Bankfull Hydraulic Geometry Relationships For The Inner And Outer Bluegrass Regions Of Kentucky, Carmen Agouridis, Ruth Roseann Brockman, Stephen R. Workman, Lindell E. Ormsbee, Alex Fogle

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Bankfull hydraulic geometry relationships relate bankfull stream dimensions, such as cross-sectional area, width, mean depth, mean velocity, width to depth ratio, and slope to bankfull discharge. These relationships can assist in determining a design discharge for stream restoration and management projects. This study assessed 27 stable streams located in the Inner Bluegrass and Outer Bluegrass regions of Kentucky. Reaches were selected based on the presence of a U.S. Geological Survey gage, as well as other conditions such as presence of readily identifiable bankfull indicators, stability indices, and site accessibility. Bankfull channel dimensions and discharges were determined, and hydraulic geometry relationships …

Bioenergy Feedstock-Specific Enrichment Of Microbial Populations During High-Solids Thermophilic Deconstruction, Amitha P. Reddy, Martin Allgaier, Steven W. Singer, Terry C. Hazen, Blake A. Simmons, Philip Hugenholtz, Jean S. Vandergheynst

United States Department of Energy: Publications

Thermophilic microbial communities that are active in a high-solids environment offer great potential for the discovery of industrially relevant enzymes that efficiently deconstruct bioenergy feedstocks. In this study, finished green waste compost was used as an inoculum source to enrich microbial communities and associated enzymes that hydrolyze cellulose and hemicellulose during thermophilic high-solids fermentation of the bioenergy feedstocks switchgrass and corn stover. Methods involving the disruption of enzyme and plant cell wall polysaccharide interactions were developed to recover xylanase and endoglucanase activity from deconstructed solids. Xylanase and endoglucanase activity increased by more than a factor of 5, upon four successive …

Effects Of Sprinkler, Partial Sprinkler/Drip, And Drip Only Irrigation On Strawberry Transplants 2010-2011, Stuart Styles

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The purpose of the project is to develop an analysis of the current irrigation practices of the strawberry growers on the Central Coast of California. The primary research evaluation is during the establishment of transplants where sprinklers are typically used even though drip irrigation is available. Growers have been selected from Oxnard, Santa Maria, and Watsonville to provide a good cross section of the different strawberry growing areas.

The specific objectives of the project are to: (1) set up a research areas and control plots on a demonstration scale, (2) determine the key factors that affect the problems in early …

Testing Fuel Efficiency Of Tractors With Both Continuously Variable And Standard Geared Transmissions, Christopher N. Howard, Michael F. Kocher, Roger M. Hoy, Erin E. Blankenship

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Presentations and White Papers

A John Deere 8295R IVT tractor with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) and a John Deere 8295R PowerShift (PST) tractor (Waterloo, Iowa) with a standard geared transmission (GT) were tested for fuel consumption at three different travel speeds with six different load levels applied per speed. The JD 8295R PST tractor was tested both at full throttle (FT) and shifted up two gears and throttled back (SUTB) to achieve the same travel speed as at full throttle conditions. For each travel speed with each transmission mode, fuel consumption was determined to be linearly related to drawbar power. Linear regression results …

Streambank Erosion And Instability Induced By Groundwater Seepage, Taber L. Midgley, Garey A. Fox, Glenn V. Wilson, Derek M. Heeren, Andrew Simon, Eddy J. Langendoen

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Excessive sediment is one of the most common surface water pollutants. It diminishes water quality and destroys aquatic habitat. Streambank erosion is known to be a major source of sediment in streams and rivers, contributing as much as 80% of the total sediment load in some watersheds. Little work has been done to study the effects of seepage on streambank erosion and failure. Prior research, primarily in the laboratory under well-defined and controlled conditions, has examined seepage as a mechanism for bank erosion, but more needs to be done to validate conclusions derived from the laboratory with field data. This …

Design, Construction And Evaluation Of Seven Shank, Three Point Ripper, Daniel Degraaf

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project discusses the design, construction, and testing of a seven shank, three point ripper built for de Graaf Ranch. This ripper will replace older equipment that was not built to withstand the horsepower developed by more modern tractors that are used by de Graaf Ranch. This tillage device is designed to meet ASABE standards for horsepower requirements of farm equipment. This implement incorporates a shear pin design that will protect the frame from damage in the event that the ripper encounters a subsoil obstacle that would significantly damage the equipment. The shank was designed to reduce the disturbance …

Extrusion And Alkali Extrusion Of Corn Stover To Improve Enzyme Saccharification, Shujing Zhang

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

Biomass pretreatment constitutes an important part in the whole process of bioethanol production. The main goals of pretreatment include improving cellulose accessibility to enzyme, enhancing sugar yields from hemicellulose, achieving low capital and energy costs, as well as low sugar degradation and low chemical requirements. Extrusion, as a continuous and high throughput pretreatment method, requires much less chemical compared to traditional alkali pretreatment. In this research, twin-screw extrusion was evaluated for its effect with regard to promoting sugar yields from corn stover. Also, the underlying factors contributing to this improvement were examined. It was found that extrusion with no chemicals …

Transport Of Trace Elements In Runoff From Unamended And Pond‐Ash Amended Feedlot Surfaces, Jason R. Vogel, John E. Gilley, Gary L. Cottrell, Brian L. Woodbury, Elaine D. Berry, Roger Eigenberg

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The use of pond ash (fly ash that has been placed in evaporative ponds for storage and subsequently dewatered) for feedlot surfaces provides a drier environment for livestock and furnishes economic benefits. However, pond ash is known to have high concentrations of trace elements, and the runoff water‐quality effects of feedlot surfaces amended with pond ash are not well defined. For this study, two experimental units (plots) were established in eight feedlot pens. Four of the pens contained unamended soil surfaces, and the remaining four pens had pond‐ash amended surfaces. Before each test, unconsolidated surface material was removed from four …

Biofilter Media Characterization Using Water Sorption Isotherms, Guilherme Del Nero Maia, George B. Day, Richard S. Gates, Joseph L. Taraba

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Compost material has been used extensively as a gas‐phase biofilter media for contaminant gas treatment in recent years. One of the biggest challenges in the use of this type of material is adequate control of compost moisture content and understanding its effect on the biofiltration process. The present work provides a methodology for characterization of biofilter media under low moisture conditions. Results indicated that low levels of equilibrium moisture content (EMC) were obtained for high levels of equilibrium relative humidity (ERH), i.e., 99% ERH produced EMC of approximately 20% (dry basis) at 25° C. Most bacteria struggle to survive in …

Twin-Screw Extrusion Processing Of Distillers Dried Grains With Solubles (Ddgs)-Based Yellow Perch (Perca Flavescens) Feeds, Ferouz Y. Ayadi, Kurt A. Rosentrater, Kasiviswanathan Muthukumarappan, Michael L. Brown

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Increases in global aquaculture production, compounded with limited availabilities of fish meal for fish feed, has created the need for alternative protein sources. Twinscrew extrusion studies were performed to investigate the production of nutritionally balanced feeds for juvenile yellow perch (Perca flavescens). Five isocaloric (~3.06 kcal/g) ingredient blends, adjusted to a target protein content of 36.7% db, were formulated with 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) at an initial moisture content of 5–7%db, with appropriate amounts of fish meal, fish oil, whole wheat flour, corn gluten meal, and vitamin and mineral premixes. …

Identifying Changes In Climatic Trends And The Fingerprints Of Landuse And Landcover Changes In The High Plains Of The Usa, Denis Mutiibwa

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

Human activities such as conversion of natural ecosystem to croplands and urban-centers, deforestation and afforestation impact biophysical properties of land surface such as albedo, energy balance, and surface roughness. Alterations in these properties affect the heat and moisture exchanges between the land surface and atmospheric boundary layer. The objectives of this research were; (i) to quantitatively identify the High plains’ regional climate change in temperatures over the period 1895 to 2006, (ii) detect the signatures of anthropogenic forcing of LULC changes on the regional climate change of the High Plains, and (iii) examine the trends in evolving regional latent heat …

Drought Regionalization Of Brazos River Basin Using An Entropy Approach, Deepthi Rajsekhar, Ashok Mishra, Vijay P. Singh

2011 Symposium on Data-Driven Approaches to Droughts

Assessment and understanding of past climate is an important step for drought mitigation and water resources planning. In this study, stream flows imulation obtained from the variable infiltration capacity(VIC) model was used for drought characterization, and subsequently regionalization was done based on the annual severity level, for the Brazos basin in Texas over a time span of 1949-2000. It is important to study drought characteristics with in a regional context. Hence, identification of homogenous drought regions is a prerequisite, so that the drought characteristics can be studied with in each of these regions. In this study, the concept of entropy …

A Look At 20th Century Droughts, Vijay P. Singh, Ashok K. Mishra

2011 Symposium on Data-Driven Approaches to Droughts

Droughts exercise a profound effect on the social and economic fabric of nations. Many nations of the world experienced droughts encompassing the full spectrum of severity, areal extent and duration. The result has been that the economic development was hampered and many countries have not yet recouped fully from the ravages of droughts. The first decade of the 21st century has also witnessed varying degrees of droughts across the globe. Therefore, we ask the following questions: (a) Do droughts affect every part of the world? (b) Are there similarities in major droughts around the world? (c) Are climate change and …

Design And Cost Analysis Of A Citrus Orchard, Travis Cox

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

No abstract provided.

Development Of A Testing Procedure Using Cone Index To Allow For Optimal Tire Performance, Ryan Pehle

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This project discusses the design, fabrication, and evaluation of a Soil Cone Penetrometer that is to be used to test tracks designated for modified tractor pulling. The penetrometer measures the force required to penetrate a soil and provides a recommended tire pressure specific for the conditions present at the point in time

Design, Construction And Evaluation Of An Automotive Bridge Jack, Thomas Gomes Jr.

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This Senior Project discusses the design, construction and evaluation of an automotive lift. This lift will be hydraulically powered with a 6000 lb lifting capacity. The lift constructed in this project will be installed within a current 4 post drive on vehicle lift and allows the user to lift one axle of a vehicle a few inches off the ramp of the drive on lift in order to remove the tires.

A Simple Method To Improve Autonomous Gps Positioning For Tractors, Jaime Gomez-Gil, Sergio Alonso-Garcia, Francisco Javier Gómez-Gil, Tim Stombaugh

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Error is always present in the GPS guidance of a tractor along a desired trajectory. One way to reduce GPS guidance error is by improving the tractor positioning. The most commonly used ways to do this are either by employing more precise GPS receivers and differential corrections or by employing GPS together with some other local positioning systems such as electronic compasses or Inertial Navigation Systems (INS). However, both are complex and expensive solutions. In contrast, this article presents a simple and low cost method to improve tractor positioning when only a GPS receiver is used as the positioning sensor. …

Strawberries: Effects Of Modifying Irrigation Methods For Transplant Establishment, Stuart Styles, Lynn Groundwater, Curtis Lutje

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

In 2009, the Cal Poly Irrigation Training and Research Center began a multi-year analysis of the current irrigation practices of strawberry growers on the Central Coast of California. Specifically, the project examines the impacts of salinity on young strawberry transplants and the current practice of sprinkler use during the establishment of transplants for salinity control in areas where drip irrigation is available. The overall goal of the project is to study current practices and determine any conditions where growers can minimize or eliminate sprinkler use on strawberries, thereby conserving water, saving pumping costs, and reducing runoff. Results from the first …

Implementation And Field Calibration Pipeline Doppler Meters In Northern California, Stuart Styles

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority (TCCA) has been using SonTek Doppler flow meters at approximately 30 installations for about 3 years. TCCA is located in northern California with its headquarters in Willows. The Cal Poly ITRC compared the accuracy of the flow measurement readings from the new Doppler flow meters to the venturi meters that were installed by the US Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). The venturis were used as the historical standard for flow measurement for TCCA. TCCA has opted to move away from the existing technology for a variety of reasons, especially due to the issue concerning access requirements for …

Characteristics Of Irrigation Pump Performance In Major Irrigated Areas Of California, Charles Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Pumping data was collected from over 15,000 well and non-well pumps throughout the Sacramento, Salinas, and San Joaquin Valley groundwater basins of California. Each of these basins is divided into a number of subbasins. A map of the general layout is shown below (gray lines outside of basins represent county lines; gray lines inside basins represent subbasins).

Data was analyzed by basin and subbasin for well pumps and non-well pumps. For each pump type, averages were calculated based on:

• The whole basin
• Overall pumping plant efficiency (OPPE)
• kWh/AF
• Subbasins

General conclusions were drawn for each set of averages, and a …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …

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 …

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 …