Numerical study and optimization of thermal environment regulation in poultry house ventilation systems

In response to the challenges of regulating the thermal environment and the high risk of biological aerosol transmission in closed-scale poultry farming systems, this study focuses on ventilation optimization in poultry houses based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD). First, a comparative numerical simulation was conducted to analyze the airflow characteristics under different fan combination operation modes. The study systematically evaluated the effects of various fan combination schemes on the airflow distribution and biological aerosol diffusion behavior inside the poultry house. Based on these findings, an experimental design was established with fan efficiency, guide vane angle, and inlet temperature as the experimental factors, and the proportion of the thermal comfort zone as the response indicator. A three-factor, three-level response surface simulation experiment was conducted to assess the ventilation process in the poultry house. Subsequently, significance testing and regression equations were established to optimize the parameters. The experimental results indicate that the optimal operational parameters for the ventilation system are: fan efficiency (93%), guide vane angle (9.85°), and inlet temperature (19.09°C), resulting in a maximum thermal comfort zone proportion of 90.59%. Five validation experiments yielded an average thermal comfort zone proportion of 89.02%, with an error of 1.73% compared to the predicted value. The research reveals the impact of fan combination modes on airflow paths in intensive poultry houses and provides a multi-parameter optimization method for environmental regulation. These findings offer theoretical support and technical references for the optimization of environmental control systems in poultry farms.