Analysis of air curtain system flow field and droplet drift characteristics of high clearance sprayer based on CFD
Keywords:
air curtain system, CFD numerical simulation, droplet drift rate, multiple working conditionsAbstract
High clearance sprayers are widely used in field operations because of their high ground clearance and good passing performance, which can solve the problem of spraying high-stalk crops in the middle and late stages. In this paper, an air curtain system was designed to address the phenomenon of droplet drift in the operation of high clearance sprayers. Based onstatic pressure recovery theory, the design and optimization of the flow velocity at the outlet of the air curtain were carried out. Using SolidWorks software for modeling, ICEM CFD software to divide meshes, and Fluent software to solve the problem, the air duct model was simulated and drift characteristics of droplets were studied through continuous phase and discrete phase coupling calculation. Using three-factor and three-level orthogonal test, the optimal solution of the model was obtained as follows: a spray pressure of 0.4 MPa, a horizontal wind speed of 2 m/s, a fan frequency of 40 Hz, and a droplet drift rate of 9.38%. According to the degree of influence from large to small, the factors are arranged as follows: horizontal wind speed, fan frequency, and spray pressure. An air curtain system test prototype and a droplet drift rate test platform was built, and flow rate of the air duct outlet and the droplet drift rate were tested under multiple working conditions. Experimental results showed that: when the horizontal wind speed was 2 m/s and 4 m/s, the droplet drift rates were the lowest when frequency was 25 Hz and 35 Hz, respectively, which were 13.65% and 23.88%, respectively. When the horizontal wind speed was 6 m/s and 8 m/s, the droplet drift rates reached the lowest when frequency was 45 Hz, which were 27.02% and 29.78%, respectively. When the horizontal wind speed was 2 m/s, 4 m/s, 6 m/s, and 8 m/s, the droplet drift rates of the optimal auxiliary airflow were reduced by 17.33%, 34.51%, 50.62%, and 67.54%, respectively. Experiments show that the optimal auxiliary air velocity changes when the horizontal wind speed is different. Keywords: air curtain system, CFD numerical simulation, droplet drift rate, multiple working conditions DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20241706.8253 Citation: Song Y Y. Analysis of air curtain system flow field and droplet drift characteristics of high clearance sprayer based on CFD. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2024; 17(6): 38–45.References
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[3] Salcedo, R, Vallet A, Granell R, Garcerá C, Moltó E, Chueca P. Eulerian–Lagrangian model of the behaviour of droplets produced by an air-assisted sprayer in a citrus orchard. Biosystems Engineering, 2017; 154: 76–91.
[4] Baetens K, Nuyttens D, Verboven P, De Schampheleire M, Nicolai B, Ramon H. Predicting drift from field spraying by means of 3D computational fluid dynamics model. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 2007; 56(2): 161–173.
[5] Khot L R, Ehsani R, Albrigo G, Larbi P A, Landers A, Campoy J, et al. Air-assisted sprayer adapted for precision horticulture: Spray patterns and deposition assessments in small-sized citrus canopies. Biosystems Engineering, 2012; 113(1): 76–85.
[6] Li H Z, Zhu H, Jiang Z H, Lan Y B. Performance characterization on downwash flow and spray drift of multirotor unmanned agricultural aircraft system based on CFD. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2022; 15(3): 1–8.
[7] Sidahmed M M, Awadalla H H, Haidar M A. Symmetrical multi-foil shields for reducing spray drift. Biosystems Engineering, 2004; 88(3): 305–312.
[8] Li L L, Chen L P, Zhang R R, Tang Q, Yi T C, Liu B Q, et al. Spray drift characteristics of pulse-width modulation sprays in wind tunnel. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2022; 15(4): 7–15.
[9] Cooke B K, Hislop E C, Herrington P J, Western N M, Humpherson-Jones F. Assisted spraying of arable crops, in relation to deposition, drift and pesticide performance. Crop Protection, 1990; 9(4): 303–311.
[10] Llop J, Gil E, Gallart M, Contador F, Ercilla M. Spray distribution evaluation of different settings of a hand-held-trolley sprayer used in greenhouse tomato crops. Pest Management Science, 2015; 72(3): 505–516.
[11] Wang J, Lan Y B, Zhang H H, Zhang Y L, Wen S, Yao W X, et al. Drift and deposition of pesticide applied by UAV on pineapple plants under different meteorological conditions. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2018; 11(6): 5–12.
[12] Zhao L. Research on air curtain system optimization and intelligent control strategy based on bimodal distribution drift deposition model. Shandong Agricultural University, 2020. DOI: 10.27277/d.cnki.gsdnu.2020.000935.
[13] Sinha R, Ranjan R, Khot L R, Hoheisel G A, Grieshop M J. Drift potential from a solid set canopy delivery system and an axial–fan air–assisted sprayer during applications in grapevines. Biosystems Engineering, 2019; 188: 207–216.
[14] Foque D, Pieters J G, Nuyttens D. Spray deposition and distribution in abay laurel crop as affected by nozzle type, air assistance and spray direction when using vertical spray booms. Crop Protection, 2012; 41: 77–87.
[15] Kira O, Dubowski Y, Linker R. In-situ open path FTIR measurements of the vertical profile of spray drift from air-assisted sprayers. Biosystems Engineering, 2018; 139: 32–41.
[16] Zhang C, Zhou H, Xu L, Ru Y, Ju H, Chen Q. Wind tunnel study of the changes in drag and morphology of three fruit tree species during air-assisted spraying. Biosystems Engineering, 2022; 218: 003.
[17] Musiu E M, Qi L, Wu Y. Spray deposition and distribution on the targets and losses to the ground as affected by application volume rate, airflow rate and target position. Crop Protection, 2019; 116: 170–180.
[18] Zhang B, Tang Q, Chen L P, Zhang R R, Xu M. Numerical simulation of spray drift and deposition from a crop spraying aircraft using a CFD approach. Biosystems Engineering, 2017; 166: 184–199.
[19] Yuan J, Liu X M, Zhang X H, Zuo W L, Wang X, Chen L P. Modeling and compensation for characteristic of droplet drift on air-assisted boom spraying accounting for wind speeds. Transactions of the CSAE, 2013; 29(14): 45–52.
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2024-12-24
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Song, Y. (2024). Analysis of air curtain system flow field and droplet drift characteristics of high clearance sprayer based on CFD. International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 17(6), 38–45. Retrieved from https://ijabe.migration.pkpps03.publicknowledgeproject.org/index.php/ijabe/article/view/8253
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Applied Science, Engineering and Technology
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