Improving the Uniformity of Emitter Air Bubble Delivery during Oxygation
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 140, Issue 7
Abstract
Drip irrigation may be used to deliver water and air to plant root systems, although uniformity of air bubble delivery along the irrigation line is an issue. Use of 1.2 ppm of a nonionic surfactant (alcohol alkoxylate) in an open-end drip irrigation system increased the Christiansen uniformity coefficient (CUC) of the emitter air flow rates to 80%, compared to 20% without surfactant. In a closed-end irrigation system, addition of 32 ppm surfactant raised the CUC of the emitter air flow rates from 1 to 23% for the symmetric connectors and from to 37% for the asymmetric connectors, respectively, over the controls without surfactant. In the absence of the surfactant, insertion of turbulence-inducing sealing plugs before the 9.5-mm-long symmetric and asymmetric connectors raised the CUC of the emitter air flow rates from 1 to 18% for the symmetric and from to for the asymmetric connectors, respectively. Regardless of the type of the connectors, the highest CUC for emitter air flow rates in the closed-end system was obtained when both sealing plugs and surfactant were used.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge Central Queensland University and Cotton Catchment Communities CRC for providing financial support for the conduct of this research.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 140 • Issue 7 • July 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 12, 2013
Accepted: Jan 28, 2014
Published online: Mar 14, 2014
Published in print: Jul 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Aug 14, 2014
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