Application of FDM and FEM in solving the simultaneous heat and moisture transfer inside bread during baking

Abstract

Heat and mass transfer inside bread during baking can be taken as a multiphase flow problem, involving heat, liquid water and water vapour. Among the various developed models, the one based on an evaporation–condensation mechanism well explains several unique phenomenal observations during baking, and is most promising. This paper presents the results of numerically solving the one-dimensional case of this simultaneous transfer model by applying finite difference methods (FDM) and finite element methods (FEM). In particular, various FDM and FEM schemes are applied and the sensitivity of the results to the changes within the parameters are studied. Changes in bread temperature and moisture are characterised by some critical values such as peak water level and dry-out time. Comparison between the results by FDM and FEM is made.