Study of the Effect of Gravel Media Filtration on Soil Suspended Particles in Irrigation Water Adopting Laser Transmission Technique

Abstract

The microirrigation systems have been ,widely used around the w.or)d for. c op production. The main disadvantage..of microirrigatio'n is emitter cloggii)g, especially when i.J ing . canal water with . soil born: suspended particles. In order to alleviate his problem, the media filters arintroduced ' o redue the.suspended soil particles, which cause the emitter clogging.

The,.wavei filter capability to remove the suspended soil particles is called ' ReJ11oval efficiency, which can be calculated in accordance with the

American Society of Agriculture Engineering (ASAE) rules. ' . 'The removal efficiency of the gravel media filter depends on the concentration of the suspended soil particles in irrigation water before and after filtration. It is in fact a unique characte!jstic of the gravel media used. Gravel media size and shape are the most important factors relevant to its • performance. In the present work a detailed study has been performed on the determination '••,,: of the removal efficiency of different gravel media types (sizes), gravel depth and suspended soil particulates concentration by conventional method (oven drying) and laser transmission technique. The main goal is to check the usefulness and validity of using this leaser technique to determine the removal efficiency. In addition, experimental investigation of the proper gravel media has been performed. Three laser types, namely Helium Neon (He-Ne), Helium Cadmium (He-Cd)

arid Argon (Ar) were used to choose the most suitable and accurate type for the problem under investigation.