Cooling performance of modular fish hold for 30 gross-tonnage fishing vessel

Abstract

This study analysed cooling performance in the fish holds of 30 gross tonnage fishing vessels to optimise the temperature distribution through the cargo volume in the fish hold. A field survey determined the calculation parameters and the fish hold's geometric design. The fluid flow characteristics and product cooling times were determined using a computational fluid dynamic simulation and a performance coefficient of the refrigeration cycles. The simulation result shows that the fastest cooling time occurs when the velocity inlet is 8 m/s at 100% cargo loads. The estimated cooling time until the product load reaches a temperature of −5°C is 2 hours 15 minutes. The required power consumption of the compressor is 3.22 kW and of the condenser is 16.29 kW. The refrigeration system performance coefficient is 4.06. These performance results indicate that the designed fish hold is effective in fish cooling.