Improvement of thermal uniformity of multi-layer broiler house using CFD analysis

Donghyeok  Park1,2   Jaesuk  Kim1   Hongsik  Kim3   Joong Yong  Rhee1,,2,4,*   

1Department of Biosystems Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
2Convergence Major in Global Smart Farm, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
3Daesang Kiumi System Inc., Gangneung, Republic of Korea
4Research Institute for Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

Abstract

Multi-layer broiler houses can afford a higher density of broiler per unit ground area but proper ventilation method of the house and atmospheric thermal condition at each floor should be evaluated in the design process. Ventilation in the multi-layer broiler house is significantly affected by structural factors such as a gap between cage and wall and a gap between floor slats. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been known as a reliable tool for the simulation of airflow and heat transfer inside livestock buildings. In this study, CFD software was used to analyze the air circulation of the multi-layer broiler house and design the location of deflectors by evaluating thermal uniformity. However, the existence of slats with lots of small holes in the CFD model increases the number of nodes dramatically and makes simulation unstable. In this simulation study, the complex structure was simplified by replacing a slat with a gap of 140 mm. The deflector installed on the wall to change the airflow showed the best performance with a temperature distribution of 27.61 ± 0.940℃ when placed on 2F. In cases of controlling the flow rate or temperature, it was possible to selectively reduce the temperature of 1F or 3F, which has a relatively high temperature. In the future, ventilation with excellent thermal uniformity will be possible even in multi-layer broiler houses by applying the internal environmental measurement and effective ventilation control method.

Figures & Tables

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of multi-layer broiler house.