Simple Method for the Design of Microirrigation Paired Laterals on Sloped Fields

Abstract

In this study, a method for designing paired laterals that meet with required water application uniformity on sloped fields was developed using the energy gradient line approach based on the definition of the best submain position locations in which the same minimum pressure exists in uphill and downhill laterals. The best equation form of best submain position was determined. Also, the solution procedure was introduced to get the final solution to avoid the phenomena of no convergence or slow convergence. In this method, the required water application uniformity was used directly as a computational parameter in designing. When the designed emitter discharge, required water application uniformity and one parameter (either length or diameter) of a paired lateral are provided; the system developed here enables another parameter and the best submain position to be determined for any field slope conditions. Taken together, the results of this study show that final solutions can be obtained quickly and reasonably.