When buds "break bud" in March or April, they are no longer protected from frost by their envelopes. In order to combat the risk of frost in the buds, which has a major economic impact, for over a century winegrowers have been developing the use of "anti-freeze towers" and heating devices (candles, heaters or burners), which by definition are designed to combat frost. Today, these devices are supplied by equipment manufacturers, but there is still a need for optimization and decision support when it comes to activating the means of combating frost in the event of a spring frost episode. Thus, it seems important both to be able to reduce the potential noise or visual nuisance that these devices are likely to cause, while making it possible to make their use more efficient, more sustainable and more socially acceptable.
Photo d'une tour antigel installée sur le vignoble de Quincy - Un mât instrumenté a été utilisé pour suivre l’évolution de la stratification en température et vitesse, à différentes distances de la tour.
To this end, the SicTAG and OptiTAG projects include both experimental and numerical simulation components. The fluid mechanics work relating to this second component is currently being calibrated on the Jean Zay supercomputer. Going further still, the researchers involved are talking in the future about the possibility of a "digital twin" involving models from fluid mechanics, plant phenomenology and sociology to help make these control devices even more effective, at lower environmental and societal cost.
CFD_OpenFOAM_TurbulentJet Simulation numérique du jet produit par une tour antigel obtenue avec OpenFOAM avec un disque actionneur