Handbook 1996 : Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Horticulture (Volume 4 page 19)
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421-030 Engineering for Agriculture

Year 4 Agriculture.

Coordinator: Dr G A Moore.

Prerequisite: Mathematics 618-100 or 618-190

Contact: 48 hours of lectures and 24 hours of practical and practice classes.

Timetable: First semester

Objectives:

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.

Content:

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.

Assessment:

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.

Agriculture subject : Next:421-484 | Prev:212-406 | Search | Help
Handbook 1996 : Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Horticulture (Volume 4 page 19)

Status:          Official 1996
Date created:    Oct  9 1995
Last modified:   Oct  9 1995
Authorised by:   Academic Registrar
Email enquiries: Course_Information@registrar.unimelb.edu.au

Copyright © University of Melbourne 1995,1996.