Evaluating effective swath width and droplet distribution of aerial spraying systems on M-18B and Thrush 510G airplanes

Authors

  • Dongyan Zhang 1. Beijing Research Center of Intelligent Equipment for Agriculture, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100097
  • Liping Chen 1. Beijing Research Center of Intelligent Equipment for Agriculture, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100097, China; 2. Sino-US Agricultural Aviation Cooperative Technology Center, Beijing, China and College Station, TX 77840
  • Ruirui Zhang 1. Beijing Research Center of Intelligent Equipment for Agriculture, Beijing 100097, China; 2. National Research Center of Intelligent Equipment for Agriculture, Beijing 100097, China; 5. Sino-US Agricultural Aviation Cooperative Technology Center, Beijing, China and College Station, TX , USA;
  • Wesley Clint Hoffmann 2. Sino-US Agricultural Aviation Cooperative Technology Center, Beijing, China and College Station, TX 77840; 3. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Aerial Application Technology Research Unit, College Station, TX 77840
  • Gang Xu 1. Beijing Research Center of Intelligent Equipment for Agriculture, Beijing 100097, China; 2. National Research Center of Intelligent Equipment for Agriculture, Beijing 100097, China;
  • Yubin Lan 5. Sino-US Agricultural Aviation Cooperative Technology Center, Beijing, China and College Station, TX , USA; 6. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Aerial Application Technology Research Unit, College Station, TX 77840
  • Xiu Wang 1. Beijing Research Center of Intelligent Equipment for Agriculture, Beijing 100097, China; 2. National Research Center of Intelligent Equipment for Agriculture, Beijing 100097, China; 3. Key Laboratory of Agri-informatics, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing 100097, China; 4. Beijing Key Laboratory of Intelligent Equipment Technology for Agriculture, Beijing 100097, China;
  • Min Xu 1. Beijing Research Center of Intelligent Equipment for Agriculture, Beijing 100097, China; 2. National Research Center of Intelligent Equipment for Agriculture, Beijing 100097, China;

Keywords:

aerial spraying, effective swath width, droplet distribution, coefficients of variation, agricultural airplane

Abstract

Aerial spraying plays an important role in promoting agricultural production and protecting the biological environment due to its flexibility, high effectiveness, and large operational area per unit of time. In order to evaluate the performance parameters of the spraying systems on two fixed wing airplanes M-18B and Thrush 510G, the effective swath width and uniformity of droplet deposition under headwind flight were tested while the planes operated at the altitudes of 5 m and 4 m. The results showed that although wind velocities varied from 0.9 m/s to 4.6 m/s, and the directions of the atomizer switched upward and downward in eight flights, the effective swath widths were kept approximately at 27 m and 15 m for the M-18B and Thrush 510G, respectively, and the latter was more stable. In addition, through analyzing the coefficients of variation (CVs) of droplet distribution, it was found that the CVs of the M-18B were 39.57%, 33.54%, 47.95%, and 59.04% at wind velocities of 0.9, 1.1, 1.4 and 4.6 m/s, respectively, gradually enhancing with the increasing of wind speed; the CVs of Thrush 510G were 79.12%, 46.19%, 14.90%, and 48.69% at wind velocities of 1.3, 2.3, 3.0 and 3.4 m/s, respectively, which displayed the irregularity maybe due to change of instantaneous wind direction. Moreover, in terms of the CVs and features of droplet distribution uniformity for both airplanes in the spray swath, choosing smaller CV (20%-45%) as the standard of estimation, it was found that the Thrush 510G had a better uniform droplet distribution than the M-18B. The results provide a research foundation for promoting the development of aerial spraying in China. Keywords: aerial spraying, effective swath width, droplet distribution, coefficients of variation, agricultural airplane DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20150802.1493

Author Biographies

Dongyan Zhang, 1. Beijing Research Center of Intelligent Equipment for Agriculture, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100097

PhD, Postdoctor, research interest: Precision agriculture and agricultural aviation application

Liping Chen, 1. Beijing Research Center of Intelligent Equipment for Agriculture, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100097, China; 2. Sino-US Agricultural Aviation Cooperative Technology Center, Beijing, China and College Station, TX 77840

PhD, Professor, research interest: agricultural aviation application. Mailing address: Room 508, Building A, Beijing Nongke Mansion, Shuguang Huayuan Middle Road No. 11, Haidian District, Beijing, China

Wesley Clint Hoffmann, 2. Sino-US Agricultural Aviation Cooperative Technology Center, Beijing, China and College Station, TX 77840; 3. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Aerial Application Technology Research Unit, College Station, TX 77840

PhD, Agricultural Engineer, research interest: agricultural aviation application.

References

[1] Zhou Z Y, Zang Y, Luo X W, Lan Y B, Xue X Y. Technology innovation development strategy on agricultural aviation industry for plant protection in China. Transactions of the CSAE, 2013; 29(24): 1–10. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[2] Zhai C Y, Zhao C J, Wang X, Li W, Li W, Zhu R X. Nozzle test system for droplet deposition characteristics of orchard air-assisted sprayer and its application. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(2): 122–129. doi: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140702. 015.
[3] David P, Rajinder P. Integrated Pest Management: Pesticide Problems. Springer, 2014; 3: 1–46.
[4] Zhang D Y, Lan Y B, Chen L P, Wang X, Liang D. Current status and future trends of agricultural aerial spraying technology in China. Transactions of the CSAM, 2014; 45(10): 53–59. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[5] Huang Y, Thomson S J. Spray deposition and drift characteristics of a low drift nozzle for aerial application at different application altitudes. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers annual international meeting, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June 20–23, 2010; 1: 413–421.
[6] Zhu C Y, Wang B X. Development and discussion of aerial spray technology in plant protection. Plant Protection, 2014; 40(5): 1–7. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[7] Fritz B K, Hoffmann W C, Bagley W E, Hewitt A. Field Scale Evaluation of Spray Drift Reduction Technologies from Ground and Aerial Application Systems. Journal of ASTM International, 2011; 8(5):1-11. DOI: 10.1520/JAI103457.
[8] Fritz B K, Hoffmann W C, Wolf R E, Bretthauer S, Bagley W E. Wind Tunnel and Field Evaluation of Drift from Aerial Spray Applications with Multiple Spray Formulations. Journal of ASTM International, 2013; STP1558-EB, 1-18. DOI: 10-1520/STP104403.
[9] Alan M. Deposition and swath testing of the Thrush G510P. http://agairupdate.com/article_detail.php?_kp_serial=00001068. 2012
[10] Hoffmann W C, Tom H H. Effects of lowering spray boom in flight on swath width and drift. Applied Engineering in Agriculture, 2000; 16(3): 217–220.
[11] Zhang J, He X K, Song J L, Zeng A J, Liu Y J. Influence of spraying parameters of unmanned aircraft on droplets deposition. Transactions of the CSAE, 2012; 43(12): 94–96. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[12] Xue X Y, Qin W C, Zhu S, Zhang S C, Zhou L X, Wu P. Effects of N-3 UAV spraying methods on the efficiency of insecticides against planthoppers and Cnaphalocrocis medinalis. Acta Phytophylacica Sinica, 2013; 40(3): 273–278. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[13] Xue X Y, Tu K, Qin W C, Lan Y B, Zhang H H. Drift and deposition of ultra-low altitude and low volume application in paddy field. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(4): 23–28. DOI: 10.3965/ j.ijabe. 20140704.003.
[14] Ru Y, Zhou H P, Jia Z C, Wu X W, Fan Q N. Design and application of electrostatic spraying system. Journal of Nanjing Forestry University: Natural Sciences Edition, 2011; 35(1): 91–94. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[15] Zhou H P, Ru Y, Shu C R, Jia Z C. Improvement and experiment of aerial electrostatic spray device. Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering (Transactions of the CSAE), 2012; 28(12): 7–12. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[16] Guo Q C. Current status and development of Beidahuang General Aviation Airline. Seminar of agricultural aviation technology in China. Jiamusi, Heilongjiang Province, China, 2013.
[17] Hoffmann W Clint. Operation and setup of aerial application equipment. Seminar of agricultural aviation technology in China. Jiamusi, Heilongjiang Province, China, 2013.
[18] ASAE Standards, (2009) S386.2: Calibration and distribution pattern testing of agricultural aerial application equipment, St. Joseph, Mich.: ASAE.
[19] MH/T Standards, (2011) 1040-2011: Determining application rates and distribution patterns from aerial application equipment, Beijing: MHT.
[20] Smith D B, Bode L E, Gerard P D. Predicting ground boom spray drift. Transactions of the ASAE, 2000; 43(3): 547–553.
[21] Thomson S J, Young L D, Bright J R, Foster P N, Poythress D D. Effects of spray release height and nozzle/atomizer configuration on penetration of spray in a soybean canopy – preliminary results. National Agricultural Aviation Association, Washington, DC. 2007.
[22] Teske M E, Barry J W. Parametric sensitivity in aerial application. Transactions of the ASAE, 1993; 36(1): 27–33.
[23] Wolf R E, Bretthauer D S, Gardisser R. Determining the effect of flat-fan nozzle angle on aerial spray droplet spectra. ASAE Paper No. AA05-003. St. Joseph, Mich. 2005.

Downloads

Published

2015-04-30

How to Cite

Zhang, D., Chen, L., Zhang, R., Hoffmann, W. C., Xu, G., Lan, Y., … Xu, M. (2015). Evaluating effective swath width and droplet distribution of aerial spraying systems on M-18B and Thrush 510G airplanes. International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 8(2), 21–30. Retrieved from https://ijabe.migration.pkpps03.publicknowledgeproject.org/index.php/ijabe/article/view/1493

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 2 (2015): IJABE

Section

Power and Machinery Systems

License

IJABE is an international peer reviewed open access journal, adopting Creative Commons Copyright Notices as follows.


Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:


  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).