Modeling of heat conduction in elliptical cross section: II. Adaptation to thermal processing of shrimp

The quality of processed shrimp is partly determined by microbiological and textural attributes, and yield loss is economically important. Temperature is the most important variable that affects the above. A mathematical model was developed for the prediction of temperature distribution during cooking of shrimp. To develop the model, experimental cross-sectional areas of shrimp at different segments were compared with circular and elliptical cross-sectional area assumptions, and the circular cross-sectional area assumption was found to be a valid assumption for the model for its simplicity. The model used a finite difference approach with non-capacitance surface nodes (NCSN), and assumed variable thermal conductivity, specific heat, density, as well as changes in dimensions due to shrinkage. The mathematical model accurately predicted the temperature distribution in shrimp.