ENGINEERING FOR AGRICULTURE Dr G A Moore. Mathematics 618-100 or 618-190 First semester 48 hours of lectures and 24 hours of practical and practice classes. by the end of the course students should:

Comprehend

  • the physical characteristics and interaction of farm water supply systems including the concepts of pressure, flow, energy in pipe and open channel systems;
  • the relationship between force, energy and power in machine systems;
  • the basic concepts of heat and mass transfer, particularly as it applies to solar and terrestial raditation and evaporation;
  • the basic concepts of the behaviour of granular materials as they apply to product storage and traction.

Develop

  • skills in executing laboratory work on engineering systems;
  • skills in mathematical and graphical analysis of engineering systems;
  • an understanding of the relationship between the basic concepts outlined above and real machinery, water and farm building systems and the agricultural systems in which they are used;
  • skills in analysing the functional aspects of crop storage, traction, tillage, distribution and harvesting machinery systems;
  • an understanding of how electronic instrumentation and control systems work.

Appreciate

  • the relationship between engineering and agriculture;
  • emerging research directions in agricultural mechanisation.

Students will also have achieved the knowledge and skills necessary to study some advanced topics in the field of Environmental Engineering.

 Properties of agricultural materials : characteristics of soils, seeds, fertilisers and other granular materials. Systems of loading and failure; yield, friction, cohesion, shear strength. Mechanisation : mechanics of linear and angular systems; power transmission, application to agricultural machines and equipment; operation and functional performance of agricultural machines, including tractors, cultivation, distributing and harvesting equipment; principles of mechanisation. Principles of water control in irrigation, drainage and environment : basic concepts of fluid flow; flow measurement; pipe systems; flow in channels over surfaces and through soils; design of irrigation systems; channels, culverts and erosion structures; pumps. Farm structures and environment : components of energy balance of crops, animals and buildings; evapo-transpiration, frost control; light and heat control for animals and plants; principles of electronic control systems and their application to agriculture. Practical Work : A total of 24 hours of laboratory, field and assignment work over one semester. A 3-hour end-of-semester examination and practical class reports. Students must attain a satisfactory standard in practical work to pass the subject as a whole.