Resumo

SAUCEDO, Heber; ZAVALA, Manuel; FUENTES, Carlos  e  CASTANEDO, Vladimir. Optimal flow model for plot irrigation. Tecnol. cienc. agua [online]. 2013, vol.4, n.3, pp.135-148. ISSN 2007-2422.

The primarily linear relationship was verified between the length of a plot and optimal irrigation flow, which is the flow needed to obtain the maximum value of the uniformity coefficient, resulting in high values for application efficiency and the amount of irrigation required. This verification was performed by applying a complete hydrodynamic model using numerical methods, based on Saint-Venant equations to describe water surface flow and internally coupled with the Richards equation in order to model it. Operating design tables for plot irrigation were developed based on the results obtained from applying the model to 10 different types of soil.

Palavras-chave : plot irrigation; Richards equation; Saint-Venant equations; optimal irrigation flow.