Hydraulics of large diameter gated flexible fluming
Article
Article Title | Hydraulics of large diameter gated flexible fluming |
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ERA Journal ID | 3455 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Koech, Richard (Author), Smith, Rod (Author) and Gillies, Malcolm (Author) |
Journal Title | Biosystems Engineering |
Journal Citation | 114 (2), pp. 170-177 |
Number of Pages | 7 |
Year | 2013 |
Publisher | Elsevier |
Place of Publication | London, United Kingdom |
ISSN | 1537-5110 |
1537-5129 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2012.12.005 |
Web Address (URL) | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1537511012002164 |
Abstract | Gated flexible or 'layflat' fluming is used in furrow irrigation to supply water to individual furrows. Laboratory experiments were conducted to establish the flow characteristics of these pipes under the low heads and high flow rates typical of furrow irrigation of cotton in Australia. Two different diameters of layflat were used in the study, 222.8 and 425mm. Proprietary 50mm diameter outlets (gates) were installed in the layflat at 1m spacings. Tests were conducted at various pressures and flow rates to determine; the geometric characteristics of the fluming and their relationship to pressure, the friction loss coefficient for the fluming with and without the outlets installed, and the head-discharge characteristic for the outlets. It was shown that the fluming is capable of supplying the desired flow rates (about 6l s-1 per furrow) at pressure heads <1m. The head-discharge characteristic for the proprietary outlets followed a similar form to the standard orifice equation. No evidence was found to suggest that the velocity head played any significant role in determining the outlet discharge. The Hazen-Williams coefficient (CHW) of the fluming with the outlets installed was a low 80 compared to a value of about 140 for the fluming without gates. This clearly illustrates the increase in energy losses caused by the protrusion of the gates into the flow and that these losses far exceed the losses due simply to pipe friction. These experimentally derived coefficients and characteristic equations were used to validate the simulation program GPIPE. |
Keywords | Australia; characteristic equation; flow characteristic; friction loss; furrow irrigation; geometric characteristics; Hazen-Williams coefficients; high-flow rate; Laboratory experiments; Large diameter; Low head; orifice equation; pressure heads; simulation program; velocity head |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 401213. Turbulent flows |
300201. Agricultural hydrology | |
401706. Numerical modelling and mechanical characterisation | |
Public Notes | © 2012 IAgrE. Published version deposited in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. |
Byline Affiliations | National Centre for Engineering in Agriculture |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q26zy/hydraulics-of-large-diameter-gated-flexible-fluming
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