An electronic sensor to characterize transient response of nozzle injection for pesticide spraying
2005
Crowe, T.G. | Downey, D. | Giles, D.K. | Slaughter, D.C.
An electronic sensor was developed to characterize the transient response of a two-fluid mixture spray emission created by injecting a pulse of concentrated solution into a carrier fluid within a spray nozzle. The test situation simulated an intermittent, at-nozzle chemical injection system for spraying of distinct targets. The principle of sensor operation was measurement of the electrical resistance of an element of the emitted fluid created by injecting a concentrated sodium chloride solution into a water carrier. The sensor was initially calibrated with steady-state flow of carrier liquid over a range of 10 to 1500 ppm NaCl concentration. The high temporal response of the sensor provided measurement of the transient concentration of injected NaCl solution during brief (10 to 100 ms) injection events into the steady-state flow of the carrier liquid. The accuracy and transient response were quantified by comparing the volume of injected salt solution as determined by integrating the instantaneous concentration over the measured event with a direct volumetric measurement of the injected volume. Excellent agreement between volume measurements of injection and predicted injection volumes was found, validating sensor use for injection studies. The relatively simple sensor design provides the accuracy and high-frequency response necessary for at-nozzle injection studies.
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