NUST impress at ZITF

14 May, 2017 - 00:05 0 Views
NUST impress at ZITF

The Sunday Mail

Bryan Zhawi NUST Student
Every year at Zimbabwe International Trade Fair the National University of Science and Technology students exhibit amazing projects particularly from the faculty of Engineering.

Last year Tariro Mageva and a three time year book price winner Blessing Mangirazi showcased the Electronic Token Machine and a firefighting Drone respectively.

At this year’s edition of ZITF, another NUST student stunned the exhibitors including the Vice President Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa and the deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education Dr G. Gandawa.

Courage Mutigwe, a final year electronic engineering student, came up with a better solution to monitor power faults in the country. He designed a Communication based Transformer Monitoring System.

“It allows us to put all transformers on a network and monitor them from a centralised location. Data is sent from each transformer to the monitoring system station via power lines.

“It uses the technology similar to the one of prepaid meters. The system enables quick detection of faults that happens on a transformer. Faults such as short circuits, open circuits, overheating and phase imbalances.

“The system also detects transformer oil theft and it notifies police and people through text message and alarms. Whenever oil is stolen, the transformer automatically shuts down for protection sake.

“Lastly, the Communication based Transformer Monitoring System also blocks any voltages that can be supplied to the grid to the residential areas by mistake when residents are using generators. This guarantees safety to workers who might be working on high voltage lines and also to household electric appliances,” he explained whilst using a computerised demo.

Some senior electronic engineers who passed by NUST stand took this system as a new version of the already existing Substations and Power stations monitoring one.

As an institute of science and technology, NUST is fully supporting the STEM initiative at a higher level of education as its students are coming up with technological solutions to overdue problems such as litter. Cum computer scientist Thokozile Ndlovu invented a smart bin to curb for the increase of dumping sites and unnecessary littering.

“The Smart bin is disposer aware; that is it discerns the presence of a disposer and its internet aware as it communicates the waste levels to waste management systems.

The accumulation of empirical data on waste means the city councils in the country will have real time data on which bins are full and informed decisions on how and when to collect waste,” she said during stands assessment time by top officials.

Innovated by a quadruple of students – Dumisani Masuku, Nyaradzo Hove, Takudzwa Chidziya and Bonginkosi Masina was another project the ‘Design of an Ammonia Synthesis Plant using Hydrogen from Coal bed Methane.

This aims to support the national move of ZIMASSET by reviving the agricultural muscle, and filing barns again to the brim under Command Agriculture initiative and ultimately provide a less energy intensive and more efficient process.

“The aim of this project is to design a plant to produce 72.4 tonnes of hydrogen per day from coal bed methane for use in fertiliser production. Coal Bed methane is abundant in Zimbabwe particularly in Hwange and Lupane and much cheaper to produce than the conventional Electrolysis method.

“This process route is less expensive, since it consumes less energy as compared to the electrolysis process (30% of the national grid electricity volume), therefore fertilisers will become more affordable” said Dumisani Masuku who is also an outgoing Vice President of Students Representative Council of the institute.

Students, YOU CAN SEND YOUR ARTICLES THROUGH E-MAIL, FACEBOOK, WHATSAPP or TEXT Just app Charles Mushinga on 0772936678 or send your articles, pictures, poetry, art . . . to Charles Mushinga at [email protected] or [email protected] or follow Charles Mushinga on Facebook or @charlesmushinga on Twitter. You can also post articles to The Sunday Mail Bridge, PO Box 396, Harare or call 0772936678.

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