Droplet spatial distribution of oil-based emulsion spray

Chen Gong; Fujun Chen; Bingbo Cui; Aichen Wang; Zhao Zhang; Zhenjiang Zhou; Yufei Liu

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1183387

Droplet spatial distribution of oil-based emulsion spray

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Jun 8:14:1183387. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1183387. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Chen Gong¹, Fujun Chen¹, Bingbo Cui¹, Aichen Wang¹, Zhao Zhang², Zhenjiang Zhou³, Yufei Liu³

Affiliations

¹ School of Agricultural Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China.
² College of Information and Electrical Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
³ College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.

Abstract

Introduction: Oil-based emulsion solution is a common pesticide formulation in agricultural spraying, and its spray characteristics are different from that of water spraying. The well understanding of its spray characteristics is the theoretical basis to improve the pesticide spraying technology. The objective of the present study is to deepen the understanding of the spray characteristics of oil-based emulsion.

Method: In this paper, the spatial distribution characteristics of spray droplets of oil-based emulsion were captured visually using the high-speed photomicrography. On the basis of image processing method, the droplet size and distribution density of spray droplets at different spatial locations were analyzed quantitatively. The effects of nozzle configuration and emulsion concentration on spray structures and droplet spatial distribution were discussed.

Results: Oil-based emulsion produced a special perforation atomization mechanism compared with water spray, which led to the increase of spray droplet size and distribution density. Nozzle configuration had a significant effect on oil-based emulsion spray, with the nozzle changed from ST110-01 to ST110-03 and ST110-05; the sheet lengths increased to 18 and 28 mm, respectively, whereas the volumetric median diameters increased to 51.19% and 76.00%, respectively. With emulsion concentration increased from 0.02% to 0.1% and 0.5%, the volumetric median diameters increased to 5.17% and 14.56%, respectively.

Discussion: The spray droplet size of oil-based emulsion spray can be scaled by the equivalent diameter of discharge orifice of nozzles. The products of volumetric median diameters and corresponding surface tensions were nearly constant for the oil-based emulsion spray of different emulsion concentrations. It is expected that this research could provide theoretical support for improving the spraying technology of oil-based emulsion and increasing the utilization of pesticide.

Keywords: droplets distribution; emulsion concentration; nozzle configuration; oil-based emulsion spray; sheet structure.

Grants and funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51905220) and the Jiangsu Province and Education Ministry Co-sponsored Synergistic Innovation Center of Modern Agricultural Equipment (XTCX2009 and XTCX2010).