Evaluation of Cone and Flat Fan Nozzle used for Agricultural Drone Spraying and its Performance Assessment

Author: Kailashkumar B., S.S. Sivakumar, J. John Gunasekar, V. Alex Albert and R. Ravikumar

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Abstract

Pesticide application plays an important role in pest management. Proper technique of application of pesticide and the equipments used for applying pesticide are vital for the success of pest control operations. A spray patternator was created to test the spray liquid application rates of several drone spraying nozzle types. The spray distribution pattern for cone and flat fan nozzle was evaluated under various working pressuresand nozzle height. The nozzles are placed at different heights of 200, 300, 400, 500, 600 mm from the patternator surface and different operating pressures of 2, 4, 6 and 8 kg/cm2. The distribution pattern demonstrates that the discharge reaches its highest value near the patternator's centre, and the spray volume received by the channel diminishes as the distance from the centre rises. The cone nozzle has a maximum discharge rate of 646.0 ml/min, while the flat fan nozzle has a maximum discharge rate of 827.0 ml/min at a working pressure of 8.0 kg/cm2. The cone nozzle provided a spray that was uniform and had the lowest coefficient of variation at all pressures and heights tested. As long as the nozzle pressure is 8 kg/cm2 at 54.46° and the height is 600mm, the optimum spray volumetric distribution and the lowest coefficient of variation may be achieved by utilising this model. Flat fan nozzle with 62.24° nozzle angle, 600 mm height, and 6 kg/cm2 nozzle pressure provided the best spray volumetric distribution and the lowest coefficient of variation.In addition, the mean value of swath width increases with an increase in working pressure for both the nozzles. This evaluation supports using a flat fan and cone nozzle in drone spraying applications to improve spray distribution.

Keywords

Drone spraying, Flat Fan Nozzle, Cone Nozzle, Uniformity, Pressure, Droplets

Conclusion

A spray patternator was created with the purpose of choosing the ideal nozzle type, angle, and pressure to guarantee an uniform application of spray liquid over the field. A spray analysis tool or patternator measurement may be used to properly assess the volumetric distribution of static spray. According to the findings, the cone nozzle works best for concentrated spraying while the flat fan nozzle is ideal for wide spraying. The cone nozzle produced a spray that was uniform and had the lowest coefficient of variation at all pressures and heights tested. Using this model, for the cone nozzle, best spray volumetric distribution and the lowest coefficient of variation may be achieved as long as the nozzle pressure is 8 kg/cm2 at 54.46° and the height is 600mm. We employed a flat fan nozzle at a 62.24° nozzle angle, 600 mm height, and a pressure of 6 kg/cm2 to get the optimum spray volumetric distribution and the lowest coefficient of variation. According to this study, cone and flat fan nozzles may aid increase spray dispersion and the choice of nozzle for certain crops during drone spraying.

References

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How to cite this article

Kailashkumar B., S.S. Sivakumar, J. John Gunasekar, V. Alex Albert and R. Ravikumar (2023). Evaluation of Cone and Flat Fan Nozzle used for Agricultural Drone Spraying and its Performance Assessment. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(1): 268-274.