Conversion of agro wastes into potential raw materials for production has gained a lot of attention in research. This has led to the development of ceiling board using waste breadfruit seed coat and Recycled Low Density Polyethylene, as filler and binder respectively. The filler material (Breadfruit seed coat), was treated with 1 mol/dm3 of NaOH to eliminate the pigment and neutralized using 0.5 mol/dm3 Acetic Acid. After drying, the filler material was ground to a particle size of 600μm. Using Central Composite Design (CCD) tool of the Design Expert software, the experimental design was set up. From the design, thirty experimental samples were developed with the production parameters; press time, press pressure, press temperature and filler/rLDPE ratio as the independent variables. The produced samples were tested for Thermal Conductivity, Water Absorption, Thickness Swell and Density tests, which formed the responses for the Central Composite Design. The results of the experiment were analysed using the Response Surface Methodology while the validation was done using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The optimal values obtained for the production parameters are 19.722% filer/rLDPE, 10minutes press time, 197.31 °C press temperature and 9.042MPa press pressure, which gave a 775.661 g/cm3 density, 0.308% Water Absorption, 0.962% Thickness Swell and 0.367W/M.K Thermal Conductivity. This result shows that agro waste breadfruit seed coat is a good filler material for the production of ceiling board.
This work presents the use as a filler of carbonized breadfruit seed coat and recycled low density polyethylene as the binder in ceiling board manufacturing. The depulped bread fruit seed was carbonized for 2 h at a temperature of 500°C. The experimental design was set up using the Design Expert software. A total of 30 experimental tests were developed for four parameters and three responses. The parameters are carbonized bread fruit seed coat/recycled Low Density Polyethylene mass ratio (filler-binder mass ratio), compaction time, compaction temperature and compaction pressure while the responses are thermal conductivity, thickness swell and water absorption. The models developed have been validated using the Study of Variance (ANOVA). Using the 3D surface map, the influence of the parameters on the responses was studied. The optimization method of the Design Expert program was used to evaluate the optimal level of the parameters that will produce the best possible result from their combination. The result gave optimal values of 16.206% filler/rLDPE, 9.406minutes compaction time, 200°C compaction temperature and 11 MPa compaction pressure, which gave 0.246% Water Absorption, 1.998% Thickness Swell and 2.898 W/M.K Thermal Conductivity.
This study covered the design, implementation and performance evaluation of a crossflow turbine at various nozzle positions. The chosen blade material was analyzed using ANSYS for stress and deformation degree under the impact of hydraulic jets to ascertain its suitability while in operation. The shaft was analyzed under static and dynamic conditions using ANSYS in order to ensure a non-plastic deformation of the shaft at both conditions. The outcome of this analysis was employed in the harmonic response analysis of the runner shaft. Convergent tests were done for both the blade and runner shaft analysis. An experiment was designed for the evaluation of the crossflow turbine performance using optimal (custom) design tool of response surface methodology and 69 simulations/runs were obtained. The factors considered in the experimental design are: nozzle distance from the shaft, nozzle height and attack angle. The crossflow turbine was constructed using computed design values for all the machine's parts. The runner blades were positioned specifically at 28° outer blade angle and 90° inner blade angle. The turbine was tested under a water head and flow rate of 6.4m and 0.0042 respectively. The shaft power and efficiency were evaluated using their respective formula. The responses were optimized in order to get the optimum position of the nozzle that would give the best performance of the responses using the two factor interaction (2F1) mathematical models in coded factors, developed for each of the response. The results obtained, proved that low carbon steel material was suitable for the turbine blading and the shaft is safe at both static and dynamic conditions since the induced stresses and deformations never exceeded the permissible range. Also, each of these considered nozzle positions had a significant effect on the responses with the nozzle height and attack angle having a combined effect on the performance of the turbine. The best turbine performance was obtained at lower angle of attack, nozzle distance very close to the runner shaft and at a nozzle height that will actualize greater energy impartation to the upper and lower blade profiles. The developed mathematical models for each response has higher correlation value, suggesting that the models are suitable for predicting the responses at the considered factor levels. An optimal nozzle distance, height and attack angle of 102mm, 413mm and respectively, were obtained. At this nozzle position, the alternator gave an output of 35watts and 6V. When two voltage transformers were employed, it gave 200Volts AC. The turbine can be commercialized on large scale for greater output power using the determined optimal nozzle positions.
This study presented the analyses of the design and construction of a motorized 40-ton constant temperature hydraulic press, for constant temperature compression purposes of fibre matrices. Standard design considerations and calculations were done to ensure the selection of effective and efficient components for the development of the machine. The construction of the machine involved standard manufacturing processes which involved marking out, cutting, drilling, machining and welding processes. The design was motorized for the purpose of increasing mechanical advantage as against hand-powered press. Design analyses were carried out to facilitate accurate dimensioning of the various parts of the hydraulic press. For adequate spring selection, the spring analysis of the system was also done. On testing of the finished device, no sign of leakages and system failure were observed. The effect of press time, temperature and pressure on the density of test samples, during a manufacturing process using the developed machine showed good working condition on both the compression and heating processes of the machine.
Upper limb spasticity (ULS) is a common pathophysiological changes manifest by a structural damage towards the central nervous system (CNS) that includes brain and spinal cord. The current clinical practice of spasticity assessment utilizes Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) as a subjective tool to measure the severity of spasticity. Lack of objective value, poor sensitivity in detecting minimal changes, and dependency to the interpretation by the assessing clinicians are the several reasons of the inter and intra-rater variability of the measurement using MAS. These limit the use of MAS in diagnosing, treating, and monitoring spasticity especially in inexperienced clinicians, hence leading to inadequate spasticity management. To overcome this problem, a study is carried out to quantify and develop a data-driven model of ULS detection based on MAS. The characteristics that detect the existence of ULS according to MAS are identified and adopted to train the machine learning models for smart diagnosis purpose to assist the physicians to effectively manage spasticity.
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