BILLUND AQUACULTURE

Can CFD simulation help optimize the energy consumption of a manifold by up to 50%? Yes, it can!

Our long-term customer, Billund Aquaculture, asked for help improving the manifold design of their RAS system for salmon farming through CFD-simulations as Kirkholm Mechanical Engineers had previously helped Billund Aquaculture analyze and improve designs for subsystems in their complex RAS design.

The project focused on their manifold, which distributes clean water to all the fish tanks. Designing a manifold that optimally handles the pump's capacity and water flow is demanding. It is particularly critical to avoid stagnant water or recirculation zones that are not flushed. At Kirkholm Mechanical Engineers, we specialize in CFD simulations and accepted the challenge to optimize the manifold:

"As engineers, we can easily identify problem areas through CFD simulations rather than measuring numerous positions during testing. In this project, we have used CFD results to determine the optimal positions for the various sensors in the system. To meet the challenges, we changed the shape of the inlet and outlet, as well as the pipe placement, where we investigated various designs in collaboration with Billund Aquaculture", explains Michael Hansen, CFD and Fluid Mechanics specialist, Kirkholm Mechanical Engineers

Efficiency and trust

One of the advantages of CFD is, among other things, that we can effectively compare different designs, while the customer can gain confidence regarding the system's performance early in the design process, which provides thus peace of mind.

"We have had a good collaboration with Kirkholm in optimizing our design, including our manifolds. For Billund Aquaculture and the RAS industry, we see it as an important element to continually optimize our design and energy consumption. Kirkholm Mechanical Engineers has been a good partner in achieving optimizations and has participated proactively in finding good solutions", says Frederik Sørensen, COO and Project Director, Billund Aquaculture

Our CFD simulations helped us optimize the customer's design in relation to:

• Pressure loss: Optimization of pressure loss via smaller pumps and reduced electricity consumption, which contributed to an overall energy optimization of 40-50%
• Water distribution: A more even distribution of water in the system, which contributed to better process control
• Design: A more compact design, where we reduced material consumption by 20%

CFD simulations require specialized knowledge and software, which can be an expensive barrier to entry for companies, where Kirkholm Mechanical Engineers can help with a flexible solution. If you have questions or perhaps even a project at hand, then contact us to learn more about how CFD can create value in your company.

You are also welcome to read more about CFD here or read other cases about CFD simulation here.