An Advanced Conductive Cooling Design to Relieve Heat Stress in Modern Dairies

Abstract. Dairy cows suffering from heat stress due to extreme climates produce less milk, which leads to lower profits for the dairy’s owner. Traditional methods for cooling cows have focused on convective and evaporative cooling systems, but these consume relatively substantial amounts energy and water. In addition, their effectiveness can be limited during periods of high temperature and humidity. In order to develop a better way to cool cows, this study considered an advanced conductive cooling system that involved a specially fabricated water tank positioned underneath the bedding on which the cows usually recline. It was determined that cold water, circulating through the water tank and then a heat exchanger, could help to remove excess heat stored in animal’s body. To evaluate and verify this concept, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to simulate the design dimensions, bedding material and depth, coolant temperature and its flow rate. In addition, laboratory experiments validated the simulation outcomes. The results show that this proposed conductive system can effectively prevent heat stress in dairy cows.