Investigation of Temperature and Flow Distribution in a Serially Connected Thermosyphon Solar Water Heating Collector System in Minna, Niger State,Nigeria

Natural circulation solar water heating systems are designed and fabricated with varying collector geometries, materials, storage tank capacities and specifications of individual components. Despite the availability of theoretical and experimental studies including the test procedures, to estimate the performances of these systems, there are few experimental studies showing the temperature profiles of a particular collector geometries and materials with water temperature and flow rates in the units. This paper presents detailed experimental observations of temperature and flow distribution with solar radiations in a thermosyphon solar water heating system with four flat plate collectors, connected in series and using locally available materials, under a wide range of weather conditions of Minna for a whole year, to determine its suitability in meeting the hot water requirement for bathing in residential apartments. Results showed that the system is capable of meeting 70 – 100% hot water requirements and an average of 65.50C water temperatures is obtained daily with high temperatures reaching 90oC on excessive hot days of March to May annually. Water temperatures in the hot water tank are of the range 45oC to 78oC and a mass flow rate averaging 55kg/hr was achieved for the system. Detailed temperature distributions, solar radiations variations and mass flow rate of the system were determined and presented. The experimental results were compared to the results found in the literatures and they showed good agreement. Keywords: Flow measurement; Mean absorber plate temperature; Mean fluid temperature; Radiation measurement; Solar thermal collector system; Solar water heating system; Temperature measurement; Thermosyphon

Employee Perception of Maintenance Practices at Selected Public Healthcare Facilities in Niger State, Nigeria

Maintenance practice involves deliberate and orderly way that deals with planning, evaluation, organizing, and monitoring of maintenance activities and their expenses. An excellent maintenance management framework combines with learned and proficient maintenance staff can avoid safety and health issues and environmental harm; yielding longer assets life with less breakdowns, lower working costs and higher personal satisfaction for the users and occupants. Experienced and highly trained workers are inspired with a very friendly atmosphere and they are also in turn individual friendly.Lack of maintenance of our healthcare facilities is evident in the deplorable condition of the structures and equipment.This study assessed maintenance practices of maintenance staff at six (6) selected healthcare facilities in Niger State through a structured questionnaire. Data collected was analysed with Minitab 17 statistical software using descriptive statistics. The analysis revealed among others that majority of maintenance practice were preventive in nature, and that the maintenanceproblems in the healthcare facilities of Niger State was caused bylack of lack of funding and lack of successful adaptation of ineffective maintenance programmes and practices. The study recommended a proactive and aggressive approach to reduce the occurrence of defects in and around the healthcare facilities. It was also recommended that individual healthcare centres should solicit for both private and public funding for maintenance activities since they have partial autonomy to generate revenue internally for their operation

Impact of Selected Project Characteristics on Construction Claims in Niger State, Nigeria

Over the last three decades, the construction industry in the developing countries has experienced continuous increase in claims, liability exposures and disputes, along with increasing difficulty in reaching reasonable dispute settlements. The research aimed to investigate the impact of project characteristics on construction claims in Niger State. It was hypothesized that there is no statistically significant difference between size of a project or the project duration and claim amount in building projects in Niger State. The review of literature revealed five main causes of claims. The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods through administration of questionnaires and the analysis of secondary data such as the estimated project duration, and actual completion dates of 196 projects using descriptive and inferential statistics. The research revealed that unrealistic time targets, and poor communication, are two of the five major causes of claims. The study revealed that duration of project is the characteristic with the most influence in Niger State, and that both size and duration of a project have the tendency of increasing or decreasing simultaneously. It was recommended among others, that key players in construction projects should ensure that sufficient float is built into the schedule so that when delays do occur, they are absorbed into the contract and are less likely to become critical to the overall construction schedule

Perception of Professionals in Built Environment Regarding Awareness of Sustainable Development in Nigeria

The built-environment is a major consumer of non-renewable resources, producer of substantial waste, and a formidable polluter of air and water. The limited supply of natural resources is causing increased prices, depletion of the reserves, and destruction of natural environment. Building sector in Nigeria consumes 60% of the total energy utilization in the country and the resources are not efficiently utilized. The goal of the study was to examine the perception of building owners and built environment professionals (architects, engineers and facility managers) regarding awareness of sustainable development issues, policies and constraints to sustainable development.  The sample consisted of 80 respondents randomly selected building owners, architects, engineers and facility managers in Abuja, Nigeria. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that majority of those surveyed are aware of and highly involved in sustainable development efforts. The study also revealed that governmental implementation of environmental laws and government policies are not successful. Inferences were made to improve awareness education through creation of guideline for improving awareness, advocacy and enlightenment programmes, and by empowering regulatory agencies to enforce and strengthen existing regulations

Employee Perception of Maintenance Practices at Selected Public Healthcare Facilities in Niger State, Nigeria

Maintenance practice involves deliberate and orderly way that deals with planning, evaluation, organizing, and monitoring of maintenance activities and their expenses. An excellent maintenance management framework combines with learned and proficient maintenance staff can avoid safety and health issues and environmental harm; yielding longer assets life with less breakdowns, lower working costs and higher personal satisfaction for the users and occupants. Experienced and highly trained workers are inspired with a very friendly atmosphere and they are also in turn individual friendly.Lack of maintenance of our healthcare facilities is evident in the deplorable condition of the structures and equipment.This study assessed maintenance practices of maintenance staff at six (6) selected healthcare facilities in Niger State through a structured questionnaire. Data collected was analysed with Minitab 17 statistical software using descriptive statistics. The analysis revealed among others that majority of maintenance practice were preventive in nature, and that the maintenanceproblems in the healthcare facilities of Niger State was caused bylack of lack of funding and lack of successful adaptation of ineffective maintenance programmes and practices. The study recommended a proactive and aggressive approach to reduce the occurrence of defects in and around the healthcare facilities. It was also recommended that individual healthcare centres should solicit for both private and public funding for maintenance activities since they have partial autonomy to generate revenue internally for their operation

Impact of Selected Project Characteristics on Construction Claims in Niger State, Nigeria

Over the last three decades, the construction industry in the developing countries has experienced continuous increase in claims, liability exposures and disputes, along with increasing difficulty in reaching reasonable dispute settlements. The research aimed to investigate the impact of project characteristics on construction claims in Niger State. It was hypothesized that there is no statistically significant difference between size of a project or the project duration and claim amount in building projects in Niger State. The review of literature revealed five main causes of claims. The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods through administration of questionnaires and the analysis of secondary data such as the estimated project duration, and actual completion dates of 196 projects using descriptive and inferential statistics. The research revealed that unrealistic time targets, and poor communication, are two of the five major causes of claims. The study revealed that duration of project is the characteristic with the most influence in Niger State, and that both size and duration of a project have the tendency of increasing or decreasing simultaneously. It was recommended among others, that key players in construction projects should ensure that sufficient float is built into the schedule so that when delays do occur, they are absorbed into the contract and are less likely to become critical to the overall construction schedule