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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
The shelf life of perishable products depends mainly on the conservation of air temperature.
Packaging boxes are usually used to accommodate food products during cold storage and transport
and/or display. The design of the vent-holes of the packaging box must promote cold airflow and
remove the field heat of the produce after harvest at a short time. This study describes the influence
of the vent-holes design and its performance during cold storage. The cooling performance of the
different packaging boxes is evaluated experimentally and numerically using Computational Fluid
Dynamics (CFD). Three new packaging box configurations with the same size but different vent-holes
design (size, shape and position) and a reference box are modelled. The transient three-dimensional
CFD model predicts the airflow pattern and temperature distribution within the different packaging
boxes. The best thermal performance packaging achieved a fruit model temperature 1.5 K to 5 K lower
than the other configurations at the end of 8 h of cooling. These predictions allow the development
of new packaging box designs that promote the shelf-life extension of perishable products.
Description
Keywords
CFD Modelling Thermal Performance Fruit Packaging Boxes; Vent-Holes Design