Effect of Physical Properties of an Emulsion Pesticide on the Atomisation Process and the Spatial Distribution of Droplet Size

In the process of applying plant protection sprays, the atomisation process of complex pesticide components such as emulsion pesticides is different from that of water. Indeed, emulsion is often used as an additive to spray to reduce drift. Therefore, this study investigated the different morphological characteristics that occur between emulsions and water during atomisation at different pressures through visualisation experiments and interpreting the formation of structural differences between the two fragmentation mechanisms. The effect of liquid sheet structure on droplet size distribution was analysed in three-dimensional space, not only from one spatial perspective, but how it alters the morphological structures of liquid sheet leading to different potential droplet drift characteristics. It was found that the smaller the liquid sheet disturbance, the more concentrated the droplet size distribution, the more intense the liquid sheet disturbance, the more dispersed the droplet size distribution. The addition of 0.02% emulsion significantly reduced the proportion of V-100 (the ratio of volume with drops smaller than 100 mu m to the total volume of all droplets) from 21.33% to 10.24%, and the higher the emulsion concentration, the smaller the V-100. The ability of the emulsion to increase V-400 decreased with increasing pressure.

Automated summary

This study investigated the different morphological characteristics between emulsions and water during atomisation at different pressures, analysed the effect of liquid sheet structure on droplet size distribution, and found a correlation between the intensity of liquid sheet disturbance and droplet size distribution.