Combinatorial fluid flow analysis: a case study in banana cannon atomizers

Abstract

For banana cultivation, some chemical agents are used to combat certain pests, one of which is Sigatoka, caused by the fungus Mycosphaerella Musicola. It attacks the leaves of banana trees, drastically reducing the fruit's productivity. To eliminate this pest, sprays of chemical agents are carried out, the amount of which varies according to several factors. To carry out the spraying, an air atomizer, banana cannon type, which is the object of study of this work, is used. This atomizer has a radial turbine, which drives air to a rotating head 4 to 6m high, to release the necessary chemical agents into the banana plantation. There are different combinations of turbines and fans available for this equipment and the objective of this work is to evaluate, through combinatorial computational analysis, the different combinations indicating the best set, to improve the trajectory, velocity and exit temperature of the fluid, improving the spraying efficiency, increasing productivity with fewer sprays and consequently reducing the impact on the environment. The work was developed through exploratory field research, also known as “baseline research”. In the results, it can be observed that among the analyzed conditions of trajectory, temperature and pressure, that the best turbine and fan set, which offers the best results is the turbine with central air outlet and straight blade fan, with temperature difference of 1.7°C lower, for temperatures collected in the field and 0.36°C lower, for temperatures of computational analyses.