Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons^™

Pipeline Design For Reclaimed Spill Water For West Stanislaus Irrigation District, Daniel Bays

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The goal of this project was to design a pipeline that could be installed to replace an existing drain in West Stanislaus Irrigation District.  The pipeline would give the district the ability to divert drain water back into their delivery system or send water down the existing drain.

The design attempted to use pipe and material the district already has and provided construction drawings and installation instructions for the construction of this design in the future.

Economic Analysis Of Reverse Osmosis Desalination Of Water For Agricultural Irrigation Applications, Ashley Hemping

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The combination of an ever-increasing population and a diminishing usable water supply threatens the sustainability of humanity’s existence on a global scale, especially in California, where agriculture is so integral to the state’s economy.  Due to widespread recognition of this problem, there has been a growing trend in the development of alternative water resources, one of which involves the desalination of salt or brackish waters.  Several different desalination technologies exist, including microfiltration, multi-stage flash, and multi-effect distillation.

This senior project investigates the economic viability of implementing reverse osmosis desalination for treatment of agricultural wastewater or other unusable water sources.  These …

Runoff, Erosion, And Size Distribution Of Sediment From Beef Cattle Feedlots, John E. Gilley, Jason R. Vogel, Roger Eigenberg, David B. Marx, Brian L. Woodbury

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The size distribution of sediment in runoff from feedlot surfaces influences erosion rates and settling velocity. The objectives of this study were to: (1) measure runoff, erosion, and size distribution of sediment in runoff from feedlot surfaces containing varying amounts of unconsolidated surface material (USM), and (2) determine the effects of varying runoff rate on erosion and sediment size distribution. Simulated rainfall was applied to 0.75 m wide by 2 m long plots located within feedlot pens. Sieve and pipette analyses were used to measure the diameters of the eroded materials. No significant differences in runoff and erosion were found …

Online, Continuous Sensor And Method For Curd Moisture Content Control In Cheese Making, Manuel Castillo, Colette C. Fagan, Colm P. O'Donnell, Donal J. O'Callaghan, Frederick Alan Payne

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Patents

A method is provided for improving quality of cheese produced from a milk batch. A light beam from an incident light source impinges onto a surface of the milk batch, and light backscatter is optically detected during a coagulation process and correlated to an optimum cutting time for the milk coagulum. Next, light backscattered from a curd and whey mixture derived from the milk batch during a syneresis process is optically detected and correlated to an optimum syneresis endpoint. At least one of the backscattered light data, optical parameters developed from analysis of the backscattered light data, and whey fat …

Security Monitoring System For A Bulk Foodstuff Transport Container, Christopher Dwight Thompson, Suraj M. Alexander, William L. Christ, Brian D. Luck, James Ryan Moore, Jonathan C. Paschal, Frederick Payne, Timothy S. Stombaugh, Nasrin Tabayehnejad, Phillip C. Womble

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Patents

A security monitoring system provides for the secure transport of a bulk foodstuff container. The system includes an electromechanical locking mechanism allowing access by only authorized persons, a positional locator for determining the geographical position of the bulk foodstuff transport container, and a controller associated with the transport container. The controller controls operation of the electromechanical locking mechanism, stores data received from the electromechanical locking mechanism and the positional locator, and communicates with a remote data processor in near real time. A handheld user interface device is configured to control operation of the controller, to process and store data received …

Method Of Improving Cheese Quality, Colm D. Everard, Donal J. O'Callaghan, Colm P. O'Donnell, Colleen C. Fagan, Manuel Castillo, Frederick Alan Payne

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Patents

A method is provided for improving the quality of cheese produced from a curd and whey mixture. The method comprises the steps of monitoring the curd and whey mixture during syneresis processing to collect color data, comparing the color data to a predetermined standard and terminating syneresis when the color meets the predetermined standard or, alternatively, analyzing the color data obtained to generate kinetic parameters that can be used to predict the end point of syneresis to improve control of curd moisture content.

Gis-Based Irrigation District Flow Routing/Scheduling, Charles M. Burt, Beau Freeman

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

In 2007, the Irrigation Training and Research Center (ITRC) at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo undertook to develop a prototype of an intelligent and scalable real-time GIS-based water scheduling and routing software system for irrigation districts, capable of integrating multiple data sources into an information access and management facility featuring collaborative tools with automatic reasoning and analytical capabilities. Improving the infrastructure and management capabilities of irrigation districts in order to provide flexible delivery schedules and increase participation in peak demand reduction programs has been identified as having a significant potential to achieve energy conservation and resource efficiencies.

The …

Comparison Of Dynamic Compression Behavior Of Single Crystal Sapphire To Polycrystalline Alumina, G. J. Kleiser, L.C. Chhabildas, W.D. Reinhart

United States Department of Energy: Publications

Due to the considerable interest in the shock loading behavior of aluminum oxide whether it is in the polycrystalline phase or in the single crystal phase well-controlled experiments were conducted to probe differences in shock loading behavior between these two materials. Previous studies concluded that the behavior was similar but careful examination of well-controlled experiments has revealed the two materials are different.Although the experimental results appear to have the same behavior in the shock velocity vs. particle velocity plane, they are considerably different in the stressevolume compression plane and evidence is provided that indicates the single crystal remains crystalline up …

Persistence Of Uranium Groundwater Plumes: Contrasting Mechanisms At Two Contaminated Doe Sites, John M. Zachara, James A. Davis, Philip E. Long, Kenneth H. Williams, Mark Freshley, James P. Mckinley

United States Department of Energy: Publications

We examine subsurface uranium (U) plumes at two U.S. Department of Energy sites located near large river systems. Following excavation of contaminated materials, both sites were projected to naturally flush remnant uranium contamination to levels below regulatory limits (e.g., 30 μg/L), within 10 years at the Hanford 300 Area (Columbia River) and 12 years at the Rifle site (Colorado River). The observed rate of attenuation was much lower than expected at both sites. Current understanding suggests that the two sites have common, but also differing mechanisms controlling plume persistence. At Hanford, the persistent source is adsorbed U(VI) in the deep …

Monarch: A High-Assurance Java-To-Java (J2j) Source-Code Migrator, Victor L. Winter, Jonathan Guerrero, Carl Reinke, James T. Perry

United States Department of Energy: Publications

JVM-based processors used in embedded systems are often scaled back versions of the standard JVM which do not support the full set of Java byte codes and native methods assumed by a JVM. As a result, code bases such as Java libraries must be migrated in order make them suitable for execution on the embedded JVM-based processor. This paper describes Monarch, a high-assurance Java-to-java (J2j) source code migrator that we are developing to assist such code migrations.

Effect Of Additive On The Performance Characteristics Of Centrifugal And Progressive Cavity Slurry Pumps With High Concentration Fly Ash Slurries, Sunil Chandel, S.N. Singh, V. Seshadri

Coal Combustion and Gasification Products Journal Archive

Slurry pumps that are used in the hydraulic transportation of fly ash slurries through pipes in thermal power plants can be broadly classified into two main categories namely positive displacement and centrifugal pumps. The two types of pumps differ considerably in construction as well as in operating principle compared to the conventional pumps. The present study reports the effect of additive on the performance characteristics of centrifugal and progressive cavity screw pumps with fly ash slurries at high concentrations (above Cw < 50% by weight). Mixture of sodium carbonate and Henko detergent (5:1) at a concentration of 0.2% by weight has been used as an additive. For each type of pump, the effect of additive on the performance characteristics has been experimentally evaluated at rated speed with fly ash slurries in the concentration range of 50 to 70% by weight. The pump total head, overall efficiency and pump input power as a function of flow rate have been measured. The results obtained from the centrifugal slurry pump performance show that at rated speed, the performance of the pump improves with the addition of drag reducing additive. In the case of progressive cavity screw pump, pump performance characteristics and behavior were completely different as compared to the centrifugal slurry pump. At rated speed, the performance of screw pump deteriorates with the addition of drag reducing soap solution.

Variable Frequency Drive (Vfd) Controlled Irrigation Pumps – Analysis Of Potential Rebate, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Well pumps, booster pumps, and a combination of the two are used throughout the agricultural sector to provide water for on-farm irrigation. However, the pump discharge pressures for the majority of irrigation systems are excessive, waiving considerable monetary and power consumption savings. This report analyzes the numerous potential benefits of integrating a variable frequency drive (VFD) to irrigation supply systems and modifying system design philosophies.

Irrigation District Flow Metering, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Most readers of this publication are probably somewhat familiar with USBR Reclamation Reform Act requirements for measurement of water deliveries to farm turnouts, in cases where the water is supplied by Reclamation facilities. Basically, volumes within the Mid-Pacific Region are supposed to be measured within ±6%. This sounds like a fairly straightforward requirement, but the reality is anything but simple.

The Irrigation Sector Shift From Construction To Modernization: What Is Required For Success?, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

External pressures related to environmental protection, commodity prices, energy availability, larger populations, and climate change have combined to require an immediate and substantial improvement in agricultural irrigation performance. Worldwide progression towards modernized irrigation projects has been uneven and slower than desired, but decades of irrigation modernization development have clarified certain requirements for success, as well as illuminated indicators of project failure. Of particular importance are required shifts within the state and national irrigation bureaucracies, as well as universities.

Motor Reference, Mohamed Grissa

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This document contains summary information about the following motor topics:

• Motor selection information
• AC induction motors
• Inverter duty motors
• Variable frequency drives
• Motor losses
• Troubleshooting

The information contained in this document was gathered from a variety of online, interview, and print sources, including NEMA specifications, with support from the California Energy Commission (CEC) PIER Program.

Effects Of Damköhler Number On Flame Extinction And Reignition In Turbulent Non-Premixed Flames Using Dns, David Lignell, Jacqueline Chen, Hans Schmutz

United States Department of Energy: Publications

Results from a parametric study of flame extinction and reignition with varying Damköhler number using direct numerical simulation are presented. Three planar, non-premixed ethylene jet flames were simulated at a constant Reynolds number of 5120. The fuel and oxidizer stream compositions were varied to adjust the steady laminar extinction scalar dissipation rate, while maintaining constant flow and geometric conditions. Peak flame extinction varies from approximately 40% to nearly global blowout as the Damköhler number decreases. The degree of extinction significantly affects the development of the jets and the degree of mixing of fuel, oxidizer, and combustion products prior to reignition. …

Variational Theory And Domain Decomposition For Nonlocal Problems, Burak Aksoylu, Michael L. Parks

United States Department of Energy: Publications

In this article we present the first results on domain decomposition methods for nonlocal operators. We present a nonlocal variational formulation for these operators and establish the well-posedness of associated boundary value problems, proving a nonlocal Poincaré inequality. To determine the conditioning of the discretized operator, we prove a spectral equivalence which leads to a mesh size independent upper bound for the condition number of the stiffness matrix. We then introduce a nonlocal two-domain variational formulation utilizing nonlocal transmission conditions, and prove equivalence with the single-domain formulation. A nonlocal Schur complement is introduced. We establish condition number bounds for the …

Automated Analysis Of Mouse Serum Peptidome Using Restricted Access Media And Nanoliquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry, Geun-Cheol Gil, Jim Brennan, Dan Throckmorton, Steven Branda, Gabriela Chirica

United States Department of Energy: Publications

We demonstrate use of restricted access media with reversed phase functionality (RAM-RP) for analysis of low molecular weight proteins and peptides in mouse serum (75ml) using a custom designed modular automated processing system (MAPS). RAM-RP fractionation with simultaneous removal of high molecular weight and high abundance proteins is integrated with a follow-on buffer exchange module (BE) to ensure compatibility with subsequent processing steps (trypsin digestion and intact peptide separation prior to mass spectrometric analysis). The high sample capacity afforded by chromatographic methods generates enough sample to achieve comprehensive serum peptidome identification (357 proteins) through tandem mass spectrometric analysis of both …

An Experimental And Kinetic Modeling Study Of Methyl Formate Low-Pressure Flames, S. Dooley, F. L. Dryer, B. Yang, J. Wang, T. A. Cool, T. Kasper, N. Hansen

United States Department of Energy: Publications

The oxidation of methyl formate (CH₃OCHO), the simplest methyl ester, is studied in a series of burnerstabilized laminar flames at pressures of 22–30 Torr and equivalence ratios (Φ) from 1.0 to 1.8 for flame conditions of 25–35% fuel. Flame structures are determined by quantitative measurements of species mole fractions with flame-sampling molecular-beam synchrotron photoionization mass spectrometry (PIMS). Methyl formate is observed to be converted to methanol, formaldehyde and methane as major intermediate species of mechanistic relevance. Smaller amounts of ethylene and acetylene are also formed from methyl formate oxidation. Reactant, product and major intermediate species profiles …

Reducing Error And Measurement Time In Impedance Spectroscopy Using Model Based Optimal Experimental Design, Francesco Ciucci, Thomas Carraro, William Chueh, Wei Lai

United States Department of Energy: Publications

In this work we introduce several novel tools for the reduction of errors in parameters estimated with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy experiments. An optimization strategy is developed that minimizes an estimate of the errors on the parameters while bounding the experimental time. The approach is also used to reduce experimental time while keeping a bound on the parameter errors. This feature is particularly critical in systems changing significantly within the experimental time. The paper uses a fuel cell electrode model to test this methodology and presents a real time algorithm for coupling experiment with the parameter estimation and experimental optimization.