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Analysis of temperature distribution in a naturally ventilated single-span greenhouse using computational fluid dynamics
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All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Published: 23 February 2026
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Increasing global temperatures and unpredictable weather threaten agricultural production, intensifying the reliance on greenhouse cultivation. While naturally ventilated greenhouses offer an energy-efficient solution, their thermal performance under high heat loads is a growing concern. This study developed and validated a 3D CFD model to investigate the temperature distribution inside a single-span, naturally ventilated greenhouse. The model, implemented in ANSYS Fluent, considered the influence of external meteorological conditions, including solar radiation and wind, on the internal microclimate. The model demonstrated high accuracy, with an RMSE of 0.847°C and an MAE of 0.714°C for temperature when compared to experimental data. Diurnal analysis confirmed the dominant role of solar radiation, showing a strong correlation between indoor temperature and external solar radiation (r = 0.96) on sunny days. Spatially, the simulation revealed extreme thermal heterogeneity under high solar load, with a total internal temperature variation of up to 25°C (from 296 K to 321 K). The distribution was characterized by a distinct vertical stratification due to buoyancy and a strong longitudinal gradient, with the hottest air accumulating in the upper leeward corner. These findings highlight areas of potential crop heat stress and demonstrate the limitations of side-ventilation alone. The validated model serves as a valuable tool for optimizing ventilation strategies and improving climate control system design.
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CRediT authorship contribution
Oluwasegun Moses Ogundele, conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, writing—original draft, investigation, data curation, software. Sijan Karki, Niraj Tamrakar, investigation, resources, writing—review & editing. Jung-Hoo Kook, Jeong-In Choi, data curation, validation. Sang-Min Kim, Timothy Denen Akpenpuun, investigation, software. Reginald Gbenga Azuatalam, investigation, resources, writing—review & editing. Hyeon Tae Kim, resources, supervision, project administration, funding acquisition, writing—review & editing. All the authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work
Supporting Agencies
Glocal University 30 Project Fund of Gyeongsang National UniversityData Availability Statement
The data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.
How to Cite
“Analysis of temperature distribution in a naturally ventilated single-span greenhouse using computational fluid dynamics” (2026) Journal of Agricultural Engineering [Preprint]. doi:10.4081/jae.2026.1971.
Copyright (c) 2026 the Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
