Variable Refrigeration Bulkheads for Trailer Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Refrigerator vehicles face high fuel and oil costs due to maintaining a constant low temperature in the refrigeration trailer regardless of load quantity and volume, leading to unnecessary energy consumption and system overload.
Innovation Solution
A loading space variable refrigeration system that uses movable horizontal and vertical bulkheads to create uncooling regions within the trailer, allowing for adjustment of the cooling space based on load volume, with the bulkheads being operated by a hoist and transfer apparatus to control airflow and reduce cooling demand.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If the refrigeration trailer maintains constant low temperature in the entire inner space regardless of load quantity and volume, then the temperature stability is improved, but the fuel and oil consumption increases and the refrigeration system becomes overloaded
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigeration trailer's inner space is divided into a cooling space and an uncooling region using movable bulkheads. The cooling space is further segmented into a front cooling space and a rear cooling space by a vertical bulkhead that can be moved forward or rearward. This segmentation allows the refrigeration system to cool only the necessary portions of the trailer based on load requirements, reducing energy consumption while maintaining temperature stability in the loaded areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The bulkheads (horizontal and vertical) are designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing dynamic adjustment of the cooling space volume according to load quantity and volume. The horizontal bulkhead can move up or down to adjust the vertical extent of the cooling space, while the vertical bulkhead can move forward or rearward to adjust the longitudinal extent. This dynamic adaptability enables the system to optimize energy usage by matching the cooled volume to the actual load requirements.
2Use of energy by stationary object
If fixed partition walls are used to divide the inner space of the refrigeration trailer, then the cooling space can be reduced, but the adaptability to variable loads and loading operation convenience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The bulkheads are designed with movable capabilities - the horizontal bulkhead can move up and down along guide rails, and the vertical bulkhead can move forward and rearward along tracks. This mobility allows the cooling space to be dynamically adjusted to match various load configurations, providing adaptability that fixed partition walls cannot achieve while still reducing energy consumption compared to cooling the entire trailer space.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable bulkhead system serves multiple functions: it acts as a physical barrier to separate cooled from uncooled regions, provides adjustable volume control for the cooling space, and enables flexible adaptation to different load types and quantities. The same bulkhead structure can be positioned at various locations to accommodate diverse loading scenarios, making the system universally applicable to different refrigeration needs.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the entire inner space is maintained at low temperature, then the temperature uniformity is improved, but the system capacity requirement increases causing overload
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigeration system is segmented into zones that require cooling (loading spaces) and zones that do not (uncooling regions). The movable bulkheads create distinct thermal zones, allowing the refrigeration system to concentrate its cooling capacity on the loaded areas only. This segmentation reduces the total power requirement while maintaining temperature uniformity within the active cooling zones.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of applying uniform cooling to the entire trailer space, the system applies localized cooling only to the areas containing loads. The horizontal and vertical bulkheads define the boundaries of these local cooling zones, allowing the refrigeration system to operate at lower capacity while maintaining appropriate temperature conditions in the loaded regions.
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 system reduces fuel and oil costs by varying the cooling space according to load volume, preventing system overload and allowing for simple operator-controlled adjustments without the need for additional labor, thereby optimizing energy usage.
Implementation Method 1
the liquid refrigerant absorbs ambient heat while being instantaneously gasified, and cool air is created around the evaporator
Implementation Method 2
the compressor is driven by power of a sub-engine provided at the refrigeration trailer 20, a high-temperature, low-pressure refrigerant is changed into a medium-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant in the condenser as the compressor is driven
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a loading space variable refrigeration system of a refrigerator vehicle, which can vary a loading space in a refrigeration trailer of a refrigerator vehicle according to volume of loads, thereby reducing fuel and oil costs for cool-air supply and can rapidly vary the loading space through simple operator manipulation. The refrigeration system includes a horizontal bulkhead moving in an upper space of the refrigeration trailer and defining the upper space and a vertical bulkhead moving in a rear space of the refrigeration trailer and defining the rear space, wherein an uncooling region is set in a cooling space of the refrigeration trailer by the horizontal and vertical bulkheads.