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Abstract.

Impact force on the fixed water dispersion device is necessary for obtaining a desirable breakup and dispersion of water jet issuing from the nozzle of impact sprinkler. In this paper, different types of fixed water dispersion devices were tested using the impact sprinkler. Simple momentum theory of the force due to the impact of the jet on the fixed dispersion device was developed, and the 3D model was simulated to obtain the force using CFD. A high speed camera was used to analyse the breakup and dispersion of the jet. Results showed a large deviation between the simulated and calculated values under low pressure conditions, while the simulations had good accuracy under high pressure conditions. Calculated values of the impact forces were compared to the simulated values, and the differences were less than 3% under 150 kPa. Sprinkler with C₂ produced a more desirable dispersion of the jet. It could be combined with finite element analysis of the fixed dispersion device and deflector for optimizing the hydraulic performance of impact sprinklers. This could be significant and useful in practice to optimize and improved the hydraulic characteristics of impact sprinklers.