Analytical Head Loss Equation of Center-Pivot Irrigation System
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 147, Issue 7
Abstract
Enhancing water use efficiency is essential in irrigated agriculture owing to declining water resources, increasing population, growing water needs, and greater competition among water users. If properly designed and managed, with good operation and maintenance, a center-pivot irrigation system can have high water-application efficiency. One of the design factors for a center-pivot irrigation system is the hydraulic loss in the lateral pipe. In this study, an analytical relationship is presented as a series for calculating the hydraulic loss in the lateral pipe of a center-pivot irrigation system. Given the difficulty and complexity of using a mathematical series, the equation presented in this study and the equation developed by Anwar turn out to be general and asymptotic relations. The final relationships have 0.6% and 0.4% errors, respectively, relative to the series relationships. Due to the high accuracy and ease of use of the asymptotic relationship presented to calculate the hydraulic loss in the lateral pipe, it is recommended for use in designing center-pivot irrigation systems.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
We are immensely grateful to Professor Abdolhossein Hoorfar (Professor Emeritus of Mathematics in the Department of Irrigation and Reclamation, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran) for checking the relationships and Professor Gray P. Merkley (Emeritus Professor of Irrigation Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, and Senior Supervising Engineer in Natural Resources Consulting Engineers, Fort Collins, Colorado) and Professor Vijay P. Singh (Professor of Water Engineering in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and Zachry Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas) for his valuable comments on an early version of the manuscript, although any errors are ours alone.
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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: Nov 20, 2020
Accepted: Mar 5, 2021
Published online: May 13, 2021
Published in print: Jul 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Oct 13, 2021
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