College of Engineering

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    Using GIS and Multi Criteria Decision Making to Determine Suitable Dam Sites in The Upper West Region of Ghana
    (KNUST, 2019-10) Reduwan Kassim
    The availability of water for use is alarmingly becoming an issue of concern globally and if measures are not implemented to curb this, then the world over faces an impending water scarcity crisis. Studies conducted by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) indicate that by 2050, over two billion people will live under high water stress situations. This invariably would limit development and affect quality of lives. Water scarcity and water stress situations will also invariably lead to a decrease in Agricultural output. Dams provide an option for harvesting and storing water for various uses. Irrigation could also be a solution to the decline of agricultural output in the country. However, even though dams are designed to collect and store water for use, for them to function at optimum levels, they have to be sited appropriately. In Ghana, the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA) is the government agency primarily tasked with the construction and management of dams. However selecting suitable sites for these dams is done manually and quiet subjectively. This traditional site selection process is tedious fails to accentuate certain terrain characteristics that are not readily visible and may only be highlighted in a GIS environment This study employs the use of GIS and Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) in siting dams using five factors namely Slope, Rainfall, Soil type, protected zones and Settlements. The results shows a suitability map for dam sites. From the map, 4.3% of the study area is suitable for dam construction, 33% of the area averagely suitable, 53.9% poorly suitable and 8.8% unsuitable for dam construction. The study goes further to propose four specific dam sites, determined the profiles and estimates volumetric capacities of these sites and it was found that the sites had capacities of 219,000m3, 1,312,500m3, 557,666m3 and 375,000m3 respectively for dam sites 1, 2, 3 and 4. In conclusion, it is asserted that GIS is a powerful tool that can be effectively used to help in determining suitable sites for dam construction and provides an improvement on the current traditional site selection process employed by decision makers.
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    Strength Properties of Locally Constructed Rice Bunds in the Adansi North District of Ghana
    (KNUST, 2019-06) Dzandu Thomas,Kwaku
    The rice industry in Ghana faces challenges of low productivity, low yield and poor grain quality, resulting in overwhelming import dependence. Rice can be cultivated all year round with bund and irrigation. Also, land originally not suitable for rice cultivation can be used when bund is considered. Successive Governments over the years launch series of flagship programs which are aimed at reducing rice imports, poverty alleviation and employment creation which many have failed. Though bunds are widely used in many countries and other parts of Ghana, the system is relatively new in the Adansi North District of the Ashanti region of Ghana. The purpose of this study is to examine the durability and soil strength properties of rice bund constructed by local farmers. Three farmer’s fields KB, FB and PB were studied to ascertain their strength properties and their durability. Four bunds were constructed on a research plot labeled RB1, RB2, RB3 and RB4. RB1 and RB4 where compacted while RB2 and RB3 where uncompacted. Laboratory test indicates that soils of RB1, RB2 and KB where classified as clay of intermediate plasticity which proved stronger than RB3, RB4, FB and PB which were clay of low plasticity. After 40 days of bund measurements, farmer field bunds reduced in height between 36 to 42 %. Research field measured that uncompacted bunds reduced in height by 34 and 40 % while compacted bunds reduced by 6 % or less. Bund compaction increases operational cost and reduces profit in the first season however, increases profit drastically in the second season. It is therefore concluded that uncompacted bunds erode faster than compacted bunds, compaction increases soil strength and bund strength is determined by soil type and level of compaction.
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    Generalising The Harmony Search Algorithm for Dynamic Nurse Schedule in Teaching Hospitals
    (KNUST, 2019-08) Kelvin Lartey
    In many hospitals all over the world, the task of efficiently scheduling nurses to meet the workforce demand is a daunting one. This is due to the sheer number of possible permutations possible, the high possibility that departments are understaffed, and the many stringent constraints that are naturally imposed by the working environment and contract. It usually takes a long time for an in￾charge to come up with a solution that is merely good enough, and such solutions may even contain errors. Many researchers over the decades have attempted to tackle this problem in various ways, with varying results. However, the unique nature of this problem makes it difficult to apply one solution to another area. This study is an important step in the search for a generalised solution that will be useful at least in all hospitals in Ghana. A novel Harmony Search Algorithm was adopted and implemented, while taking into account the pertinent local parameters. This was tested with an evaluation algorithm that was also adopted and implemented from literature. It was found that the algorithm excelled at generating fair and high quality schedules for one week with varying combinations of constraints, but faltered when the scheduling period was increased to 2 weeks and beyond.
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    Dynamic Bandwith Utitlization in Software Defined-Based Campus Networks
    (KNUST, 2019-11) Kobby Asare,Obeng
    The efficient utilization of bandwidth in campus networks is a major traffic engineering issue. It requires a complete knowledge of the underlying physical network architecture as well a means to automate or reactively and proactively program the network. The static nature of traditional network creates a hurdle that must be overcome to achieve the above. The Software Defined Network architecture proposes a novel way to automate, program and dynamically configure computer networks. This work uses the VMware virtualization software and the GNS3 network emulator to convert a traditional campus network into a Software Defined-based campus network. A data plane made up of software-based replicas of network devices is designed and configured to connect to a controller software. A network application scheme is implemented by leveraging the Hierarchical Token Bucket Queuing Discipline which automatically programs bandwidth allocation at the data plane through the controller based on traffic demands. The functionality of the architecture is tested by carrying out a number of parallel-connections to simulate changing traffic patterns. This is done using the Iperf Application. The results show the conversion of a traditional campus network into a Software Defined-based campus network. It also depicts the complete emulation of the entire Software Defined-based campus network. At the data plane of the emulated network, devices are able to forward packets to one another with the most active port forwarding about 9,000 packets. The controller obtains a global of all 11-network devices in the emulated network. The latency between the controller and the software defined switches at the data plane ranges between 50 and 62.5 milliseconds. The throughput between the controller and the software defined switches at the plane ranges between 2 and 9 Mbps. Application Plane to Control Plane communication in the emulated network is executed in an average of 30 milliseconds and bandwidth utilization occurs in a minimum of 11seconds and peaks at 27.5 seconds. It however becomes steady at 17 seconds as traffic patterns vary
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    A Security Shield for Internet of Things (IoT) Devices
    (KNUST, 2019-06) Justice Owusu, Agyemang
    The Internet of Things (IoT) is a new paradigm that enables the convergence of smart objects and the internet. It is an intelligent network that connects all things to the Internet for the purpose of exchanging information and communicating through the information sensing devices in accordance with agreed protocols. Aside the various benefits IoT provides, it also presents challenges related to security and privacy. The direct connection of IoT devices to the internet makes them susceptible to several security threats. Some ongoing projects for enhancing IoT security include methods for pro￾viding data confidentiality and authentication, access control within the IoT net￾work, privacy and trust among users and things, and the enforcement of security and privacy policies. However, even with these mechanisms, IoT networks are vulnerable to multiple attacks aimed to disrupt the network. For this reason, another line of defense, designed for detecting attackers is needed. Intrusion Detection Systems (IDSs) fulfill this purpose. Previous resarch works propose IDSs in relation to IPv6 over Low-power Wireless Personal Area Network (6LoWPAN). However, since IoT will be used in many application domains with different technologies (WiFi, BLE, NFC and Z-Wave), development of IDSs only for 6LoWPAN is insufficient to meet the security needs of every IoT system. This research work focuses on IDSs for IoT devices that use WiFi technology. No previous works address IDSs for IoT devices that use WiFi technology. The research proposes lightweight intrusion detection algorithms that addresses Man￾In-The-Middle (MITM) and Rogue Access Points (RAP) attacks. It goes further to propose an orchestration framework for IoT devices which can be used to logically isolate these devices in instances where vulnerabilities are found on them.