Emitter and Spaghetti Tubing Effects on Microsprinkler Flow Uniformity
ABSTRACT MICROSPRINKLER assembly discharge variations were examined to partition contributions from the spaghetti tubing and the emitter. The coefficients of variation (CV) of the emitters alone were found to be excellent (less than 2%) for the two models tested. Variations in 0.61 m lengths of spaghetti tubing ranged from 2.0% to 7.6%. Spaghetti tubing diameter was found to significantly affect discharge rate at 138 kPa system operating pressure. A 12% increase in discharge rate from Micro-Bird II Spinners resulted when spaghetti tube diameter increased from 4 mm to 6 mm. The discharge rate increased 60% for Microsprinkler III emitters when 10-mm tubing was used instead of 4-mm tubing. Spaghetti tubing was found to be an important factor to consider in the overall uniformity of microsprinkler systems.