Heat Transfer Properties of Hog Cooling Pad

Abstract

Abstract. Thermal stress on sows in modern farrowing operations has become a significant issue for the commercial pork industry. Purdue University researchers have developed a simple conductive hog cooling pad that has the potential to effectively alleviate a significant portion of that heat stress. The heat transfer properties of the cooling pad are crucial to the characterization of the pad and the success of the pad in the field. This article presents data collected showing the thermal profile of the cooling pad, the energy transfer of the pad in operation, and the effectiveness of the pad as a function of the amount of coolant used to affect heat transfer from a simulated animal to the coolant. A variety of operating conditions and coolant flows were investigated, and those results are detailed in this article. Intermittent coolant flow over modest time intervals appeared to provide the best results with the cooling pad under the investigated operating conditions. Keywords: Conduction, Convection, Cooling, Cooling systems, Farrowing, Heat transfer, Swine, Thermal stress.