Clay particles under certain physico-chemical and hydrodynamic conditions can form agglomerates after passing through a filtering system, which favours clogging of the emitters. The main factors interfering with the aggregation potential of clay particles are the type of clay mineral, pH, and ionic strength of the irrigation water. This study analysed the influence of ionic strength and type of clay mineral on clogging, discharge variation, and particle deposition in turbulent-flow non-pressure compensating drippers. Two types of clay (kaolinite and montmorillonite) at a concentration of 500 mg L −1 and four values of ionic strength (0.31, 0.81, 0.02, and 0.01 mol L −1 ) promoted by the addition of different salts to the solution were used. Clogging tests were conducted with two commercial models of drippers (0.6 and 1.7 L h −1 ). The deposition zones along the labyrinth channel were analysed using a transparent milli-fluidic system coupled to an optical microscope. Deposition of particles inside dripper labyrinths was observed and this process was strongly influenced by the nature of the clay. The regions of highest particle deposition were vortices zones located in the first baffles of the labyrinths. Kaolinite particles had greater potential of accumulation in the labyrinths than montmorillonite particles. There were fluctuations in the drippers’ discharge during the clogging experiments, but the discharge variations observed were not sufficient to classify the emitters as clogged in any of the test conditions. Clay, as an isolated agent, did not cause full clogging in the emitters evaluated under any of the ionic strength conditions studied. Since particles did not accumulate in the region of the main flow, we suggest that clay particles alone have no potential to cause full clogging of drippers, but may contribute to clogging build-up.

中文翻译：

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由高岭石和蒙脱石粘土悬浮液引起的滴头堵塞

在某些物理化学和流体动力学条件下，粘土颗粒在通过过滤系统后会形成团块，这有利于堵塞排放器。影响粘土颗粒聚集潜力的主要因素是粘土矿物的类型、pH 值和灌溉水的离子强度。本研究分析了离子强度和粘土矿物类型对湍流非压力补偿滴头中的堵塞、流量变化和颗粒沉积的影响。使用浓度为 500 mg L -1 的两种类型的粘土（高岭石和蒙脱石）和四个离子强度值（0.31、0.81、0.02 和 0.01 mol L -1 ），这些值通过向溶液中添加不同的盐来促进. 使用两种商业型号的滴头（0.6 和 1.7 L h -1 ）进行堵塞测试。使用与光学显微镜耦合的透明微流体系统分析沿着迷宫通道的沉积区。观察到滴头迷宫内的颗粒沉积，该过程受到粘土性质的强烈影响。颗粒沉积最高的区域是位于迷宫第一挡板中的涡流区。与蒙脱石颗粒相比，高岭石颗粒在迷宫中具有更大的聚集潜力。在堵塞实验期间，滴头的流量存在波动，但观察到的流量变化不足以将滴头分类为在任何测试条件下堵塞。粘土作为一种隔离剂，在所研究的任何离子强度条件下都不会导致发射器完全堵塞。