Experimental and Numerical Investigation on the Erosion Wear of an Impact Sprinkler

In the middle and western China, agricultural irrigation water often contains a high sediment concentration. In order to save the cost, no filtration devices are required for sprinkler irrigation, which results in the wear of sprinkling irrigation equipment, especially on the nozzle. In this study, experiments on the erosion wear of an impact sprinkler (PY1-20sh with aluminum alloy nozzles) were conducted under different conditions of sediment concentration and erosion time. Using the experimental data as boundary conditions, numerical simulations based on the discrete phase model (DPM) were conducted to analyze the wear of the internal surface of the sprinkler’s full flow passage. Based on both experimental and numerical results, the erosion wear mechanism of the internal flow surface was revealed, and prediction model of the nozzle’s wear rate was established, providing the technical guidance for design and operation of the impact sprinkler.