Development of Air Compressor Lubrication

Development of Air Compressor Lubrication In this project, the mission which needs to be accomplished is to investigate the relentless root cause of such failure and to give useful recommendations which can help to avoid such failures in the reciprocating compressor under study in the future. An engine driven auxiliary air compressor failed, the air compressor is located in the Hawke workshop. The first stage will be to establish details about the compressor, the manufacturer and how the compressor works. Classification of compressors and types will be also discussed and of course the theory of operation. Collecting components failed in order to be examined subsequently for the failure cause or causes this will be held using a variety of methods. NDE (non-distractive examination) or NDT (non-destructive testing) is valuable way to use for preliminary inspection of the failed parts without damaging it. DT (destructive test) is another way to check and inspect parts but this inspection method appears from its name it lead do d estructive damage the tested parts which will be no longer able to be used. Fatigue principles also will be showed. Studying all the above will gave a clear idea about the cause of the damage. Discussion of the probable causes for the failure well be performed in the following chapters as well as the conclusion obtained from study conducted. 1.1 Introduction Air compressor producing is return for long time ago. The main idea of compressing air and discharge it used by the ancient in deferent ways. The first usage for the air compressor is increasing the combustion of furnace. The air compressor is raising the heat of the furnace by bellowed compressed air to it. Moreover, the main products got from these furnaces are metals and weapons. Muscles were the main power source for the air compressor. The below figure shows the old air compressor. That kind of old air compressors still used in different productions. This project will investigate and analysis a failure happened in an air compressor. This investigation will be done in several ways to figure out the cause of the failure. Air compressor is a machine has the ability to compress the air and release it to convert the electrical power to kinetic energy to use it in several industrials and usages. Air compressor is consisting of many components. These components are electrical motor, pistons, air pump, air receiver, air drier, filters, air pressure regulator and pressure switch. All of these components will be discussed in details in the next chapters. There are also types of air compressor will be discussed later. 1.2 Background The case which had here is a failure in an air compressor. From the first sight on the damage happened in it, it seems to be that the failure happened in the connecting rod and its obvious from the below figure number 3. This figure shows that the failure happened in the connecting rod from the ring part which connected to a crank shaft. But the reason for this failure is unknown as there are several scenarios could be adopted. The first scenario is the fatigue is the reason for this failure. The second scenario is a very heavy pressure loaded to the compressor which led to that failure. These are the most expected scenarios which will be investigated later in this project to figure out the reason of the failure. 1.3 Amis and objectives Aims: The main aim of this graduation project is to investigate and discover the cause or the causes of failure of diesel engine driven auxiliary reciprocating air compressor made by Knorr-Bremse, model number is LP 4865. This will be achieved by carrying out the below objectives, once its achieved, the main aim of the project will be achieved. Project objectives: Collecting valuable information about, model number is LP 4, this will include: design of compressor, design of each part, construction materials of each part, operation principles, working theory, production range..etc. collecting data will help to recognize main failure cause, and accordingly to prepare new procedure to eliminate the problem, to decrease the opportunity of failure occurrence in the future, use greater safety factor and to recognize the person or the entity responsible for failure and to make mistake proofing for future avoidance of the failure. Collecting this background information is not limited to numbers only but it is should be extended to everything such as pictures, charts and graphs and samples. Investigating operational parameters, history of operation, nature of operation..etc in order to be able to determine precisely the root cause of such failure and which failure mode it follows. Physical investigation or macroscopic inspection should be carried out. This mission includes photo capturing, code of the product, model number, lot number, batch number and serial number. Perform compressor disassembly in order to dismantle each component, part, assemblies and sub-assemblies to perform through investigation and inspection of each. Its should be mentioned that necessary tests and analyses should be performed; mainly the manufacturer usually has his own procedures and tests for test and inspection. 2.0 Air Compressor What is the air compressor? Air compressor is a machine that converts electric power to kinetic energy (motion). This energy comes from pressurizing and compressing air. After that, the compressed air goes into a chamber, and the air kept in the chamber by unidirectional valve. There are many types of compressors these types are: reciprocating compressor, rotary screw compressor and centrifugal compressor. These types will be explained in details below. 2.1 Reciprocating compressor: Reciprocating air compressor is positive displacement compressor. This compressor sucks a volume of air and presses it with high pressure. This pressure done by using a piston and cylinder as movement part and displacement part. The compressor could be single acting or double acting according to its accomplish by using one side or both side. When the pressure difference between the cylinder and the receiver became proper, the valves open. Inlet valves open when the pressure in the cylinder is slightly below the intake pressure. Discharge valves open when the pressure in the cylinder is slightly above the discharge pressure. The compressor could be a single stage when the compression process done parallel. Advantages: Simple design. Lower initial cost. Easy to install. High efficiency with 2 stages. No need for lubrication. Large range of horsepower. Disadvantages: Maintenance cost is high. Many moving parts. Vibration problems. Foundation maybe required. Not running at full capacity all the time. 2.2 Rotary screw compressor: Also Rotary air compressor is a positive displacement compressor. Single stage helical or spiral lobe oil flooded screw is the most common in rotary air compressor. This compressor is consisting of 2 rotors located in a case where the air is compressed internally without any valves. The cooling for these compressors done by oil. As the cooling for the working parts happened inside the compressor, this type of compressor will not experience over heat due to operation, so it could operate without stop. Due to the simple design of the rotary screw compressor and its parts it can be maintained easily and installed any where could handle its static weight. The 2 stages rotary air compressor uses 2 rotors with a combined air end. This 2 rotors installed in series to share the compression. This raise up the efficiency with 50%. This 2 stage rotary compressor combined the maximum profit from the rotary screw with its simplicity and flexibility and the reciprocating compressor with its effect ive energy when it works 2 stages with double acting. The 2 stages of this compressor could be cooled by water, air or oil. The cooling system for this compressor could be oil, air and water. Advantages: Simple design. Low initial cost. Low maintenance cost. Good efficiency at 2 stages. Easy to install. Few moving parts. Common in use. Disadvantages: Limited life for airend. Service for airend couldnt be done at field. High rotational speeds. Must be oil lubricated. Single stage has low efficiency. 2.3 Centrifugal compressor: The centrifugal air compressor is a dynamic compressor that depends on transfer of energy from a rotating impeller to the air. This done by changing the airs momentum and pressure. By slowing the air in stationary diffuser the momentum converted to pressure. This compressor is oil free compressor. There is a separation between the lubricated oil and air by shaft seals and atmospheric vents. Where the high volume of dry air is required a centrifugal compressor is the proper compressor as it has a few moving parts and could operate continuously. 2.4 Rotary Sliding Vane Compressors: Rotary sliding Vane Compressor is also a positive displacement compressor. This type of compressor is consisting of rotor and stator and eight blades. Between the intake and exhouset valves a cresent shape formed by the location of the rotor and stator. The compression achieved by one complete rotation as the volume changed from the maximum to minimum. Vanes are pushed outward against the stator walls. Injecting oil from the intake valve and along the stator wall to cool the air and make a sealing between the stator wall and vans and also to lubricate bearings. So that a filtration system must be installed to separates the oil from the compressed air. Advantages: Simple design. Easy to install. Low cost. Maintenance cost is low. Reliable. Few moving parts. Disadvantages: Single stage. Low efficiency. Must lubricate with oil. Difficult with over pressure. 2.5 Main Component of Air compressor in general: The system could be installed in 2 methods. The first method is where air drier before receiver tank. The second method is where the air drier after the receiver tank. These components will explained in details in the below paragraph. Receiver tank: From its name receiver tank is a tank that receives the discharged air. It helps to prevent rapid compressor cycling by providing a storage capacity. The advantage for the receiver tank is reducing the wear and tear in motor, inlet control system and compression module. It also eliminate the flow pulsing. Air Dryers: there are 3 types of air dryer. The main objective for air dryers is to dry the air to prevent rust and wearing in the air compressor components and discharge line. These types are: Refrigerated air dryers: This dryer used a mechanical technique to remove moisture from compressed air and cooling it and condense water. Desiccant dryers: This dryer is absorbing water vapour by using utilizes chemical drops called desiccant. The common desiccants used in this dryer are silica gel, molecular sieve and activated alumina. Deliquescent air dryers: This type of dryer using desiccant to dry compressed air. The wetness in the compressed air reacted with the absorption material and turned into liquid which drained from the dryer. This process could be corrosive so the corrosion check has to be done. Filters: Filters are installed to remove the lubricants and water from the compressed air. It could be installed downstream at refrigerated air dryer or upstream at desiccant dryer. The most common in filters is coalescing filter. But this filter it only can remove liquid and water which have been previously condensed. Piping Distribution systems: Piping distribution system is controlling in how the compressed air go out to the tools and also determined the required energy for the air compressor. 2.6 The reciprocating air compressor (knorr-bremse, model lp 4865) The main study object in this project as said before is to study the reciprocating air compressor (knorr-bremse lp 4865). By searching the internet and try to get information about the air compressor which needed to complete this study but unfortunately the required information couldnt be found except its maximum pressure 12 bar and volume 460 . So the general information about the reciprocating air compressor will be mentioned instead of the specific air compressor. There are 9 main parts for the reciprocating air compressor these parts are: Crank case: Crank case is a close rigid body where the crank shaft and the bearing house where located. This body could by rectangular or square shape. Mainly crank case formed by using cast iron. Crank Shaft: Crank shaft in one of the most important parts in air compressor. It is a motion transferor. It designed as one piece has balance in its dynamics and tries to avoid any twisting. To ensure a long life for bearings, the polishing and crank pin will be done. Generally crank shafts have a fly wheel. This crank shaft manufactured mainly of high grade S.G iron. Connecting rod: This part is responsible of transfer the motion from the crank shaft to the piston and changing the direction from the rotating motion come from the crank shaft into reciprocating motion in piston. This part is mainly forged of alloy steel. Bearings: Bearings are made to provide the rotating gear with rigidity. Its mainly manufactured of copper lead alloy. Cross slide: to get a perfect running for cross head, this part is responsible for reduce the inertia. This part is commonly manufactured of high grade S.G. iron. Cylinder: This part is where the air flow passes and compressed. Cylinders are manufactured with water jacket to reduce the generated heat from the compression process. This cylinder mainly made of cast iron. Pistons: Piston is the main part in the compression process, which move forward to compress the air and backward to intake a new air amount to compress. There are 2 types of piston according to its lubrication system, the first type is non-lubricated which made from aluminium alloy, and the second type which is lubricated is made from cast iron. Due to moving of piston in the cylinder, so there must a space exist between them, to ensure there is no leak happened for air a piston rings located on piston. Piston rod: Piston rod is this rod which connects the piston to the connecting rod. The piston rod is manufactured of alloy steel. Intake and discharge valves: These valves are responsible for the amount of air sucked or discharged. When the piston in the retraction position the suction valve open to allow the air to get in. when the piston move forward and reach the maximum pressure the discharge valve open. These 2 valves are adjusted to be opened and closed according to the pressure difference between inside the cylinder and the outside. These valves are made from stainless steel even a plate type or spring type. 2.7 Air Compressor Lubrication Due to the operation of the air compressors which have different moving parts, a friction must be occurring. This friction generates heat and not just that it leads to part wearing which probably lead to a failure. And some time a kind of sealing need to be installed to prevent the compressed air from leaking. All of these reasons lead to using lubrication. Oil lubrication is a must in air compressors to overcome all above problems. The lubrication method could be different from type to another, but the main idea is to prevent the friction between moving parts like lubricate the bearings, or at the same time in some cases like reciprocating air compressor it also works like sealing between the cylinder wall and the piston. The problem in lubricate the air compressor is the selection of the proper oil. The selected oil must be industrial oil with high quality and matching the operation requirements. The environment of where the compressor will be installed is one of the parameter of s electing the lubrication oil, if the environment is too cold and the temperature is low the frizzing point, an anti-frizz oil must be use. If the environment is too hot oil with high viscosity and ability to heat resistance must be used. All of these restrictions must be considered while selecting the lubricant. These are the main idea of lubrications but the implementation is different according to each type of air compressor. The lubrication system changes from one type of air compressor to another according to the operation theory of it. 3.0 Quality assurance for the manufacturing process Air compressors are designed to work in both the industrial and the privet fields, it designed to press gas or pressured air. During the air compressor operations leak or failure maybe happened and this will lead to a serious damage. The quality assurance purpose is to guarantee if the production is safe and ready to use or if rejected and have defects. This operation done by two methods the first one is the destructive test which means that the tested object will be destructed and no longer could be used and this type used in the initial design and on the first production to be sure of it. The second test is called the non-destructive test (NDT) which means we can make our test and be sure if the production is good to use or not without destructing the production. This type (NDT) what we are going to focus on because its the most common method in inspection. The definition of the NDT is its a test methods used to examine an object without impairing its future usefulness. There are a several methods in NDT used like: Visual Microwave Thermograph Tap testing X-ray Magnetic particles Acoustic Microscopy Acoustic emission Magnetic measurements Liquid penetrate Ultrasonic Flux Leakage Eddy current Replication Laser interferometer All of the above methods are used in NDT, but in our case we will go to use the common methods and try to clarify its operation and how to use. Visual inspection: It the most common and basic inspection method. In this method we can use fiberscope, bore scopes, magnifying glasses and mirrors. Another technology could be used as electronic microscopes have the ability to enter the narrow places inside the air compressor. Magnetic Particle Inspection: This inspection could be done by magnetize the inspection part. After that coloured particles of iron covered the inspection area. These particles of iron will spread to the magnetic flux and show the discontinuity area. By applying the proper light this inspection could be checked by visual.splinedflour Radiography: To perform this check a shot waves with high energy is used. Radioactive source or X-ray machine could generate such waves. The part which will be tested will be located between the radiation source and a film. This part will prevent some of the radiation. Thick areas will stop more waves. This will lead to variation on the film darkness the thick part will be less dark and the thin or cracked part will be more darker.RAD1Casting CastingRad Eddy Current Testing: This type of test is used to discover the crakes on the surfaces. It also could be used to test the thickness of coating of the surfaces.eddy.PNG Ultrasonic Inspection: To use this test a high frequency sound wave is applied to the surface of the part. These waves are reflected waves which will be reflected from any crack inside the material. This sound wave are reflected into the device which will show the reflection time on a gage this gage could show the depth of the crack by time of reflection. It could also be connecting to a computer by using a computer program which will draw a diagram of the part and the crack location. Liquid Penetrate Inspection: To apply this type of test a liquid with high moistening spread over the tested part and gave time to leak into the crakes. After that the rest of liquid is removed from the surface. After that a special powder spread over the surface to get the stuck liquid out from the crack. The crack will appear and could be discovers by eye. To increase the sensitivity and accuracy of this test it could be done under ultra violet light. For the above types of NDT there is some common application where they also could be used: Inspection of Raw Products: Forgings. Castings. Extrusions. Inspection Following Secondary Processing: Machining. Welding. Grinding. Heat treating. Plating. In-Services Damage Inspection: Cracking. Corrosion. Erosion/Wear. Heat Damage. 3.1 Fatigue The strength of the product is the most important safety factor. To be sure that the product will be safe and could stand the applied loads safety factor must be added to the design. During the operation, parts experience a non-constant loads which lead failure along with time. Fatigue could be defined as a failure happened due to a rapid variation in loads, but without any of this load variations exceed the maximum load. This type of failure happened commonly in metallic materials not only but also in different materials. There are 3 stagers for Fatigue, these stages are: 1. Initial crack. 2. Propagation of crack. 3. Final fracture. 3.2 How to analysis fatigue to prevent it Component material and stress field are the main 2 principals that govern the amount of time needed for crack to start and spread accusing a failure. There are 3 main methods to calculate the fatigue time, these method are: SN Method: To predict a fatigue life for a part stress life approach could be used. This method gave the fatigue life for the object. This method is depending on the calculation of varying elastic strength so it couldnt be applied to low fatigue cycle. But this type of test is very accurate at high fatigue cycles. EN Method: This method is using plastic stress to calculate not only the fatigue life but also the crack penetration. The advantage of this method is that it could be used for calculating the fatigue in low life cycle and plastic life cycle also. LEFM Method: Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics is used to calculate crack growth rates. This approach assumes that a crack is already present and predicts crack growth with respect to the stress intensity at the crack tip. 3.3 Fatigues in Aluminium From previous fatigue studies done on aluminium, it seems to be that aluminium is a very good material with high resistance to fatigue. These studies which done on a certain alloy of aluminium, but in general the heat treatment for aluminium lead to a significant in the fatigue life. Heat treatment also give aluminium high strength, excellent toughness and reasonable ductile. The crack initial behaviour of aluminium took place from the surface just like many metals and alloys. 3.4 Aluminium Properties To be familiar with Aluminium some properties must be considered and known, these properties are: Youngs Modulus: 70 GPa. Ductility Malleability: High. Hardness: 420 MPa. Density: Low 2700 kg / cubic metre. Melting Point: 660.32 ÂÂ °C Boiling Point: 2519 ÂÂ °C. Electrical Resistivity: Low 2.65 x 10-8 Ohm metres. Reflectivity: High 71% unpolished and when polished: 97% . All of these properties gave a clue that Aluminium is the metal of the modern world. With its strong, lightweight, ductile and reflective it could be used for several industries and accomplish a great results. 4.0 Problem Analysis The first problem in this study is that damage which happened in the connecting rod from ring which connected with crack shaft. As said in the background, there are 2 scenarios leads to this damage. The first scenario is a fatigue accrues in the connecting rod with lead to this damage as it couldnt stand the motion and the pressure any more. The second scenario is an excessive pressure more than the maximum pressure which could be hold by the compressor. At the same time a malfunction in the discharge happened, and this could be taken in consider as it must opened at slightly below the maximum pressure. In both scenarios, the damage in the connecting rod lead to another greater damage in the piston and the cylinder, as the piston start to move in non-liner motion and hitting the cylinder wall. This leads to a serious damage in the compressors piston and cylinder. The second problem is gathering the information about the air compressor Knorr-Bremse Lp 4865. This problem happened as the manufactured company keep the information about this compressor not listed and its material and properties to figure out the reason of the damage, maybe by knowing its maximum pressure or material type to check the fatigue on it. 4.1 Problem Solution After studying all sercomestances and what happened during the failure happened, it seems that the failure happened due to a serious fatigue which is not noticed in a previous time. This fatigue happened to the aluminium alloy which connecting rod made from. An analysis done for the particles and it shows that the particles is consist of 88% aluminium. This gave a thought about how serious was the fatigue in this movable part. As the connecting rod is responsible for transfer the power and motion from crank shaft to the piston, it experiences a load variation all the operation time. A crack must happened time ago on the surface of the connecting rod and it start to spread and choose the weakest area which is the ring where the crank shaft is hinged. This particular area is the weakest area in connecting rod as the thickness reduced to attach the crank shaft. To overcome the second problem a deeply internet search is made with trying to contact with the manufactured company through their website www.knorr-bremse.com, but with no result. So another technique implemented, which is gathering common information about reciprocating air compressor and its common parts and materials. This could be useful but not accoutre. There are 2 appendices attached to the project which have some data about the parts and how to maintain it gathered from the company itself. 4.2 Results As a final result of this project, the damage which happened in the connecting rod accusing damage on the rest of parts is happened due to a fatigue. After the fatigue weak the connecting rod it reached a phase that the connecting rod couldnt stand any load. Just after the failure the piston starts to hit the cylinder wall, which accuses the obvious damage on the piston and the piston rings. To prevent such a failure in the future a regular check must be done for the concerning parts as scheduled in the producers manual. A life time calculation for all parts must also be done and make the replacement in its time. These procedures are going to prevent such a failure to happen again.

Alice Walker :: Biography Biographies Essays

Alice Walker Alice Walker, one of the best-known and most highly respected writers in the US, was born in Eatonton , Georgia, the eighth and last child of Willie Lee and Minnie Lou Grant Walker. Her parents were sharecroppers, and money was not always available as needed. At the tender age of eight, Walker lost sight of one eye when one of her older brothers shot her with a BB gun by accident. This left her in somewhat a depression, and she secluded herself from the other children. Walker felt like she was no longer a little girl because of the traumatic experience she had undergone, and she was filled with shame because she thought she was unpleasant to look at. During this seclusion from other kids her age, Walker began to write poems. Hence, her career as a writer began. Despite this tragedy in her life and the feelings of inferiority, Walker became valedictorian of her class in high school and received a â€Å"rehabilitation scholarship† to attend Spelman. Spelman College was a college for black women in Atlanta, Georgia, not far from Walker’s home. While at Spelman, Walker became involved in civil rights demonstrations where she spoke out against the silence of the institution’s curriculum when it came to African-American culture and history. Her involvement in such activities led to her dismissal from the college. So she transferred to Sarah Lawrence College in New York and had the opportunity to travel to Africa as an exchange student. Upon her return, she received her bachelor of arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College in 1965. She received a writing fellowship and was planning to spend it in Senegal, West Africa, but her plans changed when she decided to take ajob as a case worker in the New York City welfare department. Wa lker later moved to Tougaloo, Mississippi, during which time she became more involved in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. She used her own and others’ experiences as material for her searing examinations of politics. She also volunteered her time working at the voter registration drive in Mississippi. Walker often admits that her decision not to take the writing fellowship was based on the realization that she could never live happily in Africa or anywhere else until she could live freely in Mississippi. Walker found the love of her life in 1967, a white activist civil rights lawyer name Mel Leventhal, and they were married in 1967.

Sch33 Children and Young People Workforce

SCH 33: Promote equality and inclusion in health, social care or children’s and young people’s settings. 1. 1 Diversity:Diversity means that every individual is different and unique. No matter what your language, race, sexual orientation, gender, age, religion or physical ability, we all form one diverse group. You will never find two people exactly the same as everyone is from different backgrounds and walks of life. I see a diverse group in my setting as all the children are from different backgrounds.I personally think that children need to understand the importance of diversity from an early age so they can recognise and see that they are all individuals. Equality:I will admit that I originally thought that equality just meant that everyone had to be treated the same, but this is not actually accurate. We are to treat everyone that same, but not in the sense that I thought, it means by giving everyone the same choices and opportunities, either in education or care, no matter what their background or abilities etc.Every person has different needs and abilities so as long as they are given the same access to opportunities. It is not about having one rule for one group and another rule for a different group as this is discrimination. We are all equal in the fact that we are all part of the community and all deserve the same chances as everyone else. Inclusion:This basically means to ‘include’ everyone, no matter what age, sex, gender, race, language or religion.Especially in a children’s setting, they should all be given the chance to be included in the group and have their individual needs met as best they can by the practitioners. For example, you would not single out a child in a wheelchair or a child with a different language, from a crafts activity as once again, this is discrimination. The practitioner should provide support and encouragement to each child so no one misses out. 1. 2 Discrimination:Briefly, discrimination is judging and individual and taking away their right of equality because of their race, sex, religion, age or ability for example.This can be done either by direct discrimination which is when one person is singled out and treated differently, or by indirect discrimination which involves a particular group of individuals. Any form of discrimination can have devastating, long term effects whether it is a child or adult, or even a business/place of work. I have listed some of the effects of discrimination below:- * A business could be fined. * The business would then get a bad reputation and lose money. * The individual would get upset and hurt. It could form a bullying cycle where the individual themselves then discriminates against another. * The person will have low self-esteem and confidence. * Self-doubt and feel un worthy. * Possible suicide of an individual. * Mental health issues – i. e. depression, anxiety. * Loss of income. * Job opportunities lost due to self-doubt . * Turn to drugs or alcohol. * Potentially lose out and miss social opportunities or forming a relationship. * Could miss out on services such as doctors, dentists and children centres. 1. 3 How inclusive practice promotes equality and supports diversity.As I have mentioned previously in my work, I think it is so important to teach children from a young age, the meaning of equality, diversity and inclusion. This way they will develop a positive attitude toward their peers who to at that time may seem different to them, because to be honest, a young child may not understand why their friend is of a different race, ability or culture. Giving the children and young people in our settings, the support and education needed should help them develop and understand that we are all different in some way.Inclusive practice just ensures equality for all the children and young people in our settings, making sure no one is singled out or left behind in terms of progressing or educational needs. If you are in a setting with such a diverse group of children, then encourage them to be curious and ask questions about their peers. Work together to create activities involving different cultures or abilities, that way, everyone will learn and reach a better understanding of everyone’s needs and backgrounds. They will learn to relate to one another and achieve a more positive attitude towards each other.As a practitioner, it is also important to know as much as possible about the different backgrounds so talk to the parents and your colleagues so you can support the children more in their individual needs. If I look back at when I was at school, you realise how things have progressed. I can say that I was in a school where it was 100% white British students. My son starts school next year and I know he will be in a class of students from so many different backgrounds, so it is so important he learn and understand the different races, cultures, religions, abilities and real ise we are not all the same, but unique.I just think that inclusive practice plays such a vital role in a child’s life and development, what they learn and understand now, as a child, will help so much in their adulthood. There are a lot of legislations in regards to inclusion, diversity and equality and it is important for practitioners to be aware of these and how they can get help and support in their setting if required. References Bruce, Tina Et al. (2011) Cache Children and Young People’s Workforce. Hodder Education. London www. dcya. gov. ie/documents/childcare http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Inclusion_(education)

The Crimes of Suzanne Basso

Suzanne Basso and five co-defendants, including her son, kidnapped a 59-year-old mentally disabled man, Louis Buddy Musso, then tortured and murdered him so that they could collect on his life insurance money. Basso was identified as the ringleader of the group and instigated the others to torture their captive. An Unidentified Body On August 26, 1998, a jogger discovered the body in Galena Park, Texas. Based on the observations of the police, when they arrived at the scene, they determined that the victim had been killed elsewhere, and then dumped on the embankment. He showed severe injuries, yet his clothing was clean. There was no identification found on the body. In an effort to identify the victim, investigators reviewed missing person files and learned that a woman by the name of Suzanne Basso had recently filed a report. When a detective went to her apartment to see if the victim found in Galena Park was the same person that Basso had reported as missing, he was met at the door by Bassos son, 23-year-old James OMalley. Basso was not at home, but returned shortly after the detective arrived. While the detective talked to Basso, he noticed that there were bloody sheets and clothing on a makeshift bed on the floor of the living room. He asked her about it and she explained that the bed belonged to the man she had reported as missing, but she did not explain the blood. She and her son James then accompanied the investigator to the morgue to view the body of the victim. They identified the body as   Louis Musso, the man she had filed a police report as a missing person., The detective noticed that, while Basso appeared to be hysterical on viewing the body, her son James showed no emotion when he saw the horrific condition of the body of their murdered friend. Quick Confession Having identified the body, mother and son accompanied the detective to the police station to complete the report. Within minutes after the detective began talking to OMalley he confessed that he, his mother and four others- Bernice Ahrens, 54, her son, Craig Ahrens, 25, her daughter, Hope Ahrens, 22, and her daughters boyfriend, Terence Singleton, 27, all participated in beating Buddy Musso to death. OMalley told investigators that his mother was the one that planned the murder and spearheaded the others to kill Musso by administering brutal beatings over a period of five days. He said that he was terrified of his mother, so he did as she instructed. He also admitted to dunking Musso four or five times in a bathtub filled with household cleaning products and bleach. Basso poured alcohol over his head while OMalley scrubbed him bloody with a wire brush. It remained unclear if Musso was dead or in the process of dying during the chemical bath. OMalley also provided information about where the group had ditched evidence of the murder. Investigators found   items that were used to clean up the murder scene that included bloodstained clothes worn by Musso at the time of his death, plastic gloves, bloodstained towels, and used razors. Wooed to His Death According to court records, Musso had been widowed in 1980 and had a son. Through the years he became mentally disabled and had the intelligence of a 7-year-old child, but had learned to live independently. He was living in an assisted living home in Cliffside Park, New Jersey and had a part-time job at ShopRite. He also attended church where he had a strong network of friends who cared about his welfare. Police discovered that, two months after the death of her live-in boyfriend, Suzanne Basso, who was living in Texas, met Buddy Musso at a church fair while she was on a trip to New Jersey. Suzanne and Buddy kept up a long-distance relationship for a year. Basso finally convinced Musso to move away from his family and friends to Jacinto City, Texas, on the promise that the two would marry. In mid-June 1998, wearing a new cowboy hat he had purchased for the occasion, he packed up his few belongings, said goodbye to his friends, and left New Jersey to be with his lady love. He was brutally murdered 10 weeks and two days later. Evidence On September 9, investigators searched Bassos Jacinto City small cluttered home. Within the mess, they found a life insurance policy on Buddy Musso with a base payout of $15,000 and a clause that increased the policy to $65,000 if his death was judged a violent crime. The detectives also found Mussos Last Will and Testament. He had left his property and his life insurance benefits to Basso. His Will also read that no one else was to get a cent. James OMalley, Terrence Singleton, and Bernice Ahrens signed as witnesses. They would all assist in his murder. The detectives found a   hard copy of Musso’s Will written in 1997, but the more recent copy of his Will on a computer was dated August 13, 1998, just 12 days before Musso would be murdered. Bank statements were found showing that Basso had been cashing Mussos Social Security checks. Further documents indicated that Basso had   tried unsuccessfully to arrange to take over the management of Mussos monthly Social Security income. It appeared as if someone had fought the request, possibly Mussos niece who was close to him, or his trusted friend Al Becker, who had been handling his benefits for 20 years. There was also a copy of a restraining order forbidding Mussos relatives or friends from making contact with him. More Confessions Each of the six perpetrators confessed to different degrees of involvement in Mussos murder and the attempted cover-up afterwards. They also all admitted to ignoring Mussos cries for help. In a written statement, Basso stated that she knew that her son and several friends beat and abused Musso for at least a full day before his death, and that she also beat Musso. She confessed to driving a car belonging to Bernice Ahrens, with Musso’s body in the trunk, to the site where O’Malley, Singleton, and Craig Ahrens dumped the body and then to a dumpster where the others disposed of additional incriminating evidence. Bernice Ahrens and Craig Aherns admitted to hitting Musso, but said Basso was the one pushing them to do it. Bernice told the police, (Basso) said we had to make a pact, that we cant say anything about what happened. She said if we get mad at each other we cant say anything. Terence Singleton confessed to hitting and kicking Musso, but pointed the finger at Basso and her son James as responsible for administering the final blows that caused his death. Hope Ahrens’ statement was the most odd, not so much in reference to what she said, but because of her actions. According to the police, Hope said that she was unable to read or write and demanded a meal before giving her statement. After scarfing down a TV dinner, she told police that she hit Musso twice with a wooden bird after he broke her Mickey Mouse ornament and because he wanted her and her mother to die. When he asked her to stop hitting him, she stopped. She also pointed most of the blame to Basso and OMalley, who, corroborating statements by Bernice and Craig Aherns, who had administered the final blows that caused his death. When the police attempted to read her statement back to her, she brushed it off and asked for another TV dinner. Lost Opportunities Not long after Musso moved to Texas, his friend Al Becker tried to contact him to check on his welfare, but Suzanne Basso refused to put Musso on the phone. Concerned, Becker contacted different Texas agencies requesting that they conduct a welfare check on Musso, but his requests   were never answered. A week before the murder, a neighbor saw Musso and noticed that he had a black eye, bruises and bloody cuts on his face. He asked Musso if he wanted him to call for an ambulance or the police, but Musso only said, You call anybody, and shell just beat me up again.   The neighbor did not make the call. On August 22, just days before the murder, a Houston police officer responded to a call of an assault going on near Jacinto City. Arriving on the scene, he found Musso being led around by James OMalley, and Terence Singleton in what the officer described as a military-style run. The officer noted that both of Musso eyes were blackened. When questioned, Musso said three Mexicans had beat him up. He also said he did not want to run anymore. The officer drove the three men to Terrence Singletons apartment where he met Suzanne Basso who said she was Mussos legal guardian. Basso reprimanded the two young men and comforted Musso. Assuming Musso was in safe hands, the officer left. Later, a note found in a pair of Mussos pants was addressed to a friend in New Jersey.   You must get ... down here and get me out of here, the note read. I want to come back to New Jersey soon. Apparently Musso never had a chance to mail the letter. Five Days of Hell The abuse that Masso endured prior to his death was detailed in courtroom testimony. After arriving in Houston, Basso immediately began treating Musso as a slave. He was assigned a long list of chores and would receive a beating if he failed to move quickly enough or complete the list. On August 21-25, 1998, Musso was denied food, water or a toilet and was forced to sit on his knees on a mat on the floor with his hands on the back of his neck for long periods of time. When he urinated on himself, he was beaten by Basso or kicked by her son James. He was subjected to violent beatings administered by Craig Ahrens and Terence Singleton. He was abused by Bernice and Hope Ahrens. The beating included being hit multiple times with a belt, baseball bats, punched with closed fists, kicked, and struck with other objects that were around the apartment. As a result of the beatings, Musso died on the evening of August 25. In a seven-page autopsy report, numerous injuries on Mussos body were cataloged. They included 17 cuts to his head, 28 cuts to the rest of his body, cigarette burns, 14 broken ribs, two dislocated vertebrae, a broken nose, a fractured skull, and a fractured bone in his neck. There was evidence that blunt force trauma extended from the bottom of his feet to his upper torso, including his genitals, eyes and ears. His body has been soaked in bleach and pine cleaner and his body was scrubbed with a wire brush. The Trials The six members of the group were charged with capital murder, but the prosecutors only sought the death penalty for Basso. James OMalley and Terence Singleton were convicted of capital murder and given life sentences.Bernice and her son Craig Ahrens were convicted of capital murder. Bernice received an 80-year prison sentence and Craig received a 60-year sentence. Hope Ahrens trial ended in hung jury. She worked out a plea deal and was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to murder and agreeing to testify against Basso. Suzanne Bassos Trial Performance By the time Basso went to trial 11 months after her arrest, she had dropped from 300 pounds to 140 pounds. She showed up in a wheelchair which she said was a result of being partially paralyzed after receiving a beating from her jailers. Her lawyer later said it was due to a chronic degenerative condition. She mimicked the voice of a little-girl, saying she had regressed to her childhood. She also claimed she was blind. She lied about her life story which included tales that she was a triplet and that she was having an affair with Nelson Rockefeller. She would later admit it was all a lie. She was granted a competency hearing and the court-appointed psychiatrist who interviewed her testified that she was a fake. The judge ruled that she was competent to stand trial. Each day that Basso appeared in court she looked disheveled and would often grumble to herself during testimony or squeal and wail if she heard something that she did not like. Hope Ahrens Testimony Along with the evidence found by investigators, the testimony given by Hope Ahrens was likely the most damaging.   Hope Ahrens testified that Basso and O’Malley brought Musso to the Ahrens apartment and that he had two black eyes, which he claimed he got when some Mexicans beat him up. After arriving at the apartment, Basso ordered Musso to stay on a red and blue mat. Sometimes she had him on his hands and knees, and sometimes just on his knees. At some point during the weekend, Basso and O’Malley began beating Musso. Basso slapped him, and O’Malley kicked him repeatedly while wearing steel-toed combat boots. Hope Ahrens also testified that Basso hit Musso on the back with a baseball bat, hit him with a belt, and a vacuum cleaner, and jumped on him. Testimony was given that Basso weighed about 300 pounds at the time that she jumped repeatedly onto Musso while it was obvious that he was suffering from pain. When Basso went to work, she instructed O’Malley to watch the others and make sure they did not leave the apartment or use the phone. Each time that Musso tried to get off the mat, O’Malley beat and kicked at him. After Musso sustained injuries from the beating, O’Malley took him into the bathroom and bathed him with bleach, Comet and Pine Sol, using a wire brush to scrub Musso’s skin. At some point, Musso asked Basso to call an ambulance for him, but she refused. Ahrens testified that Musso was moving very slowly and was clearly in pain from the beatings. Verdict The jury found Basso guilty of capital murder for murdering Musso during the course of kidnapping or attempting to kidnap him, and for remuneration or the promise of remuneration in the form of insurance proceeds. During the sentencing phase, Bassos daughter, Christianna Hardy, testified that during her childhood Suzanne had subjected her to sexual, mental, physical and emotional abuse. Suzanne Basso was sentenced to death. Profile of Suzanne Basso Basso was born on May 15, 1954, in Schenectady, New York to parents John and Florence Burns. She had seven brothers and sisters. Few real facts are known about her life because she often lied. What is known is that she married a Marine, James Peek, in the early 1970s and that they had two children, a girl (Christianna) and a boy (James). In 1982 Peek was convicted of molesting his daughter, but the family later reunited. They changed their name to OReilly and moved to Houston. Carmine Basso In 1993 Suzanne and a man named Carmine Basso became romantically involved. Carmine owned a company called Latin Security and Investigations Corp. At some point he moved into Bassos apartment, even though her husband, James Peek, was still living there. She never divorced Peek, but referred to Carmine as her husband and began using Basso as her last name. Peek eventually moved out of the home. On October 22, 1995, Suzanne placed a bizarre quarter-page engagement announcement in the Houston Chronicle. It announced that the bride, whose name was listed as Suzanne Margaret Anne Cassandra Lynn Theresa Marie Mary Veronica Sue Burns-Standlinslowsk   was engaged to Carmine Joseph John Basso. The announcement claimed the bride was an heiress to a Nova Scotia oil fortune, educated at Saint Annes Institute in Yorkshire, England and had been an accomplished gymnast and at one time even a nun. Carmine Basso was reported to have received a Congressional Medal of Honor for his duty in the Vietnam War. The ad was retracted three days later by the newspaper due to â€Å"possible inaccuracies.† The $1,372 fee for the ad had gone unpaid. Basso sent Carmines mother a letter claiming that she had given birth to twin girls. She included a picture, which the mother later said was obviously a picture of a child looking into a mirror. On May 27, 1997, Basso called the Houston police, claiming that she was in New Jersey, and asked that they check on her husband in Texas. She had not heard from him for a week. Going to his office, police found Carmines body. They also found several trash cans filled with feces and urine. There was no restroom in the office. According to the autopsy, Carmine, age 47, was malnourished and died from erosion of the esophagus due to the regurgitation of stomach acid. The medical examiner reported that there was a strong smell of ammonia on the body. It was listed that he died from natural causes. Execution On February 5, 2014, Suzanne Basso was executed by lethal injection at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. She declined to make a final statement.