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1. Dont change 4 6 Deposit Analysis You have used the Swath Kit to obtain a swath pattern You are satisfied that it is good representation of what that aircraft sprays under typical meteorological conditions How do you interpret the pattern How do you assign a satisfactory lane separation to that aircraft Do the claims that you have heard for this particular aircraft type match the results you see The Deposit Analysis part of the Swath Kit enables you to make informed decisions on the aircraft application parameters The program uses the data you obtained with one run overlaps it with identical patterns and presents you with the overlapped simulation along with statistical parameters that enable you to judge the quality of the information It is at this stage that all the preparation you have put into obtaining a representation of the spray pattern begins to show rewards Ifa Trial has deposit data you will be able to perform spray run analysis Choose the View menu Analysis option or click the Deposit Analysis button The Analysis Window will be shown The upper half of the window shows pattern or overlap statistics The lower half displays the spray pattern or overlap profile The underlying data for pattern overlap or overlap analysis can be obtained by clicking the Data icon You can study different aspects of your pattern by selecting options in the Action selection box Three Actions
2. if you want your changes to remain in subsequent graphical use Four panel displays can be individually modified so that each panel shows a different style of graph 5 4 Swath Kit for Windows Figure 5 5 Graph Control options Use the tabs in the GC screen to select the type of graphic display you require Statistical trends can also be displayed Note that the nature of the data means that not all the graph options are available Graph Control E Legend Labels System About Bound Data Trends Overlay EnorBar Background 3DGaley Sue Data Ties avis 30 iui nad Lr fe bet E TN conce Aroonon Her 5 5 Using Different Databases for Storing Trials Users who do many trials with the Swath Kit find that it is worthwhile to store trial data in different files rather than let a very large amount of trial data accumulate in the default database skwin32 mdb In order to write trial data to a different database it must already exist in the default data directory where the RPT files are present To create a file you must first export existing trial data to it one trial is sufficient See section 6 3 below for details on exporting trials 5 6 Using Different Focal Length Lenses 5 6 1 General The Swath Kit can be used for measuring different types of sprayed card The most commonly used application is insecticide spray where a resolution of around 20 um per pix
3. Choose a size class carefully to ensure that the expected range of droplet sizes can be accommodated by the range of size bins If you are uncertain select the Default Root two progression of 10 to 7239 7 um option that can accept most agricultural droplet sizes To view the size bins in a size class selection press the View button New bin size class files can be imported when the Import button is clicked The structure of the text files is shown in Section 3 3 2 5 4 Options Settings Figure 6 3 Options Settings window showing user selected settings for Swath Kit messages graphic display options and database file name for storage of trial data The default file name is shown This list of options enables the user to change the way the system messages appear the way that graphs are displayed and the main database used to store trial data The Options Settings window is shown in Figure 6 3 is Options Verbose Warnings Use this option to have SKWin give more prompts when problems occur or where extra caution is required before making an action Centerline Correction Data for deposit is displayed with distance across the swath as the horizontal axis By default this is displayed using card number and card separation to calculate a distance from the left hand of the sampling line that is card zero is to the left of the pilot However you may also display deposit using the Centerline Correction
4. If found you ll be prompted to accept or reject the finding the original file name is presented as the source of the data If no data are found you will be prompted for the file name and subdirectory of a weather spool file Use the browse button to locate the appropriate SPL file These data will then be imported and made available for future use within the Swath Kit The summary information displayed depends on the available weather data and the size of the Weather Window Increase or decrease the time with the spin arrows as required If you did not record any weather data you may edit the Summary Weather Statistics boxes and enter estimated or measured averages for the weather conditions 2 6 1 Weather Summary Statistics The Weather tab of a Trial contains a summary of the weather data for each of four parameters 1 Average Wind Speed This is a actually a resultant wind speed not a simple average formed by dividing the horizontal distance that a droplet would be displaced from it s point of release after a defined window of time by the period of that time window see Weather Window This figure differs from a simple arithmetic average of the wind speeds because it considers not only the strength of the wind but also its direction at each two second interval It s is the combination of these two effects that determine how far a droplet will travel in a given time period thus making it a more representative measure of a
5. Mission Weather Notepad Measure Image Analyzer Configuration Filter Medium Filter r Material deci sa dia oz per liter of spray ion BO 0 00E 00 81 500801 B2 D 00E 00 es Factors BO B1 x Stain B2 x Stain 2 Update Close 4722 97 2 12 48 PM Click on the Measure tab Before measuring deposit first select a material and the Filter required Press the Select key and you ll be presented with a list of available Materials Selecting a material will load the spread factor and active ingredient conversions in to your Trial 3 3 Rev5 1 01 3 Image Analysis of Spray Deposits To start measurement press the Measure button Note To access and edit the Materials database you select Database and Materials For details of deposit measurement refer to Image Analysis Set up 3 5 Filter Settings The Swath Kit allows you to choose two types of filtering pre filtering and data filtering To understand the difference between these two types it is worthwhile knowing how the Swath Kit reads and stores droplet data Every stain that is read is stored in a database and is identified by trial and card tags The Swath Kit program then can ignore some of the smaller stains by applying a data filter calculate droplet sizes by applying a spread factor and analyze the data for volume rate droplet sizes etc 3 5 1 Data Filtering Data filtering is normally performed when you have some dust c
6. and as yet is only available for one balance manufacturer Because of the limited feedback it is being offered on an as is basis Further development could be possible if sufficient users demand it 9 1 1 Procedural Changes from Card Line Analysis Figure 9 1 Icon for vertical collector deposit graph The drift fraction sampling option enables users to place cards aligned vertically on a pole or other vertical collector and measure them to estimate the droplets which are drifting horizontally It should be noted that the catch efficiency of the drifting droplets will vary according to their size the width of the collector and the speed of the wind A uniform spacing of collectors should be used The spacing used is entered in the Trial tab of the Trial screen There are two text boxes that indicate card spacing on the left is the usual ground card spacing and on the right is the drift collector spacing Enter the spacing data as appropriate You may enter data for up to three vertical collectors The data for each card line is entered separately by selecting the appropriate line from the drop down list box in the Measure tabbed screen Figure 9 2 below The default option is the standard horizontal collecting line Once the cards have been read the results can be viewed by selecting the green vertical sampling icon on the main Swath Kit toolbar Figure 9 1 Swath Kit for Windows 3 0 12 File View Database Tools W
7. the Measure tab There is a drop down list in the box titled Image Analysis Options itemizing the different hardware devices that it is possible to use for data input figure 11 4 above Select the appropriate balance from the list at time of writing April 2001 only the Sartorius balance is available To add a material to the database option on the main menu select Material New Figure 11 6 The top list box labeled Substance Type gives you the option of selecting a liquid default or solid material Selecting a solid material removes the spread factor parameter table and changes the Conversion Units box to None per Kilogram Enter a Material Description the units you want to use for example 9 6 Figure 9 7 Adding a new solid material requires that you specify Solid in the Substance Type drop down list Swath Kit for Windows pounds and enter the Conversion Factor as 2 205 the number of pounds in a kilogram This is similar to the principle used with liquids where the standard units are liters The Swath Kit records mass data in either kg or L and you have to indicate in what units you want the final data displayed This is what the Conversion Factor is It is a simple coefficient multiplier for the non technical to convert kg to your units of choice a Material Database Of x Substance Type Gold Update SE l OOOO Dell oli Conversion Unts ainame one kg None per kg soid appid 2 con
8. 2 Vertical collectors 3 Manual Deposit Entr gt 1 0 5 3 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 O w o n S wf mu Sort 9 4 Dry Material Pattern Analysis One of the original Swath Kit users expressed a need to use the Swath Kit for analyzing results from collectors of dry materials Instead of using a one dimensional card line a two dimensional array of several lines was used to sample the dry material The results can be presented as an x y z 3 dimensional graph where the z dimension represents the distribution of material unit area Direct data entry from the serial port of a Sartorius electronic balance was enabled At time of writing April 2001 DT has had no feedback from the user on how effectively the dry material option works in the Swath Kit These instructions are presented with the proviso that they are untested and as yet only supply one manufacturer of balances However we at DT believe that the system can be developed further to accommodate other hardware if users have this requirement 9 4 1 Dry Material Set up Procedures In order to configure the Swath Kit for dry material collection it is necessary to tell the program that data will be coming from a serial port on an electronic balance instead of an image analyzer and to create a dry material in the material database To select the correct hardware go to Tools Options on the main menu and select
9. Kit for Windows Wind Direction deg Start time Stop time 50 100 Time Seconds Numerical data can be viewed for either the Graph Window or the Analysis window This allows access to all underlying numbers used for weather spectrum deposit overlap and analysis data To display the data window press the Data View button on the button bar or select the View Data View menu item These options will only be enabled when there are data to be viewed that is when a Trial is opened that has data and that has a Graph Window or Analysis Window opened There is only one Data window If more than one Trial is open or if both the Graph and Analysis windows are shown for a Trial then the Data window will automatically display numerical data for whatever Trial has focus That is the data shown will change as you click on different graph or analysis windows To freeze the display so that it doesn t change when you select a different graph click the Don t Change option 4 5 Rev 5 1 01 4 Viewing amp Analyzing Trials Spectrum Data View FORAY12 INF Figure 4 5 Numerical data can be viewed for either the Graph Window or the Analysis window by clicking the Data View button on the Trial Sheet Typical droplet spectrum data is shown in this figure 0 00E 00 0 00E 00 0 00 00 8 896 05 3 05 06 1 01E 07 2 62 07 6 51E 07 1 33E 08 5 14E 08 1 03E 09 3 718 08 0 00E 00 0 00E 00 AAAF NNl
10. Oo ee oe eno 3 3 3 4 Measuring Deo iba 3 3 3 5 ES O EA E EEA COI 3 4 IS Data A dd dd 3 4 A Pre Hlterngi i i o ei ee RIO ARIE I Siecle tale e ite oi e le e e 3 4 Ou OOMB GU tities A i ein ha olde Sena 3 4 3 7 Calibrating the image Analyzer ee a a 3 5 38 roettingithe TAresholdia cda i ea ala 3 6 3 9 Reading Spray Cards aaa aero 3 8 SAO Fine TUI iaa iatale tana aa 3 9 3 10 1 Split Overlapping Droplets crira iaia 3 9 310 2 Pause Between RBadiNgs rr ci uaar 3 9 3 10 3 O A siae ee Ara ao cana AT 3 9 310 4 EPre Filter Mage iaia ele hain daunted aaa 3 9 3 11 Zoom Resize ard OtherImage Toolse reri iaia 3 10 Viewing amp Analyzing TAS iia A da alare 4 1 4 1 Si NN 4 1 42 Displaying Trial Dat vita ee sele 4 2 4 3 TrialDat amp Windowsx fre tici ele 4 2 4 4 Graphing Dala ke mna orden aac ea Aaa 4 2 BA NN 4 2 442 Droplet Spect UMa i E ene aie tiene a ne aN eee 4 3 A ASN Re sato ee ee 4 4 45 Displaying Numetical Dat avioneta rada 4 5 4 6 Deposit AnalySIS distales ball te td i 4 6 46 1 Deposit Analysis Palmito rior citado ora aaa aaa 4 6 46 25 Deposit AnalVsist OVA us inca 4 7 4 6 3 Deposit Analysis ANalySiS vis scse ia one aa earn 4 8 4 7 PTI GRADS seu meda ate dodo en ved dino Dd Dia o din ro ds on td aca a Rio soldino od a on dd la 4 9 4 8 Displaying Groups Of dala ovina lid 4 9 4 9 DO et ade E dE 4 10 4 10 Printing ma Data aaa a ela E EEE 4 10 AA Print Option Se A tie gulioutiatihossg he Mea
11. Press OK when the Mission Profile has been completed There are two more buttons on the screen which help you with your task pON 2 3 2 1 Lock and Release The Pressure and Atomizers Open fields are limited by manufacturers limits and typical limits for the aircraft i e you can t hang 50 Micronairs on an Agtruck and expect it to fly and you can t expect to use 300 psi through an 8002 flat fan However there may be times when you want to either release the limits and explore flow rates or limit the conditions further For example you may wish to let pressure 2 8 Swath Kit for Windows increase beyond the preset upper limits or you may want to fix the number of atomizers at fewer than the maximum positions on the boom Use the Lock and Release check box to accomplish this 2 3 2 2 Print Calibration Sheet When you have configured the application conditions correctly you may print out a calibration sheet that will lead you through a likely procedure to verify the application settings The recommendation given depends on the type of pump the aircraft has see Creating Custom Aircraft Profiles so ensure that the pump type is correctly set By measuring the actual flow from the aircraft you are able to ensure that the application rate is correct The Calibration Assistant s predicted flows may vary from actual for the following reasons 1 Flow predictions are based on the manufacturers flow equations These are often calculate
12. SKFiler32 exe window showing the stain diameter of every stain measured in a trial Note that the first record of a new card shows the frame area in meters You will see two columns of data Card and Diam um Note you may have to expand the column of the diameter data by clicking on the right hand side of the column header and moving it left 4 Each measured stain has a record The card number is self explanatory The Diam field refers to the diameter of the stain Whatever the shape of the stain an algorithm calculates the stain based on it being perfectly round This is the raw data it is not affected by what the filter setting is or what spread factor you have selected You will have to apply your own spread factor in any data analysis 5 Atthe start of each new card data sequence there is a number that indicates the frame area in square meters Do not delete that record SKFiler Yersion 2 1 0 Al x C Program Files Droptech Swath Kit data Recalc spr Swath Kit for Windows Raw Dropet Data Data show card number and diamter in microns NOTE At the start of each new card sequence the diamter holds the frame area in meters DO NOT EDIT Drops can be un deleted by moving to the row and pressing Del key Drops marked with X will be removed when the data are stored 185 39800000 160 55940000 1100 74000000 1327 24800000 185 39800000 1433 09200000 0 00179799 92 69899000 227 06520000 185 39800000 18
13. Trial Window Contains all the Trial weather and image analysis settings Graph Window Used to display weather droplet spectrum and deposit data Analysis Window Used to display and analyze deposit data Options for data handling are displaying a single pattern displaying an overlapped pattern at a single lane separation or displaying the mean deposit and coefficient of variation for a range of lane separations Data Window Used to display numerical information underlying the Graph Window or Analysis window Each Trial opened can have a separate Trial tab Graph and Analysis window there is only one Data window that must be shared with all open Trials Note that the Trial Description is shown on the caption bar of each window and is listed on the Windows menu 4 3 Trial Data Window A Trials data consists of that information unique to a single spray run lt is displayed through tabbed windows Trial tab Mission Tab Weather tab Notepad Measure tab see Creating Trials for use of these tabs Section 2 5 4 4 Graphing Data 4 4 1 Deposit The graph window can present one of three data sets weather spectrum or deposit Use the View menu option or the icon buttons to select a view Note that the menu items or buttons will be disabled if data are not available The Data button will bring Up a data view showing numerical values represented in the graph Each View shows a series of 4 graphs To enlarge any graph to fill the whole w
14. a record that has already been used You must first delete the Trial then delete the unused Material 2 5 Creating Trials A new Trial is created for every spray run Each trial holds information specific to a single trial as well as the building blocks of Mission and Custom Aircraft used to build that trial When you are making repeated or replicate runs then you simply use the Replicate button to create a replicate of an existing trial Sequence of steps to Set up a New Trial iP oo a Click on the blank sheet icon to get a blank trial screen or select File and New Plug in a Mission on the Mission tab Fill out the relevant details on the Trial screen Turn off any nozzles you are not using on the aircraft On Off button on the Mission screen SPRAY TRIAL TAKES PLACE AT THIS STAGE Enter weather data Weather tab Add any notes Notepad tab Press Update button to save data These steps are described in detail in the following sections 2 5 1 Creating amp Editing a New Trial Click on the blank sheet icon to get a blank trial screen or select File and New Once you have created a blank trial enter a name for your trial in the Spray Trial Description area Use up to 64 characters Be clever here and you ll make life easier down the road For example if you intend to run a series of tests at an 2 11 Rev 4 9 99 2 Program Set up airfield called Willows consider the following format WILLOWS 99 Config 01
15. aa et EN 9 1 9 1 1 Procedural Changes from Card Line Analysis ciar 9 1 9 1 2 Vertical Collector Result Interpretation ras 9 2 9 2 Exporting Individual Stain Data Files with Filer32 cect ntr renee 9 3 921 o nia Ra e Anaao nana 9 3 9 3 Manual Data Entry lana eagle 9 4 93 1 Manual Data ENtryPFOCEOUTes ariani alal 9 5 9 4 Dry Material Pattern Analysis 9 6 9 44 Dry Materlal Settup ProCedUfes iaia ile ii aaa 9 6 9 4 2 Balance Initialization dda nana iaia a 9 7 943 Data EM canada aa aaa ai aiar 9 8 9 5 Registering the Swath Kit Program 9 8 Glossary rann sla doi re deli rie id da iti ai O erect 10 1 Swath Kit for Windows 1 The Basics 1 1 Introduction 1 2 Overview The Swath Kit for Windows SKWin is a complete agricultural spray aircraft swath pattern analysis and spray system calibration tool We at Droplet Technologies hope that you will find the equipment will prove to be an invaluable tool in preparing agricultural aircraft so that they perform their spray missions as effectively as possible Although analyzing spray patterns with a Swath Kit is considerably quicker and easier than using traditional methods there is still a learning curve that new users have to surmount before they can unleash the full power of this equipment We recommend that you spend some time with this manual and the equipment itself and become familiar with all the procedures before setting
16. accurately with the system as long as wide angle lenses are used and an alternative bin size class file is used Section 3 3 2 As application rates get higher more and more droplet stains will overlap giving errors The error in reading deposit from overlapping droplets increases as a function of spray volume and droplet size and should be considered a factor for applications of 2 5 gallons acre 25 liters ha or more Greater application rates can be used with the area covered parameter as the source of swath data However no droplet size number or volume data can be accurately obtained because of the extent of overlapping A maximum of 200 cards can be processed for any single trial 7 2 Limitations with Aqueous Sprays When an aqueous solution of a non volatile material evaporates the concentration of the non volatile material in the solution increases The same process is going on in droplets of aqueous spray mixtures during their sedimentation in the atmosphere When editing a Material in the Material Database the user has an option of entering the Al active ingredient concentration of the original tank mix The Swath Kit has no way of determining how much evaporation has taken place from the droplets that have sedimented on the target cards It therefore assumes that the Al concentration is the same as the original tank mix and does not allow for the concentrating that has taken place Therefore the units on the Y axis wi
17. are available Pattern Overlap and Analysis 4 6 1 Deposit Analysis Pattern Selecting Pattern in the action box enables a single spray pattern to be displayed Figure 4 6 The deposit parameter chosen depends on the setting of the Source control the program gives you a choice of volume rate droplet density or area covered The units of display depend on the Units setting under the Options menu Note The pattern is viewed as if the aircraft flew into the page that is the wing to the pilot s left is on the left of the screen 4 6 Swath Kit for Windows Figure 4 6 ai Deposit Analysis Boll Weevil AT 502A A view of a spray Action Patter El rn usin pattern using Source Volume area gt volume area as a source of data The two center peaks probably reflect a wing tip vortex effect 50 100 150 200 Distance in Swath feet 4 6 2 Deposit Analysis Overlap Overlapping is the process of spraying parallel swaths that overlap to form a contiguous pattern of spray across the field To see the expected field pattern select the Overlap Action Overlapping can be performed on any one of the three Sources volume rate mass area droplets area or percent area covered It cannot be performed using Dv0 5 If the Field Spray option where multiple passes are made on a set of cards is used there is no overlap available as the overlap was already performed in the field for real When the Overlap Action is
18. differ from the spectrum of the droplets released at the aircraft due to the effects of evaporation and droplets that were not caught by the collectors The top two graphs show the frequency distributions of the droplet spectrum for number of droplets left and volume of droplets right The vertical axis represents the percentage of either total number or volume represented in each size class Each size class is a single bar of the graph On the bottom of the window the cumulative frequency displays are shown That is each size class fraction is added to the previous one until 100 of the spectrum has been accounted for With the cumulative distributions you can see the median values such as the Number Median Diameter or the Volume Median Diameter These values are found by taking a horizontal reference line at 50 and seeing 4 3 Rev5 1 01 4 Viewing amp Analyzing Trials Figure 4 3 A typical graphing of the droplet spectrum The individual graphs are smoothed histo grams of droplet distri butions in each of the size categories used The bottom graphs are cumulative distributions of the top graphs Click with the right button to pull up a menu of display possibilities 4 4 3 Weather where on the horizontal size axis this reference line cuts the distribution This intersection is called the median and is marked by a vertical reference line At this line you will have 50 of the droplet number nmd or volume vmd
19. droplet stain it calculates the droplet diameter and puts the droplet into a size class category bin Most agricultural deposits are well accounted for by the default size class that is the one that comes standard with the Swath Kit program There are 20 so called bin sizes All bin size series must become progressively larger but the increase between adjacent bin sizes may vary by linear increments or logarithmically The default series is the root two progression where the boundary sizes increase by the square root of 2 1 414 So the first boundary size may be 10 to 14 14 um 10 x 1 414 the next 14 15 to 19 9 9um 14 14 x 1 414 etc Alternatively you may have a bin size that increases arithmetically e g 20 40 um 41 60 um 61 80 um etc If you intend to move away from the default class distribution choose a size class carefully to ensure that the expected range of droplet sizes can be accommodated by the range of size bins If you are uncertain select the Default Root two progression of 10 to 7239 7 um option that can accept most agricultural droplet sizes To choose the desired bin size file select the Tools and Options menu then select the Measure tab Choose the bin size class with the arrow Pressing the View button displays the 20 bin classes of the desired series 3 3 2 Importing Size Class Files Advanced Topic If the existing size class files do not meet your requirements then you can create a
20. file with your desired bin size classes with a text editor An example of the format is given below The file consists of 21 lines which define the size classes The first line record defines the bottom value of the first smallest bin and the last line defines the upper value of the largest bin Each line has 4 comma delimited fields Field 1 A 6 letter unique name Field 2 Record number 0 20 Field 3 A short description of the mathematical series Field 4 Numerical value to a maximum of 2 decimal places CLAMIL 0 LOG RANGE TO 1000 microns 10 CLAMIL 1 LOG RANGE TO 1000 microns 12 59 CLAMIL 2 LOG RANGE TO 1000 microns 15 85 CLAMIL 3 LOG RANGE TO 1000 microns 19 95 CLAMIL 4 LOG RANGE TO 1000 microns 25 12 CLAMIL 5 LOG RANGE TO 1000 microns 31 63 CLAMIL 6 LOG RANGE TO 1000 microns 39 82 CLAMIL 7 LOG RANGE TO 1000 microns 50 14 CLAMIL 8 LOG RANGE TO 1000 microns 63 13 CLAMIL 9 LOG RANGE TO 1000 microns 79 47 CLAMIL 10 LOG RANGE TO 1000 microns 100 05 CLAMIL 11 LOG RANGE TO 1000 microns 125 97 CLAMIL 12 LOG RANGE TO 1000 microns 158 60 CLAMIL 13 LOG RANGE TO 1000 microns 199 68 3 2 Swath Kit for Windows CLAMIL 14 LOG RANGE TO 1000 microns 251 40 CLAMIL 15 LOG RANGE TO 1000 microns 316 51 CLAMIL 16 LOG RANGE TO 1000 microns 398 48 CLAMIL 17 LOG RANGE TO 1000 microns 501 69 CLAMIL 18 LOG RANGE TO 1000 mi
21. fitted with a DGPS system get the pilot to fly over the required position over the card line to set his A B line You can position flaggers 400 feet on either side of the card line perpendicular with the designated center cards for 8 6 8 2 6 Notepad Swath Kit for Windows directing the pilot while he performs his first run as usually there is no reference field boundary that the pilot normally uses to keep straight when setting an A B line It is a good idea for the pilot to make one dry run before spraying This will help alleviate any problems with radio communication spray height aircraft speed or position of flaggers If no problems occur with the dry run and the project coordinator is happy with the wind direction he can tell the pilot that the next over flight will be the first wet run After each run record the following in your notebook later to be entered at the Swath Kit Trial tab Time of over flight of card line Center card number Aircraft speed aircraft height If rotary atomizers are used then tachometer rpm data for as many units as possible should be recorded on the Mission tab When you are transcribing your field notes into the computer make use of the Note Pad tab of the Trial data Record anything that did not look right i e spray cut off too early flew too high over the card line 8 2 7 Standard Operating Procedures 8 2 8 Wind Direction If spraying from 50 feet or higher w
22. option where the X axis is marked with 0 zero at the point where the aircraft flew over and cards to the left denoted as negative distance values and cards to the right as positive distance values The two types of display obtained are shown in figures 5 4a and 5 4b 5 3 Rev 4 9 99 5 Customizing the Swath Kit Figure 5 4a No centerline correct ion Numbering starts from the first card on the left of the card line card 0 The spacing of the cards is used to calculate distance units Figure 5 4b The same pattern shown in figure 6 4a with centerline corr ection The vertical line marked zero represents where the aircraft flew over the card line Distance to the left of the centerline increases negatively Drops sq cm 40 60 Distance meters Drops sq cm 40 20 Distance meters Default Graph Settings and Disable Property Pages There is a wide range of graph display options available to the Swath Kit user To simplify operational use Droplet Technologies has set a default display setting to the all the graphic displays However if the Default Graph Settings box is unchecked many display options become avallable Figure 5 5 The options become available when the right mouse button is clicked anywhere in the graph window that you wish to modify Statistical modifications are also avallable with this option The graphical system will ask whether you want to change the defaults answer yes
23. out into the field If you have any questions about the equipment that aren t covered in this manual please refer to our web site or call us to get them answered We hope that you will find using the Swath Kit a very satisfying experience One of the most difficult jobs in pesticide application is assessing the spray performance of the aircraft used to apply pesticides in agriculture or forestry Not only are measurements difficult to make but the time and effort required to get the results has often meant aircraft characterization has been overlooked or at best not been practical on site This is a serious shortcoming in our present pest management system given the high cost of applying pesticides by air Solving this problem needs a tool that can make all the required weather and deposit measurements on site and display results within a short time after the run is made The tool should also be able to present the results simply to pinpoint problem swath patterns so that adjustments to the spray system configuration can be made quickly and the aircraft re tested An incidental advantage to such a system is its teaching influence allowing users to associate causes and effects enabling first hand learning about the factors which affect deposit patterns The Swath Kit is used as one part of a sequence of operations in preparing an aircraft for spraying Prior to the use of an aircraft in aerial spraying operations three vital tasks must be accom
24. recipients system then data cannot be re imported to a new database Always ensure the aircraft and atomizer databases are kept up to date see Importing Atomizers and Importing Aircraft To export Trials simply choose the Tools Export Trials option from the menu and select a new database name by default the extension will be MDB Next select the Trials you wish to export by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking the record selector column on the far left to highlight Trials The resulting single database file for example BTTRIALS MDB may be archived or distributed to other users of the Swath Kit for Windows Data are not automatically deleted from you system You may manually delete Trials after the export see Deleting Trials To retrieve data that has been exported see Importing Trials below 6 2 Swath Kit for Windows 6 4 Importing Trials Select Tools Import Trials menu option Select the filename of the database containing your Trial data to import Information will be retrieved and inserted into the current Swath Kit for Windows database 6 3 Rev 4 9 99 Swath Kit for Windows 7 Miscellaneous Topics 7 1 Image Analysis Limitations There are limitations to the kind of spraying for which the Swath Kit can be used Because flat cards are used to catch droplets the system should not generally be used with very fine droplets with a Dwgs less than 80um Very large droplets greater than 3 000um can be read
25. spool file consists of an ASCII format file with 6 columns Date Time Wind speed Direction Temperature and Humidity All units are SI 10 6
26. the same location on different days it is worthwhile to do some site preparation Lay out a compass rose 200 feet in 8 4 Swath Kit for Windows diameter using wooden stakes labeled with direction every 15 or 20 degrees around the circumference of the rose figure 8 1 On the morning of spray the middle of the pre marked nylon string is attached to a wooden stake in the center of the rose With one person on either end of the string new card line directions can be matched to the current wind quickly by simply picking up the ends of the string and walking to the appropriately marked peg in the compass rose Without this technique it would be hard to keep pace with new card line layouts to match the quickly changing wind directions that often plague a spray trial Card line layout in the early morning can be hectic because of constantly shifting wind directions Sometimes waiting until the sun is up over the horizon allows time for a wind direction to settle The figure below shows such a compass rose layout Brief the pilot on the radio frequency to be used the procedure for flight such as spray switch on and switch off and aborting spray runs Spray switch on should be made 200 feet away from the first card line when flying into wind at 50 feet Switch off should be made at 500 feet past the last card line in low wind conditions but should b e extended according to the strength of the wind As a rough guide in 9 mph winds the ai
27. threshold should be set so that every spot is binarized to some degree e shows a solid red area on the screen Figure 4 3 shows the Image Analysis Settings screen and the pop up screen which appears when the Auto Calibrate button is clicked NOTE You may still need to reset the threshold for your spray cards however the microns pixel calibration should not need any further read adjustment Update 3 8 Setting the Threshold Setting the threshold is critical to the success of reading card deposits The picture you see on the screen is made up of 256 shades of gray from blackest black to the purest white and 254 shades in between The camera sees the background as several light shades of gray and a droplet as several shades of darker gray on that light background You ll notice that all is not black and white Imperfections or shadows on the card may have quite dark shades and the edge of the droplet may have quite light shades of gray The image analyzer needs to be able to binarize the picture i e turn all darker shades of gray into black the droplet stain and turn all lighter shades of gray into white the backgrouna lt needs to be told which of the 265 shades of gray represents the transition or threshold between background and droplet stain 3 6 Swath Kit for Windows 102 Figure 3 4 shows two droplets zoomed to 400 Figure 3 4 The effect of changing the threshold setting shown by the
28. used recording the exact time that the aircraft flies over the card line so that the relevant part of the weather data file is referenced during the spray trial analysis phase 1 3 Rev 4 9 99 1 The Basics Swath Kit for Windows 2 Program Set up 2 1 Preparation for Creating a Trial 2 1 1 Building Blocks The Swath Kit program uses a modular construction made up of building blocks of data In order to set up a trial you must first do some information preparation Once the preparation is completed you will be able to put together new trials easily from existing information 2 1 2 Definitions Here is a description of each of the different building blocks used to make up Trial information e Aircraft Make and model of aircraft supplied in an existing database in the Swath Kit for Windows software Not editable by user e Custom Aircraft An Aircraft from the database which has been customized by the user by entering the tail number pump type and spray boom details e Mission A Custom Aircraft prepared for a specific application by defining the volume rate atomizers lane separation and target airspeed e Trial An individual run in a series for a particular Mission The Trial data contains Mission data plus the deposit data and conditions of each specific run Figure 3 1 shows how the information used to form the final Trial profile is assembled The basic principle is to progressively build up a Trial from
29. with a number is selected each droplet will be labeled with a number Decide for yourself if you want to have the droplets labeled 3 10 4 Pre Filter Image This option automatically removes objects of area 10 pixels and smaller from measurement It differs in function from the Filter in the Measure tab of the Trial window Section 3 5 because that option only affects which droplets are processed to yield the deposit information all droplets seen by the video system are still recorded and a change of filter is possible after card reading Use this option if you have a lot of dust or unwanted spots real or artifacts on your cards and when your droplets are considerably bigger than 10 pixels in size This will help minimize the amount of data recorded by the system 3 9 Rev 5 1 01 3 Image Analysis of Spray Deposits 3 11 Zoom Resize and Other Image Tools When displaying the card image several tools are available to aid the clarity of the image The image analysis window can be made larger or smaller by setting the cursor on the lower left hand corner of the screen and moving the cursor diagonally Pressing the zoom icon will enlarge the image in the same sized frame by a factor of x2 Pressing the zoom icon button again will return the zoom factor to the default 100 When the mouse cursor is pointed at a specific stain image on the screen and the left mouse clicked information about that stain is shown on the screen Th
30. you perform individual runs trials the data in the profile provides most of the information required for a trial Fill out remaining information that specifically describes your trial such as estimated aircraft height and airspeed After these 4 steps you can run one trial or a series of trials runs After such a series you will have a set of cards corresponding to each trial Measuring the deposit on the cards will complete the data for each trial Each of these stages are discussed in detail below 2 1 4 Performing a quick trial with minimum preparation As builders of the Swath Kit system we have tried to make it an efficient recorder of all the information associated with a spray trial However there may be some instances where you may need a quick pattern analysis to be made at very short notice So the question is How much of the required data input do need to get a set of cards analyzed for a pattern It only takes two or three minutes to set up a custom aircraft and a mission To save time you can select the type of nozzle you need but you don t need to enter the correct number or spacing e g you can select Spraying Systems Flat Fan 8003 and leave the default number at 2 Then create a new trial plugging in the mission you just created enter the name of the trial the time of the aircraft overflight very important if you have a Met Kit weather spool file and the center card of the line You can then press the measur
31. 1 Image Settings this icon sets the brightness contrast and threshold of the image To use it set the threshold to zero and use the brightness and contrast to get the best possible image Then set the threshold level displayed as a red 34 Swath Kit for Windows overlay on the image until the most accurate binarized representation of the image is obtained Right click on the image to zoom in up to 400 to examine the edges of the droplet stains and verify how accurate the threshold level is Pressing the shift key toggles the binarized red overlay off and on 2 Calibration button Use for calibrating the image analyzer You will use this after every change of lens 3 Image Numbering Toggle to set the number labels on all images being read 4 Pre tilter 10 pixel pre filter which removes images smaller than 10 pixels in size 5 Stop Button Pauses after pressing the read button so that user can examine the image Pressing the read button will continue the reading process 6 Graph and Data Display Starts a display of graph and data tables while the cards are being read 7 Exit One way to quit image analysis and return to the trial window Figure 3 2 Image Analysis tool bar which appears on the Measure tab Exit Image Analysis Brightness Analyzer Readings Display Graph Contrast Calibration Prefilter amp Data Table Threshold Image Settings Numbering 3 7 Calibrating the Image Analyzer Calibr
32. 12 5 mm is used This lens requires only a 1mm spacer between the lens and the camera 6 mm in CS mounts It gives a horizontal image of around 6 cm with a resolution of around 120 um pixel 5 6 3 Face Plates on the Blue Box Image Analyzer When reading cards it is important to keep them well focused so that the best possible image fidelity is obtained For this reason when high resolutions are used 20 um pixel and better the plate against which the card is read has a small opening This keeps the card from bending towards the lens and allowing the image to be out of focus With wider angle lenses smaller focal lengths the depth of field the positions at which an image stays in focus when moved closer or further from the lens increases and focus becomes less critical Therefore for 12 5 and 25 cm lenses the same face plate is used Be careful however with the 25 mm lens that you do not distort the card too much when taking a reading 5 6 4 Changing lenses and Focusing Use the following procedure when changing from the default 50 mm lens to a wide angle lens 1 Using a hex wrench remove the 4 cap screws which hold the face plate onto the front of the Blue Box Exchange the small aperture face plate with the large aperture one and re fasten with the screws Make sure that the face plate is flush against the front of the Blue Box 2 Remove the two upper screws at the back of the Blue Box and remove the top cover 3 Gra
33. 5 39800000 227 06520000 160 55940000 soe Open SPR Save As Text from Text 9 3 Manual Data Entry Situations arise when you would like to plot and analyze a data set of a swath pattern parameter that was not obtained with the Swath Kit A typical example may be a series of values of a colored tracer dye that was washed off from samplers 9 4 Swath Kit for Windows placed adjacent to a line of target cards used for droplet deposition The data may be dye concentrations obtained from a spectrophotometer Such data can be entered into a Swath Kit manually using a data table Although it is possible to enter droplet size percentile data typically this is not available from other lab analyzers no matter there is no need to fill out all the fields in a data table Note A new trial must be created for a manual entry data set It is not possible to mix image analysis generated data with manually entered data This applies to replicates too you cannot create a trial read a set of cards with the Blue Box hit the replicate button and manually enter the data in the new replicate 9 3 1 Manual Data Entry Procedures Figure 9 5 Selecting the Manual Entry option from the Tools Options menu Once you create a new Trial and add a Mission you may use the same Mission that you used for image analysis of cards using the Blue Box go to Tools Options and select the Measure tab There is a
34. Droplet Technologies Swath Kit User s Manual How to use the Swath Kit for Windows to analyze agricultural aircraft spray patterns Version 3 0 12 April 2001 Copyright Droplet Technologies 1998 2007 Warranty Droplet Technologies makes no warranty of any kind with regard to this material including but not limited to the implied warranties of fitness for a particular purpose The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice 1 Contents TG BASICS carr tte 1 1 1 1 INWOGUCTIONG tanssina tattile ieri 1 1 1 2 NN 1 1 1 3 The Three Major Swath Kit TaskS nooo roon nooo nooo ron oran OA AARRE E RERAN 1 2 1 3 1 Trial Detail and Weather Recording 1 2 t2 IDepositimeasurementist n ic ai ita Li iaia o ad 1 2 1 53 53 Paltem ASSESSMENT vino E ino dial luna ao ii arie cb aa 1 2 1 4 Notes Data A i la oe Pi laa at oe coc ilo olio 1 2 AGA SI Modular Dar En toto tite Auk a tok bk atch eke Maoh Louth teak e 1 3 1 4 2 Weather Recording Met Kit ONIN arene rene ne nen ne cene ne nezeeo 1 3 Program Seluprissrta fia Roi ite O Ano e gica elie 2 2 1 2 1 Preparation for Greatingia Trial lhi ieri iaia ai liti 2 1 Zaid BuldipgBloeKks stisaran ii and ai al ode at 2 1 21 27 Definitions a Ti nia 2 1 Zi AU ES iii o ini ra ell ai A 2 2 2 1 4 Performing a quick trial with minimum preparation 2 3 2 2 Creating Custom Aircraft Profiles cnn A aora rro 2 3 2 21 lt Atomizer
35. Fi ld E uipment A ia alare 8 1 8 14 Gollectorstands cpa lets luly iria daban bc 8 2 8 1 2 Nylon string marked in desired incrementSs ronca EEEE EEEE EEEE EEEren 8 2 BES Spray Cards a ena hes Seance at das wet ate O lca dhe deat aa hl calle atc uals utitan a AG 8 2 8 1 4 Traceroute iran ne ela iment Ge me 8 2 821 52 SENSITIVE CAMS tddi 8 3 8 1 6 Card Boxes ainda aii ina Ginna air avian iin aia 8 3 B17 Weather Equidad Gl e ed ais oot aise 8 3 81 8 Flags rea titan 8 3 8 RI RAMIS sata dataset data lana 8 3 8 110 Proteclive clothifgd siii 8 3 8 1 11 DIMOKE BOMDS 25 ati nero iii dente etre Al 8 4 B12 Spray bottle nnie i a a aaa a oa 8 4 8143 sCarclimestMar kets i ee Fe cotas deca ret tanenelea i nial apetece meh eens Tuan ed eden mena eles Den to 8 4 8 114 Miscellaneous Supplies iaia 8 4 8 1157 Swathi Kit Preparation inn ie ee eal hoe G Vi ori ini pedina 8 4 8 116 Pre flight Procedures ciccia 8 4 8 27 Spray Trial Procedures cta date ndash en gating 8 5 8 2 1 Personnel 8 5 92 22 SEIN Pza 8 6 8 23 Weather Gonsiderations iuunaciiiane aa ae eee Aa 8 6 824 AICrantiS pray Heiloht seenen aea iene Guisa Dagati 8 6 829 Frs e ae a E S 8 6 B26 INOG e iano ine a a A 8 7 8 2 7 Standard Operating Procedures i entitet daa ra 8 7 8 2 8 Wind birection dales e a tiara ia eat 8 7 Newer Options Drift Manual Entry amp Solid Analysis rana 9 1 9 1 Drift Analysis as criniera o EE
36. Locations gilet iatale lea 2 4 2 2 2 Aircraft amp Atomizers not included in the database cnn 2 5 223 Editing Custom Alrcra lt atestado Ga file Sta oo a 2 5 2 2 4 Deleting Custom Aircraft 2 6 2 3 Creating Mission ProfileS halo boia alia oceania dova ea 2 6 2 31 ALOMIZERSEIOCHON vets strane 2 7 2321 Calibration Assistant ciaooo a eee 2 7 2 33 EOI a MISSION uit lia ail 2 9 2 34 DeletingiMissione slanciata a babe bal dale aa 2 9 2 4 Material eine A e e Md tdo e 2 9 241 Greating amp Editin Materials wa die hae eid pda aA old do do Mats 2 10 2A De Sp O laos d cota do de o o de oa as adel de S TETT 2 10 2 5 A pelo LR IRR A E E ET 2 11 251 Creating amp Editingia New Trial i data 2 11 25 2 E AAA oil ie 2 13 2 5 3 Field Setting Multiple Spray RUNS rico cnn rar 2 13 2654 Nozzie e malian 2 13 20 09 NOLDA reale ee ao Be 2 13 20 0 imeplicale tuti i eo e e a 2 13 2 6 Adding Weather Data Met Kit Owners ONY eee eee eee 2 14 261 Weather Summary ASES alare DO utes Lo 2 14 202 O WING OW sr telcos ori hea oleh A cea oe do fi ia lie IA Be al 2 15 Image Analysis of Spray DeposSitS ii 3 1 3 1 Mage ANNE BasifShi iii a E 3 1 32 Adding a Material tose Mali iaia 3 1 3 3 Image Analysis FreliminarieS contro iaia a i la lei A lita 3 2 SL CBIMSIZE selection a rne o ee 3 2 3 3 2 Importing Size Class Files Advanced Topic 3 2 33 39 Image AnalysisHdafAWare oe oi AOL
37. Material profiles store information about spray material target combinations and the units used in their graphic displays They are created by users and there is no limit on the number of profiles you may have The material used in a trial can be changed freely after the spray cards are read giving the user great freedom in interpreting the data 2 9 Rev 4 9 99 2 Program Set up For example a particular material may exist in three different profiles one profile may have the deposit data shown as oz acre a second may display it as L ha and the third may show active ingredient in grams acre A second example could be where you are spraying a material whose spread factor is greatly affected by temperature and humidity The three material profiles may be named Spraymix XX wet and cool Spraymix XX temperate and Spraymix XX hot and dry In each case you may want to display the deposit using the same units but you would use a different spread factor for each profile 2 4 1 Creating amp Editing Materials To create a new material or edit an existing one Go the Database Material pull down menu The following boxes fields will be available for editing Description 64 characters Enter a suitable name If necessary describe the collector material too Water is too vague Water on water sensitive cards is much better Conversion Factor and Units The conversion factor is the volume or a
38. Width Target Airspeed See Characterization The volume of spray mixture applied per unit area For example 10 gallons per acre This does not relate to the amount of pesticide just the total carrier volume a k a Application Rate An equation which calculates droplet diameters from stain diameters For the Swath Kit for Windows it takes the form of a polynomial Droplet Diameter BO B1 x Stain Diameter B2 x Stain Diameter where BO B1 and B2 are constants A term with many meanings Often used mistakenly in place of lane separation but best used to define the entire width of the swath from edge to edge Also known as pattern width The expected forward ground speed of the aircraft This is needed to permit calculation of the flow per minute from the aircraft based on forward speed lane 10 5 Rev6 4 01 10 Glossary Toolbar Trial Trial location To amp Fro Update separation and desired spray volume flow per minute per aircraft is a crucial piece of information for choosing the correct size nozzle The toolbar is a series of buttons to launch actions It also informs you of the avallable information for a trial If data weather spectrum or deposit are missing then the data view button requiring that data will be disabled as will the menu option A trial is an individual characterization run of a spray aircraft A trial is built up from a mission profile that contains a description of the tr
39. a Custom Aircraft that has already been used with a Mission Figure 2 3 a DATABASE EDITOR Edit Customized Bai mode Atomizer layout Hise l Aincrat Satger editing screen show Atomizer Layout feet ing horizontal and vertical positions of Insert atomizers on left and right wings The 5 atomizer out of a total of 12 is being edited Delete If you select metric units as the default i j Atomizers measuring system 00 of all dimensions will i E 12 be in meters in the table OK Cancel 2 2 2 Aircraft amp Atomizers not included in the database Although the Swath Kit comes with a comprehensive database of aircraft and atomizers it is possible that you will encounter situations where either the aircraft or atomizer that you are using is not included in the database Contact Droplet Technologies to obtain an update which can be entered into the database Sections 6 1 and 6 2 However to keep working select an aircraft or nozzle that most closely matches one that already is in the database and make a note under the Notepad tab describing the mismatch 2 2 3 Editing a Custom Aircraft A Custom Aircraft may be used in one or more Missions hence in one or more Trials Changes can be made to the Custom Aircraft profile by choosing Database Custom Aircraft and Edit whether it has been used or not Note Once you have defined and used a custom aircraft it is a g
40. a simple check of the aircraft to ensure that it conforms to a government contract The type of test will determine how rigid the testing will be A simple confirmation of an existing aircraft spray system combination for example at the start of a new spray season will be performed with less rigidity than establishing the lane separation for a new aircraft type which will be used by all applicators bidding on a state forestry contract with that type of aircraft When performing a swath pattern assessment you should already have established a target lane separation for the aircraft and calibrated the aircraft on the basis of that value to give the desired dose per area Before going to the characterization site make sure you have the items listed below and all equipment is functioning properly There are several questions to be considered when conducting a spray characterization trial m How many spray runs should be used in order to receive a good representation of the spray pattern from the aircraft m If use more than one card line what should be the distance between each card line m How wide should the collectors be spaced to get an adequate measurement of the spray pattern The swath pattern obtained from one card line should not be considered sufficient to establish the true pattern A minimum of two lines spaced 100 feet apart should be established per independent run For single engine aircraft 400 foot lines ar
41. actors 2 4 2 Spread Factors The spread factor is a polynomial formula describing the relationship between stain diameter and airborne droplet diameter It is the means by which the Swath Kit program interprets stains on deposit cards Unless it has a very dry consistency a droplet will spread out when it hits the card Knowing the degree of spread and how it varies with droplet size enables the calculation of how much liquid fell onto the targets Because of its crucial role in converting stain area dimensions to volume 2 10 Swath Kit for Windows data it is the most common source of error in image analytical assessments of spray deposits The polynomial relationship takes the following form Droplet Diameter BO B1 x Stain Diameter B2 x Stain Diameter where BO B1 and B2 are constants The square term allows for increased or decreased change in spread factor with increased droplet size A formula where B0 0 and B2 0 anda value for B1 will produce a linear relationship between droplet size and spread factor Note that in some scientific literature the inverse notation is used e g a material whose droplets spread to double the diameter will be described as having a spread factor of 2 In Swath Kit notation such a spread factor will be described as having a linear spread factor of 0 5 To delete a Material use Next or Previous to display the Material and press Delete Note You will not be permitted to edit or delete
42. acts the weight of the container that you use for measuring your material Most electronic balances enable this to be done automatically alleviating the need to use this option gt Swath Kit for Windows tm Solids Recorder m Display As Balance Custom Ibs acre E Refresh Save Close 9 5 Registering the Swath Kit Program When the Swath Kit program was released we allowed users a 10 day trial period before they had to get a registration key We now allow all users to install the Swath Kit software in as many computers as needed The registration wizard is provided in the Swath Kit CD To make the installation permanent run Regwizard in the Registration folder on the CD Note that the regiwizard exe program must be in the same folder as the license dat file Hen running an unregistered version of the Swath Kit you will get a registration screen that will give you Registration Number Enter this number into Regwizard and it will produce an unlock key Enter this unlock key to make your installations permanent Make sure that you quit the Swath Kit program completely after using the unlock key This procedure gives you the freedom to install the Swath Kit and Met Kit on any number of computers 9 8 Swath Kit for Windows 10 Glossary Actions When in the Analysis window you can perform three different displays with the deposit data Pattern which simply displays the shape of a single
43. aircraft altimeter is used ensure the elevation of the test site is measured by first taking the altitude of the airfield or test site before take off using the aircraft altimeter and then subtracting this elevation from the altimeter reading during the spray run Flying speed can be determined either from the aircraft or from a radar speed gun However be aware that the aircraft air speed indicator ASI is measuring the indicated air speed IAS of the aircraft not the ground speed GS Thus an aircraft flying at an ASI reading of 100 MPH into a 10 MPH head wind is only actually traveling at 90 MPH relative to the ground Intowind Offset from Centerline Usually you will fly the aircraft at right angles to the cardline If the wind is not exactly in line with the flight direction you can offset the flight line to the upwind side of the center card card 50 out of 101 cards to allow the whole spray pattern to be caught This technique is the most commonly used especially if the wind is predictable Intowind Over the Centerline An alternative technique which ensures spray patterns are always flown into wind is to fly the aircraft over the centerline but always fly it directly in line with the average wind direction This means that the flight line of the aircraft will not necessarily be at right angles to the cardline When this technique is used then distances between the droplet collectors needs to be adjusted Actually for reasons
44. ait at least 5 minutes after the run before picking up the cards It can take this much time for the small droplets to settle out and allows the droplets time to dry on the cards During this time do not walk around or upwind of the cards To get a robust estimate of a spray pattern for a given aircraft setup do three replicates each replicate should be as close in time as possible This helps eliminate any pattern differences that could be attributed to changes in weather conditions If time permits the cards can be read and analyzed between spray runs so that problems in a spray pattern such as a peak or valley can be detected If necessary adjustments can be made to create an even pattern and the configuration can be tested over cards again Keep all spray cards after they have been read until the final report has been written You never know when you might need to re read just a few cards or a complete card line Because the technique of aerial application involves the application of material in the form of droplets the wind speed and direction will alvays be a major consideration when spray deposits are analyzed Aircraft spray patterns can be studied in reference to cross winds or head winds Spray cards can also be sprayed like a field in a real life mission with several runs offset by the chosen lane separation In Swath Kit terms this is known as a field application instead of a single spray run Thus there are 4 possible optio
45. as Previous 9 4 2 Balance Initialization Figure 9 8 Balance Initialization screen This is where you tell the Swath Kit the coll ector arrangement and size and the units used by the balance and the units required for display When you press the Measure button in the Measure tab the program presents a Balance Initialization screen Figure 9 8 This is where you set up the size of collectors which enables the Swath Kit to calculate mass acre or ha their arrangement rows and columns and spacing It is also necessary to enter the units of measure being output by the balance and the units for the display Use the drop down lists in the appropriate boxes ia BALANCE Initialization m Collector Area Circular e Diameter of Collector E feet Rectangle C Collector Parameters Dimension of Collector Array Rows E Cards per row fis Distance between rows 2 feet Balance Units of Mass oz Units for Display bs per face Close 9 7 Rev 6 4 01 9 Newer Options Drift Manual Entry amp Solid Analysis 9 4 3 Data Entry Figure 9 9 Data entry screen for dry material Once you have initialized the balance the program display s the data entry screen Figure 9 9 A table based on the collector array rows and columns is displayed along with box showing t the raw input from the balance A separate tab enables you to put a value for the Tare which subtr
46. ation of the image analyzer only needs to be done once as long as the same lens and focus distance is used If you change the lens or move the camera relative to the image analyzer faceplate you will need to recalibrate the system The process of calibration is very easy and is used to set the exact size of a single pixel for the Swath Kit program A pixel picture element is the smallest element on the video image To automatically calibrate the image analyzer click on the Measure tab and then click on the Measure button The image analysis window will appear The IA window has a series of icon buttons arranged in a row across the bottom Figure 3 2 Place a calibration test card which has an array of identical spots 500 1 000 spots per cm to the faceplate of the image analyzer and click on the calibrate icon 3 5 Rev 5 1 01 3 Image Analysis of Spray Deposits Figure 3 3 When you press the calibrate icon the droplet ruler you will get a chance to enter the droplet density 473 in this case Pressing the read button will calibrate the image analyzer When you press the icon again the pop up save box appears When the calibration screen appears Figure 3 3 enter the exact number of droplets cm in a text box using the supplied test card Press the Read button to complete the process It is the droplet density which is used to set the calibration so the threshold setting is not crucial for this process However the
47. ccessive runs Use the Overlap Method control to select the flight Overlap Method A pixel is a picture element and is the smallest resolution of the image The size of each picture element is determined by the magnification provided by the camera lens The size of the measured image depends on the number of pixels horizontally and vertically The Swath Kit uses either 640 H x 512 V or 640 x 480 pixel resolution 10 4 Pressure Pump type Racetrack Replicate Source Swath Kit for Windows Pressure refers to the in line boom pressure A single measurement is typically used to represent the entire boom and nozzles However actual pressure at each nozzle will differ slightly depending on distance from pressure gauge and plumbing Choose from three options Engine driven Windmill or Electric This information is used correctly print out calibration instructions The aircraft is flown in the same direction for each spray run A repeat of a trial The repeat is performed with the same spray equipment set up in as similar a manner as possible e g spray height wind direction Deposit can be displayed using one of three parameters active ingredient per unit area droplet number per unit area and percent coverage The Dv0 5 is not available because it cannot be used in overlap analysis Use the Source option to select which deposit parameter to work with Spray Pattern Analysis Spray volume Spread Factor Swath
48. chosen the Overlap Method and Lane Separation controls are visible Use the Overlap Method control to switch between Racetrack or To amp Fro flight strategies Choose to fly the aircraft in a racetrack all sprays in the same direction if the shape of the resultant pattern is dominated by the effect of the crosswind not by the aircraft itself If so then flying in either direction will still give a pattern predominantly skewed with the wind Choose to fly the aircraft in a To amp Fro or reciprocal fashion passes in alternating directions If the shape of the spray pattern is caused primarily by the aircraft not by a cross wind If so then reversing the pattern mirror image when flying in opposite directions is valid Use the Lane Separation field to increase or decrease the distance between successive spray passes For each Lane Separation there is a Mean Deposit and Coefficient of Variation displayed 4 7 Rev5 1 01 4 Viewing amp Analyzing Trials Figure 4 7 a Deposit Analysis Boll Weevil AT 502A The same spray pattern shown in i Racetrack El figure 5 6 seen in Volume area 110 00 je Overlap View A di flight pattern has been selected The dashed line represents the mean deposit and the dotted lines one standard deviation The coefficient of variation is shown in a data box above the pattern 100 150 200 Distance in Swath feet Note that the Lane Separation can only be determined for whole incre
49. cluded in the Swath Kit set up to make a record of the exact spray system configuration that can be referenced in the future It is possible to analyze spray patterns with the Swath Kit without entering these data section Error Reference source not found but the ability to use all the integrated tools will be limited Referring to Figure 2 3 the left column defines the side of the aircraft as viewed from the pilot s seat Click on a nozzle row then double click to change between Left and Right The horizontal distance represents the position of the nozzle in relation to the aircraft s center line The vertical displacement is the distance from the airfoil trailing edge or from the rotor plane for helicopters Positive values represent positions below the trailing edge of the wing negative ones above the wing Helicopter booms are always mounted below the rotor blade and therefore always have a positive value 2 4 Swath Kit for Windows You can Insert a nozzle at the cursor location using the Insert button or delete the current nozzle location with the Delete button The Sort button will re list the nozzle locations on the basis of horizontal position on the boom Each nozzle location is sequentially numbered in the left column to help you locate position on the boom 1 is the pilot s far left nozzle The total number of nozzles entered is also shown at the right of the window Note Insert and Delete will not be available when Editing
50. crons 631 63 CLAMIL 19 LOG RANGE TO 1000 microns 795 22 CLAMIL 20 LOG RANGE TO 1000 microns 1001 18 This file should be created with a text editor NOT word processor and should have a hard carriage return at the end of each line not wrap round text 3 3 3 Image Analysis Hardware The Tools Options Measure tab enables you to choose the appropriate data input hardware that you are using As of September 1999 the only alternative input to the MRT Videoport professional frame grabber is the Sartorius electronic balance which gives a serial data stream input to the laptop s COM port 3 4 Measuring Deposits Figure 3 1 Select the measure tab to start reading sprayed cards The setting up of the image analyzer is normally done when you have a trial data card set that you are about to read Typically a spray trial series will have many similar trials so that the settings detailed below are normally preformed on only the first of the trials However you may want to fine tune the settings periodically Make sure that the cards are arranged in sequence from the lowest number to the highest number If you haven t already done so set up a trial as detailed above Section 2 5 If you previously created a trial Select it from the list and press Enter The 5 tabbed screen will be visible as shown below x Swath Kit for Windows 0 9 120 File View Database Tools Windows Help isla Saa el ka E oO Trial
51. d values not measured 2 Flow rate depends on the physical properties of the spray solution Viscous solutions will have very different flow characteristics compared to the water used during manufacturer s testing 3 Pressures given in manufacturer s literature are taken at the nozzle whereas boom pressures are often taken at one position and not at the nozzle Use the printout to both guide you on the procedure for calibration as well as record information for adjusting the output 2 3 3 Editing a Mission A Mission may be used in one or more Trials Changes can be made to the Mission by choosing Database Mission and Edit whether it has been used or not If the Mission has already been used in a Trial then changes will be seen next time a Trial is opened If a trial has been exported prior to the edit then the trials will effectively contain different Missions with the same names not good edited Missions are stored internally with new codes Once you have defined and tested a Mission profile it is a good idea to refrain from modifying that profile Just as with Custom Aircraft profiles you do not want to have several different identically named profiles which contain different set up information 2 3 4 Deleting Mission 2 4 Materials A Mission can be deleted from the database providing it is not already being used in a Trial Choose Database Mission and Delete to and select from the list of unused Custom Aircraft
52. ding If you feel that you want to read fewer fields than the default selected say 2 fields out of 4 you can reduce the number of fields by putting a smaller number in the fields box When you have finished counting the cards or you want to stop half way press exit icon and the card data will be automatically saved to disk You can press the Measure button to continue reading make sure that the card number indicated in the card id box corresponds to the one that you are reading If not then adjust the card number with the spin arrows or type in a new number 3 10 Fine Tuning On the Image Analysis screen toolbar Figure 3 2 are several boxes that enable the card reading process to be customized to the user s requirements 3 10 1 Split Overlapping Droplets The image analysis system has the ability to check the shapes of the droplets and if they appear to have a waist to them to split them to form two droplets It is recommended that this option is selected for all situations 3 10 2 Pause Between Readings Selecting this option a Stop sign icon stops the stain reading procedure after frame grabbing so that the captured image can be examined Individual droplet stains can be examined by clicking on them Deselecting this box speeds up the card reading process and should be used if the sprayed cards are of good quality and you want to maximize your productivity 3 10 3 Label Objects When this option A droplet icon
53. drop down list in the box titled Image Analysis Options itemizing the different hardware devices that it is possible to use for data input Select the Manual Entry option and click OK Figure 9 5 This will configure the Swath Kit program not to use the image analyzer when you press the Measure button on the Measure tabbed screen as you do in normal image analysis Instead you will be presented with a data table that you can use to manually enter data Figure 9 6 ia Options Ox Units Measure Options Image Analysis Options ITEX PC ision Plus board internal MAT VideoPort Professional P Sartorius electronic balance Manual Entry Once you have entered the data manually the full analysis options of the Swath Kit are available for the parameters entered You should normalize the data values so that they make sense E g you may have tracer wash off data in mg mL You can calculate the total volume of material per unit area e g gallons per acre by using a coefficient calculated from the dye concentration in the tank mix and the area of the sampling target 9 5 Rev 6 4 01 9 Newer Options Drift Manual Entry amp Solid Analysis Figure 9 6 Manual data entry table Select the appropriate sampling cardline from the tabs at the top of the table All of the fields can hold data although it is not necessary to fill all the boxes The card numbering should be sequential Vertical collectors
54. droplets the computer program only has a series of droplet stains on which to base its calculations The stains were made by droplets which spread to some degree after they hit the surface of the target card If the relationship between droplet size and stain size is known for a particular material the program can reconstruct the droplet spectrum and give meaningful data on droplet size and spray volume recovered The equation which is used in this calculation is called the spread factor It is generally given in the form of a polynomial where drop BO B1 x stain B2 x stain where BO B1 and B2 are constants and the stain and drop data are presented as diameters Any errors in calculation of droplet sizes and total volume recovered from a spray swath are most likely to be caused by errors in the spread factor The most likely source of error in determining spread factors of aqueous formulations those ones most commonly used in forestry in the northeast US occurs in the method that is used to obtain them 7 4 2 Spread Factor Determination Spread factors are typically determined in the laboratory using droplet fall distances of 10 feet under temperatures and humidities found in a lab environment The changes to the formulation by evaporation are usually minimal under such conditions Contrast that to the same droplets falling 50 feet in hot and dry conditions losing much of their water content during descent Clearly the dried out conc
55. e adequate when a flying height of 50 feet is used For multi engine aircraft the lines should be increased to 600 or 800 feet or further if a 100 foot flying height and large multi engine aircraft are being tested Collectors should be placed in a straight line at 5 foot intervals for small aircraft in order to obtain a good resolution of the pattern A 10 foot spacing gives a coarser estimate of the pattern but is good for the wide patterns made by larger aircraft The Swath Kit assumes that all cards are evenly spaced so a widely spaced card distribution on the outside of the line and a narrowly spaced distribution in the center is not recommended 8 1 Rev 4 9 99 8 Field Trials Essential Items Collector Stands Nylon string marked in 5 foot or required spacing increments Spray Cards Compass Tracer Card Boxes Flags Radios Protective clothing Recommended ltems Radar Gun Smoke Bombs Spray bottle Cardline markers 8 1 1 Collector Stands Have an adequate supply of collector stands The collectors should hold the cards at least 6 inches from the ground In areas with tall grass the collector stands should hold the cards above the grass line Vertically oriented collectors should be used for small and horizontally drifting droplets whereas horizontally oriented collectors should be used for larger low wind and vertically falling droplets 8 1 2 Nylon string marked in desired increments 8 1 3 Spra
56. e directly with the times that the weather system records The weather station should be located close to the card line but not so close that it gets sprayed on each run Make sure the weather stand is not near any buildings or objects that could inhibit weather readings especially those associated with wind Always anchor the weather stand with guy lines and tent pegs provided This extra precaution keeps the weather stand from being tipped over by field crews and clumsy Swath Kit operators Let the Kit run for at least 5 minutes so that the average wind direction can be determined for the initial period This can then be used to determine the card line direction Bear in mind that as the sun rises and heats up the ground the wind direction may suddenly vary The weather station should be constantly monitored for any sudden shifts in wind direction 8 2 3 Weather Considerations When weather cannot be monitored by the Swath Kit you are strongly advised keep a record of weather parameters for each spray run by using hand held instruments Define the weather limits acceptable for the spray trial in terms of wind speed and direction and temperature and humidity considerations for the material being sprayed The higher the proportion of water in the spray and the smaller the droplet size the more you should be concerned about high temperatures and low relative humidities The orientation of the card lines should be perpendicular to the wind direct
57. e information shows the stain diameter the droplet diameter after applying the current spread factor The Swath Kit measures the area of the stain assumes that the stain is circular then calculates the stain diameter based on the circular area Click on OK to cancel the information label Note that you must have the Pause between reading option box checked in the Image Analysis Settings screen to use this option 3 10 Swath Kit for Windows 4 Viewing Analyzing Trials 4 1 Opening Trials Figure 4 1 The Trial selection table obtained when the open file icon is clicked Not all the descriptive fields are shown in this figure The table can be sorted by clicking on the field name at the top of each column Choosing File and Open or pressing the folder button on the toolbar will display a window of all current Trials By default the listing is sorted by Trial Description The list may be re sorted by clicking on the heading of any of the columns See figure 4 1 Double clicking on the line will also select the trial E Swath Kit for Windows 0 7 1 oala ela Ea E Ei NN ea eor WeeviAT 301 gt 3 BalWeeviaT 3 10 938 AT 301 Malathion ae ear weeviAr30r 4 BolWeeviT 5722 995 AT 301 Malathion A Tractor AT eclweeviATa ________ 5____ Boll Weevil AT 5 22 99 5 AT 201 Malathion Air Tractor AT Beor weeviat an 1 Bol WeeviAT 2 9 99 9 AT 401 Malathion Air Tractor AT ieoi WeeviAT T_ 2 B
58. e has been established press the Read button on the image analysis window to start the reading the cards Press the graphic icon Figure 3 2 to open a deposit graph and data screen Figure 3 6 Use the spin arrows on the top left hand corner of the screen to select the first card that is to be read By convention the farthest card to the left of the pilot s view is numbered 0 or 1 Figure 3 6 Deposit Data View Boll Weevil AT 301 Of xj The Graph data display screen Deposit graph Boll Weevil E Select the correct iti E 950 CRI POSION Py DI 20 tooo Hs 1651 1 06 s6 clicking on the ii a 050 aa 7 13 636 appropriate number fsi 22 too 1240 75 07 462 Press the Read sj 231 150 1226 67 06 1 ini 24 1200 197 47 019 588 button to read the ae 1250 058 21 00 483 card id gu a pj a 1350 113 13 008 483 ao 0 07788 O aor ssa These screens appear when the Graph amp Data display buttons are pressed a Distance feet Distance feet 3 8 Swath Kit for Windows Remember if you have chosen multiple fields per card then you will have to move the card to show multiple positions on that card Note that if the cards are read sequentially the program will automatically step down to the next card number You can however read the cards in any sequence you wish and overwrite incorrect readings simply by resetting the card number with the spin arrows in the card number box and re rea
59. e tab select the material sprayed you cannot make any short cuts here create the material profile if it doesn t exist and read the cards The caveat here is that you will not be able to use the calibration assistant routine see below section 2 3 2 nor run the simulation and of course there will be no accurate record of the aircraft set up We encourage you to use the full data entry process as a standard operating procedure 2 2 Creating Custom Aircraft Profiles Although two examples of the same aircraft will share many common characteristics their spray systems may be very different The Swath Kit uses custom aircraft profiles to identify individually configured aircraft Such a profile consists of the following elements 1 Aircraft type 2 N number or other national registration 3 Pump type 4 A listing of nozzle mounting locations Note that one aircraft may have several spray booms in such a case create a custom aircraft profile for each combination of aircraft and boom that you will be testing When you have selected a new custom aircraft there is an Edit button labeled which enables you to import an existing custom aircraft to use as a template if you 23 Rev 4 9 99 2 Program Set up so wish This avoids having to repeat the entry of data that may already exist when you want to create a new custom aircraft profile that is similar to an existing one There is no limit for the number of profil
60. ed in different formats according to the settings given in the Tools Option and Unit tab Units chosen for a session are applied to all trials open in that session Units are defined in sets for a combination of parameters Drops per Area Length Velocity Flow minute Pressure and Temperature Figure 5 1 shows a view of the Options Units window ia Options Of x US Description us Metric See oe Imperial sa cu Ej User designed Area acre Lenath fcet Flow minute fi oz USA Pressure bing y Temperature jes H 5 1 Rev 4 9 99 5 Customizing the Swath Kit The following options can be selected by the user The selection permits the use of scientifically meaningful units for example nL cm to express the volume rate Drops Per choose a small area unit to represent droplet density e g inches or cm sq Area choose an area unit to represent the amount of spray per unit area e g oz per Ha Yes feel free to mix and match US and metric units Length choose a unit to represent parameters such as aircraft height and card separation Velocity choose a unit to represent aircraft and wind speed Flow minute choose a unit that represents the flow per minute from the aircraft or atomizer Pressure choose for boom pressure Temperature choose for air temperature There are three predefined sets of units US Metric and Imperial that can be selected by clicking the respective radio but
61. el gives a horizontal span of coverage of around 1 cm for each field that is read on a card If herbicides are being used then typically the droplets are much bigger and less resolution is required This enables much larger areas of the card to be read with each field a horizontal distance of 6 cm is typical A number of users require an intermediate setting where relatively small droplet stains can still be counted but stains smaller than 80 um are rarely registered by the image analysis system 5 5 Rev 4 9 99 5 Customizing the Swath Kit 5 6 2 Lenses and Extension Tubes The default lens has a focal length of 50 mm In order to be able to read close images an extension tube of around 25 mm is placed between the lens and the camera This arrangement gives a horizontal image which covers just over 1 cm of a card with a resolution of around 20 um pixel In order to increase the area covered by each field field of view of the lens the focal length of the lens has to be decreased A wide angle 25 mm lens gives an area with a horizontal dimension of around 2 5 cm with a resolution of around 50 um pixel This lens requires an extension tube of 5 mm to be able to focus closely although a 3 mm extension may increase the field of view of the same lens Note CS mount lenses require an extra 5 mm over standard C mount i e a total extension of 10 mm To increase the field of view still further a wide angle lens with a focal length of
62. entrated droplets would be less likely to spread on a Kromekote card than those produced under lab conditions If your weather conditions were such that a large part of the aqueous content of your spray was lost to evaporation and you use the laboratory spread factor your apparent volume recovery will be very small That is because the lab spread factor assumes a large expansion of droplet material occurred after deposition and calculates a much smaller apparent droplet diameter To avoid such errors use a field spread factor determined under typical spray conditions Where this is not possible use a generic field spread factor for your spray material type or a field spread factor of a related material This will give more accurate information than a lab spread factor specifically for your material For non evaporating materials such as ULV formulations and oil based formulations there is little change in their composition during descent Consequently the laboratory method is still valid for these materials 7 2 Swath Kit for Windows What are the warning signs that your spread factor is not correct In cases where you have caught most of your spray swath on your cards but the program tells you that your application rate is only a few percent of that applied Alternatively the program reports an application rate that would correspond to a recovery that is quite a bit greater than 100 percent In such situations reprocess the data by us
63. equence of numbers can be used to set the upper and lower limits of the size class bins Although data are binned the program keeps a record of every droplet measured unless pre filtering was used see section 3 5 These data can be used to recalculate the readings of the cardline if for example a new spread factor is applied or a new filter setting is applied The swath pattern is built up from individual card data based on three parameters volume or mass per unit area droplet density or proportion of area covered The program takes the same swath pattern and repeatedly adds it staggering successive patterns according to the aircraft s desired lane separation The graphic display and statistics reflect the choice of swath orientation racetrack or to and from flight and lane separation 3 2 Adding a Material to a Trial Before reading cards you have to select a material that will enable the Swath Kit program to convert the stain diameters to droplet diameters using a spread factor section 2 4 2 and display the deposit in the desired units If the material profile does not exist you may create it at this stage section 2 4 1 If you already have a Trial in which cards have been read then you can change the Material by pressing the Select button on the Measure tab 3 1 Rev5 1 01 3 Image Analysis of Spray Deposits 3 3 Image Analysis Preliminaries 3 3 1 Bin Size Selection When the image analyzer analyzes a
64. er cumulus beginning to form Clear sky bright sun etc Remember that what seems a piece of trivia can be an important fact when you recover the data a year after performing the trials So remember transcribe your field notes to the notepad The Measure tab is used to setup conditions for Image Analysis Note that data entered into the Trial tabs is not immediately entered into the database Press the Update button to update the database with new entries Replication allows you to perform more than one run using the same inputs for Mission and Custom Aircraft Each replicate Trial will still have its own deposit its own weather and its own trials specific setup like cardline orientation Using replicates permits you to easily link information from common treatments and prepares you for another spray run with a single button click 2 13 Rev 4 9 99 2 Program Set up 2 6 Adding Weather Data Met Kit owners only During field trials the weather station is set up to continuously record a weather spool file for as long as the aircraft is performing spray runs Record the time accurately when the aircraft flies over the card line for each of the runs Weather files are associated with trials by the date and time of the run To associate weather with a trial go to the Weather tab and press the Attach button The program will search the database for weather information already loaded that matches the date and time of your spray run
65. ery heavily weighted to large droplets it is 201 advisable to make your estimation of threshold on the basis of larger stains even if that means not detecting some of the very small droplets you see on the screen that do not turn black when binarization is switched on To aid in correct selection of threshold the screen shows a normal black and white video picture but with a red colored droplet overlay marking the size of the measured droplet at the current threshold Clicking on the threshold icon opens a slider which is used to set the threshold Additional tools are available with the zoom button offering you 150 300 and 600 zoom factors so that you can study individual droplets and a binarize toggle button Use this button to determine if you have set your threshold correctly The binarized red overlays should be the same size as most of the droplet stains on your card Figure 3 5 shows the Threshold set up screen The threshold is set with the sliding bar on the top 3 7 Rev5 1 01 3 Image Analysis of Spray Deposits al Trial Boll Weevil AT 502A Figure 3 5 When the Image Settings icon is preso IE Camera PE set up options appear Adjust the sliding controls as Fine Fiter 5 n required A typical spray card is required for accurate setting of these values DUI a stor DI skwin32 x Update CA 3 9 Reading Spray Cards Once the threshold for the card set that you are about to measur
66. es you can have Save the aircraft profile under a name which you can easily identify in the future you can use up to 64 characters numbers and spaces Figure 2 2 x Swath Kit for Windows 0 9 120 File View PHOS Tools Windows Help Menu sequence for i zu Material hr Mod Ma ta A o Custom Aircraft Mission Edit Delete To create a Custom Aircraft profile click on the Database menu option and select Custom Aircraft New NOTE The tabbed sheet will permit editing on Aircraft and Atomizer Layout only because these will describe a unique aircraft and boom combination Enter a description for your custom aircraft e g N431EQ Boom 1 Use the pull down list to select the aircraft Make amp Model from the aircraft database that came with the Swath Kit Fill out the N Number and pump type Finally click on the Atomizer Layout tab and fill out nozzle locations Once saved this Custom Aircraft is available for use in Missions If you cannot find the correct Make amp Model of the aircraft use the closest type This information is only descriptive it does not affect the calculations of the Swath Kit 2 2 1 Atomizer Locations When you create a custom aircraft you determine where the atomizers will be located It is the equivalent of buying a stock ag plane and hanging your own boom on it Your boom on your aircraft defines the nozzle locations on your custom ag plane These atomizer location data are in
67. et a choice of many different data export options as well the folder where the file will be written Select the option that you want and press the OK button to export Note Data Export is not the same as Trial Export Trial exporting enables a part of the trial database to be exported so that it can be imported to another Swath Kit database The trial data remains in the Swath Kit format throughout this process 4 12 Swath Kit for Windows 4 13 Rev5 1 01 Swath Kit for Windows 5 Customizing The Swath Kit 5 1 Options The Swath Kit is designed to be a research tools as well as straightforward system for checking spray patterns It is also used internationally where some users may be used to seeing data displayed using the metric system whereas others prefer the US system or a combination of several different systems of units The Swath Kit program offers a wide range of customization choices so that the user can tune the system to his or her own needs The options menu gives access to program set Program Options Units Measure Image Analysis Selection Settings ings Three tabs are available 5 2 Options Units Figure 5 1 Options Units window showing the principal units avail able The options box shows the units available for Area These choices are only available when the User designed radio button is selected The Swath Kit for Windows is unit independent Data can be entered and display
68. flight line Overlap that displays the expected shape of the field deposit from multiple overlapped flight lines and Analysis that will display the average deposit and its variation from a range of lane separations Active ingredient units Aircraft database Aircraft Type Application Rate The Swath Kit measures volume of spray per card area To convert this to meaningful active ingredient units you must provide the relationship between liters of spray to your active ingredient e g lb Al per liter of spray This relationship is stored with the Material A predefined series of common agricultural aircraft types that can be selected for aircraft trials The database contains detailed information about aircraft type and characteristics Not editable by the user A combination of aircraft manufacturer and model If the exact specification is not available pick the nearest model and engine type The volume of a spray material applied per unit of area typically presented as gallons acre or liters ha Used interchangeably with its synonym Volume Rate Atomizer databases Atomizer type The atomizer database contains descriptions of many common agricultural nozzles and describes their flow rate as a function of pressure Not editable by the user A combination of the atomizer manufacture atomizer class e g flat fan hollow cone etc and the restrictor size Atomizer type is selected from a list of available atomizers If the s
69. h atomizer is given a globally unique identifier that must come from a single source While these files will be ASCII text files it is strongly recommended that you don t make direct changes yourself Data will be provided either through e mail through our web site www droptech com or supplied on a diskette through the mail The atomizer file name will use the following convention MMDDYYvv ATZ Where MMDDYY will be the month day and year of the particular update and vv will be a version number All files will end with the ATZ extension Once the file is retrieved use the Tools Import Atomizers menu select the appropriate filename and new data will be added to the Swath Kit s data base If you wish to request specific nozzles be added contact us and provide the following information about the atomizer Manufacturer e g Spraying Systems Atomizer Name e g 80 deg flat fan Restrictor e g 02 Minimum design pressure e g 20 psi Maximum design pressure e g 80 psi At least 3 pairs of data showing the relationship between flow rate and pressure 6 1 Rev 4 9 99 6 Importing and Exporting Data 6 2 Importing Aircraft The Swath Kit for Windows database is supplied with numerous aircraft each with details about the aircraft s design and the limits of use As more aircraft are made available it will be necessary to add to this database by importing new or updated information The information to be imported must be suppl
70. hanging wind direction Make sure you have a compass for orienting the card line 8 1 14 Miscellaneous supplies Miscellaneous supplies such as pens and notebooks are needed Make plenty of notes about weather conditions at application time and on observation of the way the spray cloud settled out These comments are valuable evidence you want to try to interpret the shape and width of the patterns observed Notebook use also encourages observations of possible factors influencing spray patterns and the resulting effects Other extras include permanent markers and extra blank spray cards A dictating tape recorder for keeping field notes Swath Kit manual Tarp for protecting computer 8 1 15 Swath Kit Preparation Before leaving the office make sure all equipment is functioning It is a good idea to set up the Kit and test the image analyzer with spray cards sprayed with the same tank mix you will be using for spraying Test the weather station to ensure proper readings are received Use procedures described in the Swath Kit manual if the station is out of calibration Obtain the spread factor that will be used to read cards from a knowledgeable source If no suitable spread factor exists use a similar material s spread factor Remember that spread factors can be modified after the cards have been read without having to re read any of the cards themselves 8 1 16 Pre flight Procedures When performing a number of trials at
71. he Mission will add the information needed to describe what aircraft atomizer and basic application conditions were targeted for a Trial The window is divided into two areas Mission Description and Atomizer Conditions By pressing the Select button on the Mission tab of a Trial you will be presented with a list of the available Missions For a Mission to appear it must first have been added to the database see Creating Mission Profiles section 2 3 Each column can be sorted by clicking on the field name very useful when there are many missions in the database Double click on the mission profile which pertains to the present trial All the boxes of the mission will then be filled Note that the mission description s fields are not editable at this level you must use existing Mission Profiles Since the interpretation of deposit data depends on an accurate presentation of the 2 12 Swath Kit for Windows Mission the flow rate of your spray system and nature of the atomizers SKWin will not permit the selection of a new Mission after deposit data have been read 2 5 2 Cardline Conditions The cardline conditions refer to the orientation centerline and spacing of the cards The flight conditions are the airspeed of the aircraft and height above ground The Flight field refers to the way the aircraft flew over the cards There are 4 options Directly into wind over the centerline Into wind but laterally offset to allow for sl
72. he patterns by shifting each pattern to align the aircraft centerline of each pattern Using the Align feature allows better comparison of patterns by removing the effect of flight line position Check the align box on the deposit window Checking the Average box displays a plot made up of the avreage of the selected replicates 4 9 Deleting Trials Trials may be deleted from the database Click on the open icon and select one or more trials for deletion by moving the cursor to the left of the screen until the pointer is a right pointing horizontal arrow Click on each trial to be deleted to select it the line with the trial data becomes highlighted Press the delete button to continue the deletion process You will be asked to confirm whether you want each marked file deleted Note Deletion removes content from the Trial and Deposit information from the database but does not remove weather Mission or Material Profile used in the trials 4 10 Printing Trial Data Trial data may be printed in several ways Here are the two most commonly used methods Printing graphs To print a graph of the current trials data open or go to the desired data view window and press Print Printing Underlying Data To print the numerical data underlying a data view you must either press the Preview button on the toolbar or use the File Print option from the main menu Note that the preview button will only allow printing of the underlying data
73. ial s spray goal a custom aircraft and an atomizer Added to this are trial specific information and data that relate only to a single trial for example the aircraft measured speed the weather or the spay deposit A simple textual description of where the spray trial is being held Additional description may be added to the Notepad Trial Names A trial name can consist of up to 64 letters numbers and spaces Use names which will be easily recognizable The same trial name can be used for several replicates which differ from each other only by their replicate number Example Gypsy Moth 96 Ag Cat Bt Micronairs 45 deg The aircraft is flown in alternating directions to and fro for successive spray runs Use the space to show options Place the cursor on the field you want then press Enter Choosing the correct option is important because the Swath Kit needs to know how you intend to fly in order to make correct warnings about the appropriate wind direction Update the database with newly entered information When enabled data in a trial have changed and should be saved VMD Volume Median Diameter Volume Rate Also written as Dyo The droplet size in a population of droplets where equal volumes are made up of droplets that are both greater than the VMD and less than the VMD See NMD Another name for Application Rate The volume of a spray material applied per unit of area typically presented as gallons acre or liters ha The
74. ial to ensure suitable conditions exist for the test The parameters wind speed wind direction temperature and relative humidity are the minimum measurements required to describe the weather The easiest way to record measure these data is with portable hand held instruments Using a Met Kit weather recording station enables the users to visually display weather data and trends The use of the Met Kit is covered in a separate user s manual supplied with the Met Kit package 1 3 2 Deposit measurement After an aircraft has made an application over a card line the deposit on the cards must be measured Deposit can be presented in a number of different ways volume of spray per unit area number of droplets per unit area or percentage of the surface area covered with spray Also of interest are the sizes of the droplets An image analyzer a tool which can look at a card and make measurements based on that image can provide all these measurements 1 3 3 Pattern Assessment When all the cards have been measured the pattern of the deposit beneath the aircraft can be assessed This is typically the main reason why spray trials are conducted Solutions to problems in the pattern such as the elimination of peaks or valleys and assessment of the effective width of the pattern can be made at this stage in conjunction with the weather and trial detail recordings 1 4 Notes on Data Handling Understanding the logic of data storage in the Swath Ki
75. idea of the range of nozzles that you could use for a Mission Select a specific nozzle from the range of OK nozzles presented which will match the droplet size characteristics desired Pick from the smaller orifice size for fine droplets and large orifice size for bigger droplets Note that the limits that define an atomizer s capability are the maximum and minimum pressure for the atomizer and the aircraft and the predefined relationship between pressure and flow for any given atomizer Notice also that the number of atomizers open will also affect which atomizer you could use If you decrease the number of atomizers open then the output per atomizer must increase to maintain throughput 2 7 Rev 4 9 99 2 Program Set up Figure 2 5 wm DATABASE EDITOR Mission Edit mode Calibration Assistant Mission Aircraft Atomizer Atomizer Layout editing screen Atomizer Selection Spraying Systems 80 deg flat fan 06 y IV OK Calibration Wizard Lock Release Pressure Ib in sq po JE r r Suggest pressure Atomizers open a JA E n Print calibration sheet You need 2482 42 fl oz USA minute from the aircraft This is equalto 82 75 fl oz USA minute from each atomizer Current settings should give 48 72 fl oz USA minute from each atomizer OK Cancel The lower half of the window shows the flow rate requirements based on what application volume you ve chosen how fast you intend to fly and what lane separation yo
76. ied from a single source to ensure that all Swath Kit users can exchange information correctly each aircraft is given a globally unique identifier that must come from a single source While these files will be ASCII text files it is strongly recommended that you don t make direct changes Data will be provided either through e mail through our web site or supplied on a diskette through the mail The aircraft file name will use the following convention MMDDYYw ACT Where MMDDYY will be the month day and year of the particular update and w will be a version number All files will end with the ACT extension Once the file is retrieved use the Tools Import Aircraft menu select the appropriate filename and new data will be added to the Swath Kit s data base 6 3 Exporting Trials Trial data may be exported from the main database either to save disk space or to provide a subset of data to exchange with other Swath Kit users Exported Trial data include all relevant database tables for the chosen trial s to enable an exchange of Trial results between Swath Kit users NOTE This is not the same as Exporting Data where individual trial data points are output to disk in a standard file format for other applications spreadsheets databases and text editors The export provides all user supplied information about a trial However if the exported Trial references core data atomizers or aircraft that have not yet been updated on the
77. ight crosswind Crosswind Field multiple runs sprayed as if spraying an actual field 2 5 3 Field Setting Multiple Spray Runs 2 5 4 Nozzle On Off 2 5 5 Notepad 2 5 6 Replicate One of the Cardline Condition options is the Field setting This is performed by flying several passes over the cards with a particular lane separation By Selecting a Mission for a Trial you will be telling the Swath Kit what atomizers are being used and their locations on the boom However during the course of analyzing an aircraft s spray pattern it may be necessary to turn some of these nozzle locations on or off to avoid peaks and troughs in the spray pattern Each Trial is recorded with its own nozzle On Off data that record exactly what nozzles were used out the total nozzles available Press the On Off button on the Mission tab of the Trial The screen will show the available nozzle locations non editable and a graphic showing whether the nozzle is on or off Select each nozzle with a click of the mouse double click it to turn it on or off Note If you are using a mission with rotary atomizers you will also be able to enter unique rpm and VRU settings for each individual nozzle in the On Off screen Use the Notepad tab to record any Trial specific notes This is a useful place to record any observations you may have made during the trial E g The pilot cut off the spray too early Atmosphere becoming unstable fair weath
78. in sizes bigger than the median and 50 in sizes smaller than this median value If you find that the cumulative graphs don t reach 100 there must be some droplets greater than largest bin size which are not shown select a different series for the bin size class distribution Section 3 3 1 and look at the graph again amp Spectrum graph RUN1 INF DOS IM Number Volume 400 400 800 800 1000 200 Size Microns 200 600 Size Microns Cum Number 200 400 800 an Size Microns 400 800 800 200 Size Microns Four weather parameters are shown wind speed wind direction temperature and relative humidity Figure 4 4 The units shown depend on the settings in the Options Units The weather window also shows the start and finish time of the data set as determined by the time of application start and Weather Window start plus interval of window The X axis shows time in seconds The assumption is the start of the weather is graph corresponds to the time when the aircraft flew over the card line 4 4 Figure 4 4 A typical weather graph with a weather window of 120 seconds Wind Speed mph Click on one of the 4 graphs with the left mouse button to en large it to fill the en tire graph area Time Seconds Click with the right button to pull up a Weather Graph ABB04_5 INF menu of display possibilities 100 Time Seconds 4 5 Displaying Numerical Data 150 Swath
79. indow click on the graph with the left hand mouse To restore the original size use the left hand mouse click again You can press the smooth button in the deposit view to even out the peaks and valleys in a swath pattern the smoothing algorithm uses a 2 value moving average Also while the formatting of the graph is automatic you may adjust the look and feel of the graph by clicking on the graph with the right hand mouse This action displays Property Pages that permit individual adjustment of the format of the graph A separate help file is provided to explain the detail of the Property Pages and is accessed by pressing Help on the Property Page screen NOTE You have to uncheck the Tool Options Settings box Use default graph settings and disable property pages before you have access to the property pages with the right mouse key see Section Error Reference source not found The deposit window shows the deposit for a single spray pattern using four parameters user defined active ingredient units droplets per unit area percent area covered and Dv0 5 Figure4 4 2 The X axis is distance across the swath Units of length and area are determined by the Options settings Units for the user 4 2 Figure 4 2 A typical deposit graph Although the droplets sq cm make the swath appear to be wide the oz acre area covered and DV0 5 show that the left part of the swath is made up of very small droplets which contribute li
80. indows Help 9 1 Rev 6 4 01 9 Newer Options Drift Manual Entry amp Solid Analysis Figure 9 2 Measure Screen after measure button is depressed Note the drop down list box for selecting whether the hori zontal cardline is read default or one of the three vertical collector lines Figure 9 3 Deposit graph of vertical collector results The data plots are color coded to identify the individual vertical collector lines S Trial Turbine Thrush Centre Air Park Trial Trial Mission Weather Notepad Measure Abbott Foray 76B Select Image Analysis Configuration Filter None Frames per card fi Read Microns per pixel 16 3 Horizontal Cardline al Horizontal Cardline Card Wertical Drift Collectors Line A Droplets 0 Wertical Drift Collectors Line B Vertical Drift Collectors Line C Deposit graph 05 02 00 Test 2 Ox N N a oo an rm o Height feet Height feet 0 5 oziacre Drops sq cm gt D D D D _ lt D D D T x 05 Area Covered 9 1 2 Vertical Collector Result Interpretation The deposit graphs Figure 9 3 show an identical series of graphs used to illustrate horizontal collector card lines If weather data are available drift and deposition models such as AgDRIFT and AGDISP USDA Forest Service and Continuum Dynamics Inc Princeton NJ can be run using the weather and
81. information contained in the Swath Kit databases can be freely added to and modified by the user Other information can only be added by importing specific files from Droplet Technologies The latter files deal with Aircraft and Atomizers The reason why these cannot be edited freely by users is that subsequent swapping of experimental trial data between users would become impossible as the same named aircraft or atomizer could refer to differently performing units The user is of course free to adapt such existing equipment in any way by setting up custom aircraft configurations If any aircraft or atomizers are not covered in the database users are invited to contact Droplet Technologies so that these units can be added to the databases New additions will be posted on the Droplet Technologies web site www droptech com This section deals with importing aircraft and atomizers as well as methods of importing and exporting trial data that can be used by the Swath Kit and other application programs 6 1 Importing Atomizers The Swath Kit for Windows database is supplied with numerous nozzles each with details about the relationship between flow rate and pressure and the limits of use As more nozzles are made available it will be necessary to add to this database by importing new or updated information The information to be imported must be supplied from a single source to ensure that all Swath Kit users can exchange information correctly eac
82. ing a different spread factor 7 4 3 have no Spread Factor What do do A work around the problem of not having a spread factor is to do a bit of guesstimating You will definitely not win the Nobel Prize for this but your data may make sense Choose a day when you are sure that you can catch most of your deposit typically that means low wind conditions Spray a couple of sets of cards and read them using an estimated spread factor Adjust the spread factor it is easier to use a linear one where just the slope B1coefficient is changed until you get a 90 recovery Take the mean of the two runs and use this spread factor for that specific spray material under the same spray conditions The non scientific part of this method is the assumption that you have caught 90 of your deposit 7 3 Rev 4 9 99 7 Miscellaneous Topics 7 4 Swath Kit for Windows 8 Field Trials 8 1 Field Equipment Preparation The objective of aircraft spray characterization is to visualize the swath pattern of the aircraft in order to 1 Establish whether an even pattern exists across the swath 2 To make sure all equipment is functioning properly 3 Determine that an effective dose is delivered across the assigned lane separation 4 Analyze the droplet size distribution The spray pattern characterization may be performed in a research capacity for example when being used to test a new type of spraying or a new nozzle or it may be
83. ion unless distinct crosswind effects are being studied It is usual to designate the first card to correspond to the left side of the aircraft from the pilot s point of view If shifting winds resulted in a reversal of the numbering system high numbered cards on the left make a note of this in the Note Pad section of the information file Make sure the cards are read in reverse order when they are image analyzed Always have a notebook handy for recording the time of spray flight number and any peculiarities about the run or spray pattern It is difficult to over emphasize the importance of good notes made during and after a characterization trial So many things can change at the last minute and only your notes will tell you why something in the pattern is not quite as it should be 8 2 4 Aircraft Spray Height 8 2 5 First Run When spraying at agricultural crop height it is no problem to get the pilot to fly a specified distance above the ground The heights used in forestry spraying typically 50 100 feet require some preparation One method is to use 2 helium filled balloons raised to the desired height at each end of the card line For accurate balloon heights leaning balloons due to slight winds should be measured by a inclinometer at right angles to the direction of lean to correct for height errors Of course the height problem does not present itself if the aircraft is fitted with a radar altimeter If the aircraft is
84. lculated from the Standard Deviation divided by the mean This should be used as a yardstick of how even or uniform an overlapped spray pattern is For aerial application a number of 30 is reasonable Remember any fool can spray a 1000 foot swath with a Piper Pawnee just by increasing the flowrate so that the mean deposit over the area is correct but you certainly wouldn t be happy with the variation of deposit in the overlapped swaths Anamed aircraft profile consisting of A specific aircraft type A nozzle location listing An N number A pump type These parameters are stored together as a Custom Aircraft using a descriptive title for example Billy s Ag Truck D6 45 Cotton Contract The time at which the aircraft flew over the cards This is important because it serves as the link into the weather database Press the Data Time button to edit this field and ensure accurate format If a date and time are already entered then you will be able to edit these data If the field is blank then the current time will be displayed in the edit box Use the format 06 34 19 01 Jan 98 hours minutes seconds day month year See NMD amp VMD 10 2 Flight Conditions Flight Direction Flowrate Lane Separation Swath Kit for Windows Aircraft airspeed and height above ground in the appropriate units Flying height should be obtained from the aircraft or from photography of the aircraft as it passes over the card line If the
85. ll be under estimates of the material recovered As a principle it is better to use volume units to express the recovery Sure you may get an application rate of 1 gallon acre producing one of 0 5 gallons acre but that would be a reflection of what occurred If all the deposit was caught that 0 5 gallon would have double the concentration of active ingredient 7 3 Data Files used by Swath Kit for Windows The Swath Kit for Windows uses the following data file types Main database file Named SKWIN32 MDB and resides in a data directory beneath the application directory The second data file is the weather raw data spool file SPL These may be stored in the data subdirectory until imported into the database but they will not visible to the Swath Kit program until imported and attached to a specific trial 7 1 Rev 4 9 99 7 Miscellaneous Topics Typical directory layout C Program Files Droptech Swath Kit Application Directory C Program Files Droptech Swath Kit data Data File Directory Note You may occasionally find temporary files in the data directory with the SPR extension e g RECALC SPR or SWATHIA SPR These are used to hold raw droplet data either during the export and import to an image analysis module or during droplet statistic recalculation They may be deleted while the Swath Kit is NOT running if space is required 7 4 Spread Factors 7 4 1 Whatis a Spread Factor When processing an image of a card with
86. ments of the cardline separation That is if you used a 5 ft distance between spray cards then you will only be able to run Lane Separations in 5 ft increments such as 75 80 85 etc If a Lane Separation is manually entered then it will be rounded to the nearest whole unit of the card separation Click on the up and down spin arrows to increment or decrement the Lane Separation Recalculation and display of the overlap pattern is automatic each time the Source or Lane Separation is changed The display will show expected field deposit starting at the one aircraft centerline and extending for two Lane Separations A dashed line shows the mean deposit and dotted lines show the standard deviation Note If 100 recovery is achieved which also means that the aircraft was perfectly calibrated and the spread factor was perfectly correct the mean deposit measured should equal the amount of material applied per acre 4 6 3 Deposit Analysis Analysis Estimating the desired lane separation can be aided by performing an overlap analysis where the mean deposit and coefficient of variation are displayed for a range of Lane Separations When the Analysis Action is chosen you will see the Source options Overlap Method options and two Lane Separation input boxes Use the two Lane Separation input fields to enter an upper and lower Lane Separation range Whereas Pattern and Overlap Windows are refreshed after each parameter is changed the Analysis wind
87. mount of active ingredient per liter of spray If you want the data to be in liters then enter 1 in the box there is 1 liter of liquid in 1 liter If you want the data to be in fl oz then enter 33 8 there are 33 8 fl oz in a liter How about US gallons Put 0 264 that s right there is 0 264 US gallon in a liter The area units will be automatically inserted for you according to your choice of units US Imperial default to acres whereas Metric units default to hectares If you are using User defined units you have a wide range of choices even expressing data as nanoliters sq cm if desired An alternative to expressing data as volume rate volume per area is the description of data as active ingredient per unit area The Swath Kit uses the active ingredient concentration in the spray mix to calculate material recovery The units you choose depend on the way you want active ingredient per unit area to be reported For example if you are applying 30 oz of a Product X in 5 gallons of total spray per acre then the conversion factor will be 1 583 oz per liter 30 oz 5 x 3 785 The units will be oz Product X Conversion units is a descriptive term which will appear in all your graphs and data files In the above Product X example you would write oz Product X in the Conversion Units field The data will be shown as oz Product X ac if you choose US units for display Spread Factor See below for further discussion of spread f
88. nits Choose a material prior to measuring deposit A saved profile of a specific aircraft fitted with a boom with measured atomizer mounting points and specific atomizers The mission profile is used for construction of individual trial profiles Example Cotton Contract Billy s Ag Truck D6 45 Mission description Module A descriptive term used to describe or name the spray mission Since the spray mission includes both aircraft and spray parameters try and make the Mission Description include these elements too For example GYPSYMOTH 1 gal A Bt Micronairs A pre defined item of information such as an aircraft or mission Examples A mission profile is a module which can be used many times for different trials NMD Number Median Diameter N Number Overlap Method Pixel Also written as Dyo 5 The droplet size usually in um in a population of droplets that has an equal numbers of droplets that are both greater and lesser than that droplet size See VMD This is the ICAO registration of an aircraft In the US all registrations stat with the letter N followed by a number In the rest of the world registrations are all letters with a country code at the start Up to 8 characters may be entered numbers or letters An aircraft can fly the field in two ways Racetrack where the aircraft flies successive spray passes in the same direction or To amp Fro where the direction of flight is alternated for su
89. not the graphs Using the Preview button will display a preview window from which data can be sent to a printer Windows default or to a file 4 11 Print Option The main menu contains an option File and Print Printing trial data and graphs is based around the Trial Print screen with an additional Printing Setup tab made available to direct the printing operation 4 10 Swath Kit for Windows First click on the Trials tab and select those files to be printed by clicking on the left record margin Selected trials are marked gray You may use the filter features on the Select tab to narrow down your choices of available data From the Printer Setup tab check each option to select the type of data to be printed and check the Preview option if the output should be previewed before printing or if you are Exporting Data Note that previewing is not available for graphic data Note that if preview is chosen you may also print from the preview window You may also select Printer Setup options from this screen Trial Print Al E Figure 4 9 T A Trial print screen F Numeric Data Output f Graphical Data Output T Trial Information 3 rm T Weather Graph I Weather Data mn 16 TT Spectrum Graph I Spectrum TT Deposit Graph I Deposit Data Ln J rn Printer Set up Preview Print Cancel fx Show all Trials 4 12 Printer Setup By default output will be directed to the Windows default printer To change
90. ns of 8 7 Rev 4 9 99 8 Field Trials spraying a field trial These options are entered into the Trial Screen under the Trial tab and Flight field 1 Into wind centered This is option used when the spray line is arranged perpendicular to the wind and the aircraft flies over the center card 2 Into wind offset This option is used when the wind is no longer perpendicular to the spray line but may be up to 45 degrees off to the left or right Under such conditions the aircraft still flies perpendicularly to the card line but is offset into wind 3 Crosswind This option is used when the card line is set up parallel with the wind and the aircraft flies perpendicular to the upwind end 4 Field Application This option is used when several swaths are applied to a card line 8 8 Swath Kit for Windows 9 Newer Options Drift Manual Entry Solid Analysis 9 1 Drift Analysis Since the release of Swath Kit Version 3 several options have been added to the Swath Kit as a result of users requests These are e The use of vertical collectors to measure drifting spray fractions e The ability to manually enter results obtained from a different source data so that the analysis engine of the Swath Kit can be used e Anoption to interface the Swath Kit to a Sartorius balance for measurement of solids collected using a two dimensional collector array This option has not been tested by the user who requested it
91. nt enes cites 4 10 412 Primer goU aore ia ela 4 11 LS A A D EE 1S ESE E E EE E 4 11 4 13 1 The Exporting PrOCESS ico iaia 4 11 Customizing The Swath Kib eitea iaia aeaa aa aeaaaee re alal Miura 5 1 5 1 O AT 5 1 52 Options Nits viciosa rinda aa iano iaia ES N 5 1 O A 5 2 5 4 Options Settings ida TAE 5 3 5 5 Using Different Databases for Storing Trials 5 5 5 6 Using Different Focal Length Lens s sive nites aerea 5 5 BiB O 5 5 56 2 Lenises and Extension TUD velada odiada Quaint thin iets 5 6 5 6 3 Face Plates on the Blue Box Image Analyzer init 5 6 5 6 4 Changing lenses and FOCUSING iii aia atada arcada 5 6 Importing and Exporting Data ssie aina aeaaea taana aaaea aaaea aate aeaa aaaea aaea asiaa 6 1 6 1 A a a a a a ata 6 1 6 2 Importing Aircraft asi ieaie i A EE a aa io G N 6 2 6 3 EXPOrnIng TalS iones ad ole aca AAS ie iii A i 6 2 6 4 IMporing Trials aria E a ana A aca tirereenerees 6 3 Miscellan ous Topicsi 0 iaia 7 1 7 1 Image Analysis l mitations aiar teers obs 7 1 7 2 Limitations with AGUEOUS SPrays mita wie endian R 7 1 7 3 Data Files used by Swath Kit for WINGOWS 0 ecec cc cceeeecececeeteeeeecceecaeteeteeseesetirtesseetinenttnees 7 1 T4 Spread Factors wees i cetacean ees ee SE BU A S 7 2 LAT Whatisa Spread FAClOn tn iio 7 2 10 TALZ Spread Factor DElerminatlOn is ica aaa 7 2 7 4 3 Ihave no Spread Factor What do d0 nica 7 3 Ele Mal oi dialisi ica I i e e i i 8 1 8 1
92. numbers on the apparent size of droplets The higher the threshold setting the paler the shade of gray that is considered to be a droplet stain The most accurate threshold level in figure 4 4 is rep resented by a gray scale level of 176 second from the bottom There are a total of 256 shades available from white to black standard sized a feature available by right clicking the image analysis window The pixels showing different levels of gray can be seen in the top picture The threshold level is set at 102 which in this example is below the binarization level i e all pixels are below threshold which identifies the image as a 127 droplet stain Increasing the threshold gradually to di 127 154 176 and 201 respectively increases the a apparent size of the stain shown by the black overlay Increasing the threshold further would result in the background being included as a droplet stain 154 If the threshold is set too high you are forcing the image analyzer to accept background around the periphery of a droplet as actual droplet Thus the droplet will be recorded as being oversized If the threshold is set too low then you are assuming the dark gray is background when it is actually the lighter 176 gray on the edge of a droplet dp The threshold that adequately describes a small stain may be slightly different to that which describes a large stain Because the accuracy of mass per unit area is v
93. of Events Here is the sequence of events that takes place when you build a trial The SKWin database contains a number of examples that you can use to construct trial profiles before running some trials for real i Create a custom aircraft profile for the aircraft that you intend to calibrate and characterize by selecting the aircraft type from the aircraft database Customize the aircraft by entering its tail number and pump type The number of nozzle locations that may be used is also entered measure these from the centerline of the aircraft Give your custom aircraft profile a name E g N431 Q Boom 1 Subsequently when you use that aircraft boom combination you just pull it out from the database without any data entry or editing Build a Mission Profile Select your custom aircraft profile combine it with atomizer type from the atomizer database desired volume rate lane separation and target application airspeed to make up a mission Give your mission profile a descriptive name E g N431EQ Boom 1 AU5000 10L ha Create a material description that gives information about the spray mixture This description will contain information about the spread factor active ingredient concentration and the units you want to see your data displayed 2 2 Swath Kit for Windows in Some standard materials will be provided with the SKWin database and can be directly selected 4 Finally use the mission profile to build a trial As
94. of simple geometry they are closer together than you originally laid them out The Swath Kit will adjust these measurements for you if you choose this option A small window will appear after you have measured the weather when you can accept or reject these changes Crosswind Fly at right angles to the wind and cardline and orient the cardline to be parallel with the wind You will need to fly over the upwind end of the cardline remember to adjust the centerline card in the Information File Field Application over target area Use this option if you made a field application with overlapped spray passes not a single spray pass over the cardline When you choose Pattern in the Analyze Spray Pattern part of the program the Swath Kit will work out a coefficient of variation as well as an average deposit No overlap simulations are permitted because the data already represent the deposit from an overlapped application The amount of spray per atomizer aircraft per minute For example 12 3 fl oz minute per atomizer The successive distance that a pilot offsets a spray aircraft when spraying an area Note that Swath Width is sometimes mistakenly used to define lane separation 10 3 Rev6 4 01 10 Glossary Location Material Mission Enter a name of the place where the trials were held Each spray solution is described in the Material database by its spread factor and conversion ratio between liters of spray to active ingredient u
95. olWeewiAT 3 9 9911 AT 401 Malathion A Tractor AT eoi Weeviata 3 BolWeedaT 3 9 99 11 AT 401 Malathion Air Tractor AT eor WeeviAT 4T 4 Bol WeeviAT 3 3 3911 AT 401 Malathion Air Tractor AT Por Weeviat sor 5 bol Weevi aT 7999 1 AT 401 Malton a Tet eclwWeeviATS02A _____ 1____ Boll Weevil AT 3 9 99 3 AT 502A Malathion Ar Tractor AT awer rates asta Air Tractor AT Boll Weevil AT 5024 Boll Weevil at T at AT 5024 Malathion Air Tractor AT In addition to the Trial Description and Replicate displayed in the left of the window each listing shows added attributes that help describe a Trial in the right half of the window Trial Date and Time of Trial and Mission Description associated with the trial Aircraft Manufacturer Model and Custom Aircraft Description Atomizer Manufacturer Type and Restrictor A powerful feature that you can use to home in on a sub set of your data is available Click the Select tab and enter phrases to restrict the search for trials For example in Figure 5 1 selecting Aircraft type begins with Air would eliminate the Cessna Ag Husky records and just show the Air Tractor records Note that these restrictions are overridden when the Show All Trial option is checked 4 1 Rev 5 1 01 4 Viewing amp Analyzing Trials 4 2 Displaying Trial Data Each trial has 4 possible data graphic windows through which a Trial s data can be viewed or analyzed These windows are as follows
96. ontamination or some faint deposits are being binarized as false one and two pixel stains Four data filter options are available on the Measure tab of each trial None Fine Medium and Coarse None No filtering performed and all objects read will be used as droplets Fine All droplets smaller than 21um are removed Medium All droplets smaller than 50um are removed Coarse All droplets smaller than 72um are removed Because only a data filter is used the level of filtration may be changed at any time 3 5 2 Pre Filtering Pre filtering is a setting which can be toggled on and off during the image analysis process When set it ignores any droplets smaller than 10 pixels in size whether the shape is circular or elongated The filtered stains are not recorded and cannot be included later as with data filtering Typically this setting would be used when large stains are being counted e g with herbicide applications and the very small stains have little relevance to the dataset If in doubt leave this setting as off You can then always select a data filter to remove the small stains from the calculations made with the data set Note The actual size of the stain removed during filtration both data and real filtering depends on the setting of the microns per pixel camera calibration 3 6 Tool Bar Figure 3 2 shows the icons which appear under the Measure Tab image analysis toolbar In sequence from left to right they are
97. ood idea to refrain from modifying that custom aircraft profile particularly if you have exported the data If the Custom Aircraft has already been used in a Mission or Trial then changes will be seen next time a Trial is opened If a trial has been exported prior to the edit then 2 5 Rev 4 9 99 2 Program Set up the trials will appear to contain different Custom Aircraft with the same profile names Edited aircraft are stored internally in the database with new unique codes Note The Edit feature is only available when no Trials are currently open Close all Trials before editing Note Insert and Delete will not work when the Custom Aircraft being edited has already been used in a Trial because the nozzle On Off data would be lost 2 2 4 Deleting Custom Aircraft A Custom Aircraft can be deleted from the database provided it is not already being used in Mission Choose Database Custom Aircraft and Delete to select from a list of unused Custom Aircraft 2 3 Creating Mission Profiles Figure 2 4 The 4 tab screen you get when you select a New Mission from the Database menu A Mission Profile represents the application configuration that you want to test it s how you want to spray The Mission Profile is used as the main building block of Trial information To create a mission profile click on the Database menu option and select Mission New The profile has 4 tabs which identify the different components of a mis
98. oose the correct atomizer so that SKWin can calculate the flow in the aircraft s spray system The flow rate calculations are performed on the basis of a well known relationship between pressure and flow using the manufacturer s data for water as the baseline If the exact manufacturer s nozzle is not present then look for a similar size and design from a different manufacturer Atomizers currently can only be added to the database by the user by downloading update information see Importing Atomizers from the Swath Kit World Wide Web site or from a diskette supplied by the Droplet Technologies You cannot add nozzles in the same way that you can add custom aircraft for example Ifyou need help in selecting the correct atomizer use the Calibration Assistant 2 3 2 Calibration Assistant When building up a Mission Profile you have the help of the Calibration Assistant The Calibration Assistant will help you select the nozzle type pressure and number of nozzles for a spray mission To be effective the Calibration Assistant will need to know your required application rate lane separation and airspeed Fill these out on the Mission Tab To start the Calibration Assistant Press the Assistant button on the Atomizer tab Next to the pull down box of Atomizers you will see a check box labeled OK When the selected nozzle is suitable for the current Mission i e it can supply the flow rate the box is marked with a check Use this to get an
99. ow requires you to press Run when the two settings for upper and lower Lane Separation have been entered Select Racetrack as the Overlap Method unless you are certain that the spray trial was performed under zero or close to zero wind conditions A crosswind generally 4 8 Swath Kit for Windows affects spray movement more than the propeller effects which serve to slightly skew the spray patter Note the mean deposit in Source units is shown on the left vertical axis The Coefficient of Variation is shown on the right hand vertical axis Figure 4 8 ai Deposit Analysis Boll Weevil AT 502A The data set used in nosso Y Pacera W figures 5 6 and 5 7 seen in Volumearea Ml Analysis View A range of lane separations from 30 to 150 ft has been chosen Deposit The descending line shows the mean deposit left y axis and the ascending one shows the Coefficient of Variation right y axis The evenness of the deposit changes as the peaks and 0 valleys of the pattern 50 100 150 200 combine differently with Distance in Swath feet varied distances 4 7 Printing Graphs Data can be printed directly from the Graph window You may also use the File Print menu option First select the Graph window to be printed then press Print Printing is directed to the default printer The contents of the Analysis window can be printed by pressing the Print button Note The analysis window cannot be printed from the File Print op
100. p C Blue 1 or Red 40 or Black Shade R will be sufficient to dye water See Equipment and Supply Sources This represents about 2 lbs per 50 gallons 1kg in 200L Adjust the quantity so that droplet stains have sufficient contrast against the white background of spray cards as seen by the 8 2 Swath Kit for Windows image analyzer Opaque spray mixtures such as biological insecticides generally require smaller amounts of tracer than clear mixtures Pre measure dye into plastic bags powder or plastic bottles liquid in units or subunits required for each tank load CONSULT THE MSDS SHEET OF THE TRACER BEING USED TO ESTABLISH PRODUCT SAFETY ENSURE NO NON TARGET SURFACES ARE GOING TO BE SPRAYED THAT MAY BE DAMAGED OR DISFIGURED BY THE TRACER 8 1 5 Sensitive Cards 8 1 6 Card Boxes Water sensitive or oil sensitive cards can be used as an alternative to Kromekote cards This avoids the need to add tracers although these collectors have their limitations For example water sensitive cards cannot be used in highly humid environments as they show the presence of moisture before they are sprayed Oil sensitive cards do not show the presence of small droplets and the stains are not permanent so they have to be read immediately after spraying Slotted boxes for holding glass microscope slides are recommended for use to hold sprayed cards until data analysis Many spray formulations especially those containing oils do not readily d
101. pecific atomizer is unavailable you should choose a similar type Note that the Atomizer Assistant can t give correct suggestions unless the correct atomizer is selected Calibration Assistant An expert system programmed helper who suggests the nozzle type and number required for a particular spray task Cardline Conditions The orientation is the bearing of the direction of the cardline Note that either the bearing or its reciprocal can be used e g 280 degrees or 100 degrees The center refers to the card over which the aircraft flew 10 1 Rev6 4 01 10 Glossary Centerline Characterization The spacing is the card spacing given in the units referred to by the label near the box usually ft or m This tags the card that the aircraft over flew during the spray pass Watch carefully as the aircraft over flies the line so that you see exactly which card was over flown This data is used in the overlapped spray simulation to position the spray passes so accurate estimation is required A commonly used expression for capturing and measuring the characteristics of an aircraft s spray pattern A characterization usually involves an assessment of spray distribution across the swath and a droplet spectrum analysis Also known as Spray Pattern Analysis Coefficient of variation Custom Aircraft Date Time Dvo 5 amp Dno s Coefficient of Variation is a dimensionless measure of variation as a percentage It is ca
102. plished Firstly the atomizer type and size must be selected based on the volume of spray to be applied per acre the aircraft to be used and the droplet size spectrum required Secondly the aircraft needs to be calibrated to ensure that the correct output is achieved given the application speed of the aircraft and the distance between successive spray passes of the aircraft lane separation However the aircraft should not be flown operationally until the shape of the deposit pattern beneath the aircraft has been inspected This third task is a much more difficult problem if more than just a visual inspection of the deposit shape is to be made The Swath Kit is primarily employed for this third task although its mission planning facilities greatly help the performance of the first two tasks as well 1 1 Rev 4 9 99 1 The Basics 1 3 The Three Major Swath Kit Tasks The Swath Kit can be divided into 3 parts according to the 3 broad tasks which comprise this next characterization phase of the aircraft set up 1 3 1 Trial Detail and Weather Recording Much spray trial data are lost from the pool of available knowledge about spray performance because insufficient supplemental information is recorded which explains the conditions of the trial Recording of the spraying system settings speed and height of the aircraft and conditions of the trial are therefore vital to explain the results The weather must also be monitored during a tr
103. rcraft should fly about 1 500 feet past the card lines In stronger winds should you be characterizing the aircraft a 15 Figure 8 1 Pegged circle at 15 deg intervals Compass rose 48 layout for trials held 300 60 over several days allows quick orient 285 75 ation of cardlines in response to chan 270 90 ging wind direction ale Radius for circle is 105 100 feet 240 Marked Di String 195 165 150 8 2 Spray Trial Procedures 8 2 1 Personnel The number of people required to run a spray trial project depends largely on the number of runs that have to be performed There will always be a need for people to pick up sprayed cards and lay out fresh ones However we have found that there should be one project coordinator who makes the decisions on whether to spray or not how to react to changing weather conditions and who calls in the aircraft for spray runs This person should be informed about all aspects of the job especially about the wind direction and strength so that he she can make the best possible decisions If a limited number of hand held radios exist make sure that p c has one so that he she can talk to the pilot 8 5 Rev 4 9 99 8 Field Trials 8 2 2 Setting up As a first action in the test area the weather station should be set up to start monitoring weather Check that the data logging computer clock is coordinated with your own watch As you record the time of each pass it should correlat
104. rpose when details of a trial are changed The name of the generated file is always recalc spr After processing with Filer32 you can save the file as a comma delimited text file which you can open in a spreadsheet or use as an input file for statistical programs The name of the saved file will always be recalc txt You can see from the last paragraph that a great deal of confusion can arise with files named identically It is up to the user to work with Windows Explorer and rename the text files as soon as they are created Here is the procedure step by step 1 Openthetrial whose deposit data you require 2 Goto the Measure tab Change the filter setting it doesn t matter what you change it to just change it to something different from what it was before Close the trial say NO when the program asks you whether you want to save the changed trial If you have other trial data you want to extract keep the Swath Kit program open 3 Run Filer32 It s easier if you have a shortcut icon on your desk Press the Open button You have a choice of types of files but the default is SKWin raw droplet data SPR so you shouldn t have to select the file type You will have a choice of two files if you don t see the files go to the Swath Kit data folder Recalc spr and SwathlA spr Double click on Recalc spr this is the file you want 9 3 Rev6 4 01 9 Newer Options Drift Manual Entry amp Solid Analysis Figure 9 4
105. ry so cards must be kept separate to avoid cross contamination and smearing of the deposit Since the card boxes are inexpensive use one card box per card line Each box will hold 100 cards When picking up cards after a spray run touch only the edges of the cards and handle them as little as possible Do not double up cards by placing them back to back in the boxes 8 1 7 Weather Equipment 8 1 8 Flags 8 1 9 Radios When weather cannot be monitored using the Swath Kit please keep notes of weather for each spray run by using hand held instruments Equipment for monitoring weather a sling psychrometer and distilled water for measuring wet and dry bulb temperatures at 10 minute intervals and at the time of aircraft over flight a wind anemometer e g Davis Turbo Meter a good sighting compass for determining wind direction Good weather information is critical without it data output from the Swath Kit can be easily misinterpreted and even useless Most agricultural aircraft are fitted with DGPS tracking guidance systems However at times traditional methods may have to be used Use a minimum of two flags for aligning the pilot over the card line White and blaze orange are good colors Have freshly charged batteries on hand or a good supply of disposable dry cell batteries Be sure to establish the correct frequency with the pilot Have one person in overall charge to call in the pilot or abort the run if things don t look good I
106. sh out i e turn to all white as soon as you open out the lens It is therefore necessary to switch off the light but keep the camera switched on To do this grasp one of the lights carefully with a clean cloth careful it may be hot and pull it gently upwards When it comes out both lights will go out Move the blue box to a fairly dim area where you can still get a sharp image with the lens fully open If you cannot get a focused image by turning the focusing of the lens alone you will have to move the camera forwards or backwards in relation to the front of the faceplate To loosen the camera loosen the 4 nuts that hold the top of the fastening plate which keeps the camera positioned You will not have to loosen them much for the camera to be able to move Once free move the camera until you get a sharp image with the focusing ring somewhere in the middle of its focusing range Do not focus with the lens set on full close or full distant settings You will not then be able to finely focus the lens with the ring but will have to move the camera again Once you have found a good position for the camera tighten the nuts so that the camera is once again immobilized Do not over tighten You may damage the camera Replace the fluorescent light and set a smaller aperture which produces a good image 5 7 Rev 4 9 99 5 Customizing the Swath Kit 5 8 Swath Kit for Windows 6 Importing and Exporting Data Some of the
107. sion w DATABASE EDITOR New Mission mode Mission aircraft Atomizer Atomizer Layout m Mission Details Desio delat Spray volume tl oz USA acre Lane separation eet Target Airspeed mph The four tabs are as follows 1 Mission The mission description plus added mission parameters Spray volume Lane Separation and Target Airspeed Enter the details in the spaces provided and be careful to observe the correct units 2 Aircraft Select a Custom Aircraft Profile that has already been created You cannot edit the contents of the Custom Aircraft tab 3 Atomizer Select the Atomizer by manufacturer and type from the database 2 6 Swath Kit for Windows 4 Atomizer layout Use this tab only to visually confirm the atomizer location points Note that the atomizer layout can only be edited from the Custom Aircraft editing screen The atomizer locations shown reflect the Custom Aircraft chosen on the Aircraft tab Once you have input these parameters save the mission profile under a name which you can easily identify in the future you can use up to 64 characters numbers and spaces Press the Update button when you have finished 2 3 1 Atomizer Selection Choose from the list of atomizers presented in the drop down list The Swath Kit for Windows contains a predefined list of atomizers that can be employed in your Trial Each atomizer is related to data describing flow rate characteristics You must ch
108. sp the lens and turn it counter clockwise to unscrew it from the camera The extension tube may or may not come off with the lens If not remove the tube after you have removed the lens To fit the 25 mm lens install a 5 mm extension ring 10 mm with CS mounts onto the lens and screw the combination onto the camera Note make 5 6 Swath Kit for Windows sure you don t cross thread the lens extension tube Very little turning force should be required To fit the 12 5 mm lens install a 1 mm spacer on the lens mount 5 mm 1mm on CS mouns and screw the lens into the camera For either lens tighten sufficiently so that turning of either the focus ring or aperture ring does not cause the lens to unscrew from the camera At this stage the image will have to be focussed Place an image with fine print in front of the face plate It may be easier to attach it with tape but make sure that the image is not bent away from or towards the camera Connect the Blue Box to the laptop computer and open up a test file in the Swath Kit Select the Measure tab and adjust the Image Analysis Settings screen so that the threshold is reduced to zero This will result in a native video image on the computer screen with no colored binarized overlay To focus a wide angle lens as accurately as possible it is necessary to open the aperture as wide as possible this decreases the depth of field However with the lights on the image will wa
109. t for Windows is critical to its successful use The Swath Kit program is based on a modular system These modules can be set up once and used many times over For example you may consistently work with a Cessna Ag Truck which has a standard boom with 50 spaces for nozzles pump type and N Number Give this custom aircraft profile a name and it is now a module ready for use again and again for trials The information for a trial a trial is defined as an aircraft spray run comes from the following sources Aircraft database installed with the Swath Kit program Atomizer database installed with the Swath Kit program Custom Aircraft Profile Mission Profile Weather Data only with Met Kit 1 2 Swath Kit for Windows Measured Deposit 1 4 1 Modular Data Entry The modular system used with SKWin means that there has to be some information preparation before a trial starts However the advantages of such a system are far less data entry during the operation of the field trial where time really counts It also enables trial data to be comprehensively recorded and simplifies retrieval from the database 1 4 2 Weather Recording Met Kit only A weather data file is an important part of the trial data The weather system can be used to record weather continuously throughout a series of spray trials or started and stopped in sequence with actual spray runs One operational procedure is essential whichever recording method is
110. t is a good idea for the person who monitors the weather sensors to also be in communication with the team 8 1 10 Protective clothing Use appropriate safety equipment for the spray material being applied Loaders and handlers of pesticides should be furnished with disposable protective gloves and coveralls and goggles accordingly 8 3 Rev 4 9 99 8 Field Trials REFER TO THE MSDS AND LABELING OF ANY DYE OR PESTICIDE TO CONFIRM PRODUCT SPECIFIC PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS 8 1 11 Smoke Bombs 8 1 12 Spray bottle Use 3 to 4 minute duration smoke bombs to judge the direction and turbulence of the wind A smoke bomb fits into the end of extending tree pruning poles and the smoke can be released 20 feet in the air Releasing a smoke bomb 20 feet in the air will help reveal turbulence or inversions Smoke bombs can be a fire hazard so precaution needs to be taken when they are used in grassy areas It is important that a good contrast exist between the droplet stains and the white card surface A simple test with a hand held spray bottle can be used to spray test cards which will then be able to reveal whether or not sufficient tracer has been added An important rule to remember you can never have too much dye 8 1 13 Cardline markers 18 wooden pegs labeled with direction every 20 degrees around the circumference of a circle enable rapid orientation of the card string to be made under conditions of rapidly c
111. the output either go to the control panel and change the Windows default or press Setup in the Trial Print window 4 13 Exporting Data Most of the trial data can be exported to many different applications You may want to do this if you want to further analyze the data with a statistical application save data in a familiar format like Excel s xls files or paste a table into a word processed document The Swath Kit program gives you the option of exporting to many different categories including Excel spreadsheets dBase Access and FoxPro databases and several word processor and text processor formats The data that is exported can be of a predetermined nature or a specific nature If you have a trial open and select the Deposit Graph the basic 4 panel figure you will export a basic table of the trial data If you have an overlap selected for a specific lane separation it is the data specific for particular condition that will be exported To see what data will be exported at any particular time select the Data Viewer icon in the toolbar 4 13 1 The Exporting Process Choose the data you want to export by selecting the appropriate graphic the main deposit graph a particular overlap the droplet spectrum graphic an analysis or 4 11 Rev5 1 01 4 Viewing amp Analyzing Trials weather data all these produce separate data documents Press the preview icon the magnifying glass Then press the little lightning flash and you will g
112. the different building blocks defined above Some of the building blocks come from built in databases such as Aircraft and Atomizers Some come from databases you will create such as the Material database Later you will add some information yourself such as the aircraft height and speed the orientation of the card line and deposit data as measured by the Blue Box image analyzer and weather data as recorded by the Met Kit if you have one As you can see from figure 2 1 there is a sequence of four stages during which the final trial is built up Although it may seem like hard work initially because the data in a profile is comprehensive subsequent spray trials can be easily performed because you can reuse your Mission and Custom Aircraft building blocks 2 1 Rev 4 9 99 2 Program Set up Figure 2 1 The different sta ges of building a Trial The para meters in bold type are added at each stage SEQUENCE AIRCRAFT CUSTOM MISSION TRIAL AIRCRAFT Aircraft Aircraft Aircraft N Number N Number N Number Pump Type Pump Type Pump Type Boom amp Nozzle Boom amp Nozzle Boom amp Nozzle Locations Locations Locations Spray Volume Spray Volume Rate Rate Lane Separation Lane Separation Target Airspeed Target Airspeed Atomizer amp Atomizer amp settings settings Measured aircraft speed amp height Spray Material Weather Data Deposit Data Notes 1 t tt Tx _ lj jftn P 2 1 3 Sequence
113. then WILLOWS 99 Config 02 Because listings of Trials are often sorted by their name this strategy will ensure all your WILLOWS 99 data appear together The same trial name can be used for several replicates which differ from each other only by their replicate number Pressing the replicate button will increment the replicate number but will keep the trial name the same Figure 2 6 shows details of the trial screen Figure 2 6 S Trial Willows 99 AT 502 Microna Trial Information details These nio entered after the actual trial takes place Make sure that you have recorded all the required details in 4 Intowind Centered Fl your notebook fron Cove Before the trial you can fill out the other information on the Trial tab Trial location and cardline conditions The Date Time and Aircraft speed and height will be entered after the trial The date and time refer to the time when the aircraft flew over the cardline This time should be recorded manually by the person supervising the spray trials It is crucial that your weather data recording device is synchronized with the timepiece you use for recording the time of aircraft over flight This is the only link with the two sets of data the time recorded on the trial tab and the weather data spool file Remember when you travel to different time zones to reset the times in your computers to local time Each new Trial requires a Mission to be attached T
114. tion because of its interactive nature its particular appearance depends on how you set the test lane separation values that you want to study 4 8 Displaying groups of data Data from multiple trials can be graphed in one of two ways m Open multiple files and display one of the data view windows for each trial or m Open multiple trials using the Group option to display multiple trials on the same graph This option is only available with replicates of the same trial To compare trials by displaying deposit information on a single graph you may use the Group option presented when selecting trials to open To select multiple trials press the open icon on the main toolbar and move the mouse cursor to the record selection column far left and hold the Ctrl key down while clicking on multiple Trials Once multiple trials have been highlighted the Group check box will be enabled Check the Group check box and press Open 4 9 Rev5 1 01 4 Viewing amp Analyzing Trials Trials opened as a group will not permit the following views Weather Spectrum or Analysis The deposit window will display multiple deposit patterns to permit comparisons The display of numerical data when a Group selection has been made will show multiple data sets The left column of the data display shows the color of the line used on the graph Each data set is initially displayed with patterns aligned to the left of the screen You may choose to rearrange t
115. ton You may also define any number of additional sets by clicking the user defined radio button entering a descriptive title in the Description field then selecting a unit for each parameter from the drop down lists for each parameter described above Once defined and saved you may recall user defined unit combinations using the drop down list for Description When units are changed any data being displayed will be automatically redisplayed under new units 5 3 Options Measure Figure 5 2 Options Measure window showing the hardware options for image analysis and solid weight data input Different bin size class series can be selected in this window Importation of bin size files can be done by pressing the Import button The specific configuration for image analysis is stored with the specific image analysis tool More than one tool is available to provide deposit data for SKWin but at time of writing only the MRT Videoport professional PC Card is the imaging option and the Sartorius balance is the only dry material data input option Select the Tools and Options menu then select the Measure tab Using the radio buttons select the appropriate type of image analysis hardware to ensure the correct working of the system Figure 5 2 ia Options ITEX PCYision Plus board internal MRT VideoPort Professional PCCard Sartorius electronic balance LOG RANGE TO 1000 microns 5 2 Swath Kit for Windows
116. trial data to compare actual measurements with predicted measurements Collection of drifting 9 2 Swath Kit for Windows droplets and drift interpretation is not a routine activity and pertains more to the research side of aerial application 9 2 Exporting Individual Stain Data Files with Filer32 9 2 1 Procedure The Swath Kit was designed for a wide range of users of different technical expertise Therefore many of the calculations and modeling processes are intentionally hidden from the user so that she he is not confused or dissuaded from using the many data analysis options of the Swath Kit Some users working at the research level need to get right to the heart of the data and use powerful statistical programs such as SAS to do the number crunching on deposit data Droplet Technologies provides a utility that enables you to extract stain diameter data for processing Note that the Swath Kit stores deposit data as stain sizes not droplet sizes Droplet sizes are calculated by the Swath Kit program by applying spread factors on the fly The utility program Filer32 exe is included on the installation CD and is available on the download portion of our web site www droptech com Because this program represents a work around its use is not integrated into the menu system of the Swath Kit Follow the procedure described below in detail Filer32 uses a temporary file that the Swath Kit program generates for its own pu
117. ttle to the main pattern In this example the smooth box has been checked for a moving average display Swath Kit for Windows defined active ingredient parameter are determined by the Material chosen for the Trial You can have many different displays of the same trial data set Section 2 4 1 Deposit graph Boll Weevil AT 502A oziacre Drops sq cm Distance feet Right clicking on the graph displays the Property Pages which can be used to adjust the look of the graph Checking the smooth box displays a moving average consisting of data points and a line display in place of the default solid display Left clicking one of the four panels will zoom the display so that only one of the four panels is visible You can also grab the lower right hand corner of the graphs with the mouse cursor and enlarge or shrink the graphs to any size and shape that you like 4 4 2 Droplet Spectrum The spectrum window shows percent number and volume and cumulative percent number and volume for all droplets in the pattern Figure 4 3 Also shown are the DVos and DNo for all droplets in the pattern These are alternative designations for vmd and nmd respectively The important point to remember is that these data represent all the droplets read for the cardline so far not just the last card or any other single card It therefore represents an unbiased picture of the whole spectrum which reached the ground This may
118. u are calibrating for see Mission tab It also tells you the equivalent flow per nozzle that is required It then tells you what the expected flow per nozzle is given the specific type of nozzle chosen the number that are open and the current pressure Use these numbers to manually adjust the nozzle setup to match required flow to expected flow Increase or decrease pressure or change nozzle to manage expected flow per nozzle increase or decrease nozzle number to change required flow per nozzle If you want the program to try and make a selection for you use the built in Calibration Assistant program To use the Calibration Assistant Ensure the Mission parameters and Aircraft have been entered Press the Assistant button Select the estimated number of nozzles that you wish to have open Select the nozzle remember the nozzles with the check mark are capable of meeting your needs 5 Either manually adjust the pressure and nozzle number to match the desired flow rate with the flow rate required by the Mission settings or press the Suggest Pressure button to automatically select a pressure and nozzle number The Suggest Pressure button will first manipulate pressure then if necessary will change the number of open nozzles in an attempt to bring the flow rate within 3 of the desired flow If no combination of pressure and nozzle number can be found to fit the required flow a Suggestions window will be shown
119. verage speed of the horizontal winds moving a spray cloud 2 Average Wind Direction This describes the resultant wind direction the overall wind direction over the Weather Window of the spray trial It differs from a simple arithmetic mean of the directions because it is formed from a combination of wind direction and wind speed information Thus a wind direction of 180 degrees at 10 MPH is given more influence than a different direction at 2 MPH This is a more representative statistic because it describes the overall direction that a droplet cloud would drift after ten minutes something an arithmetic mean does not do 3 Average Temperature A simple average of the temperature over the Weather Window recording period 4 Average Humidity A simple average of the relative humidity over the Weather Window recording period 2 14 Swath Kit for Windows 2 6 2 Weather Window The weather window is the size of the data window used for summarizing and displaying weather data in minutes The minimum is two minutes and the maximum is limited to the data available Use the spin buttons to increase or decrease the size of the window As the size is changed the summary information will be recalculated to reflect the new averages The window should be long enough to adequately describe the window of time needed to deposit most of your spray 5 minutes should be adequate for most sprays 2 15 Rev 4 9 99 2 Program Set up 2 16 S
120. wath Kit for Windows 3 Image Analysis of Spray Deposits 3 1 Image Analysis Basics Before analyzing your first set of cards it is a good idea to review the principles of how the Swath Kit uses image analysis to obtain data about a swath pattern from a set of spray cards The principles touched on in this paragraph are all discussed in greater depth in other sections of this chapter The deposit stains formed by the droplets have to exhibit a contrast that can be picked up by the TV camera frame grabber combination The image is fed to the SKWin program which on the basis of calibration values decides what part of the image was actually caused by droplets and rejects the remainder as background The program then calculates the area of each stain transforms its area to a circular form and calculates its diameter It then applies a spread factor to account for the spreading of a round droplet to form a larger stain and calculates the volume of the droplet that caused the stain lt proceeds to do that for every stain measured sometimes tens of thousands in each trial The program keeps a running total of the volume of all the droplets it has measured the number of droplets and surface area covered by the stains To make calculation of droplet sizes possible the program distributes the range of droplet sizes into 20 bin classes which can then be used for statistical analysis There is a default bin class distribution but any progressive s
121. y Cards 8 1 4 Tracer Each increment should be marked e g O through 90 with an indelible pen on a piece of colored nylon ribbon to coincide with card numbers or card distance It is handy to have the rope rolled onto a spool for easy release and retrieval If three card lines are used during the characterization have three strings prepared Kromekote R paper has been used for many years It is commercially available See Equipment and Supply Sources Ask for Mead Mark 1 10 point cover stock It is advisable to use papers that are glossy on both sides to prevent moisture from penetrating and bending the non glossy side A small sized target is a more effective collector of small drops than a larger sized collector therefore 2 x 3 Kromekote cards are recommended over the larger 5 x 6 cards Since spread factors will vary depending on quality of Kromekote paper it is necessary to use only one supplier for spray cards Pre label these cards with an indelible pen Cards should be labeled with spray run number and card number The swath pattern obtained after one run should not be considered as sufficient to establish the pattern A minimum of two independent runs should therefore be made It s worth the time and effort to pre label sets 3 card lines x 3 replicates of cards for every configuration to be tested A visible dye must be added to the spray solution Typically a 0 5 solution of a powdered food dye such as FD am

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