Air flow influence on agricultural sprays: application to a specific vineyard sprayer
Influence de l'écoulement concourant d'air en sprays agricoles : application aux pulvérisateurs utilisés en vigne
Résumé
Agricultural hydraulic nozzles are generally classified according to mean values of spray droplet diameter, like Dv10, Dv50 (i.e. Volume Median Diameter) or Dv90 measured on vertical sprays without any air co-flow. In vineyards, some sprayers deliver sprays that are horizontally oriented, and may be surrounded by an air flow. A previous study showed that median diameter was not affected by nozzle orientation (horizontal versus vertical), but gravity effect was noticeable regarding spatial repartition of droplet diameter and velocity [1]. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of air flow on horizontal sprays, regarding droplet diameter and droplet velocity.