 0.0061 0.0513 0.0190

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a b

Fig 1: wear rig Fig 2: (a) a rig (b) a jig

Inner core

Surface of wear

wear load

Rotation

a. b.

Fig 3: (a) wear load rotates on the core (b) the wear surface jigs within the cylinder

Static case

Motion Oscillating piston Surface of

wear

Fig 4: section through the oscillating piston and the static cylindrical case.

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Design Drawings.

AutoCAD drawings showing the 2D and 3D views are presented in Figures 5 to 12

Fig 5: 3D view of complete wear test jig with Fig 6: Sectional view of complete wear test

jig with accessories accessories

Fig 7: Sectional view of master cylinder Fig 8: 3D view of complete wear test jig

with Accessories

Fig 9: Front view Fig 10: Back view

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95

Fig 11: Right side view Fig 12: Left side view

Plate 1: Right side view of wear test jig

without accessories

Plate 2: Left side view of wear test jig

without accessories

Plate 3: Front side view of wear test jig

without accessories Plate 4: Back side view of wear test jig

without accessories

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Plate 5: aluminium alloy calliper Plate 6: as-cast aluminium rod

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Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Omojogberun, Y. V

Aluko, I. F.

INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECTS OF HEAT TREATMENT ON THE

MICROSTRUCTURE OF HOT ROLLED LOW CARBON STEEL PRODUCTIONS

AND OPERATIONS

Omojogberun, Y. V. & Aluko, I. F.

Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

ABSTRACT: This research work is about the investigation into the effect of heat treatment

on the microstructure of hot rolled low carbon steel production and operations. The main

objective is to discover the heat treatment process that hot rolled low carbon steel rods of

various dimensions 8mm, 10mm, 12mm and 16mm could be subjected to that will make them

useful in the construction industries. The heat treatment processes used are annealing and

normalizing and the hardness was then taken. The heat treated samples were later grounded

and polished to mirror like surface in order to view their microstructures. The

photomicrographs of the samples were then taken. The results obtained showed that the

10mm normalized low carbon steel contains more ferrite and pearlite and possed

10mm, 12mm and 16mm) showed that they contains mainly pearlite and 2% cementite which

make them to be more ductile and therefore they are recommended for construction work and

design.

KEYWORDS: Hot rolled, Low Carbon Steel, Heat Treatment, Annealing, Normalizing,

Hardness.

INTRODUCTION

There are many metallic materials in the

World, of which steel is undisputedly the

most widely used ones for a wide range of

applications. This is because it possesses

good mechanical properties such as

ductility, tensile strength, hardness and

toughness. Also it can be processed

relatively cheap in large quantities

(Adelegan et. al, 2010). Based on the

composition of carbon, steel can be

classified into low carbon steel (mild steel)

(0.15%-0.45%), medium carbon steel (0.5-

0.8) and high carbon steels (0.85-1.2). Low

carbon steel is soft, malleable and ductile

and are applied in sheet and strip for press

work, wire, rods, nails, screw, concrete

reinforcement bars, case carbonizing

quality and structural works etc (Adelegan

et. al., 2010). Due to these wide

applications of low carbon steels (mild

steels) in Engineering and Construction

work, mild steel is desirable steel. Low

carbon steel (mild steel) is one of the most

common types of steel used for general

purpose, because it is often less expensive

than other type of steel. There is increasing

structural applications of low carbon steels

for construction and welded structures

such as oil rigs, oil platforms and oil

pipeline in the oil and gas industries.

(Kutelu et. al., 2008). It is also one of the

most common types of steel use for

general purposes because it is cheaper than

other types of steel. (Sanjib, 2009). It can

be used to manufacture a wide range of

goods such as home appliances, ships

body, wire and tinplate etc. Low carbon

steel material suffers from yield points; the

first yield point is higher than the second

and then drop dramatically after the upper

yield point. Therefore, low carbon steel is

only stressed to some point between the

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98

upper and lower yield point. (Akhigbe and

Aideloje, 2006).

Bertinelli et. al., (2006), researched on

how low carbon steel material can be used

for the yoke lamination that provide path

for the magnetic flux and contributes to the

mechanical rigidity of many engineering

materials. They also discovered from their

work how the unwinding coil of annealed

steel can easily degrade low carbon steel

magnetic characteristics, if it is not

performed correctly. Campbell (1999),

worked on low carbon steel as a special

anti-coil break technology that can be

smoothen. Also, Shuaib - Babata et. al.,

(2009) explained in their work why low

carbon steel is preferred for container,

tubing material for heat transfer and

storage processes. He also discussed the

effects of sub-critical annealing on the

mechanical properties of strained hardened

low carbon steel. Adelegan et. al., (2010)

in their research work discovered that heat

treatment improves their yield strength,

ultimate strength, hardness of the low

carbon steel, but the ductility of the low

carbon steel decreases. Wolariska et. al.,

(2007), investigated the microstructure of

low carbon steel after hot deformation and

discovered that as the temperature

increases there is a rapid decrease in

ductility to a percentage reduction of area

(%RA)values as low as 30% for slow

deformation and 65% for fast

deformation.

In 2010, Omojogberun et. al., worked on

the effect of cold drawing operation on

non-ferrous metal (Aluminium) and

discovered that the increase in strength of

a cold drawn non-ferrous metal

(Aluminium) depends on the amount of

deformation (strain) to which the material

is subjected to; the greater the

deformation, the stronger the metal

becomes and this in turn lower the

ductility of the metal however this

ductility can be regained through

intermittent annealing process performed

between the various stages of the cold

drawing operations in a well temperature

controlled environment.

MATERIALS AND METHOD

The material used for this researched work

was hot rolled mild steel specimen of

different dimensions 8mm, 10mm,

12mm and 16mm diameters collected from

the industry and these were machined to a

standard shape of tensile strength

specimen. Annealing and normalizing

were carried out on these specimens. Also,

for each of the dimensions mentioned

above there is also the controlled specimen

that was not charged into the furnace for

heat treatment and the purpose of this is

for good comparison.

Annealing and Normalizing The various diameters (8mm, 10mm,

12mm and 16mm) specimens were

charged into the furnace, and then heated

to a temperature of 800oC and soaked for

30 minutes in the furnace due to the facts

that the thickness of the specimens are

below 25mm.

The temperature was regulated and

switched on to 800oC. The heating was

allowed to reach the maximum

temperature, after which the furnace was

switched off having attained full

homogenization. The specimens were then

allowed to slow cool in the furnace. The

same process was repeated for normalizing

but instead of cooling in the furnace, it was

brought out and cooled in the still air.

After the heat treatment, microstructures of

specimens (both test piece and controlled)

were carried out and are shown in section

3.0 below. Also, the hardness of the

specimens was taken for both the test piece

and the control and the result is as shown

in table 1.

Microstructure Test: The specimens with

the phenolic powder were mounted on the

mounting press and then grinded. After

this, the specimens were taken for

polishing on the machine to have the

mirror-like surface. The specimens were

etched to reveal the grain boundary of the

specimens and this was done by using

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etching solution called NITAL, which

consists of 98% ethanol and 2% of

HNO3. It was done by swabbing the

surface, and then rinsed thoroughly with

water and dried. This was done using the

drying machine. It was then placed under

the view of microscope, connected to the

computer. The lens was aligned until a

proper microstructure was attained and the

photograph was taken.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

From the various experiments carried out,

the following were observed on the

photomicrographs of all the plates listed

above.

Plate 1: Shows the microstructure of the

8mm annealed specimen and it consists of

mainly pearlite and 2% cementite making

it to be more ductile.

Plate 2: Consists of the microstructure of

the 8mm normalized specimen and it

consists of mainly ferrite and pearlite

making it to have more strength and

hardness.

Plate 3: Shows the microstructure

photograph of 8mm control specimen and

it consists of only austenite and is less

ductile.

Plate 4: Shows the photomicrograph of

10mm annealed specimen and it consists

of pearlite and 2% cementite to make it

very ductile.

Plate 5: This shows the photomicrograph

of 10mm normalized specimen containing

ferrite and pearlite which make it to have

more strength and hardness.

Plate 6: This shows the photomicrograph

of 10mm control specimen and it consists

of austenite which makes it to have less

ductility, less strength and less hardness.

Plate 7: Shows the microstructure of

12mm annealed specimen which consists

of pearlite and 2% cementite making it to

be more ductile.

Plate 8: Shows the microstructure of

12mm normalized specimen and contains

mainly pearlite. Therefore, it has more

strength and hardness.

Plate 9: Shows the microstructure of

12mm control specimen and contains only

austenite. It is less ductile, less strength

and less hard.

Plate 10: Shows the microstructure of

16mm annealed specimen.

This contains pearlite and 2% cementite

making it to be harder and ductile.

Plate 11: Shows the microstructure of

16mm normalized specimen which

contains both ferrite and pearlite. It has

more strengths and hardness.

Plate 12: Shows the microstructure of

16mm control specimen with only

austenite. It has lesser strength, hardness

and ductility.

Also from table 1 below, the hardness

result of the annealed specimens of 12mm

and 16mm (170.2300RH and 162.0800RH

respectively) are lower than the hardness

value of the controlled specimen

(176.2500RH and 162.6800RH

respectively) while the normalized

specimens of these 12mm and

16mm(182.0800RH and 177.0000RH

respectively) has hardness value higher

than the controlled specimen. The reverse

is the case for 8mm specimens but for

10mm both annealed and normalized

specimens has a value lesser than the

controlled 10mm specimen indicating that

there is reduction in the brittleness and

increment in ductility due to the heat

treatment.

CONCLUSION AND

RECOMMENDATION

In this work investigation into the effect of

heat treatment on the microstructure of hot

rolled low carbon steel productions and

operations, it can be deduced that the heat

treatment on the specimen carried out has

greatest effect on that of the 8mm and

10mm Normalized hot rolled low carbon

steel from the discussions above in the

previous section followed by the 10mm

annealed specimen and then the 10mm

controlled specimen. This indicates that

those of higher dimension have lesser

effect of the heat treatment carried out

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100

when compared to that of the 10mm

specimen (normalized, annealed and

control). Therefore, dimensions of hot

rolled low carbon steel within the range of

8mm and 10mm should be subjected to

heat treatment such as annealing or

normalizing while those above 10mm may

be ignored, however, the cost of heat

treatment will furthermore increase the

cost of production of such rod which will

indirectly after the selling price.

In conclusion,

i Low carbon steel should be allowed to

undergo heat treatment test before

they are used for any designs and

construction works particularly those

within the range of 8mm and 10mm.

ii The microstructure of all annealed

specimens (8mm, 10mm, 12mm and

16mm) showed that they contain

mainly pearlite and 2% cementite

which make it to be more ductile,

harder and recommended for

construction works and designs.

Normalized specimen results showed

that normalizing of hot rolled low

carbon steel rod above 10mm may not

be necessary before sales of the

product.

iii. The control specimens of 8mm, 10mm,

12mm and 16mm is not recommended

for designs and construction works

due to the fact that it contains

austenite and has less strength, less

hardness and less ductile since

strength and ability to resist shock are

needed in construction work.

REFERENCE

Adelegan, G. O., Oladimeji, E. A. and

Omidiji, B.V. (2010); “Investigating

the Fatigue behaviour of Mild Steel

Rods Quenched in Various Liquid

Medium”. Proceedings of 6th

Engineering Forum. The Federal

Polytechnic, Ado- Ekiti. Vol. 6, Pp.

31-32.

Akhigbe, A. and Aideloje, V. (2006);

“Machine Tool Technology and

Forging Operation”.1st

Edition.M. M.

Aloaye Publisher, Auchi, Edo

State.Pp.132 -134.

Bertinelli, F., Cornel, S., Harlet, P., Peiro,

G., Russo, A. and Taquet, A. (2006);

“Production of Low Carbon Magnetic

Steel for the LHC Superconducting

Dipole and Quadrupole Magnets”.

IEEE Transactions on Applied

Superconductivity.Vol. 16, No.2. Pp.

1777-1781

Campbell, J. S .(1999); “Principles of

Manufacturing Materials and

Processes”. 1st

Edition, Tata McGraw

– Hill New Delhi. Pp. 65.

Kutelu, B. J., Adewuyi, B. O, and Ojo, J.

E. (2008); “Production of Dimension

Stones.A Case Study of Crushed

Rocks Industry, Supare-Akoko, Ondo

State”.Journal of Engineering and

Earth Scienc.Vol. 3, No 1.Pp.49.

Omojogberun, Y. V., Aluko, I. F. and

Olumodeji, J. O. (2010); “Material

Damage in Non-Ferrous Metal

Drawing Operation (A Case Study of

Aluminum Wire Drawing

Operation)”.Journal of Engineering

and Earth Sciences. Vol. 4 No. 2. Pp.

44-48.

Sanjib, K. J. (2009); “A project Report on

Heat Treatment of low carbon Steel”.

National Institute of Technology,

Reourkela. Pp. 32-33.

Shuaib- Babata, Y. L, Alabi, A. G. F and

Dirisu, N. O (2009); “Investigation

into Corrosión Behaviour of

Comercial Mild Steel in Ilorin

Municipal Tap Water from Asa and

Agba Dams”. Journal of

Engineering and Earth Sciences. Vol.

3. No. 2. Pp. 62-69.

Wolariska, N., Lis, A. K. and Lis, J.

(2007); “Microstructure Investigation

of Low Carbon Steel after Hot

Deformation”.Journal of

Achievements in Materials and

Manufacturing Engineering.Vol. 20,

issues 1-2.Pp. 291-294.

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Table 1: Hardness Test Conducted On The Specimens (Rockwell Hardness)

S/N Specimens Reading

I

Reading

II

Reading

III

Reading

IV

Average

1. Annealing

(8mm)

261.8000 273.7000 264.7000 269.9000 267.7000

Normalizing

(8mm)

243.6000 218.3000 208.9000 201.1000 217.9800

Control

(8mm)

217.5000 217.6000 225.4000 236.7000 224.3000

2. Annealing

(10mm)

277.9000 214.1000 215.3000 227.9000 233.8000

Normalizing

(10mm)

262.9000 248.1000 288.6000 258.3000 264.4800

Control

(10mm)

330.9000 302.1000 280.7000

0

258.6000 293.0800

3. Annealing

(12mm)

170.6000 168.8000 173.7000 167.8000 170.2300

Normalizing

(12mm)

190.2000 153.8000 197.5000 186.8000 182.0800

Control

(12mm)

176.4000 168.5000 189.6000 170.5000 176.2500

4. Annealing

(16mm)

163.9000 157.1000 162.6000 165.5000 162.0800

Normalizing

(16mm)

183.4000 173.2000 186.0000 165.4000 177.0000

Control

(16mm)

172.3000 162.2000 154.7000 161.5000 162.6800

5. Billet 239.5000 220.8000 236.4000 217.1000 228.4500

LOAD: 490.3MN DWELL TIME 10 SECONDS

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The photomicrographs of the specimens (test piece and controlled) are as shown below:

Plate 1: 8mm Annealed Specimen

Plate 2: 8mm Normalized Specimen

Plate 3: 8mm Control Specimen

Plate 4: 10mm Annealed Specimen

Plate 5: 10mm Normalized Specimen

Plate 6: 10mm Control Specimen

Plate 7: 12mm Annealed Specimen

Plate 8: 12mm Normalized Specimen

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Plate 9: 12mm Control Specimen

Plate 10: 16mm Annealed Specimen

Plate 11: 16mm Normalized Specimen

Plate 12: 16mm Control Specimen

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Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Olanrewaju, T. O

Uthman, F

DESIGN, FABRICATION AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF A

MANUALLY OPERATED PINEAPPLE SLICING MACHINE

1Olanrewaju, T. O. &

2Uthman, F.

1,2Department of Agricultural Engineering and Water Resources,

Institute of Technology, Kwara State polytechnic, Ilorin, Kwara State

olanyinks26@yahoo.com, faosiat@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT: Pineapple is a good source of manganese with high amount of antioxidant

vitamin C which could be used for numerous purposes. Low cost but effective fruit slicer is

necessary for processing firms, farm or private agricultural enterprises, hence, the need to

design, fabricate and evaluate the performance of a machine for slicing pineapple in the

technological process of fruit production. The design considered the use of local materials,

the size, sphericity, knives arrangement and some ergonomics factors with particular

reference to average manpower output. The performance of the machine was evaluated using

a uniform variety and uniform maturity of pineapples with varying sizes classified into small,

medium and large. Results revealed that the machine performs satisfactorily in slicing

pineapple samples having sphericities of 0.89 and 0.92 i.e. medium and large samples at an

average operating speed, slicing efficiency and slicing capacity of 6 seconds, 93.7% and

166.2 kg/hr respectively. The machine is affordable to local processors and medium scale

firms at a production cost of N47,854:00K with ease of operation and maintenance.

KEYWORDS: fruits. Sphericity, ergonomics, slicing, design, processors, operating speed

INTRODUCTION

Fruits and vegetables form an essential

part of a balanced diet which are important

part of the world agricultural food

production, though production volumes are

small when compared with grains. They

are important sources of digestible

carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins.

Pineapple contains an enzyme bromelain,

which helps in the digestion of food by

breaking down protein. It is a favourite

ingredient for marmalades, jams, jellies or

candies which is great as a desert. It is a

good source of manganese with high

amount of antioxidant vitamin C which

could be used in baking cakes and other

fovurite dessert. Most fresh vegetables and

fruits are high in water, low in proteins and

low in fat with water content generally

greater than 70% and frequently than 85%.

Pineapple has numerous uses amongst

them are the medicinal uses, animal feeds

when dehydrated as “bran” and as a raw

material for some industries. Cold storage

at a temperature of 4.440C and lower,

cause chilling injury and breakdown in

pineapple. At 7.8 0C and above, 80 – 90%

relative humidity and adequate air

circulation normal ripening progress

during and after storage. At best, pineapple

may be stored for no more than 4 -6 weeks

at a fovourable temperature range of

18.330C – 45

0C (Morton, 2002;

Olanrewaju and Olawepo-Olayiwole,

2012; Norman and Joseph, 2007).

One of the most important technological

operations in the technology of dried fruits

production is the fruit cutting practice into

the same slices. Slicing operation is a form

of size reduction and can be achieved by

mechanical means without change in

chemical property of the material. Often,

the foods produced on the farm are

processed in some form before it is

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

105

actually consumed or used for other

purposes. One of the most important

process involving non-chemical changes is

the size reduction of the crop. Under the

conditions of small processing enterprises,

it is often manual cutting operation

because small businesses cannot afford a

high productive but power consuming and

expensive shredder (Adewale, 2009 and

Ilhor, 2010).

Low cost and but effective fruit slicer is

necessary for processing firms, farm or

private agricultural enterprises. Therefore,

the objective of this paper is to develop a

machine for pineapple slicing in the

technological process of fruit production.

The mechanical properties are optimum at

a fiber length of 30 mm. The flexural

stiffness and flexural strength of the

composites with 30% fiber weight fraction

are 2.76 Mpa and 80.2 Mpa respectively

(John, 2003).

Yusuf and Obiakor (2003) designed,

fabricated and tested a manually operated

fruit and vegetable slicer with maximum

throughput capacity of 37.4 kg/hr, 19.9

kg/hr and 15.13 kg/hr for tomatoes, okro

and carrot respectively. While the

efficiencies were reported to be 79.30 %,

90.08% and 95.3% respectively for

tomatoes, okro and carrot.

A domestic vegetable slicing device was

developed by Olanrewaju and Olawepo-

Olayiwole (2012) having a slicing

efficiency and capacity of 87% and 47

kg/hr respectively tested effective for

carrot and cucumber at an operating speed

of 41 rpm.

Also, Satip and Kiattisak (2008) designed,

fabricated, tested, and evaluated the

prototype of a semi-automatic young

coconut fruit cutting machine. The design

concept is that fruit cutting is

accomplished by pneumatic press on a

young coconut sitting on a sharp knife in a

vertical plane. The machine was found to

operate safely without damage to the fruits

at a capacity of 480 fruits/hr.

Moreover, Ihor (2010) studied the

grounding structural parameters of

machine for apple slicing. The design of

shredder constructional scheme was based

on the technical idea of reciprocating

motion of the piston in working cylinder

with plain knives. During the idle motion

of piston (from low to upper dead point),

fruit is taken from vibrating bin to plate-

like stationary knives fixed in cylinder

knives. During its power stroke (from

upper to low dead point) the piston

transfers its gear efforts on the fruit.

MATERIALS AND METHOD

In designing any machine, certain factors

has to be considered; some of the factors

considered for this design are the physical

properties of the pineapple which are

shape, size, sphericity, and the

arrangement of knives. The mechanical

properties in terms of shear force,

deformation and rheology were as well

looked into. Other factors considered

include material availability, cost,

durability and the ease of feeding and

discharge to avoid clogging, the techno-

economic factors of the machine were

considered as well.

Design Analysis

Razor length determination

The razor length was determined from the

expression

n

i

ni nl

Fq

1

..3

.4……………………….1

Where

F = Maximum force applied to the press

plate N

li = Working length of the I razor, m,

n = Quantity of i – razors and

q = razor length

Determination of effort required for

operation

The expression used in determining the

effort required in operating the machine

was based average man output power and

the expression of a second lever was

adopted

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106

a

LxbE

LxbEXa

…………………..……2

Source: (Ayankoha, 2007)

Where

E = Effort (N)

a = Distance of effort from fulcrum (m)

L = Load (kg)

b = Distance of load from fulcrum (m)

Determination of shearing stress of

spring

Springs are machine elements designed

and fabricated to provide large elastic

deflections under load. The total shearing

stress Ss on the spring at the mild height

from static load is expressed as:

1

3

615.0116

Cd

PRSs

……………….3

Source: (Khurmi and Gupta 2005)

Where

Ss = Shearing Stress, Pa

R = Mean radius of the helix (mm)

P = Load (kg)

C1 = Spring Index

d = Diameter of the wire, mm

But

d

RC

21 ………………………………4

Source: Gary, et al. (1984)

Determination of other spring elements

The number of active coils of the spring

suitable for operating the slicing the

machine is determined using the

expression

sKC

dGn

38 …………………………….5

Source: Gary, et al. (1984)

Where

n = number of active coils that contribute

to the deflection of the spring

d = diameter of the wire, mm

G = torsional modulus of elasticity, Pa

Ks = Spring rate, N/mm

Moreover, the closed length of the spring

was determined with the expression:

dnLc 2 ………………………..6

Source: Gary, et al. (1984)

Where

Lc = Closed length

Description of the Constructional and

Operation Principles of the Machine

Machine description

The slicing Machine have the following

components as presented in figure 1

below, namely: frame, slicing knives,

pressure bar, shaft, sliced outlet, spring,

spacer, connecting rod and the effort bar.

1 Frame 4 Connecting Rod

2 Pressure Bar 5 Pressure Bar

3 Spring 6 Blade

7 Sliced Outlet

i. Frame: The frame was fabricated

using a mild steel angle iron bar of 50

mm X 50 mm 5 mm thickness. It has a

uniform length and breadth of 456 mm

and height of 610 mm to

accommodate some ergonomic

factors.

ii. Slicing unit: This unit comprise of the

slicing knives having 11 sets of knives

arranged in parallel to one another

made from a stainless steel

dimensioned to 205 mm X 55 mm X

1.0 mm to accommodate for a single

stroke cut on a whole pineapple. A

spacer is incorporated between the set

of knives to cater for the required

thickness and ensure uniform

pineapple cuts. The pressure bar is

another part of the slicing unit made

from a hard to reduce the over all cost

of the machine. It is dimensioned to

145 mm X75 mm X 20 mm with a dot

punched of 11 mm at the two sides

allowing the passage of the shaft

through the punched hole.

iii. Outlet: The outlet was also fabricated

from a stainless steel of 1 mm

thickness to avoid contamination and

food poisoning. Its dimension are 520

mm X 350 mm X 120 mm supported

by the frame and positioned below the

cutting knives to collect cut

pineapples for further processing.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

107

iv. The spring: A helical compression

spring with a known spring constant

was selected to ensure the return of

the effort bar to its original position.

The spring has about 70 turns in its

coil.

Operationprinciple

The machine is operated based on the

principle of a second lever considering the

shear force of the pineapple. The peeled

pineapple is gently placed on the set of

cutting knives at its natural resting

position; the pressure bar is then lowered

to exert the required force for slicing the

pineapple through the sets of blades

achieving the size reduction as required.

The sliced pineapple is then collected from

the outlet for further processing.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

Uniform varieties and maturity of some

pineapple samples were purchased at Ipata

market in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital

varying the sizes with respect to their

sphericity. The samples considered were

divided into small, medium and large with

average sphericity of 0.94, 0.89 and 0.92

respectively. The parameters for

evaluating the performance are defined as:

S- Small, M – Medium, L – Large,

W1 – Weight of Input (g),

W2 – Weight of all Sliced Sample (g),

W3 – Weight of damaged Sample (g),

T – Time taken (Sec.)

The expression in determining the Slicing

Efficiency (%) and the Slicing Capacity

(kg/hr) is presented as:

100%E 2

32 XW

WWfficiencySlicing

..5

T

WhrkgapacitySlicing 2/C …….…6

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The following results were obtained from

the performance evaluation conducted on

the pineapple slicing machine for three

different samples at uniform maturity and

variety. Results reveal from the tables

above that the small sample pineapple has

the highest slicing capacity of 214.9 kg/hr;

this could be as a result of the highest

sphericity of 0.94 allowing the cutting

knives pierce through with ease, though

the efficiency of this same sample was

found to be slightly lower at 90.6%. This

was as a result that the pressure bar could

not exert the appropriate pressure required

for the cutting knives, even though the

shericity favours the machine operation for

this particular sample at an average

operating speed of 5 seconds.

The medium sample has the highest slicing

efficiency of 95.5% which was as a result

that the cutting knives could pierce

through the sample at a sphericity of 0.89

favouring the slicing operation without

causing the pineapple to rotate on its axis.

The average slicing capacity was revealed

from table 2 to be 147.9 kg/hr having an

average operating speed of 6 seconds. The

large sample of the pineapples considered

has sphericity of 0.92 slightly higher than

that of the medium sample due to the fact

it has more surface area; results from

tables 1 and 2 reveals that the slicing

efficiency was 94.9%, this was as a result

that the large pineapple sample has more

surface area allowing the pressure bar to

apply sufficient pressure against the knives

allowing for efficient slicing; the slicing

capacity was found to be 135.9 kg/hr

which is effective for pineapple slicing

operating at an average speed of 7 seconds.

CONCLUSION

The fabricated pineapple slicing machine

was found to be effective for slicing

pineapple samples having sphericities of

0.89 and 0.92 i.e. medium and large

samples at an average operating speed,

slicing efficiency and slicing capacity of 6

seconds, 93.7% and 166.2 kg/hr

respectively. The machine is affordable to

local processors and medium scale firms at

a production cost of N47, 854:00K with

ease of operation and maintenance.

REFERENCE

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

108

Adewale, A. M. (2009). Design,

Fabrication and Performance

Evaluation of a Multi-Purpos Slicing

Machine. An Unpublished HND thesis

submitted to the Department Of

Agricultural Engineering and Water

Resources, Kwara State Polytechnic,

Ilorin.

Aremu, A. K. and Fowowe, S. O.

(2009).Development and Performance

Evaluation of Manually Operated

Plantain Slicing Machine.Journal of

Nigeria Institution of Agricultural

Engineering.Vol. 9. Pp 30 – 32.

Ayankoha, M. W. (2007). New School

Physics for Senior Secondary

Schools.Revised Edition. Africana

First Publisher Limited. Ibadan. Pp

191 -193.

John, A. M. (2003). Engineering Property

of Agricultural Product.Intermediate

Technology. London. Pp 34 – 36.

Gary,K., Lester, T. and Paul, C. (1984).

Design of Agricultural

Machinery.John Wiley and Sons. New

York. Pp 272 – 277.

Ihor, F. (2010).Grounding Structural

Parameters of Machine for Apple

Slicing. Acta Scientinarium

Polonorium, Technica Agrarian. Vol.

(3 -4). Pp 3 – 9.

Morton, J. (2002). Fruits of Warm

Climate. AV Publishing. London. Pp

28 – 29.

Norman, N. P. and Joseph, H. H.

(2007).Food Science.CBS Publishers

and Distributors pvt.Ltd. New Delhi.

Pg 411.

Olanrewaju, T. O. and Olawepo-

Olayiwole, O.S. (2012). Development

of a Domestic Portable Slicing

Device. Proceeding of the 1st Joint

National Conference on The

Relevance of Science, Technology

and Environmental Programmes for

Sustainable Development held at

Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin from

22nd

– 24th

August, 2012.

Satip, R. and Kittisak, R. (2008). Design

and Development of Semi –

Automatic Cutting Machine for

Young Coconuts. Maejo International

Journal of Science and Technology.

Pp 1 – 6.

Yusuf, I. A. and Obiakor, E. O.

(2003).Design, Fabrication and

Testing of a Manually Operated

Vegetable Slicer. An Unpublished

HND thesis submitted to the

Department Of Agricultural

Engineering and Water Resources,

Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

109

Table 1: Results of Data Obtained from the Pineapple Slicing Machine

S/No Sample Weight of

Input (g)

W1

Weight of all

Sliced

Samples (g)

W2

Weight of

Damaged

Samples (g)

W3

Thickness

(mm)

Time

(Sec.)

1 S1 700 665 45 20 4

2 S2 650 640 40 20 4

3 S3 730 690 40 20 5

Average 703.3 408.3 38.3 20 4.3

4 M1 1030 990 40 20 5

5 M2 1040 995 45 20 7

6 M3 1020 973 47 20 6

Average 1030 986 44 20 6

7 L1 1400 1330 70 20 6

8 L2 1480 1415 65 20 7

9 L3 1150 1090 60 20 8

Average 1134.3 1278.3 65 20 7

Table 2: Average Results of Slicing Efficiency and Slicing Capacity Computed

S/No Sample Slicing Efficiency (%) Slicing Capacity (kg/hr)

1 Small 90.6 214.9

2 Medium 95.5 147.9

3 Large 94.9 135.9

Average 93.7 166.2

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110

Figure 1: Isometric and Orthographic Projection of the Pineapple Slicing Machine

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

111

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Rotimi I. A

Obasi R. A

OCCURRENCE OF URANIUM-BEARING NIOBOTANTALATE

(PETSCHECKITE) IN A LOKOJA PEGMATITE

Rotimi I. A & Obasi R. A

Department of Mineral Resources Engineering,

Federal Polytechnic, Ado –Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.

ABSTRACT: The occurrence and physicochemical characteristics of uranium

bearing niobotantalate (UBN) in a zoned pegmatite around Okene -Lokoja-

Kabba roads junction, Kogi State Nigeria are investigated. The mineral

occurs in the intermediate zone of the pegmatite in association with qua rtz,

microcline and muscovite. Other associated minerals include beryl, columbite

and tapiolite. The mineral found in the area has a very high radioactivity

greater than 40x1500 counts per second (CPS). The uranium -bearing

niobotantalate (UBN) mineral is generally brownish in colour with

subvitreous luster and high specif ic gravity (4 -5g/cm3). The specimens were

analysed on microscan 9 wavelength dispersive electron probe analyzer at

20kv. The results show the oxides of: U(24.40 -27.40% UO2), Nb(15.40-

32.95%Nb2O5), Ta(11.64-34.47% Ta2O5), Th(2.44-3.06% ThO2), Pb (1.47-

1.87%PbO) and Fe(6.13-8.41 FeO) respectively. The minor to trace elements

include the rare earth, Al, Si, Ti , Mn, and W. The uranium -bearing

niobotantalate is affected by a late s tage uranium-rich fluid result ing in the

crystallization of highly uraniferous veinlets within the mineral. A

comparison of the chemical composition of the uranium -bearing

niobotantalate mineral with that of petscheckite clearly indicates that the

minerals belong to the same family and that the specimen investigated

represents the occurrence of pescheckite in Nigeria.

KEYWORDS: Occurrence, Uranium-bearing Niobotantalate, Petscheckite

INTRODUCTION

The samples of the unusual

uranium-bearing niobotantalate

(Petscheckite?) were discovered in

an exterior pegmatite located less

than 100m north-east of the Okene-

Lokoja-Kabba roads junction Kogi

State (Fig1). The mineral name,

Petscheckite is for Mr Eckehard

Petsch of Idar Obstein who

alongside with other workers

performed noteworthy prospecting

activities in Madagascar. The

mineral specie was accepted by

IMA Commission on New Minerals

and New Mineral Names. (Mucke et

al 1978). The South-western

Nigeria Pegmatite belongs to the

Older granite suite of the

Precambrian Basement Complex of

Pan-African (500 +100 million

years), (Rahaman 1988). The

Nigerian Basement was affected by

the 600 Ma Pan-African Orogeny

occupying the reactivated region

due to plate collis ion between the

passive continental margin of the

West African craton and the active

Pharusian continental margin

(Obaje, 2009).

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112

GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY

The pegmatite in the study area

runs northwest to south east and it

is discordantly emplaced in

gneissic host rock striking 342o.

The elliptical shaped pegmatite

body is deeply weathered with a

strike of 310o and a length of about

110m and a breadth of 39m in the

middle portion (fig 2). The zoned

pegmatite from Okene-Lokoja-

Kabba junction is a complex type

(Fig 2). The border and the wall

zones are not easily identified. The

coarse intermediate zone consists

of microcline felspar, quartz and

muscovite of about 40m width.

Microcline feldspar is strongly

weathered to kaolinite. Within this

intermediate zone are beryl,

columbite and uranium bearing

niobotantalate (under

investigation).

The only accessory mineral

identified in the core zone is beryl.

It occurs as large emerald green to

aquamarine blue colour but

euhedral hexagonal crystals of

close to 25cm in width. The

identified columbite and uranium

bearing niobotantalate crystals

weigh 80g and 132g respectively.

Quartz occurs as large glassy

transparent to grayish (smoky)

irregular masses. The quartz is

massive, milky and of about 970m2

in area within the pegmatite core.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The uranium-bearing niobotantalate

mineral is brownish in colour with

sub vitreous luster. The obtained

samples weighing 9.0 and 157.00g

are tabular in shape cleaving in a

particular direction. The density of

the mineral is generally higher than

those of quartz and feldspar. The

specific gravity of the specimen

was vary from 4 to 5 due to

increased tantalum content of this

group of minerals. Niobo-tantalum

minerals are generally noted for the

increase in specific gravity with

increase in tantalum content

(Fadipe, 1989a, 1989b).

The radiation level of the country

rock (gneiss) hosting the pegmatite

is 10-12 x 500 cps (count per

second). The intermediate zone

generally has higher values up to

40 x 1500 cps in the areas with

high concentrations of radioactive

uranium-bearing niobotantalates.

The quartz core is generally less

radioactive with radiations ranging

between 5–10 x 500 cps.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The Geiger Muller Counter, (a

Gamma-ray Scintilometer, Strat

SSPP2 NF model), was used to

detect the presence of uranium-

bearing niobotantalate in the

pegmatite outcrops around Okene-

Lokoja-Kabba road junction. The

hand held equipment easily

detected the niobotantalate which

were picked wherever radiation

level rises above 20 x 1,500 cps.

Twenty rock samples were

collected from the deposits and

were classified as LKJ1 and LKJ 2

with ten samples each. Their mean

values were determined as

presented in Table 1

The bulk composit ion and trace

element determination were carried

out by the use of Electron

Microprobe analytical method. In

this probe, tiny spots of materials

were sampled. The rock specimen

polished and carbon coated were

analysed using the Wavelenght

Dispersive micro-analyser (MK9)

at 20 KV and 25nA (specimen

current) on the Faraday cage at the

Natural History Museum in

London.

The calibrations of the various

elements were carried out using the

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113

following standards: - Wolastonite-

ca and Si: Rutile-titanium pure

Uranium metal – U: pure Thorium

metal – Th; Galena – Pb; synthetic

Sodium Niobate-Nb and Na.

However, correction for mass

absorption were carried out with

the aid of computer programmes as

several points were also analyzed

on microprobe analyzer.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The present study has examined the

occurrence and chemical

composition of uranium bearing-

niobotantalate around Okene-

Lokoja-Kabba roads junction. The

mineral is suggested to have

occurred in the area of high

radioactivity in the intermediate

zone of the pegmatite. The mineral

occurs in association with other

niobotantalate minerals such as

ferrocolumbite, ferrotantalite and

tapiolite and it is also the last to

crystallize among niobium bearing

minerals. Tapiolite (Fe, Mn) (Ta,

Nb)2O6 is associated with uranium

bearing niobotantalate while

ferrocolumbite (Fe,mn)(Nb,Ta)206

is associated with uranium-

tantaloniobate. The study has also

shown that the specimens occur as

brown glassy mineral with

relatively high specific gravity (4 -

5g/cm3). The results show that the

niobium, tantalum, thorium, iron

and lead constitute the major

mineral while the rare earth

elements and others consti tute

minor to trace elements. Two

varieties of the mineral have been

identified Viz: the uranium-bearing

niobotantalate the uranium-bearing

tantaloniobate. The latter exhibits

crystallization of highly

uraniferous niobate veinlets due to

effects of a late stage uranium-rich

fluid.

Table 1 shows the results of the

major components of the two

varieties of uranium-bearing

Niobotantalate minerals

represented by LKJ 1 and LKJ 2.

They are niobium (15.40-

32.95%Nb2O5), tantalum(11.64-

34.47% Ta2O5), uranium (24.40-

27.40% UO2), iron (6.13-8.41%

FeO), thorium (2.44-3.06% ThO2),

calcium (2.30-3.20%), lead (1.47-

1.87%PbO), yittrium (2.20-3.21%),

and tungstein. The rare earth

elements (REE.), silicon aluminium

and manganese constitute the minor

trace elements.

The results reveal further that LKJ

1 is the Niobium-rich variety while

LKJ 2 represents the tantalum-rich

type present in the pegmatite body.

The mean niobium content in LKJ 1

is 32.95% and 15.40% in the LKJ 2

while the tantalum value in the LKJ

2, is 34.42% and 11.64% in the

LKJ 1. The uranium contents in the

two varieties are 24.40% in LKJ 1

and 27.40% in the LKJ 2

respectively. Both varieties have

low values of Light rare earth

elements (LREE) such as La

(0.05% in both varieties). Ce (0.12

and 0.15% in LKJ 1 and LKJ 2) and

Nd (0.18 and 0.13% respectively).

Some Middle rare earth elements

(MREE) like Sm and Dy have

values that are less than 1 and 2

respectively.

Yittrium is enriched in both

varieties. The values of heavy rare

earth elements (HREE) ytterbium

(Yb) and Erbium (Er) are less than

unity. The low values of the totals

(<100%) in the two varieties are

due to the presence of water in the

structure of the mineral which was

not determined in the analytical

method adopted in the study. If

these workers, Mucke and Struntz

(1978) had analysed their samples

before heating, the possible lower

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

114

totals could have easily been

compared with that of the present

study. The comparison of the

compositions of E(UO2 , ThO2 ,

PbO) with that of petscheckite

(40.50 UO2) justifies that the

specimens investigated belong to

the petscheckite family. Table 2

reveals great similari ties in the

values obtained. While the values

of Nb2O5+Ta2O5 of Mucke and

Struntz (1978) is 45.99%, those of

the two varieties are 44.59% and

49.82% for LKJ1 and LKJ2

respectively. The values of the

E(UO2 ,ThO2 , PbO and REE2O3)

obtained from this study compare

favourably with that of UO 2

reported by Mucke and Struntz

(1978). Contrastingly, the value of

the E(FeO,Fe2O3 , MnO) in Mucke

and Struntz (1978) is 11.43% and

those of the two varieties are 8.65

and 6.50% for LKJ1 and LKJ2

respectively.

Table 3 presents the association of

Nb-rich variety (LKJ1) with Nb-

rich columbite (Fe, Mn)

(Nb,Ta)2O6 and the tantalum-rich

variety with tapiolite (Fe

Ta2O6).This association does not

appear as a replacement type.

Analytical results (Table 3) of the

veinlets of high uranium-rich phase

in (Fig. 3) shows that UO 2

(46.08%), Nb2O5(25.46%), Ta2O5

(7.20%), PbO(4.59%), and FeO

(3.76% and ThO2 (1.01%)

constitute the major components

while minor amount of A1, Si , Ca,

Ti, REE, W and Sc are present.

Figure 3 shows the X-ray

distribution map of some of the

elements present in the veinlets in

comparison with that of the host

Uranium-bearing Niobotantalate

LKJ 1. Table 4 presents the field

and elements microprobe study of

the pegmatite body indicating the

association of the Uranium-bearing

Niobotantalate with minerals like

ferro-columbite, ferro-tantalite and

tapiolite as analysed in LKJ2.

CONCLUSION

The results obtained from the

present investigation show the

Uranium-bearing Niobotantalate to

have some similarities in

composition with the mineral called

Petscheckite (Mucke and Struntz,

1978). The variation in niobium

and tantalum as shown in Table 1

conforms with those of other

groups of niobium-tantalum

minerals as both elements naturally

substi tute for one another in nature.

This leads to the classification of

LKJ1 as uranium-bearing

tantaloniobate and LKJ2 as

uranium-bearing niobo-tantalate.

The similari ty in the niobium-

tantalum contents with those of

petscheckite (Mucke and Struntz,

1978) strongly indicates that the

specimens investigated belong to

this group of minerals which may

possibly be regarded as a second

occurrence of such in the world.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors hereby acknowledge

Dr. Fadipe A. A. (of blessed

memory) who was the supervisor to

the main author of this work and at

whose instance the samples were

analyzed at London Museum.

REFERENCES

Berry L.G et al (2004) -

Mineralogy - Concepts,

descriptions and

determinations. CBS Publishers

and Distributors.

Fadipe, A. A. (1980) - The

geochemical and mineralogical

aspects of

niobium-tantalum

mineralization in African

pegmatites-unpul.Ph. D. thesis,

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

115

Department of Earth Sciences,

University of Leeds P.1-343.

Fadipe, A. A. (1989) -

Relationships between the

chemical composition and

physical characterist ics in some

African columbite-tantalite

specimens. Journal of mining

and Geology vol. 25 nos 1 and

2 P. 55-65.

Fadipe, A. A. (1989) - The

Scandium bearing

tantaloniobates and tin bearing

niobotantalates (ixiolites) from

Malagasy, Mozambique,

Finland and Western

Australia.Nig. Journal of

science vol.23 Nos 1and 2 P. 3.

Mucks, A. Struntz, H. 1978-

Petscheckite and Liandratite,

two new pegmatite minerals

from Madagascar.American

mineralogist, volume 63.P. 941

- 946.

Obaje, N. G. 2009- Geology and

Mineral Resources of Nigeria.

Series: Lecture Notes in Earth

Sciences, Volume 120 XIV,

221p. 89 Illus. 59 in color.

Rahaman, M. A. 1978- Review of

the Basement geology of

Southwestern Nigeria. In Kogbe

C.A. (ed) Geology of Nigeria.

Elizabethan Pub. Co. Lagos, P.

45-58.

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116

Table 1: The Statist ical Data of Oxides of the Elements Present in the two

varieties of the Niobotantalate Mineral LKJ 1 Ana lyses LKJ 2 Ana lyses

Oxide Range Mean Standard Dev iat ion

Oxide Range Mean Standard Dev iat ion

Al 2 O 3 0.02-0 .47

0 .09 0 .11 MgO 0 .02-0 .27

0 .11 0 .11

SiO 2 0.38-3 .47

1 .40 0 .64 0 .04-0 .90

0 .48 0 .33

CaO 0.01-6 .00

3 .20 2 .04 0 .17-4 .94

2 .30 1 .61

Sc 2 O 3 0.02-0 .14

0 .06 0 .02 0 .37-0 .44

0 .41 0 .02

TiO 2 0.12-0 .25

0 .20 0 .03 0 .79-1 .02

0 .91 0 .05

MnO 0.01-0 .96

0 .51 0 .24 0 .14-0 .67

0 .37 0 .16

FeO 5.18-12.36

8 .41 1 .64 4 .08-8 .58

6 .13 1 .16

Y 2 O 3 0.32-4 .75

3 .21 0 .89 1 .50-3 .92

2 .20 0 .63

Nb 2 O 5 24.84 -37.39

32.95 1 .80 13 .20-16.35

15.40 0 .85

La 2 O 3 0.01-0 .17

0 .05 0 .04 0 .01-0 .08

0 .05 0 .02

Ce 2 O 3 0.02-0 .32

0 .12 0 .06 0 .02-0 .22

0 .15 0 .06

Nd 2 O 3 0.01-0 .29

0 .18 0 .07 0 .08-0 .18

0 .13 0 .03

Sm 2 O 3 0.16-0 .94

0 .17 0 .17 0 .14-0 .83

0 .40 0 .21

Gd 2 O 3 0.22-1 .36

0 .88 0 .18 0 .38-1 .44

0 .75 0 .27

Dy 2 O 3 0.34-1 .89

1 .34 0 .36 0 .82-2 .11

1 .20 0 .32

Er 2 O 3 0.01-0 .57

0 .34 0 .12 0 .10-0 .61

0 .36 0 .13

Yb 2 O 3 0.06-0 .83

0 .49 0 .16 0 .21-0 .55

0 .38 0 .11

Ta 2 O 5 10.20 -15.39

11.64 0 .96 31 .47-36.42

34.42 1 .27

WO 3 0.89-3 .03

1 .91 0 .44 1 .05-2 .40

1 .36 0 .37

PbO 0.94-4 .31

1 .87 0 .68 0 .79-1 .89

1 .47 0 .38

ThO 2 2.20-3 .51

2 .44 0 .28 2 .82-3 .38

3 .06 0 .17

UO 2 17.59 -26.64

24.40 1 .77 24 .38-30.11

27.40 1 .58

Total 95 .86 99 .44

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117

Table:2 Comparison of the varieties of Niobotantalate mineral(under

study) with the Petscheckite of Mucke and Struntz (1978). Elements i n Ox ide Var ie t ies ( %) Mucke & S t run tz 1978

(%) LKJ 1 LKJ 2 Nb 2 O 5 +Ta 2 O 5 44.59 49.82 45.99 UO 2 +ThO 2 +PbO+REE 2 O 3 38.00 39.32 40.50 FeO+Fe 2 O 3 +MnO 8.65 6 .50 11.43 CaO 3.20 2 .30 0 .49 SiO 2 1.40 0 .48 - Al 2 O 3 0.09 - 0 .71 MgO - 0 .11 - K 2 O - - 0 .05 TiO 2 0.20 0 .91 -

Table 3: Showing the composition of Uranium – rich mineral veinlet’s Fig 3 Oxide Range Mean % Oxide Range Mean %

Al 2 O 3 0.28-0 .42 0 .35 Nd 2 O 3 0 .10-0 .30 0 .16 SiO 2 0.69- .098 0 .87 Sm 2 O 3 0 .41-0 .53 0 .48 CaO 0.30-0 .37 0 .33 Gd 2 O 3 0 .22-0 .29 0 .26 Sc 2 O 3 0.02-0 .03 0 .02 Dy 2 O 3 0 .49-0 .63 0 .57 TiO 2 0.12-0 .20 0 .11 Er 2 O 3 0 .01-0 .22 0 .17 MnO 0.04-0 .08 0 .06 Yb 2 O 3 0 .27 0 .27 FeO 3.46-4 .14 3 .76 Ta 2 O 5 6 .60-8 .15 7 .20 Y 2 O 3 0.32-0 .69 0 .56 WO 3 0 .33-0 .92 0 .64 Nb 2 O 5 24.84-25 .85 25.41 PbO 3 .70-5 .66 4 .59 La 2 O 3 0.07-0 .16 0 .10 ThO 2 0 .89-1 .17 1 .01 Ce 2 O 3 0.26-0 .32 0 .29 UO 2 44 .66-46 .89 46.08 TOTAL 93.29

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118

Table 4: Analytical results of Ferrocolumbite, Ferrotantalite and Tapiolite in

association with Tantalite –rich Niobotantalate. Oxide Ferrocolumbite Ferrotanta l i te Tapio l i te

Range Mean SD Range Mean SD Range Mean SD

Na 2 O 0.18-0 .34 0 .26 0 .11 0 .30-0 .43 0 .37 0 .09 0 .45-0 .71 0 .54 0 .12

MgO 0 .17-0 .45 0 .31 0 .20 0 .56-0 .60 0 .58 0 .03 0 .00-0 .05 0 .05 0 .00

SiO 2 - - - - - - - - -

CaO - - - - - - - - -

Sc 2 O 3 0 .13-0 .60 0 .37 0 .33 0 .19-0 .22 0 .22 0 .04 0 .33-0 .35 0 .34 0 .01

T iO 2 0 .69-2 .31 1 .50 1 .15 1 .47-1 .62 1 .55 0 .11 2 .11-2 .83 2 .53 0 .31

MnO 3 .22-3 .87 3 .55 0 .46 2 .84-3 .12 2 .98 0 .20 0 .20-0 .44 0 .34 0 .11

FeO 12.86-14 .36 13.61 1 .08 12.43-12 .73 12.58 0 .21 14.19 -14 .81 14.53 0 .30

Y 2 O 3 0 .01-0 .07 0 .04 0 .04 - - - - - -

Nb 2 O 5 34 .01-45 .53 39.80 8 .10 19.96 -25.98

22.47 4 .26 8 .80-9 .93 9 .32 0 .65

La 2 O 3 0 .01-0 .07 0 .04 0 .04 0 .05 - - 0 .01-0 .02 0 .02 0 .01

Ce 2 O 3 0 .01-0 .07 0 .05 0 .05 0 .10-0 .21 0 .16 0 .08 0 .06-0 .25 0 .17 0 .08

Nd 2 O 3 0 .05 - - - - - 0 .01-0 .06 0 .04 0 .04

Sm 2 O 3 0 .01-0 .04 0 .03 0 .02 - - - 0 .02-0 .12 0 .07 0 .05

Gd 2 O 3 - - - 0 .11 1 .14 0 .04 - - -

Dy 2 O 3 1 .25-1 .26 1 .26 0 .01 1 .11-1 .17 - - 0 .13-0 .30 0 .22 0 .09

Er 2 O 3 0 .07-0 .12 0 .10 0 .04 0 .21 - - 0 .05-0 .22 0 .14 1 .12

Yb 2 O 3 0 .16 - - 0 .10 54.11 - 0 .25-0 .30 0 .28 0 .04

Ta 2 O 5 33 .56-43 .92 38.74 7 .33 53-39 -54.83

1 .37 1 .02 71-31 -72 .39 71.68 0 .49

WO 3 0 .47-1 .32 0 .90 0 .60 0 .79-1 .95 0 .19 0 .82 0 .54-0 .82 0 .68 0 .16

PbO 0 .01-0 .09 0 .05 0 .06 0 .02-0 .35 0 .03 0 .23 - - -

ThO 2 0 .02 - - 0 .02-0 .04 - 0 .01 - - -

UO 2 0 .02-0 .09 0 .06 0 .05 0 .12 - 0 .07-0 .29 0 .17 0 .09

Total 100.67 97 .75 101.12

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

119

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

120

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Ejiko, S.O

DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTER SOFTWARE FOR DETERMINING LATHE’S

SENSITIVITY

Ejiko, S.O.

Department of Mechanical Engineering

The Federal Polytechnic Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State

ABSTRACT: Programming is the process of writing and testing computer program, it is a

vital tool considering the trend of information and computer technology where everything has

gone global as a result of computerization for rapid analysis and documentation. Software

for the selection of appropriate machines in an efficient production environment was

developed using a numerical model for lathe’s operational sensitivity and cost for job request

based on Visual Basic 6.0 programming language named Computer Aided Lathe Operational

Sensitivity – (CALOS 2012). The results showed that lathes machine with smaller capacity

have lower operational sensitivity with more cost effectiveness where as higher capacity,

numerical control and CNC lathe machines had higher sensitivity but less cost effective.

KEYWORDS: Program, Sensitivity, Lathe, Software, Visual Basic, Computer

INTRODUCTION

Computer is an electro mechanical device

which accepts data as input, process it to give

useful information as output which can either

be printed out as a hard copy by a printing

device or displayed as a soft copy on the

V.D.U or stored on secondary storage media

for future use Aronu (1996).

Computer programming (often shortened to

programming or coding) is the process of

writing, testing, debugging/troubleshooting

and maintaining the source code of computer

programs. This source code is writing in a

programming language. The code may be a

modification of an existing source or

something completely new. The purpose of

programming is to create program that exhibits

a certain desired behavior (customization). The

process of writing source codes requires

expertise in many different subjects, including

knowledge of the application domain,

specialized algorithms and formal logic Paul

(2003).

Programming job usually involves:

Requirements analysis, Specification,

Software architecture, Coding, Compilation,

Software testing, Documentation integration

and Maintenance. A model formulated by the

use of SPSS package by Ejiko (2011) that

established an output in terms of time and

accuracy, showing profitability and

effectiveness with respect to input such as

operations, volume removed, feed, machine

stock, accuracy, job complexity, speed and

skill level, that is involved in each process was

used to develop a computer program for rapid

computation of machine delivery time and cost

of machining. This work will also provide a

guide in road into researches for various

parameters that determine the finishing time of

operation of a particular job, consequently,

leading to appropriate selection of machine

tool based on promise time that is capable of

doing job to completion with the due date set

by either customer or producer.

History of Visual Basic Programming

Language

Microsoft released Visual Basic in 1987. It

was the first visual development tool from

Microsoft, and it was to compete with C, C++,

Pascal and other well-known programming

languages. From the start, Visual Basic wasn't

a hit. It wasn't until release 2.0 in 1991 that

people really discovered the potential of the

language, and with release 3.0 it had become

the fastest-growing programming language on

the market Douglas (1995).

What is Visual Basic

Programmers have undergone a major change

in many years of programming various

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

121

machines. For example what could be created

in minutes with Visual Basic could take days

in other languages such: as "C" or "Pascal".

Visual Basic provides many interesting sets of

tools to aid you in building exciting

applications. Visual Basic provides these tools

to make your life far easier because all the real

hard code is already written for you. With

controls like these you can create many

applications, which use certain parts of

windows. For example, one of the controls

could be a button, which we have

demonstrated in the "Hello World" program

below. First create the control on the screen,

and then write the code, which would be

executed once the control button is pressed.

With this sort of operation in mind, simple

programs would take very little code. Why

does it like the poor old "C" programmer who

would have to write code to even display a

wind won the screen, when Visual Basic

already has this part written for you Stair,

R.M. and Janaro R.E. (1984). Even though

people tend to say Visual Basic's compiler is

far behind the compilers of Pascal and C, it has

earned itself the status of a professional

programming language, and has almost freed

BASIC of the reputation of a children's

language. Overall you would class Visual

Basic as a Graphics User Interface (GUI).

Because as you draw, write for the program.

This must always be remembered in any kind

of creation of a Visual Basic program. All in

all, VB is the preferred language of many

future programmers. If you want to start

programming Windows, and don't know how

to start, give Visual Basic a shot Peter (1994).

Visual Basic is not only a programming

language, but also a complete graphical

development environment. This environment

allows users with little programming

experience to quickly develop useful

Microsoft Windows applications, which have

the ability to use OLE (Object Linking and

Embedding) objects, such as an Excel

spreadsheet. Visual Basic also has the ability

to develop programs that can be used as a front

end application to a database system, scurrying

as till: user interface which collects user input

and displays formatted output in a more

appealing and useful form than many SQL

version.

Visual Basic's main selling point is the ease

with which it allows the user to create nice

looking, graphical programs with little coding

by the programmer, unlike many other

languages that may take hundreds of lines of

programmer keyed code. As the programmer

works in the graphical environment, the Visual

Basic program automatically generates much

of the program code. In order to understand

how this happens it is necessary to understand

the major concepts, objects and tools used by

Visual Basic. The main object in Visual Basic

is called a form Scott and Anthony (1995).

Given that the model of research operation

appears in a multiple regression format it

becomes incumbent that as engineer we

generate a program to solve easily the

regression equations. The current most users

friendly program language is the visual basis

therefore it is apply for our programming.

METHODOLOGY

In order to formulate a numerical model, some

of the basic aspects of production process,

operating type, machine class/grade, operating

skills involved, and number of components to

be produced was considered in formulating a

relationship that determines the time taken to

complete a job, which is a function of the

machine sensitivity. Machining experiment

was carried out on predetermined jobs’

specification in the Machine Workshop of

Mechanical Engineering Department, the

Federal Polytechnic Ado-Ekiti. Conventional

lathe machines of models M300, M350 and

M500 were used for the machining

experiments. Experimental completion time

data obtained from job operations such as

facing, turning, step turning, threading

involving volume of metal removed on the

selected lathe models are documented, and

analyzed using SPSS 15.0 computer package

for ANOVA and Linear Multiple Regression.

The combined data was used to develop the

general numerical model in the industry which

application was made faster by the computer

program developed in Visual Basic (VB) 6.0.

Data collected from internet, customers

request and other library source on NC and

CNC lathe machines was used to validate the

model.

Table 1 shows the comprehensive parameter

values that the component were subjected to in

competing the machining job on the varying

lathe machine model indicating the true time,

volume of metal removed, feed, speed,

machine age, swing, stock, complexity,

capacity, accuracy and skill level of operator.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

122

The data collected as shown in Table 1 serves

as the source for the formulation of the

numerical model developed as given in

equation 1. T = 13.356S – 0.154A + 2.703C –

0.011K – 0.083N + 151.25f + 1.72V – 20.389.

(1)

Computer Software Development

The computer program is designed in such a

way that will be useful for the rapid estimation

of machine operational sensitivity based on

machining time, and cost of production, for all

types of lathe which included; the

conventional, NC and CNC. The consideration

of the completion time and cost helped in the

selection of the most appropriate lathe

machine, for producing a component. The

major factors influencing the operational

sensitivity of the lathe considered in the model

developed are skill, accuracy, complexity,

stock, speed, feed and volume of metal

removed. The data obtained from individual

lathe experimentation on job were used to

generate linear multiple regression models

with SPSS 15.0 for window package,

separately. The combined data from different

machine (lathes) was used to develop a more

comprehensive numerical model that reflects

the major factors. The resulting model

generated from the combined experimental

data was used in the development of computer

program named CALOS 2012-Comper Aided

Lathes’ Operational Sensitivity using V.B 6.0

computer software because of its user-

friendliness characteristics (Peter, 1994). The

developed CALOS 2012 software was used to

estimate the production time and cost. The

lathe machine was finally selected based on

cost.

The flowchart and algorithms developed for

the program coding and computer

implementation of the model are given in Fig.

1 in the section below

Stages in algorithm and flowchart

development

Algorithm is well defined set of procedure and

instructions for solving the problems in a finite

and unambiguous number of steps (Aronu,

1998).This algorithm involves identifying the

customer demand, expected delivery time,

accuracy require as well as the length and

diameter of rod available. The operator is

expected to estimate the metal volume

removed in machining the rod to obtain the

component desired. The categories of lathe

models available should be indicated, also

inputs such as skill of operator, complexity,

stock, speed and feed are required to be

identified. The generalized model developed is

use to calculate the delivery time by the

operator, and compare with the expected

customer delivery time, if the operator

delivery time is less than that of the customer

time, the customer is advise to seek for

increment in time else the operator should

reject the offer. With the estimated time within

the range of customer demand, the operator is

expected to estimate the machining cost for

each lathe model available using the

machining cost per minute in Table 1. A

comprehensive comparism between the lathes

is made to determine the most economical

lathe for selection in carrying out the

operation. The process highlighted in this

section was used to develop programming

code of the computer software in appendix 1.

The computer program interface has four

sections (form). The first form dealt with the

input involving operator skill level, accuracy

required and complexity of operations. The

second form involves the input of lathe model

available for selection, while the third form

comprises of input that reflect machining

parameters such as speed, feed rate and

volume of metal to be removed. The forth

form shows the output of time in minute and

cost in naira for carrying out an operation on

the various categories of lathe machine model

and the selection is made based on the most

economical lathe available for operation.

Algorithm for selecting the best lathe model

based on sensitivity

Rem: Algorithm for selecting the most

profitable lathe machine model

1.0 Identify customer demand which includes

delivery time, the accuracy required and state

the length/diameter of material to be used.

2.0 Estimate the volume of metal to be

removed in cm3, initial rod volume minus

product volume.

3.0 Indicate available lathe models such as

conventional, NC and CNC.

4.0 Input skill, complexity, stock, speed and

feed involve in carry out the operation.

5.0 Estimate the time taken for each lathe

model to complete the task under minimum

time condition with general model equation

Te.

6.0 If time to complete task Te is greater than

customer delivery time Td hence advise

customer and seek for increment of delivery

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

123

time that will meet Te or reject offer else Go to

10.

7.0 Calculate the cost of machining based on

their machine charge rate per minute for each

model.

8.0 Compare the cost of machining for the

different lathe model.

9.0 Accept the least cost model for carrying

out the operation.

10.0 Is performance satisfactory if yes Go to

11.0 else Go to 4.0

11.0 Implement then 12.0

12.0 Stop

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Linear multiple regression model parameters

was estimated from the data obtained through

the experiment conducted on operational

sensitivity for the three models of the

conventional lathe machine (M300, M350 and

M500), in the mechanical workshop of the

Federal Polytechnic Ado-Ekiti, using SPSS

15.0 (for window) computer package.

The parameters for the independent variable

namely: volume, feed rate, speed, stock,

complexity, accuracy and skill for the three

lathe models are presented in equation 1. A

model of time as a function of the other

variables such as S = Skill level of operator, A

= Accuracy of component being machined, C

= Complexity of operation, K = Stock length,

N = Speed in revolution per minute, f = Feed

rate in mm/rev and V = Volume of metal

removed.

T = 13.356S – 0.154A + 2.703C – 0.011K –

0.083N + 151.25f + 1.72V – 20.389……. (1)

Considering the interface of computer program

developed in fig 2 data were generated

experimentally from the customer’s job

request. The requests involved the production

of 15 test pieces of components having

0.007mm accuracy and metal volume removed

per piece of 28.997cm3, for a period of 5

hours; this implies 20 minutes per component.

The model was validated to determine the

acceptance or rejection of the job. Considering

minimum condition of beginners’ skill, lowest

turning speed and minimum feed rate, the

following result was generated and shown in

figure 2. The implication of Fig. 2 signify that

at minimum customer delivery time operating

at higher speed range will favour the selection

of higher capacity lathe type(s). The figure

also shows the relationship between speed and

time of cut using the generalize model, for

M300, M350 and M500, NC and CNC lathe

involving the machining of a component based

on customer’s request. The figures shows that

increase in spindle speed of the lathe machine

tool will favour the reduction of machining

time, and this varies for varying lathe type(s)

at 175rev/min the machining time reduces to

23, 19, 17, 8 and 16min, the implication is that

operational sensitivity increases with respect

to lathe type capacity and speed. Figure 2 also

reflect the cost implication, which clearly

shows that the cost of operating machine at a

lower speed is higher, which implies

uneconomical operational sensitivity. At

higher range of speed for turning mild steel the

conventional and numerical control machine

are more cost effective than the computer

numerical control lathe machines. The figure

shows that at lower speed the cost of operation

is usually higher; while at higher speed such as

175rev/min the cost was estimated to be 152,

149, 153, 150 and 241 in naira which is lower.

As the speed increases the cost of operation

tend to reduce. Models time that are greater

than the delivery time were rejected; while

those within the delivery time are considered

and the minimum production cost model is

accepted.

REFERENCES

Aronu, D.I. (1996): Computer Operations and

Applications 1st ed. Olajamon Printers

and Publishers, Lagos Street, Kaduna.

Chapter 7 pp 75 – 90

Douglas H. (1995): Foundations of Visual

Basic for Windows 95 Programming.

IDG Books Worldwide Inc., Fistor City,

CA.

Ejiko, S.O. (2011): “Holistic Approached in

Determining Multiple Regression Model

for Lathe’s Operation Sensitivity”,

Proceeding of 7th Engineering Forum,

Federal Polytechnic, Ado – Ekiti, Nigeria

pp 31 – 40

Paul G. (2003): “Hackers & Painters”.

Retrieved on 2006-08-22.

Peter, W. (1994): The Beginner’s guide to

Visual Basic. Wrox Press Ltd.

Birmingbam, UK.

Scott J. and Anthony P. (1995): Visual Basic

for Multimedia Adventure set. The

Cariolis Group, Scottsdale, A.Z.

Stair, R.M. and Janaro R.E. (1984): Essentials

Basic Programming. Richard I Rww Inc.,

USA. Pp 13-15.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

124

Thomas C., Katsuhiro M., Toshiyuki O. and

Yasuo Y. (2000): Metal Machining

Theory and Application.1st Edt. John

Wiley and Sons Inc. New York Toronto

Chapter 1 pp12 - 34

Wikipedia, (2007): Numerical Control,

Retrieved on 8th May, 2007 from

www.microkinetics.com/lathe1236 Retrieved

on 27th January, 2009.

COMPUTER CODING FOR LATHE

SENSITIVITY MODEL

frmEnterData-1

Option Explicit

Dim S As Single

Dim A As Single

Dim C As Integer

Dim K As Integer

Dim f As Single

Dim N As Integer

Dim V As Single

Dim Tc As Integer

Dim As Single

Dim Cost As Single

Private Sub cmdRun_Click ()

If txtTimeCustomer.Text = ” ” Then

MsgBox (“Input the customer’s Delivery

Time”)

txtTimeCustomer.SetFocus

Elself txtOperator.text =”” or txtAcurracy.Text

= “” or txtComplexity.Text = “” Then

txtOperator.SetFocus

Elself chkM300.value =0 And chkM350.

Value = 0 And chkM500. Value = 0 And

chkNC. Value = 0 And chkCNC. Value = 0

Then

MsgBox (“You must select at least a lathe

machine model”)

Elself txtspeed.Text = “” or

textFeedRates.Text. or txtvolume.Text = ””

Then

Elself txtspeed. SetFocus

If chkM300. Value = 1 Then

K = 900

S = txtOperator. Text

A = txtAcurracy.Text

C= txtComplexity.Text

N= txtspeed.Text

f = textFeedRates.Text.

V = txtvolume.Text.

Tc = txtTimeCustomer.Text

T = (13.356 * S) – (0.154 * A) + (2.703 * C) –

(0.011 * K) – (0.083 *N) + (151.25 * f) +

(1.72 * V) – 20.389

txtM300.Text =T

txtM300 = Cost

If T < Tc Then 1b1M300comment .caption =

“Lathe M300 is suitable for the job because its

time is less than customer’s time”

Else:1b1M300comment.caption = “Lathe

M300 is NOT suitable for the job because its

time is greater than customer’s time”

End if

End if

If chkM350. Value = 1 Then

K =1200

S = txtOperator. Text

A = txtAcurracy.Text

C= txtComplexity.Text

N= txtspeed.Text

f = textFeedRates.Text.

V = txtvolume.Text.

Tc = txtTimeCustomer.Text

T = (13.356 * S) – (0.154 * A) + (2.703 * C) –

(0.011 * K) – (0.083 *N) + (151.25 * f) +

(1.72 * V) – 20.389

txtM350.Text =Cost

End if

If chkM500. Value = 1 Then

K = 500

S = txtOperator. Text

A = txtAcurracy.Text

C= txtComplexity.Text

N= txtspeed.Text

f = textFeedRates.Text.

V = txtvolume.Text.

Tc = txtTimeCustomer.Text

T = (13.356 * S) – (0.154 * A) + (2.703 * C) –

(0.011 * K) – (0.083 *N) + (151.25 * f) +

(1.72 * V) – 20.389

txtM500.Text =T

frmEnterData – 2

Cost = T * 9.25

txtCost500 = Cost

End if

If chkNC. Value = 1 Then

K = 3650

S =1

A = txtAcurracy.Text

C= txtComplexity.Text

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125

N= txtspeed.Text

f = 0.1.

V = txtvolume.Text.

Tc = txtTimeCustomer.Text

T = (13.356 * S) – (0.154 * A) + (2.703 * C) –

(0.011 * K) – (0.083 *N) + (151.25 * f) +

(1.72 * V) – 20.389

txtNC.Text =T

Cost = T * 17.27

txtCostNC =Cost

End if

If chkCNC.value = 1 Then

K = 900

S =txtoperator.Text

A = txtAcurracy.Text

C= txtComplexity.Text

N= txtspeed.Text

f = 0.1.

V = txtvolume.Text.

Tc = txtTimeCustomer.Text

T = (13.356 * S) – (0.154 * A) + (2.703 * C) –

(0.011 * K) – (0.083 *N) + (151.25 * f) +

(1.72 * V) – 20.389

txtNC.Text =T

Cost = T * 17.27

txtCostCNC =Cost

End if

End sub

Private sub cmdselectAll_Click ()

cnkM300. Value = 1

cnkM350. Value = 1

cnkM500. Value = 1

cnkNC. Value = 1

End sub

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

126

Table 1: True time based on specific machining factor of different Lathes

Tim

min

Vol

cm3

Feed

rate

Speed

rev/mn

M/C

Age

Swin

mm

Stock

mm

Comp

lx

M.P.

KW

Accu

mm

Skill

5.5 3.739 0.26 180 07 500 1500 1 7.5 0.025 0.8

5.0 2.765 0.26 180 07 500 1500 1 7.5 0.017 0.8

59.0 32.52 0.26 180 07 500 1500 2 7.5 0.084 0.8

11.0 6.504 0.26 180 07 500 1500 2 7.5 0.052 0.7

36.0 17.633 0.22 180 07 500 1500 3 7.5 0.078 0.8

30.0 17.630 0.22 145 17 350 1200 3 6.0 0.093 0.7

14.2 5.058 0.26 145 17 350 1200 1 6.0 0.091 0.7

12.3 3.801 0.26 145 17 350 1200 1 6.0 0.219 0.5

28.0 8.859 0.26 145 17 350 1200 2 6.0 0.031 0.8

15.0 4.398 0.26 180 13 300 900 2 2.0 0.269 0.6

12.0 3.456 0.26 180 13 300 900 2 2.0 0.163 0.7

13.5 2.529 0.26 180 13 300 900 2 2.0 0.098 0.7

9.0 0.880 0.26 180 13 300 900 2 2.0 0.734 0.7

20.0 4.412 0.26 180 13 300 900 2 2.0 0.264 0.7

Table 2: Parameters for estimating machining cost per minute

Sub-component charge M300 M350 M500 N/C 3650 CNC 1236

Fuel consume/hour 100 150 200 270 100

For 8 hour of 250 work

days

N 200,000

300,000

400,000

540,000

200,000

Fm = annual cost of

power/etc fraction to cost

0.4

0.5

0.5

0.45

0.18

F: = fraction of interest

rate if borrow to

purchase

0.15

0.15

0.15

0.15

0.15

CI = purchase price 500,000 600,000 800,000 1200,000 1,119,300

Machine Age 13 17 7 1 1

Mt = manufacturing

cost/min

2.61 3.54 5.29 10.67 8.27

Fo= machine active hr

fraction

0.5 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.75

Ns = days factor (process-

oriented).

2 2 2 2 2

Ca = workers annual

wage

360,000 360,000 360,000 600,000 600,000

Fs = insurance/pension

fraction

0.1 (10%) 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1

Rw = inflated ration for

other pay (labour

intensive)

1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2

Mw = labour charge/min 3.96 3.96 3.96 6.60 6.6

Cp = turning process cost 6.57 7.5 9.25 17.27 14.87

Source: Thomas et al, 2000: and www.microkinetcs.com/lathe 1236

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

127

Figure 1: Generalized Process flow Chart Using Sensitivity Model.

Figure 4.8: Generalized Process Flow Chart Using Sensitivity Model.

UT I LI ZE D M OD EL TO E ST I M ATE

TI ME Te = 1 3 .3 5 6 S - 0 .1 5 4 A +

2 .7 0 3 c - 0 .0 1 1 k - 0 .0 8 3 N + 1 5 1 .2 5 f + 1 .7 2 V - 2 0 .3 8 9

I S T < Td e

Advise cu st om er a n d seek for

in cr em en t of tim e t h a t will

m eet Te else r ej ect offer

I S

C CCO N NC <

YE S

Accep t

I S

CLess < CN CAccept LessYE S

NO

NO

Sto p

STAR T

I n pu t len gt h & d ia m et er of m a t er ia l Ava ila b le,Cu sto m er D esign , Deliever y T im e An d Accu r a cy

(T , A)d

NO

YE S

NO I s

P er fo r m a nce

Sa t i sfa cto r y

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

128

Fig 2: Interface of computer program developed

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

129

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Adegbite, Dauda Alani

IMPROVED FOUNDRY TECHNOLOGY FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH AND

SUSTAINABILITY

Adegbite, Dauda Alani

Department Of Metallurgical Engineering,

Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.

yommydahud@yahoo.Com

08030696515 / 08188226570

ABSTRACT: This paper, briefly deliberate on the meaning of the foundry technology,

foundry processes and its product; the paper also reviews the global scenario of foundry

industry, the current status of foundry industry in Nigeria, Nigeria Economy, strategy to

improve Nigeria Economy through foundry technology and sustainability of foundry

technology in Nigeria was also highlighted.

Keywords: Foundry, Technology, Economy and Sustainability

INTRODUCTION

Nigeria is rated amongst the world poorest

country (UNESCO, 1991), IMF 1994

despite her abundant natural and human

resources. This is based on low Gross

National Product (GNP), high

unemployment rate, and low income per

capital, crippling national debt and high

inflation rate. The over-dependence on one

product (crude oil) which is subject to

vagaries of international markets coupled

with unstable political situation in the

country has made the future look more

bleak and precarious. It has been suggested

in various quarters that a visible and

practicable solution to the crippling

nation’s economy problem is through

production of industrial goods especially

machines and its parts cast from foundries

in Nigeria.

Even with supply of suitable machine

design to the private sector, mass

manufacture of product machinery is not

easy in an environment of poor

infrastructure and little experts of foundry

technology. Many of the parts will require

ferrous and non-ferrous materials such as

mild steel, alloy steel, aluminium, copper

and cast iron in form of bars, sheet, pipes

and as-cast. Many of this parts such as

housing, heavy gears and spindle is cast.

This means that absolute truth is that no

nation’s economic development is possible

without development of iron, steel and

machine tool industries where foundry is

the live blood and backbone of these

industries. The foundry must be fully

equipped for economic growth and

development in Nigeria. Small and

medium scale foundries must also be

developed in the private sector while the

heavy foundries must be attached to public

manufacturing companies.

Two words are present in “Foundry

Technology” which needs to be defined

before given the actual definition of the

whole term. The word “Foundry” is

defined as a factory or workshop where

metal or glass is founded (Fasoyinu,

1983). In a broad term, Foundry is a work

establishment where ferrous and non-

ferrous metals are first of all caused to be

liquid or molten by application of heat and

then cooled rapidly in a mould to yield a

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solid mass. This solidified metal takes the

shape of the pattern cavity made in a

mould. The pattern itself is a replica of the

object, which the foundry-man wants to

produce. Also, foundry is the art of the

business of founding of casting metals, in

addition, it is an establishment or building

in which founding of metal or glass is

carried out, that is, melted and formed into

particular shapes. The technique of melting

and cooling a metal to give a desired

product is known as casting. Foundry is

the intermediate between blast furnace

operator and the consumer.

Foundry forms one of the major down-

streams industries associated with steel

plants. However, foundry work is not

limited to ferrous metallurgy. Non-ferrous

foundry is also another great paying

industry that can contribute immensely to

the development of Nigeria economy if

Nigeria ventures into it in large scale by

producing art works and souvenirs.

The term “Technology” can be defined as

the systematic application of scientific

theory, engineering theory and knowledge

to some practical purpose or activity

(Elekwa, 2006).

In general, Foundry Technology can be

defined as a course which deals with

systematic application of scientific

knowledge with the full of understanding

of physics, chemistry, mathematics,

technical drawing; designing of

manufacturing processes and modification

of existing manufacturing process; and

designing of new cast products to solve

present and future practical problems in

casting of metals and their alloys all

towards improving the standard of living

of human beings and to diminish toil.

Nigeria has nearly fifty industrial

foundries; the total output form the lot

skill, which falls short of tremendous

demand for engine spare parts and

accessories needed in Nigeria. The

discrepancy between the demand of

machines spare parts with their accessories

and the supply from foundry industries

greatly affect the Nigeria economy.

Foundry Processes: The process involves

in making a certain product starts from

valuing the job brought by customer. Other

processes are making the pattern and

moulds of the jobs, preparing and melting

the metal, pouring the metal into the

prepared moulds, the casting and

reclaiming the sand for reuse. Machining a

block of metal to an intricate shape can be

very expensive which encourages a

foundry worker to say: “Why white when

you can cast.”

High rates of production, good surface

finish, small dimensional tolerances and

improved properties of material have

enabled both large and small intricate parts

to be cast of almost all metals and their

alloys. Moulding may be of metal, plastic,

ceramic or other refractive substances.

Most of the moulding materials like silica

sand, bentonite and some furnace lining

refractory are imported from overseas.

Consequently, our economy depends

mostly on overseas for production when

there are locally available silica sand at

Igbokoda, Ondo State and clay at Ijero-

Ekiti, Ekiti State that can be used for

moulding in all Nigeria foundries.

Unfortunately, Nigeria Government has

done nothing to address this issue.

Foundry Products: We all live in a world

of materials and metal that are used for

several different purposes. Metals and

materials are used to produce products that

make our lives safer, easier and more

enjoyable. Other materials are needed to

produce products, which transport people

and goods, communicate message and

ideas, and provide shelters and comfort.

Almost every office and home has

numerous objects made by

casting/moulding. The typical automobile

vehicle has a variety of castings of

different materials made by different

casting processes. Many different

materials may be cast or moulded and the

processes take a variety of forms,

techniques, and variations. Example range

from the towering industrial machines cast

from iron and steel to tiny toys made of

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131

moulded plastics. Between these extremes

are such products as ceramic vases, glass

bottles, electronic components, and

multitude of metallic items, from gold

rings and silver ware to automobile parts

in an endless variety of metal alloy. Other

products from cast iron are cylinder

blocks, valves, piston etc.

Global Scenario of Foundry Industry:

The act of metal founding is an ancient

process and oldest manufacturing process

that has its beginnings in the Bronze and

Iron Ages. Foundry may be classified as

ferrous and non-ferrous. In the past,

castings were used mainly as tools and

ornaments or for decorative purposes

rarely subjected to any complex loading

conditions that can cause material failure.

The great sun Buddha statue at Nara,

Japan; probably the largest bronze statue in

the world was cast in the eight century,

weighing 496 tonnes and over 21 metres

high (Fasoyinu, 1983). By 1642, Iron

works, the first Iron foundry in America

was established in Lynn Massachusetts.

The first set of steel castings was produced

in 1861 in a foundry by Pratt and

Lethworth, New York.

In 1890 when the cement tube mill was

invented, the early foundry houses help in

solving problems of grinding media and

lining materials. The Messrs. Bradley and

Poster foundry of the United Kingdom was

established in 1936 while the F.L. Smith of

Denmark was established and their

castings were used by most cement

industries in the world.

In the entire world, foundry industries

have noticed to be industries that employ

highest number of workers and generate

much money for the nation.

The Status of Foundry Industry in

Nigeria: In Nigeria the giant of Africa,

castings was also used as ornaments or

decorative purposes; typical examples are

Ife Bronze and Benin Brasses statues cast

from Bronzes and Brasses respectively.

The act of metal founding is an ancient

process and oldest manufacturing process

in Nigeria that has its beginnings in the

Bronze and Iron Ages.

Nigeria Foundries Limited (NFL), Lagos

was established in 1969 by private

individual having realized the roles the

foundry industries will serve to Nigeria’s

technological development and possibly

solve the problem of non-availability of

spare parts that are likely to be facing most

industries in Nigeria. This is the time when

Nigeria took no cognizance of the foundry

industry. Since then, both the government

and private foundry entrepreneur are

establishing various foundry industries,

ranging from jobbing and captive foundry

industries. Up till now, government

establishes no productive foundry industry.

When the Foundry Association of Nigeria

(FAN) realized the relevance of foundry

industry to technological development

want to comply the cost of functions

foundry industries in Nigeria, by their

record, there are 62 functional foundry

industries out of more than 900 foundry

industries in Nigeria. But most of these

foundry industries in Nigeria could not

perform effectively in terms of both

quantity and quality of castings demanded

by their customers due to the poor state of

foundry industry sector presently

characterized by decay through under-

funding, unbalanced manpower structure,

improving poor quality and under

employment of graduate foundry

engineering technical personnel to manage

the foundry industries. Bad government

policy on the locally produced spare parts,

no conducive atmosphere for foreign

investors wishing to establish foundry

industry and no adequate foundry

engineering education in Nigeria.

Nigeria Economy: KARL MARX once

observed that the advance industrialized

countries present to the developing like

Nigeria a picture of latter’s future. The

reasons for the appeal of and the

compelling urge for industrialization are

many and varied. The most important,

perhaps, is the uncertain behaviour of the

primary exports dominated sector of

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132

Nigeria, an uncertainly arising from the

fact that the behaviour of that sector is

determined by exogenous and stochastic

factors like deterioration in the term of

trade, low income elasticity of demand for

primary products and acts of the gods like

drought. To rely exclusively on the

expansion of the primary sector for

engendering fast and sustained economy

growth could not therefore be a viable

policy.

As a former economic adviser to the

Nigeria Federal Government once put it,

“…the real issue in Nigeria was not

whether there should be industrialization

especially foundry or not … The issue had

already been decided on political ground,

with political independence, Nigeria has

come to desire economic independence”.

The traditional colonial economic pattern

which Nigeria is still practicing despite our

political independence but economy

dependence of supplying raw materials to

advance metropolitan countries and of

importing manufacture product in return as

a perpetuation of economic dependence

and Nigeria seek to change by embarking

on industrialization. Examples are

Nigerian Foundries Limited (NFL), Lagos,

Nigerian Machine Tools (NMT), Oshogbo,

Oshogbo Steel Rolling Company (OSRC),

to mention but few just to improve and

having better economy strength but there is

poor management and funding which

assist in collapsed and non-functioning of

these companies. The Ajaokuta Steel

Company and Delta Steel Company,

Aladja that supposed to be supplying

scraps to the existing foundry industries

are not functioning and this make Nigeria

to depend on importing billet and scrap for

their production which greatly affect the

development of economy.

Despite all the votes for steel and power

sectors as well as industry, the economy

has not felt any impact of foundry because

of bad management and round pole in

square hole. To actually improve the

economy and make foundry contribute

their own quota in economic development

lead to the next chapter, that is, the way

that can make foundry has good impact on

Nigeria economy as a Nation.

Strategy To Improve Economy Via

Foundry: To be realistic, any strategy of

industrial and economy development must

consider the goals, the resources and the

constraints and obstacles facing an

economy. Out of all the different bases of

classifying industries for the purpose of

industrial (foundry) strategy formulation,

the most popular is the delineation of

finished product.

Having considered the economy critically,

it is necessary and generally saying that

foundry and iron and steel industry should

be given priority attention in the nation’s

bold step toward industrialization.

Considering the increasing demand for

steel, the availability of Iron ore and coal

in the country, and the importance of steel

industry and foundry industry as sine qua

non in steel industrial as a leading factor

for rapid industrialization and enhancing

of a suitable Iron and Steel plant in the

country and make the existing one

functioning.

Research and Development: Federal

Government should make it a priority to

encourage those that are involved in

foundry research areas. This will go a long

way to develop our economy. Many

organizations especially larger foundry

industries should not leave the

development of new products and process

to chance, they should devote their efforts

toward creating new products and new

uses of existing product, and develop new

process that will reduce capital

manufacturing cost and have impact on

economy development.

Developing a successful new product or

process takes many steps and involves the

talent and expertise and especially the

founders must pay for it.

Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS):

Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) can

be developed for Foundry Industry to

produce a moderate variety of products in

modesty volume and so quickly with high

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133

quality. It can be used in foundry industry

to make their work faster and easier since

foundry practice and process is a

combination of many sections such as

designing, pattern making, moulding,

melting, casting, cleaning and heat treating

when necessary.

Computer and Foundry: The foundry

industry in Nigeria should recognize that

they must transform their operation to

meet present day technological

advancement with a view to develop

Nigeria Economy. This can be

accomplished only by infusing the

microprocessor – based computer system

into the basic fabric of their business.

Accurate data are required about every

variable that affects quality control and

cost.

The potential advantages for the use of

computers for manufacturing in foundry

industries are enormous. Computer-Aided

Design (CAD), Computer Aided

Engineering (CAE), Computer Aided

Manufacturing (CAM), Robots and

Computer-Integrated Manufacturing

(CIM) can achieve this.

The integrated application of computer in

design, engineering and manufacturing

lead to automation in foundry industries is

used to tie together all the elements of

CAD, CAE and CAM with foundry

production and information system. Plant

that have made use of CAM in foundry

industries have along with other benefits,

find computer technology important in

monitoring solidification temperature as

well as the quality of the casting produced.

Robots: Robot applications in the foundry

industries are associated with saving

labour working in dangerous or obnoxious

condition and smoothing work flow. A

robot can operate as fast as the machine

cycle (which is a function of casting

solidification time), casting production

could increase due to robot application i.e.

200% to 300% higher than the present

production which will surely increase the

economy development and have positive

effect on it.

CONCLUSION

Foundry technology is a basic and

backbone to technological development of

any nation as food is basic to human

survival. Foundry technology can play a

significant role in fostering of our national

engineering culture which was part of the

area Nigeria government targeted under a

programme christened “Vision 2020”. As a

discipline which concerned with

qualitative middle-level human resource

development directed towards provision of

a national pool of skilled and self-reliant

technicians and technologist in

Technical/Vocational fields taking place in

academic institutions outside the

University system will definitely solve the

problem of economy in Nigeria.

An encouragement to take up a career in

foundry technology will enhance the

development of a core competent

manpower for the foundry industries. It

will provide a security for the survival of

most of Nigeria industries that were

folding up every day due to non-

availability of spare parts to run the

machines. In addition, it can also serves as

one of the means/ways to revive our

present economy since those spare parts

can be locally produced by casting.

REFERENCES

Balogun, S.A. (1997). Metal Forming: The

unavoidable link. An inaugural

lecture delivered at the University

of Lagos, pp. 5-10.

Elekwa, I. et.al., (2006). Introductory

Technology for School and

Colleges. Ibadan: Evans Brothers

Limited.

Fasoyinu, F.A. (1983). Foundry Industry:

A necessary Appendage to the Steel

Industry.Proceedings of the First

National Conference on Steel. pp.

221 – 225.

Ikoku Chi, V. (1998).Indigenous

Technology Development. The

Nigerian Engineer, Vol. 36, No.4,

pp. 13 – 14.

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134

Kuale, P.A. (1997). Engineering in

Revitalizing a Depressed Economy.

The Nigerian Engineer Vol. 35,

No. 1, pp. 8 – 14.

Okafor, A.K. (1996). Acquisition of

Foundry Skills through Technical

Education.Foundry chronicle.Vol.

2, No. 10. Pp. 6 – 7.

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135

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Ahon, Jename Martins

Idenyi, Akowe Atulukwu

AN ASSESSMENT OF INACHALO STREAM AS A SOURCE OF DOMESTIC

WATER SUPPLY TO IDAH KOGI STATE

Ahon, Jename Martins & Idenyi, Akowe Atulukwu

Department Of Civil Engineering

Federal Polytechnic Idah

Kogi State

ahonmartins@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT: Preliminary research carried out in this work via a questionnaire showed that,

more than 80% of domestic water consumption in Idah and environ come from the Inachalo

stream almost always untreated. The reason for this is the failure of the Ofiayi Water Works

to provide regular supply and the failed water distribution network. Hence there was need for

an assessment of Inachalo water as regards it suitability for portability. Samples were

collected from three prominent points of collection and analysed physically and by

laboratory examinations. Though the sample from the point near the source of the stream

favourably met few conditions of colour, turbidity and odour, it failed like samples from other

points (which did not even meet the parameters stated above) in all other parameters. This is

especially so with coliform bacteria, which is an indication of faecal pollution. Hence, the

paper concluded that Inachalo water is particularly unsafe for drinking without boiling and

or other treatments.

KEYWORDS: Inachalo, water, portability, coliform

INTRODUCTION

Water is life. All living organisms need

water for survival. According to Mckane

and Kandel (1996) about 70% of the

human body is water. Besides, water is a

major life support in many ways as it is

necessary for the proper functioning of the

human body. It is needed for such

functions as food digestion, lubrication of

body joints, regulation of body

temperature, transportation or evacuation

of body waste and softening of body

tissues. Apart from domestic requirements,

water is needed for irrigation, power

generation, recreation, industrial

production and receiving waste water.

(Al-Layla et al, 1978) Water is so central

to agriculture that Ewer and Hall (1978)

reported that about 90% of our food plants

is water by weight.

Even though, man has water in abundance,

its quality has great implication for health

and general well-being. Not all the water

that is available to man can be regarded as

safe or potable. Hence Nester et al (2002)

remarked that consumption of water from

sources of poor sanitary conditions leads

to out-break of diseases. It is therefore

important that water for human

consumption (cooking, drinking and

recreation) should be free from substances

and organisms which are capable of

causing disease as well as substances that

have adverse physiological effects. The

water must not only be safe but also

aesthetically acceptable. The supply must

be adequate at all times and affordable.

This would help to promote community

health and well-being.

Fresh surface water is the most widely

used source of drinking water, the world

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136

over. However, it is generally

contaminated in one way or the other;

hence it usually requires one form of

treatment or the other before being safe for

consumption. Idenyi (2008) stated that the

source of fresh water for domestic

consumption in Idah Town comes from

Inachalo, Ofiayi, Ocheche and Idu-

Okoliko streams and rivers. Preliminary

investigation on the source of water

consumption in this work showed that

more than 80% of water used by Idah

residents and environs, come from

Inachalo stream. It is either fetched

directly from the stream in basins, jerry

cans, buckets etc or fetched by water

tankers and distributed all over the town. It

is consumed without any treatment

whatsoever.

Hence the paper aims to assess the

suitability of this wholesale consumption

of water from Inachalo in order to

ascertain if there is need for remedial

measures so as to eliminate or mitigate the

dangers that the present situation poses.

Water and Human Survival

Water is basic to all human activities. It

ranks second to air of all the life sustaining

resources endowed upon man by nature.

Luckily, it occupies about 75% of the earth

surface. It has an estimated volume of

1,360,000 x1012

m3. But painfully, only

about 0.62% of this is available to man in

fresh water in lakes, rivers, ponds and

ground water (Howard et al, 1985).

Surface waters generally contain inorganic

solids such as clay, silt and their soil

constituents. Other common substances

often found in surface waters are organic

materials such as plant fibres and

biological solids (eg bacteria, algae cells

etc). These are natural contaminants which

originate from the erosive action of water

as it flows over surfaces. Hence, Nester et

al (2002) said that even the clearest water

is not readily pure, as it contains dissolved

substances and microorganisms. Drinking

such water can result in dysentery ,

cholera, diarrhoea and typhoid fever

(Mckane and Kandel, 1996).

Many people all over the world depend on

fresh water (raw) for drinking and culinary

purposes. For example, 42% of the

drinking water in Finland in 2001 was

obtained from surface sources directly (Ari

et al 2004).In tropical Asia, It was

suspected that water borne diseases among

the people who live near rivers were due to

sewage pollution which was attributed to

direct discharge of domestic wastes which

leached from poorly maintained septic

tanks and improper management of farm

wastes which found their ways into the

rivers (Kei et al, 2004).

The gravity of water-borne or water-

related diseases is enormous. Hence Nester

et al, (2002) said that contaminated water

was responsible for about six to sixty

billion cases of gastrointestinal illness.

They added that five million babies die of

water-borne diseases yearly. Diarrhoea,

one of the water-borne diseases, has been

rated as a leading cause of death among

children under five years in developing

countries (Stewart-Tull, 2001).

Mill-Robertson et al (2003) reported

incidences of 20 million typhoid fever

annually with 700,000 cases resulting in

death, all over the world . In Nigeria,

occurrence of water-related diseases is

common. Schram (1972) stated that the

cholera epidemics of 1970 and 1971

affected Zaria, Kano Lagos and the then

Midwest state. Idenyi (2008) stated that

there were also recent incidents of the

disease in some Nigerian cities including

Lagos and Kano. He attributed these

epidemics to the consumption of

contaminated water or food. So, good

quality water is a sine-qua-non for a

healthy living. The quality of water

depends on it source.

Sources of Water Supply

The most widely used sources of

municipal water supply are lakes and

rivers which may sometime be impounded.

They generally contain bacteria, organic

materials and mineral salts and other

dissolved substances which could be

hazardous to health. Rainfall is a seasonal

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137

source which, though may not be so

contaminated, but is insipid and lack trace

elements. Spring water according to Scott

and Smith (1983) is a source of clean and

good water that passes through

underground filtration process. Well, water

is produced by boring into the ground.

Though usually free from contamination,

but a well dug near sanitary work like

septic tanks can be contaminated. By far,

the largest body of water is found in the

seas and oceans. But they are salty,

contains a lot of dissolved air bacteria and

remains of organic matter, hence Driscoll

(1986) stated that sea water must be

specially treated to make it fit for drinking.

This is in addition to the difficulty of

accessing it.

Uses of Water

Umar (2007) citing Schroeder and

Tchobanoglous, observed that domestic

usage account for about 36.7% of water

consumption in a community. This,

includes water used for culinary, drinking,

washing and other purposes in dwelling

homes, hotels, hostels and other

workplaces. Commercial and industrial use

includes processing of raw materials,

discharge of industrial wastes, cooling of

industrial machines or engines, power

generation etc. Agricultural use include

water for irrigation, animal farm hygiene,

meat and crop processing, fish farming etc.

Public use include water supplied to

schools, prisons, town halls, street

cleaning, gardening and parks, fire-

fighting and other recreational activities.

So the water demand of a community

depends mainly, amongst other factors, on

the level of economic well-being of the

people, and other economic activities.

Sources of Water Pollution

Water may be polluted in two ways.

Natural and artificial. Natural pollution

occurs without the direct contribution of

man. This occurs when objectionable gases

are absorbed in the water, and when it also

absorbs silts, soluble salts, residue of

fertilizer from adjacent farmlands, human

and animal faecal matters, soil bacteria and

other organisms.

Artificial pollution results directly from

the activities of man, which are domestic

or municipal in nature. Municipal sewage

includes grease, oils, fatty acids, litter,

human faecal matter and urine etc. Solid

waste dump sites near water sources can

also cause pollution. Hence Adeyeba and

Akinbo (2003) observed a high degree of

contamination of solid waste near dump

sites with pathogenic bacteria and parasitic

agents. Naughton (1991) found that

industrial wastes dumped on land-fill sites

contribute impurities to water. Industrial

wastes are sometimes discharged into

surface water without pre-disposal

treatments. Tank and pipeline leakages,

mining activities also contribute to

industrial waste contaminations.

Water Quality Parameters

Water quality is considered essentially,

from the perspective of its intended use.

But generally the quality of any raw water

is assessed based on its physical, chemical

and biological parameters. The physical

parameters are the characteristics of a

water sample that are easily perceived by

the human sensory organs of touch, sight,

taste or smell. The parameters include

suspended solid, temperature, colors,

turbidity, taste and odour.

The chemical parameters of water are the

characteristics that relate to its solvent

capabilities. They include pH, alkalinity,

hardness, dissolved solid, irons, sulphlates,

chloride, nitrate etc. the most important

biological organisms in water are the

pathogens. The commonly found

pathogens in water include bacteria,

viruses, protozoa and helminthes.

Inachalo Stream, Idah Kogi State.

Idah is located on the eastern bank of the

river Niger, south of Niger/ Benue

confluence. According to Idenyi (2008) it

lies on latitude 60 43’ North and longitude

6045’ East. The town has two distinct

seasons; the rainy season which lasts from

April till September and the dry season

which lasts from October to March. The

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138

annual rainfall according to Kowal and

Knabe (1972) ranges from 140cm to

150cm. With a population of 79, 815

(NPC, 2006), the town host a Federal

polytechnic, College of Health

Technology, several secondary schools,

primary/nursery schools, about half a

dozen of financial institutions, a defunct

sanitary ware industry, hospitals and other

sundry institutions. The main industry is

agriculture and allied occupations. Hence

the town can be described as a civil service

and agrarian town.

With the failure of the distribution network

of the public water supply system which

has clearly surpassed its design life

without any visible programme of

rehabilitation and expansion, the major

source of water supply to the inhabitants of

the town are water fetched straight from

the surfaces of the streams of Inachalo,

Iyoloko, Ocheche, Idu-Okoliko, Ofiayi

and River Niger.

Hence, Okungbowa (2003) stated that the

people rely on water tankers to supply

them water. He added that a common sight

in the town was that of both old and

young people carrying water containers on

their heads to fetch water from the surface

of Inachalo stream and Niger River at all

hours of the day. Indeed, a survey carried

out in this work showed that about 80% of

domestic water consumption in the town

come from Inachalo stream either via

water tanker or directly by fetching.

And this water is consumed especially for

drinking without any treatments

whatsoever by many households. Hence,

the paper aims to assess the suitability of

Inachalo stream water for domestic

consumption as is presently practiced and

if necessary recommend remedial

measures that can mitigate if not

completely remove the objectionable

impurities contained in it.

PROCEDURE

The research involved the collection of

water samples at three sites along the

water course of the Inachalo stream for

physical and laboratory analysis with a

view to determining such water quality

parameters as temperature, colour,

turbidity, pH, hardness, total dissolved

solid and coliform bacteria. Results were

compared with WHO and or NIS

specifications to arrive at an informed

judgment.

The sampling sites were A; which is

located at Iyogbo, along Idah-Anyigba

road near the source of the stream. It is at

this point that the water tankers draw water

for sale with aid of pumping machines. Oil

from these machines flow into the water,

herdsmen sometimes visit the site with

their animals and there are farms on the

banks of the stream. Site B, popularly

known as Aji-akpu is about 2½ km

downstream site A. People fetch drinking

water, bath, wash clothes and other

household items here. Agricultural

products like cassava are also processed

here, hence the name. Site C is at Angwa

area of the town where the stream crosses

the Idah-Nsukka road. It is less than a

kilometer downstream site B where

bathing, washing of almost anything like

cars, motorcycles, clothes, agricultural

products, mats, mattresses etc. take place.

An abattoir is a little further downstream

here, people fetch drinking water here and

it receives a heavy load of dirty runoff

after every rainfall.

Field and Laboratory Tests

The water temperatures were taken at

each sampling site three times ie. morning,

afternoon and evening and the average was

calculated. Mercury thermometer with

0.10C accuracy was used. The

thermometer was well shaken before it was

immersed directly in water. The final

temperatures were recorded.

For turbidity, light scattering principle was

used. The apparatus used was HACH

DR/2000 direct reading spectrophotometer

and the results were recorded in NTU

(Nephelometric Turbidity Unit ).

For colour, the same HACH direct reading

spectrophotometer was used and the

procedure was the same except that the

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

139

programme number was 120 while the

wave length was rotated to 455. the results

were recorded as shown in table 1.

A digital apparatus known as HANNA

INSTRUMENT was used to determine

the pH values of the samples. It was also

used to determine the total dissolved solids

by multiplying the electrical conductivity

by a factor of 0.5.

Digital titrimetric method was used to

determine total hardness which is the sum

of carbonate and non-carbonate hardness.

For total and faecal coliform count, the

multiple-tube method was used. The result

of coliform count is expressed in the Most

Probable Number (MPN).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

TEMPERATURE: The average

temperature of 27.730C may be acceptable

going by NIS 554 (2007) standards.

However, this temperature is slightly

higher than WHO recommended limit of

250C (Ibi, 2004). It implies that this

temperature is favourable to the growth of

aquatic micro-organisms and others which

can lead to problems of colour, taste,

odour and corrosiveness.

TURBIDITY: Note that site A which is

very close to the source of the stream has a

turbidity of 2 NTU. The rest sites have 10

NTU each which is higher than the

acceptable standard of 5 NTU. Turbidity at

these points is high, because the stream has

received a lot dissolved impurities

downwards.

COLOUR: Ordinarily, water should be

colourless. Colour suggests presence of

dissolved substances. It makes water to be

aesthetically unacceptable as drinking

water and may be unsuitable for

manufacturing. The result of the colour

tests show that site A presents an almost

colourless sample while the other sites

show evidence of heavy dissolution of

either organic or chemical compounds.

Hence, the 52 and 55 PCU recorded at

sites B and C are above NIS standard of 50

PCU.

pH VALUES

This is the measurement of the level of

acidity or alkalinity of water. The

WHO/NIS acceptable standard is the range

from 6.5 to8.5. Since all the values shown

in the table are less than 6.5, it means the

water is slightly acidic. Hence, water may

be corrosive and unsuitable for ulcer

patients.

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)

Twort (1990) rated portability of drinking

water to be unacceptable, poor, fair, good

and excellent if they have TDS greater

than 1200mg/l, 1200-900, 900 – 600, 600-

300,and less than 300mg/l respectively.

And NIS recommended 500mg/l as

acceptable limit. It means Inachalo water

is excellent as par Twort’s rating since all

samples are less than 300mg/l. However,

the water is most likely to be insipid and

aggressive.

Water Hardness

NIS recommends a maximum limit of

150mg/l of CaCO3 for potable water as

Twort (1990) classified water with

concentration below 100mg/l as

moderately soft. With values of 10 to

13mg/l, Inachalo water is very soft. The

health implication of this is that consumers

are susceptible to heart related diseases.

However, it is very economical on soap

and scales will not be formed on boilers

and hot water pipes.

Coliform Count

WHO specifies a maximum of 1/100ml of

potable water in respect of total coliform.

NIS specifies 10/100ml. But the least of

the samples has 141MPN. BOTH WHO

and NIS specifies 0/100ml in respect of

faecal coliform but sadly enough, none of

the samples met this standard. The least is

9MPN. This means the water is unfit for

human consumption without treatment.

This calls for concern as this stream

provides nearly all the domestic water

requirement of Idah town and environs.

The people are hence, exposed to risk of

such water-related diseases like cholera,

dysentery, diarrhea, typhoid fever and

others like stomach disorders. Indeed,

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

140

these diseases are reported and treated in

good number every month. (GHI, 2006).

CONCLUSION

The sanitary condition of the immediate

environment of the stream is poor and

unhygienic. The water is turbid and in

downstream area, it is colored, making it

aesthetically displeasing. It is acidic and

not sufficiently endowed with trace

elements. Above all, it has coliform

bacteria which are an indication of faecal

pollution.

However, it was observed that water

collected from near the source of the

stream does not have these deficiencies

listed above in high concentration. Still, it

is unfit for drinking without boiling to say

the least.

RECOMMENDATION

1. Government should ensure that the

sanitary condition around the

immediate area of the stream is

improved.

2. The governments department of

health, social welfare, and information

should collaborate to sensitize the

people on the need to boil and filter

water from this stream before

drinking.

3. Kogi State government should give

the Ofiayi water Works project a

priority attention so as to reduce the

people’s dependence on this untreated

water.

REFERENCES Adeyeba, O.A and Akinbo, J.A (2003)

Profile of Potentially Pathogenic

Intestinal Parasite and Bacterial

Agents in Solid Wastes in Ibadan

Municipality. African Journal of

Clinical and Experimental

Microbiology Vol. 4 No 31-43.

Al-Layla, M.A, Ahmed, S. Middlebrooks,

E.J (1978) Water Supply Engineering

Design. Ann Arbor Science

Publishers, Michigan, U.S.A.

Ari, H., Ruska, R.E, Leena, M., Karl-

Henrik V.B., Niina T. Annamari, H.,

Marja, L.H, (2004) Campilobacter

Spp. Giardia Spp. Cryp tosporidium

Spp. Novoviruses and indicator

Organisms in Surface Water in South-

Western Finland, 2000-2001. Applied

and Environmental Microbiology 70-

0187-95.

Driscoll, F. (1986) Groundwater and

Wells. 1st Edition, St Paul Johnson

Division Press, Londo. Pp 82-103.

Ewer, D.N and Hall, J.B (1978) Ecological

Biology 2.Long man Group Ltd. Hong

Kong. Pp 344-345.

Howard, S.P, Donald, R. Rowe and

George T., (1985) Environmental

Engineering McGraw Hill Books

Company, New York Pp 11-53.

Ibi, S.A (2004) Assessment of Pollution

Level in River Amba (Lafia)

Nassarawa State. Unpublished

Postgraduate Dioploma Research

Project, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa

University Bauchi.

Idenyi, A.A (2008) Assessment of

Pollution Level in the Rivers of Idah

Town, Kogi State. Unpublished

Thesis Submitted to the School of

Post-Graduate Studies. Tafawa balewa

University, Bauchi.

Kei, O.I., Mitsunori, T., Nguyen, H.C, Ke,

Y.M and Hideshinge, T. (2004) Effect

of Environmental Factors on the

Relationship Between Common Traits

of Coprostanol and Faecal Indictor

Bacteria in Tropical (Mekong Delta)

and Temperate (Tokyo) Frerkwater.

Applied Environmental Microbilogy

70(2): 814-821.

Kowal and Knabe (1972) An Agro

Climatological Atlas of Northern

States of Nigeria. Ahmadu Bello

University Press, Zaria. Pp 25-32.

Mckane, L., and Kandel, J. (1996)

Microbiology Essentials and

Applications.2nd

Edition. McGraw

Hill Company Inc. New York. Pp 718-

72).

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

141

Mill-Robertson, F., Crupper S.S., Addy

M.E. and Mensah R, (2003).

Antibiotic Resistance and Genotyping

of Clinical Group B Salmonella

Isolated in Accra Ghana. Journal of

Microbiology 94”289-294.

Nesters, E.W; Robert, C.E., Pearsall, N.N.,

Anderson, D.G and Nester, M.T.

(2002) Microbiology; A Human

Perspective, 4th

Edition. McGraw Hill

Company, New York.

Okungbowa, I.A (2003) Idah: left in the

Lurch. The Guardian Newpaper,

February 2, Lagos.

Schram R. (1972) The 1971 Cholera

Epidemic in Zaria Nigeria Savanna 1:

Pp 213:222.

Scotts, J.S. and Smith, P.G (1983(

Dictionary of waste and water

treatment. Hartnol Print Ltd Bodmin

England.P15-19.

Stewart – Tull, D.E.S. (2001) Vaba,

Hariza, Cholera or Folume; Cholera in

any Language, still the Disease of

Seven Pandemics: Journal of Applied

Microbiology. 91; 580-581.

Twort, A.C (1990) Water Supply; 3rd

Edition, McGraw Hills Company Inc

New York. Pp 200-240.

Umar, S.Y (2008) Unpublished Lecture

Delivered to PGD Students (Civil

Engineering), Abubakar Tafawa

Balewa University Bauchi, Nigeria.

World Health Organization

(1984).Guidelines for Drinking Water

Quality.Vol. 3 Health Criteria and

Supporting Information, Genera

Switzerland Pp 1-102.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

142

Table 1: Results of Tests on Water Samples

S/NO. Parameter Unit Sites

A B C

1 Temperature 0C 27.80 27.70 27.70

2 Turbidity NTU 2.0 10 10

3 Colour PCU 9.0 52.0 55.0

4 pH Mgll 5.53 6.02 5.93

5 Total Dissolved Solids CaCO3 8.00 4.50 5.0

6 Hardness mgll 13.00 11.00 10.0

7 Total Coliform Count MPN 141 172 348

8 Faecal Coliform MPN 9.00 14.00 17.00

Table 2: Water Related Diseases Reported And Treated At The General Hospital Idah (2006)

Disease Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jly Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total

Enteric fever 38 55 46 62 59 140 90 70 40 34 46 45 725

Typhoid fever 74 59 47 67 27 116 63 34 31 37 31 40 626

Diarrhoea 2 N.A N.A N.A 1 3 N.A 1 N.A N.A 1 N.A 8

Dysentery 5 5 3 9 5 1 7 N.A 6 17 2 3 63

ABDPain 19 19 31 15 26 1 26 6 43 28 33 17 264

Total 138 138 127 153 118 261 186 111 120 116 113 105 1686

Table 3 World Health Organization Guideline For Potable Water

S/No Parameters Undesirable Guideline value

(MPL)

Source

1. Turbidity Gastro-intestinal with

disinfections and

appearance

5NTU Inorganic and

organic wastes

and microbial

activity.

2. Colour Discolouration or

appearance

15 Hazen Geological

3. Temperature Should be acceptable 250C for tropical

rivers

4. PH Corrosivity or

aggressivity and

staining plumbing,

laundry and stimulate

growth of iron

bacteria

0.3mg/l

Acid and alkaline

bearing material.

Runoffs and

geological.

5. TDS Gastro intestinal

irritation and tastes

1000mg/l Geological and

chemical

treatment.

6. Total hardness Reduces lathering

capacity of soap, from

excessive sale on

pipe. (Clogging) water

heaters etc.

50m/l

Geological

7. Total coliform Indicators of

pathogens that cause

1/100ml

Human and other

animal faecal

matter.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

143

IDAH L.G.A PROVISIONAL MAP

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

144

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Oloko, S.A

Osho, S.O

RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR ECONOMIC STABILITY AND GROWTH IN

NIGERIA

Oloko, S.A.1& Osho, S.O

2

1Department of Bio-Environmental Engineering,

2Department of Electrical Electronics Engineering,

The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti,Ekiti State, Nigeria.

GSM: 08033766399 & 08032405296

saoloko2003@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT: People living in rural areas are among the worst served when it comes to

energy services. Poor access to regular energy supplies not only makes everyday life more

difficult. It also hampers development in a whole range of sectors, including health,

education and entrepreneurial activities. This paper looks at some of the problems and

opportunities of using some of the renewable energy to the hundreds of millions of rural poor

for economic stability and growth worldwide. It offers suggestions to make renewable energy

adaptable in achieving economic stability and growth in the country like Nigeria.

KEYWORDS: Renewable energy, Stability, Growth, Economic, Biomass, Biofuel,

Technology, Development

INTRODUCTION

Nigeria and other sub Saharan African

countries have less than 25 percent access

to electricity supply, a report from the

World Bank has said.

The report also said that 60 per cent of

sub-Saharan Africa would lack access to

power in 2020. According to the report

posted on the bank website power cuts in

the region has become a recurrent

phenomenon in recent times (Aster, 2006).

As with other economies in the world, the

Nigerian energy industry plays a critical

role in the economy. Aside from being the

goose that lays the golden egg by

providing the much needed revenue from

crude oil, it also provides electricity, which

is one of the key induces of measuring the

level of development of a nation.

However, to say the least, the industry has

performed well below its potential in 49

years of independence (Martin, 2009).

In 1992, when NEPA marked the 20th

anniversary of its establishment, the

authority recorded peak generation of

3,500 megawatts. In 2009, we are not

making 2,500 MW. The parlous state of

the power sector has crippled the

manufacturing sector with many

companies going for captive power

generation to make up for the failure of the

power supply. Indeed, there are needs to

make use of renewable energy for

economic stability and growth.

According to the International Energy

Agency (IEA), 13.5% of the world’s total

primary energy supply is produced by

renewable sources of energy (Owolabi,

2008). The main share (more than 75%)

of this comes from the developing

countries of the world. A broad definition

of renewable energy consists of large

hydroelectric power systems and

traditional biomass; the former being the

product of technology from developed

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

145

countries while the latter is the main

source of energy from developing

countries, basically in the form of fuel

wood and charcoal. Over 90% of energy

production in Africa and Asia comes from

biomass. In Africa, the traditional use of

biomass for cooking and heating covers

about 50% of the total primary energy

supply, and up to 90% in some countries

of sub-Saharan Africa (Owolabi, 2008).

Potentials for Renewable energy

Below are some of the potentials for

renewable energy:

(i) Biomass

Biomass energy is not a transition fuel as it

has often been portrayed, but a fuel that

will continue to be the prime source of

energy for many people for the foreseeable

future. For example, an IEA (2002) study

concluded that “Over 2.6 billion people in

developing countries will continue to rely

on biomass for cooking and heating in

2030 “….. this is an increase of more than

240 million from current use. In 2030

biomass use will still represent over half of

residential energy consumption…”.

Biomass features strongly in virtually in

all the major global energy supply

scenarios, as biomass resources are

potentially the world largest and most

sustainable energy source. Biomass is

potentially an infinitely renewable

resource comprising 220 oven dry tones

(odt), or about 4500 exajoules (EJ), of

annual primary production; the annual bio

energy potential is about 2900EJ

(approximately 1700EJ from forests;

850EJ from grass lands and 350EJ from

agricultural areas) (Hall and Rao, 1999).

In theory, at least, energy farming in

current agricultural land alone could

contribute over 800EJ without affecting

the world’s food supply (Faaij et al, 2002).

All major energy scenarios include bio

energy as a major energy source in the

future is illustrated in Table 1 below.

(ii) Biogas

Biogas, a mixture of methane and carbon

dioxide, is the most important gaseous

biomass fuel. Biogas is produced in a

digester by anaerobic bacteria acting on a

mixture of dung and other vegetable matter

mixed with water.

One advantage of biogas is that it can use

existing natural gas distribution systems

and can be used in all energy applications

designed for natural gas. However, a

major disadvantage is its low calorific

value, currently, one of the most widely

uses is in IC engines to generate electricity

(CTA, 2008). Thus biogas, rather than an

alternative energy source, should be

considered even more as a potential

solution to environmental problems posed

by excess manure handling, water

pollution, etc.

(iii) Waste-to-gas

The piles of rubbish that dot Lagos Streets

on every monthly environmental sanitation

day is a smelly reminder of how much

garbage Lagos residents can generate. A

2008 report estimates that the city of

Lagos, with about 18 million people,

generates about 9,000 metric tons of waste

daily. By courtesy of the Landfill Gas

Recovery and Utilization Project, now in

its second phase, dumpsites have become

exploitable recourses from which methane

will be extracted for electricity generation

in Lagos State (The Punch, 2012).

Globally, mega litres of raw sewage that

would otherwise be pumped into the

ocean, and tones of organic waste that

would normally go into landfills, are being

converted into electricity, fertilizer and

clean water.

The Senegalese Sugar Company CSS has

invested more than €6 million in a new

distillery that will produce an annual 10 to

12 million of ethanol from bagasse, the

residue from sugarcane to generate bioful

as renewable energy (Spore, 2008).

Nigeria, like other African countries, is

attempting to position itself in the

dynamics around biofuels with a possible

concern about maintaining a balance

between food and energy security.

Biofuels have succeeded in sowing hope

for a more large-scale development,

particularly to help reduce the dependence

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

146

on fossil fuels, which are under threat of

exhaustion.

(iv) Sola Energy

Technology has contributed in no small

measure to the development and

advancement of the world, as every

products and services in the 20th

and 21st

centuries had been influenced by

technology, making it the most valuable

commodity of the generation. One of the

products of technological advancement is

solar energy which serves as a major

alternative energy source.

Solar energy is energy directly from the

sun producing both heat and light god has

blessed Nigeria with sufficient sunshine.

Technology has made it easy to get

alternative power from sun rays with the

use of solar panels through an inverter

contraction that is used along with

batteries to provide energy to power home

and offices as well as appliances in them.

According to solar energy. Com,

(Sulaiman, 2009), the advantages of solar

energy is that the power is sourced from

the sun and it is absolutely free and

produces no pollution.

(v) In many developing countries, a

much larger potential for renewable energy

can be from wind and geothermal sources

than in industrialized countries, but the

obstacles preventing the use of such

sources are enormous.

Opportunities of Renewable Energy for

Economic Stability and Growth

Nigeria, as at today ranks among the top

countries contributing to climate change as

a result of its 99 per cent dependence on

greenhouse gases (Biodun, 2008).

Below are some of the opportunities of

renewable energy for economic stability

and growth of Nigeria:

(i) One of the greatest opportunities of

the renewable energy technology is

the wide horizon of employment for a

stream of professionals that should

normally be involved in renewable

energy planning, design and

installation;

(ii) It is a means of research and

development, stemming the tide of

global warming, power supply

stability by making different

renewable energies production grid-

tied or using them in fusion or nuclear

form;

(iii) Renewable energy creates

development opportunities for the

poor;

(iv) It helps to secure a safe supply of

energy and mitigate climate change

(Spore, 2010).

Challenges of renewable energy

Below are some of the challenges of

renewable energy for economic stability

and growth:

(i) There is an inhibitive price of the

components for renewable energy

such as for solar energy components.

(ii) There is no encouragement on a

research and development that can

lead to production of more tools

probably to handle the grey area of

accuracy in sizing and manufacturing

of more stout devices to replace the

present frail ones.

(iii) Nigeria’s economic backbone rests on

crude oil with very little attention paid

to power sectors.

(iv) energy industry in Nigeria is still

underfunding.

(v) Critics claim that growing energy

crops will heighten land-use conflicts

as food cultivation, nature

conservation and bio energy

production compete for space.

(vi) People living in rural areas are among

the worst served when it comes to

energy services. Poor access to

regular energy supplies not only

makes everyday life more difficult. It

also hampers development in a whole

range of sectors, including health,

education and entrepreneurial

activities (Spore, 2007).

CONCLUSION

Nigeria’s power-supply system is still

abysmal. Its electricity, also unreliable

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

147

and one of the world’s most expensive, is a

major constraint to economic growth. The

African Development bank group also says

only about 45 percent of the Nigerian

population have access to electricity, with

about 30 per cent of their demand for

power being met. It adds that some 90 per

cent of industrial customers and a

significant number of residential and other

non-residential customers provide their

own power at a huge cost to themselves

and to the Nigerian economy. (The Punch,

2011).

Below are some of the recommendations

to follow:

- The Federal Government must remain

focused on the power road map.

- Success of renewable energy would be

achieved if politicians can play their part

by minimizing risks to food security and

the environment.

- Government should involve engineers in

the formulation of politics in Energy

Sector especially those that have bearing

on their profession. This is necessary

because of the strategic role that

engineers played in nation building and

economic development.

- Government should design and

implement a sustainable biofuel

production programming employing the

services of skilled professionals in the

industries to design a formidable process.

Nigeria as a major crude oil producer

must invest now in biofuel research from

immense earnings of crude oil.

- Federal Government should encourage

and challenge the Science and

Engineering Departments in our tertiary

institutions to embark on active Research

and Development activities in Renewable

Energy technologies so as to produce the

critical mass of technical manpower

required to assist the country in achieving

her goals of economic stability and

growth.

- The authorities have to create mass

awareness, highlighting the many

benefits of environmental cleanliness (as

well as penalties for littering), the

income-generating potential of proper

waste management and specific roles that

individuals and corporate bodies could

play. Citizens need to know recyclable

materials (glass, metal, textile etc.) how

to segregate household waste and where

to find recycling bins.

- Government should provide an enabling

environment both political, regulatory,

and necessary guarantees for all investors

in the sector and through the partnership

arrangement between US and Nigeria,

the alternative sources of energy,

especially renewable energy, which is

“environmentally friendly” would

provide economic stability and growth to

Nigeria.

REFERENCES

Aster Godwin (2006): Nigeria, others

have less than 25% access to

electricity – World Bank. Published

by the Punch. Newspaper: Thursday,

November, 23. Pp. 32.

Biodun, T.D. (2008): Renewable energy

in Nigeria: Opportunities and

Challenges. Published by the Nation.

Newspaper; Tuesday, April 22. Pp.

20.

CTA (2008): The Biomass Assessment

Handbook – Bio-energy for a

Sustainable environment. Published

by Earthscan in the UK and USA. Pp.

2-122.

Faaij, A.P.C.; Schlamadinger, B;

Solantausta, V. and Wagener, M.

(2002): “Large Scale International

Bio-Energy Trade”. Proceed. 12th

European Conf. and Technology

Exhibition on Biomass for Energy,

Industry and Climate Change

Protection, Amsterdam, 17-21 June.

Hall, D.O. and Rao, K.K. (1999):

Photosythesis, 6th

Edition Studies in

Biology, Cambridge University Press.

IEA (2002): Energy Outlook 2000 – 2030,

IEA, Paris (WWW.iea.org)

Martin Ayankola (2009): Energy

Industry Still under performing.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

148

Published by the Punch Newspaper;

Friday, October, 2. Pp. 3-4.

Owolabi, I.E. (2008): Solar Photovoltaic

(PV) Power Technology: Prospects

and Challenges for Socio-Economic

Empowerment in Nigeria. Technical

paper presented to the Nigerian

Society of Engineers, Ado-Ekiti

Branch on Monday, 3rd

March. Pp. 1-

5.

Spore (2010): Crops for food and biofuels.

Bi-monthly Magazine Published by CTA.

No. 147; June – July.Pp. 24.

Spore (2008): Biofuel from Senegal.

Monthly Magazine Published by CTA No.

135; June. Pp. 7.

Sulaiman Adenekan (2009): Making Solar

Energy Provision a profitable venture.

Published by the Punch Newspaper,

Friday, July, 3: Pp. 4.

The Punch (2012): Lagos Government’s

Waste – to – Gas Project. Published by

the Punch Newspaper; Friday, March 9.

Pp. 18.

The Punch (2011): Barth Nnaji and the

Power Agenda. Published by the Punch

Newspaper, Monday, October 31.Pp. 18.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

149

Table 1: Scenarios of potential biomass contribution to global primary energy (EJ)

Scenario

Biomass Primary Energy Supply

2025 2050 2100

Lashof and Tirpack (1991)a

Green peace (1993)a

Johansson et al (1993)a

WEC (1994)a

Shell (1996)

IPCC (1996) – SAR

IEA (1998)

IISA/WEC (1998)

IPCC (2001) – TAR

130

114

145

59

85

72

60

59-82

2-90

215

181

206

94-157

200-220

280

-

97-153

52-193

-

-

-

132-215

-

320

-

245-316

67-376

Note: Present biomass energy user is about 55EJ/Year.

Source: Adapted from CTA, 2008.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

150

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Ogbue M. C

Ayodele C. O

THE FUTURE OF PETROLEUM MARKET IN NIGERIA FOR ECONOMIC

SECURITY&SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

1Ogbue M. C. and

2Ayodele C. O.

1Energy Resources Consulting/Oil Field Services,

Benin City, Nigeria,

michaelogbue@yahoo.com 2Department of Mineral Resources Engineering,

The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

coayodele@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT: The petroleum industry in Nigeria is the largest industry and main generator of

GDP in the West African Sub-region. Nigeria oil reserve is estimated to last for the next 45

years. This is often welcomed with fear as the country looks forward to the 'doomsday'.

However this may not be as threatening as the fact that we are not fully prepared to face the

challenge of shift in market. With gradual shift of dependence on fossil fuel to nuclear, solar,

biogenic sources of energy, leading to precautionary demand for oil, the 'dooms day' may be

more imminent than expected. The oil companies come in too with bland public relations

imagery, knowing fully well that any mention of the dreaded word "Depletion" would smell

like a dwindling asset to the investment community. The critical issue is not so much when oil

will eventually run out, but rather when production will reach a peak and begin to decline,

which will represent a major watershed for the world’s economy. Decline contrary to belief,

may not be due to depletion, but by shift of demand for oil as fuel to other renewable

alternatives. It is there important to redirect our mind from petroleum as source of fuel to

raw material, especially, for petrochemical industries.

KEYWORDS: Petroleum industry in Nigeria, Depletion of the Oil Reserves, Renewable

alternative energy sources, Patronage of petrochemical industries

INTRODUCTION

Economic Potential of Petroleum industry

in Nigeria: As of 2000, oil and gas exports

accounted for more than 98% of export

earnings and about 83% of federal

government revenue, as well as generating

more than 40% of its GDP. It also provides

95% of foreign exchange earnings, and

about 65% of government budgetary

revenues. Nigeria's proven oil reserves are

estimated by the U.S. United States

Energy Information Administration (EIA)

at between 16 and 22 billion barrels

(3.5×109 m

3),

[1] but other sources claim

there could be as much as 35.3 billion

barrels (5.61×109 m

3). Its reserves make

Nigeria the tenth most petroleum-rich

nation, and by the far the most affluent in

Africa. In mid-2001 its crude oil

production was averaging around

2.2 million barrels (350,000 m³) per day.

Nigeria is one of the few major oil-

producing nations still capable of

increasing its oil output. Unlike most of

the other OPEC countries, Nigeria is not

projected to exceed peak production until

at least 2009. The reason for Nigeria's

relative unproductivity is primarily OPEC

regulations on production to regulate

prices on the international market. More

recently, production has been disrupted

intermittently by the protests of the Niger

Delta's inhabitants, who feel they are being

exploited. Nigeria has a total of 159 oil

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fields and 1481 wells in operation

according to the Ministry of Petroleum

Resources.[2]

The most productive region

of the nation is the coastal Niger Delta

Basin in the Niger Delta or "South-south"

region which encompasses 78 of the 159

oil fields. Most of Nigeria's oil fields are

small and scattered, and as of 1990, these

small unproductive fields accounted for

62.1% of all Nigerian production. This

contrasts with the sixteen largest fields

which produced 37.9% of Nigeria's

petroleum at that time.[3]

As a result of the

numerous small fields, an extensive and

well-developed pipeline network has been

engineered to transport the crude. Also due

to the lack of highly productive fields,

money from the jointly operated (with the

federal government) companies is

constantly directed towards petroleum

exploration and production. Nigeria is the

largest producer of sweet oil (free of

sulphur) in OPEC. This sweet oil is similar

in composition to petroleum extracted

from the North Sea. This crude oil is

known as "Bonny light". Names of other

Nigerian crudes, all of which are named

according to export terminal, are Qua Ibo,

Escravos blend, Brass River, Forcados,

and Pennington Anfan. The U.S. remains

the largest importer of Nigeria's crude oil,

accounting for 40% of the country's total

oil exports. Nigeria provides about 10% of

overall U.S. oil imports and ranks as the

fifth-largest source for oil imports in the

U.S. There are six petroleum exportation

terminals in the country. Shell owns two,

while Mobil, Chevron, Texaco, and Agip

own one each. Shell also owns the

Forcados Terminal, which is capable of

storing 13 million barrels (2,100,000 m3)

of crude oil in conjunction with the nearby

Bonny Terminal. Mobil operates primarily

out of the Qua Iboe Terminal in Akwa

Ibom State, while Chevron owns the

Escravos Terminal located in Delta State

and has a storage capacity of 3.6 million

barrels (570,000 m3). Agip operates the

Brass Terminal in Brass, a town 113 km

southwest of Port Harcourt and has a

storage capacity of 3,558,000 barrels

(565,700 m3). Texaco operates the

Pennington Terminal.[4]

The Doomsday View of 2050-Depletion

of the Oil Reserves Experts have been repeatedly predicting

the depletion of the world’s oil reserves

since the late 1800s, but it never seems to

happen to some persons. In fact, it is

absolutely stated that production will peak,

or already has, and then decline, because

oil is a strictly limited, non-renewing

resource.

All reserve estimates involve uncertainty,

depending on the amount of reliable

geologic and engineering data available

and the interpretation of those data. The

relative degree of uncertainty can be

expressed by dividing reserves into two

principal classifications—"proven" (or

"proved") and "unproven" (or "unproved").

Unproven reserves can further be divided

into two subcategories—"probable" and

"possible"—to indicate the relative degree

of uncertainty about their existence. The

most commonly accepted definitions of

these are based on those approved by the

Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and

the World Petroleum Council (WPC) in

1997. Proven reserves are those reserves

claimed to have a reasonable certainty

(normally at least 90% confidence) of

being recoverable under existing economic

and political conditions, with existing

technology. There were 37.2 billion barrels

(5.91×109 m

3) of proven oil reserve

inNigerianas of 2011, ranking the country

as the largest oil producer in Africa and the

11th largest in the world, averaging 2.28

million barrels per day (362×103 m

3/d) in

2006. At current rates of production, 3

million barrels per day (480×103 m

3/d) in

the absence of such problems as

vandalism, kidnappings, and militant

takeover of oil facilities. This would be 45

years of supply if no new oil was found.

The Nigerian government hopes to

increase oil production capacity to

4 Mbbl/d (640×103 m

3/d) by 2010. Nigeria

is the world’s eighth largest exporter of

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crude oil and sends 43% of its exports to

the United States. Nigeria is heavily

dependent on the oil sector, which

accounts for 95% of its export revenues

hence the fear that there will catastrophic

changes in the economy. This tension is

heightened by oil executives who gained

the freedom to speak when retired, and had

experience and access to confidential

technical data. Some effort through

improved technology is geared towards

increasing the reserve by accessing

resources that were before non-producible.

The question is not just economic viability

but also return on energy invested. As

soon as it takes one barrel of oil to extract

one barrel of oil, whether or not the

world’s oil deposits are “depleted” is

irrelevant.It is important to make

intelligent choices. Some of the distortions

in thought are deliberately made. Some are

made by people who are a bit over

enthusiastic about a particular resource and

do not carefully examine the hard facts, or

may not be aware of them.

Renewable and/or alternative energy

sources

Alternative energy resources are those

which could presumably replace the

largest single conventional energy source

which is oil. Continued improvements

innovative technology of alternative

energy and low consumption engines is

expected to vastly decrease the rate of use

of crude as fuel. In the late 1970s – early

1980s the entire US vehicle fleet was

replaced with slightly higher efficiency

units and the price of crude collapsed. As

the trend of production due to demand is

increases, it is expected that there will be a

peak and then a lapse in oil consumption,

but not because supplies are running out.

Instead, the advancement of technologies,

after all, “The stone age didn’t end because

people ran out of stones". Cars consuming

less fuel and stricter environmental

regulations will be the drivers of the trend.

In effect: a lapse in demand. Global

hydroelectric and nuclear output each saw

the strongest increases since 2004.

Hydroelectric output grew by 5.3%, with

China accounting for more than 60% of

global growth due to a combination of new

capacity and wet weather. Worldwide

nuclear output grew by 2%, with three-

quarters of the increase coming from

OECD countries. French nuclear output

rose by 4.4%, accounting for the largest

volumetric increase in the world. Other

renewable energy sources continued to

grow rapidly. Global biofuels production

in 2010 grew by 13.8%, or 240,000 b/d,

constituting one of the largest sources of

liquids production growth in the world.

Growth was driven by the US (+140,000

b/d, or 17%) and Brazil (+50,000 b/d, or

11.5%). Renewable energy used in power

generation grew by 15.5%, driven by

continued robust growth in wind energy

(+22.7%). The increase in wind energy in

turn was driven by China and the US,

which together accounted for nearly 70%

of global growth. These forms of

renewable energy accounted for 1.8% of

global energy consumption, up from 0.6%

in 2000. Additional information –

including historical time series for the

fuels reported in this Review; further detail

on renewable forms of energy; and

electricity generation.

There are three considerations when

evaluating the worth and validity of

alternative energy sources.

One is the ability of alternative

sources to really replace oil in the

quantities we are now using oil.

A second concern is how using

alternative energy sources might affect

and change current lifestyles. What

would it really involve to change to a

"solar energy economy" as is the

popular concept among alternative

energy enthusiasts.

The third consideration is the

environmental impact of converting to

alternative energy sources. These

three factors with their myths and

realities are briefly treated here.

Replacing gasoline, kerosene, and diesel

fuel for use in vehicles, airplanes in

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particular, by an alternative energy source

will be much more difficult. At the present

time, 97 percent of the world's

approximately 600 million vehicles are

powered by some form of oil. Going to

another fuel source to meet this huge

energy demand now met by the

convenient, easily transported, very high

grade energy source which is oil will not

be easy. Transition to alternative energy

sources, even to the major renewable

energy source, solar can be daunting.

Conversion to a solar energy economy

would involve vast construction projects

installing huge collecting systems. Houses

and factories would have to be redesigned

to much more energy efficient standards.

In transport, an electric economy means

electric cars, and the facilities to generate

huge amounts of power beyond what is

presently being used. And the electric car,

as far as can be visualized with reasonably

foreseeable technology, would not offer

the degree of mobility which gasoline

powered vehicles do. This would markedly

alter both the work and recreational habits

of people. It would markedly affect

recreational related economies. Changing

from the energy form which is oil to other

energy sources can and will have to be

done, but lifestyles will be altered, as may

also be the standard of living. Sunlight as

a source of energy would seem to be an

ideal energy source with virtually no

negative environmental consequences. Or,

converting a relatively more polluting

source of energy such as coal into a less

polluting liquid fuel appears to be a good

exchange.

Converting coal to some liquid fuel form

which could be used in transportation

would require strip mining vast quantities

of western land each year. If alternative

energy considerations do not include coal,

but rather are thought of in terms of solar

energy, biomass, nuclear power, wind,

hydropower, tidal, ocean thermal energy

conversion (OTEC) or shale oil, they also

have environmental impacts. Solar energy

collectors in numbers sufficient to be

significant in our energy supplies would

use very large amounts of land. Mining the

materials used to make these collectors

would have an impact. Because the

collectors would not have an infinite life,

there would be the continual problem of

replacement, involving more mining

operations. The environmental impact of

using biomass as a major source of energy

would be huge, especially in terms of the

degradation of the highly important

mineral resource, soil. Nuclear energy

from fission has the potential (and the

reality, in the case of Cherynoble) of

having a huge impact on the environment.

Fusion nuclear power is relatively more

safe but not entirely so. Wind power

devices are unsightly, noisy, kill birds,

and, like solar collectors, deteriorate and

have to be replaced with more materials

mined from the Earth. Tidal power,

hydroelectric power, and OTEC have

undesirable effects on aquatic

environments. If oil shale is part of the

energy alternative for the United States,

the impact of developing that energy

source on already scarce southwestern

water resources would be large, and

probably not sustainable.

Biomass (plants) as source of liquid

fuels.A variety of plants including

greasewood in the arid Southwest U.S.,

sugar cane, sugar beets, trees in general,

seaweed, and seeds have been cited as

important possible sources of liquid fuel

for the future. In 1979, an article in widely

read U.S. magazine states: "Myriad forms

of natural organic matter can provide heat

or be converted into gas, oil, or alcohol.

Wood holds the most immediate

promise."(9)

In regard to wood as an alternative liquid

fuel, a final report on a U.S. government-

sponsored project on the conversion of

wood to a liquid fuel stated as a

conclusion: "Investigations to date have

led the authors to be optimistic about the

possibilities of oil from biomass. While

difficulties in bringing the current facilities

on-stream have somewhat limited

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information to date, it is felt that a

vigorous activity in the future can

eventually provide a new source of energy

for the country in the form of oil from

biomass."(6) A translation of this

statement might be that "the project didn't

turn out very well, but maybe in the future

a lot of research could improve results."

That may or may not be true. The project

involved wood-to-oil conversion, and one

conclusion was that "Information gained

here should provide the means to be

commercially competitive by

approximately 1990."(6) The project was

abandoned in 1981. No wood anywhere in

the world is now being converted to liquid

fuel.

The energy conversion efficiencies are

low, in some cases as with ethanol from

corn, it is negative.

The energy cost of harvesting and

transporting the materials is high

relative to the energy produced. In the

case of wood, cutting the trees and

loading and hauling them to a

processing plant would be energy

intensive even before processing into a

liquid.

The volumes of plant material available

are not sufficient to yield large amounts

of oil, given the low energy conversion

efficiencies.

The degradation of the land growing

these materials by continuing

harvesting without returning the fiber to

the land is severe.

If wood is considered, there is already a

scarcity of wood in most of the world.

In the form of wood waste (little is

wasted now) there is insufficient raw

material from this source to provide

significant amounts of feedstock to

convert to liquid fuel.

The best land is now under cultivation

for much needed human food supplies.

If plants were used for raw material for

liquid fuel conversion they would either

have to displace food crops from

present agriculturally developed land,

or put marginal lands (thin soil, steep

hillsides) into production which would

greatly increase land degradation by

erosion, and also have serious

downstream effects, including silting up

of reservoirs.

In summary, biomass, at least considering

the size of world population today which

has to be supported by crops, cannot be

diverted from food supplies in significant

quantities to be important as a liquid fuel,

and at best energy conversion efficiencies

from biomass to oil are low. The

environmental impact of using biomass for

conversion to liquid fuel on a large scale

would be severe and unacceptable.

Biomass is not a potential source of

significant quantities of liquid fuel.

An important fact, commonly ignored in

discussing alternative energy sources, is

that energy sources come in very different

forms. Adapting these various forms to

various end uses presents many problems.

Electricity and gasoline can each do work,

but these energy sources present very

different problems when it comes to using

them in particular applications.

The conversion of the intermittently

available very low-grade solar energy into

an energy form which could be used to

power the automobile as we use the

automobile today is a complex process,

and has not yet been satisfactorily solved.

In many cases it is not possible to

conveniently or easily substitute one

energy source for another. Each has its

own characteristics which may be useful in

some circumstances and a decided

problem in another situation. Coal can be

used to produce electricity quite easily in a

conventional coal-fired electric power

plant. But using coal directly to power an

airplane, or using the electricity produced

by coal to power an airplane seem not

possible now, and may never be.

Energy from a variety of sources is not

universally interchangeable in its

applications. The transition from one

energy source to another will in many

cases be difficult, and may cause major

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

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adjustments in lifestyles. Can we conserve

our way out of the energy supply problem?

Energy and mineral conservation and

recycling are useful goals, but

conservation is only a temporary solution

to the overall problem of continued growth

of energy demand from an ever-increasing

population. To accommodate more and

more people, each person might use less

and less resources, but at some point there

is a minimum amount of the resource

which has to be used. Reducing the

amount beyond that point is not feasible. If

one uses a vehicle for business, by a

careful planning of the necessary travel

route, one can reduce the need for fuel, but

one cannot continue indefinitely to reduce

the amount of fuel needed. Eventually

there is simply not enough fuel to do the

job. At some point the real problem must

be addressed—the demand for the

resource—and this demand comes from

numbers of people, and lifestyle. There is

no way to ultimately conserve out of the

energy supply problem against an ever-

increasing population. Demand can be

reduced but if at the same time, an increase

in population absorbs those savings there

is no gain. Demands cannot be reduced to

zero. Conservation and recycling can only

buy time in which to stabilize population

to a size which can exist on a renewable

resource economy, which also has to be

devised.

Patronage of petrochemical industries.

Alternative energy sources can replace oil,

pragmatically speaking, in its energy uses,

but in some uses much less conveniently

than in others. Fuel oil used under steam

boilers can be replaced by nuclear fuel, or

coal. The fact really is that buying some

ideas would result in energy cost of

transportation that is astronomical. while

looking at alternative fuel, it would be

timely to project prospects of petroleum

industries. Petroleum is such a product that

almost has no waste. Components of

petroleum can be directed to petrochemical

and its allied industries as feedstock4 e.g.

polypropylene plant. Feedstock to cement

plants, fertilizer plants, glass

manufacturing industries, food & beverage

manufacturing industries, President

Jonathan noted that the petrochemical

industry will provide us with the potential

not only to manufacture low-end plastic

and packaging products, but also very

high-end products. With a capacity that

spans such a wide continuum, there is

opportunity for industrialisation Nigeria

via this initiative.

CONCLUSION

Petroleum reserves make Nigeria the tenth

most petroleum-rich nation. This economic

potential of Petroleum industry in Nigeria

made Nigeria by the far the most affluent

in Africa. In mid-2001 its crude oil

production was averaging around

2.2 million barrels (350,000 m³) per day. It

also provides 95% of foreign exchange

earnings, and about 65% of government

budgetary revenues, as well as generating

more than 40% of its GDP Nigeria is one

of the few major oil-producing nations still

capable of increasing its oil output. Unlike

most of other OPEC countries. Yet, this

merriment is speculated to go away so

soon by 2050, when the oil reserves will

be depleted. . Some effort through

improved technology is geared towards

increasing the reserve by accessing

resources that were before non-producible.

Economic viability as well as return on

energy invested should properly be

considered in their feasibility studies so

that intelligent choices could be made.

Enthusiasts over a particular alternative

resource ought to carefully examine the

hard facts, not just be aware of them. . As

the trend of production due to demand is

increases, it is expected that there will be a

peak and then a lapse in oil consumption,

but not because supplies are running out,

but because of the advancement of

technologies. Cars consuming less fuel and

stricter environmental regulations,

Hydroelectric output ,Worldwide nuclear

output growth, other renewable energy

sources -Global biofuels . The increase in

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wind energy . Three considerations should

be considered when evaluating the worth

and validity of alternative energy sources.

One is the ability of alternative sources

to really replace oil in the quantities we

are now using oil.

A second concern is how using

alternative energy sources might affect

and change current lifestyles. What

would it really involve to change to a

"solar energy economy" as is the

popular concept among alternative

energy enthusiasts.

The third consideration is the

environmental impact of converting to

alternative energy sources. These three

factors with their myths and realities are

briefly treated here

REFERENCES

Andrew Tweedie (2003).”Petroleum

Economics”.Department of Petroleum

Engineering, Herriot-Watt University,

Edinburgh.PetEcons version 1.Pg 25.

Craft, B.C. and Hawkins, M. (1983.):

Applied Petroleum Reservoir

Engineering, 2nd ed. Englewood

Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. 1991. Pp

235-236.

Guardian Newspaper (2011) “Unlocking

Nigeria’s gas potential” September 28,

page 48

John M. C (1960).”Oil Property

Evaluation Cliffs”. Englewood

Prentice-Hall, Inc

Michael, J. E (2010) “Market outlook for

Major Energy Products, Metals and

Minerals”. The

World Bank, 1818H Street, N.W.

Washington D.C. 20433, USA.Page

23.

Tarek, A(1984) Reservoir Engineering

Handbook, second edition,

Butterworth –Heinemann Publ.

225 Wildwood Avenue, Woburn, MA

01801-2041, 2001.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

(1995), Compilation of Air Pollutant

Emissions Factors Volume:

Stationary Point and Area Sources,

Fifth Edition with Supplements,

January.

.

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157

Summary of Reserve Data as of 2012( OPEC Share of the World reserve 2012)

Declared reserves of major OPEC Producers (billion of barrels)

BP Statistical Review - June 2009

OPEC Annual Statistical Bulletin 2010/2011

Year Iran Iraq Kuwait Saudi Arabia

UAE Vene-zuela

Libya Nigeria

1980 58.3 30.0 67.9 168.0 30.4 19.5 20.3 16.7 1981 57.0 32.0 67.7 167.9 32.2 19.9 22.6 16.5 1982 56.1 59.0 67.2 165.5 32.4 24.9 22.2 16.8 1983 55.3 65.0 67.0 168.8 32.3 25.9 21.8 16.6 1984 58.9 65.0 92.7 171.7 32.5 28.0 21.4 16.7 1985 59.0 65.0 92.5 171.5 33.0 54.5 21.3 16.6 1986 92.9 72.0 94.5 169.7 97.2 55.5 22.8 16.1 1987 92.9 100.0 94.5 169.6 98.1 58.1 22.8 16.0 1988 92.9 100.0 94.5 255.0 98.1 58.5 22.8 16.0 1989 92.9 100.0 97.1 260.1 98.1 59.0 22.8 16.0 1990 92.9 100.0 97.0 260.3 98.1 60.1 22.8 17.1 1991 92.9 100.0 96.5 260.9 98.1 62.6 22.8 20.0 1992 92.9 100.0 96.5 261.2 98.1 63.3 22.8 21.0 1993 92.9 100.0 96.5 261.4 98.1 64.4 22.8 21.0 1994 94.3 100.0 96.5 261.4 98.1 64.9 22.8 21.0 1995 93.7 100.0 96.5 261.5 98.1 66.3 29.5 20.8 1996 92.6 112.0 96.5 261.4 97.8 72.7 29.5 20.8 1997 92.6 112.5 96.5 261.5 97.8 74.9 29.5 20.8 1998 93.7 112.5 96.5 261.5 97.8 76.1 29.5 22.5 1999 93.1 112.5 96.5 262.8 97.8 76.8 29.5 29.0 2000 99.5 112.5 96.5 262.8 97.8 76.8 36.0 29.0 2001 99.1 115.0 96.5 262.7 97.8 77.7 36.0 31.5 2002 130.7 115.0 96.5 262.8 97.8 77.3 36.0 34.3 2003 133.3 115.0 99.0 262.7 97.8 77.2 39.1 35.3 2004 132.7 115.0 101.5 264.3 97.8 79.7 39.1 35.9 2005 137.5 115.0 101.5 264.2 97.8 80.0 41.5 36.2 2006 138.4 115.0 101.5 264.3 97.8 87.3 41.5 36.2 2007 138.2 115.0 101.5 264.2 97.8 99.4 43.7 36.2 2008 137.6 115.0 101.5 264.1 97.8 172.3 43.7 36.2 2009 137.0 115.0 101.5 264.6 97.8 211.1 46.4 36.2 2010 151.2 143.1 101.5 264.5 97.8 296.5 47.1 36.2

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158

U.S Energy information Administration (EIA) U.S Government- U.S Dept. of Energy,

September, 2011

Country Reserves 109 bbl

Reserves 109 m3

Production 106 bbl/d

Production 103 m3/d

Reserve life years

Venezuela 296.5 47.14 2.1 330 387 United States 19.4 3.08 5.5 870 10 United Arab Emirates 136.7 21.73 2.4 380 156 Saudi Arabia 265.4 42.20 8.9 1,410 81 Russia 74.2 11.80 9.7 1,540 21 Qatar 25.41 4.040 1.1 170 63 Nigeria 37 5.9 2.5 400 41 Libya 47 7.5 1.7 270 76 Kuwait 101.5 16.14 2.3 370 121 Kazakhstan 49 7.8 1.5 240 55 Iraq 143.1 22.75 2.4 380 163 Iran 151.2 24.04 4.1 650 101 China 20.35 3.235 4.1 650 14 Canada 175 27.8 2.7 430 178 Brazil 13.2 2.10 2.1 330 17 Angola 13.5 2.15 1.9 300 19 Algeria 13.42 2.134 1.7 270 22 Total of top seventeen reserves

1,324 210.5 56.7 9,010 64

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160

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161

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Ayodele C. O

Ogbue M. C

DEPLETION OF PETROLEUM RESERVE IN NIGERIA-FEARS AND

CONSOLATIONS

1Ayodele C. O. &

2Ogbue M. C.

1Department of Mineral Resources Engineering,

The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

coayodele@yahoo.com 2Energy Resources Consulting/Oil Field Services,

Benin City, Nigeria.

michaelogbue@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT: As world economic difficulties worsen, it is important to clarify the concept of

Petroleum reserve depletion in relation to economic plans and why it has become such a

point of contention. Production of petroleum depletes petroleum reserve. World demand

naturally influences the rate of depletion. However, since there is ever increasing, non-

dependence on petroleum as source of energy, demand will fall so also the rate of depletion.

Advances in technology and discovery of more reserves make reserve to grow. It has become

essential to restore, to the proper perspective, the issue of Petroleum reserve and to arrest

the dangerous trend of misconception and worst still preconception, as is often the case, as

the reason for domestic economic policy failings and global economic inequalities. This

paper entitled, 'Depletion of Petroleum reserve in Nigeria', demystify the popular myths

which have come to obscure the truth about the petroleum reserve namely, classification of

resources, origin of petroleum, recovery factor/technological advancement and illustrates

why energy must not, and indeed cannot, be considered in isolation from wider

environmental, economic and financial issues.

KEYWORDS: Petroleum, reserve, petroleum

INTRODUCTION

The world runs on oil. By describing oil as

a fossil fuel, everyone admits that it was

formed in the past, which means that we

started running out when we consumed the

first barrel. That much can surely be

agreed, even if opinions differ about how

far along the depletion curve we are. One

school of thought believe that minerals,

including petroleum, are inexhaustible and

will never be depleted, that reserves are

constantly being renewed as they are

extracted and that stream of investment

creates additions to prove reserves from a

very large in-ground inventory. This view

accepts biogenic origin of petroleum. By

extension, " how much was in the ground

at the start and how much will be left at the

end are unknown and irrelevant" , since

the remains of the last living thing that will

exist on earth will eventually be converted

to petroleum. In the opposing school are

those who observe Nature andrevere its

immutable physical laws. When they look

at the issue, they ask two simple

questions:How much was found?

andWhen was it found? They want this

information to extrapolate the past

discovery trend to show what is likely to

be found in the future. They recognize that

oil has to be found before it can be

produced, meaning that the production

trend has, in some manner, to reflect an

earlier discovery trend. They know that an

oilfield contains what it contains, because

it was filled in the geological past, even if

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162

the amount it holds is not at first known

accurately. The study of hydrocarbons

generated in Petroleum Systems where

elaborated studies with rock analysis were

carried out shows that the oil concentrated

in oilfields represents less than 1% of the

oil generated. It means that there is a huge

discrepancy between the oil in the

sediments and the oil concentrated in

oilfields that will be produced. If reserves

are badly defined, it is even worse for

resources that can be the oil in place in

fields, the undiscovered, and the ultimate.

Reserve Life of Petroleum -Fears

There are the Pessimists and Optimists

schools on reserves but also much the

confusion between reserves and resources.

The Pessimists have access to technical

data while the Optimists have access to

political or financial data.

Unconventional oil resources are greater

than conventional ones. "Unconventional

resources" exist in petroleum

accumulations that are pervasive

throughout a large area. Examples include

extra heavy oil, natural bitumen, and oil

shale deposits. Unlike "conventional

resources", in which the petroleum is

recovered through wellbores and typically

requires minimal processing prior to sale,

unconventional resources require

specialized extraction technology to

produce. For example, steam and/or

solvents are used to mobilize bitumen for

in-situ recovery. Moreover, the extracted

petroleum may require significant

processing prior to sale (e.g., bitumen

upgraders).[6]

The total amount of

unconventional oil resources in the world

considerably exceeds the amount of

conventional oil reserves, but are much

more difficult and expensive to develop

World demand naturally influences the

rate of depletion. Therefore, since there is

ever increasing non-dependence of

petroleum as source of energy, demand

will fall so also the rate of depletion

Restoring Correct Perspective onthe

Issue of Reserve-Consolations

Reserve:The total estimated amount of oil

in an oil reservoir, including both

producible and non-producible oil, is

called oil-in-place (resources). However,

because of reservoir characteristics and

limitations in petroleum extraction

technologies, only a fraction of this oil can

be brought to the surface, and it is only

this producible fraction that is considered

to be reserves. The ratio of producible oil

reserves to total oil in place for a given

field is often referred to as the recovery

factor. The recovery factor of any

particular field may change over time

based on operating history and in response

to changes in technology and economics.

The recovery factor may also rise over

time if additional investment is made in

enhanced oil recovery techniques such as

gas injection, surfactants injection, water-

flooding,[1]

or microbial enhanced oil

recovery. All reserve estimates involve

uncertainty, depending on the amount of

reliable geologic and engineering data

available and the interpretation of those

data. The relative degree of uncertainty

can be expressed by dividing reserves into

two principal classifications—"proven" (or

"proved") and "unproven" (or "unproved").

Unproven reserves can further be divided

into two subcategories—"probable" and

"possible"—to indicate the relative degree

of uncertainty about their existence.

Proven reserves are those reserves claimed

to have a reasonable certainty (normally at

least 90% confidence) of being

recoverable under existing economic and

political conditions, with existing

technology. Industry specialists refer to

this as P90 (i.e., having a 90% certainty of

being produced). Proven reserves are also

known in the industry as 1P. technical,

contractual, or regulatory uncertainties

preclude unproven reserves being

classified as proven. They are sub-

classified as probable and possible.[11]

Proven reserves are further subdivided into

"proven developed" (PD) and "proven

undeveloped" (PUD). PD reserves are

reserves that can be produced with existing

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wells and perforations, or from additional

reservoirs where minimal additional

investment (operating expense) is

required.[10]

PUD reserves require

additional capital investment (e.g., drilling

new wells) to bring the oil to the

surface.[8][10]

. From the foregoing, one can

now start to conceptualize the percentage

of oil resources that prove reserve actually

is, such that 2050 will no longer be seen as

the end of the road. What was previously

seen as non-producible ceases to be as

technology expands frontiers. The view

that oil is a strictly limited, non-renewing

resource is true only to the extent that

Human Brain Power and Ingenuity is a

strictly limited, non-renewing resource.

From the foregoing, one can now start to

conceptualize the percentage of oil

resources that proven reserve actually is,

such that 2050 will no longer be seen as

the end of the road. What was previously

seen as unproducible ceases to be as

technology expands frontiers, resources

are limited only as human brain is limited.

Reserves growth:Experience shows that

initial estimates of the size of newly

discovered oil fields are usually too low.

As years pass, successive estimates of the

ultimate recovery of fields tend to

increase. The term reserve growth refers to

the typical increases in estimated ultimate

recovery that occur as oil fields are

developed and produced. Because the

geology of the subsurface cannot be

examined directly, indirect techniques

must be used to estimate the size and

recoverability of the resource. While new

technologies have increased the accuracy

of these techniques, significant

uncertainties still remain. In general, most

early estimates of the reserves of an oil

field are conservative and tend to grow

with time. This phenomenon is called

reserves growth.

Expanding the frontiers of oil

production:Offshore Oil companies in

Africa investigate offshore production as

an alternative area of production.

Deepwater production mainly involves

underwater drilling that exists 400 m or

more below the surface of the water. By

expanding to deep water drilling the

possible sources for finding new oil

reserves is expanded. Through the

introduction of deep water drilling 50%

more oil is extracted than before the new

forms of retrieving the oil.[5]

Angola and

Nigeria are the largest oil producers in

Africa. In Nigeria, the deepwater sector

still has a large avenue to expand and

develop. The amount of oil extracted from

Nigeria is expected to expand from

15,000 bbl/d (2,400 m3/d) in 2003 to

1.27 Mbbl/d (202,000 m3/d) in 2010.

[5]

Deepwater drilling for oil is especially

attractive to oil companies because the

Nigerian government has very little share

in these activities and it is more difficult

for the government to regulate the offshore

activities of the companies.[5]

Also, the

deepwater extraction plants are less

disturbed by local militant attacks, seizures

due to civil conflicts, and sabotage.[5]

These advancements offer more resources

and alternatives to extract the oil from the

Niger Delta, with hopefully less conflict

than the operations on land.

Technology: Further, technology exists

today to convert natural gas into mid-level

distillates (diesel) potentially vastly

decreasing the need for crude (thus

displacing those reserves into the future).

At present 100% of US imports of crude

from the mid-east could be replaced with

compressed natural gas by converting the

US heavy vehicle fleet (trucks & buses).

Continued improvements in efficiency will

vastly decrease the rate of use of crude,

more than anyone can imagine – looking

into their rear view mirrors. In the late

1970s – early 1980s the entire US vehicle

fleet was replaced with slightly higher

efficiency units and the price of crude

collapsed.

Natural gas: reserves are well over

187 trillion ft³ (2,800 km³), the gas

reserves are three times as substantial as

the crude oil reserves. The biggest natural

gas initiative is the Nigerian Liquified

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164

Natural Gas Company, which is operated

jointly by several companies and the state.

It began exploration and production in

1999. Chevron is also attempting to create

the Escravos Gas Utilization project which

will be capable of producing 160 million

standard ft³ of gas per day.[6]

There is also

a gas pipeline, known as the West African

Gas Pipeline, in the works but has

encountered numerous setbacks. The

pipeline would allow for transportation of

natural gas to Benin, Ghana, Togo, and

Cote d'Ivoire. The majority of Nigeria's

natural gas is flared off and it is estimated

that Nigeria loses 18.2 million US$ daily

from the loss of the flared gas. It is

estimated that demand and consumption of

petroleum in Nigeria grows at a rate of

12.8% annually.[4]

However, petroleum

products are unavailable to most Nigerians

and are quite costly, because almost all of

the oil extracted by the multinational oil

companies is refined overseas, while only

a limited quantity is supplied to Nigerians

themselves.

Heavy Oil: Oils heavier than 17.5o API

are here treated together, with production

being controlled by extraction rate rather

than the resource base. The assessment

shows production rising gradually to 4.5

Mb/d by 2020. Nigeria’s huge deposits of

heavy oil, e.g. Agbabu in Ondo State, is

yet to be exploited More efforts are

channeled towards Enhanced oil recovery

of heavy oil.

Deepwater Oil (>500m water depth): The

deep-water domain is characterized by

special geological conditions. Prolific oil

generation occurred only in certain

divergent plate-tectonic settings having

early rifts in which source rocks were

deposited and preserved. The right

conditions are probably confined to the

Gulf of Mexico and margins of the South

Atlantic. Elsewhere, deltas may locally

extend into deep water, but are likely to be

gas prone because they have to rely on the

source-rocks within the delta itself.

It is evident that deepwater operations test

technology and management to the limit,

which means in turn that only the larger

prospects or clusters of prospects are likely

to be viable. A further constraint is the

availability of floating production

equipment. It is concluded that deepwater

production, from an endowment of about

60 billion barrels, might rise, with heroic

effort, to a peak of about 8 Mb/d by 2010.

More field as exploration progresses:

Nigeria and Sao Tome have an agreement

in which the Joint Development Authority

was created to explore and produce oil in

the waters between Sao Tome and Nigeria.

Nigeria and Sao Tome share this area,

called the Joint Development Zone, or

JDZ. This area could contain up to, or

over, 14 billion barrels of oil. In 2006,

Chevron drilled an exploratory well called

OBO-1 and news reports came out that

they had discovered over a thousand

million barrels of oil in block 1 alone.

Shift in demand to other alternative

sources of energy: The trend of

production due to demand is increases, it is

expected that there will be a peak and then

a lapse in oil consumption, but not because

supplies are running out. Instead, the

advancement of technologies, after all, "

The stone age didn’t end because people

ran out of stones". Cars consuming less

fuel and stricter environmental regulations

will be the drivers of the trend. In

summation: a lapse in demand.

Strategic petroleum reserves: Many

countries maintain government-controlled

oil reserves for both economic and national

security reasons. According to the United

States Energy Information Administration,

approximately 4.1 billion barrels

(650,000,000 m3) of oil are held in

strategic reserves, of which 1.4 billion is

government-controlled (m³=cubic meters).

These reserves are generally not counted

when computing a nation's oil reserves.

Restoring Perspective on the Energy

Issue

Oil consumption supplies less than 40% of

world energy consumption at present, and

is likely to decline in relative importance

as alternative sources of energy are

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165

developed. The state of the technology of

energy conversion today is such that it is

impossible to use these resources without

unduly jeopardizing the environment. A

more traditional source, such as oil sands

and shale are also possibilities for areas of

the world where these deposits exist. The

most important factor about all these

alternatives is the problem of cost of

development, manufacture and

distribution. Until this is resolved, the

question of the feasibility of alternative

sources of energy will remain. At the same

time, the cost of the present major source

of energy, i.e. oil, must be high enough to

offer a sufficient incentive to develop these

alternatives. The sooner the international

community brings itself to accept this fact,

the sooner the transition from oil to other

alternatives will take place.

CONCLUSION

Oilfield contains what it contains, because

it was filled in the geological past, even if

the amount it holds is not at first known

accurately. The study of hydrocarbons

generated in Petroleum Systems where

elaborated studies with rock analysis were

carried out shows that the oil concentrated

in oilfields represents less than 1% of the

oil generated. It means that there is a huge

discrepancy between the oil in the

sediments and the oil concentrated in

oilfields that will be

produced.Unconventional oil resources are

greater than conventional ones.

"Unconventional resources" exist in

petroleum accumulations that are

pervasive throughout a large area.

Examples include extra heavy oil, natural

bitumen, and oil shale deposits. Unlike

"conventional resources", in which the

petroleum is recovered through wellbores

and typically requires minimal processing

prior to sale, unconventional resources

require specialized extraction technology

to produce. For example, steam and/or

solvents are used to mobilize bitumen for

in-situ recovery. Moreover, the extracted

petroleum may require significant

processing prior to sale (e.g., bitumen

upgraders). The total amount of

unconventional oil resources in the world

considerably exceeds the amount of

conventional oil reserves, but is much

more difficult and expensive to develop.

REFERENCES

Craft, B.C. and Hawkins, M. (1991.):

Applied Petroleum Reservoir Engineering,

2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice

Hall. . Pp 235-236.

Tarek, A(1984). Reservoir Engineering

Handbook, second edition, Butterworth -

Heinemann publications, 225

Wildwood Avenue, Woburn, MA 01801-

2041, 2001.

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166

Summary of Reserve Data as of 2012[2]

Country Reserves

[17]

109 bbl

Reserves

109 m

3

Production[18]

106 bbl/d

Production

103 m

3/d

Reserve life 1

years

Venezuela 296.5 47.14 2.1 330 387

Saudi Arabia 265.4 42.20 8.9 1,410 81

Canada 175 27.8 2.7 430 178

Iran 151.2 24.04 4.1 650 101

Iraq 143.1 22.75 2.4 380 163

Kuwait 101.5 16.14 2.3 370 121

United Arab Emirates 136.7 21.73 2.4 380 156

Russia 74.2 11.80 9.7 1,540 21

Kazakhstan 49 7.8 1.5 240 55

Libya 47 7.5 1.7 270 76

Nigeria 37 5.9 2.5 400 41

Qatar 25.41 4.040 1.1 170 63

China 20.35 3.235 4.1 650 14

United States 19.4 3.08 5.5 870 10

Angola 13.5 2.15 1.9 300 19

Total of top fifteen reserves 1,324 210.5 56.7 9,010 64

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169

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Bamisaye, A.J

Adeoye O.S

Akinsanya O.A

OPTIMIZATION OF POWER DELIVERY SYSTEM USING SMART GRID

TECHNOLOGY TO MEET THE CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY

Bamisaye, A.J, Adeoye O.S & Akinsanya O.A

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria

ayobamisaye@gmail.com

ABSTRACT: A Smart Grid comprises of a broad range of technology solutions that optimize

the energy value chain. Depending on where and how a specific utility operates across that

chain, it can benefit from deploying certain parts of a Smart Grid solution set. This paper

presents opportunities for utilities and consumers to benefit from efficient management of

energy, advanced equipment and devices which will wisely improve the nation's energy

system. Those regulatory barriers and other challenges to a Smart Grid are discussed.

Optimization of the deployment schedule will enhance many benefits of Smart Grid

Technology: Improvements to the power delivery system, Enabling defensive strategies to

detect and address problems before they become widespread grid disturbances, Enabling

widespread Integration of alternative energy sources and providing a means for mitigating

their intermittency, Greatly expanding the connection of end-user loads to grid information

and control to facilitate energy efficiency improvements, Providing the necessary information

and control to integrate plug-in hybrid electric vehicles into the grid to meet the challenges

of the 21st century.

KEYWORDS:Smart Grid, energy, electric power, reliability and optimization

INTRODUCTION:

An electric power system has two

infrastructures: An electric infrastructure

that carries the electric energy in the power

system, and an information infrastructure

that monitors, controls and performs other

functions related to the electric

infrastructure. The existing electric power

grid has long been designed to withstand

numerous problems, including equipment

breaks, thunderstorms, System operators

rely on the intelligence that comes from

electromechanical automation -- Intelligent

Electronic Devices (IEDs) -- sophisticated

control centres that enable operators to

view the state of the system second by

second, and perform on-line studies that

anticipate grid malfunctions effects.

Redundant communications and computer

systems are used to operate the grid, such

that control is passed seamlessly from one

to another when a computer fails. These

functions have been part of the electric

grid system.

However, computer and communications

technology advances at a much more rapid

pace than is prudent for upgrading power

grid field equipment. As a result, the

technology in the grid tends to lag,

sometimes by decades. The older

technology tends to be relatively

inflexible, and upgrades to satisfy new

requirements tend to be disruptive. Newer

computer and communications technology

has developed standards that provide

greatly enhanced flexibility and enable

new requirements to be supported and

improved capabilities introduced with

minimal disruption.

The Smart Grid encompasses the

information and control functionality that

will monitor, control, manage, coordinate,

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integrate, facilitate, and enable

achievement of many innovation benefits

envisioned for national energy policy. The

principal focus of the Smart Grid effort is

to identify the requirements of the new

information infrastructure, and to define a

body of compatible (interoperable)

standards to be used in its implementation

A Smart Grid uses digital technology to

improve reliability, security, and efficiency

of the electric system: from large

generation, through the delivery systems to

electricity consumers and a growing

number of distributed generation and

storage

resources.[http://www.oe.energy.gov/1165

.htm.]

The information networks that are

transforming our economy in other areas

are also being applied to applications for

dynamic optimization of electric system

operations, maintenance, and planning.

Resources and services that were

separately managed are now being

integrated and rebundled as we address

traditional problems in new ways, adapt

the system to tackle new challenges, and

discover new benefits that have

transformational potential.

[http://www.oe.energy.gov/1165.htm.]

According to the Galvin Electricity

Initiative and the Electric Power Research

Institute (EPRI), the economic and

environmental benefits of transforming the

current electric power delivery system into

a Smart Grid are numerous. A Smart Grid

brings the power of networked, interactive

technologies into an electricity system,

giving utilities and consumers

unprecedented control over energy use,

improving power grid operations, and

ultimately reducing costs to consumers.

Table 1 summarizes the value of a Smart

Grid deployment for the various

stakeholders.

The EPRI Electricity Sector Framework

for the Future estimates $1.8 trillion in

annual additiverevenue by 2020 with a

substantially more efficientand reliable

grid. [EPRI, 2003]

To elaborate, according to the Galvin

Electricity Initiative, “Smart Grid

technologies would reducepower

disturbance costs and also reduce the need

for massive infrastructure investments.

[http://www.galvinpower.org/resources/gal

vin].

In addition, efficient technologies can

dramatically reduce total fuel

consumption—and thereby potentially

reduce fuel prices for all consumers.

Virtually the nation’s entire economy

depends on reliable energy. The

availability of high-quality power could

help determine the future of the Nigeria

economy. See Table 2 for an outline of the

value of an enhanced electric power

system. Additionally, a Smart Grid creates

new markets as private industry develops

energy-efficient and intelligent appliances,

smart meters, new sensing and

communications capabilities, and

passenger vehicles.

Around the globe, countries are pursuing

or considering pursuit of greenhouse gas

legislation suggesting that public

awareness of issues stemmingfrom

greenhouse gases has never before been at

sucha high level. According to the

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

[NREL, 2007.], “utilities are pressured on

many fronts to adopt business practices

that respond to global environmental

concerns. Smart Grid technologies could

reducecarbon emissions by [EPRI, 2003] :

Leveraging demand response / load

management to minimize the use of

costly peaking generation, which

typically uses generation that is

comparatively fuel inefficient

Facilitating increased energy

efficiency through consumer

education, programs leveraging

usage information, and time-

variable pricing

Facilitating mitigation of

renewable generation variability of

output—mitigation of this

variability is one of the chief

obstacles to integration of large

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amounts of renewable energy

capacity into the bulk power

system.

Integrating plug-in hybrid electric

vehicles (PHEVs), distributed wind

and photovoltaic solar energy

resources, and other forms of

distributed generation

BENEFITS TO UTILITIES

Reduced Operations and Maintenance

Costs

Smart Grid technologies allow for remote

andautomated disconnections and

reconnections, whicheliminate unneeded

field trips, reduce consumeroutage and

high-bill calls, and ultimately

reduceoperations and maintenance (O&M)

costs. Reduced costs can also result from

near real-time remote asset monitoring,

enabling utilities to move from time based

maintenance practices to equipment-

condition based maintenance. Using

enhanced information about grid assets

from Smart Grid monitoring technologies,

grid operators can reduce the risk of

overloading problematic equipment—

especially transmission power

transformers. Simply keeping the

transformers in service risks increased

failure rates and even greater outage costs,

as well as larger disruptions or more

severe damage to system equipment.

However, doing so is often a necessity, as

the cost of replacing transformers has

increased rapidly, along with the prices for

copper and ferromagnetic steel. Today,

multi-function sensors are available that

can continuously monitor a number of

physical parameters for signs of incipient

failure (e.g., insulation breakdown,

loosening of fasteners that hold windings

in place). Information from these devices,

together with sophisticated analysis of

fault conditions from power circuit

breakers that protect the transformers, can

help determine when the equipment needs

maintenance, repairs, and eventually

replacement.

Increased Efficiency of Power Delivery

Up to a 30% reduction in distribution

losses is possible from optimal power

factor performance and system balancing

[Xcel Energy, 2008].

Today, this problem is managed to some

extent by controlled or automated

capacitor banks on distribution circuits and

in substations. Control of these devices can

be greatly improved with better real-time

information. Almost all higher efficiency

appliances, heating, ventilation, and

cooling (HVAC) systems, consumer

electronics, lighting, and other load

devices are changing from being

“resistive” (e.g., incandescent light bulbs)

or “rotating” (as in motors) to “inverter

based.” The transition of load from

“resistive” to “inverter based” means that

the overall system performance, especially

with respect to power factor and reactive

power needs, changes dramatically over

time. Smart Grid technologies offer

utilities increased monitoring of rapid

power changes and help them adapt

control schemes and deploy capacitors and

other power factor control devices—

including power electronics based devices

in substations—to compensate.

Integration of Renewable Energy and

Distributed Resources

Smart Grid technologies will allow the

grid to better adapt to the dynamics of

renewable energy and distributed

generation, helping utilities and consumers

more easily access these resources and

reap the benefits. Today’s grid was

designed to move power from centralized

supply sources to fixed, predictable loads;

this makes it challenging for the grid to

accept input from many distributed energy

resources across the grid. And because

resources such as solar and wind power are

intermittent, the grid will require

integrated monitoring and control, as well

as integration with substation automation,

to control differing energy flows and plan

for standby capacity to supplement

intermittent generation. Smart Grid

capabilities will make it easier to control

bidirectional power flows and monitor,

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control, and support these distributed

resources.

Improved System Security Utilities are increasingly employing digital

devices in substations to improve

protection, enable substation automation,

and increase reliability and control.

However, these remotely accessible and

programmable devices can introduce cyber

security concerns. Smart Grid technology

and capabilities will offer better

integration of these devices, increased use

of sensors, and added layers of control.

Smart Grid technologies, however, can

bring their own cyber security concerns,

which will require comprehensive, built-in

security during implementation. Smart

Grid technologies can do the following:

Bring higher levels of investment and

greater penetration of information

technology (IT) into the grid, allowing

utilities to address cyber security

issues more effectively.

Increase the robustness of the grid to

withstand component failures, whether

due to natural events, age/condition of

assets, or hostile causes.

Allow grid components and IT

systems in time to detect intrusion

attempts and provide real-time

notification to cyber security

organizations.

CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES

The biggest impediment to the smart

electric grid transition is neither technical

nor economic,[Yeager, 2007].Instead, the

transition is limited today by obsolete

regulatory barriers and disincentives that

echo from an earlier era [Yeager, 2007].

Those regulatory barriers and other

challenges to a Smart Grid are discussed in

detail below.

Regulatory Challenges

The nation's electric power delivery

system is much like the

telecommunications network of the past—

dated and increasingly costly for

consumers. Three decades ago, one phone

company was the monopoly provider of

services across much of the United States,

and it was illegal to plug other companies’

telephones and devices into that

company’s network. Today,

telecommunications choices and services

are much greater thanks to legislation and

technological advances that broke up the

monopoly and later opened the door to

competition in the telecommunications

industry. The Energy Independence and

Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007), with its

support for Smart Grid research and

investment, is an important step forward in

achieving .Similar results for the power

industry, although more government

involvement is needed to remove obstacles

to further

innovation.[http://www.galvinpower.org/fi

les/PolicyPriorities]

State Public Utility Commissions (PUCs)

are responsible for ensuring that electric

utilities under their jurisdiction provide

safe and reliable service at a reasonable

price. PUCs analyze and determine if

proposed utility infrastructure investments,

like the deployment of Smart Grid

technologies, are prudent investments.

Investments are often evaluated based

upon actual and realizable benefits, and

while future benefits may be considered,

they must be evaluated appropriately. The

state-by-state PUC approval process could

create a patchwork approach, as different

Smart Grid improvements could be

adopted by neighbouring states or even

utilities within one state. PUCs also need

to develop unique rate structures using

Smart Grid technology by creating special

time-of-use rates, whether hourly, critical

peak pricing, or some other modification

from the existing approaches. As

technology advances and as the nation

approaches the building of a Smart Grid,

consumers and utilities will have a greater

opportunity to control their electric

consumption in response to price and

system conditions.

Lack of a Coordinated Strategy

The efficient evolution to a Smart Grid

will require a coordinated strategy that

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relies upon building an appropriate electric

infrastructure foundation to maximize

utilization of the existing system. A Smart

Grid is a new integrated operational and

conceptual model for utility operations.

Among other things, it envisions the real-

time monitoring of all utility transformers,

transmission and distribution line

segments, generation units, and consumer

usage, along with the ability to change the

performance of each monitored device.

This will require significant planning for

both implementing a system-wide

installation of monitoring devices

(including monitoring devices at the

consumer level), and for installing the

equipment necessary to enable parts of the

system to “talk” with other components

and take rerouting, self-healing, and other

actions independent of system operators.

Developing such an integrated system

requires a multi-year, phased installation

of Smart Grid devices and upgraded

computer and communication capabilities;

those investing in this technology likely

will not realize the value until the return

value of the combined benefits of these

technologies are achieved.

Cost

As discussed, the effort to move from

using smarter technology to a Smart Grid

is a significant undertaking that needs

focused coordination both strategically and

tactically. This undertaking also will

require significant investment. Investors

often face the challenges of access to

capital to make these investments, as well

as the lack of ability to bear the associated

costs of the expenses. Utilities must

grapple with making Smart Grid

investments, knowing that significant

utility and consumer benefits may not

occur for several years. A Smart Grid is a

complex, comprehensive, and integrated

monitoring and operating system; it will

provide publicly observable benefits only

after considerable investments have been

made in upgrading the infrastructure of the

nation’s utilities and the monitoring and

control devices in the homes and

businesses of consumers. Investing in

equipment and personnel training, for

which there are few short-term benefits,

creates operating costs that may be

difficult to justify without policy direction

and support from government agencies.

Key Infrastructure Issues

Without question, creating a Smart Grid

presents many complex technical

challenges. Chief among them are the

integration issues associated with the

automation systems that manage the

nation’s transmission and distribution

networks, along with the interface codes

and standards required to enable a more

reliable and smoothly operating electric

system. One of the most important

foundations of a Smart Grid is the

interoperability that enables all of the

required devices, technologies, and agents

(for example, energy producers,

consumers, and operators) to interact

beneficially in the network.

Interoperability has been defined as the

ability of two or more systems or

components to exchange information and

to use the information that has been

exchanged.[http://www.gridwiseac.org(acc

essed November 2008)]. In the case of a

Smart Grid, these systems might include

outage management, distribution

management, condition-based

maintenance, supervisory control and data

acquisition (SCADA), advanced metering

infrastructure (AMI), distribution

planning, load forecasting, and a variety of

systems that have not been designed or

built yet. Ultimately, when a new device is

added to the system, interoperability will

enable it to register itself in the grid upon

installation, communicate its capabilities

to neighbouring systems, and cause the

connectivity database and control

algorithms to update themselves

automatically. Evidence from other

industries indicates that interoperability

generates tangible cost savings and

intangible benefits amounting to 0.3%–4%

in cost savings or avoided construction.

[Drummond, 2007] A Smart Grid will

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require interoperability among the many

technology components involved. New

solutions must also be configured to

exchange information with legacy systems,

including existing back office systems and

other systems that need to be connected.

The past 20 years have seen tremendous

progress in collaborative efforts across the

industry to address issues associated with

interoperability, assist utilities and

integrators in achieving interoperability.

Industry support for continued

development in several areas could

significantly improve the potential state of

interoperability, thereby improving the

cost-benefit ratio of deploying a Smart

Grid. [Vadari et al, 2007]

Security

The vision of a Smart Grid typically boasts

enhanced system security.The report of

[NETL, 2007] goes on to list the

following design features and functions:

Identification of threats and

vulnerabilities

Protecting the network

Inclusion of security risk in system

planning

Expected benefits include:

Reduced system vulnerability to

physical or cyber attack

Minimal consequences of any

disruption, including its extent,

duration, or economic impact

Using security-related improvements

to also help optimize reliability,

communications, computing, decision-

making support and self-healing

However, many of the technologies being

deployed to support Smart Grid projects—

such as smart meters, sensors, and

advanced communications networks—can

themselves increase the vulnerability of

the grid to cyber-attacks. Accordingly, it is

essential that Smart Grid deployment

leverage the benefits of increased threat

awareness while mitigating against

heightened security concerns. It will be a

difficult task, but one that can be addressed

by being aware of the risks and leveraging

security best practices from other

industries.

CONCLUSION

A Smart Grid presents opportunities for

utilities and consumers to benefit from

efficient management of energy and

advanced equipment and devices. It offers

significant opportunities to wisely manage

the nation's fuel resources by potentially

reducing the national need for additional

generation sources, better integrating

renewable and non-renewable generation

sources into the grid’s operations, reducing

outages and cascading problems, and

enabling consumers to better manage their

energy consumption. DOE has the

opportunity to address many of these

challenges and accelerate the deployment

schedule so that the nation can achieve the

many benefits a Smart Grid offers.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Considering the importance of a Smart

Grid, it can be a mechanism for achieving

the nation’s goals in the areas of energy

security, climate change, grid reliability,

economic growth, and national

competitiveness. At the same time, there

are serious challenges to the timely

development of a Smart Grid. The

following are recommended:

1. Create a Smart Grid Program office

within Department of Energy DOE.

This office should do the following:

Act as a clearinghouse of global Smart

Grid information via web-based self-

service tools.

Provide information on, at a

minimum, worldwide best practices,

effective Smart Grid business models,

available technologies, and effective

regulatory models.

Develop and make available

educational materials to utility

regulators, utilities, consumer

advocates, and other stakeholders.

Provide or support coordination of

Smart Grid activities among diverse

organizations, if appropriate.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

175

Drive standards-based work once the

National Institute of Standards and

Technology (NIST) completes its

development of a framework.

2. Conduct a focused education campaign.

This DOE campaign should focus on

educating consumers on the cost of energy

and how those costs can be better

managed.

3. Establish a Smart Grid engineer and

technician development program that

encourages students to pursue Smart Grid-

related technical degrees.

Define appropriate university training

for these new generation engineers

leveraging the existing land-grant

universities in every state for

assistance in disseminating

information.

Create a workforce training program

to ensure that working technicians

have the skills needed to work with

Smart Grid technologies.

4. Work with industry, state regulators,

and other stakeholders to create incentives

and standards that will drive a market for

Smart Grid ready controllable devices

beyond the meter.

REFERENCES

Subramanian V. Vadari, Wade P.

Malcolm, and Mark Lauby, (2007).

“Resolving Intelligent Network

Interoperability Challenges”

(Accenture and NERC,

National Energy Technology

Laboratory(2007), A Systems View of

the Modern Grid, (Washington DC,

National Energy

TechnologyLaboratory,

http://www.netl.doe.gov/moderngrid/d

ocs/

GridWise Architecture Council,

“GridWise Architecture Council,”

http://www.gridwiseac.org (accessed

November 2008).

Rick Drummond, “Why Interoperable Grid

Software will Pay for Itself, ”Smart

Grid Newsletter, June 20, 2007,

http://www.smartgridnews.com/artma

n/publish/article_210.html.

Xcel Energy, Xcel Energy Smart Grid: A

White Paper (Minneapolis, MN: Xcel

Energy,2008)http://birdcam.xcelenerg

y.com/sgc/media/pdf/SmartGrid

Kurt E. Yeager, “Facilitating the

Transition to a Smart Electric Grid,”

(Galvin Electricity Initiative,2007)

testimonyhttp://www.galvinpower.org

Galvin Electricity Initiative, “Fact Sheet:

The Path to Perfect Power: Policy

Solutions,” Galvin Electricity

Initiative,

http://www.galvinpower.org/files/Poli

cyPriorities4.pdf.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

Projected Benefits of Federal Energy

Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Programs – FY 2008 Budget Request,

2007.

Electric Power Research Institute,

Electricity Sector Framework for the

Future Volume I: Achieving the 21st

Century Transformation (Washington,

DC: Electric Power ResearchInstitute,

2003).

http://www.oe.energy.gov/1165.htm

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176

Table 1: Smart Grid Benefits Matrix Potential and Real benefits to be realized by building

and implementing a smart Grid

Benefit Stakeholder

Uti

lity

Ind

epen

den

t

Gen

erato

r

Res

iden

tial

Com

merc

ial

Ind

ust

rial

Fu

ture

Gen

erati

on

s

System Reliability and Economics

Smart Grid technologies allow faster diagnosis

of distribution outages and automated restoration

of undamaged portions of the grid, reducing

overall outage times with major economic

benefits.

X

X X X

Smart Grid's automated diagnostic and self-

healing capability prolongs the life of the electric

infrastructure.

X

X

Distributed generation is supported because the

grid has the ability to dynamically manage all

sources of power on the grid.

X X X X X X

Price-sensitive peak shaving defers the need for

grid expansion and retrofit. X

Price-sensitive peak shaving reduces the need

for peaking generation capacity investments. X

X X X

Smart Grid technologies may allow better

utilization of transmission paths, improving long

distance energy transfers.

X X

Positive Environmental Impact

Smart Grid can reduce distribution losses, thus

reducing power generation demands. X

X X X X

Grid integration of high levels of renewable

resources as called for in many state RPS

standards will require Smart Grid to manage

extensive distributed generation and storage

resources

X X X X X X

A high penetration of PHEV will require Smart

Grid to manage grid support of vehicle charging.

Potential use of PHEV as Vehicle to Grid will

absolutely require Smart Grid technologies.

X

X

A Smart Grid enables intelligent appliances to

provide feedback through the system, sense grid

stress, and reduce their power use during peak

demand periods.

X

X

Advanced metering technology can be used to

help measure electricity use and calculate the

resulting carbon footprint.

X X X X

Increased efficiency of power delivery

Direct operating costs are reduced through the X

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177

use of advanced metering technology

(AMR/AMI) such as connects/disconnects,

vehicle fleet operations and maintenance, meter

reads, employee insurance compensation

insurance, etc

Smart Grid technologies, such as

synchrophasors, offer the promise of reducing

transmission congestion.

X X X X X

Economic Development

Standards and protocols supporting

interoperability will promote product innovation

and business opportunities that support the

Smart Grid concept.

X X X X X X

Consumer Choice

Provide consumers with information on their

electric usage so they can make smart energy

choices.

X X X X

Real-time pricing offers consumers a "choice" of

cost and convenience trade-offs that are superior

to hierarchical demand management programs.

X X X

Integration of building automation systems

offers efficiency gains, grid expansion deferral,

and peak shaving.

X

X

Source: Table created for Smart Grid: Enabler of the New Energy Economy by EAC Smart

Grid Subcommittee 2008

Table 2:Value of an Enhanced Electric Power System

2000 2025

Parameter Baseline Business

as Usual

(BAU)

Enhanced

Electric

Power

System

Improvement

of Enhanced

Productivity

Over BAU

Electricity Consumption (billion kilowatt

hours kwh]

3,800 5800 4900-5200 10% – 15%

reduction

Delivered Electricity Intensity

(kwh/$GDP)

0.41 0.28 0.2 29%

reduction

% Demand Reduction at Peak 6% 15% 25% 66% increase

% Load Requiring Digital Quality Power <10% 30% 50% 66% increase

Carbon Dioxide Emissions (million metric

tons of carbon)

590 900 720 20%

reduction

Productivity Growth Rate (%/year) 2.9 2.5 3.2 28% increase

Real GDP (billions of dollars, 1996) 9,200 20700 24300 17% increase

Cost of Power Disturbances to Businesses

(billions of dollars, 1996)

100 200 20 90%

reduction

Source: Electric Power Research Institute 2003.16 [Electric Power Research Institute,

Electricity Sector Framework for the Future Volume I: Achieving the 21st Century

Transformation (Washington, DC: Electric Power ResearchInstitute, 2003).]

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

178

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Ajayi S.I.

Ajueyitsi O.N.A

Fatona S.A.

DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHING AID AIR BLAST FREEZER AND

ANALYSIS OF ITS EFFECT ON FRUITS STORAGE

Ajayi S.I., Ajueyitsi O.N.A. & Fatona S.A.

Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Federal Polytechnic, Ado.

ajayisunday2007@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT: The nutritional values of fruits and vegetables made it of utmost importance to

man. To maintain healthy living, daily food intake must not be below 80 percent of fruits and

vegetables,hence it is highly essential to preserve their nutritional values. There are several

fruits and vegetable preservation methods that do not normally conserve their nutritional

values. This has led to the development of Air blast freezer which preserves the nutritional

and organoleptic values of compatible fruits and vegetables. Air Blast freezer was designed

for a cooling capacity of 0.83116 kW based on average ambient temperature of 270C,

condensing and evaporating temperatures of 400C and -2

0C respectively. The system can

handle 20 kg of fresh fruits and vegetables or combination of both. The Air Blast Freezer

when tested has a coefficient of performance (COP) of 3.55. There was no difference in the

organoleptic values of fruits and vegetables when stored for 14 days and there are no

significant differences in the fruits acidity, vitamin C content, Glucose, Total solid, and the

PH from the control experiment, thus the nutritional values and the organoleptic values were

perfectly preserved.

KEYWORDS: Air-Blast freezer, Nutritional values, organoleptic values, Preservation, Fruits

INTRODUCTION

There is a need to preserve agricultural

produce, in order to ameliorate the effects

of food crisis around the world. Hence,

the development of appropriate Air Blast

Freezer for the storage of agricultural

produce as is most essential. The storage

of food items and produce is an essential

aspect of food preservation. Adequate

storage increases the shelf life of the

produce, preserves quality, makes

produce available throughout the year,

stabilizes price and prevents unnecessary

field losses. Fruits and vegetables are of

great nutritional value. They are

important sources of vitamins and

minerals that are essential components

of human diets. This has led to

increased trade/commerce activities for

the commodities (Egharevba, l995).

Vegetable production forms a

substantial percentage (about 25%) of

the major food crops cultivated in the

tropics and so it occupies a significant

section of food production. Renowned

American Nutritionist Prof Ragnar Berg

said our daily diet should consist of

20% acidic and 80% alkaline food to

maintain a healthy body. A healthy

body should have an alkaline phlevel

of about 7.3 - 7.4. Acidic based diets

will result in a rise of acidic level in the

body in the long run causing various

illnesses like heart disease, arthritis.

High-bloodpressure, stroke, diabetes

and high cholesterol. Acidic food

includes meat, seafood, canned food,

sugar salt, rice, egg yolk, cheese,

alcohol, carbonated drink etc. alkaline

foods arefruits, vegetables and seaweed

,etc (EDMARK, 2003).

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179

Refrigeration is essential to the prevention

of losses and conservation of both quality

and nutritional value of perishable food

items. This has opened the possibility of a

true world market of such commodities on

a continuous year round basis. Fruits and

vegetables are susceptible to spoilage very

rapidly and become unsuitable for

consumption when not properly conserved.

It is difficult to give an estimate of losses

in developing countries, but some

organizations claim that for certain

products, up to half the crop can be lost,(

Iturriaga, et al., 2007). Many authors have

reported on the need to develop indigenous

technology for engineering the various

aspects of agricultural operations, this

includes storage of fruits and

vegetables.(Ademosun, 1997, Adewumi,

1998; Agbetoye, 2006,). The usefulness of

Blast Freezer lies in its capacity to prolong

the period during which perishable food

items remain in an acceptable state. This is

achieved by slowing down decay or

physiological changes. Refrigeration

makes it possible to market safe and high

quality food items to non-producing

region. Chilling or freezing are particularly

necessary when perishable food items are

to be transported to distant and better

paying markets.

All types of food contain proteins,

carbohydrates, fats (lipids) vitamins and

minerals, such as iron, calcium and

phosphorus which help in tissue building

and body growth. The vitamins and

minerals are essential to safeguard the

body against diseases. The destruction of

any one of the above mentioned

components causes the spoilage of the

food. The spoilage period depends upon

the type of food. Perishable foods like

meat, fish, milk and many fruits and

vegetables begin to deteriorate

immediately after harvesting unless

properly preserved. The semi-perishables

like eggs, onions and potatoes can be kept

for several weeks in a cool dry place. The

non-perishable food like cereals, pulses

and nuts can be stored for a long period of

time, (Guo, et al., 2001). The spoilage of

food comes in form of bad odours,

unattractive colour, and taste.

The advantage of food preservation,

according to Ogunlowo et al., (2005),

includes; preservation of quality,

stabilization of market prices, steady and

regular supply of food materials, increase

in variety of food product and enhancing

the potential of crop. The employment of

Air blast freezer will be a good option for

food preservation in the areas in which the

greatest post-harvest losses of food items

occur.

An Air blast freezer is a freezer in which

air at a very low temperature is circulated

by blowers and fans in order to cool and

preserve fruits, vegetables and other food

items. It is a thermally insulated

compartment in which air at subfreezing

temperature is maintained for the rapid

cooling and storing of perishable items. It

employs the principle of vapour

compression refrigerating system. Vapour

compression refrigerating system presents

some peculiarities with respect to other

refrigerating systems because it is

commonly used in a wide range of

commercial and industrial application,

(Akintunde et al., 2006).

The advantage of Air blast freezer is its

adaptability: it can cope with a variety of

irregular shaped products, (Arora, 1997).

Blast freezers use air as the heat transfer

medium and depend on contact between

the product and the tray inside the cooling

chamber. Complexity in airflow control

and conveying techniques varies from

crude blast freezing chambers to carefully

control impingement freezer. The earliest

blast freezers consisted of cold storage

rooms with extra fans for air circulation.

Improved airflow control and

mechanization of conveying techniques

have made heat transfer more efficient and

product flow less labour intensive

(ASHRAE, 2002).

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180

Materials and Method

The cooling load capacity of the blast

freezer was determined by considering

various sources of heat into the

refrigerated space. The heat sources

considered in this design are: Transmission

Load (TL) which is the heat transferred to

the refrigerated space through the surfaces,

Product Load (PL) which consists of heat

produced and removed from the produce

placed in the refrigerated space, and

Infiltration Load (IL) which is the heat

gains associated with the air entering the

refrigerated space.

Based on 12-hours of operation per day,

the following parameters were assumed.

An average ambient temperature of 270C;

refrigerating chamber temperature of 00C;

20 kg of produce (vegetables or fruit); and

cabinet thickness of 0.008m. Other

parameters such as surface area of the

cabinet (0.6441 m2) volume of the

refrigerating chamber (0.2619 m3) both

evaporating and condensing temperature;

compressor size and fan power were

estimated.

Transmission Load (TL): It is the

measure of heat flow rate by conduction

through walls of the refrigerated space

from the outside in unit time. The amount

of transmission load is calculated using

equation (1) as given by (Dossat, 1979),

which was derived from Fourier’s first

law, mathematically written as

.

dx

dtAUQ (1)

The U-value - overall heat transfer

coefficient for the three layers of the

cabinet comprising of mild steel plate,

polystyrene insulator, and aluminum plate

required in equation (1) is given in

equation (2)

fkx

kx

kx

fo

U

13

3

2

2

1

1 11

1

(2)

Infiltration load: This is the heat gains

associated with the air entering the

refrigerated space.

( )

(3)

Product Load: This is the heat produced

and removed from the product brought into

the refrigerated space this is expressed as

in equation (4).

( )

(4)

The developed system was to

accommodate at least 20 kg of produce,

the highest specific heat capacity for fruits

and vegetable was selected for the design.

Addition to the product load is the heat of

respiration which is the heat released by

the produce as it respires. The maximum

heat of respiration as given by Arora, 1997

was chosen which is 8.733 kgkJ / at

storage temperature of 00C. Heat of

respiration hr is given by equation (5) and

was estimated to be 0.174 kW .

(5)

Therefore total refrigeration load =

(0.1790 + 0.174) kW = 0.353 kW

Total cooling load (QH); this is summation

of all the heats load, it was estimated to be

0.3778 kW . In order to provide for

instrumentation and experimental errors,

heat load of

0.41558 kW was used; this is 10% above

the calculated value.

Required Equipment Capacity (REC)

This is defined as the capacity at which

equipment will perform more effectively

and measured in kW and for 12 hours

running time, this is given by equation (6).

( ) (

) (6)

From equation (6), REC was estimated to

be = 0.83116 kW .

For REC over 12 hours operation,

therefore a compressor of 1.0 Hp is

required.

The evaporator and condenser were

selected based on this compressor

capacity.

Determination of Refrigerating Effect

The refrigerating effect (Qe) was

calculated using equation (7) as given by

Arora (1989) using R134a as the working

fluid. The enthalpy at various temperature

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

181

levels was obtained from Arora 2000. The

values

( ) (3)

where: (hev –hed) is the difference in the

enthalpy of the refrigerant at evaporator

and condenser temperatures. The design

was based on 400C condensing

temperature, -20C evaporating

temperature, 50C superheating temperature

and 270C average ambient temperature.

The values for enthalpy were obtained

from fundamental of Thermofluid by

Yunuset al.,( 2006). The T-s diagram is

shown in Fig. 1 while Fig.2 shows the top

view of the rig; hence Qe was estimated to

be 141.28 kgkJ / . Work done by

compressor was estimated to be 39.69

kgkJ / using

equation (8).

(8)

Determination of Mass Flow Rate ( )

The expected mass flow rate was estimated

to be 0.593 g/s using equation (9) as given

by Dossat, 1979,

(9)

Determination of Coefficient of

Performance (COP)

The performance of a refrigerating

machine is expressed by the ratio of useful

heat to

work. This is presented mathematically as

shown in equation (10)

(10)

Using the values obtained for refrigerating

effect and work estimated by equations (7)

and (9), the COP of the system was

estimated to be 3.55 using equation (10)

Results and Discussion

The developed system was tested with

samples of fruits and vegetable such as

apple, orange, grape and carrot after

construction. The cooling rate was

determined both on no-load and loading

conditions. Measured parameters include:

ambient-, cabinet-, condenser-, and

evaporator- temperatures are using

temperature measuring devices. These

measured parameters were used to

determine other parameters such as:

refrigerating effect (Qe), mass flow rate

( ), compression work (CW) and

coefficient of performance (COP). Graphs

were plotted relating the variations of these

parameters with condenser and evaporator

temperatures.

Fig. 3 shows the variation of load

temperatures with time. As it can be

observed in the figure, as time increases

the load temperatures decreases. Within

the starting time (t = 0) and when t = 100

minutes, the rate at which the heat is being

removed from the load is almost linear.

After this period the temperature remains

almost constant. The graph is steeper on

no-load condition than loading condition.

Fig.4 shows the Compression work (CW)

and the refrigerating effect (Qe) increase

with the decrease in evaporator

temperature. This shows that compressor

compresses refrigerant at higher rate at low

evaporator temperature and cooling effect

is high at lower evaporator temperature.

Fig. 5 shows that the coefficient of

performance increases with decrease in

evaporator temperature and the mass flow

rate decreases with decrease in evaporator

temperature. This shows that the system

performs better at lower temperature and

the rate of flow of refrigerant is slow at

lower temperature. In Fig. 6, the

Compression work and the Refrigerating

effect increases with increase in condenser

temperature. This shows that compression

work and cooling effect are higher at high

condenser temperature. Fig. 7 shows that

the COP increases as mass flow rate

decreases with increase in condenser

temperature till the optimum temperature

is reached. Fig. 8 shows that as mass flow

rate increases, refrigerating effect

decreases.

Fruits and vegetables samples consist of

Apple, Orange and Grape were stored for a

period of seven days. The organoleptic

andnutritional analysis tests were carried

on the samples before and after the storage

period in other to study the effects of the

developed system on the fruits and

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

182

vegetables. The organoleptics test includes

the attributes that can be observed by sense

organs while the nutritional analysis was

conducted in the FST laboratory.

Table 4.3 shows the summary of the

observation of five observers of the fruits

sample before storage. The observers

recorded the organoleptic characteristics as

indicated in Table (4.4) after the storage

period which satisfy the efficiency of the

developed system in conserving the

organoleptic values of the produce. There

is close range in the nutritional qualities of

the fruits sample before and after storage

as indicated in Table 4.5 and Table 4.6

which show a clear difference from the

control sample as shown in Table 4.7. It is

clear in Table 4.8 that the rate at which

nutritional qualities of of the non-

preserved fruits decreased from the normal

was higher than the preserved fruits

sample in Table 4.9.

CONCLUSION

In this work, an Air blast freezer

of0.83116 kW capacity was designed and

constructed. The Air blast freezer

developed uses the vapour compression

refrigerating system and a finned type

evaporator, which has the distinct

advantage of keeping the temperature of

the stored item above the freezing point,

was incorporated. The system having a

cooling load of 0.353 kW was designed to

accommodate 20 kgof fruits and

vegetables or combination of both

The system was tested on no – load

condition and the parameters measured

were the room temperature, condenser and

evaporator temperatures using temperature

measuring devices. Parameters such as

Refrigerating effect (Qe), mass flow rate

(m), compression work (CW) and

Coefficient of performance (COP) were

calculated to be, 141.28 kJ/kg, 0.00593

kg/s, 39.69 kJ/kg and 3.55 respectively.

The test result shows that compression

work and the Refrigerating effect increase

with decrease in evaporator temperature

and that COP increase with decrease in

evaporator temperature. This shows that

the system performs better at lower

temperature. Compression work and the

refrigerating effect increase with

condenser temperature. Also COP

increases and mass flow rate decreases

with increase in condenser temperature till

the optimum is reached.

Afterwards the system was tested with 5

kg of fruits in order to study its effect on

the stored produce. The observation of five

observers’ show that the system was able

to retained the organoleptic and nutritional

values of the stored produce for one week

storage which proves the efficiency of the

Blast freezer. Conclusively it can be

inferred that the Blast freezer cooling rate

is higher than that of domestic refrigerator

of the same capacity, also the system has

higher COP and hence refrigerating effect.

REFERENCES

Ademosun, O. C, (1997): “Indigenous

Technology for local agro-based

industries”. Inaugural lecture series

11, Federal University of Technology

Akure, 55pp.

Adewumi, B. A, (1998): “Developing

Indigenous machinery base for food

processing industry in Nigeria”.

Proceedings of the National

Engineering conference of the Nigeria

Society of Engineering held at

Maiduguri, Nigeria.

Agbetoye, L. A. S (2006): “Development

and Perfomance evaluation of

manually-operated Cowpea Winnower

for Small- Scale farmers”. NSE

Technical transaction Journal, 38. (3):

46-55.

Akintunde, M. A, Adegoke C. O and

Fapetu O. P (2006): “Experimental

investigation of the performance of a

design model for vapour compression

Refrigeration system”. West Indian

Journal of Engineering, Vol 28 N0 2

pp 80-87.

Arora, C.P (1997): “Thermodynamics”

Tata McGraw-Hill, New Delhi. Pg 20-

72

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Arora, C.P (1989): “Thermodynamics”

Tata McGraw-Hill, New Delhi. Pg 45-

67

ASHRAE (2002); “Refrigeration

Handbook” American Society of

Heating, Refrigerating and Air

Conditioning Engineers New York.

Dossat, J.R (1979): “Principle of

Refrigeration” Second Edition, Wily

Eastern Limited New Delhi.

EDMARK (2003):”Liquid

chlorouphyll.edmarkhy@info.comph.

Egharevaba, R.K.A. (1995): “Post-harvest

physiology of fruits and vegetables:

status problems

and prospects”. Paper presented at the

meeting of Experts on Indigenous

crops and

Animal Research and development.

Guo, X; Chan, J; Brackett, R.E. &

Beuchat, L.R. (2001), Survival of

salmonellae on and in tomato plants

from the time of inoculation at

flowering and early stages of fruit

development through fruit ripening.

Applied and environmental

microbiology. 67(10): 4760 – 4764.

Iturriaga, M.H, Tamplin, M.L, & Escartin,

E.F. (2007), Colonization of tomatoes

by salmonella montavides as affected

by Relative Humidity and Storage

Temperature. Journal of food

production, 7(1): 30 – 24.

Ogunlowo, A.S, Agbetoye L.A.S, and

Adewumi B.A (2005): “Processing of

agricultural Products in Nigeria” The

contribution of Federal University of

Technology, Akure.

Rajput, R.K (2006): “Heat and Mass

transfer” Published by S. Chand &

Company Ltd, Ram Nagar, New

Delhi.

Yunus A.C, Robert. H. T and John M

(2006): “Fundamental of

Thermofluids ciences” 3rd

Ed.

Published by McGraw – Hill. New

York. Pp. 87.

DEFINITIONS OF TERMS f0= outside convection coefficient , fi =

inside convection coefficient, x 1=

thickness of mild steel plate, k 1=

thermal conductivity of mild steel

plate x 2= thickness of polyesthene k

2 = thermal conductivity of

polystyrene , x 3= thickness of

aluminum plate, k3 = thermal

conductivity of aluminum , Q = the

rate of heat transfer in A = the

outside surface area of the wall , U =

overall co-efficient of heat

transmission ∆T = temperature

differential across the wall = air infiltration rate into the

refrigerated space, h0= enthalpy of the

outside air; h1 = enthalpy of inside air,

Qp = the quantity of heat given by the

product; m = mass of the product;

c = specific heat capacity, t = time ( h ).m

= mass of the produce Hr = heat of

respiration.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

184

Table 4.3 Organoleptic characteristics of fruits samples before storage.

Fruits Apple Orange Grape

Colour Light green Greenish yellow Light green

Taste Sweet Sweet Sour taste

Odour

Pleasant

Partially pleasant Pleasant

Table 4.4 Organoleptic characteristics of fruits samples after storage period.

Fruits Apple Orange Grape

Colour Light green Greenish yellow Light green

Taste Sweet Sweet Sour taste

Odour Pleasant Partially pleasant Pleasant

Table 4.5 Nutritional characteristics of fruit sample before storage.

Fruits Apple Orange Grape

Acidity 0.0413 0.0609 0.0805

Vitamin C 11.11 50 38.88

Glucose 14.6 9.4 8.0

Total solid 15.5% 9% 7%

PH 3.90 3.80 3.55

Table 4.6.Nutritional characteristics of fruit samples after storage.

Fruits Apple Orange Grape

Acidity 0.0161 0.0371 0.0427

Vitamin C 10.5 42.10 36.84

Glucose 14.10 9 8.0

Total solid 14.5% 5.0 5.71%

PH 3.96 3.58 4.50

Table 4.7 Nutritional characteristics of fruit samples that was not stored.

Fruits Apple Orange Grape

Acidity 0.0126 0.0224 0.0357

Vitamin C

(mg/100ml)

9.47 26.31 31.57

Glucose 10.30 8.40 8.30

Total solid 12.8% 6.6 6%

PH 4.04 3.57 3.84

Table 4.8 Percentage decrease of the Nutritional values of preserved fruit samples

Fruits Apple Orange Grape

Acidity 15% 39% 46.9%

Vitamin C 5.4% 1.5% 5.2%

Glucose 3.4% 4.2% 0%

Total Solid 6.4% 44% 18.4%

PH 15% 5.7% 26.7%

Table 4.9 Percentage decrease of the Nutritional values of the non-preserved fruits sample

Fruits Apple Orange Grape

Acidity 61% 50% 50%

Vitamin C 14.7% 47.3% 18.8%

Glucose 10.2% 10.3% 11%

Total Solid 17.4% 26.6% 14.2%

PH 11.11% 6% 8%

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

185

Fig. 1 Temperature – entropy diagram for the system

Fig.2 ; Top view of Pictorial drawing of the Air-Blast Freezer

s

T

sS

5

4

3

1

2

condenser

evaporator

40°C

-2°C

compressor

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

186

-5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

0 50 100 150 200

Load

& N

o-lo

ad T

emp.

(00C)

Time (Minutes)

LD Temp

No LD Tem

Fig. 3 Graph of Load and No-Load Temperature against Time.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

-10 0 10 20 30

Co

mp

ress

ion

wo

rk(k

J/kg

) &

Re

frig

era

tin

g Ef

fect

(kJ/

kg))

Evaporator Tempeature (0C)

C.W

R.E

Fig. 4 Graph of Compression work and Refrigerating Effect against Evaporator Temperature.

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

-10 0 10 20 30

Mas

s fl

ow

rat

e (

kg/s

) &

C.O

.P)

Evaporator Temperature (0C)

m

COP

Fig 5 Graph of mass flow rate and Coefficient of Performance against Evaporator Temperature.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

187

Fig. 6 Graph of compression work and Refrigerating Effect against Condenser Temperature.

Fig. 7 Graph of mass flow rate and Coefficient of performance against Condenser Temperature.

Fig 8 Graph of mass flow rate against refrigerating effect

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

m

Qe

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

188

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Adeoye. O .S

Akinsanya .O.A

Alake .T.J

ERRATIC POWER SUPPLY IN NIGERIA: BANE OF DEVELOPMENT

(ADO-EKITI METROPOLIS AS A CASE STUDY)

Adeoye. O .S, Akinsanya .O.A & Alake .T.J

Electrical/Electronic Engineering Department,

Federal Polytechnic Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria.

adeoyesamuel@gmail.com, olusolaakinsanya@yahoo.com&temitopejohnalake@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT: This paper examines the structure of power supply in Nigeria. Data were

sourced through interviewing electricity consumers and the use of questionnaires in selected

areas of Ado-Ekiti in order to determine the level of power supply, frequency of power

outages and the effects of constant power failure in such areas. Recommendations were made

to proffer solution to menace of erratic power supply in the metropolis with a view of

improving the level of power supply and aiding the developmental rate of Ado –Ekiti,

Nigeria.

KEYWORDS: Development, Erratic, Outage, Power and Supply

INTRODUCTION Power supply in Nigeria at the moment is

faced with many challenges. The components

of power supply universally are the

generating stations, the transmission system

and the distribution networks. Metha (2005)

noted that bulk electric power is produced by

special plants known as generating stations. A

generating station employs a prime mover

coupled to an alternator for the production of

electric power. The form of energy is

converted into electrical energy depending on

the type of generating station. Today, the

world has moved to a level by which the

environmental pollution through CO2

emission from the conventional generating

stations is discouraged. The use of renewable

energy is the order of the day throughout the

world. Transmission lines have three

constants, resistance, inductance and

capacitance which are distributed uniformly

along the whole length of the line. The

overhead lines are classified into short,

medium and long transmission lines

depending on their voltage level and span.

The part of power which distributes electric

power for local use is called the distribution

system. Distribution system is classified

based on the nature of current, types of

construction and scheme of connection. The

hydropower in Nigeria and thermal

generating stations are incapable to generate

the required power to sufficiently feed the

domestic, commercial and industrial demand

of the country. Adeoye (2011) noted that the

with the population of 140,003, 544, the

power demand of the country is 13,160.33W

signifying that all hands must be on deck to

generate about 15,000MW.The Nation (2012)

noted that the present power generation is

4439.5MW with Lagos taking about

1124MW which represents 25.32% of the

total power generated in the country. The

distribution system has the major challenges

ranging from inadequate transformers

capacity, maintenance, poor current density

for conductors and cross sectional areas,

improper planning, power supply authorities,

and staffing.

Problems of Generation, Transmission and

Distribution System: Nigeria has an

installed capacity of 8644MW of which

6905MW is government owned. The

population of the country has increased to

about 150 million with an average GDP

growth rate of 6.66%. 25561MW will be

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

189

required in the next 9 years to meet demand

by vision20: 2020 target. (Presidential

Taskforce on Power, 14-01 2011)

The power generation issues are:

1. Under investment, Stagnated power

generation growth, Inadequate

provisions and maintenance

2. Lack of Human capacity development

3. Non diversified Generation mix such as:

coal, solar, wind, and bio-thermal.

The factors affecting Power generation,

transmission and distribution are:

Inadequate funding, Maintenance

Planning,Spare parts inventory, Attitude of

top management Staff ,Manpower

proactiveness, Manpower Training,

Government attitude, Contractor attitude,

Equipment vandalisation, Drought

,Inadequate gas supply, Wrong location,

Lack of policy continuity, Limited

Automation, Lack of Energy mix, and

Technology Competitiveness. (Emovon. I

Power Generation in Nigeria: Problem and

Solution, 15-9-2012)

Challenges in the Nigerian Power sector

Successive Governments have tried to

improve power supply over the past few

decades. Trillions of Naira had been spent

but little had been achieved. The problems

are inadequacy of past policies and their

poor implementations. Others are: High

capital intensive nature of power sector

projects; inadequate power generation

capacity of an peak value of about

4300MW; the use of older power plants;

vandalisation of existing power

infrastructure; gas supply constraints;

inadequate maintenance of equipment;

dearth of skilled manpower; dependence

on imports of parts; and foreign experts to

effect repairs and

overhaul(http//www.power.gov..ng/index.

php/reports and publication/11- challenges

in Nigerian power sector)

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria

indicated that capacity utilisation which

was recently at a disturbingly low level of

35 percent has plunged further to 27

percent as a result of inadequate and

erratic power supply. A grossly inefficient

fuel distribution system compounds the

power problem for all economic operators.

Service organisations are losing man hours

and business opportunities while

operational costs are escalating.

Energy experts noted that the energy crisis

adds at least 40 percent to the cost of doing

business in Nigeria. This makes the cost of

production very high and renders Nigerian

made goods uncompetitive in both the

local and international market place. Data

from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory

Agency, NERC, indicate that Nigerians

spend around N797 billion yearly to buy

fuel for powering their generators. Of this

mind-boggling sum N540.9 billion goes

into purchasing diesel while N255 billion

go into premium motor spirit. With

Nigeria’s four petroleum refineries mainly

idle most of the fuel consumed by the

Nigerian economy is imported. (Posted on

May 6th, 2010

(http://www.nigerianoilgas.com/?p=207

26March201200:00AlexanderChiejina).(ht

tp://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/inde

x.php/analysis/features/34940-fast-

tracking-nigerias-electricity-needs-for-

industrialisation)

Over the year, the nation’s power sector

has been be-devilled by managerial

inefficiencies and leakages, lack of

transmission, efficient investment in

generation, distribution, and continued

increase in load demand. With Nigeria on

the quest to become one of the 20 leading

economies by 2020, fast tracking the

nation’s electricity needs is critical for

industrialisation.

The growth of any nation is critically

dependent on the sufficiency of its

electricity supply industry. However, the

development of the various sectors of the

economy, such as industry, agriculture,

health, education, tourism, etc, depends

heavily on reliable, adequate and

economically priced power.

Electricity generation, transmission and

distribution have been faced with many

challenges. The erratic power supply

experienced has been a source of concern

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

190

for individuals, businesses and investors

and has hampered the economic growth of

the nation. In most urban areas, power

supply is a privilege that should be

enjoyed when available but should not be

expected to last for long. While in some

rural areas and new communities, power

supply is very erratic and cannot be hoped

for rapid improvement at the moment.

While energy is central to improved social

and economic well-being and

indispensable to most industrial and

commercial wealth generation, analysts,

stakeholders and well-meaning Nigerians

believe that for the nation to become one

of the twenty most developed countries by

2020, the country would require adequate

and reliable energy services at affordable

costs in a secure and reliable energy

services at affordable costs.

(http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/in

dex.php/analysis/features/34940-fast-

tracking-nigerias-electricity-needs-for-

industrialisation. 26 March ,2012

,Alexander Chiejina)

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory

Commission (NERC) has signed to effect

regulations for two critical licence types

that would allow independent interests to

generate and distribute power. Industry

watchers say this move will speed up

capacity development and deployment in

the sector, such that efficient and

competitively- priced electricity would be

available to Nigerians in good time.

http://www.bellanaija.com/2012/03/19/ne

w-electricity-regulation-in-nigeria-

seriously-better-power-supply-or-what/)

NERC expects this to enable a short term

triumph over some challenges of the sector

before the reforms take full shape in the

next two to three years, as projected by the

government.

These regulations thus present a clear legal

and regulatory framework, specifically for

Embedded Generation (EG) and

Independent Electricity Distribution

Network (IEDN).

“State governments and every other person

can no longer complain of being shut out

of the power generation market anymore.

The Embedded Generation (EG) license

allows the generation of electricity that is

directly connected to and evacuated

through a distribution system which is

connected to a transmission network

operated by a System operations License,

while Independent Electricity Distribution

Network (IEDN) means a distribution

network located within the operational

area of a distribution network, owned and

operated by a licensed successor

distribution company.

The other regulation allows for

independent electricity distribution

networks. This is important for states that

are concerned with rural electrification. A

significant part of Nigeria is yet to be

connected to the grid. Even as distribution

companies have a mandate to expand their

network. It is conceivable that some areas

do not get the services of the distribution

companies (DISCOs) because they might

be occupied trying to improve their

services in the urban areas.

States have a role to play and since there

is still the rural electrification project,

independent power distributors can have

independent distribution, provided there is

no parallel network. Once there is no

physical presence of DISCOs and they are

also not ready to move in there, the Act

allow independent distribution, either by a

state, or a company, or a private individual

that applied and was properly licensed to

do that.

Significant energy supply through

embedded generation is achievable using

renewable. Adamawa State Government is

doing some hydro projects to improve the

power generation for her people. These

regulations allow the hydro projects,

instead of going to the grid, they could be

localised to serve the area.

(http://www.powernigeria.com/IndustryNe

ws/NERCclearswayforStatesDiscostogener

atedistributeelectricity/)8 March 2012,

Business Day Online

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

191

Smart grid technology and Renewable

energy

Renewable energy like wind and solar

power are the sources for environmentally

friendly and resource-conserving power

generation. Higher energy efficiency in

Africa is possible with smart grids

combined with renewable energy sources

like the wind and the sun, the use of wind

turbines and photovoltaic, as well as

modern energy transmission and

distribution. The core of the Desertec

concept consists of sustainable power

supply and a reliable power grid (smart

grid) fed with energy from renewable

resources. The CO2-free power is to be

generated by solar-thermal power plants

and wind farms across North Africa and

the Middle East. Advanced HVDC power

transmission systems will transport the

electricity to countries in North Africa, the

Middle East and across to Europe.

Siemens supports the concept with steam

turbines and solar receivers for

concentrated solar-thermal power plants as

well as HVDC transmission systems over

long distances with low loss.

(http://www.siemens.co.za/energy-

efficiency/smart-grid-and-energy-

transmission.html?stc=ngccc020017) Methodology: The method employed in

this research is the use of questionaires.

Selected areas in Ado-Ekiti metropolis

such as Omisanjana and Adebayo were

visited in order to assess the level of their

supply of power and outages. Omisajana

was selected as a pure residential

community with a population of over

10,000 residents. Adebayo was selected as

another area being both domestic and

commercial nerve of the state with a

population of about 50,000 people. This

area is an area where most of the residents

are Students. Simple mathematical

approach was used to assess the level of

incessant power failure in these areas.

Recommendations were made with a view

of putting an end to erratic supply in the

country. The simple mathematical

equations were used to assess the

frequency (%) of power supply per person

and the selected people that were

interviewed. The equations are stated as in

equations 1.1 and 1.2. The rate of power

outages were determined as inverse of the

frequency of power supply (%) as stated in

equation 1.3.

( )

..1

( )

..........2

( ) ...............3

DISCUSSION The study shows that power supply in the

country is extremely poor. Most streets in

the selected areas Ado-Ekiti are suffering

from adequate power supply due to low

power allocation, planning deficiencies

from the power authority, inadequate

capacity of transformers, poor voltage

regulation, cable undersize, and lack of

maintenance of transformer substations.

The effects of the incessant power failure

are numerous ranging from waste of

resources, productive deficiencies,

insecurity and slow rate of development. It

was observed that the 132/33 kV has not

been adequately utilised. Most areas in the

metropolis are still suffering from

inadequate power supply due to load

shedding. 100 questionnaires were

distributed and only 90 were returned. 48

out of the 90 were brought back from

Omisanjana and 42 were returned from

Adebayo. 30 people that were questioned

at Adebayo were students who believed

that the level of power supply in the area is

nothing to write home about. They

complained that power supply to the area

could be guaranteed at the late hours of the

day from 11p.m to 4a.m. This signifies

5hours a day, 35hours or less in a week,

150hours in a month and 1825 hours in a

year signifying 20.83% supply throughout

the year. The remaining period of the year

is a waste for domestic, academic and

other developmental programme. The

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

192

remaining 12 respondents who were adults

posited that power supply to their residents

was between 10p.m and 6a.m which

represents 30% supply throughout the

year. Commercial activities in the area are

usually paralysed during the day. This had

forced residents and traders to purchase

generators. Not only that, they need to buy

petrol, diesel and even carry out

maintenance on the mechano-electrical

device on constant basis. This is a setback

for the country because the amount to

carry out the maintenance is

uneconomical. 48 residents at Omisanjana

were adults and their position on the state

of power supply was above average. They

posited that there was supply for 5 out of 7

days for not less than 18hours per day. The

implication is that in a year, the supply is

for 4680 hours representing 53.34%. The

average analysis of power supply to the

two areas depict that power supply is

37.09%. The present power supply in Ado

Ekiti can be used as an average assessment

for the country signifying less than 40%

power supply to residents and other

commercial activities. The major

hindrances to constant power supply are

poor power allocation, inadequate

planning, and load shedding. It is sad that

most Companies in the country today had

migrated to South Africa and Ghana due to

erratic power supply. Examples of such

are: Michelin, Dunlop, and PZ which had

skyrocketed the unemployment rate in the

country. Some small and medium scale

industries had closed down.

CONCLUSION

The present power allocations,

maintenance, conductor sizes, voltage

regulations and adequate planning should

be properly scrutinized for adequate power

supply to the states of the federation. The

power supply in Ekiti in spite of the

present increase in the supply capacity is

grossly inadequate due to the fact that the

132/33kV is yet to be adequately utilised.

It was established that the power supply

level in Adebayo area was 1825 hours in a

year signifying 20.83% supply throughout

the year and about 79.17% of the year is

characterised with power outage. Similarly

in Omisanjana area, the power supply level

is better than Adebayo with 4680 hours

representing 53.34% and 46.66%

representing period of power outage in the

area. The effective utilisation of the

installed 132/33kV in the state will at least

provide between 70-75% power supply to

the entire populace which will form an

economic base for the state. The farmlands

in the rural areas of the state will have

access to regular power supply so as to

preserve the agricultural produce and the

industries would be able to transform raw

materials to finished products. Domestic

consumers would be able to enjoy almost

twenty-four hours supply in a day while

artisans would also access about 24 hrs

supply for productive service. Renewable

energy would help the country to provide

stable power supply to meet up with

domestic and commercial loads. The use

of smart grids technologies and smart grids

metering will proffer solution to all

technical and non-technical losses in both

transmission and distribution lines.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The following recommendations were

made in order to reduce the erratic power

supply in the country.

1. The power allocation to Ekiti should be

increased.

2. Adequate planning should be put in

place by the power authorities.

3. Good voltage regulating devices must

be put in place.

4. Cable size for armoured and Aluminium

conductors should be of the required

standard.

5. Engineering maintenance of power

facilities must be adequate.

6. Renewable energy should be used to

boost the level of power supply in the

state.

7. Smart grid technology should be

incorporated.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

193

8. Embedded Generation (EG) and

Independent Electricity Distribution

Network

(IEDN) should be made operational in

the country.

REFERENCES

Adeoye,O.S(2011) :7TH

Engineering

Forum, Vol.2, School of Engineering,

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Pp

199 -204.

Assessment of thermal generating Plants in

Nigeria.

Emovon: Conference Paper on Power

Generation in Nigeria; Problem and

Solution .

Mehta, V.K(2005) : Principles of Power

System, S.Chand and Company Ltd,

Ram Nagar, New Delhi -110 -055.Pp

228.

The Nation: Vol 7, No 2246, Wednesday,

September 12, 2012. Pp 1.Presidential

Taskforce on Power, 14-01 2011.

http//www.power.gov..ng/index.php/report

s and publication/11- challenges in

Nigerian power sector.

http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/in

dex.php/analysis/features/34940-fast-

tracking- nigerias-electricity-needs-

for-industrialisation. 26 March ,2012.

The Nation: Vol 7, No 2246, Wednesday,

September 12, 2012. Pp 1.

http://www.powernigeria.com/IndustryNe

ws/NERCclearswayforStatesDiscosto

generatedistributeelectricity/,8 March

2012, Business Day Online.

http://www.siemens.co.za/energy-

efficiency/smart-grid-and-energy-

transmission.html?stc=ngccc020017.

http://www.bellanaija.com/2012/03/19/ne

w-electricity-regulation-in-nigeria-

seriously-better-power-supply-or-

what/)

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

194

Table 1.1 Power Plants in Nigeria

Generating Station Generating Capcity

(MW)

Shiroro Hydro electric power 150

Kainji 640

Jebba 560

Lagos thermal power station 1200

Delta 900

Ajaokuta Steel Comp(IPP) 80

AES, Lagos (IPP) 300

Agip Okpali (IPP) 400

Afam thermal power station 456

SOURCE: Assessment of thermal generating Plants in Nigeria

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

195

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

T. J. Alake

ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITIES IN THE ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING

TRADE

T. J. Alake.

Electrical And Electronic Engineering Department,

The Federal Polytechnic,

P. M. B. 5351, Ado-Ekiti. Nigeria

alaketope@yahoo.com; +2348035652087.

ABSTRACT: The paper is focusing on the various saleable skills that are available within

the occupational cluster of the electronic engineering. Personal account of the author

coupled with direct interview with people on the job and wide desk top studies alluded to the

establishment of the trades that are discussed in this paper. Requirements in terms of basic

tools and skills are all exposed. Findings revealed that quite a good number of outdoor and

indoor services are available while the major challenge is ability to acquire the necessary

competence for effective service delivery for good success.

KEYWORDS: Competence, Electronics, Entrepreneur, Saleable Skill

INTRODUCTION

Entrepreneurship is the act or technique of

starting and operating a business enterprise

efficiently and profitable, (Fadakinni,

2005).Electronics engineering is a branch

of the engineering family that deals with

the science and technology of the

conduction of electricity in a vacuum, a

gas or semiconductor and devices based

there on, and such products that are

fabricated based on the utilization of

semiconductors and related devices.

Electronic equipment operates exclusively

on extra-low/low voltages and their

formation is exclusively on semiconductor

materials. Also, the term “electronics”

encompasses a wide range of home and

business electronic goods, including

televisions, monitors, computers, computer

peripherals, audio and stereo equipment,

VCRs, DVD players, video cameras,

telephones, fax and copy machines cellular

phones, wireless devices etc. Household

appliances such as washers, dryers,

refrigerators, and toasters can also be

considered electronics.

An electronic appliance is any appliance

used in the home or business that

processes and displays information.

Electronic appliances are distinguished

from electrical appliances by the presence

of complex circuitry, circuit boards, and

processors. Examples of electronic

appliances include computers, calculators,

digital clocks, stereo, components

television sets and some household

appliances with circuit boards, such as

bread makers and automatic coffee makers

that have electronic timers. By contrast an

electric appliance uses electricity as a

power supply but does not process,

transmit, receive, measure or display

information. Examples of electric

appliances include power tools, electric

plates and electric can openers.

Competencies coupled with dexterity in

the handling of tools and equipment

cannot be over ruled in the scheme of a

successful entrepreneur. (Alake and

Akinsanya, 2008)

Job Description in the electronic trades:

1. Installation/Assembling Service – In

this trade, the tasks that are involved

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196

include installation tasks, installation of

gadgets and testing fixtures; as we have

in satellite T.V. installation which

involves laying of cables, and line of

signal sight location, also in CCTV.

Needed tools may include wrenches,

screw drivers of different heads, merger

tester, avometers, pliers, hammers,

compass saws, braces of different bits,

ladder, safety belt for outdoor mounting

of microwave dishes etc among others.

2. Design and Construction – Here the

would-be entrepreneur must have a very

good understanding of electronic

devices and components behaviors to be

able to design and construct saleable

projects. Also a very good

manufacturer’s specification list is also

very important to be able to carry out

meaningful designs and construction.

In this type of trade the job is

permanent as long as such product is

relevant to the needs of the consumers.

Other tools may include wrenches,

screw drivers of different heads, egger

tester, avometers, pliers, hammers,

compass saws, braces of different bits,

for constructional purposes

3. Equipment Servicing – The job here is

purely maintenance either in the form

of preventive or corrective

maintenance. Competency coupled

with proficiency at reading circuits

continuity is very important especially

in the use of measuring / testing meters.

Job opportunities here is relatively

stable and lucrative once the

entrepreneur can assess genuine service

parts and carry out reliable repairs on

domestic appliances, he will remain in

employment for a very long time.

Examples include servicing or repair of

T.V receivers, radio receivers,

transceivers (GSM) repairs etc each of

the above need specialized skills. Tools

like soldering iron, soldering gun,

soldering lead, lead sucker, testing

meters of different ampere and voltage

ratings, and many other instruments that

can enhance fault tracing will be needed

for acquisition by the would-be

entrepreneur for effective service

delivery.

4. Sales and Marketing.- involves sales

of electronic equipment to customers

and sales of electronic service parts for

repair or construction of electronics. In

this type of trade the major requirement

is the sales of genuine or original parts

at reasonable prices for optimum or

reasonable profit. Good location for

sales point is very important and it is

capital intensive; which translates to

requirement of a huge amount of money

to be able to make good profit in the

sales of house hold or domestic

equipment Employment is relatively

stable in this type of trade. However if

availability of takeoff funds would be

the major setback, the would be

entrepreneur may have to resort to

starting with genuine electronic service

parts sales because it does not require

an equivalent capital as it is in the sales

of household electronic equipment.

5. Training and Consultancy The

ability of the individual with a very

good electronic engineering educational

background both in theory and practice

is a prerequisite for good success in

this arena. Design of public address

systems, electro-acoustics, CCTV,

amplifiers etc provide good

employment opportunities for experts in

this area. Also training of apprentices

for servicing (repairs and maintenance)

brings good returns to the professional

and this can be handled effectively by a

craftsman or technician who is well

informed practically. For good success

in this aspect a minimum entry

requirement for apprenticeship must be

the JSS3 (Junior Secondary School)

certificate, so that they would be

apprentice would be able to grasp the

basic scientific concepts. On the part of

the trainer there must be a practicable

curriculum of studies to follow before

any award of certification after

successful completion.

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Job hazards in the electronic trades. Alake (1992) observed that hazards are

those unplanned events that occur in the

cause of servicing equipment which has a

probability of causing personal injury or

property damage. Hazards or risks come

along with every venture .In the

electronics vocational trade hazards

abound and may take any of the forms

below:

Electric shock which can be mild or

severe depending on the magnitude of

current and path of flow in the

affected person

Burns

Falls caused by shock

Risk of damage to the equipment or

device

Hazards domestication is very important

especially in electricity oriented trades

based on consequences listed above. In

essence there are safety measures that

must be put in place to enhance the safety

of both lives and machines.

Basic safety rules for successful

entrepreneurship.

Alake, (1999), established that the ABC

acronym of hazard domestication is

“Always Be Careful”; and this

responsibility lies with the user of

electricity based equipment. The under

listed rules may not be exhaustive but are

applicable:

Good housekeeping alongside with the

maintenance of a safe working

environment

Wearing of protective coatings and

insulated soled shoes to avoid electric

shocks

Never work on any equipment without

being informed adequately

Correct handling of inflammable

materials and by not using water on

electrical or inflammable fire

Regular inspection of all tools, testing

equipment, sockets, cables etc are

necessary.

While all the listed points are not

exhaustive, merits of observing

precautionary measures include safety of

human lives alongside with, assurance of

equipment efficiency, reliability and

durability. It is more economical to adhere

to safety precautionary rules by helping to

save the cost of financing hospital bills

when accidents occur and buying of new

equipment or carrying out corrective

maintenance which is usually more

expensive. ILO (1979) observed that the

human factors account for approximately

83% of the accidents and machinery

involved accounts for 17%.

Avoiding customer problem. A successful entrepreneur is one who is

able to win and retain his customers as

long as his services are still wanted. In this

wise he must be able to avoid customer

problems ranging from

Customer’s refusal to make

payment as defined.

Customer’s refusal to pick up their

equipment after servicing

Storage problems for uncollected

repaired items

However , an entrepreneur must be able to

rise above most of the challenges that

customers may bring .Some of the ways by

which such challenges can be avoided

must include a proper documentation of

every service to be delivered. This is

where most problems normally emanate

from; and to nib it in the bud job cards

must be properly filled and counter signed

by the customer to reflect such details as

contact address of customer, mobile phone

number, job request, deposit made (If any)

,probable date of job completion and

collection cum demurrage cost for storage.

CONCLUSION

One of the old proverbs says that “small is

beautiful while great accomplishments in

life start from small beginnings’, thus a

trained person in the electronics vocation

should be able to stand on his own as an

entrepreneur because much opportunities

abound as discussed above . Instead of

looking for government job , a skilled man

can set up his own workshop with the

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198

basic instruments like multi-testers,

soldering iron ,soldering lead, lead sucker,

workshop bench etc. The major

requirement is the expertise for good job

execution.

REFERENCES

Alake,T.J. and Akinsanya, O.A. (2008):

Entrepreneurial Skills in Electrical

Engineering for Self Employment.

Journal of Research in Technology

And Engineering Management.1(1)

38-42.

Alake, T.J. (1999): “Safety in

Components and Equipment

Usage:Educating the End Users”. The

Nigerian Association of Technical

Educators. Ikere Ekiti. 4/S3(2) 23-26

.

Alake, T.J. (1992): “The Need for Safety

Precautions in Technical

Workshops”.Technical Education

Today, National Board for Technical

Education Kaduna. 14-15. Fadakinni (2005): Enhancing Vocational and

Technical Education to Promote

Small Business Enterprises for National

Development. Journal of Research in

Vocational and Technical Education,Vol

2,No 1.COE.,Ikere-Ekiti.

International Labour Organisation (1979):

“Occupational Safetyand Health

Series” No 42:geneva;I.L.O. Press

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199

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

E. K. Ojaomo

O. N. A.Ajueyitsi

J. O. Olumodeji

DEVELOPMENT OF A PROTOTYPE PICO HYDRO POWER PLANT FOR RURAL

POWER GENERATION

E. K. Ojaomo, O. N. A.Ajueyitsi & J. O. Olumodeji

Department Of Mechanical Engineering

The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

ABSTRACT: The problem of inadequate generation and poor distribution of power has

become a national menace in Nigeria and remained unresolved as no remarkable

improvement has beenachieved in spite of various government and corporate interventions.

As a way of finding solution to this menace, a prototype hydro power station was developed

in order to harness the energy of falling water for the purpose of generating electricity. It

consists of a turbine runner with single jet and single hemispherical bucket of 50mm diameter

operating under an effective head of 3.4 metres and a water reservoir of 2000 gallons.

Testing showed that about 45 watts of electricity was generated at the speed of 500rev/min.

Higher results of the prototype could be achieved by upgrading the system to a scale of 1:10

for diameter of the runner; head and capacity of the reservoir with a step-up transformer.

With this, an average household daily electric power requirement or basic electric power

need of a rural entrepreneur in Nigeria will be guaranteed and the over- dependence on the

national grid for all forms of energy demand will be drastically reduced.

KEYWORDS: Power Generation and Distribution, PICO Hydro Power Plant, Prototype,

Development,

INTRODUCTION

The problem of electricity has not only

degenerated to a national disgrace but also

has significant economic effects on lives

and properties. In extreme cases, it has led

to paralysis of several businesses in the

country while some have fled for other

countries where the problems of power are

not as pathetic as the situation of Nigeria

which has almost defiled all measures and

policies adopted in the past. Provision of

adequate power is now a must and a

national question that must be answered

not only by the government, Power

Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) but

also trained professionals, especially

engineers and researchers. Irregular supply

of power has resulted in persistent inflation

of goods and services because so much

money is spent by entrepreneurs on fuels

to generate power for production. The

entire citizen has been mentally demented

and psychological molested on the issue of

power generation and the consequent

increased cost of production.

Energy is one commodity on which the

provision of goods and services depend. Its

availability and consumption rate is an

economic index to measure the

development of the populace. This really

necessitates the need for decentralized

power source as a viable alternative to be

able to compensate for the low electrical

power available to the local community. In

view of this, a design and construction of a

hydro power station is needed.

Hydropower harnesses the power of falling

water to generate electricity. The potential

energy of flowing water is converted to

kinetic energy as it travels through the

penstock. Kinetic energy of the falling

water is converted to mechanical energy as

it turns the turbine. Mechanical energy of

the rotating turbine is then converted to

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electrical energy as the turbine shaft

rotates the generator (Mehta, 2008). Small

hydropower is referred to harnessing of

power from water in a small scale, usually

with a capacity less than 10MW. Based on

the size (capacity) of the hydro power

plant, they are further categorized into

Pico (usually below 5kW), micro (100kW

and 1000kW) and small (between 100kW

and 10,000kW).

In China and the rest of the Far East,

hydraulically operated "pot wheel" pumps

raised water into irrigation canals. At the

beginning of the Industrial revolution in

Britain, water was the main source of

power for new inventions such as Richard

Arkwright's water frame. Although the use

of water power gave way to steam power

in many of the larger mills and factories, it

was still used during the 18th and 19th

centuries for many smaller operations,

such as driving the bellows in small blast

furnaces (e.g. the Dyfi Furnace) and

gristmills, such as those built at Saint

Anthony Falls, which uses the 50-foot

(15 m) drop in the Mississippi River. In

the 1830s, at the peak of the canal-building

era, hydropower was used to transport

barge traffic up and down steep hills using

inclined plane railroads(Kassana,2006).

The old schoelkopf power station No 1

near Niagaria falls in the U.S side began to

produce electricity in 1881. The first

Edison hydroelectric power plant, the

Vulcan street plant began operating

September 30, 1882, in Appleton,

Wisconsin, with an output of about

12.5kilowatts. By 1886, there were 45

hydroelectric power plants in the U.S and

Canada. By 1889, there were 200 in the

U.S alone (Phiri, 2006). Water wheels

have been used for thousands of years for

industrial power. Their main shortcoming

is size, which limits the flow rate and head

that can be harnessed. The migration from

water wheels to modern turbines took

about one hundred years. Development

occurred during the Industrial revolution,

using scientific principles and methods.

They also made extensive use of new

materials and manufacturing methods

developed at the time.

The National Electric Power Authority’s

(NEPA) most recent estimate put Nigeria’s

outstanding total exploitable hydro

potential as 12,220 MW. Added to the

1930MW(Kanji, Jebba and Shiroro)

already developed, the gross hydro

potential for the country would be

approximately 14,750 MW (Manohar &

Adeyanju, 2009).From a 1980 survey of

the old states of the federation, namely;

Sokoto, Kastina, Niger, Kaduna, Kwara,

Kano, Born, Bauchi, Gongola, Plateau,

Benue and Cross River, it was established

that some 734 MW of small hydropower

can be harness from 277 sites. It is

presently estimated by the Inter-Ministerial

Committee on Available Energy Resources

(Technical Committee on Quantification of

Energy Resources,2004) that the total

small hydropower potential could reach

3,500 MW representing 23% of the

country’s total hydropower potential

(Manohar & Adeyanju,2009).It is

therefore, high time local hydropower

stations capable of generating private

energy for specific purposes such as

refrigeration of perishable agricutural

products; irragation of crops, street

lightings and so on are built. It is against

this backdrop that the development of a

PICO hydropower plant becomes very

necessary. The plant was developed with

the main aim of harnessing the potentials

of the abundant water in and around

various localities where any settlement can

utilize it for its power requirement without

being connected to the grid.

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONAND

ANALYSIS

Power Requirement

The power requirement was estimated

using the relationship given in Arora

(2005);

Where according to Rajput (2008),

And according to Arora (2005),

√

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201

Speed Ratio

Speed ratio is the ratio of the velocity,

u of the wheel at the pitch circle to the

theoretical velocity of the jet, thus

In practice, the value of the speed ratio

falls between 0.43 – 0.47 which is having

an average value of 0.45 (Arora, 2007).

Speed of the Wheel The speed of the wheel (N) is given by

which is deduced from

the speed of the wheel at the pitch circle.

(Arora, 2005)

Jet Ratio

Jet ratio m is the ratio of the pitch diameter

(D) to the jet diameter (d)

In practice, the jet ratio is known to vary

between 11-14 (Arora, 2007), hence from

this design, it is in conformance with what

is obtainable.

Size of Bucket The following proportion of the bucket are

usually adopted,

Depth of the bucket

Axial width of bucket

Length of bucket = 40mm (adopted)

Number of Jet (n)

Ordinarily, pelton wheels have single jet,

but when the pelton wheel has to develop

great power, it is fitted with a number of

jets, but for the purpose of this project

which is a prototype to produce small

quantity of electricity, a single jet has

being adopted. When this project is

constructed in a large scale, various

numbers of jets can be incorporated to be

able to increase the speed of the turbine

and thus increase the power output. A

pelton wheel fitted with more than one jet

is known as multiple- jet wheel.

If P is the power developed by the pelton

wheel working under one jet, the power

developed by the same wheel working

under n jets is given by nP. This number of

jet is dependent on the power to be

developed.

Number of Buckets

The number of the bucket should be

sufficient enough so that a jet is always

intercepted by the bucket.The jet will

always intercepted by the bucket if the

angle between two successive bucket is

equal or less than 2 , where is given by

Arora(2007) as;

From analytical geometry

sin2

+cos2

=1

sin2

= 1-cos2

=

=

R = 70mm

d = 10mm

=

= 2

=

=

= 0.5528

The angle between the two buckets should

fall within the range of 33.6° and 67.2°.

Therefore, 45° was adopted to be the

angle between two bucket which should

otherwise be known as 1.3393 or 1.34 (

Approx.)

Therefore the number of buckets is given

by

( ) (Arora, 2005)

MATERIAL SELECTION In selecting materials for fabricating the

local hydropower station, the under listed

factors were put into consideration.

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202

(i) Fabrication Requirement: Owing to

the fact that the turbine walls require

high rigidity, electric arc welding has

been sort to be the best welding

process which also has the ability to

withstand heat. It does not spoil easily

and it is subjected to less distortion.

The material selected is easily cut,

bent and machined,

(ii) Availability of materials: The

materials must bereadily available at

the local market in order to reduce the

cost and avoid the bottlenecks of

importation and the associated import

duties which will invariably increase

cost

(iii) Economic requirement: The entire

cost should not be too high as not to

outweigh the benefits of the local

hydropower station.

The materials used are: Sheetmetal (16 and

18 standard wire gauge); Angle iron ( ½II

×

½ II ×1/12

II); Stainless steel hollow shaft

(Ø20 × 9/10”long)

The sheet metal and hollow shaft were

made of stainless steel and the angle bar

was made of mild steel.

The penstock is an enclosed pipe which

delivers water to the hydraulic turbine to

initiate the motion. In selecting the pipe

material for the construction of the

penstock, consideration was made based

on the corrosive properties of water and

the working conditions of the pipe hence

polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe was sought

as the best pipe material for the pipe work.

The pipe work entails the cutting of the

pipe with the use of hacksaw, attachment

of socket joints, elbow joints, valves and

nozzle with the use of TOPGIT PVC gum

and allowed to stand for a while to attain a

perfect rigidity.

Manufacturing Methods: The

components of the turbine, and the

processes and machines used are shown in

Tables 1 and 2 respectively.

Assembling Procedure: The easy of

transportation, dismantling and assembling

was considered in the design and

fabrication. The D.C dynamo, the stand

runner casing, the turbine wheel and

buckets, the bearings, the glass used for

covering the stand runner casing, the pipes

as well as the nozzle can be entire weight

of the local hydropower station when

assembled as a single unit. Consequently,

the assembly was done having the stand

runner casing as the main body in the

assembly process where other components

were joined to it. The first component to

be joined to the stand runner casing was

the bearings, this was done with the aid of

bolts and nuts, the bearings was position in

such a manner that has being considered in

the design to aid easy rotation of the shaft

without misalignment. Preceding the

assembly of the bearing was the fixing of

the turbine wheel that already has its

buckets welded at the peripheral. The

wheel has a short length of hollow shaft

that has being internally threaded to fit into

another hollow shaft of same diameter that

has been externally threaded. The sub

assembly was tested and fixed to the main

assembly line through the two bearings.

Next on the assembly line was the

incorporation of the dynamo that has

already been tested, the dynamo having an

external diameter slightly above that of the

internal diameter of the hollow shaft was

force fitted into the shaft for a perfect grip.

The other end of the dynamo was firmly

secured to the main body of the station

with the aid of clip, bolts and nuts.

Testing of the Hydropower Station The testing of the prototype hydropower

station was carried out using electrical

instrument of high sensitivity such as the

multi meter to sense the smallest amount

of DC voltage and current as well as

measuring the electrical resistance using

continuity after the opening of the valve

which allowed water to flow at high

pressure through the nozzle and then

impinges on the buckets of the turbine

wheel at right angles, and thus causing the

rotation of the shaft which in turn rotates

the dynamo. The word dynamo was

derived ( from the Greek word dynamic;

meaning power), originally another name

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203

for an electrical generator, generally means

a generator that produces direct current

with the use of a commutator. The dynamo

uses rotating coils of wire and magnetic

fields to convert mechanical rotation into a

pulsing direct electric current through

Faraday's law of induction. A dynamo

machine consists of a stationary structure,

called the stator, which provides a constant

magnetic field, and a set of rotating

windings called the armature which turn

within that field. The motion of the wire

within the magnetic field causes the field

to push on the electrons in the metal,

creating an electric current in the wire. The

commutator was needed to produce direct

current. Dynamos still have some uses in

low power applications; the word still has

some regional usage as a replacement for

the word generator. A small electrical

generator built into the hub of a bicycle

wheel to power lights is called a Hub

dynamo, although these are invariably AC

devices (Paul, 2001).Dynamos are

particularly used where low voltage DC is

required, since an alternator with a

semiconductor rectifier can be inefficient

in such applications. Hand cranked

dynamos are also used in clockwork

radios, hand powered flashlights, mobile

phone rechargers, and other human

powered equipment to recharge

batteries.Hence, a D.C dynamo was used

as a generator for testing the hydropower

plant

CONCLUSIONAND

RECOMMENDATION

The prototype of hydropower station was

developed and its performance was

evaluated to ascertain generation of

electricity in micro capacity. From the

result of the test carried out, it shows that

the speed is related to the voltage which is

a tool of evaluating the power developed ,

as the speed increases, power increases

until a peak power generation is attained

after wish it continue to diminish as both

the speed and the power falls owing to the

fact that the head is not constant. With an

increased head, the speed of the runner

also increased steadily resulting in an

incresad load carrying capacity of the

voltage of the generator. The estimated

cost of production of the plant is N

66,412.50.

The hydropower plant could be further

developed by the introduction of a pump to

return the water back to the reservoir in

order to maintain a constant pressure head

and introduction of a high capacity

generator. The design parameter should be

scaled up to generate electricity for rural

communities.

REFERENCES

Arora, K. R. (2005), “Fluid mechanics,

Hydraulic and Hydraulic machines”

(9th

Edition), Standard Publisher

Distributor, New Delhi.

Kassana, L. (2006).“National Study on

Small Hydropower Development:

Status and Potential of Small

Hydropower Development in the Tea

Industry in Tanzania”, UNEP/GEF

and East African Tea Trade

Association (EATTA), Nairobi and

Mombosa, Retrieved on January 10,

2012 from http://www.micro

hydropower.net.

Karki, J. and Karna, B (1998),“Manual for

Survey and Layout Design of Private

Micro Hydro Plant”, ICIMOD.

Retrieved on September 4, 2011, from

http://www micro hydropower.net

Khurmi, R. S and Gupta, J. K. (2003),“A

Textbook of Machine Design”,

Eurasia Publishing House (Pvt) Ltd,

Ram Nagar, New Delhi.

Manohar, K. and Adeyanju, A. A. (2009),

“Hydropower Energy Resources in

Nigeria”, Retrieved on August 10,

2012 from

http://www.eeve.energy.org.

Mehta, V. K and Mehta, R. (2005), “

Principles of Power System” (Rev.

Ed.), S.Chand and Company Ltd,

Ram Nagar, Delhi.

Paul, D. R. (2001), “Dynamo Theory and

Earth’s Magnetic Field”, Retrieved on

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

204

May 09, 2012, from http: //www

Berkeley.

edu/news/media/releases.shtml.

Phiri, I. (2009),“Power Sector Reforms

and Regulatory Framework: Prospects

and challenges of Small Hydro

Development in the Tea Industry in

Zambia”, UNEP/GEF and East

African Tea Trade Association

(EATTA), Nairobi and Mombosa,

Retrieved on April 15, 2012 from

http://www.micro hydropower.net.

Rajput, R.K.(2008),“Fluid Mechanics”, S.

Chand and Company Ltd, Ram Nagar,

New Delhi.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

205

Table 1: Components of Turbine

S/N Component Parts Operations

1 Turbine stand Fabricated

2 Runner casing Fabricated

3 Cover for the runner casing(glass) Bought

4 Hollow shaft Bought/Machined

5 Nozzle Bought

6 Wheel Bought/Machined

7 Bucket Fabricated

8 Dynamo Bought

9 Bolts and Nuts Bought

10 Flange bearing Bought

Table 2:Manufacturing Processes and Machines

S/N Processes Machines

1. Cutting Hack saw, Hand grinder, Shearing machine

2. Bending Bending machine

3. Welding Arc welding

4. Machining The machine tool

5. Drilling Hand drilling machine and radial drilling machine

6. Turning and facing Centre lathes machine

7. Grinding Grinding machine

8. Smoothening Surface grinding machine

9. Marking out Scriber

10. Threading Tab and Die

11. Painting Spraying machine

Table 3: Bill Of Material And Evaluation

S/N

ITEM QTY MATERIAL RATE

(₦)

COST

(₦)

1 L-Angle Bar ½” X ½”X 1/12 11 Mild Steel 2500 27,500.00

2 Drain Pipe ᴓ20 X 8” Long 1 Pvc 700 700.00

3 Flange Bearing UCF 204ᴓ20 1 Stainless Steel 2200 2,200.00

4 DC- Dynamo ᴓ40 1 7000 7,000.00

5 Flat Bar ½” X2”X 4” 1 Mild Steel 1400 1,400.00

6 Hollow Shaft ᴓ40,10” 1 Stainless Steel 3800 3,800.00

7 Sheet Metal 18swg4x 40-0 1 Stainless Steel 5000 5,000.00

8 Pillow Bearing UCF 205 ᴓ20 1 Stainlesss Steel 700 700.00

9 Turbine Wheel 18swg4x4-0 1 Stainless Steel 2200 2,200.00

10 Turbine Cup 18 Swg4’x4’-0 8 Stainless Steel 500 4,000.00

11 Hollow Pipe ᴓ25x 50 5 Stainless Steel 600 3,000.00

Sub Total 57,500.00

Contingency Allowance 5,750.00

Vat 3,162.50

Grand Total 66,412.50

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Plate 1: The finished eight fabricated buckets.

The buckets were welded to the peripheral of the wheel as shown below.

Plate 2: The welding process.

Plate 3: The assembly of the finished turbine

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207

Plate 4: Testing of the turbine at the site.

Plate 5: The hydropower station site

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211

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Akinola1, M.O

Oloko, S.A

BIOFUELS FROM AGRICULTURAL WASTE, A GATEWAY TO NATIONAL

DEVELOPMENT

Akinola1, M.O. & Oloko, S.A.

2

1Department of Agricultural Technology,

08033829369 2Department of Agricultural andBio-Environmental Engineering

The Federal Polytechnic,Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.

08033766399, saoloko2003@yahoo.co

ABSTRACT: In a time when a foreseeable complete transmutation from a petroleum – based

economy to a bio-based global economy finds itself in its early infancy, agricultural wastes,

in the majority currently seen as low-valued materials, are already beginning their own

transformation from high-volume waste disposal environmental problems to constituting

natural resources for the production of a variety of eco-friendly sustainable products, with

second generation liquid bio-fuels being the leading ones. This paper discuss the importance

of agricultural wastes as a gateway to National Development; problems and the way forward

in generating Bio-fuels from agricultural wastes.

KEYWORDS: Bio-fuels, Agricultural Wastes, Economy, Residues, Emission, Exploitation;

Crops; Transformation

INTRODUCTION

Agriculture’s contribution to the economy

goes far beyond simply the primary

production of crops and livestock.

According to a study commissioned by

CTA’s partner, the Inter-American

Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

(IICA), in 2005, when the multiplier

effects of agriculture on the rest of the

economy are taken into account,

agriculture’s share of GDP ranges from 3

to 11 times that shown by agricultural

statistics for primary production alone

(CTA, 2009).

In a time when a foreseeable complete

transmutation from a petroleum-based

economy to a bio-based global economy

finds itself in its early infancy, agricultural

wastes, in the majority currently seen as

low-valued materials, are already

beginning their own transformation from

high-volume waste disposal environmental

problems to constituting natural resources

for the production of a variety of eco-

friendly and sustainable products, with

second generation liquid bio-fuels being

the leading ones (Leandro and Adriana,

2009).

Most farming systems produce large

amounts of residues that offer a large

potential for energy that is currently

greatly underutilized in many parts of the

world. It is only in wood scarce areas that

raw agricultural residues are often the

major cooking fuels far rural households.

The greatest concentration of residue-

burning has been in the densely populated

plains of Northern India, China, Pakistan

and Bangladesh, where as much as 80 – 90

per cent of household energy in many

villages comes from agricultural residues

(CTA, 2007).

Agricultural wastes contain high levels of

cellulose, hemicelluloses, starch, proteins,

and some of them, also lipids, and as such

constitute inexpensive candidates for the

biotechnological production of liquid bio-

fuels (e.g. bio-ethanol, biodiesel,

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212

dimethylether and dimethyl furan) without

competing directly with the ever-growing

need for world food supply. Since

agricultural wastes are generated in large

scales (in the range of billions of

kilograms per year), thus being largely

available and rather inexpensive, these

materials have been considered potential

sources for the production of bio-fuels for

quite some time and have been thoroughly

studied as such. In the last decades, a

significant amount of information has been

published on the potentiality of

agricultural wastes to be suitably

processed into bio-fuels, with bio-ethanol

as the main research subject (Leandro and

Adriana, 2009).

The availability of agricultural residues as

energy feedstock is a function of the

amount produced of the associated crop, of

the residue – to – crop ratio, of the

collection efficiency and of the amount

used in other competing applications, such

as fodder for livestock, feedstock for

fertilizer, materials for construction and

direct burning in boilers and furnaces

(Purohit et al, 2006). Some examples of

Residue Coefficients (CR) values for a

diversity of perennial crops are presented

in Table 1.

A youth group in Uganda’s Mukono

district is combating deforestation and

earning income by making charcoal from

agricultural wastes. Members of the vision

youth Development Group Kyetume

produce charcoal briquettes from grass,

maize, rice and sugarcane waste. The

group produces an average monthly output

of 4,000kg, earning a total of €1,008 to

share among 15 members, who also earn

other revenue from farming activities

(Spore, 2012).

(ii) Bamboo from/Bikes to Bio-fuels

The International Network for Bamboo

and Rattan (INBAR) is backing an

initiative to promote the use of bamboo

charcoal to halt deforestation. The project,

presented at COP 17 in Durban, seeks to

transfer the technology for making

bamboo charcoal from China to sub-

Saharan Africa, a region where 80% of the

rural population still relies on forests for

cooking fuel (Spore, 2012).

Bamboo is one of the world’s fastest

growing and most versatile plants. It

offers excellent prospects for processing

into materials for construction, furniture,

musical instruments, bio-fuels – and even

odour free socks (Spore, 2009).

But bamboo’s potential does not end there.

Its fast growing properties, woody nature

and good carbon sequestration rates make

it an ideal sustainable biomass fuel. Since

April 2009, it has been used as an

alternative for firewood and charcoal

production in Ethiopia and Ghana. A

similar initiative has already helped

women produce charcoal from bamboo in

Mozambique. In Madagascar, a joint

Malagasy – US venture has begun farming

it on an industrial scale for conversion into

fuel (Spore, 2009).

(iii) Fuel Powered by Cattle Biogas

A community project that turns cow dung

into biogas has helped reduce high

electricity fees for villages in Limpopo,

South Africa.

The Mpfuneko (solution) project in

Gawula village, near Giyani, collects cow

dung from local cattle owners and

processes it into usable gas, which is sold

to villagers for a low-price. The scheme

involves installing a biogas digester which

heats the cow dung to a point where it

produces gas. The energy is fed to

households via a pipeline. Uses include

cooking over a biogas stove instead of

firewood, saving time and natural

resources. The project also provides

employment for local villagers.

(iv) Bio-fuels can be obtained from

other agricultural waste crops such as from

jatropha, cassava, palm oil, maize, soya

and wheat etc.

Benefits of Bio-fuels from Agricultural

Wastes Many studies, such as FAO’s 2009 report,

“Small-scale bio energy initiative”, have

concluded that bio-fuel production can be

beneficial to small-scale farmers. It is true

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213

that bio fuels have contributed to

increasing food prices, which is

particularly problematic for the many

people who are dependent on cheap food.

With the world’s reserves of oil going

down, governments and companies have

started looking for alternatives. A global

market for bio-fuels has been developing

during the past ten years (Flemming,

2010).

Bio-fuels from agricultural wastes helps to

secure a safe supply of energy and mitigate

climate change, while creating

development opportunities for the poor

(Spore, 20-10).

Challenges of Bio-fuels from

Agricultural Wastes As concern about the impact of fossil fuels

grows, energy production from agricultural

crops has become a significant industry.

But the bio-energy boom has also be given

rise to a vigorous controversy. Below are

some of the challenges facing bio-fuels

production from agricultural wastes:

(i) Critics claim that growing energy

crops will heighten land-use conflicts

as food cultivation, nature

conservation and bio-energy

production compete for space.

(ii) Shortfalls in food products are also

linked to the rapid advance of bio-fuel

crops. The case of maize offers a

dramatic illustration. USA used 54

million tons of maize for ethanol

production in 2006/2007. Maize

prices rocketed at the beginning of

2007, before increased output helped

to stabilize the figure at 30% higher

than the previous year. In the EU, the

amount of wheat turned into bio-fuel

is expected to increase twelve fold

between now and 2016.

Also, palm oil in Africa, which is used for

bio-fuel, is now being priced at the

fuel price which people cannot afford.

This down turn in supply has a knock

on effect for the majority of the

world’s most commonly traded food

products (Spore, 2008).

(iii) Bio-fuels have contributed to

increasing food prices, which is

particularly problematic for the many

people who are dependent on cheap

food.

The Way Forward For Bio-fuels from agricultural wastes to

be a gateway to National Development,

below are some recommendations to

follow:

1) A new guide offering extensive

coverage of more than 80 of the

main crop species known to be

suitable for producing bio-energy

should be followed such guide

includes methods of propagation;

management, harvesting, handling

and storage; processing and use.

2) A new bio-based economy

(including production of bio-fuels,

biogas, biomass feed stocks for

chemistry and bio-plastics) will

allow people to produce, trade,

transport and consumer in a more

sustainable manner if put in place.

3) All firm safeguards should be put in

place.

4) Governments should play their part

in minimizing risks to food security

and the environment.

CONCLUSION

Owing to the facts that the agricultural and

food industries generate large volumes of

wastes worldwide annually and that there

is a growing demand for proper waste

disposal management due to

environmental and industrial communities

to adequately study and formulate

proposals for the recovery, recycling and

upgrading of such biological wastes has

positively contributed to the envisaging of

a prospective prolific future for bio-mass

energy.

Generating bio-fuels from agricultural

wastes will provide jobs for the rural youth

and this will be a gateway to National

Development.

Finally, bio-fuels from agricultural wastes

is possible and it will play an important

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214

role in providing clean, safe energy to the

2.5 billion people who are currently have

no access to gas or electricity to meet their

basic needs if policy-makers can make a

clear guidance for shaping the bio-energy

sector, and success will only be achieved if

politicians play their part in minimizing

risks to food security and the environment.

REFERENCES

CTA (2009): Annual Report 2009

Highlights – Creating a dynamic

agricultural sector. Published by

CTA Publishers. Pp7.

CTA (2007): The Biomass Assessment

Handbook – Bioenergy for a

sustainable Environment. Published

by Earthscan in the UK and USA.

Pp. 110-120.

Flemming Nielsen (2010): Can family

farmers benefit from bio-fuels?

Farming Matter Magazine.Vol. 12.

Pp. 28-29.

Leandro S. Oliveira and Adriana S. Franca

(2009): From Solid Bio wastes to

Liquid Bio-fuels. Published by

Nova Science Publishers Inc. ISBN

978-1-60741 – 305 – 9.

Pp. 1-5.

Purohit, P; Tripathi, A.K.; and Kandpal,

T.C. (2006): Energetic of Coal

Substitution by briquettes of

agricultural residues, Energy, 31,

1321 – 1331.

Spore (2012): Charcoal from Bio-Waste.

CTA Bi-monthly Magazine. No.

157, February – March, 2012. Pp. 9.

Spore (2009): Bamboo from Bikes to Bio-

fuels. CTA Monthly Magazine.No.

143. October, 2009. Pp. 11.

Spore (2008): Bio-fuel and Oil Prices.

CTA monthly Magazine. No. 134,

April 2008. Pp. 2.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

215

Table 1: Residue Coefficients (CR) for Perennial Crops around the World

Crop-Residue

Residue Coefficients (CR = weight of available

residue/weight of related crop produced)

Cuiping et al,

(2004)

Purohit et al,

(2006)

Haq &

Easterly

(2006)

Lora &

Andrade

(2008)

Rice – Straw 0.623 1.530 0.740 -

Rice-Straw + husk - - - 1.700

Sorghum – Straw 1.000 - - -

Sorghum – Stover - - 0.740 -

Wheat – Straw 1.366 1.470 - 1.300

Barley, rye, oats-straw - - 1.670 -

Soybean-stems and leaves 1.500 - - 1.400

Sunflower-stalks 2.000 - - -

Rape seed – stalks 2.000 - - -

Mustard-stalks - 1.850 - -

Cotton-stalks - 3.000 - -

Cotton-stalks and leaves 3.000 - - -

Cotton-gin trash - - 0.900 -

Cotton-field trash - - 0.600 -

Sugarcane – leaves 0.100 - - -

Sugarcane-bagasse - 0.250 0.250 -

Corn-stalk and cob 2.000 1.860 - 1.000

Corn-stover - - 1.100 -

Arthar-stalk - 1.320 - -

Hemp-stems and leaves 2.500 - - -

Groundnut-shell - 0.330 - -

Jute-stick - 1.850 - -

Manioc-stems and leaves - - - 0.800

Coffee-husks - - - 0.210

Source: Leandro and Adriana (2009).

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

216

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Adeoye, O .S

Bamisaye, A.J

Ekejiuba, O.C

POWER TRANSMISSION LINES IN NIGERIA: LOSSES AND METHODS OF

REDUCTION

Adeoye, O .S, Bamisaye, A.J & Ekejiuba, O.C

Electrical/Electronic Engineering Department,

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria.

adeoyesamuel2012@gmail.com, ayobamisaye@ieee.org & blessedoluchi2006@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT: In Nigeria, there losses on transmission lines which have adverse effects on the

economy. This paper therefore provides information on the causes of losses and proffers

solution to the drawbacks in the power transmission. The line losses, transmission efficiency

and voltage regulation of the busses under were determined. The utilisation of smart grids

technologies to minimise technical losses and smart grids metering were recommended to

meet up with the present and future challenges on power transmission. The determination of

losses on the lines was a key factor to calculating the transmission efficiency and voltage

regulation. The methods of reducing losses were recommended with a view of receiving the

required voltages at the receiving end busses.

KEYWORDS: Busses, Losses, Power, Reduction, Transmission, Voltage

INTRODUCTION

The components of power system in

Nigeria are made up of generation,

transmission, distribution and utilization of

electric energy. In Nigeria the power

station generates electric energy at 16kV

and this is stepped up to 330kV which is

transmitted to the National Control Centre

(NCC) called the grid system which is the

primary transmission. This is further step

down to 132KV as the secondary

transmission and further to various

132/33kV sub-stations in cities or towns of

the country. The voltage is stepped down

to 33kV and even 11kV feeders. There is a

step down transformer at this level which

steps down voltage to 415V for three

phase and 220V for single phase

consumers.

The electric power sector is currently

dominated by a government company,

namely, the Power Holding Company of

Nigeria (PHCN). It currently owns all the

power generation stations, the transmission

network and the distribution system. It has

an installed capacity of 6000MW through

a number of hydro (Kainji, Jebba,

Shiroro), and thermal stations (Egbin,

Ughelli, Afam, Sapele). The Power

Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) has

Generation and Transmission System and

its geographical distribution. The

transmission voltage levels are 330KV for

the grid transmission; 132KV for the sub-

transmission lines, whilst the 33kV, 11KV

and lower voltages constitute the

distribution networks. The System normal

frequency is 50Hz. With the expected full

implementation of the Electric Power

Sector Reform Act of 2005, and the

unbundling of the PHCN into the proposed

generation and distribution companies

under a functional regulatory regime, the

electricity market will be liberalized.

However, a large number of manufacturing

companies currently generate their own

power, which further leads to increased

cost of production.

(http://wwwpub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publicati

ons/PDF/CNPP2011_CD/countryprofiles/

Nigeria/Nigeria2011.htm).

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217

Adeoye (2011) noted that Nigeria with a

population of 140 million would require a

power demand of is 13,160.33W

signifying that all hands must be deck to

generate about 15,000MW which is

capable to constantly supply power to the

consumers in the country. The Nation

(2012) noted that the present power

generation is 4439.5MW and there is high

transmission loss which means the time to

achieve constant power supply seems to be

far away from us and the developmental

rate of the country is slow.

The voltage drop in the line depends upon

the resistance, inductance and capacitance.

The resistance of transmission line

conductors is the most important cause of

power loss in the line and determines the

transmission efficiency (Mehta, 2005).

The transmission network in Nigeria is

characterised by several outages leading to

disruption in the lives of the citizenry. The

level of disruption is a function of the

dependency of people on electricity, which

can be very high for a developed country

and not as much as developing countries.

In Nigeria, the available energy generated

is not enough to meet the demands of the

users leading to constant load shedding

and blackouts. Outages can be planned or

forced. The National Control Centre

(NCC), a unit of the Power Holding

Company of Nigeria (PHCN), stipulated in

its operational procedure.

(NCC and PHCN, 2006) noted that power

stations and transmission stations are

required toforward their planned outages

schedules ahead of a new year to NCC.

This enables the NCC to plan a master

programme of planned outages properly

co-ordinated to ensure maintenance of grid

integrity after a thorough study and

analysis of the various outages. Forced

outages can be associated with aging

equipment/defects, lightning, wind,

birds/animals, Vandalisation, accidents

and poor job execution by contractors.

However, forced outages can be minimised

if the system is properly designed and

maintained but this will not completely

eliminate interruptions. Thus, the objective

of this study therefore, is to examine the

power loss in Nigeria and make

recommendations to minimise its

occurrences.

The Nigerian Electricity Network

comprises 11,000 km transmission lines

(330 and 132 kV), 24000 km of sub-

transmission line (33 kV), 19000 km of

distribution line (11 kV) and 22,500

substations. (Onohaebi,2009)

Causes and Effects of Power Outages in

the Nigeria Transmission Network:The

outages that occurred in transmission

network in Nigeria are grouped into

transmission lines constraints, shunt

reactor problems, overloading of

transformers and vandalisation of the lines

(Onohaebi, 2009)

1. Over-loading of transformers:

Many transformers in the system are

experiencing overloading above 100%.

Many of the distribution transformers are

also characterised by overloads which

often lead to very low voltages and these

voltages can be as low as 40 V in some

areas.

The distribution transformers are not well

protected. It is a common practice in the

Nigeria power system to see feeder pillars

without properly rated fuses but iron bars

inserted into their fuse compartments.

Political considerations are used to allocate

transformers to areas where they are less

required to satisfy self-ego, thus,

preventing areas that are actually in dire

need of them.

2. Vandalisation of transmission lines by

unscrupulous individuals for selfish gains

is very rampant in the Nigerian power

system. The elements of conductors such

as resistance, inductance and capacitance

do constitute parts of the losses on

transmission lines. TRANSMISSON

DATA SYSTEM

In Nigeria, the transmission system data is

stated as:

Maximum voltage 330kV, Statutory limits

313kV- 346.5kV, Nominal frequency

50Hz, Statutory limits 49.75Hz-50.25Hz,

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218

Peak Demand Forecast 8080MW,

Generation Capability 4004MW, Peak

Generation 3804MW, Maximum installed

capacity 5482MW, Maximum energy

generated 85457MWH. The transmission

data has the following composition:

Capacity 330/132 (MVA) 6894, Capacity

132/33 (MVA) 8882, Number of 330kV

substations 28, Number of 132kV

substations 119, Total number of 330kV

circuits 60, Total number of 132kV

circuits 153, Length of 330kV circuits

(km) 5650, Length of 132kV circuits (km)

6687, National Control Centre (N.C.C) 1,

Supplementary N.C.C 1, Regional Control

Centres 3.

System Operations, Challenges and

Mitigation Strategies in Transmission

Company of Nigeria

System operations in the T.C.N is

presently a ring fenced entity in readiness

for a robust and independent role in a

matured electricity market. The

responsibility of system operations

include:

Maintenance of operational standard of

security as much as possible under the

present circumstances; dispatch all

available generation; schedule

maintenance outages; operations planning;

restoration of the grid system and

administration of grid code

The challenges in the transmission

industry are highlighted as:

Grid Stability: Radial network, voltage

losses, and frequency

Rules implementation: improve efficiency

grid code dictates

Vegetation Management: line outages

Finance: Ageing infrastructure, grid

expansion

The mitigation strategies in the

transmission industry are listed as:

Increase reliability and expansion of

Transmission network; improve

evacuation gap by at least 30%;

elimination of grid bottle necks; increase

the Transmission to Generation capacity

gap;implementing a 700kV super grid (

Bada: Senior Special Asst. to President on

Transmission, 10th

January, 2011). The

power transmission line as shown in fig 1

is a typical tower with aluminium

conductors and insulators.

Electrical transmission and distribution

lines for electric power always use

voltages significantly higher than 50 volts,

so contact with or close approach to the

line conductors presents a danger of

electrocution. Unauthorized persons

climbing on power pylons or electrical

apparatus are also frequently the victims of

electrocution. At very high transmission

voltages even a close approach can be

hazardous, since the high voltage may

spark across a significant air gap.

(http://www.canyonhydro.com/guide/Hydr

oGuide12.html)

Reasons for High Voltage Transmission

and Measuring Transmission Line

Length

Transmission of power is carried out high

voltages due to the following reasons:

1. To minimise i2r loss on the

transmission lines.

2. To reduce the cost of step down

transformers.

3. To reduce the cost of conductors.

4. To reduce cost of switch gears.

5. To reduce cost of other electrical

accessories at the distribution level.

The important measurement is the length

of your transmission line between your

generator and the point of electrical usage.

They move electrical current, but the same

fundamentals of friction losses apply.

Longer transmission lines, smaller wires,

and higher current all contribute to power

loss through friction. Losses can be

minimized, but the power to actually use

will always be somewhat less than what

your generator is producing. .

(http://www.canyonhydro.com/guide/Hydr

oGuide12.html)

METHODS OF REDUCING LOSSES

IN TRANSMISSION LINES

Power loss over transmission lines is most

evident by a drop in voltage. The use of

more power produces more voltage drop

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

219

and lights glow dimmer. The voltage drop

on the power transmission lines is the

power transmission loss. There are ways to

reduce, or compensate for, transmission

line losses: Shorten the transmission line,

use a larger wire, increase the voltage on

the transmission line, use of bundles of

two or more conductors, the incorporation

of smart grid and Capacitor banks should

be added to the lines such as phase shifting

transformers, static VAR capacitors,

physical transposition of the phase

conductors and flexible A.C transmission

system, (FACTS). Shorter lines and larger

wires will reduce line losses for any

system. For very long runs, it may be

appropriate to boost the voltage (via a

transformer) for transmission, and then

reduce it back to normal (via another

transformer) at the point of usage.

Boosting the voltage reduces the current

necessary to produce the same amount of

power, allowing the use of smaller wires.

Losses in Transmission Lines, Load

Balancing and Failure Protection

Transmitting electricity at high voltage

reduces the fraction of energy lost to

resistance, which averages around 7%. For

a given amount of power, a higher voltage

reduces the current and thus the resistive

losses in the conductor. For example,

raising the voltage by a factor of 10

reduces the current by a corresponding

factor of 10 and therefore the I2R losses by

a factor of 100, provided the same sized

conductors are used in both cases. Even if

the conductor size (cross-sectional area) is

reduced 10-fold to match the lower current

the I2R losses are still reduced 10-fold.

Long distance transmission is typically

done with overhead lines at voltages of

115 to 1,200 kV. At extremely high

voltages, more than 2,000 kV between

conductor and ground, corona discharge

losses are so large that they can offset the

lower resistance loss in the line

conductors. Measures to reduce corona

losses include conductors having large

diameter; often hollow to save weight or

bundles of two or more conductors.

Transmission and distribution losses in the

USA were estimated at 6.6% in 1997 and

6.5% in 2007. In general, losses are

estimated from the discrepancy between

energy produced (as reported by power

plants) and energy sold to end customers;

the difference between what is produced

and what is consumed constitute

transmission and distribution losses,

assuming no theft of utility occurs. In

systems of lower power factors, losses are

higher. For reduction of losses, add

capacitor bank.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_pow

er_transmission)s

The transmission system provides for base

load and peak load capability, with safety

and fault tolerance margins. The peak load

times vary by region largely due to the

industry mix. In very hot and very cold

climates home air conditioning and heating

loads have an effect on the overall load.

They are typically highest in the late

afternoon in the hottest part of the year and

in mid-mornings and mid-evenings in the

coldest part of the year. This makes the

power requirements vary by the season and

the time of day. Distribution system

designs always take the base load and the

peak load into consideration.

The transmission system usually does not

have a large buffering capability to match

the loads with the generation. Thus

generation has to be kept matched to the

load, to prevent overloading failures of the

generation equipment.

Multiple sources and loads can be

connected to the transmission system and

they must be controlled to provide orderly

transfer of power. In centralized power

generation, only local control of generation

is necessary, and it involves

synchronization of the generation units, to

prevent large transients and overload

conditions.

In distributed power generation the

generators are geographically distributed

and the process to bring them online and

offline must be carefully controlled. The

load control signals can either be sent on

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

220

separate lines or on the power lines

themselves. To load balance the voltage

and frequency can be used as a signalling

mechanism.

In voltage signalling, the variation of

voltage is used to increase generation. The

power added by any system increases as

the line voltage decreases. Under excess

load conditions, the system can be

designed to fail gracefully rather than all at

once. Brownouts occur when the supply

power drops below the demand. Blackouts

occur when the supply fails completely.

Rolling blackouts (also called load

shedding) are intentionally engineered as

electrical power outages, used to distribute

insufficient power when the demand for

electricity exceeds the supply.

Smart Grid Technology

Smart grids helps to dynamically balance

and optimise generation, delivery assets

and loads. Current transmission and

distribution systems, losses amount to

approximately 9% of electricity produced

worldwide. While Africa’s average losses

of 11% are close to the global average.

Many countries in sub Saharan Africa are

are characterised by much higher system

losses of up to 41%. Technical losses are

due to less efficient and poorly maintained

power equipment while non-technical

losses are due to theft. Smart grid

technologies can help to minimise

technical losses in transmission by

facilitating more reactive power

compensation and voltage control. Non-

technical losses such as power theft can be

addressed with the help of smart metering

infrastructure. (Nigel Brandon: Smart and

Just Grids: Opportunities for sub Saharan

Africa, Imperial College, London).

METHODOLOGY:

The four busses were considered namely:

Osogbo, Ife, Ondo and Akure as bus1,

bus2, bus3 and bus4 respectively. The

Osogbo bus was the slack bus while the

other three busses were the load busses.

The National Control Centre at osogbo

was visited to obtain the voltages for the

four busses at a particular period of the

year. The data were collected from the

annual log book of the Power Holding

Company of Nigeria. The simple

Mathematical expressions were used to

determine the line losses, voltage

regulation and the transmission efficiency

respectively. The equations are expressed

in1.1, 1.2 and 1.3as shown.

........................1

….2

.......................3

The voltage regulation of and transmission

efficiency on the four busses were

generated and the percentage losses were

determined.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The line losses, voltage regulation and the

transmission efficiency were determined

through equations 1,2 and 3. The result in

Table 1.1 represents the line losses,

voltage regulation and transmission

efficiency of a selected part of Osogbo

132kV region. The line losses along Z12,

Z23, and Z14 were 0.0304MW, 0.0544MW

and 0.0181MWrespectively.The voltage

regulations on the busses were 0%, 1.53%

and 0.76% respectively. The standard %

regulation is 6% of the terminal voltage.

The implication is that the busses were

operating at acceptable receiving end

voltages. The result in Table 1.1 represents

the line losses, voltage regulation and

transmission efficiency of a selected part

of Osogbo 132kV region. The line losses

along Z12, Z23, and Z14 were 0.0304MW,

0.0544MW and

0.0181MWrespectively.The voltage

regulations on the busses were 0%, 1.53%

and 0.76% respectively. The transmission

efficiencies were determined as 340%,

91.4% and 314% respectively. The

transformer efficiencies of the lines depict

a situation whereby the losses along Z12

and Z14 were less than that of Z23.

2.0 CONCLUSION:

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

221

This study presents the analysis of power

transmission lines associated losses. The

line losses along Z12, Z23, and Z14 were

0.0304MW, 0.0544MW and

0.0181MWrespectively.The voltage

regulations on the busses were 0%, 1.53%

and 0.76% respectively. The standard %

regulation is 6% of the terminal voltage.

The implication is that the busses were

operating at acceptable receiving end

voltages. The result in Table 1.1 represents

the line losses, voltage regulation and

transmission efficiency of a selected part

of Osogbo 132kV region. The line losses

along Z12, Z23, and Z14 were 0.0304MW,

0.0544MW and

0.0181MWrespectively.The voltage

regulations on the busses were 0%, 1.53%

and 0.76% respectively. The transmission

efficiencies were determined as 340%,

91.4% and 314% respectively. The

transformer efficiencies of the lines depict

a situation whereby the losses along Z12

and Z14 were less than that of Z23. This

suggested that the reliability of the

network is very fair resulting in above

average efficiency with an average level of

power supply at some periods of the day,

week and year as well as causing power

disruption to the consumers at crucial

periods of time. Recommendations to

reduce these outages were proffered in

this study to ensure good power quality

and security in the network. The losses in

transmission lines can be minimised

through the use of bundle conductors,

capacitor banks and smart grids

technologies and metering for technical

and non-technical losses respectively.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. The present 330kV should be increased

to 750kV capacity in order to provide

more power to the grid network to

accommodate rapid power demand by

consumers.

2. The power authorities in the country

should use the required specification

during initial construction and

maintenance periods.

3. The use of smart grid, bundled

conductors and to minimise technical

losses in transmission.

4. The incorporation of smart metering to

partially address non-technical losses.

5. The length of an overhead transmission

lines should correspond to the voltage

level in respect of shot, medium and long

lines.

REFERENCES

Adeoye,O.S(2011) :7TH

Engineering

Forum, Vol.2, School of Engineering,

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Pp

199 -204.

Adeoye, O.S (2002): Loadflow Analysis of

132kV transmission lines for a sub

section of Osogbo region, Department

of Electrical/Electronic Engineering,

Federal University of Technology,

Akure, Pp36-40.

Bada(2011): A Report on power

transmission to Presidency by Senior

Special Asst. to President

Transmission.

Mehta, V.K: Principles of Power System,

S Chand and Company Ltd, Ram

Nagar, New Delhi-110055, Pp228-

230.

NCC and PHCN (2006): Annual Report

on Planned and Forced outages.

Nigel Brandon: Smart and Just Grids ,

Opportunities for Sub-Saharan Africa,

Imperial College, London. Pp 11.

Onohaebi O.S (2009): Research Journal of

Applied Sciences,Vol4 issue1, Pp1-9.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_powe

r_transmission.

http://www.canyonhydro.com/guide/Hydr

oGuide12.html.

http://wwwpub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publicatio

ns/PDF/CNPP2011_CD/countryprofil

es/Nigeria/Nigeria2011.htm.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

222

Table 1.1 Line losses, Voltage Regulation and Transmission Efficiency of Selected section of

132kV of Osogbo region.

Bus Line losses(MW) Voltage regulation

(%)

Transmission

Efficiency (%)

1-2 0.0304 0 340

2-3 0.0544 1.53 91.4

1-4 0.0181 0.76 314

Fig 1.1: One line diagram of 4 busses at 132kV

Fig 1.2: Equivalent circuit of 4 busses at 132kV

Z14

Z12

Z23

3 4

2 1

3 4

2 1

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

223

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Adeoye. O.S

Akinsanya .O.A

Alake.T.J

DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF DUST COLLECTING MACHINE FOR

COTTAGE MINERAL PROCESSING INDUSTRIES

Obisesan P.O and Jimoh, B.O

Mineral Resources Engineering Department

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti.

E-mail: kunleobiz@gmail.com

Phone: 08037643364

ABSTRACT: This Paper deals with the design and fabrication of a laboratory-size dust

collection machine. Dustiness experiment was carried out on kaolin and limestone (samples

from Obajana, Kogi-State) to determine the efficiency of the machine. The mean efficiencies

of the machine for each sample were also determined. The machine has a mean efficiency of

68.87% for kaolin dust and 67.54% when limestone dust was used. The dustiness test was

also used to determine the dust concentration of inhalable dust in the two samples. The

results of the test showed that a large percentage by weight of inhalable dust concentration

was collected using kaolin mineral sample and when limestone was used as the mineral

sample. These results show that the machine is capable of collecting inhalable dusts which

can cause air pollution and various diseases like asthma, influenza, hay fever and thereby

inhibiting production.

KEYWORDS: Fabrication, Kaolin, Limestone, Dust, Concentration, Pollution, Efficiencies

INTRODUCTION

Pure clean air is nature’s gift to mankind

and every living being has a right to it. But

in today’s world, a deep breath of pure,

clean air appears to be a luxury thanks to

an alarming increase in pollution levels.

Human activities such as mining, wood

cutting, quarry, etc. have brought us the

gigantic concerns of pollution and its

effects on environment as stated by Isife

and Adeloye (1999). These concerns pose

a serious hazard to the health of mankind

not only today, but forever. It is high time

we complement our technological

advancement with great responsibility and

give back to our world simple pleasures

like a deep breath of pure air. As

individuals, we could make a big change at

our immediate environment if we

understand the processes and various

equipment used for pollution control. Dust

is a general name for minute solid particles

with diameters less than 500 micrometers

(Holmes, 2001). Particles in the

atmosphere arise from various sources

such as soil lifted up by wind, volcanic

eruptions and pollution. Dust in homes,

offices and other human environment

consist of human and animal hairs , textile

fibres, paper fibres, minerals from outdoor

soils, and many other materials which may

be found in the local environment. Dust

pollution is one of the problems facing

mankind today. Dust is a particulate matter

that describes the range of particles that

exist in the air we breathe (Smith and

Hashemi 2006). Many industries such as

quarry, woodcutting, furniture building,

plastic cuttings, and metal among others

operate under conditions that create a lot

of dust. All these dusts represent a health

hazards when inhaled in sufficient

quantities over a sufficient period of time.

Even if the dust is not harmful to life or

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

224

property it is still to be controlled, for the

dust constitute a nuisance to people and as

such will cause some discomfort.

Therefore, efficient dust controlling

systems are needed to control them.

This study deals with the design and

fabrication of a laboratory – size dust

collecting machine. The various materials

used include; metal sheets, pipes, plastics

etc., are well stated. Also, the machine

parts and their functions as well as the

operational mechanism of the dust

collector are fully described in this project.

This project was conceived as a result of

lack of such equipment in the mineral

processing laboratory of the federal

polytechnic Ado Ekiti and the need for

one. As a result of the consistently rising

cost of purchase, importation and the

dearth of industrial dust collector, it is

therefore necessary to design and fabricate

a locally made dust collector which could

easily be purchased by small scale miners

(artisan miners) at lower prices. Artisan

miners can then afford the use of a locally

fabricated dust collector for the collection

of the dust. The general aim of the study is

to construct a dust trapping equipment

which is a laboratory size.

MATERIALS AND METHOD The design of the machine was first carried

out using Auto CAD. Also the various

components of the machine were designed

to proper tolerance and fit, using careful

calculations and selected dimensions, all in

millimeters.

Fabrication Procedures for the Machine

After determining the dimensions of the

components, the required materials were

procured which include; (1200x2400)mm

metal sheets, angle bar(8700)mm, flat bar

1800mm, 1200mm rubber hose, 1gallon of

paints (red oxide and Aluminum) etc. and

the fabrication of work began. The

component parts were fabricated one after

the other at the workshops of Olusegun

Obasanjo Centre for Engineering

Innovation (OOCEI) and Mechanical

Engineering department of the Federal

Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti.

Cyclone: The cyclone was constructed by

welding a cylindrical shape metal sheet

(cylinder) with a conical shape metal sheet

(cone). For the cylinder, a rectangular

shape of 1890mm x 600mm was cut out of

the mild steel as dimensioned and marked

on the sheet. The rectangular shape was

then rolled with the aid of rolling machine

to form a cylindrical shape and later

welded using a welding machine. Also, the

cone was constructed by cutting a conical

shape of 600mm x 600mm from the metal

sheet as dimensioned. It was then rolled

with the rolling machine and welded. The

cylinder and the cone were later welded

together to form a cyclone. Grinding

machine was used to smoothen the rough

edges of the cyclone.

Frame: The frame was cut using a

hacksaw in accordance with the

dimension. The welding machine was then

used in joining the angle bars with the flat

bar that have been cut to form a frame

(stand). The stand provides a good

standing effect for the cyclone and suction

motor (blower). The heights of the cyclone

and suction motor stands are 1200mm and

1800mm respectively.

Dust Tank: A rectangular shape of

340mm by 120mm was cut out of the mild

steel sheets as dimensioned. The

rectangular shape was welded to form the

dust tank.

Rubber Hoses: The rubber hoses were cut

in accordance with the dimension and were

fitted to appropriate parts of the machine.

Materials Selection for Components

The materials selected for cyclone

components and reasons for selecting such

materials are stated below.

Design Calculations

Design Parameters

Diameter of suction motor outlet =

50mm

Diameter of the cone = = 600mm

Length of the cylinder, L1= =

600mm

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

225

Length of the cone, L2 = =

600mm

Diameter of dust exit, De = Diameter

of inlet, = 50mm

Diameter of big chips exit, Db = 1/12

= 50mm

Radius of the cone = R

The angle of the cone, = 2

The length of the arc =

For the radius of the cone, using

Pythagoras theorem;

222

2

2 )2

()(D

LR ………… (i)

=

R = 670mm

For the angle of the cone,

Using trigonometric ratio,

2

2

2tan

L

D …………………(ii)

Tan 300/600

= 26.50

Since the angle of the cone = 2 ……

(iii)

= 2x 26.5 = 530

Length of arc, = /360 x2 R ….

(iv)

= 620mm

Machine Component Parts Blower / Suction Motor: Blowers are

typically installed before dust collectors

and are used for the transportation of the

materials. They develop air flow capacities

of about 140,000 cubic feet per meter

(CFM). Suction motors can hold motors

ranging from 3HP to 5HP.

Fans: Fans are specifically designed for

transporting moderate loads of dust

powders and particle. The fan wheel is

designed for heavy duty and abrasive

application and is used in system

transporting large quantities of coarse dust

and chips and filamentous materials.

Fan Selection Method

Some of the criteria for the selection of

fans are;

(i) Fan static pressure

(ii) Volume required

(iii) Operating temperature

(iv) Space requirement

(v) Noise level

(vi) Type of materials to be handled

through the fan e.t.c

Cyclone A cyclone separator is an apparatus for

separation by centrifugal means of fine

particle suspended in air or gas (Steedman,

2002). The centrifugal dust is created

when dust filled air enters the top of the

cylindrical collector at an angle and is

spanned rapidly downward in a vortex

(similar to a whirl pool action). As the air

flow moves in a cylinder fashion

downward, heavier dust particle are

thrown against the walls of the collector,

collect and slide down into the hopper.

Dust Tank

Dust tank is a container for storing or

where particulate matters are kept. It

provides region or location for the blowers

to suck the dust and convey to the cyclone

for further operation.

Blower and Cyclone Stand This provides good standing effect for the

cyclone and blower to perform effective

operation. It is made of metal and welded

to form triangular and rectangular shape

with three stands for the blower and

cyclone respectively.

Filter Bags

Filter bags are basically ordinary bags, but

made from special materials to absorb

dust. Filter bags are part of the dust

collecting machine that will be changed

from time to time, but other parts of

machinery are constant.

Parameters for Specifying Dust

Collectors The important parameters in specifying

dust collectors include; airflow, the

velocity of the air stream created by the

vacuum producer, system powder, the

power of the system motor, usually

specified in horse power (hp), storage

capacity for dust and particles and

minimum particle size filtered by the unit.

System for fine removal may only contain

a single filtration system e.g filter bag.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

226

However, most units make use of a

primary and secondary separation system.

Furthermore, some units may have third

and fourth stage filtration. A bag house is

an air pollution abatement device used to

trap particles by filtering gas steams

through large fabric bags (Bhaskar,et

al1986). They are typically made of glass

fibres or fabric. A cyclone separator is an

apparatus for the separation, by centrifugal

means of fine particles suspended in air or

gas. An impinger system is a device in

which particles are removed by impacting

the aerosol particles into liquid. Modular

media type units combine a variety of

specific filter modules in one unit. The

system can provide solution to many air

contaminant problems. A typical system

incorporates a series of disposable or

cleanable pre-filters, a disposable v-bag or

catridge filter. A wet scrubber or venturi

scrubber is similar to a cyclone but it has

an orifice unit that sprays water into the

vortex in the cyclone section, collecting all

the dust in a slurry system. The water

media can be re -circulated and reused to

continue to filter the air. Eventually, the

solids must be removed from the water

stream and disposed off.

Precautions For Handling Dust

Collecting Machine

Several precautions must however be

taken into consideration while carrying out

the test. They are stated below:

1 Make sure that the blower does not

vibrate while in operation. This can be

achieved by bolting the blower on the

stand.

2 Make sure that materials are not

clogged on the fan blade of the blower

before switching it on.

3. Ensure that the dust particles and the

dust tank are not wet.

4 Make sure that there are no electric

charges around that may cause sparks.

5 Operator should always put on a dust

mask while working with the dust

collector.

Grinding and Sieve Analysis

Grinding

The bond standard grindability test

provides a work index that is widely used

to estimate the energy required for

grinding (Barber, et al 1999). Meanwhile

Abdulla et al (2003) argued that the bond

work index of a material is defined as the

energy needed to reduce one short ton of

that material from a notional infinite size

to a size of 75 m. It is determined by

the bond grindability test and it is

expressed in kilowatt-hour per short ton.

The material to be tested was reduced to -

75 m by careful stage crushing. The over-

sizes were returned for grinding, together

with an additional quality of -75mesh

material to make the charge up to its

original mass. The number of mill

revolution was adjusted in successive

cycles so that a steady-state circulating

load of 250% is achieved. The test gives

the standard work index (wi) which can be

calculated from the equation below.

Wi = 4.45 x (1/√ -1/√ )------

----------- (i)

Where,

Pi= aperture of the limiting screen

G= net mass of screen under-size

produced/mill revolution (g)

P = size of the mill product

( m)

F = size of the mill feed ( m)

W = 10wi(1/√ -1/√ )-

……………………………………………

……. (ii)

W = energy required to grind one

ton (1000kg) of material from its initial

size ‘F’ to product size ‘P’.

Sieve Analysis

The sieve chosen for the test were

arranged in a stack, with the coarsest sieve

on top and the finest at the bottom. A

tight-fitting pan or receiver was placed to

the final under-size, and a lid was placed

on top of the coarsest sieve to prevent

escape of the sample. The material sample

was placed in the uppermost coarsest sieve

and the stack was placed on a mechanical

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

227

sieve shaker which vibrated the sample in

a vertical plane. The duration of the

screening was fifteen minutes which was

controlled by a stop watch. During the

shaking, the under-size materials fell

through successive sieves until it was

retained on a sieve having apertures

slightly smaller than the diameter of the

particles. In this way, the sample was

separated into size fractions. At the

expiration of the required time, the stack

was taken apart and the amount of

materials retained on each sieve was

weighed. Most of the near mesh particles

which blocked the openings were removed

by inverting the sieve and tapping the

frame gently.

Machine Testing and Dustiness Test

Mineral Samples for Dustiness Test In order to test the workability of the

fabricated dust collecting machine and

dustiness of some minerals, two different

samples were taken from region of

Nigeria. The samples were later ground in

a grinding machine and sieved to <75 m

in a sieve shaker before running the dust

collecting machine.

The two mineral samples used were Kaolin

and Limestone taken from Ikpesi, Edo

state, and Obajana, Kogi state, Nigeria.

Procedures for Dustiness Test The dust collecting machine was tested in

the mineral processing laboratory of the

Federal Polytechnic, Ado- Ekiti. The

following procedures were followed when

testing the machine: i. the rubber hoses

were fitted in place; ii. the filter bag was

also fitted in place; iii. the stop watch was

set; iv. the blower was switched on so that

it sucked up the dust from the dust tank

and the duration of time for the sucking

was determined; v. the filter bag was

removed and the dust was poured into a

tray; vi. the weight of the dust in the filter

bag was measured on a weighing balance;

vii. the percentage weight of inhalable dust

in the entire sample was calculated; viii.

the weight of the big chips was measured

on a weighing balance; ix. the average

dustiness weight was determined for each

mineral sample and x. the efficiency and

mean efficiency of the machine was

determined.

Average dustiness weight(X) = FQ/ F

= 48.35/3

= 16.12%

For the First trial

Efficiency %10021 Xw

wwE

T

1w = dustiness weight, 2w =weight of big

chips, Tw =total wt of sample

%100750

5.12045.390XE

= 68.12%

For the second trial,

E= 68.55%

For the third trial,

E = 69.13%

The average efficiency= (first trial

+second trial + third trial)/3 = 68.60%

Average dustiness weight(X) = ∑FQ/EF

= 47.4/3

= 15.80%

For first trial,

E = 67.06%

For second trial,

E = 67.67%

For third trial,

E = 67.88%

Average efficiency= 67.54%

DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

The mineral samples used to perform the

dustiness test on the machine were

limestone and kaolin. The samples were

first broken to liberate the particles and

then pulverized using the ball mill machine

to further liberate the samples into smaller

particles. Sieve analysis was carried out on

the samples to classify them into various

sizes. Since the grain size of the dust used

for the testing of the machine was less than

75 m, it was observed that for 750g of

kaolin, the percentage weight of inhalable

of dust was 16.12% as illustrated by in

table 8. Also for limestone, it was

observed that for every 750g of limestone,

the percentage weight of inhalable dust

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

228

collected was 15.8% as illustrated in table

9. This shows that the quantity of dust

generated in every 750g of kaolin is higher

than that of limestone. The efficiency of

the machine for the two samples was

determined. This was used for the

calculation of the average efficiency of the

machine for the two samples. The average

efficiency of the machine for kaolin was

68.87% while that of limestone was

67.54%.This implies that the efficiency of

the machine is higher with kaolin when

compared with limestone.

CONCLUSION AND

RECOMMENDATION This project work has revealed that it is

possible to develop a locally made cyclone

dust collecting machine which design can

continually be improved upon by continual

practice and development of engineering

design and fabrication. This machine was

designed and constructed to alleviate the

difficulties encountered by artisan miners

in acquiring affordable dust collecting

machine. This project also serves as a basis

or a laboratory model for the design and

construction of industrial dust collector

which can be used in a mineral processing

industry and other fields where dust could

be generated. In order to prevent harmful

dusts in our mineral industries,

Government should provide funds for the

design and fabrication of locally made dust

collectors that traps dust. This greatly aids

the control of air pollution especially at the

milling points.

REFERENCES

Abdulla M.Z, Hussein, Z and Fraser, S.M

(2003): “Scientific Study Of Deswirl

Devices”. School of Mechanical

Engineering penang, Malaysia. Pp 30.

Barber, E.M, Dawson J.R, Battams, V.A

and Nicol, R.A (1999): “Spatial

variability of an air borne and settled

dust”. Journal of Agricultural

Engineering Research.Pp107-127

Bhaskar, R and Rainani, R.V (1986):

Behaviour of Dust Clouds In Mine

Amway”.Trans SME AIME, Vol 280.

Pp2051-205.http://www.dust collector

experts.Con/Cyclone

Holmes, H. (2001): “The Secret Life Of

Dust”. Wiley publishers, 2nd

edition.

Pp 25-32

Isife, F.A and Adeloye,O.A (1999):

“Introduction to Mining” Volume

One.Omobala Invests Nig. Ltd and

Kelua Paper Back, London. Pp 192-

194.

Kelly(2007): www.eHow.comSmith, W.F and Hashemi, J. (2006): “Foundation Of

Materials Science andEngineering 4th

Edition; McGraw-Hill.pp 56-67

Steedman, C. (2002): “Dust”. Manchester

university Press. .Pp 115 & 309.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

229

Table 2: Results of Sieve Analysis for Kaolinfor First Sample for Ikpesi

Sieve range

size( m)

Sieve fraction

weight(g)

Sieve fraction

% weight

Cumulative

% under size

Cumulative

% over size

300

150

105

100

75

-75

345

98

76

72

113

126

41.56

11.80

9.15

8.67

13.61

15.18

58.44

88.20

90.85

91.33

86.39

84.42

41.56

53.36

62.51

71.18

84.79

99.97

830

Table 3: Results of Sieve Analysis for Kaolin for Second Sample for Ikpesi

Sieve range

size( m)

Sieve fraction

weight(g)

Sieve fraction

%weight

Cumulative

% under size

Cumulative

% over size

300

150

105

100

75

-75

302

102

82

78

134

147

35.73

12.07

9.70

9.23

15.85

17.39

64.27

87.93

90.30

90.77

84.15

82.61

35.73

47.80

57.50

66.73

82.58

99.97

845

Table 4: Results of Sieve Analysis for Kaolin for Third Sample for Ikpesi

Sieve range

size( m)

Sieve fraction

weight(g)

Sieve range

% weight

Cumulative

% under size

Cumulative

% over size

300

150

105

100

75

-75

245

52

41

58

84

198

36.13

7.66

6.04

8.55

12.38

29.20

63.87

92.34

93.96

91.45

87.62

70.80

36.13

43.79

49.83

58.38

70.76

99.96

678

Table 5:Results of Analysis for Limestone for First Sample of Obajana

Sieve range

size( m)

Sieve fraction

weight(g)

Sieve fraction

%weight

Cumulative

% under size

Cumulative

%over size

300

150

105

100

75

-75

455

111

68

62

95

101

51.00

12.44

7.62

6.95

10.65

11.32

49.00

87.56

92.38

93.05

89.35

88.68

51.00

63.44

71.06

78.01

88.66

99.98

892

Table 6: Results of Sieve Analysis for Limestone for Second Sample of Obajana

Sieve range

size( m)

Sieve fraction

weight(g)

Sieve range

%weight

Cumulative

% under size

Cumulative

%over size

300 209 21.47 78.53 21.47

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

230

150

105

100

75

-75

95

171

98

149

251

9.76

17.57

10.07

15.31

25.79

90.24

82.43

89.93

84.69

74.21

31.23

48.80

58.87

74.18

99.97

973

Table 7:Results of Sieve Analysis for Limestone for Third Sample of Obajana

Sieve range

size( m)

Sieve fraction

weight(g)

Sieve fraction

%weight

Cumulative

%under size

Cumulative

%over size

300

150

105

100

75

-75

323

93

110

90

120

150

36.45

10.49

12.41

10.15

13.54

16.93

63.55

89.51

87.59

89.85

86.46

83.07

36.45

46.94

59.35

69.50

83.04

99.97

886

Dustiness Test Result

Table 8:Results of Dustiness Test for Kaolin

No of

trials

Total

weight

of

sample

wT(g)

Weight of

big

chips(w1)

Frequency

(F)

Time(t)

(mins)

Dustiness

weight(w2)

(g)

%dustiness

weight

FQ

1

2

3

750

750

750

390.45

393.21

397.41

1

1

1

6.20

6.36

6.12

120.5

120.95

121.10

16.07

16.13

16.15

16.07

16.13

16.15

FQ=

48.35

Table 9:Results of Dustiness Test for Limestone

No of

trial

Total weight

of sample,

wT (g)

Weight of

big chips,

w1 (g)

frequency

(F)

Time

(t)

mins

Dustiness

weight, w2

(g)

%

dustines

s wt

FQ

1

2

3

750

750

750

384.52

389.14

390.50

1

1

1

7.15

7.34

7.26

118.50

118.38

118.64

15.80

15.78

15.82

15.80

15.78

15.82

∑FQ=

47.40

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

231

Table 10: Bill Of Materials For The Construction Of The Machine

S/N ITEMS QUANTITY COST (N)

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

Sheet of 2mm

plate(1200x2400)mm

Angle bar(4500)mm

length.

Electrode

Grinding

Cutting Disc

Flat bar

Iron rod

Workmanship

Blower

Filter bag

Paints(red oxide &

aluminium)

Rubber hose

Clips for rubber

Auto CAD

Transportation

Communication

1

2

1 pkt

--------

--------

---------

2

1

---------

1

1

1 Gallon

1200mm

2

--------

--------

---------

6, 800

4, 000

2, 000

450

350

1, 300

1, 600

15, 000

6, 000

200

3, 000

2, 400

120

5, 000

2, 000

1, 300

Sub Total= 51,520

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

232

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

F. I. Aluko

A. G. F. Alabi

THE EFFECT OF HEAT TREATMENT ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF

GREY CASTIRON IN PAPER MAKING INDUSTRIES

1F. I. Aluko&

2A. G. F. Alabi

Mechanical Engineering Department, 1The Federal Polytechnic, Ado – Ekiti; Nigeria.

2University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.

ABSTRACT: Investigations were carried out to study the effect of heat treatment on the

mechanical properties of grey cast iron. This study was carried out to determine a suitable

heat treatment process which would give the best mechanical properties of grey cast iron and

that can render it resistant to corrosion in the fluids used in paper making industries. The

method used was that the cast iron was subjected to various heat treatment processes and

later immersed totally in wood pulp and white liquor. The most important conclusion drawn

from the results is that the annealed samples had better mechanical properties, with better

tensile strength and high resistance to corrosion.

KEYWORDS: Annealed, Normalized, wood pulp, white liquor, Deterioration, Graphite

flakes.

INTRODUCTION

The major problem facing the paper

making industries is the deterioration of

their equipment by corrosion (Alagbe,

1995, Aluko, 2004a). Lot were spent in

replacing and maintain thisequipment. It

had been discovered that wood usually

caused corrosion (Aluko, 2004b).

The metals most susceptible to corrosion

by wood are ferrous metals, zinc,

cadmium, magnesium alloy and lead.

Wood can cause corrosion of metals by

direct contact and in confined spaces also

by emission of corrosive vapour

(Packman, 1960, Aluko, 2004b).With rare

exceptions, all wood are acidic, and the

principal corroding agent in both types of

attack is volatile acetic acid (Shreir, 1963).

Acetic acid is also known as ethonic acid.

This acid when it comes in contact with

iron, it forms rust.

Natural inhibitors are usually used to

reduce contact corrosion. This will

remove the tannins present in the wood.

Even though cast iron will corrode when it

is in contact with the wood, this can be

prevented by some constituents that are

present in its microstructure. The most

important of these corrosion resistant

micro-constituents are graphite,

phosphates eutectic and to a lesser extent,

carbide. If the cast iron is heat treated in

order to promote the corrosion resistant

constituents, it will therefore make it more

resistant to corrosion.

The objective of this study is to determine

the heat treatment process that will render

grey cast iron resistant to corrosion from

the fluids used in paper making industries,

and determine the mechanical properties of

such grey cast iron.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

(i) Cast iron is the major material used.

It has the following

compositions;Carbon – 2.75%,

silicon – 1.50%, Manganese –

0.35%, phosphorus – 0.70%, sulphur

-1.0%.

(ii) Heat treatment processes; the cast

iron was heat treated using the

following processes: (a) Annealing,

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(b) Normalizing, (c) Quenching, (d)

Stress relieving, and (e) Tempering.

The quenchant used is standard

grade SAE40 oil and it was obtained

from a local dealer.

(iii) The corrosive media used are wood

pulp and white liquor, which were

obtained from the Nigeria Paper

Mill, Jebba. The media were used as

they were obtained raw and at room

temperature.

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE. The following heat treatments were carried

out using a carbolite furnace:

(i) Annealing; ten pieces of the cast

Iron specimens were put inside the

furnace and heated gradually up to

9250C.At this temperature, the pieces

were held for one hour. This is a

sufficiently high temperature to

ensure that fully homogenized phase

is reached by all the samples

according to the iron – carbon

diagram.

(ii) Normalizing: Ten samples of the

cast iron was put inside the furnace

and heated gradually until it attained

a temperature of 9250C. This is

because the normalizing temperature

is usually kept above the

transformation temperature range.

They were held at this temperature

for one hour for proper

homogenization. The specimens

were then brought out of the furnace

to cool in still air.

(iii) Stress Relieving: another ten

specimens were heated in the furnace

for up to a temperature of

5600C.These was held at this

temperature for one hour. They were

then removed from the furnace and

allowed to cool in still air.

(iv) Quenching: another ten specimens

were heated up to a temperature of

about 8700C. Immediately this

temperature was reached, the

samples were removed; five were

quenched in oil (SAE 40), while the

other five were quenched inside

water held at room temperature.

(v) Tempering: The samples quenched

in oil and water, were then removed

and cleaned to make sure that they

were dried and free from either oil or

water. Two of each set were selected

and transferred back to the furnace.

These were later re-heated up to

3700C, held at this temperature for 1

hour and subsequently cooled in air.

(i) Weight loss experiment: Four

troughs were prepared. One

contained the white and liquor;

another contained the wood pulp

dissolved in water, the third

contained wood pulp contaminated

with 3% by weight of mercury

chloride while the fourth contained

white liquor contaminated with 3%

by weight of mercury chloride. The

surface areas of the test pieces were

measured with their initial weights

before they were suspended in

various solutions. The immersed

samples were withdrawn after every

four days. They were washed,

cleaned and weighed. Pre-exposure

test was also carried out. The

immersed test samples were

removed later and pulled in tension

to fracture to test for their tensile

properties.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Visual observations: the following

visual observations of the specimens

were noticed when carrying out the

experiments.

(i) Annealed samples –The annealed

samples were covered with reddish

scales of oxides. The oxides scales

were removed prior to

experimentation.

(ii) Stress relieved specimens appeared

dark-blue in colour after cooling.

(iii) Tempered samples-It was observed

that the oil quenched samples

appeared very dark after it had been

tempered while the water quenched

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234

samples had some reddish scale

covering their surface after

tempering.

(iv) Normalized samples- The

normalized specimens were brought

out of the furnace after it had been

heated to 9250C and held for one

hour for proper homogenization. By

the time the samples were brought

out of the furnace, they were red hot.

As they cooled rapidly in still air, a

reddish scale covered the surface.

(i) Annealing Process: The samples had

been softened and the internal stresses

had been removed. The percentage

elongation was improved. It increased

from 7.5% for the as cast to 13.48%

for the specimen immersed in white

liquor and 10.81% for the annealed

specimens immersed in wood pulp.

This process also softened the grey

cast iron and improved its

machinability by minimizing or

eliminating massive eutectic carbides.

(ii) The Normalized Samples:The result

here is similar to that of the annealed

component but the mechanical

properties are somewhat better than

an annealed component. The surface

finish of normalized specimen is

better than that of annealed ones when

machined, since the high ductility of

the annealed makes the surface to tear.

EFFECT OF HEAT TREATMENT ON

LOAD VERSUS EXTENSION

GRAPHS:

ANNEALING: Figure 3 shows a decrease

in tensile strength of annealed specimen as

compared with the as – received specimen.

This can be attributed to the purpose of

annealing process which is to relief the

internal stresses within the cast iron. Since

the material was cast initially, so it must

have enclosed some hot gasses and

inclusions (impurities) which led to a set-

up of internal stresses. When all the

stresses had been removed, the material

became free from stress received

specimen. This observation agreed with

the reason for the experiment because all

of the annealed samples have less tensile

strength when compared with the as cast

specimen.

Usually, it takes one hour for a complete

re-crystallization to take place in cast iron

(Byrne 1965). The structure formed during

crystallization is exactly the same as the

structure that existed before casting; the

result is in agreement with the above

statement.

NORMALIZING: From figure 2, it is clear

that the tensile strength of normalized cast

iron is higher than the annealed cast iron.

The tensile strength would have been

greater than that of as-cast but due to the

corroding effect of the corrosive media

that the specimens were immersed. This

would have weakened it somehow. That

notwithstanding, the normalized cast iron

is tougher, and has a higher tensile strength

than the annealed cast iron.

HARDENING: Hardening is the process

of heat treatment by which the cast iron is

made hard by rapid quenching from high

temperature. This consists of:

(i) Water quenched; and

(ii) Oil quenched samples.

QUENCHING: The result of figure 5

showed that the rate of cooling in water is

faster and non – uniform than the rate of

cooling in oil because the specimen that

was quenched in water showed a very hard

structure which not fails at maximum load

due to the martensitic structured that is

present within the specimen. This is in

agreement with the idea that martensitic

structure is very hard and brittle. The

hardness and brittleness of martensite is

due to the fact that martensite is a super

saturated solid solution of carbon trapped

in a body centered tetragonal structure,

which is a Meta stable condition. (Gordon

and Philips 1965). This highly distorted

lattice is the prime reason for the high

hardness of martensite.

Sample showed that the oil quenched

sample, exhibited both the plastic and

elastic regions distinctively. This can be

attributed to slow, uniform cooling which

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235

allows the formation of graphite and

pearlite in its microstructure. This reduces

the hardness and makes it possible for the

specimen to be ductile. This is the reason

why we have a plastic range in the load

extension curve of the quenched sample.

EFFECT OF HEAT TREATMENT ON

THE PCENTAGE ELONGATION

The annealed samples have the highest

percentage elongation (10. 86% to 13.48

%), while the quenching samples have the

least percentage (2.50% - 2.62%)

elongation.

The annealing process was applied in order

to refine the structure of the cast iron. The

Cast Iron was heated to just above its

upper critical temperature (9000C), so that

the coarse grain structure was replaced by

fine-grained austenite. On cooling, this

gave rise to a structure of fine-grained

ferrite and pearlite.

Effect of Corrosion on the Heat Treatment

Samples.

(i) Annealing: The maximum tensile

strength of the annealed specimens

was obtained from the specimen that

was heat treated but was not

immersed in any of the corrosive

fluids. This gave 322.05N/mm2

while the highest tensile strength that

was obtained from the ones

immersed in white liquor is

319.59N/mm2,

this shows that the

material (cast iron) has corroded. It,

therefore, has a great effect on the

tensile strength. The corrosion attack

on the Cast Iron therefore tends to

weaken the metal. It is also clear that

the annealed Cast Iron is quite okay

in white liquor since there is a little

variation in the samples immersed in

the corrosive media as compared

with the Cast Iron in as- cast state.

(ii) Normalizing: Examining the

normalized samples, the heat-

treatment sample which was not

immersed in any of the corrosive

media has a tensile strength of

387.51N/mm2

The tensile

strength of the specimen dipped in

the corrosive media was seriously

affected to the point that the

maximum tensile strength obtained

is 340.4N/mm2 in white liquor, while

the least was obtained from white

liquor plus mercury ion as

270.56N/mm2, in other words, the

corrosion attack on the samples was

much in white liquor with the

mercury ion than in ordinary white

liquor. It is clear here that the

corrosive media had a serious effect

on the normalized specimens.

(iii) Stress Relieving:The effect of the

heat treatment can be seen in the

samples that were stress relieved.

The specimen that was only stress

relieved without immersing in any

corrosive media has the tensile

strength of 349.73N/mm2.While the

maximum tensile strength of those

immersed in corrosive media (wood

pulp) is 333.56N/mm2

with

percentage variation of 4.62%, and

the least (white liquor plus HgCl2) is

309.73N/mm2

having the percentage

variation of 11.44%. Even though

the tensile strength of the stress

relieved specimens were not very

high compared to what was obtained

from other heat treatment processes

(such as annealing and normalizing),

the tensile strength of the material

tends to be a bit stable. This shows

that the internal stresses that were

relieved made the corrosion attack

on the samples to be very little.

(iv) Tempering: The maximum tensile

strength for tempered specimen is

296.45N/mm2 while the minimum is

266N/mm2. Although, the specimen

that were quenched either with oil or

water have a very high tensile

strength than the tempered ones.

Since the purpose of tempering the

Grey Cast Iron is to obtain the

maximum toughness.

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236

CONCLUSIONS

Studies have been undertaken to examine

the effect of heat treatment on the

Mechanical properties of Grey Cast Iron.

The following conclusions are drawn

From the studies carried out.

1 The tensile strength of the annealed

samples (309.72N/mm2) was less than

that of the as-cast sample

(327.35N/mm2. This shows that

annealing process removed the internal

stresses of the Cast iron. The tensile

strength of the cast iron was also

affected by the corrosive media in

which the samples were immersed.

2 As for the percentage elongation, better

ductility was obtained from the

annealed samples than other heat

treated samples. The least percentage

elongation was obtained from the

quenched samples.

3 The weight loss of the samples increases

with time of exposure. This shows that

the Cast Iron corroded in the immersed

media.

4 The rate of corrosion attack increased

with the cooling rate. This is the reason

why corrosion was less in the annealed

samples, which was slow cooled in the

furnace, than other heat treated samples

that were cooled rapidly either in still

air or quenching media.

In conclusion, if annealed Cast Iron is used

for the constructional metals and

equipment machines used in paper making

Industries to process wood pulp and white

liquor-less will be spent in repairs and

maintenance of this equipment. This is

because the rate at which deterioration

takes place will be very minimal since

corrosion effect on the annealed Cast Iron

is very small.

Also from the mechanical properties

obtained in this work, one can deduce that

Grey Cast Iron when annealed is a good

metal that can be used in making machines

and equipment for paper mill industry.

REFERENCES

Alagbe,M. (1995) “Inhibition of Corrosion

of Mild Steel in some Agro Fluids by

some Amino acids derivatives”, M.Sc.

Thesis (Unpublished) O. A. U. Ife,

Nigeria. Pp80 -110.

Aluko,F. I.(2004a) “The Effect of Heat

Treatment on the Corrosion properties

of Grey Cast Iron in Paper Making

Industries.” Nigeria Journals of

Engineering Management, Besade

Publishing Press, Ondo, Nigeria.

Aluko,F. I.(2004b) “The Effect of Heat

Treatment on the Microstructure of

Grey Cast Iron in Paper Making

Industries.” Nigeria Journals of

Engineering Management Besade

Publishing Press, Ondo, Nigeria.

Gordon, B. and Philips (1965) “Structure

and properties of Alloys”, 3rd

edition,

McGraw Hill Book Company, New

York.

Packman, D. F. (1960)

Hoizforchung,“Metallurgy” 14, 178.

Shreir, L. L. (1963) “Corrosion (Corrosion

Control)” Volume 2(Hand Book)

Newness Butterworth’s and Co

(Publishers) ltd, London.

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237

Figure 1: Graph of load against extension of stressed Relieved Cast Iron

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238

Figure 2: Graph of load against extension of Normalized Cast Iron

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239

Figure3: Graph of load against extension for the annealed specimen

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Figure

4: Graph of load against extension water and oil quenched specimen.

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241

Figure 5 Graph of load against extension of Hardened Cast Iron

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242

Proceedings of 8th

Engineering Forum

School of Engineering

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti

Shuaib-Babata, Y.L

Abdulqadir, B.L

ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION ON WATER

QUALITY IN ASA DAM INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, ILORIN, NIGERIA

1Shuaib-Babata, Y.L &

2Abdulqadir, B.L

1Department of Mechanical Engineering,

The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria 2Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, Nigeria

ABSTRACT: The extent of poor management and disposal of both industrial and domestic

wastes within Asa dam industrial estate in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria on the quality of

water from the major sources of water in the area was examined. Well, borehole and river

are identified as the major reliable sources of water in Ilorin like other urban cities in

developing areas. People in urban cities still face the problem of lack of access to adequate

and suitable water, despite the fact that water covers about 70% of the earth surface. Water

samples were taken from selected well and boreholes within the study area, and different

points on river Asa, from entry point of the river, waste discharge of industries and at the exit

point where the river converges. The samples were analysed for pH, dissolved oxygen,

hardness, suspended solids, nitrate, biochemical, oxygen demand, and electrical conductivity

in dry and rainy season using WHO/SON standard as a guide. This study showed that the

water samples contain faeces, e.coli, coliforms and some other pathogens which are not

hygienic for drinking and unfit for some intended uses. The results also revealed that quality

of the water was negatively affected through indiscriminate industrial discharges and

domestic wastes disposal into the water ways and its surroundings respectively which may

result to the outbreak of diseases if not properly treated before consumption. The study

recommends enactment of effective proper waste management of industrial wastes instead of

traditional irrational disposal of wastes into the river ways.

KEYWORDS: Water, Sources, Quality, impact, and Pollution

INTRODUCTION

Considering the whole earth, water covers

about 70% of the earth

(universaltoday.com, 2010 &

answers.com, 2012), out of which only 1%

is available for drinking (NAFDAC,

2009). Water is the major component of

living matter. It accounts for 80% of its

composition on average level. Though, it

accounts for 60 to 70% in higher animals

(tooraj-sabzevari.biogfa.com, 2010).

Water is recognised as very essential

resource in all economic sectors, such as

agriculture, manufacturing, transportation

and others human activities. Safe water is

also identified as a precondition for health

and development (UNICEF, 2008). It is

recorded that man consumes two litres of

water per day on average, for drinking and

cooking (tooraj-sabzevari.biogfa.com,

2010).

Clean water is also said to be one of the

most important needs of human bodies

(freedrinkingwater.com, 2010). Thus,

access to safer water is very significant to

sustain better livelihood, since the medium

(water) is needed by human being and

other animals to regulate their body

temperature and to aid their food digestion.

Though, available statistics on people

access to safe drinking water vary.

UNICEF (2008) revealed that hundreds of

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243

millions of people throughout the

developing world are still denied access to

a basic human right, safe water. It was also

featured in New York, 12 April 2005 that

over one billion people on the planet

lacking adequate access and safe water

(USAID & WSSCC, 2005). Clean, pure

water is one of the life’s necessities

(excelwater.com, 2009). The major reason

attributed for lack of safe water by the

World Summit of Sustainable

Development is either scarcity of water or

contamination of water sources (Nolt-

Helms, 2009). Another factor for lack of

safer water is poor management. Fakayode

(2005) identified water as a poorly

managed resource in the world.

The world Health organization estimates

that at any given moment, approximately

one half of all people in the developing

world are suffering from one or more of

six primary diseases caused by poor water

and suboptimal sanitation (Nolt-Helms,

2009). The primary diseases include

diarrhea, ascaris, dracunculiasis,

hookworm, schistosomiasis and trachoma.

Nearly 2.2 million children in the world

are identified to die annually from water

born diseases. The UNICEF also identified

lack of access to safe water to have a

disastrous impact on children across the

world (Nolt-Helms, 2009). The reasons

attributed for this include shortage of

water, poverty, and lack of education about

the impact of drinking unpurified water.

Pollution adversely affect the quality of

water to the extent of rendering it

seemingly invaluable since the presence of

large amount of pollutants (contaminants)

in water makes it unfit for the intended

use. Water is considered to be polluted if it

is unfit for its intended use (Sangodoyin,

1991). Water pollution may either

originate from a single identifiable point

source or non point-source. Pollutants

enter water ways in form of chemical or

biological nature. Chemical contaminants

in water are one of the most critical

environmental problems of the 21st century

due to continuous industrial revolution.

Presence of pathogens, such as bacteria,

protozoa, etc in water has been proved to

be very harmful for human consumption

that leads to health problems. According to

UNICEF/WHO, Water related diseases

caused by insufficient safe water supplies

coupled with poor sanitation and hygiene

cause 3.4 million deaths a year, mostly

among children. It was further stated that

over three million people, mostly children,

die annually from water-related diseases.

Almost two million of these deaths are the

result of diarrhoeal diseases, which are

caused by the ingestion of water

contaminated by faecal matter, as well as

by inadequate sanitation and hygiene

(UNICEF, 2008). Contaminated water

resources can also contribute to the spread

of diseases caused by skin contact or by

vectors.

Water pollutants are classified as oxygen

demanding wastes, disease-causing agents,

synthetic organic compounds, plant

nutrients, inorganic chemical and minerals,

sediments, radioactive substances, and

thermal discharges and oil. The pollution

of water of water way is severely

compounded since the pollution is often

caused by combination of the above sated

categories of pollutants.

Ground and surface water are easily

polluted through human activities in

industries and residential areas. It is a

known fact that industrial revolution

changes the world for the better in many

ways (Joseph, 1981 & Charles, 2012), but

it introduces high levels of pollution with

effects that are often deadly (Charles,

2012). Through the activities in industries

several substances like carbon monoxide,

heavy metals, pesticides, chlorinated

hydrocarbons, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen,

and chlorofluorocarbons are released. In

Nigeria like other developing countries,

industrial wastes are released intentionally

or through spills into streams or rivers.

WHO/UNICEF is also of the view that

Industrial revolution is a major factor that

led to environmental pollution, including

access to safe and drinkable water, which

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244

is a great major world problem now

(UNICEF, 2008).

ATI (2009) is also of opinion that water

supplies may be contaminated by many

sources, such as from oil spills, industrial

fuel to hazardous household wastes, septic

systems or landfills.Improper discharge or

management of industrial wastes leads to

leakages of wastes into ground water and

water ways which may greatly contribute

to the poor quality of water (Rao, 2011).

The effluents from the industries

contribute more to the problem of access

to safe and drinkable water, which is a

great major world problem now

(WHO/UNICEF). Extremely high surface

water pollution in river U-tapao in

Thailand along the industrial areas is due

to uncontrolled and unregulated effluents

and waste water from industries (Saroj et

al., 2012). The presence of pollutants or

industrial wastes in water may also end up

having negative impact on the

environment and human health. Such

effects may include health problems like

skin irritations, rashes, high blood

pressure, stress, neurological symptoms;

untimely death of animals and plants,

imbalance ecosystems, building

destruction and general degrade of life

quality among others (www.ceers.org,

2008 and

www.ehow.com>eHow>Healthyliving,

2009). Careless disposal of refuse from

domestic wastes may also significantly

affect quality of water and render it unfit

for intended use.

Since the industrial wastes contain

suspended matter,dissolved solids, toxic

metals, chemicals, strong acids, alkalies,

oils and dyes, the pollutional

characteristics of industrial waste waters

are extremely varied in nature (Rao, 2011).

Untreated Industrial waste is known to be

the most common source of water

pollution which extremely affected the

physical, chemical and biological nature of

the water body, which carries inevitable

costs (Saroj et al., 2012). Almeida, et al.

(2007) carried out a study which revealed

that economic development,

industrialization and urbanization, together

with demographic advance are parts of the

main influencing factors that may lead to a

significant growth in water consumption

and contaminating wastage in water bodies

(Yanguo et al., 2011). The study further

explained that In the process of

industrialization more effluent bearing

heavy metals could cause degradation of

surface water quality. Studies showed that

population booms during earlier industrial

revolution led to severe diminishing in

water quality as result of improper

management and disposal of human waste

into cities’ rivers (London and Paris),

which resulted to the outbreaks of typhoid

and cholera (www.ehow.com/info, 2011).

Avraham (2010) revealed that rapid

industrialization led to a severe

deterioration in water quality in China

lakes and rivers like other urban cities. He

showed in his findings that researches

show connections between water quality

and acute borne diseases such as typhoid,

diarrhea, high infant mortality and liver

cancer.

India has identified the problem of water

pollution due to discharge of domestic

industrial wastes into aquatic problems has

a serious problem (Rao, 2011). This is

applicable to other countries of the world,

most especially developing ones.

The principal cause of this is

microbiological contamination, especially

from faeces. An increasing number of

sources and systems used by the rural

dwellers for drinking and cooking water

are not adequately protected from faecal

contamination. The groundwater is also

generally of much higher microbiological

quality (though than surface water), as

result several of factors which include

population pressure, urbanization and the

inadequate construction, operation and

maintenance of water systems.

Drinking contaminated water can cause

diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera, and various

other diseases (Judy et al., 2009). Water

borne illness could significantly reduce

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245

household income by preventing family

members from attending their places of

work; reduce children school attendance,

among others. The presence of micro-

organisms in water is a major causing

illness which may even be fatal in the case

of children and elderly (ceramic-

filtration.blogspot.com, 2009).

UNICEF (2008) revealed the following

research findings on effect of unsafe water:

It was said that Stephenson et al. (2000)

found that poor quality of drinking water

(Lack of safe drinking water) contributes

to intestinal helminth infections, which

cause malnutrition and anaemia in

children. Chronic diarrhoeal disease can

also exacerbate malnutrition. Both early

childhood malnutrition and anaemia,

which can cause permanent effects in brain

development, malnourished and anaemic

children grow up to be less intelligent and

do less well in school according to Pollitt

(1995). The book also showed that

Peruvian children who experienced

multiple infections with Giardia scored

lower on intelligence tests as found by

Berkman et al. (2002). It was further

proved that microbiological contamination

is the largest public health threat; chemical

contamination can be a major health

concern in some cases. Water can be

chemically contaminated through natural

causes (arsenic, fluoride) or through

human activity (nitrate, heavy metals, and

pesticides). It was suggested that the

physical quality of water (e.g., colour,

taste) must be considered as water of poor

physical quality does not directly cause

disease, but it may be aesthetically

unacceptable to consumers, and may force

them to use less safe sources.

The major properties of water include

odour, mineralization, and hardness. Pure

water is expected to be colourless,

odourless, tasteless, neutral (pH

approximately = 7), low turbidity, soft,

among others. Water quality is measured

in terms of solids, of any character, which

are suspended or dissolved in water

(Geoffrey, 2010). In this paper, these water

properties and substances in the water are

examined, since the water quality is

monitored to determine whether the water

is safe for drinking or not.

STUDY AREA

Asa River is the major river out the two

rivers that are used for municipal water

supply in Kwara State Capital, Ilorin

(Nigeria). The river flows across an

industrial estate known as Asa Industrial

Estate. The estate accommodates

residential buildings and major industries

in the state capital, such as Global soap

and detergent industry, Kam wire industry,

United foam industry, Tuyil

pharmaceutical company, several filling

stations, Nigerian bottling company and

Seven-up bottling company. Fishing

activity also takes place in the river. The

available sources of water supply in the

studied area like other parts of the state are

well and rivers/streams which are mostly

impure or contaminated through chemicals

and biological contaminations from both

industrial and domestic wastes.

This paper accessed the effect of the

wastes (pollutants) which are

indiscriminately discharge from industries

and residential buildings in the area on the

quality of water from the available

sources. This is to proffer solution to

effects that this act might cause on animals

and plants using the water. Poverty

alleviation and the other Millennium

Development Goals will be difficult to

achieve without improvements in water

quality.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study was carried out on water

samples obtained from various selected

wells within Asa Dam industrial estate and

selected points on water stream from Asa

River in dry and rainy seasons. The

selected points are grouped as up-stream,

which is the entry point of River Asa into

the estate, mid-stream (point of waste

discharge of industries) and down-stream

(the exit point where the river Asa

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246

converges). Water quality parameters for

this study were temperature, pH,

conductivity, suspended solid (SS),

salinity, biological oxygen demand

(BOD), and dissolved oxygen (DO),

hardness and suspended solids among

others using World Health Organisation

(WHO)/Standard Organisation of Nigeria

(SON) standard(s) as guide.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Tables 1 & 2 show properties of water

samples obtained from River Asa. The

temperature of the water samples was

fairly constant and normal within the room

temperature.

The apparent colour value of 142 (pt-co)

from the water samples at upstream

(entrance of the river into the estate)

showed that amount of the particulate

substances in the water are few. The high

values of water colour range from 1201-

1740 (pt-co) within the mid-stream of the

river are attributed to the impact of

industrial wastes discharged into the water

way around the area.pH of the water

samples obtained at the point of entry the

industrial estate was slightly neutral (7.1 –

7.2). Meanwhile at the points at which

industrial effluents have been released the

pH was slightly alkaline (7.4 – 7.6) as

result of pollution from the effluents; and

at the point at which the water ways

converge and leave the estate, pH was 6.8,

slightly acidic in nature. Presence of refuse

dumps around the river and run off from

the dumps into the water way were

observed. This might attribute for the

changes of the neutrality of water sample

to slight acidity.

Hardness of water is attributed to the

presence of calcium and magnesium ions

in the water. Hardness of the water

samples range from 26 - 185. The ions

generated from the industrial wastes

released into the water ways, which is

more pronounced in rainy season. The

hardness is higher at the mid stream,

though lower at the point very close to

global soap and detergent industry and at

the down stream/exit of the estate.

Presence of solids both suspended and

dissolved in water is another important

parameter that can be used to determine

quality of water. The suspended and

dissolved solids which account for the

value of total solids in the water are higher

in the water samples due to indiscriminate

discharge of refuses and industrial wastes

into the water surface and surroundings in

the studied area. High total solids in water

makes the water unfit for intended uses,

like drinking, washing and other domestic

purposes, most especially at the mid-

stream.

Turbidity of the water in the river

increased at the mid-stream of the river

(ranges from 121- 199 N.T.U.) and later

reduced sharply at the point of exit (111

N.T.U). This is more apparent in the rainy

season than during the dry season. This

shows presence and increment in the

concentration of suspended matters, such

as organic matter pollution, silt, clay and

soluble organic matters in the water

samples. Act of discharge industrial and

domestic wastes into the water ways

attributed to the sudden increment in the

turbidity of the water in the river within

mid-stream of the river. Reduction in the

value of turbidity within the mid-stream

and point of exit the estate is an indication

that some purification processes like

filtration, chlorination (from chemical

pollutants) and coagulation do occurred

within the water ways. Presence of

suspended matters, organic and dissolved

chemical pollutants render water in the

river unfit and safe for drinking and for

several domestic applications without

treatment.

Low dissolved oxygen value from the mid-

stream is an indication for the presence of

more pollutions and living organisms that

use the oxygen for their growth and

metabolic activities. High discharge of

industrial wastes which contain significant

value of organic matter and nutrient can

also lead to decrease in concentration of

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

247

dissolved oxygen in the water. Possibility

of purification processes to occur at the

up-stream (entry point) is responsible for

the high value of dissolved oxygen at the

point. Dry season favours more growth of

plants on the water ways due to reduction

in the flow rate of the water. Thus, the

reduction in the concentration of dissolved

oxygen in the water during season and

higher pollution rate.

Conductivity is the ability of water to

conduct an electric current. High

conductivity in water sample showed

presence of dissolved solids from the

industrial and sewage pollutions, which

contain some salts that dissociate into ions.

66µs at the point of entry means fewer

ions from dissolved salts are present.

While the result showed higher chloride

rate from industrial and sewage pollutions

at the mid-stream (maximum of 301 µs).

High chloride makes water to be

unpalatable and unfit for drinking and

livestock watering. There are Low

conductivity values from the point of entry

to the mid-stream. This shows that

influence of wastes on the quality of water

is less at the points.

Table 3 shows that all the water samples

had e-coli of over 960 MPN per 100ml and

high level of coliform, an indication of the

presence of faecal pollution, which makes

the water unsuitable for drinking and other

domestic applications. Water with high

level of coliform and e-coli is known to be

harmful and could cause some health

problems like cholera, fever, typhoid

(UNICEF, 2008).

The result of biological analysis showed

that the water samples contain many solid

wastes with high total solids. These solid

wastes originated from the faeces and

other domestic wastes released into the

water ways around the industrial areas.

Reduction in the value of the total solids at

the exit of the river from the estate might

be due to purification processes likely to

take place within the river. This makes the

water to be fit for domestic uses.

The physical and biological properties of

the water samples obtained from selected

wells at the studied area are also studied

and results are shown in table 4. The

temperatures of the water samples are

fairly constant. The values for the colour

of the water samples range from 181-295

pt. co. This showed the presence of high

pollution in the well. Through visual

examination, thin films of oil were

observed on the surface of the water in the

well. The water from well at the upper

industrial site (entry) of the estate was

neutral with pH value of 6.9, while that of

industrial located area is slightly alkaline

with pH value of 7.3. Alkalinity of the

water may arise from dissolved minerals

from wastes which sink into the ground

and are alkaline in nature.

Calcium and magnesium ions play vital

role in determining total hardness of water.

All the water from the well is hard due to

the presence of these ions. Well

Total dissolved oxygen in the well water

samples ranges between 7 and 9 mg/l, an

indication of high organic

contaminants/pollutions in the water.

These contaminants decrease dissolved

oxygen concentration in water due to

microbial activity during the degradation

of organic matter. Well selected from the

up-stream has higher dissolved oxygen,

thus less organic contaminants are present.

Total coliform and e-coli are appreciably

present in the well water. Proximity of the

well water to the refuse from dump sites

and industrial wastes contributes to this

significantly. For well water to be fit and

safe from contaminations well must be

more than 30 meters readily away from the

source of pollution (Sangodoyin, 1991).

Turbidity of the water from the selected

wells also range from 2.1 – 5.0 mg/l. High

turbidity is as result of high concentration

of suspended matter that originated from

industrial wastes discharged into the water

ways around the location of the well.

These matters and other wastes eventually

found their ways to the ground water.

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

248

Like in the case of Asa River, the

conductivity of the water samples range

between 22 – 45 µs. the appreciable

conductivity level is due to presence of

dissolved solids which contain mineral

salts in the water. These solids originated

from wastes disposed around the studied

areas and into the water ways, which found

their ways to the ground water. High

conductivity makes water to be unfit for

drinking.

CONCLUSIONS

Water from water sources located within

the industrial area are liable to pollution

and deem unfit for intended usage, except

it is subjected to high treatment involving

some purification processes. The quality

of the water in industrial area negatively

affected since it is easy for the wastes

discharged to find their ways to both

surface and ground water. There is need to

enact and effectively enforce

environmental laws on adequate

maintenance of industrial wastes in

Nigeria. More so, proper education on

effective treatment and preservation of

water is required at all levels, since “there

are few, if any, places where the water is

safe to drink without treating, no matter

how pristine and inviting it may look”

(Cathy, 2010).

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August, 2009)

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industrialization: Evidence from

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Safety of Drinking Water and Protect

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(31/12/2012).

Rao, C.S. (2011). Environmental Pollution

Control Engineering.Revised

Edition.New Age International

Publishers.New Delhi-110002.

Saroj, G., Kuaanan, T. & Chumpol, Y.

(2012).Effects of Industrial Waste

Disposal on the Surface Water Quality

of U-tapao River,

Thailand.International Conference on

Environment Science and

Engineering, IPCBEE, Vol. 32 (2012),

IACSIT Press, Singapoore.

Sangodoyin, A.Y. (1991), “Groundwater

and Surface Water Pollution by Open

Refuse Dump in Ibadan, Nigeria”.

Journal of Discovery and Innovations,

vol 3 No 1, 24-31.

Yanguo, T., Jie, Y., Rui, Z., Jinsheng, W.

(2011). Impact of Urbanization and

Industrialization upon Surface Water

Quality: A Pilot Study of Panzhihua

Mining Town. Journal of Earth

Science, Vol. 22. No.5, pp 658-668.

http://www.ehow.com.info_8634378_effec

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revolution.html~ixzz2G1cf8bjs.

World Health Organization (2004).World

Health Organization guidelines for

drinking water quality (3rd

Edition).

Geneva, Switerland..

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249

UNICEF (2008), “UNICEF Handbook on

Water Quality”, United Nations

Children's Fund (UNICEF), New

Yorkhttp://www.unicef.org/wes

Nolt-Helms, C. (2009), “Final Report:

Low-Cost Water Purification System:

Developing an Effective Water

Purification System for Local

Production Which Offers Sustainable

Economic Stimulus”,

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tail/abstract/8109/report/F.,

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NAFDAC (2009) on NAFDAC and Your

Health, Nigeria Television Authority

(NTA) Program on Wednesday, 3rd

December, 2009 between 8.00 and

8.30 pm (Anomymns).

http://www.edc-cu.org/filtron.htm,

(downloaded on 14th

June, 2009)

Judy, H., Nick, H., David, P., Mickey, S.,

Vanna S., and Kathryn, S. (2009),

“Resource Development International

Cambodia – Ceramic Water Filter

Handbook, Version 1.1”, Resource

Development International -

Cambodia, Engineers Without Borders

Australia,

www.rdic.org/waterceramicfiltration.h

tm; info@ewb.org.au

USAID & WSSCC (2005), “Water and

Sanitation Essential for Life”, USAID

and Water Supply & Sanitation

Collaborative Council, Media

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April, 2005.

http://www.usaid.gov ,

http://www.un.gov

http://www.tooraj-sabzevari.blogfa.com

(2010), Water Engineering Weblog

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

250

Table 1: Water quality parameters of River Asa at different locations (points)

Parameters Up-stream

(Entrance)

Mid-

stream

1

Mid-

stream

2

Mid-

stream

3

Mid-

stream

4

Down-

stream

(Exit)

Temperature

(oC)

Rainy season

Dry season

25

27

25

26

26

28

26

27

27

28

26

26

Apparent

Colour (Pt-

Co)

Rainy season

Dry season

142

130

1201

1193

1720

1650

1740

1809

1282

953

307

208

pH Rainy season

Dry season

7.2

7.1

7.1

7.3

7.6

7.6

7.4

7.3

7.1

7.1

6.9

6.9

Total

Hardness

(mg/l)

Rainy season

Dry season

26

27

58

59

185

166

158

166

56

56

43

41

Calcium

Hardness

(mg/l)

Rainy season

Dry season

15

14

25

31

100

84

69

69

20

19

18

18

Magnesium

Hardness

(mg/l)

Rainy season

Dry season

11

13

33

28

85

82

89

97

36

37

25

23

Calcium ion

(mg/l)

Rainy season

Dry season

59

59

81

82

272

294

296

303

314

333

78

111

Magnesium

ion(mg/l)

Rainy season

Dry season

7

9

22

23

28

22

26

31

26

26

19

17

Total Solids

(mg/l)

Rainy season

Dry season

111

197

472

333

754

652

887

633

611

479

321

297

Turbidity

(N.T.U)

Rainy season

Dry season

4.3

4.1

121

107

199

182

182

171

173

168

111

7.8

Total

Dissolved

Oxygen

(mg/L)

Rainy season

Dry season

8

7

4

6

4

6

4

6

4

5

3

3

Chloride

(mg/l)

Rainy season

Dry season

3

3

34

35

71

71

92

91

112

109

15

15

Conductivity

(µs)

Rainy season

Dry season

66

66

69

71

261

269

297

291

301

311

98

82

Table 2: Physical Appearance of Water in the River at different locations

S/N Water sample Locations Colour

1 Cocacola / 7 up Foamy and Colourless

2 Tuyil pharmaceutical area Turbid / fairly darkish

3 Asa river (within the dam) Fairly colourless

4 Exit of Asa dam (point of entering the estate) Colourless

5 Along Oko Erin street Turbid

6 Behind global soap & detergent Foamy and fairly colourless

7 Before Unity road bridge behind UBA bank Turbid / fairly brownish

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

251

Table 3: Distribution of pathogens and pesticides in available water sources within Asa Dam

Industrial Estate

Parameters Up-

stream

(Entran

ce)

Mid-

stream

1

Mid-

stream

2

Mid-

stream 3

Mid-

stream

4

Down-

stream

(Exit)

Bacillus subtilis Present Present Present Present Present Present

Citrobacter diversus Present Present Present Present Present Present

E. coli Present Present

at high

level

Present

at high

level

Present

at high

level

Present

at high

level

Present

at high

level

Entamoeba histolytical

/ dispar

Present Present Present Present Present Present

Helminths (e.g.

Dracunculus

medinensis,

Schistosoma spp.)

Present Present Present Present Present Present

Herbicides (e.g. 2, 4-D,

2, 4, etc)

Absent Absent Absent Absent Absent Absent

Micrococcus albus Present Absent Absent Present Present Present

Micrococcus luteus Present Absent Present Present Present Present

Pesticides (e.g. Aldrin,

Lindane, Dieldrin, etc)

Absent Absent Absent Absent Absent Absent

Proteus vulgaris Present Present Present Present Present Present

Pseudomonas

aeruginosa

Present Present Present Present Present Present

Serratia sp Present Absent Present Present Absent Present

Shigella sp Present Absent Present Present Present Present

Staphylococcus aureus Present Present Present Present Present Present

Streptococcus bovis Present Absent Absent Present Absent Present

Streptococcus faecalis Present Absent Present Present Present Present

Surfactant Absent Absent Present Absent Absent Absent

Oil and grease Absent Absent Absent Partially

Present

Absent Absent

ISSN: 1974 - 9005

252

Table 4: Water quality parameters of selected wells within Asa dam industrial estate

S/N Parameters Season Well 1 Well 2 Well 3

1 Temperature

(oC)

Rainy season

Dry season

27

28

28

27

28

28

2 Apparent

Colour (Pt-Co)

Rainy season

Dry season

223

181

295

226

274

267

3 pH Rainy season

Dry season

6.9 7.2 7.1

4 Dissolved

Oxygen (mg/l)

Rainy season

Dry season

6

7

9

7

9

7

5 Total Hardness

(mg/l)

Rainy season

Dry season

143

141

145

146

147

159

6 Calcium

Hardness (mg/l)

Rainy season

Dry season

107

105

101

101

92

87

7 Magnesium

Hardness (mg/l)

Rainy season

Dry season

36

36

44

45

56

72

8 Calcium ion

(mg/l)

Rainy season

Dry season

376

305

532

532

311

299

9 Magnesium

ion(mg/l)

Rainy season

Dry season

27

26

36

37

47

67

10 Total Solids

(mg/l)

Rainy season

Dry season

267

241

301

276

293

231

11 Turbidity

(N.T.U)

Rainy season

Dry season

2.1

2.9

4.5

5.2

4.5

5.0

12 Total Dissolved

Oxygen (mg/l)

7 7 9 9

13 Chloride (mg/l) Rainy season

Dry season

37

17

73

45

22

32

14 Conductivity

(µs)

Rainy season

Dry season

22

33

45

51

33

37

15 E-coli MPN

100ml

Rainy season

Dry season

960

960

1200

932

754

743

16 Total coliform

count per

100ml

Rainy season

Dry season

1200

987

1482

1245

983

933