The FC Algorithm to Estimate the Manning’s Roughness Coefficients of Irrigation Canals

Abstract

Freshwater scarcity has driven the integration of technological advancements and automation systems in agriculture in order to attempt to improve water-use efficiency. For irrigation canals, water-use efficiency is, in great measure, limited by the performance of management systems responsible for controlling the flow and delivering water to the farmers. Recent studies show a significant sensitivity of the results obtained from irrigation canal control algorithms with respect to the Manning’s roughness coefficient value, thus, highlighting the importance of its correct estimation to ensure an accurate and efficient water delivery service. This is the reason why the friction coefficient algorithm was developed, to monitor the real behaviour of any irrigation canal by calculating the Manning’s roughness coefficient constantly. The friction coefficient algorithm was conceived as a powerful offline tool that is integrated in a control diagram of any irrigation canal, concretely in an optimization control algorithm, which can reconfigure canal gates according to the current crop water demand and the real Manning’s roughness coefficient values. The friction coefficient algorithm has been applied in several irrigation canals and different scenarios, with accurate results obtaining an average Manning coefficient deviation among 2 × 10−4 and 4.5 × 10−4.