Effect of Soft Foamed Polyethylene and/or Aluminum Material on the Properties of a Portable Mini-Cold Room

In this investigation, effects of soft foamed polyethylene (FPE) and/or aluminum (AL) material on the properties of mini-cold room were investigated. Experiments showed that the thermal conductivity of FPE material with foaming rates of 15 and 45 were 0.0270 w/m · k and 0.0334 w/m · k, respectively. Thermal conductivity improved with increasing foaming rates. The thermal conductivity and heat flux of FPE materials with different outer layers were also measured. Aluminum material could provide best heat preservation properties for the FPE insulation material. The frost accumulation and the electricity consumption of mini store-room prepared with FPE + AL material were the lowest. The decay, bleaching rate and shattering rate of table grapes were 1.9%, 7.1%, and 4.2%, and the decay rate, weight loss and fruit firmness of the apples fruits were 0.5%, 0.47%, and 8.11 Kg/cm 2 , respectively, after storage at 0°C for 150 days in mini cold storage prepared with FPE + AL material. The fruits of Kyoho table grapes and "Fuji" apples in this mini-cold room exhibited better quality than those in the control cold storage room. The application of mini-cold room prepared with foamed PE material covered with aluminum material could not only provide excellent thermal insulation performance, but improve the quality of fruits.