The effect of bench arrangements on the natural ventilation of a multispan greenhouse

In this paper, the influence of various bench arrangements on the microclimate inside a two-span greenhouse is numerically investigated using three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models. Longitudinal and peninsular arrangements are investigated for both leeward and windward opened roof ventilators. The velocity and temperature distributions at plant level (1m) were of particular interest. The research in this paper is an extension of twodimensional work conducted previously [1]. Results indicate that bench layouts inside the greenhouse have a significant effect on the microclimate at plant level. It was found that vent opening direction (leeward or windward) influences the velocity and temperature distributions at plant level noticeably. Results also indicated that in general, the leeward facing greenhouses containing either type of bench arrangement exhibit a lower velocity distribution at plant level compared to windward facing greenhouses. The latter type of greenhouses has regions with relatively high velocities at plant level which could cause some concern. The scalar plots indicate that more stagnant areas of low velocity appear for the leeward facing greenhouses. The windward facing greenhouses also display more heterogeneity at plant level as far as temperature is concerned.