Thermal simulation of the effect of solar radiation on the temperature increases on the refrigerated container walls

Temperature increases due to solar radiation exposure in the container walls of a refrigerated container affects its energy consumption. The aim of this paper is to simulate thermal effect of solar radiation on the temperature increases on the refrigerated container surfaces by means of computational fluid dynamics. Thermal simulation was conducted with interactions between the container surfaces, taking into account the physical properties and environmental conditions, and the solar radiation is modelled using heat transfer processes. The simulation results were in good agreement with the measurement data, found the existence heat accumulation of the container walls and thermal stratification in between refrigerated containers. Results of the study indicate that heat penetration occurs from the outer surface to the inner surface of the container exceeding 4.3°C, and the thermal stratification clearly exists in gap spaces between stacks of refrigerated containers.