CFD simulation of the airflow uniformity in the plant factory

Fan, Ruiqi; Liu, Huan; Zhou, Shenghan; He, Zhongqun; Zhang, Xin; Liu, Ke; Wang, Jinxiao; Yang, Qichang; Zheng, Youliang; Lu, Wen-Hsiang

doi:10.1088/1755-1315/560/1/012074

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…The NRMSE between the measured and simulated data was 3.7%. As the NRMSE was below 10% lower than the average error in the study by Fan et al, [17] which is 15%, it can be concluded that the CFD simulation was able to represent the actual condition and can be used for further analysis.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 61%

“…For the existing design, with no circulation from the ambient air, the suction fan creates a vacuum space inside the Cube-Grow. A study by Niam et al, [15], Fan et al, [17] and, Zhang et al, [19] indicate that there must be at least one air inlet to create an airflow inside an enclosed control environment system. In this study, by adding an air inlet at the other end of the Cube-Grow opposite to the fan location, the air from the ambient will be flowing through the inlet into the Cube-Grow due to the density difference.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The previous study has proven the accuracy of CFD simulation and the potential to be the efficient methods to substitute physical experiments to analyze plant growth environmental condition and optimized growing structure design [14][15][16]. A study by Fan et al, [17] on the CFD simulation of the airflow uniformity in the plant factory shows that the measured value and the simulated value of air velocity were in a good agreement where the average relative error was only 15%. According to the study, further optimization using the validated CFD model has resulted in an increment of an area with a suitable airflow rate for plant growth from 10% to 90%.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

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CFD Simulation of the Airflow Distribution Inside Cube-Grow

Noh

Noor

Ahmad

2021

CFDL

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Cube-Grow was developed by MARDI to promote urban agriculture to the urban population. The product enables urban people to grow their vegetables with limited space. The initial test run of the system shows that the plant growth inside the structure was below expectation. The problem arises due to a lack of airflow or improper ventilation inside the structure. Optimum ventilation or airflow is crucial for plant growth as it enhances evapotranspiration at the leaf area to promote optimum plant growth. Therefore, this study aims to increase the airflow inside the Cube-Grow and find the best location for the air hole. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation was used in this study the analyse the effect of adding an air hole to the airflow characteristic inside the Cube-Grow. CFD also was used to select the best location to place the air hole. 3 option of air hole location was analysed and the results were compared with the existing design. The initial CFD simulation results were compared with the actual measurement data before it was used for further analysis. The result shows that adding an air hole increases overall airflow inside the Cube-Grow. Option 3 was chosen as the best location for the air hole as it produces a uniform and higher airflow inside the Cube-Grow. The study proved that CFD was able to be used to optimize the design of Cube-Grow before the actual prototype was built.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 61%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

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CFD Simulation of the Airflow Distribution Inside Cube-Grow

Noh

Noor

Ahmad

2021

CFDL

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“…Using CFD models to perform aerodynamic analyses based on various structures and monitoring points can help to identify issues within the internal environment and develop solutions to improve environmental uniformity [18,[21][22][23]. Incorporating CFD into the analysis of plant factory environments enhances our ability to optimize efficiency and achieve a more uniform atmospheric environment [24][25][26][27][28][29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improvement of Environmental Uniformity in a Seedling Plant Factory with Porous Panels Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Lee,

Seo,

et al. 2023

Horticulturae

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A seedling plant factory requires precise environmental control to ensure uniform growth within a limited cultivation period. A porous panel exhaust system was installed to maintain a stable and uniform internal environment. To provide optimal temperature, humidity, and airflow, it is necessary to interpret the internal aerodynamics. However, field monitoring has limitations in analyzing the invisible flow patterns. To overcome this limitation, CFD simulations can be utilized to understand internal environmental conditions and uniformity. The objective of this paper is to develop and validate a CFD model of a seedling plant factory with a porous panel for improving the uniformity of the internal environment. Multiple data loggers were evenly installed at various locations inside the seedling plant factory, and 24 h field monitoring was conducted. The average temperature and humidity during the 16 h light period and 8 h dark period were maintained within 1% of the set values, while the regional temperature deviation had an average of 1.65 °C and a maximum of 2.63 °C. The regional humidity deviation had an average of 14.1% and a maximum of 23.8%. The CFD model was designed to analyze the internal environmental uniformity after validation by comparing it with the field monitoring data. The Realizable k-ε turbulence model, which exhibited an error of 4.0% in comparison with the field data, was selected through a validation test among four different turbulence models with the same configuration of the seedling plant factory. The CFD simulation results were interpreted quantitatively and qualitatively, focusing on the airflow, temperature, and humidity distributions caused by the air conditioner and humidifier. Variations in the average temperature of up to 0.5 degrees and velocity differences of 0.28 m/s were observed depending on the location of the cultivation shelves. The locations and causes of stagnant regions resulting from the airflow patterns were identified through the simulations.

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“…LEDs have become a developing technology in agriculture, so the use of UV LEDs for plant lighting in Plant Factory is very important [2] [3]. The development of the Plant Factory infrastructure is indeed very expensive and requires large maintenance costs [4], but this is quite promising because artificial climate control allows the plant growth process to be regulated in such a way according to the conditions for optimal plant growth [5] [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of UV LED Intensity on The Growth of Red Lettuce in Indoor Hydroponics

Jingga

Nurtam

Hendra

et al. 2022

IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci.

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Microclimate control is increasingly widespread in limited agricultural environments. This is especially important for the cultivation of plants that tolerate significantly different thermal and hygrometric conditions. Nevertheless, there is much to be done in automation and control technology in this area to achieve the best results in both quantitative and qualitative terms of the product. This applies especially to horticultural crops that are sensitive to the cultivation environment and microclimate. This work aims to characterize the microclimate parameters in a confined agricultural environment with perforated ducts for air conditioning supply. For this work, a microclimate control unit was used instead of a lettuce crop. It was placed into a confined agricultural environment at different locations in the space to obtain the main microclimate parameters. After setting the input of the microclimate environment, the instrument measured a series of physical quantities (temperature, radiant temperature, humidity, and air velocity). Tests were carried out by taking the optimum day temperature constant for growing lettuce and by varying the supply airflow rate by setting the fan speed at 30%, 50%, and 80%. The results of these tests are essential for performing real-time control of the microclimate environment and for managing parameters for optimization of the entire system. In addition, the air velocity test showed adequate velocity reduction and good air mixing. The values obtained are generally acceptable for indoor cultivation and the conditions created are suitable for growing plants in such an environment. Light is an essential need for plants so that plants can carry out the photosynthesis process properly. In indoor DWC hydroponics system, the source of UV light is LED lights for plants. Some of the advantages of using LED light include a small light spectrum, less heat production, low power consumption, and wavelengths of 660 m and 450 m that are needed by plants. This research project aims to create a DWC hydroponic system for growing red lettuce in an indoor hydroponics and see the effect of LED grow light on the growth of red lettuce. DWC hydroponics uses AB-Mix nutrients that are channeled through inch PVC pipes using pump power. The hydroponic rack used has a height of 1.7 m and a width of 40 cm and has 3 shelves, where each shelf has 9 nutrient containers. The red lettuce plants in the DWC system were provided with different light treatments by installing shading nets with different percentages of light penetration, namely, 75%, 50%, and 0%. From the results of these treatments, the average yield of red lettuce was 300 grams on the top shelf, 400 grams on the middle shelf, and 600 grams on the bottom shelf.

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CFD simulation of the airflow uniformity in the plant factory

Cited by 8 publications

References 5 publications

CFD Simulation of the Airflow Distribution Inside Cube-Grow

CFD Simulation of the Airflow Distribution Inside Cube-Grow

Improvement of Environmental Uniformity in a Seedling Plant Factory with Porous Panels Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Effect of UV LED Intensity on The Growth of Red Lettuce in Indoor Hydroponics

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