Heat transfer efficiency as the determinant of the water mattress design: A sustainable cooling solution for the dairy sector

• Published in: Energy (Oxford) Vol. 245; p. 123243
• Main Authors: Błotny, Jagoda, Rosiek, Sabina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 15-04-2022; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Air temperature; Animal husbandry; Bedding; Cattle; Climate change; Conductive cooling; Cooling; Dairy cattle; Dairy industry; Energy modeling; Extreme values; Food production; Heat flow; Heat flux; Heat stress; Heat transfer; Heat transmission; Heat waves; Relative humidity; Sustainable design; Thermodynamic efficiency; Thermoregulation; Water distribution; Water distribution systems; Water engineering; Sustainable design; Energy modeling; Conductive cooling; Heat stress; Heat transfer; Dairy cattle
• DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2022.123243
• EISSN: 1873-6785
• ISSN: 0360-5442

Climate change and the increasing frequency of heat waves are creating unfavorable conditions for breeding dairy cattle. High relative humidity and air temperature hamper thermoregulation processes, limiting their ability to dissipate excessive heat. The main aim of this study is to provide a solution for the dairy sector, which is characterized by a rising global demand and the need to sustainably increase food production by creating a more efficient, cheaper and cleaner future energy system. To fulfill this objective, four new designs for dairy cow water mattresses were proposed, each working with the flow regime to create innovative cooling solutions. Energy and flow modeling was performed using the Ansys Fluent environment. The heat flow potentially transferred from the cows using the proposed models was calculated as being 518, 536, 509 and 715 W/m2, respectively, which represent extremely satisfactory results. The greatest heat flux correlates with the uniform water distribution achieved with a channel structure inside the mattress and the water distribution system. This has been selected as the most preferable design for future development in terms of thermal efficiency, technological potential and the cows’ own welfare.
•We present novel conductive cooling solution for the dairy cattle.•This solution uses dairy cattle's water mattress working with flow regime.•Energy and flow modeling of four different designs was conducted in Ansys Fluent.