Reproducing Cold-Chain Conditions in Real Time Using a Controlled Peltier-Based Climate System

Area of Science:

• Food Science and Technology
• Engineering
• Control Systems

Background:

• Temperature fluctuations during refrigerated transport compromise food quality and shelf life.
• Reproducing realistic cold-chain temperature profiles in laboratory settings is technically difficult.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a compact, portable climate chamber capable of high-fidelity reproduction of real refrigerated-truck temperature histories.
• To create a reliable platform for cold-chain experiments and predictive modeling.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Peltier modules and an identification-guided control architecture with cascaded PID regulators.
• Implemented advanced control strategies including derivative filtering, anti-windup, Smith predictor, and hysteresis-based switching.
• Integrated distributed sensors for real-time temperature and humidity feedback.

Main Results:

• Achieved high accuracy in reproducing long-term (36-day) temperature traces with minimal error (MAE≅0.19 °C, RMSE≅0.33 °C).
• Demonstrated superior transient and steady-state performance compared to traditional control methods.
• Showcased tolerance to humidity variations without compromising control performance.

Conclusions:

• The developed portable climate chamber serves as a reproducible physical twin for cold-chain research.
• Enables accurate data generation for training predictive shelf-life and digital-twin models.
• Contributes to reducing food waste through improved quality assessment and supply chain management.