Sensitivity analysis using a model based on computational fluid dynamics, discrete element method and discrete phase model to study a food hydrofluidization system

A sensitivity analysis was performed to study a hydrofluidization system, using a previous partially validated model that considers multiple fluid immersed jets and moving food spheres. The inputs were the average velocity of jets at the orifices (V), the refrigerating medium temperature (T), the distance between orifices (S), and the number of spheres (E). The outputs were the fluid and spheres velocities, the turbulence level, the dispersion level of the spheres, and the mass and heat transfer in the food. In general, the transfer phenomena in the fluid were mainly affected by E, S and V. In the food, the energy transfer was influenced by all variables, while its mass counterpart mainly depended on T. This study showed that a combination of computational fluid dynamics, a discrete element method and a discrete phase model is a simple but powerful tool to simulate food processing systems with relatively low computational requirements.