An Air Convection Wall with a Hollow Structure in Chinese Solar Greenhouses: Thermal Performance and Effects on Microclimate
A Chinese solar greenhouse (CSG) is a horticultural facility that uses solar energy to promote a growth environment for crops and provides high-efficiency thermal storage performance to meet the demand of vegetables’ growth in winter. Besides being an important load-bearing structure in CSGs, the no...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-02-01
|
| Series: | Agronomy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/2/520 |
| _version_ | 1827657788209233920 |
|---|---|
| author | Yunfei Zhuang Shumei Zhao Jieyu Cheng Pingzhi Wang Na Lu Chengwei Ma Wenxin Xing Kexin Zheng |
| author_facet | Yunfei Zhuang Shumei Zhao Jieyu Cheng Pingzhi Wang Na Lu Chengwei Ma Wenxin Xing Kexin Zheng |
| author_sort | Yunfei Zhuang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A Chinese solar greenhouse (CSG) is a horticultural facility that uses solar energy to promote a growth environment for crops and provides high-efficiency thermal storage performance to meet the demand of vegetables’ growth in winter. Besides being an important load-bearing structure in CSGs, the north wall is a heat sink, storing during the day in order to act as a heat source during the night. At times, the night temperature is lower than the minimum growth temperature requirement of vegetables, and the additional heating is needed. Therefore, optimizing the heat storage and release performance of the north wall in a CSG is an important approach for improving growth environment and reducing consumption of fossil fuel. This study proposes a heat storage north wall with a hollow layer on the basis of air convection, aiming to optimize the utilization of solar energy in CSGs. By the air convection effects, the hollow layer collects and stores surplus solar energy in the air during the day and transfers it to the cultivation space for heating at night. Additionally, field tests were conducted to compare the natural and forced convection strategies via airflow and heat transfer efficiency. The final effect on the indoor temperature ensured that the lowest temperatures at night were above 5 °C under both the natural and forced convection strategies during the winter in the Beijing suburbs where the average minimum temperature is below −10.8 °C during the experimental period. The hollow structure improves the utilization efficiency of solar energy in CSGs and ensures winter production efficiency in northern China. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:49:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f47fb8a7272d4f118f3359bb88613397 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:49:54Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-f47fb8a7272d4f118f3359bb886133972023-11-23T18:23:27ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952022-02-0112252010.3390/agronomy12020520An Air Convection Wall with a Hollow Structure in Chinese Solar Greenhouses: Thermal Performance and Effects on MicroclimateYunfei Zhuang0Shumei Zhao1Jieyu Cheng2Pingzhi Wang3Na Lu4Chengwei Ma5Wenxin Xing6Kexin Zheng7Key Laboratory of Agricultural Engineering in Structure and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Water Resources and Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Engineering in Structure and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Water Resources and Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Engineering in Structure and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Water Resources and Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Engineering in Structure and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Water Resources and Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, ChinaCenter for Environment, Health and Field Sciences, Chiba University, Kashiwa 277-0882, JapanKey Laboratory of Agricultural Engineering in Structure and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Water Resources and Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, ChinaBeijing Zhongnong Futong Horticulture Co., Ltd., Beijing 100083, ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Engineering in Structure and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Water Resources and Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, ChinaA Chinese solar greenhouse (CSG) is a horticultural facility that uses solar energy to promote a growth environment for crops and provides high-efficiency thermal storage performance to meet the demand of vegetables’ growth in winter. Besides being an important load-bearing structure in CSGs, the north wall is a heat sink, storing during the day in order to act as a heat source during the night. At times, the night temperature is lower than the minimum growth temperature requirement of vegetables, and the additional heating is needed. Therefore, optimizing the heat storage and release performance of the north wall in a CSG is an important approach for improving growth environment and reducing consumption of fossil fuel. This study proposes a heat storage north wall with a hollow layer on the basis of air convection, aiming to optimize the utilization of solar energy in CSGs. By the air convection effects, the hollow layer collects and stores surplus solar energy in the air during the day and transfers it to the cultivation space for heating at night. Additionally, field tests were conducted to compare the natural and forced convection strategies via airflow and heat transfer efficiency. The final effect on the indoor temperature ensured that the lowest temperatures at night were above 5 °C under both the natural and forced convection strategies during the winter in the Beijing suburbs where the average minimum temperature is below −10.8 °C during the experimental period. The hollow structure improves the utilization efficiency of solar energy in CSGs and ensures winter production efficiency in northern China.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/2/520Chinese solar greenhouselow temperature heatingpassive heat-storage wallthermal performancemicroclimate |
| spellingShingle | Yunfei Zhuang Shumei Zhao Jieyu Cheng Pingzhi Wang Na Lu Chengwei Ma Wenxin Xing Kexin Zheng An Air Convection Wall with a Hollow Structure in Chinese Solar Greenhouses: Thermal Performance and Effects on Microclimate Agronomy Chinese solar greenhouse low temperature heating passive heat-storage wall thermal performance microclimate |
| title | An Air Convection Wall with a Hollow Structure in Chinese Solar Greenhouses: Thermal Performance and Effects on Microclimate |
| title_full | An Air Convection Wall with a Hollow Structure in Chinese Solar Greenhouses: Thermal Performance and Effects on Microclimate |
| title_fullStr | An Air Convection Wall with a Hollow Structure in Chinese Solar Greenhouses: Thermal Performance and Effects on Microclimate |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Air Convection Wall with a Hollow Structure in Chinese Solar Greenhouses: Thermal Performance and Effects on Microclimate |
| title_short | An Air Convection Wall with a Hollow Structure in Chinese Solar Greenhouses: Thermal Performance and Effects on Microclimate |
| title_sort | air convection wall with a hollow structure in chinese solar greenhouses thermal performance and effects on microclimate |
| topic | Chinese solar greenhouse low temperature heating passive heat-storage wall thermal performance microclimate |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/2/520 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yunfeizhuang anairconvectionwallwithahollowstructureinchinesesolargreenhousesthermalperformanceandeffectsonmicroclimate AT shumeizhao anairconvectionwallwithahollowstructureinchinesesolargreenhousesthermalperformanceandeffectsonmicroclimate AT jieyucheng anairconvectionwallwithahollowstructureinchinesesolargreenhousesthermalperformanceandeffectsonmicroclimate AT pingzhiwang anairconvectionwallwithahollowstructureinchinesesolargreenhousesthermalperformanceandeffectsonmicroclimate AT nalu anairconvectionwallwithahollowstructureinchinesesolargreenhousesthermalperformanceandeffectsonmicroclimate AT chengweima anairconvectionwallwithahollowstructureinchinesesolargreenhousesthermalperformanceandeffectsonmicroclimate AT wenxinxing anairconvectionwallwithahollowstructureinchinesesolargreenhousesthermalperformanceandeffectsonmicroclimate AT kexinzheng anairconvectionwallwithahollowstructureinchinesesolargreenhousesthermalperformanceandeffectsonmicroclimate AT yunfeizhuang airconvectionwallwithahollowstructureinchinesesolargreenhousesthermalperformanceandeffectsonmicroclimate AT shumeizhao airconvectionwallwithahollowstructureinchinesesolargreenhousesthermalperformanceandeffectsonmicroclimate AT jieyucheng airconvectionwallwithahollowstructureinchinesesolargreenhousesthermalperformanceandeffectsonmicroclimate AT pingzhiwang airconvectionwallwithahollowstructureinchinesesolargreenhousesthermalperformanceandeffectsonmicroclimate AT nalu airconvectionwallwithahollowstructureinchinesesolargreenhousesthermalperformanceandeffectsonmicroclimate AT chengweima airconvectionwallwithahollowstructureinchinesesolargreenhousesthermalperformanceandeffectsonmicroclimate AT wenxinxing airconvectionwallwithahollowstructureinchinesesolargreenhousesthermalperformanceandeffectsonmicroclimate AT kexinzheng airconvectionwallwithahollowstructureinchinesesolargreenhousesthermalperformanceandeffectsonmicroclimate |