Abstract

The finite volume method is used to describe unsteady forced convection and heat conduction in a meat plate during freezing. External fluid mechanics and internal solidification of water content in the meat are predicted from a mathematical model that includes continuity, Navier-Stokes and energy equations for air around the food and the heat diffusion equation inside the meat. Unsteady results are presented for both velocity vectors and temperature distributions in air, temperature variations in the food and for heat transfer coefficients. Experimental data for the temperature variation in time are used to assess the accuracy of the predicted values.