Proposal of a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for the design of an evaporative cooling system in poultry houses

The aim of this study was to develop a computational tool, displayed in the form of a Graphical User Interface (GUI) to assist in the design of a basic evaporative cooling system for aviaries with tunnel ventilation, taking into account the facility characteristics and the region climatic conditions. The GUI was developed in MatLab (R) software. The number of fans required and the required evaporative cooling pad area were calculated from the input data, depending on the facility dimensions, the region climatic conditions, and the system operating conditions (required air speed and fan capacity). The system evaluation was based on the analysis of the potential air temperature reduction, assuming that the system operates with an efficiency of 80%; and comparing the Temperature and Humidity Index (THI) in a facility before and after the installation of the evaporative system. The developed Graphical Interface is easy to handle and intuitive for the user, with few fields of data entry, and buttons for the automatic calculation of the parameters of sizing and evaluation of the system.