iosr-JMCE   Volume-15 ~ Issue-2 ~ Mar-Apr 2018

Abstract: This paper proposes an effective maintenance strategy of Cane Crushing Mills for improvement of sugar production in Kenya. This study was conducted at Nzoia Sugar Company Limited where cane crushing mills have been operating at sub optimal performance due to frequent stoppages and numerous unplanned breakdowns. The existing maintenance system being used at the company cannot minimize these unplanned failures resulting into low productivity of the cane crushing mill. The aim of this study was to come up with an effective maintenance strategy which should improve the performance of the cane crushing mills as well as sugar production in Kenya. In this research the impact of maintenance practices was investigated to evaluate the maintenance practices of the cane crushing mills. Root Cause Analysis (RCA) was used to assess the impact of maintenance practices on mill performance and questionnaires were analyzed to evaluate the maintenance practices.

Keywords: Maintenance, Cane mill, Total Productive Maintenance, Overall Equipment Effectiveness

[1]. Deepak P.P, Jagathy Raj V.P. "CBM, TPM, RCM and A-RCM." A Qualitative Comparison of Maintenance Strategies, Vol. 4,
IJMBS Issue 3, India (2014).
[2]. Fore S, Zuze L. "Improvement of Overall Equipment Effectiveness through Total Productive Maintenance." World Academy of
Science, Engineering and Technology (2010).
[3]. Frost, Sullivan. Improving Plant Performance: Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). (2005).
[4]. Irungu P.M. "Maintenance Evaluation of Manufacturing Industries in Kenya." Msc. Thesis, School of Engineering, Dedan Kimathi
University of Technology, Kenya (2015).
[5]. Jonathan W. "Measurement: Reliability and Validity Measures." John Hopkins University School of Public Health (2007).

Abstract: The performance of gas turbines in whichever way is operated; either as a simple cycle or a combined cycle is critically constrained by the prevailing ambient temperature, predominantly in arid or tropical climates Sub-Sahara Africa countries like Nigeria. In this present work, performance evaluation of a simple gas turbine power plant using vapour absorption chiller was carried out. A retrofitted power plant is modeled using IPSEpro software that utilizes waste heat from exhaust gas of the base power plant to generate steam in a heat exchanger. Part of the steam generated is used to power lithium bromide single-effect vapour absorption chillers which in turn cool the incoming air to the compressor.............

Keywords: Gas turbine; Vapour Absorption Chiller; Cooling; Thermal Efficiency; Power Output.

[1]. Abam, F. I., Ugot, I.U., and Igbong, D.I. (2011). Thermodynamic assessment of grid- based gasturbine power plants in Nigeria. J. Emerg. Trends Eng. Applied Sci., 2, 1026-1033
[2]. Al-Tobi, I. (2009). Performance Enhancement of Gas Turbines by inlet Air Cooling.
[3]. International Conference on Communication, Computer and Power (ICCCP'09) Muscat, 15(18), 165 – 170
[4]. Ana, P.S., Claudia, R.A., Edson, L.Z. (2012). Comparison of Different Gas Turbine Inlet Air Cooling Methods, World Academy of Science. Engineering and Technology 61, 40-45
[5]. Barzegar, A.H, Ahmadi, I.P., Ghaffarizadeh, A.R., Saidi, M.N. (2011). Thermo- economic-environmental multiobjective optimization of gas turbine power plant with preheater using evolutionary algorithm. Int. J. Energy Res, 35, 389-403

Abstract: The locally available shedi soil in Mangalore coast has been used in this investigation. The shedi soil which is also known as lithomargic soil is found to be problematic which is reported by many investigators due to its low strength and it is susceptible to erosion when it comes in contact with water. In this investigation, an attempt has been made to overcome this problem to use Rice husk ash (RHA) which is an agro industrial waste and carbide lime (CL) which is an industrial waste to improve strength and stiffness of shedi soil. The optimum percentage of RHA is found to be 20% and carbide lime 6% for improvement in strength of shedi soil............

Keywords: Carbide lime, Rice husk ash, Shedi soil, unconfined compression test (UCC).

[1] S. Nayak and P.G Sarvade, Effect of cement and quarry dust on shear Strength and hydraulic characteristics of lithomargic clay, Geotech. Geol. Eng, 30, 20124, 419–430.
[2] Nilo Cesar Consoli, Pedro Domingos Marques Prietto, Joa˜o Antoˆnio Harb Carraro,and Karla Salvagni Heineck, Behavior Of Compacted Soil-Fly Ash-Carbide Lime Mixtures, J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng, 127, 2001, 774-782.
[3] A.N Ramakrishna and A.V Pradeep Kumar, Influence of compaction moisture content on UCS and CBR of RHA-Lime stabilized BC soil, Indian geotechnical Journal, 38(2), 2008, 140-155.
[4] Hossain, Cement and cement rice husk ash stabilization of selected local alluvial soils, M.S thesis, Department of Civil engineering, Bangladesh university of Engineering and technology, Dhaka, 1986.
[5] D.J Cook, R.P Pama, S.A Damar, Rice husk ash as a pozzolanic material , Proc. Conf. on New Horizons in construction material, lehigh University, 1976.

Abstract: The pile foundation is an effective foundation system commonly used to support high rise buildings. The use of pile foundation tends to reduce the chances of displacement. In conventional analysis & design of laterally loaded pile foundation hasbeen found that the effect of soil and rigidity of pile is generally correlate to each other. This research investigated the effect of the pile rigidity (pile- length, diameter), pile spacing under the pile cap, the corresponding variations of the bending moment, shear forces, deflection, skin friction and the soil behaviour surrounding the pile. Two major elements are performed: literature review and finite element analysis. The literature review has been conducted to update the current state of knowledge on the behaviour and design methodology for laterally loaded pile foundation. The finite element analysis is carried out to analyse the behaviours of pile foundation system subjected to lateral load.............

[1]. Elhakim A F, Mohamed Allah El Khouly, Ramy Awad b. Three dimensional modeling of laterally loaded pile groups resting in sand, HBRC Journal (2014)
[2]. J.-R. Peng, M. Rouainia *, B.G. Clarke. Finite element analysis of laterally loaded fin piles, Computers and Structures 88 (2010) 1239–1247
[3]. Youngho Kim, SangseomJeong. Analysis of soil resistance on laterally loaded piles based on 3D soil–pile interaction, Computers and Geotechnics 38 (2011) 248–257
[4]. William Higgins, Celio Vasquez, DipanjanBasu and D. V. Griffiths. Elastic Solutions for Laterally Loaded Piles, JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / JULY 2013
[5]. BS 8002:1994, "Code of Practice for Earth Retaining Structures".

Abstract: Thermal comfort is defined as 'that condition of mind which expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment'. One of the basic requisite of building is to provide comfortable indoor conditions to maintain good health and improved productivity by using least possible energy. This is achieved by optimizing thermal performance of building envelope at the design stage. As in case of building-envelope thermal design optimization problem, there is no direct relationship exists between design variables and the objective function. In most cases it is difficult to optimize such problems by modelling the objective function in terms of design variables. Hence, it is solve by using Simulation-based optimization techniques. This paper reviews available whole Simulation-based optimization methodologies implied on building envelope thermal design. This technique is very useful for early decision making so as to provide building with comfortable and sustainable built environment with little or no cost. The scope of future research work was identified and clearly specified in conclusion.

Keywords: Building envelope, thermal comfort, simulation, optimization, EnergyPlus, DesignBuilder, TRNSYS, GenOpt.

[1] Rupp, R. F., Vásquez, N. G., & Lamberts, R. (2015). A review of human thermal comfort in the built environment. Energy and Buildings, 105, 178-205.
[2] ASHRAE, A. S. (2013). Standard 55-2013. Thermal environmental conditions for human occupancy, 12.
[3] Fanger, P. O. (1973). Assessment of man's thermal comfort in practice. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 30(4), 313-324.
[4] Pérez-Lombard, L., Ortiz, J., & Pout, C. (2008). A review on buildings energy consumption information. Energy and buildings, 40(3), 394-398.
[5] Al-Homoud, M. S., Degelman, L. O., & Boyer, L. L. (1994). The framework of an optimization model for the thermal design of building envelopes. Accessed online on 22.03.2017: https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/bitstream/handle/1969.1/6633/ESL-HH-94-05-14.pdf?sequence=4&isAllowed=y

Abstract: The paper presents a detailed mathematical modelfor performance study of a once-through solar water heater. The model is validated against experimental results. It has been utilized to study the solar water heater performance for a range of design, ambient and operating parameters, and heat transfer enhancement on thermal efficiency and pressure drop. The collector with selective coating (ε = 0.1) has a thermal performance advantage of 9-16% depending on the flow rate. A collector with 2 mm thick fins brazed or 0.5 mm thick fins laser or ultrasonic welded have practically the same performance. Use of the heat transfer enhancement devices, such as a twisted tape, can improve the thermal efficiency of the collector by5.3-6.2% for three times heat transfer enhancement. The results of the study are presented in the form of design plots along with the results of variations in various parameters.

Keywords: Once-through solar water heater (collector), mathematical model, heat transfer enhancement, performance study, design plots

[1]. Wang YF, Li ZL, Sun XL. Once-through solar water heating system.Solar Energy 1982; 29(6), 541-547.
[2]. Duffie JA, Beckman WA. Solar engineering of thermal processes. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Wiley; 2006.
[3]. Wang L, Sunden B. Performance comparison of some tube inserts. Int Comm Heat and Mass Transfer 2002; 29, 45–56.

Abstract: The paper presents results of three studies on concrete mixes containing calcined clay to produce green concrete. The first type (Type I) was Metakaolin (600° K Calcination), second type (Type II) was calcined kaolin in high temperature (1000°K) and (Type III) was a waste crushed refractory brick. The first study was to replace 20% of Portland cement by (Type I) and also with (Type II). In the second study fine aggregate was replaced by 20% (Type I) and (Type II). The last study was with crushed refractory brick. Fine and coarse aggregate were replaced by 20% (Type III). Normal grade of concretes containing calcined clay were prepared in six mixes. The Setting times and normal consistency of pastes were determined. Workability, Compressive strength, tensile splitting and flexural strength were checked against the control concrete mix. The study recommended calcined clay as a worthwhile alternative material instead of Portland cement with consideration of water requirement. The research recommends using recycled refractory crushed brick as a green aggregate for production of concrete with recycled materials.

Keywords: Green concrete, Calcined Clay, kaolin, Meta kaolin, recycled refractory Clay brick.

[1]. Bambang Suhendro, "Toward green concrete for better sustainable environment", Proceeding Engineering 95, 2014, 305 – 320
[2]. Karthik H. Obla, "What is Green Concrete?', The Indian Concrete Journal APRIL 2009, 26 -28 .
[3]. TARUN R. NAIK , "Green concrete using recycled materials" Concrete International, July 2002, 45-49.
[4]. M. Shahul Hameed and A. S. S. Sekar ,"Properties of green concrete Quarry rock dust and marble sludge powder as fine aggregate", ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, VOL. 4, NO. 4, JUNE 2009, 83-89.
[5]. Michael Berry, Doug Cross and Jerry Stephens, "Changing the environment: an alternative "Green" concrete produced without Portland cement", World of Coal Ash Conference .KY, USA, May 2009, 4-1
[6]. www.flyash.info/

Abstract: Construction Industry is second largest industry in India. When a structure is demolished, the Construction and demolition (C&D) waste generates large amount of solid waste in urban areas causing harmful effect on the surrounding environment. The study aims towards development of sustainable paving blocks using C&D waste for different proportions of recycled fine aggregates to find the best combination for getting desired properties. In this study C&D waste was used in the casting of concrete paving blocks by replacing it with fine aggregates in proportions of 0%, 20%, 40%, 60% & 80%. The compressive strength of paving blocks was evaluated. The results showed that more strength is achieved between the range of 40% to 60% replacement of fine aggregate with C&D waste fine aggregate and maximum compressive strength is obtained with 50% replacement, saving 25% of total cost of fine aggregate. This substantially reduces the adverse effect on environment.

Keywords: Compressive strength, Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste, Concrete paving blocks, sustainable, Percentage replacement of fine aggregates

[1]. C.S.Poon, Ann T.W. Yu, L.H.Ng "On-Site sorting of construction and demolition waste in Hong Kong.‟ Resource, Conversation and Recycling 32(2001)157-172
[2]. Osmans Gencela, Cengiz Ozelb, Fuat Koksalc, Ertugrul Erdogmusd, Gonzalo Martínez-Barrerae, Witold Brostowf, "Properties of concrete paving blocks made with waste marble.‟ Journal of Cleaner Production 21 (2012) 62-70
[3]. D .wattanasiriwech, A. saiton, S. wattanasiriwech : "Paving blocks from ceramic tile production waste"
[4]. Marios N. Soutsos , Kangkang Tang , Stephen G. Millard The use of recycled demolition aggregate in precast concrete products – Phase III: Concrete pavement. Construction and building materials 36(2012)674-680.
[5]. K. Tang, M.N Soutsos & S.G.Millard Concrete paving products made with recycled demolition aggregates. Department of Engineering, University of Liverpool, L69 3GQ, UK.

Abstract: Rapid increase in urbanization and per capita income has lead to high rate of Municipal Solid Waste(MSW) generation (0.34kg/capita/day in 2016) and it is expected to have even higher rate of 0.70 kg/capita/day. In many developing countries solid waste is collected from the source and is disposed by open dumping. There is very minimal treatment and very less human control in open dumping. Open dumping has huge environmental impacts. Hence, a better approach to this situation is needed. Many methods like bioreactor landfill have been successfully implemented in many developing countries but these methods have large area demand and large operational and maintenance costs. Also, these methods are centralized incurring large transportation costs..............

Keywords: Municipal Solid Waste, Calorific value, Incineration, additive materials.

[1]. CPCB, 2004, Status Report on Municipal Solid Waste Management, Ministry of Environment and Forests, New Delhi, India.
[2]. The Expert Committee, (2000), "Municipal Solid Waste Management Manual", Ministry of Urban Development Government of India, India.
[3]. CPHEEO, (2000), "Manual on Municipal Solid Waste Management", Ministry of Urban Development, New Delhi, India.
[4]. Saini S., Rao P., Patil Y., (2012), "City based analysis of MSW to Energy Generation in India, Calculation of State-wise Potential and Tariff Comparison with EU", Procedia - Social and Behavioural Sciences, 37, 407 – 416.
[5]. Jain, P., Handa, K., Paul A., (2014), "Studies on Waste-to-Energy Technologies in India & a detailed study of Waste-to-Energy Plants in Delhi", International Journal of Advanced Research, Vol. 2, Issue 1, pp. 109-116.

Abstract: Automotive propeller shaft is a very important component of vehicle. It is used for power transmission from gear box to differential. Conventional steel propeller shafts are usually manufactured in two pieces to increase the fundamental bending natural frequency. But the two-piece steel propeller shaft involves three universal joints, an intermediary thrust bearing and a supporting bracket in its assemblage, which increases the total weight of the vehicle. The overall objective of this project is to design and analyze a composite propeller shaft for power transmission. Substituting composite structures for conventional metallic structures has many advantages because of higher specific stiffness and strength of composite materials...........

Keywords: Ansys, Composite Material, Propeller Shaft, Optimization.

[1]. John. W.et. al. Engineers Guide to Composite Materials, American Society for Metals, 1986.
[2]. "Design and optimization of drive shaft with composite materials", R. P. Kumar Rompicharla, Dr. K. Rambabu Sir C.R.R college of Engineering Department of Mechanical Eluru, India, International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT) Vol. 1 Issue 7, September - 2012 ISSN: 2278-0181
[3]. "Review of Design of Hybrid Aluminum/ Composite Drive Shaft for Automobile", Bhushan K. Suryawanshi, Prajitsen G. Damle, International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering (IJITEE), March 2013.
[4]. "Design and manufacture of an automotive hybrid aluminum/composite drive shaft" by Dai Gil Lee*,Hak Sung Kim, Jong Woon Kim and Jin Kook Kim Korea advanced institute of science and technology, south Korea.
[5]. "Developing a hybrid, carbon/glass fiber-reinforced, epoxy composite automotive drive shaft" by A.R. Abu Talib, Aidy Ali*, Mohamed A. Badie, NurAzidaCheLah, and A.F. Golestaneh,University Putra, Selangor, Malaysia.