CoolFood - Experimental and numerical analysis of conjugate heat and mass transfer phenomena in food freezing using hydrofluidisation impingement method
The main aim of the CoolFood project funded for the National Science Centre is to describe fundamental processes that occur during a hydrofluidisation (HF) impingement method of food freezing by means of advanced mathematical models and series of experiments. One of the most important advantages of this still emerging method is a short freezing time, low exploitation costs in the whole process and the resulting good food quality and the attractive product appearance.
In the mathematical description, all the physical phenomena responsible for the freezing process are taken into consideration. For this reason, the developed algorithm consider the turbulent flow of the refrigerant jet on the surface of food products. A separate mathematical model is developed for the heat and mass transfer processes within the product. Then these two models of the refrigerant flow and the food product are coupled. The developed coupled model is then validated at each stage of its development using advanced experimental techniques. The velocity field of the refrigerant flow is measured by means of the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) method on the dedicated test rig, while the spot temperatures will be recorded within the product. As a result of the numerical computations and experimental tests, the effective heat transfer in HF impingement method will be characterised.
The main aim of the CoolFood project funded for the National Science Centre is to describe fundamental processes that occur during a hydrofluidisation (HF) impingement method of food freezing by means of advanced mathematical models and series of experiments. One of the most important advantages of this still emerging method is a short freezing time, low exploitation costs in the whole process and the resulting good food quality and the attractive product appearance.
In the mathematical description, all the physical phenomena responsible for the freezing process are taken into consideration. For this reason, the developed algorithm consider the turbulent flow of the refrigerant jet on the surface of food products. A separate mathematical model is developed for the heat and mass transfer processes within the product. Then these two models of the refrigerant flow and the food product are coupled. The developed coupled model is then validated at each stage of its development using advanced experimental techniques. The velocity field of the refrigerant flow is measured by means of the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) method on the dedicated test rig, while the spot temperatures will be recorded within the product. As a result of the numerical computations and experimental tests, the effective heat transfer in HF impingement method will be characterised.