Use of Mobile Pipeline with Self-regulated Water Outlets for Furrow Irrigation

Surface irrigation is one of the most common irrigation methods, but it has its own significant drawbacks. A mobile pipeline for furrow irrigation from closed irrigation network was designed and its parameters were proved in order to improve furrow irrigation. The mobile pipeline consists of plastic pipes based on 10 pairs of spring skis connected in the middle by a flexible connection. It is known that water flow into the furrow decreases along the pipeline due to pressure losses along the length of the pipeline. It was proposed to use water outlets ensuring uniform supply of water to each furrow by the presence of the butterfly valve in housing of the water outlet in the mobile pipeline. In order to ensure sustainable valve position, an equation was derived and values of the area of the upper and bottom parts of the valve were obtained. According to the pipeline field test results, water distribution uniformity coefficient through the outlets was 0.98, at a flow rate of 1.0–3.0 l∙s^-1 and hydraulic slopes along the pipeline of 0.001–0.005.