MEC 121 FINAL EXAM

Design a scalding unit for the 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 the 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 at least 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 for 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.

Solution 1.

a. The mass flow rate of the make-up water that must be supplied to the tank can be
calculated as follows: First, we need to calculate the total mass of the chickens that will
be processed per hour: 1500 chickens/hour * 1.8 kg/chicken = 2700 kg/hour Next, we
need to calculate the increase in mass of the chicken due to the water that sticks to its
surface: 2700 kg/hour * 15% = 405 kg/hour Finally, we can calculate the mass flow rate
of the make-up water: 405 kg/hour / (5 minutes/60 minutes) = 6.75 kg/minute b. The
length of the tank can be calculated as follows: First, we need to calculate the total
surface area of the chickens in the tank: 1500 chickens/hour * 1.8 kg/chicken * 30
cm/chicken = 8100 cm^2/hour Then, we can calculate the width of the tank: 8100
cm^2/hour / 60 cm = 135 cm c. The total heat load can be calculated as follows: First, we
need to calculate the heat transfer from water to the chicken: 2700 kg/hour * 1.8
kg/chicken * 4186 J/kgK * (90°C - 33°C) = 4.45 x 10^7 J/hour Next, we need to calculate
the heat losses due to convection and conduction from the walls: (2 walls * 3 m * 60 cm) *
2.5 cm * 500 W/m^2K * (90°C - 20°C) = 2.7 x 10^5 J/hour Then, we need to calculate the
heat loss from the exposed surface of the tank: (2 * 3 m * 60 cm) * 500 W/m^2K * (90°C
- 20°C) = 2.16 x 10^5 J/hour Finally, we need to calculate the heat required to raise the
temperature of the water from 16°C to 90°C: 6.75 kg/minute * 4186 J/kg K * (90°C - 16°C)
 = 6.07 x 10^5 J/minute The total heat load is the sum of all these values: 4.45 x 10^7
J/hour + 2.7 x 10^5 J/hour + 2.16 x 10^5 J/hour + 6.07 x 10^5 J/minute = 4.74 x 10^7
J/hour d. The total length of the heating coil inside the tank can be calculated as follows:
First, we need to calculate the power needed to maintain the temperature of the water at
90°C: 4.74 x 10^7 J/hour / (5 minutes/60 minutes) = 7.9 x 10^5 W Then, we can calculate
the length of the heating coil: 7.9 x 10^5 W / (500 W/m) = 158 m

Solution 2.

a. The mass flow rate of the make-up water that must be supplied to the tank can be
calculated using the following equation: Mass flow rate = (Mass of chicken + Mass of
water added to chicken) * Number of chickens/hour / Time for each chicken to pass
through the tank Plugging in the given values, we get: Mass flow rate = (1.8 kg + 1.8 kg
* 15%) * 1500 chickens/hour / (5 minutes/60 minutes/hour) = 270 kg/hour

b. The length of the tank can be calculated using the following equation: Length of tank
= Number of chickens/hour * Center-to-center distance between chickens / Conveyor
speed Plugging in the given values, we get: Length of tank = 1500 chickens/hour * 30
cm / (60 minutes/hour * 1 chicken/minute) = 75 cm

c. The total heat load can be calculated using the following equation: Heat load = Mass
flow rate * Specific heat capacity * (Temperature of make-up water - Temperature of
chicken) + Heat losses due to convection and conduction + Heat loss from exposed
surface + Heat required to raise water temperature Plugging in the given values, we get:
Heat load = 270 kg/hour * 4.186 J/kgK * (90°C - 33°C) + (2 * 3 m * 60 cm * 2.5 cm) *
0.044 W/mK + (3 m * 60 cm * 2.5 cm) * 0.044 W/mK + (270 kg/hour * 4.186 J/kgK *
(90°C - 16°C)) = 1,437,000 J/hour

d. The total length of the heating coil inside the tank can be calculated using the
following equation: Length of heating coil = Heat load / (Heat transfer coefficient *
Surface area * Temperature difference) Plugging in the given values and assuming a
heat transfer coefficient of 100 W/m2K and a temperature difference of 70°C, we get:
Length of heating coil = 1,437,000 J/hour / (100 W/m2K * 3 m * 60 cm * (90°C - 20°C)) =
9.3 m
Solution 3.

a. To determine the mass flow rate of make-up water, we need to know the mass of
water lost per hour. Since each chicken is expected to leave the tank 15% heavier, this
means that the total weight of water on the chickens after they leave the tank is 1.8 kg +
0.15*1.8 kg = 2.07 kg. Since there are 1500 chickens processed per hour, this means that
the total weight of water lost per hour is 2.07 kg/chicken * 1500 chickens/hour = 3105
kg/hour. To maintain the desired temperature in the tank, we need to add enough
make-up water to make up for this loss. The density of water is 1000 kg/m^3, so the
volume of water lost per hour is 3105 kg/hour / 1000 kg/m^3 = 3.105 m^3/hour. The
mass flow rate of make-up water is therefore 3.105 m^3/hour * 1000 kg/m^3 = 3110.5
kg/hour.

b. The length of the tank will depend on the number of chickens that can be processed
at one time. Since the center-to-center distance between chickens should be at least 30
cm and the width of the tank can be up to 3 m, we can fit at most 3 m / 0.3 m = 10
chickens in one row. If we want to process 1500 chickens per hour, we will need a tank
with at least 1500 chickens/hour / 10 chickens/row = 150 rows of chickens. If we assume
that the chickens are spaced evenly in the tank, the length of the tank will be 150 rows *
0.3 m/row = 45 m.

c. The total heat load will consist of the heat required to raise the temperature of the
water from 16°C to 90°C, the heat transfer from the water to the chickens, and the heat
losses due to convection and conduction from the walls and exposed surface of the
tank. To determine the heat required to raise the temperature of the water, we need to
know the mass of water in the tank and the specific heat capacity of water. If we assume
that the density of water is 1000 kg/m^3 and the specific heat capacity is 4.2 kJ/kgK, the
heat required to raise the temperature of the water from 16°C to 90°C is (90°C - 16°C) *
4.2 kJ/kgK * 1000 kg/m^3 = 28,560 kJ/m^3. If the volume of the tank is 3 m * 3 m * 0.6
m = 5.4 m^3, the total heat required to raise the temperature of the water is 28,560
kJ/m^3 * 5.4 m^3 = 154,224 kJ.

To determine the heat transfer from the water to the chickens, we need to know the
mass of the chickens, the specific heat capacity of the chickens, and the change in
temperature of the chickens. If we assume that the specific heat capacity of the chickens
is 3.8 kJ/kgK, the heat transfer from the water to the chickens is (1.8 kg * 3.8 kJ/kgK) *
(90°C - 33°C) = 5,586 kJ.

To determine the heat loss due to convection and conduction from the walls and
exposed surface of the tank, we need to know the surface area of the walls and the
exposed surface of the tank, the heat transfer coefficient for convection and conduction,
and the temperature difference between the water and the ambient air.

Solution 4.

a. The mass flow rate of the make-up water that must be supplied to the tank can be
calculated by multiplying the amount of water the chickens are expected to add to the
tank by the number of chickens per hour. In this case, each chicken is expected to leave
the tank 15% heavier as a result of water that sticks to its surface. Therefore, the mass
flow rate of the make-up water that must be supplied to the tank can be calculated as:
mass_flow_rate = (number_of_chickens_per_hour * 1.8 kg/chicken * 0.15) / (60
minutes/hour) = 315 kg/hour.

b. The length of the tank is not specified in the problem, but it can be calculated based
on the width of the tank and the center-to-center distance between chickens. The
center-to-center distance between chickens in any direction is given as 30 cm, so with
this information, the length of the tank can be calculated as: length = (3 m - 2 * 0.3 m) /
2 = 2.4 m

c. To calculate the total heat load, we need to consider several different factors,
including the heat transfer from water to the chicken, heat losses due to convection and
conduction from the walls except for the floor, and the heat required to raise the
temperature of the water from 16°C to 90°C. The heat required to raise the temperature
of the water can be calculated using the specific heat capacity of water, which is
approximately 4.18 J/g°C. The total heat load can be calculated as:

heat_load = mass_flow_rate * (T_out - T_in) * Cp + heat_loss_convection +

heat_loss_conduction

Where:

 T_in = 16°C
 T_out = 90°C
 Cp = 4.18 J/g°C
 heat_loss_convection and heat_loss_conduction will depend on ambient
temperature and insulation used.

d. The total length of the heating coil inside the tank can be calculated by determining
the power required to heat the water and the power output of the heating coil. The
power required to heat the water can be calculated using the specific heat capacity of
water. It is important to know that you should use the appropriate heat transfer
coefficient, physical properties, heat exchanger design and heat exchanger efficiency to
give accurate result.

It's worth to mention that this is a simplified model, in real-world scenarios, many other
factors should be considered. If you are using the scalding unit in an actual application,
it's probably a good idea to consult with an engineer who is experienced in thermal
engineering to help you design the unit and select the appropriate equipment.