Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons^™

Non–Water–Stressed Baseline As A Tool For Dynamic Control Of A Misting System For Propagation Of Poinsettias, Sérgio Zolnier, Richard S. Gates, Robert G. Anderson, Sue E. Nokes, George A. Duncan

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

A technique is presented for dynamically adjusting misting intervals during propagation of vegetative cuttings. A crop setpoint temperature for activation of misting was defined by a "non-water-stressed baseline" concept, using infrared thermometry to acquire canopy temperature for plant feedback. The critical crop setpoint temperature was calculated from instantaneous values of air temperature, incident radiation, and air vapor pressure deficit (VPD_air). Misting was activated when the actual crop temperature exceeded the critical crop setpoint temperature. The dynamic control was shown to have the potential to reduce the amount of applied water from 9 to 12 times during low levels …

Estimation Of Reference Crop Evapotranspiration Using Fuzzy State Models, Lameck O. Odhiambo, R. E. Yoder, D. C. Yoder

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Daily evapotranspiration (ET) rates are needed for irrigation scheduling. Owing to the difficulty of obtaining accurate field measurements, ET rates are commonly estimated from weather parameters. A few empirical or semi–empirical methods have been developed for assessing daily reference crop ET, which is converted to actual crop ET using crop coefficients. The FAO Penman–Monteith method, which is now accepted as the standard method for the computation of daily reference ET, is sophisticated. It requires several input parameters, some of which have no actual measurements but are estimated from measured weather parameters. In this study, we examined the suitability of fuzzy …

Optimization Of Fuzzy Evapotranspiration Model Through Neural Training With Input–Output Examples, Lameck O. Odhiambo, R. E. Yoder, D. C. Yoder, J. W. Hines

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

In a previous study, we demonstrated that fuzzy evapotranspiration (ET) models can achieve accurate estimation of daily ET comparable to the FAO Penman–Monteith equation, and showed the advantages of the fuzzy approach over other methods. The estimation accuracy of the fuzzy models, however, depended on the shape of the membership functions and the control rules built by trial–and–error methods. This paper shows how the trial and error drawback is eliminated with the application of a fuzzy–neural system, which combines the advantages of fuzzy logic (FL) and artificial neural networks (ANN). The strategy consisted of fusing the FL and ANN on …

Bottom Mounted Doppler Flow Meter For Canals, Stuart W. Styles

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Doppler technology, similar to that used by meteorologist to track weather patterns, has been developed and expanded to fill the need for advanced water flow measurement technology that is relatively easy to use, applicable to various hydraulic conditions, and very accurate. This report discusses the operation of doppler units, provides a comparison of the technology, benefits, cost, and use.

Pumped Storage: Simple Changes, Big Savings, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Several California irrigation districts achieved savings on electrical energy charges by implementing various types of pumped storage systems. Pumped storage uses some type of reservoir to store pumped water at a higher elevation than the original water supply. During times of peak statewide electricity demand, pumping is reduced while water is withdrawn from the reservoir which acts as a buffer.

Load Monitoring System, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Arvin-Edison Water Storage District received a loan - from the CEC's loan program for the development of new energy conservation technology - in 1995 to develop a program with variable frequency drives. This report discusses the design of the "Load Monitoring System", cost, the need for such a system, initial start-up challenges, configuration options, and benefits.

Adjustable Magnetic Coupler, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Efficiency in terms of power consumption is vital and continues to be increasingly important. The use of adjustable speed pumps can reduce energy consumption and improve controllability of pressure or flows. One such technology, the MagnaDrive coupler, has been developed for service in a variety of applications.

Hybridization Of Dna By Sequential Immobilization Of Oligonucleotides At The Air-Water Interface, Murali Sastry, Vidya Ramakrishnan, Mrunalini Pattarkine, Anand Gole, K. N. Ganesh

Faculty Works

The hybridization of DNA by sequential electrostatic and hydrogen-bonding immobilization of single-stranded complementary oligonucleotides at the air-water interface with cationic Langmuir monolayers is demonstrated. The complexation of the single-stranded DNA molecules with octadecylamine (ODA) Langmuir monolayers was followed in time by monitoring the pressure-area isotherms. A large (and slow) expansion of the ODA monolayer was observed during each stage of complexation in the following sequence: primary single-stranded DNA followed by complementary single-stranded DNA followed by the intercalator, ethidium bromide. Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of the ODA-DNA complex were formed on different substrates and characterized using quartz-crystal microgravimetry (QCM), Fourier transform infrared …

Proposed Design Modifications To Reduce Risk Of Operating Rotary Field Mowers, Katie L. White, Larry G. Wells, Scott A. Shearer, Larry R. Piercy

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The primary objective of this project was to reduce risk of injury associated with operating a rotary mower driven by a tractor power take-off (PTO) by developing and evaluating design improvements and determining their economic feasibility. Researchers have concluded that alteration of machinery design has a greater impact on the reduction of accidents than safety training. Implementation of an Operator Presence Sensing System (OPSS) and removal of the PTO are the two injury-reducing, engineering modifications evaluated by this research. Hydraulic power allows this to occur by providing dynamic braking, few moving parts (removal of the PTO), and controllable power. A …

Simulation Of Daily And Monthly Stream Discharge From Small Watersheds Using The Swat Model, Crystal A. Spruill, Stephen R. Workman, Joseph L. Taraba

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was evaluated and parameter sensitivities were determined while modeling daily streamflows in a small central Kentucky watershed over a two-year period. Streamflow data from 1996 were used to calibrate the model and streamflow data from 1995 were used for evaluation. The model adequately predicted the trends in daily streamflow during this period although Nash-Sutcliffe R² values were –0.04 and 0.19 for 1995 and 1996, respectively. The model poorly predicted the timing of some peak flow values and recession rates during the last half of 1995. Excluding daily peak flow values from August …

Reconditioning Corn And Soybeans To Optimal Processing Moisture Contents, Michael D. Montross, Dirk E. Maier

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Experimental trials were carried out to evaluate the technical feasibility of reconditioning overly dry corn and soybeans to optimal market and processing moisture contents. Data obtained from experimental trials were used to validate an aeration simulation model. This model was used to evaluate the feasibility of reconditioning soybeans and corn. Reconditioning of grain was feasible at low airflow rates (0.11 m³ min^–1 t^–1) over a six-month period when an automatic aeration controller was used. Using downflow aeration and monthly unloading of the bin allowed for the greatest net economic gain. Predicted reconditioning in Des Moines, Iowa, …

Irrigation District Service In The Western United States, Charles M. Burt, Stuart W. Styles

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Data were obtained from 61 agricultural districts within the Mid-Pacific Region of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation regarding the level of water delivery service provided to users, water pricing, associated characteristics, and plans for modernization. A flexibility index was developed and used by the writers to characterize the degree of water delivery flexibility provided by each district. The flexibility index provides a rating of 3–15 (15 being the highest value) based upon the frequency, rate, and duration of irrigation water delivery service to farmers. The data show that 42% of the districts received a flexibility score of 12 or greater, …

Benchmarking Irrigation, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

A few performance indicators (e.g., “efficiency”) have been included in irrigation jargon for many decades. However, at the Rome meeting we will have a comprehensive discussion on irrigation benchmarking. It will be easy to fall into a discussion of definitions and specifics. Prior to that, it might be helpful to consider the following aspects that will help to set the stage for the details:

Grain Drill Calibration Procedures For Winter Wheat, S. A. Shearer, Samuel G. Mcneill, G. A. Watkins, Stephen F. Higgins

Agricultural Engineering Extension Publications

Intensive wheat management requires attention to details, from planting through harvest. Perhaps most critical is stand establishment. While no-tilling wheat into corn stubble presents a range of problems in depth control and residue management, these problems do not minimize the importance of calibration.

Just as no two drills are manufactured alike, seed rarely is produced in uniform size, nor do individual metering cups deliver the same seed quantities. A few hours of attention to calibration at the start of fall planting will help producers control seed costs and achieve more desirable, uniform stands and better yields.

Environmental Guidelines For New And Existing Piggeries, A Latto, John Noonan, R. J. Taylor

Bulletins 4000 -

These guidelines apply to the management of Western Australia piggeries in Western Australia, including intensive Growing pigs under intensive conditions where the and extensive operations, straw-based housing and animals spend their entire life cycle indoors, is an combinations of these (otherwise referred to as semi- important part of the Western Australian and intensive housing).

Soil Regeneration Apparatus And Method, Larry G. Wells, John Patrick Fulton

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Patents

An apparatus for regenerating compacted soil in reclaim surface mining lands is provided. The apparatus includes an auger rotatably mounted above and forward of the blade of an earthmover, such as a bulldozer. The auger is longer than the blade and is mounted such that it extends substantially beyond one side of the blade. Adjacent this extension, a controllable lateral baffle is mounted for selectively adjusting a transverse dimension of the blade. In operation, compacted soil is collected by the blade until it reaches the auger. The auger then decompacts, transversely displaces, and deposits the soil relative to the blade, …

Simulated Performance Of Conventional High-Temperature Drying, Dryeration, And Combination Drying Of Shelled Corn With Automatic Conditioning, Michael D. Montross, Dirk E. Maier

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Combination drying, based on computer simulation, was evaluated as an alternative drying technique to traditional high-temperature drying and dryeration. Simulation models of high-temperature crossflow drying and in-bin drying and conditioning were used to evaluate the performance of conventional crossflow drying and full-heat crossflow drying followed by dryeration or natural-air drying for Indianapolis, Indiana, and Des Moines, Iowa. Energy costs from propane, electricity, moisture shrink below the market moisture content, and dry matter loss were estimated to find the total average drying cost over 29 years. Dryeration and combination drying reduced the total drying cost by approximately 10% compared to conventional …

Problems Of Irrigation In Developing Countries: Discussion, Plusquellec Herve, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

No abstract provided.

Wind Powering America: Clean Energy For The 21st Century

United States Department of Energy: Publications

Since earliest recorded history, wind power has been used to move ships, grind grain, and pump water. Today, wind power is also being used to provide electricity to homes, schools, businesses, and entire communities. More than half the United States have wind resources that could support the development of utility scale wind power plants.

Geothermal Heat Pumps In K–12 Schools: A Case Study Of The Lincoln, Nebraska Schools, John A. Shonder, Michaela A. Martin, Patrick J. Hughes, Jeff Thornton

United States Department of Energy: Publications

Geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) have been shown to have a number of benefits over other technologies used to heat and cool buildings and provide hot water, combining high levels of occupant comfort with low operating and maintenance costs. Public facilities represent an increasingly important market for GHPs, and schools are a particularly good application, given the large land area that normally surrounds them. Nevertheless, some barriers remain to the increased use of GHPs in institutional and commercial applications. First, because GHPs are perceived as having higher installation costs than other space conditioning technologies, they are sometimes not considered as an …

Use Of The Generalized Integral Transform Method For Solving Equations Of Solute Transport In Porous Media, Chongxuan Liu, Jim E. Szecsody, John M. Zachara, William P. Ball

United States Department of Energy: Publications

The generalized integral transform technique (GITT) is applied to solve the one-dimensional advection-dispersion equation (ADE) in heterogeneous porous media coupled with either linear or nonlinear sorption and decay. When both sorption and decay are linear, analytical solutions are obtained using the GITT for one-dimensional ADEs with spatially and temporally variable flow and dispersion coefficient and arbitrary initial and boundary conditions. When either sorption or decay is nonlinear the solutions to ADEs with the GITT are hybrid analytical-numerical. In both linear and nonlinear cases, the forward and inverse integral transforms for the problems described in the paper are apparent and straightforward. …

Mineral Transformation Associated With The Microbial Reduction Of Magnetite, Hailiang Dong, James K. Fredrickson, David W. Kennedy, John M. Zachara, Ravi K. Kukkadapu, Tullis C. Onstott

United States Department of Energy: Publications

Although dissimilatory iron reducing bacteria (DIRB) are capable of reducing a number of metals in oxides and soluble forms, the factors controlling the raterextent of magnetite reduction and the nature of the mineral products resulting from magnetite reduction are not well understood. This study was carried out to investigate mechanisms and biogeochemical processes occurring during magnetite reduction by the DIRB, Shewanella putrefaciens strains CN32 and MR-1. Reduction experiments were performed with biogenic and synthetic magnetite in well-defined solutions. Biogenic magnetite was generated via microbial reduction of hydrous ferric oxide (HFO). Biogenic magnetite in solutions buffered with either bicarbonate (HCO_{3 …}

Reduction Of U(Vi) In Goethite (Α-Feooh) Suspensions By A Dissimilatory Metal-Reducing Bacterium, James K. Fredrickson, John M. Zachara, David Kennedy, Martine Duff, Yuri Gorby, Shu-Mei Li, Kenneth Krupka

United States Department of Energy: Publications

Dissimilatory metal-reducing bacteria (DMRB) can utilize Fe(III) associated with aqueous complexes or solid phases, such as oxide and oxyhydroxide minerals, as a terminal electron acceptor coupled to the oxidation of H₂ or organic substrates. These bacteria are also capable of reducing other metal ions including Mn(IV), Cr(VI), and U(VI), a process that has a pronounced effect on their solubility and overall geochemical behavior. In spite of considerable study on an individual basis, the biogeochemical behavior of multiple metals subject to microbial reduction is poorly understood. To probe these complex processes, the reduction of U(VI) by the subsurface bacterium, Shewanella …

Evaporation Reduction Potential In An Undisturbed Soil Irrigated With Surface Drip And Sand Tube Irrigation, Masoud Meshkat, Richard C. Warner, Stephen R. Workman

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The efficiency of drip irrigation is highly dependent on evaporation losses occurring from the constantly saturated soil beneath emitters. Advent of subsurface drip irrigation is in part an approach to curb this inefficiency. An irrigation method, Sand Tube Irrigation (STI), is proposed to increase the efficiency of “Normal” surface applied drip Irrigation (NI method) on permanent tree crops without the need for burying the irrigation tubing. The sand tube consists of removing a soil core beneath the emitter and filling the void with coarse sand. A weighing lysimeter was constructed in the laboratory and instrumented to directly measure temporal evaporation …

Determination Of Semivariogram Models To Krige Hourly And Daily Solar Irradiance In Western Nebraska*, G.G. Merino, D. Jones, David Stooksbury, Kenneth Hubbard

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

In this paper, linear and spherical semivariogram models were determined for use in kriging hourly and daily solar irradiation for every season of the year. The data used to generate the models were from 18 weather stations in western Nebraska. The models generated were tested using cross validation. The performance of the spherical and linear semivariogram models were compared with each other and also with the semivariogram models based on the best fit to the sample semivariogram of a particular day or hour. There were no significant differences in the performance of the three models. This result and the comparable …

The Effect Of Biogenic Fe(Ii) On The Stability And Sorption Of Co(Ii)Edta22 To Goethite And A Subsurface Sediment, John M. Zachara, Steven Smith, James K. Fredrickson

United States Department of Energy: Publications

Laboratory experiments were conducted with suspensions of goethite (α-FeOOH) and a subsurface sediment to assess the influence of bacterial iron reduction on the fate of Co(II)EDTA^2-, a representative metal-ligand complex of intermediate stability (log K_Co(II)EDTA = 17.97). The goethite was synthetic (ca. 55 m²/g) and the sediment was a Pleistocene age, Fe(III) oxide-containing material from the Atlantic coastal plain (Milford). Shewanella alga strain BrY, a dissimilatory iron reducing bacterium (DIRB), was used to promote Fe(III) oxide reduction. Sorption isotherms and pH adsorption edges were measured for Co²⁺, Fe²⁺, Co(II)EDTA^2-, …

Effect Of Sample Complexity On Quantification Of Analytes In Aqueous Samples By Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, Mark R. Riley, Mark A. Arnold, David W. Murhammer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

This study was undertaken to quantitate the impact of increasing sample complexity on near-infrared spectroscopic (NIRS) measurements of small molecules in aqueous solutions with varying numbers of components. Samples with 2, 6, or 10 varying components were investigated. Within the 10-component samples, three analytes were quantified with errors below 6% and seven of the analytes were quantified with errors below 10%. An increase in the number of varying components can substantially increase the error associated with measurement. A comparison of measurement errors across sample sets, as gauged by the standard error of prediction (SEP), reveals that an increase in the …

Fate And Behavior Of Lead In Soils Planted With Metal-Resistant Species (River Birch And Smallwing Sedge), S. P. Klassen, J. E. Mclean, P. R. Grossl, Ronald C. Sims

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Phytoremediation of metal-contaminated soils requires an understanding of the interactions between metal-tolerant plant species and soil chemical properties controlling the bioavailability of metals. We conducted controlled laboratory studies to investigate the effects that river birch (Betula occidentalis Hook.) and smallwing sedge (Carex microptera Mack.) had on the fate and behavior of Pb in a contaminated soil (3000 mg Pb/kg) and tailings (13 000 mg Pb/kg) collected from an abandoned mining site in Utah. Significant Pb accumulation in aboveground tissue was observed in smallwing sedge (≥1000 mg/kg dry wt.) in both the soil and tailings, but Pb was primarily excluded by …

Benchmarking Of Flexibility And Needs - 2000, Charles Burt, Andrew Mutziger, Darren Cordova

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

ITRC interviewed irrigation district personnel from 60 agricultural districts representing approximately 91% of the irrigated acreage within the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation’s (USBR) Mid-Pacific Region.

Data were analyzed to determine the degree of water delivery flexibility provided to farmers and the extent of existing and planned district modernization.

The interview process defined needs for direct technical assistance and training. These needs varied by district and area in California. The Irrigation Training and Research Center (ITRC) concluded that training programs should incorporate some common classes using the Water Delivery Facility and other resources located on campus at …

Actuators For Sluice Gates — Alternatives To Commercially Available Products, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Gate actuators provide a method of raising and lowering canal gates using electric motors instead of human power. ITRC has investigated four alternatives to commercially available actuators designed specifically for the operation of canal gates.