International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET)

Volume 9, Issue 7, July 2018, pp. 1109–1116, Article ID: IJCIET_09_07_116

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ISSN Print: 0976-6308 and ISSN Online: 0976-6316

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HYDRAULIC DESIGN OF PIPE DISTRIBUTION

NETWORK FOR IRRIGATION PROJECT
Santosh Patil
M.Tech Student, Department of Civil Engineering,
Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University, College of Engineering Pune, Maharashtra, India

S.D. Talegaonkar
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering,
Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University, College of Engineering Pune, Maharashtra, India

P.T. Nimbalkar
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering,
Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University, College of Engineering Pune, Maharashtra, India

ABSTRACT
This paper deals with designing of gravity main of the Pipe Distribution Network
(PDN) System. It also includes estimation of saving in water due to adoption the PDN
system and also studies alternatives for the utilization of saved water. The project
discusses about various available equations for calculation of the head loss in pipe. In
this project the PDN system is designed with help of Modified Hazen William
Formula. The project taken under consideration is Chilhewadi Medium Project in
Pune district of Maharashtra state in India. The estimation of the saving works out to
be 0.845 Mcum of water. The alternatives studied for the utilization of this water is
according to water policy adopted by the Maharashtra State Government. The
utilization of the water serves drinking water needs of nearly 6758 population from
two water scarcity villages of Pune and Ahmednagar districts. It also helps in
bringing 41 ha of land under irrigation of the same area. The utilization of water was
studied by using established Canal network system of adjoining projects and also
through proposed Pipeline system of the Chilhewadi Project. The alternative
comprising use of existing adjoining Pimpalgaon Joge Canal by lifting of water
proves to be economical.
Key words: PDN Design, Modified Hazen William equation, Junnar, HGL.
Cite this Article: Santosh Patil, S.D. Talegaonkar and P.T. Nimbalkar, Hydraulic
Design of Pipe Distribution Network for Irrigation Project. International Journal of
Civil Engineering and Technology, 9(7), 2018, pp. 1109-1116.
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 Hydraulic Design of Pipe Distribution Network for Irrigation Project

1. INTRODUCTION
Out of India’s Ultimate irrigation potential of 140 million hectare about 102 million hectare
has been created through major/ medium/ minor surface water irrigation projects and use of
ground water. Even after creation of 102 million ha of irrigation potential, it’s utilization is
about 87 million hectare only. It is due to poor water use efficiency of conventional Canal
Distribution System (CDN) of Irrigation Projects. It is assessed to be only of the order of 30 -
35%. Thus it is evident that the gap between irrigation potential created and utilized is due to
poor water use efficiency. This gap can be reduced by using irrigation system which has
highest water use efficiency. Therefore use of pipe distribution network (PDN) system is
inevitable.
The effectiveness of PDN system is possible only when there is 1) proper layout planning
of PDN. 2) Proper selection of material of pipe, 3) Proper design of the PDN system, 4)
Proper management and maintenance of the PDN.
In view of above facts the present study deals with the design of the PDN system of
irrigation project. It also estimates the saving of water due to use of pipe distribution network.
The attempt has also been made to study various alternatives for utilizing the saved quantity
of water. For this purpose Chilhewadi Medium Project in Maharashtra is considered which is
originally planned for CDN.

2. DETAILS OF THE STUDY AREA

Chilhewadi Medium irrigation project is about 125 km from Pune near Chilhewadi village of
Junnar Taluka in Pune district. The project is on Mandavi River which originates in Sahyadri
ranges in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra state. As per original Detailed Project Report,
the command area of the project is 6372 ha. The length of the command is nearly 40 km. The
command area of the project lies in 20 villages of Junnar Taluka in the Pune District. The
command is enclosed within hilly terrain on left side and by Pimpalgaon Joge irrigation
project canal on right side.

2.1. Design Considerations for pdn

This section describes the design standards of velocity, operating pressures, determination of
Diameter of pipe for Main and Branch lines etc.
2.1.1. Permissible head
 Minimum driving head at intake should be 1.2 m.
 Effective head along the line should not be less than 0.6 m.
2.1.2. Maximum velocity
Recommended maximum velocities in low pressure pipelines are in the range of 1.3 to 1.5
m/sec. The velocity up to 1.8 m/sec can be allowed to cut the cost in case of MS, PSC or
HDPE pipelines. For pumping PDN system, design velocity should not exceed 2.0 m/s.
2.1.3. Minimum velocity
Minimum flow velocities should be between 0.8 to 1.2 m/sec in order to prevent
sedimentation of fine sand. In exceptional cases velocity can be allowed up to 0.6 m/sec with
adequate scouring arrangement. Designers must specify pipe diameters and flow rates for
irrigation systems that utilize emitters with small apertures.

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 Santosh Patil, S.D. Talegaonkar and P.T. Nimbalkar

2.1.4. Exit Pressure at Irrigation Outlet

a) For flow irrigation
A minimum effective head is difference between H.G.L. and ground level at that point (i.e.
H.G.L. – G.L.) . It must be 0.6 m in normal cases and in exceptional cases it can take a
minimum value not less than 0.3 m. In low lying areas if H.G.L. is more, it should be reduced
by using lesser diameter pipes or valve.
b) For Micro Irrigation
For micro irrigation systems Outlet pressure with design working pressure between 0.2 MPa
and 0.4 MPa shall be used.
2.1.5. Overburden for buried pipes
To avoid damage to pipeline due to farm operations, vehicular traffic loads minimum
overburden of 1.2 m shall be provided for Main and Branch lines and 0.6m for distributaries
and minors.
2.1.6. Air vent
They are installed at all high points in the line, at sharp turns, at points of there is a downward
deflection of more than 10 degree, directly downstream of any structure that may entrap air,
and at the end of pipeline. They are also require immediately upstream from gates where
closure of gates would make such points the downstream end of laterals or line. Also Air vent
must be provided at 300m interval on main line. Air vent should extend minimum 0.6 m
above H.G.L. The diameter of air vents is generally 10% of diameter of the Pipeline.
2.1.7. Drain Valves
Drain Valves shall be provided at the lowest points near Nalla.
2.1.8. Scour Valves
If the velocity in the pipes is less than 0.6 m/s, scour valves shall be provided as per the site
conditions at deep nalla locations.
2.1.8. Outlets
The diameter of the riser pipe is kept the same as the pipeline system where the entire flow of
the pipeline is to be released through the valve. A field block of 5 to 12 ha provided with a
separate outlet of required capacity, with the valve located about 15 cm above the field level
with a division.

3. METHODOLOGY.
3.1. Steps in PDN Design
Detailed steps involved in design of PDN for irrigation are as follows
 Calculation of water availability for irrigation at Source.
 Finalization of Command chaks after detailed survey.
 Calculation of Crop Water Requirement for the Project.
 Calculation of Discharge for Minors, Distributaries and Main canal.
 Finalization of Diameter of pipeline.
 Calculation of Hydraulic Gradient Line (HGL) / Head Loss.
 Checking adequacy of HGL.
 Check for the Design velocity and Residual Head

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 Hydraulic Design of Pipe Distribution Network for Irrigation Project

As steps a), b) and c) are common for design of flow CDN and PDN system, the data for
these steps is readily available from Project report of the Chilhewadi Project. This paper deals
with steps onward d).

3.2. Calculation of Head Loss

For calculation of HGL it is important to know the head losses in the system. The head loss
through pipe can be divided in to two parts namely
 Major Head loss or Loss due to friction (hf)
 Minor Head losses or Losses due to change in Pipe geometry.

There are various formulae available for calculation of head loss due to friction in pipeline
like Manning’s formula, Colebrook White equation, Darcy Weisbach formula and Modified
Hazen-William’s formula. The Modified Hazen-William’s formula is the best of these
formulae in case of pipes between hydraulically smooth and rough ones. This formula is most
often used for designing irrigation systems.
3.2.1. Modified Hazen-Williams formula
The Modified Hazen–Williams equation is an empirical relationship which relates the flow of
water in a pipe with the physical properties of the pipe and the pressure drop caused by
friction. It is used in the design of water conductor systems including sprinkler systems for
fire extinguishers, pipe irrigation networks and water supply systems.

(Q/CR)1.81 x L
HL = 994.62 x D 4.81

Where, HL = Head loss due to wall friction (m), L= Length of pipe (m), D = Diameter
of pipe (m), Q = Flow rate (m3/s), CR = Coefficient of relative roughness of the pipe
material
3.2.2. Total Minor Losses
In general for pipe system, head losses due to bends and valves comprises only 5 to 10 % of
pipe friction losses and are frequently referred to as minor head loss. It is given by Hm = Km
V2 / 2g
Where, Hm = minor head loss (m), Km = minor head loss coefficient, V = velocity before
feature causing friction losses (ms-1).For preliminary estimation purpose, total minor losses
may be taken as 10% of the major loss.

3.3. Design of Gravity Main

For design of gravity main various calculations are carried out. For that purpose a programme
in excel is developed to obtain desirable hydraulic gradient, pipe diameter for required
discharge of the system. For this purpose pipeline is divided into number of nodes. The node
points are selected on a pipeline where there is withdrawal of discharge from the pipe system
or major change in gradient of the pipe line. The discharge statement for each node is
prepared by considering command area below that node. The programme is developed in
tabular form. The calculations for any segment of pipeline between two consecutive nodes are
carried out in single row of excel sheet. Details of various columns in the in this statement are
as follows
 Column 1: Staring Node number.

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 Santosh Patil, S.D. Talegaonkar and P.T. Nimbalkar

 Column 2: End Node number.

 Column 3: Chainage of Starting Node.
 Column 4: Chainage of End Node.
 Column 5: Length of Pipe segment between two Nodes.
 Column 6: Discharge at the start of the Node. This is taken from separately prepared Node
wise Discharge statement.
 Column 7: Ground level at Starting Node.
 Column 8: Ground level at End Node.
 Column 9: Difference of Ground Level between two Nodes.
 Column 10: Residual head at the start of the Node. For very first Node it is calculated as
difference between Full Supply Level of Intake Chamber (706.00m) and Ground level. For
other Nodes residual head is calculated as difference between residual head of End node of
previous pipe segment and Ground level of the start Node of this Pipe segment.
 Column 11: Total head available. (Column 9 + Column 10).
 Column 12: Diameter of pipe adopted.
 Column 13: Actual Head loss occurred between two Nodes. Calculation is carried out with
Modified Hazzen William formula as discussed in previous chapter.
 Column 14: Residual Head at the End Node. (Column 10 – Column 13).
 Column 15: R.L. of HGL (Column 8 + Column 14).
 Column 16: Velocity in Pipe ( Column 6 / Area of Pipe )

The check for the maximum velocity and minimum velocity is verified for every segment
of the pipe. If check does not fulfill the criteria, then the diameter of the pipe is changed
accordingly to fulfill the criteria. The check for the residual head is also verified. If check
does not fulfill the criteria, then the diameter of the pipe is changed accordingly to fulfill the
criteria.

4. ESTIMATION OF SAVING IN WATER DUE TO PDN

Due to increased conveyance efficiency of PDN with respect to Canal Distribution Network
(CDN), there is saving in overall use of water. For Chilhewadi Project as per DPR the overall
efficiency of CDN is taken as 48.75 % whereas that for Lift irrigation it is taken as 61.75%.
Various studies cited above conclude that there is 70 to 80 % improvement in water use
efficiency due to use of PDN. Even on conservative estimates as per the DPR of Chilhewadi,
Overall efficiency of the Lift irrigation which resembles the PDN works comes out to be
61.75%. The difference of overall efficiencies between CDN and PDN of (61.75 – 48.75)
13% is considerable.
By considering conservative saving estimates of 13% total water saved in the project
works out to be 20.578 x 13/100 = 2.675Mcum.

4.1. Quantum of usable Saved Water

As per original DPR, Chilhewadi project was conventional CDN irrigation project. All its
controlling levels were fixed accordingly including Minimum Draw Down Level
(M.D.D.L.=703.170m) , Open Canal Bed Level (701.670m), Full Supply Level of

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 Hydraulic Design of Pipe Distribution Network for Irrigation Project

Canal(703.00m). At the canal head depth of water was 1.33m. In Chilhewadi project reservoir
is connected to Distribution system by 300m tunnel.
As per design of PDN the full supply level of 706m is required in intake chamber. For
new Full Supply Level of 706.00m, new M.D.D.L. must be at least above 2 m to have
sufficient driving head.
As per original DPR( for CDN)
For M.D.D.L. is 703.170 m, Dead Storage is 2.51 Mcum.
As per PDN design requirements
For M.D.D.L. 708.00 m, Dead Storage is 4.340 Mcum.
Additional Storage available for use =2.675-(4.34 – 2.51) = 0.845 Mcum.
The drinking water requirement is about daily 135 lit per capita. As per Chilhewadi
project water requirement, 5298 cum of water is required to irrigate 1 ha of field. Therefore
saved quantity of water can
 Supply drinking water to the population of 8000 or
 Irrigate additional ICA of 160 ha.

As per the State water policy the priority for drinking water is prime to irrigation water,
the saved water can be utilized for drinking water scheme.
The area below tail end of command of Chilhewadi project is water scarcity area.
Gulunchwadi village in Junnar taluka of Pune District having population 2626 and Kalas
village in Parner taluka of Ahmednagar district has population of 4132, have drinking water
demand for long time. The population is based on 2011 census and for design of water supply
scheme for next 30 years; projected population with growth rate of 1.72% per annum comes
out to be 12701. The combined water demand comes out to be 0.626 Mcum for year. The
balance 0.219 Mcum quantity of water can be used for irrigation. This quantity can irrigate 41
ha of area.
This can be achieved by
Alternative 1

Figure 18 Canal Networks of Adjoining Projects

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 Santosh Patil, S.D. Talegaonkar and P.T. Nimbalkar

The excess water of Chilhewadi reservoir can be released into Yedgaon reservoir. This
water can be released from Yedgaon reservoir in to Kukadi River or Kukadi Left Bank Canal.
These villages lie about 10 km from left flank of Kukadi River. The drinking water can be
supplied to the villages by lifting arrangement.
This alternative costs around Rs.80.50 Lacs.
Alternative 2
These villages lie on left flank of Pimpalgaon Joge canal. The excess water can be discharged
in Mandavi River which crosses Pimpalgaon Joge canal near Otur village and at canal
chainage 13km. There is Otur Kolhapur Type (K.T.) weir on Mandavi River just below the
crossing of Pimpalgaon Joge Canal and Mandavi River Lifting water in to Pimpalgaon Joge
canal at chainage 13km and Supplying water to the villages at chainages at 45 km and 49 km
respectively by lifting arrangement. The lifting arrangement for both the villages is separate.
The Gulunchwadi village lie around 2.8 km and Kalas village lie within 500 m of the PJLB
canal. This alternative cost around Rs 35.85Lacs.
Alternative 3
By discharging water from tail out let of Chilhewadi Pipe line for 2.5km for Gulunchwadi and
3.5 km for Kalas village. As discharge of tail outlet is 10 liter per second (lps) and will not be
sufficient to fulfill the demand of the area. For fulfilling the demand 70 lps discharge is
required at the tail outlet. For this purpose, diameters of the CLBC pipe line are required to be
increased beyond chainage 26900 m TO 39080m. The pipes having diameter 1000 mm have
increased by 1780 m length where as saving of 500 mm diameter pipe length is in tune of
1720 m. This alternative costs for increased diameter of CLBC beyond chainage 26900 m is
around 209.98Lacs.
Thus Alternative 2 is economical and hence should be adopted

5. CONCLUSIONS
The Modified Hazen William equation is suitable for calculation of head loss due to friction
in PDN system. Adoption of underground PDN systems had lead to the reduction in
conveyance and distribution losses. The estimation of saving of water due to enhanced
efficiencies is carried out. Out of 0.845 cum of saved water, the drinking water demand can be
fulfilled of population of 6758 with 0.626cum and balance 0.219 cum can be used to irrigate
41ha of the area in the villages.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors express their deepest gratitude to Dr. A. R. Bhalerao (Principal), Bharati
Vidyapeeth University College of Engineering, Pune, for their support and encouragement.
The authors are also thankful to WRD, Maharashtra for their valuable cooperation and timely
guidance during the course of project studies.

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