Modelling Of Heat And Mass Transfer In Capillary-porous Food Products

The present project concerns fundamental analysis of heat and mass transfer (including evaporation and condensation) in animal food products. Mathematical and physical models are formulated and further developed to enable improved understanding of the transport processes and reveal the influence of essential parameters. Prediction and analysis of heat and mass transfer for cooking of meat patty in a double-sided contact fryer are provided. The governing partial differential equations, which are coupled, are solved by a finite difference technique. In particular, the bounday conditions are treated carefully. The mathematical and physical models, the governing equations and the boundary conditions are presented in detail. The numerical method is briefly described. Results from a few simulations is reported. Parametric studies were carried out by changing the heat transfer coefficient, effective thermal conductivity for the crust and the core, diffusion coefficient, patty height and temperature of the surrounding. The calculated cooking time was found to be most influenced by the effective thermal conductivity in the core, the height of the meat patty and the heat transfer coefficient, in descending order of importance.