Engineering education is the process of teaching and learning engineering which has the capacity to make systems, processes and structures better. But in solving problems, there has been the case for having a finite appropriate solution or a plethora of solutions known as the convergence-divergence nexus. The convergence-divergence complex has been at the front burner of issues since the beginning of the 1950s and various scholars have argued for both in addressing challenges. This study...
Topics: Convergence, Divergence, Engineering, Engineering Eeducation, Africa
Integrated membrane system has become a promising technique for oil-water waste separation in recent years, compared to the traditional membrane technology. The integrated membrane system is considered the superior technology for oil-water waste separation, due to the high oil-water separation efficiency it offers. However, the feed stream of the integrated membrane system experiences extensive pores blockage (membrane fouling) which hampers the oil-water separation efficiency. Membrane fouling...
Topics: Feed Stream, Oil-Water Waste, Separation & Integrated Membrane
Mass transportation has an important role in Indonesian society. The number of bus passengers for daily activities is quite high. This study carried out optimization of the roof bus frame with the constraints of the value of von Misses stress and deflection resulted from the simulation of it subjected by static loading. The material used for the roof of this medium bus is Stainless Steel 1.4003 which is a material that has low corrosion rate and high ultimate tensile strength. The optimization...
Topics: Medium Bus Roof Truss, Sizing Optimization, Von Mises Stress, Deflection, Frequency & Bending...
Non-Pneumatic Tires (NPT) are tyres that are not pneumatically inflated and are supported by flexible spokes and a closed construction. Several important reasons to upgrade from traditional tyres include maintaining the correct composition of internal air, avoiding excessive wear and tear, and avoiding unexpected damage. Several significant considerations to consider when selecting non-pneumatic tyres are their high rolling resistance, inability to flatten, and minimal maintenance. The...
Topics: DIVERGING TYRE TECHNOLOGY, CONVENTIONAL TYRES, NON-PNEUMATIC TYRES
The search for alternate energy to proffer permanent solutions to energy crises, fossil fuel depletion, and global warming is a pressing task. In this study, hybridized used cooking oil (UCO) was explored for hydro-processing using locally sourced biowaste catalyst. The coal fly ash (CFA) heterogeneous catalyst was reinforced into silica oxide (SiO2) in a ratio of 60 wt% to 40wt%. The Parr reactor was used for hydroprocessing and conversion of UCO into hydrogenation-derived renewable diesel...
Topics: CFA, Hybridized UCO, Hydro-Processing, HDRD & Fuel Properties
Photovoltaic (PV) systems are one of the leading technologies in the renewable energy sector, generating much needed sustainable energy at relatively high efficiencies. Theoretical evaluations of PV systems are considered in this paper together with empirical research that ensures that high efficiencies are maintained whilemaking the system affordable for municipal buy-in. The issue is the provision of affordable electricity to citizenry compared to conventionally generated electricity from...
Topics: Photovoltaic Systems, Cost Effective, Affordable, High Performance, Empirical Methods &...
Normalization is a very important procedure to be undertaken in any decision model so as to come up with comparable data which is not restricted by dimensions. Variations of several input parameters such as temperature, pressure feed TDS and membrane recovery ratio affect the standard operations of Reverse Osmosis ( RO) plants which is why data normalization is required. It is necessary to normalize permeate flow rates in order to detect fouling caused by these varying operation conditions....
Topics: Desalination, Reverse Osmosis & Normalization
The human capacity challenges faced by developing countries regarding energy efficiency and energy security projects will take longer in comparison to obtaining financing and unfortunately cannot be developed overnight. Depending on the extent of the implementation of new technologies (within a specific organisation or the national energy generation scheme of a developing country), changing to technologies that are new to the operating environment may pose a hurdle to implementation due to the...
Topics: Fourth Industrial Revolution and Energy Efficiency, Smart Electrical Grid and Renewable Energy,...
The increase in wind energy over the last decade has depicted a significant development in onshore and offshore wind turbine designs. Wind turbine designs are highly dependent on aerodynamic properties of lift and drag. There is normally an iterative process consisting of numerical design, prototype construction, testing and optimisation, calibration of computational flow models on the path to commercialisation. Theoretical turbine models are usually validated or optimised by the assessment of...
Topics: South Africa, Wind Tunnel & Offshore Wind Turbines
Energy efficiency projects that change inefficient lighting technologies to light emitting diode (LED) technology or employ a solar PV plant to lower carbon emissions to bring a certain level of carbon footprint reduction as well as energy security, bring assurance for as long as the lifespan of these technologies. With the passing of time, technologies change and so does legislation, the market, and business focus. Changes in personnel within organisations, governments and even changes in...
Topics: Sustaining Efforts for Climate Change Mitigation, Sustained Reduction in Energy Demand, Sustained...
The cement industry is an industrial sub-sector with high energy intensity. It represents nearly 15% of the total energy used by industries.Many energy-saving programs and strategies have been launched and adopted in this sector. Both technological and non-technological restrictions must be addressed when implementing the best solutions for a specific cement plant. This study examines energy consumption and potential saving opportunities using exploratory questionnaires in a South African...
Topics: Cement Industry, Energy Saving, Energy Consumption & Industrial Energy Efficiency
Solar-powered reverse osmosis (RO) seawater desalination systems are one of the best solutions for providing fresh, clean water. This paper presents research concerning solar-powered reverse osmosis (RO) seawater desalination. The research consists of a review of solar-powered RO desalination, previous designs of solar-powered RO seawater desalination systems, and a design of a solar-powered RO seawater desalination system in Durban. The review includes solved issues regarding the cost and...
Topics: Desalination, RO, Solar-Powered & Solar Energy
The uptake and investment in renewable and other less carbon intensive energy sources including the impact of energy efficiency have not shown the required consistency to transform our carbon-intensive energy generation to mitigate climate change. This lack of consistency is due to climate change efforts having to work through multiple barriers in various dimensions of our created economic world with its political and social dynamics. Some climate change efforts overcome these barriers and some...
Topics: Barriers to Energy Efficiency, Barriers to Energy Security in Developing Countries, Policy and...
Design and development of Water Jet Impingement Cooling System for improving mechanical and metallurgical properties of steel using locally sourced materials was carried out. The modification comprised the introduction of water pump, adjustable impingement gap mechanism and replacement of complicated hydraulic/chain conveyor mechanism with screw conveyor mechanism. The plant was designed, fabricated and instrumented with temperature and flow probes to simulate the actual operating conditions of...
Topics: Controlled Water Jet Impingement Cooling System, Impingement Gaps, Steel Plates, Mechanical &...
Reducing energy consumption through energy efficiency and energy conservation is key as a first step to reducing carbon emissions. It is also essential on the journey to adopting alternative low carbon energy sources such as renewable energy. This paper presents an investigation into technologies that will reduce energy consumption at airports in South Africa, through estimating their energy reduction impact and the required investment and return on investment.
Topics: Electricity Reduction Technologies, Energy Reduction for Airports, LED Lighting, Lighting Control,...
The execution of projects that achieve energy efficiency and energy conservation for existing infrastructure at a site reduces the site’s carbon footprint. Adopting low carbon energy sources to power existing buildings further reduces the carbon footprint allowing carbon neutrality for the site to become achievable. Projects that adopt a low or no carbon emissions approach require investment, which, if operations at the respective sites do not preserve this appro ach, could negate the return...
Topics: Energy Efficiency, Energy Security, Green Buildings, Environmentally Sustainable Buildings,...
Establishing a low carbon energy mix for developing countries is a multidimensional challenge and most organisations that embark on such a challenge are not successful and find themselves either reverting to paying for energy that is not guaranteed, or relying on a developing market of private energy service providers usually in the renewable energy sector involving South Africa’s wind and solar energy independent power producers. The challenges associated with establishing power generation...
Topics: Techno-Economic Assessments, Renewable energy, Alternative Energy, Feasibility of Renewable Energy,...
Fresh water is a prerequisite for life and procreation. Water as an essential commodity is used in every phase of human life ranging from domestic activities such as drinking, cooking, washing etc. to innumerable industrial and agricultural purposes such as power generation etc. The increasing demand for fresh water by the world population today cannot be met by the available fresh water in our ecosystem. This is why numerous technologies for seawater desalination have been established and...
Topics: Water, Reverse osmosis, Osmosis, Desalination, Seawater, Brackish Water & RO Membrane
This paper presents a report on the design of a process flow method and a case study of a mini-waste cooking oil biodiesel (WCOBD) plant. This report comprises a detailed process development, technical and economic assessment incorporating material and energy computations, equipment cost estimations, and specifications. The designed plant is expected to produce 16.88 tons per annum. The cost of biodiesel was evaluated based on researched cost variables and plant data. The designed plant seems...
Topics: Waste Cooking Oil Biodiesel, Waste Cooking Oil, Cetane Number, Free Fatty Acid & FATTY Acid...
Energy security is found in diversification of energy sources drawing power from an energy mix while moving away from carbon intensive energy sources causing climate change. This is a unique challenge for developing countries. This paper presents the journey of conceptualising a low-carbon energy mix for nine airports in South Africa.
Topics: Airports in South Africa low carbon energy mix, baseload energy, fluctuating energy loads, airports...
Engaging Children Especially Those With Visual Impairment In Teaching And Learning At The Time Of COVID-19 Appears So Worrisome To Most Researchers, Teachers, And Experts In The Field Of Special Education. Given This Challenge, The Usefulness Of Information Communication Technologies (Icts) Seems To Become The Only Alternative In Compacting The Situation. This Study Explored The Strategies To Improve The Teaching Of Learners With Visual Impairment (LVI) In Inclusive Classrooms In Four Regions...
Topics: Teaching Strategies, Visual Impairment, Inclusive Classroom, And Children Library &...
This research study explored collaborative strategies used by school stakeholders for managing discipline in the ILembe District. Purposive sampling was used in this study to select study participants from stakeholders in the ILembe district in KwaZulu-Natal. A qualitative research approach was used and a case study methodology design was used for in- depth data collection, in the form of interviews. Data was analysed by means of a coding process to generate a description of the setting or...
Topics: School Stakeholders, Collaborative Strategies: Management, Discipline & Secondary Schools
The use of renewable energy instead of carbon intensive fossil fuels for energy to reduce our ever-increasing global carbon emissions that is accelerating climate change is now a common trend. The uptake of rene wable energy, however, needs to increase exponentially if the countries of the world are to follow the reduction by 1.5 or 2 pathways as per the Paris Agreement to arrest climate change. Air conditioning is a significant energy user in buildings especi ally in warmer countries...
Topics: Renewable Energy, Geothermal Heat Sink, Green Air Conditioning, Energy Conservation for Air...
In this journal paper, the sizing, selection, and cost analysis of a 100-percent off-grid DC-powered air conditioning (AC) system were investigated. The AC system was combined with a photovol taic (PV) system which incorporated solar PV panels (modules), a charge controller, a DC/AC converter (solar inverter), and deep cycle batteries. Now solar power is essential to operate or power the AC system and it can be utilized in regions where there i s zero electricity.The first step in the...
Topics: renewable energy, solar-powered air conditioning, sizing, cost analysis, AC, DC, photovoltaic,...
Process parameters play an important role in the weld bead properties. This paper aims to study the in fluence of various parameters like Voltage, Current, gas flow rate on the weld obtained.TIG welding of aluminum 6063 and 7075 was performed based on the Taguchi design for the experiments. The defects and mechanical properties for the weld bead are studied for all the specimens. From the results, it is observed that voltage is the most influencing factor.
Topics: Weld Bead, TIG Welding, Mechanical Properties & Taguchi Design
Reducing carbon-dioxide emissions that come from coal-fired power stations is a major challenge especially for developing countries. Renewable energy has reached and surpassed grid parity in many countries, however, due to the intermittent nature of solar and wind energy which are popular choices of renewable energy, energy storage becomes necessary to serve baseload energy requirements. The need for energy storage increases the cost of adopting renewable energy and in most cases makes the...
Topics: Techno-Economic Assessments, Alternative Energy, Feasibility of Natural Gas for Airports, Natural...
Surface finish in turning can be influenced by a number of factors such as feed rate, work material c haracteristics, work hardness, cutting speed, depth of cut, cutting tool characteristics and use of cutting fluids. In this study, experimental te sts using a lathe CNC machine were conducted in order to investigate the effects of the cutting speed and feed rate, workpiece hardness and depth of cut on metals surface roughness and microstructure in the hard turning, using as a factor the ratio...
Topics: Surface Roughness, Turning, Machining, Microstructural Alterations & Cutting Parameters
The rate of growth of the human population is increasing, resulting in demand for stable, affordable, sustainable, and eco-friendly electricity, especially in developing countries. This study used the growing population problem to solve the problem of electricity. The study developed electricity to power streetlights on campus by converting the daily human movements on campus using a piezoelectric sensor/tile. A piezoelectric tile prototype was built and tested for efficiency. Pressure was...
Topics: Piezoelectric, Human Movement, Electricity & Campus Streetlights
Fossil fuel energy sources being carbon intensive have the disadvantage of accelerating climate change as well as being non-renewable and, by implication, limited in supply. This poses a threat to the energy security of a country, especially if carbon intensive energy sources serve as the mainstream energy source of a country. Mitigating climate change is a global imperative and involves a fundamental shift from primarily fossil fuel energy sources to alternative, less carbon intensive, energy...
Topics: Low Carbon Energy Mix, Energy Security, Renewable Energy, Climate Change Mitigation, Wind Energy,...
Executing projects that save energy through efficiency and conservation for a site and adopting alternative energy to reduce its carbon footprint can assist in abating climate change. However, with time, new infrastructure will be adopted either through expansion or refurbishments that could threaten to negate the efforts of previous projects in reducing carbon emissions. The adoption of “green buildings” that are compliant with environmental requirements including reduction in carbon...
Topics: Energy Efficiency, Energy Security, Green Buildings, Environmentally Sustainable Buildings,...
Establishing renewable energy technologies as a viable long-term strategy for developing countries calls for the documentation of learnings from previous installations and the establishment of an in-house maintenance team for conducting regular maintenance and operations. Documentation of learnings from past installations is necessary to ensure profitable transactions in relation to the logistics of the plant equipment and spares, labour for installation, and design of plant and associated...
Topics: Solar PV Plants, Solar PV Modules, Solar PV Maintenance for Airports, Solar PV Installations at...
This project aims to reduce the wastages and the overall lead time in the manufacturing process for one of the crankshaft industries using Value Stream Map (VSM) and some other lean tools. It also aims to reduce the non-value-added activities in the manufacturing line to make the line more effective and to keep the production al igned. Here we have used Value Stream Map. First, the manufacturing line data was collected from the industry. Then current state map was drawn. By analyzing the...
Topics: Value Stream Mapping (VSM), Lean Tools, Value Added Time, Non Value Added Time, Productivity &...
The descriptive survey research sought to identify training needs of teachers for the implementation of the preprimary education curriculum in Oshimili North and South of Delta State, Nigeria. The study was guided by seven research questions and seven hypotheses.608 teachers in preprimary sections in the 430 public primary schools in Oshimili North and South made up the population of the study.280 of the teachers formed the sample. Questionnaire instrument was used for data collection. Data...
Topic: Teachers Training Needs & Preprimary School Curriculum
The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of rolling speed on microstructure and mechanical properties of AL- 1050-H4 alloy during deformation by accumulative roll bonding. Samples were rolled at three different rolling speeds (9, 18 and 36 rpm) for single pass. Samples were annealed at 550˚C for 30 mins and air cooled. Light Optical Microscope (LOM) was used to get micrographs. During sample characterization, linear intercept method ASTM E112 standard was adopting. micro-hardness...
Topics: Speed, ARB, Sample, Microstructure, Properties & Size
One of the most critical components in a vehicle is the suspension system, as it is responsible for stability and handling in the vehicle structure and thus ensuring the passenger's comfort because it absorbs shocks caused by different road conditions and prevents them from reaching the passengers' seats. A passive suspension system with eight degrees of freedom was investigated and evaluated in two cases in this research: the first case using standard wheels the second case using hub motors....
Topics: Suspension System, Hub Motor, Vehicle & Ride Comfort
The need for alternative fuels to replace fossil-based fuels has been given more attention by various stakeholders. Commercial catalysts are a major component required for hydro processing of vegetable oil into hydrocarbon. However, the high cost of commercial catalysts hinders the commercialization of green diesel. This research work investigates the viability of biowaste fly ash collected from Eskom with supports like SiO2, Al2O3, and CaO. These three support catalysts and BBTPPFS were...
Topics: HDRD, BBTPPFS, Heterogeneous Catalyst, Used Cooking Oil & Hydrogenation
The world is in an irreversible process of switching to alternative fuel sources for diesel engines. This has been necessitated by accelerated depletion of fossil diesel resources coupled with the detrimental impact of exhaust emissions on the environment. Biodiesel is a standout amongst other possible fuel options for diesel engines that have been discussed in the literature. Biodiesel is regarded as a clean source of fuel because its combustion results in a decrease in most harmful emissions...
Topics: Waste Cooking Oil Biodiesel, Pre-Treatment, Production Technologies & Purification
The use of renewable energy has rapidly gained acceptance in many industries worldwide, not only for electricity generation but for thermal applications as well. In the food industry and many other agricultural applications, renewable energy is utilized in aiding the drying processes of food products such as grai ns. This paper focuses on sustainable ways of drying grains using biomass energy and solar energy technologies. The aim of the research study was to investigate drying methods that...
Topics: Biomass Energy, Solar Energy, Design, Performance & Grains
The flexible rubber diaphragm (FRD) fails prematurely during service exploitation on aircraft due to various reasons. Efforts were made to review the qualification requirements of existing rubber compound specifications. Accordingly, new technical specification evolved for indigenous development, evaluation and airworthiness certification. End use criticality of FRD and longevity in terms of flying hours of aircraft was a major input considered while evolving the new technical specification...
Topics: Evolving, Flexible Rubber, Aircraft, Graphene Filled Nitrile Rubber Nano-Composite
This study explored how subject-matter, pedagogical, and technological knowledge of Physics teachers predict their teaching effectiveness in secondary schools using a correlational research design.A sample of 272 senior secondary III physics students and teachers in Akure Education Zone of Ondo State participated in the study. Four researchers’ developed instrumentswere used to gather data for the study. Simple linear regression analysis was used to analyse the data. It was found thatthe...
Topics: Subject-Matter Knowledge, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Technological Knowledge, Students'...
Instrumented towers used for wind measurement are in the region of the atmosphere where atmospheric turbulence is expected to dominate the flow regime. Error readings captured by the speed sensors as a result of tower shadowing are expected to increase due to atmospheric turbulence. Although the understanding is that tower shadowing should be considered as an atmosphericrather than an arbitrary external flow problem, key issues are still unknown, such as the influence of freestream turbulence...
Topics: Freestream Turbulence, Boom Length, Drag Coefficient, Speedup & Wind Speed
The environmental impact of waste is a growing global concern. Its contribution to global warming via methane emissions being released into the atmosphereis relatively more intense than coal -fired power stations through carbon- dioxide emissions on a unit for unit basis. Sites that have daily high human occupancy rates such as airports produce significant volumes of ablution waste, kitchen sink run-off, storm water and wastewater from other commercial and operational activities including car...
Topics: Techno-Economic Assessments, Renewable Energy, Alternative Energy, Feasibility of Renewable Energy,...
The purpose of this research was to select the optimal materials for various spur gear designs. Three gears were designed using three variables: the number of teeth, the material weight constant, and the Lewis factor form. The objective function was set to minimize mass based on the restriction of bending fatigue failure criteria and bending strength. A variety of gear designs were carried out with different types of materials by using MATLAB to demonstrate the variations between the weights of...
Topics: Lightweight Design, Spur Gear Design, Lewis Equation
The study was aimed at understanding the safety narratives on travel among rural adults and, the implications of this for community development in rural Nigeria. Key Informant Interview and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) approaches were adopted. Cluster, purposive and convenience sampling techniques aided the sampling of fifty rural adults, ten tourism development experts and ten community development experts from selected communities in Southeast Nigeria. Moreover, Yaro Yamene Fomular aided in...
Topics: Travel, Safety, Rural Adults, Community Development, Rural Communities & Sustainable Development
Energy efficiency is driven by global climate change concerns and the need to reduce carbon emissions and increase sustainability of the built environment. Currently, South Africa is facing an electricity crisis and alternate solutions to energy consumption of state-owned buildings should be explored. This study aimed to conduct a quantitative analysis of the energy savings after retrofitting and implementing ECMs in a state-owned commercial building to determine the electrical energy savings,...
Topics: Energy Efficiency, Climate change, Energy conservation measures, Barriers
A composite material can be defined as a combination of two or more constituent materials (individual materials) with different physical or chemical properties, and which remain separate and distinct on a microscopic or macroscopic level within the finished structure. In other words, the constituents do not dissolve or merge into each other, although they act together to form a single material. In this project Al-2024 Metal Matrix Composites (MMC) will be produced using stir casting method by...
Topics: MMC, Stir casting, Heat Treatment, Hardness
Diesel engines are a source of heavy pollutants which are of particular concern. If strict measures are not taken, pollutants will continue to grow at a fast rate due to the massive increase in energy use via the transport system. Bearing this in mind, the effects of emitted carbonaceous, tracer metal, gaseous and ultra-fine pollutants from a Euro IV diesel engine operated with biodiesel blend fuel were investigated in steady-state operating conditions. The baseline fuel was BC00 and the...
Topics: Diesel Engine, Trace Metals, Soot and Gaseous Particles, Organic Compounds & Biodiesel
Hand fractures are a common cause of injury for the athletic and general population. However, it has been observed in several instances that, the traditional plaster casts are responsible for causing skin and soft tissue infection. The conventional plasters are itchy, uncomfortable and are considered to be ineffective heat repellents. Thus, the need of the hour today is, to overcome these limitations by providing an alternate solution for the masses, which is deemed acceptable as per the...
Topics: CT-Scan, DICOM File, Poly-Lactic Acid, Material Extrusion & 3-D Printing
Commercial buildings form the basis or infrastructure for a hub of commercial activity and are thus a driver of economic growth. Commercial buildings require extensive heating, cooling and lighting as well as power provision for IT related items; it is unsurprising, therefore, that commercial buildings are a significant consumer of the energy or power produced. With the advent of more progressive technology, it is now possible to not only reduce the energy demand of such buildings, but it is...
Topic: Energy Efficiency &Commercial Buildings
Establishing a low carbon energy mix to reduce the acceleration of climate change is key for countries, organizations and industries providing services and producing goods for public consumption. Establishing a new energy source for the purposes of satisfying energy needs is a challenge that has many dimensions. Most endeavours to establish alternative energy sources in developing countries face unique challenges that may render their establishment as a reliable energy source unsuccessful. Wind...
Topics: Technoeconomic assessments, renewable energy, alternative energy, feasibility of renewable energy,...
