Analysis of heat transfer during ohmic processing of a solid food Original Research Article

To produce a safe cooked food product it is necessary to ensure a uniform heating process. The aim of this study was to develop a mathematical model of a solid food material undergoing heating in a cylindrical batch ohmic heating cell. Temperature profiles and temperature distribution of the ohmic heating process were simulated and analysed via experimental and mathematical modelling which incorporated appropriate electromagnetic and thermal phenomena. Temperature profiles were measured at nine different symmetrically arranged locations inside the cell. The material was ohmically heated imposing a voltage of 100 V, while electrical field and thermal equations were solved for experimental and theoretical models by the use of FEMLAB, a finite element software. Reconstituted potato was chosen to represent a uniform solid food material and physical and electrical properties were determined prior to the experiment as a function of temperature. The simulation provided a good correlation between the experimental and the mathematical model. No cold spots within the product were detected but both experimental and model data analysis showed slightly cold regions and heat losses to the electrode and cell surfaces. The designed model could be used to optimize the cell shape and electrode configurations and to validate and ensure safe pasteurisation processes for other solid food materials.