Establishment of Cold Storage Container Insulation Formula and Error Analysis Based on Thermal Resistance Analysis

WU Yuanquan; LI Shaoying

doi:10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2026.07.027

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Packaging Engineering ›› 2026, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (7) : 233-246. DOI: 10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2026.07.027

Green Packaging and Circular Economy

Establishment of Cold Storage Container Insulation Formula and Error Analysis Based on Thermal Resistance Analysis

WU Yuanquan, LI Shaoying^*

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Abstract

The work aims to achieve accurate prediction of the thermal insulation time of cold storage containers and systematically analyze the sources of errors therein, so as to provide a scientific basis for the structural optimization of cold storage containers and the improvement of their efficient thermal insulation performance, thereby supporting the high-quality development of the cold chain logistics industry. Firstly, the heat transfer characteristics and thermal resistance of the container were analyzed and a prediction formula for thermal insulation time was established by integrating the heat capacity of the container. Then, the Fluent software was adopted for simulation. The results of simulation, the derived formula and the existing formulas under four scenarios were compared to explore the sources of errors. The results showed that the origin point in the small cold storage container was not the point that reached the thermal insulation limit the latest; insulation materials, cold storage agents and insulation temperature ranges all affected the errors. The error of the derived formula was negatively correlated with the internal volume of the container and positively correlated with the thickness of the insulation layer. When the volume was 0.216 m³, the errors were all less than 5%, and the formula had better error performance when the volume was large and the insulation layer was thin. The errors originated from the non-ideal flow of heat flux. This study clarifies the correlation between the error of the prediction formula and structural parameters, as well as the core causes of error occurrence. It provides a reference for the prediction of thermal insulation time and structural optimization of cold storage containers.

Key words

cold chain logistics / cold storage container / heat transfer thermal resistance analysis / error analysis

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WU Yuanquan, LI Shaoying. Establishment of Cold Storage Container Insulation Formula and Error Analysis Based on Thermal Resistance Analysis[J]. Packaging Engineering. 2026, 47(7): 233-246 https://doi.org/10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2026.07.027

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