Experimental Analysis of Water Evaporation Inhibition of Plain Reservoirs in Inland Arid Area with Light Floating Balls and Floating Plates in Xinjiang, China

AbstractTo reduce the ineffective evaporation of plain reservoirs in inland arid areas and improve the effective utilization of reservoirs, this work uses floating plates and floating balls as the main covering materials to reduce water surface evaporation. This paper investigates the motion characteristics of two covering materials with different structures under wind and waves through laboratory and field experiments. It analyzes the relation of evaporation inhibition rate of the floating plates and its area and thickness, and adopts the method of adding a counterweight to solve the problem of irregular rotation and easily rolling of the floating balls (the floating ball that serves as the added counterweight is called a tumbler floating ball). Then, it discusses the influence of diameter, counterweight, density, and type of the floating ball on evaporation inhibition rate by using the orthogonal design method and establishes a calculation equation of the water surface evaporation inhibition rate, which is applicable to the experiment area. Results show that: (1) the evaporation inhibition rate of the floating plates is positively correlated with the surface area and thickness, and (2) the influence degree of the four factors on the evaporation rate of the floating balls is diameter > counterweight > density > type of floating balls.