화학공학소재연구정보센터
Atomization and Sprays, Vol.15, No.6, 629-660, 2005
Electrostatic effects on agricultural air-atomized sprays and deposition. Part II: A computational study
This article reports on a computational investigation of inductively charged sprays used in crop spraying. The charged sprays are produced using an air-atomizing induction-charging nozzle. In complementary research, the spray structures are experimentally, characterized based on drop size and velocity, data obtained using laser-based techniques, both in the free spray and in the near-target vicinity. The experimental deposition study used spectrophotometry analysis to quantify the drop residue on a grounded target. The study reported on here comprises the computational simulation of free spray and deposition aspects of charged and uncharged sprays, and uses the data obtained in the parallel investigation to determine the ability of the computational model to accurately predict such sprays. Experimental test results demonstrate the dominance of hydrodynamic effects within the charged free sprays, whereas, in the vicinity, of a grounded target, the sprigs are influenced by the attractive electrostatic force fields created, leading to greater drop depositions on the target than for an uncharged spray. These trends are confirmed by, the computational results. However, there are differences of detail. The model generally, underpredicts the affects of the electric fields on the spray motion near the target. This is probably due to an incorrect mass flux profile at the injector, leading to too little mass and, hence, charge being predicted in the target vicinity.