Biofilm structure and its influence on clogging in drip irrigation emitters distributing reclaimed wastewater

Using reclaimed wastewater for crop irrigation is a practical alternative to discharge wastewater treatment plant effluents into surface waters.However,biofouling has been identified as a major contributor to emitter clogging in drip irrigation systems distributing reclaimed wastewater.Little is known about the biofilm structure and its influence on clogging in the drip emitter flow path.This study was first to investigate the microbial characteristics of mature biofilms present in the emitters and the effect of flow path structures on the biofilm microbial communities.The analysis of biofilm matrix structure using a scanning electron microscopy（SEM） revealed that particles in the matrix of the biofilm coupled extracellular polysaccharides（EPS） and formed sediment in the emitter flow path.Analysis of biofilm mass including protein,polysaccharide,and phospholipid fatty acids（PLFAs） showed that emitter flow path style influenced biofilm community structure and diversity.The correlations of biofilm biomass and discharge reduction after 360 h irrigation were computed and suggest that PFLAs provide the best correlation coeffcient.Comparatively,the emitter with the unsymmetrical dentate structure and shorter flow path（Emitter C） had the best anti-clogging capability.By optimizing the dentate structure,the internal flow pattern within the flow path could be enhanced as an important method to control the biofilm within emitter flow path.This study established electron microscope techniques and biochemical microbial analysis methods that may provide a framework for future emitter biofilm studies.

FLOW CHARACTERISTICS IN ENERGY DISSIPATION UNITS OF LABYRINTH PATH IN THE DRIP IRRIGATION EMITTERS WITH DPIV TECHNOLOGY

The energy dissipation mechanism and anti-clogging properties of drip irrigation emitters are closely related to flow characteristics of the fluid in its flow paths, and flow field tests using modem flow visual technologies were carried out by a large number of designers. The Digital Particle ImageVelocimetry （DPIV） system was built for un-disturbed flow tests in the labyrinth path. In this article, the flow field was measured in the flow path section, the structural unit and the local region near sawtooth. Under the pressure level of 10 Kpa, 50 Kpa, 100 Kpa and 150 Kpa, the flows in the two labyrinth paths were in the turbulence state, with flow stagnation regions and whirlpool regions in the structure of the labyrinth path sections. The flow stagnation regions should be eliminated as much as possible. But the vortex should be fully developed, which could increase the self-cleaning capacity and the anti-clogging capacity of the emitter. With respect to the anti-clogging performance and the energy loss efficiency of the emitter, the M-type flow path is better than the K-type flow path.

Structural Design of a Bionic Anti-Clogging Drip Irrigation Emitter Based on Shark Dorsal Fin

Due to the poor anti-clogging performance of the common drip irrigation emitters, this paper designed a new bionic flow channel in the emitter based on the shape of shark dorsal fin. After preliminary structural design, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation showed that the bionic emitter exhibited superior anti-clogging performance and reasonable hydraulic performance. The passage rate of particles of the bionic emitter in simulation reached 96.3% which was 37.6% higher than 70% of traditional emitter, and the discharge exponent reached 0.4995 which was close to traditional emitter. Physical experiments were consistent with the CFD results, which confirmed the correctness of simulation. After a short cycle anti-clogging performance experiment, the bionic emitter still maintained 96.09% of the initial flow rate.

Flow Behaviour Analysis and Experimental Investigation for Emitter Micro-channels

The existing research of the flow behavior in emitter micro-channels mainly focuses on the single-phase flow behavior.And the recent micro-particle image velocimetry（PIV） experimental research on the flow characteristics in various micro-channels mainly focuses on the single-phase fluid flow.However,using an original-size emitter prototype to perform the experiments on the two-phase flow characteristics of the labyrinth channels is seldom reported.In this paper,the practical flow of water,mixed with sand escaped from filtering,in the labyrinth channel,is investigated.And some research work on the clogging mechanism of the labyrinth channel＇s structure is conducted.Computational fluid dynamics（CFD） analysis has been performed on liquid-solid two-phase flow in labyrinth-channel emitters.Based on flow visualization technology-micro-PIV,the flow in labyrinth channel has been photographed and recorded.The path line graph and velocity vector graph are obtained through the post-treatment of experimental results.The graphs agree well with CFD analysis results,so CFD analysis can be used in optimal design of labyrinth-channel emitters.And the optimized anti-clogging structures of the rectangular channel and zigzag channel have been designed here.The CFD numerical simulation and the micro-PIV experiments analysis on labyrinth-channel emitter,make the ＂black box＂ of the flow behavior in the emitter channel broken.Furthermore,the proposed research promotes an advanced method to evaluate the emitter＇s performance and can be used to conducting the optimal design of the labyrinth-channel emitters.

The step-by-step CFD design method of pressure-compensating emitter

In order to improve the design and research and development (R & D) efficiency of the pressure- compensating drip irrigation emitter,a step-by-step computational fluid dynamics (CFD) design method was proposed based on CFD theory combined with the finite element method. By analyzing its hydraulic performance through the step-by-step CFD method,the prediction pressure-flow curve(p-Q curve) of the pressure-compensating emitter was obtained. Then the test samples were fabricated using rapid prototype and manufacturing(RP & M) technology. The emitters' hydraulic performance experiment was carried out and the experimental p-Q curve was obtained. The step-by-step CFD design method was verified by comparing the experimental p-Q curve with the prediction values,which showed that the prediction values met the experimental results well within the normal range of the emitter's working pressure. On this basis,the effect of the emitter structure on its pressure-compensating performance was studied,which showed that the height of the pressure-compensating region had significant effects on the emitter's pressure-compensating performance. Series products of the pressure-compensating emitter could be designed by changing the region's height.