Effect of Electrostatic Induction Parameters on Droplets Charging for Agricultural Application

In this study, an electrostatic sprayer which had been previously designed and constructed was evaluated in order to quantify the charging of droplets. Liquid atomization was achieved by using an ultrasonic nozzle. The nozzle maximum flow rate was 25 milliliters per minute and vibration frequency was about 30 kHz. The induction method was used for charging the output droplets. All experiments were carried out within a closed environment with a fixed ambient humidity and temperature to reduce the effect of environmental factors. The independent parameters in this study included: voltage at four levels of 1.5, 3, 5 and 7 kV; air flow speed at six levels of 14, 14.9, 17, 20.2, 21.6 and 23 m s-1; charging electrode radius in two levels of 10 and 15 millimeters, horizontal distance between the electrode and nozzle tip at four levels of 1.5, 6, 10 and 15 millimeters; and liquid flow rate at three levels of 5, 12 and 25 milliliters per minutes. For evaluation of the system, the charging quantities of droplets were measured in different states. The maximum charging occurred at 5 ml min-1 flow rate, voltage of 7 kV, air flow speed of 23 m s-1 and the resulting current was 0.24 μA. On dividing the electrical current by the liquid flow rate and changing the scale, the mean charge to mass ratio was 1.032 μC g-1. Increasing voltage increased the charging quantity slightly but higher voltages and lower air speeds decreased it. The effect of the faster air speed on droplet charging phenomena is positive and the smaller electrode radius causes less charge induction on the droplets. The quantity of droplets charging first increased with increased distance between ring electrode and nozzle tip, and then it was either reduced and/or fixed.