Paper Number
AR26 

Session
Applied Rheology and Rheology Methods

Title
Liquid sheet breakup and droplet evaporation in agricultural sprays

Presentation Date and Time
October 12, 2021 (Tuesday) 4:35

Track / Room
Track 2 / Ballroom 7

Authors (Click on name to view author profile)

  1. Makhnenko, Iaroslav (University of Minnesota, Mechanical Engineering)
  2. Nguyen, Long (University of Minnesota)
  3. Alonzi, Elizabeth (Winfield United)
  4. Fredericks, Steven (Winfield United)
  5. Colby, Christine (Winfield United)
  6. Dutcher, Cari (University of Minnesota, Mechanical Engineering)

Author and Affiliation Lines (in printed abstract book)
Iaroslav Makhnenko1, Long Nguyen2, Elizabeth Alonzi3, Steven Fredericks3, Christine Colby3 and Cari Dutcher1
1Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455; 2University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN; 3Winfield United, River Falls, WI 54022

Speaker / Presenter 
Makhnenko, Iaroslav

Keywords
experimental methods; emulsions; microfluidics; surfactants

Text of Abstract
Spraying is a common process in everyday life with applications in agriculture, drug administration, printing, and painting. For agriculture purposes, small droplets are needed to enhance coverage of agricultural sprays, but not so small that they cause drift of the sprayed pesticides. Spray drift can cause the deposition of chemicals to undesired areas with a negative impact on livestock, ecosystems, and human health. In this work, different factors influencing spray breakup and droplet size distributions are discussed. Herein we experimentally measure the droplet size distribution of sprays from agricultural spray nozzles. The sprays were both homogeneous as well as emulsion containing, and the dynamic surface and interfacial tensions were varied to identify their influence on spray volume fraction below 150 µm, which is correlated with the spray drift risk, and on the volume median diameter, which is correlated with the spray deposition. The results of this work will help to understand the factors affecting a droplet size during a spraying process, towards increased efficacy of spraying pesticides.