Agricultural production is one of the main keys to the development of healthy societies. It is anticipated that agricultural systems will increasingly have to contend with temperature, humidity and water stress in the near future. This makes the need to increase the efficiency of land and water use ever more urgent. The control and design of greenhouses allows to increase dramatically the quality of crops and extend the cultivation period year-round. A properly designed autonomous greenhouse based on hydroponics can greatly reduce the amounts of nutrients and energy expended in agricultural production.
This book deals with different types of greenhouses, materials, structures, advanced control techniques and tendencies that are needed for designing and controlling an advanced greenhouse. The control system is presented as an integral system which covers the explanation of basic and advanced concepts for a real time controller. Also, structural analysis is introduced, whereby mechanical design is regarded as a key factor. The book incorporates simulations and experimental results, and utilizes LabVIEW and ADAMS software. Finally, it provides a perspective on the present state and future of greenhouses globally.
Written in a highly accessible manner, this book will prove useful to horticulturalists, agricultural engineers, greenhouse engineers and designers. Its easy-to-absorb contents are also suitable for (under)graduate students and researchers in agricultural and electronic engineering, horticulture, crop cultivation and soft computing.
Table of Contents:
List of figures
List of tables
Preface
How to read this book
1 Introduction
1.1 Greenhouse motivation
1.1.1 The state of North American protected agriculture
2 State of the art: greenhouse and controls
3 Greenhouse fundamentals
3.1 Greenhouse generalities and construction
3.1.1 Site selection
3.1.2 Orientation
3.1.3 Plan layout
3.1.4 Availability of water
3.1.5 Availability of electricity
3.1.6 Structure design
3.1.7 Standards for the construction
3.1.8 Greenhouse costs
4 Greenhouse materials and structures
4.1 Structural materials
4.1.1 Structural conformation
4.2 Cladding materials
4.3 Foundations and floor materials
4.3.1 Connections and clamps
4.3.2 Leaks
4.3.3 Windbreak
4.3.4 Insect screens
4.4 Eco-materials
4.5 Material selection for a greenhouse
4.6 Material properties of a tunnel type greenhouse
4.6.1 Tunnel fixed Zenith ventilation greenhouses
4.6.2 Simulation in the Inventor® program
4.6.3 Characteristics of the loads that are applied to the structure
4.6.4 CFD simulator by Inventor®
4.7 Greenhouse construction standards
4.7.1 Materials used in the structures
4.7.2 Norms of materials
4.7.3 Activities for greenhouse construction
4.8 Structures and environmental control
5 Greenhouse automation and control
5.1 Real time control system and greenhouses
5.2 Advanced control systems for portable greenhouses
5.2.1 Basic portable greenhouse description
5.2.2 Advanced control systems
5.3 Control implementation
5.3.1 Portable greenhouse results
5.4 Constituents of controlled environment for conventional greenhouses
5.5 Sensors for greenhouse monitoring
5.6 Automation systems
5.7 Advanced protected systems – hydroponics
5.7.1 Nutrient film technique
5.8 Greenhouse modeling and control
5.8.1 Greenhouse models
5.9 Types of controls
5.9.1 Control techniques theory
5.9.2 Bang-bang or on/off control
5.9.3 PID control
5.9.4 Feedback/feed-forward linearization
5.9.5 Sliding modes
5.9.5.1 Fuzzy logic control
5.9.6 Adaptive neural fuzzy inference system – ANFIS
5.9.7 Green tech control and supervisor
6 Basic greenhouse control design and implementation
6.1 Mechanical systems
6.1.1 Structure and materials selection
6.1.2 Ventilation systems
6.1.3 Shading system
6.1.4 Water fogging system
6.1.5 Irrigation system
6.1.6 Sensors
6.2 Electrical and electronic system
6.3 Control system for greenhouses
6.3.1 Intelligent control system development
6.3.2 LabVIEW™ controllers programming
6.3.3 Intelligent controllers simulation
6.3.4 Graphical user interface (GUI) and functions
6.4 Control results
6.4.1 Intelligent controllers simulation results
6.4.2 PID-type controller simulation results
6.4.3 On/off controllers experimental results
6.4.4 Intelligent controllers experimental results
6.4.5 Analysis of control systems
7 Automatic greenhouse operation
7.1 Field versus greenhouse grown fruit
7.2 Plant forms
7.3 Photosynthetic characteristics
7.4 Temperature requirements
7.5 Carbon dioxide
7.6 Light quality and intensity
7.7 Water requirement
7.8 Factors affecting greenhouse production
7.9 Greenhouse structures
7.10 Pest management
7.11 Culture systems
7.12 Plant nutrition
7.13 General greenhouse reference conditions
References
Subject index
