CFD Analysis to Optimize Air Quality in Aeroponic Tower Garden

Aeroponic tower gardens represent an innovative approach to urban agriculture, utilizing vertical structures to cultivate plants without soil. Research highlights the efficiency of this method in optimizing resource usage, such as water and space, compared to traditional farming. Studies emphasize increased crop yields, faster growth rates, and reduced environmental impact. Additionally, aeroponic systems enable precise nutrient delivery to plants, fostering optimal growth conditions. While the technology shows promise, further investigations are needed to address potential challenges and optimize its application in diverse agricultural settings. The study presents the simulation of air temperature and humidity distribution in a closed chamber of the vertical farm for optimization purposes. The environmental conditions inside the chamber are optimized for plant growth, to maintain the temperature at a range of 18-24 °C temperature and the relative humidity at a range of 75-85 %. The paper also discusses the challenges, limitations, and future recommendations for improving the system. Simulation of the system, on the other hand, is crucial not only for prototype fabrication but also for the optimization of sensor locations. The simulation of the tower garden system was performed using ANSYS-FLUENT to portray how the airflow inside the tower garden's enclosed environment was distributed. The system parameters such as humidity and temperature were set to meet the plants' growth requirements, and the system was treated as the steady state with an adiabatic boundary. Based on the simulation results, the best design recommended is to use two humidity and temperature sensors, one at the top and the other at the core of the prototype. Hence, a complete mapping of temperature and humidity distribution that is critical for plant growth would be occurred.