Computer Laboratory
Two laboratories have 18 computers available to ABEN students. The computers have Internet access, laser printing, Microsoft Office Suite 2013, AutoCAD, ProE, Ansys, MatLab-Simulink, ESRI (GIS program) and Automation Studio (hydraulic electronics). A teaching laboratory has another 25 computers with the same capabilities.
Engine Power and Machinery
A wide assortment of engines (gasoline and diesel) ranging in size from small single cylinder (2 cycle and 4 cycle) to 2, 3, and 6 cylinder diesel models are in this laboratory. One gasoline and one diesel tractor are available for laboratory use. Several cutaway models of engines, manual shift transmissions and power shift transmissions are available.
Instrumentation available for laboratory exercises includes: engine analyzers, dynamometers, a diesel test stand, temperature and pressure sensing, data logging, sound level, load cell, engine timing, flowmeter, stress coat equipment, strain gage measurement equipment, accelerometers, an acoustic flowmeter, exhaust analyzer, and LABTECH notebook software.
Machinery available for laboratory instruction includes: planter and sprayer unit test stands, tillage implement comparison unit, portable-electric hydraulic pump, and hydraulic components.
Analysis software packages available are Campbell datalogging and support software for programming, and monitoring and file transfer.
Prototyping/Research Service
This laboratory provides work space and shop facilities for students to develop and test prototypes (under supervision of faculty and department technicians) of design concepts or design project results. Facilities include: electric wire arc and gas welders, turning lathe, drill presses, shears and shaping tools, table, radial-arm, and panel saws, metal-cutting saws, and a broad assortment of hand tools.
In addition to department facilities for these purposes, a laboratory in the Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Department provides extensive construction and fabrication facilities that are available to agricultural and biosystems engineering students via appropriate arrangements.
Environmental Measurements, Instrumentation and Teaching Services
This laboratory is used for teaching and research needs in the areas of irrigation engineering, environmental measurements, and natural resources management. Computers, data logging systems, and related equipment can be used here to test, calibrate, and monitor a variety of sensors for laboratory and field experiments. The lab is also used to set up and test sensors and data logging equipment prior to field deployment. Soil samples can be set up and run through wetting and drying cycles for testing and comparison of soil water sensors. Additional equipment includes a chest freezer, drying ovens, and a fume hood.
Electrical and Electronic Technology
This laboratory includes four electrical wiring booths for use with several electrical wiring exercises and demonstrations, wiring exercise panels, single and three phase power supplies, electrical meters, demonstration boards, and programmable logic controllers. Available instrumentation includes: digital and analog oscilloscopes, digital and analog multimeters, kilowatt-hour meters, wattmeters, ammeters, and voltmeters.
This laboratory also provides work space areas for instrumentation and measurements exercises. Experiments in electrical measurement, signal conditioning, computer-based data acquisition, sensor and transducer operation (measurement of strain, temperature, humidity, acceleration, sound level, etc.) and data analysis occur in this laboratory.
Other equipment available for laboratory instruction includes: power supplies, protoboards, oscilloscope, a frequency generator, a frequency counter, data acquisition boards, 16 channel multiplexer, 8 channel multiplexers, and an AC motor load surveyor.
Software available includes electrical wiring demonstrations and quizzing tools, and software for programming and monitoring PLC's. Software applications in ABEN 482 include Campbell CR-10 datalogging, communication and file transfer, and rosette stress and strain analysis.
Food Engineering and Pilot Plant
The NDSU Pilot Plant contains laboratory space dedicated to work in renewable fuels, biobased industrial products, and food and bioprocess engineering. The facility includes a large general wet/dry processing laboratory, an explosion proof laboratory, quality control laboratory, and 2 offices. A new bioprocessing/wet chemistry laboratory was completed in 2007 and is specifically equipped for work in bioprocessing and related analyses.
The facility has the equipment necessary for bench-scale production and analysis of both starch-based and cellulosic ethanol. Biodiesel can be produced at the bench-scale level and in 30-gallon batches. Oilseed processing abilities include seed preparation and fractionation, mechanical and solvent oil extraction, and oil refining and conversion to biodiesel. Equipment exists for many of the standard quality control analyses. Ample chemical and laminar flow hood space is available. Standard utilities include 220 and 440 V power, steam, vacuum, compressed air, and softened and distilled water. A walk-in cold room and freezer are available for sample storage.
Relevant equipment includes: temperature-controlled shaking water baths, Waters HPLC system with refractive index and photodiode array detectors, large autoclave, pH meters, chemical fume hoods, sterile laminar flow hood, centrifuges, microcentrifuge, drying ovens and incubators, lyophilizer, muffle furnace, various mills and pumps, thermochemical biomass pretreatment reactor, jacketed kettles, plate heat exchanger, countercurrent extractor, climbing-film evaporator, spray dryer, vacuum oven, tank pressure, gas chromatograph, Dionex Accelerated Solvent Extraction system, UV-Vis spectrophotometer, and Perten NIR and Nicolet FTNIR spectrometers.