OPTIMIZATION OF FURROW IRRIGATION WIDTH: MODELLING AND NUMERICAL SIMULATION

• Main Author: RIYADI, MOHAMAD
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/69622
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

One of the furrow irrigation problems is to determine the optimal irrigation furrow width to enable the moisture content to be suciently high where a crop is planted. We assume that the crops are same and the soil is homogeneous, such that the furrows are geometrically considered as symmetry. Since the number and the length of furrows are infinite, the ow pattern can be considered as in two-dimensional: horizontal and vertical directions. Infiltration modelling of unsaturated soil is governed by Darcy's and mass conservation laws which lead to the Richards' equation. The equation is then transformed into linear differential equation using Kirchho transformation. Solution of the latter equation will be studied by two methods: Fourier techniques and numerical methods. For the numerical method, we apply the finite difference method. Simulations show that results for both methods are quite in agreement. The optimal furrow width is determined by comparing the soil suction potential to the minimum soil suction potential such that the crops can extract water from the soil.