Thermal damage to the load in cold chain transport

The article deals with the issues of cold chain transport. One of the most important criteria of the process’ efficiency is temperature stabilization. At the Institute of Machines and Motor Vehicles of Poznan University of Technology, original computer software for heat exchange simulation was created. The software makes it possible to forecast temperature changes at the time of transport depending on the vehicle itself as well as the exploitation conditions. In the article, verification results of the computer software are also presented. The verification involved the comparison of the results (changes in the temperature of the goods) with the research results. The experiment involved cooling the load and monitoring its temperature. The verification covered five different states of enforcement. In the tests, such parameters as thermal insulation of the body, the original temperature of the load, cooling efficiency of the unit as well as ambient temperature were examined. In all of the cases it was found that the results of computations were within the range of variability of results registered during the research. The computer software under discussion may therefore be used to point to probable causes of significant temperature increase of transported goods in real-life situations. In the second part of the article, analyses of simulations of two such cases were presented. In each of the situations, the decisive factor resulting from the numerical forecast was confirmed by the results of insurance company's investigations. Therefore the simulation software might constitute an efficient tool supporting the decision making process with respect to the organization of cold chain transport