Flávio Alves Damasceno

Avaliação do bem-estar de frangos de corte em dois galpões comerciais climatizados

The main goal of this study was to evaluate the environmental conditions inside two commercial broiler houses equipped with different cooling systems: wet cellulose pads associated with misting (SRPN) and wet black screen pads associated with misting (SRSN). In the studied broiler houses, located in Itaberai, Goias, Brazil, four thermal variables (temperature, black globe temperature and humidity indices, thermal radiation load and enthalpy), three physiological responses (rectal temperature, skin temperature and respiration frequency), and three productivity performance indexes (weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion) for broiler chickens were evaluated. The results indicate that the evaluated systems were not sufficient to promote thermal comfort conditions for the birds and in general, no significant statistical difference was noticed between the performances of the birds raised in the two broiler houses. The mortality rate in the SRSN system was 15% higher than in the SRPN system, however, both are lower than those suggested for the birds under study.

Development and validation of a model to compute the surface area of broiler chickens

Surface area (As) of poultry is an important input parameter in heat and mass transfer calculation; thus, it was aimed with the present work to develop and to validate an empirical model to estimate the broiler chickens surface area. Eighty four Ross broiler chickens were used in this research, thirty seven male and forty seven female, with body masses during all growth phase. In the laboratory, each randomly selected chicken had its dimensions (length, width and height) and body mass evaluated. The chicken skin with feathers was taken off to determine As. Portion of the data was used to fit the equation to estimate the surface area and another portion was used to validate it. Results showed that the empirical equation to determine As was statically significant (P 0.05).

Mapping of potential use of evaporative cooling systems in Southeastern Brazil

In present research the potential use of evaporative cooling systems (ECS) associated to tunnel ventilation system (TVS) for broiler reared in Southeastern Brazil was studied. Four configuration systems were tested: (a) TVS, (b) TVS associated to a pad cooling system with 40% efficiency (TVSPAD40), (c) TVS associated to a pad cooling system with 70% efficiency (TVSPAD70) and (d) TVSPAD70 associated to a misting system (TVSPAD70+MIST). Thermal environment was characterized by temperature-humidity index, and the chicken performance was estimated by daily feed intake, daily weight gain and feed conversion. Climatic data from 1980 to 2001, released through Reanalysis-2 Project from NCEP/NCAR were used in this research. The benefitial effect of the use of ECS with TVSPAD70+MIST for providing better production condition was verified, especially during September and October for almost all the southeastern region, mainly in northern and northwestern part of the Minas Gerais State.

DIGITAL SURFACE AREA ASSESSMENT OF BROILER CHICKENS

Surface area (SA) of poultry is an important parameter for heat and mass transfer calculations. Optical approaches, such as the moire technique (MT), are non-destructive, result in accuracy and speed gains, and preserve the object integrity. The objective of this research was to develop and validate a new protocol for estimating the surface area (SA) of broiler chickens based on the MT. Sixty-six Ross breed broiler chickens (twenty-seven male, thirty-nine female, ages spanning all growth phases) were used in this study. The dimensions (length, width and height) and body mass of randomly selected broiler chickens were evaluated in the laboratory. Chickens were illuminated by a light source, and grids were projected onto the chickens to allow their shape to be determined and recorded. Next, the skin and feathers of the chickens were removed to allow SA to be determined by conventional means. These measurements were then used for calibration and validation. The MT for image analysis was a reliable means of evaluating the three-dimensional shape and SA of broiler chickens. This technique, which is neither invasive nor destructive, is a good alternative to the conventional destructive methods.

3D-CFD modeling of a typical uninsulated and internal misting tunnel ventilated Brazilian poultry house

In order to control the thermal environment inside the poultry building and minimize heat stress during the warmest seasons and hottest hours of the day, nearly the entire modern poultry industry around the world (both tropical and temperate climates) is using negative pressure tunnel ventilation with evaporative cooling system, provided by internal misting and/or a cellulosic cooling pad. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling has been used in some studies to evaluate the thermal environment in insulated poultry houses located in temperate climates (Blanes et al. 2008; Norton et al. 2007; Norton et al. 2009). However, there is no information on the use of CFD in uninsulated poultry housing such as those encountered in tropical climates like that of Brazil. The aim of this study was to develop and use a CFD model to analyze the distribution of the air temperature and velocity inside a typical uninsulated commercial Brazilian poultry housing equipped with negative pressure ventilation and an evaporative cooling pad system. The distribution of air velocity and temperature inside the facility showed good statistical correlation with the experimental data. Therefore the CFD model can be used to predict real time thermal environment behavior.

Use of CFD modeling for determination of ammonia emission in non-insulated poultry houses with natural ventilation

The understanding of distribution of gases such as ammonia (NH3) in agricultural installations is of growing importance due to its effect on health and productivity of animals and workers. There are methodologies available for determination of NH3 emissions in poultry houses by continuous monitoring like the portable monitoring unit (PMU) and mobile air emissions monitoring unit (MAEMU) methods, tracer gas ratio method and Model-based approach of mass balance. However all methods require long experimentation periods. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is a powerful and efficient tool which allows for prediction of this distribution of gases in real time, which allows for a reduction of the number of experiments. Based on these facts, the aim of this study was to use CFD to develop and validate a model to determine NH3 emissions in a non-insulated broiler house installation with natural ventilation, typical to subtropical and tropical countries. It was found that the proposed model showed a good statistical correlation with the experimental data that were based in the methodologies used by Wheeler et al. (2006) and Osorio (2011). Therefore this CFD model could be used to predict behavior of NH3 emissions in real time generated by poultry facilities.

Climate Change Influence on Inside Thermal Environment of Broiler Houses

Climate change may substantially affect animal production. General circulation models (GCM’s) have shown the trend of increasing air temperature in several parts of South America. Therefore, the goal of this work was to evaluate the influence of climate change on the inside thermal environment of broiler housings through simulation. In this study, mean air temperatures (tmean) and air relative humidity (RH) acquired in Lavras – MG - Brazil, from 1975 to 2005, totaling 30 years were used. The air velocity used to simulation inside the broiler houses was 2.0 m/s. These data were used as input in a mathematical model to predict the black-globe humidity index (BGHI) inside of poultry housings. Simulated results suggest the need of changing ventilation and cooling strategies and increase of structure thermal resistance to minimize the weather effects on the thermal environment inside of broiler housing.

Determination of Surface Area of Broiler Chickens Using Moiré Technique

Surface area (SA) of poultry is an important parameter for heat and mass transfer calculation. Determination using methodologies that are not destructive, such as the moire technique (MT), allows automation of surface area determination, resulting in accuracy and speed gains, besides maintenance of the object’s integrity. The objective of this research was to develop and validate an image analysis method for estimating the surface area of broiler chickens. Eighty-four Ross breed broiler chickens, with ages covering all growth phases, were used in this study, of which 37 were males and 47 were females. Dimensions (length, width and height) and body mass of each broiler randomly selected were evaluated in the laboratory. Chickens were illuminated by a light source, in way that fringes were projected, captured and processed for obtaining objects shape by MT. Following this assessment, feathers of chickens were removed for SA determination by conventional method, which was used as the reference for MT calibration and validation. Part of the test results was used to calibrate MT, and part was used to validate it. MT and image analysis were appropriate for evaluating the three-dimensional shape of broiler chickens and SA prediction shows promise as a technique that is neither invasive nor destructive.