Improvement of Energy Efficiency of Plants Factory by Arranging Air Circulation Fan and Air Flow Control Based on CFD

Abstract

As information technology fusion is accelerated, the researches to improve the quality and productivity of crops inside a plant factory actively progress. Advanced growth environment management technology that can provide thermal environment and air flow suited to the growth of crops and considering the characteristics inside a facility is necessary to maximize productivity inside a plant factory. Currently running plant factories are designed to rely on experience or personal judgment; hence, design and operation technology specific to plant factories are not established, inherently producing problems such as uneven crop production due to the deviation of temperature and air flow and additional increases in energy consumption after prolonged cultivation. The optimization process has to be set up in advance for the arrangement of air flow devices and operation technology using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) during the design stage of a facility for plant factories to resolve the problems. In this study, the optimum arrangement and air flow of air circulation fans were investigated to save energy while minimizing temperature deviation at each point inside a plant factory using CFD. The condition for simulation was categorized into a total of 12 types according to installation location, quantity, and air flow changes in air circulation fans. Also, the variables of boundary conditions for simulation were set in the same level. The analysis results for each case showed that an average temperature of 296.33K matching with a set temperature and average air flow velocity of 0.51m/s suiting plant growth were well-maintained under Case 4 condition wherein two sets of air circulation fans were installed at the upper part of plant cultivation beds. Further, control of air circulation fan set under Case D yielded the most excellent results from Case D-3 conditions wherein air velocity at the outlet was adjusted to 2.9m/s.

Research progress on indoor environment of mushroom factory

“…The structure of the building should be stable and supportive, particularly satisfying the wind load and snow load. The cultivation room should be provided with sufficient fresh air and internal air circulation to minimize dead zone formation and temperature stratification [4,13,47,75,76] . Sometimes, humidification is needed to maintain high relative humidity.…”

“…Global mushroom production is currently on a shift to a highly commercialized farming mode that is usually called "mushroom factory" [1] . Similar to a plant factory [2][3][4] , a mushroom factory provides desired conditions for edible fungus growing within a controlled-environment facility that is regulated and operated by sophisticated technologies [5] .…”

Sustainable Development Optimization of a Plant Factory for Reducing Tip Burn Disease

“…Shading of the airflow by the cultivation frame and plant cultivation location, along with heat dissipation from the light source, can affect the airflow field distribution [12][13][14]. After long-term planting, uneven airflow can result in issues such as tip burn, uneven production, and increased energy consumption [15,16]. When lettuce varieties and cultivation methods were identified, Kitaya and Ryohei et al confirmed that stable and uniform airflow is an effective tool for resolving the problem of lettuce tip burn [17,18].…”

The study on enhanced micro climate of the oyster mushroom cultivation house with multi-layered shelves by using CFD analysis

“…그러나 재배사 내부에 버섯을 다단으로 재배 하기 위하여 설치한 재배상이 재배사 내부의 공기유동을 방해하는 장애물이 되어 재배상의 위치에 따른 환경 불균 일성이 나타난다. 성공적인 버섯재배를 위해서는 생산비의 절감뿐만 아니라 재배사내 특성을 고려하여 각각의 재배 균상 위의 환경을 정밀하게 관리하는 것이 중요하다 (Moon et al, 2015). 지금까지 버섯재배사의 내부환경을 균일화 하기 위하여 버섯재배사 구조, 환경관리 등에 대한 많은 연구가 수행되었다 (Lee et al, 2007;Lee et al, 2015;Yoon et al, 2003).…”