Evaluation of uniformity coefficients for sprinkler irrigation system under traditional and looped network field conditions

Abstract EN

The efficiency of the sprinklers are connected with the values of coefficients of uniformity, the higher value of such coefficient means best system efficiency.

In fact, the coefficient of uniformity expresses the uniformity of water distribution.

Christiansen’s uniformity coefficient seems to be the most popular uniformity coefficient used by many researchers on the global scale.

This study proposed a new method of connection to improve the uniformity coefficient, and this is done by redistribute the pressures through the sprinkler system.

The traditional system includes dead (end) laterals, and mostly the pressure is reduced as the distance between the source and the sprinkler is increased.

Therefore, in this research the researchers connect the laterals, so, the sprinkler system is work as a looped network, to get high pressure at the ends, which lead to improve the sprinklers duty which lead to raise the system efficiency.

A field data is measured from a sprinkler system at Khagan Village in Babylon Governorate, 30:15:15 E, 44:40:30 N in the middle of Iraq, in the period between November and December at 2011.

To check the field results, EPANET software version 13 is adopted for the theoretical calculations, also, analogue approach is adopted to simulate the field sprinkler system for both, traditional and proposed (looped) system.

In Analogue approach, an electrical board is constructed to simulate the field, where, the thermal wires represent the laterals, while, the resistances are simulate the sprinklers.

A relationship has been concluded through the derived equation between the sprinklers discharge and resistance voltage.

A new relative equation has been concluded by comparing both equations that are derived from the field.

The results of the field, theoretical, and analogue results prove that there is a great proximately among pressure results from the proposed connections (looped network)as compared with the well-known traditional method.

The mean performance of the uniformity coefficient are raised by(7.59%) for practically looped network, and raised by(11.45%) for theoretically looped network.