Determination of the head losses in metal body disc filters used in drip irrigation systems

Authors: VEDAT DEMİR, HÜSEYİN YÜRDEM, ARZU YAZGI, ADNAN DEĞİRMENCİOĞLU

Abstract: The objective of this study was to determine the head losses in several type metal body disc filters manufactured by domestic companies. In order to meet the objective, three different filter designs (L, LT and Y type), each at four different inlet and outlet pipe diameters, were used to measure the head losses at different flow rates in the laboratory. A total of sixteen filters manufactured by three domestic companies (A, B and C) and two different disc elements (linear and curly) were taken into consideration in this study. A comparison of the different filter designs in terms of measured the head losses indicated that in all cases while the L type filters gave the highest head loss, the other two designs provided less head losses at the same flow rate. Furthermore, the head losses in C-LT type filters with curly groove shape discs were less than B-LT type filters with linear groove shape discs in comparing with the LT type filters produced by two different manufacturers even though the design and the size of the filter body were similar. The differences in the head loss can be clarified with the help of the results obtained from the structural characteristic of filtering elements. As a result, in drip irrigation systems, the use of Y and LT type disc filters with curly groove shaped discs are recommended in order to obtain less head losses and low energy requirements when compared with filters used in this study.

Keywords: Drip irrigation, disc filter, filtration, head loss

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