LECTURER: Mr J Maswaure
Office DL15 Ext 1408
Office Hours by appointment
LECTURES:
Monday (11 - 12)
Wednesday (9 - 10)
LABS/VISITS: Wednesday (alternate weeks)
TEXT:
Farm power and machinery Management by D. Hunt
Principles of Farm Machinery by Kepner et al.
A list of journals will be provided for each topic
covered.
ASSESSMENT:
End of semester test
10%
Labs/assignments/visits
10%
Term paper
10%
Final examination
70%
Total
100%
VISITS: Submit a 1-2 page written report on the technical aspects of the visit, a week after the visit.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
1. To provide an understanding of the principles behind the design and operation of common types of farm machinery and mechanisms.
2. To teach students financial costing and accounting of agricultural machinery.
3. Analyses the factors that comprise farm machinery
management and explain the functions of various machines and mechanisms
as they
affect economic operating and indicate some approaches
for effecting management decisions.
4. To familiaze students with Agricultural Mechanisation
policy and strategy and its implications on agricultural development.
RECOMMENDED TEXT BOOKS:
1. Farm Power and Machinery Management by D. Hunt.
2. Agricultural Mechanisation and the Evolution of Farming System in Sub-Saharan Africa by Pingali
3. Principles of Farm Machinery by Kepner et. al.
4. Farm Machinery and Equipment by Smith and Wilices.
5. Tractors and Their Power Units by Liljedahl et.a).
6. Agricultural Power and Machinery by Jacobs and Harrel.
7. Farm Machinery by C. Culpin.
8. Introduction to Agricultural Engineering by both Roth et. a1.
Students are encouraged to own at least one of the text-books listed in the, top 3, and efforts have been made by the Campus Bookstore to stock some of them.
SUPPLEMENTARY READING MATERIALS:
1. Journal of Agricultural Engineering
2. Transactions of the ASAE
3. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research
4. Power Farming Magazine
5. Handbook of engineering in Agriculture by R.H. Brown.
6. Handbook of Energy for World Agriculture by 8.A Stout
7. Renewable Energy Resources by Twidell and Weir
8. Agricultural Compendium for Rural Development in Tropics
and
Subtropics-Elsevier
9. Progress in Agricultural Physics and Engineering by J. Matthews
10. Proceedings of a Workshop on Animal Draught Power and Tractor Use in the Small-scale Farming Sectors of Zimbabwe: Strategy Formulation to Reduce Draught Power Shortage. 1AE/GTZ/FTC.
11. Small four-wheeled Tractors for the Tropics and Subtropics by R. Holtkamp.
12. Catalogue Tractors by R. Holtkamp.
13. Soil Tillage in the Tropics and Subtropics by Krause et. al.
14. Animal Powered Systems by P. Lowe.
15. Agricultural Engineering in Development: Mechanization Strategy Formulation - FAO Bulletin 99.
16. Agricultural Engineering in Development: The Organization and Management of Replacement Parts for Agricultural Machinery. Vol. 1 and 2 - FAO Bulietin 72.
17. Agricultural Engineering in Development: Agricultural Tyres - DAO I3ullct.i.n 104.
18. Agricultural Engineering in Development: Guidelines for Mechanization Systems and Machinery Rehabilitation Programs – FAO Bulletin 85.
19. Technical Discussion on Agricultural Machinery Rehabilitation Programs: Proceedings (Harare) - FAO
20. Multi-Farm Use of Agricultural Machinery FAO Bulletin 17.
21. RNAM Newsletter
22. Journal of Zimbabwe Institution of Engineers
23. Spore Magazine
24. Energy Savings in Agricultural Machinery and Mechanization by Pellizzi et.al.
A11 these publications are either available in the Departmental Resource-Room or from myself up request.
COURSE PROGRAMME
Topics to be considered
1. Introduction
Course administration
and objectives
Definition
of terms in agricultural mechanization
2. Implement types, Machinery
capacity and performance
Trailed, mounted,
semi-mounted and self propelled
Machine capacity
Machine performance
(efficiency)
Systems capacity
- Field and material
3. Tillage
Tillage objectives
Primary tillage
Secondary
tillage
Minimum tillage
Implement
types, design and operation
Implement
hitches
4. Crop planting, Fertilization and
spraying
Objectives
Equipment types,
design and operation
Calibration and
safety aspects.
5. Crop Harvesting
Objectives
The combine harvester-types,
design and operation
Combine Harvesting
losses and loss determination
Systems concepts
in harvesting
6. Functional analysis of agricultural
machines-methods
Mechanics principles
Vibratory motion
Dimensional analysis
-- Buckingham pi theorem
7. Mechanization of post harvesting operations
8. Economic considerations
Machinery costing
and selection
Factors affecting
machinery costs
Methods of determining
depreciation
9. Other Mechanization consideration
Other Menus:
Agriculture
Economics
Animal
Science
Crop
Sciences
Soil
Sciences