Computational Modelling of Airflow and Heat Transfer during Cooling of Stacked Tomatoes: Optimal Crate Design

Emmanuel Kwadwo Kale Agyeman, Steven Duret, Denis Flick, Onrawee Laguerre and Jean Moureh ()
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Emmanuel Kwadwo Kale Agyeman: Expleo Group, 31300 Toulouse, France
Steven Duret: Unité FRISE (Génie des Procédés FRIgorifiques pour la Sécurité Alimentaire et l’Environnement), INRAE (Institut National de Recherche pour L’agriculture, L’alimentation et L’environnement), 92160 Antony, France
Denis Flick: AgroParisTech, 75005 Paris, France
Onrawee Laguerre: Unité FRISE (Génie des Procédés FRIgorifiques pour la Sécurité Alimentaire et l’Environnement), INRAE (Institut National de Recherche pour L’agriculture, L’alimentation et L’environnement), 92160 Antony, France
Jean Moureh: Unité FRISE (Génie des Procédés FRIgorifiques pour la Sécurité Alimentaire et l’Environnement), INRAE (Institut National de Recherche pour L’agriculture, L’alimentation et L’environnement), 92160 Antony, France

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 4, 1-21

Abstract: A 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed to predict the airflow and heat transfer in half of a pallet layer of tomatoes. The numerical and experimental results were compared, and a good agreement was obtained between both results using the root-mean-square error (RMSE) and absolute relative deviation (ARD) values as criteria. The validated CFD model was then used to minimise the product temperature heterogeneity by optimising the airflow rate and the crate design. A downward flow of the air along the central parts of the crates and an upward flow close to the lateral walls of the crates were observed. Three different total ventilated areas (TVAs) were tested to study their influence on the product temperature uniformity and cooling rate. The MTD and ATD decreased from 6.8 to 3.5 °C and from 1.5 to 0.7 °C, respectively, when the TVA was increased from 11 to 15%.

Keywords: CFD; crate design; temperature uniformity; airflow rate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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