Investigation of the Thermal Regime of a Cultivation Structure Following an Emergency Shutdown of the Heating System

Abstract

Maintaining favorable microclimatic conditions in cultivation facilities is directly linked to the stable operation of the heating system. An emergency shutdown of the heating system in a cultivation facility, especially during the winter, can lead to the death of the plants being grown. Thus, the issue of predicting the thermal regime of the cultivation facility following a cessation of heat supply is practically significant. Research object: cultivation facilities intended for year-round plant growth. Research subject: the patterns of temperature changes in the internal air (both in dimensional and dimensionless forms), the rate of temperature decline, and the loss of thermal energy during an emergency heating system shutdown. Research objective: to predict the thermal regime of the cultivation facility after an emergency shutdown of the heating system. Research methods: classical theory of thermal stability of building envelope structures; the theory of regular thermal regime, according to which the temperature field in all points of the cooling body (in this case, the heating system) changes uniformly, following an exponential law; computational software simulations. Research results: in an industrial greenhouse, the internal air temperature will reach the critical mark of 8 ℃ within 36 minutes after an emergency shutdown of the heating system and will reach zero degrees after 1 hour and 9 minutes. Based on the conducted scientific research, it can be concluded that the cooling of the heating system in an industrial greenhouse occurs quite rapidly, as the heating elements have a high cooling rate. The structural design of the enclosure does not allow for the accumulation of thermal energy. Therefore, heating systems in cultivation facilities intended for year-round plant growth must meet stringent reliability requirements.