Abstract: The current study aimed to use, besides solar, waste heat from exhaust gas of a diesel engine operated for milling of grain, to dry black nightshade seeds. Assessment of thin layer models for simulating drying kinetics of black nightshade seeds was performed in a solar-exhaust gas greenhouse dryer operated on solar; solar-exhaust gas; and exhaust gas modes. In solar mode, seeds took 11 hours to reach a final moisture content of 7.13% (db) from an initial one of 89.34% (db). In solar...
Abstract: In this study, the use of supplemental heat energy from exhaust gas of a stationary diesel engine was assessed to explore a new method of drying black nightshade seeds in a solar-exhaust gas greenhouse dryer. The energy recovery potential of a hybrid recuperative heat exchanger (HRHE) was demonstrated with the objective of utilizing the recovered energy from an engine on milling operations to heat a fluid stream of drying air. The results show that 4.45 kW of thermal energy was avai...
Early sprouting of yam tuber is a typical problem during storage resulting into weight losses, deterioration, shrinkage and reduction in quality. This study investigated the application of vibration technique to control sprouting in yam tubers during storage. A mechanical yam vibrator having adjustable frequencies and amplitudes was developed with vibrating chamber of capacity size of 670 × 570 × 180 mm3 which can contain four tubers of yam at a time. The physical properties (length, n...
The soybean cyst nematode (SCN), Heterodera glycines, is the most damaging pathogen of soybeans in the United States. To assess the severity of nematode infestations in the field, SCN egg population densities are determined. Cysts (dead females) of the nematode must be extracted from soil samples and then ground to extract the eggs within. Sucrose centrifugation commonly is used to separate debris from suspensions of extracted nematode eggs. We present a method using OptiPrep as a density gra...
We describe a microfluidic platform that can be used to study the hydroponic growth of Arabidopsis plants with high-resolution visualization of root development and root-pathogen interactions. The platform comprises a set of parallel microchannels with individual input/output ports, where 1-day old germinated seedlings are initially placed. Under optimal conditions, a root system grows in each microchannel and its images are recorded over a 198-h period. Different concentrations of plant g...
We describe a microfluidic platform that can be used to study the hydroponic growth of Arabidopsis plants with high-resolution visualization of root development and root-pathogen interactions. The platform comprises a set of parallel microchannels with individual input/output ports, where 1-day old germinated seedlings are initially placed. Under optimal conditions, a root system grows in each microchannel and its images are recorded over a 198-h period. Different concentrations of plant g...
In this study, two sets of experiments were conducted in order to investigate the impact of static magnetic fields on the growth and ethanol production of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The first experiment ran for 25 hours with a 2% dextrose loading rate, while the second ran for 30 hours with a 6% dextrose loading rate. The magnetic fields used were homogeneous and non-homogeneous, with strengths of 100 mT and 200 mT, respectively. The results showed that the homogenous magnetic field had no sig...
TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I 4.0 Data availability probletn in agricultural Engineering designs in Nigeria - - - - - - - - I 1.1 Significance of the project - - - - - - - - - 6 1.2 Statement of objectives - - - - - - - - - - - 7 CHAPTER TWO: LITFfiTURE REVIEW - - -- - - - - - - - - 8 Analysis of 2ainfuli Data - - - - - - - - - - - 8 Frequency Analysis - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 9 Probability Analysis - - - - - - - - - - - - - I1 Water Requirement ...
A variable amplitude and frequency of mechanical vibrating container working on cam and follower mechanism have been established. This study carried out a performance evaluation on the utilization of the established vibrating container for potential application in slowing down sprouting in yam. The vibrating container is electrically operated and a variable speed electric motor of 15, 000 rpm was selected for the machine. The performance parameters of the established mechanical vibrating cont...
ABSTRACT This study was carried out with objectives of developing a proper decision aid for irrigation indenting of multiple crop rotation based on Penman- Montieth equation( 1994) and amenable for the format of meteorological data of the Sudan. Consequently the study developed a mathematical simulation of canal operation for the purpose of optimization of water allocation within such a canal. Linear programming algorithm was made to optimize irrigation water allocation between different outl...
TABLE OF CONTENT i االية Dedication ii Acknowledgment iii Abbreviations iv Abstract vi viii الملخص Table of content x List of tables xiii List of figures xiv CHAPTER ONE 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Study scope 4 1.3 Problem descriptions 4 1.4 Study objectives 5 1.4.1 Main objective 5 1.4.2 Specific objectives 5 CHAPTERTWO 6 2.1 Introduction 6 2.2 Materials and method 9 2.2.1 Field preparation 9 2.2.2 Field Measurements 11 2.3Result and dissection 15 CHAPTER THREE 22 xi 3.1 Introductio...
TABLE OF CONTENTSCONTENTS PAGEDeclarationApprovalDedicationAcknowledgements ivTable of contents vList of tables viList of acronyms viiCHAPTER ONEINTRODUCTIONBackgroundProblem statementObjectives 3Research questions 4Limitations of the study 4VCHAPTER TWOLiterature review 5Soil degradationCauses of soil degradation 5Nutrient depletion sSoil erosion 7Overgrazing 7Poor agricultural practices 8Population pressure 9Effects of soil degradation 9On-site Effects 10Off-site Effects 11CHAPTER THREEMATE...
At a high frequency of vibration; the cam of a vibrator always encounters the issue of jamming or the follower rolling off or losing contact with the cam when the appropriate design is not carried out. This study, therefore, developed the shape of the cam profile of mechanical yam vibrator using cycloid motion. Displacement equations from the base circle to the cam profile were developed to obtain the shape of the cam using cycloid motion. A vibrometer was used to evaluate the developed...
Agriculture, its operations, and soils properties are inter-related. Cultivation of crops; tillage, irrigation and farm operations, commuting to and from farm plot and building of structures are greatly influenced by the soil specifically its properties. Shear stress, cohesion and angle of friction are parameters that play major roles in influencing how soils are used or worked on. It is, therefore, important to determine the shear stress, cohesion and angle of friction of the soils in Kade a...
In the world today, due to the high cost of running a tractor on a farm, there has been many research to see ways of minimizing this cost. Some of these cost come from the tire of the tractor, amount of fuel needed to run the vehicle smoothly, buying spare parts of the tractor and ensuring safety of the tractor. This thesis seeks to find the effect that tire pressures of vehicles have on the fuel consumption and the various ways of reducing this effect if there are any. An experiment was cond...