Modelling transport phenomena in refrigerated food bulks, packages and stacks: basics and advances

Abstract

Transport phenomena, comprising airflow, heat and mass transfer, are key processes in refrigerated storage. This paper gives a review of approaches to modelling transport phenomena in food bulks, packages and stacks. Darcy–Forchheimer porous media models have been successfully used. Ergun theory was found not directly applicable when foods are stored in packages, which cause flow confinement and vent hole resistance, invalidating traditional theory. Heat and mass transfer in food bulks has been modelled using single- and two-phase models. Suggested modifications were demonstrated to not be generally valid, leaving much scope for further development of models for refrigerated system design. Direct CFD approaches were shown to be successful alternatives to achieve this goal.