Associate Professor John Fielke

Associate Research Professor John Fielke is Director of the Agricultural Machinery Research and Design Centre in the School of Advanced Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering at the University of South Australia. He is based at the Mawson Lakes Campus.

John has had 25 years experience in the research and design of agricultural machinery, specialising in the area of seeding and tillage machinery plus working in the area of product processing for the grains and dried fruits industries. His recent work has involved 11 years as being the Manager of R&D for agricultural machinery manufacturer Horwood Bagshaw.

AWARDS - Winner of 2000 Society for Engineering in Agriculture Agricultural Engineering Award. Winner 1999 BHERT Award for Outstanding Achievement in Collaborative R&D in conjunction with Horwood Bagshaw. Winner of AusIndustry Award for Best Business Plan in 1996 Enterprise Workshop National Finals. Winner in conjunction with Mildura Co-operative Fruit Company of 1994-95 Manufacturing Facilities section of the South Australian Division of the Institution of Engineers, Engineering Excellence Awards Highly Commended in Primary Industry Category of the 1991 BHP Australian Steel Awards. Winner 1988 National Energy Innovation Award for Outstanding R&D Leading to the Efficient use of Energy.

Senior Member, Institution of Engineers, Australia

Member, American Society of Agricultural Engineers

Member, Society for Engineering in Agriculture, Australia

Member, Asian Association for Agricultural Engineering

Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering, South Australian Institute of Technology, 1984.

Master of Engineering Science, Agricultural Engineering, Melbourne University, 1989.

Doctor of Philosophy, Soil Science, Adelaide University, 1994.

• Design and development of tillage and seeding equipment.
• Shallow tillage tool design for dryland farming:- "The Influence of the Geometry of Chisel Plough Share Wings on Tillage Forces in a Sandy Loam" - Masters thesis; "Interactions of the Cutting Edge of Tillage Implements with Soil" - PhD thesis.
• Processing of dried vine fruit involving contaminant removal, bulk handling, storage and transport.
• Sorting and sizing of grain and other agricultural products.
• Development of unique and innovative equipment for the mechanisation of agricultural and food processing industries (grafting of vines, extracting meat from crabs, detecting contaminants in minced dried fruit).

Shahgoli, G., Saunders, C., Desbiolles, J and Fielke, J.M. (2009). Application of Power Spectral Density to Recognise the Important Factors Creating Tractor- Subsoiler Vibrations. Australian Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Engineering. Vol 7 No. 1. pp 39-46.

Shahgoli, G., Saunders, C., Desbiolles, J and Fielke, J.M. (2009). The Effect of Oscillation Angle on the Performance of Oscillatory Tillage. Soil & Tillage Research 104 pp 97–105.

Fielke, J.M. (2008). Finite Element Modelling of Shallow Working Sweep Tillage Tools. Modelling of Soil-Tool Interaction in Tillage. Ed. S Karmakar. ISBN 978-81-7895-349-6, pp 129-147.

Schneider, T., Fielke, J.M. (2008). Simulating the Cornering Behaviour of Multiple Trailed Implements. Biosystems Engineering, 100 (3): 355-361.

Fielke, J.M. (2007). UniSA’s Agricultural Machinery Research and Design Centre – collaborative University/Industry Research and Research Education in Agricultural Engineering. International Journal of Engineering Education. Vol 23, No. 4 pp 735-740.

Shahgoli, G., Saunders, C., Desbiolles, J. and Fielke, J.M.(2006). An Investigation into the Performance of Vibratory Tillage using Straight and Bent Leg Tines. Advances in GeoEcology 38: Soil Management for Sustainability, ed. M. Rohdenburg, Reiskirchen, Germany. pp.21-30.

Besselink, B.C. and Fielke, J.M. (2003).Improving Tractive Efficiency by Integrating the Steering and Drive Systems of Four-Wheeled Vehicles. 2003 ASAE Annual International Meeting, Paper No. 031058.

Fielke, J.M. (1999). Finite Element Modelling of the Interaction of the Cutting Edge of Tillage Implements with Soil. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research, Volume 74, pp 91-101.

Fielke, J.M. (1996). Interactions of the Cutting Edge of Tillage Implements with Soil. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research, Volume 63, pp 61-72.

Moser, D.P. and Fielke, J.M. (1993). Evaluation of Grain Legume Decorticating Machinery. Agricultural Engineering Australia, Vol. 22 No's. 1 and 2 1993, pp 13-17.

Fielke, J.M., Riley, T.W., Slattery, M.G. and Fitzpatrick, R.W. (1993). Comparison of Tillage Forces and Wear Rates of Pressed and Cast Cultivator Shares. Soil and Tillage Research, Vol 25, pp 317-328.

I am able to provide media comment in the following areas of expertise:

Discipline: Mechanical & Manufacturing

• Agricultural Machinery