CFD and Test of Single Side Gantry Boom Sprayer for Apple Orchards

Abstract

Aiming at addressing the uneven pesticide distribution when spraying high-spindle apple trees, the parameters of a homemade profiling boom sprayer were analysed, and the optimal parameter combinations of the profiling sprayer were determined. Fluent was used to simulate the spray for various parameter values. The goodness of fit (R 2 ) with experimentally measured data was 0.9270, which verified the accuracy of the numerical simulations. The response surface methodology (RSM) method was used to obtain optimal parameter values from the simulations, and the effective collection rate and spray distribution coefficient of variation were introduced as response values. A sprayer prototype was manufactured based on the optimal parameters determined by RSM analysis, and the results were verified by vertical droplet distribution tests. The results showed that the spray quality increased by 0.7%, 0.9%, and 0.3% for the three best parameters combinations, the droplet distribution was more uniform, and the effect of the profiling spray was better than that of the control tests. The results can provide guidance for the design of sprayers for orchards, and the optimal combination of parameters can provide a basis for subsequent research on precision modelling of profile spraying.

Dynamic Numerical Simulation of Curved Surface Coating Trajectory Based on STL Slicing Algorithm

“…The results revealed distinct droplet characteristics among the three types of nebulizers, which significantly affected the film formation. Huo et al [8] focused on addressing the issue of uneven pesticide spraying on apple fruit trees. They optimized the parameters of the sprayer model and conducted numerical simulations for each parameter using FLUENT 18.0 software.…”