Computational fluid dynamics applications to improve crop production systems

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD), numerical analysis and simulation tools of fluid flow processes have emerged from the development stage and become nowadays a robust design tool. It is widely used to study various transport phenomena which involve fluid flow, heat and mass transfer, providing detailed information for spatial and temporal distributions of flow speed and direction, pressure, temperature and species concentration. The CFD tools provide a cost-effective way of carrying out equipment and process design and optimization, and can reduce risk in equipment modification and process scale-up. In recent years, CFD modeling has been gaining attraction from the agri-food industry. The present paper provides a state-of-the-art review on various CFD applications to improve crop farming systems such as, soil tillage, sprayers, harvesting, machinery, and greenhouses. The challenges faced by modelers using CFD in precision crop production are discussed and possibilities for incorporating the CFD models in decision support tools for Precision Farming are highlighted.