Mechanical Engineering Research Papers/Topics

Performance Evaluation of a Locally Fabricated Crusher (Hammer Mill)

ABSTRACT A bone-crusher ( Haminrrer Mill ) was designed, constructed and tested. The machine was designed to crush 1000kg of bones in one hour. The motor operating speed employed is 2920rpm, the sieve hole diameters are 7mm and 5mm while the numbers of hammers are 12 and 18 'pieces. The performance tests show that the mill is capable of crushing between 860 to I l70kg within an hour.

Investigation of Excited Duffing's Oscillator Using Versions of Second Order Runge-Kutta Methods

ABSTRACT This investigation derived its strong motivation in the adoption of versions of second-order Runge-Kutta methods whery there is presently dearth of relevant literature to re-establish the complicated nature of solution of buffing oscillator dynamics, The choice of second-order Runge-Kutta methods hinged on its simplest algebraic formulation of relevant coefficients based on Taylor series expansion comparing With its higher order counterpart. Validation of FORTRAN-90 codes of algorith...

Effect of Particle Size on Combustion of Coconut Shell in a Bubbling Fluidized Bed Combustor

ABSTRACT Combustion characteristics of coconut shell (CS) samples in an experimental model bubbling fluidized bed combustor (BFE3C) was investigated with special focus on effect of particle size of the CS. CS waste obtained from farm were crushed and classified into three sizes; Size X (12-50mm). SizeY (2-12mm) and Size Z (c2mm). For overbed feeding of the feedstock, the impact of the particle size on emission and combustion performance were examined. in a 150m diameter experimental model BFB...

Prediction of Friction Losses in Spark Ignition Engine: An Artificial Neural Networks Approach

ABSTRACT Multi-layered, feed forward . , back-propagation artificial neural networks (ANN) models were developed to predict friction losses in spark-ignition engines. The friction losses were modeled as friction mean effective pressure (fmep) due to: crankshaft, reciprocating parts, valve trains, auxiliary, and pumping systems. The developed models were validated in relation to existing engine friction data and empirical models of Patton et ai. (patton, K.J., Nitsche, R.G. and Heywood lB. [1...

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF A PLASTIC MELTING POT FOR LOW DENSITY POLYETHYLENE (LDPE)

ABSTRACT In this project a melting pot was designed and constructed using available local materials. This pot was used to melt plastic resin without the resin-changing colour (turning brown) The project was divided into two parts: the design and construction aspect and the control aspect. A good temperature control was incorporated to achieve high quality output. The construction was carried out using galvanized mild steel .It consists of a cylindrical enclosure that is divided into two chamb...

Energy-cost analysis of alternative sources to electricity in Nigeria

ABSTRACT In this work, a comparative analysis of alternative energy sources has been carried out to ascertain their suitability in terms of availability, cost, advantages and disadvantages among other factors. The selected energy alternatives are solar and inverters. The first case study-site was an office suit located in government reserved area and the second a medium house unit within Lagos the most commercial city in Nigeria. Practical surveys and data collection were carried out for the ...

Effect of Silicon Content and Shake-Out Time on Hardness and Grain Size Properties of GL 250 Cast Irons

ABSTRACT The properties of cast iron grade GL 250 are dependent on the microstructures developed during casting. These microstructures are in turn dependent on the composition of the alloy, type of mould and other numerous casting practice variables such as shake-out time, pouring temperature, mould ambient conditions and inoculating technique. In this work, the effect of silicon content and shake-out time on the grain size (GS) and hardness properties of GL 250 cast iron was studied using a ...

Modelling and Forecasting Periodic Electric Load for a Metropolitan City in Nigeria

Abstract In this work, three models are used to analyze the electric load capacity of a fast growing urban city and to estimate its future consumption. Ikorodu, the case-study location is a highly populated city whose energy demand is continuously increasing. The ultimate focus of this study is to establish a basis for the comparison of different electric load consumption for texisting populace and to provide estimates for the future planning of the city. In this work, three different models...

Energy and Exergy Analysis of a Vegetable Oil Refinery

ABSTRACT Energy and exergy analysis was conducted for a vegetable oil refinery in the Southwest of Nigeria. The plant, powered by two boilers and a 500 kVA generator, refines 100 tonnes of crude palm kernel oil (CPKO) into edible vegetable oil per day. The production system consists of four main group operations: neutralizer, bleacher, filter, and deodorizer. The performance of the plant was evaluated by considering energy and exergy losses of each unit operation of the production process. Th...

Developing Archetypal Machines for a Sequence of FoodSlurry Processing Operations: An Overview

ABSTRACT The importance of cereal gruel as a highly nutritious food for infants in many countries in Africa cannot be overstated. Conventional methods of producing these food-slurries prior to their consumption as food cannot meet up with the high demand for these gruels. This current work is targeted at developing various archetypal machines for the improvement of the production of these food slurries. Three prototype machines have been developed and discussed in this paper, namely, the suct...

Finite Element Modeling of Low Heat Conducting Building Bricks

ABSTRACT Heat conduction through conventional and interlocking building bricks with cavities was studied in this work. Heat transfer analysis was carried out using MATLAB® partial differential equation toolbox. Regular and staggered hole arrangements were studied. Results showed that four staggered holed interlocking bricks were effective in thermal resistance into the bricks and increasing the holes beyond four did not give any thermal resistance advantage. For the conventional bricks stag...

Modelling the association between in vitro gas production and chemical composition of some lesser known tropical browse forages using artificial neural network

ABSTRACT In vitro gas production of four different browse plants (Azadirachta indica, Terminalia catappa, Mangifera indica and Vernonia amygdalina) was investigated under different extractions. The relationship between the forage composition parameters (dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, acid detergent fibre, neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent lignin), process parameters (extraction mode and incubation time), and volume of gas production were modelled with artificial neural ne...

The application of fractal box dimensions in predicting the emission characteristics of colliding sawdust particles for sustainable sawmilling

The prediction of emission characteristics of sawdust particles immediately after the cutting operation from the interaction of band saw's blade and plank is a growing research area. Still, a wide gap exists with respect to understanding the behaviour of sawdust particles as they collide with one another. Previous efforts have focused on non-collision states of sawdust particles. However, in real life, collision of particles must occur, with several particles colliding after the cutting opera...

Occupational Lead Exposure in Printing Presses: An Analytical Approach

ABSTRACT Lead absorption poses a great threat to the health of workers in printing presses where commercial publishing is done. A case example is the commercial printing operations in Lagos, Nigeria. Since regular exposure to lead dusts could result in lead poisoning, complications that could cause death of victims, monitoring and controlling lead absorption of operators is essential for the maintenance of workers’ health and for the avoidance of the risk of incurring heavy losses due to li...

Modelling the correlation between cutting and process parameters in high-speed machining of Inconel 718 alloy using an artificial neural network

ABSTRACT An artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed for the analysis and prediction of the relationship between cutting and process parameters during high-speed turning of nickel-based, Inconel 718, alloy. The input parameters of the ANN model are the cutting parameters: speed, feed rate, depth of cut, cutting time, and coolant pressure. The output parameters of the model are seven process parameters measured during the machining trials, namely tangential force (cutting force, Fz)...


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