Objective
The overall objective is to assist managers of irrigation systems to derive maximum benefits from investments made in system infrastructure through effective prioritisation of maintenance tasks.
Specific objectives are to :
* Evolve a set of condition descriptors of irrigation system components that describe their structural, functional, environmental and importance status effectively in a format that is acceptable and meaningful to the professionals in the field.
* Identify an appropriate mathematical technique that is suitable for coping with the qualitative nature of the condition descriptors but capable of synthesising an overall performance criterion. Fuzzy sets theory will be investigated as a potential tool in this regard.
* Evolve a methodology to incorporate component condition descriptors in the analytical framework for system performance estimation in order to help prioritise maintenance and rehabilitation needs.
* Test the procedure in the field and assess relevance and acceptability.
Expected Outcome
The project aims to develop new and more rational procedures to relate potential maintenance needs to expected benefit. On the basis of these procedures maintenance tasks can be ranked using conventional benefit cost analysis and prioritised, thereby allowing Operation and Maintenance mangers to optimise the allocation of limited maintenance funds. It is not anticipated that the project will provide a final generalised procedure. However, it will set out a basis for more rational resource planning which can be refined and adapted through subsequent field trials.
* Identify an appropriate measure or measures of hydraulic performance of the main conveyance and distribution system that can be related to measures of asset condition. This is likely to include the development of techniques that permit numerical modelling of canal systems based on minimal data sets and specific measures of asset condition.
* Develop practical inspection procedures to determine the risk of failure through sudden collapse or gradual deterioration and quantify how this risk is accounted for in the measure of system performance.
* Develop rules or procedures for prioritising between maintenance tasks taking account of the relative importance of different functions such as conveyance, control, drainage etc, the cost of works and their expected impact on system performance.
* Validate each procedure through data collection and field testing on irrigation systems in Tamil Nadu, India.
Fields of science
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
OX10 8BA Wallingford
United Kingdom