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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Wooster, Ohio » Application Technology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #64786
Title: SHIELDS TO REDUCE SPRAY DRIFT

Author
item OZKAN, H - OSU/OARDC-AGRIC ENGR DEPT
item MIRALLES, ANDRE - CEMAGREF/FRANCE
item SINFORT, CAROLE - CEMAGREF/FRANCE
item ZHU, HEPING - OSU/OARDC-AGRIC ENGR DEPT
item Reichard, Donald
item Fox, Robert

Submitted to: American Society of Agricultural Engineers Meetings Papers
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/18/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The effects of several spray-boom shield designs and low-drift nozzles on spray drift are presented. Results are based on experiments conducted in a wind tunnel and computer simulations using the same experimental parameters. Performances of all experimental shields were evaluated under two spray pressures ( 0.15 and 0.3 MPa), and two air flow rates (2.75 and 4.80 m/s) in the wind tunnel. All nine shields tested during this study effectively reduced spray drift. Even the least effective shield design produced a 13% improvement in deposition of spray on the ground. A double-foil shield produced the best spray-deposit improvement of 59% compared to the same nozzles spraying without the shield. The shields were effective even when used with nozzles with higher flow rates (producing fewer small droplets). However, using larger capacity nozzles reduced drift more than using smaller capacity nozzles with even the most effective shield. Low-drift (LD) nozzles without a shield provided reductions in drift ranging from 20 percent to 67 percent when compared to the drift from a 0.61 L/min standard flat-fan (SFF) nozzle operating under identical conditions. The 0.61 L/min SFF nozzles operating with Shield 2 (the best shield) were twice as effective in reducing drift as the same capacity LD nozzles operating without a shield. However, the low-capacity LD nozzles without a shield were twice as effective in reducing drift as the SFF nozzles of the same capacity operating with Shield 5/1 (the shield with the worst performance). Without a shield, LD nozzles at higher flow rates are no more advantageous in reducing drift than SFF nozzles of similar flow rate.