Evaluation of Spray Drift of Plant Protection Drone Nozzles Based on Wind Tunnel Test

Guobin Wang, Tongsheng Zhang, Cancan Song, Xiaoqing Yu, Changfeng Shan, Haozheng Gu and Yubin Lan ()
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Guobin Wang: College of Agricultural Engineering and Food Science, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255022, China
Tongsheng Zhang: College of Agricultural Engineering and Food Science, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255022, China
Cancan Song: College of Agricultural Engineering and Food Science, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255022, China
Xiaoqing Yu: Plant Protection Station of Shandong Province, Jinan 250100, China
Changfeng Shan: College of Agricultural Engineering and Food Science, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255022, China
Haozheng Gu: College of Agricultural Engineering and Food Science, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255022, China
Yubin Lan: College of Agricultural Engineering and Food Science, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255022, China

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 3, 1-13

Abstract: The use of drones in agriculture is expanding at a brisk pace in crop production due to the superiority in precision, efficiency, and safety of their applicators. However, their potential drift risk also raises concern for users and regulatory authorities. The method of wind tunnel research can effectively evaluate the weighted influence of each drift factor, especially the drift characteristics of the nozzle and spray solution. Based on the wind tunnel test results, centrifugal nozzles have a higher drift risk than hydraulic nozzles, even with a similar DV 50 . The cumulative drift rate of the centrifugal nozzle at 2 m downwind was 90.1% compared to the LU12001 nozzle’s 40.6% under the wind speed of 3.5 m/s. Compared with the same coding as the flat fan hydraulic nozzle, the IDK nozzle can effectively reduce the drift rate. For the tested nozzles, DV 50 and wind speed had a linear relationship with drift rate, and the sampling location had an exponential or logarithmic relationship with drift rate. Spray adjuvants, especially modified vegetable oils, had a significant effect on reducing the amount of drift. The results of this experiment provide a reference for the selection of nozzles and the addition of spray adjuvants. Further clarifying the spray drift characteristics of drones until a drift prediction model is available is still the focus of research.

Keywords: plant protection drone; nozzle; drift; wind tunnel (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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