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Defined quantities of the vegetable oil extracted from the seed of Neem tree were mixed with each of four commercial grades of Nigerian gum arabic exudates as hybrid binders for foundry sand cores. The cores which were made with silica... more
Defined quantities of the vegetable oil extracted from the seed of Neem tree were mixed with each of four commercial grades of Nigerian gum arabic exudates as hybrid binders for foundry sand cores. The cores which were made with silica sand were classified and oven baked at 200°C for 1 - 3 h, oven cooled and then tested for tensile strength using standard universal strength machine to ascertain their level of suitability for industrial casting. The specimens for tensile strength were shaped like figure eight. The result showed that grade 2 gum arabic hybrids with Neem oil offered best economic advantage as it attained required tensile strength after the shortest period of baking. It was followed by the grade 4, grade 1 and then grade 3 gum arabic based hybrids with Neem oil in that order. The benefit of hybridizing Nigerian gum arabic exudates with Neem oil was more pronounced when cores were baked at about the melting temperature of the grade of gum arabic involved. Baking cores below the melting point marginally improved bond strength while baking them at temperatures well above melting point depressed tensile strength. Key words: Neem oil, gum Arabic, hybrid binder, tensile strength.
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There are emerging growing needs to develop automobile brake pad materials from agro-biomass sustainable sources which are lung and environmentally friendly towards replacing asbestos which has been reported to cause other cancerous... more
There are emerging growing needs to develop automobile brake pad materials from agro-biomass sustainable sources which are lung and environmentally friendly towards replacing asbestos which has been reported to cause other cancerous diseases. It has been established that many research works have been done towards replacing asbestos with other environmentally friendly reinforcement materials but not much has been reported on the replacement of inorganic resins like Phenolic or Formedehyde and the epoxy resins mostly used as the binder which have toxic health concerns and also known to corrode plates of brake pad assembly. Therefore, Agro-biomass such as agricultural residues, wastes and products especially from fibers and plant exudates have now emerged as the new and inexpensive materials that could be used to form parts of brake pads composite matrix that are commercially viable and environmentally acceptable. This study reveals a substitute research direction with the replacement ...
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The potential of composite combination of each of grades 1 and 2 Nigerian acacia species exudates and bentonite clay as sand mould binder was investigated. The study involved foundry property analyses of sand mould specimens bonded with... more
The potential of composite combination of each of grades 1 and 2 Nigerian acacia species exudates and bentonite clay as sand mould binder was investigated. The study involved foundry property analyses of sand mould specimens bonded with composites mixes of grades 1 and 2 acacia species exudates and bentonite clay. Standard foundry equipment that included universal strength machine, permeability meter, hardness tester, shatter index machine and quick moisture teller in the foundry workshop and laboratory of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited, Nigeria were used as the research equipment. The foundry properties measured were the moisture content, green and dry compressive strength, permeability and shatter index of sand moulds bonded with varied combinations of the composite materials. The result was compared to existing foundry standard and past related work. It showed that composite combination of 8 % grade 1 acacia species with 1 % bentonite clay was a suitable binder for green and dry ...
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Sheanut (Butyrospernum paradoxum) is an oil rich tropical tree crop, which is indigenous to the West African savannah zone. In Nigeria, most of the shea nut roasters are made of light mild steel materials with openings. The source of heat... more
Sheanut (Butyrospernum paradoxum) is an oil rich tropical tree crop, which is indigenous to the West African savannah zone. In Nigeria, most of the shea nut roasters are made of light mild steel materials with openings. The source of heat for the roasting is open fire. This takes time and the mild steel can easily get rusted and contaminate the product. In addition, open fire roasting has the disadvantage of producing burnt crushed kernels which in turn lead to black shea oil formation, loss of vital and essential nutrients. A shea nut roaster which makes use of steam as source of heat energy was designed and fabricated to be used in roasting shea nut prior to extracting oil from them. It was developed to address the aforementioned problems. The equipment consists of heating unit, roasting unit, power transmission unit and the supporting frame. A gear motor of 0.25kW was selected to supply power to the shaft whose end was welded to the stirrer. The roasting unit consists of three c...
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The Multi Server approach of modeling was adopted in this study to develop a mathematical model to solve problem of queuing of air transport passengers at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, Nigeria's capital city.... more
The Multi Server approach of modeling was adopted in this study to develop a mathematical model to solve problem of queuing of air transport passengers at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, Nigeria's capital city. The airport just like similar facilities in the aviation industry of the country faces problems of many passengers queuing for boarding, departure with different arrival rate due to non availability of state of the art logistics management mechanisms for predicting the nature and service demands of travelers. A mathematical queuing model was developed in this study and simulated using data obtained from four different air transport companies that consisted of two domestic carriers (Arik Airline, Aero Contractor Limited) and two international carriers (British Airways and Ethiopian Airline). Result showed that there was shortage in total number of aircrafts available to effectively serve the monthly average of 21,863 domestic and international passe...
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Nigeria has not been able to complete and operate her indigenous steel plants for continuous production of needed assorted products for all sectors of her economy. Moreover steel scraps abound everywhere which some local companies recycle... more
Nigeria has not been able to complete and operate her indigenous steel plants for continuous production of needed assorted products for all sectors of her economy. Moreover steel scraps abound everywhere which some local companies recycle into rod, plate e. t. c. for use as structural reinforcement materials in construction industry without serious application for mechanical applications like in automobiles that critically require locally available replacement and completely knocked down parts. This study used austempering as one of the processes for enhancing the mechanical properties of steel to strengthen and toughen selected recycled steel scraps and characterised them for possible suitability for use shaft and gear production. Two steel samples; one with 0.16% carbon and another with 0.5% carbon were raised to temperatures of 800 - 950°C and austempered in baths containing 10% concentrated brine maintained at 300°C for varying periods of 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes. Specimens we...
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Most of the perishable fruits harvested during seasonal circles in Nigeria are left to rotten away due to inadequate processing or preservation techniques. This project was designed to develop a small scale juice extraction machine for... more
Most of the perishable fruits harvested during seasonal circles in Nigeria are left to rotten away due to inadequate processing or preservation techniques. This project was designed to develop a small scale juice extraction machine for processing different raw African fruits that included orange, pineapple, water melon, pawpaw, banana, mango, apple, guava, cashew, cucumber and tomato into juices for immediate consumption and preservation for present / future use. A dual powered machine that can be operated in urban / rural area and farm centre with 2 Hp electric motor or internal combustion petrol engine was developed. It incorporated a hopper which received peeled fruit and passed it to a joint conveyor cum extrusion barrel, then to the extrusion chamber that continuously squeezed out juice. Extracted juice flowed to a collector and waste expelled out to residue cake tray. Standard references were used in the design analysis to arrive at appropriate sizes and material that resist c...
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Oil extracted from neem seed was investigated for use as alternative cutting fluid in metal machining operation using mild steel at three different values each of cutting speeds, depth of cut and oil ratios. Physicochemical properties... more
Oil extracted from neem seed was investigated for use as alternative cutting fluid in metal machining operation using mild steel at three different values each of cutting speeds, depth of cut and oil ratios. Physicochemical properties that relate to cutting fluid’s performance like cooling effect (temperature rise) and surface roughness were measured and compared to those of conventional cutting oil bought from the market and also with data obtained in dry metal cutting experiment with no lubricant. Results indicated that neem had flash point of 157°C, pour point of +8°C, kinematic viscosity of 8.08cSt at 100°C. Specific gravity at 14/40°C was 0.9304, sulpur content was 0.0293%, pH was 5.6 and free fatty acid (oleic acid) was 5.94%. Cooling effect was found to be comparable at different oil ratios and speeds, but dry machined surfaces produced the least cooling effect with temperature rise of up to 57.33°C at 710rpm at 0.5mm depth of cut. However, neem was found to perform slightly ...
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Potentials of foundry sand core binders made with composites of Nigerian gum Arabic and natural honey were investigated. Core specimens made with silica base sand bonded with composites of each of four grades of Nigerian gum Arabic and... more
Potentials of foundry sand core binders made with composites of Nigerian gum Arabic and natural honey were investigated. Core specimens made with silica base sand bonded with composites of each of four grades of Nigerian gum Arabic and honey were classified and tested for tensile and compressive strength; permeability and shatter index to ascertain binder efficacy. Tensile strength specimens shaped like figure number eight were oven baked at 180°C and 200°C; cooled to room temperature and tested with universal strength machine. Cylindrically shaped permeability and shatter index specimens were tested with permeability meter and shatter machine. Results showed that cores baked at 200°C attained higher strength at shorter baking periods than those baked at 180°C. Honey improved tensile strength by 15%, 17%, 16% and 17% over the plain gum Arabic grades 1, 2, 3, 4 bonded cores, respectively. It improved compressive strength by 7%; permeability and shatter index by 2%. Composites cores o...
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The traditional method used in Nigeria for removing the shell of doum palm is tedious, consumes time and also result in musculoskeletal strains and cuts. Despite an extensive search, no published literature was available on the... more
The traditional method used in Nigeria for removing the shell of doum palm is tedious, consumes time and also result in musculoskeletal strains and cuts. Despite an extensive search, no published literature was available on the development of a machine to shell the nuts of doum palm. To overcome this problem, a power operated doum palm de-shelling machine was designed and developed to help improve efficiency and productivity in producing vegetable ivory, doum oil and these can profoundly influence the socio-economic security of doum palm farmers. The average dimension of the doum palm nuts for the outer and inner shell layer in the three principal axes (namely, length, width, and thickness) were found to be 48.11mm, 37.69mm, 33.28mm and 32.59mm, 26.70, 23.09 respectively and its equivalent geometric mean diameter, surface area and sphericity were also found to be 39.22mm, 4832.42mm2, 81.52% and 27.18mm, 2320.86mm2, 83.39% respectively. All materials used in the fabrication of this m...
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A shea butter mixer was designed, fabricated and tested. The machine mixed milled shea paste with water and extract shea butter oil from the paste. Its major component parts included mixing blade, mixing tank, gear system, diesel engine... more
A shea butter mixer was designed, fabricated and tested. The machine mixed milled shea paste with water and extract shea butter oil from the paste. Its major component parts included mixing blade, mixing tank, gear system, diesel engine and burner. The machine capacity was 56 kg per hour. The results of testing of the machine revealed that the yield of oil ranged between 26.52 % and 39.43 %. The highest oil yield of 39.43 % was obtained from interaction between container diameter of 50 cm, blade type 5 numbers and speed of 110 rpm, while the least oil yield of 26.52 % was obtained from interaction between container diameter of 33.2 cm, blade type of 3 numbers and speed of 110 rpm. The blade type, container diameter and speed of mixing were found to have significant effects on yield of the shea butter. The development of this mixer would have a positive economic impact on the local processors. The mixer would improve oil extraction and increase the product throughput for the local ...
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The efficacy of locally extracted neem seed oil as a quechant for austempered Nigerian mild steel so as to strengthen it for automotive parts production was investigated. Experimental samples were cut out of locally produced low carbon... more
The efficacy of locally extracted neem seed oil as a quechant for austempered Nigerian mild steel so as to strengthen it for automotive parts production was investigated. Experimental samples were cut out of locally produced low carbon steel, prepared, raised in electric furnace to a temperature of 900°C. They were soaked for an hour and thereafter austempered by quenching them in a neem oil bath maintained at 300°C. Austempered specimens were withdrawn from oil bath at varied holding periods of 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes. The treated specimens and an untreated sample were prepared for metallographic examination and mechanical property analyses including percentage reduction in area and elongation; hardness; tensile, impact and yield strength. Result showed that the austempering heat treatment caused changes to the microstructure of specimens with bainite being produced at shorter retention periods (30 and 60 minutes) of specimen in heated neem oil bath. Based on the microstructural...
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Ajaokuta Steel Plant is the largest integrated steel complex in black Africa, located along the west bank of river Niger in Nigeria. Though full take off was delayed, it is expected that when it becomes operational it will attract lots of... more
Ajaokuta Steel Plant is the largest integrated steel complex in black Africa, located along the west bank of river Niger in Nigeria. Though full take off was delayed, it is expected that when it becomes operational it will attract lots of ancillary and small to heavy industries to the area. These would require large foundry plants for the spare and completely knocked down parts. This study investigated foundry properties of river Niger sand behind the steel plant for its possible uses in sand casting in the foundries. Bentonite and kaolin were used as binders. Experimental techniques which included the mechanical sieve analysis, determination of clay content and refractoriness of river Niger sand and mechanical analyses consisting of green/dry compressive, green hardness, permeability and shatter index tests of moulded specimens were conducted to measure foundry properties of the sand. Its physiochemical properties showed it is alumino-silicate with low fusion temperature of 1380°C,...
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The response of aluminium specimens immersed in saline water and 1 molar aqueous solution of acetic and sulphuric acids towards corrosion inhibitive actions of oil locally extracted from seeds of watermelon was investigated. Mirror... more
The response of aluminium specimens immersed in saline water and 1 molar aqueous solution of acetic and sulphuric acids towards corrosion inhibitive actions of oil locally extracted from seeds of watermelon was investigated. Mirror polished aluminium specimens measuring 10-mm diameter by 20-mm length were immersed in batches of plastic beakers containing 50 ml of saline water and acid solutions with watermelon seed oil concentrations by weight of 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0% as inhibitors. Weight loss method was used to monitor corrosion rate of the specimens over a period of 240 hours. Results showed that reasonable corrosion and inhibition occurred in specimens immersed in solutions of sulphuric and acetic acids while weight losses in specimens immersed in saline water were very minimal and beyond detectable limits of weighing apparatus used. Statistical average reductions of 26, 1.5, 2 and 16% in corrosion rates were achieved, respectively, with the addition of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2...
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Natural moulding sands consist of refractory sand grains associated with clay right from their deposit locations. In Maiduguri, there are some sand casting activities taking place. However, there seems to be no single graded source of... more
Natural moulding sands consist of refractory sand grains associated with clay right from their deposit locations. In Maiduguri, there are some sand casting activities taking place. However, there seems to be no single graded source of moulding sand that the practitioners can use for producing qualitative sand castings. Therefore, this study was carried out to characterise moulding sands from five selected deposits in Maiduguri for possible use in sand casting applications. Chemical compositions of sand samples were determined using XRF Analyser while American Foundrymen’s Society (AFS) standard laboratory tests were used to determine the physico-mechanical properties. The results of the characterisation revealed the following ranges of values; clay content from 21.8% to 47.2% corresponding to Pompomari and Gwange/Fori, grain fineness number from 50.94 AFS to 95.02 AFS corresponding to Pompomari and Gwange/Fori deposits.. Other physico-mechanical properties determined included; green...
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Research Interests: Environmental Science, Water Treatment, Agriculture, SAND, Turbidity, and 7 moreGravel, Rice husk Ash, Alkalinity, W, Raw Water, Well Water, and husk
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The effect of addition of linseed oil to Nigerian gum Arabic grades 2 and 4 on baked tensile strength of sand cores used as implants in foundry moulds was studied. Defined quantities of gum Arabic and linseed oil were mixed together and... more
The effect of addition of linseed oil to Nigerian gum Arabic grades 2 and 4 on baked tensile strength of sand cores used as implants in foundry moulds was studied. Defined quantities of gum Arabic and linseed oil were mixed together and used to bind sand cores that were later baked at 180°C and 200°C and then analysed for tensile strength to establish any property improvements over cores bonded with plain gum Arabic. Core specimens shaped like figure eight in accordance with foundry practice were baked in an electrically powered oven and then tested with a universal strength machine after oven cooling them to room temperature. The research showed that addition of linseed oil to plain grades 2 and 4 Nigerian gum Arabic caused property enhancements. The effects were in the form of increased tensile strength of baked cores of about 12% and reduced baking period of about 1 hour. Permeability and shatter index were marginally reduced by about 3% over cores bonded with plain gum Arabic. v...
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Gum Arabic “GA” is an organic adhesive produced from a tree called named Acacia Senegal. The gum has a wide range of industrial uses, especially in areas of feeds, textiles, and pharmaceuticals. It is used as emulsifier and serves mostly... more
Gum Arabic “GA” is an organic adhesive produced from a tree called named Acacia Senegal. The gum has a wide range of industrial uses, especially in areas of feeds, textiles, and pharmaceuticals. It is used as emulsifier and serves mostly as stabilizer in both cosmetic and food products which contains oil water interface. GA sample was collected, formulated and prepared into various concentrations ranging from 20%w/v to 85%w/v. The quality and applicability of well characterized materials are directly related to their physical and chemical properties. From the physiochemical analysis, the result revealed that all the samples were slightly acidic (pH ranging from 4.81-6.41). This range is in good agreement with reported pH values for gum arabic and other Acacia gums by several authors. . The binding strength increases as the number of days increases for example in sample F (50%w/v) gum Arabic concentration increases from 1.5 in the 1st day to 1.97 in the 28th day. The samples prepared...