How surface tension of surfactant solutions influences the characteristics of sprays produced by hydraulic nozzles used for pesticide application

The sprays produced by hydraulic agricultural nozzles are influenced by the surface tension of the spray liquid, but models of spray formation relate only to pure liquids with constant surface tension. The way surfactant solutions affect spray formation is studied by investigating sprays of pure liquids compared with a range of surfactant solutions. Some surfactants caused changes in the appearance of the liquid sheet produced by the nozzles, which did not occur with pure liquids, and smaller spray drop sizes than pure liquids, suggesting that other surface properties may also be important.