MEASURING NOZZLE SPRAY UNIFORMITY USING IMAGE-ANALYSIS

Digital images of spray fans of nozzles made of different materials were taken at different pressures for spray-pattern uniformity measurement. The images of the fans were separated from the background, and were corrected using an elliptic correction algorithm to remove the effect of the elliptic-cone shape of the spray on uniformity measurement. A new model for spray pattern uniformity based on Fourier analysis was used to determine the uniformities at boom heights ranging from 38.1 to 50.8 cm (15 to 20 in.) with an increment of about 1.1 mm. This method can be used to compare spray patterns from new and existing nozzle designs and to determine optimum boom heights under given pressure settings.