Design of the pipe network of a drip irrigation system

Different authors have done studies related with the design of pipe networks in drip irrigation systems. These works, in general, are strongly restricted with respect to the discharge of water and with topographic characteristics of the ground. In this work a methodology is presented that handles, in an integrated way, the design of pipe networks for drip irrigation systems for grounds with general characteristics. For this purpose, a heuristic is developed with the objective of determining the location of the pipe network and an optimization model based on Dynamic Programming, for designing the pipe components. This methodology has been successfully applied to the design of drip irrigation system located in the north of Chile.