HEAT TRANSFER MODELLING OF ENCAPSULATED PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS FOR FOOD PACKAGING

摘要

Temperature abuses in cold chain can lead to deterioration in food quality and safety. Packaging can play an active role in temperature controlling of perishable products. However, standard materials for product packaging (plastic, cardboard or wood) usually have limited thermal buffering capacity. One possible approach to enhance this capacity and maintain the product at a desired temperature is thermal energy storage by phase change materials - PCM. In the present work, the heat transfer behaviour of a plate made from encapsulated PCM (Rubitherm RT5 encapsulated in polycaprolactone PCL) was studied. The enthalpy method was chosen to model the phase transition of the PCM. The model was validated by experimental cooling and heating processes, under controlled air temperature conditions. The numerical result demonstrated a better thermal capacitance of the encapsulated PCM material compared to a standard one (cardboard).