Nigeria set for electric cars

By Ebele Orakpo In preparation for mass integration of electric vehicles in Africa, PSC Solar UK, the research and development arm of PSC Industries Limited, a Lagos, Nigeria-based solar electricity and renewable energy total solutions manufacturer, has announced the introduction of EV chargers for electric vehicles in Nigeria, Ghana, Niger and Benin Republic. The announcement was made by the company’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dr Patrick Owelle, at the Paris Motor Show in Paris, France, during PSC Solar UK’s exhibition on October 5, 2018. Speaking with Sunday Vanguard, Owelle said: “As everyone is now intimately aware of the current trending revolution of electric vehicles (EV), cars, buses, trains and boats manufacturers are all competing for market share in the EV Market as most governments, the world over, are beginning to ban diesel power engines due to climate change considerations and serious noise and environmental pollution.” Noting that the challenge posed by climate change and global warming is real and Africa must take a strong position now, the PSC Industries boss said: “The Lake Chad Basin is virtually drying up forcing migration into Europe by Africans in the region who otherwise relied on fishing and farming for their sustenance. The Ice Glaciers in Greenland are warming up and breaking off due to increase in environmental temperatures resulting from global warming. One cannot begin to imagine the disaster that will befall the earth should these glaciers melt and flood the earth.” In a chat with Vanguard in 2012 on their electric car innovation, Professor James Omoleye, former Director, Centre for Research, Covenant University Ota, Ogun State had stated that “if you can reduce pollution in the air coming through automobiles, then you would have reduced pollution by almost 80 per cent and life on earth will be safer.”” Reeling out the benefits of electric vehicles, Owelle said the benefits of electric vehicles go beyond environmental and climate change considerations but extends to the economy too. “It makes great economic sense for car owners, fleet owners, transport companies etc., because it will cost less than N300 to recharge a vehicle for range of 500 kilometres compared to over N4,000 with petrol or diesel. Moreover, there are no real moving parts to repair in electric vehicles so the unnecessary, continuous and expensive mechanic bills will be a thing of the past. “Electric vehicles are same as current cars, buses, trucks, etc. except that they no longer require petrol or diesel but purely powered by specially designed lithium iron phosphate battery banks. These vehicles have a range much longer than the normal petrol/diesel vehicles at up to 500 km per full charge.” He further stated that “PSC Industries’ Electric Vehicle chargers will be the equivalent of filling stations where vehicles can be recharged much like buying fuel. The difference is that the full recharge which takes about 5 -10 minutes, could cost about N300. We have various EV chargers such as commercial, industrial, residential and mobile EV DC chargers. We have chargers to suit the residential car owner, portable/transportable chargers and large petrol station type chargers.” He said the company plans to partner with large multinationals as well as indigenous oil firms to add these EV chargers to existing petrol stations across Nigeria. He called on African Governments to seize the moment and not get left behind as is always the case with emerging technologies; adding that “Africa has all it takes to become a leader in this technology and not continue to depend on crude oil only as its source of revenue. There will come a time when crude oil will no longer be as attractive as it is today and we must strive to continue to open up additional income streams. “So if you’ve started thinking about ways to reduce your carbon footprint and engage your community in sustainability efforts, electric vehicle is the way to go,” he said. Quote: It makes great economic sense too for car owners, fleet owners, transport companies etc because it will cost less than N300 to recharge a vehicle for range of 500 kilometres compared to over N4,000 with petrol or diesel

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5 Signs That Indicates You Need Your Tyre Replaced

Your car tyres remain a very vital part of your car that is supposed to be in good condition at all times. Your tyre is meant to provide a safe grip with the ground in all situations to ensure good driveability of your car. Anything that makes your tyre deviate from giving your car safe grip to the ground should be avoided. Below are the warning signs that indicate it’s time to change your tyres.

1. Bulges: Bulges on any part of your trye are another clear indication that your tyre needs to be replaced. The bulges sprout out when the rigid internal frame of your tyre get damaged. These bulges can be caused by driving your car with low tyre pressure, hitting potholes or kerbs. When there is bulge(s), it is highly advised you change the tyre even if it looks fine. 2. Age: Pay attention to the age of your tyre. It is not very hard to check the age of your tyre. There are a 10-11 digits Tyre Identification Number (TIN) written on the sidewall of every tyre. The TIN tells you a lot of information about your tyre including the weak and year it was manufactured. 3. Cracks: Car tyres are almost at all times exposed to varying weather conditions. Some of these exposures can cause UV rays to break down the chemicals and oils used by the tyre manufacturers. When this occurs, the strength and flexibility of your tyres might get compromised leading to brittle-like texture of the tyre. This will often look like little cracks or holes in the tyre itself. These cracks on your tyres could be a sign of a future blowout. So it is definitely something you need to get checked soon. 4. Vibration: It is normal for your car to vibrate especially when plying bumpy roads. There are several causes of car vibration; one of them is bad tyres. An internal damage to the tyre can cause irregular spinning of the tyre, hence vibration. If you start noticing some vibrations even when on smooth road, it can be an indicator something could be wrong with your tyre. Inspect your tyre to find out what the problem is. 5. Wear on one side: You would probably need new tyres if they have severely worn out. Tread wear on the center strip of the tyre is a sign of over inflation, while wear on the edges is as a result of under inflation. Spread the love

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Blackberry KEY2 LE

Everything you need to live well Blackberry Mobile Nigeria unveiled the new model, Blackberry KEY2 LE, which is an Android version of Blackberry smartphone. The Chief Executive Officer of Ngilex, Mr Kingsley Obaji, said that “with the Blackberry KEY2 LE, the company was targeting 10 percent market share in Nigeria by end of 2019”. Obaji said that “Nigeria was seventh in the world in terms of cell phone usage; hence, the Nigerian smartphone market had to be taken seriously”. According to him, Blackberry is ready for the competition in the Nigerian mobile market. What do you think about the new Blackberry?

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About Blackberry KEY2 LE

Everything you need to live well Blackberry Mobile Nigeria unveiled the new model, Blackberry KEY2 LE, which is an Android version of Blackberry smartphone. The Chief Executive Officer of Ngilex, Mr Kingsley Obaji, said that “with the Blackberry KEY2 LE, the company was targeting 10 percent market share in Nigeria by end of 2019”. Obaji said that “Nigeria was seventh in the world in terms of cell phone usage; hence, the Nigerian smartphone market had to be taken seriously”. According to him, Blackberry is ready for the competition in the Nigerian mobile market. What do you think about the new Blackberry?

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Nigerian man lands in trouble for saying Yorubas cook jollof rice better than Igbos

Identified as Olumide Glowville, the social media strategist took to his Facebook page to reveal to his friends that Yoruba people cook jollof rice better than the Igbos. The post which has since gone viral with over 600 comments left Nigerians debating on which tribe cooks jollof rice better. READ ALSO: Charles Okocha opens up on why he is not married yet, reveals his kind of woman Once upon a time on Twitter, there was a debate about Ghana jollof and Nigerian jollof and this case is similar to that. Nigerians have decided to analyse their jollof escapades even as they all supported their tribes. In his short post, Olumide wrote, " Please tell my igbo friends that when it comes to jollof, it's better left to Yorubas.

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Types of Mechanical Forces

A force exerted on a body can cause a change in  either the shape or the motion of the body. The  unit of force in SI system is the newton (N) and  CGS system is dyne. No solid body is perfectly  rigid and when forces are applied to it, changes in  dimensions occur. Such changes are not always  perceptible to the human eye since they are  negligible. For example, the span of a bridge will  sag under the weight of a vehicle and a spanner  will bend slightly when tightening a nut. It is  important for civil engineers and designers to  appreciate the effects of forces on materials,  together with their mechanical properties of  materials. There are three main types of  mechanical forces that can act on a body. They  are:
1. Tensile force  2. Compressive force and  3. Shear force

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Types of Mechanical Forces

A force exerted on a body can cause a change in  either the shape or the motion of the body. The  unit of force in SI system is the newton (N) and  CGS system is dyne. No solid body is perfectly  rigid and when forces are applied to it, changes in  dimensions occur. Such changes are not always  perceptible to the human eye since they are  negligible. For example, the span of a bridge will  sag under the weight of a vehicle and a spanner  will bend slightly when tightening a nut. It is  important for civil engineers and designers to  appreciate the effects of forces on materials,  together with their mechanical properties of  materials. There are three main types of  mechanical forces that can act on a body. They  are:
1. Tensile force  2. Compressive force and  3. Shear force

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Difference between the petrol engine and diesel engine

The temperature at the end of the compression
is less for the petrol engine.
 Thus a spark plug is needed for the  compression. In case of the diesel engine the  temperature at the end of the compression is  above the self-ignition temperature of the fuel.
 Hence the fuel ignited is allowed to enter the
cylinder due to the high temperature.
 No spark plug is required for the diesel
engine.
 For the separate entry of the fuel after the  compression stroke, a nozzle is provided for  the diesel engines.
 In case of the petrol engine they do not have
the nozzle.
 In petrol engine the air and the fuel, are mix  inside a carburetor before entering the engine  cylinder. In diesel engine there is no mixing  of air and fuel before suction stroke. Hence  diesel engine does not have a carburetor.

 Heat addition must take place at the constant  volume for petrol engine. It takes place at the  constant pressure for diesel engine
 For the same compression ratio, the efficiency  of a petrol engine is higher than that of the  diesel engine. This is theoretical.
 In an actual practice the compression ratio of  a diesel engine is 1.5 times to 2 times more  than that of a petrol engine.
 Hence the diesel engine efficiency is much
higher.
 Under some conditions the air fuel ratio for  the petrol engine must be 16 and for the diesel  engine case the ratio of the air fuel mixture  must be 25 to 35.

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Difference between 2 stroke and 4 stroke Engine

 In the 2 stroke engine it consists of one cycle
with one rotation
 In the 4 stroke engine it consists of one cycle
with two rotations.

 The inlet and the exhaust valves of the 4  stroke engine are replaced by 3 ports in a 2  stroke engine.
 In 2 stroke engine the lubrication oil must be
mixed with the petrol
 In case of 4 stroke engine the lubrication and  the fueling must take place separately
 In the 2 stroke engine due to the presence of  the lubrication oil, some of the lubrication oil  must be combusted during the time of heat  addition. Hence there is more friction and loss  of work in 2 Engine

 The power available in the 2 stroke engine is
only 70% of the calculated power
 In 4 stroke engine the power available is 90%
of the calculated power
 In 2 stroke engine the transfer port and the  exhaust port are opened at the same time.  Hence some fresh air fuel mixture will be  escaped out of the engine cylinder, due to  which there is loss of fuel.
 For single cylinder engine the size of the  flywheel is bigger than the 4 stroke engine.
 Due to the above reason the 2 stroke engine  on the roads are replaced by the 4 stroke  engine
 The overall efficiency of a 4 stroke engine is  much higher than that of a 2 stroke engine.

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What skills do mechanical engineers need?

The essence of engineering is problem solving. With  this at its core, mechanical engineering also requires  applied creativity — a hands on understanding of the  work involved — along with strong interpersonal  skills like networking, leadership, and conflict  management. Creating a product is only part of the  equation; knowing how to work with people, ideas,  data, and economics fully makes a mechanical  engineer.
What tasks do mechanical engineers do?
Careers in mechanical engineering call for a variety  of tasks.
·         Conceptual design  ·         Analysis  ·         Presentations and  report writing  ·         Multidisciplinary  teamwork  ·         Concurrent  engineering
·         Benchmarking the  competition
·         Measurements  ·         Data  Interpretation  ·         Developmental  design
·         Research  ·         Analysis (FEA  and CFD)
·         Working with  suppliers
·         Project management ·         Sales  ·         Prototyping ·         Consulting  ·         Testing ·         Customer service

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