Collector design for measuring high intensity time variant sprinkler application rates

King, B.A. and Winward, T.W. and Bjorneberg, D.L. and Wall, R.W. (2010) Collector design for measuring high intensity time variant sprinkler application rates. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 26(1):85-95.

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Abstract

Peak water application rate in relation to soil water infiltration rate and soil surface storage capacity is important in the design of center pivot sprinkler irrigation systems for efficient irrigation and soil erosion control. Measurement of application rates of center pivot irrigation systems has traditionally used tipping bucket rain gauges. Calculation of application rate from tipping bucket rain gauge measurements restricts computed application rate to a discrete multiple of the rain gauge resolution and time interval. This limits the resolution of application rate measurement, especially for time intervals less than 15 minutes. A collector was designed to measure time variant high intensity sprinkler application rates under field conditions with greater resolution than a tipping bucket rain gauge. The collector funnels water into a 50 mm (2 in.) diameter tube providing a depth multiplication factor of 18.26:1. The depth of water in the tube is measured with a low pressure piezo-resistive pressure sensor connected to a differential amplifier circuit. Combination of the depth multiplication factor of the collector and differential amplifier circuit provides a collector resolution of 1.4 mm/mV. A data logger is used to record water depth in the collector tube during an irrigation event. A digital differentiating filter was designed and used to reduce the effect of random electrical noise in the sensor output on calculated application rate. The collector was tested in the laboratory and under field conditions emulating center pivot sprinkler irrigation. For a range in application rates from 15 to 200 mm/h in the laboratory, the maximum collector error was 2.1 mm/h. Collector measured application rate patterns under field conditions were well correlated to simulated application rate patterns using radial application rate profiles for the sprinklers tested. Collector measured peak application rates were not significantly different from those predicted by the Kincaid (2005) model. The collector functioned as designed in field tests and provided an effective and efficient means of measuring high intensity application rates from center pivot irrigation systems under field conditions.

Item Type:	Article
NWISRL Publication Number:	1521
Subjects:	Irrigation > Sprinkler irrigation Soil Water
Depositing User:	Dan Stieneke
Date Deposited:	08 Dec 2014 19:03
Last Modified:	08 Dec 2014 19:03
Item ID:	1565
URI:	https://eprints.nwisrl.ars.usda.gov/id/eprint/1565