Hydraulic Calibration, Automation, Irrigation Scheduling of the Sprinkler Irrgation System – unalm

The water scarcity and climate change in desert areas such as Lima - Perú, generates a need to optimize water usage and irrigation in green urban areas. This paper analyzes the hydraulic calibration of a simulation model, automation, remote control and irrigation monitoring system; and irrigation scheduling based on evapotranspiration (ET). The project was developed and integrated in a sprinkler irrigation system at the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina. The study area comprises 17.51 ha, with an irrigation system consisting of a pipe network of 42 km, 103 solenoid valves, 37 irrigation shifts, filtration system, pumping station and reservoirs. The hydraulic calibration of network pipe was developed by means of differences between pressure measurements made in the system and the simulated results from Water CAD software. Root-mean square error was used to select the roughness of each pipe. The irrigation system was automated using ESP-LXD and ESP-LXME controllers that use latest technology (decoders) and traditional automation respectively. These controllers send signals to turn the pump on or off, open or close the solenoid valves, and monitor system flow rates. The IQ-Cloud platform was installed, which is a cloud-based service, allowing the operator to query the main control of the irrigation system from any location, at any time, by electronic devices accessing the internet. The conclusions obtained show the pipe roughness coefficients was 140. The remote autonomous system and irrigation scheduling based on ET enhance irrigation water management. The turfgrass crop water requirement was 10334 m3 / ha-year based on ET.