Design and fabrication of a heat pipe and thermoelectric cooler-based food delivery box for vehicles

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a notable surge in interest regarding the application of heat pipe and thermoelectric cooling technologies to recuperate waste heat, conserve energy, and augment thermal efficiency across diverse commercial and engineering domains. Particularly within the realm of food delivery services reliant on online ordering systems for the conveyance of freshly prepared meals from restaurants to consumers, sustaining the quality of food during transit poses a significant challenge due to heat dissipation from food containers over extended transportation distances. Consequently, maintaining optimal food temperature or beverage warmth in online orders becomes a pressing concern. This investigation's primary goal was to design and construct a portable heating-cooling chamber that would maintain food temperature during transportation. This technological endeavor offers a viable solution to contemporary energy dilemmas by leveraging electricity and waste energy from vehicles to furnish efficient cooling and heating mechanisms. The heating aspect of the chamber is facilitated by a meticulously developed heat pipe system that utilizes deionized water as the working fluid. Experimental results reveal that a 75 % filling ratio engenders optimal heat pipe performance across varying input power levels. The proposed design amalgamates a heating and cooling chamber, integrates a thermosyphon heat pipe within the exhaust gas trajectory to recuperate dissipated heat, and harnesses the vehicle battery to power a thermoelectric cooler. Experimental results substantiate the efficacy of the thermosyphon heat pipe in elevating the heating chamber's temperature to 48 °C within a span of 25 min, while concurrently, the thermoelectric cooler achieves the desired cooling chamber temperature of 5 °C within a mere 8 min.