NUMERICAL STUDY

FOR THERMAL
STERILIZATION IN
CANNED LIQUID
FOOD
CONTAINING
PARTICLES USING
POROUS MEDIA
APPROACH

Ramirez Francia  Gabino

(15030731)
Lara Pérez Mariana (16030837)
Introduction
• To ensure sterility in canned
foods, it is necessary to know
the dynamics of heating of the
cold spot of the can.
• This can be determined
experimentally with
thermocouples.
• Natural convection causes
displacement of slow warming
zone towards the bottom of
the can
 Cold spot location
and trajectory 
Particles  great
adequate thermal
influence on fluid
processing based
flow.
on equivalent
sterilization time Fo

Calculating the
lethality of the
process with
bigelow's General
Method or Ball's
formula 
 The porous
medium.
• Natural convection
phenomena involve two-
phase transport phenomena.

• Method of the Volumetric

Average to combine the solid
phase and the fluid.

• A computer code was

developed to determine
the dynamics and location
of the cold spot.
Development of the mathematical
model Considerations:

*R radius can and L height

*Initial temperature (To) 

*Operating temperature (Tr)

*Convection heat transfer

coefficient (hc)

*momentum ec.  Darcy's law

with Brinkman's extension 
Considerations for modeling
Isotropic effective
medium

Viscosity and densi
ty  Fluid
Thermal
conductivity
 Porous medium
Constant density,
except in
momentum ec.
 Neatly
arranged
cans

Interstitial
Cavity with
fluid is
rigid and
Newtonian
waterproof
and laminar
borders
regimen.

Thermal
resistance of
the
container is
negligible. 
Mathematica
l model.
 At borders there
are changes in
temperature
profiles.
Implicit Euler LATAIMP.
integration Language:
scheme FORTRAN 90

Nonlinear
It is relaxation method
noted
that:
 of the
thermal • Objective 
treatment elimination of
microorganisms
time present.
required for • Thermal process
sterilization time required -->
of canned Heldman and Lund
food.
Fo= The equivalent time of a process
in minutes.
Tr= autoclave temperature
T= temperature as a function of time
 Experimental
data

Chicharos i
Tuna n brine

Whole bea
ns
 Dimensions Headspace Particle size

It was Drained weig
Weight of
Net weight interstitial
determin ht
fluid
ed.
Viscosity of
Number of Proximal the interstitial
particles composition fluid of 68 °F
- 194 °F
Heat transfer Calculation of
Top of the dimensional
coefficient can numbers
• Side wall and • 60 W/m² °C • Raf, Da, Pr, A,
bottom Bi y Bih
• 2000 W/m² °C
 +
+
convergence
Results permeability
of the porous
difficulty and
number of
and medium
iterations
Discussion
Displacement of
the cold point to
the lower end of
the can.

Increased
Number of Darcy

Food with +
concentration of
solids  cold
region below the
geometric center
of the can.