State University of New York at Morrisville

Dr. Walid H. Shayya
School of Agriculture, Business, and Technology



Course Outline of AGEN 151 

Spring 2021

Blackboard Access of Course Material On-line (for students enrolled in the course)


INSTRUCTOR:

Dr. Walid H. Shayya

Instructor's Contact Information


GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION:

AGEN 151 covers the basic concepts of water hydraulics as applied to hydropower generation.  The course is introductory in nature and is intended to provide a basic review of fluid static and hydrodynamic conditions as applied to micro- and mini-hydropower generation systems.  Focus will be on utilizing the conservation of energy principle to establish the conditions that will impact the selection of a hydropower generation system.  Additional focus will be placed on considering the need and the extent of energy that may be harnessed from flowing fluids (water).  Instruction in the course will heavily favor the use of spreadsheets and computer software which will enable the student to solve basic and advanced problems without excessive hand computations.  The laboratory exercises will emphasize the hands-on approach to demonstrating concepts and will include a review of basic surveying along with coverage of the associated surveying computations.  The course is offered during the spring semester for students who are in their first year of the Renewable Energy A.A.S. program.

Prerequisite: Pass MATH 102 or permission of instructor
3 credits (2 lecture hours, 2 laboratory hours), spring semester


EXPECTED COURSE OUTCOMES:

Upon the successful completion of AGEN 151, the student is expected to have:
  1. Understood the importance of energy conversion and power generation from flowing fluids (water).

  2. Utilized spreadsheets and computer software to solve hydraulic problems that relate to generating power through micro- and mini-hydropower systems.

  3. Collected, documented, evaluated, and analyzed hydraulic parameters.

  4. Carried out vertical, horizontal, and slope distance measurements using a variety of methods.

  5. Developed the skills needed to use a variety of modern surveying equipment.

  6. Conducted leveling exercises with emphasis on available potential energy.

  7. Planned and utilized a number of leveling techniques in the area of hydropower generation and performed basic and advanced leveling computations.


OFFICE HOURS:

The instructor has the following designated office hours per week which will be held virtually during the 2021 Spring semester:

Students are encouraged to video (or audio) call the instructor in MS Teams during the listed times.  Alternatively, students may make appointments to meet the instructor virtually in MS Teams by contacting the instructor using the following email address: shayyaw@morrisville.edu.


CONTACT HOURS AND CLASS SCHEDULE:

AGEN 151 is a three-credit hour course.  It includes four contact hours per week (two for lecture and two for the laboratory).  One section of the lecture and one section of the laboratory are offered during the 2021 Spring semester.  The schedules of the offered sections are as follows:


TEXTBOOK:

Shayya, W.H. 2021. Applied Hydraulics for Hydropower Generation (AGEN 151): Class Manual (10th Edition).  XanEdu Publishing Inc. (ISBN: 978-1-71141-887-2).

The course manual is available from the campus bookstore.  It includes the instructor’s lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations (printed in handout format), pertinent reading material, and printouts of the laboratory exercises.  Course material is also available online under Blackboard (accessible only to those students who are enrolled in the course).  Other resources are available at the college library and online. Students are encouraged to be actively involved in acquiring some pertinent knowledge from all available resources.


REQUIRED MATERIAL/SUPPLIES:


CLASS POLICIES:


GRADING/EVALUATION OF STUDENT:

Evaluation is a shared responsibility between the professor and the student. The purpose of the evaluation is to demonstrate how well the professor has taught and the student has learned specific course materials, the principles, concepts, and terms relevant to the covered topics.  Evaluation is also intended to assess the student's ability to utlize the acquired knowledge and how s/he can use this knowledge in problem-solving.

Most of the laboratory periods will have a graded component or exercise while many of the recorded lecture will involve homework assignments and online quizzes. Class assignments are worth 45% of the total course grade. As such, it is important that students complete their assignments accurately, neatly, and submit them on time. 

Two hourly exams and one comprehensive final exam will be given in this course along with 11 quizzes (worth 10% of your final grade in the course). Each of the hourly exams is worth fifteen percent (15%) while the final will be worth twenty percent (20%) of the total course grade. No make-up examination will be given without a written medical excuse, family emergencies, or prior permission from the instructor. Students are responsible for all material covered in the class whether presented during the lectures/laboratories or assigned (homework and reading).

Each student must complete a class project as defined by the instructor. The project will be worth ten percent (10%) of the final grade.

The breakdown of grading in this course will be as follows:

The distribution of grades in this course will be based on the A-F College grading scheme. The letter grades correspond to the following percentage scale: A (90-100%), A- (87-89.9%), B+ (83-86.9%), B (80-82.9%), B- (77-79.9%), C+ (73-76.9%), C (70-72.9%), C- (67-69.9%), D+ (63-66.9%), D (60-62.9%), and F (<60%).


STARFISH EARLY ALERT SYSTEM:

This course participates in the Starfish Early Alert System, an early intervention system designed to enable academic success, student persistence, and graduation. When an instructor observes student behaviors or concerns that may impede academic success, the instructor may raise an alert flag that notifies the student of the concern, requests an individual contact to discuss the issue, and (in most cases) refer the student to the academic advisor. If you receive an email notification of an early alert, it is your responsibility to contact the instructor as soon as possible to discuss the issue. The purpose of the contact is to determine the severity of the issue, accurately assess its potential impact on your academic success, and to plan actions to prevent negative consequences and enable academic success. For more information about the Early Alert system, contact your academic advisor.  


OUTLINE OF TOPICS:

Week

Lecture Topic*

Lecture Date
1 Introduction to AGEN 151
Introduction to Microsoft Excel
Feb. 9
Feb. 11
2 Overview of hydropower generation
Overview of pipe material and fittings
Feb. 16
Feb. 18
3 Significant digits and field measurements
Overview of basic units
Feb. 23
Feb. 25
4 Unit cancelation and mathematical problem solving
Water pressure under static conditions
March 2
March 4
5 Energy distribution in pressurized pipelines and Conservation of energy principle
Energy losses in pressurized systems and review of the study guide for the first exam
March 9
March 11
6 First class examination
Introduction to turbo-machines
March 16
March 18
7 Flow measurements and open channel flow
Surveying fundamentals
March 23
March 25
8 Maps, plans, and profiles
Preparing profile views and plan views using the engineer scale
March 30
April 1
9 Introduction to leveling
Differential leveling and differential leveling problems
April 6
April 8
10 Distance measurements (excluding the EDM)
Stationing and horziontal distance measurements using the steel tape
April 13
April 15
11 Correcting systematic errors in distance measurements
Profile leveling problems and review of the study guide for the second exam
April 20
April 22
12 Second class examination
Angle measurements
April 27
April 29
13 Basic trigonometry and introduction to trigonometric leveling
Trigonometric leveling problems and introduction to the EDM
May 4
May 6
14 Total station and introduction to traverse surveys
Traverse surveys and review of the study guide for the final exam
May 11
May 13
Final Examination (comprehensive) - During the Exam Period

 

Week:
Date

Laboratory Topic (Location)*

1: Feb. 11 Introduction to Microsoft Excel tutorial
2: Feb. 18 Common pipe materials and fittings exercise
3: Feb. 25 Assembling pipes and fittings exercise (121 Wood Tech. Building)
4: March 4 Pressure and head problems
5: March 11 Pipe friction and sizing problems
6: March 18 Turbine power output problems
7: March 25 Flow measurements and open channel flow problems
8: April 1 Preparing plan and profile views from a set of surveying measurements
9: April 8 Differential leveling exercise (using the automatic level)
10: April 15 Distance measurements and stationing exercise (using the steel tape)
11: April 22 Profile leveling exercise (using the automatic level)
12: April 29 Horizontal angle measurements and line directions exercise (using the digital theodolite)
13: May 6 Vertical angle measurements and trigonometric leveling exercise (using the total station)
Micro-hydro project measurements exercise (using the total station)
14: May 13 Finalize micro-hydro project

*The topics and corresponding dates listed in the tables above are tentative and may be subject to change during the semester.


COLLEGE-WIDE POLICIES:

To view the College-wide policies page, please click on this link.