Pulsating Dripper Flow Control for Low-Flow Irrigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pressure-compensated drippers operate at higher flow rates than needed, leading to water and fertilizer wastage, and there is a lack of available drippers that can operate at low flow rates below 0.5 l/hr due to susceptibility to plugging, making drip irrigation systems complex and expensive.
Innovation Solution
A pulsating device converts low continuous liquid flow into a high intermittent and pulsating flow, which is distributed through a manifold to a group of normally closed, pressure-compensated drippers, allowing them to operate at low flow rates such as 0.1 l/hr while maintaining pressure compensation and reducing plugging issues.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional pressure-compensated drippers operate at higher flow rates (1 l/hr), then they are less susceptible to plugging, but water and fertilizer wastage increases due to deep percolation and excess flow below root zones
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a pulsating flow mechanism that converts continuous low flow rates into periodic high flow rates. The pulsating device creates intermittent flow bursts that open the normally closed drippers, allowing water and fertilizer to be delivered in pulses rather than continuously. This periodic action enables the system to operate at effectively lower flow rates (reducing waste) while the high-velocity pulses help prevent plugging by periodically flushing the dripper outlets.
2Loss of substance
If PC drippers operate at low flow rates (lower than 0.5 l/hr), then water and fertilizer wastage is reduced, but they become highly susceptible to plugging
Solution Approach 1:
The pulsating device generates periodic high-velocity flow bursts that temporarily exceed the plugging-prone low flow rates. These intermittent pulses serve a dual function: delivering the required low average flow rate to reduce waste, while simultaneously providing periodic high-velocity flushing to prevent plugging of the dripper outlets.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the flow rate parameter from continuous low flow to periodic high flow. The pulsating device transforms the flow characteristics, creating temporal variation in flow rate that allows the drippers to operate at low average flow rates (reducing waste) while experiencing periodic high flow rates that prevent plugging.
3Quantity of substance
If conventional drippers are used to meet plants' water requirements, then the irrigation system becomes complicated and expensive requiring multiple automatic valves and irrigation computers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functions of flow control and plugging prevention into a single pulsating device component. By combining the flow rate conversion function with the plugging prevention mechanism (through periodic high-velocity pulses), the system eliminates the need for separate control valves, flow meters, and automated control systems that would otherwise be required to manage multiple drippers operating at precise low flow rates.
Solution Approach 2:
The pulsating device performs multiple functions simultaneously: it converts continuous low flow to periodic high flow, controls the effective flow rate to prevent waste, and prevents plugging through periodic flushing. This multi-functionality replaces what would otherwise require multiple separate components and control systems, simplifying the overall irrigation system.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables efficient irrigation at lower flow rates, reducing water wastage and fertilizer loss by allowing drip irrigation systems to operate effectively with lower total flow requirements, while minimizing plugging issues in drippers.
Implementation Method 1
pressure-compensated drippers that operate at relatively lower flow rates
Implementation Method 2
a pulsating device having an inlet and an outlet that converts a low continuous liquid flow rate entering its inlet, through a flow control unit, to a high intermittent and pulsating flow rate ejected through its outlet
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus for operating a group of normally closed, pressure compensated drippers at relatively low liquid flow rates includes a pulsating device having an inlet and an outlet that converts a low continuous liquid flow rate entering its inlet, through a flow control unit, to a high intermittent and pulsating flow rate ejected through its outlet. A manifold has an inlet connected to the outlet of the pulsating device, a group of normally-closed, pressure-compensated drippers being connected to the manifold. The pulsating device converts a low continuous flow rate of liquid entering its inlet, through the flow control unit, to a high intermittent and pulsating flow rate that ejects from its outlet and flows from its outlet through the manifold inlet and through the normally-closed, pressure-compensated group of drippers connected to the manifold, out from the drippers, at a pressure-compensated low flow rate.