Evaluation of the Induction and Ionized Field Charging Methods for Electrostatic Nozzles of Orchard Sprayer

Two charging methods of electrostatic nozzle, i.e. induction and ionized field corona charging, were designed and evaluated for orchard sprayer application. An artificial (metallic) target was constructed and used in this experiment. The charge-to-mass ratio for the induction electrode was measured by using the Faraday cage. Two conventional pressure-swirl nozzles have been employed with different orifice diameters under the same experimental operating conditions. A commercial pressure-swirl nozzle with orifice diameter of 1.0 was used for the conventional spray. The diameter of the electrostatic was 0.59 mm. The experiment was carried out for individual nozzle sprays at $0^{\circ}$, $20^{\circ}$ and $50^{\circ}$ oriented angles and three nozzles, sprayed simultaneously at a distance of 1.0 and 2.0 m from the nozzle tip to the target. The nozzles were mounted on a carriage with constant speed of 1.26 km/h with a blower attached. The weighing method was employed to evaluate for the spray deposition, ground loss and estimated drift. The results show more promising for the induction charging method, especially at $20^{\circ}$oriented angle at a distance of 1.0 m from the target for a single nozzle and when all three nozzles were operated simultaneously for spray deposition. The results of the induction charging method show promising with the developed electrostatic technique.