Daily Grass and Alfalfa-Reference Evapotranspiration Estimates and Alfalfa-to-Grass Evapotranspiration Ratios in Florida

Efficient use of natural water resources in agriculture is becoming an important issue in Florida because of the rapid depletion of freshwater resources due to the increasing trend of industrial development and population. Reliable and consistent estimates of evapotranspiration (ET) are a key element of managing water resources efficiently. Since the 1940s numerous grass- and alfalfa-reference evapotranspiration (ETo and ETr, respectively) equations have been developed and used by researchers and decision makers, resulting in confusion as to which equation to select as the most accurate reference ET estimates. Twenty-one ETo and ETr methods were evaluated based on their daily performance in a humid climate. The Food and Agriculture Organization Penman-Monteith (FAO56-PM) equation was used as the basis for comparison for the other methods. Measured and carefully screened daily climate data during a 23-year period (1978–2000) were used for method performance analyses, in which the methods were ranked based on the standard error of estimate (SEE) on a daily basis. In addition, the performance of the four alfalfa-based ET (ETr) equations and the ratio of alfalfa ET to grass ET (Kr values) were evaluated, which have not been studied before in Florida’s humid climatic conditions. The peak month ETo estimates by each method were also evaluated. All methods produced significantly different ETo estimates than the FAO56-PM method. The 1948 Penman method estimates were closest to the FAO56-PM method on a daily basis throughout the year, with the daily SEE averaging 0.11 mm?d?1; thus this method was ranked the second best overall. Although 1963 Penman (with the original wind function) slightly overestimated ET, especially at high ETo rates, it provided remarkably good estimates as well and ranked as the third best method, with a daily average SEE value of 0.14 mm?d?1. Both methods produced peak month ETo estimates closest to the FAO56-PM method among all methods evaluated, with daily peak month SEEs averaging 0.07 and 0.09 mm?d?1, respectively. Significant variations were observed in terms of the performance of the various forms of Penman’s equations. For example, the original Penman-Monteith method produced the poorest ETo estimates among the combination equations, with a daily SEE for all months and peak month averaging 0.50 and 0.35 mm?d?1, respectively and ranked 11th. An average value of 1.18 was used to convert ETr estimates to ETo values for alfalfa-reference methods. The Kr value of 1.18 resulted in reasonable estimates of ETo throughout the year by the Kimberley forms of the Penman equations. Another ETr-based equation, Jensen-Haise, gave consistently poor estimates. The Stephens-Stewart radiation method was the highest-ranked (10th) noncombination method overall. The temperature-based McCloud method (ranked 19th) produced the poorest ETo estimates among all methods with a daily SEE for all months and for the peak month averaging 1.93 and 1.22 mm?d?1, respectively. In general, the results obtained from the temperature methods suggest that all of the temperature methods, with the possible exception of the Turc method, can only be applicable for these climatic conditions after they are calibrated or modified locally or regionally. The FAO and Christiansen pan evaporation methods (ranked 17th and 18th, respectively) produced poor ETo estimates and had the largest amount of point scatter in daily ETo estimates relative to the FAO56-PM ETo. Both methods resulted in the highest daily SEE of 1.18 and 1.19 mm?d?1 for all months, after the McCloud method (1.93 mm?d?1), and with the highest SEE of 1.30 and 1.24 mm?d?1 for the peak month of all methods evaluated. The FAO56-PM method uses solar radiation, wind speed, relative humidity, and minimum and maximum air temperature to estimate ETo. It has been recommended that the FAO56-PM be used for estimating ETo when all the necessary input parameters are available. However, all these input variables may not be available, or some of them may not be reliable for a given location if the FAO56-PM equation is used, and one may need to choose other temperature, radiation, or pan evaporation methods based on the availability of data for estimating ETo. The results of this study can be used as a reference tool to provide practical information on which method to select based on the availability of data for reliable and consistent estimates of daily ETo relative to the FAO56-PM method in a humid climate.     

Discharge Capacity of Labyrinth Side Weir Located on a Straight Channel

Side weirs, also known as lateral weirs, are flow diversion devices widely used in irrigation as a head regulator of distributaries and escapes, land drainage, and urban sewage systems. The studies on the subject have been generally focused on rectangular and triangular side weirs located on a straight channel. However, the same is not true for labyrinth side weirs. The current studies deal with sediment transport and scour problems around side weirs and lateral structures. The investigation of the hydraulic effects of labyrinth side weirs to increase discharge capacity of them has been studied in this particular work. In the study, 2,830 laboratory tests were conducted for determining discharge coefficient of labyrinth side weirs, and results were analyzed to find the influence of the dimensionless weir length L/b, the dimensionless effective length L/?, the dimensionless weir height p/h1, triangular labyrinth side weir included angle θ, and upstream Froude number F1 on the discharge coefficient, water surface profile and velocities in the channel along the side weir. It has been found that discharge coefficient of labyrinth side weirs gives pretty higher coefficient value compare to that of classical side weirs and a reliable equation for discharge coefficient of labyrinth weirs is presented. Discharge coefficient of the labyrinth side weir is 1.5–4.5 times higher than rectangular side weir.     

Estimating Reference Evapotranspiration Using Limited Weather Data

The FAO-56 Penman-Monteith combination equation (FAO-56 PM) has been recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as the standard equation for estimating reference evapotranspiration (ET0). The FAO-56 PM equation requires the numerous weather data that are not available in the most of the stations. This paper examines the potential of FAO-56 PM equation in estimating the ET0 under humid conditions from limited weather data. For this study, full weather data sets were collected from six humid weather stations from Serbia, South East Europe. FAO-56 reduced-set PM ET0 estimates were in closest agreement with FAO-56 full set PM ET0 estimates at the most of locations. The difference between FAO-56 full set PM ET0 estimates and FAO-56 PM reduced-set ET0 estimates generally increases by increasing the number of estimated weather parameters. Overall results indicate that FAO-56 reduced-set PM approaches mostly provided better results compared to Turc equation, adjusted Hargreaves equation and temperature-based RBF network. This fact strongly supports using the FAO-56 PM equation even in the absence of the complete weather data set. The minimum and maximum air temperature data and local default wind speed value are the minimum data requirements necessary to successfully use the FAO-56 PM equation under humid conditions.     

Evaluation of Class A Pan Coefficients for Estimating Reference Evapotranspiration in Humid Location

Evaporation pans [Class A pan, U.S. Weather Bureau (USWB)] are used extensively throughout the world to measure free-water evaporation and to estimate reference evapotranspiration (ET0). However, reliable estimation of ET0 using pan evaporation (Epan) depends on the accurate determination of pan coefficients (Kpan). Two equations developed by Frevert et al. in 1983 and Snyder in 1992 to estimate daily Kpan values were evaluated using a 23-year climate dataset in a humid location (Gainesville, Florida). The ET0 data, calculated using daily Kpan values from these equations, were compared to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)-Penman-Monteith (FAO56-PM) method. The two equations resulted in significantly different daily Kpan values that produced different daily, monthly, and annual total ET0 estimates. The ET0 values calculated using Frevert et al.’s 1983 Kpan coefficients were in very good agreement with the FAO56-PM method with daily, monthly, and annual mean percent errors (PE) of 5.8, 5.5, and 5.7%, respectively. The daily and annual mean-root-mean-square error (RMSE) of the estimates using this method were as low as 0.33 and 7.3 mm, respectively. Snyder’s 1992 equation overestimated FAO56-PM ET0 with daily, monthly, and annual mean PEs of 16.3, 13.8, and 13.2%, respectively. The daily and annual mean RMSEs for this method were higher (0.6 and 18 mm) than those obtained with Frevert et al.’s 1983 coefficients. The overestimations with Snyder’s 1992 method were highest in the peak ET0 month of May and in summer months. The performances of the Kpan equations were also evaluated using randomly selected individual years (1979, 1988, 1990, and 1994) of climate data that had different climate characteristics than the 23-year average dataset. Frevert et al.’s 1983 coefficients resulted in good ET0 estimates with lower annual mean PEs of 7.0, 0.1, 15.7, and 1.3% for 1979, 1988, 1990, and 1994, respectively, compared to Snyder’s 1992 equation, which resulted in considerably higher PEs of 17.6, 9.1, 26.2, and 14.3% in 1979, 1988, 1990, and 1994, respectively. It was concluded that using Frevert et al.’s 1983 equation to calculate daily Kpan provided more accurate ET0 estimates, relative to the FAO56-PM method, from Epan data compared to Snyder’s 1992 equation under the humid-region climatic conditions in this study. The method is very useful in computer calculations of ET0 since it does not require “table lookup” for Kpan values.     

Effects of Vapor-Pressure Deficit and Net-Irradiance Calculation Methods on Accuracy of Standardized Penman-Monteith Equation in a Humid Climate

The effects of some common vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and net irradiance (Rn) calculation methods on the accuracy of ETo values estimated by using the standardized ASCE Penman-Monteith (ASCE-PM) equation for short grass were examined by comparing the estimated ETo values with measured ETo values in a humid climate. Sensitivity analysis showed 17% and 84% change in the estimated daily ETo values per unit change in the calculated VPD and Rn values, respectively. A total of 12 VPD and 27 Rn calculation methods were examined. Analyses of variance indicated lack of equality in the means of estimated ETo values obtained by different VPD and Rn methods. The percent mean error in the estimated ETo values ranged from ?0.9?to??8.4% for VPD methods and from ?0.3?to??19.7% for Rn methods. On the basis of the coefficient of determination (r2) and the standard error of the estimated (Sy/x) values, the VPD calculated from saturation vapor pressure (es), estimated by averaging the es at the maximum and minimum daily air temperatures, and actual vapor pressure (ea), estimated by using either the average of minimum and maximum relative humidity or the dew-point temperature, gave more accurate results. Net irradiance (Rn) estimated by using a regression of relative short-wave solar irradiance, as well as a linear regression on the square root of ea, resulted in relatively more accurate estimates of ETo than that obtained by methods based on ea or clear-sky data alone. These results indicate that in a humid climate, some of the VPD and Rn methods have a significant effect on the accuracy of the ETo estimated by using the standardized ASCE-PM equation.     

Discharge Characteristics of Chimney Weir under Free-Flow Conditions

The assumption of a constant coefficient of discharge in the linear head-discharge relationship of a chimney weir is reinvestigated. Based on dimensional analysis and subsequent experiments conducted with three different chimney weirs at various crest heights and channel widths, it is found that the coefficient of discharge in the linear relationship is not a constant, but is found to vary with the ratio of head to altitude, h/d; half-vertex angle in the form of w/d, w being the half crest width; h/(h+P), P being the crest height; and the channel width contraction ratio, w/C, C being the channel width. A linear regression equation correlating the coefficient of discharge with the above variables is proposed that, along with the linear head-discharge relationship, provides an accurate prediction of free-flow discharge.     

Behavior of Submerged Ogee Crest Weir Discharge Coefficients

Weir head-discharge relationships are typically described using the discharge coefficient-dependent standard weir equation. The submerged weir (tailwater exceeds the weir crest elevation) head-discharge relationship can vary from the free-flow head-discharge relationship, particularly at high submergence levels. The accuracy associated with predicting the upstream head or discharge, corresponding to submerged weir flow conditions, is dependent upon the accuracy with which a representative submerged discharge coefficient can be determined. A submerged ogee crest weir discharge coefficient predictive method developed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) is reviewed and its predictive accuracy compared to laboratory-scale submerged ogee crest weir experimental data associated with a wide range of submerged flow conditions for nine different ogee crest weir geometries. Discussion is presented in an effort to partially explain the relatively poor correlation between the USBR method and the experimental data set. Alternative submerged discharge coefficient relationships are also presented.     

Effect of Weir Face Angles on Circular-Crested Weir Flow

The standard circular-crested weir is often found in engineering applications and is used as a discharge measurement device or as an overflow structure. This research determines the discharge coefficients for ten circular-crested weir configurations with various combinations of up- and downstream angles. Two different weir heights and four different overflow depths are considered for each weir shape. For free overflow, the discharge coefficient is determined experimentally by using the total head of the approach flow. The results indicate that the upstream weir face angle has only a small effect on the discharge coefficient. In contrast, increasing the downstream weir face angle increases the discharge coefficient notably. A new formula for the discharge coefficient is presented, including both the up- and downstream weir face angles. Further, the hydraulic performance of the circular-crested weir, the resulting discharge reduction from tailwater submergence, and transition flow are discussed.     

Aging Approach to Water Effect on Alkali–Silica Reaction Degradation of Structures

The maintenance of a considerable number of concrete structures the durability and serviceability of which are endangered by the alkali–silica reaction (ASR) requires a quantitative structural evaluation and prediction, in time and space, of the structural effects of ASR expansion. Considerable research effort has been dedicated to the mechanical modeling of ASR-induced concrete swelling. However, its predominant factor, the internal humidity, has not yet been clearly understood. Recent laboratory tests on the influence of humidity on ASR expansion allow us to better understand the swelling mechanisms. The aim of this paper is to discuss the role of water at both reaction and material level, to propose a comprehensive mechanical model for the material swelling with a hydrochemomechanical approach, and finally, to study structural effects of ASR by means of the new model. The proposed model adopts a two-stage mechanism for the swelling kinetics, consisting of the formation of an amorphous gel for which a characteristic time of reaction is identified and of the combination of important quantities of water by the gel. Because the combination of water shows an aging effect a second reaction with a characteristic time of aging is introduced. Furthermore, the initial phase of the material swelling is explained by the filling process of internal pores by the swollen gel. The model is verified by using experimental data. At a structural level, a characteristic ASR water diffusion length is proposed to evaluate the concrete surface delamination depth. Its range is calculated by means of an one-dimensional analysis of ASR swelling activated by water diffusion. As a case study a reactive retaining wall is analyzed with the new model integrated into a finite element scheme. The material degradation process and the structural responses are illustrated and discussed.     

Water Film in Liquefied Sand and Its Effect on Lateral Spread

A 1D saturated sand layer of 2 m in thickness, in which a silt seam is sandwiched, is liquefied by an instant shock. It is found that a water film is easily formed beneath the silt seam with a thickness as thin as a few millimeters just after liquefaction in loose sand and that the film lasts longer than the post-liquefaction settlement. The effect of the water film on pore-pressure distribution and sand settlement is intensively studied. 1g shake table tests are then carried out for 2D models with or without seams of silt within a saturated sand layer. In the former case, water films formed beneath silt seams just after liquefaction enable the soil mass above them to glide due to an unbalanced force along the water films, not only during but also after shaking. In the latter case, the soil deforms continuously, mostly during shaking, and stops afterward. Thus, a significant effect of water films formed beneath thin, low-permeability sublayers in a liquefied loose sand, on the failure mode and timing in lateral spread, is clearly demonstrated by these simple model tests.     

Method of Solution of Nonuniform Flow with the Presence of Rectangular Side Weir

An iterative step method for solving the nonlinear ordinary differential equation, governing spatially varied flows with decreasing discharge, like the flow over side weirs, is developed. In the procedure, starting at a known flow depth and discharge in the control section, the analytical integration of the dynamic equation with bed and friction slope is carried out. The specific energy, the weir coefficient and the velocity distribution coefficient are considered as local variables, then for the explicit integration, the respective average values along the short side weir elements are assumed. The water surface profiles and the discharges for flow over side weirs, obtained with the proposed relation and valid for rectangular channels, are compared with experimental data for subcritical and supercritical flow conditions. The validation of the method is accomplished by the comparison with the solution obtained by De Marchi’s classical hypothesis, about the specific energy, which is constant along a side weir. In addition, the influence of the coefficient velocity distribution is considered.     

吸入侧阻力对水泵最大流量的影响

论述在工程设计、技术改造和生产运行中,吸入侧阻力是影响水泵最大流量这一不容忽视的因素,并提出提高吸入最大流量措施、途径问题的一些方法。     

Measurements of Water Surface Profile and Velocity Field at a Circular Pier

Flow around a 60-mm-diameter pier on a smooth bed was measured in an open-channel flume. By varying the approach flow velocity and water depth, a wide range of subcritical flow conditions was produced. Water surface elevation was measured at 0, 90, and 180° to the approach flow direction near the surface of the pier; and three-dimensional velocity vector field around the pier was measured in two horizontal planes, one close to the bed and the other near the free surface. The velocity field measurements were obtained using a stereoscopic particle image velocimetry system. It was found that the change in water surface elevation around the pier was related to the Froude number and relative water depth. However, no direct relationship between the Froude number and the measured velocity fields was found. The approach flow conditions affected the pier flow field mainly behind the pier; the flow pattern was related to the pier Reynolds number. It was also found that the direction and magnitude of the ensemble-averaged velocity field was more dependent on the pier Reynolds number near the bed.     

Uncertainty in Water Surface Profile of Buried Stream Flowing under Coarse Material

Non-Darcy flow occurs when a hydraulic gradient is set up across a matrix of coarse porous media, resulting in turbulence in the void spaces. Buried streams that are formed at open-pit coal mines in mountainous areas (due to the disposal of large quantities of waste rock in valley terrain) are good examples of this phenomenon. An overview of the sources of uncertainty associated with non-Darcy water surface profile computations is presented. Numerical and experimental examples are used to illustrate how the mathematical developments presented in this paper can be used to quantify some of the inherent uncertainties. A model buried stream built as part of this study was used to test these mathematical developments. The performance of an equation for optimizing cross-section spacing is described. Uncertainty equations developed using first-order uncertainty analysis is applied to a rectangular stream. A procedure for quantifying the probable error in the computed depth of flow is illustrated herein by applying a simplified form of the total uncertainty equation to a model buried stream. Based on these results, guidance is provided for the uncertainty analysis of water surface profiles for field-scale buried streams.     

Effect of the Rail-Carried Tonnage on the Ultrasonic Surface and Lateral Wave Velocities

The changes in the ultrasonic surface and lateral wave velocities near the head running surfaces of rails having carried various weights are studied. The surface and lateral wave velocities are found to correlate with the hardness and the structure of rail steel.     

Surface Renewal Estimation of Pasture Evapotranspiration

Experiments to measure the evapotranspiration of an improved, irrigated pasture were conducted at the University of California, Davis, CA field station and over a commercial irrigated pasture on Twitchell Island in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta using the surface renewal (SR) method. In Davis, the SR method was used to determine well-watered crop evapotranspiration (ETc) over short grass, and the results were compared with the ASCE-EWRI standardized reference evapotranspiration (ET0) for a short canopy to establish that a crop coefficient Kc = 1.00 is appropriate for estimating well-watered pasture ETc. In the Twitchell Island study, surface renewal was used to determine the actual evapotranspiration (ETa) from a commercial pasture. A stress coefficient of Ks = ETa/ET0 ≈ 0.90 was observed during the high ET period (ET0>7?mm?day?1) from about mid-June through mid-July for the Twitchell Island pasture. Otherwise, the pasture was mainly unstressed, so the Ks = 1.0. Thus, assuming no future changes in irrigation management, using ET0 from Twitchell Island, a Kc = 1.00, and Ks = 1.00 will provide good estimates of ETa during low to moderate ET periods and Ks ≈ 0.90 should be used when ET0>7.0?mm?day?1. In general, a thermocouple for SR measurements costs about $100, whereas the price for a sonic anemometer varies between $3,000 and $20,000, so the SR method provides a low-cost method to measure ETa.     

Potential Evapotranspiration for the Distributed Modeling of Belgian Catchments

To support a sensitivity analysis in the framework of catchment modeling, three potential evapotranspiration (ETp) scenarios were generated by means of two Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) approaches, namely, the FAO-24 and the FAO-56 approaches. The crop ETp was estimated as a function of the reference evapotranspiration (ETo) by means of the kc-ETo approach. Scenario A was generated with the standard FAO-24 approach; Scenario B considered also the FAO-24 approach, but with some nonstandard parameters. Scenario C considered the standard FAO-56 approach. The ETo data were compared to point-scale ETo constraints. The annual cumulative value of ETo from Scenario A was on average approximately 200 mm larger than the values from Scenarios B and C. The research revealed similar ETo estimates for Scenarios B and C. The research also assessed the performance of the angstrom approach for estimating incoming solar radiation (Rs). In this context, a set of angstrom coefficients was derived by means of an optimization process that considered available Rs data.     

Field and Laboratory Evaluation of the Impact of Tall Fescue on Polyaromatic Hydrocarbon Degradation in an Aged Creosote-Contaminated Surface Soil

A field study was initiated in 1997 to assess the ability of tall fescue grass to remediate an aged creosote-contaminated surface soil. Field monitoring was combined with aerobic microcosm experiments, microbial enumerations, and plant tissue analysis to determine the impact of tall fescue on the degradation of six polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene, and chrysene, and to elucidate the mechanisms of remediation. Fescue grass had a beneficial impact on the degradation of all PAHs except phenanthrene. Mean concentrations of the three-ring PAHs, acenaphthene and fluorene, were lower in fescue cells compared to unvegetated cells after 36 months. In microcosms with soil from fescue cells, acenaphthene had a significantly higher degradation rate and lower final concentration after 180 days than in microcosms prepared with soil from unvegetated cells. Mean concentrations of the four-ring PAHs, fluoranthene, pyrene, and chrysene, were statistically similar in the field study; however, the 10th and 20th percentile concentrations were lower in fescue cells during all sampling periods. Microcosm studies showed increased degradation of fluoranthene and pyrene in soil samples taken from tall fescue rhizosphere compared to unvegetated soil and abiotic controls. Degradation of four-ring PAHs was enhanced in the shallow zones (10–15 cm below ground surface) of vegetated cells. The root mass was approximately 35% greater in shallow zones than in medium depth zones (15–21 cm below ground surface). Microbial populations on solid mineral media plates with pyrene and chrysene as the sole carbon source were two times higher in soils from tall fescue plots than from unvegetated soils, suggesting that the increased PAH degradation was a result of increased microbial activity in the rhizosphere. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis of fescue shoots indicated that no uptake or translocation of PAHs or PAH degradation intermediates into the shoots was occurring.     

端出料加热炉附属设施的改进

介绍了连续推钢端出料式加热炉用均热床与出料滑坡、纵向滑道、耐热滑块、均热段炉墙孔洞等附属设施存在的问题及改进措施．改进后有效的满足了生产的需求。     

Discharge Ratio of Side Outflow to Supercritical Channel Flow

This study presents the effects of width changes of a side breach, Froude numbers, and bottom slopes on discharge ratios of a side outflow to the main channel flow when a flow is supercritical. The results compare the differences between theoretical discharge ratios and experimental ones. The differences increase in one of three conditions: increase of the side breach, increase of the bottom slope, and decrease of the Froude number.