Abstract
Manikin Irrigation Area (I.A) covers 3000 hectares and uses water from the Tefmo Dam to distribute to the Primary-Secondary-Tertiary channels, which are regulated by lift-operated watergates. Because of the unequal distribution, this process has caused rivalry and squabbles within farmer groups, eventually reducing crop yield. The evolution of microcontroller technology transformed the Watergate concept into an automated system based on certain parameters and algorithms. One such project is Manikin I.A's smart irrigation system based on Arduino, which controls water to land depending on the time from the Real-Time Clock sensor and employs a Direct Current (DC) motor as a driver to watergate. While it may function, the system has not taken into account the power requirements of the DC motor when the water runs at maximum discharge and pressure influencing the motor. The power demand of an optimum DC motor for smart watergate in 5 open channels in Manikin I.A. is investigated in this work. A total load measurement is done based on the open channel standard characteristics when the water provided speed (V) and pressure (p) are converted to energy. According to the research, a watergate control on 5 distinct open channels in Manikin I.A with 0.30 m3/s maximum water discharge and 7.56 m/s2 flow rate needs a DC motor with 35 to 43 Watt power (39,4 Watt average power) or 3 to 3.5 Ampere current (3,26 Ampere average Current) to run 24 hours.
Keywords: open channel, DC motor, manikin irrigation area, , Arduino, smart irrigation
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