Iranian Journal of Irrigation & Drainage

Iranian Journal of Irrigation & Drainage

Laboratory Investigation of the Hydraulic Performance of Four Dripper Types under Various Operating Pressures

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
azadeh fahimi zand 1
S golestani 2
mohammad zounemat-kermani 3
1 M. Sc student, Department of Water Science and Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Water Science and Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran
3 Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran
10.22034/idj.2026.555031.2636
Abstract
Achieving uniform water distribution and, consequently, improving the efficiency of a drip irrigation system depends on the proper hydraulic performance of the emitter as one of the main components of the system. Therefore, in this study, a laboratory experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of four types of emitters available in the market (two pressure-compensating and two non-pressure-compensating) under five applied operating pressures (0.6, 0.8, 1.2, 1.6, and 2.4 bar). The evaluated parameters included distribution uniformity (EU), Christiansen’s uniformity coefficient (CU), manufacturing coefficient of variation (CV), discharge variation coefficient (qvar), discharge–pressure relationship and statistical uniformity coefficient (Us). The results confirmed the superior performance of the Eurodrip emitter among the non-pressure-compensating emitters (CV = 0.036, EU = 95.28%, CU = 97.26%, qvar = 23.2%, and Us = 96.18%). Among the pressure-compensating emitters, the Abafarin emitter exhibited better performance (CV = 0.082, EU = 87.36%, CU = 92.78%, qvar = 25.8%, and Us = 91.4%). Overall, the results indicated that, under the conditions of this study, the evaluated non-pressure-compensating emitters outperformed the pressure-compensating emitters in most hydraulic performance indices.

Therefore, in order to improve irrigation system efficiency, the selection of emitters should be based on the evaluation of hydraulic performance indices under actual operating conditions, so that their real performance can be accurately determined, rather than relying solely on manufacturers’ reported specifications.
Keywords
Distribution uniformity
Drip irrigation
Hydraulic evaluation
Pressure-compensating dripper
باقرخانی، ع. و زارع ابیانه، ح. ۱۳۹۸. ﺍﺭﺯﻳﺎﺑﻲ عملکرﺩ ﺑﺮﺧﻲ از ﺳﺎﻣﺎﻧﻪ های ﺁﺑﻴﺎﺭﻱ  قطره‌ای (ﻣﻄﺎﻟﻌﻪ ﻣﻮﺭﺩﻱ: ﺷﻬﺮﺳﺘﺎﻥ ﺳﻨﻘﺮ). نشریه ﺩﺍﻧﺶ وآب و خاک. 29 (2): 129-140.
حسین زاد، ج. و کاظمیه، ف. 1392. جایگاه مدیریت منابع آب در توسعه کشاورزی (مطالعه موردی: دشت تبریز). تحقیقات اقتصاد و توسعه کشاورزی ایران. 44 (3): 369-377 .
خواست، م.، حسام، م.، هزارجریبی، ا. و محمدی، ا. ۱۳۹۹. بررسی تأثیر فشار بر گسیلندگی آب با روش کیت آبیاری قطره‌ای بدون استفاده از پمپ در چهار نوع قطره‌چکان مختلف. نشریه علوم آب و خاک.۲۴ (۱): ۲۱۳–۲۲۴.
روشنی، ا.1392. طراحی سیستم‌های آبیاری قطره‌ای. انتشارات آموزش و ترویج کشاورزی.
عباسی، ف.، سهراب، ف. و عباسی، ن. ۱۳۹۵. ارزیابی وضعیت راندمان آب آبیاری در ایران. تحقیقات مهندسی سازه‌های آبیاری و زهکشی. ۱۷ (۶۷): 128–113.
علیزاده، ا .1385 . طراحی سیستم‌های آبیاری(جلد دوم). دانشگاه امام رضا.
قاسمی، ا. 1398 بررسی ضریب یکنواختی توزیع آب در تعدادی از قطره‌چکان‌های ساخت داخل و خارج کشور. پایان نامه کارشناسی ارشد، دانشکده کشاورزی، دانشگاه لرستان.
قربانی، ب. و شهبازیان‌‌فرد، ا. 1396. ارزیابی عملکرد هیدرولیکی قطره چکان­های موجود در چند سامانه آبیاری قطره‌ای (مطالعه موردی: حاشیه زاینده رود در استان چهار محال و بختیاری). نشریه دانش آب و خاک.27 (4): 11-1.
هزارجریبی، ا.، قربانی نصرآبادی، ق.، فضل اولی، ر. و عابدین پور، م. 1392. بررسی عملکرد هیدرولیکی سه نوع قطره­چکان خارجی تنظیم­شونده در فشارهای کارکرد مختلف. نشریه پژوهش­های حفاظت آب و خاک، علوم کشاورزی و منابع طبیعی . 20 (1) : 199-211 .   
Ashraf, S., Nazemi, A. and AghaKouchak, A. 2021. Anthropogenic drought dominates groundwater depletion in Iran. Scientific Reports. 11 (1): 9135.
Bodole, C., Koech, R. and Pezzaniti, D. 2016. Laboratory evaluation of dripper performance. Flow Measurement and Instrumentation. 50: 261-268.
Bralts, V. F. and Kesner, C. D. 1987. Drip irrigation design and evaluation based on the coefficient of variation. In Advances in Irrigation, Elsevier. 4: 151–166.
ASAE EP 405.1.1996. Design and installation of micro irrigation systems. American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE).
Farah, A. A. U. and Abdi, A. S. H. 2023. Evaluation of hydraulic performance of three different emitters in drip irrigation systems for small vegetable farms, Gezira state, Sudan. International Journal of Agriculture and Nutrition. 5 (2): 11–15.
Guan, H., Li, J. and Li, Y. 2013. Effects of drip system uniformity and irrigation amount on cotton yield and quality under arid conditions. Agricultural Water Management. 124 (6): 37–51.
Hassan, M. K., Tahir, H. T. and Almuhamade, O. H. M. 2017. Effect of water pressure in drip irrigation and potato cultivars (Solanum tuberosum L.) in growth, yield and quality under fall season conditions in Kirkuk governovate. Journal of Kirkuk University of Agricultural Sciences. 8 (5): 87-99.
Howell, T. A. and Barinas, F. A. 1980. Pressure losses across trickle irrigation fittings and emitters. Transactions of the ASAE. 23 (4): 928-933.
Keller, J. and Karmeli, D. 1974. Trickle irrigation design parameters. Transactions of the ASAE.17 (4): 678-784.
Maghrebi, M., Noori, R. and AghaKouchak, A. 2023. Iran: renovated irrigation network deepens water crisis. Nature. 618 (7964): 238.
Marchis, M. D., Bruno, F., Saccone, D., and Napoli, E. 2025. Performance of emitters in drip irrigation systems using computational fluid dynamic analysis. Water. 17 (5):689.
Noori, R., Maghrebi, M., Jessen, S., Bateni, S. M., Heggy, E., Javadi, S. and Aghakouchak, A. 2023. Decline in Iran’s groundwater recharge. Nature Communications. 14 (1): 6674.
Pranga, G., Kumar, G. M. and Shankar, M. S. 2017. Hydraulic performance evaluation of drip system by developing relationship between discharge and pressure. International Journal of Pure & Applied Bioscience. 5:758-765.
Perea, H., Enciso-Medina, J., Singh, V. P., Dutta, D. P. and Lesikar, B. J. 2013. Statistical analysis of non-pressure-compensating and pressure-compensating drip emitters. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering. 139 (12): 986-994.
Sharu, E. H. 2021. Hydraulic performance analysis of drip irrigation system using pressure compensated dripper at low operating pressure. Advances in Agricultural and Food Research Journal. 3 (1): 1-9.
Singh, A. K., Rahman, A., Sharma, S. P., Upadhyaya, A. and Sikka, A. K. 2009. Small holders irrigation - Problems and options. Water Resources Management. 23: 289-302.
Sokol, J., Amrose, S., Nangia, V., Talozi, S., Brownell, E., Montanaro, G., Abunaser, K., Mustafa, K. B., Bahri, A. and Bouazzama, B. 2019. Energy reduction and uniformity of low-pressure online drip irrigation emitters in field tests. Water. 11(6):1195.
UNESCO. 2020. The United Nations world water development report 2020: water and climate change. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Iranian Journal of Irrigation & Drainage
Volume 20, Issue 2 - Serial Number 117
July and August 2026
Pages 269-279