Abstract
A key issue with the distribution of vaccines to prevent COVID-19 is the temperature level required during transport, storage, and distribution. Typical refrigerated transport containers can provide a temperature-controlled environment down to −30 °C. However, the Pfizer vaccine must be carefully transported and stored under a lower temperature between −80 °C and − 60 °C. One way to provide the required temperature is to pack the vaccine vials into small packages containing dry ice. Dry ice sublimates from a solid to a gas, which limits the allowable transport duration. This can be mitigated by transporting in a − 30 °C refrigerated container. Moreover, because the dry ice will sublimate and thereby release CO2 gas into the transport container, monitoring the CO2 concentration within the refrigerated container is also essential. In the present work, a 3D computational fluid dynamics model was developed based on a commercially available refrigerated container and validated with experimental data. The airflow, temperature distribution, and CO2 concentration within the container were obtained from the simulations. The modeling results can provide guidance on preparing experimental setups, thus saving time and lowering cost, and also provide insight into safety precautions needed to avoid hazardous conditions associated with the release of CO2 during vaccine distribution.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 105749 |
| Journal | International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer |
| Volume | 130 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2022 |
Funding
Funding for this research was provided by the US Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy . The authors would like to thank Erika Gupta, Ed Vineyard, and Samuel Petty, program managers of the Building Technologies Office, for her support of this work. The authors would like to thank Nader Awwad, Chris Repice, Douglas Auyer, and David Brisson from Carrier Global Corporation for providing some test data. The authors would like to thank the support from Anthony Gehl, Gerald Barth, Margaret Smith, and Brandy Milun of Oak Ridge National Laboratory for preparing the laboratory test. The authors would like to thank the leadership team's support from Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Energy Science and Technology Directorate (Xin Sun, Lonnie Love, Marti Head, Mellissa Lapsa, Joe Hagerman, Ron Ott, Richard Raines, Robert Wagner, and Yarom Polsky) and Carrier Global Corporation (Bruce Hoopes, Yu Chen, Stella Oggianu, and James Fan). Funding for this research was provided by the US Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The authors would like to thank Erika Gupta, Ed Vineyard, and Samuel Petty, program managers of the Building Technologies Office, for her support of this work. The authors would like to thank Nader Awwad, Chris Repice, Douglas Auyer, and David Brisson from Carrier Global Corporation for providing some test data. The authors would like to thank the support from Anthony Gehl, Gerald Barth, Margaret Smith, and Brandy Milun of Oak Ridge National Laboratory for preparing the laboratory test. The authors would like to thank the leadership team's support from Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Energy Science and Technology Directorate (Xin Sun, Lonnie Love, Marti Head, Mellissa Lapsa, Joe Hagerman, Ron Ott, Richard Raines, Robert Wagner, and Yarom Polsky) and Carrier Global Corporation (Bruce Hoopes, Yu Chen, Stella Oggianu, and James Fan).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Carrier Global Corporation | |
| Erika Gupta | |
| Oak Ridge National Laboratory | |
| U.S. Department of Energy | |
| Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy |
Keywords
- CFD modeling
- CO concentration
- Refrigerated container
- Vaccine distribution