Study of Air Movement and Temperature Distribution in a Greenhouse Used as a Dryer

• Main Authors: TIGAMPO Soumaïla, SAMBOU Vincent, DIEYE Younouss, TOURE Pape Moussa, BODIAN Séckou
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: EDP Sciences 2020-01-01
• Series: MATEC Web of Conferences
• Online Access: https://www.matec-conferences.org/articles/matecconf/pdf/2020/26/matecconf_icome2019_01046.pdf

Sun-drying is the oldest way to preserve, store and also to enhance the value of our agricultural production. Nowadays, several types of dryers have been developed but the greenhouse is an ideal solution for drying in our tropical countries because the sun is abundant. But the control of the greenhouse climate depends on several factors, namely the external climatic conditions but also the type of materials used in the greenhouse. The study was carried out in a greenhouse, tested under the climatic conditions of Dakar. It is in this context of sustainable development that this work, whose objective is to contribute to the improvement of drying conditions for agricultural products, is carried out and to achieve this, the distribution of temperatures and speeds in the greenhouse must be determined. For the three-dimensional CFD simulation, we added a discrete radiation model to solve the radiation transfer equation and the Solar Load Model which gives the position of the sun and its radiation. The simulated air temperatures give an average of 52.8°C with average air velocities that are around 0.114 m/s in the closed greenhouse and the results found can be used to improve the design and control of the greenhouse climate.