Analysis of accuracy in the numerical simulation of the freezing process in food materials

• Published in: Journal of food engineering Vol. 31; no. 1; pp. 95 - 111
• Main Authors: Saad, Zoubeir, Scott, Elaine P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 1997; Elsevier
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Food engineering; Food industries; food processing; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; mathematical models; simulation; Performance evaluation; Edible fish; Crank Nicolson method; Foodstuff; Freezing; Accuracy; One dimensional model; Cod; Step by step method; Numerical simulation; Mathematical model; Comparative study; Finite difference method
• ISSN: 0260-8774; 1873-5770
• DOI: 10.1016/S0260-8774(96)00029-5

Simulation of freezing in foods is difficult due to the inherent nonlinearity of the numerical problem. In this study, a technique was presented and used to assess the accuracy of the Crank-Nicolson and the two-step finite difference methods in solving this nonlinear problem. Overall, the accuracy of the two-step method was higher than that of the Crank-Nicolson. These numerical methods were also implemented to simulate one-dimensional freezing experiments. The results of the two-step method again exhibited better agreement with the experimental data than the Crank-Nicolson results.