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Optimizing the Location of Nozzles in Spraying Drones to Achieve Maximum Swath Width

Ramezani Dehaj, Ali | 2025

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  1. Type of Document: M.Sc. Thesis
  2. Language: Farsi
  3. Document No: 58556 (08)
  4. University: Sharif University of Technology
  5. Department: Mechanical Engineering
  6. Advisor(s): Alasty, Aria; Talaeizadeh, Amin
  7. Abstract:
  8. The use of drones in agriculture has gained increasing importance due to their high accuracy, speed, and potential to reduce pesticide and water consumption. One of the key parameters influencing the performance of spraying drones is the spray swath width. During autonomous spraying, drones operate based on a predefined map and path composed of lines that fully cover the field surface. The distance between these lines corresponds to the spray swath width, which directly affects the uniformity of liquid distribution and energy consumption. The objective of this study is to determine the optimal nozzle positions on the drone arms through simulations in Fluent software using the Discrete Phase Model (DPM) and field experiments with water-sensitive papers. This process requires accurate simulation of the airflow beneath the drone and its spray pattern, followed by optimization of the nozzle placement. The simulation results indicated that nozzle location has a significant effect on the spray pattern and uniformity. Specifically, increasing the distance of the nozzle from the drone center led to a wider swath width but reduced uniformity. An optimization criterion that simultaneously considered swath width and uniformity was developed to identify the optimal nozzle configuration. Field spraying experiments were then performed using the optimized nozzle positions obtained from the simulations, with water-sensitive papers employed for validation. The analysis of the papers was carried out using a newly developed method, inspired by the Hough transform, which was capable of detecting displaced droplets on the paper as well as identifying up to three overlapping droplets. Finally, the comparison between experimental and simulation results demonstrated a satisfactory level of agreement
  9. Keywords:
  10. Precision Agriculture ; Agricultural Drone ; Discrete Phase Model ; Optimization ; Spray Swath Width ; Spraying Quality ; Water-Sensitive Paper ; Spraying Drones

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