ISHS Acta Horticulturae 534: International Conference and British-Israeli Workshop on Greenhouse Techniques towards the 3rd Millennium
A SIMPLE COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS (CFD) MODEL OF A TOMATO GLASSHOUSE |
| Authors: | S. Reichrath, F. Ferioli, T.W. Davies |
| Keywords: | Crop model, CO2 dispersal, ventilation, temperature distribution, virtual reality, Venlo-type glasshouse |
| Abstract:
A CFD study was conducted, focussing on the internal convective transport processes of a tomato glasshouse. The aim of the research was to build a simple model of a tomato crop canopy and its influence on the glasshouse environment, looking at CO2 dispersal, ventilation rate and temperature distribution. The long-term objective of the research is to create a 3D virtual reality model of the overall physical phenomena of the glasshouse and exchange processes with the tomato crop. In this paper a first simple model of a representative part of a commercial multi-span Venlo-type glasshouse with tomato crops inside is presented and discussed. The modelling vehicle is the PHOENICS 3.1 package supplied by CHAM Ltd. A simple crop canopy model was developed where the crop is represented as a porous block consisting of different parts each with different density, flow permeability and CO2 absorption. These crop canopies were placed in the glasshouse where heating, ventilation and CO2 injection are introduced. The glasshouse model was tested and compared with previous models and experimental data. Although the model is limited and simple, there is a good agreement with the data available. | |
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