Sharleen Harper

Citation

Thesis Title
Mathematical models for dispersal of aerosol droplets in an agricultural setting

Read article at Massey Research Online:

Ms Harper’s research examined the transport and dispersal of aerosol droplets. Her work was motivated by the issue of spray drift from ground-based spraying of orchards. Field studies have shown that shelterbelts surrounding orchard blocks can significantly reduce spray drift; yet there is little information with which to predict ground deposits downwind. Ms Harper developed a relatively simple but new mathematical model for the transport of a cloud of aerosol spray droplets, including the effects of evaporation and the capture of droplets by the shelterbelt vegetation. The significance of this model is that it allows an estimate of the drift reduction and subsequent ground deposit to be easily calculated, thus facilitating observation of the response to different scenarios.

Supervisors
Professor Robert McKibbin
Emeritus Professor Graeme Wake