IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE

Irrig. and Drain. (2018)

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/ird.2304

INFLUENCE OF DENTATION ANGLE OF LABYRINTH CHANNEL OF DRIP EMITTERS

ON HYDRAULIC AND ANTI-CLOGGING PERFORMANCE†

LIMING YU1*, NA LI1, XIAOGANG LIU1, QILIANG YANG1, ZHANGYAN LI1 AND JUN LONG2
1
Faculty of Modern Agricultural Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, China
2
School of Hydraulic Engineering, Changsha University of Science and Technology, Changsha, Hunan, China

ABSTRACT
The geometric parameters of labyrinth channels play an important role in the hydraulic and anti-clogging performance of drip
emitters. In this study, the flow fields, individual representative sands and sand groups in the labyrinth channel of emitters, with
dentation angles of 90°, 60°, 45° and 30°, were firstly simulated using a computational fluid dynamics discrete element method
(CFD–DEM) of coupling. Particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) was used to trace individual representative sands. The numerical
results were verified with clear water hydraulic performance tests and muddy water anti-clogging performance tests. The results
suggest that the discharge coefficient and flow exponent declined when the dentation angle of the labyrinth channel was reduced.
A large number of sand groups were observed to enter the vortex areas and move in a circular manner. The time it took for par-
ticles to pass through the labyrinth channel lengthened when the velocity decreased and as a result, the probability of emitter
clogging increased. Therefore, by using a recommended angle range of 90° to 60° and a combined higher hydraulic performance
level, emitters were less likely to clog. It was a novel approach to adopt a CFD–DEM coupling method to conduct numerical
analysis of individual sand particles and sand groups in the investigation of emitter anti-clogging issues. The findings will in-
crease the design efficiency of flow channels and will save human and material resources. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
key words: two-phase flow; angle; labyrinth channel; clogging; emitter

Received 5 December 2017; Revised 21 September 2018; Accepted 21 September 2018

RÉSUMÉ
Les paramètres géométriques des canaux en labyrinthe jouent un rôle important dans les performances hydrauliques et anti-
colmatage des goutteurs. Dans cette étude, l’écoulement de grains de sable individuels et des groupes de sable dans le labyrinthe
des émetteurs avec des angles de denture de 90°, 60°, 45° et 30°, a été simulé à l’aide d’un couplage computational fluid dynam-
ics discrete element method (CFD–DEM). Une technique optique par imagerie de particules (PTV) a été utilisée pour analyser
les trajectoires de grains de sables individuels. Les résultats numériques ont été vérifiés à l’aide d’essais de performance
hydrauliques en eau claire et d’essais de colmatage avec des eaux chargées. Les résultats suggèrent que le coefficient de
décharge et l’exposant de débit ont diminué en réduisant l’angle de denture du canal du labyrinthe. On observe qu’un grand
nombre de groupes de sable pénètre les zones de vortex et se déplace de manière circulaire. Le temps nécessaire pour que les
particules passent à travers le canal du labyrinthe s’allonge tandis que la vitesse diminue et, par conséquent, la probabilité de
colmatage de l’émetteur augmente. Par conséquent, en utilisant une plage d’angle recommandée de 90° à 60° et un niveau de
performance hydraulique supérieur, les émetteurs étaient moins susceptibles de se boucher. C’était une nouvelle approche
d’adopter une méthode de couplage CFD–DEM pour effectuer une analyse numérique des particules de sable individuelles et
des groupes de sable dans l’étude des problèmes d’anti-colmatage des émetteurs. Les résultats augmenteront l’efficacité de con-
ception des canaux d’écoulement et économiseront des ressources humaines et matérielles. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
mots clés: écoulement diphasique; angle; canal labyrinthe; colmatage; émetteur

*Correspondence to: Dr Jiming Yu, Faculty of Modern Agricultural Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, Yunnan,
China. E-mail: liming16900@sina.com
†
Influence de l’angle de dentation du canal de labyrinthe d’émetteurs de gouttelette sur des performances hydrauliques et anti-collage.
Contract/grant sponsor: the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); contract/grant number: No. 51769009, 51379024
Contract/grant sponsor: Funding Program for University Engineering Research Center of the Yunnan province in China; contract/grant number:

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

2 L. YU ET AL.

INTRODUCTION channel > dentation height. It has been shown that 90% of
water head loss happens at the dentation tip, which is closely
Emitters with dental form labyrinth channels are widely
related to the dentation angle (Wei et al., 2006; Yu et al.,
used in drip irrigation systems because of their relatively
2009; Ozekici and Ronald, 1991). Xie et al. (2013) consid-
simple structure, efficient hydraulic performance and low
ered that the dentation angle had a very strong impact on the
cost. However, the dimensions of the labyrinth channel are
emitter’s anti-clogging function. Hence, the dentation angle
very small and the many turns that exist in the channel can
of the labyrinth channel had a distinct effect on the hydraulic
easily become clogged during irrigation. Thus, the selection
and anti-clogging performance of emitters.
of optimal structure parameters that can meet both efficient
In summary, although most studies were conducted on
hydraulic performance and anti-clogging performance are
the effect of dentation angle changes on hydraulic perfor-
attracting considerable current research. It has been shown
mance, a few studies related the dentation angle to the
that the hydraulic performance of drip emitters is determined
anti-clogging function of emitters. A few reports were found
by the type and size of the channel (Zhou et al., 2016; Zhang
that considered how micro-particles and particle groups en-
et al., 2017). Moreover, Nakayama et al. (1978) reported
ter the vortex area inside the channels. It is currently unclear
that emitter clogging was caused by a combined effect of
how micro-particles move and contribute to movement in a
the geometric and structural parameters of the channel, in
vortex area when the dentation angle changes. The present
which the structural parameter design was the most impor-
study resolved the above questions using computational
tant (Taylor et al., 1995; Robert, 2006). Several researchers
fluid dynamics–discrete element method (CFD–DEM) cou-
have conducted orthogonal of variates testing by combining
pling, particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) and muddy water
all structural parameters.
testing. The results provide a theoretical basis for under-
Li et al. (2006) analysed the structural parameter spacing
standing the mechanism of particle movement in labyrinth
between dentations, dentation angles, dentation heights and
channels and can provide optimum structural parameters
the depth of channels. The results showed that the dentation
for the channel.
angle had less impact on the value of the flow exponent
compared to the channel depth, but it had the most effect
on flow discharge and anti-clogging performance. Zhang
et al. (2010) considered that the dentation angle had most in- MATERIALS AND METHODS
fluence on flow exponent value after analysing the width of
Physical model and mesh generation
channel, dentation height, dentation angle and the number of
units. They also found that the smaller the dentation angle, The shape of the dentation channel of the emitter used in the
the better the performance of the hydraulic emitter. Wang present study is shown in Figure 1(a) and Figure 1(b). The
et al. (2009) indicated that the order of influence of different dentation angles α were 90°, 60°, 45° and 30°, respectively.
parameters on anti-clogging performance of emitters was: The width of channel ω was 1.00 mm. The depth of channel
dentation angle > spacing between dentations > depth of D was 1.00 mm. The dentation height h was 1.00 mm. The

Figure 1. Configuration of the labyrinth channel

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Irrig. and Drain. (2018)
 DENTATION ANGLE AND ANTI-CLOGGING PERFORMANCE 3

unstructured meshes were generated with 0.10 mm spacing k2

μt ¼ ρC μ (7)
and the total number of meshes was about 4 × 104. ε
The values for k and ε come directly from the differential
Mathematical model and simulation method transport equations:
 
Flow in the channel is considered to be an incompressible ∂ðρkuÞ ∂ μ ∂k 1
viscous fluid. The effect of gravity and the roughness of ¼ μþ t þ Pii  ρε (8)
∂xi ∂xj σ k ∂xj 2
the channel walls was taken into account, though surface
tension was neglected. The Reynolds number (Re) of flow  
∂ðρεui Þ ∂ μt ∂ε 1 ε2
inside the emitter was 78–1284. Nishimura et al. (2003) ¼ μþ þ C 1ε Pii  C 2ε ρ
found that the change-over from laminar to turbulent flow ∂xi ∂xj σ ε ∂xj 2 k
occurred at Re 200–350, which was far less than the critical (9)
Re for normal pipe flow. Other researchers reported similar
where the constants are
results (Li et al., 2005). In the present study, the working Cμ = 0.09, C1ε = 1.44, C2ε = 1.92, σ k = 0.82 and σ ε = 1.00.
pressure of the emitter was 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05, The governing equations that are described above were
0.06, 0.08 and 0.10 MPa. The continuity and momentum
discretized by the control volume numerical technique, and
equations are (Zhang et al., 2007): then the SIMPLE pressure–velocity coupling technique,
∂ with a second-order upwind scheme for the convection
ðρui Þ ¼ 0 (1) terms that was employed in order to solve the discretized
∂xi
equations over the computational domain.
  The maximum particle volume fraction for the sand used
∂
 ∂p ∂ ∂ui
ρ ui uj ¼  þ μ  ρu’i u’j (2) in this study was 1%, which means the mixture of water and
∂xi ∂xi ∂xi ∂xj sand belonged to dilute phase flow. The Lagrangian cou-
where u is the velocity vector, μ is the fluid molecular vis- pling method was employed and Table I summarizes the pa-
cosity, ρ is the density of fluid. ui and uj are both fluid veloc- rameter settings for the sand (Asakura et al., 1997).
Ansys12.0 and DEM2.2 were employed during this study.
ities, and u’i uij is the Reynolds stress tensor (Hanjalic and The discrete approach was used to simulate sand movement,
Launder, 1972). The differential equation (Equation (3)) collisions among sand particles and between the sand parti-
for each component of the Reynolds stress was developed cles and the channel wall, and the effects of sand movement
to provide each stress component, allowing for anisotropy on the surrounding continuous phase, energy and momen-
in turbulent stress terms: tum exchange. Collisions among sand particles and between
! sand particles and the wall did not lead to significant plastic
∂ui uj ∂ μt ∂u’i u’j ∂u’i u’j 2 deformation, which in consequence was attributed to hard
ρuk ¼ Pii þ ϕ ij þ þμ  εδij
∂xk ∂xk σ k ∂xk ∂xk 3 particle contact, which is a wet grain contact model. The
(3) ‘Hertz–Mindlin (no slip) built-in’ model was utilized in this
work (Chu et al., 2009).
Here Pii the exact production term is given by In the simulation, the contributions of viscous drag force
  and gravity were considered. Other additional forces such
’ ’ ∂uj ’ ’ ∂ui
Pii ¼ ρ ui uk þ uj uk (4) as pressure gradient force, virtual mass force and Saffman
∂xk ∂xk force were not considered as they are an order of magnitude
ϕ ij is the pressure–strain term and is composed of two com- smaller compared with the foregoing (Tang et al., 2006).
ponents that are given as The CFD–DEM coupling process is described as follows:
the continuous phase is resolved by CFD to acquire fluid drag
ε  ’ ’ 2 force with sand, which was transformed from flow field infor-
ϕ ij;1 ¼ C 1 ρ u u  kδij (5)
k i j 3 mation through the drag force model. The stress state of sands
was measured by DEM to obtain new information such as the
 
2 position and velocity of sands and further the flow field infor-
ϕ ij;2 ¼ C 2 Pii  Pkk δij (6) mation. CFD was used to model the flow and the most repre-
3
sentative stress condition of sediments. The two approaches
where the constants C1 and C2 are 1.80 and 0.60, respec- were coupled by a compound model that included the trans-
tively, μt is the turbulent viscosity, which is linked to the tur- mission of mass, momentum and energy. The calculation time
bulent kinetic energy k and dissipation rare ε via the was 1 s. The particle diameter was 130 μm. The relevant equa-
relationship tions can be seen in Table II.

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Irrig. and Drain. (2018)
4 L. YU ET AL.

Table I. Parameters used in the model

Phase Parameter Symbol Units Value

Solid Density distribution ρ kg/m3 2500

Particle diameter di μm 130 μm
Rolling friction coefficient μr 0.01
Sliding friction coefficient μs – 0.30
Poisson’s ratio V – 0.40
Young’s modulus E N/m2 2 × 107
Coefficient of restitution c – 0.55
Particle velocity at inlet – m/s 1.17(90°),0.85(60°),0.71(45°),0.68(30°)
Water Density ρ kg/m3 998.20
Viscosity μ kg/m/s 0.001
Velocity at inlet - m/s 1.02
Pressure at inlet - Pa 50,000
Pressure at outlet - Pa 0.000

Table II. The referring equations and specifications

S/N Name Formula Description

1 The normal force (Fn) F n ¼ 43 E  ðR Þ1=2 α3=2 R* is the equivalent radius
α is the normal overlap
1 1  V 21 1  V 22
 ¼ þ
E E1 E2
2 The equivalent elastic modulus E* rffiffiffi E1, v1 and E2, v2 are elastic modulus and
5 p ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi Poisson’s ratio of sand 1 and sand 2
F dn ¼ 2 β S n m vrel n
6
3 The damping force F dn m ¼ mm11þm
m2
2
vrel
n is the normal relative velocity
Sn is The normal stiffness
β is coefficient
4 The equivalent massm* Ft =  Stδ m1 and m2 are the mass of sand 1 and sand 2
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
5 The tangential force among the sands Ft S t ¼ 8G R α δ is the tangential overlap
2v21 2v22
6 The tangential stiffness St G ¼ þ
G1 G2
qffiffi pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
7 The equivalent shear modulus G *
F t ¼ 2 56β S t m vrelt G1 and G2 are shear modulus of sand 1 and sand 2
v1 and v2 are velocity of sand 1 and sand 2
8 The tangential damping force among Ti =  μrFnRiωi vrel
t is the tangential relative velocity
sand particles Ft
9 The rolling friction (Ti) μr is coefficient of rolling friction
Ri is the distance between the centre of mass to the
point of contact
ωi is unit angular velocity vector of object at the
contact point

PTV flow test platform and experimental sediments
The PTV test platform consisted of a continuous light
source, Hotshot512 high-speed camera with 512 × 254 res-
olution and 25 fps frequency, industrial magnifying lens
and the test specimens (Klank et al., 2002; Alireza et al.,
2014), as shown in Figure 2(a). Movias Pro Viewer 1.63
analysis software was used to calculate the velocity of
particles and display the direction of their movement ac-
cording to the distance they move per unit of time. The test
specimen was enclosed in a Plexiglass flow cell using nu-
merically controlled machining and covered by a Lucite
plate with good light transmission to seal the flow channel.
In this experiment, 100- and 120-mesh sieve screens were
utilized to sift out grit with a diameter of 125–150 μm and
the density of sand particles is 2500 kg m3. Due to the

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Irrig. and Drain. (2018)
 DENTATION ANGLE AND ANTI-CLOGGING PERFORMANCE 5

Figure 2. Test equipment layout

different inlet velocity, 10 continuous grains of sand with
Stokes numbers from 5 to 10 were collected to analyse their
movement. Particles were delivered at a concentration of
12 g l1 and the suspension was stirred constantly in the wa-
ter tank to ensure a moderate sand content and an even flow
distribution. In this study, the working pressure of the emit-
ter was 0.05 MPa.
Test platform and drip irrigation tape
The test platform is designed according to industry stan-
dards (ISO, 2003) (Figure 2(b)). The working pressure was
provided by a submersible pump with a rated head of
0.25 MPa. The rated discharge flow was 1.80 m3 h1 and
the power was 1.0 kW. In the clear water hydraulic perfor-
mance test, the working pressure of the emitter was 0.01,
0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05, 0.06, 0.08 and 0.10 MPa. The inlet
pressure and corresponding discharge were substituted in
the following equation for the regression calculation:
q ¼ khx (10)
where k is the discharge coefficient, x is the flow exponent;
the values of k and x under different pressures in Table III
can be acquired from the equation.
The anti-clogging performance test was conducted based
on the ISO/TC23/SC18/WG5N4 ‘short-term clogging test
program’ (ISO, 2003). In the anti-clogging performance test,
the working pressure of the emitter was 0.05 MPa. The
muddy water was mixed manually to 10 g l1 to accelerate
clogging. The test sediment was air-dried sandy loam soil.
Filtration with 120-mesh screens was used to keep the max-
imal particle size at 125 μm. To mimic the actual working
condition of an emitter, measurements were taken every
24 h and each test was repeated twice. The average of two
duplicate measurements was calculated.
RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
Hydraulic performance
The hydraulic performance at angles of 90°, 60°, 45° and
30° is shown in Figure 3(a) which shows the results by test,
and Figure 3(b) shows the results by CFD. In Figure 3(a),
the k of the emitter declined from 1.21 to 0.97 with decreas-
ing angles, and the value of x fell from 0.49 to 0.47. Com-
pared with the experimental test, the simulation results
were essentially the same for x. However, the calculated dis-
charge was significantly greater than the test results. This

Table III. Characteristics of sand groups staying in flow channel in 1 s

Angle (°) 90 60 45 30
Characteristics of sand groups

Time to reach micro-equilibrium of input and output (s) 0.06 0.09 0.12 0.23
Total number of sands in channel after micro-equilibrium 492 533 792 932
Fluctuation of total number of sands in channel after micro- equilibrium (%) 0.5 0.9 1.1 2.4
Number of sands staying in channel longer than 0.3 s (%) 0 0 0.13 2.79
Number of sands staying in channel longer than 0.2 s (%) 0 0 1.39 20.06
Number of sands staying in channel longer than the average time entering circulation (%) 0.82 4.17 18.49 47.16

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Irrig. and Drain. (2018)
6 L. YU ET AL.
Figure 3. Curves of hydraulic performance at different angles: (a) by test, and (b) by CFD
was mainly because, in the numerical model, the head loss
related to fluid entry and exit was not calculated. The only
calculated part was the dentation channel. Thus, a small
head loss with a large discharge led to the large k. The issue
that affected the x value was the dentation channel morphol-
ogy. In consequence, the two flow indices were the same.
With a decrease in the value of x, the mean velocity and
Re all decreased. The turbulence intensity (i.e. a relative in-
dicator of the strength of turbulence, it equals the ratio of
fluctuating velocity to average velocity) increased, which
made the sensitivity of variations in the discharge flow de-
crease when the pressure was changed. Although all of these
factors carried compensation characters, the adaptability to
the terrain improved. Therefore, hydraulic performance im-
proved with smaller angles.
Analysis of CFD flow field
The velocity graphs of the fourth flow unit at half channel
depth at angles of 90°, 60°, 45° and 30° under inlet pres-
sures of 0.05 MPa are shown in Figures 4(a)–(d). The veloc-
ity and streamline graphs of the fourth flow unit at an angle
of 60° under inlet pressures of 0.05 MPa are shown in
Figure 4(e). A was the main stream and B was the vortex
area. The main stream moved between two teeth. The vortex
areas formed separate individual streams from the main flow
and were distributed on both sides of the main flow area.
This suggested that, with smaller channel angles, the maxi-
mal speed between the two teeth decreased significantly,
and was 2.82, 2.40, 2.24 and 1.99 m s1, respectively. The
velocity at the centre of the vortex area also decreased sig-
nificantly, and was 0.19, 0.16, 0.16 and 0.13 m s1, respec-
tively. The maximal velocity at the periphery of the vortex
area was 0.77, 0.66, 0.66 and 0.66 m s1, respectively.
When the angle was decreased, the velocity at the centre
© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
of the vortex area became lower, which made sediment
movement stop. With the decline of maximum speed in
the vortex area, the centrifugal force of sands decreased cor-
respondingly and particles did not leave the vortex area eas-
ily. Thus, when the inertial force of the sand entered the
vortex area at a smaller angle, the inertial force of particles
was less, therefore the sand movement slowed down, which
resulted in clogging.
Anti-clogging performance test of emitter
The relationship between elapsed time of test and discharge
rate is shown in Figure 5. The discharge of day 0 on the X-
axis was the discharge rate of clear water. The study results
suggest that clogging occurred in all emitters when using
muddy water. The emitter discharge rate declined with in-
creasing time of irrigation and plugging eventually occurred
with all emitters.
Due to different discharge rates, the operating duration
varied for emitters that always used muddy water. The main
trend was that the length of operating time increased for
emitters with higher discharge rates. The highest discharge
rate was for the 90° angle test. After the 17th test, the dis-
charge rate dropped from the original 3 to 1 l h1. The aver-
age rate of change in flow each day was 3.9%. For a 30°
angle, the discharge declined from original 2 to 0.4 l h1 af-
ter the ninth test. The average rate of change in flow each
day was 8.9%. This indicated that clogging happened more
easily in emitters with a smaller angle. Based on standards
for anti-clogging tests, for 90°, 60°, 45° and 30° angles,
the discharge of emitters reached 75% of their rated dis-
charge capacity, which equated to 2.18, 1.90 , 1.74 and
1.65 l h1, on the 11th, 10th, 7th and 6th days. Therefore,
anti-clogging performance was enhanced with a larger
angle.
Irrig. and Drain. (2018)
 DENTATION ANGLE AND ANTI-CLOGGING PERFORMANCE 7

Figure 4. Velocity chart (a) 90°, (b) 60°, (c) 45°, (d) 30°, and zone chart (e) 60° for different angles by CFD [Colour figure can be viewed at
wileyonlinelibrary.com]

dynamic micro-equilibrium, quantified basically = 102)

Figure 5. Plots of anti-clogging performance for different angles
Analysis of movement of sand clusters using DEM
The distribution of sand clusters for different times at angles
of 90°, 60°, 45° and 30° are shown in Figure 6. When com-
bined with Table III, it can be deduced that the dynamic
micro-equilibrium (i.e. when the number of sand particles
input and output remained basically stable, it reached a
time of input and output of the sands was 0.06 s, 0.09 s,
0.12 s and 0.23 s, respectively. The total number of sand
particles remained basically stable, which was 492, 533,
792 and 932, respectively. The total number of sand parti-
cles exhibited a degree of fluctuation. The distribution range
of sand particles in Figures 6(c) and (d) was more turbulent
than was the case for Figures 6(a) and (b). The number of
sand particles in Figures 6(a) and (b) was relatively low.
The moving track of whole sand clusters at different times
was similar to the movement of individual sand particles,
which was smooth and even. Only a small proportion of
sand particles deviated from the main stream and entered
the vortex areas. Sand particles flowing into the vortex areas
took, on average, less time to move than was the case in the
flow channel and was 0.05 and 0.07 s, respectively. The
number of sand particles staying in the flow channel longer
than the average time was 0.82 and 4.17%, respectively. A

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Irrig. and Drain. (2018)
8 L. YU ET AL.

Figure 6. Distribution of sand clusters at different time for different angles by DEM (a) 90°, (b) 60°, (c) 45°, (d) 30° [Colour figure can be viewed at
wileyonlinelibrary.com]

much larger number of sand particles were evident in
Figures 6(c) and (d). Moreover, the sand particles for differ-
ent time ranges were randomly distributed in the whole
channel. A collection phenomenon occurred, partly at the
corner of upstream points, because the smaller angle
increased the flow velocity on the Y-axis, which caused par-
ticles easily to fly off the main stream and enter the vortex
areas and the range of movement of particles grew larger.
Sand particles entering the vortex areas, on average, ran
for longer times in the channel, and were 0.12 and 0.13 s, re-
spectively. The number of sand particles staying in the chan-
nel longer than the average time accounted for 18.5 and
47.2%. In particular, for the 30° angle, the proportion of par-
ticles running longer than 0.20 s accounted for 20.1% of to-
tal sand particles. Particles running for longer than 0.30 s
accounted for 2.79% of total sand particles. Particles that
stay longer in the channel will eventually cause emitter
clogging.
The characteristics of sand groups passing through the
flow channel in 1 s are summarized in Table IV. With a de-
crease in angle, the proportion of sand running straight
through the flow channel without entering the vortex areas
declined drastically from 98 to 19%. Due to reducing the an-
gle, the length of the flow channel was shortened. Hence,
flow down the centre line was 49.32, 47.29, 47.02 and
46.77 mm, respectively. Although the central flow line of
the channel shortened, the average movement of sand parti-
cles not involved in circulation lengthened from 45.68 to
52.53 mm, which suggests that at larger angles, the move-
ment of the sand particles was smoother and the length of
track shorter than the central line. On the contrary, however,
at smaller angles the amplitude was longer than on the cen-
tral line and the length of time increased while the velocity
dropped. With decreasing angles, sand particles that entered
the vortex areas rose. For a 30° angle, 81% of sand particles
entered the vortex areas. The average running distance was

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Irrig. and Drain. (2018)
 DENTATION ANGLE AND ANTI-CLOGGING PERFORMANCE 9

Table IV. Characteristics of sand groups passing through flow channel in 1 s

Angle (°) 90 60 45 30
Characteristics of sand groups

Sands passing through channel without entering circulation (%) 98 90 75 19

Average moving length of sands not entering circulation (mm) 45.68 44.35 47.14 52.53
Average moving time of sands not entering circulation (s) 0.04 0.05 0.08 0.10
Average velocity of sands not entering circulation (m s1) 1.15 0.92 0.615 0.51
Times entering vortex areas 177 1162 2454 6778
Average moving length of sands entering circulation (mm) 49.99 49.85 53.94 63.38
Average moving time of sands entering circulation (s) 0.05 0.07 0.12 0.13
Average velocity of sands entering circulation (m s1) 0.92 0.72 0.44 0.41

26% longer than down the central line and was 17% longer
than sand particles that did not enter the vortex areas. The
route and running time were higher, and thereby average ve-
locity declined. The accumulation of sand particles in vortex
areas increased their collision times and consumption of dy-
namic energy, and sand particles did not lose the inertial
force of the vortex areas. Over time, floccules appeared
and they adhered easily to each other and the flocks grew
larger under the influence of surface charging (Niu et al.,
2013). The probability of precipitation was greatly enhanced
and this finally led to clogging. This was in accordance with
the results of the anti-clogging tests. Thus, the feasibility of
studying the design and performance of emitters using the
CFD-DEM method was confirmed.
Analysis of movement of representative sediments
using DEM
The movement tracks of representative sand particles with a
diameter of 130 μm at angles of 90°, 60°, 45° and 30° are
shown in Figures 7(a)–(d). The corresponding velocity and
force plots for representative sand particles are shown in
Figures 8(a)–(d). The inlet velocity of sand is the same as
the water inlet velocity, and the inlet velocity of sand is
1.37, 0.86, 0.50 and 0.41 m s1 respectively. At a 90° angle,
all sand particles moved into the main stream without enter-
ing the vortex area. The flow rate was high with an average
velocity of 1.37 m s1. The amplitude between two teeth
was relatively small. The dragging force of the flow was
larger. The total force also was greater, with a magnitude be-
tween 106 and 105 and particles moving steadily through
the flow channel.
When the angle was 60°, the particles moved mostly in
the main stream, with three times as many particles entering
the vortex areas. The amplitude between two teeth increased
with an average velocity of 0.86 m s1. The total force
dropped with a maximum of 8 × 106 (N). For the 45°
angle, the amplitude between two teeth further increased
and particles entered the vortex areas four times. The aver-
age flow rate was 0.50 m s1 and the maximum of total
force was 8 × 106 (N). For the 30° angle, every up and
down movement of the sand granules went off the main

Figure 7. Movement tracks of representative sands for different angles: (a) 90°, (b) 60°, (c) 45°, (d) 30° by DEM [Colour figure can be viewed at
wileyonlinelibrary.com]

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Irrig. and Drain. (2018)
10 L. YU ET AL.

Figure 8. Velocity and force of sands at different angles: (a) 90°, (b) 60°, (c) 45°, (d) 30° by DEM

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Irrig. and Drain. (2018)
 DENTATION ANGLE AND ANTI-CLOGGING PERFORMANCE 11

Figure 9. The tracks of representative sands for different angles by PTV: (a) 90°, (b) 60°, (c) 45°, (d) 30° [Colour figure can be viewed at
wileyonlinelibrary.com]

Table V. Characteristics of representative sands for different angles by PTV and DEM

Angle (°) Average velocity by Average running time by Less than 0.5 m s1 accounted for
PTV DEM (m s1) PTV DEM (s) approximately by PTV DEM (%)

90 1.17 1.37 0.05 0.07 13.20 0.00

60 0.75 0.86 0.08 0.08 35.70 7.33
45 0.73 0.49 0.14 0.15 42.20 59.31
30 0.38 0.46 1.10 0.24 80.10 73.26

stream with maximal amplitude between two teeth, and with
particles entering the vortex areas multiple times. The aver-
age velocity was 0.41 m s1 and the total force decreased.
The maximum force was 6 × 106 (N) and sand particles
passed along the flow channel very slowly.
Experimental test by PTV
Channel units with ample flow and good visual resolution
were chosen for the tests. The tracks of representative sand
particles with a size of 125–150 μm are shown in
Figures 9(a)–(d), and the characteristics of representative
sands are shown in Table V. Although average velocity,
average running time and velocities of approximately less
than 0.50 m s1 from the PTV and DEM are not the same,
their general trends are identical. For tracks of a 90° angle,
particles mostly moved along the main stream and passed
smoothly through the channel without entering the vortex
areas. This running behaviour was essentially the same as
in Figure 7(a) by DEM. All systems ran at a relatively high
speed in the main flow area with the highest average flow
rate and the shortest running time. For the 60° angle, the
amplitude between two teeth increased gradually. How-
ever, particles still moved mainly in the main flow stream.
Some particles circulated, but they deviated quickly, whose
movement traces of these particles were very close as
shown in Figure 7(b). Due to there being less access to
vortex areas, the speed of the particles was relatively rapid.
For the 45° angle, more particles entered the vortex areas
and participated in a circulating motion. About half of
the distance that the particles move was located in the vor-
tex areas. The other half was in the main stream and be-
cause there was more access in the vortex areas the
particles tended to slow down and take a longer time to
exit the emitter, and movement traces of these particles
running were very close in Figure 7(c). For a 30° angle, par-
ticles entered the vortex areas many times and spent the most
time recirculating in the vortex areas. Particle movement was
like that shown in Figure 7(d). The majority of the particles
had access to the vortex areas. The speed was quite slow
and the time taken to exit the emitter was quite long. With
each decreasing angle, the average flow rate of particles
dropped significantly. The time spent in a channel length-
ened remarkably as the running time slowed down. The
probability of emitter clogging thereby increased. Although
randomicity existed for single particle movement in the
CFD–DEM coupling calculation, the changing patterns and
trends were in accordance with the PTV test results.

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Irrig. and Drain. (2018)
12
CONCLUSIONS
In the present study, CFD–DEM coupled numerical simula-
tion, PTV representative particle tracing and product test ver-
ification methods were used to study the influence of angle
changes on the hydraulic and anti-clogging performance of
emitters. The conclusions of the investigation were as follows.
The discharge coefficient and flow exponent of emitters
decreased with a reduction of angle size. Therefore, the an-
gle size should be appropriately diminished to elevate the
hydraulic performance of emitters. However, even the
smallest angle caused disturbed movement of particles into
the flow. A substantial proportion of the particles that en-
tered the vortex areas caused an endless circulating motion,
which led to a smaller average transmission rate, with longer
times and lower speeds of the flow and, therefore, the prob-
ability of emitter clogging increased. Thus, an appropriate
angle should be found from the point of optimizing anti-
clogging performance. The flow exponent of all angles
conformed to the characteristics of disturbed flow and
carried a compensation function. At the 90° to 60° angles,
particles rarely entered the vortex areas. The speed of parti-
cle movement was higher and the test showed that the emit-
ters had relatively strong anti-clogging performance. As a
result, emitter angles between 90° and 60° are recommended
to prevent clogging.
The flow field and movement of solid particles and parti-
cle groups in the flowing stream were simulated numerically
using the coupled CFD–DEM method. This novel approach
of research increased the efficiency of design for flow chan-
nels, saving human and material resources. The results were
verified through PTV and product testing.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We appreciate the financial support given by the National
Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (No.
51769009, 51379024) and the Funding Programme of the
University Engineering Research Centre of Yunnan Province
in China.
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