| On most irrigation canals and supply lines, there are multiple water users who divert their allotted share of water from different locations. Irrigation splitter boxes are often installed and used in piped irrigation systems to divert water to multiple shareholders and water users from a single location. The purpose of a splitter box is to accurately divert a specific amount of water from the box so that each user receives their allotted portion, regardless of the flow rate in the system. The boxes, which are usually small and compact, generally include two compartments separated by a wall that acts as a weir for the water to flow over. The water in the supply pipe enters the box and fills the upstream compartment until it spills over the weir. On the downstream side of the weir exist a number of smaller compartments that are separated by vertical dividers and lead to outlet pipes. Each divider is positioned to split a certain percentage of the total flow to one of the outlet pipes, which is then carried to another destination. In general, splitter boxes perform very well at lower flow rates. However, if high flow rates are present in the box, due to under-design of the box or for any reason, the water surface becomes turbulent and the flow profile over the weir becomes disturbed and non-uniform. These conditions are undesirable in splitter boxes because the flow becomes unevenly distributed and an accurate flow split cannot be achieved. This study focuses on developing a solution that can be installed in existing or new flow splitter boxes to effectively dissipate energy and uniformly distribute the flow across the length of the weir during times of high flow rates. |
