Effects of position angles in twin-jet spray applications on droplet penetration of hydraulic nozzles

Effects of position angles in twin-jet spray applications on droplet penetration of hydraulic nozzles

This study was conducted to determine the effects of different position angles in twin-jet spray applications on dropletpenetration of different nozzle types. Seven different nozzle types (standard flat fan, ST; narrow flat fan, STN; multirange, LU; lowdrift potential, AD; air-induction, IDK; twin-jet air-induction, IDKT) were used and nozzles were positioned +15° along the forwarddirection, perpendicular to ground surface 0˚ and reverse direction of forward –15°. Spray experiments at 100 L/ha constant applicationvolume were conducted under controlled conditions of a closed facility. Water sensitive paper (WSP) was used as sampling surface.WSP samples were placed vertically and horizontally over both the metal frames and root collar of artificial plants. The present findingsrevealed that transport potential of spray droplets was quite lower on vertical planes than on horizontal planes. The greatest coveragewas achieved with ST, STN, LU, and SC-type nozzles producing fine droplets. Compared to open targets, the coverage ratios aroundthe root collars were quite low and insufficient. In all spray treatments, coverage ratio on the vertical planes was 86.1% lower than thecoverage ratio on the horizontal plane. In other words, coverage ratio on the horizontal plane was 7.2 times greater than the coverageratio on the vertical plane. Transfer efficiency of medium and coarse droplet-producing nozzles to root collars was greater than thetransfer efficiency of fine droplet-producing nozzles. Such a ratio for AD, IDKT, and IDK-type nozzles was determined as 37.06, 37.85,and 41.02% respectively. According to the present findings, effects of nozzle position angle on droplet penetration were not found to besignificant. However, nozzle position angle along the forward direction increased coverage ratios on the vertical planes.

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