Wind Tunnel Testing of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems for Precision Crop-Spraying Applications

Bloise, Nicoletta; Ruiz, Manuel Carreño; D’Ambrosio, Domenic; Guglieri, Giorgio

doi:10.1109/metroagrifor52389.2021.9628600

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The DJI Matrice 600 (DJI, Shenzhen, China) was chosen as our reference UAS, as this was used in the wind tunnel tests presented in [14,29] and used in the flight tests presented in [11,30]. It has a recommended Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) of 15.5 kg, and its main characteristics are reported in Figure 1 and Table 1.…”

Section: Dji Matrice 600 and Spray Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward Virtual Testing of Unmanned Aerial Spraying Systems Operating in Vineyards

Carreño Ruiz,

Bloise,

Guglieri

et al. 2024

Drones

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In recent times, the objective of reducing the environmental impact of the agricultural industry has led to the mechanization of the sector. One of the consequences of this is the everyday increasing use of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) for different tasks in agriculture, such as spraying operations, mapping, or diagnostics, among others. Aerial spraying presents an inherent problem associated with the drift of small droplets caused by their entrainment in vortical structures such as tip vortices produced at the tip of rotors and wings. This problem is aggravated by other dynamic physical phenomena associated with the actual spray operation, such as liquid sloshing in the tank, GPS inaccuracies, wind gusts, and autopilot corrections, among others. This work focuses on analyzing the impact of nozzle position and liquid sloshing on droplet deposition through numerical modeling. To achieve this, the paper presents a novel six degrees of freedom numerical model of a DJI Matrice 600 equipped with a spray system. The spray is modeled using Lagrangian particles and the liquid sloshing is modeled with an interface-capturing method known as Volume of Fluid (VOF) approach. The model is tested in a spraying operation at a constant velocity of 2 m/s in a virtual vineyard. The maneuver is achieved using a PID controller that drives the angular rates of the rotors. This spraying mission simulator was used to obtain insights into optimal nozzle selection and positioning by quantifying the amount of droplet deposition.

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Section: Dji Matrice 600 and Spray Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward Virtual Testing of Unmanned Aerial Spraying Systems Operating in Vineyards

Carreño Ruiz,

Bloise,

Guglieri

et al. 2024

Drones

Self Cite

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“…Other computational approaches also include the study of droplet trajectories modeled using a dispersed phase model (DPM), as shown in [23][24][25]. The authors of [26] show a similar approach by injecting Lagrangian particles into the wake of a hexacopter. We emphasize how the Lagrangian particle model requires injection inputs, such as droplet diameter, momentum, and spray angle, which are a priori unknown and difficult to predict accurately.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We emphasize how the Lagrangian particle model requires injection inputs, such as droplet diameter, momentum, and spray angle, which are a priori unknown and difficult to predict accurately. The authors also present a complete UASS design and mission guidelines for a spraying operation in [27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This paper, which follows the preliminary results shown by the authors in [26], presents the experimental testing of a hexarotor in a wind tunnel facility and has a twofold objective: (a) obtaining a preliminary understanding of the influence of placing the nozzles under the rotors and (b) validating a numerical model able to predict droplet distributions. The first objective is relevant to quantifying the spray cone angle that characterizes hollowcone nozzles, which is instrumental to the definition of the flight altitude that minimizes deposition of PPP in the inter-row region in vineyards.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Droplets are modeled using spherical Lagrangian particles. The difficulties in determining the inputs shown in [26] are addressed. In this work, the model inputs are estimated by fusing data provided by nozzle manufacturers, experimental observations, and simulations of the hollowcone nozzle using a volume-of-fluid (VOF) approach as shown in [28,29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Numerical Analysis and Wind Tunnel Validation of Droplet Distribution in the Wake of an Unmanned Aerial Spraying System in Forward Flight

Ruiz

Bloise

Guglieri

et al. 2022

Drones

Self Cite

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Recent developments in agriculture mechanization have generated significant challenges towards sustainable approaches to reduce the environmental footprint and improve food quality. This paper highlights the benefits of using unmanned aerial systems (UASs) for precision spraying applications of pesticides, reducing the environmental risk and waste caused by spray drift. Several unmanned aerial spraying system (UASS) operation parameters and spray system designs are examined to define adequate configurations for specific treatments. A hexarotor DJI Matrice 600 equipped with T-Motor 15“×5” carbon fiber blades is tested numerically using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and experimentally in a wind tunnel. These tests assess the aerodynamic interaction between the wake of an advancing multicopter and the fine droplets generated by atomizers traditionally used in agricultural applications. The aim of this research is twofold. First, we analyze the effects of parameters such as flight speed (0, 2, and 3 m.s−1), nozzle type (hollowcone and fan), and injection pressure (2–3 bar) on spray distribution. In the second phase, we use data from the experimental campaign to validate numerical tools for the simulation of rotor–droplet interactions necessary to predict spray’s ground footprint and to plan a precise guidance algorithm to achieve on-target deposition and reduce the well-known droplet drift problem.

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Agroforestry Innovations Lab Activities on Sprayer Performance and Certification

Becce

Carabin

Mazzetto

2023

Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering

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Wind Tunnel Testing of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems for Precision Crop-Spraying Applications

Cited by 5 publications

References 12 publications

Toward Virtual Testing of Unmanned Aerial Spraying Systems Operating in Vineyards

Toward Virtual Testing of Unmanned Aerial Spraying Systems Operating in Vineyards

Numerical Analysis and Wind Tunnel Validation of Droplet Distribution in the Wake of an Unmanned Aerial Spraying System in Forward Flight

Agroforestry Innovations Lab Activities on Sprayer Performance and Certification

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