Digital Commons Network^™

Real-Time Data Analytics For Monitoring Electricity Consumption Using Iot Technology, Waheed Muhammad Sanya, Gaurav Bajpai, Omar Haji Kombo, Evariste Twahirwa

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Rising electricity bills as a result of climate variability and new home electrical and electronic appliances are becoming a major source of concern for most end users. Consumers are typically unaware of their household electricity consumption patterns and the costs associated with them, making proper planning and budgeting difficult. Monitoring and controlling energy consumption on appliances can reduce energy costs for end-users. The Internet of Things (IoT) has the potential to provide remote monitoring and control of devices via automated monitoring and control. In this study, we propose an IoT-enabled system for monitoring and controlling energy consumption in homes to …

Renewable Energy Microgrids To Improve Electrification Rate In Democratic Republic Of Congo: Case Of Hydro, Municipal Waste And Solar, Ngondo Otshwe Josue, Aviti Thadei Mushi

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Worldwide, it is imperative for citizens to have access to electricity. This applies to Congolese--rural and urban dwellers, and if possible, it should be guaranteed by government’s laws and policies. Howev er, the rural and urban areas of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) suffer majorly from lack of access to electricity. The major reasons are the high costs associated with connection to the national central grid and production insufficiency. Therefore, one feasible approach to electrify these areas is to use microgrids. This technolo gy is decent and viable option for energy revolution since it incorpo rates energy storage systems, distributed …

Assessment Of Energy Efficiency In Beverage Industry, Mahamudu H. Mtebwa

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The brewery industry has a significant contribution to the national income. However, it is also associated with energy intensive processes and pollution. In this work, the energy efficiency assessment of the largest brewery in Tanzania i.e., Tanzania Breweries Limited has been conducted. Energy consumption analysis was conducted according to IEEE SA 739 1995. Important parameters used to assess brewery energy efficiency were boiler efficiency and losses, equipment energy productivity as well as load factor. It was found that the main energy consumers are packaging (54.63%), brewing (29.30%) and utilities (15.17%). More importantly, it was found that about 68% of the …

Digital Skills And Self-Employment Among Graduates Of Technical Higher Education Institutions In Tanzania, Charles Raphael

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Digital skills are the driving forces for innovative, inclusive and sustainable growth through innovations and digitalization which in turn stimulate job creation, alleviate poverty, reducing inequality, facilitating the delivery of goods and services. However, large number of graduates is shown to be weak in digital skills in the industry hence affect their employability including self-employment. Recently, the Technical Higher Education Institutions (THEIs) took some initiatives to instill the digital skills to their respective students. This study therefore assessed the level of competence of digital skills among graduates following the initiatives taken by the THEIs and their influence on self-employment. It …

Implementation Of Digital Transformation In The Technical Higher Education Institutions In Tanzania, Charles Raphael

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Digital transformation has been prioritized recently in this era of fourth industrial revolution by various organizations for maintaining strong competitive advantage, especially in the fourth industrial revolution. The higher education institutions must likewise adopt and implement digital transformation to enrich their students with the knowledge, experience and the skills they need for a very different future. Technical higher education institutions are inevitable in the given transformation. However, very little is known regarding adoption of digital transformation in the given institutions. This study therefore examined the level of adoption of digital services in the technical higher education institutions in Tanzania. It …

A Model For Sustainable Adoption Of Solar Photovoltaic Technology In Tanzania, Joseph Kihedu

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The aim of the study was to develop a sustainable model for enhancement of the solar PV technology adoption in Tanzania. The model was developed based on the identified barriers that hinder the adoption of solar PV technology and adopted the best strategies from successful projects. Further, the drivers and activities were developed based on selected best strategies from successful projects. The identified barriers to the adoption of solar PV technology, which are grouped into five associated categories and their significances, are lack of access to finance (32%), non-enforcement of policy and regulation (31%), technical (18%), lack of awareness (9%) …

An Experimental Approach Towards Pv-Based Solar System Sizing For An Engineering Laboratory, Muyideen O. Lawal

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

This study aims at providing an experimental sizing procedure for a rooftop PV-based solar power system for an engineering laboratory. This was achieved by monitoring the peak power and energy delivered by an installed 20W solar panel into an 18 Ah battery. Knowledge of the average daily peak power and energy was used to determine the percentage rated capacity available for use and the sun hour. A load consumption comparison was also carried out with and without the connection of a load to inverter. In addition to this, the monitoring of the no-load consumption of the inverter was carried out. …

Efficient And Simple Heuristic Algorithm For Portfolio Optimization Collether John, Collether John

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Markowitz model considers what is termed as standard portfolio optimization. The portfolio optimization problem is a problem which based on asset allocation and diversification for maximum return with minimum risk. Thus, the standard portfolio optimization problem happens when the constraints considered are budget and no-short selling. In reality however, portfolio optimization has realistic constraints to be incorporated such as holding sizes, cardinality and transaction cost. When realistic constraints are added into portfolio optimization problem, it becomes too complex to be solved by standard optimization methods which in this case turns to be an extended portfolio optimization problem. Markowitz solution and …

Viability Analysis Of Ubungo Ii Gas Power Plant Efficiency Improvement Using Co-Generation System, Aviti Thadei Mushi

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The power utility, Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO) is faced with challenges of supplying adequate power to the ever-increasing demand. To this end, this paper explores the installed Ubungo Gas Power Plant (UGP II) located in Dar es Salaam to find means of utilizing it in co-generation method. The study embarked on detailed modelling of the system and run simulations which indicated that the co-generation can result to power generation efficiency increase between 10.42 to 50.92%. It is recommended to change the UGP II to exploit this co-generation method. Further, the study could be improved by including more parameters …

Analyzing The Influence Of Smart-Device Visual Features, Viewing Distance And Content Factors On Video Streaming Qoe, Alex Frank Mongi

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Quality of experience (QoE) over wireless networks has attracted attention from industry and academia due to an increase in video streaming applications. Several researchers have attempted to understand the factors affecting QoE and design appropriate quality control strategies. Normally, video streaming is initiated by a user who accesses video content over a network using a smart device that may be held at various viewing distances. Each aforementioned factor has the potential to affect QoE. However, several studies explore the behavior of wireless networks on video streaming QoE. To understand the effects of other factors on QoE, this paper investigates the …

Cyber Security Challenges, Its Emerging Trends On Latest Information And Communication Technology And Cyber Crime In Mobile Money Transaction Services, Hakeem J. Pallangyo

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

This paper investigates the challenges emerging trends on latest Information and Communication Technology and cybercrime in mobile money transaction services in Tanzania. The objective of this is to evaluate the challenges associated with this rapid growth in ICT and to determine factors influencing Cybersecurity readiness and Cybercrimes in mobile money transaction services. Cyber Security plays a significant role in the field of Information and Communication Technology especially on mobile money transaction services. The study recognizes the provision of mobile money services by both telecommunication companies and local banks, the fact is that whenever we think about the cyber security, the …

Exploring Carrier Sense Multiple Access With Collision Avoidance Techniques For Resource Sharing In Broadband Power Line Communications, Godfrey Luwemba, Mussa M. Kissaka, Prosper Mafole

Tanzania Journal of Science

A resource sharing in power line communications (PLC) for the home network is restricted by the channel assignment techniques which decide who has the right to gain access to send data. The channel assignment techniques include contention-free and contention-based. The former requires high synchronization due to the deterministic round-trip time. Besides, contention-based utilizes CSMA/CA techniques that allow stations in a network to compete for channel access and are suitable for decentralized network topology. However, a trade-off exists between the number of stations required to gain access versus system efficiency. Whilst some research has been carried out on CSMA/CA resource sharing …

Real-Time Complex Hand Gestures Recognition Based On Multi- Dimensional Features, Isack Bulugu

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Gesture recognition is broadly utilized within the field of sensing. There are basically three gesture recognition methods based on computer vision, depth sensor and motion sensor. Motion sensor-based gesture recognition has few input data, fast speed, and direct access to three- dimensional information of the hand. The advantages of traditional motion sensor-based gesture recognition have gradually become a current research hotspot. The essence of traditional motion sensor-based gesture recognition is a pattern recognition problem, and its accuracy depends heavily on the feature dataset extracted from prior experience. Unlike traditional pattern recognition methods, deep learning can be used to a large …

Economic Analysis Of Islanded Microgrid: A Case Study Of Kisiju Village - Coastal Region, Jackson Justo

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The concept of Microgrid (MG) has gained significant attention of researchers and projects on the business side of electrical power generation and utilization, particularly in electrification of islanded areas such as villages. Most of these microgrids are powered by renewable energy resources (RERs) and they distribute power in low voltage distribution networks. Hence, these systems are faced with reliability problems due to the intermittency nature of RERs which affect the technical as well as the return on Investment of specific projects. In the latter context, reliability and economic analysis of the MG systems is an inevitable choice. This paper presents …

Complete Neighbourhood Search Heuristic Algorithm For Portfolio Optimization, Collether John

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

In portfolio optimization, the fundamental goal of an investor is to optimally allocate investments between different assets. Mean-variance optimization methods make unrealistic assumptions to solve the problem of optimal allocation. On the other hand, when realistic constraints like holding size and cardinality are introduced it leads to optimal asset allocation which differ from the mean variance optimization. The resulting optimization problem become quite complex as it exhibits multiple local extrema and discontinuities. Heuristic algorithms work well for the complex problem. Therefore, a heuristic algorithm is developed which is based on hill climbing complete (HC-C). It is utilized to solve the …

Optimal Design Of Hybrid Renewable Energy For Tanzania Rural Communities, Ester T Marcel, Joseph Mutale, Aviti T Mushi

Tanzania Journal of Science

Rural communities in developing countries lack access to electricity due to high costs of grid extension. This paper proposes a hybrid system of renewable energy (HRES) as solution. The HRES consists of solar, wind, and battery energy storage (BES). The village called Ngw’amkanga in Shinyanga region of Tanzania, East Africa is selected as a case study. An iterative method to determine the size of wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) generation required assuming a project life of 25 years at minimum annualised cost of the system ( ) is proposed. The project life time is fixed on the life span of …

The Possible Use Of Telemedicine In Developing Countries, R. Wootton

Online Journal of Space Communication

Since the place of telemedicine in the industrialized world is by no means properly worked out yet, it might seem premature to consider its use in developing countries. Nonetheless, there is interest in the possible use of telemedicine in developing countries, from at least two organizations:

1. The Midjan group, an impromptu committee that was formed following the African Regional Telecommunications Development Conference in Abidjan in March 19963. This European telemedicine collaboration group aims to explore the use of telemedicine in developing countries. At present, the group includes representatives from 22 telecommunication and medical informatics suppliers, telecommunication operators, universities, hospitals and …

Maintenance Automation Architecture And Electrical Equipment Fault Prediction Method In Tanzania Secondary Distribution Networks, Hadija Mbembati, Kwame Ibwe, Baraka Maiseli

Tanzania Journal of Science

Distribution networks remain the most maintenance-intensive parts of power systems. The implementation of maintenance automation and prediction of equipment fault can enhance system reliability while reducing the overall costs. In Tanzania, however, maintenance automation has not been deployed in secondary distribution networks (SDNs). Instead, traditional methods are used for condition prediction and fault identification of power assets (transformers and power lines). These (manual) methods are costly and time-consuming, and may introduce human-related errors. Motivated by these challenges, this work introduces maintenance automation into the network architecture by implementing effective maintenance and fault identification methods. The proposed method adopts machine learning …

Analysis And Performance Evaluation Of Entropic Thresholding Image Processing Techniques For Electrical Capacitance Tomography Measurement System, Josiah Nombo, Alfred Mwambela, Michael Kisangiri

Tanzania Journal of Science

To improve image quality generated from the electrical capacitance tomography measurement system, the use of entropic thresholding techniques is investigated in this article. Based on the analysis of the principle of Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT) image reconstruction and entropic thresholding, various algorithms have been proposed for easy extraction of quantitative information from tomograms generated from the ECT system. Experiments indicate that proposed algorithms can provide high-quality images at no or minimum computational cost. It is easier to implement and integrate with classical algorithms such as Linear Back Projection, Singular value decomposition, Tikhonov regularization, and Landweber. Entropic thresholding techniques present a …

Assessment Of The Impacts Of Climate Variability On Hydropower Generation: A Case Study Of The New Pangani Falls, Tanzania, Dativa Byarufu

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Climate change poses potential impacts on hydropower generation either positively by increasing or negatively by decreasing river flow. This study assessed the impacts of climate variability on hydropower with a focus on the New Pangani Falls in Tanzania. Rainfall and temperature time series data from 1980-2014 were analyzed in relation to river discharge and associated impacts to hydropower generation. The Man-Kendall test was used to detect trend in both annual and seasonal time series. The results showed a negative trend in annual rainfall with Z= -2.41 at α = 0.05 and the slope Q = -0.964. Seasonal trend analysis showed …

Performance Of Calcium Chloride- Ammonia Adsorption Refrigeration System, Michael John

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

An experimental study on the performance of calcium chloride-ammonia adsorption system is described. A single bed water cooled condenser adsorption refrigerator prototype, which utilises calcium chloride-ammonia pair has been developed and tested in the laboratory. Experiments have been conducted for desorption temperatures of 100 °C with desorption time varying from 1 to 4 hours. An electric tape heater and a timer were used to perform the experiments. The adsorption temperature profile, adsorption rate and prototype performance have been analysed and discussed. The tested heating and desorption temperature of 100 °C and heating and desorption time of 1 to 4 hours …

Socio-Technical Perspective For Electronic Tax Information System In Tanzania, Lucas Ngowi, Ellen Kalinga

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Socio-technical systems theory has rarely been used by system architects in setting up computing systems. However, the role of socio-technical concepts in computing, which is becoming social in nature, has made the concepts more relevant and commercial. Tax information systems are examples of such systems because they are influenced by external variables such as the political environment, technological trends, and social environment, introducing complexity in their deployment and determining the type of e-services and their delivery to a diverse group of people. It was observed that in Tanzania there is resistance, reluctance and minimal use of electronic tax system because …

Overview: Politics And Technology Converge: Case Studies On The Effects Of Regulatory Reform On Vsat Adoption In Developing Countries, Emmanuel Adugu, Kwasi Boateng, D. Flournoy, Eric Gavua, Wencelous Kaswoswe, Miao Zhang

Online Journal of Space Communication

Developing countries are actively implementing satellite data networks, and have undertaken policy reforms to facilitate such networks. This research examines how regulatory changes have resulted in the removal of barriers relating to the deployment of access technologies and growth in connectivity, especially in VSAT installations for low cost Internet access. In addition, this research seeks to identify the socio-economic impact of emerging data network applications in government, business, health and education. In some cases, government offices have been the driver of change; in other cases, businesses have been the ones to initiate and press these developments forward.

Sign Language Recognition Using Kinect Sensor Based On Color Stream And Skeleton Points, Isack Bulugu

Tanzania Journal of Science

This paper presents a sign language recognition system based on color stream and skeleton points. Several approaches have been established to address sign language recognition problems. However, most of the previous approaches still have poor recognition accuracy. The proposed approach uses Kinect sensor based on color stream and skeleton points from the depth stream to improved recognition accuracy. Techniques within this approach use hand trajectories and hand shapes in combating sign recognition challenges. Therefore, for a particular sign a representative feature vector is extracted, which consists of hand trajectories and hand shapes. A sparse dictionary learning algorithm, Label Consistent K-SVD …

Analyzing The Electricity Consumption And Costs Of Electrical-Powered Machines When There Is Orepass Failure In Underground Mine, Bartłomiej Skawina, Abubakary Salama

Tanzania Journal of Science

In underground mining environment where the loss of orepasses is a dominant factor, the mine may face a challenge of improving the loading and hauling operations. Some of the options will be to rehabilitate the lost orepasses, or developing the new ones. When the rehabilitation cost is high, alternative strategies should be applied to compensate for the orepasses failure. One of the possible options is to use diesel or electric Load-Haul-Dumps (LHDs). The use of diesel-powered LHDs will increase heat and gas emissions which increase environmental concerns and ventilation costs, while adoption of electric-powered vehicles needs to be analysed. Therefore, …

Multi-Bands Circular Ring Monopole Antenna With Double L-Shape For Wlan/Wimax Applications, Hassan Mkindu, Hashim Iddi

Tanzania Journal of Science

The rapid growth of technology increases the demands of low profile and compact antennas, supporting different wireless systems standards in mobile devices. Recently, several multi-band antenna designs have been proposed for mobile devices due to the current advancement of antenna technology. In this paper, a multi-band circular ring with a double L-shaped monopole antenna for Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) applications is presented. The proposed antenna consists of a circular-shaped and rectangular strip connected with two inverted L-shaped trips. The H-shaped-strips are attached within the rectangular-strips. The antenna is fed by a 50 …

Possibilities And Challenges Of Radio Frequency Energy Harvesting In Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, Fredrick Isingo

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

This paper presents investigation on the possibilities and challenges of harvesting ambient Radio Frequency Energy (RFE) at Dar es Salaam region in Tanzania. The Radio Frequency (RF) signals were measured using a Rohde and Schwarz FSC 3 spectrum analyzer observing available frequencies with their respective power. Among several RF signals received, the most powerful signals observed were; 800 MHz, 950 MHz, 2100 MHz and 2400 MHz, having average signal strengths of about-30.29 dBm,-35.94 dBm,-42.90 dBm and-30.42 dBm respectively. The power possessed within these frequencies were suitable to be harvested due to their signal strengths, an overall power average of-34.89dBm was …

Direct Predictive Speed Control Of Salient Pmsm Drives In Constant Torque And Constant Power Regimes For Electric Vehicles Applications, Francis Mwasilu

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

A direct speed control of salient permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drives in constant torque and constant power regimes for electric vehicles applications is presented. The proposed speed control scheme is derived from model predictive control approach where both rotor speed and stator current are formulated in a single objective function that is periodically computed to attain the PMSM drive optimum switching states. The dynamic model of the PMSM intrinsically encompasses the unknown disturbance, which should be rejected for high-performance speed control especially in transient conditions. Consequently, the extended modified augmented state Kalman filter (ASKF) is incorporated in the proposed …

User-Centred Scalable Big Data Visualizer For Power Consumption Data In The Electrical Secondary Distribution Network, Ellen Kalinga

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Establishment of Smart Grids for electrical power has been practised worldwide for the purpose of bringing reliability, security, and efficient management of electrical power networks for enhancing quality service to the society. Apart from the potential aim, smart grid has been a challenge to developing countries, including Tanzania from cost and technology point of view. Due to the use of many smart equipment involved in smart grids like Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) equipped with smart meters and sensors, handling and managing big data has been a challenge. Among the challenges is the issue of visualizing the Big Data due to …

Deconvolution Of Mono-Energetic And Multi-Lines Gamma-Ray Spectra Obtained With Nai(Tl) Scintillation Detectors Using Direct Matrix Inversion Method, Mwingereza John Kumwenda Dr

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Performance of a NaI(Tl) scintillation detector based on the gamma-ray spectroscopy system is not satisfactory in retaining its original peak (which is delta like function) of various gamma ray spectrum. The method of achieving precise peak for the various gamma ray was conducted by converting the observed pulse-height distribution of the NaI(Tl) detector to a true photon spectrum. This method is obtained experimentally with the help of an inverse matrix deconvolution method. The method is based on response matrix generated by the Monte Carlo simulation based on Geant4 package of mono-energy gamma-ray photon ranging from 0.050 to 2.04 MeV in …