Advances and comparisons of uniformity evaluation index of sprinkle irrigation

In order to improve the reliability and accuracy of water uniformity evaluation, five categories of uniformity coefficients and the equations that describe the interrelationships between these models were analyzed. The five categories of coefficients are mean deviation coefficients, standard deviation coefficients, distribution uniformity coefficients, statistical distribution coefficients, and spatial distribution coefficients. The results showed that these models had both advantages and disadvantages and different models had different application purposes when they were used to evaluate sprinkle irrigation uniformity. It was concluded that only using one uniformity coefficient could hardly give accurate evaluation results, and appropriate coefficients and models should be selected according to certain evaluation and research purposes. It was also suggested that the future research should be emphasized upon the experimental analysis about uniformity calculation methods and uncertain factors during tests that had great influences on irrigation uniformity values. This research provides theoretical references to create new test and measurement standards for sprinkle irrigation uniformity evaluation.