08304 - Agricultural Hydraulics

Learning outcomes

At the end of the teaching, the student acquires the most important principles and notions of the agricultural hydraulics. He will be also able to design and verify pipelines and open channels.

Course contents

Formative Pre-requirements

The student must own a basic preparation thanks to studied principles of mathematics and physics and to some notions of agronomy and agro-meteorology. These pre-requirements are provided by the respective courses of the Bachelor’s degree.

Unit 1 - Agricultural hydraulics (25 hours)

- Base notions and principal quantities of the agricultural hydraulics.

- Hydrostatics: distribution of pressure in a fluid in quiet, law of Stevin,

- Hydrodynamics: types of flows and motions, the Bernoulli’s theorem for ideal and real (energetic dissipations) fluids.

- Flows in pressure: distributed and located losses of hydraulic load, long conducts, problems of verification and design.

- Surface flows: constructive characterization of canals, problems of verification and design.

Competences acquired in unit 1

The student matures the competence of language and management of the quantities of the hydraulics.

The student understands the phenomena that appear both in quiet (hydrostatics) and in movement (hydrodynamics) water.

The student acquires tools for facing problems of verification and design both in long conducts and in open channels.

Unit 2 - Exercises (15 hours)

- Numerical exercises of hydrostatics: diagram of pressure and evaluation of push on plain surfaces, identification of the center of push.
- Numerical exercises of hydrodynamics and long conducts: problems of verification and project.
- Numerical exercises of surface flows: problems of verification and project. 

Competences acquired in unit 2

The student identifies and calculates the fundamental quantities of the agricultural hydraulics.

The student is able to verify and project conducts in pressure and channels.

The student understands the studied tools in the field.

Readings/Bibliography

Lecture notes of “Agriculture Hydraulics” (in .pdf format downloadable on the teacher’s website) and didactic material.

Texts for further information:

V. Ferro; “Elementi di idraulica e idrologia per le scienze agrarie, ambientali e forestali”; McGraw-Hill; Milano; 2013

Teaching methods

The course is divided in two didactic unities. The first unit is theoretical. It is developed through frontal lessons supported by slides in PowerPoint. Demonstrations will be done through the help of blackboard and doubts will be clarified with opportune tools. The second didactic unit foresees numerical exercises that would be developed from the teacher and students. The material will be provided both on paper or on digital format. Also seminars and specific detailed analysis would be done in order to satisfy the difficulties and requirements of the students.

Assessment methods

The verification of the learning consists in a written examination (two or three numerical exercises of agricultural hydraulics). The exercises will be similar to those made during the practical lessons. If the student judges the positive final evaluation not satisfactory, he/she has the possibility to sustain an additional oral exam. Students wishing to take the examination in English are allowed; in this case a communication is needed in advance.

Teaching tools

Slides in PowerPoint, blackboard, computer, didactic material.

Office hours

See the website of Attilio Toscano