Simulation of the flow characteristics of a drip irrigation emitter with large eddy methods

Realizing the internal flow visualization inside the drip irrigation emitter is the basis of optimizing the labyrinth path structure and promoting its anti-clogging capability. The Computational FluidDynamics (CFD)method has become an effective approach to research the water movement in the labyrinth path of the drip irrigation emitter. In this paper, the standard k-ε model and the Large Eddy Simulation method (LES) were applied to analyze the flow characteristic in the drip irrigation emitter. The results showed that the LESmodel was more effective to simulate the flow characteristics in the flow path of drip irrigation emitters. Based on this model, the energy dissipation mechanism was explained with the velocity and pressure values from local regions to the whole flow path, and the study of the flow path anti-clogging performance was carried out by way of analyzing the velocity distribution characteristics in different cross sections of the same structure unit. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.