USE OF LIQUID GAS COOLING FOR REFRIGERATOR VANS. THE ATMOSPHERE CREATED INSIDE REFRIGERATOR VANS COOLED BY DIFFERENT MEANS

Tests were carried out by Specialists Committee B 94 to find the atmospheric conditions which would occur inside refrigerator vans cooled by various methods involving the evaporation of liquids or solids in open systems. To find whether liquid air would be suitable for use as a refrigerating medium measurements were made of the composition of the contents of two insulated liquid air vessels which were placed, with openings to the atmosphere, in a large room under normal atmospheric conditions. It was found that as natural evaporation occurred considerable fractionation of the air took place, the last remaining contents of the vessels being almost pure oxygen. A second test was carried out using one of these vessels, fitted with a spray evaporation system similar to that provided in liquid nitrogen cooled refrigerator vans, placed in a small insulated chamber representing a refrigerator van body. The oxygen contents of the chamber was checked during the evaporation of liquid air and was found to increase beyond the safety limit for carrying perishable vegetable foodstuffs. Tests carried out to check whether similar effects could occur with industrial liquid nitrogen, which might contain a small amount of oxygen, showed that there was no risk of ultimate oxygen enrichment occurring. Measurements of the atmosphere formed inside nitrogen cooled vans are results obtained statically. Report RP 4 concerning tests carried out on the line will give further details of dynamic results with varying loads. Tests carried out on a COORA controlled dry ice cooled refrigerator van, to measure the escape of gaseous CO sub 2 in the loading space of the van, showed that CO sub 2 concentrations up to 68% inside of the body can be reached.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Restrictions on the use of this document are contained in the explanatory material.
• Corporate Authors:

  International Union of Railways

  Office of Research and Experiments
  Utrecht,   Netherlands 
• Publication Date: 1969-10

Media Info

• Features: Figures;
• Pagination: 28 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Heat insulating materials; Liquid nitrogen; Perishables; Refrigeration (Structures); Refrigerator cars; Tests
• Identifier Terms: Arsenal (Vienna, Austria)
• Old TRIS Terms: Question b94
• Subject Areas: Construction; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00052925
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: International Union of Railways
• Report/Paper Numbers: B94/RP 3/E
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 27 1977 12:00AM