Course No: RDC581, Course Title: AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING

Class: B.Tech, Status of Course: Core Course, Approved since session: 2013-14
Total Credits:2.5, Periods (55 mts. each)/week:3(L:2+T:1+P:0+S:0),
Min.pds./sem:39

UNIT 1: AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS

Primary and secondary tillage implements. Crop planting and seeding implements.
Harvesting equipment. Combines. Special purpose machines like cotton pickers etc.

UNIT 2: FARM POWER & MECHANICS OF FARM TRACTORS

Tractor types. Functions of a farm tractor. Human engineering in tractor design.
Traction. Various terms. Traction model. Tread design. Effect of lug and spacing.
Radial ply construction. Mechanics of tractor chasis; Equation of motion,
Assumptions, Force analysis. Hitches and drawbar.

UNIT 3
Grain Storage Structure; Shallow and deep bin, Jensen’s and Lacey’s theory of
lateral pressure in bins.
Post Harvest Engineering: Properties of grain. Theory of grain drying. Methods of
grain drying. Effect of different factors in drying process. Deep bed drying.

UNIT 4: DAIRY ENGINEERING

Milk-its properties. Various processes of milk preservation, viz. Pasteurisation and
homogenization of milk.

UNIT 5: IRRIGATION ENGINEERING

Concept of infiltration, soil-water-plant relationship, Irrigation Methods, irrigation
efficiencies. Border Irrigation. Lacey and Kennedy theory of Irrigation-Channel
design. Sprinkler and drip irrigation systems.

Suggested readings:
Michael & Ojha: AGRICULTURAL ENGINERING I & II Smith: FARM MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT
Chakraborty & DS De: PHT OF CEREALS AND PULSES BL John et. al.: TRACTORS AND THEIR POWER UNITS
 DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING, D.E.I.
Course Code: RDC581
Course Title: AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING

QUESTION BANK SESSION: 2017-18

UNIT-1: AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS

1. What is tillage? Discuss primary and secondary tillage managements.
2. List primary and secondary tillage equipment? Discuss construction and working of any of them with
neat sketches.
3. What do you understand by Mould Board (M.B.) Plough? What are the forces that can act on a plough?
4. What are the factors that affect draft of an M.B. Plough? Discuss them.
5. Discuss various uses of disc harrows? Describe a disc harrow giving neat sketches?
6. Explain various design and structural features of trailing single action, double action and offset disc
harrow?
7. Explain the following:
a) Drilling b) Hill dropping c) Broadcasting.
8. Explain construction and working of a seed-cum ferti drill. How will you calibrate it?
9. Explain construction and working of a combine harvester? What are the various losses in a combine
harvester?
10. Discuss the need of a special purpose machine in agricultural implements. Explain the working of a
cotton picker machine.

UNIT-2: FARM POWER & MECHANICS OF FARM TRACTORS

1. Trace the development of the farm tractor as a means of power on the farm.
2. List and discuss at least eight important factors that establish the complexity of the tractor chassis
mechanics.
3. Explain any four of the following traction performance parameters: traction, tractive efficiency, net
traction coefficient, motion resistance ratio, travel reduction, slip, rolling radius.
4. What do you mean by rolling resistance? Derive an expression for rolling resistance for a hard wheel
rolling over a soft surface.
5. How does weight affect drawbar pull and travel reduction? What are the effects of the inflation on
traction?
6. What do you understand by the ergonomic factors? How do they affect tractor design? What
considerations must be given in order to have a tractor with safer and better ergonomic design?
7. Discuss stability of a tractor chassis while:
a) moving in a straight line, and b) climbing uphill.
What is weight transfer phenomenon? Give assumptions.
8. What do you understand by cost of use of tractor? What tractors govern the estimation of
the cost of use? How will you evaluate it?

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 9. Define:
a) Theoretical field capacity, c) Field efficiency,
b) Effective field capacity, d) Machine efficiency.
10. What do you mean by depreciation? How will you calculate it for a machine? Discuss.

UNIT-3: POST-HARVEST ENGINEERING AND GRAIN STORAGE STRUCTURES

1. What is EMC? Discuss drying principle in the context of grains.
2. What are the various physical and chemical properties of grains? Determine the value of c and n from
Henderson’s Equation for the following data obtained from thin layer drying studies:
a) = 30%, = 50° , = 10.5%, b) = 55%, = 50° , = 15.5%.
[Ans.: = 2.06999; = 8.7 × 10 ]
3. Discuss direct and indirect methods of moisture measurement for grain drying.
4. Two tonnes of paddy with 22% moisture content on wet basis is to be dried to 13% moisture content
on dry basis. Calculate weight of bone dry products and water evaporated. [Ans.: 1560 ; 237.2 ]
5. Determine the quantity of parboiled paddy with 40% moisture content on wet basis required to produce
with 12% moisture content on wet basis about one tonne of paddy. Work out the problem on wet basis.
[Ans.: 1.467 ]
6. How many methods of grain drying do you know? Explain.
7. What do you know about thin layer drying of grains? Explain.
8. With a neat sketch, explain deep-bed drying of grains. What are the general observations in regard to
deep-bed drying?
9. What is the condition of grain storage bin to be shallow or deep? Derive an expression to determine
lateral pressure in a deep bin using Jensen’s Theory.
10. Find lateral pressure of a shallow bin using Airy’s Theory.

UNIT-4: DAIRY ENGINEERING

1. Discuss the detailed composition of milk. Also mention its important physical properties.
2. What do you mean by pasteurization? Discuss the need of pasteurization in Indian context.
3. How many types of pasteurization methods do you know? Explain each one of them.
4. Define homogenization. Discuss various factors influencing homogenization.
5. With a neat sketch, discuss the process of homogenization of milk in a dairy plant.
6. Define sterilization of milk. Discuss advantages and disadvantages of sterilized milk.
7. How will you sterilize milk in a dairy plant?
8. What are the flavour defects in milk? What are their causes and how shall you prevent them?

UNIT-5: IRRIGATION ENGINEERING

1. What are the important soil properties influencing irrigation? Explain in detail.
2. Define mechanical composition of soils. What are the three most important types of clay minerals?
3. Differentiate between soil structure and soil profile. Also, distinguish the specific characteristics of A,
B, and C horizons in a soil profile.

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4. What are the different kinds of soil water? What do you mean by soil-moisture tension? Explain.
5. What do you understand by the term infiltration? Discuss the factors affecting infiltration rate.
6. Distinguish between:
a) Gravitational potential and pressure potential
b) Matric potential and osmotic potential
c) Percolation, Infiltration and Seepage
7. Broadly classify the surface irrigation methods.
8. Describe border-strip method of irrigation.
9. Discuss adaptability and limitations of sprinkler irrigation system. What are the various design
requirements for the frost protection, cooling erosion control and chemical applications?
10. Write short notes on the following:
a) Sprinkler jet-breakup b) Drop-size distribution c) Uniformity coefficient
11. Discuss various design requirements of a sprinkler irrigation system.
12. Determine the size of a sprinklers and lateral capacity for the sprinkler system layout with the
following data: = 30 , = 1.25 /ℎ , = 15 m, = 20 , no. of sprinklers = 10.
Approximate length of the main is 60 . = 0.95. [Ans.: = 0.75 ; 10.4 / ]
13. A sprinkler irrigation system is to be designed to apply water at the rate of 1.25 /ℎ . Two 186
long sprinkler lines are required. Sixteen sprinklers are spaced at 12 intervals on each line. Spacing
between lines is 18 .
a) Determine the required capacity of a sprinkler system.
b) Allowing one hour for moving each 186 sprinkler line, how many hours would be required
to apply a 5 irrigation to a square-shaped 16 ℎ field? How many days are required
assuming 10 ℎ . days? [Ans.: 24 / ; 110 ℎ ; 11 ]
14. Determine the system capacity for a sprinkler irrigation system to irrigate 16 ℎ of maize crop.
Designed moisture use rate is 5 / . Moisture replaced in soil in each irrigation is 6 .
Irrigation efficiency is 70 %. Irrigation period is 10 in a 12 interval. The system is to be
operated for 20 ℎ / . [Ans.: 19 / ]
15. Discuss development and scope of drip irrigation system. What are the various system components?
Discuss merits and demerits of drip irrigation system.
16. What are the various irrigation efficiencies? Explain in detail.
17. Describe Kennedy’s theory. Explain the procedure of designing a channel using Kennedy’s theory.
18. Explain Lacey’s theory. Describe the method of designing a channel based on Lacey’s theory.
19. Compare critically Lacey and Kennedy theories. Why is Lacey’s conception superior to that of
Kennedy’s?
20. Design an irrigation channel to carry 50 of discharge. The channel is laid at a slope of
1 4000. The for the soil is 1.1. The side slope is 0.5 : 1 . Use Kutter’s rugosity coefficient as
0.023. [Ans.: = 14.8598 , = 2.7 ]
21. Design a channel section for the following data using Kennedy’s theory: = 14 , Kutter’s
= 0.0225, Critical velocity ratio= 1, Side slope= ½: 1 and Bed slope is 1 5000.
[Ans.: = 1.7 ]
22. Design an irrigation channel, using Kennedy’s theory, to carry 40 of discharge with /
(Bottom width-to-depth of flow) ratio as 2.5. The is unity. Kutter’s rugosity coefficient is given as
0.023. Find bed slope as well. [Ans.: = 8.3625 , = 3.345 , = 1 3682]
23. Design a regime channel for a discharge of 50 and silt factor 1.1, using Lacey’s theory. The
side slope of the channel is 0.5 : 1 . [Ans.: = 29.344 , = 1 5469]

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