Atomization and Sprays, Vol.6, No.6, 693-707, 1996
Entrained air and droplet velocities produced by agricultural flat-fan nozzles
Entrained air velocities, caused by the movement of droplets from an agricultural flat-fan nozzle through the air, have been determined in vertical and radial directions within the spray by measuring the velocities of small droplets used as tracers for air movement. The distributions of droplet volume median diameter and mean liquid velocity within the spray were also measured using a PMS laser imaging probe. The spray volume distribution in a horizontal plane below the nozzle was recorded. The radial air velocity component declined with distance from the nozzle, r, and with angle from the centerline, theta. Liquid velocity, mean droplet size, and spray volume distribution also varied with r and theta. A model developed to predict the entrained air velocities was adapted in order to be compared with the experimental results. The model predicts well the variation of entrained air velocity with r, but the measured velocity declines more quickly with theta than with the model.