CFD Analysis of Solar Greenhouse Thermal and Humidity Environment Considering Soil–Crop–Back Wall Interactions

Abstract

In the study of solar greenhouses, microclimate, soil, and back walls have an important influence on the greenhouse thermal environment because of their good heat storage and release characteristics. The transpiration of crops makes indoor humidity increase sharply, which is the main factor affecting indoor humidity distribution. Therefore, it is of great significance to grasp the microclimate change law of solar greenhouses and study the coupling effect of thermal and humidity environment. In this paper, based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD), a three-dimensional model of the thermal and humidity environment of a solar greenhouse is established, and the indoor temperature and humidity distribution under the influence of soil, crops, and back walls are considered. The CFD model initialization uses binary fitting functions to fit the temperature distribution of soil, back wall, and air. The distribution law of the temperature field and relative humidity field of the solar greenhouse under three different working conditions is simulated, that is, the insulation is uncovered and the ventilation window is closed during the day (G1), the insulation is uncovered and the ventilation window is opened during the day (G2), and the insulation is put down and the ventilation window is closed at night. (G3). The results show that the simulation results are in good agreement with the actual results under the three working conditions, and this paper can provide a reference for the improvement of the greenhouse structure and environmental regulation.