Development of a high pressure chemical delivery system for aerial application platforms

PROJECT SUMMARY Title: Development of a high pressure chemical delivery system for aerial application platforms PD: Ledebuhr Mark A. Institution:    Application Insight LLC   Aerial application is limited in its productivity by the inability to produce low-drift sprays above certain speeds. Regardless of the nozzle higher airspeeds result in finer droplets and more spray drift both highly undesirable. Airplanes could apply spray faster in many conditions if such hardware existed which would increase profit and improve the productivity of each airplane. The ultimate vision of this project is to reduce spray drift from aerial applications while significantly increasing the efficiency and profitability of aerial applicators. Our product will do this by decreasing the drift potential of sprays allowing faster application rates increasing the productivity within weather windows in which spray can be applied and improving the precision of applications. These improvements could yield 15% increases in productivity and revenue per aircraft. This project will achieve these objectives through the development of a scalable multi-pump electric drive high-pressure aerial chemical delivery system (HPACDS) designed to mount on piloted fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft and potentially larger unmanned aerial vehicles. This system will give an applicator superior operational control over droplet size by delivering higher spray pressures than anything currently commercially available in aerial spray application systems. The designed flow range will be appropriate for the application rates of most if not all aerial agricultural and forestry spray applications.