Abstract
ABSTRACT The study aimed to evaluate the water distribution from a medium-size sprinkler working in solid set sprinkler systems. Water distribution radial curves from the sprinkler operating under four nozzle diameter combinations (4.0 x 4.6; 5.0 x 4.6; 6.2 x 4.6 and; 7.1 x 4.6 mm) and four working pressures (196; 245; 294 and 343 kPa) were evaluated on the sprinkler test bench of the State University of Maringá, in Cidade Gaúcha, Paraná, Brazil. The sixteen water distribution curves were normalized and subjected to clustering analysis (K-Means algorithm), identifying the occurrence of normalized distribution curves with three different geometric shapes. A computer algorithm, in Visual Basic for Applications in Excel spreadsheet, was developed to simulate the water application uniformity (Christiansen's Coefficient - CU) from the sprinklers working with rectangular and triangular layouts in solid set sprinkler systems. For the three geometric shapes of the normalized water distribution curves, digital simulation results of water distribution uniformity for the sprinklers on mainline and lateral line spaced between 10 to 100% of wetted diameter indicated that sprinkler spacings around 50% of the wetted diameter provide acceptable CU values.
Highlights
Agricultural production is a business activity, which has made farmers achieve high production rates, with maximum technical and economic efficiency
The irrigation techniques have been used for increasing agricultural productivity in dry regions, as well as where the water supply by rain is not enough for growing crops
Knowledges of water application uniformity is indispensable for sprinkler irrigation systems to provide the amount of water demanded by the crop (Mateos, 1998; Prado et al, 2008)
Summary
Agricultural production is a business activity, which has made farmers achieve high production rates, with maximum technical and economic efficiency. Sprinkler irrigation systems have been widely employed due to the operational simplicity that this irrigation method offers. This kind of irrigation provides good water distribution uniformity, precise controlling of irrigation depth applied, high water application efficiency and potential of use in different types of soil and topography conditions (Bernardo et al, 2006; Frizzone et al, 2011). To ensure that whole irrigated area receives the irrigation depth, avoiding the negative impact of under-irrigation on crop yield, irrigation users have applied an excess of water, producing a waste of water, energy and fertilizers (Clemmens, 1991)
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