2016-2017 SENIOR DESIGN CAPSTONE PROJECTS
Testing and Validation of Raven’s Direct Injection Pump System - Matthew Fritzke, Chandler Jansen
Sponsor:Raven Industries
The design team partnered with Raven Industries to improve the performance and accuracy of Raven’s direct injection pump system. Raven Industries is based in Sioux Falls, SD, and manufactures precision agriculture and flow control technologies. Fritzke and Jansen developed test procedures and corresponding test fixtures to measure actual flow produced by the injection pump under different operating scenarios. Their work sought to improve the accuracy of applying chemicals to fields and help reduce crop damage or increased weed survival.
Feedlot Design for a One-Thousand Head Cattle Operation - Christopher Waibel, Lindsay Wallace
Sponsor: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Waibel and Wallace assisted with improved design of a 1,000 head feedlot in Brule County, SD. They designed a new feedlot and containment system by the current feedlot to expand herd capacity to 2,000 heads. These must be designed within South Dakota Department Environment and Natural Resources (SD DENR) and NRCS criteria. Waibel and Wallace are gaining valuable experience from this real-life project and are getting first-hand exposure to alternative viewpoints, design concepts, and standards and regulations.
Netwrap and Twine Densification - Cody Myers, Colin LeBrun, Grant Bose
Sponsor: POET, LLC
WINNER OF THE 2017 JEROME J. LOHR COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING - ENGINEERING EXPO
The design team assisted with the development of a new process which densifies the netwrap/twine waste stream produced at the POET LIBERTY plant. The new process needed to accommodate year-round operating conditions, accept widely varying material properties, and produce a material stream capable of being pneumatically conveyed to their solid fuel boiler system. Myers and LeBrun helped to develop a less energy-intensive process which increases reliability and decreases cost associated with transporting and converting corn stover to biofuels. Making the process more affordable for POET will increase productivity and the amount of corn stover purchased from regional farmers.