title: A pdpa laser-based measuring set-up for the characterisation of spray nozzles.
abstract: The characteristics of agricultural sprays belong to the most critical factors affecting spray drift, deposition on plants, spray coverage and biological efficacy. Hence, within the framework of a research project about agricultural spray drift, a measuring set-up for the characterisation of spray nozzles using a Phase Doppler Particle Analyser (PDPA) was developed. This set-up is able to measure droplet sizes and velocities based on light-scattering principles. It is composed of different parts i.e.: a climate room, a spray unit, a three-dimensional automated positioning system and an Aerometrics PDPA 1D system. This paper presents a detailed description of this measuring set-up along with some first measuring results. These measurements will be used as an input for a Computational Fluid Dynamics drift-prediction model and to classify nozzles based on their driftability.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of the Flemish Community, Agricultural Research Centre, Department of Mechanisation - Labour - Buildings - Animal Welfare and Environmental Protection (CLO-DVL), Burg. Van Gansberghelaan 115, BE-9820 Merelbeke, Belgium. d.nuyttens@clo.fgov.be
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nuyttens
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sonck
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Schampheleire
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Steurbaut
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Baetens
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Verboven
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nicolaï
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ramon
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000295:instrumentation*; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D007834:Lasers; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010316:Particle Size; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis*; D014919:Wind
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D010575:Pesticides