Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Height And Pressure Test For Improving Spray Application, Anna Siebe, Joe D. Luck

UCARE Research Products

Pesticide application in agricultural fields affects a little over a million acres each year (USDA 2012). Current spray application equipment can automatically adjust nozzle flow rates in reaction to speed changes to maintain consistent application rates across the field. Uniform distribution of pesticides from the spray boom is critical to ensure proper crop care while minimizing negative environmental effects. Boom pressure and height are two primary factors that affect proper spray uniformity; however information on the combined effects of these factors are limited. The goal of this study was to provide end users with quantified data regarding the effects of …

Agricultural Field Robotics For Plant Data Acquisition, Jeremy S. Blackford, Jared Werner, Tyler A. Troyer, Ethan Nutter

UCARE Research Products

As the demand for food increases, we are presented with the challenge of producing food more efficiently. With the help of agricultural robots it will be possible to achieve greater yields by the application of seeds, fertilizers and chemicals in the most efficient way possible. With more advanced robotic systems accurate crop data can be obtained to improve farming products and techniques.

Flex-Row is a medium sized agricultural robotic platform built for autonomously traversing through rough fields during multiple crop growing stages. This platform consisting of a flexible frame with the ability to vary both width and height will initially …

Leidenfrost Energy Barriers, James Peck, Anton Hassebrook, Craig Zuhlke, Troy P. Anderson, Dennis R. Alexander, George Gogos, Sidy Ndao

UCARE Research Products

In this work, an “Energy Barrier” was created to control the motion of Leidenfrost droplets. This barrier was created by functionalizing a portion of a mirror-polished stainless steel 304 surface with Femtosecond Laser Surface Processing (FLSP). FLSP results in superhydrophilic, hierarchical, micro- and nanostructures which are highly wetting and thus have an increased Leidenfrost temperature. Water droplets in the film boiling state were deposited, and propelled by gravity towards the Energy Barrier interface. Room temperature droplets were deposited over a range of surface temperatures beginning with the Leidenfrost temperature of mirror-polished stainless steel 304 and culminating at the Leidenfrost temperature …

Modeling Of Methane Tank Depressurization In Cold Weather, Brittney Bridger-Burton, Kevin D. Cole

UCARE Research Products

Non-metallic tanks are used in industry to store and transfer gasses such as methane. As the tanks are emptied, the properties of the gas change, causing heat transfer with the tank wall. When emptied while at low temperatures, liquid condensation can form and the tank lining can reach a critically low temperature, causing fracture to the tank wall. In this study, the emptying of methane in cold weather conditions from a non-metallic tank was modelled using Aspen Tech Software. A full tank of methane, at 250 bar and 288 K, was cooled to the following starting temperatures: 263, 253, 243, …

Molecular Combing Of Dna Nanofibers And Comparison To Electrospinning, Tanner L. Buresh

UCARE Research Products

The goal of these experiments was to create DNA nanofibers through the method of molecular combing (MC) and then compare the MC fibers to fibers created with electrospinning (ES). The experiment was designed and initial samples were created. After confirming that the method would succeed in creating DNA fibers, several parametric studies were performed in order to optimize the experiment and create the most uniform fibers possible. The parametric studies were done on the following variables: substrate material, pH level of DNA solution, and DNA solution concentration. After completion of all experiments, it was determined that although fibers could be …

Drag Reduction Using Femtosecond Laser Surface Processing: Experimental Setup, Derek Wallin, Henry Ems, Craig Zuhlke, Dennis R. Alexander, George Gogos, Sidy Ndao

UCARE Research Products

The experimental setup for developing a system to test the drag effects of different superhydrophorbicities. This is used to revise the current Moody Chart and redefine fluid drag in a pipe.

Fluid drag reduction is important in many applications such as reducing the power requirement to pump a fluid through a channel or pipe. The Center for Electro-Optics and Functionalized Surfaces (CEFS) at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln uses a femtosecond laser to functionalize 304 stainless Steel to become superhydrophilic or superhydrophobic The Processing produces microscale and nanoscale surface roughness that when treated with siloxanes becomes superhydrophobic. Small vortices …

Development Of A Robust Setup For The Study Of Wetting Characteristics Of Low Melting Point Metals, John D. Casias, Ethan Allan Davis, Sidy Ndao

UCARE Research Products

• Energy use is very inefficient

• Approx. 60% rejected mostly in the form of waste heat

• Low melting point metals are promising for applications in thermal energy management, conversion, and storage