MEC 121 FINAL EXAM

Design a scalding unit for slaughtered chicken to loosen their feathers before they are routed to feather
picking machines with a capacity of 1500 chickens per hour under the following conditions:

The unit will be of immersion type filled with hot water at an average temperature of 90 °C at all times.
Chickens with an average mass of 1.8 kg and an average temperature of 33°C will be dipped into the
tank, held in water for 5 minutes, and taken out by a slow-moving conveyor. Each chicken is expected to
leave the tank 15% heavier as a result of water that sticks to its surface. The center-to-center distance
between chickens in any direction will be atleast 30 cm. the tank can be as wide as 3 m and as high as 60
cm. The water loss is to be made up of city water at an average temperature of 16°C. The ambient air
temperature can be taken to be 20°C. The walls and the floor of the tank are to be insulated with a 2.5
cm thick urethane layer.

Assuming reasonable values for the average properties, recommend reasonable values for the quantities
related to the thermal aspects of the scalding unit, including:

a. The mass flow rate of the make-up water that must be supplied to the tank.
b. The length of the tank.
c. The total heat load, including the heat transfer from water to the chicken, heat losses due to
convection and conduction from the walls except the floor, the heat loss from the exposed
surface of the tank, and the heat required to raise the temperature of the water from 16 °C to
90°C. Neglect the heat loss due to radiation.
d. The total length of the heating coil inside the tank.