Research of thermal and hydrodynamic flows of heat exchangers for different air cooling systems in poultry houses

Abstract

Increasing the productivity of poultry farms is connected with the need to create an optimal regulated microclimate in poultry houses. This problem becomes of primary importance due to the decrease in the productivity of poultry farming due to the imperfection of the existing systems. The purpose of the study was the development and numerical modeling of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger of a new design for cooling supply air as an element of the air conditioning system used in ventilation systems of various types in the summer period. Two types of ventilation systems are considered, namely tunnel and lateral. For these ventilation systems, heat exchangers designed to cool incoming air in the summer season have been developed. A total of 80 automatic inlet valves measuring 0.3 × 0.85 m were arranged in the side walls. In addition, evaporative cooling systems 5.3 × 1.1 m were located on the front end walls. When considering these two separate systems, the heat exchangers were installed instead of the evaporative cooling system and automatic supply valves. The processes of heat and mass transfer in developed heat exchangers for various types of ventilation systems were investigated. Numerical modeling of hydrodynamics and heat transfer was carried out, as well as analysis of the operation of heat exchangers of two different designs for tunnel and side ventilation systems. Velocity, temperature, and pressure fields in the studied channels were obtained. The conditions of the hydrodynamic flow in the channels of the heat exchangers were analyzed. In the case of the tunnel ventilation system, the pressure drop is 991 Pa, which is 3.3 times less compared to the side ventilation system. The outlet temperature is +23 ℃, which meets the design requirements. The main disadvantage is the financial costs for the purchase, cutting of pipes and, actually, their welding. Both the tunnel and side ventilation systems are quite effective. In order to ensure standardized conditions of the air environment in the poultry house, taking into account all aspects of technical and economic analysis, it is proposed to choose a heat exchanger for the tunnel ventilation system. In practice, such heat exchange devices can be used not only in microclimate systems of poultry houses, but also in the industrial, energy industry and critical infrastructure facilities