LOAD PREDICTION ON METAL FORMING PROCESS (FORGING) USING FINITE ELEMENT METHOD.

Metal forming process is a widely used manufacturing process especially in high volume metal production system. In this paper, the main objective is using Bubnov-Galerkin finite element model to derive the pressure field set up at various cross-sections of a metal blank during a forging process, and the four Lagrange quadratic elements were assembled to represent the various metal blank. The governing equation adopted for this paper is a one-dimensional differential equation describing the pressures exerted on the forging process. During the analysis, the various metal blanks are divided into a finite number of elements and the weighted integral form for each element were formed after applying the Bubnov-Galerkin weighted residual method. A matrix form under certain boundary conditions from the weighted residual method were used to obtain the pressure distribution across the cross-section of the various metal blanks. Finite element results are obtained for a value of a circular disc diameter, thickness, coefficient of friction, principal stress, length, and radius of a circular material. Finite element method and the Exact solution approach are used to achieve and compare both results. Furthermore, the combination of both methods shows that there are potentials for using this approach towards the optimization of metal forming in manufacturing processes and some engineering practices. Keywords: Forging; LaGrange Interpolation Function; Bubnov-Galerkin Weighted Residual Method; Finite Element Method.

A REVIEW OF THE APPLICATION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS ON MICROBES FOR SURFACE SANITARY WIPES.

The approach in the use of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) has shown antimicrobial effects in different frequencies and intensities. So far, different modalities of EMFs showed antimicrobial and antibacterial effects in different pathogens. However, a novel approach in the use of the EMFs on microbes was carried out using elaborate experimental set up. Apart from the inclusion of ionic pH medium, a short cylindrical pipe was inserted to a short iron core of the same concentric center to form a space in between. Void materials of glass pebbles activated charcoal and saline water (Gel) was filled to the space respectively in accordance with the three experimental set-ups. A coil of wire was inserted around the iron core with the terminals connected to a 12v rechargeable finger battery. These three novel EMFs approaches were conducted under normal prevailing temperature and each of the experimental set up was tested on a table surface infected with pathogens. The novel results showed that the destruction of microbes was 99.9% in faster and better than the prior methods. This results of these experiments will pave way for the optimal industrial application of EMFs to make surface sanitary wipe efficient and effective in Nigeria. Keywords: Electromagnetic Field. Surface Wipes, Microbes, Frequency, Radiation.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES OF BEETROOT PEEL.

Proximate, mineral and antioxidant properties of beetroot (Beta vulgaris) peel were investigated using standard analytical techniques. Result for proximate revealed that moisture content was 30.88%, ash content (10.58%), crude fat (3.29%), crude fiber (6.98%), crude protein (4.10%) and carbohydrate (44.17%). The mineral composition (mg/g) also showed that sodium was 4.17%, iron (26.46%), copper (0.21%), magnesium (5.91%), potassium (13.82%) and phosphorus (11.57%) while zinc and calcium were not at detectable range of AAS. There was no activity for its antioxidant property. The results obtained from this analysis shows that Beetroot peel is a good source of carbohydrates, protein, ash, fiber, lipid and moisture, it also contained some mineral contents such as copper, phosphorous and iron which are required by the body to function effectively. Its consumption is therefore advertised instead of regarding it as a waste material. Keywords: antioxidant, investigation, mineral, peel, proximate

REPOSITIONING PTDF AS A SOURCE OF CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH IN THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY: A COLLABORATIVE AND INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES FOR KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT.

The mandate of an organization is fundamental to achieving its objectives in society and the Petroleum Technology Development Fund is not an exception. Research Development and Innovation is one of the Key mandates of the PTDF and repositioning it for the desired purposes in the industry is in high demand and of necessity. In this paper, strategic approaches developed to reposition the research focus of the Fund is examined. Challenges and opportunities are highlighted for possible frontier expansion and restructuring at optimal levels. Oil and Gas industry is highly technical and competitive, requiring the use of the best technologies in solving problems and research development and innovations is the bedrock in achieving and sustaining such goals. The primary purpose of the PTDF as a technology development agency of government must be redirected with state-of-the-act policy to drive research as a cutting-edge tool for national economic development. Secondly, this paper identified key knowledge enablers and inhibitors to the use of research information for industrial development. Accordingly, this paper is useful for research design, policy formulation and structural reform in research development and innovative cycle for the energy industry and other sectors of the economy. Finally, this paper will serve as a source document for the expansion project on research restructuring in Oil and Gas in Nigeria. Keywords: Research Development and Innovation, Strategic Knowledge Enablers and Inhibitors, Frontier Basins, Collaboration and Linkages.

ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF LATERITIC SOIL IN OTUN AREA, EKITI STATE, NIGERIA

Lateritic soils at Otun Ekiti, Ekiti state, southwestern Nigeria were investigated with respect to their geotechnical properties and their suitability for subgrade and sub – base construction materials. Four disturbed lateritic soil samples (sample A, B, C and D) were selected for the various laboratory techniques. The grain size analyses, the specific gravity tests, the atterberg limit tests, compaction, California bearing ratio and shear box tests were carried out on the samples. The grain size analysis shows that sample A is gravelly silt-clayey sand. Sample B is silt – clayey gravel composition. Sample C is gravelly silt-clayey while Sample D is silt-clayey gravel. Atterberg consistency limit test indicate that sample A has 30.0%, liquid limit 19.5% plastic limit, 10.5% plasticity index, 9.1% shrinkage limit. Sample B has liquid limit of 27.0%, 16.2% plastic limit, 10.8% plasticity index and 7.4% shrinkage limit. Sample C has a liquid limit of 32.4%, plastic limit of 15.6%. It has a plastic index of 16.8%, Shrinkage limit of 9.7% while Sample D has a liquid limit of 36.2%, plastic limit of 17.7%. It has a plastic index of 18.5% and 11.1% as shrinkage limit. Thus, the soil is classified to be intermediate plasticity which can be used for sub – grade and sub – base materials. The soil samples are above the activity (A) line in the zone of intermediate plasticity (CL) which suggests that they are inorganic soils. Based on engineering use chart, the workability as construction engineering is good to fair particularly as erosion resistance in canal construction. However, the high shrinkage limit may also reduce erosion in this area because of cohesion of the plastic clay material. The California Bearing Ratio (CBR) values are within 2 – 3% (mean = 2.75%) and 2 - 4% (mean = 2.75%) in sample A and sample B respectively while California Bearing Ratio (CBR) of 2 - 4% (mean = 2.75%) and 2 – 3% (mean = 2.75%) in sample C and sample D respectively. This implies that the materials can be used as a sub-grade to base course material for support of flexible pavements. The compaction tests for the optimum water content for sample A is 15.0% and 13.0% for standard and modified proctor respectively. The standard and modified proctor for sample B is 15.0% and 14.0% respectively. The compaction tests for the optimum water content for sample C and D is 15.0% and 14.0% for standard and modified proctor respectively. The compaction tests for Sample A indicate a higher fine fraction and thus a higher optimum moisture content while sample B, C and D has higher coarse fraction with lower optimum moisture content. The cohesion falls within 70-90Kpa (mean = 79Kpa) and the angle of internal friction ranges from 260 - 320 with mean of 280 for standard and modified compaction energies respectively. The results obtained from geotechnical analysis suggest that the soil is good to fair as erosion resistance in canal construction because of its high bearing capacity and it can also be used as sub – grade and base course in road construction. Keywords: Lateritic soil, Construction, Erosional and Geotechnical.

THE ROLE OF LEADERSHIP IN TACIT KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER IN THE NIGERIAN OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY.

The oil and gas industries are knowledge driven industry. The technology deployed in deep water exploration and production involve knowledge-intensive process by highly technical personnel. The problem was that the leadership of the oil and gas industries have not necessitated early recovery of tacit knowledge transfer from experts to employees managing the plant operations. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to gain an understanding of how oil and gas industry leaders in Nigeria facilitate the transfer of tacit knowledge from experts to employees managing the plant after exploration activities. The conceptual framework was the socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization model developed by Nonaka and Takeuchi and Burns’ transformational leadership theory. A qualitative multiple case study design was used by adopting multiple sources of information including semi-structured interviews, field notes, and review of organizational documents. The unit of analysis was leaders in an oil and gas services organization. The data analysis processes involved coding of the data, categorizing the coded data, and subsequently generating themes in line with the research question using NVivo Version 12 software. Findings indicated that leaders facilitated the transfer of tacit knowledge through the creation of a safe working environment and demonstration of care for the employees. The opportunity to facilitate the transfer of tacit knowledge from expert to employees managing operations after exploration enhance the organization’s stability and promotes healthy communities. Keywords– Knowledge-Transfer, Leadership Style, Oil and Gas Industry

HEAVY METALS CONTAMINATIONS IN SURFACE SOILS WITHIN BORI, RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA.

Heavy metal contaminations in surface soils within Bori were examined. The composite soil sample at 10 – 15cm depth was collected from each of the seven sampling locations including the control location using a stainless-steel hand auger. The soil samples were air-dried for 2 days, homogenized and sieved through a 2mm mesh to obtain uniform size. The soil samples were subjected to wet digestion method using nitric-perchloric acid. The digested samples were used for determination of concentrations of the heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Ni, Mn, Pb, Fe Cu and Zn) using the atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The mean concentrations of the heavy metals obtained ranged as follows: Pb (0.553 – 4.551 mg/kg), Cr (1.713 – 7.965 mg/kg), Cd (0.011 – 2.549 mg/kg), Mn (6.914 – 40.162 mg/kg), Ni (2.942 – 6.597 mg/kg), Zn (4.468 – 13.976 mg/kg) and Cu (1.90 – 11.503 mg/kg). The results were below the world average values except Fe (53.554 – 122.203mg/kg). The enrichment factor values ranged between 0.04 and 20.86 and showed low to moderate enrichment due to anthropogenic activities. The pollution load index (PLI) value was 1, the combined pollution index (CPI) values ranged between 0.39 and 1.73 and the metal pollution load index (MPL) value of 3.73 > 1 revealed pollution in urban surface soils of the study area. The high positive correlation result among the heavy metals in the sample soils of the study area suggested that they are of similar pollution sources. Based on the findings, the urban surface soils of the study area are contaminated with heavy metals. Therefore, there should be monitoring and environmental audit by relevant authorities to ensure adequate environmental quality of urban surface soils in the study area. Keywords: Heavy metals, contaminations, Bori, metal pollution load, combined pollution index.

COMPARATIVE STUDY AND ANALYSIS OF CARBON STEEL CORROSION IN CO2 SATURATED ENVIRONMENT.

Carbon steel is arguably one of the most efficient, reliable and safer kind of steel used in petroleum and gas industry for production, distribution and transmission of products. Acetic acid (HAc), is also one of the impurities in oil and gas during transportation from the well sites to the refineries. It is formed in the formation water, which also present in oil and gas production and transportation processes. Acetic acid aids corrosion in pipelines and as a result causes environmental degradation. It has been observed that high concentration of HAc increases the rate of corrosion of carbon steel in CO2 environment. Corrosion slows down production of oil and gas and thereby reduces revenue. In this work, a comparative study and analysis of carbon steel corrosion in the presence of HAc was carried out at 25oC and 80oC in CO2 saturated environment. Weight loss and surface analysis methods (XRD, EDX and SEM) were used to characterize the corrosion layers of the carbon steel samples at different conditions. The weight loss results show that the corrosion rate increased initially with the increase in the concentration of HAc and attained a maximum, and then gradually decreased. At 25oC with 500ppm of HAc, the corrosion rate is 1.35 mm/yr, and 1.80 mm/yr when 1000ppm of HAc was added to the solution. At 80oC and 500ppm HAc, the corrosion rate was 1.80 mm/yr and 2.70 mm/yr with 1000ppm of HAc. A further increase was observed at 3.45 mm/yr when 2500ppm of HAc was added to the system. This increase in corrosion rate is attributed to increase in temperature as increased temperature increases the rate of all reactions. The XRD analysis confirmed that the iron is formed in the absence of HAc while siderite (FeCO3), which is an ore of iron is observed on the materials with HAc. The SEM and EDX results confirmed that a fairly dense material of FeCO3 was formed in the absence of HAc and the layers became porous on addition of HAc to the solution. Key Words: Corrosion, Acetic acid, Carbon steel, CO2, Environment

ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT AND POLLUTION LOAD OF HEAVY METALS IN SOILS WITHIN BORI URBAN, RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA.

The study assessed the ecological risk and polluting load of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) in surface soils within Bori Urban. The composite soil samples collected from different locations were prepared and atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) was used for the analysis of the heavy metals. From the results of the analysis, the mean concentrations (mg/kg) of the heavy metals decreased in the order Cu (37.42) > Ni (34.06) > Cr (28.66) > Zn (7.75) >Pb (2.03) > Cd (0.89). The mean concentrations of Cd, Cu, and Ni were above USEPA soil guidelines and world unpolluted soil average, while those of Pb and Zn were below. The mean concentrations of the heavy metals from the study locations were all above that of the control location. The findings indicated that the urban soils of the study were loaded with heavy metals due to anthropogenic activities. The anthropogenic percentage input was in the range of 63.92 - 89.13 above 50% indicating anthropogenic origin of the heavy metals in soils of the study area. The results of ecological risk index (Er) indicated that Cd with Er (467.40) contributed up to 94.51% to the potential ecological risk index (RI) while Zn (0.78) contributed 0.16%. The heavy metals under study posed highly strongly potential ecological risk with RI value of 494.56 to the Bori urban soil due to anthropogenic activities. The ANOVA result of FCal 6.42 > [F(5.30) = 2.53, P< 0.05)] revealed significant differences between the soil sample mean values due to different anthropogenic pollution sources with different loads of heavy metals as pollutants. The Omega Squared (w2) value of 0.52 > 0.14 showed very strong interactive relationship among the heavy metals to bring about high level of ecological potential risk of the urban soils in the study area. Based on the findings, the surface soils have elevated load of heavy metals thereby posing ecological potential risk to Bori urban soils. Therefore, there should be periodic monitoring and environmental audit by relevant authorities to ensure good soil quality of Bori urban soil. Keywords: Potential ecological risk, pollution load, Bori Urban, Anthropogenic Percentage input, contamination Factor.

EFFECT OF BIOMASS BLENDING AND DESULPHURIZATION ON FLUE GAS EMISSIONS OF NIGERIAN SUB BITUMINOUS COAL BRIQUETTES

The effect of blending, briquetting and desulphurization of coal and biocoal briquettes of Nigerian sub bituminous coal is discussed. The flue gas of the coal and biocoal samples were analyzed to study the emission characteristics of nitrogen oxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) due to environment concern with the use of coal as either domestic or industrial fuel. Sub bituminous coal sample from eight coal mines and sites in five states in Nigeria were collected. The states and sites included Kogi (Ogboyoga, Okaba), Benue(Owukpa),Nassarawa (Lafia/Obi), Ebonyi (Afikpo) and Enugu (Okpara,Onyeama and Ezinmo).The samples were pulverized and blended with sawdust at various constituent ratios of 0:100, 10:90, 20:80, 30:70, 40:60, 50:50 and 100:0 sawdust : coal. Cassava starch was used as binding material while calcium hydroxide was used as desulphurizing agent for the briquettes. Emission tests for various compositions of the briquettes were carried out and the O2, CO2, CO, NO2 and SO2 of the briquettes were compared. Results showed reduction in combustion emission with increase in sawdust concentration with the reduction in smoke and noxious gas emission. The sulphur dioxide range of the coal briquettes is between 0.018ppm and 0.028ppm which decreased to between 0.025and 0.005 ppm in biocoal briquettes. Same for nitrogen oxide which range between 0.034ppm and 0.038ppm but decreased to between 0.025 and 0.019 ppm and carbon monoxide range of between 0.3ppm and 0.48ppm which decreased to between 0.43ppm and 0.12 ppm in the biocoal briquettes. The 50:50 blends of sawdust to coal for Ogboyaga has the lowest carbon monoxide emission of 0.12 ppm; Okpara has the lowest sulphur dioxide emission of 0.005ppm while Onyeama has the lowest nitrogen oxide emission of 0.019 ppm. These are below the national ambient air quality standards which put sulphur dioxide at 1.4 x 10-1 ppm. The biocoal briquette emits less sulphur dioxide because it contains desulphurizing agent which fixes some of the sulphur that would have gone to the atmosphere to ash. Keywords: biocoal briquettes, blending, flue gas emissions, sub - bituminous coal.