Simulation and Optimization of Aerogel Packaging Solutions for Cold-Chain Biologistics

摘要

Long-distance transportation of biological and pharmaceutical materials is currently accomplished with short-duration shipping options as most containers have a limited time that their interior may be held at a steady and low temperature. Aerogels are currently known as the best insulating material and have demonstrated superior thermal insulating capability compared to materials commonly used in shipping and storage industry such as extruded polystyrene and polyurethane foam. Aerogels are lightweight and biologically friendly, which makes this class of materials an excellent choice for biologistic packaging solutions. Previous experiment data and modeling have demonstrated the feasibility of using aerogel as a component material in a wide variety of low-temperature (77–273 K) applications. Modeling was used to further optimize the aerogel packaging in an effort to maximize the thermal insulation capability with respect to conventional packaging dimensions. Simulations of a full-scale aerogel-based packaging solution will be conducted for the transportation of vials under the realistic thermal loads a typical package would experience from packaging to delivery. The results obtained using a full-scale fluid thermal simulation for the aerogel packaging solution will be compared to results obtained using other conventional packaging materials to demonstrate the feasibility of aerogel implementation. Preliminary results show promise for the use of aerogel-based packaging solutions for cold-chain biologistics. With this preliminary research, future researchers may be able to investigate more aerogel-based packaging solutions.