Aiding the understanding of novel freezing technology through numerical modelling with visual basic for applications (VBA)

Abstract

AbstractThe rapid freezing of food is an important challenge faced by the frozen food industry, and investigations into more rapid and energy efficient ways of freezing foods are regularly carried out. Novel freezing technologies are not generally looked at by undergraduate engineers, as the techniques involved often require expensive or tightly regulated pilot equipment and may also involve complex underlying phenomena. However, computer‐aided studies can be used to put students in touch with the real engineering of novel freezing technology, and can add to their analysis and design skills by allowing them to study phenomena that may not have otherwise understood. In this paper, a one‐dimensional finite difference simulation procedure describing a novel freezing process, known as high‐pressure freezing, is presented. The freezing simulations are represented by an explicit enthalpy formulation, and agree well with experimental data. VBA was used during code development, and served as an attractive way to introduce engineering students to the analysis of novel freezing technology. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 21: 530–538, 2013