Modeling of Water Distribution under Center Pivot Irrigation Technique
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 147, Issue 7
Abstract
Aiming to quantify the impacts of the center pivot irrigation technique on soil moisture dynamics and to improve irrigation crop water needs, a mathematical model was developed to estimate the water distribution pattern of a center pivot. The model is based on the ballistic theory modeling of a single sprinkler radial curve that simulates the trajectories of the droplets discharged by the sprinkler’s nozzle. Subsequently, a water distribution pattern of a sprinkler irrigation technique (and ultimately center pivot) can be accurately estimated. This paper describes the theoretical and mathematical approaches of the developed model and its application in the case study, which was Las Tiesas farm in the area of Barrax, Spain, because the model was expanded to take into account the presence of not only one center pivot but multiple ones. In the case study, several center pivots with different characteristics in terms of size and hourly irrigation rates are present. The model correctly estimates the water distribution as it takes into account the different spatial (different sizes of pixels) and temporal basis (hourly and daily basis) and correctly estimates the water distribution when compared with satellite data. The results are given by the model, which is strictly done in the following order: simulating droplets trajectories, water distribution radial curve of single sprinkler, overlapped sprinklers patterns, and center pivots water distribution radial curve and patterns. The mathematical model gives the water distribution pattern under a center pivot irrigation system on a daily and hourly basis. The model can be adjusted to give the results not only for one center pivot but for two or more as desired.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This work has been developed under the SIM project founded by the Waterworks WaterJPI—2014 call.
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Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 147 • Issue 7 • July 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 30, 2020
Accepted: Feb 5, 2021
Published online: Apr 26, 2021
Published in print: Jul 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Sep 26, 2021
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Cited by
- Hadji Mohammed Salah, Ayoub Guerrah, Abdelmalek Atia, Optimal Sprinkler Spacing for a Mini Center Pivot System, Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, 10.1061/(ASCE)IR.1943-4774.0001715, 148, 11, (2022).
- Mohammed Salah Hadji, Ayoub Guerrah, Abdelmalek Atia, IRRIGATION UNIFORMITY OPTIMISATION OF A MINI-CENTRE PIVOT SYSTEM, Engenharia Agrícola, 10.1590/1809-4430-eng.agric.v41n5p526-535/2021, 41, 5, (526-535), (2021).