Information from the abstract
The growing demand for food delivery services underscores the necessity for innovative temperature control solutions during transport. This research focuses on the application of phase change materials (PCMs) to create a dual-temperature storage system for food delivery through integrated numerical and experimental analysis. A validated three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed to evaluate its thermal performance. Three food delivery scenarios were analysed: frozen & chilled (Scenario 1), frozen & hot (Scenario 2), and chilled & hot (Scenario 3) food combinations, and optimized through varying PCM layouts, PCM distribution between two zones, and foam thermal insulation. Economic index was proposed for assessments of cost and thermal efficiency. Results indicated that PCM layout significantly influenced system performance, with Layout 2 (PCMs on four sides) as the optimal PCM configuration. The thermal conductivity of insulation material was identified as a critical factor, where a reduction from 0.2 W/(m·K) to 0.01 W/(m·K) extended threshold storage time by more than fourfold in Scenario 1, reaching up to 15.8 h under ambient temperature of 19 °C. Furthermore, the optimal PCM thickness ratio between two zones was found to be 50% vs 150% under ambient temperature of 19 °C with thermal conductivity of foam of 0.03 W/(m·K), which provided the threshold storage time of 8.2 h. The best economic index is $3.2/h for Scenario 3 with PCM thickness ratio of 50% vs 150% and thermal conductivity of foam of 0.03 W/(m·K). This research demonstrates a passive storage system for multi-temperature food delivery with the use of PCMs, offering a sustainable solution to reduce food waste and improve logistics efficiency.
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Related topics: Material Properties and Processing · Advanced Manufacturing and Logistics Optimization · Optimization and Packing Problems
Thai researcher and institutional participation
Benjapon Chalermsinsuwan · Chulalongkorn University
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