Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons^™

Design Constuction And Evaluation Of A Vertical Hydroponic Tower, Nicholas A. Heredia

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This project encompasses the design, construction, and evaluation of a vertical hydropoinc tower. The tower was designed to cycle nutrient rich water through two hydropoinc systems, drip and nutrient film technique then return the water back to the reservoir. The tower will grow 5 different plant varieties. Evaluations have been done on the elevation, system type, and crop type to determine the most productive.

The tower contained four troughs where plants were grown. Due to the structure of the tower two of the troughs were elevated 20” higher than the other two troughs. The elevation of the plants did not …

The Design, Construction, And Testing Of An In-Furrow Planter For The Planting Of Low Residue Cover Crops, Chandler A. Bennett

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This project encompasses the design, construction, and evaluation of an in-furrow planter for the planting of low residue cover crops. The purpose of planting the furrow is for the management of off-site removal of residual pesticides, nutrients, and soil by mitigating water flow. Due to there being no current solution for the mechanized planting of furrows this project was pursued to provide a means for farmers to do so at the most cost effective means. The result of this project is a prototype planter that can be made with basic shop tools, be made with off the shelf parts, and …

Evaluation And Modification Of Solid Set Sprinkler System For Hirashima Berry Farms, Jeffrey Hirashima

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This project encompassed the evaluation and recommendations for a solid set sprinkler system. This project will determined the distribution uniformity for an existing solid set sprinkler system located on Hirashima Berry Farms. After the evaluation was complete modifications were suggested to the farmer in order to lower watering costs during pre-irrigation and provide salt leaching. The results from the system evaluation show that the current system distribution uniformity is 0.69. The following recommendations and conditions were assumed; normal pre-irrigation practices, an EC threshold of 2.0 dS/m for strawberries, a leaching requirements of 0.15, and an improved DU to 0.80. With …

Design And Fabrication Of A Sporting Clay Launcher, Zachary Flowers

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

No abstract provided.

Groundwater Challenges, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

There are some old lessons that continue to repeat themselves throughout the history of irrigation. For example, it has become a common understanding that accumulated salinity from irrigation spelled the doom of some ancient civilizations in the Middle East. Despite this ancient knowledge, today we still have numerous irrigated basins in which there is no outlet for high-salinity drainage flows.

Likewise, groundwater is something that traditionally has not been well understood, and is often treated as an ever-present back-up plan for irrigation. The “water rights” laws in the western US and elsewhere almost exclusively formalized rules about and concentrated on …

Flow Measurement Options For Canal Turnouts, Kyle Feist, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Volumetric record-keeping, billing, and allocations at irrigation district delivery points (turnouts) are the norm, rather than the exception for most California irrigation districts. However, many older districts are just beginning these efforts, and other districts are trying to improve existing hardware and procedures. Volumetric accounting with high accuracy and a reasonable price presents unique engineering challenges for irrigation districts because of the variety of existing structures and configurations at irrigation delivery points. Because it is likely that irrigation districts will attempt to utilize existing devices, or slightly modify them, there is a need for standardized installation and/or calibration. This paper …

Irrigation System Regulating (Buffer) Reservoirs, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Regulating reservoirs (also known as "balancing" or "buffer" reservoirs) are very commonly used in western US irrigation district modernization projects with canal systems. Some districts have a dozen or more reservoirs within total service areas of 20,000 – 40,000 ha. This paper presents details of sizing and control of flows into and out of the reservoirs.

Groundwater Nitrate In California: What Should Be Done?, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Charle's Burt PowerPoint presentation discusses current issues concerning nitrates in groundwater in California, as well as recommendations made to the State Water Board by the Nitrate Task Force.

Design And Construction Of Five Gallon Anaerobic Digesters, Daniel John Schricker

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This project discusses the design, construction, and testing of a laboratory scale anaerobic digestion reactors. It included four digesters and two gas measurement devices. The outside dimensions of the digester were 22 inch tall with a 10.5 inch diameter. They were constructed from schedule 40 PVC pipe, with a wall thickness of 0.5 inches. They were designed to be filled with 20 liters of digester feed stock, at a height of 16 inches from the bottom, leaving 5 inches of head space above the digester feed for biogas accumulation. Two of the reactors were heated with Hydrofarm seedling heating pads …

Design And Construction Of A Portable Cattle Loading Ramp, Gino A. Torlai

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This project is to design and construct an affordable and effective portable cattle loading trailer. The trailer should save money by not having to buy a commercial brand and also by being able to utilize the piece of equipment at multiple different ranches.

Design And Construction Of A Portable Gantry Hoist, Sam Hutcheson

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This report covers the design of a portable gantry hoist with a custom frame design. The design was based off of the materials that were available and practical for this project to save money. The portable gantry hoist will be rated for a 2 ton capacity. The casters, trolley, and hoist were the only parts purchased.

Thermodynamic Efficiency Evaluation For Distillation Of Ethanol, Joe A. Cavaletto

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Energy will always be a consideration when distilling any product. Fog’s End Distillery in Gonzales, CA is a small scale micro distillery for ethanol. For Fog’s End, efficiency is key to staying competitive. In this project the efficiency of energy in vs product out will be calculated. While collecting this data the price/bottle for energy will be determined and used for an assembly cost. To determine the efficiency the fuel usage will be recorded for several distillation trials. The mash contents and product contents will all be measured and calculations will be performed to find the theoretical amount of energy …

Grass Referenced Based Vegetation Coefficients For Estimating Evapostranspiration For A Variery Of Natural Vegetation, Daniel J. Howes, Mariana Pasquet

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

In arid and semi-arid regions, evapotranspiration from vegetation results in the significant utilization of available water. Accurate estimates of evapotranspiration are required for surface and subsurface hydrologic evaluations as well as irrigation district water balance studies. A significant amount of transferable information exists for irrigated agricultural crops through past and current research in the form of grass or alfalfa reference based crop coefficients (Kc) and basal crop coefficients (Kcb). However, transferable evapotranspiration information on natural vegetation is limited. Much of the work was conducted in the early to mid-1900’s and is presented as actual evapotranspiration from the vegetation at the …

Low-Pressure Testing: Microirrigation Emitters, Charles M. Burt, Kyle Feist

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

ITRC tested 28 different pressure-compensating (PC) models of microirrigation emitting devices from a total of nine manufacturers in order to compare independent laboratory testing with manufacturer specifications. It is the intention of this report to investigate the ability of currently marketed products to operate in a truly low pressure irrigation system where energy inputs, in the form of pump discharge requirements, can be minimized.

Low-Pressure Testing: Pressure Regulating Valves, Charles M. Burt, Kyle Feist

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

ITRC tested performance characteristics of pressure regulating valves from a variety of manufacturers. The purpose of the testing was to evaluate the ability of different models of valves to regulate the pressure in a low-pressure system. The testing concentrated on three specific valve performance characteristics: minimal variance from the target downstream pressure caused by changes in flow rate or inlet pressure; minimal hysteresis in outlet pressures; minimal pressure loss (at low inlet pressures) across the valve.

Autocad Course Book Update, Todd Sammons

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This project is a proposed updated version of the course book used in the BRAE 151 course. The book that is currently used is a product of Doug Phillips (BRAE ’03). Since Mr. Phillips designed the book currently used, many new features have been added and the user interface is drastically different. This purpose of this book is to bring the course book used in BRAE 151 up the current version.

Design And Construction Of A Remedial Pumping System, Brandon Downing

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project discusses the design and construction of a remedial pumping system at Cal Poly’s Swanton Pacific Ranch. The site the system is installed is called the College Well Station where it will be used to irrigate about two acres of turf. Excessive iron residue is in their water, so in order to prevent this residue from clogging the irrigation system, this system was installed. The system consists of a 2,500 gallon settling tank, booster pump, variable frequency drive (VFD), and a bladder tank. The settling tank will settle the iron particles to the bottom, preventing the pump from …

Design And Application Of Recycled Asphalt Roads For A Vineyard In San Luis Obispo County, Carl Gates Molitor

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This project encompasses the design, schedule and budget of a recycled asphalt driveway located on a vineyard in San Luis Obispo County. The design parameters that served as the basis of this project were provided by Mr. Jean-Pierre Wolff of Wolff vineyards. He owns and operates a local winery on the outskirts of San Luis Obispo. He implemented a similar upgrade on his own winery. The purpose of these road improvements was to improve the conditions for the grapes as well the air quality for visitors to the winery. The new road needed to be wider and more suitable for …

Design, Construction And Evaluation Of A Low Head Hydroelectric Turbine For Canals, Sean Phillip Ellenson

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Means of hydroelectric power generation today typically require state or federal funding, massive construction projects and high head differentials with the use of a dam. With thousands of miles of canals and waterways at our disposal, it is necessary to find a cost effective way of generating a substantial amount of power from low-head hydroelectric power sources.

This senior project details research on low-head hydroelectric power generation, along with the design, construction and evaluation of a twisted Savonius hydroelectric turbine. Sizing optimizations for a twisted Savonius turbine were performed, and the hydroelectric power generation unit was constructed, including a housing …

Compilation Of A Handbook For The Cal Poly Tractor Pull Team, Jake Wilcox

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project discusses the compilation of a handbook for the Cal Poly Tractor Pull Team. The handbook was written to aid new team members and students in getting acquainted to the history of the motorsport, what is expected of a team member, standard operating procedures of equipment, and event operations.

Results were obtained from a quiz administered to various persons. Responses showed ease of locating information as well as areas of potential improvement.

Design, Construction And Cost Analysis Of Manufacturing Horse Bits, Erica L. Timmermans

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This report discusses the design, fabrication and cost analysis of two unique horse bits. On the market today, there are many different kinds of bits to serve a multitude of purposes. However, this project explored the option of having two different shanks types made of stainless steel in addition to three mouthpieces that are able to fit in both types of shanks.

Design, Construction, And Evaluation Of A Portable Reusable Plastic Container Dumper, Kevin J. Lau

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project discusses the design, construction, and evaluation of a portable RPC (Reusable Plastic Container) dumper. This RPC dumper is one piece of a citrus processing system to package citrus. Bee Sweet currently utilizes man power in order to dump its RPCs whereas this design will decrease the amount of man power needed to dump RPCs during high workloads.

The goal of this project was to design, construct, and test a custom fabricated RPC dumper that will decrease the number of people needed to dump RPCs and also the amount of damage on the oranges when being dumped from …

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.