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Extension to Planck's equation for predicting freezing times of foodstuffs of

simple shapes

Article  in  International Journal of Refrigeration · November 1984

DOI: 10.1016/0140-7007(84)90008-2

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Erratum

Extension to Plank's equation for predicting freezing 3. Pages 382-383 (Appendix) should read:
times of foodstuffs of simple shapes, Int J Refrig 7 3. Temperatures:
(1984) 377-383. Mean final temperature -
1. 'Planck' should read "Pl~nk" throughout the text. To= - 1 0 - 10.9/(2+4/Bi,)= - 1 3.7'C
2. Table 2 should read: Log-mean temperature difference, precooling
phase -
Table 2. Summary of method
Tableau 2. R~capitulation de la m~thode &Tin.= [ 2 8 . 5 - ( - 2.1 ) ] / I n [ 2 8 . 5 - ( - 20.9)]/
[ - 2.1 - ( - 20.9)] = 31.7 K
Freezing. Temperature difference, freezing phase -
ttota I = t 1 + t 2 + t 3
&Tin2= ( - 2.1 ) - ( - 20.9) = 18.8 K
Qj Log-mean temperature difference, subcooling
tJ=hAATr,j (1 + Bij/Kj), j= 1,2,3 phase -
&Tin3= [ - 2.1 - ( - 1 3 . 7 ) ] / I n [ - 2.1 - ( - 20.9)]/
K1=K3=6; K2=4
QI=cI(Ti- Tf)V [-13.7-(-20.9)]=12.1 K
Q 2= ~J'/V
O3=Cs(Tf-To)V
Bil = (B/s+ Bi~)/2; Bi2=Bi3=Bis
&Tr,j=log-mean temperature differences
To= Tc- (Tc- Ta) (2 + 4/Bi)
Analytical method for predicting freezing times of
Thawing rectangular blocks of foodstuffs, IntJ Refrig 8 (1985)
Use same equations except that &/-/is replaced by -&/-/. 43-47.
Subscripts I, s interchanged for c, k and Bi
1. 'Planck' should read "Pkmk'throughout the text.

We should like to make it absolutely clear that the errors were not the fault of the author, Dr Q, T. Pham, and we
unreservedly apologize for the inconvenience caused to Dr Pham and journal readers.

124 International Journal of Refrigeration

Extension to Planck's equation for predicting
freezing times of foodstuffs of simple shapes
Q. T. Pham
Keywords: freezing times, food, models
Extension de I'equation de Planck
pour la prevision des temps de
congelation des aliments de
formes simples
L "~quation de Planck pour la pr~vision des temps de
cong#lation ignore la chaleur sensible et le caractbre pro-
gressif du processus de changement de phase dans les
aliments. A I'aide de certaines approximations analytiques
pour tenir compte de ces effets on obtient une m#thode
simple de pr#vision du temps de cong~lation n'utilisant
Planck's equation for predicting freezing
times ignores sensible heat and the gradual char-
acter of the phase-change process in food-
stuffs. By making certain analytical approxi-
mations to take these effects into account, a
simple freezing-time prediction method is ob-
tainad that uses no empirical factor, chart or
advanced algebra. The freezing process is di-
vidad into cooling and phase-change periods,
the latter being calculated with Planck's equa-
Nomenclature
A heat transfer area (m 2)
Bi Biot number ( h D / k )
c volumetric specific heat (J m -3 K-1)
D characteristic dimension (slab thickness,
or cylinder diameter, or sphere diameter)
(m)
f a function
h heat transfer coefficient (W m -2 K-1)
H mean specific enthalpy (J m -3)
AH latent heat of freezing (enthalpy change
from beginning to end of phase change
minus sensible heat component) (J m -3)
&t-I" [=AH+c,(Tf-Tc) ] enthalpy change
from freezing to end of process (J m -3)
k thermal conductivity (W m -1 K-~)
P coefficient in Equation 1
The author isfromThe Meat Industq/ResearchInstituteof New
Zealand Inc., PO Box 617, Hamilton, New Zealand. Paperreceived
20 December 1983.
0140-7007/84/060377-0753.00
Volume 7 Number 6 November 1984 @ 1984 Butterworth 8 Co (Publishers) Ltd and IIR
aucun facteur empirique, diagramme ou alg#bre compliqu#e.
Le processus de cong~lation est divis# en p~riodes de
refroidissement et de changement de phase, cette dernibre
#tant calcul#e ~ /'aide de I'~quagon de Planck, la premiere avec
des extensions de la Ioi du refroidissement de Newton. On
tient compte du caractbre progressif du changement de
phase en utilisant une "temperature de cong~lation moyen-
ne ", tandis que les propri~t#s thermophysiques du mat#riau
sont donn#es de fa¢on approch#e par des segments de
droites. Cette m#thode concorde avec les r~sultats publi#s
aussi bien ou m#rne mieux qu'avec route autre m~thode, y
compris les calculs par differences finies. En appendice on
pr~sente un exemple de calcul donnant les valeurs des temps
individuels de r~frig#ration et de cong#lation et les taux
moyens de transfert de chaleur pour chacun.
tion, the former with extensions to Newton's
law of cooling. The gradual character of the
phese-change process is taken into account by
the use of a "mean freezing temperature', while
the thermophysical properties of the material
are approximated by straight-line segments.
The method agrees with published data as well
as or better than any previous procedure, in-
cluding finite-difference computations.
Q total heat released (J)
coefficient in Equation (1)
R
t time (s)
&t
extra precooling time (s)
Ta,To,T~,T
° air, final centre, initial, and final mean
temperature (K or °C)
Tf mean freezing temperature (found to be
1.5 K below start-of-freezing tempera-
ture for materials considered) (K or °C)
&Tin log-mean temperature driving force (K)
V Volume (m 3)
Subscripts
1 precooling period
2 freezing period
3 subcooling period
j 1,2or3
I unfrozen phase
s completely frozen phase (i.e., at tempera-
tures lower than about - 3(7C)
377
 Freezing is one of the most important methods of
food preservation. There have been many attempts to
find a reasonably simple method for predicting freezing
times ~-3. In most important applications it is usually
assumed that the boundary or surface conditions are of
the third kind (or of Newton's cooling-law type); i.e.
that the heat flux at the surface of the body is
proportional to the temperature difference between the
surface and the environment. The most well-known
equation for this situation is that of Planck4:
AH
t= (PD/h + RD2/k,) (1)
(Tf- Ta)
where P = 1 / 2 for an infinite slab, =1/4 for an infinite
cylinder, = 1/6 for a sphere and R=P/4.
The derivation of this Equation relies on three basic
assumptions, which are not true in practice and may
lead to serious inaccuraciesS8:
1. there is a sharp freezing point, at which all the
latent heat is released;
2. thermal conductivity is constant below the freez-
ing point.
3. sensible heats are negligible; i.e. ct,c,=O.
In view of these complications, no rigorous
analytical formula can be derived to predict freezing
times for foodstuffs. Instead, two lines of approach
have been used to take the above approximations into
account. The first is to use empirical correction factors
based on data or computational results. The best such
method to date, because of the large amount of
systematically gathered experimental data on which it
is based, is that of Cleland and Earle7.
The second approach is to make analytical approx-
imations, for example, the total enthalpy change
(including sensible beats) can be used instead of the
latent heat in Equation (1): the resulting equation will
be referred to as Planck's modified equation. Cochran 8
proposed a 'lumped parameter' model whereby all the
sensible heat is assumed to be concentrated at one
point between the surface and the freezing front;
however, the resulting differential equation still has to
be solved numerically. Fleming 9 used modified tem-
perature difference and enthalpy change to account for
the initial superheat. The most recent method is that of
Mascheroni etaL ~°, in which charts (or infinite series)
are used for calculating the precooling and subcooling
times, while Planck's equation is used for the freezing
time.
This Paper proposes another method, which fol-
lows the second approach. Assumptions 1 and 2 above
are taken into account by using a mean freezing
temperature, while a simplified version of Mascheroni
et aL's ~° ideas, combined with Cochran's lumped
parameter concept, is used to account for sensible heat
effects.
Theory
For all elementary shapes (infinite slabs, infinite
cylinders and spheres), one can write:
P= V/AD (2)
378
where D is twice the distance from the surface to the
thermal centre. Substituting this into Equation (1) and
rearranging~l:
Q
t= (1 +Bis/4) (3)
hA ( Tf - Ta)
where Q=V&/-/=total heat to be removed.
In the form given above, Planck's equation is
instantly recognizable as a modification of Newton's
law of cooling. The additional factor (1 + B i , / 4 ) is a
correction term for the effect of internal resistance.
since Bi s (=hD/k,) is the ratio of mean internal
resistance to external resistance.
When Planck's assumptions (sharp freezing point,
zero specific heats at temperatures above or below
freezing) do not hold, then the following equation will
apply:
dO
t= 1 +f(Bi)](T_Ta-~ ~ (4)
where f(Bi) is a function of the Blot number, which
influences the shape of the internal temperature profile.
When Bi=O, f(Bi)=0 and Equation (4) reduces to
Newton's law of cooling.
The complete freezing process will now be divided
into three periods1°: precooling, freezing and subcool-
ing. Precooling is defined as the period up to the
moment when the mean enthalpy of the block is equal
to the enthatpy of unfrozen material just above freez-
ing. Subcooling is defined as the period after the mean
enthalpy is equal to that of just-frozen material. (Thus,
at the end of the precooling phase, the material may be
below the freezing point near the surface and above it
near the centre, similarly for the beginning of the
subcooling phase.)
Now, the times t~, t 2 and t 3 for the precooling,
freezing and subcooling periods can be writen (from
Equation (4)) as:
t, = h-~-A~l + f, (Bi,)] T----f:~
dH (5)
v I[1 dH (6)
t2=~--~j_ + f2(Bi2)] T - T~
t3=h--~Aj'[1 + f3(Bi3)] TdH (7)
- ma
(The precise integration limits will be defined later.)
For the freezing stage it will be assumed that
Planck's equation (Equation 3) still holds in spite of the
presence of sensible heat effects:
f2 (Bi2) =Bi214 (8)
For the precooling and subcooling stages it will be
assumed that pure cooling relationships still hold. This
approach has been followed successfully 1° for infinite
slabs. However, since the cooling periods are usually
much shorter than the freezing period, an approximate
cooling equation will be found by assuming that all the
sensible heat is 'lumped' at a point some distance from
Revue Internationale du Froid
Table 1. Comparison of approximate solution Bi~ = (Bis + Bi,) /2 (10)
based on Equation (9) with exact solution (in-
finite slabs) Bi2=Bi3=Bis (11 )
Tableau 1. Comparaison de la solution approch~e
d'aprbs I'~q. (9) a vec solution exacte (plaques infinies ) The expression for Bil results from the con-
sideration that by the end of the precooling phase,
% Error in some of the material is already frozen so thai Bil must
Fraction of total predicted be intermediate between the unfrozen- and frozen-
Blot number heat removed cooling time phase values. The form chosen here is rather arbitrary,
so this assumption will be re-examined later.
50 0.1 240
0.3 60 Equations (5)-(7) can now be integrated (from
0.5 15 H(T~) to H(T~ ) for Equation (5), over the latent heat of
0.7 0 freezing for Equation (6), and from H(T;-) to H(To) for
Equation (7)):
10 0.1 110
0.3 35
0.5 10 O1
t~- - - ( 1 +Bill6) (1 2)
0.7 0 hAATml
2 0.1 25
0.3 10 02
0.5 2 t2-hA (Tf- T,) (1 +Bi2/4) (1 3)
0.7 0
03
t3-hA&T m-3(1 + BiJ6) (14)
the surface 8. This leads to expressions for cooling time
that are similar in form to Equations (3) and (8). A
comparison with a theoretical cooling curve 13 shows and
that the best equation was:
tto,,, = tl + t2 + t3 (1 5)
f, (Bil) =Bill6 (9)
In Equations (1 2) and (14) £~Tm are log-mean
f3(Bi3) =Bi3/6 (9') temperature differences:-

By combining Equation (9) with Equation (5) (or ATm,= [(T,- T,) - (Tf- Ta)]lln[ (T , - T~) I (Tf- T,)]
Equation (9') with Equation (7)) the cooling time can
(16)
be calculated. The exact analytical solution for the pure
cooling situation is given in the standard heat transfer
literature ~3. My approximate solution (based on Equa- ATm3= [(Tf- Ta) - (To- Ta)]lln[ (Tf- Ta)I(To- Ta)]
tions (9) and (9')) is compared with the exact solution (17)
for infinite slabs in Table 1. where the percentage error
in the predicted cooling time is shown for different while Q1, Q2 and Q3 are the heats of precooling.
values of the Blot number and the fraction of total freezing and subcooling:
sensible heat removed. Results for other basic shapes
are similar. IO00
A few remarks can be made:
1. as Bi tends to zero, our method becomes more and
more accurate, since the effect of Bi (internal
resistance) disappears and the only resistance to
heat transfer is on the outside of the body; I00
2. as Bi increases, the errors increase. However T
Cleland 2 has shown that in practical situations Bi
is unlikely to exceed 60 for unpackaged foods and
10 for packaged foods, even for immersion or plate
freezing;
I0
3. the percentage error grows as the fraction of total
sensible heat removed decreases. In practice, this
decrease will be due to the process starting or
finishing at temperatures close to the freezing
point. Since this means that the relative impor-
tance of the cooling periods also decreases, the I I I I I
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 :30
resulting error in the total freezing time remains Ternperoture,=C
negligible.
Fig. 1 Variation of specific heat with temperature for Tylose. - - .
Thus, Equation (9) should be an acceptable ap- Actual behaviour;---, approximation used; k~, latent heat
proximation for the cooling periods. The Blot numbers
Fig. I Variation de la chaleur massique en fonction de la teml~ra-
are assumed to be constant for each phase and are ture p o u r la Tylose. ----, Comportement r#el; - - - , approximation
calculated from: utilis~e; K~, chaleur latente

Volume 7 Num~ro 6 Novembre 1984 379

 Q~=c,(T,-Tf)V
Q2=AHV
Q3=c,(Tf - To)V
Table 2 summarizes the method of this Paper.
Calculation of the freezing point
As mentioned earlier, the freezing point for most
materials is not sharp, and latent heat release and the
change in thermal conductivity take place over a range
of temperatures. To take this into account, the freezing
temperature is calculated from:
AH _ ~"dHf
Tf-T~ J T - T a
where the subscript f indicates that only the latent heat
component of the enthalpy is being considered, as
shown by the dashed area in Fig. 1. But:
dHf _ 1 ~" dHf
T - T~ T f - T, J1 + ( T - Tf)/(Tf- T~)
1 j'(1 T-~a )
- T f - Ta Tf- dHf
" T f -AH
T, (Tf-Ta)
1 2 ,~"( T - T f ) d H ,
Equating Equations (21) and (22) we get:
' ( T - Tf)dHf=0
- (23)
or Tf = TdHf/z~H
In other words, Tf is located at the 'centre of mass'
of the (latent component of) specific heat versus
temperature peak for the material, which peak is shown
by the dashed area in Fig. 1. For Tylose, meat and
similar materials, Tf is found to be ~ 1 . 5 K below the
initial freezing temperature (see Results section).
Calculation of thermophysical
The thermophysical properties (c, k, AM) of ma-
terials change gradually as freezing proceeds. Ho-
wever, below ~ - 300C freezing is vritually complete
and the changes become negligible. The low-
temperature limits of the properties are recommended
for use in the equations of Table 2. In combination with
the use of a 'mean freezing temperature' defined
previously, this assumption is equivalent to replacing
the actual property curves by straight-line approxi-
mations (Figs. 1 and 2).
Results
The method of this Paper was applied to the data
of Cleland and Earle56, de Michelis and Calvelo TM and
Hung and Thompson ~5. A total of 179 tests were
carried out by these authors on Tylose, lean beef,
ground beef, potato and carp. The geometries used
were infinite flat slabs, infinite cylinders and spheres.
In these tests the mean final temperature, To, was
380
(18) Table 2. Summmw of method
Tableau 2. R#capitulation de la m#thode
(19)
Freezing
(20) tto~a I = t 1 4- t 2 4- t 3
Qi
t~- (1 + Bij/Kj), j= 1,2,3
hA~Tmj
K~=K3=6; K2=4
01 =q(T i - Tf)V
Q2= £t,/-/V
O3=Cs(Tf-To)V
Bi~ = (Bis+ Bil) / 2 ; Bi 2= Bi3 = Bi s
~T~n,= log-mean temperature differences
(21) To- To- (To- Ta)(2+ 4/Bi)
Thawing
Use same equations except that AH is replaced by -AH.
Subscripts I, s interchanged for c, k and Bi
not measured, but the final centre temperature was
fixed at either - 1 0 ° C or - 1 8 ° C . Therefore, the tem-
perature profile was assumed to be linear and To
calculated from:
To= Tc - (T c- T~)/(2 + 4/Bi) (24)
Since the subcooling time is brief, this approxi-
mation will not affect the results significantly.
(22) The properties of the freezing materials used in the
calculations are as given by Cleland and Earle5 and
Hung and Thompson 15, except for Tf, which was
calculated according to Equation (23). From the data
of Riede118, TI was found to be - 2 . 1 ° C for Tylose,
- 2.6°C for meat and - 2.1°C for potato. Since Tf was
found to be consistently lower than the onset-of-
freezing temperature by 1.5°C, this difference was also
applied to the other materials. A sample freezing time
calculation is carried out in the Appendix section.
Table 3 shows the results of calculations by this
and other methods. The present method gives signi-
ficantly better agreement with data than any other.
Cleland and Earle also carried out finite-difference
computations on their data. Table 4 shows that for this
properties set of data (comprising 11 5 tests) the present method
performs as well as finite-difference computations.
These two methods correlate very well with each other,
the correlation coefficient being 0.997 and the stan-
dard deviation only 4.1%.
Probably the weakest point in the present method
is the evaluation of the precooling time, t~, because
there is no real basis for calculating the average Blot
number as shown in Equation (10), apart from con-
venience. Fortunately, Cleland and Earle5 performed
eight pairs of experiments on flat slabs, each pair under
identical conditions except that the initial tempera-
tures, 7,, differed: 30°C for the first of each pair and 10°C
for the second. Thus, an idea of the accuracy of
precooling-time calculations can be obtained by com-
paring the extra cooling time, At, for each pair, with
calculated values. This comparison is done in Table 5
and Fig. 3. The pair of runs 10 and 1 4 w i l l be discarded
due to the 100% error limit and the fact that both
calculation methods give results that disagree with
data. On average, the method of this Paper over-
International Journal of Refrigeration
Table 3. Comparison of equations for predicting freezing times, based on 179 published datapoints
Tableau 3. Comparaison des ~quations permettant de pr~voir les temps de cong~lation d'apr#s 179 r@sultats
Mean % error Standard deviation of % error % Error range Range covering 90% of data

Planck 4 - 3.4 8.6 - 58, - 16 - 51, - 22

Modified Planck -7.4 8.9 -27, +12 -21 +8
Fteming 9 - 1 3.2 7.5 - 36, 0 - 27, - 3
Cleland and Earle7 -3.9 8.6 -30, + 11 -21, +6
Hung and Thompson ~5 +13.2 12.5 -7, +46 - 3 , +37
This Paper +0.3 7.3 -24, + 19 - 13, + 9

Table 4. Comparison of present method with finite-difference computation, based on Cleland and
Earle's 115 datapoints u
Tableau 4. Comparaison de la pr~sen te m@thode a vec le calcul des diff#rences finies d'apr@s 115 r~sultats de C/e/and
et Earle

Mean % error Standard deviation of % error % Error range Range covering 90% of data

Finite difference 5'8 - 1.7 4.6 - 11, + 10 - 8, + 6

This Paper + 2.6 4.8 - 9, + 10 - 8, + 8

Table 5. Experimental and calculated extra-cooling times, Cleland and Earle's data 5
Tableau 5. Temps de refroidissement suppl6mentaire exp@rimentaux et calculus, r~sultats de C/e/and et Earle

Test number &t (measured) (h) &t (Pham) (h) At (finite difference (h)

1 and 5 0.08+0.06 0.09 0.11

2 and 6 0.40-t-0.14 0.42 0.41
3 and 7 0.16+0.10 0.22 0.23
4 and 8 0.72+0.25 0.76 0.80
9 and 13 0.14+0.10 0.16 0.17
10 and 14 0.30+0.30 0.64 0.68
11 and 15 0.30+0.19 0.34 0.35
12 and 16 1.00:1:0.51 1.15 1.25

estimates At by 12% while the finite-difference method
overestimates it by 19%. Note that the results from
these t w o methods are extremely well correlated with
each other, the correlation coefficient being 0.999 and
the mean difference only 6%. This shows that the
proposed method for calculating precooling time is
physically reasonable.
For example, in the freezing of meat, it is important to
delay freezing until the mean is fully 'conditioned', to
obtain maximum tenderness. In the thawing of food-
stuffs, the duration of the third period is an important
factor affecting the product's hygienic quality. Another
2.0

Discussion
The method of this Paper uses very simple con-
cepts and makes no use of graphs, empirical constants 1.5
or advanced algebra, yet it agrees with experimental
data as well as or better than any previous method
including finite difference computations. Since the T

approach involves no empirical factor (except f o r E 1.0

approximations used in Equation (10), it can be
extended, in principle, to other situations such as
thawing, or freezing and thawing of different materials.
However, as there may still be error-cancelling approxi- 0.5
mations in the method, further checks against more
data will be necessary. The excellent agreement of the
present method with finite difference computations
indicates that it has a sound physical basis. In contrast n
"-30
,
-20
I , I
-I0
,
0
, I
lO
J I
20
,
50
to published regression-type formulae 7~5 it correctly Temperature, °C
predicts that the freezing time tend to infinity as Tc Fig. 2 Variation of thermal conductivity with temperature for
tends to Ta. T y I o s e . - - , Actual b e h a v i o u r ; - - - , approximation used
An added bonus of this method is that it yields
values for the precooling, freezing and subcooling Fig. 2 Variation d e / a conductivitd thermique en fonction de /a
tempdrature p o u r / a Ty/ose. ----, Comportement rde/: - - - , approxi-
times separately, which can be of great practical value. mation utilisL~e

Volume 7 Number 6 November 1984 381

 14
1.2
1.0
.=
08
3 freezing time calculations in foods J Food Sci 47 (1982)
g 1201-1207
~ 0.6
O~t
Q2
OoLf , I , I , I , I I 1 =
0.2 04 0.6 0.8 IO 12
Zlt (this method), h
Fig. 3 Extra precooling times. O. Measured values versus pre-
diction by this method; i . finite-difference computation versus
prediction by this method
Fig. 3 Temps de refrotdissement suppl~mentaires. O, Valeurs
mesur#es en fonction des pr~visions suivant carte m#thode; i
calcul par differences finies en fonction des pr~visions suivant cette
m~thode
advantage is that the mean rate of heat release (Qj/ti)
can be calculated for each period: this will help in the
design of heat transfer equipment for freezers and
thawing rooms. (It is a c k n o w l e d g e d that in practice
there is no clear transition between periods, and they
will merge into each other. Hence, the values f o u n d can
be considered as approximate design values only.)
Conclusion
A simplified method has been presented to cal-
culate freezing times. Starting from Planck's equation,
sensible heat effects are taken into account by dividing
the process into a precooling period, a phase-change
period and a subcooling period. The thermal and
transport properties of the material (specific heats,
thermal conductivities) are represented by straight
segment approximations, and a mean freezing temp-
erature is used to take into account the smearing of
the latent heat peak. Simple extensions to N e w t o n ' s
law of cooling (of which Planck's equation is itself a
special case), using lumped-parameter models, enable
sensible heat effects to be calculated.
Based on the best sets of data available, the method
presented here produces results w h i c h are at least as
accurate as any of the previous methods, including
regression formulae and finite-difference c o m p u -
tations. The method also yields accurate estimates of
the extra precooling times due to initial superheat. The
method is potentially useful for predicting t h a w i n g
times, although further data is needed to confirm this.
Acknowledgements
The author w o u l d like to thank Professor R. L.
382
Earle and Dr A. C. Cleland of Massey University, N e w
Zealand, for their data a n d h e l p f u l suggestions.
References
1 Bekal, A., Haymkawa, K. I. Heat transfer during freezing
and thawing of foods. Advances in Food Research 20 (1973)
217-256. Academic Press. NY
2 Cleland, A. C. Heat transfer during freezing of foods and
prediction of freezing times, Ph.D. thesis. Dept. of Biotech-
nology, Massey University. New Zealand (1977)
3 Mascheroni, R. H., Calvelo, A. A simplified model for
4 Planck, R. Beitrage zur Berechnung und Bewertung der
Gefriergeschwindigkeit van Lebensmitteln. Beihefte Z ges
Kalte-lnd. Reihe 3, Heft 10 (1941 ) 1-16
5 Claland, A. C., Earle, R. L. A comparison of analytical and
numerical methods of predicting the freezing times of foods J
FoodSci42 (1977) 1390-1395
6 Cleland, A. C., Earle, R. L. A comparison of methods for
predicting the freezing times of cylindrical and spherical
foodstuffs J Food Sci 44 (1979) 958-963
7 Cleland, A. C., Earle, R. L. Freezing time prediction for
foods: a simplified procedure IntJ Refrig 8 (1982) 134-140
8 Cochran, D. L. An investigation of rate of solidification
Refrig Engng 63 (8) (1955) 49-56 and 92-94
9 Fleming, A. K. Immersion freezing of small meat products
Proc 12th Int Cong Refrigeration 2 (1967) 683-694
10 Mmmheroni, R. H., De Mieheli=, A., Calvelo, A. A
simplified mathematical model for freezing time calculations
in plate freezers LI.R. Annex 1982-1 431-441
11 Matt, L. F. The prediction of product freezing timeAustralian
Refr Air Cond Et Heating 18(2) (1964) 16-18
12 Cowell, N. D. The calculation of food freezing time Proc
12th Int Cong Refrigeration 2 (1967) 667-676
13 Kreith, F. Principles of heat transfer, 2nd edn. Int. Text book
Co, London (1975) p. 150
14 De Michelie, A., Calvelo, A. Freezing time predictions for
brick and cylindrical-shaped foods J Food Sci 48 (1983)
909-913
15 Hung, Y. C., Thompson, D. R. Freezing time prediction for
slab shape foodstuffs by an improved analytical method J
Food Sci 48 (1983) 555-560
16 Riedel, L. Eine PrufsubstanzfurGefrierversucheKaltetechnik
12 (1960) 222-225
Appendix
Sample calculation
Run 'SI' of Cleland and Earle 6 will be processed by
the method of this Paper. A sphere 0.1 575 m diameter
with thermal properties given in Table A1 is frozen from
an initial temperature of 28.5°C, in air at - 20.9°C and
w i t h a heat transfer coefficient of 4 5 . 9 W m -2 K -1
Calculate the freezing time to a final centre temperature
of - 10~C.
1. Geometric factors:
V o l u m e = ~ 3 / 6 = 2.046 x 10 -3 m 3
Area = ~ D 2 = 7 . 7 9 x 10-2 m 2
2. Blot numbers:
Bil= 45.9 x 0.1 5 7 5 / 0 . 5 5 = 13.14
Bis= 45.9 x 0.1 5 7 5 / 1 . 6 5 = 4 . 3 8
Bil = (Bi~ + Bis) / 2 = 8.76
3. Temperatures:
Mean final t e m p e r a t u r e -
T = - 1 0 - 1 0 . 9 / ( 2 + 4/Bi~) = - 1 3.7°C
Log-mean temperature difference, precooling
phase -
Revue Internationale du Froid
 Table A1. Thermal properties of Tyloes: (defined Freezing -
as in Figs. 1 a n d 2 ) Q2 = ( 2 . 0 4 6 x 10 -3) x (2.09 x 108) = 4 . 2 8 x 105 J
Tableau A 1. Propri~t~s thermiques de la Tylose t (d~- Subcooling -
finie dans les Figs. 1 et 2) Q3 = (2.046 x 10 -3) x ( 1 . 9 0 x 108) x [ - 2.1 -
( - 1 3.7)] = 0 . 4 5 x 10SJ
Thermal conductivity of frozen =1.65Wm -~ K -~
Tylose. ks 5. Times:
Thermal conductivity of unfrozen =0.55 W m -1 K-1 Precooling -
Tylose, k~
t~ = (2.32 x 105) (1 + 8 . 7 6 / 6 ) / ( 4 5 . 9 x 7.79 x 10 -2 x
Specific heat of frozen phase, c s = 1.90 x 106 J m -3 K -1
Specific heat of unfrozen phase, c-~3.71 x 106J m-3 K-~ 31.7)=5051 s = l . 4 O h
Latent heat of freezing, £t/-/ = 2.09 x 10e J m - 3 Freezing -
Mean freezing point, Tf = - 2.1°C t2 = (4.28 x 10 s) (1 + 4 . 3 8 / 4 ) / ( 4 5 . 9 x 7.79 x 10 -2 x
18.8) = 13338 s= 3.71 h
£~Tr,,= [28.5 - ( - 2.1 ) ] / I n [ 2 8 . 5 - ( - 2 0 . 9 ) ] / Subcooling -
[-2.1- (-20.9)]=31.7 K t3= (.45 x 105)(1 + 4 . 3 8 / 6 ) / ( 4 5 . 9 x 7.79 x 1 0 - 2 x
Temperature difference, freezing p h a s e - 1 2 . 1 ) = 1 8 0 3 s=O.50 h
£Tr,2 = ( - 2.1 ) - ( - 20.9) = 18.8 K Total -
Log-mean temperature difference, subcooling t=t~ + t2+ t3=5.61 h
phase -
6. Mean heat transfer rates for each period:
£Tm3 = [ - 2.1 - ( - 1 3 . 7 ) ] / I n [ - 2.1 - ( - 2 0 . 9 ) ] /
[-13.7-(-20.9)]=12.1 K Precooling -
Q1/t~ = 2.32 x 105/5051 = 46 W
. Heat load Freezing -
Precooling - Q2/t2=4.28 x 105/1 3 3 3 8 = 3 2 W
Q1 = (2.046 x 10 -3) x (3.71 x 106) x [ 2 8 . 5 -
Subcooling -
( - 2.1 ) ] = 2 . 3 2 x 105J
Q3/t3 = 0.45 x 105/1803 = 25 W

Volume 7 Num6ro 6 Novembre 1984 383

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