Determination of the Hydraulic Properties of a Flat Type Drip Emitter using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the hydraulic properties of a flat type emitter using Computational Fluid Dynamics with different turbulence models and model options. In addition, it is aimed to investigate the effects of the emitter hydraulic properties on the design when the same emitter is used in drip irrigation pipes with different wall thicknesses. The lowest mean percentage deviation between the measured flow rates and the calculated flow rates with turbulence models was found as 0.70% and 0.74% in the SST k- and Stress-Omega RSM turbulence model for the wall thickness of 0.25 mm pipe, respectively. Also, the mean percentage deviation for the laminar turbulence model was found to be -1.01%. The minimum MAE (0.021 L h-1) and RMSE (0.028 L h-1) values were found in the SST k- low-Re corr. turbulence model and the minimum MAPE (1.068%) was found in the laminar turbulence model.

Keywords

• Turbulence models,emitter design,CFD

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