Yongqiang Zhang¹, Xingye Zhu^1,, Chenglin Wang¹, Sijia Zhu¹, Junping Liu¹

Background: Wind speed is a key environmental factor affecting the atomization performance and irrigation quality of sprinkler irrigation systems, with wind‑induced drift and reduced uniformity being particularly prominent under low‑pressure sprin-kler conditions.Methods: To investigate the coupling effects of wind speed, nozzle structural parameters, and operating conditions, this study adopted an L9 (3³) orthogonal experimental design with nozzle orifice diameter (1.0 mm, 1.2 mm, 1.5 mm), operating pressure (0.2 MPa, 0.3 MPa, 0.4 MPa), and wind speed (2 m/s, 4 m/s, 6 m/s) as experimental factors. The effects of these parameters on sprinkler uniformity (Christiansen uniformity coefficient, CU) and drift loss rate under the influence of wind speed were systematically investigated. Results: The results show that wind speed had the most significant effect on sprinkler uniformity: as wind speed increased from 2 m/s to 6 m/s, the average CU decreased by 4.4 percentage points. Under the influence of wind speed, nozzle orifice diameter did not significantly affect the drift loss rate; however, the 1.2 mm diameter exhibited the best balance between uniformity and wind resistance. Operating pressure had a significant effect on drift loss rate: when the pressure increased from 0.2 MPa to 0.4 MPa, the average drift loss rate increased by 5 percentage points, while the improvement in uniformity was limited. The optimal combination of parameters was a nozzle orifice diameter of 1.2 mm, an operating pressure of 0.4 MPa, and a wind speed of 2 m/s. Under this combination, sprinkler uniformity reached 82.06% and the drift loss rate was controlled at 32.46%, achieving an optimal balance between uniformity and anti‑drift performance. Conclusion: This study reveals the coupling effects of wind speed and nozzle structural parameters on atomization performance, clarifies the regulation effects of structural parameters when wind speed changes, and provides a theoretical basis for the optimal selection of sprinkler systems and the configuration of operating parameters under complex wind conditions in the field.

wind speed variation, drift loss, sprinkler uniformity, orthogonal experiment, parameter optimization