Thermal sterilization of canned food in a 3-D pouch using computational fluid dynamics
- 31 May 2001
- journal article
- Published by Elsevier BV in Journal of Food Engineering
- Vol. 48 (2), 147-156
- https://doi.org/10.1016/s0260-8774(00)00150-3
Abstract
Sterilization of food in cans has been well studied both experimentally and theoretically, but little or no work has been done on sterilization of food in pouches. The food pouches have only been recently introduced to the market. In this study, transient temperature, velocity profiles and the shape of the slowest heating zone (SHZ) have been established for a uniformly heated three-dimensional pouch containing carrot–orange soup, using saturated steam at 121°C. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code PHOENICS was used for this purpose. The liquid food used in the simulation has temperature-dependent viscosity and density. From the simulations, the maximum axial velocity of the soup was found to be , which was due to the small height of the pouch and high viscosity of the soup. The SHZ was found to migrate into a region within 30–40% of the pouch height above the bottom and at a distance approximately 20–30% of the pouch length from its widest end. The experimental measurements were conducted at Heinz Watties Australasia based in New Zealand. The measured temperature at different locations in the pouch was compared with that predicted. Both results were found to be in good agreement. The results of a simulation done for the same pouch geometry and material considering pure conduction mechanism were also presented for the purpose of comparison.
Keywords
This publication has 13 references indexed in Scilit:
- An investigation of deactivation of bacteria in a canned liquid food during sterilization using computational fluid dynamics (CFD)Journal of Food Engineering, 1999
- Numerical simulation of natural convection heating of canned food by computational fluid dynamicsJournal of Food Engineering, 1999
- The application of computational fluid dynamics in the food industryTrends in Food Science & Technology, 1997
- Transient temperature and velocity profiles in a canned non-Newtonian liquid food during sterilization in a still-cook retortInternational Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 1991
- Numerical Simulation of Natural Convection Heating of Canned Thick Viscous Liquid Food ProductsJournal of Food Science, 1990
- Numerically Predicted Transient Temperature and Velocity Profiles During Natural Convection Heating of Canned Liquid FoodsJournal of Food Science, 1988
- Numerical Modeling of Natural Convection Heating in Canned Liquid FoodsTransactions of the ASAE, 1987
- A Method for Thermal Process Evaluation of Conduction Heated Foods in Retortable PouchesJournal of Food Science, 1987
- Computer-Based Retort Control Logic for On-Line Correction of Process DeviationsJournal of Food Science, 1986
- The Finite Element Method in Thermal Processing of FoodsJournal of Food Science, 1983