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SIMULATION OF THE EVAPORATIVE COOLING PROCESS FOR TORTILLAS
Author(s) -
TAYLOR T.A.,
HELDMAN D.R.,
CHAO R.R.,
KRAMER H.L.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of food process engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.507
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1745-4530
pISSN - 0145-8876
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-4530.1998.tb00461.x
Subject(s) - moisture , evaporative cooler , water content , mass transfer , thermodynamics , water vapor , convection , environmental science , vapour pressure of water , air temperature , water activity , water cooling , materials science , chemistry , mechanics , meteorology , composite material , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , physics , engineering
A simulation model was developed to predict temperature, moisture content and water activity of evaporatively cooled tortillas. The overall model was based on three parts: (1) the predicted equilibrium moisture isotherm for the product, (2) a correlation model for predicting the saturated water vapor pressure for a given temperature, and (3) the energy and mass balances for simultaneous convective heat and moisture transfer between product and cooling air. The simulation model was verified with experimental data and was found to accurately describe the behavior of the tortilla cooling system. The model predicted the simultaneous decrease in temperature, moisture content, and water activity of the product exposed to varying simulated processing conditions. It was found that cooling air velocity and temperature had the primary effect on product cooling and moisture loss rates.