On the influence of external factors on the heat transfer coefficient of the body of a specialized vehicle for the transportation of perishable freight

Satisfying the needs of the population in the delivery of perishable freight of good quality largely depends on the stable operation of specialized vehicles and the accuracy of calculating the deadline for transporting freight to the consumer. The main value used to calculate the deadline for the transportation of perishable freight by rail is the heat transfer coefficient of the body of an insulated car or container. The accuracy of estimating this value is especially important when using isothermal cars or containers that are not equipped with cooling or heating systems as specialized vehicles. In this paper authors assess the influence of some external factors on the value of the heat transfer coefficient of the body of an isothermal vehicle. The change in the heat transfer coefficient due to the influence of the speed of the isothermal vehicle and insolation is taken into account. The heat transfer coefficients from the internal and external building envelopes to the ambient air for the standing car and during its movement are determined to assess the change in the heat transfer coefficient from the criterion dependencies. Taking into account real external factors, in particular outdoor temperature, humidity, train speed, significantly affects the heat transfer coefficient of the body of an isothermal vehicle, the value was determined in stationary conditions of the workshop and underlying the calculation of the maximum permissible terms for the transportation of perishable freights. This value is excellent from the actual value. As a result of the calculations, a discrepancy of the value of the deadline for the transportation of perishable freights in comparison with the current method is 3–10 %.Changes to the existing methodology will reduce the risk of delivery of perishable freight of inadequate quality due to incorrectly calculated deadlines for transportation.