In this study, Hypermesh and Catia V5 software were adopted for finite element analysis (FEA) of a vehicle B-pillar. The design objectives were to optimise the B-Pillar such that the maximum displacement, weight, and maximum stress value of B-Pillar is minimised without compromising its yield strength and impact resistant properties. This is significant for the improvement of a vehicle's crashworthiness and ensuring the safety of passenger(s) during road accidents. This study initially analysed a given B-pillar design after being subjected to an even force of 140kN. The result produced von Mises stress of 1646MPa and deflection of 5.9mm. To ensure that EuroCAP directives were met, the BPillar was reinforced by adding extra steel plates to its inner surface and applying seam welding to ascertain their fusion and analysed using the same force of 140kN. Analysis of the reinforced B-Pillar design produced maximum von Mises stress of 673MPa with a maximum displacement value of 2.39mm. The optimised B-Pillar design was reinforced with 1.7kg steel plate with the overall mass of the B-Pillar amounting to 4.2kg of the total design compared to the original B-Pillar which had a total mass of 6kg. The optimised BPillar possessed less weight beside capable of resisting a force of 140kN with von Mises stress and displacement rate lower than the original B-Pillar. Thus, this indicates improvement in the tensile strength, stiffness, and impact resistant behaviour against collision forces by acting sideward on vehicles during road accidents. This can save such vehicles and passengers from severe damage that may result in loss of lives and properties. Hence, B-Pillar must be designed following the existing standards and tested before installation on vehicles to avoid unforeseen catastrophes.

In this study, PET bottles crushing machine was designed to convert used PET bottles into shreds readily available for recycling. Preliminary tests and mechanical factors were extensively evaluated on the conceptual designs to ensure that the concept with optimal performance and efficiency is selected. Experimental test was conducted to determine the power required to overcome the shear stress of the PET bottles and it was found out that 10hp was the power required. With a set of crushing forces ranging from 1000-3000N, Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was performed for five different scenarios on the 201 Annealed Stainless Steel cutting blade to inspect the material response to stresses and corresponding deformations. The maximum von Mises stress was 2.089e+006N/m^2. The material yield strength was found to be 2.92e+008 N/m^2, and applying a force of 3000N on the cutting blade produced a maximum displacement of 2.220e-003 mm. This therefore imply that the material will not deform or fail under a force equal to or below the material yield strength value. Tests carried out on the final machine design indicated efficiency of 82.2% which is only 6% less than the efficiency of existing ones.

Helical compression spring plays a vital role in vehicle application as it improves ride index, sustains the vehicle against extreme degrees of vibration and stress induced on the suspension system as a result of uneven road. Depending on the extent of load acting on the suspension system, material selection, design considerations and manufacturing processes, longevity and performance of the spring may be sustained, otherwise the spring may fail prematurely under severe loading condition. In this study, compression spring was designed using high carbon steel, stainless steel and chrome vanadium steel and the designed spring models were simulated for maximum Von-mises stress, maximum resultant displacement and resultant strain. Curb weight of the vehicle was considered in the analysis which involves the weight of the car with all fluids and components but without the driver, passengers, and cargo. At the end of the simulation, the three materials remained within the limit of their elasticity without any significant sign of failure under the applied load of 3888N. However, the difference between Von-mises stress obtained for Chrome vanadium and its yield strength was the highest (653MPa) followed by stainless steel (235MPa) before high carbon steel (109MPa). This implies that at increasing loading conditions, high carbon steel will be the first material to fail during operation, whereas, stainless steel and chrome vanadium may exhibit sustained level of longevity before failure as a result of the high chromium content and other alloying elements that gives them a better quality but at relatively high cost compared to high carbon steel which can satisfactorily undergo its service condition at relatively low cost.

Remotely controlled hydraulic bottle jack was designed in this study to alleviate the difficulties encountered during auto servicing that requires certain choice of elevation. Major components of the hydraulic jack were housed in a metal casing of 220mmx220mmx180mm with 2mm thickness. Curb weight (weight of the car with all fluids and components but without the driver, passengers, and cargo) of several cars ranging from 1086kg-1970kg were determined using a scale at nearby automobile shop. Considering the weight of individual cars that the designed hydraulic jack elevated, the time required to attain upward stroke of the piston and specific height of elevation was recoded accordingly. The time varied between 1.2 minutes with specific height of 150 mm and 1.44 minutes with specific height of 112 mm. Half weight of 1970 kg (985 kg) was used as the load case in Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to check the stress deformations, displacement and equivalent strain. Maximum von-mises stress of 8.465x106 N/mm^2 was obtained which is below the yield strength of the jack piston material. Maximum displacement of 2.999x10-1 mm and maximum equivalent strain of 3.56x10-3. Factor of safety was chosen on a scale of 1-10, and the colour chart in the analysis indicated blue colour in the range of 7-10 throughout the jack assembly. This was an indication that the jack is safe to operate under the aforementioned applied load. Therefore, adoption of remotely controlled hydraulic bottle jack can save time and energy required to elevate vehicles to working height.

During gas turbine operation, the vibration that occurs at high speed, hot gases entering the combustion chamber and other operational factors affect the longevity of gas turbine blade. This paper is focused on the selection of suitable materials that can withstand the severe working condition and thermo-structural analysis using Finite Element method (FEM) to determine the behaviour of each material under service condition. Cambridge Engineering Software (CES) was employed in the material selection process where GTD111, U500 and IN 738 were identified prior to analyzing U500 and IN 738 due to desired mechanical properties over GTD111. Employing ANSYS R15.0 in the steady state thermal analysis, maximum service temperature of 736.49 o C and maximum Total heat flux of 4.345x10 5 W/m 2 was obtained for IN 738 material while maximum service temperature of 728.29 o C and maximum Total heat flux of 4.1746x10 5 W/m 2 was obtained for U500 blade material. For structural static analysis, maximum von-mises stress of 454 MPa and total deformation of 0.16221 obtained for IN 738 while maximum von-mises stress of 416 MPa and total deformation of 0.12125 was obtained for U500 blade material. While the FEA analytical results for both materials exhibited less variations between each other, IN 738 displayed better thermal characteristics, whereas, U500 presented satisfactory structural static results and above all, von-mises stresses obtained for both materials was below their yield strength and melting temperature. Hence, gas turbine blade materials should be assessed thoroughly for structural and thermal conditions before manufacturing.