THE INVESTIGATE OF THERMAL PERFORMANCE OF BC FLUTE CORRUGATED AND HONEYCOMB CARDBOARD BOXES

Transportation of food is one reason for global warming because foam boxes are popularly used for the transportation of fresh products, perishable food, etc. Corrugated boxes are emerging as a sustainable alternative to traditional polyurethane boxes due to their easy recycling and insulation capabilities. This study investigates the effectiveness of two-stack boxes, one featuring a corrugated box with a BC flute and the other incorporating a honeycomb structure. The experiment involves placing an ice cube inside the boxes and monitoring temperature changes over an 8-hour period in a controlled environment using DHT sensors positioned at six different points. A 2D heat equation is then employed to model heat transfer within the box, with convection boundary conditions applied along the box's sides. The equation is solved using Finite Element in MATLAB, with the initial condition derived from the collected data using a second-degree polynomial regression. Results showed that the stack boxes can maintain temperatures below 17 degrees Celsius for 8 hours, aligning with the experiment’s findings. Moreover, we compared the temperature change results between using two-stack boxes: the outside is corrugated with BC flute, and the inside is a honeycomb structure and only corrugated with BC flute as insulation. The comparison shows that the two-stack boxes as insulation had better temperature retention.