Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Maricopa, Arizona » U.S. Arid Land Agricultural Research Center » Water Management and Conservation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #257583

Title: Simulation of unsteady flow and soil erosion in irrigation furrows

Author
item ZHANG, SHIYAN - University Of Arizona
item DUAN, JENNIFER - University Of Arizona
item Strelkoff, Theodor

Submitted to: American Society of Civil Engineers
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/20/2009
Publication Date: 5/16/2010
Citation: Zhang, S. Y., Duan, J. G., and Strelkoff, T. S. (2010). Simulation of unsteady flow and soil erosion in irrigation furrows. ASCE Conf. Proc. 371, 216, DOI: 10.1061/41114(371)216. Zhang, S. Y., Duan, J. G., and Strelkoff, T. S. (2010). “Simulation of unsteady flow and soil erosion in irrigation furrows.” ASCE Conf. Proc. 371, 216, DOI: 10.1061/41114(371)216.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Soil erosion in irrigation furrows significantly impacts the efficiency of irrigation, infiltration and fertilization. This study developed a numerical model to simulate unsteady flow and the resultant soil erosion and sediment transport in irrigation furrows. The model solves a revised version of the one-dimensional Saint-Venant equations by considering the loss of mass and momentum due to infiltration and sediment transport. The modified Laursen sediment transport formula of Strelkoff and Clemmens (2005) applicable to the transport capacity of silt and clay sized fine sediment was adopted. Furrow infiltration was calculated by the Kostiakov infiltration equation in which the empirical parameters were calibrated by using field observed data. The developed model was tested with a field case, and the results reasonably agreed with the field measurements. The same experimental case was also simulated with the WinSRFR model and compared with the current model