Parametric Analysis of Cooling of Air Inside a Ventilated Enclosure - A Convenient Solution to Achieve Single Room Multiple Thermal Zones for Indoor Farming

Abstract

This paper explores the potential of a cylindrical enclosure with vent holes to create and maintain the desired thermal environment for indoor farming. Different thermal zones can be made in a single room when such enclosures are used in multiple numbers in a single room. A comparative analysis of twelve different air cooling/heating configurations was conducted. Each cylindrical enclosure is air-filled, with two heat sinks facing each other and vent holes in the top and bottom surfaces. Six configurations had heat sinks oriented vertically, and the other six had heat sinks inclined at 45°. These configurations (vertical and inclined heat sinks) have been studied for different heat sink temperatures and sidewall heat flux conditions. The numerical simulations were conducted using ANSYS-Fluent. The studies have shown that different thermal environments can be created inside the enclosure, and cooling can be achieved with sufficient air exchange through vent holes. The instabilities due to buoyancy-driven flow are found to be necessary for air exchange through vent holes. Validation studies have shown that the heat flux from the sidewall should be considered, even if it is an excellent thermal insulator.

Keywords

• thermal zone
• heat sink
• ventilated enclosure
• cfd analysis
• air exchange