CFD models as a tool to analyze the performance of the hydraulic agitation system of an air-assisted sprayer

Badules, Jorge ; Vidal, Mariano (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Boné, Antonio (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Gil, Emilio ; García-Ramos, F. Javier (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the fluid velocities generated by the agitation system of an air-assisted sprayer was developed and validated by practical experiments in a laboratory. The model was developed considering different settings of the agitation system: Three water levels in the tank (1000, 2000, and 3000 L); two different numbers of active nozzles (2 or 4); and three working pressures of the agitation circuit (8, 10, or 12 bar). Actual measurements of the fluid velocity into the tank were taken using an acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV). CFD simulations made it possible to estimate fluid velocities at 38% of the measuring points with relative errors of less than 30%. Additionally, the CFD models have allowed the correct prediction of the general behavior of the fluid in the tank considering mean velocities depending on the setting parameters of the agitation system (water level in the tank, hydraulic circuit pressure, and number of active nozzles).

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.3390/agronomy9110769

Año: 2019

Publicado en: Agronomy (Basel) 9, 11 (2019), 769 [12 pp.]
ISSN: 2073-4395

Factor impacto JCR: 2.603 (2019)

Categ. JCR: AGRONOMY rank: 18 / 91 = 0.198 (2019) - Q1 - T1
Categ. JCR: PLANT SCIENCES rank: 65 / 234 = 0.278 (2019) - Q2 - T1

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 0.7 - Agronomy and Crop Science (Q1)

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Area Ingeniería Agroforestal (Dpto. CC.Agrar.y Medio Natural)
Área (Departamento): Área Ingeniería Mecánica (Dpto. Ingeniería Mecánica)
Área (Departamento): Área Expresión Gráfica en Ing. (Dpto. Ingeniería Diseño Fabri.)