Air Assisted Plot Sprayer

2022-ME, 22-VW-1st

The objective of this project is to increase surface area coverage of chemical application

 

Team Members

Isaac Stouffer | Mack Hanley | Trenton Stouffer | Tyler Huff |

Project Poster

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Project Summary

 

Overview

Lake Erie Regional Grape Research and Extension Center (LERGREC), an affiliate of Penn State, does research on entomology, the study of insects, and plant pathology, the study of disease. Chemical application is currently done by using a tractor to pull a tent-like spraying apparatus over the rows of grapes. In the early season when the vines are still young, it is easy to spray the chemicals and make sure that every vine is sufficiently coated. However, in the mid to late season when the vines become mature, they get thicker, and it becomes harder to get sufficient chemical coverage. The plot sprayer struggles to cover the entire surface area of the vines, resulting in insect damage, disease, as well as inaccurate testing of the grapes.

Objectives

The objective of this project was to increase the surface area coverage of chemical spray onto the grapevines. Our group created an air piping system that forced the spray into the plant and ended up with a better overall distribution of chemicals. 

 

Approach

  • Met with sponsor and operator of the plot sprayer to get sufficient information. 
  • Engineering Equation Solver (EES) was used to find exit velocities of chemical nozzles.  
  • Performed multiple tests to see how effective design was regarding surface area coverage. 
  • Modeled the design and current plot sprayer in Inventor to get clear picture of layout.  
  • Used ANSYS Static Structural to ensure tent structure yields under the weight of the design. 
  • ANSYS Fluent was used to validate specific exit velocities of the design using ball valves.  

Outcomes

It was concluded that an air assist design was needed to help give the chemicals more momentum while being sprayed. Using a gas-powered blower and PVC for routing the air, the system was designed to help achieve over 50% surface area coverage of chemicals on the grape vines. The blower will produce air at 3,000 CFM and come out of the six air nozzles at approximately 85 mph. The total cost of the design is $1,683.34 which is under the sponsor budget.