SHORTREVIEWS

Development and use of

numerical techniques for
improved thermal process
calculations and control

G.S. Tucker

Mathematical models for the prediction of temperatures and lethal rates associated
with heat sterilization are an invaluable tool to help assure the safer production
and control of thermally processed foods. With the advent of powerful desk-top
computers, these models have developed rapidly in the last 20 years. The facility to
solve a complex series of equations in real time makes on-line process monitoring
and control feasible. Progress of mathematical modelling from its early days is
discussed, together with the implications of present day advanced models for in-
container sterilization of conduction-heating foods.

Keywords: Mathematical modelling; finite differences; process control; sterilization

INTRODUCTION or two straight lines, the assumptions of Ball (1923) are

valid.
Experimental time-temperature data taken during Several methods, referred to as ‘formula methods’,
thermal process trials has been, and will always be, a have been developed based on this original idea of Ball
subject of great interest. In order to establish a thermal (1923). Examples are those of Gillespy (1951), Stumbo
process for any product, packaged in any container, the (1953) and Hayakawa (1969). In the UK, the method of
attainment of time-temperature data is an essential Gillespy (1951) has widespread use, whereas in the US
requirement. From these data, the lethal rate accumu- that of Ball (1923) is preferred. Many variations on the
lated at the point of measurement is calculated, leading Ball method are available, each with claimed improve-
to the integrated lethality or sterilization value for that ments in accuracy, which also includes a nomogram
process. method presenting the Ball formula method in graphi-
Ball (1923) first attempted to derive a mathematical cal form for ease of use. All of these formula methods
method to predict this time-temperature data, based have their limitations and require substantial know-
on his observations that the can centre temperature ledge of their background and development before they
approaches the retort temperature logarithmically. If can be used correctly and safely.
experimental time-temperature data are plotted on In attempting to improve existing monitoring and
semi-log paper, using any of the three accepted control of sterilization processes, the rapid technologi-
methods (Ball and Olson, 1957), it is usually possible to cal advances in computing power have been turned to
draw a straight line through the data points. For simple the thermal processor’s advantage. Computer solutions
heating, in which the mode of heating is conduction or can be produced to any of the formula methods, thus
convection only, this line should be the asymptote as removing considerable effort in attaining a solution or
opposed to the gradient. For broken-heating packs, in developing novel techniques which use alternative
however, gradients are more appropriate but if the methods.
experimental data can be approximated by either one
NUMERICAL METHODS
Food Process Engineering Dcpartmcnt, Campdcn Food and
Drink Research Association, Chipping Campdcn. Glouccs- Using these advances in computer technology, complex
tcrshirc GLS5 6LD. UK numerical solutions to Fourier’s partial differential

0956-7135/91/01001545 0 1991 Butterworth-Heuxmann Ltd Food Control - January 1991 15

Development and use of numerical techniques for improved thermal process calculations and control: G. S. Tucker

equations governing conduction heat transfer (Eqns 1 cylindrical co-ordinates and assumes azimuthal
and 2) are now possible. For regularly shaped contain- symmetry.
ers common to the food industry, finite differences
based on a regular gridwork of nodes is preferred. aT a’T 1 aT a2T
-_=(y
(1)
However, if the shape is irregular and cannot be at t p+r*;+- aY* >
approximated, it is necessary to define the boundaries
using finite element analysis, which is a more complex where T=centre temperature (“C), t= time (s),
numerical technique than finite differences. Thus, the r = radial distance (m), y = vertical distance (m),
comparatively straightforward finite difference tech- (Y= thermal diffusivity (m2 s-l). A number of numerical
nique is used for cylindrical and rectangular geometries techniques have been used to solve this partial differen-
commonly encountered as container shapes in the food tial equation, including finite difference equations
industry. The analysis presented in this paper for heat (Croft and Lilley, 1977; Carnaham et al., 1969).
transfer by conduction can also be applied to mass Carnaham et al. (1969) expanded Eqn 1 in a Taylor
transfer by diffusion based on Fick’s law, for which the series for T;_,,j and Ti+,.j about T;,j; and for Ti j_l
thermal diffusivity, LY,is replaced by the mass diffus- and Tii.j+l about Ti.j to give:
ivity, D. The arrangement of nodes required to set up a
finite difference grid is shown in Figures 1 and 2. Forward difference:
aT T. l’+l’) _ T, i(l)
-_= 1.I
Cylindrical containers
at At
Transient heat conduction into finite cylinders is
Central difference:
governed by the following partial differential equation
(Eqn 1). This equation is a two-dimensional equation in a2T (;_l,j-2T,,,+T;+l.j)“’
-=
Can wall I ar’ (Ar)2
-
t
Backward difference:
!
I 1 aT
-.-=-
1 (T;-l.j- T;+l,j)(‘)
Vi
= I r ar r 2 (Ar)
I H
t I Central difference:
4
6 I
u I a% (T;. j-1 -2T;,j+ T;,j+ 1)“’
I -=
I
Y
ay’ WY)’
I
I where T;.j”‘= temperature at node i, j at time f (“C),
-.- -.__-._I__-.-.__-.-_-.-.-.-.-.-._._._.-..
I At = time increment (s), Ar = radial increment (m),
i- -.-
I
T
I Centre Ay = vertical increment (m), r = radial distance of node
I‘ point i,j from centre axis (m). This equation can be used to
.
R find the temperature at any nodal point inside the cylin-
.
der at time (t+Ar) given the temperature of surround-
Figure 1 Labelling system of nodes for cylindrical container ing points at time (t). It is assumed that the initial

Figure 2 Labelling system of nodes for rectangular container

16 Food Control - January 199 1

 Development and use of numerical techniques for improved thermal process calculations and control: G. S. Tucker

80

lO_trr..,..,.,....,,...,,.,.,,...,,...,,...,,.,.,,...,,...,....,,.,.,,...,,,,,,,.,,,,,.,,,,

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85

Time (min)

Figure 3 Finite difference modelling for cylindrical containers filled with beans in tomato sauce. UT can. 73x 115mm. Thermal cJiffusi”it =
I .57 x IO ’ m2 s ‘, 0, Model; x, experimental; - . retort

temperature (t = 0) at each node is uniform across the Central differences:

container, and for this particular solution to Eqn 1 the
surface temperature of the cylinder equals the ambient a2T (T-,.j,k-2T,,j.k+
-= T,+,.j k)(')
temperature. Figure 3 illustrates the close agreement a2 (Ax)’ ’
that can be achieved for modelling of a typical conduc-
tion heating food, heated in a condensing steam retort.
d”T (T;,j~I,k-2Ti.j.li+Ti,j+l.k)“’
This technique was first applied to in-container sterili- -=
zation by Teixeira et al. (1969) whose solution took ay2 (AY )’
many hours of computer time to solve the series of
finite difference equations. a2T (T.j.k-1 -2T,,j,k+ T,j,k+t)(‘)
a,2 =
(AZ)’
Rectangular containers
where Ti,j,k”’= temperature at node i, j, k, at time t
Transient heat conduction into a rectangular parallele-
(“C), At= time increment (s), Ax = increment in x
piped is governed by the partial differential equation: direction (m), Ay= increment in y direction (m),
AZ = increment in z direction (m). Again, substituting
dT dZT d2T a2T
-+-+- (2) these finite difference equations into Eqn 1 provides a
5tza ( ax2 ay2 az21 solution for the centre temperature, T, at any time, t.
Manson, Zahradnik and Stumbo (1970) developed this
where T= product temperature (“C), t= time (s),
technique in three dimensions with rectangular-shaped
x= distance in x direction (m), y=distance in y direc-
containers, to evaluate lethality and nutrient retention
tion (m), z = distance in z direction (m), (Y= thermal
for conduction-heating foods. The same initial and
diffusivity (m’s_‘). This equation can be solved using
boundary conditions which applied to the cylindrical
finite difference equations, in a similar way to Eqn 1.
model also apply to the rectangular model. Thus, a
Eqn 2 can be expanded using a Taylor series for
uniform temperature distribution across the container
T,-1.j.k and q+r.j,k about Ti.j.k; for T,,j-1.k and T,,j+r,k
at the start of the process and a surface temperature
about Ti,j,k and for Ti.j.k-1 and Ti,j,k+l about Ti.1.k to
equal to the ambient temperature are assumed. Figure
give:
4 illustrates an example for a conduction-heating food,
Forward difference: in this case sardines in oil, of the agreement between
aT 7’; j k(‘+A’)_ T.1.1.k (‘1 experiemtnal and model results.
-= .’ Thus, thermal processes could be predicted with
at At more accuracy, opening the way for improved

Food Control-January 1997 17

Development and use of numerical techniques for improved thermal process calculations and control: G. S. Tucker

60

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60

Time(min)

Figure 4 Finite difference modelling for rectangular containers filled with sardines in oil. 103~58x26 mm. Thermal diffusivity=
I .42x lo-’ m2 s-‘. 0, Model; X, experimental; - , yetort

monitoring and control of sterilization processes Bhowmik and Tandon (1987) modelled a retort pouch
(Bown, 1985; Richardson et al., 1988). in two dimensions using a simplified approach, by
Following these early publications, numerical tech- dividing the pouch into many infinite rectangular slabs.
niques have advanced to include a variety of different They assumed that each element could be reduced from
shaped containers. Manson, Stumbo and Zahradnik three to two dimensions by assigning the length of that
(1974) modelled pear-shaped containers using geo- element to be far greater than the width or depth. This
metry indices developed by Smith, Nelson and Hen- formed a network of infinite slabs across their retort
rickson (1967). These geometry indices permitted the pouch, which greatly simplified modelling. Chau and
numerical solution for conduction heating in cylindrical Snyder (1988) used a similar approximation technique,
containers to be applied to other container shapes such by dividing a shrimp into one cylinder and a cone. The
as pear and oval shaped containers, thus extending its cone was further divided into several individual cylin-
uses. ders to enable mathematical modelling of the shrimp to
All of these techniques involved no resistance to heat be attained. Heat transfer coefficients could then be
transfer at the container surfaces and modelled one- incorporated into the calculations, thus accounting for
quarter of the cylinder, or one-eighth of the rectangular heat transfer resistance at the surface. Tucker and
parallelepiped, to reduce the number of computer Clark (1989) developed their cylindrical and rectangu-
calculations necessary. Conditions of infinite heat lar models using energy balances at the container
transfer, whereby no resistance to heat transfer is surfaces to incorporate heat transfer coefficients into
present at the container walls are not, however, always the finite difference solutions. The three-dimensional
present within a sterilizing retort. For example, semi- rectangular model required nineteen finite difference
rigid plastic containers heat more slowly than compar- equations to define all of the boundary conditions for
ably sized and shaped metal containers (Berry and their eighth-brick.
Bush, 1988). This is because plastic is a better insulator If the computer is sufficiently powerful, the nodal
than metal and thus resists heat transfer through the grid can be extended over the entire container, allow-
container wall to some extent. In addition, semi-rigid ing modelling of heat transfer resistance at each
plastic containers are not as strong as metal containers, surface. Thus, for a container possessing a headspace,
and consequently require an overpressure during ther- where heat transfer through this air layer is reduced, a
mal processing (Cabes, 1985) in order to keep their low value for the heat transfer coefficient can be
shape. Sterilization using condensing steam is not included. This has potential for semi-rigid plastic
suitable for most of these types of container. There- containers where headspaces often occupy a large
fore, different heat transfer media are required in volume in relation to the total container volume.
which an overpressure is permitted, such as water Having defined the heat transfer coefficients, the
immersion and steam/air. For both of these heating temperature at each node within the container is
media, the external heat transfer coefficients are less calculated as part of the finite difference program for
than for condensing steam, and can no longer be each time interval. Therefore, optimization of thermal
considered infinite. processing conditions can be achieved by investigating
Having established numerical techniques to solve the cook-values achieved at every node, to evaluate a
Fourier’s heat conduction equations for cylindrical and ‘volume-average cook-value’ (Tucker and Holdsworth,
rectangular geometries with infinite heat transfer con- 1990). This was plotted for various processing tempera-
ditions at all surfaces, various extensions are required. tures to attain the minimum volume-average cook-

18 Food Controrol- January 1991

 Development and use of numerical techniques for improved thermal process calculations and control: G. S. Tucker

value for a process which still received the desired ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

lethal rate, while minimizing over-cooking.
The contribution of the Ministry of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Food in partly funding development of
mathematical modelling at the Campden Food and
DISCUSSION Drink Research Association is gratefully acknow-
ledged.
There are distinct advantages in using a numerical
solution compared to one of the formula methods for
improved prediction of in-container thermal proces- REFERENCES
sing. This is important for understanding what is
happening to the food inside a container during the Ball, C.O. (1923) Thermal process time for canned foods. Bull. Nut1
entire sterilization process, both in terms of tempera- Resources Council 7, part 1
ture and also lethal rate. Ball, C.O. and Olson, F.C.W. (1957) Sterilization in Food Tech-
Flexibility of the computer solutions allows changes nology McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York
to any of the variables, either separately or in combina- Berry, M.R. and Bush, R.C. (1988) Thermal processing retortable
tion. In particular, the apparent thermal diffusivity of plastic containers with metal lids in steam and water with compari-
sons to metal cans. J. Food Sci. 53, 1877-1886
the food determines the rate of heat transfer through
the food and is independent of container size. Solutions Bhowmik, S.R. and Tandon, S. (1987) A method for thermal process
evaluation of conduction heated foods in retortable pouches.
can therefore be obtained for any container size based J. Food SC;. 52, 201-209
on one set of experimental results for a particular
Bown, G. (1985) Retort control. The application of a microcomputer
thermal diffusivity or heating factor, fh. This allows based control system. Technical Memorandum No. 391, Campden
thermal processes to be evaluated for different contain- Food and Drink Research Association, Chipping Campden, Glos,
ers without the need for extensive experimental work, UK
which is only required to validate the final process. For Cabes, L.J. (1985) Plastic packaging used in retort processing:
the finite difference solution, it is a requirement that control of key parameters. Food Tech&. 39 (12), 57-60
the thermal diffusivity of the food remains constant Carnaham, B., Luther, H.A. and Wilkes, J.O. (1969) Applied
throughout the thermal process. Both physical and Numerical Methods John Wiley and Sons, New York
chemical changes are, however, induced by the heating Chau, K.N. and Snyder, G.V. (1988) Mathematical model for
temperature distribution of thermally processed shrimp. Trans.
process as the food receives its sterilization and
Am. Sot. Agric. Eng. 31 (2). 608-612
cooking. These changes must effect the thermal dif-
Croft, D.R. and Lilley, D.G. (1077) Heat Transfer Calcularions Using
fusivity of the food thus altering the value of this
Finite Difference Equations Applied Science Publishers, London
quantity to some extent. The magnitude of the change
Gillespy, T.G. (1951) Estimating the sterilizing values of processes as
in thermal diffusivity is rarely sufficient to affect the applied to canned food. I: Packs heating by conduction. J. Sci.
accuracy of the model (illustrated by Figures 3 and 4) Food Agric. 2, 107-125
and it is therefore a reasonable assumption to take a Hayakawa, K. (196’)) Estimating the center temperatures of canned
constant value for the thermal diffusivity of the food food during the initial heating or cooling period of heat process.
throughout the thermal process. Food Technol. 23, 141-145
Retort come-up time is defined in the retort tempera- Kays, W.M. (1966) Convective Heat and Mass Transfer Series in
ture profile as part of the program input, so eliminating Mechanical Engineering, McGraw-Hill. New York

the need to estimate the lag factor, j. This removes one Manson, J.E., Stumbo, C.R. and Zahradnik, J.W. (1974) Evaluation
of thermal process for conduction heating foods in pear-shaped
area of inaccuracy common to the formula methods,
containers. J. Food Sci. 39, 276
which all require a value for the lag factor, and thus
Manson, J.E., Zahradnik, J.W. and Stumbo, C.R. (1970)
allows the effect of thermal processing using different
Evaluation of lethality and nutrient retentions of conduction
retorts to be estimated. heating foods in rectangular containers. Food Technol. 24 (ll),
Deviations in retort temperature can also be investi- 109
gated by defining a retort temperature profile, which is Richardson, P.S., Kelly, P.T., and Holdsworth, S.D. (1988). Compu-
not possible using any of the formula methods. ter modelling for sterilization processes. Technical Memorandum
Therefore, the impact on cumulative lethality of a drop No. 529. Campden Food and Drink Research Association,
Chipping Campden. Glos, UK
in retort temperature can be evaluated. This is one very
important step for improving monitoring and control of Smith, R.E., Nelson, G.L. and Henrickson, R.L. (1967) Analysis of
transient heat transfer from anomalous shapes. Trans. Am. Sot.
a thermal process, where a fall in steam pressure may Agric. Eng. IO (2), 236-245
occur.
Stumbo, C.R. (1953) New procedures for evaluating processes for
Numerical solutions for conduction heat transfer canned foods in cylindrical containers. Food Technol. 7, 309-315
require computers to solve a series of complex equa- Tucker, G.S. (1990) Evaluating thermal processes. Food Manufuc-
tions. This fact can be used to the thermal processor’s lure June, 30-40
advantage, by incorporating ‘user-friendly’ commands Tucker, G.S. and Clark, P. (1989) Computer modelline. for the
into the software. Tucker (1990) describes a program control of sterilization processes. Technical MemorandumNo. 520.
where the user is taken through a series of steps before Campden Food and Drink Research Association. Chipping Camp-
den, Glos, UK
the finite difference equations are solved. By defining
the retort temperature profile, process deviations can Tucker, G.S. and Holdsworth, S.D. (1990) Optimization of quality
factors for foods thermally processed in rectangular containers. In:
be modelled, and the need to assign a value for the lag
Engineering Innovation in the Food Industry: Proc. IChemE Meet.
factor, j, is removed. Great flexibility is also available Elsevier Applied Science. London.
for ‘what-if’ analysis, with rapid computer solutions Teixeira, A.A., Dixon, J.R., Zabradnik, J.W. and Zinsmeister, G.E.
providing considerable time savings in arriving at a (lY6Y) Computer optimization of nutrient retention in the thermal
satisfactory thermal process. processing of conduction heated foods. Food Tech&. 23, 137-142

Food Control - January 1991 19