Hydraulic Testing and Performance Characterisation of Irrigation Equipment. Hydraulic and Irrigation Laboratory

Hydraulic characterisation is carried out using a test bench consisting of a system of pipes and pumps that draw water from a 5 m³ tank, forming a closed circuit. The test bench is designed to accommodate any hydraulic equipment to be tested and is equipped with high-precision flow and pressure sensors. It features an automatic system for programming the operating conditions, as well as for collecting and storing pressure and flow rate data as the equipment under test is subjected to different operating conditions. The H/Q operating range is 0–5 bar / 220–0 m³/h.

This type of testing is of great interest to the irrigation sector and the drinking water supply sector. The tests are of particular interest both to manufacturers of hydraulic equipment (all types of valves, meters, flow meters, control pilots, filters, injectors, etc.) and to companies that need to verify the performance of the equipment they install.

Depending on the equipment being tested and the variable or variables used to characterise it, the following applications can be obtained:

• Determination of head loss curves as a function of flow rate.
• Determination of flow rate curves as a function of pressure.
• Operating range.
• Flow rate measurement error.
• Injection ratio.

Irrigation equipment manufacturers need to have the performance characteristics of their equipment independently verified. It is therefore important to have their performance certified by an independent laboratory that can validate the technical specifications of the equipment, enabling them to include performance characteristics validated by the UMH Hydraulic and Irrigation Laboratory in their technical data sheets.

Likewise, companies with hydraulic equipment installed at their facilities need to verify that the performance of the equipment they install complies with the technical specifications provided by the manufacturer.

The laboratory has the instrumentation and protocols required to carry out testing immediately upon request.

• Hydraulic Equipment Manufacturers: Prototype validation and quality control of commercial products.
• Agricultural Sector and Irrigation Communities: Auditing of filtration equipment, valves and meters.
• Drinking Water Utilities: Verification of measurement and control systems in urban water networks.
• Water Engineering and Consultancy Firms: Technical support for the design of water transport infrastructure.

Ricardo Abadía Sánchez – University Institute for Research and Innovation in Agri-Food and Environmental Sciences