421-030 Engineering For Agriculture

Coordinator:

Prerequisite/s:

Timetable:

Contact:

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 terrestrial radiation 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: