Solar (Photovoltaic) Systems, Energy Use and Business Activities in Maphephethe, KwaZulu, Natal
Literature suggests that energy is both a prerequisite for and essential to development (both social and economic). In order to establish the ability of an alternative energy source —photovoltaic systems - to meet daily requirements, an investigation into current energy usage, expenditure patterns and business applications was conducted. Maphephethe, an area north of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, was selected for a formal survey, with locally based, trained interviewers interviewing 200 households and businesses. The findings indicated that income levels were slightly above national (rural) norms but displayed a wide variability. Eleven energy sources were used, including candles for illumination, car batteries for television sets, dry batteries for radios and wood for cooking. Paraffin and gas were used for refrigeration. The general attitude towards solar home systems was favourable but the interviewees perceived grid electricity as being better. There did not appear to be any difference between those households that had solar home systems and those that did not. Expenditure saved on traditional energy sources matched that spent on solar syst-ems. Business energy-related potential was present but not developed
The incidence of malnutrition and the identification of determinants affecting the nutritional status of rural black children aged 0 to 24 months in Umbumbulu, Kwa-Zulu Natal
This study examines the incidence of malnutrition and the factors influencing malnutrition amongst rural black children aged 0 to 24 months in Umbumbulu, Kwa-Zulu Natal so as to formulate guidelines for the development of a nutrition intervention education programme.
Far-field dispersal modeling for fuel-air-explosive devices
A computer model for simulating the explosive dispersal of a fuel agent in the far-field regime is described and is applied to a wide variety of initial conditions to judge their effect upon the resulting fuel/air cloud. This work was directed toward modeling the dispersal process associated with Fuel-Air-Explosives devices. The far-field dispersal regime is taken to be that time after the initial burster charge detonation in which the shock forces no longer dominate the flow field and initial canister and fuel mass breakup has occurred. The model was applied to a low vapor pressure fuel, a high vapor pressure fuel and a solid fuel. A strong dependence of the final cloud characteristics upon the initial droplet size distribution was demonstrated. The predicted fuel-air clouds were highly non-uniform in concentration. 18 refs., 86 figs., 4 tabs.