Movement Characteristics of Droplet Deposition in Flat Spray Nozzle for Agricultural UAVs

At present, research on aerial spraying operations with UAVs mainly focuses on the deposition outcomes of droplets, with insufficient depth in the exploration of the movement process of droplet deposition. The movement characteristics of droplet deposition as the most fundamental factors affecting the effectiveness of pesticide application by UAVs are of great significance for improving droplet deposition. This study takes flat spray nozzles as the research object, uses the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique to obtain movement data of water droplet deposition under the influence of rotor flow fields, and investigates the variation characteristics of droplet deposition speed under different influencing factors. The results show that the deposition speed and the distribution area of high-speed (>12 m/s) particles increase with the increase of rotor speed, spraying pressure, and nozzle size. When the rotor speed increases from 0 r/min to 1800 r/min, the average increase in maximum droplet deposition speed for nozzle models LU120-02, LU120-03 and LU120-04 is 33.26%, 19.02%, and 7.62%, respectively. The rotor flow field significantly increases the number of high-speed droplets, making the dispersed droplet velocity distribution more concentrated. When the rotor speed is 0, 1000, 1500, and 1800 r/min, the average decay rates of droplet deposition speed are 36.72%, 20.00%, 15.47%, and 13.21%, respectively, indicating that the rotor flow field helps to reduce the decrease in droplet deposition speed, enabling droplets to deposit on the target area at a higher speed, reducing drift risk and evaporation loss. This study’s results are beneficial for revealing the mechanism of droplet deposition movement in aerial spraying by plant protection UAVs, improving the understanding of droplet movement, and providing data support and guidance for precise spraying operations.