Abstract
ABSTRACT: DIMSUB is a computer program to complement a decision support tool (DST) to effectively study different hydraulic design alternatives in microirrigation systems. We developed environments in Visual Basic for applications for Microsoft Excel® that allow specific step-by-step functions to be created for the design of irrigation subunits. Different alternatives can be considered, such as types of emitter, lateral and submain pipe sizes, different feeding points, irregular subunit shapes and topography slopes. Furthermore, specific uniformity criteria need to be considered to achieve efficient water applications and proper design systems. Lengths of run lateral and submain pipes, position of the hydrant connection, pressure head and head loss in pipes or pressure-compensating emitters can be assigned to evaluate the results and choose the best design alternative. This user-friendly tool to study hydraulic variables is expected to be a valuable aid for the decision-making process in designing irrigation systems. Some examples of practical cases under specific crop conditions to design drip irrigation subunits are given using DIMSUB.
Highlights
Modernization of irrigation systems in the Mediterranean Basin is necessary in rural areas, due to water scarcity
The proposed computer application is capable of efficiently analyzing different solutions for a given irrigation system and allowing the choice for the best pricewise and technical alternative
DIMSUB is a computer application that can be used as a decision support tool
Summary
Modernization of irrigation systems in the Mediterranean Basin is necessary in rural areas, due to water scarcity. Changing to pressure irrigation systems, in which water can be effectively controlled and supplied, requires systems to be appropriately designed and managed. A subunit is the set of lateral pipes connected to a manifold and controlled by a manual or automatic pressure-regulating valve (Figure 1). Attempts have been made by several researchers to design the hydraulics of subunits. Hoffman et al (2007) widely reviewed the design of microirrigation systems. Ravindra et al (2008) presented a linear programming model for optimal design of pressurized irrigation subunits. Carrión et al (2013) developed Presud to identify the optimum microirrigation subunit design using the total annual water application cost per unit area (investment, maintenance, energy and water consumption). Researchers have worked on this issue to improve the design using computer-aided design techniques. Ravindra et al (2008) presented a linear programming model for optimal design of pressurized irrigation subunits. Carrión et al (2013) developed Presud to identify the optimum microirrigation subunit design using the total annual water application cost per unit area (investment, maintenance, energy and water consumption). Pedras et al (2009) proposed a complex multicriteria decision support tool (DST) to generate different design scenarios
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