Modeling of electrostatic-based pesticide spray systems

A microscopic model for the electrostatic spraying system is presented to investigate the effect of the voltage applied to the induction nozzle on the droplet's charge, mobility, and charge-to-mass ratio. The variation of these parameters along the jet was also included. The model also lays particular emphasis on the effect of the applied voltage on the spray current and the charge density at the nozzle. A macroscopic model for the electrostatic spraying system is also presented. The objective of the model was to study the spatial distribution of the droplet charge density, transit time, and trajectory in the region between the nozzle and the target in terms of the flow velocity of the spray and the space-charge-produced electric field. On the macroscopic scale, both the droplet charge density and the spray current increase with the voltage applied to the charging electrode. With the decrease of the spray flow velocity, the space-charge-produced electric field becomes dominant and tends to: contract the droplet trajectories toward the axis of the spray system, and hence enhance the droplet deposition efficiency; and decrease the charge density at the target with the possibility of minimizing back-ionization. On the microscopic scale, induction charging eliminates the ion current from the current to the target and the associated back-ionization. The calculated droplet charge and charge-to-mass ratio which increase with the voltage applied to the charging electrode, agreed with the values reported previously