Design and Construction of Density Based Traffic Control System

Congestion is a serious issue due to vechicular traffic. One of the known causes of traffic congestion is the amount of time spend waiting for the red light to change to green. The changing of traffic light is hard-coded and it is not reliant on traffic volume. There is therefore need to simulate and optimize traffic control to better accommodate density based traffic rather than time based. This system attempts to lessen possibilities of traffic jams brought about by traffic lights to a reasonable degree. This project, a density based traffic control system is been implemented to solve this problem. The system entails programming an Arduino using Arduino integrated development environment (IDE) to enable traffic lights give the right of access to the road by selecting the lane with the high number of cars. The traffic lights are modified to chip away at an auspicious premise until there is a signal identified by the infrared sensors. The sensor identifies an object (i.e. a vehicle, a motorcycle etc) and signals the Arduino to control the traffic lights for its individual path. Once there is no sign identified by any of the four sensors the traffic lights keep on dealing with an auspicious premise. The mean response time of the sensor was found to be 0.39 seconds. Further research is recommended to produce the device on a large scale to be deployed to all roads in the country

Strength Prediction of GPC using Alkali pH, Salinity, Temperature, and Conductivity as Continuous Predictors

This study explored the chemistry of alkaline activators, and their physical properties were used to predict the compressive strength of geopolymer concrete (GPC). Sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) gel and six various pellets of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) were used as the alkaline activators. Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and corncob ash (CCA) were utilized as supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) in the production of GPC. A mix design proportion of Grade 30 MPa concrete and 14 M of alkaline activator (AA) was adopted. The concrete constituents were prepared, cured, and tested at 7, 28, 56, and 90 days. The relationship between the compressive strengths and the pH, temperature, salinity, and conductivity of alkaline activator was modelled. The experimental findings indicated that the temperature, conductivity and salinity of the alkali increased with increasing pH. Besides, the compressive strength of GPC increased with increasing alkali’s pH, temperature, conductivity, and salinity. The coefficients of determinations (R2) showed that the models were 84, 90, 90, and 89% fit to predict the relationship at 7, 28, 56, and 90 days curing, respectively. These findings can be used to predict the strength trends of GPC incorporating SCMs

Assessment of Quality of Drinking Water from Ogun State, Nigeria

Human survival is largely dependent on the quality of available drinking water. It is worth of knowing that drinking water from any source contain amount of trace elements. This study investigated the physiochemical parameters and analyzed the trace elements concentration in drinking water in Ogun State, Southwestern Nigeria. Water samples were collected from all the local government areas of the State. The pH, electrical conductivity and trace element of each sample were determined using the pH meter, electrical conductivity meter and atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) respectively. The pH measured varies between 5.02 and 7.35 and the electrical conductivity obtained ranged between 23.7 and 336 μScm-1. The trace elements determined in the samples were Copper (Cu), Calcium (Ca), Chromium (Cr), Zinc (Zn), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn) and Nickel (Ni) with mean concentrations 71.72, 0.53, 0.44, 0.08, 0.36, 0, 0.002 mgl-1 and respectively. The study revealed that 80% of the water samples were acidic and electrical conductivity measured were within set limit except for a location. The trace element concentrations measured were within acceptable limits except for copper concentation that exceeded the set limit for drinking water. The study therefore recommended periodic monitoring of the water in order to ascertian the quality of water supply to the entire State

Assessment of heavy metal contents in farm produce around Ewekoro and its health implications on consumers

This study was conducted to assess the risk of exposure to thirteen (13) heavy metals from food products obtained from cassava tubers grown in the limestone mining area of Ewekoro, Ogun State in Nigeria. Four (4) samples each of soil and cassava tubers were collected at three different sites for this study. The first two sample collection sites were at 150 m and 300 m from the mining site while the third or the control samples were collected at a distance of 25 km far away from the mining activities. The collected samples were analyzed by the use of Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry. The concentration average of Fe, Mg, Na, Ag, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn ranged from 2.00–1284.96 to 0.0098–646.31 mg/kg for both soil and cassava tubers, respectively at site 1, which was far higher than 0.26–622.01 and 0.90–514.35 and 0.07–688.37 and 0.07–371.74 mg/kg reported in both soil and cassava tuber samples at the other 2 locations. The transfer factor from the soil to cassava tuber for Fe, Mg, Ag, As, Cd, Cu, Co, Mn and Pb were observed to be 1. The estimated average daily intake at site 1 for both adults and children were 0.46 and 1.69 mg kg− 1 bw− 1 d− 1, respectively. These values were far higher than the results noted at sites 2 and 3 for both adults and children. Similarly, the Risk Index for both adults and children at site 1 were reported to be 7.01 and 25.42, which were higher than the values noticed at the other 2 sites. Therefore, it can be concluded that although the concentrations of these heavy metals were higher than the internationally recommended standard, the EADI and RI revealed that children are at higher risk of exposure to the heavy metal contents from food products derived from cassava in the study area

The Background Dose Assessment of Highly Industrialized Area Used for Building and Construction Purposes in Ogun State, Nigeria

A highly industrialized and mining zone has been mapped to ensure the level of radiation exposure and environmental safety of the dwellers in the buildings within the vicinity. The highest values of238U and 232Th which are 48 ± 11 and 134 ± 9 BqKg-1 were found to be higher than the world average values of 30 and 40 BqKg-1 according to UNSCEAR. The mean value of radium equivalent (Raeq)activity of200.89±22.54BqKg-1lies within the limit of 370 BqKg-1 recommended by UNSCEAR. The meanabsorbed dose rate of 87.85 nGyh-1 is 4 % higher than the average world value according to UNSCAER 2000.The geospatial analysis revealed that the natural radionuclides in the region have a trend, NW-SE trending with significant re-deposition at the Southern part through diffusion which may be attributed the combinations of soil geology of Dahomey (Benin) Basin and human activities. 3D scatter and ribbon plots validates the strong positive correlation between the level of radioactivity distributions which is in the order of magnitudes 40K>232Th>238U in the study area. Significantly, the geospatial analysis of the background gamma dose rate has revealed the hot spot in the area that could pose high risk of contributing to indoor exposure if constructions are built for dweller

Sustainable nano-sodium silicate and silver nitrate impregnated locally made ceramic filters for point-of-use water treatments in sub-Sahara African households

The poor access to water quality for Nigerians has pushed for the designing of new trend silver nitrate impregnated locally made Point-Of-Use (POU) ceramic filters to enhance water purification efficiency for household use. This study utilized silver nitrate-molded ceramic filters prepared with Kaolin from Owode, silt soil, sodium silicate, sawdust, and distilled water in three varying proportions to ascertain pollution removal efficiencies. Heating was carried out by firing the filters at 900 �C and further preheating at 400 �C after dipping in silver nitrate solution. Silver nanoparticle and dissociated particle discharge from filter pot painted with 0.03 mg/g caseincovered nAg or AgNO3 were estimated as an element of pH (5–9), ionic strength (1–50mM), and cation species (Naþ, Ca2þ, Mg2þ). Silver delivery was constrained by disintegration as Agþ and resulting cation exchange measures, paying little heed to silver structure applied. Water analysis for both heavy metals (Pb and Cd) and microbial load (E. coli) evaluated, corroborate the maximum removal efficiency. It was observed that kaolinsawdust with the Silver nitrate filters showed a constant and effective removal of both heavy metals and disinfection of microbial loads. The minimum flow rates observed were 4.97 mL/min for batch filter used for Iju River water sample one (AF1) and 4.98 mL/min for batch filter used for Iju River water sample two (AF2) having porosity 49.05% and 50.00%, whereas the 5 mL/min higher flow rate was used for batch filter from borehole water sample one (BF1) and batch filter used for well water sample two (CF2) with porosity of 50.00%. Significantly, the results obtained show that the filters are suitable for point-of-use application in both the urban and rural areas of developing countries such as Nigeri

Assessment of Radium Equivalent Activity and Total Annual Effective Dose in Cassava cultivated around Ewekoro Cement Factory

In this study, cassava tubers cultivated in the Ewekoro cement area were investigated with the aid of Hyper Pure Germanium (HPGe) detector in order to assess the radionuclide content. Twenty-seven (27) samples of both arable soil and cassava tubers were studied at different sites to the epicenter of the mining activity. The results revealed the highest activity concentrations of K-40, Ra-226, and Th-232 to be 194.10, 63.92, and 76.90 Bq/kg, respectively, in soil to be at site 1, which was 50 m away from the cement mining site. Similarly, cassava reported the highest activity concentrations of 228.15 and 81.50 Bq/kg for K-40 and Ra-226, respectively, at sites 2, which was 150 m away from the mining site. However, the highest value of Th-232 in cassava was noted in site 1. Also, the highest values of Raeq for arable soil and cassava tubers were estimated to be 188.84 Bq/kg and 199.89 Bq/kg at site 1 and site 2, respectively. All the above results were higher than the recommended safe limits by a factor of 2. Moreover, the Total Annual Effective Dose of exposure by oral ingestion of cassava tubers for different age groups revealed children to have the highest level of exposure with the highest mean value of 7.98 mSv. This is followed by adults and infants, which reported 5.66 and 5.38 mSv, respectively, all at site 2. This result is far greater than the recommended safe limits of 1 mSv. Therefore, the results of the total averages of annual effective doses due to consumption of the three natural radionuclides in cassava tubers and other products from it by adults, children, and infants were found to be above the average annual ingestion radiation dose due to natural sources. Further statistical analysis of the results showed significant differences between sites 1 and 2 and between sites 1 and 3, where there was no statistically significant difference between sites 2 and 3

Design and Construction of a Density-Controlled Traffic Light System

This work introduces the application of piezoelectric sensors on the road which intersects to form a T juncture, the application of the sensor aids in regulating the control of traffic density on each side of the road. Traffic congestion as of today is caused by the improper management of time and eventually leads to traffic delays. This was undoubtedly observed during early hours when a lot of civilians head out to their workstations and during closing hours in the evenings. The increasing population and economic activities in urban areas contribute to higher vehicle ownership and usage, leading to more traffic on the roads. It is achieved from the general desire of people to achieve goals, which ultimately leads to daily overcrowding of the present transportation infrastructure. But despite attempts at solutions, everyone despises traffic congestion, and it only gets unfavorable. The objective of this project is to create a dynamic road signal that is based on density. The synchronization signals automatically change to detect intersection traffic density. The components required to build this project include the microcontroller (Arduino uno), LEDs (light emitting diodes), piezoelectric sensors, jumper wires, a 9 V battery, a switch, and an operational amplifier. The result of the work focuses on the detection of density from a sensor which will be constructed underground to operate as a counter for every vehicle that passes by as it will be powered by a battery of approximately 9 V. The sensor which is known as the piezoelectric sensor abides by the rule of piezoelectric effect, which states that the stress produced from a non-static object, or the mechanical energy produced from a moving object will produce an electric charge in response to the mechanical energy generated. The electric charge produced from the piezoelectric sensor will be transmitted to the microcontroller (Arduino Uno). Through the input stage of the signal received, the program in the microcontroller will command the light-emitting diode (LEDs) to function accordingly to the state of density detected from each side of the road. Thereby regulating the flow of traffic movement efficiently and accurately. Overall, the application of the piezoelectric sensor on the road can accurately detect the presence of a vehicle passing

Development and Evaluation of Efficient Smart Solar Lawn Mower

Solar powered lawn mower has offered a more convenient way of trimming the lawn due to the advancement in its technology. As the world gradually moves towards green technology, research has geared towards making solar powered mover readily available, efficient, and economical. However, few reports were available on the effect of grass types on battery voltage drop. In this paper, solar powered lawn mower was structured into phases which include, power supply phase, Arduino phase, motor phase and integration of the components. The 550-motor was sufficient to produce the required torque needed to drive the solar panel mower. The average efficiency of the solar panel was found to be 93 %. The battery voltage drop was investigated upon cutting different types of grasses to determine the rate at which power is dissipated in the solar powered lawn mower. The voltage drop of 0.34 V was recorded when cutting stubborn grass while that of soft grass was found to be 0.17 V. Rain sensor was incorporated to provide the user with a notification via Buzzer whenever raindrops are detected

Spatial distribution of gamma radiation dose rates from natural radionuclides and its radiological hazards in sediments along river Iju, Ogun state Nigeria

This study assessed the radioactivity level of Iju River sediments and its associated radiological risks exposure to human. Gamma absorbed dose rates were measured using a portable gamma spectrometer at an interval of 50 m between each point (Model No:RS-125 manufactured by Canadian Geophysical Institute). The measured absorbed gamma dose rates range from 22 to 59 nGy/h with the highest value noted in site 13. The mean activity concentrations of U-238, Th-232 and K-40 from Iju river sediments were 24.1 ± 0.4 Bq/kg, 35.2 ± 1.1 Bq/kg and 501.0 ± 11.1 Bq/kg, which were lower than the world average values of 32 and 45 for U-238 and Th-232 by 25% and 21% and higher than 412 Bq/kg for K-40 by a factor of 0.22 (22%).•This highest value of K-40 found in site 6 may be due to the presence of feldspartic minerals buried in the sediments.•Consequently, the radiological hazard indices were below the permissible limits except the mean value of 28 × 10-2 for excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) for the samples collected in site 6, which is higher than the average world value of 0.29 × 10- 3 by a factor of 0.03.•The regression model indicates that Th-232 attributes more radioactivity impacts on the soil sediments than the contributions of U-232 and K-40, as such, presumed to be the radionuclide parameter controlling the depositional process in the region