Contribution to the Sustainability of Agricultural Production in Greenhouses Built on Slope Soils: A Numerical Study of the Microclimatic Behavior of a Typical Colombian Structure

Abstract

The use of covered structures is an alternative increasingly used by farmers to increase crop yields per unit area compared to open field production. In Latin American countries such as Colombia, productive areas are located in with predominantly hillside soil conditions. In the last two decades, farmers have introduced cover structures adapted to these soil conditions, structures for which the behavior of factors that directly affect plant growth and development, such as microclimate, are still unknown. Therefore, in this research work, a CFD-3D model successfully validated with experimental data of temperature and air velocity was implemented. The numerical model was used to determine the behavior of air flow patterns and temperature distribution inside a Colombian passive greenhouse during daytime hours. The results showed that the slope of the terrain affects the behavior of the air flow patterns, generating thermal gradients inside the greenhouse with values between 1.26 and 16.93 °C for the hours evaluated. It was also found that the highest indoor temperature values at the same time were located in the highest region of the terrain. Based on the results of this study, future researches on how to optimize the microclimatic conditions of this type of sustainable productive system can be carried out.