dr. angela green - pig transport environment during extreme outdoor temperatures
DESCRIPTION
Pig Transport Environment During Extreme Outdoor Temperatures - Dr. Angela Green, University of Illinois, from the 2014 Allen D. Leman Swine Conference, September 15-16, 2014, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. More presentations at http://www.swinecast.com/2014-leman-swine-conference-materialTRANSCRIPT
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Pig Transport Environment During Extreme Outdoor
Temperatures Angela Green
University of Illinois
Leman ConferenceSeptember 16, 2014
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Commercial Pig Transport
• Transport Quality Assurance (TQA)
• Trailer management based on outdoor temp
Bedding
Boarding
Misting
Trailer Thermal Environment
•Challenge of dead or down pigs (DOD) in extreme hot and cold events • Need to better understand the trailer thermal environment experienced by the pigs during transport
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Objectives
• This observational study was commissioned by the National Pork Board (NPB) to:• Characterize the thermal environment
inside a loaded swine trailer during transport
• Assess current TQA guidelines for hot weather conditions
• Assess current TQA guidelines for cold weather conditions
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METHODS
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Top View: Top zones
Top View: Bottom zones
Left-Side View
Data Acq Center
Trailer Description•Manufacturer: Wilson Trailer Company
• Loading Capacity: 170-175 pigs (34,020 kg)
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Instrumentation Overview
Cross-Section
Zone-centered instrumentation
Thermistors
Zone-centered Instrumentation
Thermistors Tubes
Infrared Radiometer
Temperature/RH Sensor
6 cross-sections were instrumented:- Air temperature at pig level (14 sensors per zone)
- Air temperature and relative humidity zone-centered at ceiling (1 sensor)
- Surface temperature - pig skin - Infrared Radiometer (1 sensor
per zone) - Floor temperature (3-4 sensors per zone at start of monitoring
period)
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Transport Monitoring
• 43 trips monitored, TQA trailer management
• Overview summaries previously presented– Xiong, 2013– Xiong et al., 2014 under review–NPB Report
TQA, 2008
TQA Boarding Guidelines (Uniform)
• Varying from 0 - 90% based on outside temperature ranges.
25% Evenly Distributed50% Evenly Distributed
75% Evenly Distributed90% w/o Bottom Open
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TQA Bedding Guidelines• Bedding (wood shavings)
–Heavy bedding = 4 to 6 bags
–Medium bedding = 3 bags
–Light bedding = 1 or 2 bags
Bedding & Floor Sensor
Light Bedding (1bag)
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Field Practice of Water Application
• Nozzles mounted in trailer (TX-V626,
Teejet)
– Top: 10 located along the right side length of the trailer
– Bottom: 10 located along the middle length of the trailer
• Misting before transport:– Misting during Loading
– Misting after Loading
• Misting upon arrival at abattoir– When available
– With fans when available11
RESULTS AND
DISCUSSION
Objective 1: Overall Characteristics of
Trailer Thermal Environment Data
TQA Monitoring Trips Completion Summary
Ambient Temperature
(oC)Boarding Bedding Misting
Number of Completed
Trips
< -12 90% Heavy None 4*
(-12) – (-7) 75% Heavy None 1
(-7) - 4 50% Heavy None 3
4 - 9 25% Heavy None 3
10 - 20 0% Medium None 6
21 - 26 0% Medium None 2
27 - 31
0% Medium Misting After Loading 3
0% Medium Misting During Loading 3
0% Medium No Misting 1
> 320% Light Misting After Loading 3
0% Light Misting During Loading 2
Total 31
*: One monitoring trip experienced sensor failures, and was excluded from air temperature analysis. 14
Duration of Data Collection Phases
(with Pigs on the Trailer)
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Thermal Conditions* During Transport
Ambient Temperature (oC)
Pig-level Air Temperature Measured by Thermistors
Extreme Cold Cold Cool Thermo-neutral Warm Hot Extreme Hot
< - 15 (oC) -15-0 (oC) 0-18 (oC) 18-25 (oC) 25-30 (oC) 30-35 (oC) >35 (oC)
< -12
(-12) – (-7)
(-7) - 4
4 - 9
10 - 20
21 - 26
27 - 31
> 32
*Air temperature•6 trips experienced extreme hot condition for outside temperature greater than 27oC•4 trips experienced extreme cold condition for outside temperature below -7oC
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Animation: Air Temp Distribution During Transport
Outside Temperature Range : Tout > 32oC
Maximum Temperature:Extreme Hot (Tin>35oC)
Misting Method:Misting After Loading
Waiting by fans and misting before unloading 17
Outside Temperature Range: Tout > 32oC
Maximum Temperature:Extreme Hot (Tin>35oC)
Misting Method:Misting During Loading
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Animation: Air Temp Distribution During Transport
Overall Zone-Specific Skin Temperatures
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Objective 2:Assessment of Current TQA Guidelines for Hot
Weather Conditions
Misting Before Transport during Hot Weather
Conditions
Misting Arrangemen
t
Misting Duration
(min)
ΔTskin (oC)
Time to min Tskin
(min)
Time to initial
Tskin (min)
Time to max Tskin
(min)Max THI
After Loading (n=6)
5-12 0.8-9.3 7-18 5-11 17-16283-97
(0.6-23.8 %)
During Loading (n=5)
20-60 2.2-16 1-12 4-11 4-15182-96
(33.0–63.7 %)
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Initial TskinMisting Applied before Transport
TransportStarts min Tskin Initial Tskin max Tskin
Stationary Trailer Thermal Environment After Transport in
Hot Weather
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Objective 3:Assessment of Current
TQA Guidelines for Cold Weather Conditions
Floor Temperatures Below Freezing During Transport
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Duration (hr)
Duration (hr)
Average time for trailer to reach freezing temperature
0.45 (hr)
Time for first sensor in trailer to reach freezing temperature
0.10 (hr)
Time for last sensor in trailer to reach freezing temperature
1.50 (hr) 25
Amount of time to freezing (hr)
Floor Temperatures Below Freezing
Between Trips
Other Important Findings• Modified boarding distribution• Overall floor temperature distribution• Trailer bedding depth on pig skin
temperature• Trailer boarding percentage on pig skin
temperature• Zone-specific THI during hot weather
condition• Short breaks during transport
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SUMMARY AND
CONCLUSIONS
• For outside temperature above 27oC, extreme hot (Tin >35oC) conditions were observed.
• For outside temperature below -7oC, extreme cold (Tin < -15oC), conditions were observed.
• Ventilation patterns inside the trailer did not follow the a consistent trend over all trips.
• Trailer middle sections consistently resulted in the coolest temperatures, and trailer rear sections consistently resulted in the warmest temperatures.
• Stops (breaks) rapidly increase trailer temperature.
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Characterization of Thermal Environment
Hot Weather Evaluation
• Temperatures were acceptable without misting for outside temperature range 10 to 20 oC.
• The effectiveness of cooling was not uniform for all the pigs on the trailer, and is critically impacted by the placement and operation of the fans and misting nozzles.
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Hot Weather Evaluation
• Intermittent misting with constant air flow is recommended to achieve thermal uniformity inside the trailer.
• Further exploration is recommended to understand the characteristics of misting in a stationary trailer.
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Cold Weather Evaluation
• Subfreezing floor conditions were observed.
• Pigs were likely loaded onto frozen bedding.
• Heavy bedding has the potential to increase the quantity of frozen flooring experienced by the pigs.
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Recommendations for Future Work
• Targeted focus on attaining greater thermal uniformity inside the trailer.
• Further investigation of non-uniform boarding distribution in cold weather.
• Better characterization of thermal environment resulting from water application based on method, timing, and quantity.
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Thanks!
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