Accuracy and Reliability Analysis of Pipe Irrigation Metering Device for Sandy Water Source

Sandy water sources are widely distributed and are important for agricultural development. However, no explicit result has been achieved in the research of the accuracy and reliability of pipeline metering devices as well as flow rate measurement objects (water or water–sand) of different metering devices in the process of pipelines conveying muddy water. In this study, seven kinds of sediment concentration gradients, C0–C6 (0.2–7.19%), and three different flow velocities (1.0 m/s, 1.25 m/s, 1.5 m/s) were set up, and a comparison measuring method was used to compare the flow values of three kinds of metering device (electromagnetic flowmeter, ultrasonic flowmeter and water meter) with a right triangle weir. The accuracy and reliability of the metering device were obtained by analyzing the change law of the relative error between each metering device and the right triangle weir under different flow velocities and different sediment concentrations, and the flow rate measurement objects of each metering device were finally clarified. The relative error between the electromagnetic flowmeter and right triangle weir decreased gradually with the increase in the flow velocity when the sediment concentration was constant. The maximum difference of the relative error between the electromagnetic flowmeter and the right triangle weir was 2.53% when the flow velocity was constant. Additionally, the minimum differences of the relative errors of the ultrasonic flowmeter and water meter were 2.67% and 6.90%, respectively. The measured flow law of the electromagnetic flowmeter was more in line with the measured flow law of the water–sand mixture measured by the right triangle weir. However, the relative errors of water and water–sand measured by the ultrasonic flowmeter and water meter fluctuate greatly, which does not accord with the law of muddy water measured by the right triangle weir. The results showed that the electromagnetic flowmeter has the best reliability among the three metering devices, and the accuracy can be improved by calibration before use or increasing the flow velocity of the pipe network. Under the sand grading used in this study, the electromagnetic flowmeter was recommended to measure the flow rate of pipe irrigation for sandy water sources in this paper.