Project - Field warming plot
Context: this project was a major research project for the master’s program Bio Inspired Innovation, as set and supervised by Martijn van Zanten in the Plant Stress Resilience lab group. It was carried out over the course of 9 months by a single student (with technical advice from the LPL staff).
In this project, a field warming setup was constructed consisting of an Open Top Container (basically a clear box with no top) with added heating from heating cables. The purpose of this setup was to investigate how plants, especially snowdrops and Arabidopsis, react to increased temperatures. A field warming setup is different from an indoor growth chamber because it is outside where the plants can be exposed to normal environmental processes. There are many examples of field warming setups in the literature that use various means of heating. The most popular method uses ceramic heat lamps and no containment structure. These setups are effective but use tremendous amounts of energy. Other methods used expensive materials, were too disruptive to the plants, or were ineffective.
Project goals: The goal of this project was to create a working prototype within the nine months of a master’s major research project. This prototype needed to be able to heat the air within the OTC to approximately 2 Celsius above the ambient temperature. Additionally, to fill a gap in the existing designs, the setup needed to be low cost (both energy and materials), modular, and scalable. In order to reach these goals, the prototype would have to be field ready and as a result suitable for the next research cycle. This meant as well as physically working the code for the software and best practices for the assembly and use of the OTC would also have to be recorded.
Design considerations: Each OTC is composed of 6 PMMA panels with the following dimensions: 5mm thickness, 49 cm height, 108 cm bottom base, and an 80 cm top base. These panels are connected to form a hexagonal OTC. The angle of the panels relative to the ground is 60 degrees. The panels were connected by strips of stainless steel bolted to the panels. The panel dimensions were determined by needing at least 1m2 area in the center and the needed to conserve material. Each standard 2x4m sheet of PMMA can make enough panels for 2 OTCs (12 panels total) with minimal waste. The layout of the heating cables was determined through extensive experimentation that can be found in the accompanying documentation. As this OTC would be in the field for weeks to months to perhaps even years, the set up would have to be resistant to rain, wind and perhaps snow or heat waves. In order to achieve this, electronics were kept insulated wooden box.
Techniques used: fabrication/construction, 3D printing, Arduino programing, soldering.
Outcome: A prototype was built that functioned as desired. This prototype was modified slightly by Pieter Kooijman in the months following the conclusion of the project to make it easier to use. He also added additional features. Currently the prototype is being used to run experiments in the botanical gardens.
Relevant files
A list of relevant supplementary data.