HUYDRAULIC DESIGN

Careful attention must be paid to producing uniform water pressure in the irrigation system (ken worthy 1974). An elevation map of the irrigation area should be made prior to installation, although this is not always necessary. Use of pressure regulators frictional characteristics of pipe, and pressure changes due to elevation, are all important aspect of designing a system that has constant pressure characteristics. Use of pressure compensating emitters simplifies the hydraulic design of a system. Consultation with a knowledgeable trickle irrigation engineer regarding hydraulic design is time and money well spent.

METERING AND MONITORING:
Keeping account of the amounts of water pumped into various areas is an important control in a trickle system. Due to the discontinuous, visually subtle, nature of trickle irrigation, water application according to the “look” of an area is very imprecise. Use of moisture-tension measuring devices for the trees and/ or soil is a requirement for development of an enlightened irrigation regime


LEVEL OF AUTOMATION:
Due to the non-visual nature of irrigation through a trickle system an automatic shut-off should be built into the pump controls. A system that approaches complete automation is possible. The complexity of these systems and their susceptibility to malfunction argue against a high level of automation. Some level of automation is usually desirable although systems are likely to quickly discover malfunctions due to the attention required to operate the system.

A simple design describes the trickle system for dates and center pivot system in the following figure.
The dripper used in the design is pressure compensating of 24 lph and the tube used is 25 mm 4 bar.