This study was carried out with the aim to develop a mathematical model and to evaluate the hydraulic behavior of branched microtubes, based on the relationship between discharge and microtube length for a specific inlet pressure, operating under laminar flow conditions. Two mathematical models were studied in which one considered the local head losses in irrigation system design and the another did not consider. The experiment for model validation was carried out at the Laboratory of Hydraulics, School of Agriculture "Luiz de Queiroz" (ESALQ/USP), Piracicaba-SP, where emitter discharges was verified under the pressures of 14.7; 18.6; 39.2 and 58.9 kPa. The irrigation system configuration consisted of a lateral line with nominal diameter (DN) of 10.0 mm, in which are inserted microtube connectors with 0.8 mm DN. These connectors are connected to a derivation tube segment, where six emitter microtubes with 0.7 mm DN were attached. It was verified that the model which considered the local head losses showed better accuracy than other mathematical models, as this model showed a good Willmott index and a low mean quadratic error.
emitter; irrigation technology; head loss; mathematical model; low cost
