Verification of Thermo-Technical Characteristics of Selected Floor Constructions for Dairy Cows (Pilot Study)

The purpose of this study was to theoretically and practically investigate the thermo-technical properties of two bedding surface materials under real farm conditions during the hot summer period. The study was focused on the research of cubicles with water mattresses and straw bedding for dairy cows. The results of thermal-technical calculations showed that straw belongs to the category of warm floors, the thermal effusivity value of cubicle with straw is b = 173.55 W·s1/2·m⁻²·K⁻¹; the heat transfer coefficient is U = 0.36 W·m⁻²·K⁻¹. Water mattress belongs to the category of cold floors with the thermal effusivity value b = 572.46 W·s^1/2·m⁻²·K⁻¹ and the heat transfer coefficient U = 4.504 W·m⁻²·K⁻¹. On the basis of calculations, the results showed that U was 12.5 higher for water mattresses than for straw, and b was 3.3 times higher for water mattresses than for straw. Based on thermographic measurements under field conditions of dairy farm, it was observed that the surface temperature of the water mattresses after one hour of lying was lower by 4.95 ±1.88 °C in comparison to chopped straw. In practice, suitability of the material structure of water mattresses was verified on the basis of physical properties for summer period.