Lilian Daniel Kaale

Modeling and Simulation of Food Products in Superchilling Technology

The food superchilling process is of increasing importance because of its benefit in achieving food quality and extending shelf life of food products. The rate of the superchilling process is critical to the products’ quality and to the productivity of the process, and therefore the superchilling dynamics are of extreme importance. The objective of this work was to develop a one-dimensional implicit finite difference numerical model for predicting partial freezing time necessary to achieve an optimal degree of superchilling in foods and to validate the model experimentally. The evaluation of degree of superchilling was determined using finite slab and measured by using a calorimetry method. There is a good level of agreement between numerical simulation and laboratory experimental results.