12: Moved-Lateral, Gun, and Traveler Sprinkler Systems
- Page ID
- 44308
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)- 12.1: Introduction
- This page discusses the global significance of sprinkler irrigation, originating in the late 19th century, for effective water use in agriculture. Center-pivot systems account for 85% of U.S. sprinkler irrigation, with other systems like side-roll and solid-set being less common. The text highlights the importance of system design, management, and performance monitoring for successful irrigation.
- 12.2: Periodically Moved Laterals
- The layout and design of sprinkler laterals in general were presented in Chapter 11. The typical layout of moved-lateral systems is illustrated in Figure 12.1. Water is supplied from a pump into the mainline which conveys water to the lateral. The mainline may be lengths of aluminum pipe aboveground. If multiple laterals operate simultaneously, valves may be placed along the mainline to adjust the pressure into a lateral and to shutoff a lateral
- 12.3: Solid-Set Systems
- Two forms of solid-set systems are available. One is a permanently installed system as illustrated in Figure 12.12. A typical design includes buried mainline and laterals, often with PVC pipe. Special risers are used to bring sprinklers to the required height for the crops irrigated. Risers usually include some type of flexible connection near the soil surface to prevent rupturing the lateral if sprinkler risers are damaged during farming operations
- 12.4: Guns
- Large sprinklers called guns have been developed for stationary and moving irrigation systems. A gun has a single large diameter nozzle that discharges large flows and throws water long distances. Stand-alone guns can be portable or installed at a fixed site (Figure 12.14). Water can be supplied from buried pipelines with valves that allow the gun to be moved from riser to riser, or water can be supplied from portable pipes. Guns can be operated to provide overlap and uniform irrigation. In othe
- 12.5: Travelers
- The early versions consisted of rotating booms mounted on a cart that was periodically moved. That design was replaced with a towable cart that could be pulled continuously across the field to provide a moving sprinkler system. Initially the travelers were pulled by winding up cable on a cart. The other end of the cable was anchored at the end of the travel lane. t.
- 12.6: Summary
- So, while the extent is not large, they still represented significant areas of irrigated land in the United States and a much more significant footprint around the world. Management of these systems requires a thorough understanding of their attributes, familiarity with the operational characteristics including the friction loss
- 12.7: Questions
- A tow-line irrigation lateral has a sprinkler spacing of 40 ft. The spacing between adjacent positions for the lateral is 70 ft. The diameter of coverage (dc) for the sprinklers is 103 ft, and the average wind speed is 7 miles per hour. Is the sprinkler spacing and distance between laterals acceptable for good water distribution? Determine the maximum acceptable irrigation interval for a silty clay loam soil where the root depth is 4 feet deep, fdc is 45% and the anticipated net crop
- 12.8: References
- Davis, S. L., & D. Dukes, M. D. (2016). Importance of ET controller program settings on water conservation potential. Appl. Eng. Agric., 32(2), 251-262. Ge, M., Wu, P., Zhu, D., & Zhang, L. (2018). Analysis of kinetic energy distribution of big gun sprinkler applied to continuous moving hose-drawn traveler. Agric.