FLOW-EXCITED UNIFORM-DROPLET AGRICULTURAL SPRAYER

LACK OF UNIFORM CONTROLLED DROP SPRAY SIZE IS A MAJOR OBSTACLE TO THE SAFE AND EFFECTIVE APPLICATION OF PESTICIDE SPRAYS. INCREASED ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC CONSTRAINTS MAKE IT NECESSARY TO DEVELOP SPRAY EQUIPMENT DESIGNED TO REDUCE SPRAY DRIFT AND TO INSURE MAXIMUM DEPOSITION ON TARGET AREAS. IN THE PAST, SEVERAL APPROACHES HAVE BEEN TRIED FOR CONTROLLING THE PRODUCTION OF DROPLETS BY APPROPRIATE GENERATOR DESIGN, INCLUDING PIEZOELECTRIC, MAGNETOSTRICTIVE, AND SPEAKER-DRIVEN DEVICES. HOWEVER, THESE DEVICES TEND TO BE COMPLICATED, EXPENSIVE, AND HAVE NOT PROVED TO BE RELIABLE IN THE FIELD. STI OPTRONICS HAS DEVELOPED A NEW PROPRIETARY DESIGN FOR A FLOW-EXITED UNIFORM-DROPLET GENERATOR THAT DOES NOT RELY ON AN INTRICATE ACOUSTICAL OR ELECTRONIC DRIVER, AND HENCE THAT WILL BE MECHANICALLY RELIABLE AND SIMPLE. THIS DEVICE WILL PRODUCE DROPLETS WITH A UNIFORM SIZE DISTRIBUTION, WITH FEW VERY SMALL DROPLETS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO DRIFT, AND NO VERY LARGE DROPLETS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO INEFFICIENCY AND WASTE. THE PHASE I PROGRAM CONSISTS OF AN EXPERIMENT TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF OUR FLOW-EXCITED SPRAYER, ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS WORK TO OPTIMIZE THE DESIGN, AND DEVELOPMENT OF A CONCEPTUAL DESIGN FOR A FLOW-EXCITED SPRAYER TO BE MOUNTED ON AN AIRCRAFT.