The use of CFD to characterize and design post-harvest storage facilities: Past, present and future

There has long been an interest on the use of mathematical models for optimization of post-harvest refrigeration systems operation and design. These mathematical models are applied to predict the biophysical phenomena that take place during post-harvest handling of horticultural products. CFD has now become feasible to investigate the flow, heat and mass transfer processes in such details that include complex aspects such as product stacking, gas diffusion and kinetics, and droplet or particle dispersion. This review paper summarizes the advances in the application of CFD applied to post-harvest storage of horticultural products. Due to the geometrical complexity of post-harvest products, packages and systems and limitations due semi-empirical models for turbulence and porous media, new strategies using multiscale methods are starting to be successful. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.