Microenvironmental simulation of sow shelter in maternity phase through Fluid Computer Dynamic tool (CFD) aiming animal welfare

• Grant number: 15/16181-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): November 01, 2015
• Effective date (End): December 01, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry
• Principal Investigator: Silvia Regina Lucas de Souza
• Grantee: Beatriz Kenickel Nunes
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas (FCA). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 17/07131-4 - Use of the dynamic tool of computational fluid (CFD) in swine maternities of the region of Évora for the welfare, BE.EP.IC

Abstract

Swine maternity facilities require a control over environmental conditions more complex than other installations. Studies have shown that the thermal performance of facilities commonly used by producers has presented an environmental discomfort picture in the maternity phase due to constructive adjustments made in order to meet needs of both piglets and sow. Thus, the goal is to use a specific simulator for mapping the microclimate of that facility, aimed at improving the thermal comfort and animal welfare. The project will be conducted in Lageado Experimental Farm's own facilities and commercial facilities in Botucatu region to validate the experiment. It will be used the CFD software from Autodesk, which cansimulate conditions of control and security for humans, and will be adapted for swine accommodations. CFD capabilities (Computational Fluid Dynamics) allows forecast diverse situations for a same problem , changing parameters, verifying results for different conditions in the surroundings and analyzing the accommodations with precision to mitigate the problems.