Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons^™

Micro Sprinkler Irrigation Design On Almonds, Scott Trinta

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This project is to design a micro sprinkler system with a cost analysis for a 17 acre field. This type of irrigation will allow for a more uniform distribution of water, with more water being beneficially used at low flow rates. This design should minimize unwanted runoff water and save the farmer money in the long run.

Design, Construction, Testing, And Evaluation Of Water Trough Float Valves, Chad Reenders

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

No abstract provided.

Residential Fire Sprinkler Design For The Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity House, Nolan Frost

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project discusses the design of a residential fire sprinkler system for a local fraternity house. The design follows NFPA 13D code, and contains design calculations, design drawings, material specifications, and cost analysis. The design was completed with the intention of being used for the installation of a fire sprinkler system in the house.

Design And Installation Of A Mobile Agriculture Chemical Mixing Station, Jason Mendes

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project encompassed the design and fabrication of a Mobile Agricultural Chemical Mixing System. The design parameters were provided by Mark McKean and McKean Farms from Riverdale, Ca. The project’s objective was to provide safer working conditions for operators by improving their working environment while increasing mixing efficiency. This mobile system will provide storage for materials, as well as, a diversified mixing system at the site of applications.

The major components of the project include two chemical mixers to mix materials, a 2-inch suction pump to supply water from non-powered sources, and a flatbed trailer to encompass the unit …

Electrical And Programmable Logic Controller Design, Construction, And Economic Analysis Of A Reusable Plastic Container Dumper, Thomas Marderosian

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project discusses the electrical and programmable logic controller design, the construction, and an economic analysis of a reusable plastic container dumper. The RPC Dumper will be part of the processing of citrus fruits at Bee Sweet Citrus, Inc. This system will be a mobile and partially automated system to dump these reusable plastic containers full of citrus fruit instead of having them manually dumped.

The total bill of materials of the project totaled $11,257.05 and the RPC Dumper was able to dump four RPCs per minute.

Boundary Retracement Survey Of Cal Poly’S Serrano Ranch, John Lanfranki

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

No abstract provided.

Design, Construction, And Evaluation Of A Hydraulic Oil Filtration Cart, Eric Steiger

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This report discusses the design, construction, and evaluation of a hydraulic oil filtration car sponsored by Papich Construction Inc. This company developed the need for a filter cart system to service equipment by flushing and cleaning the oil in hydraulic reservoirs and systems. The opportunity of reviewing an existing product from Caterpillar was taken to obtain basic design parameters. This car however, did not meet all the needs preferred by the service technicians of Papich; thus leading to the idea of a custom filter cart.

The filter cart is composed of a square tube frame sitting on pneumatic no-flat castor …

Evaluation Of Thermophile Algae In Horizontal Photo-Bioreactor, Olivier Schmied

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

No abstract provided.

Design And Construction Of A Race Team Equipment Box, Daylan D. Coffey

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project discusses the design and construction of a race team equipment box. This equipment box was located on the rear of a modified golf cart. The rear half of the golf cart was modified by creating framework around the rear so that the equipment box would rest on top and be able to detach from it. The equipment box was able to hold all necessary equipment that is needed in the pits. Each items location was placed ergonomically so they can be reached with ease in an efficient manner. Located on both sides of the equipment box were …

Management Feasibility Of Solar Energy Capture System In A Poultry Production Facility, Dan Leitcher

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project involves designing a solar system for an agriculture entity and conducting a feasibility management study on the system. The feasibility study will look the initial cost, amount of energy generated, and estimated payback of the system. These factors will determine whether or not the Cal Poly poultry unit should ever implement solar into their operations. It will be ideal if the designed system can generate enough power to cover the electric usage associated. The system can be either photovoltaic or thermal and could either be a ground or roof mount system. The agriculture entity selected was the …

Design, Constuction, And Evaluation Of A Flame Cultivator Attachment, Aaron Evans

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project discusses the design, construction, and testing of a flame cultivator attachment. The project used existing torches, a tractor, and a cultivation sled to increase the usability of the farmer’s torches. This project includes two torch clamps, two propane tank brackets, and a removable valve panel. Testing showed that the new system increases the safety and efficiency of the torches.

Practical Irrigation Scheduling Program, Dominic Sween

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project discusses the design, construction, and evaluation of an irrigation scheduling program that aids users in alfalfa irrigation management, with the potential for application with other crops. The program uses a very accurate irrigation prediction model that forecasts what the estimated irrigation need of each week will be, as well as the number of irrigations needed to satisfy the requirement. The model was found to predict the sum of the actual required weekly irrigation amount within less than 1% of the true value. The program was based off the single crop coefficient approach that was outlined previously by …

Design Of Vineyard Irrigation System And Reservoir Enlargement, Matthew M. Moore

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The goal of this project is to design a drip irrigation system for a 25 acre vineyard in Potter Valley, Ca. This allows water to be efficiently delivered to the plants in a timely manner in order to maximize yield or fruit quality. This design will also include the resizing of the current reservoir in order to accommodate for the new water requirements; however this design will not include the overhead sprinkler system needed for frost protection.

Meter Gate Calibration And Accuracy Analysis, Ryan Fulton

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

No abstract provided.

Biohydrogen Production By Thermotoga Neapolitana In Agricultural Media, David Morris

All Theses

In this study the production of hydrogen gas by eubacteria Thermotoga neapolitana was investigated. The organism was grown using varying media of cull peach solids and soybean meal. Hydrogen, co-products, and sugar concentrations were observed and compared.
T. neapolitana grew in medium containing peaches and soybean meal as carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively, and produced hydrogen gas. A standard medium containing glucose and yeast extract produced the most hydrogen at 31.5 mmol H2/L-medium. Withholding the vitamins and minerals from the standard the media had a significant effect on hydrogen production reducing the amount of gas produced to 25.8 mmol H2/L-medium. …

A Cradle To Farm Gate Life Cycle Analysis Of Water Use In U.S. Pork Production, Eric Boles

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this study was to analyze water use across a range of regions, scales and practices of the U.S. pork industry. A Life Cycle Assessment of water use within the pork supply chain was performed. Cumulative water use was the environmental impact category used in the LCA to evaluate the impacts of pork production processes throughout the pork supply chain. The functional unit for the analysis was the volume of water required to produce one kilogram of swine (live weight) at the farm gate.

A comprehensive literature review was used to design and propagate algorithms for the National …

Environmentally Friendly Sizing Agent From Corn Distillers Dried Grains, Yue Zhang

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Distillers dried grains (DDGS), the coproducts of corn ethanol production, were used as a textile sizing agent on cotton, polyester and polyester/cotton blends in an effort to find inexpensive and biodegradable alternatives to sizing agents such as poly(vinyl alcohol) that are currently used. Although DDGS is an inexpensive, biodegradable and abundant co-product, it has limited industrial applications. DDGS is a mixture of carbohydrates, proteins and oil which are used as sizing agents or as size additives. The effects of DDGS extraction conditions on sizing evaluation parameters such as fiber adhesion, film properties, viscosity and fabric abrasion were studied in comparison …

Evaluation And Modernization Of The Scott Valley Irrigation District, Ashley Parry

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The Scott Valley Irrigation District (SVID), located in Etna, California, is a small water district that serves 25 users and runs approximately 14 miles. The district was established in the 1920’s, and few modifications have happened since then. The district approached the Natural Resource and Conservation Service (NRCS) about possible improvements to the system and how do go about making decisions and implement improvements. As an outreach project the NRCS decided to pursue the evaluation and modernization plan.

The project was done in multiple phases from research, evaluation, surveying and design portions. This report will discuss the current state of …

Minimizing Wash Water Usage After Acid Hydrolysis Pretreatment Of Biomass, Noaa Frederick

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract Dilute acid pretreatment, needed to prepare biomass for saccharification, results in the production of a number of byproducts, which inhibit subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation steps. In order to improve saccharification yields in the enzyme hydrolysis step, the pretreated biomass is often rinsed with room temperature water to remove these byproducts. High-density poplar was pretreated with 1% dilute sulfuric acid at 140 ºC for 40 minutes. After pretreatment the biomass was washed with water volumes equal to 0, 1 ½, or 3 times the biomass volume. The rinsed biomass was then enzymatically hydrolyzed and the concentrations of byproducts and …

Biomass Gasification: An Alternative Solution To Animal Waste Management, Hanjing Wu

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

The overall goal of this research was to evaluate gasification of animal waste as an alternative manure management strategy, from the standpoints of syngas production and biochar application.

To meet the overall objective, the thermogravimetric characteristics of dairy manure, as a thermochemical conversion feedstock, were studied firstly. Then, gasification technology was applied to dairy manure and feedlot manure using a fluidized-bed laboratory-scale gasifier. In addition, biochar derived from the feedlot manure was examined for its effects on nutrient leaching as a soil amendment. Finally, a life cycle assessment was conducted to evaluate greenhouse gas emissions of two feedlot manure management …