Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons^™

Chemically Modified Cellulosic Materials As Multi-Functional Agents In Polymer Composites, Jinlong Zhang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Comparative flame retardancy of micro wood fiber plastic composites (WPCs) with fire retardants (1,2-bis(pentabromophenyl) ethane, metal hydroxides and nanoclay) was studied. The fire additives (1,2-bis(pentabromophenyl) ethane as well as magnesium hydroxide) obviously enhanced the fire retarding properties of WPCs. Especially, 1,2-bis(pentabromophenyl) ethane significantly reduced the total heat release as well as heat release rate. In addition, a synergistic effect of 1,2-bis(pentabromophenyl) and nanoclay was achieved for the enhanced fire retarding performance of WPCs.

A copolymer of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) (PVCL) (PVCL-g-CNCs) for use as thermally-responsive polymers with low critical solution temperatures (LCSTs) was synthesized via atom transfer radical …

Effects Of Different Retail Packaging Materials On The Shelflife Of Dehusked Foxtail Millet, Pooran Pragnya Joshi, Ravikumar Biradar, Prakash Mathad, Vikas Jha

Journal of Applied Packaging Research

Millets are in the family of cereals grown globally with differential importance across continents and within regions of the world. Cereals are staple foods for a large proportion of the world population. The present investigation was carried out to find out the effect of different retail packaging material on the shelf-life of dehusked foxtail millet. The foxtail millet was procured at local Raichur market. Physical properties of dehusked foxtail millet viz., Particle density, Bulk density, Angle of repose, Coefficient of internal friction, Coefficient of external friction, Length, Breadth, Thickness, size and Spherecity were found to be 1.34 g/cc , 0.87 …

An Assessment Of The Greatest Impacts On Distribution Uniformity For Drip And Micro Irrigation, Brooke Ashley Worden

Master's Theses

Using the Cal Poly Irrigation Training and Research Centers (ITRC) drip/micro evaluation program, global, or system, DU_lq is computed by combining the component DU_lq values of: pressure variation, uneven spacing between emitters, unequal drainage and “other” causes. “Other” causes include plugging, wear and manufacturing coefficient. The program also computes what percentage of the non-uniformity is due to each component. Burt (2004) showed that over 95% of the non-uniformity is due to “Other” causes and pressure differences. This thesis looks at what specifically in those components is driving the non-uniformity by analyzing various equipment and field practices and their …

Assessing The Relationship Between Groundwater Nitrate Concentrations And Environmental Variables Through Repeat Sampling And Statistical Machine Learning: Dutch Flats, Nebraska, Martin Wells

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nitrate-contaminated aquifers are common in landscapes dominated by agricultural land use. Health concerns related to consuming nitrate-contaminated groundwater are well documented and continued research aimed at decreasing concentrations is critical. A 1990s U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study focused on groundwater characteristics in the Dutch Flats area of western Nebraska. Agricultural-related practices were determined to largely influence groundwater recharge and nitrate concentrations ([NO₃^-]). Since the conclusion of the USGS study, a transition to more efficient irrigation technology has been observed in this region. The emphasis of this 2016 study was to resample several well nests examined in 1998 …

Causal Loop Development Activity, Ali Mirchi

All ECSTATIC Materials

Students will work in groups to develop a causal loop diagram (CLD) to illustrate the structure and expected behavior of the fictional water short state of Nevizonato facilitate qualitative discussion of expected outcomes of a proposed water management strategy. This activity requires familiarity with systems thinking and system dynamics modeling. CLDs are introduced as a fundamental systems thinking tool for conceptual modeling.

Cover Crops Have Negligible Impact On Soil Water In Nebraska Maize–Soybean Rotation, J. Burdette Barker, Derek M. Heeren, Katja Koehler-Cole, Charles Shapiro, Humberto Blanco-Canqui, Roger W. Elmore, Christopher A. Proctor, Suat Irmak, Charles A. Francis, Tim M. Shaver, Ali T. Mohammed

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

One perceived cost of integrating winter cover cropping in maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation systems is the potential negative impact on soil water storage available for primary crop production. The objective of this 3-year study was to evaluate the effects of winter cover crops on soil water storage and cover crop biomass production following no-till maize and soybean rotations. Locations were near Brule (west-central), Clay Center (south-central), Concord (northeast), and Mead (east-central), Nebraska, United States. Treatments included crop residue only (no cover crop) and a multi-species cover crop mix, both broadcast-seeded before …

Advancing The Open Modeling Interface (Openmi) For Integrated Water Resources Modeling, Caleb A. Buahin, Jeffery S. Horsburgh

Publications

The use of existing component-based modeling frameworks for integrated water resources modeling is currently hampered for some important use cases because they lack support for commonly used, topology-aware, spatiotemporal data structures. Additionally, existing frameworks are often accompanied by large software stacks with steep learning curves. Others lack specifications for deploying them on high performance, heterogeneous computing (HPC) infrastructure. This puts their use beyond the reach of many water resources modelers. In this paper, we describe new advances in component-based modeling using a framework called HydroCouple. This framework largely adopts the Open Modeling Interface (OpenMI) 2.0 interface definitions but demonstrates important …

Evaluation Of A Solar Powered Variable Flow Tail Water Recovery System For Furrow Irrigation, Vaishali Kandpal

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Furrow irrigation is a very common irrigation method for growing crops like soybean, cotton and corn in Arkansas. A major portion of this irrigation water is lost as runoff from the field significantly reducing the irrigation application efficiency. There are various methods of improving irrigation efficiency and one of the methods is using tail-water recovery. A tail-water recovery system utilizes tail-water recovery ditches or pits to collect tail-water which can be re-used for irrigation. However, this method is very labor intensive and has been found to be economically non-feasible for some farms in the past research studies. In order to …

Plant Community Composition, Floristic Quality, And Establishment Of Roadside Revegetation In Nebraska, Usa, Jonathan M. Soper

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Roadside revegetation poses a challenge and opportunity for biodiversity conservation, as the land area occupied by roadsides is not expected to decline in the future. In the context of roadside revegetation activities in rural regions dominated by agricultural land uses, revegetation efforts can establish plant communities that offer unique species that would otherwise be absent on the landscape. To determine the efficacy of roadside revegetation efforts in 1) providing plant communities of high biodiversity value and 2) meeting the expectations of roadside revegetation managers for establishment, we quantified botanical composition, floristic quality, and success in seeding efforts to meet manager …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Polyaniline Agglomerates And Polyaniline Nanoparticles To Use As Printed Sensors To Detect Spoilage Of Catfish During Refrigerated Storage, Vashti Martae Campbell

LSU Master's Theses

There is growing interest in the development of sensors contained in packaging for seafood that are applicable at the consumer level to monitor freshness in a non-destructive manner. Total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) analysis indicates the freshness of seafood. TVB-N analysis is sensitive to the spoilage compounds comprised of ammonia, trimethylamine, dimethylamine, and biogenic amines commonly found in seafood and whose concentration increases when spoilage microbial growth occurs. However, TVB-N analysis is laborious and is not suitable for use at the consumer level. Polyaniline (PANI) is a polymer that may be used as a sensor for detecting TVB-N in seafood. …

Water Hammer Protection For Pumped Turnouts On Aging Pipelines, Charles M. Burt, Zachary C. Markow

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Water hammer in an irrigation district pipeline is typically caused by sudden changes in turnout flow rates. A sudden shutoff of a booster pump, or a rapid closure of a turnout valve, can potentially cause surge damage. The problem occurs if the pressure exceeds the pressure rating of the pipeline. As pipes age, their pressure rating typically declines. This report describes three different solutions that utilize a combination of these techniques/devices to provide district pipeline protection from water hammer.

Comparison Of Nitrogen Fertigation Management Strategies For Center-Pivot Irrigated Maize In The Sub-Humid Area Of China, Jingjing Li, Wenjing Zang, Yaojun Li, Derek M. Heeren, Haijun Yan

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

In the sub-humid region of Northeast China, increasing use of center-pivot irrigation systems has caused increased interest in sprinkler fertigation technology in maize production to improve nitrogen (N) use efficiency and protect the environment. However, the lack of fertigation strategies for maize cultivation restrains the adoption of sprinkler fertigation technology. A field experiment was carried out in a sub-humid region of Northeast China on maize to determine the effect of different fertigation management strategies on plant growth, grain yield and nitrate content in the soil during the maize growing season. Three N rates (200, 160, and 120 kg N ha …

An Evaluation Of Unmanned Aerial System Multispectral And Thermal Infrared Data As Information For Agricultural Crop And Irrigation Management, Mitch Maguire

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Spatial irrigation management has been steadily advancing over the last several years. A current issue with managing irrigation spatially on sub-field scale is the inability to readily collect the spatial field data necessary to properly manage irrigation. Multispectral and thermal infrared imagery used in informing irrigation management decisions was previously collected by satellite and manned aircraft remote sensing platforms. These remote sensing platforms pose issues concerning economic feasibility, revisit intervals, and weather factors that inhibit the collection of data. Recent developments in unmanned aerial systems, which provide an additional means of collecting multispectral and thermal infrared data, have the potential …

Tradeoffs In Model Performance And Effort For Long-Term Phosphorus Leaching Based On In Situ Field Data, Ryan P. Freiberger, Derek M. Heeren, Dean E. Eisenhauer, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Guillermo Baigorria

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Phosphorus and N are critical nutrients for agriculture but are also responsible for surface water enrichment that leads to toxic algal growth. Although P loading to surface waters has traditionally been thought to occur primarily in surface runoff, contributions from subsurface transport can also be significant. The primary objectives of this research were to evaluate several methods of representing macropore flow and transport in a finite element model using plot-scale infiltration and leaching data and to compare several models of various levels of complexity to simulate long-term P leaching. To determine flow and transport parameters, single- and dual-porosity models in …

Portable Flux Tower Deployments Field Campaign Report, M. S. Torn, L Kuepper, S. C. Biraud, D. P. Billesbach

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Contents

Acronyms and Abbreviations...................................................................... iii

1.0 Summary ....................................................... 1

2.0 Results ........................................... 1

3.0 Publications and References ................................................. 2

4.0 Lessons Learned .................................................................... 2

Developing, Evaluating, And Demonstrating An Open Source Gateway And Mobile Application For The Smartfarm Decision Support System, Caleb D. Fink

Master's Theses

The purpose of this research is to design, develop, evaluate, and demonstrate an open source gateway and mobile application for the SmartFarm open source decision support system to improve agricultural stewardship, environmental conservation, and provide farmers with a system that they own. There are very limited options for an open source gateway for collecting data on the farm. The options available are: expensive, require professional maintenance, are not portable between systems, improvements are made only by the manufacturer, limited in customization options, difficult to operate, and data is owned by the company rather than the farmer. The gateway is designed …

Developing An Integrated Model For The Corn, Ethanol, And Beef Systems Using A Loosely Coupled Web Framework, Ryan Anderson

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

With the global population approaching 9 billion people by the year 2050, the world’s food, energy, and water (FEW) resources must be used more intelligently to provide for everyone. While we understand how individual FEW systems behave using modeling, we cannot understand the full environmental and production impacts of decisions in each system without understanding how they are all linked together. An approach to coupling these systems is starting with identifying a few highly interconnected FEW systems. The corn, ethanol, and beef systems are large economic and agricultural drivers in the Midwest United States and are highly linked. Many individual …

Experimental Evaluation Of Lignocellulosic Biomass Pyrolysis By Dielectric Heating And Thermocatalytic Upgrading Of Pyrolysis Vapors Via Iron-Doped Montmorillonite Clay Catalyst, Candice Raffaela Ellison

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This work is an investigation of microwave-assisted biomass pyrolysis and thermocatalytic upgrading of pyrolysis vapors. In the first two chapters, the microwave susceptibility of mixtures of biomass with potential microwave absorbers are characterized by dielectric measurements at microwave frequencies. Dielectric constant and dielectric loss factor of biomass mixtures with char and biomass mixtures with bentonite are found to increase quadratically with increasing weight percent of char or bentonite.

Chapter 3 presents a finite element model, developed in COMSOL Multiphysics, comparing two waveguide applicator configurations for microwave processing using biomass as a model material. A standing wave configuration results in intense …

A Low-Cost Method For Collecting Hyperspectral Measurements From A Small Unmanned Aircraft System, Ali Hamidisepehr, Michael P. Sama

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are a relatively new tool for collecting remote sensing data at dense spatial and temporal resolutions. This study aimed to develop a spectral measurement platform for deployment on a UAS for quantifying and delineating moisture zones within an agricultural landscape. A series of portable spectrometers covering ultraviolet (UV), visible (VIS), and near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths were instrumented using a Raspberry Pi embedded computer that was programmed to interface with the UAS autopilot for autonomous data acquisition. A second set of identical spectrometers were fitted with calibrated irradiance lenses to capture ambient light during data acquisition. Data …

U.S. Agro-Climate In 20th Century: Growing Degree Days, First And Last Frost, Growing Season Length, And Impacts On Crop Yields, Meetpal Singh Kukal, Suat Irmak

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Significant air temperature changes have occurred globally during the 20th century, which are spatially variable to a considerable degree and these changes can have substantial implications in agroecosystem productivity. The agroclimate indicators that are responsible in these contexts are first fall frost (FFF), last spring frost (LSF), climatological growing season (CGS) length, and heat accumulation (growing degree days, GDD). We explore spatial and temporal trends associated with these indices across the continental U.S. (CONUS) during 1900–2014 using datasets collected at 1218 sites. On average, FFF has been occurring later (by 5.4 days century⁻¹), and LSF has been occurring …