Energy management and conservation while ensuring cold-chain compliance within an active cooling system ("ACS") array of actively cooled totes ("acts")
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Solution Overview
Problem
Compressor-based refrigeration systems in cold chain transport vehicles require continuous operation, leading to high energy consumption and reduced vehicle range in electric vehicles, and suffer from inefficiencies due to re-entrainment of hot exhaust air and unnecessary cooling of entire truck spaces.
Innovation Solution
Implementing Active Cooling Systems (ACS) with Actively Cooled Totes (ACTs) that adjust operation based on location and load, optimizing energy usage by controlling turn-on sequences, managing airflow, and integrating with inventory management systems for load estimation and temperature setpoint adjustments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If compressor-based refrigeration systems are used to cool entire truck spaces, then temperature control is maintained, but energy consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigeration system is divided into multiple independent refrigeration units, each serving a specific storage compartment or rack. This allows only the necessary segments to be cooled based on actual cargo needs, rather than cooling the entire truck space, thereby reducing energy consumption while maintaining required temperature control.
Solution Approach 2:
Different temperature zones are created locally where needed rather than uniformly cooling the entire vehicle. The system provides customized temperature control to specific locations based on cargo requirements, enabling energy savings by avoiding unnecessary cooling of empty or non-perishable cargo areas.
2Stability of the object's composition
If compressor-based systems operate continuously, then temperature stability is maintained, but vehicle range is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigeration system operates periodically rather than continuously, with controllers activating cooling only when temperature thresholds are approached or when cargo is detected. This intermittent operation maintains temperature stability within acceptable ranges while significantly reducing energy consumption and extending electric vehicle range.
3Temperature
If multiple ACTs are turned on simultaneously in close proximity, then cooling capacity is increased, but hot exhaust air re-entrainment occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The system activates refrigeration units in a predetermined sequence based on their locations, rather than simultaneously. Controllers coordinate turn-on sequences to ensure that units in close proximity are not activated at the same time, preventing hot exhaust air from one unit from being drawn into another unit's intake, thus avoiding re-entrainment while maintaining adequate cooling capacity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces energy consumption, prevents re-entrainment, and ensures efficient temperature control, enhancing the operational efficiency and compliance with cold-chain requirements while minimizing the need for continuous high-power operation.
Implementation Method 1
a thermoelectric unit positioned outside of the chamber and configured to cool the chamber
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for energy management and conservation while ensuring cold-chain compliance are provided. In some embodiments, a method of operating an Active Cooling System (ACS) includes: determining the operating needs of a plurality of Actively Cooled Totes (ACTs); and adjusting an operation of one or more of the plurality of ACTs based on a physical location of the one or more of the plurality of ACTs in the ACS. In this way, this can prevent mass turn-on of a cluster of ACTs physically close together, generating large columns of hot exhaust air. This can also enable energy savings and prioritization of energy usage.