DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF A FORGE SUITABLE FOR METAL FORGING IN THE METALLURGICAL WORKSHOP IN THE DEPARTMENT OF MATERIALS AND METALLURGICAL ENGINEERING
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Abstract
The aim of this research is to design, fabricate a forge equipment and thereafter carry out performance evaluation of an improved forge facility suitable for use in blacksmithing at the metallurgy laboratory of the University of Benin. .
This project aims to build the first forge facility in UNIBEN’s Metallurgical and Materials Engineering department using local materials. It will provide hands-on learning for students and staff, bridging the gap between theory and practice. The methodology employed in this study involves identifying problems and inefficiencies in a traditional forge, Review existing forge designs, their strengths, and weaknesses, Creation of a CAD model of an improved forge, Fabrication of the forge with a solar-powered forced draft for better airflow and combustion, Running of
experiments to evaluate efficiency and effectiveness and Analysis of the results and provide recommendations for further improvements. From the results of the study,some observations were made that increasing the oxygen
supply with the M5 blower ( forced draft) improved combustion efficiency. More charcoal led to higher forge temperatures, reaching 938°C with 600g of fuel. With better combustion, aluminum softened faster, reducing the time needed to reach its forging temperature (300–400°C) from 7 minutes to just 4. In general, using more biomass resulted in higher temperatures and shorter heating times. Overall, this study contributes to the development an affordable forge facility that can be locally produced and used for forge operations in the department of Materials and
Metallurgical Engineering and Nigeria by extension for industrial and research applications.
This project aims to build the first forge facility in UNIBEN’s Metallurgical and Materials Engineering department using local materials. It will provide hands-on learning for students and staff, bridging the gap between theory and practice. The methodology employed in this study involves identifying problems and inefficiencies in a traditional forge, Review existing forge designs, their strengths, and weaknesses, Creation of a CAD model of an improved forge, Fabrication of the forge with a solar-powered forced draft for better airflow and combustion, Running of
experiments to evaluate efficiency and effectiveness and Analysis of the results and provide recommendations for further improvements. From the results of the study,some observations were made that increasing the oxygen
supply with the M5 blower ( forced draft) improved combustion efficiency. More charcoal led to higher forge temperatures, reaching 938°C with 600g of fuel. With better combustion, aluminum softened faster, reducing the time needed to reach its forging temperature (300–400°C) from 7 minutes to just 4. In general, using more biomass resulted in higher temperatures and shorter heating times. Overall, this study contributes to the development an affordable forge facility that can be locally produced and used for forge operations in the department of Materials and
Metallurgical Engineering and Nigeria by extension for industrial and research applications.
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