3D Numerical Analysis of the Natural Ventilation Behavior in a Colombian Greenhouse Established in Warm Climate Conditions

Edwin Villagran, Rommel Leon, Andrea Rodriguez and Jorge Jaramillo
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Edwin Villagran: Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria—Agrosavia, Centro de Investigación Tibaitatá—Km 14, vía Mosquera-Bogotá, Mosquera 250040, Colombia
Rommel Leon: Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria—Agrosavia, Centro de Investigación Caribia—Sevilla, Magdalena 478020, Colombia
Andrea Rodriguez: Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria—Agrosavia, Centro de Investigación Tibaitatá—Km 14, vía Mosquera-Bogotá, Mosquera 250040, Colombia
Jorge Jaramillo: Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria—Agrosavia, Centro de Investigación La Selva—Rionegro, Antioquia 054040, Colombia

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 19, 1-27

Abstract: Global food production and availability in hot climate zones are limited by biotic and abiotic factors that affect agricultural production. One of the alternatives for intensifying agriculture and improving food security in these regions is the use of naturally ventilated greenhouses, an alternative that still requires information that allows technical criteria to be established for decision-making. Therefore, the objective of this work was to study the spatial distribution of temperature and relative humidity inside a greenhouse built in the Colombian Caribbean. The methodological approach included the implementation of an experimentally validated 3D numerical simulation model. The main results obtained allowed to determine that the airflows generated inside the greenhouse had average velocities below 0.5 m/s and were mainly driven by the thermal effect of natural ventilation. It was also found that the gradients generated between the interior of the structure and the exterior environment presented values lower than 2.0 °C for temperature and −6.3% for relative humidity. These values can be considered low in comparison with other structures evaluated in other regions of the world where the gradients can reach values higher than 10 °C and 13% for temperature and relative humidity, respectively.

Keywords: numerical simulation; airflow; temperature; relative humidity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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