Real-time monitoring and data acquisition using LoRa for a remote solar powered oil well

Real-time monitoring is essential for solar-powered systems as they can be affected by sudden environmental changes, which may occur unpredictably, especially in isolated regions. This study proposes a wireless communication-based approach that allows for data acquisition and system monitoring of the entire solar system of a remote oil well. The proposed instrumentation method offers an affordable solution for monitoring the battery voltage, photovoltaic (PV) current, the converter's alternating current (AC), and oil well management. A wireless communication tool for a long-range called LoRa is used, with the TTGO LoRa32 SX1276 organic light-emitting diode (OLED) as the sender node and Heltec long range (LoRa) ESP 32 as the transmitter node. These I.C.s are ESP32 development boards with an integrated LoRa chip and an SSD1306 flash memory. System design and some test results are included in the paper

Alternative First Principle Approach for Determination of Elements of Beam Stiffness Matrix

Stiffness coefficients which in essence are elements of stiffness matrix of a uniform beam element are derived in this work from first principles using elastic curve equation and initial value method. The obtained initial value solution enables exact values of stiffness coefficients, fixed end moments and shears as well as displacement (deflection and rotation) of any given beam element under arbitrary lateral load to be evaluated

Rehabilitation of Onitsha-Enugu Dual Carriageway in Anambra State, Nigeria: Lessons Learned

The rehabilitation of Onitsha-Enugu dual carriageway in Anambra State, Nigeria, which started in 2009 was marred by inadequate rehabilitation design and gross shortfall in earthwork quantities. The project was awarded at a cost less than 60% of what was actually needed to execute it at the time of award. Delays in the approval of the supplementary bills for the project introduced another (time dependent) variation, i.e. increase in the cost of materials and labour. The fact of the matter   was that rehabilitation design and preparation of the bill of engineering measurement and evaluation were done six years before the contract was awarded. Appraisal of the design specifications shows that the adopted pavement cross section was adequate. The design however, considered a greater percentage of the carriageway to be in good condition, whereas pavement evaluation carried out at the commencement of the project showed that many sections of the carriageway had failed completely. In this study, both the technical deficiencies of the rehabilitation design and the managerial problems militating against timely execution of this road rehabilitation project were identified. Various alternative proposals to execute the contract within and outside the original project cost limit were discussed and recommendations were made based on lessons learned

Design, analysis and remote monitoring of a solar powered orphan oil well pumping system in Nigeria

This thesis explores the issue of orphaned wells, which are abandoned oil and gas wells left uncapped, leading to the release of greenhouse gases, including methane and hydrogen sulphide gas H₂S, which is lethal to humans into the atmosphere. These wells contribute significantly to global warming, as methane is a potent greenhouse gas with a high heat-trapping capability, unfortunately due to it cost an average of 100,000CAD per well for oil well plugging, most oil industry abandon these wells. The research identifies cost-effective strategies to mitigate the impact of abandoned wells using renewable technology, specifically focusing on a comprehensive system sizing approach for Olobiri oil well 17. To address the problem, the study recommends the use of solar-powered pumps to remove the remnants of oil from the wells. PVsyst software is employed to determine the appropriate pump size if the system ran continuously or solar peak hours of the location. The results demonstrate that a 5-hour running time yields higher system efficiency compared to continuous running time. Based on HOMERpro optimization result, a 50kW PV unit and 54.9kW batteries are recommended for the system setup, resulting in improved efficiency and cost-effective option during the 5-hour operation with an overall efficiency of 11.4% and pump efficiency was 37.9% compared to a continuous flow system efficiency of 5%, and the pump efficiency of 11%. For monitoring and data logging purposes, the addition of PLX DAQ aids in real-time monitoring system for the design characteristics such as PV voltage and current, inverter AC output, oil level and temperature. This low-cost data logging system allows for easy maintenance and provides valuable data for further analysis since the PLX DAQ is a Microsoft Excel’s add-on. Also, due to the site location and the specification describing the location, Lora Technology is implemented for real time monitoring, which is independent on the internet network. In conclusion, this research highlights the importance of addressing orphaned wells' environmental impact and proposes a viable solution for capping using renewable technology, particularly solar-powered pumps, to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and the potential hazards posed by abandoned wells

Solar Powered Pump for a Remote Oil Well in Nigeria

Most times, stripper oil wells, i.e. well with a production rate below 15 barrels of oil per day, are dumped by the oil production company because the cost of production and maintenance does not tally with the production rate. This low production from these oil wells is primarily due to oil spillage. Oloibiri oil well in Nigeria is an example of such failure; due to the diminishing production rate in 1960, the oil well became abandoned with an initial oil production rate of 5,100 barrels per day. Eighteen drilled wells are in the Oloibiri oil site, and oil well 17 is only the well that can be described as a stripper well. Due to the high solar irradiance and solar insolation in Nigeria, the PV system is implemented into the methodology and a design of a solar-powered pump that should lift the oil from the depth of 3800m with a flow rate of 15 barrels of oil per day. The system design will be calculated, compared with the PVsyst and HOMER sizing, and the pump performance will be evaluated

Prospects of Partial Substitution of Cement with Rice Husk Ash for Road Concrete Works

Rice Husk Ash (RHA) has been found as a potential partial replacement for cement in concrete. This study attempts to make an evidence based evaluation of the sustainability and benefits of RHA utilisation as partial replacement of cement in road concrete works within Anambra State of Nigeria. The ashes of the rice husks collected from different locations were characterised. Direct interviews were conducted among the rice mill personnel and experts in the construction companies. The values of SiO2 + Fe2O3 + Al2O3 for the four analysed RHA samples ranged from 78.9% to 80.3% as revealed by the X-ray fluorescence analysis. This confirms that they are pozzolanic. The highest observed 28th day compressive strength of concrete was 41.8 N/mm2 for the concrete containing 10% RHA. Beyond the 10% replacement level, the compressive strength dropped below the control values. The result of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) analysis displayed the highest option preference of 40.3% for utilising RHA in road construction. These show that utilising RHA for road concrete works would be a sustainable option. 10% replacement of cement with RHA was recommended for optimum performance based on the compressive strengths of the tested RHA based concretes

Modelling and control of position and velocity drives subject to friction

Performance degradation in most mechanical systems with friction which are not easily eliminated through design mechanisms can be greatly reduced within acceptable limits through the process of friction compensation. Generally friction compensators are used to improve system performance in terms of error reduction, transient response, thereby countering the effects of friction. Model-based techniques for friction compensation require an accurate model of the system friction. This is very important for high precision mechanical systems where excellent positioning and motion tracking, especially in the low velocities, is critical. This thesis proposes a new integrated friction model structure capable of modelling known friction dynamics. The new friction model incorporates a pre-sliding friction function with non-local hysteretic features. Analysis of the model shows the model to possess dissipative, boundedness, passivity and uniqueness properties. Results of sensitivity and robustness analysis indicate the new friction model is robust to parameter variations. A friction characterisation test-bed was designed and constructed for the purposes of friction identification, compensation and control. A set of experiments were designed and implemented on the test rig/bed to demonstrate friction dynamics. The input- output results of the experiments were used for parameter estimation of the proposed new friction model and some other relevant friction model structures. The performance of the new friction model for position and velocity control was studied using the experimental friction test-bed and simulations. The result of such analysis underscores the advantage of integrating a friction observer in the system control loop. The new friction model provided better position and velocity control of the experimental friction test-rig when compared with other well known models of friction

Design and Performance Analysis of an Oil Pump Powered by Solar for a Remote Site in Nigeria

Oil companies typically abandon stripper wells with production rates below 15 barrels per day because the production and maintenance cost exceed the pumping rate. Oil spillage is the primary cause of low production rates; an example of such failure is the Oloibiri oil well in Nigeria. During the peak of operation, the flow rate was 5,100 barrels per day in 1960 and was abandoned due to the declining production rate. The Oloibiri oil site has 18 drilled wells, and only the oil well 17 can be classified as stripper well. Because Nigeria has high solar irradiance and insolation, a proper PV system sizing for a solar-powered pump that should lift oil from a depth of 3800 metres at a flow rate of 15 barrels per day is evaluated for two different running times. In that way, the solar-powered pump will be used to solve the ongoing issue of stripper oil wells by curbing oil spillage from the oil wells abandoned by these production companies and rendering a low-cost pumping system. This paper evaluates the pump performance and completes the system design. It compares the system design to the PVsyst and HOMER sizing

Attitude of women in a Nigerian local government to reproductive health following health education intervention

Background: Health Education on reproductive health issues is indispensible in fostering safe sexual and reproductive health more so in rural populations. This study aimed at reflecting the role of health education in improvement of attitude of women to reproductive health in a rural Nigerian Local Government (LG). Methods: There was a pre-intervention, intervention and post-intervention stages in this cross-sectional study. Baseline data was collected from study and control groups after which health education was only administered to study group. Post-intervention data was collected thereafter. Chi-square Test was used to test for any significant differences while multiple regression analysis was done for factors affecting reproductive health. Results: We found a statistically significant increase in parameters relating to study respondents\u2019 attitude to reproductive health post intervention, (p = 0.000 for condoms use and concern about risk of STIs). This was not same for the control group. Conclusion: A significant number of women proved a better and positive attitude to reproductive health after intervention such as improved use of condoms to evade risks associated with unprotected sex, concern about risk of HIV and STI