BIOPH

REGEN AG PODCAST EP64. BEN TAYLOR-DAVIES (UK) AND REGEN POTATOES

The regenerative agriculture podcast, hosted by John Kempf. Episode 64 Ben Taylor-Davies from the west of the UK. If you can do regen potatoes, then regen sugar beets sounds a walk in the park. Ben Taylor-Davie, a UK farmer and advisor, states in this episode that he is doing it. Better that that, he states…
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OpenFOAM – FOURTH ATTEMPT. AIR FLOW THROUGH A SUGAR BEET CLAMP w BETTER GUESSES FOR DARCY & FORCHHEIMER

!!!!! THE VALUE USED FOR KINEMATIC VISCOSITY IN THE SIMULATION THAT IS DESCRIBED IN THIS POST WAS INCORRECT. THE DARCY-FORCHHEIMER COEFFICIENTS, HOWEVER, DO SEEM TO BE CORRECT. FOR AN UPDATED ON THE RESULTS IS AVAILABLE !!!!! In 2003, Lope G. Tabil and three co-authors decided that they would make my 2021 life much much easier…
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OpenFOAM – THIRD ATTEMPT. AIR FLOW THROUGH A SUGAR BEET CLAMP w COVER

Just a quick reminder 1st attempt: flow over a structure the shape of a clamp 2nd attempt: flow through a porous clamp This attempt: flow through a porous clamp with a less porous cover added The cover is 5cm normal to the surface. At a ca. 34 degree angle of repose, this makes the cover…
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OpenFOAM – SECOND ATTEMPT. AIR FLOW THROUGH A SUGAR BEET CLAMP

After getting familiar with OpenFOAM by building a model of airflow around a clamp, it was time to start looking in the clamp. To be honest, I’ve been waiting 2.5 years for this moment, so I was pretty keen to get a model that worked, regardless of whether it has the right parameters or not.…
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OpenFOAM – FIRST ATTEMPT. AIR FLOW AROUND A SUGAR BEET CLAMP

The love-hate relationship builds. The things I’m loving about OpenFOAM so far include: the price, the way it makes you understand what everything (every step, every parameter, every decision) is and means – the learning is much deeper, the way it make you understand that you’re asking the computer to do a lot of computations!…
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OpenFOAM – GETTING STARTED ON WINDOWS: THE EXPERIENCE OF A COMPUTER ILLITERATE.

It seems that anyone who is computer literate uses OpenFOAM on a Linux system. I’m not that advanced. I’m just proud (read: living in ignorance about the challenge ahead) of myself for choosing OpenFOAM as the program I’ll use in my analysis. This is my experience/ tips for getting started with the program on Windows.…
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Intercropping sugar beets

If intercropping is to break down the door in the world of sugar beets, a system that doesn’t result in yield losses is needed. Intercropping can help with controlling pest and weeds, and even in providing nutrients, but in a world that that been so successful in increasing yields, and so successful in controlling weeds…
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Breeding for Sugar Beet Storage

I’ve had a few discussions around the topic of breeding for storage, with breeders, industry, and farmers alike. The consensus is that, while it’s a nice idea and that it would be possible, it’s not been economical. It’s a nice bonus if a variety stores well, but it’s not the primary aim of any breeding…
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CFD + Clamp ventilation

As part of the CFD course I’ve just been through, we had a group assignment. My team was kind enough to adopt the beet ventilation system we at NBR are developming to be the focus of our work. Here is the report (it’s pretty technical and unfortunately not highly conclusive): I hope we’ll get to…
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CFD + Drying sugar beets

Drying out sugar beets isn’t usually a practice undertaken in their production – at least, not intentionally – and we’re not looking to change this – intentionally. The topic has come up after it became clear in one of my other projects that ventilation isn’t just good for cooling beets, it has the ability to…
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