BAE Poultry Production Simulation Chamber Complex Project
Annual Report for 2010
January, 2011
By
Steven Badawi, Roberto D. Munilla, Lingjuan Wang Li
The BAE poultry simulation chamber complex project was started in 2009. Since its beginning this
project has been hampered by continually rising material costs, and by labor shortages. These cost and
labor constraints, coupled with several building structural defects and shortcomings, have required several
major re-designs and modifications. These challenges have been met with resourcefulness and dedication
which has allowed the work to advance greatly.
As reported in 2009, in the first year of the project, the team had to perform significant miscellaneous
repairs, building modifications and maintenance. Procurement and installation of the fabrication tools and
equipment were also completed prior to starting construction of the prototype. In addition, the team
designed, fabricated and tested prototype core chamber and system components. This leads to initiation of
the massive construction effort of 6 complete chamber systems in May 2010.
This report discusses the tasks completed, and any unforeseen situations that have impeded progress. In
addition, this report also indicates the tasks that are still ahead, and the requirements needed to advance
toward completion. For illustration, figure 1 shows the chamber system and major components.
The chamber unit design is modular, light-weight, re-configurable, high R-value, and easy to sterilize. Units can be
ganged together into short tunnels or used singly. The modular wall panels allow for repositioning of ventilation
ducts to create different flow regimes. These chambers will in effect be small scale, reconfigurable, wind tunnels
that can provide small bird flocks (60birds/unit) with a stable environment in spite of variations in outdoor
conditions, bird size or behavior.
Figure 1. Schematic of the flow-through chamber system
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Accomplishments in 2010
1. The Core Chambers (see figure 1):
The major components for 6 main environmental chambers (the core chambers) have been built. These
massive structures have been painted and clad with stainless steel and aluminum. These components
include
 Building 12 platforms (96” x 96” x 6 ¾”): fully insulated (see figure 2 in appendix)
 Building 6 platforms (96” x 96” x 4 ¼”): fully insulated (see figure 2 in appendix)
 Constructing 36 6 ¾” cross beams clad in aluminum and stainless steel (see figure 3 in appendix)
 Constructing 72 12” cross beams clad in aluminum and stainless steel (see figures 3 and 4 in
appendix)
 Constructing 44 steel vertical support beams clad in wood, aluminum, and stainless steel (see
figures 5, 6, and 7 in appendix)
 Designing and constructing steel plates for suspending platforms from the vertical support beams
(see figures 5 and 6 in appendix)
Construction of these components required significant time; however with the use of precise jigs, an
“assembly line” style of construction was achieved. This required wood and metal cut to exact
measurements, in addition to the precise placement of fasteners in predetermined patterns to avoid
complications in later stages of construction. Figure 7 shows how many of the components fit together
2. Collimating Cabinets (see figure 1)
These structures serve to create a uniform flow field before and after the turn around. All sides are filled
with insulation and sealed. To build these structure five separate components were built and then later
assembled. A set of 6 collimating cabinets has been assembled (see figure 8 in appendix). These will later
be sealed and painted.
3. Concrete Piers
Because the concrete slab located on the south side of the building is subsiding and the building’s central
floor is not level, 12 concrete piers were poured (see figure 9 in appendix). These structures provide a
stable and level support between the core and conditioning chambers. With the majority of the chamber’s
weight resting on the main building’s slab any downward drift of the external slab would not affect the
environmental chamber’s alignment.
To keep the concrete piers from lifting three rebar spikes were placed six inches in the slab. Six molds
(see figure 10 in appendix) were then fabricated to allow for batch pouring. Rebar was also used to create
a reinforcing cage placed inside during the pour to add to the structural integrity to the concrete. As a
result of inconsistent positioning and leveling by the student workers, four of the piers had to be reworked
with a grinder to achieve the proper height.
4. Conditioning Chambers (see figure 1)
Due the required structural complexity and the features necessary to allow for placement in an outdoor
environment, the construction of the conditioning chambers took several months. Tasks that had to be
completed are as follows:
 Building 63 frames to exact specifications (see figure 11 in appendix)
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Building 36 roof trusses to exact measurements (see figure 12 in appendix)
Constructing a floor of treated plywood to erect frames on (see Figure 13 in appendix)
Insulating the floor (see figure 13 in appendix)
Cladding the internal structure with plywood
Insulating the walls and roof (see figure 14 in appendix)
Cutting and bending “Z” channels to direct water on side walls
Cladding walls and roof with plywood
Cutting roofing metal to size
Attaching roof metal to the main structure (see figure 15 in appendix)
Caulking and joints and seams
Priming and paint the structure multiple times
Cutting and installing Hardie Plank for structural sides with extensive exposure to the elements.
Placement of units in their final locations and leveling (see figure 16 in appendix)
5. Electrical
Heat production characteristics of the variable frequency drive controllers required significant
modifications to the NEMA boxes used to enclose them. To isolate the controllers from the dust and heat
of the production floor the original electric design was modified and the drive controllers were placed
inside the control room (see figures 17 and 18 in appendix). This change in location meant that conduit
had to be routed from the western electrical boxes to the control room through internal walls. In order to
make the installation compact and unobtrusive, the conductors from an electrical box were run in a single
conduit to the corresponding variable frequency drives (1 ½” RPVC conduit was used). This approach derated the wire and required the purchase of larger gauge conductors. Because at the new location the
drives was not in “line of sight” of the breaker boxes, compliance with NECA mandated a dedicated
disconnect for each drive.
For the power lines to the blowers, compliance with the electrical code required evenly spaced buried
conduit for the power lines to the blower units. This provides safety and also prevents electromagnetic
interference. The intervals necessary to be compliant was 7.5” spacing between centers on the horizontal
and vertical with the top level of conduits at least 2” below the surface. Using this measurement a trench
roughly 3’ deep and 2 ½’ wide (see figures 19, 20, and 21 in appendix) was trenched for a total of 75’.
This process was significantly impeded by numerous drain pipes that had to be moved or repaired. Due to
the age of the complex, farm personnel did not know the location or purpose of many underground pipes.
Once the PVC conduits were completed, wire was pulled from the control room in bundles of 3
conductors and a ground.
Resources dedicated to the project
1. Work Forces
From January 2010 until February 2010 the work force dedicated to the project consisted of Carl Tutor
and Roberto Munilla. On Feb 3rd 2010, Steven Badawi joined the team. After spring semester of 2010,
three student workers were hired from May 24th through December 23rd. Carol Tutor was removed from
the project on May 20th and Craig Baird provided some assistance. With gracious support from the
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department head and Dr. Phil Westerman, Mike Adcock joined the team in August. Table 1 summarizes
the labor (by total hours) dedicated to the project in 2010.
Table 1. Summary of the work forces dedicated to the project in 2010
Name
Working hours
Supported by
Roberto Munilla
1797 hours
BAE
Steven Badawi
1706 hours
The USDA special grant
Carol Tutor
500 hours
BAE
Mike Adcock
244 hours
BAE
**
Craig Baird
100 hours
Help offered by Sanjay Shah
Greg Tuner
615 hours
The USDA special grant
Chris Buchanan
555 hours
The USDA special grant
Chris White
320 hours
The USDA special grant
Cheng Hao
320 hours
Wang’s external grant
Qianfeng (Jeff) Li
308 hours
Special grant & Wang’s NRI
Total hours
6948 hours
**
No more than 100 hours in two years (2009 and 2010).
Note
Full time working on the project
Joined the team in February, 2010
Left the team in May, 2010
Joined the team in August, 2010
In 2-yr: 2009-2010
Undergraduate student worker
Undergraduate student worker
Undergraduate student worker
Undergraduate student worker
From Jan.12-April 20 (22hr/wk)
Student help (although useful) has proven to be inconsistent due to inexperience, academic obligations
and other time constraints. Its real productivity is further reduced by increased demands for training,
communication and supervision. The large scale of the chamber units and the need to provide secure
storage for large amounts of materials has required constant reorganization and clean up of the production
floor. Moreover, from time to time, work was stopped for the preparation of “show and tell” days.
In order for the project to advance effectively a skilled workforce must be acquired. This workforce
should have 4 to 5 skilled full time workers; this must include at least one engineer. Presently the team
consists of a full time journey level engineer, a half time contributing engineer and one full time
technician. This situation creates scheduling conflicts and is inefficient; the engineers must split duties
between the planning, design, and management and the actual fabrication. At a minimum two more
technicians are required. To maintain forward momentum one member must at all times be current with
all designs and maintain an open dialog with the engineers. This individual must also act as a foreman;
organizing the workforce, upholding production standards, and answering any questions the work force
might have. This ideal arrangement would have drastically reduced the amount of time to complete the
project.
2. Prices of Commodities and Supplies
As in August 2010, the estimation of the unit chamber assembly material cost was around $24K (see,
table 2). The past several years the world economy has been meet with an increased rate of inflation,
inclement weather, and a dramatic slump in the economy. These factors have seriously impacted the cost
of construction supplies. To illustrate how this affects the project, table 3 shows some of the commonly
used materials and their price changes over the past two years. This table however does not reflect the
price after coastal hurricanes, and other natural events; which at that time the prices can increase 150%
and higher. Great effort has been made to reduce cost, and purchase items in bulk and at the lowest price
possible. This has saved thousand dollars on large purchase orders; however, it required more time and
distracted management from the construction work. Stockpiling materials also has reduced fabrication
space and created staging conflicts.
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Table 2. Estimation of unit chamber assembly material cost[1],[2]
Item
$5,500 per chamber for the blower unit with motor and controller plus power wire and
cutoff
Cost
$5,500
$13,900 per chamber for wood, plywood, insulation, metal, metal roofing, paint,
caulking, fasteners, rubber membrane for litter bed ($850/chamber).
$14,750
a proportion of the chiller and heater costs: a new unit to cover the HVAC
requirements for 12 chambers would cost about $60,000, or about $5,000 per chamber
$5,000
$800 per chamber for the emergency ventilation system.
$3,000 per chamber for ventilation controllors, wires, thermocouples, RH, velocity and
pressure sensors
$800
$3,000
Total material cost per chamber
$23,550
This estimation does not include feeders, waters, filters, litter MC sensors, gas sampling system (GSS), gas
analyzers/sensors, data acquisition system (hardware & software);
[2]
The estimation is based upon the prices for materials & supplies in August 2010.
[1]
Table 3. Sample of price increases over two years
Item
2008 Price
2011 Price
Increased by
1/2" x10' Cu pipe
$5.82
$10.84
86.25%
1/2' 4x8' Treated Plywood
$25.98
$33.89
30.45%
3/4' Galvanized Pipe
$2.27
$16.10
609.25%
5# Galvanized Nails
$13.93
$15.86
13.85 %
2’x4'x10' Engineered Stud
$8.50
$10.00
17.65%
Silicon Caulk
$1.98
$2.28
15.15%
22 Ga. 48x 96 Galvanized sheet
$19.00
$26.10
37.37%
Work to be completed
1. Erection of environmental chambers
Currently all components needed for the erection of the environmental chambers have been built and
purchased. The main difficulty lies in the fact that the site does not have a dedicated fork lift. Floor panels
must be lifted close to 15’. The fish barn at the Lake Wheeler research facility owns the only available
fork lift. It shares this with the swine unit. Our project can only access the fork lift with the permission of
the fish barn and at times when it is not in use. Once these structures have been completed all seams need
to be sealed and painting needs to proceed on all exposed wood surfaces. Once dry the membrane to be
used in the litter pan shall be cut and installed.
2. Environmental Chamber Panels
The current design for the environmental chamber wall panels is labor intensive; it would take a team of
two dedicated workers approximately 72 days to complete all the panels for 9 chambers. Current design
revisions would allow for mass production of panel bodies and resin casting of end caps. This method
will relax the tolerances for the metal break work and expedite the process. This method has not been
prototyped but it is safe to assume the required time will be no more than 2 months of dedicated work
from a two man team.
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In order for the system to work properly, connections between components need to be properly sealed.
With the use of gasket material the panels and other components can still remain removable and achieve
an air tight seal.
3. Establishment of a communication system
For the past two years the research building has lacked internet communications. The wireless equipment
purchased at the beginning of the project was installed on the roof. It worked poorly and later failed
completely. Wireless connections with the swine educational unit are difficult due to the abundance of
large metal roofs and inconsistent signal transmission. High speed internet must be available for research
and the possibility for remote access of controls.
4. Completion of fan installation, enclosure and duct construction
As of December 2010, six decks have been constructed out of treated timber (see figure 22 in appendix).
These structures are to be placed in front of the conditioning chambers outside. These structures must be
placed in the ground with stable concrete footings. This will reduce the possibility of tipping when the
blowers are raised to their proper height. The blowers will require insulated enclosures and ducting that
connects them to the conditioning chambers. After this, the wiring of the motors can be completed. Duct
work then needs to be built to connect the blower with the environmental chamber. Theses ducts must
allow for the dumping of air while preventing the short circuiting of particulates in the system, pressure
changes from wind, and protection from the elements.
5. Control planning and implementation
A major factor in the completion of this project is the design and implementation of the system controls.
This calls for the purchase and integration of sensors, communication systems, and backup systems. This
process will take several months to design and test. Once testing is completed on a prototype the
implementation of the control system can be applied to the remaining chambers. In order to gain IACUC
approval, a backup electrical system must be installed. The proposed design will use a small 5KW
generator to power ¼ hp fans, this circuit will be independent of the building’s electrical wiring.
6. Validation
In order to provide statistically valid data for the purpose of research and publication, validation must
occur. This process will consist of wind pattern, studies performance studies, and overall effectiveness of
the control system in maintaining a desired environment. It will take several months before any test
subjects can be placed in the chamber.
Workforce issue:
Due to the budget shortfall, all the student help was terminated on December 23, 2010. In addition,
Steven Badawi was switched from fulltime (40hr/week) employee status to part-time (20hr/week)
employee status. It is also anticipated that with 15% budget cut to the university and to the department,
staff support from BAE will be challenged. Severe shortfall in labors has been, and will continue to
be a road block in the completion of the project.
In order for the project to advance smoothly a minimum of 5 skilled workers are needed; including at
least one engineer. Currently the team consists of a full time journey level engineer, a half time
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contributing engineer and a full time technician. This situation is inefficient and imposes a heavy burden
on the engineers who are forced to fabricate and design and manage all at once. At least two more
technicians are needed. One member must at all times be current with all designs and maintain an open
dialog with the engineers. This individual must also act as a foreman; organizing the workforce,
upholding production standards, and answering any questions the work force might have. This ideal
arrangement would have drastically reduced the amount of time to complete the project.
Appendix:
Figure 2 This stack of platforms consists of six 6 ¾”
platforms and four 4 ¼” platforms Once partially
assembled the platforms were insulated with 3”
Styrofoam and sealed with two ¾” sheets of ply wood to
allow greater rigidity for instruments, litter, and
personal. They were later sealed with several coats of
durable paint and silicon caulking.
Figure 3 Fully clad, the cross beams
are attached to their platforms with
lag bolts. The top layer of the image
on the right shows the attachment of
the 12” cross beams to a 6 ¾”
platform. This will form the middle
level where the litter and chickens
will reside. The level below will be
the chamber’s floor
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Figure 4 In order to keep the
roof of the environmental
chamber assembly as light as
possible to aid in construction a
4 ¼” platform was used. Shown
here clad 12” cross beams are
attached to all sides creating a
smooth surface on top of the
chamber for instrumentation
and personal if needed.
Figure 5 In order to secure the lower
section to the vertical support beams
Aluminum plates were drilled and
attached to the platform and vertical
steel structures.
Figure 6 This larger plate is used to secure
the middle and top platforms to the steel
vertical support structures. This created a
significant amount of strength and rigidity.
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Figure 7 Once a level surface has been created the lower, middle, and upper platforms are assembled
with spacers that allow for precise placement and ease the squaring of the structure. Once in place the
vertical steel supports are attached using lag screws and aluminum plate. This image shows a partial
assembly. The ruler in front of the chamber is 8’ long and shows some indication of the structures height.
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Figure 8 Placed before
the turn around duct and
assisting in creating a
controlled flow field for
the environmental
chamber the collimator
cabinets for six chambers
can be seen here. These
are partially painted and
sealed. Like the rest of
the systems the walls are
insulated with foam
panels.
Figure 9 The concrete
piers provide a level
surface to mount the
outside conditioning
chambers and the
environmental chambers
inside.
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Figure 10
Concrete pier molds &
Rebar / reinforcing cages
Figure 11
Frames for the
construction of
six conditioning
chambers.
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Figure 12 Three of nine roof
truss sets used to support the
metal roofing for the
conditioning chamber. This
technique allowed for mass
production of a component. It
provided consistent results and
saved time.
Figure 13 once a stable and level platform is
constructed treated plywood is placed on top
and structural elements are added. Once
complete seven frames are placed on top of the
floor, spaced, and secured. The next step
involves an alternation of insulation and
plywood cladding. The plywood adds a
significant amount of rigidity in combination
with the frames allowing for a solid structure.
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Figure 14 In order to reduce
waste from the project, scrap
foam board is custom fitted
whenever possible. Here Mr.
Munilla hand cuts leftover
pieces to insert into the
conditioning chambers roof. In
the foreground another
chamber has been fitted with
roof trusses and purlins ready
for roofing.
Figure 15 In order to comply with field lab policy and to present a durable, aesthetically appealing
structure, metal roofing that matched the existing structure was used. This required fabrication of corner
pieces and other elements.
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Figure 16 Final
placements of six
southern conditioning
chambers
Figure 17 Custom
NEMA boxes installed
with required
disconnect switches.
Each box holds three
variable frequency
drives and is isolated
to one power supply
box. Located in the
control room power
enters from the main
floor and then
through the back of
the NEMA boxes
outside to the
blowers.
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Figure 18 Variable
Frequency drives
inside NEMA Boxes
Figure 19 An excavator was used to
achieve the desired depth and width
of the trench.
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Figure 20 Installing RPVC conduits
that will provide electricity to the
blowers. As part of an effort to comply
with NECA and retain proof of
compliance all elements of the
instillation were documented including
photographs of placements
Figure 21 Electrical
transitions into the
control room
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Figure 22 Treated
plywood blower
decks
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