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 surface irrigation systems are the most used not just in Brazil but in the whole world, mainly due to the economy of energy and its operation easiness; however, they usually present low performance levels as a consequence of inadequate design and management. Thus, it was aimed with this research to develop a computer tool capable to make possible the simulation of the advance phase in furrow irrigation and to predict the performance of this system. The simulations of the advance phase are accomplished by the kinematic wave model, implemented in this tool based on the theoretical development presented by Walker & Humpherys (1983). The depletion and recession phases were neglected due to have, in furrow irrigation, a very short duration. The methodology of Burt et al. (1997) was used to evaluate the performance parameters of the furrow irrigation system. The proposed computer mathematical model was written in the DELPHI 5.0 language programming and named SASIS (Software applied to simulation of the surface irrigation), which validation was tested for different field conditions. SASIS is self-explanatory software, oriented to objects, writing for microcomputers systems compatible to IBM, using Windows 98, 2000, MILENIUM, XP, and subsequent operating systems. It has satisfactorily simulated the advance phase and predicted the performance of the furrow irrigation system, being a powerful tool when it is desired adequacy in the design and management of this system.