Low Cost, Dust Resistant Poultry House Heat Exchanger

This Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) Phase I project by Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) will develop a low cost, dust resistant poultry house heat exchanger to recover heat lost during winter ventillation. The innovative inflatable design will increase the heat exchanger tolerance to dust accumulation and will allow for the use of low cost, lightweight materials. By effectively addressing both cost and dust fouling concerns, this device will be accessible to American poultry farmers and its use will help farmers adapt to changing farming practices. Heat recovery provided by this unit will promote increases in house ventilation by reducing overall heating costs. Evidence suggests that increases in fresh air ventilation will promote animal welfare, improve product quality, and increase farm productivity. To develop this heat exchanger, ACT will work with Dr. Fabian at Pennsylvania State University to decide cost and performance targets as well as future integration strategies. A heat transfer and flow model will be developed and used to predict product performance and to design subscale prototypes. An apparatus will be constructed to recreate the dusty, humid poultry house air. This test apparatus will be used to test heat exchanger materials and subscale prototypes. Resulting dust accumulation and heat transfer efficiency from experimentation will be used to update the model. Finally, a performance and cost analysis will be conducted to determine the direction of further development and future implementation.