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Evaporative cooling of heated irrigation water by sprinkler application
Author(s) -
Cline J. F.,
Wolf M. A.,
Hungate F. P.
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr005i002p00401
Subject(s) - evaporative cooler , relative humidity , environmental science , irrigation , wet bulb temperature , dry bulb temperature , arid , microclimate , atmospheric sciences , semi arid climate , humidity , hydrology (agriculture) , meteorology , environmental engineering , agronomy , geography , engineering , geotechnical engineering , archaeology , geology , biology , paleontology
Heated water was cooled rapidly to impact temperatures that produce optimum growth in plants by applying the water with a standard irrigation sprinkler. Maximum cooling was observed nearest the sprinkler, where the smallest droplets were measured, and temperatures and mean diameters generally increased with distance from the source. Impact temperatures of the water droplets approached but did not reach wet bulb temperatures. Water as hot as 50°C was cooled to droplet temperatures of 25°C or less when the sprinklers were operated in an associated arid climate and at line pressures greater than 25 psi. A theoretical treatment correlated well with one selected set of experimental data and with predicted cooling rates for specified droplets in several typical atmospheric conditions and one untypical condition for an arid climate. Only under the condition of high relative humidity at a given ambient temperature does it appear that cooling might be insufficient to produce usable sprinkler water from 50°C supply water for crop production.