Comparison of two different numerical modeling for predicting the temperature of hamburger patty during freezing process.

Hamburgers are one of the most widely consumed meat products in the world. The shelf life of this product is rather short, therefore the freezing process is commonly used to reduce water activity and prevent the growth of microorganisms. Accurate temperature prediction during freezing is important in designing optimum cooling procedures and to avoid quality deterioration. Models for predicting freezing times range from relatively simple analytical equations to the more complicated numerical methods which require a lot of computing time and a sophisticated computer. In this research, thermal properties of hamburger, including ice fraction, thermal conductivity and specific heat were determined mathematically and then the freezing process of hamburger patty was investigated by two different numerical models (finite difference& finite element). The results were compared with experimental data and it was found that although both two models could reasonably forecast the temperature of hamburger patties during freezing, the finite element model demonstrated better goodness of fit than finite difference model. This study shows that the use of CFD packages such as COMSOL software can be considered as a suitable option for the estimation of freezing time of meat products.