Numerical simulation of unsteady heat conduction in arbitrary shaped canned foods during sterilization processes

A numerical model is developed for determination of the unsteady-state temperature field in conductively heated canned foods of various shapes under boundary conditions of the third kind (surface convection) and at variable heating medium temperatures. The heat conduction differential equation is solved by means of a generalized finite-difference approach, allowing a reduction of the multidimensional problem to a one-dimensional one. The theoretical results were compared with the measured time-temperature curves for a bentonite test substance and pea purée in metal cans and glass jars. This validation shows the applicability and accuracy of the model for engineering research. The proposed numerical solution could be used for predicting the temperature distribution in foods in flexible sterilizable pouches and cans containing whole or cut fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, mushrooms, etc., in liquids. The results may also be applied to other thermal processes used in food manufacture.