bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ANTHROPOMETRIC DIMENSIONS OF MALE AND FEMALE AGRICULTURAL WORKERS IN SOUTH-EASTERN NIGERIA
Authors: Oduma O , Oluka SI 
Published: June 2021

A comparative analysis of the anthropometric body dimensions of the male and female agricultural workers was conducted in South-Eastern Nigeria to ascertain the variations that exist among the body characteristics/dimensions of the male and female agricultural workers in the area. Thirty (30) anthropometric dimensions considered useful in the design of the agricultural equipment alongside with the heart rate of the workers were studied. Male and female agricultural workers within the age limit of 20-60 years were used for the study. Results obtained revealed that male agricultural workers had greater body dimensions than the females except in the waist circumferences and hip breadths in which the male measured average of 81.1cm and 34.4cm respectively and the female recorded 88.7cm and 42.1cm at waist and hip regions respectively. The comparison further showed that male agricultural workers had average stature and body weight of 168.3cm and 65.9kg respectively with the 5th and 95th percentiles of 162.75cm and 175.77cm respectively in stature; and 60.15kg and 71.73kg in body weight respectively. While the female recorded mean stature and body weight of 163.2cm and 64.8kg respectively with the corresponding 5th and 95th percentiles of 153.96cm and 172.17cm respectively in stature and 60.04kg and 69.35kg respectively in body weight. The males had average heart (pulse) rate of 73.8 beats/min while the females had 70.5 beats/min. The comparison generally did not show much variations, which implies that implements/machine designed for the male workers could suit the female workers or might be adjusted to suit the female workers. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i1.31
FEASIBILITY STUDY ON SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN PORT HARCOURT METROPOLIS: CAUSES, EFFECT AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Authors: Ikebude CF 
Published: June 2021

The accumulation of refuse on any place or environment creates fertile breeding ground for rodents, flies, which are disease vectors and also affect the aesthetics of the place, this in turns poses health hazard to the public. In this study, solid waste management in Port Harcourt Metropolis, it causes, effect and possible solutions ranging from waste generation, storage, segregation, collection, treatment and disposal has been investigated. Primary and secondary sources of investigation were used to obtain the required data for the study. Dump sites within the Port Harcourt Metropolis were also visited for proper evaluation and on the spot assessment. It was observed that the conventional waste management system is still being used instead of the integrated solid waste management system (1SWMS) and that about 75% of the storage facilities in the city are sub-standard and insanitary with no color coded containers for different kinds of waste. Results shows that the composition of waste generated included garbage (41%), paper and plastic (35%), scrap metal (15%), construction waste (4%), sludge (3%), expired chemical waste and drugs (2%) and collection of solid waste at open space transfer station account for about 70%. These shows poor solid waste management approach and the consequences ranges from aesthetic degradation to pollution of the environment hence the use of solid waste management professionals and sanitarians is recommended. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i1.33
DEVELOPMENT OF AN AUTOMATED BATCH-PROCESS SOLAR WATER DISINFECTION SYSTEM
Authors: Nwoke OO , Mbajirogu CC , Owoh IP , Anoliefo EC 
Published: June 2021

One of the shortcomings of solar disinfection of water (SODIS) is the absence of a feedback mechanism indicating treatment completion. This work presents the development of an automated batch-process water disinfection system aimed at solving this challenge. Locally sourced materials in addition to an Arduinomicro processor were used to control the algorithm of the water disinfection system. A comparison of solar radiation sensing accuracy of the system to the Campbell Stokes instrument using student’s t-test showed no significance difference between the two data sets at p=0.05. Test conducted with Escherichia Coli spiked water shows that a 6 log reduction in CFU/ml was achieved within 15 minutes for an average global solar irradiance of 400 W/m2. The system disinfected 11 litres of water in a day for solar radiation of 8.5 MJ/m2/day and Escherichia coli concentration not exceeding 106 CFU/ml. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i1.35
PRODUCTION OF BIOETHANOL FROM RICE STRAW USING YEAST EXTRACTS PEPTONE DEXTROSE
Authors: Tsunatu DY , Atiku KG , Samuel TT , Hamidu BI , Dahutu DI 
Published: June 2021

The production of bio-ethanol from Rice Straw (Oryza sativa) was carried out using rice straw as a feedstock and a combination of Yeast Extracts Peptone Dextrose (YEPD)at 0.2%(w/v) 0.4%(w/v), 0.6%(w/v), 0.8%(w/v) and 1%(w/v) concentrations and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) at 0.5% (w/v), 1%(w/v), 1.5%(w/v), 2%(w/v) and 2.5%(w/v) concentrations as cells for fermentation. The study determined the most suitable pre-treatment method from the following pretreatment methods; 1M NaOH and heating. IM NaOH pre-treatment gave the highest cellulose and lowest lignin content. The effects of substrate concentration values of 1g/l, 2g/l, 4g/l, 6g/l and 8g/l; with particle size of 300μm and cell loading combination of YEPD at 0.2%(w/v) 0.4%(w/v), 0.6%(w/v), 0.8%(w/v), 1%(w/v) concentrations and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) at 0.5% (w/v), 1%(w/v), 1.5%(w/v), 2%(w/v), 2.5%(w/v) on the fermentation process were investigated to obtain optimum conditions of fermentation. The optimum conditions of fermentation were obtained at temperature of 330C, pH value of 4.0, substrate concentration of 4g/l, particle size 300μm and YEPD to yeast ratio of 0.8/1.5 after 72 hours of fermentation time. Also substrate concentration of 4g/l, gave highest bioethanol yield of 49.50%. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i1.36
STUDY AND ANALYSIS OF ASA RIVER HYPOTHETICAL DAM BREAK USING HEC-RAS
Authors: Balogun OS , Ganiyu HO 
Published: June 2021

Impounded reservoirs provide beneficial functions such as flood control, recreation, hydropower and water supply but they also carry potential risks. Spontaneous dam break phenomenon can occur and the resultant flooding may cause substantial loss of life and property damage downstream of the dam. A hypothetical dam break on Asa Dam located in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria was analyzed using United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Hydrologic Engineering Center’s River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) computer model. Unsteady flow simulation was performed using geometric data obtained from Digital Terrain Model (DTM) with 100-year, 24 hr flow event. The HEC-RAS was used in concert with HEC-GeoRAS to assess the flood hazard along the Asa River channel starting from the dam axis and approximately 12 km towards the downstream as a result of the dam break. The highest discharge Q (1913.66 m3/s) and the highest peak stage (277.35 m) just below the dam were produced with breach width of 130.86 m and time of failure of 1.45 hours. The outcome of the analysis showed that in the event of such failure of Asa dam, some areas which include industrial and residential sections along the river channel are at very high risk of being inundated due to the significant difference in the value of the produced water surface elevation and existing ground elevation affecting thousands of people living along the channel immediate vicinity. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i1.39
OPTIMISATION OF THICKNESS OF FIBRE REINFORCED POLYMER SHEETS FOR STRENGTHENING REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAMS WITH FLEXURAL DEFICIENCY
Authors: Kaura JM 
Published: June 2021

The use of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) is becoming a widely accepted solution for repairing and strengthening of deteriorated reinforced concrete members, to restore their load carrying capacities. One of the major concerns in the use of FRP is its cost. This therefore calls for the use of efficient and cost effective design approach. Design efficiency in terms of cost can be achieved through optimisation. In the present paper, Generalized Reduced Gradient (GRG) optimisation technique was employed to optimize the strengthening cost of a simply supported reinforced concrete beam strengthened with Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP). Optimum design charts for the considered problem were presented. The results showed that considerable savings in thickness can be achieved using FRP of high modulus of elasticity. For example at very high capacity reduction say 70% (kc = 0.3), the required FRP thicknesses for FRP with elastic moduli of 25GPa, 50GPa, 75GPa, 100GPa, 125GPa and 150GPa are respectively equal to 2.5mm, 1.75mm, 0.75mm, 0.6mm, 0.5mm and 0.4mm. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i1.7
INVESTIGATION OF SHALLOW FOUNDATION SOIL BEARING CAPACITY AND SETTLEMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF MINNA CITY CENTRE DEVELOPMENT SITE USING PLAXIS 2D SOFTWARE AND EMPIRICAL FORMULATIONS
Authors: Salahudeen AB , Sadeeq JA 
Published: June 2021

This study investigated the soilÂ bearing capacity and foundation settlement characteristics of Minna City Centre development site using standard penetration test (SPT) data obtained from10 SPT boreholes at 0.6, 2.1 and 3.6 m depths to correlate soil properties. Evaluation of foundation bearing capacity and settlement characteristics for geotechnical preliminary design of foundations was carried out using some conventional empirical/analytical models and numerical modelling. The aim was to investigate and determine the geotechnical parameters required for adequate design of Physical structures of the proposed Minna City Centre, at Minna the capital of Niger state. The SPT N-values were corrected to the standard average energy of 60% (N60) before the soil properties were evaluated. Using the corrected N-values, allowable bearing pressure and elastic settlement of shallow foundations were predicted at 50 kN/m2 applied foundation pressure. The numerical analysis results using Plaxis 2D, a finite element code, shows the analytical/empirical methods of estimating the allowable bearing pressure and settlements of shallow foundations that provided acceptable results. Results obtained show that an average bearing capacity value of 100 â€“ 250 kN/m2 can be used for shallow foundations with embedment of 0.6 to 3.6 m on the site. Â http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i3.1
INFLUENCE OF SUPERPLASTICIZER AND VARYING AGGREGATE SIZE ON THE DRYING SHRINKAGE AND COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF LATERISED CONCRETE
Authors: Falade F , Ukponu B , Ugbaja OJ 
Published: June 2021

This paper presents the results of the study on the influence of superplasticizer and varying aggregate size on the drying shrinkage and compressive strength of laterised concrete. Four different samples of laterised concrete were made from prescribed mix ratio of 1:1:2 which include; two control specimens made with different coarse aggregate sizes (12.5mm and 19mm) and another two specimens that have the same composition as the control samples with addition of superplasticizer (Conplast 430). The compressive strength and drying shrinkage were determined at the curing periods (7, 14, 21 and 28 days). The results showed that specimens made with 12.5mm diameter coarse aggregate and superplasticizer developed a maximum compressive strength (44N/mm2) at 28th day. This maximum compressive strength was 29.6%, 31.8% and 4.6% greater than the compressive strength developed by the control specimens and specimens made with 19mm diameter coarse aggregate and superplasticizer. Specimens made with 19mm diameter coarse aggregate and superplasticizer developed the minimum shrinkage strain (1.48â¨¯0-3) at 90th day. This value was 17%, 13.5% and 8.1% less than shrinkage strain of the control specimens and specimen made with 12.5mm coarse aggregate size and superplasticizer. The addition of superplasticizer increased the compressive strength and reduced the shrinkage strain of all specimens; while increase in coarse aggregate size reduced both compressive strength and drying shrinkage. Â http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i3.11
STABILISATION OF NIGER DELTA FAT CLAY WITH BLEND OF BINDERS FOR SUBGRADE APPLICATION - PART 1
Authors: Alayaki FM , Al-Tabbaa A , Ayotamuno MJ 
Published: June 2021

Construction of roads on fine-grained soils without any form of stabilisation is a major problem all over the world. In this study, a fat clay having poor subgrade rating (A-7-6) was mixed with blends of sand, drill cuttings ash (DCA), lateralite, and Portland Cement (PC) to improve its plasticity, California Bearing Ratio (CBR), and swell. The sand effected better particle grading of the clay and addition of PC increased its strength. Blends of DCA-PC and lateralite-PC effected friability, improved workability, and also increased the strength of the soil. Blends ratio: sand-PC (4:1); DCA-PC (1:1); and lateralite-PC (2:1) gave the best stabilising effect on the fat clay. The improvements noted were: plasticity index < 30, soaked CBRvalues > 20% after 24 hours and >10% after 96 hours, low swell (0.002 â€“ 0.008%). Thus, this study revealed that the fat clay could be optimised for subgrade application using these stabilising additives.Â http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i3.12
EFFECT OF ALUMINUM DROSS AND RICE HUSK ASH ON THERMAL AND MOULDING PROPERTIES OF SILICA SAND
Authors: Ochulor EF , Amuda HOH , Adeosun SO , Balogun SA 
Published: June 2021

Moulding properties of foundry sand should be controlled so as to minimize casting defects. Its thermal characteristics are vital in defining the solidification kinetics of a cast part,Â evolving microstructure and mechanical properties. Modification of the thermal properties of the moulding sand mix is important in achieving desired structure and mechanical properties in the cast component. This study investigates the incorporation of 2-12 wt. % aluminium dross (AlDr) and 1-6 wt. % rice husk ash (RHA) in silica sand on moulding and thermal properties of the resulting sand mix. Results show that RHA significantly reduced thermal conductivity of the moulding sand from 1.631-1.141 W/m. K (a 30% reduction).However, AlDr increased its thermal conductivity from 1.631-1.787 W/m.K for 1-6 wt. % AlDr, which later dropped progressively from 1.753-1.540 W/m.K for 8-12 wt. %. The moisture content increased abruptly from 4.0-4.2 % for 6-8 wt. % AlDr addition but decreased from 4.0-2.8% for0-6 wt. % RHA addition in the moulding sand mix.Â http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i3.19
MODELING, OPTIMISATION AND ANALYSIS OF RE-ENTRANT FLOWSHOP JOB SCHEDULING WITH FUZZY PROCESSING TIMES
Authors: Ogunwolu L , Sosimi A , Obialo S 
Published: June 2021

This paper presents a makespan minimization of -jobs -machines re-entrant flow shop scheduling problem (RFSP) under fuzzy uncertainties using Genetic Algorithm. The RFSP objective is formulated as a mathematical programme constrained by number of jobs and resources availability with traditional scheduling policies of First Come First Serve (FCFS) and the First Buffer First Serve (FBFS). Jobs processing times were specified by fuzzy numbers and modelled using triangular membership function representations. The modified centroid defuzzification technique was used at different alpha-cuts to obtain fuzzy processing times (FPT) of jobs to explore the importance of uncertainty. The traditional GA schemes and operators were used together with roulette wheel algorithm without elitism in the selection process based on job fuzzy completion times. A test problem of five jobs with specified Job Processing and Transit Times between service centres, Job Start Times and Job Due times was posed. Results obtained using the deterministic and fuzzy processing times were compared for the two different scheduling policies, FCFS and FBFS. The deterministic optimal makespan for FBFS schedule was 61.2% in excess of the FCFS policy schedule. Â The results also show that schedules with fuzzy uncertainty processing times provides shorter makespans than those for deterministic processing times and those under FCFS performing better than those under FBFS policy for early jobs while on the long run the FBFS policy performs better. The results underscore the need to take account of comprehensive fuzzy uncertainties in job processing times as a trade-off between time and costs influenced by production makespan.Â http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i3.21
DEVELOPMEMT OF PILOT SCALE DEALUMINATION UNIT OF 2.5 kg METAKAOLIN PER BATCH CAPACITY
Authors: Bawa SG , Ahmed AS , Okonkwo PC , Waziri SM 
Published: June 2021

A pilot-size dealumination unit to handle 2.5kg of metakaolin per batch was designed and fabricated and test run. The metakaolin was prepared from Kankara kaolin. The metakaolin was completely split into silica and alumina. The silica component which was inert to the sulphuric acid used during the reaction and was obtained as a solid product. While the alumina which reacted with the sulphuric acid was obtained in liquid form as aluminum sulphate, known as alum. The dealumination unit comprises of the dealumination reactor, known as dealuminator, acid holding tank and metakaolin slurry mixing tank. The material of construction selected for the dealumination reactor was stainless steel type 304 lined internally with glass to withstand the corrosive environment of the concentrated sulphuric acid at the reaction temperature > 140Â°C. The capacity of the componentsare; acid holding tank 5 liters;metakaolin slurry mixing tank 20 liters, with 70 W capacity motor and the dealuminator 50 liters, which had pressure relief valve, pressure gauge (0-10 bars) and temperature gauge (0 - 300Â°C) on the cover. Woven glass fiber cloth was used as lagging material to minimize heat lossto the surrounding. The purity level of the silica obtained from the reaction was above 95%.The endothermic nature of the dealumination process was void of external heating.Â http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i3.24
AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE APPLICABILITY OF NATURAL LOAD VARIATION SCHEME TO THE MEASUREMENT OF ENERGY YIELD OF PHOTOVOLTIC MODULE
Authors: Anoliefo EA , Oparaku O 
Published: June 2021

Currently, photvoltaic (PV) modules are characterized based on open circuit voltage, short circuit current as well as voltage and current at maximum power point under strictly specified laboratory conditions. Among manufacturers, regulators and experts, this approach appears reasonably adequate. Nevertheless, among end users and and low level technicians, it may be misleading. This is on account of the critical difference between the laboratory and in situ conditions. This often results to improper design which in turn is capable of accelerating a premature system failure. The present work explores the potentials of natural load variation scheme as a low cost option that is capable of estimating the actual yield of PV modules. Essentially, the scheme consists of a firmware controlling the switching of a number of resistors(loads) connected in parallel. By looping through the resistors in parallel, the firmware matches load impedance to the impedance of the module thus the module operates at its maximum power point. The research results indicate a similar response pattern for constant and variable loads. Nevertheless, the quantitative value of recorded voltage, current, power and energy tended to increase as the number of available resistors incresed. Though clear convergence was not achieved, natural load variation scheme more realistically captures the yield potentials of polycrystalline PV modules under low irradiance conditions.Â http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i3.28
SIMPBOARD â€“A MONGODB IMPLEMENTATION OF A SIMPLIFIED ONLINE BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEM FOR INFORMATION DISSEMINATION IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS
Authors: Ibor AE , Eyong KE , Edim EB 
Published: June 2021

Information dissemination is a key concern for most tertiary institutions. While information is relevant for the day-to-day running of a tertiary institution, the rightful information, sometimes, is not available for the appropriate decisions to be taken.Â The practice, in some institutions, is the use of wooden notice boards for making information available to the academic community.Â Â In many cases, such means of information broadcasting has been found to be inefficient, and largely a component of physical presence.Â However, electronic presence is becoming more and more acceptable for spreading information. To this effect, this paper will discuss the design and implementation of a simplified online bulletin board system called SIMPBOARD that can be accessed through the web browser of a computer or smart phone. Furthermore, the system will allow for anywhere access to bulletins, and possible archiving of same, for reference purposes, through the use of Mongo DB with Meteor JS Framework. Â http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i3.32
DEVELOPMENT OF MICROCONTROLLER BASED BINAURAL DIGITAL HEARING AIDS FOR HEARING-IMPAIRED PEOPLE
Authors: Nnadi DBN , Onu NC , Oti SE , Ogbuefi CU 
Published: June 2021

This research paper expounds microcontroller based binaural digital hearing aids for hearing-impaired people by making use of ATmega328 microcontroller and other circuitries to process the audio signal input by either increasing or reducing the gain level of input audio signal, filter background noise, frequencies compression, save battery power and minimize circuit by making use of the internal ADC of the microcontroller and two PMW pins of the microcontroller as DAC. Hearing impairment among the youths and adults nowadays are in the increase, due wrong use of phones of which every minute of the day someoneâ€™s earphone is on listening to one type of music or the other. In other to solve the problem created so to say this research work was conceived and given birth to. The different stages of digital hearing aid are designed and then simulated first in Proteus software which then was implemented using PCB-board. The main components of this system were the audio input unit which consists of the microphone and its pre-amplifier, the microcontroller (ATmega328) which consists of the ADC, the DAC and the audio signal processing, the filter stage and control codes (frequencies compression codes, power saver codes, acoustic feedback control codes, signal level control and adaptive adjustment codes etc.), the power amplifier and volume control unit and then the earphones (output). The control codes were written in C language while Ardinuo Uno compiler was used to write the codes into ATmega328.Â The prototype has an overall system gain of 27dB and the power output of 32.5mW. The prototype was tested with a patient that has a hearing impairment and the patient was satisfactory with the device.Â http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i3.34
SOME MOISTURE DEPENDENT THERMAL PROPERTIES AND BULK DENSITY OF Prosopis Africana SEEDS (OKPEYE)
Authors: Asoiro FU , Ohagwu CJ 
Published: June 2021

The thermal heat conductivity, specific heat capacity, thermal heat diffusivity and bulk density of Prosopis africana seeds were determined as a function of moisture content. Specific heat capacity was measured by the method of mixture while the thermal heat conductivity was measured by the guarded hot plate method. Thermal heat diffusivity was calculated from the experimental results obtained from specific heat capacity, thermal heat conductivity and bulk density. The bulk density for Prosopis africana (PA) seeds decreased from 890kg m-3 to 590kg m-3 as moisture content increased from 4 to 20% wet basis (w.b). Specific heat capacity increased from 2760J kg-1 ÂºC-1 to 2960J kg-1 ÂºC-1with increasing moisture content. The thermal heat conductivity ranged between 0.70 and 0.90W m-1oC-1 when moisture content rose from 4% to 20% (w.b). Thermal heat diffusivity increased from 2.7 10-7 to 4.2 10-7m2 s-1 as moisture content increased from 4 to 20% (w.b). The values obtained for these thermal properties and bulk density could be useful for design of systems for heat treatment of Prosopis africana seeds.Â Â http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i3.38