Combining Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis with Fluid Flow Visualization and Heat Transfer Measurements for Evaluating the Thermal Performance of an Industrial Spiral-Belt Food Freezer

DOI Web Site

Search this article

Description

<p>The evaluation of the thermal performance of a spiral-belt food freezer is important for optimizing its thermal design for industrial use. However, it is difficult to understand the behavior inside industrial freezers owing to their large volumes and complicated structures. In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was applied together with a wind tunnel test model to estimate the thermo-fluid behavior inside a spiral-belt freezer. First, the heat transfer coefficient on the surface of the food cooling model was calculated through two-dimensional CFD simulations by using the AKN k-ε turbulence model. Then, the heat conduction equations for a stainless-steel block (ANSI 304) were evaluated. In addition, the stainless-steel block was cooled in wind-tunnel experiments under the same boundary conditions as the CFD simulations. The cooling time of the stainless-steel block predicted through CFD showed good agreement with the experimental cooling time. Thus, the combination of CFD and such experiments can be useful for elucidating the complicated thermo-fluid behavior inside freezers with high accuracy and relatively low calculation costs.</p>

Journal

Keywords

Details 詳細情報について

Report a problem

Back to top