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The performance evaluation of a continuous process breadfruit (Treculia africana Decne) de-pulp... more The performance evaluation of a continuous
process breadfruit (Treculia africana Decne) de-pulping
machine and the effects of de-pulping speed and
fermentation period on breadfruit are presented. The
machine was designed, fabricated and tested. This machine
eradicates the tedious nature involved in the traditional
way of de-pulping and cleaning of the breadfruit seed. The
machine has the ability to de-pulp and clean 26 seeds/sec.
approximately with a throughput of 26kg/hr. The result of
the performance evaluation shows that the overall efficiency
of the machine is 99.5% at the speed of 97.79 / 21.26 rpm
using a sample that has fermented for 3 days. The result of
the analysis of variance tested at 95% confidence level
shows that fermentation period has a significant effect on
de-pulping efficiency. On the other hand, speed does not
show any significant effect on the de-pulping efficiency
likewise the interactions between speed and fermenta tion
period. Further work is continuing to improve on the system
performance and its acceptability by the stakeholders

Abstract- The performance evaluation of a continuous process breadfruit (Treculia africana Decne... more Abstract- The performance evaluation of a continuous
process breadfruit (Treculia africana Decne) de-pulping
machine and the effects of de-pulping speed and
fermentation period on breadfruit are presented. The
machine was designed, fabricated and tested. This machine
eradicates the tedious nature involved in the traditional
way of de-pulping and cleaning of the breadfruit seed. The
machine has the ability to de-pulp and clean 26 seeds/sec.
approximately with a throughput of 26kg/hr. The result of
the performance evaluation shows that the overall efficiency
of the machine is 99.5% at the speed of 97.79 / 21.26 rpm
using a sample that has fermented for 3 days. The result of
the analysis of variance tested at 95% confidence level
shows that fermentation period has a significant effect on
de-pulping efficiency. On the other hand, speed does not
show any significant effect on the de-pulping efficiency
likewise the interactions between speed and fermentation
period. Further work is continuing to improve on the system
performance and its acceptability by the stakeholders.
Key words: Breadfruit, De-Pulping, Fermentation Period,
Speed, Brush-Shaft Sub-Assembly (BSSa), Wire Mesh
Assembly (WMSa)

Welding is a process of joining two similar or dissimilar materials together by application of he... more Welding is a process of joining two similar or dissimilar materials together by application of heat. Welding processes are used with the aim of obtaining a welded joint with the desired weld-bead parameters, excellent mechanical properties with minimum distortion. The evaluation and discussion of effects of welding current on mechanical properties of welded joints for hot rolled low carbon steel plate and mild steel plate, having dimension of 60mm by 40mm by 8mm is investigated. The aim is to ascertain and compare the mechanical properties of the joints. The welded joints samples were cut machined and subjected to tensile test, impact toughness test, and hardness and their mechanical properties were determined. Generally, as the welding current increases, hardness of the weld increases for the two samples up to 115A and 116A for mild steel and low carbon steel respectively but shows a decrease with a further increase in welding current. The ultimate tensile strength decreases with increase in welding current but increases at the welding current of 200A and 115A for mild steel and low carbon steel respectively. The yield strength and impact strength shows a decrease for the two samples with an increase in the welding current.

The optical and electrical properties of boron doped zinc oxide prepared by electrostatic spray d... more The optical and electrical properties of boron doped zinc oxide prepared by electrostatic spray deposition were studied. This work is aimed at investigating the influence of doping concentration by optimizing boron doped zinc oxide concentrations. Boron doped zinc oxide with varying concentration (0wt%, 1.5wt%, 3wt%, 4.5wt% and 6.5wt%) were prepared and deposited at a temperature of 450°C on a glass substrate by electrostatic spray deposition. The optical and electrical properties of un-doped (ZnO) and doped (ZnO:B) films was investigated by UV spectrophotometer, four-probe technique. The thickness of the film was examined with profilometer. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was carried to gain insight to the orientation of the thin film. The thickness examination gave a film thickness of 200nm for the un-doped zinc oxide and boron doped zinc oxide. The optical analysis indicated a decrease in transmittance from 0wt% to 3wt% which signifies that boron doped zinc oxide thin films were transparent and good absorber of light but at a high doping concentration it increases again. The band gap of the doped and un-doped zinc oxide, varied from 3.22 to 3.53 eV, with increasing doping concentration. The electrical resistivity decrease from 0wt% to 1.5wt% and later increases as the doping concentration increases. The optimised doping concentration is found at 1.5wt% with resistivity of 4.19 x 10 10 (Ωcm), at 1.5wt% also give the maximum transmittance of 74.62%.which showed that incorporation of boric acid influenced the electrical properties. The XRD analysis of both ZnO and ZnO:B sick patterns indicate that the obtained ZnO and ZnO:B films are not crystalline.

The conceptual design, solid modeling, computer aided static analysis of frames and plates of a c... more The conceptual design, solid modeling, computer aided static analysis of frames and plates of a continuous process breadfruit (Treculia africana Decne) de-pulping machine is presented. The aim is to improve the method of breadfruit de-pulping in rural areas by creating a mechanism that de-pulps the seeds and to carry out a static analysis on the frame and plates. The conceptual design was gotten from mechanization of the traditional method of de-pulping and also from exiting literatures. The modeling was done using computer aided design software. The machine has an overall dimension of 2522mm × 540mm × 1198mm as its length, width and height respectively and weighs approximately 178kg as modeled. Static analysis/ Finite Element Analysis (FEA) were carried out on the frame and the plates of the machine using computer aided design simulation software. This is to ascertain the level of deformation and strength check on the plates and frame. The specific material of the component, load, torque and constraints were specified on the simulation environment before simulation. The material assigned to the frame and plates are mild steel. Von Mises failure criterion was used to examine the effects of the forces and torque on the plates and frames. The result showed that the stresses and the displacement are within the acceptable limit for the design. The results of finite element analysis (static analysis) and the deformation analysis on the frame and plates show von misses stress value ranging from 0.042-52.33 Mpa for the plates and 16.47 Mpa for the frame. The maximum deformation on the frame is 0.164 mm. It is recommend that frame and plates should be fabricated likewise the mechanical functional design, fabrication and testing of the machine. it will also eradicate the tedious nature involved in the traditional way of de-pulping and cleaning of the breadfruit seed.

—Coir fibres can be used as fillers in synthetic polymer composites replacing expensive and non-b... more —Coir fibres can be used as fillers in synthetic polymer composites replacing expensive and non-biodegradable inorganic fillers. Coir fibres were chemically modified with sodium hydroxide and potassium permanganate to enhance their compatibility with the hydrophobic polymer matrix. Both untreated coir fibre reinforced polyester (CFRP) and treated coir fibre reinforced polyester (CFRP) composites that were characterised using FTIR show spectra with well-defined peaks at 1124.54, 1070.53 and 1041.60 for untreated CFRP and 1068.60 for treated CFRP (attributed to the amines groups C-N stretch), indicating that amines groups were introduced more to Untreated CFRP than treated CFRP. By way of Comparison, untreated CFRP composite exhibited higher mechanical properties. Based on mechanical properties data, Untreated CFRP shows higher optimum set of mechanical properties (flexural strength of 77.3/ , and hardness strength of 11.7/) that were closely comparable with treated CFRP (flexural strength of 75.1/ , hardness strength of 11.6/).

The cost of processing recycling slag is less than the purchase of new flux from the manufacturer... more The cost of processing recycling slag is less than the purchase of new flux from the manufacturer .Many times this can amount to saving 50 percent or greater. In order to continue effective use of slag in the future, we realize the necessity of development for new applications and market reclamation to create the stable demand. Therefore the needs of recycling slag waste cannot be over emphasized for sustainable environmental, economic and industrial growth. The present paper summarizes the current application of slag the ferrous and non-ferrous slag, as well as recycling of salt fluxes in secondary smelting production. Fluxes often are selected to make slag to perform different functions at different stages of a process prior to final melting, hence Slag chemistries are adjusted to provide the proper melting point, viscosity, surface tension, conductivity, specific heat, density, or chemical properties for the particular metallurgical process.

This work reports the effects of varying fiber length and percentage composition of tensile stren... more This work reports the effects of varying fiber length and percentage composition of tensile strength of okra and banana fiber
reinforced composite. The fibers were mixed with 10%, 30%, and 50% okra and banana fiber content before chopping them to
lengths of 10mm, 30mm and 50mm. The fibers were treated with 2% of NaOH, for an hour under constant stirring and allowed
for 24hrs at room temperature and then dried in open air for 6-7days. The purpose of chemical treatment is to remove the
moisture content on the fibers and to increase the tensile strength of the fibers. The fibers were subjected to tensile strength test
and the result shows that the optimum combination of banana fiber length and its content is on 50mm length and 30% banana
fiber content, while the okra fiber shows optimum value to be on 30% okra fiber content at 10mm length. Investigations,
research and development study are still on going for the determination of the optimum combination to yield the desired
properties.

The knowledge of material science plays a crucial role in the selection of engineering materials ... more The knowledge of material science plays a crucial role in the selection of engineering materials for the purpose of design and
manufacture of automotive mechanical components. The importance of a hub in a motorcycle automotive industry, as the
central part of a motorcycle wheel that rotates on or with the axle and from which spokes radiates, prompted this comparative
study on materials which will better serve the purpose of the hub. A comparative evaluation of Cast iron and Aluminum alloy
for motorcycle hub were done and their reactions under the same critical load environment were analyzed. Data on the critical
loads and forces that were used for the analysis were obtained from literature, and the analyses were done with an Autodesk
Inventor Software. Findings made confirmed that thealuminum alloy hub have less weight than the cast iron hub which helps
to reduce the inertia (the work done to move or stop the motorcycle hub). Further, the findings showedthat the aluminum alloy
hub has a good weight to strength ratio when compared to cast iron. The study therefore concluded that, regardless of the
material cost and manufacturing cost of both hubs, the aluminum alloy hubs are better alternatives to the cast iron hubs.

Growing concern about environmental protection and energy conservation has led a number of studie... more Growing concern about environmental protection and energy conservation has led a number of studies to
increase fuel economy and reduction in emissions. From theoretical studies one of the major factors influencing
fuel consumption is air resistance and developing ways to reduce this influencing factor could be achieved by
designing vehicle body shape to have a low coefficient of air resistance. This paper focuses on the comparative
analysis of fuel consumption of one of an existing tricycles and NASENI TP1 with reference to their body
shapes. Solid models for these two different tricycles were done and simulated using Solidworks flowxpress.
Mathematical models were applied to compare the rate of fuel consumption between the simulated models. The
result of simulation shows that there is a 2% reduction in coefficient of drag (C d) and 17.34% reduction in fuel
consumption for NASENI TP1 as compared to the referenced tricycle.

The present paper investigates the effects of fibercontent and alkali treatment on impact propert... more The present paper investigates the effects of fibercontent and alkali treatment on impact property ofcoir fibers reinforced
polyester resin composites which are partially biodegradable. The coir fibers were collected from the foliage of locally
available coconut fruit through the process of water retting and mechanical extraction. The usual problem in natural fiber
reinforced composites is seen in its poor adhesion between fiber and matrix, hence, in this study, specific physical and
chemical treatments were administered for surface modification of the fibers. Both untreated and treated fibers were used for
coir fibers reinforced polyester resin composites formations; and the impact properties were determined at three different
control factors of the fiber contents. Applying Taguchi robust design technique for the greater-the-better, the highest signal-to-noise ratio (S/N ratio) for the quality characteristics being investigated was obtained employing Minitab 16 software. The
treated coir fibres reinforced polyester matrix composites were better in impact having the expected optimum impact strength
of 6.2J/mm
2
at the optimum setting of control factors, while that of the untreated composites have an expected optimum impact
strength of 5.5J/mm
2
at the optimum setting of control factors. The reinforcement combinations of control factors and chemical
treatment of coir fiber contribute greatly to the impact property.

ABSTRACT Quest for a greener environment and energy conservation has led a number of research st... more ABSTRACT
Quest for a greener environment and energy conservation has led a number of research studies to increase fuel
economy and reduce emissions in developmental design of vehicles.This study illustrates how a vehicular body
shape affects fuel consumption and gas emission. Solid models for two different tricycles were done and
simulated using Solid works flow xpress, Mathematical models were applied to compare the rate of fuel
consumption and gas emission between the simulated models. The result shows thatNASENI TC1 consumes
less fuel and invariably emits less CO 2 when compared with RFM 1.