Airflow Simulation Inside Reefer Containers

Abstract

Transporting of sensitive commodities in strict ambient conditions becomes necessity not only to fulfill regulations but also to maintain their quality and to reduce the rate of losses. Temperature, which mainly affects the transported produce, is controlled by airflow pattern in reefer containers. Consequently, obtaining airflow pattern enables predicting hot spots and then taking the necessary actions to minimize their effects. We present, in this paper, a k-ε simulation model to evaluate airflow pattern in reefer container loaded with bananas. Simulation results predict the place of the hot spots. Moreover, we found that the cooling distribution is improved by modification of the scheme for placing pallets in the container, the so-called chimney layout.