ACADEMIC PROGRAMMES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL AND BIOSYSTEM ENGINEERING
Click here to see the undergraduate programme details.
Agricultural and Biosystem Engineering at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike (MOUAU) operates unique academic programmes which are carefully planned to meet the manpower requirements for agricultural revolution in the country. The program integrates fundamental research in Agricultural machines and implements, soil and water resources conservation, efficient structures for farm animals and farm products, processing of biological materials, rural electrification and alternative energy sources for innovative applications in agricultural production, and value addition to biological systems. Our programs emphasize solving complex problems in agriculture and allied industries through engineering principles and sustainable practices, leveraging the application of AI, automation, machine learning, block chain technology etc, as digital tools to solve Engineering problems in agriculture. Our undergraduate students engage in cutting edge and multidisciplinary research within the nexus of agricultural production, processing and preservation exploring sustainable solutions for food security and rural development. Apart from our direct links to most of the other engineering variables and physical sciences our work in farm machinery, irrigation systems, farm structures and crop processing with robust connections to agronomy, soil and environmental sciences, positions our graduates at the forefront of agro-industrial innovation and revolution. With an experience research and academic team supported with dedicated technologists and craft men our students have built capacity to develop, analyze, simulate and predict the operational ecosystems of agro-machines, implements, equipment, structure and processes. These capacities have prepared them for diverse roles spanning from agricultural value chain, research and industry participation to academia.
To be eligible for admission to the PG programme of the department, candidate must have the basic UME requirements. English language, Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics at credit level are compulsory for Civil Engineering postgraduate students, Plus one other relevant subject at credit level specific to engineering.
Postgraduate Diploma (PGD)
To be eligible for admission to the PGD programme, candidate must be holder of pass or third class Honours first degree in a relevant discipline from any recognized University or holders of Higher National Diploma (HND) at the Upper credit level in a relevant discipline. For unclassified HND certificates, a CGPA of 3.50 (5.00 point scale) and 3.00 (4-point scale) or 60% shall be taken as equivalent.
Masters Degree(M.ENG)
To be eligible for admission to the master’s of Engineering degree programme, candidates must:
iii. Possess HND with at least lower credit (3.50) plus at least an upper credit at postgraduate diploma (3.50) in a relevant field from a recognized institution or
Doctor of philosophy Degree (Ph.D)
To be eligible for admission to the Doctorate of Philosophy degree programme, a candidate shall have obtained a master’s degree which includes course work and research from this University or any other recognized University by Senate in relevant discipline with CGPA of 3.50 on 5.00 point scale or 3.00 on 4.00 point scale or 60%
MASTER OF ENGINEERING IN FARM POWER AND MACHINERY
| FIRST SEMESTER | |||||
| Course Code | Course Title | Units | Status | LH | PH |
| ABE 800 | Thesis | 6 | C | 90 | 180 |
| ABE 811 | Agric. Engineering Seminar | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| ABE812 | Advance Statistical Methods | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| ABE 813 | Instrumentation and Measurements in Engineering Systems | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| ABE 815 | Special problem in agricultural engineering | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| APM 811 | Advanced Soil Mechanics and Soil cultivation | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| APM 812 | Principles and Application of Ergonomics | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| APM 813 | Advanced Farm Power and machinery Management | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| Total | 22 | 330 | |||
| SECOND SEMESTER | |||||
| Course Title | |||||
| Course Code | Course Title | Units | Status | LH | PH |
| ABE 821 | Experimental Design | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| ABE 822 | Environmental Impact Analysis | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| ABE 823 | Numerical Analysis | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| APM 821 | Traction and Trafficability of Farm | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| APM 822 | Advanced farm Equipment Design and Evaluation | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| APM 823 | Harvesting Machinery | 3 | E | 45 | – |
| Total | 15 | 225 | |||
E = electives (1); C = core
Ph.D Degree Programmes Farm Power and Machinery
| FIRST SEMESTER | |||||
| Course Code | Course Title | Units | Status | LH | PH |
| ABE 900 | Ph.D Dissertation | 12 | C | – | 240 |
| ABE 911 | Special Problems in Agric. Engineering | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| ABE 912 | Computer Modeling of Agricultural Systems | 3 | C | 30 | – |
| ABE 913 | Agricultural Engineering Seminar | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| APM 911 | Tractors and Other Farm Power systems | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| APM 912 | Tillage Mechanics & Machinery | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| Total | 22 | 135 | 240 | ||
|
SECOND SEMESTER |
|||||
| Course Title | |||||
| ABE 922 | Experimental Design | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| ABE 921 | Environmental Impact Analysis | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| ABE 923 | Agricultural Engineering Seminar | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| APM 921 | Earth Moving machines and Machinery | 2 | C | 20 | – |
| APM 922 | Planting and Fertilizer Application machinery | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| Total | 8 | 120 | |||
MASTER OF ENGINEERING IN SOIL AND WATER ENGINEERING OPTION
| FIRST SEMESTER | |||||
| Course Code | Course Title | Units | Status | LH | PH |
| ABE 800 | Thesis | 6 | C | 90 | 180 |
| ABE 811 | Agric. Engineering Seminar | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| ABE812 | Advance Statistical Methods | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| ABE 813 | Instrumentation and Measurements in Engineering Systems | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| ABE 815 | Special problem in agricultural engineering | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| SAE 811 | Soil and water Conservation | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| SAE 812 | Advanced groundwater Hydrology | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| SAE 813 | Agricultural Land Drainage | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| Total | 21 | 315 | |||
| SECOND SEMESTER | |||||
| Course Title | |||||
| Course Code | Course Title | Units | Status | LH | PH |
| ABE 821 | Experimental Design | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| ABE 822 | Environmental Impact Analysis | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| ABE 823 | Numerical Analysis | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| SAE 821 | Open Channel Hydraulics | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| SAE 822 | Irrigation Systems Development | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| SAE 823 | Advanced Surface water Hydrology | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| SAE 824 | Advanced Soil Water And Plant Relationship | 3 | E | 45 | |
| SAE 825 | Dam Design and Reservoir Operations | 3 | E | 45 | |
| Total | 20 | 300 | |||
E = electives (2); C = core
PhD Degree Programme in Soil and Water Engineering Option
| FIRST SEMESTER | |||||
| Course Code | Course Title | Units | Status | LH | PH |
| ABE 900 | Ph.D Dissertation | 12 | C | – | 240 |
| ABE 911 | Special Problems in Agric. Engineering | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| ABE 912 | Computer Modeling of Agricultural Systems | 3 | C | 30 | – |
| ABE 913 | Agricultural Engineering Seminar | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| SAE 911 | Sediment Transport Hydraulics and Earthen Channel design | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| SAE 912 | Applied Hydrology | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| Total | 22 | 135 | |||
|
SECOND SEMESTER |
|||||
| Course Code | Course Title | Units | Status | LH | PH |
| ABE 922 | Experimental Design | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| ABE 921 | Environmental Impact Analysis | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| ABE 923 | Agricultural Engineering Seminar | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| SAE 921 | Water Resources development for Agric. Purposes | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| SAE 922 | Advanced soil Physics | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| Total | 8 | 120 | – | ||
MASTER OF ENGINEERING IN Agricultural Products, Processing, and Storage
| FIRST SEMESTER | |||||
| Course Code | Course Title | Units | Status | LH | PH |
| ABE 800 | Thesis | 6 | C | 90 | 180 |
| ABE 811 | Agric. Engineering Seminar | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| ABE812 | Advance Statistical Methods | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| ABE 813 | Instrumentation and Measurements in Engineering Systems | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| ABE 815 | Special problem in agricultural engineering | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| BFE 811 | Advance heat and mass transfer | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| BFE 812 | Agricultural Processing Unit Operations | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| BFE 813 | Design of Storage structures | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| Total | 21 | 315 | |||
| SECOND SEMESTER | |||||
| Course Title | |||||
| Course Code | Course Title | Units | Status | LH | PH |
| ABE 821 | Experimental Design | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| ABE 822 | Environmental Impact Analysis | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| ABE 823 | Numerical Analysis | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| BFE821 | Crop drying Systems/ theory of grain drying | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| BFE 822 | Theory and techniques of Farm products Storage/Advance storage | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| BFE 823 | Agricultural Materials handling System | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| BFE 824 | Analysis And Selection of Agricultural Processing Equipment | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| BFE 825 | Metrology in engineering Properties of Biomaterials | 2 | E | 30 | |
| BFE 824 | Entrepreneurial Skills and Management | 2 | E | 30 | |
| Total | 20 | 300 | |||
E = electives (2); C = core
PhD Degree Programme in Agricultural Products, Processing, and Storage
| FIRST SEMESTER | |||||
| Course Code | Course Title | Units | Status | LH | PH |
| ABE 900 | Ph.D Dissertation | 12 | C | – | 240 |
| ABE 911 | Special Problems in Agric. Engineering | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| ABE 912 | Computer Modeling of Agricultural Systems | 3 | C | 30 | – |
| ABE 913 | Agricultural Engineering Seminar | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| BFE 911 | Industrial Food Processing and Storage | 2 | C | 30 | |
| BFE 912 | Experimental Stress Analysis | 2 | C | 30 | |
| Total | 22 | 135 | |||
|
SECOND SEMESTER |
|||||
| Course Code | Course Title | Units | Status | LH | PH |
| ABE 922 | Experimental Design | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| ABE 921 | Environmental Impact Analysis | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| ABE 923 | Agricultural Engineering Seminar | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| BFE 921 | Design of storage Structures | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| BFE 922 | Bio-Process Engineering | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| Total | 8 | 120 | – | ||
MASTER OF ENGINEERING IN Farm Structures and Environmental Control
| FIRST SEMESTER | |||||
| Course Code | Course Title | Units | Status | LH | PH |
| ABE 800 | Thesis | 6 | C | 90 | 180 |
| ABE 811 | Agric. Engineering Seminar | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| ABE812 | Advance Statistical Methods | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| ABE 813 | Instrumentation and Measurements in Engineering Systems | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| ABE 815 | Special problem in agricultural engineering | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| FSE 811 | Farm Estate Planning and design | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| FSE 812 | Solar Energy Utilization in agricultural | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| FSE 813 | Environmental control in Farm Building and structures | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| Total | 22 | 330 | |||
|
SECOND SEMESTER |
|||||
| Course Code | Course Title | Units | Status | LH | PH |
| ABE 821 | Experimental Design | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| ABE 822 | Environmental Impact Analysis | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| ABE 823 | Numerical Analysis | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| FSE 821 | Structural Analysis and design of Farm Buildings | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| FSE 822 | Agricultural Waste Treatment and System Design | 3 | C | 45 | – |
| 12 | 180 | ||||
PhD Degree Programme in Farm Structures and Environmental Control
| FIRST SEMESTER | |||||
| Course Code | Course Title | Units | Status | LH | PH |
| ABE 900 | Ph.D Dissertation | 12 | C | – | 240 |
| ABE 911 | Special Problems in Agric. Engineering | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| ABE 912 | Computer Modeling of Agricultural Systems | 3 | C | 30 | – |
| ABE 913 | Agricultural Engineering Seminar | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| FSE911 | Building Science | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| FSE 912 | Environmental Health Engineering | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| FSE 913 | Stability of Structures | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| Total | 22 | 135 | 240 | ||
|
SECOND SEMESTER |
|||||
| Course Title | |||||
| Course Code | Course Title | Units | Status | LH | PH |
| ABE 922 | Experimental Design | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| ABE 921 | Environmental Impact Analysis | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| ABE 923 | Agricultural Engineering Seminar | 1 | C | 15 | – |
| FSE 921 | Metrology in Engineering Properties of Bio-materials | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| FSE 922 | Computational Methods | 2 | C | 30 | – |
| Total | 8 | 12 | |||
COURSE SYNOPSIS
ABE 821: Experimental design (3 credit units)
Statistical Concepts; measure of central tendencies and dispersion; tests of significance; correlation and regression; statistical quality control; principles of experimental designs; Experimental layout; analysis of data and interpretation of results commonly used; designs: completely randomized complete block, factorial experiment, split plot, strip plot. Probability as a function of sample space, laws of probability, conditional probability; Baye’s rule. Random variables. Mathematical expectation. Computation of mean and variance of common probability ,
Mass functions using the methods of expectation and methods of probability distributions of discrete and continuous random variables. Chebyshebis inequality, bivariate, marginal and conditional distributions and moments.
APM 811: Advanced Soil Mechanics and Soil Cultivation (3 credit units)
The place of cultivations in agriculture, soil physical conditions required for optimum plant growth, soil and water conservation and efficient mechanization; role of cultivations in providing these conditions and the basic cultivation operations required. Soil strength parameters: nature of cohesion, adhesion and friction clod and bulk shear strength, interface, sliding resistance. Change in strength with changes in soil consistence. Critical state concept with changes in soil consistence. Soil conditions under basic cultivation operations can be performed. Soil failure: Mohr-coulomb failure critical; soil failure by wide narrow and very narrow timer, effect of rake angle and curvature on failure patterns and direction and magnitude of forces, estimation of forces on times factors affecting and methods of reducing draught, theory and nature of scouring. Implement design: application of soil mechanics principles to implement design for basic cultivation operation, role of current equipment in satisfying design requirements. Implement selection: Selection of equipment for minimum cultivation operations required.
ABE 823: Numerical Analysis (3 credit units)
Accuracy in numerical calculations, errors, significant figures, calculation of sine, cosine, and exponential series by Taylor’s expansion. Interpolation; Newton’s forward, backward and central difference formulae. Numerical differentiation and integration; Trapezoidal and Simpson rules, automatic selection of interval size, Newton cotes formulae. Solutions of algebraic and transcendental equations; graphical, bisection interaction. Newton, Raphson solution of simultaneous equations (Gauss and Guass-siedel); Eingen values and Eingen vectors; Numerical solution of ordinary differential equations. Methods of Euler, picard, Taylor’s and runge-Kuta Predictor-corrector. Method for solving ordinary differential equations, Introduction to partial differentiation.
ABE 811: Agricultural Engineering Seminars (2 credit units)
Agricultural Engineering seminar reports on research/special topic/development in Agricultural Engineering, written and presented as a seminar to staff and students of the Department. Training in technical report writing.
ABE 812: Advance statistical method for engineers (3 credit units)
Overview of statistics-definition , importance and scientific methods; statistical data and their collections, sampling and sampling distribution; statistical inferences; measures of central tendencies, measure of dispersion and variability; comparing treatments, regression analysis, correlation and covariance analysis, analysis of time series, probability, binomial, poisson, hypergeometric, beta distribution, probability density functions, introduction to spectral analysis, cumulative distribution function, introduction to statistical software packages useful in engineering.
ABE 813: Instrumentation and Measurements in Engineering Systems (2 credit units)
Motion, force, torque, and shaft power, pressure and sound flux; humidity measurement; application of primary sensing element; data manipulation, computing and compensating devices; data transmission and recording.
APM 822: Advanced Farm Equipment Design and Evaluation (2 credit units)
General approach to problem formulation and solution; Farm machine systems and design of machine elements; synthesis of unit; reliability criteria; research reviews on design and analysis of farm equipment, test type and evaluation; integrated system approach to machinery evaluation.
APM 821: Tractor and Trafficability on Farm (2 credit units)
Tractor transport mechanisms; evaluation of soil values relate to traction; soil-vehicle modes and prediction of traction performance; compaction due to machine traffic; design of traction and transport devices; research review.
ABE 813: Advanced Farm Power and Machinery Management (3 credit units)
System approach in farm machinery management; application of programming techniques to problems of equipment selection; maintenance and scheduling of operations; equipment replacement criteria and inventory control for spares.
APM 812: Principles and Applications of Ergonomics (3 credit units)
Human factors in system development; energy liberation and transfer; mechanical efficiency of human body; Anthropometric limitations in equipment design; biomechanics of motion.
SAE 822: Irrigation Systems Development (3 credit units)
Detailed study of the design of farm irrigation systems. Land classification and preparation. Theory and empirical methods of estimating consumptive use, hydraulics and economics of irrigation design, feasibility studies; problems of irrigation.
SAE 813: Agricultural Land Drainage Engineering (2 credit units)
Drainage requirements of crops; theory of land drainage; drainage of homogenous, stratified soils; drainage analogues and models; design and installation of drainage systems; salinity control.
SAE 821: Open Channel Hydraulics (2 credit units)
Theory and application of flow in open channels; dimensional analysis; energy-momentum principles; kinematics and dynamics wave approximations; gradually varied flow; spill ways, routing, model studies.
SAE 811: Soil and Water Conservation (3 credit units)
Review of the principles of soil erosion by water and wind; review of the control of water and wind erosion; rainfall simulation; soil conservation structures; Design of earth embankments.
SAE 812: Advanced Groundwater Hydrology (3 credit units)
Groundwater occurrence and mapping procedures; theory of groundwater flow; analysis of pumping tests; requirements and procedures for well construction and techniques of groundwater prospecting.
SAE 823: Advanced Surface Water Hydrology (3 credit units)
Overland flow and numerical floods routing; linear approaches to hydrograph; linear reservoirs; frequency; regression and correlation techniques; stream flow simulation techniques; hydrology of agricultural lands.
BFE 812: Agricultural Processing Unit Operations (3 credit units)
Scientific foundations of major unit operations in agricultural engineering processing systems; fluid statics; fluid flow phenomena. Non-Newtonian fluid characteristics. Agitation, mixing and blending in food processing; Heat and mass transfer; separation operations; comminuting operations. Handling of particulate solids.
BFE 823: Agricultural Materials Handling System (3 credit units)
Factor influencing selection of materials handling equipment; treatment of specific handling equipments as links in a total process; economics and cost analysis; design and development of handling equipment.
BFE 824: Analysis and Selection of Agricultural Processing Equipment (2 credit units)
Developments in cleaning and sorting systems; Effects of grain crop characteristics on selection of cleaning equipment; Theory, design, capacity and efficiency of plain sieves, cylindrical sieves; magnetic and aerodynamic methods.
BFE 822: Theory and Techniques of Farm Products Storage (2 credit units)
Mechanisms of deterioration; Biochemical and enzymatic changes and effects; storage techniques. Thermodynamics and energy changes; cold storage; storage of processed foods; warehousing and materials handling in storage.
BFE 813: Design of Storage Structures (2 credit units)
Traditional storage structures. Design of modern storage structures; Lateral loads; theories of failure in non-fluid masses; fibrous materials; Design of container walls for combined loading; Hopper bottom bins; flow properties of bulk materials.
BFE 821: Crop Drying Systems (3 credit units)
Theoretical foundations; Analysis of crop drying systems; Determination of drying constants for local food crops; Energy sources for crop drying; solar energy utilization; simulation of drying systems.
FSE 811: Farm Estate Planning and Design (3 credit units)
Planning of farm estate; Design of infrastructural facilities; farmstead planning; location of service entrance and source of water supply. Design of electricity and water supply distribution (Network); Design of farmstead roads and road network; location and design of facilities and equipment for farm waste disposal.
FSE 821: Structural Analysis and Design of Farm Buildings (2 credit units)
Deformation and stress analysis for steel, wood and concrete structures. Deflection under stress; indeterminate frames; depth of embedment for lateral stability and uplift resistance; Design for lateral and combined loading.
FSE 822: Agricultural Waste Treatment and System Design (3 credit units)
Characteristics of agricultural waste; environmental impact; physical, chemical and biological treatment; solid waste treatment; Design of waste treatment facilities and system; legal aspects.
Solar Energy Utilization in Agriculture (FSE 812) (2 credit units)
Solar radiation measurement; flat plate collector design and performance testing; Design of other collectors; solar heating system; solar cooling systems; economics of solar thermal systems.
FSE 82: Agricultural Waste Utilization) (3 credit units)
Processing and utilization of animal wastes for animal feeds, organic fertilizer, fish production, single cell protein, algae and insect production. Processing and utilization of crop residues and food processing wastes; Energy generation from agricultural wastes; Land application of agricultural wastes; industrial uses of crop residues.
FSE 813: Environmental Control in Farm Buildings and structures (3 credit units)
Environmental control for animals, plants and farm produce; Psychometric: application to design problems on comfort, air conditioning and heat and mass transfer problems; Design procedure for energy balance systems.
APM 814: Agricultural Mechanization Strategies and Systems (2 credit units)
Selection and utilization of agricultural equipment for various types of farms; methods of optimization of tractor-implement combination; strategies for food processing and industrial raw materials handling systems; Economics of farm transportation.
BFE 825: Metrology in Engineering Properties of Bio-Materials (2 credit units)
Measurement, evaluation and analysis of physical, mechanical, rheological, thermal, electrical and optical properties of bio-materials. Force-deformation tests; Hertz theory and Boussineq theory; measures of mechanical parameters of food texture.
ABE 814: Special Problems in Agricultural Engineering (2 credit units)
Analysis of a specified engineering problem in general area of interest related to the area of research work conducted by a postgraduate student but different from the specific research topic.
APM 815: Crop Protection Machinery (2 credit units)
Theory and design of selected types of nozzles, pressure valves and agitators; Field and laboratory testing of spraying and dusting equipment; Design, development and testing of cultivation equipment.
APM 823: Harvesting Machinery (3 credit units)
Methods of mechanical harvesting; force analysis and design consideration of grain combines, corn pickers, forage harvesters; Balers and binders, root harvesters; Testing of harvesting machinery.
SAE 814: Advance Soil Physics (3 credit units)
Water entry and distribution in uniform and layered soils; heat flow in soils; solute transport; break through curves; hydrodynamic dispersion; models of water and solute uptake by roots and stems; numerical methods.
SAE 824: Advanced Soil Water and Plant Relationship (3 credit units)
Soil water content; soil water movement; soil-plant-atmosphere relations; plant water potential; water transport in soil-plant systems.
SAE 815: Water Resources Development for Agricultural Purposes (3 credit units)
Water impounding reservoirs, design criteria, spill way capacity, sitting and management; water diversion, conveyance and distribution systems; energy dissipaters. Irrigation water quality and management.
SAE 825: Dam Design and Reservoir Operations (2 credit units)
ABE 822: Environmental Impact Analysis (1 credit unit)
ABE 824: Entrepreneurial skills and management (2 credit units)
ABE 911: Special Problems in Agric. & Bio Engineering (2 credit units)
Analysis of a specified engineering problem, specific to a student and in his/her area of specialization, and submitted in a written report as term paper.
BFE 911: Industrial Food Processing and Storage (3 credit units)
Engineering principles of food crop preservation and storage. Thermal processes in food engineering. Food quality evaluation. Consumer acceptance and food prices. Design and development of machines for primary/secondary processing of local crops. Feasibility studies for agro Enterprises development in agribusiness.
SAE 911: Sediment Transport Hydraulics and Earthen Channel Design (3 credit units)
Introduction to fluvial hydraulics. Origin and properties of sediments, Threshold of particle transport. Sediment movement, bed load, suspended load and total load transport. Roughness of channel, vegetated and cultivated land surfaces Velocity distribution in alluvial channels Stable channel design, empirical and tractive force methods. Comparison of regime and tractive force methods. Ripples, dunes and anti-dunes. Watercourse geometry. Scour below hydraulic structures.
APM 911: Tractors and Other Farm Power Systems (3 credit units)
Practical tests on the various types of tractors and internal combustion engines. Gasoline and diesel tractors. Tractor hydraulics and hydraulic equipment Tractor stability. Power measurement methods. Power efficiency in farm tractors. Tractor breakdown, maintenance and management. Electric power. Other farm power sources.
APM 912: Tillage Mechanics and Machinery (2credit units)
Conventional, minimum and optimum tillage concepts. Research and development in tillage mechanics and machinery. Advanced mechanics of soil interactions. Force analysis and design considerations of mouldboard, disc and rotary tillers. Field testing and evaluation of tillage machinery.
SAE 912: Applied Hydrology (2 credit unit)
Introduction to agro-meteorology. Temperature, pressure, wind, sunshine, radiation and humidity. Clouds, condensation and precipitation. Rain interception. Evaporation and transpiration. Infiltration and subsurface flow processes, saturated and unsaturated. Surface runoff, runoff hydrography, and flow fouling. Statistical and frequency analysis of hydrologic data. Hydrologic design. Reservoir design, sedimentation and useful life. Hydrologic models and modeling of agricultural watersheds.
ABE 912: Computer Modeling of Agricultural Systems (3 credit unit)
Integration of Engineering and Biological principles with efficient modeling techniques to solve complex problems in Agricultural operations. Topics include the mathematical formulation and modeling of agricultural processes: processes and equipment simulation: optimization and control using digital computer techniques. Use of “Canied programme”, development of individual programmes, programme solutions.
SAE 921: Water Resources Development for Agricultural Purposes (3 credit unit
Principles of irrigation water measurement. Water impounding reservoirs design criteria, spill way capacity, siting and management. Water diversion, conveyance and distribution systems. Energy dissipators. Trends in water resources development in Nigeria.
BFE 921: Design of Storage Structures (3 credit unit)
Study and evaluation of traditional storage structures, design and construction (barns, cribs, clamps, underground structures). Structural design of modem storage structures (bins, tanks, silos, etc.). Lateral loads L theories of failure in non-fluid masses: granular materials (yams, cassava, palm-fruits, waters, etc): fibrous materials: silage, hay, etc. Design of container walls for combined loading; Hopper bottom bins; flow properties of bulk materials; theories of flow, criteria of flow, predicting stress distribution in hopper bottom bins.
FSE 921: Metrology in Engineering Properties of Bio-materials (3 credit units)
Techniques for the measurement, evaluation and analysis of the physical characteristics, mechanical, rheological, thermal, electrical and optical properties of bio-materials in relation to handling, storage, processing and quality control of agricultural and food materials, Force-deformation tests and analysis, Hertz theory and Boussine theory; bulk compression test, parallel shear tests, stress relaxation tests, creep apparatus; triaxial tests, rheological models, viscometry, (Stormer viscometer, MacMichael Viscometer, etc,); angle internal friction/angle of repose measurements; strength and flow ability of unconsolidated materials; measurements of suspension/terminal velocity; techniques for measuring volume, density, porosity, specific surface, and permeability of granular materials. Thermal conductivity apparatus for agricultural/food materials. Measures of mechanical parameters of food texture. Measurement and analysis of particle size distribution.
BFE 912: Experimental Stress Analysis (3 credit units)
Mechanical properties of materials, testing machines, mechanical gages and extensometers, optical methods of strain measurement, electrical-resistance gages and circuit theory, electric-inductance gages, electric-capacitance gages, motion measurements, strain rosettes, working stresses, residual stresses, methods of crack detection, interpretation of service fractures, brittle models and brittle coatings, structural model analysis.
ABE 921: Environmental Impact Analysis (3 credit units)
Conceptual approach, environmental principles in impact analysis, overview of proposed cumulative impacts, impact rating matrix, overview of environmental impacts, details of environmental impacts, (Dredging impacts, land reclamation impacts, domestic effluent impacts, potable water impacts, solid waste impacts, energy generation impacts, impacts from building construction, boardwalk impacts, heliport, impacts of kayak trail and keyakin activities, boating and marina impacts, social impacts), Indirect Impacts(impact on fish activities, impacts on tourism activities, other related impacts).
ABE 900: Ph.D Thesis (12 credit units)
A thesis shall embody original scholarship and independent research which must make a distinct contribution to knowledge in an area of agricultural and bioresources engineering. The thesis must be submitted in an approved format and defended in an oral examination.
