INTRODUCTION TO AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING UOM

1. B.TANDARAYEN
2/1/2017 1 Introduction to Agricultural Engineering
INTRODUCTION TO
AGRICULTURAL
ENGINEERING

2. Outline of presentation
Agricultural Engineering &
Agricultural engineers
Challenges
Agricultural operations
Agricultural machinery
Resources conservation
Agricultural structures



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Introduction to Agricultural Engineering
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3. Agricultural Engineering
The Level of mechanisation of agriculture
determines the development of
agriculture and the development of
human society
Undeveloped agriculture depends on
hand tools Farm activities labour intensive
It takes large team of farmers and field
hands to cultivate small area for farmers
to feed the people

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Introduction to Agricultural Engineering
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4. Agricultural engineering was recognized
as a discipline in 1907, with the
formation of ASAE which coincided with
rapid advancement of mechanisation
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AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING, CONT…

5. It is the application of engineering principles
to any process associated with producing
agriculturally based goods and management
of natural resources
It is concerned with the development of:
Labour saving farm machines, farm buildings,
irrigation and drainage systems
It include processes for preserving and
converting agricultural produce to useful Food,
Feed, and Fibre products

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WHAT IS AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING

6. Part Agriculture and Part Engineering – Mostly
tipping towards the latter
Agricultural Engineering is a Science on its own
The scope of Agricultural Engineering is wide and
varied
Covering:
1.Farm machinery and Power
2.Agricultural Processes and Agro Machinery
3.Soil and Water Conservation
4.Farm Irrigation, tube well pumping and drainage
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AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING

7. They are broadly and intensively trained professionals who
devise practical and efficient solutions for producing, storing,
transporting, processing and packaging agricultural produce
•More specifically they solve problems related to systems,
processes and machines
•They develop solutions for alternative use of agricultural
products, by-products, wastes and natural resources

•More importantly to ensure protection of people, animals and
the environment
It is good to note the interaction of the Mechanical, Civil,
Electrical and Agricultural Engineers
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AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERS

8. Increase in world population
Decrease in natural resources
Changes in climatic conditions
Increase in demand for quality products
People are in a hurry – more in short period of time
Decrease of agricultural land
Decrease in labour for agriculture
Need to devise means and ways for low cost
production and high quality produce
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CHALLENGES

9. 1.Monitor the implementation of new projects and introduction
of new technologies in the field of Agricultural Engineering;
2.Assess the design consideration of locally manufactured/
modified farm machinery and implements from prospective
manufacturers/ individuals;
3.Assist in the preparation of Tender Documents for the
Ministry and other Para-statal Bodies under the aegis of the
Ministry of Agro-Industry & Food Security;
4. Advise Ministries and Government Institutions on matters
related to Agricultural Engineering;
5.Assist in the formulation of Agricultural Engineering policies
and in framing of appropriate Engineering Legislation;
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ACTIVITIES OF AGRICULTURAL
ENGINEERS - MAURITIUS

10. 6.Ensure that repairs and maintenance of vehicles, agricultural
machineries and related equipment are carried out properly;

7.Supervise the repairs and maintenance of all civil works
undertaken by the Ministry;

8. Ensure the proper design of farm buildings and irrigation
network;

9. Trials with, and adaptations to, farm equipment and
agricultural support equipment so that they respond better to
local conditions;

10. Land preparation including ploughing and furrowing

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ACTIVITIES OF AGRICULTURAL
ENGINEERS - MAURITIUS

11. 11. Processing, analyzing and interpreting raw satellite images
depending upon the user needs;
12.Generating various thematic maps of natural resources.
13. Identifying potentials and problems of land, water and
socio-economic parameters.
14.Production of hard copy maps.
15. Generate action plans for:
Land use change analysis
Land capability and land irrigability analysis
Watershed/water resource development planning
National Agricultural Land Bank
16. Provision of training in the different trades and in
supervision
17. Industrial Training (Pre Reg, MITD etc.)
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CONT….

12. Agricultural power deals with tractors,
equipment and all forms of power in
agriculture.
Harvest and post harvest equipment
Power tiller, Sheller, Lawn mower, Leaf blower

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AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY/POWER

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POWER TILLER

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THRESHER

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SHELLER

16. Labour in Agriculture:

The basic skills in the selection and use of tools and
materials
The employee in agriculture (mechanics, welder,
masons, plumber, fitter etc) must be able to locate
and repair parts for agricultural tools, plant and
equipment
Today, the need for multi-skilled workforce is highly
being felt

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LABOUR

17. The operations on a farm can be classified as:
1. Tractive work such as land preparation, cultivation,
harvesting, and transportation
2. Stationary work: cutting feed, handling & storing,
grinding and lifting of irrigation water

Sources of power:
a. Human and animal
b. Human and machines
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AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS

18. A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to
deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for
the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in
agriculture or construction.
Most commonly, the term is used to describe a farm vehicle
that provides the power and traction to mechanise
agricultural tasks, especially (and originally) tillage, but
nowadays a great variety of tasks. Agricultural implements
may be towed behind or mounted on the tractor, and the
tractor may also provide a source of power if the implement is
mechanised.
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TRACTOR

19. PTO: Power Take-OFF
It is part of the tractor transmission system.
It is provided with a standard splined shaft at rear of the tractor
to operate the PTO operated machines like mowers and
harvesters
Tractor mounted hedge trimmer, below

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TRACTOR & PTO

20. 1.Tillage – Basic operation in farming . It is
done to create favourable conditions for
seed placement and plant growth
2.Ploughs
3.Harrows
4.Cultivators
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IMPLEMENTS/ATTACHEMENTS

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PLOUGH
The diagram shows the basic parts of
the modern plough:
1. beam
2. hitch or hake
3. vertical regulator
4. coulter (knife coulter pictured,
but disk coulter common)
5. chisel (foreshare)
6. share (mainshare)
7. mouldboard

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FOUR FURROW REVERSIBLE PLOUGH

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CULTIVATOR

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BALANCE PLOUGH

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DISK HARROW

26. This Includes the design and construction of:
Ditches
Terraces
Irrigation system
The control of erosion& The collection and
storage of rain water
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RESOURCES CONSERVATION PRACTICES

27. The artificial application of water to arid land
for growing crops.
The objective of the Engineer is to make water
available to the cultivators with respect of
location, time and quantity as per crop
requirements
The need for Investigation, Planning, design,
Construction, Operation and Maintenance of
pipe network, pump and distribution system

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IRRIGATION

28. System: Gravity, Lift & Infiltration
Method: Surface, subsurface, overhead, drip, suction, burried








Impact type sprinkler head









Canal irrigation





 S Sprayers and bubblers

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IRRIGATION SYSTEM & METHOD

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HUB OF A CENTRE PIVOT IRRIGATION
SYSTEM

30. Components:
1. Control Head
Pumping Unit – Lifts water form source and generate pressure in
pipe lines
Control Valves and pressure gauges- Regulates pressure and flow
control
Filtration units – Remove foreign material from water
Fertigation units – Inject soluble fertilisers along with irrigation
water
2. Pipe network
Main and sub-main units – Distribute water throughout the fields
Laterals – Distribute water to the crops and to emitting devices
3. Dripper devices : micro sprayers, drippers, perforated pipes –
Dissipate pressure and discharge water

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DESIGN CONSIDERATION OF A
PRESSURISED IRRIGATION METHOD

31. Total head (m)
Discharge (m
3
/Hr)
Water requirements m
3
Area of irrigation m
2
Irrigation time
Calculate losses:
I Operations loss
ii Filters loss
iii Pipes loss


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DESIGN CONSIDERATION

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DRIPS FOR PLANTS AND SHRUBS

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SPRINKLER FOR VEGETABLE GARDEN

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WATER CONNECTIONS

35. Only a small fraction of the rainfall falling in arid
and semi-arid areas percolates into deeper soil or
rock layers to recharge an aquifer. Another small
fraction is used for transpiration of vegetation or of
agricultural crops.
The majority of the precipitation evaporates from the
often bare soil or from surface depressions. To
increase agricultural production in the country, the
necessity to think about the utilisation of water
before it is “loss” to the sea.
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RAINWATER HARVESTING

36. Since time immemorable, farmers in dry areas of the
world collect surface runoff of precipitation, using
various types of “water harvesting”. Water harvesting
is here defined as the collection of surface runoff
mainly for agricultural and domestic purposes


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CONT….

37. The objectives of the study are to calculate the
design rate of rainfall and calculate roof run-off and
to size gutters and rainwater pipes from tables and
by calculation.
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PRELIMINARY DESIGN OF AN INVERTED
ROOF FOR WATER HARVESTING IN
AGRICULTURE

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TYPICAL SYSTEM

39. A rainwater harvesting system consists of three basic
elements: a collection area, a conveyance system,
and storage facilities. The collection area in most
cases is the roof of a house or a building. The
effective roof area and the material used in
constructing the roof influence the efficiency of
collection and the water quality.
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TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION

40. A conveyance system usually consists of gutters or
pipes that deliver rainwater falling on the rooftop to
cisterns or other storage vessels. Both drainpipes
and roof surfaces should be constructed of
chemically inert materials such as wood, plastic,
aluminum, or fiberglass, in order to avoid adverse
effects on water quality.
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SYSTEM DESCRIPTION

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INVERTED ROOF - MAURITIUS

42. The water ultimately is stored in a storage tank or
cistern, which should also be constructed of an inert
material. Reinforced concrete, fiberglass, or
stainless steel is suitable materials. Storage tanks
may be constructed as part of the building, or may
be built as a separate unit located some distance
away from the building. Figure below shows a
proposed schematic of a rooftop catchment system


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CONT….

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SCHEMATIC DRAWING

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COLLECTION SYSTEM

45. Agricultural structures deal with the facilities used in
agriculture:
Green house
Pens (animals)
Barns (tobacco)
Laboratory (Testing & certification)
Post harvest building
Storage building
The design, evaluation of offer, supervision of
construction of structures, together with drainage
system

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AGRICULTURAL STRUCTURES

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GREEN HOUSE - SHED

47. This shed is made from metal tubes and polycarbonate sheet.
The shed is used for tissue culture for plants.
It is fitted with:
1.Automatic opening and closing of the roof: depending on the
weather
2.Automatic curtain depending on the sunlight requirements
3.Automatic irrigation system – pump and timer for specific
time of the day
4. Automatic extractor fan – depending on the inside
temperature
The role of the engineer is to maintain this system in proper
condition
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HARDENING SHED

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AUTOMATIC ROOF AND CURTAIN

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CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT

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CONTROL PANEL

51. Storage means the phase of the post-harvest system
during which the products are kept in such a way as
to guarantee food security other than during periods
of agricultural production.
In order to attain these general objectives, it is
obviously necessary to adopt measures aimed at
preserving the quality and quantity of the stored
products over time.

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STORAGE

52. The main objectives of storage can be summed up as follows:
at the food level, to permit deferred use (on an
annual and multi-annual basis) of the agricultural
products harvested;
at the agricultural level, to ensure availability of
seeds for the crop cycles to come;
at the agro-industrial level, to guarantee regular and
continuous supplies of raw materials for processing
industries;
at the marketing level, to balance the supply and
demand of agricultural products, thereby stabilising
market prices.

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STORAGE: OBJECTIVES

53. To conserve the quality of products over long-term
storage, degradation processes must be slowed down
or even stopped.
Degradation of grains during storage depends
principally on a combination of three factors:
temperature,
moisture,
oxygen content.
During storage, as during other phases of the post-
harvest system, the combined effects of these three
factors can sometimes cause severe losses.
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ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

54. The Ministry of Agro-Industry & FS is the only producer
of vegetable and crop seeds in Mauritius. In order to
maintain their viability, the seeds are kept in a
controlled environment.
Seeds generally benefit from low temperature and low
humidity storage.
Normally the seeds are kept in cold room (positive) for
proper conservation.
Hence the need for the design of a refrigeration
system for the storage of seeds.
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DESIGN OF REFRIGERATION SYSTEM FOR
THE STORAGE OF SEEDS AT BES

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ROOMS TO BE REFRIGERATED

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SEEDS ON RACKS

57. This project deals with the design hypotheses and engineering
concepts adopted and applied for the design load calculation
for a refrigeration system.
The objective of the load calculation is to design an
appropriate system capable of maintaining a certain
temperature and humidity level and also to handle the load of
seeds for conservation.
The approach is based on the basic theories of psychometrics,
thermodynamics and heat transfer. The project was started
from the calculation, drafting of technical specifications,
launching of tender, evaluation and selection of the offer. The
equipment was installed and commissioned.

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THE DESIGN CALCULATION

58. The existing structure consists of four rooms dimension
8x6x3.3 m with storage capacity of 20 tons each and one
room of dimension 8x2x3.3 m with 7 tons capacity.

Inside temperature: 10 – 12
0
c

Relative humidity: 40-50%

Outside temperature: 28
0
c

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FACILITIES - STRUCTURE

59. The total load depends on both sensible and latent
heat gain from:
Product load (products to be stored – seeds)
Transmission load (gain in temperature from outside)
Infiltration load
Internal heat sources (equipment, lighting)
Heat from respiration (seeds)
Heat from people (during loading and unloading)

Results: The 20 tons capacity room required a refrigeration
load of 24 Kw, while the 7 tons capacity required a
refrigeration load of 14Kw
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REFRIGERATION LOAD

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REFRIGERATION PLANT

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STAND BY GENERATOR SET

62. With the recent construction of a new floor at the Engineering
Division. We need to install air conditioners for comfort use.
The space will be used partly for a training unit to
accommodate about 75 persons and partly for office for 5
persons.

First we need to size the appropriate air conditioning unit for
each space. We need to make a cooling load calculation to
reach the requirements in terms of cooling capacity.

There are several factors that need to be taken into
consideration, namely; heat gain from people, lighting,
equipment, transmission, amongst others
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COOLING LOAD CALCULATION FOR AIR
CONDITIONING OF NEW BUILDING ED

63. As an engineer we need to think of how w can get the work
done in a better way: Quality rather than Quantity, taking into
consideration the safety aspect of the work and very important,
is how we do not cause damage to the environment.

The need to provide training: on job training, conduct
theoretical training and calculations, seminars/talks amongst
others.

We need to keep our workforce up to date in their respective
trades.
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PROVISION OF TRAINING

64. From the above, we can have a broad idea of Agricultural
Engineering, specially the inter-relationship between
Mechanical Engineers and other Engineers to make the work
complete.
The importance of each related field have been highlighted
and all to contribute to the betterment of the country as a
whole.
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CONCLUSION

65. QUESTIONS?
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END OF PRESENTATION

66. Following the installation of a new incinerator plant at
the Quarantine Department, a chimney was to be fixed
on the incinerator and held by guy wires. The chimney
was a 5.4 m high, in two parts, bolted together
through flanged.

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DESIGN OF GUY WIRE TO SUPPORT THE
CHIMNEY OF AN INCINERATOR PLANT

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EGG COOLING ROOM

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FUMIGATION CHAMBER & EQUIPMENT

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END OF PRESENTATION