Design of Drip Irrigation System
The general principles of design, the design procedure
and system layout of drip system is similar to that of the
sprinkler system except:
The spacing of emitters is much less than that of
sprinklers and that water must be filtered and treated
to prevent blockage of emitters.
Not all areas are irrigated. In design, therefore, the
area irrigated is only accounted for.
The irrigation interval is advisable to be daily as the
application rate is small.
Emitter spacing is not a function wind
Emitter discharge may be described by:
q = khx
Where:
q=the emitter discharge;
K=constant for each emitter ;
h=pressure head at which the emitter operates
x=the exponent characterized by the flow
regime.
The exponent, x can be determined by measuring
the slope of the log-log plot of head Vs discharge.
With x known, k can be determined using the
above equation.
Sizing of drip laterals:
The diameter of the lateral should be selected so that
the difference in discharge between emitters operating
simultaneously will not exceed 10 %.
This allowable variation is same as for sprinkler
irrigation laterals already discussed.
The maximum difference in pressure is the head loss
between the control point at the inlet and the pressure at
the emitter farthest from the inlet.
-The inlet is usually at the manifold where the pressure is regulated.
-The manifold is a line to which the trickle laterals are connected
For minimum cost, on a level area 55 % of the allowable head loss
should be allocated to the lateral and 45 % to the manifold.
-The Friction Loss for Mains and Sub-mains can be computed from
Darcy-Weisbach equation.
-As with sprinkler design, F should be used to compute head loss for
laterals and manifolds with multiple outlets, by multiplying a suitable
F factor.
Example:
Design a Trickle Irrigation System for a fully matured orchard
with the layout below.
Assume:
The field topography: level
Maximum time for irrigation: 12 hours per day
Allowable pressure variation in the emitters: 15%,
Water source: Well
– Maximum suction lift at the well = 20m
– Peak ET rate : 7mm/day
The matured orchard shades 70% of the area;
Trickle irrigation efficiency is 80%.
Sections 1 and 2 are to be irrigated at the same time and
alternated with sections 3 and 4.
Each tree is to be supplied by 4 emitters.
LAYOUT OF THE TRICKLE IRRIGATION SYSTEM
Solution:
(1) ETt = ET x P/85
Where: ETt is the average gross ET for crops under trickle
irrigation (mm/day)
ET is normal ET rate for the crop = 7 mm/day
P is the percentage of total areas shaded by the crop
= 70%
ETt = 7 mm/day x 70/85 = 5.8 mm/day.
(2) Discharge for each tree with a spacing of 4 m x 7 m
= 4 m x 7 m x 5.8 x 10-3 m/day = 0.162 m3/day
= 0.00675 m3/hr (24 hr. day)
For 12 hours of operation per day, discharge required
= 0.00675 x 24/12
= 0.0135 m3/hr = 0.00375 L/s
With an application efficiency of 80%, the required
discharge per tree is:
0.00375/0.8 = 0.0047 L/s
The discharge per emitter, with 4 emitters per tree is then:
= 0.0047/4 = 0.00118 L/s = 0.0012 L/s
Discharge of Each Line
Line No. of No. of Required
Trees Emitters Discharge (L/s)
Half Lateral 12 48 0.0576
Half Manifold 168 672 0.8060
Submain, A to 336 1344 1.6130
Section 1
Main, A to 672 2688 3.2260
Pump
From manufacturers catalogue, select emitter. Say a medium long-path emitter with
k = 0.000073 and x = 0.63 is selected.
Substituting in equation q = K hx, with an average discharge of 0.0012 L/s, the
average operating pressure of the emitter can be found by first transforming the
characteristic equation into logarithmic form and solving for h:
Log q Log k xLog h
Log q Log K Log 0.0012 Log 0.000073
Log h
x 0.63
h is then found as 8.9 m. This is the average operating head, Ha.
(5) Total allowable pressure loss of 15 % of Ha in both the
Lateral and Manifold = 8.9 x 0.15 =1.3 m.
of which, 0.55 x 1.3 = 0.7 m is allowed for Lateral and
0.45 x 1.3 = 0.6 is allowed for the Manifold.
(6) Compute the friction loss in each of the lines by Darcy-
Weisbach equation by selecting a diameter to keep the loss
within the allowable limits of 0.7 m and 0.6 m, already
determined.
Selection of Pipe Diameters:
Line Q (L/s) Pipe Pipe Diameter L (m) F Hf’ (m)
Diameter ID (mm)
OD
(mm)
Half Lateral 0.0576 16 12.70 46 0.36 0.51
Half 0.8060 32 31.75 45.5 0.36 0.68
Manifold
Sub-Main, A 1.6130 50 44.45 243 1 6.59
to Section 1
Main, A to 3.2260 55 50.80 60 1 2.90
Pump
Pressure Head at Manifold Inlet:
The pressure head at inlet of lateral:
HL = Ho + 0.75hfL 0.5HzL
Where: Ho = the operating pressure head of emitter
hfL = friction head loss in lateral
HzL = elevation head difference along the lateral
(use + for upslope; - for down slope)
The pressure head at inlet of manifold:
Hm = HL + 0.75hfm 0.5Hzm
Where: hfm = friction head loss in manifold
Hzm = elevation head difference along manifold
(use + for upslope; - for down slope)
Elevation difference = Zero , since the field is Level
Therefore,
HL= 8.9 + 0.75x 0.51 = 9.28 And,
Hm = 9.28+0.75x0.68 = 9.79 m
Size of pump:
Total Head for Pump =
Manifold Pressure = 9.79 m + Pressure loss at sub-main = 6.59 m
+ Pressure loss at Main = 2.90 m + suction lift = 20 m
+ Net Positive Suction head for pump = 4 m (assumed)
+ pressure head loss at control head = 5m
= 48.28 m
i.e. The pump must deliver 3.23 L/s at a head of about 48 m.
Hp = (Qs x H)/(75xEpxEm) = (3.23x48.28)/(75x0.7x0.7)
= 4.24 hp or say 5hp
Exercise
Given:
– Crop: orchard
– Area of field: 4.5ha (150m x300m)
– Dripper discharge, q = 4 lit/hr
– Dripper operating pressure, H = 12m
Design drip system for commercial farming
