Water–sediment separation efficiency prediction of gill-piece separation device

As the key piece of equipment of a micro-irrigation system, the filter can prevent clogging of the emitter and ensure normal operation of the micro-irrigation system. A gill-piece separation device is used for the removal of viscous sediment, which helps to reduce the sediment concentration and decrease the burden on the filter. In this study, using the water–sediment separation efficiency as an evaluation index, a uniform orthogonal experiment was conducted to study the flow rate, sediment concentration, and gill-piece spacing using a physical model. Based on the experimental results of the physical model, multiple linear regression and projection pursuit regression were used for analysis. The results showed that the order of the factors affecting the water–sediment separation efficiency was as follows: flow rate at muddy water inlet > gill-piece spacing > sediment concentration. The correlation coefficients of the water–sediment separation efficiency models established using multiple linear regression and projection pursuit regression were 0.93 and 0.98, respectively. Both models could predict the water–sediment separation efficiency and determine the optimal working conditions of the gill-piece separation device.