A Rapid Method of Calculating the Downwind Distributions from Aerial Atomisers1

There are many diverse views about the effects of wind on aircraft sprays. Some operators wish to spray only when the air is still, others will not spray unless the wind speed is at least 3 m/s. The basis of this difference is the fear of, as against the use of, the downwind movement of droplets. This note uses a simple model of droplet behaviour in a wind to try to predict the deposit distributions downwind of a spraying aircraft. The results demonstrate that the level of turbulence caused by the wind blowing over the earth's vegetation reduces the downwind distance most small drops travel before being captured. Trees create more turbulence than cereal crops, which create more turbulence than bare earth or short grass. The deposit density at a given distance downwind reduces with decrease in aircraft flying height, wind speed and smoothness of the canopy. It remains roughly constant with increasing droplet size until a critical diameter is reached when it falls rapidly with increase in droplet size. This critical size depends upon windspeed and turbulence intensity. A downwind buffer zone between the spray area and a sensitive crop is desirable and its minimum size can be determined using the techniques discussed in the paper.