Engineering Commons^™

Drip Hydraulics Program, Garret Blocher

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project report lays out the production of drip hydraulics software composed in Microsoft Excel and backed by coding in Visual Basic for Applications. The program performs 2 main functions useful in the design of irrigation systems. The first is based on performing single hose computations under three different circumstances. It can solve for the average emitter flow rate given the hose inlet pressure, the inlet pressure given the average emitter flow rate, and can model hose pressures and flow rates while flushing. The second function is to place a manifold in the hydraulically optimum location on a slope. …

Winegrape Vineyards And Winery Operations: Energy Efficiency/ Sustainability And Expansion, Stuart Styles, Sierra Layous, Sarah Crable

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Southern California Edison (SCE) provides utility services to the greater southern California area. Vineyards and wineries exist throughout the region, and historical data suggests that that they largely do not utilize incentive programs offered by the utility.

As the first phase in a larger study, the Irrigation Training & Research Center (ITRC), located at the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, completed a characterization of the vineyard and winery sector as it pertains to energy and water usage in SCE’s service area, including the following major tasks:

1. Identification of vineyard and winery demographics in SCE’s service area.
2. Identification of …

Thermodynamic Efficiency Evaluation For Distillation Of Ethanol, Joe A. Cavaletto

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Energy will always be a consideration when distilling any product. Fog’s End Distillery in Gonzales, CA is a small scale micro distillery for ethanol. For Fog’s End, efficiency is key to staying competitive. In this project the efficiency of energy in vs product out will be calculated. While collecting this data the price/bottle for energy will be determined and used for an assembly cost. To determine the efficiency the fuel usage will be recorded for several distillation trials. The mash contents and product contents will all be measured and calculations will be performed to find the theoretical amount of energy …

Agricultural Water Energy Efficiency: Final Report, Charles M. Burt, Dan J. Howes, Beau Freeman

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Beginning in 2007, the Irrigation Training and Research Center (ITRC) at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, contracted with the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program to undertake a large, multi-tiered study on agricultural water energy efficiency in California. The study was broken into the following research tasks: Task 1: Administrative; Task 2.1: Irrigation district energy survey; Task 2.2: Conversion to groundwater pumping with drip/ micro irrigation systems; Task 2.3: GIS-based water scheduling and software system; Task 3: Irrigation component energy analysis; Task 4: RD&D competitive solicitation; Task 5; Technology transfer. The resulting survey, research, …

Improving Pump Performance, Charles M. Burt, Frankline Gaudi, Daniel J. Howes

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Options can be specified to minimize power consumption by vertical pumps – both when new and over the life of the pump. Options discussed include bowl coatings, proper well development, improved suction screens, using closed impeller designs, increasing column size, using new bearings, providing proper bearing lubrication, impeller balancing, and polishing impellers. The proper TDH and flow rate must be specified, and the advantages of VFD controls are covered.

Agricultural Water Conservation And Efficiency In California - A Commentary, Charles M. Burt, Peter Canessa, Lawrence J. Schwankl, David F. Zoldoske

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This is a Commentary on some of the key points that are presented in “More with Less: Agricultural Water Conservation and Efficiency in California” by Cooley, ChristianSmith, and Gleick of the Pacific Institute, September 2008 (referred to as the “PacInst Paper” in the remainder of this discussion).

The authors of this Commentary have over 120 years combined of experience in agricultural and landscape irrigation. They have worked world-wide in design and installation of all types of irrigation systems (including automated drip systems from 1975 on), design and implementation of irrigation scheduling programs since 1977; design and implementation of water conservation …

Cec Agricultural Peak Load Reduction Program - Water Agencies Final Report, Charles M. Burt, Daniel J. Howes

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

During the winter of 2000-2001, California experienced a severe imbalance in electricity supply and demand that resulted in blackouts and brownouts. The state legislature initiated a number of emergency programs, one of which was Senate Bill 5x. The primary goal of SB 5x is to reduce peak period electric demand throughout California. The California Energy Commission (CEC), acting under authority of Section 5(b) of the legislation, developed the “Agricultural Peak Load Demand Program”. The program was funded in early June 2001, and the Irrigation Training and Research Center (ITRC) of California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), San Luis Obispo was …

California Energy Commission Agricultural Peak Load Reduction Program Case Study: Berrenda Mesa Wsd, Charles M. Burt, Daniel J. Howes

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Berrenda Mesa Water Storage District (BMWSD) is located in the southern part of the San Joaquin Valley near Bakersfield. The district receives water from the State Water Project – California Aqueduct.

California Energy Commission Agricultural Peak Load Reduction Program Case Study: Orange Cove Id, Charles M. Burt, Daniel J. Howes

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The Orange Cove Irrigation District is located in Fresno and Tulare Counties, approximately 30 miles southeast of Fresno and 20 miles north of the City of Visalia. The Friant-Kern Canal is the district’s main source of water to supply 28,000 acres of farmland.

California Energy Commission Agricultural Peak Load Reduction Program Case Study: North Kern Wsd, Charles M. Burt, Daniel J. Howes

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The North Kern Water Storage District (NKWSD) is located just north of Bakersfield in Kern County and encompasses nearly 60,000 acres. The district receives water from the Kern River as well as groundwater pumping to supply its users.

Rapid Field Evaluation Of Drip And Microspray Distribution Uniformity, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The Cal Poly ITRC irrigation evaluation programs have been widely used to assess the global distribution uniformity (DU) of drip and microsprayer irrigation systems. The field procedures and formulas used in the program are presented in this paper. The system DU is estimated by mathematically combining the component DU values. DU components include pressure differences, "other causes" (such as manufacturing variation, plugging, and wear), unequal drainage, and unequal application rates. Results are presented from evaluations by several entities, including Cal Poly ITRC. Cal Poly evaluations of 329 fields provided an average DU_lq of 0.85 for drip and 0.80 for …