AN ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFICIENCY OF SELECTED REFRIGERATION UNITS OF VEHICLES FOR FOOD TRANSPORT DEPENDING ON THE OPERATING CONDITIONS

This paper represents an attempt to determine the efficiency of refrigeration units of selected types of food transport vehicles, taking into account their operating conditions. The tests included a delivery vehicle, a truck and a semi-trailer. The monitoring covered transport in the summer and winter seasons that requires intensive use of cooling systems associated with the necessity to open the cargo space multiple times at various times. The results indicate difficulties in maintaining refrigeration standards in the transport of food in the operating conditions tested. The monitoring showed an increase in temperature inside the isothermal car body up to the level of 14[degrees]C. The results of the research indicate the use of properly configured calculation algorithms to theoretically determine the efficiency of refrigeration units taking into account the conditions of vehicle operation. The test results indicate that the final correctness of the configuration of cooling devices requires verification in field conditions. Keywords: food transport; refrigerated transport; operating conditions; cold chain