Year: 2026
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: Heat and cold stress in pig housing arise from coupled animal thermoregulation and barn microclimate. Yet mechanistic animal models are seldom available in a reusable, co-simulation-ready form. This work develops a modular Modelica implementation of a mechanistic thermoregulation model for a growing pig (≈100 kg), parameterised from published literature. The model represents core and skin heat storage with internal heat transfer and determines boundary heat transfer via convection, long-wave radiation using a mean radiant temperature proxy, and latent/sensible losses through respiration and skin evaporation. Thermoregulatory feedback is implemented using temperature-error signals (ε) that modulate pulmonary ventilation (panting) and metabolic heat production; a hot-side controller follows established heat-stress formulations and a cold-side extension enables thermogenesis under cool conditions. Results to date show stable simulation under annual indoor-climate forcing at a 10 min step. The model reports heat-flow partitions (metabolic, convective, radiative, evaporative, respiratory) that support diagnostics and sensitivity analysis. Responses to warm versus cool episodes follow expected trends, with increased respiratory losses during heat load and increased metabolic heat during cold load. Next steps will benchmark outputs against established heat- and cold-stress indices, and couple the model with barn physics to assess mitigation strategies and energy–welfare trade-offs.
Language: English
Subfield: Animal Science and Zoology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7208950068