Bio-Inspired, Low-Cost, Self-Regulating Valves for Drip Irrigation in Developing Countries
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Author(s)
Joshi, Abhijit
Zimoch, Pawel Jerzy
Tixier, Eliott
Hosoi, Anette E
Winter, Amos G.
Date Issued
August 2013
Journal
Volume 5: 25th International Conference on Design Theory and Methodology; ASME 2013 Power Transmission and Gearing Conference
Publisher
ASME International
Citation
Zimoch, Pawel J., Eliott Tixier, Abhijit Joshi, A. E. Hosoi, and Amos G. Winter. “Bio-Inspired, Low-Cost, Self-Regulating Valves for Drip Irrigation in Developing Countries.” Volume 5: 25th International Conference on Design Theory and Methodology; ASME 2013 Power Transmission and Gearing Conference (August 4, 2013).
Version
Final published version
Abstract
We use nonlinear behavior of thin-walled structures - an approach inspired by biological systems (the human airway, for ex- ample) - to address one of the most important problems facing subsistence farmers in developing countries: lack of access to inexpensive, water-efficient irrigation systems. An effective way of delivering water to crops is through a network of emitters, with up to 85% of the water delivered being absorbed by plants. How- ever, of the 140 million hectares of cropped land in India alone, only 61 million are irrigated and just 5 million through drip irrigation. This is, in part, due to the relatively high cost of drip irrigation. The main cost comes from the requirement to pump the water at relatively high pressure ( > 1 bar), to minimize the effect of uneven terrain and viscous losses in the network, and to en- sure that each plant receives the same amount of water. Using a prototype, we demonstrate that the pressure required to drive the system can be reduced significantly by using thin-walled structures to design emitters with completely passive self-regulation that activates at approximately 0.1bar. This reduction in driving pressure could help bring the price of drip irrigation systems from several thousand dollars to approximately $300, which is within reach of small-scale farmers. Using order-of-magnitude calculations, we show that due to increased sensitivity of the proposed design to the applied pressure differential, a pressure compensating valve for drip irrigation could be built without using costly silicone membranes.
MIT Department
MIT-SUTD Collaboration
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mathematics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2013-12495
