Precise measurements and control of the position of the rolling shutter and rolling film in a solar greenhouse

Abstract

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd Against the background of the depletion of fossil fuel energy sources and environmental degradation, solar greenhouses represent an efficient and sustainable agricultural production method in China. The precise measurement and control of the position of the rolling shutter and rolling film is not only one of the core issues in the modification of the greenhouse environment in actual production but also the basis for improving the cleaner production efficiency of solar greenhouses. In this study, a mathematical algorithm for the control of a rolling shutter and rolling film was developed and is based on the simplification of the circular arc of the greenhouse surface. The “Liaoshen-IV” solar greenhouse was used as an example to illustrate the calculation steps of the algorithm. Any position on the light surface can be determined by calculating the angle at the bottom of the back wall of the greenhouse so that the position of the rolling shutter and the rolling film can be measured accurately by the angle sensor. Experiments using a scale model with one or two surface segments were conducted to demonstrate the advantages of the control algorithm with regard to the accuracy and stability compared with the existing control method of a time-delay relay. The relative errors of the control algorithm were stable and less than 1%. The use of the algorithm improved the control accuracy of the rolling shutter and rolling film and the average relative error was reduced by 6.37% in the first stage and by 3.40% in the second stage compared with the time-delay relay. The precise measurement and control of the position of the rolling shutter and rolling film in a solar greenhouse demonstrated in this study has great significance for practical applications. The proposed method may result in a reduction in energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in greenhouse environments, thereby contributing to the improvement of resource efficiency and a cleaner production. The study also provides application examples and theoretical references for the automation of rolling shutters and rolling film in greenhouses worldwide.