Hose Reel Research Articles

The Use of Hose Reel Irrigation Machines and Energy Efficient Components in Irrigation

The energy consumed for irrigation is one of the most important inputs in crop production. Irrigation water is distributed within the parcel with minimum loss by using winged or gun systems together with a hose reel irrigation machine (HRIM). The increase in the amount of energy consumed for irrigation increases the cost of the unit product. To reduce the unit product cost, irrigation systems must be used with energy-efficiency units. Frequency converters (FC), pressure transmitters (PT), and programmable logic controllers (PLC) are among the components used to provide energy efficiency. A change in the amount of current drawn by the motors according to the changes in the required flow rate in the pumping facilities is possible by using FC, PT, and PLC. In addition, with more than one motor pump pair; it is necessary to use FC and PLC to be used by connecting in parallel, to operate with the principle of co-aging, and to make a soft start. Instantaneous pressure information is transmitted to PLC and FC via a PT to be installed on the collector in the discharge line in systems with parallel-connected pumps. In this way, the motor revolutions used to drive the pumps are changed via FC, in real-time according to the changes in the flow. Thus, pump-motor pairs are operated with the principle of "constant pressure variable flow" and energy savings are achieved.

A planning strategy for sprinkler-based variable rate irrigation

Automated variable rate irrigation (VRI) is one of the frontiers for sustainable water use in agriculture. In this paper, we describe a planning procedure for self-propelled rain gun sprinklers, a type of equipment largely used in irrigation of open field crops thanks to its relatively low cost and easy deployment in multiple sites. The sprinkler is commanded by an information system which acquires data from remote sensors (satellite), processes vegetation indices and spatial maps describing the water need of the crop, and computes a VRI prescription map for a specific field, i.e. the water quantity to be supplied to each field sub-area. The VRI prescription map is used to compute the motion commands for a rain gun system pulled by a hose reel. The procedure is based on a sprinkler model, has been validated by simulation, and is fully automated. Experiments have shown the precision in water distribution achievable with software-controlled sprinklers and effective planning strategies.

Assessment of the impact of irrigation management on soybean yield and water productivity in a subhumid environment

As an effect of climate change, a considerable increase in irrigation demand is expected in subhumid regions. This poses a future challenge for agriculture, which often does not meet the requirements for highly efficient irrigation management. Field experiments in combination with modelling approaches can help in the development and evaluation of alternative irrigation strategies. The aim of this study was to parameterize the FAO AquaCrop model for soybeans in order to evaluate irrigation systems and strategies used by farmers in Austria. Moreover, this study aims at proposing a deficit irrigation strategy to increase irrigation water productivity (WPIrrig). Three irrigation methods were investigated: sprinkler, drip, and hose reel boom. Rainfed conditions were also assessed. Data sets from 2018 and 2019 were used for the parameterization of AquaCrop. Based on threshold values for the percentage of readily available water (RAW), full and deficit irrigation strategies were defined and tested for the years 1990–2019. The parameterization results showed good agreement between the simulated and observed canopy cover and yields from the four water management practices, with Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency coefficients between 0.76 and 0.96. Large errors resulted from the soil water content simulations, mainly due to poor sensor performance. It was concluded that a moderate deficit with RAW thresholds of 150% and 140% for the vegetative and reproductive stages, respectively, was an adequate strategy to improve yields and WPIrrig. Conversely, a severe deficit with an irrigation threshold of 180% RAW throughout the season considerably reduced yields, especially in years with high irrigation demand. Moreover, a significant improvement in WPIrrig was observed when drip systems were used compared to sprinklers, due to the higher efficiency of the former. These results can help scheduling irrigation for soybeans and increasing WPIrrig, thereby reducing pressure on limited water resources.

Quantification of water fluxes and soil water balance in agricultural fields under different tillage and irrigation systems using water stable isotopes

Sustainable agriculture should be based on management practices that improve resource usage efficiency and minimize harmful impacts on the environment while maintaining and stabilizing crop production. Both tillage and irrigation can have an influence on water resource usage and thus on hydrological processes within agroecosystems. However, it remains difficult to directly assess the effect of practices on water fluxes. Therefore, the objective of the study was to use oxygen and hydrogen isotopes (δ18O, δ2H) in the pore water of soil profiles as well as moisture contents for quantifying the soil water balance and fluxes. Covering all combinations, water content and isotope analysis in soil profiles were performed for 16 plots planted with winter wheat and managed with different tillage (conventional tillage (CT), reduced tillage (RT), minimal tillage (MT), and no-tillage (NT)) and irrigation systems (hose reel boom irrigation with nozzles (BI), sprinkler irrigation (SI), drip irrigation (DI) and no irrigation (NI)). The results indicated that the more intense the tillage, the lower the water content. Among the irrigation systems, DI had the highest average water content. Tracing the isotope minimum of winter precipitation in pore water of soil profiles showed deeper percolation of water in the CT plots, which indicates higher water flow velocity for CT compared to other tillage variants. Considering both water content and water flow velocities resulted in average water fluxes ranging from 23 to 46 mm for six months (end of November to May). For the same time period, between 80% and 91% of the water contributed to evapotranspiration. The resulting evapotranspiration within tillage and irrigation variants decreased in the order CT>RT>MT>NT and SI>BI>DI>NI. Thus, the method revealed that the lower water content in CT fields is a consequence of both deeper water infiltration and higher evapotranspiration. Moreover, irrigation water contributed mostly to evapotranspiration, and drip irrigation showed the lowest evapotranspiration among irrigation systems. This study demonstrated that water stable isotopes can be used as indicators and are a promising method to quantify average water fluxes in agricultural fields with great potential for evaluating management practices.

Assessment of canopy temperature-based water stress indices for irrigated and rainfed soybeans under subhumid conditions

Crop stress indicators can serve as a basis for demand-oriented irrigation management. Canopy temperature-based algorithms in combination with nondestructive infrared thermometer measurements are widely used, mainly in arid regions. Due to the impact of climate change on agricultural production, canopy temperature-based indices are increasingly applied in humid areas of Central Europe. This requires an evaluation of the algorithms under local environmental conditions. The objective of this study was to assess the Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI) and the Degrees Above Canopy Threshold (DACT) as irrigation scheduling methods in a subhumid agricultural area in Austria. The study was performed in 2018 and 2019 on a soybean field that was divided into four plots under different water management conditions. One of the plots was irrigated by means of sprinklers (SI plot), another one by drip lines (DI plot) and a third one by a hose reel boom (BI plot). The fourth plot (NI) was rainfed. To be able to relate crop water status to soil water status, soil matric potential (Ψm) was monitored at 20, 40 and 60 cm depths. Both CWSI and DACT reflected the different plant water conditions accordingly. The highest stress levels were found in the NI plot, followed by the SI, DI and BI plots. The interpretation of the indices regarding cloudy skies was improved by using the maximum CWSI and DACT observed between 1000 h and 1600 h. Overall, the plots with lower seasonal mean indices produced larger yields, and vice versa. The Ψm correlation results suggested that under severe stress, a better representation of soil water availability down to 60 cm can be obtained when using the DACT compared to the CWSI. The DACT was considered a more practical alternative than the CWSI since it requires less effort and proved to be equally effective.

FIRE SAFETY COMPLIANCE AMONG HOSPITAL BUILDINGS: A CASE STUDY FROM NEPAL-ASIA

Purpose: Hospital building is more sensitive to fire as it has large number of patients who might need assistance during evacuation. The assessment focuses to the Compliance for fire safety by accessing different standards; availability of equipment and systems, exit requirements and awareness among the departmental staffs of Hospitals.Design/Methodology/Approach: The study confined to the 4 hospitals from Bharatpur Metropolitan, Nepal based on judgmental sampling viz; Bharatpur Hospital, BP Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital, College of Medical Science and Chitwan Medical College building. Literature review was done followed by observation with checklist, questionnaire survey and key informant interview.Findings/Result: The study revealed that the fire safety preparedness was not a priority in the hospitals. All hospital buildings were designed following National building codes. Both private and public Hospitals, practically every one of them uncover a similar degree of readiness. Bharatpur hospital lacked many firefighting equipment such as smoke detector, heat detector, fire alarm and water hose reel. Water sprinkle was missed on all hospitals. Obstruction was found in the escape route. Lacked exit signs and floor indications. Staffs were found aware about the general component of the structure like structure plan, area for exit and assembly points but lacked awareness on emergency procedure.Originality/Value: This research complements the existing building code requirements and fire safety implementation especially for hospital building as Nepal is not having specific provisions for hospitals fire safety. It is assumed to be applicable for policy making in concerned authority & forms basis for further research.

Operational Assessment of Fire Safety Status of Existing Commercial Buildings at Birtamode, Jhapa, Nepal

The study was carried out to analyze the current fire safety status of existing commercial buildings at Birtamode, Jhapa. This research is focused on two commercial buildings; Hanuman Central and One stop mall (Birtamode, Jhapa). These building are selected for research as both of the buildings are considered as largest shopping malls and they also vary in planning and construction technology. Standard fire safety status check was done with comparing with NBC 107:1994. A standard check list was prepared and compared with current status of buildings. Data was collected from site visits with check list and key informant interview. During survey of the existing commercial building it was found that not all the guideline mentioned in NBC 107: 1994 was followed. Many aspects of door detailing and stairs detailing were considered in Hanuman Central whereas in case of one stop mall staircase was narrow. Design aspect of Hanuman Central was found more advanced. There were four Exit route however only two of them lead to open space. One escape route lead to basement parking and another was behind the building from where street was nearly 300 m far. Semi enclosed stairs were present in all four buildings. No proper signage of exit was found. One stop mall seems to be more prepared and concerned about the fire safety. Smoke detector, dry powder extinguishers was found in working condition. Water hose reel was installed but ws not functional as water tank was not operational and also lack of trained manpower was main problem there. It had four exit, two staircase and two escalators.

Design of Hardware and Software Equipment for Monitoring Selected Operating Parameters of the Irrigator.

The aim of this paper was to design a device for monitoring the work of irrigation technology (in our case, irrigation by sprinkler). Two devices for monitoring selected irrigation operating parameters for two hose reel irrigation machines were designed. During the monitored period of connection of the equipment to the sprinkler, 15 irrigation doses were carried out for both sprinklers. Irrigation operating characteristics working pressure, hose reel speed and selected weather conditions temperature and humidity were monitored. When evaluating the results, we proved the need to monitor the operation of the sprinkler not only by the coefficient of variation Cv, but also by introducing the coefficient of non-uniformity a. The results obtained indicate variability with respect to a particular irrigation dose and the applicable assessment method. The results were reviewed by one-way ANOVA analysis where observed coefficients and irrigation dose were considered as dependence factors. The results indicate a statistically significant impact of the applied quality coefficient of work and thus the impact of a particular device (p < 0.05, Fcrit = 2.77). When evaluating the effect of the included irrigation dose, we also showed a statistically significant effect in both facilities (p < 0.05, F = 1.92). By checking the operation of the hose reel irrigation machine, we managed to successfully apply the proposed classifications, which also perform the function of fault prediction. The proposed facilities show that proper plant operation and timely response can help create more efficient and sustainable irrigation services, not only saving water but also reducing costs for the owner.

Developed for Hose Reel Irrigation Machines Determining Working Success of TURPO CLK FS Hardware

The aim of this study is determining of the working performance of the a new fertigation system (TURPO CLK FS) that developed for hose reel irrigation machines (HRIM). As a liquid fertilizers nitrogen and phosphorus were used. The HRIM was operated under two different irrigation water pressures (5 and 2.5 bar) conditions. The dosing pump was operated for two different frequencies (150 and 300 pulse/min). Field experiments were realised by using two different liquid chemical fertilizers and measured of pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and total dissolved solids (TDS) values. According to evaluation when using nitrogen fertilizer pH values ranged between 8.40 - 8.59, EC values 602.92 - 915.83 µS/cm, and the TDS values 294.17 - 451.25 mg/L at all sets. When using phosphorus fertilizer, pH values ranged between 7.13 - 8.03, EC values 485.42 - 519.58 µS/cm, and TDS values 236.25 - 252.92 mg/L. And then the Christiansen Coefficient of Uniformity (CCU) was calculated over 24 samples in each set. The CCU values were founded between 95.02% - 99.95%. As the result it has been concluded that the TURPO CLK FS could be used together with HRIM during fertigation applications.

Development of a Hose Reel (Swivel Joint) Suitable for High Suction Pressures

Development of a Hose Reel (Swivel Joint) Suitable for High Suction Pressures

Анализ рынка шланго-барабанных дождевальных машин

The analysis of the market of hose reel sprinklers of domestic and foreign make for the period 20152019 is presented. An assessment of the quantity, cost and geography of supplies of sprinklers to Russia has been performed. The dynamics of deliveries to the domestic market of the country of hose reel sprinklers by foreign and domestic manufacturers is identified.

Improved rotary union in top-drive hydraulic power packs used on drilling rigs

The paper is concerned with a top-drive hydraulic power pack used on a drilling rig. The efficiency of hydraulic power packs can be ensured through a rotary union in a hose reel. An effective circulation of working fluid in the hose reel requires an improved rotary union, which allows the flow of working fluid to be redistributed with minimal energy and additional costs. As a result, the lifetime of the system is increased and the downtime of the rig is reduced.

Optimized configuration of a hose reel traveling irrigator

This study aims to identify the optimal configuration of a hose reel traveling irrigator based on a multi-objective evaluation. We identified nine evaluation indicators (two empirical: irrigation efficiency, yield increase; two technical: spray uniformity, application rate; two economic: initial investment, annual operating costs; three social and environmental: labor intensity, productivity, greenhouse gas emissions) selected from aspects of technology, economy, society and the environment. We evaluated a primary set of seven technical, economic, and social and environmental indicators and a smaller subset of only the technical and economic indicators. The multi-objective evaluation ranked 144 alternatives using Principal component analysis and Data envelopment analysis methods. The optimal scheme was exactly the same for both analysis methods, and the number of schemes within a deviation of five reached 88.2 % of all alternatives. The comparison results support the accuracy of the evaluation and the results were not affected by the evaluation methods. The influence of a single configuration parameter on the comprehensive evaluation efficiency of the hose reel traveling irrigator was discussed. A 200 m pipe length, 0.45 MPa operating pressure of the sprinkler, 0.2R overlapping distance and 65 mm pipe diameter was preferred under the working conditions of the case study. The impacts of social and environmental indicators on the overall evaluation were significant, which can help designers/users make cleaner and more user-friendly configuration schemes of the hose reel traveling irrigator.

소화 Foam 혼합을 위한 선박용 소화장치 In-Line Eductor의 성능 검토

소화 Foam 혼합을 위한 선박용 소화장치 In-Line Eductor의 성능 검토

Study on the Pressure Loss of Hoses in a Fire Hose Reel Hydrant

Study on the Pressure Loss of Hoses in a Fire Hose Reel Hydrant

Performance experiment and numerical prediction on the optimization design of the micro-sized water turbine for the hose reel irrigator

In order to significantly improve the efficiency of driving water turbine used in hose reel irrigator, a new water turbine structure was proposed by the method of performance test and numerical calculation. The internal flow characteristics of original water turbine were analyzed, and it was found that unreasonable design of main flow passage components such as inlet, outlet and runner could not effectively translated pressure energy of upper stream into impact kinetic energy of blade, and gave rise to low energy conversion efficiency of water turbine. The inadequate internal flow and uneven pressure distribution were also not conducive to energy conversion efficiency. Then a new structure of water turbine structure was presented, in which the inlet has a tangential nozzle jet and the outlet is in axial direction. The computational analysis showed that the nozzle jet at the inlet of the new water turbine runner, which makes jet flow mainly concentrate in the impacted blade passage, can reduce the loss of flow kinetic energy. The axial outflow increases the distance of inflow in the runner, which is more conducive to the runner blades work. Performance experiments on both original and new water turbines showed that the highest efficiency of the new turbine is almost 20 percentages higher than that of the original turbine, and the new turbine is nearly triple output power over the original turbine. The internal flow characteristic analysis and the performance experiment were conducted to assess the feasibility of the replacement of the original water turbine by the new water turbine. Keywords: micro-sized water turbine, hose reel irrigator, optimization design, experimental study, numerical analysis DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20181105.2876 Citation: Tang L D, Yuan S Q, Tang Y, Yan H F. Performance experiment and numerical prediction on the optimization design of the micro-sized water turbine for the hose reel irrigator. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2018; 11(5): 108–115.

개방형주차장의 소방설비 개선 제안

유가의 상승과 환경의 문제로 차량중량의 감소에 의한 차량연비를 개선하기 위하여 가연물인 플라스틱과 직물 등의 사용이 획기적으로 증대되어 주차장에서 화재가 발생하면 2000년대 중반 이전에는 한 두 대가 연소되고 마는 것과는 달리 주차된 차량 전체가 연소하는 화재가 많이 발생하였다. 본 연구에서 차량에 사용되는 플라스틱 등 가연물의 량을 확인한 결과 한 대에 316.2 kg으로 차량 전체무게 1935 kg 대비 16.34%가 되어 과거대비 10배 이상의 증가가 있었다. 또한 주차장의 소화설비로 스프링클러를 설치 시 물분무설비의 원래 성능대로 살수밀도를 <TEX>$20lpm/m^2$</TEX>를 사용할 것과 필로티 주차장에 호스릴이산화탄소소화설비 대신 적응성이 있는 포, 분말, 강화액 설비를 사용할 것을 요구하였다. In cars, the amount of combustibles, such as plastics, textiles, etc., have increased dramatically to improve the fuel efficiency of cars by reducing the gross vehicle weight according to the increases in an oil price and to reduce environmental problems. One or two cars were involved in a parking lot fire prior to the mid-2000 s. On the other hand, there were many parking lot fires where the entire car was destroyed due to increasing the use of plastics. In this study, the quantity of combustibles in a car was 316.2 kg over a total weight 1935 kg. This is 16.34% of total weight and 10 times greater than that three decades earlier. When a sprinkler is installed as a parking lot fire protection system as a substitute for water spray, the water discharge of the sprinkler must maintain the original density of water spray, <TEX>$20lpm/m^2$</TEX>. In addition, the use of a hose reel <TEX>$CO_2$</TEX> system at pilotis parking lots must be prohibited because the hose reel <TEX>$CO_2$</TEX> system has no adaptability for a car fire. Instead, this study proposes foam, dry powder, loaded stream systems be used in parking lot fire suppression systems.

Application of fire engineering to assist disadvantaged minority in enhancing building fire safety

To protect occupants from the dangers of fire in domestic buildings, the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance (Cap 572) was enacted in 2002. The statute requires that the owners and occupiers of buildings used for domestic purposes where the first building plans were submitted during or before 1987 upgrade their fire safety provision to the 1994 standard. However, structural constraints in existing buildings prevent owners from installing heavy fire service installations (FSIs). Furthermore, installing FSIs in communal areas involves financial and property rights issues which may be insurmountable in nature. From this perspective, it is difficult for occupiers of these buildings, particularly the elderly and those on a low income, to enhance fire safety due to financial and technical burden and therefore they cannot enjoy the benefits of upgraded fire safety provision. Nevertheless, with reference to the proven effectiveness of an improvised sprinkler system (i.e. one which uses direct town main supplies and thus does not require the installation of water tanks and pumps) as an alternative to conventional sprinkler systems, this paper explores the technical feasibility of accepting an improvised hose reel (HR) system as an alternative to conventional HR systems.

Assessing sustainability of winter wheat production under climate change scenarios in a humid climate — An integrated modelling framework

The proposed study draws a novel framework to assess the sustainability of winter wheat under climate change conditions and irrigation as an adaption measure to reduce yield variability. The methodology combines outputs from a general circulation model (GCM), the Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) crop growth model (AquaCrop), a life cycle assessment (LCA) model and economic modelling. Long-term observed climate data (1970–1991) collected in Cambridge (Cambridgeshire, UK) were used to downscale the projected climate data from the GCM for 2050. The structural characteristics of the case study are representative of a typical farm in this UK region. A six-year average wheat price (2007–2012) was considered and the irrigation costs for the economic model were calculated assuming the market prices in 2014. Sensitivity analysis assessed in the longer term included the expected variations due to the increase in world wheat prices and the energy costs.The direct impacts of climate change on winter wheat grown in the East of England, would be a reduction in the rainfed yield (between −5.4% and −32.9%), stronger under the low emission scenario (B1). The projected economic losses from rainfed winter wheat production are expected to range between −43.6% and −100.0%. Irrigation could in the future be an adaptation measure for yield increase (10.5% to 64.3%), lower under B1 and to improve the financial appraisal of irrigation investment which would raise between 41 and 429£ha−1. However, negative externalities are exacerbating pressures on air and water resources; an increase in irrigation water requirements between 25.0% and 39.1% increases global warming potential between 20.4% and 28.3%. Environmental indicators under scenario B1 performed better than the high emission scenario (A1). Finally, under future climate scenarios, the results confirmed that irrigated winter wheat grown on lighter soils using hose reel sprinkler systems fitted with a boom, is more sustainable than that grown on heavier soils using hose reel sprinkler systems fitted with a raingun.

Simulating impacts of irrigation heterogeneity on onion (Allium cepa L.) yield in a humid climate

This paper reports on a study combining experimental field data with biophysical crop modelling to assess the impacts of irrigation heterogeneity on onion yield. The AquaCrop model was calibrated and validated for brown onion (cv Arthur) and used to simulate yield variability under a set of contrasting soil and agroclimatic conditions assuming perfect (100 % uniform) irrigation. The impacts of non-uniform irrigation as measured on-farm under two overhead systems (mobile hose reel fitted with boom and a linear move) were then evaluated using scenario analysis and multi-model runs. Stochastic modelling confirmed that the lowest yield (8.6 t DM/ha) occurs on the lowest moisture retentive soils under the driest agroclimatic conditions with non-uniform irrigation. There is much greater yield variability in dry years compared to wet years. In wet years, rainfall reduces the scheduled number of irrigation events and buffers the effects of irrigation non-uniformity on yield. Yields were more variable under the mobile hose reel system fitted with the boom compared to the fixed linear move system. The modelled yield variability under non-uniform was similar to the observed yields reported by growers based on an industry survey. The study highlights the importance of achieving high irrigation uniformity in dry years on light soils to maximise yield and provides useful data for evaluating the potential yield benefits that might accrue from precision irrigation.