Agricultural rain equipment: condition, classification, prospects

The first generation of sprinklers is short-jet and long-range units. They are obsolete. However, their share in the structure of the park of sprinkling equipment in Russia is 33%. They have their own stable market for the nearest future. In addition, the use of such machines contributes to the preservation of irrigated areas. This is even despite the temporary decrease in the total number of sprinkling equipment, during its rotation. The process of replacing machines with more modern models causes such a rotation. Modernization of the machines of the first generation has already allowed to reduce irrigation labor intensity, increase efficiency, irrigation and land use efficiency factors, and significantly reduce energy costs. The production of DDA, DDN series machines and their varieties is focused on 4 Russian enterprises. The general appearance and main technical characteristics of some machines are given; their advantages and disadvantages are noted. It is established that the well-known classification of the first generation sprinkling equipment does not take into account the past modernization. A new classification of sprinkling units has been proposed. This classification contains 40 distinctive features grouped into 5 main subclasses at 5 hierarchical levels. The main classification features determined the design features of the water distributor, the type of traction means, the principle of operation, the method of aggregation and the type of drive of the pumping station. Prospects for improving the first generation sprinkler technology are based on solving problems of increasing machine productivity. It is necessary to reduce the intensity and energy consumption, as well as improve the quality of the artificial rain. Specific conditions must be taken into account. It is necessary to replace the cable-truss structures of the water distributors by the truss-truss, as well as the widespread introduction of polymer water supply pipes.