Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons^™

Irrigation System Components And Potentials For Energy Conservation, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

On-site electricity conservation in irrigation can be accomplished through a series of general steps. The primary focus of the agricultural energy conservation programs of the utilities has been to improve the efficiency of the pumping plant. In general, the electric utilities have provided or subsidized pump testing, along with some form of rebate for replacement or repair of pumps. There are, of course, other irrigation-related aspects of energy conservation. However, this report focuses on on-site electricity conservation in the field.

Design Of A Micro Irrigation System For An Almond Orchard, Adam Scheuber

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The owners of Scheuber Farms, a 1,000 acre row crop farming operation located in Patterson, California, wish to convert a 15-acre field into an almond orchard. For irrigating the trees, they would like to use a microsprayer irrigation system. The design I recommend and describe in this paper utilizes proper hydraulic analysis, and is based on the ability to supply enough water to match the amount of water required by the orchard during the peak month of an average year.

All of the major components and parameters of the microsprayer irrigation system were designed at minimal cost while ensuring that …

Analysis Of Site-Specific Adjustment Applied To On-The-Go Soil Sensing Data For Agronomic Use, Allison K. Jonjak

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

Successful variable-rate applications of agricultural inputs such as lime rely on the quality of input data. Systematic grid soil sampling is the most common method used for creating variable rate prescription maps. The insufficient number of point measurements usually obtained using this method has been primarily responsible for the typical inaccuracies seen in lime prescription maps. To increase sampling density, on-the-go sensing technology was developed for the mapping of soil pH and other relevant attributes. In this study, five fields in eastern Nebraska were mapped using both on-thego sensing technology and systematic grid sampling. Ten calibration points per field were …

Nutrient Runoff Following Manure Application, Chance Thayer

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

A field study was completed to measure the effects of varying flow rate on nutrient transport following the application of varying amounts of beef cattle manure to plots containing either no-residue or a wheat residue cover.  Beef cattle manure was applied and incorporated into the soil in May 2010 to meet zero, one, two, four or eight year corn phosphorus requirements. Simulated rainfall events were applied in June and July 2010. The presence of a crop residue cover significantly increased the transport of dissolved phosphorus, total phosphorus, NO₃-N, NH₄-N, and total nitrogen in runoff but decreased …

Application Of Gis And Geographically Weighted Regression To Evaluate The Spatial Non‐Stationarity Relationships Between Precipitation Vs. Irrigated And Rainfed Maize And Soybean Yields, Vivek Sharma, Ayse Kilic, Isa Kabenge, Suat Irmak

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Understanding the relationship between the spatial distribution of precipitation and crop yields on large scales (i.e., county, state, regional) while accounting for the spatial non‐stationarity can help managers to better evaluate the long‐term trends in agricultural productivity to make better assessments in food security, policy decisions, resource assessments, land and water resources enhancement, and management decisions. A relatively new technique, geographically weighted regression (GWR), has the ability to account for spatial non‐stationarity with space. While its application is growing in other scientific disciplines (i.e., social sciences), the application of this new technique in agricultural settings has not been practiced. The …

Narrow Grass Hedge Control Of Nutrient Loads Following Variable Manure Applications, John E. Gilley, Lisa M. Durso, Roger Eigenberg, David B. Marx, Brian L. Woodbury

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The effectiveness of a narrow grass hedge in reducing runoff nutrient loads following manure application was examined in this study. Beef cattle manure was applied to 0.75 m wide by 4.0 m long plots established on an Aksarben silty clay loam located in southeast Nebraska. Manure was added at rates required to meet none or the 1, 2, or 4 year nitrogen requirements for corn. Runoff water quality was measured during three 30 min simulated rainfall events. Manure application rate significantly affected dissolved phosphorus (DP) and total phosphorus (TP) loads in runoff on the plots without a grass hedge. However, …

Economic And Environmental Sustainability Of Using Bio-Fuels For Small Nebraska Greenhouses, David M. Mabie

Department of Environmental Engineering: Theses and Other Student Research

The primary goal of this paper was to increase profitability in Nebraska greenhouses by using biomass fuels for heating instead of propane. Several different fuels were tested, including whole shelled corn, dry distiller’s grains pelletized, wood pellets and blends between each biomass. The main fuel focus was on whole shelled corn. Bomb calorimetry tests were performed on biomass fuels and their respective ashes. Several furnace and heat exchanger efficiency tests were performed, with cost effectiveness analysis for each fuel type. Emissions data was also collected for each fuel on carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides, sulfuric oxides, and particulate matter. …

Agricultural Water Energy Efficiency: Final Report, Charles M. Burt, Dan J. Howes, Beau Freeman

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Beginning in 2007, the Irrigation Training and Research Center (ITRC) at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, contracted with the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program to undertake a large, multi-tiered study on agricultural water energy efficiency in California. The study was broken into the following research tasks: Task 1: Administrative; Task 2.1: Irrigation district energy survey; Task 2.2: Conversion to groundwater pumping with drip/ micro irrigation systems; Task 2.3: GIS-based water scheduling and software system; Task 3: Irrigation component energy analysis; Task 4: RD&D competitive solicitation; Task 5; Technology transfer. The resulting survey, research, …

Identification Of ‘Carbon Hot-Spots’ And Quantification 1 Of Ghg Intensities In The Biodiesel Supply Chain Using Hybrid Lca And Structural Path Analysis, Adolf Acquaye, Thomas Wiedmann, Kuishang Feng, Robert Crawford, John Barrett, Johan Kuylenstierna, Aidan Duffy, Lenny Koh, Simon Mcqueen-Mason

Articles

It is expected that biodiesel production in the EU will remain the dominant contributor as part of a 10% minimum binding target for biofuel in transportation fuel by 2020 within the 20% renewable energy target in the overall EU energy mix. Life cycle assessments (LCA) of biodiesel to evaluate its environmental impacts have, however, remained questionable, mainly because of the adoption of a traditional process analysis approach resulting in system boundary truncation and because of issues regarding the impacts of land use change and N2O emissions from fertiliser application. In this study, a hybrid LCA methodology is used to evaluate …

Do Invasive Riparian Woody Plants Affect Hydrology And Ecosystem Processes?, Julie Huddle, Tala Awada, Derrel Martin, Xinhua Zhou, Sue Ellen Pegg, Scott Josiah

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

© 2011 Copyright by the Center for Greot Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Estimation Of Land Surface Evapotranspiration With A Satellite Remote Sensing Procedure, Ayse Kilic, Ian Ratcliffe, Pariskhit Ranade, Kenneth Hubbard, Ramesh K. Singh, Babuarao Kamble, Jeppe Kjaersgaard

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

There are various methods available for estimating magnitude and trends of evapotranspiration. Bowen ratio energy balance system and eddy correlation techniques offer powerful alternatives for measuring land surface evapotranspiration. In spite of the elegance, high accuracy, and theoretical attractions of these techniques for measuring evapotranspiration, their practical use over large areas can be limited due to the number of sites needed and the related expense. Application of evapotranspiration mapping from satellite measurements can overcome the limitations. The objective of this study was to utilize the METRIC^TM (Mapping Evapotranspiration at High Resolution using Internalized Calibration) model in Great Plains environmental …

Review Of Gasoline, Diesel, And Ethanol Biofuels From Grasses And Plants. By Ram B. Gupta And Ayhan Demirbas., Adam Liska

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

A new book on the production of biofuels by Gupta and Demirbas provides technical insight into the conversion processes that could provide a range of domestic fuels from plant materials to substitute for foreign oil. It focuses primarily on conversion processes for production of cellulosic ethanol, Fischer-Tropsch diesel, pyrolysis bio-oil, and hydrothermal biocrude from biomass resources, as well as "first-generation" grain ethanol and biodiesel from vegetable oil. In addition to a detailed summary of these chemical processes, the book provides a briefer treatment of related matters such as biofuel policy, economics, and environmental issues. The book does discuss the limitations …

Intraseasonal Management Strategies For Deficit Irrigation, Isaac I. N. Mortensen

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Reduced availability of irrigation water to producers has led to the need for intraseasonal management strategies that efficiently use the limited supply of irrigation water.  Historical weather data was used to develop a range of conditions experienced at the location.  Sound weather data improves the dependability of management strategies.  Data from weather stations on the Automated Weather Data Network and the Colorado AgMet network were evaluated based upon net radiation and dew point temperature observations expected in an irrigated agricultural setting.  This weather data was used to create a relationship between the Penman-Montieth evapotranspiration (ET) and Hargreaves ET and …

Electromagnetic And Heat Transfer Modeling Of Microwave Heating In Domestic Ovens, Krishnamoorthy Pitchai

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Microwave (MW) ovens are used extensively for heating a variety of not-ready-to-eat food products. It is vital to achieve target temperature uniformly throughout the food to inactivate foodborne pathogens to assure safety. Non-uniform heating of foods in microwave ovens is the major concern in assuring microbiological safety of such products. The non-uniform heating of foods in domestic microwave ovens is due to complex interactions of microwaves with foods. A comprehensive coupled electromagnetic and heat transfer model was developed using finite-difference time-domain based numerical method to understand the complex interaction of microwaves with foods. Simulation parameters such as cell size, heating …

Comparison Of Aquifer Sustainability Under Groundwater Administrations In Oklahoma And Texas, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Michael D. Smolen, Garey A. Fox, Damian C. Adams

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

We compared two approaches to administration of groundwater law on a hydrologic model of the North Canadian River, an alluvial aquifer in northwestern Oklahoma. Oklahoma limits pumping rates to retain 50% aquifer saturated thickness after 20 years of groundwater use. The Texas Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District’s (GCD) rules limit pumping to a rate that consumes no more than 50% of saturated thickness in 50 years, with reevaluation and readjustment of permits every 5 years. Using a hydrologic model (MODFLOW), we simulated river-groundwater interaction and aquifer dynamics under increasing levels of ‘‘development’’ (i.e., increasing groundwater withdrawals). Oklahoma’s approach initially would limit …

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 …

Canal Lining, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Larry and I thought that some musings about canal lining might be of some interest for some of you USCID newsletter readers. As you know, there are many canal lining techniques – especially if one considers the wide assortment of internationally used lining methods.

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.

Low Pressure Drip/Micro System Design – Analysis Of Potential Rebate, Charles M. Burt, Daniel J. Howes

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Drip/micro irrigation systems are often referred to as “low pressure” systems because the required emitter pressures are relatively low (6-12 psi). However, the pump discharge pressures of systems on flat ground throughout California average 40 psi. This report examines readily attainable system losses by examining individual components of the drip/micro system.

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.