The BSE senior design experience is very rewarding, as students get to work on a single real-world problem for a full academic year. A problem is chosen and the design begun in the fall semester, with the design completed and a prototype built and tested in the spring semester. The problem is usually very broad, and students make extensive use of design mentors, research staff, and a well-equipped shop in developing their design and prototype.
The video below further explain what BESS Senior Design Projects are:
In 2023-2024, there were three senior design projects. The first project was an improvement on the 2022-2023 “PIPER: Pot-in-Pot Extracting Robot effort.” The 2022-2023 was prototyped and worked, but it could not do so in the rugged terrain that could be expected in a real-world tree nursery. The 2023-2024 iteration of the project improved this by modifying the driving and steering components, utilizing a 4WD-4WS drive system. The second project was “Climate-Smart Agrovoltaics.” Usually arrays of solar panels are not mixed with agricultural production. This project integrated solar panels to production agriculture such that the land underneath can still be managed for production agriculture. The team designed and prototyped a device that was inspired by existing lateral movement irrigation systems that farmers utilize. Lastly, the third project was “Energy Dissipating Headwall”. Energy dissipating headwalls are placed at culvert outlets to reduce the velocity of stormwater exiting the system. By reducing the velocity of water, erosion can be alleviated. Erosion is harmful to the local aquatic ecosystems and can increase the chance of flooding. The team developed a design that promoted a slower velocity of water exiting the headwall than that of the standard design. An added benefit was that of evenly distributing water across the headwall apron, which also contributed to reduced erosion. This team won second place at the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) Gunlogson design competition in Anaheim, CA.
In the year 2022-2023, we had four senior design projects. The first one was “Generalized River-powered Irrigation System for Low-pressure”. This project was centered on the design of a river-powered spiral pump that delivered irrigation water to avocado growers in the Darién province of Panama. The second project was “The Super Sampler”. Water quality researchers and engineers collect field samples in five-gallon buckets, which can individually weigh well over 50 pounds and carry them back to the laboratory for further analysis. The goal of this project was to design a subsampler that would take smaller but representative samples. The design system consisted of a series of pumps and funnels. The third project was “Flow and Sediment Suspension Sampler”. The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program addresses water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants to waters of the US; unfortunately, there is a lack of accurate sediment discharge measurement. The team designed a traversing automated slot that would take water samples at the discharge. This team won third place at the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) Gunlogson design competition in Omaha, NE. The last project was PIPER: Pot-in-Pot Extracting Robot. Nursery tree production involves the lifting of 90 lbs pots from the ground, which is hard and back breaking. The team designed and prototyped a remote-driven robotic system named Pot-In-Pot Extracting Robot that could navigate to a selected potted tree and lift the production pot. This team won second place at the ASABE AGCO design competition in Omaha, NE.
There were four senior design projects in 2021-2022. The first project was “Reverse Engineering of a Bioreactor for Cultured Meat Research”, which was centered on the design and prototyping of a bioreactor for cultured meat production. The second project was “Design of Engineered Media Amendment Testing Process”.The filtration qualities of rain gardens and streetside planters are possible because of engineered media, usually made of sand, topsoil and compost, which is sandwiched between layers of mulch and gravel. Typical engineered media consist largely of sand, a non-renewable resource that involves an energy-intensive mining process, which is damaging to river and ocean ecosystems. This project evaluated alternatives to sand as an engineered media. The third project was “Floating Treatment Wetland Anchoring System”. The goal of this project was to create an anchoring system for floating treatment wetlands in mid-to-high velocity flow environments, which consisted of rafts supporting the growth of native wetland plants that produced copious amounts of biomass below the support structure. Lastly, the fourth project was “Autonomizing Static Chamber-Based Soil Trace Gas Sampling”. Monitoring greenhouse gases (GHGs) fluxes, emitted from agricultural soils, is critical because of their role in climate change. Soil gas flux monitoring is done by determining headspace concentrations of GHG in chambers placed in production agriculture fields. The team created a semi-autonomous chamber-based device to monitor soil GHG concentration and fluxes.
The AGCO American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) undergraduate student competition took place virtually on Wednesday July 14. Herbert’s Biosystems Engineers (BSE) seniors had two teams selected for the finals. The project “Gradual Rotary Adjustment for Sloped Surfaces” affectionately known as the “Bushhog” team with members Margie Peeler, Jim Roebuck and Lewis Webber placed first. Their mentor was BSE associate professor Dr. John Buchanan. The other Herbert team that placed in this national design competition was the “Microwave” team, whose official project title was “Solid-State Microwave Control and Data Collection System” with Benjamin Cruz and Colby Gillmann as team members. This project placed third with Department of Food Science assistant professor Dr. JiaJia Chan and BSE assistant professor Dr. Hao Gan as their mentors. Second place went to University of Wisconsin’s Biological Systems Engineering project “Badger Hemp Decorticator”. Congratulations to the three teams!
Again, this year Biosystems Engineering students won big at the ASABE (American Society of Agricultural & Biological Engineers) virtual Design Competitions. In fact, out of the six teams selected to participate in the two virtual finals, three teams were from University of Tennessee (UT)!
In the AGCO competition, UT teams placed first and second. First place was awarded to the “Rapid Autonomous Corn Phenotyping – Data Acquisition System,” project by Logan Ashworth, who was mentored by Drs. Hao Gan and John Wilkerson. Second place was awarded to the UT project: “Poultry Farm Security Gate: Autonomous Vehicle Recognition System,” by Mary Morris and McKensie Nelms, who were mentored by Drs. Hao Gan and Shawn Hawkins. Third place was awarded to a Texas A&M team.
In the Gunlogson competition, UT’s team placed third. Emma Beach, Madison Oehler, Jenna Williams, and Olivia Yates worked on the project “Floating Treatment Wetland Testing and Optimization,” which was mentored by Drs. John Buchanan and Andrea Ludwig. First and second place were awarded to University of Arkansas and North Carolina State teams, respectively.
Hydraulic Fracking Sub-Soil for Stormwater Infiltration Enhancement
Matthew Johnsen, Christian Patterson, James Lewis and Ryan Watson
– First Place at ASABE Gunlogson Design Competition
– Second Place at EUReCA UT Engineering Design Competition
Rain gardens are common stormwater control measures that are essentially shallow depressions in the landscape created to capture impervious runoff and infiltrate it into the ground. Rain gardens installed above heavily compacted soil tend to become inundated with ponded stormwater that will not infiltrate due to low permeability. The ponded stormwater converts to runoff and carries with it the pollutants that would have been sequestered in the rain garden. The design team’s approach to mitigate rain garden failure is to emulate hydraulic fracking done by the oil and gas industry to induce fractures in compacted soil layers. These fractures offer multiple connected pathways for the infiltrated stormwater to enter the subsoil, greatly increasing the rate at which water can flow through a rain garden. Biochar was selected as a proppant for its ability to adsorb contaminants and its strength to resist compression. During testing of control and fracked plots, the designed system greatly increased infiltration from an average of 2 mm/hr to 88 mm/hr which is well above the Knoxville Stormwater Standard of 12.7 mm/hr for a functioning rain garden (City of Knoxville Stormwater Engineering, 2018). The results showed that a hydraulic fracking method is an effective means of increasing infiltration within heavily compacted clay soils that can often exist beneath rain gardens. Remediation of these stormwater control measures by hydraulic fracking represents an immense savings of cost and time as compared to demolishing and re-installing the infrastructure.
Trash Removal And Collection Equipment (TRACE)
Josh Benavidez, Lindsay Brown, Macy King, Bailey Langford
Advisor: Dr. Daniel Yoder
Floating garbage in urban streams is not only aesthetically displeasing, but can also be harmful to ecosystems. This student team developed a semi-automated system garbage removal system for urban streams, which the team chose to call TRACE (Trash Removal And Collection Equipment). TRACE system components included: an angled boom to concentrate the garbage, a conveyance system to remove concentrated garbage from the stream, a storage component to both drain and store the collected garbage, and the electronics required to power and control the system. The PVC collection boom is made up of modular section and extends halfway across the stream at a 45° angle upstream, shown by experimentation to be the optimum collection angle. Experimentation with various designs also resulted in a basket conveyor system to remove the concentrated floating garbage and empty if into a storage container. Sensors were placed throughout the system to ensure the equipment functionality during high flow events and to alert city workers when the storage component needed to be emptied. The system operated using only solar power, enabling use in remote locations without connection to the power grid. The system was built and tested in a Knoxville, TN urban stream. By providing a cost efficient and effective solution to floating garbage, with TRACE urban waterways will be able to return to a healthier state and will better serve their functions of recreation and wildlife habitat.
Design of a Solar-Powered Non-Thermal Plasma Device for Microbial Disinfection
Luke Martin, Calvin Conn, Jordan Brewer and Cabot Anderson
As world population grows, access to clean drinking water is becoming scarce. This problem is especially prevalent in remote or underdeveloped areas, where traditional medium to large scale water treatment options are not available or too costly. Presented is the design of a completely solar-powered water treatment system that does not use consumables. Non-thermal plasma (NTP) ozone generation is a method of microbial disinfection used in water treatment. Such systems utilize grid or other stationary power sources. In this project, a water disinfection system consisting of an NTP ozone generator, ozone injection system, and solar-based power supply was designed and assembled. The system is using solar power, enabling deployment in off grid locations. System components and characteristics were optimized to increase practicality of the device. Functionality and safety of plasma generation and water disinfection were assessed through testing; results showed that the system is capable of achieving the World Health Organization and Environmental Protection Agency standards for clean drinking water based on E. coli concentration, suggesting strong potential for device implementation in remote areas.
As examples, the senior design projects in the 2017-18 academic year were the following:
- 2nd generation biochar – Dr. Abdoulmoumine and Dr. Tyner
- Landfill flare heat capture for wastewater treatment – Dr. Buchanan
- Scuba-mapper for deeper water – Dr. Ayers
- Automated plant height sensor – Dr. Wilkerson
The BSE senior design projects are entered in a national design competition, and they generally do quite well. Examples of these include the ASABE Gunlogson Open Competition or at the ASABE Agco Competition.
Below is a table listing the BSE Senior Design success for student participation in regional and national competitions:
| Year | Competition | Project | Location | Rank | Faculty Advisor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | ASABE Gunlogson | Headwall | Anaheim, CA | 2nd | Dr. Yoder |
| 2023 | ASABE AGCO (1st NC State, 3rd Wisconsin) | Design PIPER: Pot-in-Pot Extracting Robot | Omaha, NE | 2nd | Drs. Fulcher & Gan |
| 2023 | ASABE Gunlogson | Flow and Sediment Suspension Sampler | Omaha, NE | 3rd | Dr. Yoger & Ms. Smith |
| 2021 | ASABE AGCO (2nd U Wisconsin) | Gradual Rotary Adjustment for Sloped Surfaces | Virtual (COVID) | 1st | Dr. Buchanan |
| 2021 | ASABE AGCO | Solid-State Microwave Controls and Data Collection Systems | Virtual (COVID) | 3rd | Drs. Gan & Chen |
| 2020 | ASABE AGCO | Rapid Autonomous Corn Phenotyping | Virtual (COVID) | 1st | Drs. Gan & Wilkerson |
| 2020 | ASABE AGCO (3rd Texas A&M) | Poultry farm security gate | Virtual (COVID) | 2nd | Drs. Gan & Hawkins |
| 2020 | ASABE Gunlogson | Floating treatment wetland testing and optimization | Virtual (COVID) | 3rd | Drs. Ludwig & Buchanan |
| 2019 | ASABE Gunlogson | Soil Fracking for Stormwater Infiltration Enhancement | Boston, MA | 1st | Dr. Tyner & Mr. Sherfy |
| 2017 | ASABE Gunlogson | Onsite biochar generation using green waste | Spokane, WA | 1st | Dr. Abdoulmoumine |
| 2017 | ASABE AGCO (1st U Wisconsin 2nd NC State) | EZ-Lift: A mechanical list assist for foldable roll-over protective structures (ROPS) project | Spokane, WA | 3rd | Dr. Ayers |
| 2016 | ASABE AGCO (2nd U Wisconsin 3rd Kansas State) | Calf Health | Orlando, FL | 1st | Dr. Wilkerson |
| 2016 | ASABE Gunlogson | Water Treatment | Orlando, FL | 3rd | Dr. Buchanan |
| 2015 | ASABE AGCO (1st U Wisconsin 2nd The Ohio State) | Squeaver | New Orleans, LA | 3rd | Dr. Ayers |
| 2015 | ASABE Gunlogson (ex equo with Kansas State) | Water Quality Analyzer | New Orleans, LA | 1st | Dr. Yoder |
| 2014 | ASABE Gunlogson | “A Low-Cost, Digital X-Ray Machine for Underdeveloped Countries” | Montreal, Canada | 1st | Dr. Wilkerson |
| 2014 | ASABE Fountain Wars Competition, National ASABE Annual Meeting | Best use of biological materials and the best sportsmanship award | Montreal, Canada | 3rd | Dr. Tyner |
| 2014 | EPA P3 National Design Competition in Sustainability | “Eco-friendly Additives for Biodegradation of Agricultural Mulches” | Washington, DC | Drs. Hayes, Debrium, Lee, and Wadsworth | |
| 2013 | ASABE AGCO | “A systematic Approach to the Improvement of High Tunnel with Regards to their Ability to Withstand Wind” 3rd place finish. “Subclinical Mastitis Inline Detection Systems (S.M.I.D.S.)” | Kansas City, MO | 2nd | Drs. Hayes and Wilkerson |
| 2012 | International 1/4 Scale Tractor Student Design Competition | Peoria, IL | 23 teams competing, BESS finished in the middle of pack which was excellent, considering we had not fielded a team in several years | ||
| 2012 | ASABE Gunlogson | “Vertical hydroponic masonry wall design for use in building Haitian homes” | Dallas, TX | 1st | Dr. Yoder |
| 2012 | AGCO, National ASABE Annual Meeting | “Turf tire traction tester for use by a Tennessee industry” | Dallas, TX | 1st | Dr. Wilkerson |
| 2012 | Fountain Wars | Dallas, TX | 1st | Dr. Tyner | |
| 2011 | AGCO | “Blue Crab Nursery Design” | Louisville, KY | 2nd | Dr. Ayers |
| 2010 | Gunlogson | “Cryogenic Weed Removal System for Organic Crop Production” | Pittsburgh, PA | 1st | Dr. Hart |
| 2010 | AGCO | “Integrated Solar Roof System” | Pittsburgh, PA | 1st | Dr. Tyner |
| 2009 | Gunlogson | “Optimized Recirculating Sand Filter Design” | Reno, NV | 2nd | Dr. Buchanan |
| 2009 | Gunlogson | “A Self-Actuating Foldable ROPS Design” | Reno, NV | 3rd | Dr. Ayers |