Developing the Computational Simulator to Control the Ventilation Condition of Poultry House and Optimize the Production

ماشین های کشاورزی

Article 3, Volume 12, Issue 2 - Serial Number 24, June 2022, Pages 131-146   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/jam.v12i2.81420

Authors

H. Farzanpour; S. S. Seiiedlou Heris^* ; H. Nalbandi

Department of Biosystems Engineering, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

Introduction
In livestock and specifically poultry houses, controlling the internal environment conditions is a key factor to increase animal productivity and prevent their casualties. Controlling the atmospheric conditions like the air temperature and gas concentration in semi-enclosed spaces like poultry houses can improve the living conditions. Experimental tests on the atmospheric conditions of livestock and poultry houses are challengeable and due to limitation of measurement points, unstable climate conditions and experimental errors. Simulation of the air temperature and momentum conditions is used unlimitedly with computer resources by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods to overcome the limitations of experimental tests. This method has vast abilities of parametric analysis and predicting the optimum range of functional parameters. So in this research, the air temperature and velocity distribution of a poultry house were simulated using CFD to achieve the best condition for the air ventilation and uniform temperature distribution.   
Materials and Methods
In the present study, the geometrical model of poultry house was created using Gambit software and meshed. The mesh independence study was also performed. According to the results, 166550 elements were enough to solve the problem with an acceptable accuracy.
The Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equation was selected to simulate the momentum transfer inside the poultry house. The k-ε model is one of the most used turbulence models for industrial applications. The main assumption in this model is that the flow is incompressible and that the fluid is Newtonian. A transient heat transfer equation within the fluid domain was selected to predict the air temperature that describes a time-dependent process that includes the conduction and convection terms. All the boundary condition was measured experimentally during 24 hours and their temperature was modeled using the proper mathematical models and applied to the developed model. The mathematical models were solved simultaneously in ANSYS- FLUENT software. The developed simulator was validated experimentally by measuring the air temperature of some specified locations (13 points).
Results and Discussion
The results demonstrate that the model enjoyed satisfactory accuracy so that the RMSE value between the measured and predicted air temperature was in the range of 0.405 to 1.29 and the simulator could predict the air temperature with the accuracy of 0.6 degrees. Therefore, it is possible to use the validated simulator for the real-time controlling of poultry houses to optimize the ventilation process. According to the results, the high heterogeneity in the air temperature and about an 18-degree difference was observed in the air temperature distribution at various locations of poultry houses. In addition, the air velocity was not uniform at the different plans of poultry house; especially in the central points of poultry house, it was higher than 1 m/s that is higher than the recommended value. Therefore, the simulator was used to improve the ventilation of the poultry house. The results of various simulations carried out indicated that the angle of the air inlets vents affects the air turbulence. Also, the air temperature and velocity distribution were more uniform when the air inlet vents were across each other. Therefore, some new gates were opened and the angle of the existing gates was changed to improve the ventilation condition of the poultry house. By such modification, the ventilation condition of the poultry house was improved and the air velocity and temperature distribution in the optimized house were more uniform than that observed in the primary one. The air temperature and velocity were in the range of 291 to 297 K (18 to 24 °C) and 0.23 and 0.46 m s^-1, respectively. These values are at the recommended condition for poultry houses.
Conclusion
The opening angle of the vents had a significant effect on the air distribution. Application of across vents in the
side-walls of poultry house led to uniform distribution of air velocity and temperature. The developed simulator has good performance and accuracy to design and construct poultry houses.

Keywords

Computational Fluid Dynamics; Numerical simulation; Poultry house; Ventilation

References

1. ANSYS- Fluent. 2014. Theory Guide.
2. Atilgan, A., and H. Koknaroglu. 2006. Cultural energy analysis on broilers reared in different capacity poultry houses. Italian Journal of Animal Science 5 (4): 393-400.
3. Baghani, M., and M. H. Aghkhani. 2018. Study of Ammonia Gas Emission from Broiler Houses and the Effects of Temperature, Humidity and Age on It. Journal of Agricultural Machinery 8 (2): 377-388. (In Persian). DOI: 22067/jam.v8i2.65179.
4. Blanes-Vidal, V., E. Guijarro, S. Balasch, and A. G. Torres. 2008. Application of computational fluid dynamics to the prediction of airflow in a mechanically ventilated commercial poultry building. Biosystems Engineering 100 (1): 105-116.
5. Bustamante, E., E. Guijarro, F. J. Garcia-Diego, S. Balasch, A. Hospitaler, and A. G. Torres. 2012. Multisensor system for isotemporal measurements to assess indoor climatic conditions in poultry farms. Sensors (Basel) 12 (5): 5752-5774.
6. Charles, D. R., and A. W. Walker. 2002. Poultry environment problems: a guide to solutions, Nottingham University Press.
7. Chen, Q., and J. Srebric. 2002. A procedure for verification, validation, and reporting of indoor environment CFD analyses. HVAC&R Research 8 (2): 201-216.
8. Feddes, J., E. Emmanuel, M. Zuidhof, and D. Korver. 2003. Ventilation rate, air circulation, and bird disturbance: Effects on the incidence of cellulitis and broiler performance. The Journal of Applied Poultry Research 12 (3): 328-334.
9. Gholamrezai, N., K. Qaderi, and K. Jafari Naeimi. 2017. Temperature, Humidity and Energy Consumption Forecasting in the Poultry Hall Using Artificial Neural Network. Journal of Agricultural Machinery 7 (2): 546-557. (In Persian). DOI: 22067/jam.v7i2.50799.
10. González Díaz, S., R. Sotolongo Sospedra, M. A. León Sánchez, and F. Góngora Rojas. 2014. Incidencia de la Modificación del Bosque Semicaducifolio sobre Orquídeas en Sierra del Rosario Candelaria, Cuba. Revista Facultad Nacional de Agronomia 67 (2): 7345-7353.
11. Lee, I. B., S. Sase, and S. H. Sung. 2007. Evaluation of CFD accuracy for the ventilation study of a naturally ventilated broiler house. Japan Agricultural Research Quarterly: JARQ 41 (1): 53-64.
12. Mistriotis, A., T. D. Jong, M. Wagemans, and G. Bot. 1997. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) as a tool for the analysis of ventilation and indoor microclimate in agricultural buildings. Netherlands Journal of Agricultural Science (Netherlands).
13. Mostafa, E., I. B. Lee, S. H. Song, K. S. Kwon, I. H. Seo, S. W. Hong, H. S. Hwang, J. P. Bitog, and H. T. Han. 2012. Computational fluid dynamics simulation of air temperature distribution inside broiler building fitted with duct ventilation system. Biosystems Engineering 112 (4): 293-303.
14. Norton, T., J. Grant, R. Fallon, and D. W. Sun. 2009. Assessing the ventilation effectiveness of naturally ventilated livestock buildings under wind dominated conditions using computational fluid dynamics. Biosystems Engineering 103 (1): 78-99.
15. Norton, T., J. Grant, R. Fallon, and D. W. Sun. 2010. Optimising the ventilation configuration of naturally ventilated livestock buildings for improved indoor environmental homogeneity. Building and Environment 45 (4): 983-995.
16. Norton, T., D. W. Sun, J. Grant, R. Fallon, and V. Dodd. 2007. Applications of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in the modeling and design of ventilation systems in the agricultural industry: a review. Bioresour Technol 98 (12): 2386-2414.
17. Saraz, J. A. O., M. Arêdes Martins, K. S. Oliveira Rocha, N. Silva Machado, and H. J. Ciro Velasques. 2013. Use of computational fluid dynamics to simulate temperature distribution in broiler houses with negative and positive tunnel type ventilation systems. Revista UDCA Actualidad & Divulgación Científica 16 (1): 159-166.
18. Pedersen, S. 1999. CIGR Handbook of Agricultural Engineering, Volume II Animal Production & Aquacultural Engineering, Part I Livestock Housing and Environment, Chapter 2 Environment for Animals, Part 2.3. 2 Forced Ventilation.
19. Ramponi, R., and B. Blocken. 2012. CFD simulation of cross-ventilation for a generic isolated building: Impact of computational parameters. Building and Environment 53: 34-48.
20. Rojano, A., P. Bournet, P. H. Robin, M. Hassouna, C. Choi, and M. Kacira. 2014. Test of two different schemes through CFD to include heat and mass transfer induced by animals inside a broiler house. Proceedings International Conference of Agricultural Engineering, Zurich.
21. Rojano, F., P. E. Bournet, M. Hassouna, P. Robin, M. Kacira, and C. Y. Choi. 2015. Modelling heat and mass transfer of a broiler house using computational fluid dynamics. Biosystems Engineering 136: 25-38.
22. Seo, I. H., I. B. Lee, O. K. Moon, H. T. Kim, H. S. Hwang, S. W. Hong, J. P. Bitog, J. I. Yoo, K. S. Kwon, Y. H. Kim, and J. W. Han. 2009. Improvement of the ventilation system of a naturally ventilated broiler house in the cold season using computational simulations. Biosystems Engineering 104 (1): 106-117.
23. Simmons, J., B. Lott, and J. May. 1997. Heat loss from broiler chickens subjected to various air speeds and ambient temperatures. Applied Engineering in Agriculture 13 (5): 665-669.
24. Tao, X., and H. Xin. 2003. Temperature-humidity-velocity index for market-size broilers. 2003 ASAE Annual Meeting, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.
25. Van Ouwerkerk, E., J. Voskamp, and Y. Aliskan. 1994. Climate simulation and validation for an aviary system for laying hens. XII CIGR World Congress and Agency 94 Conference on Agricultural Engineering.
26. Worley, M., and H. Manbeck. 1995. Modeling particle transport and air flow in ceiling inlet ventilation systems. Transactions of the ASAE 38 (1): 231-239.
27. Yahav, S., A. Straschnow, E. Vax, V. Razpakovski, and D. Shinder. 2001. Air velocity alters broiler performance under harsh environmental conditions. Poultry Science 80 (6): 724-726.
28. Zhu, S., P. Liu, N. Yang, J. He, and Z. Ye. 2012. Optimization of local ventilation system for gaseous pollutants removal in broiler house using CFD simulation. 2012 IX International Livestock Environment Symposium (ILES IX), American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.