Engineering Commons^™

Irrigation District Turnouts, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This is meant to be a very quick, roughly written primer on irrigation district turnout selection. It by no means covers all of the details, but it might help out. ITRC offers flow measurement classes, with online registration at www.itrc.org. We have also done testing on quite a few designs over the years, but the work was almost all confidential in nature.

Modernización De Proyectos De Riego, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Un diseño moderno es el resultado de un proceso de reflexión, el cual selecciona la configuración y componentes físicas considerando un programa de operación bien definido y realista basado en el concepto de servicio.

Medición De Gasto En Canales De Riego Y...Otras Cosas, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Nuestra opción preferida para Eiqupos de “flujo crítico ” (vertedor or aforador) son Aforadores Replogle (Garganta Larga)

Commercial Sand Media Filter Tank Criteria For Energy Efficiency - Agricultural Drip Irrigation, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Sand media filters are commonly used in agricultural drip irrigation systems. They have the advantages of simplicity and large capacities, and are favored by many farmers and designers over other filtration hardware. The primary justification for the research described in this report was to determine if it is possible and reasonable to use lower-than-accepted backflush pressures and thereby reduce the total pressure requirement for drip systems.

Strawberries: Effects Of Modifying Irrigation Methods For Transplant Establishment 2009-2010, Stuart Styles

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The purpose of the project is to develop an analysis of the current irrigation practices of the strawberry growers on the Central Coast of California. The primary research evaluation is during the establishment of transplants where sprinklers are used even though drip irrigation is available. This project has targeted the impacts of salinity on the young strawberry transplants.

The specific objectives of the project are to: (1) Set up a research areas and control plots on a demonstration scale, (2) determine the key factors that affect the problems in early growth of transplanted strawberries, (3) determine relationships between the use …

Irrigation Leak Detection: Using Flow Rate Sensors To Detect Breaks In An Irrigation System, Adam Openshaw, Kalvin Vu

Computer Engineering

This report details the exploration and invention of a mechanism that can detect breaks in an irrigation system. With the ultimate goal of conserving water, we have designed an inexpensive, self sustaining flow rate monitor that can be used to identify anomalies in an irrigation system and wirelessly communicate the status of the system to a base station. Our implementation can also determine the direction of the anomaly based on the nature of the anomaly itself. This means that multiple monitors can be used to pinpoint the location of a break within the system in addition to merely detecting its …

Lavers Ranch Vineyard Design, A.J. Borba

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project discusses the design of a vineyard irrigation system for Lavers Ranch in Glennville, Ca. The vineyard is 33 acres in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and water will be provided for the system by three springs located on the ranch. This senior project discusses vineyard layout: vine direction, vine spacing, and emitters per vine. Using Microsoft Excel, a program will be developed that will give irrigation requirements for the conditions given by Lavers Ranch. Along with the Excel program final maps will be included with detailed information of the field requirements.

Practical Experience With State-Of-The-Art Technologies In Scada Systems, Beau Freeman, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

A Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system is a powerful tool which, when implemented properly in irrigation districts, can lead to improved water delivery service to farms, more effective operations, reduced spill (and therefore reduced diversions), and in some cases a reduction in costs (less labor, less energy, etc.). However, widespread adoption of SCADA and automation technologies remains a technical and financial challenge for most irrigation districts. In spite of many good hardware and software products available on the market now, putting all the pieces together requires specialized expertise. Nevertheless, by following some straightforward strategies and rules of good …

Wi-Fi Evapotranspiration Irrigation Controller, Ryan Goodman

Electrical Engineering

This report discusses the applications of an Irrigation Controller with Wi-Fi connectivity, with focus on cost-effectiveness and usability. It addresses the amount to which traditional irrigation is wasteful, and proposes solutions to solve this problem. Methods for using online weather data resources to increase efficiency of residential landscaping are discussed in depth. Included is the procedural development of an irrigation controller using the Microchip Explorer 16 Development Board and TCP/IP Stack. Also discussed is web hosting and use of the scripting language PHP, and database MySQL. This project found inexpensive means for providing HTTP and FTP services. Results indicate an …

Pump Operation With Vfd Controlled Motors, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

There are numerous reasons to consider using a VFD (variable frequency drive) controller with pumps in irrigation and drainage.These include: 1

1. Proper matching of the pump characteristics with the system. Reasonable engineers and salespersons will almost always overdesign pumps. It is very simple – if the pump is too small, there will be complaints. If, on the other hand, the pump delivers a bit more pressure than needed, there is rarely a complaint. Reasons to overdesign include:

Where Is All That Water Going?, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Some have proposed to conserve 4-6 Million AF/yr in Agriculture with pragmatic, economical measures. All we need to do is find the inefficiencies. Then we'll get rid of them.

Intelligent Irrigation Zone Splitter, David Boeck

Electrical Engineering

The intelligent irrigation zone splitter allows easy expansion of an existing irrigation controller. To expand on an existing controller a new wire is needed to run between the controller and the valve. This path may be buried beneath driveways, patios, and sidewalks. The intelligent irrigation zone splitter uses an already existing wire path to control two valves and create a new watering zone. This controller uses timing and memory to split the total watering time of the zone.