Surface‐Slope Effects on Sprinkler Uniformity
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 117, Issue 6
Abstract
The slope of the soil surface has a significant effect on water distribution from sprinklers. Field tests were conducted to quantify the effects. A ballistic trajectory model was developed to simulate precipitation data for a sprinkler working on different ground slopes and at different sprinkler riser angles. The model uses precipitation data from a single sprinkler working on a zero slope plane under no wind conditions. The model is verified against measured data for a sprinkler operating on a slope. A study is made of the influence of sprinkler riser angle, nozzle angle, and soil surface slope on the uniformity of water distribution. Two different precipitation patterns, similar to Christiansen's sprinkler patterns B and E, are studied in detail. The results show that the sprinkler risers should be kept perpendicular to the soil surface to maximize the uniformity of water application and to minimize the erosion risk. Higher nozzle angles are preferable to lower nozzle angles when working on steep slopes, but higher nozzle angles increase sensitivity to wind. With higher nozzle angles, surface slope is less critical.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Christiansen, J. E. (1942). “Irrigation by sprinkler.” Res. Bulletin 670, California Agric. Experiment Station, Berkeley, Calif.
2.
Kohl, R. A. (1974). “Drop size distribution from medium‐sized agricultural sprinklers.” Trans., ASAE, 17(4), 690–693.
3.
Pair, C. H. (1968). “Water distribution under sprinkler irrigation.” Trans., American Society of Agricultural Engineers, 11(5), 648–651.
4.
Rouse, H., Howe, J. E., and Metzler, D. E. (1952). “Experimental investigation of fire monitors and nozzles.” Trans., ASCE, 117, 1147–1188.
5.
Seginer, I. (1965). “Tangential velocity of sprinkler drops.” Trans., ASAE, 8(1), 90–93.
6.
Soares, A. A. (1986). “A computer model to study the influence of the sprinkler riser angle, nozzle angle, and soil surface slope on the uniformity of distribution,” thesis presented to Utah State University, at Logan, Utah, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
7.
von Bernuth, R. D., and Gilley, J. R. (1984). “Sprinkler droplet size distribution estimation from single leg test data.” Trans., ASAE, 27(5), 1435–1441.
8.
Vories, E. D., and von Bernuth, R. D. (1985). “Simulation of wind effects on sprinkler uniformity.” Paper 85‐2063, American Society of Agricultural Engineers, St. Joseph, Mich.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 117 • Issue 6 • November 1991
Pages: 870 - 880
Copyright
Copyright © 1991 ASCE.
History
Published online: Nov 1, 1991
Published in print: Nov 1991
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.