CFD and digital particle tracking to assess flow characteristics in the labyrinth flow path of a drip irrigation emitter

It is necessary to have a comprehensive understanding of the flow mechanisms within drip irrigation emitters to design emitters that have a high anti-clogging performance. The use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to research the flow characteristics is appropriate because the labyrinth flow path is narrow and its boundary is complex. In this paper, a CFD for numeric model was developed for numerical simulation of the velocity distribution and turbulence intensity distributions within labyrinth emitters. A two-dimensional digital particle-tracking velocimetry (2D-DPIV) visual display system of the full flow fields was also constructed using plain laser inducement fluorescence velocity measurement technology, custom-made fluorescent particles and a plane model of the emitters. The object lens of a microscope was fitted to a conventional charge coupled device (CCD) camera to overcome the contradiction problems between the image viewing area and resolution power within the flow path. The measured turbulence and velocity distribution characteristics within the labyrinth flow path were in good agreement with the calculated CFD results. This enabled the optimal emitter design patterns to be determined based on the hydraulic characteristics and clogging resistance in the labyrinth flow path.