Click on “Download PDF” for the PDF version or on the title for the HTML version.

If you are not an ASABE member or if your employer has not arranged for access to the full-text, Click here for options.

Abstract. Slatted floor is one of the most popular floor types for growing/finishing pigs. Most gaseous contaminants come from the slurry pit under slatted floor in a pig house. The release and dispersion of ammonia and odor are affected by the airflow characteristics inside the pit headspace. Optimization of pig housing design, especially the structure of pit, may reduce the emissions. The application of partition curtains in the slurry pit was thus proposed for the optimization. This study utilized CFD approach to investigate how different layouts of partition curtains in the pit influence the airflow and gas dispersion inside the pig unit. Three arrangements of pit partition curtains were investigated under isothermal conditions. The simulations were partly validated by experiments in a two-dimensional ventilation chamber. The results showed that the airflow patterns, air velocities, turbulence intensities and gaseous dispersions in the pit headspace were influenced by the layout of partition curtains. Curtains in the pit headspace had little impacts on airflow characteristics above the slatted floor. The curtains obstructing air movement in slurry pits may result in the higher ammonia concentration in the room exhaust air and lower ammonia concentration in the pit exhaust air.