Recent advances in computational fluid dynamics relevant to the modelling of pesticide flow on leaf surfaces

C. Richard Glass, Keith F. A. Walters, Philip H. Gaskell, Yeaw C. Lee, Harvey M. Thompson, David R. Emerson, Xiao-Jun Gu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

30 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Increasing societal and governmental concern about the worldwide use of chemical pesticides is now providing strong drivers towards maximising the efficiency of pesticide utilisation and the development of alternative control techniques. There is growing recognition that the ultimate goal of achieving efficient and sustainable pesticide usage will require greater understanding of the fluid mechanical mechanisms governing the delivery to, and spreading of, pesticide droplets on target surfaces such as leaves. This has led to increasing use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) as an important component of efficient process design with regard to pesticide delivery to the leaf surface. This perspective highlights recent advances in CFD methods for droplet spreading and film flows, which have the potential to provide accurate, predictive models for pesticide flow on leaf surfaces, and which can take account of each of the key influences of surface topography and chemistry, initial spray deposition conditions, evaporation and multiple droplet spreading interactions. The mathematical framework of these CFD methods is described briefly, and a series of new flow simulation results relevant to pesticide flows over foliage is provided. The potential benefits of employing CFD for practical process design are also discussed briefly. (C) Crown copyright 2009. Reproduced with permission of Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)29
Number of pages8
JournalPest Management Science
Volume66
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2010

Keywords

  • pesticide
  • wetting
  • spreading
  • computational fluid dynamics
  • THIN LIQUID-FILMS
  • ENTOMOPATHOGENIC NEMATODE
  • MATHEMATICAL-MODEL
  • WATER DROP
  • EVAPORATION
  • SUBSTRATE
  • RETENTION
  • ADHESION
  • SESSILE
  • SURFACTANTS

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Recent advances in computational fluid dynamics relevant to the modelling of pesticide flow on leaf surfaces'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this