An improved control strategy for high-pressure pumping irrigation systems

Abstract

[EN] Pumped irrigation systems are critical infrastructure that supply water from water sources to rural users through interconnected pressurized water pipes. To supply enough pressure head to all the irrigation outlets located in the irrigation network, it is required to have an appropriately high pressure head supplied by the pump station. Therefore, the energy consumption related to pumping could be correspondingly high, which may lead to significant operating costs. With the aid of real-time flow data available from each irrigation outlet, the proposed improved pump head setpoint selection algorithm can locate the most critical outlet in terms of the smallest downstream pressure head and therefore guarantee to deliver the minimum pressure required for all active outlets in the network. By using the proposed algorithm, it has been demonstrated with a two-day simulation that a 4.74% savings in pumping energy cost as well as a reduction in the associated greenhouse gas emissions can be achieved.