Design And Construction Of A Solar Sprinkler Irrigation System

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Overview

ABSTRACT

Costs of diesel for irrigation systems are increasing sharply due to the lack of availability of diesel in the markets. Moreover, the use of diesel fuel is also more expensive in the “new lands” due to the remoteness of desert farms. Taking into account the costs of transportation of diesel, maintenance and overhauling of generators, using diesel will no longer be economically feasible or affordable for those farms in the near future. At the same time, Nigeria’s exporters lose competitiveness in the international market due to crop losses that were caused by lack of irrigation. High CO2 emissions, immense diesel spills into the soil and risky long distance transportation of diesel to the farms are just a few ecological downsides of diesel operated water pumps. This makes the use of solar energy sources vital to the development of our country’s agricultural sector.

Solar sprinkler irrigation system is defined as a system that distributes water to targeted area using solar energy.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER PAGE

TITLE PAGE

APPROVAL PAGE

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT
AIM / OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT
SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT
METHODOLOGY
PROJECT ORGANISATION

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

DISCRETION OF IRRIGATION SPRINKLER
TYPES OF SPRINKLER IRRIGATION
DESCRIPTION OF IRRIGATION
THEORETICAL REVIEW OF SOLAR CELL
REVIEW OF SOLAR CELL EFFICIENCY
REVIEW OF SOLAR CELL MATERIALS

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

SYSTEM BLOCK DIAGRAM
SECTIONS OF THE BLOCK DIAGRAM
COMPONENTS OF THE PROJECT
OPERATION OF THE SYSTEM
SCHEMATIC / WIRING DIAGRAM OF THE SYSTEM

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 TEST AND RESULT ANALYSIS

CONSTRUCTION PROCEDURE AND TESTING ANALYSIS
CASING AND PACKAGING
ASSEMBLING OF SECTIONS
ECONOMIC OF THE PROJECT
PROJECT VIABILITY
RELIABILITY
MAINTAINABILITY
PROJECT EVALUATION

CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION
RECOMMENDATION
REFERENCES

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

In recent days, agriculture field farmers are facing many problems in watering their plants to keep their crops green in summer season. With hosepipe bans becoming more frequent thanks to global warming (and water companies not fixing the leaks which lose 50% of all treated water in the UK), more and more people are starting to collect rainwater and grey water for use in their gardens. The only problem is getting the water from where it is collected and stored, to where it is needed. It’s because they don’t have correct idea about the availability of the power. Even if the power is available, they have to wait until the pitch is properly watered. Thus this process restricts them to stop doing other deeds. But, there is a solution, i.e., automatic solar submersible pump control panel for irrigation. In the trial of solar based plant irrigation using submersible pumps, PV cells are used to generate electricity, which is stored in rechargeable batteries. These batteries produce power for the system operation. A submersible pump controller is used to pump a water from a boor well to a storage water tank. Then, the water is drawn by a submersible pump at the slope’s toe, where the installed sprinklers water the crops or plants.

1.2 BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT

Water is a key factor in increasing agricultural production. About 78% of Nigeria’s water resources are used for agriculture out of this only 50% is actually used by plants and the remaining water resources are wasted either as deep percolation or as evaporation. Excess irrigation not only reduces crop production and damages soil fertility but also causes ecological hazards like water logging and salinity. With competitive use of water and its increasing scarcity, it has become imperative to economize water use for optimum productivity. This is possible only through improved water management and adopting advanced techniques of irrigation. One such method of modern irrigation is sprinkler irrigation system which is becoming more and more popular among the farmers across the country. Sprinkler irrigation system saves upto 50% of water compared to surface

irrigation method and increases productivity by about 15-25 %. Until 1970, sprinkler irrigation system in India was used mostly in hilly area for plantation crops like tea and coffee. But thereafter it spread to other countrywhere there was shortage of ground water for irrigation.

Today farmers in almost all the States in the country have progressively adopted this system and it is estimated that about 10 million ha can be brought under sprinkler irrigation system in Nigeria. Realising the need for water use optimisation in the context of water scarcity and increasing agricultural productivity, the

Government of India encourages large scale adoption of this method.

Sprinkler irrigation method distributes water to crops by spraying it over the crop area like a natural rainfall. The water under pressure flows through perforations or nozzles and sprays over the area. The pressure is provided by a pump of suitable capacity and horsepower. With careful selection of nozzle sizes, operating pressure and spacing, the actual water required for maintaining the soil moisture at field capacity is applied uniformly at a rate to suit the infiltration rate of soil thereby obtaining efficient water application. It is estimated that the sprinkler irrigation system substantially reduces the use of water and the crop productivity also increases.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT

The main objective of a solar sprinkler irrigation system is to design a device used to apply water as uniformly as possible to fill the root zone of the crop with water using solar energy as the source of the power supply.

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT

Solar power is absolutely perfect for use with irrigation systems for gardens, allotments, greenhouses, and polytunnels. When the sun is shining you need more water and so the solar power is there for the pump. By adding a suitable deep-cycle leisure/marine battery, power can be made available 24 hours per day enabling watering in the evening – the best time to water plants in the summer so that the water has a chance to soak into the ground.

1.5 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

Sprinkler Irrigation is a method of applying irrigation water which is similar to rainfall. Water is distributed through a system of pipes usually by pumping. It is then sprayed into the air and irrigated entire soi l surface through spray heads so that it breaks up into small water drops which fall to the ground.

Sprinklers provide efficient coverage for small to large areas and are suitable for use on all types of properties. It is also adaptable to nearly all irrigable soils since sprinklers are available in a wide range of discharge capacity.

1.6 PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT

Solar sprinkler irrigation system is defined as a system that distributes water to targeted area using solar energy.

Basically, it is meant for agriculture purposes .The system is powered by solar system as a renewable energy which uses solar panel module to convert Sunlight into electricity. The system is powered by an intelligent solar system in which solar panel targets the radiation from the Sun. Other than that, the solar system has reduced energy cost as well as pollution.

1.7 METHODOLOGY

To achieve the aim and objectives of this work, the following are the steps involved:

Study of the previous work on the project so as to improve it efficiency.
Draw a block diagram.

Test for continuity of components and devices,

Design of the device was carried out.
Studying of various component used in circuit.
Construction of the circuit was carried out. The construction of this project includes the placing of components on Vero boards, soldering and connection of components,

Finally, the whole device was cased and final test was carried out.

1.8 PROJECT ORGANIZATION

The work is organized as follows: chapter one discuses the introductory part of the work, chapter two presents the literature review of the study, chapter three describes the methods applied, chapter four discusses the results of the work, chapter five summarizes the research outcomes and the recommendations.