Thermal behaviour of a solid/liquid mixture in an ohmic heating sterilizer - slip phase model

A model simulating the thermal behaviour of a solid-liquid food mixture flowing in an ohmic heating sterilizer is presented. It is based on the principle of a mean slip Velocity between the two phases in plug flow. Local electrical heat generation, convective heat transfers and heat conduction within the solid particles are taken into account. A qualitative study of the effects of slip velocity, delivery volume fraction, particle size and electrical conductivity is then performed. The importance of the particle internal temperature gradient is therefore shown. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.