About Project
RadMAT is an acronym of the project entitled “Radiative Water Mattress Solution for Global Milk Security”. The project is financed by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA Polskie Powroty 2018) and led by Wroclaw University of Science and Technology.
This project focuses on the simulation, development, and implementation of novel cooling system in the dairy industry for the abatement of heat stress in the dairy cattle. This phenomenon is caused by frequency of hot weather and is intensified by high temperature and humidity level, resulting in problems with expelling excess metabolic heat. Cattle under heat stress is exposed to numerous health problems, resulting in lower milk production and quality as well and reduced fertility, which has financial consequences for industrial dairy.
The project will deploy a demonstration set-up to tackle with that problem. We will use cooled water in a water mattress to cool down the cattle when they lie down. Due to the temperature gradient between the fluid circulating through the water mattress and the laying down cow, a heat transfer process occurs from the cow to the cooled surface, which alleviates the heat stress in the cow. The study will involve selected dairy cows with monitored their activity level and milk productivity.
Such technology is expected to bring numerous cross sectorial benefits like animal wellbeing, economical or energetic. RadMAT is envisioned as an ideal tool for industrial dairy applications characterised by rising global demand.
