Study of a hydrofluidization system using computational fluid dynamics and a discrete element method II: heat transfer and turbulence intensity
Hydrofluidization (HF) is a method of chilling and freezing of foods that pumps a refrigerating liquid upwards through orifices into a vessel creating submerged jets and thus results in extremely high surface transfer phenomena. The objective was to model the heat transfer and turbulence intensity in a HF system with spheres through computational fluid dynamics and a discrete element method. The HF system and the operative variables were those used in a companion paper presented as Part I. The independence of the mesh was checked. The heat transfer model was validated using data from a previous study with static spheres. The results were in the range of experimental data obtained in similar conditions. The model proposed provides useful information about the relationship between the operative variables and the heat transfer and turbulence levels in a HF system.