Oil palm mesocarp fibre obtained from a palm oil processing mill was washed with detergent and water to remove the oil and sun-dried to enhance good adhesion to Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE). The fibre was pulverized and filtered through a sieve of pore size 300 microns. The Oil Palm Mesocarp Fibre Reinforced Thermoplastic (OPMFRT) was produced with a form of hand lay-up method and varying fibres weight ratio in the matrix from 5 wt% to 25 wt% in steps of 5 wt%. Tensile test was carried out to determine the tensile strength, tensile modulus, and elongation at break of the material. The hardness and impact strength of the composite were also determined. The results showed that tensile modulus and hardness of the OPMFRT increased by 50% and 24.56%, respectively, while tensile strength, impact strength, and percentage elongation of the OPMFRT decreased by 36.78%, 39.07%, and 95.98%, respectively, as fibre loading increased from 5 wt% to 25 wt%. The study concluded that the application of the OPMFRT developed should be restricted to areas demanding high rigidity and wear resistance.

Energy from wind is observed to be among the most viable renewable energy sources due to its minimal cost in comparison with other sources. Hence, wind energy has an advantage over fossil-fired power plants. Airfoil aerodynamic efficiency is highly important for wind turbine aerodynamic efficiency. The study determined the aerodynamic characteristics of two symmetrical NACA 4-digit airfoils; NACA 0008 and 0020. Comparisons were made in the characteristics of the airfoils, in order to further understand and compare forces at different angle of attack. The coordinates for each airfoil were developed and simulation carried out using ANSYS CFX after generating a mesh and selecting boundary conditions. The results showed that symmetrical NACA 0008 experienced high lift at each angle of attack than NACA 0020. NACA 0020 had some fraction of lift over NACA 0008 only at angle of attack. NACA 0008 appears to be the better of the two airfoils, having greater lift at each angle of attack which encourages its application in wind turbine.

The study determined the effects of the speed of loading and the loading orientation on some selected mechanical properties of the TME 419 cassava tuber variety at different ages of the tuber which are essential in the design and construction of the processing and handling equipment of a cassava peeler. The properties considered include the bioyield and rupture points, compressive and rupture strengths, toughness and firmness, and moduli of stiffness and toughness, which were carried out in the transverse and longitudinal loading direction using an Instron Universal Testing Machine (UTM). As the loading rate increased from 5.00 to10.00 mm·min^–1 and the age of the tuber varies from 1.00 to 2.00 years, the bioyield and rupture points, compressive and rupture strengths, toughness, firmness, moduli of stiffness and toughness in the transverse and longitudinal direction varies from 1 619.61 to 3 636.19 N and 136.08 to 384.52 N, 0.48066 to 1.07913 N·mm^–2and 0.26604 to 0.75173 N·mm^–2, 766 to 1055 N·mm^–1 and 1 262 to 2 965 N·mm^–1, 303.98 to 553.68 mm·min^–1 and 28.08 to 53.71 mm·min^–1 2.30 to 4.19 N·mm^–2 and 5.376 to 8.94N·mm^–2respectively. Generally, the values of the properties examined are higher in the longitudinal loading orientation than in the transverse and for a year and half old tuber which will be useful in designing an efficient cassava peeling system.

A mathematical model for predicting the peeling efficiency of a cassava peeler was developed using a dimensional analysis based on Buckingham' s pi theorem. The model was validated using data from experimental studies which revealed a maximum coefficient of determination of R2 = 0.8366 between the measured and predicted values. The developed model proved appropriate in estimating the peel removal efficiency for a cassava peeler by up to 83.66%. There was no significance difference between the experimental and predicted values at a 0.05 significance level.