Computer-Based Analysis of Hydraulic Design Variables for Uniformly Sloping Microirrigation System Laterals
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 141, Issue 7
Abstract
Adequate analysis of lateral hydraulics is a very important concern for the design and evaluation of microirrigation systems. One of the main tasks of the lateral hydraulic calculation is to determine the pipe geometric characteristics (pipe size and length) with the required operating inlet pressure head, and the total friction head losses along the lateral line, assuming that the total flow rate at the inlet, characteristics of the emitter, and the acceptable level of uniformity are known in advance. This paper aims to present an efficient computer program in Visual Basic 6.0, named “Multi-flowCAD,” which is based on a stepwise computation algorithm for determining the hydraulic design variables (pipe size, pipe length, and operating inlet pressure head) and the hydraulic flow characteristics (emitter outflow-pressure head distribution, lateral discharge, and total friction losses) along the energy-grade line. The stepwise algorithm takes into account the velocity head change and variation of the Reynolds number, which affects the selection of the proper friction coefficient formula to be applied along the different reaches of the pipeline, whereas some additional minor local losses resulting from emitter connections are neglected. An illustrative example of determining the operating inlet pressure head by a trial-and-error-procedure to achieve the design criteria (initial and boundary conditions) is presented. For any desired uniformity level, the procedure also provides an opportunity to evaluate the influence of different uniform line slopes on the pipe geometric characteristics (pipe size and length) and on the corresponding hydraulic variables (required operating inlet pressure and downstream-end pressure heads and total friction head losses). On the basis of the computer outputs, variations of the operating inlet pressure head, total friction head losses, and uniformity coefficients depend on the examined pipe lengths ranging between 25 and 250 m and the internal diameters ranging between 10 and 21 mm in the horizontal pipe case, and were depicted graphically in dimensionless form for practical purposes. The present software technique was implemented successfully with the highest degree of accuracy because only the basic equations of the hydraulics of steady-state pipe flow condition were sensitively used in each pipe section between successive outlets. Examinations of various design configurations clearly showed that the performance of the Multi-flowCAD is satisfactory, and its results are in close agreement with those obtained by previous research.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The author would like to express his appreciation to the Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering (ASCE) Chief Editor Prof. William F. Ritter, and to the anonymous reviewers whose comments and criticisms contributed greatly to the technical quality of the present work. The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) is also acknowledged for supporting the researcher’s time at Texas A&M University (TAMU), Biological and Agricultural Engineering (BAEN), by the fellowship and grants program (2219).
References
Ağıralioğlu, N., and Yıldırım, G. (2002). “Determining water requirements for landscape irrigation in Istanbul Region.” Proc., Int. Conf. on Water Resources Management in Arid Regions, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), Kuwait.
Anyoji, H., and Wu, I. P. (1987). “Statistical approach for drip lateral design.” Trans. ASAE, 30(1), 187–192.
Cuenca, R. H. (1989). Irrigation systems design: An engineering approach, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Hathoot, H. M., Al-Amoud, A. I., and Al-Mesned, A. S. (2000). “Design of trickle irrigation laterals considering emitter losses.” ICID J., 49(2), 1–14.
Hathoot, H. M., Al-Amoud, A. I., and Mohammad, F. S. (1993). “Analysis and design of trickle irrigation laterals.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 756–767.
Howell, T. A., and Hiler, E. A. (1974). “Trickle irrigation lateral design.” Trans. ASAE, 17(5), 902–908.
Jain, S. K., Singh, K. K., and Singh, R. P. (2002). “Microirrigation lateral design using lateral discharge equation.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 125–128.
Juana, L., Losada, A., Rodrigoez-Sinobas, L., and Sanchez, R. (2004). “Analytical relationships for designing rectangular drip irrigation units.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 47–59.
Juana, L., Rodriguez-Sinobas, L., and Losada, A. (2002a). “Determining minor head losses in drip irrigation laterals. I: Methodology.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 376–384.
Juana, L., Rodriguez-Sinobas, L., and Losada, A. (2002b). “Determining minor head losses in drip irrigation laterals. II: Experimental study and validation.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 385–396.
Kang, V., and Nishiyama, S. (1996a). “Analysis and design of micro-irrigation laterals.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 75–82.
Kang, V., and Nishiyama, S. (1996b). “Design of micro-irrigation sub-main unit.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 83–89.
Keller, J., and Karmeli, D. (1974). “Trickle irrigation design parameters.” Trans. ASAE, 17(4), 678–684.
Kreitzberg, C. B., and Schneiderman, B. (1975). Fortran programming, a spiral approach, Hartcourt Brace Iovanovich, New York.
Mathematica-Kernel 4.0 [Computer software]. Wolfram Research, Champaign, IL.
Provenzano, G, and Palau-Salvador, G. (2006). “Discussion of ‘Comparative analysis of hydraulic calculation methods in design of microirrigation laterals’ by G. Yıldırım and N. Ağıralioğlu.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 82–85.
Provenzano, G., and Pumo, D. (2004). “Experimental analysis of local pressure losses for microirrigation laterals.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 318–324.
Provenzano, G., and Pumo, D., and Di Dio, P. (2005). “Simplified procedure to evaluate head losses in drip irrigation laterals.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 525–532.
Scaloppi, E. J., and Allen, R. G. (1993). “Hydraulics of irrigation laterals: Comparative analysis.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 91–115.
Smyth, N. (2013). Visual basic essentials, 1st Ed., Techotopia.
Streeter, V. L., and Wylie, B. E. (1979). Fluid mechanics, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Valiantzas, J. D. (1998). “Analytical approach for direct drip lateral hydraulic calculation.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 300–305.
Valiantzas, J. D. (2002a). “Continuous outflow variation along irrigation laterals: Effect of the number of outlets.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 34–42.
Valiantzas, J. D. (2002b). “Hydraulic analysis and optimum design of multidiameter irrigation laterals.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 78–86.
Vallesquino, P., and Luque-Escamilla, P. L. (2001). “New algorithm for hydraulic calculation in irrigation laterals.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 254–260.
Vallesquino, P., and Luque-Escamilla, P. L. (2002). “Equivalent friction factor method for hydraulic calculation in irrigation laterals.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 278–286.
Warrick, A. W., and Yitayew, M. (1988). “Trickle lateral hydraulics—I: Analytical solution.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 281–288.
Watters, G. Z., and Keller, J. (1978). “Trickle irrigation tubing hydraulics.” The Summer Meeting of ASAE, Utah State Univ., Logan, UT.
Wu, I. P. (1992). “Energy gradient line approach for direct hydraulic calculation in drip irrigation design.” Irrig. Sci., 13(1), 21–29.
Wu, I. P. (1997). “An assessment of hydraulic design of microirrigation systems.” Agric. Water Manage., 32(3), 275–284.
Wu, I. P., and Gitlin, H. M. (1974). “Drip irrigation design based on uniformity.” Trans. ASAE, 17(3), 429–432.
Wu, I. P., and Gitlin, H. M. (1975). “Energy gradient line for drip irrigation laterals.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 101(4), 323–326.
Wu, I. P., and Yue, R. (1993). “Drip lateral design using energy gradient line approach.” Trans. ASAE, 36(2), 389–394.
Yitayew, M. (1989). “Head loss in manifolds or trickle lateral: Simplified approach.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 115(4), 739–743.
Yitayew, M., and Warrick, A. W. (1988). “Trickle lateral hydraulics. II: Design and examples.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 289–300.
Yıldırım, G. (2006a). “Discussion of ‘Experimental analysis of local pressure losses for microirrigation laterals’ by G. Provenzano and D. Pumo.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 132(2), 189–193.
Yıldırım, G. (2006b). “Hydraulic analysis and direct design of multiple outlets pipelines laid on flat and sloping lands.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 537–552.
Yıldırım, G. (2007a). “An assessment of hydraulic design of trickle laterals considering effect of minor losses.” Irrig. Drain. (ICID J.), 56(4), 399–421.
Yıldırım, G. (2007b). “Analytical relationships for designing multiple outlets pipelines.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 140–154.
Yıldırım, G. (2008). “Determining operating inlet pressure head incorporating uniformity parameters for multioutlet plastic pipelines.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 341–348.
Yıldırım, G. (2009). “Simplified procedure for hydraulic design of small-diameter plastic pipes.” Irrig. Drain. (ICID J.), 58(3), 209–233.
Yıldırım, G. (2010). “Total energy loss assessment for trickle lateral lines equipped with integrated in-line and on-line emitters.” Irrig. Sci., 28(4), 341–352.
Yıldırım, G., and Ağıralioğlu, N. (2002). “Variation of total friction head losses and uniformity coefficients based on inlet pressure head in trickle irrigation laterals.” Proc., Int. Conf. on Water Resources Management in Arid Regions, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Kuwait.
Yıldırım, G., and Ağıralioğlu, N. (2004a). “Comparative analysis of hydraulic calculation methods in design of microirrigation laterals.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 201–217.
Yıldırım, G., and Ağıralioğlu, N. (2004b). “Linear solution for hydraulic analysis of tapered microirrigation laterals.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 78–87.
Yıldırım, G., and Singh, V. P. (2013a). “Determination of operating pressure for uniformly sloping submain lines with different types of pressure profiles. II: Design applications, comparative analysis and verification.” 6th Int. Perspective on Water Resources & the Environment, ASCE&EWRI, Izmır, Turkey.
Yıldırım, G., and Singh, V. P. (2013b). “Operating pressure for uniformly sloping submain lines with different types of pressure profiles. I: Improved energy-gradient ratio (EGR) approach.” 6th Int. Perspective on Water Resources & the Environment, ASCE&EWRI, Izmır, Turkey.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 3, 2014
Accepted: Oct 20, 2014
Published online: Dec 5, 2014
Discussion open until: May 5, 2015
Published in print: Jul 1, 2015
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.