Abstract
This study was conducted to analyze the variations of air temperature, relative humidity and pressure in a low pressure chamber for plant growth. The low pressure chamber was composed of an acrylic cylinder, a stainless plate, a mass flow controller, an elastomer pressure controller, a read-out-box, a vacuum pump, and sensors of air temperature, relative humidity, and pressure. The pressure leakage in the low pressure chamber was greatly affected by the material and connection method of tubes. The leakage rate in the low pressure chamber with the welding of the stainless tubes and a plate decreased by $0.21kPa{\cdot}h^{-1}$, whereas the leakage in the low pressure chamber with teflon tube and rubber O-ring was given by $1.03kPa{\cdot}h^{-1}$. Pressure in the low pressure chamber was sensitively fluctuated by the air temperature inside the chamber. An elastomer pressure controller was installed to keep the pressure in the low pressure chamber at a setting value. However, inside relative humidity at dark period increased to saturation level.. Two levels (25 and 50kPa) of pressure and two levels (500 and 1,000sccm) of mass flow rate were provided to investigate the effect of low pressure and mass flow rate on relative humidity inside the chamber. It was concluded that low setting value of pressure and high mass flow rate of mixed gas were the effective methods to control the pressure and to suppress the excessive rise of relative humidity inside the chamber.