Search Results (5)

In the plant factories using stereoscopic cultivation systems, the cultivation plate transport equipment is an essential component of production. However, there are problems, such as high labor intensity, low levels of automation, and poor versatility of existing solutions, that can affect the efficiency of cultivation plate transport processes. To address these issues, this study designed a cultivation plate transport system that can automatically input and output cultivation plates, and can flexibly adjust its structure to accommodate different cultivation frame heights. We elucidated the working principles of the transport system and carried out structural design and parameter calculation for the lift cart, input actuator, and output actuator. In the input process, we used dynamic simulation technology to obtain an optimum propulsion speed of 0.3 m·s⁻¹. In the output process, we used finite element numerical simulation technology to verify that the deformation of the cultivation plate and the maximum stress suffered by it could meet the operational requirements. Finally, operation and performance experiments showed that, under the condition of satisfying the allowable amount of positioning error in the horizontal and vertical directions, the horizontal operation speed was 0.2 m·s⁻¹, the maximum positioning error was 2.87 mm, the vertical operation speed was 0.3 m·s⁻¹, and the maximum positioning error was 1.34 mm. Accordingly, the success rate of the transport system was 92.5–96.0%, and the operational efficiency was 176–317 plates/h. These results proved that the transport system could meet the operational requirements and provide feasible solutions for the automation of plant factory transport equipment. Full article

Vertical farming (VF) is an emerging cultivation frame that maximizes total plant production. However, the high energy-consuming artificial light sources for plants growing in the lower and middle layers significantly affect the sustainability of the current VF systems. To address the challenges of supplementary lighting energy consumption, this study explored and optimized the structural design of cultivation frames in VF using parametric modeling, a light simulation platform, and a genetic algorithm. The optimal structure was stereoscopic, including four groups of cultivation trough units in the lower layer, two groups in the middle layer, and one group in the upper layer, with a layer height of 685 mm and a spacing of 350 mm between the cultivation trough units. A field experiment demonstrated lettuce in the middle and lower layers yielded 82.9% to 92.6% in the upper layer. The proposed natural light stereoscopic cultivation frame (NLSCF) for VF was demonstrated to be feasible through simulations and on-site lettuce cultivation experiments without supplementary lighting. These findings confirmed that the NLSCF could effectively reduce the energy consumption of supplemental lighting with the ensure of lettuce’s regular growth. Moreover, the designing processes of the cultivation frame may elucidate further research on the enhancement of the sustainability and efficiency of VF systems. Full article

Increasing planting density is an important ways to increase maize yield. A hot topic of conversation in the current research is how to improve crop light efficiency and yield potential by optimizing the cultivation mode under high density planting is a hot topic in current research. Thus, in this study, a field experiment was conducted to explore the effects of stereo-planting patterns on water and the utilization light resource and maize yields. Planting patterns included the conventional flat planting pattern (as the control, CK) and the stereo-planting in ridge and furrow (T). Each planting pattern had three planting densities, i.e., 60,000 plants ha⁻¹ (D1), 75,000 plants ha⁻¹ (D2) and 90,000 plants ha⁻¹ (D3). The results showed that stereo-planting affected the physiological characteristics of plants by changing the spatial distribution of soil moisture. At the silking stage (R1), photosynthetic rate (P_n) of plants on the ridge was similar to CK, and transpiration rate (T_r) was significantly lower than that of CK. P_n of maize in the furrow was significantly higher than that of CK, and T_r was similar to CK. Stereoscopic planting had different effects on intraspecific competition intensity in maize population in different growing stages. In the six-leaf stage (V6), stereo-planting increased competition intensity of maize on the ridge, but lowered that of maize in the furrow by affecting the spatial distribution of soil moisture. During the R1 stage, stereo-planting increased the light transmittance rate within the canopy and eased the plant’s competition for light by reducing plant height and leaf area of maize under three density conditions. Stereo-planting had no effect on grain yield and dry matter accumulation of ridge-planted maize in the later growing stage, but it did increased the dry matter accumulation and grain yield of furrow-planted maize due to the improvement of the light environment and photosynthetic characteristics of the population. In two test years, stereo-planting increased 5.0–11.0% average yield of maize compared to CK under three density conditions. These results indicate that stereo-planting can reduce the plant’s competition for light and water resources and improve its physiological traits of plant by optimizing its spatial distribution of soil moisture and canopy structure, thus further increasing grain yield of maize under high-density planting conditions. Full article

Based on the preliminary study of the distribution of wind and light resources in the Zhongshan Station of Antarctica, and the conclusion that the scenery and resources of the station area are sufficient and complementary, this paper proposes to adapt to the power supply problem of the aeroponic, stereoscopic cultivation device in the Controlled Micro-environment applied to the polar regions. The overall architecture of the power supply system is designed. Based on the STC8A8K64S4A12 single-chip microcomputer, the hardware circuit and software program of the wind and solar hybrid power supply system controller are also designed. Finally, the debugging experiment is carried out. Full article

The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) represents Indonesian major agriculture crop, nevertheless, its cultivation and processing results in an excessive amount of waste biomass, namely, empty fruit bunches (EFB), which is not always properly processed or reused. Therefore, the present investigation was performed to attract wide public interest in proper waste management and reuse of waste biomass. The suitability of such waste biomass for bio-pellet fuel production within its ecological EFB reuse was the subject of investigation. Its fuel parameters, mechanical quality and microscopic analysis represented the set of experimental testing performed within the target purpose. Satisfactory result values were stated within oil palm EFB fuel parameters, namely, moisture content M_c—7.07%, ash content A_c—9.41% and energy potential NCV—15.06 MJ∙kg⁻¹. Mechanical analysis of the produced bio-pellet fuel proved outstanding results: Volume density ρ—1440.01 kg∙m⁻³ and mechanical durability DU—97.4% and 99.4% (according to ÖNORM M 7135 (2003) and ISO 17831-1 (2015)). Furthermore, results of compressive strength σ proved the requested high level; in simple pressure σ_p—10.83 MPa and in cleft σ_c—60.46 N·mm⁻¹. Stereoscopic microscope measurements proved a prevalent proportion of fiber >97% within the feedstock content, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of bio-pellet samples diagnosed cracks purely on the outer surface, not within their internal structures, which indicated high quality compacted products. In conclusion, the overall evaluation indicates the production of environmental-friendly high quality bio-pellet fuel, thus, proving the suitability of oil palm EFB for the production of bio-pellet fuel. Full article