MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY

This project focuses on Brassica oleracea locally known as cabbage or ‘repolyo’ as

termed in the Philippines. The production of cabbage is vast for upland areas of the Philippines.
The total yield for cabbages can be computed using the formula below:

total production ( area of plantation ) (0.70)

 Equation (1) Yield =
total area planted (3)

where: yield = total yield for storage, kg/harvest

total production, kg/year
area of cabbage plantation, ha
0.70 = percentage of good quality cabbage to be stored in the cold storage facility
total area planted, ha
3 = frequency of harvest per year

For economic purposes, the total area of plantation of cabbage is assumed to be less than
70 hectares. Total yield of cabbage for storage is assumed to have a 30% loss brought by
processes prior to storage such as trimming and washing. Harvesting season can be done
quarterly depending on the condition and variety of cabbage considered.

DESIGN PROCESS
After taking into consideration the number of yield, the number of pallets containing
specific category of cabbage size will be computed using the presented equation below:
total yield of cabbage for harvest , kg
 Equation (2) number of pallets =
mass of cabbage each crate can hold , kg
Table 1. Dimensions of each polyethylene box.

Length = 2 ft.

Width = 1 ft.
Height = 1.2 ft.

With the assumption of medium-size cabbage, with specific weight and diameter, the number of
cabbage that a pallet could handle could be computed using the specified equation below:
mass of cabbage each pallet can hold , kg
 Equation (3) number of cabbage per pallet =
mass of cabbage , kg
Consequently, pallets could be arranged per set within different layers. It could be computed
using equation 4 below.

 Equation (4) number of pallets per set = (number of crates per layer)(number of layers)
And the number of set made with respect to the number of pallets is computed using the
equation:
total number of pallets
 Equation (5) number of sets =
number of pallets per set
The total dimensions of the cold storage facility, as listed in Table 2 were then computed
using the formulas,

 Equation (6) Length = (number of sets per length)(number of pallets per length)
(length of each pallet) + allowance
 Equation (7) Width = (number of sets per width) (number of pallets per width)
(width of each pallet) + allowance

 Equation (8) Height = (height of each pallet) (number of layers) + allowance

Note : allowances are considered based to accommodate changes and external factors.
For instance the size of the facility could be of the following dimensions.
Table 2. Dimensions of the cold storage facility

Length = 45 m

Width = 30 m
Height = 7 m
CALCULATION OF COOLING TIME
The evaluation of cooling time of the cabbage was done using the process summarized on
the flowchart below.
 Figure 1. A flowchart showing the procedures in calculating the required cooling time for
cabbage. . Adapted from ASHRAE, 2010.

Table 3. Equations used in the calculation of the cooling time of cabbage.

Paramet Formula Assumptions

er
β1 second s h ortest dimension of cabbage
β 1=
s h ortest dimensionof cabbage Cabbages inside the cold storage
facility are uniform in dimension,
β2 longest dimension of cabbage diameter = 6 inches
β 2=
s h ortest dimension of cabbage

Bi hL Convective heat transfer coefficient, h

Bi=
k W
= 15 2
m K

L = Radius of cabbage , r 0 = 3 inches

Thermal conductivity, k = 0.5268

W
mK
Eo
From Table 4, Chapter 19 of
ASHRAE (2010), the following
geometric parameters are assumed:
p1=1.01
p2=1.24
λ=1
jc γ1 = 1
γ 2=1
N=3

j∞ j ∞=1.271+.305 exp ( 0.172 γ 1−0.155 γ 22) + 0.42 exp ⁡(0.09 γ 2−0.128 γ 22)

jm j m =μ j c
μ 1.5+0.69 Bi N
μ= (1.5+Bi )
ω ωc otω+ Bi−1=0

Y T m −T
Y=
T m−T i Medium temperature, T m = -0.5°C
 Initial temperature of product, T i =
Ambient temperature of the location =
19°C

Required cooling temperature of

cabbage, T = 0°C

Ɵ 3 ρC L2 j Density of cabbage, ρ = 433 kg/m3

Ɵ= 2
ln
ω KE Y

CALCULATION OF TYPES OF LOADS

A. Product Load
Table 4. Properties of cabbage used in the computation of product load

Property Value Unit

moisture content 92.15 %
initial freezing point -0.9 °C
specific heat above 4.02 KJ/kg-K
freezing
specific heat below 1.85 KJ/kg-K
freezing
latent heat of fusion 308 KJ/kg
heat of respiration 0.016 W/g
thermal conductivity 0.5268 W/m-K
initial temperature 19 °C
required cooling 0 °C
temperature
total mass 228, 475.6833 kg

The sensible heat and heat of respiration of cabbage were computed using equations (9)
and (10), respectively.

 Equation (9) q sens =m C p (T 1−T 2)

where
q sens = sensible heat, KJ
m = mass of product, kg
Cp = specific heat of product above freezing point, KJ/kg-K
T1 = initial temperature of product, K
T2 = required cooling temperature of product, K
  Equation (10) q resp=mR

where
q resp= heat of respiration, KJ
m = mass of product, W/g

The total product load was then computed using equation (11)

 Equation (11) q ∏ ¿=¿ ¿ q sens+ q resp

where
q ∏ ¿¿= total product load, KJ

B. Air infiltration load

In the computation of the air infiltration load, some properties are assumed, as
summarized in Table 5.

Table 5. Properties used in the computation of air infiltration load

Property Value Unit

doorway flow factor 0.8
effectiveness of 0.95
doorway protective
device
number of doorway 6
passages
door open-close time 15 seconds per
passage
time door simply 30 minutes
stands open
daily time period 8 hours
infiltration enthalpy 57.21 KJ/kg-K
air specific 0.8358 m3/kg
volume
humidity 0.0138 kg-v/kg-da
ratio

enthalpy 9.283 KJ/kg-K

refrigerate specific 0.7777 m3/kg
d air volume
humidity 0.003699 kg-v/kg-da
ratio
 Since a forklift truck, with a width of 1.3 m and a height of 1.5m (SOURCE) was
used to carry the pallets of cabbage inside the cold storage facility, the door was assumed
to have a height of 2.1 m and a length of 2m with a total area of 4.2 m2
The doorway open-time factor, Dt was calculated as

 Equation (12)

The sensible and latent heat refrigeration load for fully established flow was calculated as

 Equation (13)

The density of infiltration air, ρi and refrigerated air, ρr was computed using the formula
ω+1
 Equation (14) ρ=
ν
where
ρ = density of refrigerated air/infiltration air, kg/m3
ω = humidity ratio of refrigerated air/infiltration air, kg-v/kg-da
ν = specific volume of refrigerated air/infiltration air, m3/kg

The density factor, Fm was computed using the equation,

 Equation (15)

The infiltration load was then computed using the formula,

 Equation (16) q infil = q Dt Df (1-E)

where
q infil = infiltration load, kW
Dt = doorway open-time factor
Df = doorway flow factor
E = effectiveness of doorway protective device

C. Transmission load

In the computation of transmission load properties are assumed in the table below:

Table 6. Properties used in the computation of transmission load.

Convective heat Thermal Thickness, mm

transfer conductivity (
coefficient ( W
)
W m−K
2 )
m −K
walls concrete 1.5 170
and styrofoam 0.026 100
floor HD300
door aluminum 205 0.8
polyeurethane 0.03 0.1016
foam
ceiling Plywood 0.13 6
Styrofoam 0.026 100
HD300
Ambient temperature 10
= 19°C
Inside temperature = 15
0°C
Source

The heat transfer, U of the walls, floor, and ceiling can be computed with the
equation below:
 Equation (17)
1
U=
1 x 1
+ +
hi k h f
where
U = overall heat transfer coefficient, W/(m2-K)
x = wall thickness, m
k = thermal conductivity of wall material, W/ (m-K)
hi = inside surface conductance, W/ (m2-K)
h f = outside surface conductance, W/ (m2-K)

The total transmission load is then computed using the equation,

 Equation (18) qtrans= UA∆ T

where
qtrans = transmission load, W
A= outside area of section, m2
∆ T = difference between outside air temperature and air
temperature of the refrigerated space, K
D. Internal Load
The internal load of the cold storage facility can be attributed to the following:
people load, polyethylene box pallets, lights, forklifts, and fans.
For the attributed to people, the equation below can be use.

 Equation (19) qperson = (272-6T) (N)

where
qperson = heat load contributed by personnel, kJ/hr
T = temperature of the refrigerated space, °C
N = number of working personnel

Polyethylene box pallets of cabbage also contribute to the total internal load
inside the cold storage facility is computed as:

 Equation (20) qpallet = (mCp∆ T) (N)

where
qpallet = heat load contributed by pallets, kJ
m = mass of each crate, kg
∆T = difference between outside air temperature and air
temperature of the refrigerated space, K
N = total number of pallets used
Equipments contribute to the internal heat load since they dissipate electrical
energy. The heat load contributed by the lighting for instance was computed as,
 Equation (21) qlights = (heatgen) (A)(N)
where
qlights = heat load contributed by lighting, kJ/hr
heatgen = heat generated by each lighting fixture, W/m2
N = total number of lighting fixtures
Consequently, the heat load contributed by the fans were computed as

 Equation (22) qfans = (heatgen) (N)

where
qfans = heat load contributed by the fans, KW
heatgen = heat generated by each fan
N = total number of fans
E. Equipment load
The equipment load was computed using the formula,

 Equation (23) q equip = 0.05 ((q ∏ ¿+q infil

+qtrans+q
∫¿ ¿
¿ )

where
q equip = equipment load, kJ
q ∏ ¿¿ = product load, kJ
q infil= infiltration load, kJ
q trans = transmission load, kJ
q∫ ¿¿ = internal load, kJ

With a safety factor the total refrigeration cooling load was then computed as

 Equation (23) q total =q ∏ ¿+q infil

+qtrans+q
∫¿+ qequip + SF ¿
¿

where
q total = total refrigeration cooling load, kJ
q ∏ ¿¿ = product load, kJ
q infil= infiltration load, kJ
q trans = transmission load, kJ
q∫ ¿¿ = internal load, kJ
q equip = equipment load, kJ
SF = safety factor = 0.10