Wei et al. (2026) Effects of intermittent cycle pulse sprinkler irrigation induced by solar-coupled compressed air energy storage on soil structure and infiltration characteristics

Identification

• Journal: Agricultural Water Management
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-06-29
• Authors: Fuqiang Wei, Zhengwen Tang, Ge Maosheng, Zhong Xiaoqing, Khudayberdi Nazarov, WU Pute, Zhang Zichen
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110579

Research Groups

• College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
• Xinjiang Research Institute of Agriculture in Arid Areas, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830091, China
• State Agrarian Univ, Fac Agrobiol Tashkent, Tashkent 100140, Uzbekistan

Short Summary

This study investigates the effects of intermittent cycle pulse sprinkler irrigation induced by solar-coupled compressed air energy storage on soil structure and infiltration characteristics. The results show that intermittent spraying significantly enhances soil physical properties, including reduced aggregate breakdown, increased porosity, improved steady infiltration rate, and cumulative infiltration.

Objective

• Investigate the impact of average sprinkler intensity (AR) and sprinkler precipitation kinetic energy (SP) on soil structure and infiltration dynamics under intermittent cycle pulse sprinkler irrigation conditions.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Field-scale experiments conducted in a 50 cm× 50 cm× 50 cm transparent Plexiglas box with vent holes at the bottom.
• Temporal Scale: Experiments were carried out over a period of 6–24 hours, with measurements taken every 1 min for the first 20 min and every 5 min for the subsequent 40 min.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: None mentioned in the paper.
• Data sources: Field experiments using a 2D video disdrometer (2DVD) and X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT).

Main Results

• Intermittent spraying significantly enhances soil physical properties, including reduced aggregate breakdown (3.97%-12.82%), increased porosity (27.02%-53.51%), improved steady infiltration rate (12.50%-67.75%), and cumulative infiltration (45.21%-132.18%).
• The number of large agglomerates increased significantly, and the spatial distribution was denser and more uniform with the decrease of sprinkler irrigation intensity and kinetic energy intensity.
• Surface soil roughness decreased from 4.38 to 2.93, with a decrease of 22.37~33.10%.
• Crust thickness and intensity tended to decrease simultaneously with the decrease in sprinkler intensity and kinetic energy intensity.

Contributions

This study provides empirical models that support the optimization of CAES-SP irrigation systems, offering a foundation for efficient and environmentally sustainable irrigation practices in arid and semi-arid regions.

Funding

• This research was funded by [project name] (reference code: [insert reference code])

Citation

@article{Wei2026Effects,
  author = {Wei, Fuqiang and Tang, Zhengwen and Maosheng, Ge and Xin, Hui and Xiaoqing, Zhong and Nazarov, Khudayberdi and Pute, WU and Zichen, Zhang},
  title = {Effects of intermittent cycle pulse sprinkler irrigation induced by solar-coupled compressed air energy storage on soil structure and infiltration characteristics},
  journal = {Agricultural Water Management},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110579},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110579}
}