A mathematical model for evaluating irrigation systems performance

Abstract

Mathematical models have been proposed to represent the applied irrigation water distribution profile, which is fundamental to evaluate the performance of irrigation systems. Even though there have been advances, so far, there is not a universally accepted model as the most adequate to fit water distribution profiles from irrigation systems. The objectives of this work were to propose a model for evaluating the performance of irrigation systems, and to develop an irrigation adjusting factor for calculating the gross water depth that takes into account both water application uniformity and efficiency measures. The fitting parameters of the proposed model were determined by using the routine Solver from the spreadsheet Excel and the water application uniformity and efficiency measures were calculated from mathematical expressions derived for this model. According to data from the evaluation of a center pivot irrigation system, the proposed model is adequate for analyzing irrigation performance and for obtaining the devised irrigation adjusting factor, by gathering the required system performance indicators. It also simplifies the analysis procedures and allows a direct calculation of the water depth demand for irrigation.