Progress 10/01/05 to 09/30/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Computer-aided engineering tools can help speed up food product, process and equipment design by making it easier to check ''what if'' scenarios, much as such tools have improved productivity in other industries. In particular, food safety is a critical area where such predictive tools can have great impact. A realistic, integrated and comprehensive software has been developed that can simulate a food process and its safety by combining a fundamental, physics-based model of the process with the kinetics of microbiological and chemical changes during processing to provide needed information at any time and at any location in the food during processing. Compositions for a large number of foods are integrated into the software, and therefore, composition-based prediction of thermophysical properties, needed for the model, can be obtained. Microbiological and chemical kinetic databases that are also built-in can cover many practical situations, based on the grouping of foods. An intuitive graphical user interface has been built with those in the food sector in mind. Two process models (meat cooking and frying), that can be included as part of the above safety software, are developed with considerable effort. A heat and mass transport model based on saturated flow in a deformable porous media, which accounts for the important physical phenomena that take place during single-sided contact-heating of lean hamburger patties, is developed. Initially refrigerated, the patty is treated as a porous medium comprising of liquid water in the pore space of a solid matrix. As the patty is heated, proteins denature and water holding capacity of the patty drops, resulting in moisture transport in the pore space. Loss of moisture results in shrinkage. Moisture transport and shrinkage of the patty are modeled using mass conservation and solid momentum balance equations, respectively. Local thermal equilibrium assumption leads to one energy balance equation for the whole system. The model is validated for single-sided contact heating of hamburger patties by comparing temperature, moisture and diameter change histories with experimental measurements. Uncertainty in the model predictions is quantified by performing a sensitivity analysis on relevant input parameters. Likewise, heat and mass transport model for deep frying process has been developed. Both the frying and meat cooking models will become integrated in the computer-aided engineering software mentioned above. PARTICIPANTS: P. Michael Davidson, Univ. of Tennessee S. Zivanovic, Univ. of Tennessee TARGET AUDIENCES: Food Safety Extension Food Science Education PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
We have raised the level of understanding of process and related safety issues in how meat cooks or how deep frying takes place, to a new high. The framework developed is extended to improved understanding of a number of food processes where the food material changes significantly as well as shrinks. The software is intended to be a comprehensive tool for speeding up food product, process and equipment design for improved safety and quality. With the help of a simple interface provided by the software, it is now easier and quicker to check ''what if'' scenarios. A food scientist with little knowledge of simulation engineering can use the software with the help of the documentation provided and thus have this potential tool available. Apart from direct use by the food industry, the beneficiaries of such a comprehensive software tool might include food extension educators, university food science/engineering courses, and food science researchers. Such a tool can be incorporated into a food science/ food engineering curriculum. Extension will benefit by having customized instruction capabilities for microbiological safety with respect to arbitrary products, processes and handling situations. The tool, with the ability to present highly detailed visualizations, will make difficult concepts of process more easily comprehensible. In university classroom education, the advantages of the proposed tool include (1) incorporating safety issues for more realistic food product/ process/equipment situations; (2) gaining much greater insight into processes; and (3) introducing a concept that is rapidly becoming part of the design process. The tool also has the potential to increase food research productivity in academia.
Publications
- Halder, A., A. Dhall, A. K. Datta, D. G. Black, P. M. Davidson, J. Li and S. Zivanovic. 2010. A user-friendly general-purpose predictive software package for food safety. Journal of Food Engineering. 104 (2011) 173-185
- Dhall, A. 2010. Multiphase transport in deformable phase-changing porous materials. Ph.D. Dissertation, Cornell University.
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Progress 10/01/08 to 09/30/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: We have added chemical safety such as formation of carcinogens, that is a significant component of the prediction software. We have also added new processes such as drying, infrared heating and diffusion in multicomponent foods. We have developed a comprehensive understanding of how boundary conditions (part of the simulation model for a food process) affect the temperatures inside a food. From industry inputs, as we have shared with a few of them, changes have been incorporated. Based on input from the last workshop (both industry and academia), numerous changes to interface and computations have also been made. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: We have conducted a hands-on workshop in the 2009 IFT Annual Meeting where industry, Extension, academia and consultant were present (we had about 80 persons) on the use of the simulation software. The sudience were able to simulate a number of safety conditions and provided many important feedback. There was significant interest in the software. We are following up by making the suggested changes in the software and being in touch with industry. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
We have now completed a version of the food safety prediction software that can be used to evaluate processing/storage/transportation conditions on safety. In this year's workshop (2nd one in two years) presented at IFT, the tool was well received. We are continuing the process of getting industry feedback to further enhance the capabilities of the software. We are also discussing with academia to have them use the tool in classroom situations to enhance safety education.
Publications
- Halder, A., D.G. Black, P.M. Davidson and A.K. Datta. 2009. Development of associations and kinetic models for microbiological data to be used in comprehensive food safety prediction software. Submitted to the Journal of Food Science.
- Halder, A., A. Dhall and A. K. Datta. 2009. Modeling transport in porous media with phase change: Applications to food processing. Journal of Heat Transfer, Transactions of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Accepted pending revision.
- Halder, A and Datta, AK, October 8th-10th, 2009, Boundary conditions in multiphase, porous media, transport models of thermal processes with rapid evaporation, Comsol users conference, Newton, MA.
- Dhall, A. and A. K. Datta. 2009. Mathematical modeling of the meat cooking process. Presented at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting, June 6-8, Anaheim, California.
- Datta, AK. 2009. Porous media approaches to understanding food processes and their quality improvement. Presented at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting, June 6-8, Anaheim, California.
- Datta, AK. 2009. Development and inclusion of physics-based process models in a simulation software. Presented as part of the Workshop on A user-friendly food microbiological and chemical safety simulator. Presented at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting, June 6-8, Anaheim, California.
- Halder, A, Datta, AK, Black, G and Davidson, PM, 2008, Use of COMSOL Multiphysics to develop a comprehensive, user-friendly predictive tool for food safety and quality. Presented at the COMSOL Users Conference, Boston, MA, October 9-11.
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Progress 10/01/07 to 09/30/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: This project is about building a general purpose, user-friendly software to simulate food safety. The most important part of the project of building an overall framework for simulation has been accomplished and simulation capabilities for several important processes have been included. Implementation of the processes storage/transportation, sterilization of solids, simple microwave heating and deep-fat frying have been completed. Microbiological framework (work of Univ. of Tennessee) has been completed and it has been implemented in the software (work of Cornell Univ.). Interface has been developed and the software was presented in a hands-on workshop at the IFT meeting that where 70+ persons participated. PARTICIPANTS: Not relevant to this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Our goal is to impact industry, academic teaching and academic research. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
Computer modeling techniques can provide a significant boost to food safety by making available predictive tools that could provide safety information for specific products, processing conditions and microorganisms through "what-if" scenarios. As the software was presented to industry and academia in the IFT meeting, it was seen quite positively and as a major step in the right direction. We continue to have interest from industry that we will be working with in the coming months. Our goal is to impact industry, academic teaching and academic research.
Publications
- Dhall, A., K. E. Torrance and A. Datta. 2008. Radiative heat exchange modeling inside an oven. Accepted in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Journal.
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Progress 10/01/06 to 09/30/07
Outputs
A mathematical model for frying has been completed. To do this without sacrificing the fundamental physics behind the process require mathematical as well as physical insight into the process. An improved multiphase porous media model involving heat and mass transfer has been developed and solved numerically with careful consideration given to selection of input parameters. Non-equilibrium formulation for evaporation is used which describes the physics better and is easier to implement in a typical computational fluid dynamics software as it can explicitly express the evaporation rate in terms of concentration of vapor and temperature. External heat transfer and mass transfer coefficients are estimated to accurately reflect the different frying phases, i.e., the non-boiling phase and surface boiling and falling rate stages in the boiling phase.
Impacts
A fundamental-based model of the frying process that can also be solved in a commercially available software would provide tremendous benefit to design of fried food products and frying processes by making the power of simulation available for design. Quality and safety issues such as crust development, oil pickup and acrylamide formation can be addressed with such a model. Novel frying processes such as vacuum frying that can significantly reduce the oil content of fried foods can be developed more rapidly using the understanding provided by such a model.
Publications
- Halder, A., A. Dhall and A. K. Datta. 2007. An Improved, Easily Implementable, Porous Media Based Model for Deep-Fat Frying. Part I: Problem Formulation and Input Parameters. Accepted in the Transactions of the Institution of Chemical Engineers.
- Halder, A., A. Dhall and A. K. Datta. 2007. An Improved, Easily Implementable, Porous Media Based Model for Deep-Fat Frying, Part II: Results, Validation and Sensitivity Analysis. Accepted in the Transactions of the Institution of Chemical Engineers.
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Progress 01/01/06 to 12/31/06
Outputs
In the current study, a generalized model based on unsaturated fluid flow in a hygroscopic porous media is formulated, which accounts for all the important physical phenomena that take place while cooking of meat. Frozen meat is considered as a porous solid comprising of water, fat and protein with gas trapped in its pores. As it is heated, water and fat melt and are gradually released from the solid to the pore space according to their holding capacities in the solid matrix, which are assumed to be functions of temperature. As temperature further increases, free transportable water evaporates. Since four fluid components (liquid water, liquid fat, water vapor, air) are present in the pores, a mass balance equation is written for each component. Thermal equilibrium assumption leads to a single energy balance equation for the whole system. Melting of solid water and fat is handled by effective specific heat method. The other two phase changes are accounted for by
adding source terms to the respective mass balance equations. The model is validated for double sided contact heating of hamburger patties by comparing temperature and moisture profiles with experimental studies and numerical results available in literature. Dominant transport modes for water as well as fat under different conditions are identified by performing a sensitivity analysis on various parameters such as permeabilities, heat and mass transfer coefficients, surface temperature, patty diameter and composition.
Impacts
Meat (red meat and poultry) is over $100 billion industry in US. The outcome of this project will provide unprecedented insight into the physics of the cooking process that should lead to improved quality and safety meat cooking.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/05 to 12/31/05
Outputs
Heat and mass transfer formulations appearing in the food processing literature are synthesized in a systematic and comprehensive way, under the umbrella of transport in porous media. The entire range of formulations starting from the most fundamental to the semi-empirical are covered. Relationships of different formulations to each other and to the fundamental conservation laws are developed. The important transport mechanism in foods governed by the Darcy's law is emphasized. Food processing examples of various formulations are considered.
Impacts
This project will allow us to decide the right mathematical formulation for a food process that is not too complex and yet preserves the physics. This, in turn, will allow simulation to be more widely usable in the food sector.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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