Spatial and Temporal Variability of Water Application via a Center Pivot
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 149, Issue 12
Abstract
The effect of discrete movement of center-pivot towers on water distribution uniformity is a phenomenon difficult to demonstrate in the field; thus, in this paper, the dependence of uniformity of water application on the movement of the towers was investigated. To accomplish this, global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers were installed on three center-pivot towers to track their location during system operation. The data obtained were modeled by a computer program developed in Visual Basic for Applications, in an Excel software spreadsheet. Analysis of the temporal behavior of water depths due to the movement of each tower was described by Fourier series analysis. The results showed that towers closer to the center of irrigated circle presented longer stopping times, shorter movement times, and lower speeds, which together resulted in greater variability in applied water depth. Irrigation uniformity was affected by the misalignment angle between center-pivot spans, with uniformity being greater with smaller misalignment angles. Misalignment angles below 2° are not recommended because they result in very short cycle times (time in motion), which can cause the alignment sensors in the towers closer to the pivot point to fail, and therefore prevent movement. Finally, the amplitude of water depths as a function of tower movement increased when the misalignment angle increased. With the Fourier series analysis, regarding the interval between dominant peaks, it is possible to verify the influence of the equipment stoppage time on the water application cycles of each tower, and consequently on the overall uniformity.
Practical Applications
The evaluation of misalignment angle effect on irrigation uniformity allowed us to verify why its value is currently about 5° and, in addition, it shows that it is not necessary to minimize it closer to zero (straight alignment) with the use of more complex technologies, considering that 5° angle already results in values of irrigation uniformity greater than 90%. On the other hand, the novel and successful use of time series to describe the center-pivot movement can be an important tool to be implemented on software to more realistic simulation of center-pivot irrigation.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for funding the Water Resources Graduate Program (Grant Number 001) and this research by scholarship grant to the first author, and also acknowledge the Feno Santa Helena farm for allowing the evaluation of their irrigation equipment and the research to be carried out in their production area.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 149 • Issue 12 • December 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 9, 2023
Accepted: Sep 6, 2023
Published online: Oct 5, 2023
Published in print: Dec 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Mar 5, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Buildings
- Computer models
- Computer programming
- Computer software
- Computing in civil engineering
- Engineering fundamentals
- Field tests
- Fourier analysis
- Geomatics
- Geometry
- Global navigation satellite systems
- High-rise buildings
- Irrigation
- Irrigation engineering
- Mathematics
- Methodology (by type)
- Models (by type)
- Spatial variability
- Spreadsheets
- Structural engineering
- Structures (by type)
- Surveying methods
- Tests (by type)
- Water and water resources
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