Click on “Download PDF” for the PDF version or on the title for the HTML version.

If you are not an ASABE member or if your employer has not arranged for access to the full-text, Click here for options.

The micro-irrigation industry has been developed to the point where thousands of hectares are irrigated around the world by this new method of applying water. So with the development of computer techniques, many developed countries have developed the intelligent computer software and programs to assist irrigation system design and improve the efficiency of irrigation design.

Bralts, Driscoll (1993) studied a computer irrigation management system for hydraulic analysis. Capra, Scicolone (2003), developed an expert system for micro-irrigation system design. Wang, Haoli (2005) studied a computer simulation program for simulating the micro-irrigation pipe network system under different terrain conditions. Hutchinson, Graham (1993) developed the IRRICAD software which helps irrigation designers by using a computerized program. In recent years, America and other countries have developed a series of irrigation CAD software, such as RAINCAD in America, WCADI in Israel, and IRCAD in china and so on. Taking the RAINCAD as an example, the software combined irrigation design features along with the full CAD capabilities. It includes tools to assist drafting, as well as tools for creating symbol legends and bill of materials. Moreover, geographical map of BMP format can be imported. However, in Asia and other countries, AutoCAD are universal design software which is used broadly in all fields, especially in irrigation design. AutoCAD is a design platform which has powerful graph manipulation functions. So it is an advisable choice to develop software which will combines microirrigation pipe network design along with full AutoCAD capabilities. But all the software mentioned above is not involved in this point, so the function is restricted.

The objective of this paper is to develop a CAD software (PipeCAD) for micro-irrigation pipe network system. It combines micro-irrigation pipe network design along with full AutoCAD capabilities. The key techniques, such as pipe network layout, database configuration and data exchange are presented in this paper.