A simple method for prediction of heating

and cooling rates in solids of various shapes

A. C. Cleland and R. L. Earle
Key words: mathematical model, heating, cooling, solid

Une m6thode simple de

pr6vision du taux de
r6chauffage et de
refroidissement dans des
solides de diverses formes
On examine des m#thodes de pr#vision des profi/s
temperature-temps dans des so~ides au cours de/eur
M e t h o d s for prediction of t e m p e r a t u r e - t i m e
profiles in solids undergoing heating or
cooling are examined. Because physical data
are o f t e n uncertain a prediction m e t h o d t h a t
is accurate to + 1 0 % is a d e q u a t e in many
situations. A procedure is proposed t h a t
meets this criterion, is simple to use, and is
applicable to a w i d e range of regular and

A
Bi
C
El-~TD
Fo

Fo{
h
k
K
N
q
R

surface area, m 2
Blot number
volumetric specific heat capacity of the
solid, J m -3 C -1
number of equivalent heat transfer
dimensions
Fourier number
Fourier number corresponding to a
half-life time
surface heat transfer coefficient,
W m -2 C -1
thermal conductivity of the solid,
W m -1 eC-1
weighting factor
number of half-life times
surface heat flux, W m -2
characteristic dimension (half the
shortest distance through the centre of
the solid), m

There is a wide vanety of industrial processes which

involve heating or cooling of solid materials. The
most important of these in the food industry are
those where the boundary condition is of the third
The authors are from the Department of Biotechnology, Massey
University. Palmerston North, New Zealand. Paper received 18
May 1981.

r#chauffage ou de/eur refroidissement. Les va/eurs

physiques #tant souvent incertaines, une m#thode
de pr#vision d'une precision de 4- 10% suffit dans
de nombreuses situations. On propose une m#thode
r#pondant ~ ce crit#re, d'uti/isation simp/e et
app/icab/e ~ un grand nombre de formes r#gu/i#res
et irr#gufi#res. Cette m#thode introduit /e concept
d'un param#tre caract#ristique de transfert de
cha/eur #quiva/ente, pour tenir compte de/a
g#om#trie du sofide. On peut a/ors utiliser des
nomogrammes pour trouver /a temperature centra/e
d'un corps en fonction du temps et /es conditions
externes de transfert de cha/eur.
irregular shapes. The m e t h o d introduces a
c o n c e p t of t h e n u m b e r of e q u i v a l e n t heat
t r a n s f e r dimensions to take a c c o u n t of t h e
solid's geometry. A l i g n m e n t charts can then
be used to find t h e centre t e m p e r a t u r e of a
body as a f u n c t i o n of t i m e and t h e external
heat t r a n s f e r conditions.

t
t

time, s
half-life time (time for a 50% reduction
in Y), s

V
W

volume,

x,y,z
Y
Yo

fl,
6
6o
60
6,
s

m 3

contribution to the number of

equivalent heat transfer dimensions
displacement within the body in each
dimension, m
fractional unaccomplished temperature
change
fractional unaccomplished temperature
change at the centre of the body
shape factor
temperature, C
ambient (external medium)
temperarature, C
temperature at the centre of the body,
C
(uniform) initial temperature in the
body, C
surface temperature, C

kind (convection or conduction through a

packaging material)

(i)

q=h(~a-i~s)
Heat conduction within a homogeneous solid
material can be in one. two or three dimensions

01 40-7007/82/020098-0953.00
0 1 9 8 2 Butterworth & Co (Publishers) Ltd and IIR

98

Revue Internationale du Froid

Bo=f (Bi, body geometry)

depending on the geometry, and is described by the

general equation of heat conduction

(5)

y = 0-8a
- (the fractional unaccomplished

0i-0a

(2)
The importance of heating or cooling in situations of
this nature has led to publication of a large number
of methods for predicting the manner in which
temperature changes with time within the solids.
Whilst calculation methods using repeated iterations
by computers are in theory capable of providing
precise solutions, so often the uncertainties in the
heat transfer parameters (thermal properties.
knowledge of initial temperature distributions and of
surface heat transfer coefficients) make such
apparent precision illusory. Where experiments have
been conducted under carefully controlled
laboratory conditions, agreement of better than
-I-10% has been obtained with these methods. 3's
However the need for predictions extends beyond
the research laboratory. Often these need not be
highly precise, indeed they cannot be, as insufficient
is known about some of the finer details. Therefore
it is still worthwhile to produce simple methods,
applicable by hand calculator to an accuracy
commensurate with the available data which is often
around + 1 0 %
Despite many publications there seems to be no
method available which sufficiently reconciles this
simplicity, breadth of application, and adequate
precision, to be widely adopted.
Previous attempts to develop such a method have
been published by Pflug et al. 12 and Smith et al. 13'14
The former considered only simple geometric shapes
(slabs, cylinders, spheres and shapes formed by their
intersection), whereas the latter defined a geometric
factor approximating ellipsoidal shapes to spheres. A
method that would be widely used by the industrial
food engineer would preferably cover wide ranges
of conditions and geometric shapes, yet still be
simple. Neither method completely meets these
criteria, although that of Smith et al. is more widely
applicable. However a different alignment chart is
required for each value of their geometric index. 4

Development of a simple model

The similarity between the exact analytical solutions
for heating or cooling (by convection) of solids with
simple geometric shapes has been known for some
time. 15 These solutions have the general form

Y=Aoexp(-BnFo)

(3)

n=l

where

Ao=f (Bi, body geometry, position within

the body)

(4)

Volume 5 Num~ro 2 Mars 1982

temperature change)

Bi-

hR
k

kt
Fo=CR
~

(6)
(7)

(8)

This series converges rapidly, and for all but small

values of the Fourier number only one term is
significant, implying that irrespective of position
within the body Y changes exponentially with time.
A plot of In Y vs Fo would have a slope of - B n,
and if extrapolated back to Fo=O, the intercept
would be In A1. This is the so-called regular
condition.
A further simplification can be made by considering
only one position within the body. The rate of
temperature change at the slowest heating or
cooling point (the thermal centre) is normally the
prime factor in determining the duration of a heating
or cooling process. Limiting the method to consider
only this position yields
Yo=A~c exp(-B1Fo )

(9)

where

8c-8a

(10)

0i--0 a

Atc=f (Bi, body geometry)

(11

BT=f (Bi, body geometry)

(12)

Equation (9) presupposes that only one term in the

infinite series is significant.
The final value of Yc is normally less than 0.8, this
being the usual economic and practical range. For
Yc values less than 0.8 the error in neglecting the
second and subsequent terms in the series solution
is usually small. A simple solution in the form of (9)
to (1 2) therefore provides a useful method for
predicting heating and cooling rates. This has been
recognised by those workers who have proposed
simple calculation methods. ~2.13.1~
Two methods have been proposed to determine the
group (-B1Fo). The variation of Yc with time is an
example of exponential decay, and one characteristic
is that the time to achieve a given percentage
reduction in Y is independent of time. Pflug et al. 12
use 'f', the time taken for a 90% reduction, whereas
other workers 1.7 have used the half life time (t~/2, s).
This latter is the time taken for Yc to be halved - - for
example the time taken for Yc to change from 0.60
to 0.30 equals the time for Yc to change from 0.50
to 0.25, and both are t~/2, s. As Yo values are
commonly between 0.90 and 0.05 the half-life

99

Table 1. V a l u e of Fo~/2 as a f u n c t i o n of t h e
Biot n u m b e r (Bi) for infinite slabs, infinite
cylinders and spheres

Tableau 1. Va/eurs de F01, 2 e n fonct/on du hombre

de Blot (Bi) pour des plaques infinies, des cyltndres
/nftn/s et des spheres
Bi

F01 '2

0.01

69.8

(slab)

F01, 2 (cylinder)

F012 (sphere)

34.9

23.3

0.02

34.9

17.4

0.04

17.6

8.75

5.82

0.06

11.8

5.86

3.90

For infinite slabs, infinite cylinders and spheres, data

for Fo~,2 can be obtained using the analytical
solutions in reference 2. The appropriate data are
tabulated in Table 1, and shown graphically after the
manner of reference 1 2 in Fig. 1.
The importance of the constant A1c is illustrated in
Fig. 2. The lag time is the time taken for the single
term equation to reduce Yc from Alo to 1.0. The
number of half-lives to accomplish this is given by
N,ag-

11.6

0.08

8.90

4.42

2.93

0.10

7.16

3.55

2.36

0.20

3.70

1.82

1.20

0.30

2.55

1.24

0.81 8

0.40

1.97

0.956

0.625

0.50

1.62

0.783

0.510

0.60

1.39

0.668

0.434

0.80

1.11

0.525

0.338

1.0

0.937

0.440

0.281

1.5

0.710

0.327

0.205

2.0

0.598

0.271

0.1 68

3.0

0.487

0.217

0.1 32

4.0

0.433

0.1 90

0.11 5

5.0

0.402

0.175

0.105

6.0

0.381

0.1 65

0.0984

8.0

0.355

0.153

0.0906

10.0

0.339

0.146

0.0862

1 5.0

0.320

0.1 37

0.0807

20.0

0.310

0.1 32

0.0778

30.0

0.300

0.128

0.0753

40.0

0.296

0.126

0.0739

60.0

0.290

0.124

0.0726

80.0

0.288

0.123

0.0720

100.0

0.287

0.122

0.071 6

,~

0.281

0.120

0.0702

In Ale

(1 6)

In2
Values of N~agwere determined for infinite slabs,
infinite cylinders and spheres. With these data an
alignment chart was prepared to give values of Y: as

io(

o~

oT

~
81

io

ioo

Fig. 1 The Fourier n u m b e r c o r r e s p o n d i n g to the half life time for

infinite slabs, infinite cylinders and spheres

Fig. 1 Nombre de Fourier correspondant au temps de defT?i#vo/utJon pour des plaques infinies, des cy/indres infinis et des
spheres

In AIC

%N \
\
N

method gives numbers of more convenient size than

the "f" method. The Fourier number corresponding to
the half-life time (Fol,2) is defined by

k
Fo~,,2= CR 2 "~t12

(1 3)

Lo~ime ,!

and (9) can be rewritten as

Yc=A1c exp(-B1NFol,,2)

(14)

where N = n u m b e r of half-life times that have

elapsed, and where (1 2) in the general model is
replaced by

Fo~2=f(Bi, body geometry)

100

Ko

Fig. 2 S c h e m a t i c illustration of the effect of a non zero intercept

on a semi log plot of Yc vs Fo in determining the lag time

(15)

Fig. 2 SchOma monrrant /'offer de /'extrapolation d'une courbe

semi /ogarithmique de Yc par rapport ~ Fo permettant /a
d#termination du temps de retard

International Journal of Refrigeration

lllllllIiIII|lllI||i|IIIIiiUlllll

IIIIIIIP. 11I111III IIIIIIIIIII IIIIIII

lll1~.IImIIIIIlIIIlllIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIII
~.lW.lkIIII1klLIIIlIIIIIIIllIIll
#
~I~IilIIIII!UI~IIIIIIIUII111I
|~llII!~lmI1~IIMIIIIIIIIllII

BIIII~IIIIIIIRIIIIU

<

.:~z:/
-"

--

Y
~>'i"

"

i iJ\ \
I

11

- " -

1.0

-1.2

\k
\ \

'\ \ \

I 1+i4

. . . . .

Ri=(J.Z

i --

=1.4

1.6

1.8

20

2.2

2-4

2-6

2-8

EHTD

0-7

0-6

0.5

0.4

0-3

0.2

0-1

Yc

Fig. 3 Alignment chart relating Y c t o N a s a function of B l a n d EHTD

Fig. 3 Deux nomogrammes: a - A 1c en fonction de B i par rapport au param,@tre caract#ristique de transfert de cha/eur @quiva/ente
(EHTD), b - va/eurs de Yc en fonction de Nlag et de Alc

a function of the number of elapsed half-life times N

(which includes N,a~) and A1c. This latter parameter
is itself a function of the Blot number and the
geometry of the object. Therefore a second chart
was prepared giving A1c as a function of Bi and a
new term, the number of equivalent heat transfer
dimensions (ENTD) introduced to cover the
geometry. The EHTD compares the total
contribution to heat transfer in an object of all three
dimensions with the contribution of the shortest
dimension alone. 3 For an infinite slab two of the
dimensions make a 0 contribution to EHTD so the
value of EHTD is 1.0. For a sphere all three
dimensions are equivalent so E H T D = 3 , and in the
infinite cylinder case EHTD = 2.
The two alignment charts were combined to give
Fig. 3. The lines for values of N in the right hand
side of the chart were slightly curved, but it was
found that straight lines could be used without
significant loss of accuracy. These tend to give a
conservative answer (that is, underpredict the extent
of the change in Yc for a given time or overpredict
the time to achieve a Yc value) by up to 5%. If the
value of EHTD is known a line is drawn vertically
until Bi is reached, the line is then turned
horizontally and continued until N, the required
number of elapsed half life times, is reached. The
third section of the line is then drawn vertically

Volume 5 Number 2 March 1982

downwards to give Yc- This chart is accurate for the

three shapes, provided only one term in the series
solution is needed. For example, a cylinder for
which B i = 5 and F o = 0 . 4 0 gives a value of FOl/2 of
0.175 from Table 1. Therefore N=0.40/0.1 75=2.29,
and from Fig. 3, Yc is 0.32. The exact analytical
solution gives Y0=0.308 so the chart construction
and reading error is slight.
A method was then sought to choose EHTD so that
the simple alignment chart could be used for other
important regular geometries, namely rectangular
bricks and finite cylinders (Fig. 4). The two shape
factors #1 and #2 are the ratios of the longer two
dimensions to the shortest. Examination of a cube
(#1 =#2 = 1 ) gave some insight into the form of the
function relating #~, #2 and EHTD. As B i ~ O the ratio
of the half-life times for the slab and cube tends
towards 3, whereas when B i ~ o o the ratio tends
towards 4. In contrast the product solution for a
cube 11 suggests that the slab:cube ratio remains
constant at 3.0. As B i ~ O A~c~I.0 for all shapes, and
as Bi~oo, A l c ~ 2 for a sphere, but Alc~21/3 for an
infinite slab. Applying the product solution for a
cube 1~ shows that Ale values for a cube and sphere
are almost equal. This suggests that by using EHTD
=3, and F O 1 / 2 = F 0 1 / 2 (slab)/EHTD, an approximate
solution for a cube can be found.

101

Considering now a general brick shape, as B i - , O it

can be shown by a heat balance that
[ - h A t'~

Y= expt--~-- )

(17)

These parameters can be determined as

V= 8R3p,p2

(1 8)

2R
and

2/31R

Therefore
Y = exp[-~----~-(1 + ~ + ~ ) t ]

This implies that as Bi--*O,

EHTD--,

(20)

(11)
+~+~
1

In the other limiting case as B i ~ o o

using the product solution that
YcC exp -

1+~+

it can be s h o w n

(21)

Fo

Therefore a general formula to determine E H T D for a

rectangular brick would be

EHTD=

Bi

Bi

1 +~

1)

(11)

1+

+~

|'~

2R

v!

81

(22)
where K = w e i g h t i n g factor expressing the relative
importance of the factors arising from (20) and (21)
containing terms in 1//~ and 1//~ 2 respectively. For
this shape
Fol/2=Fo1/2 (infinite slab)
EHTD

(23)

By applying similar methods to a finite cylinder it

was found that (22) would apply, and that F01/2
should be calculated from

Foi/2=

2 x Fo1,,2 'infinite cylinder)

EHTD

(24)

2/31 R

for the case in Fig. 4(b) and

Fo1/2=Fol/2 (infinite slab)
EHTD

C
(25)

for the case in Fig. 4(c).

For oval shapes (ellipsoidal cylinders, ellipsoids,
spheroids, and other shapes that approximate these)
calculation of E H T D using (22) and determination
of Fol/2 from (26) is suggested by similarity

102

2R

Fig. 4 Determination of the characteristic dimension (R) and

shape factors (,8) for a - rectangular parallelopiped (brick) with
shortest dimension = 2 R, ,81> 1, ,82> 1; b - finite cylinder in
which the diameter is less than the height, radius=R. ,81=1,
,82 > 1: c - finite cylinder in which the height is less than the
diameter, height = 2R. radius= ,81R = ,82R, /~1= ,82. ,81> 1. ,82> 1
Fig. 4 D~terminadon des facteurs caract~ristiques de dimension
(R) et de forme (,8) pour a - parallel#pip#de (brique). b cylindre fini clans/eque//e diam#tre est inf#rieur ~ /a hauteur. c
cyfindre fini dans /eque/ /a hauteur est inf#rieure au diam#tre

Revue Internationale du Froid

FOl/2 -

3 x Fol/2 (sphere)
EHTD

(26)

Testing of the model

Testing of the model was carried out by comparing
the time taken to reach various Yc values predicted
from the alignment chart with the time predicted
from available analytical solutions. This testing was
carried out over a range of B i values from 0.02 to
100. The difference in predicted times was
expressed as a percentage of the time predicted
from the analytical solution. A negative percentage
difference meant that the alignment charts
underpredicted the time to achieve a change in Yc,
whereas a positive difference indicated an
overprediction (a conservative answer).
Infinite slabs, infinite cylinders a n d spheres. As

previously discussed the alignment charts always

gave conservative answers by 0 to 5% for these
shapes.

Summary. The testing of the method indicated that

Rectangular bricks. In testing the alignment charts

for this geometric shape it was first necessary to

determine the value of the weighting factor (K) in
(22). Initially it was thought that a value of K = I
w o u l d be most suitable (indicating an equal balance
between the internal and external resistances to heat
transfer). However E H T D is used twice in the
calculations - - to find Fo~/2 from Fig. 1, and to find
the effect of Alc in Fig. 3. It was found impossible to
meet both these requirements simultaneously so a
compromise value that gave least overall error was
chosen. This was K = 0 . 1 , and using this the average
error was found to be 0%, and the 95% confidence
bounds -I-12% for/Y values between 1 and 10. In
order to simplify the calculation of E H T D a chart
was prepared of (22). This can be rewritten as
E H T D = 1 + Wl + W2

the same manner as previously described, and

again the 95% confidence bounds were _12%. A
similar result was obtained for prolate spheroids. 8
The testir g was carried out for J~l = 1,/~2= 2 and 5
and for B i = oo, 10, 4, 1 and 0.5. The last
comparisons made were to the experimental data for
cooling of plastic ellipsoidal shapes of Smith et al, 12
These workers used eight plastic shapes with ~1
varying from 1 to 4 and/~2 from 1 to 5. Agreement
was to within 95% confidence bounds of + 1 2 %
except for two shapes, The first of these had J~l =J~2
= 2 . 9 7 and the second j~1----j~2----4. In these cases the
model consistently under-predicted by 1 5%. As
these shapes are approaching a flat slab, reference
of FOl/2 to a sphere with a weighting factor of 3
(25) is probably the reasofl. At B i = o o ,
FOl/2 for a sphere is only one-quarter of that of a
slab, whereas at lower B i values the ratio tends
towards 1/3. Therefore better agreement w o u l d be
expected at lower Blot numbers for these shapes.

in most circumstances the method was accurate to

within -I-1 2% with 95% confidence. It therefore
appears that it meets the criteria for a simple method
for industrial use. The testing was carried out for J~l
and /~2 between 1 and 10, and for B i between 0.02
and 100. In practice/~ values greater than 3 are
unlikely as food packages with such an elongated
shape are rarely encountered. Also the Blot number

(27)

where
W -(

0.1

Bi

(28)

and

W2= ~

+ Bi+0.1

,,9,

W~ and W2 are found by using Fig. 5 twice, firstly

with B i and/~1, and secondly with B i and/~2.
Finite cylinders. Testing was carried out using
K=0.1 so that Fig. 5 could be used. For situations
where the radial dimension was shortest (Fig. 4(b))
the 95% confidence bounds for/Y2 values between 1
and 10 were -I-10%, For the other case (Fig. 4(c))
the 95% confidence bounds were +12%.
Other shapes. For oval shapes some data exist in the

literature. An approximate analytical solution 1 for an

infinite elliptical cylinder with B i = oo was tested in

Volume 5 Num~ro 2 Mars 1982

Fig. 5 Chartfor the determination of W from Bi and

Fig. 5 Diagramme pr#sentent le nombre de Biot. Bi. en fonction
du facteur de forme [J

103

will commonly lie between 0.1 and 20 for many

situations in the food industry. Within these ranges
the 95% confidence bounds are narrower (-t-10%)
than for the full range. For/~ values of less than 3
underprediction of more than 10% was rare. and
tended to occur for 2 < / ~ < 3 and Bi>5. rather than
across the whole range of Bi and/~ values. A safety
factor of 15% could be applied to achieve data that
are almost certain not to underpredict as only one
prediction error worse than - 1 5% occurred in all
the testing.

After 22 h cooling t = 2 2 x 3 6 0 0 = 7 9 200 s

Fo=

Fo
0.395
N=Fo -0.215-184
(6) Yo Using EHTD=l.91, B i = 4 . 6 4 and N = 1 . 8 4 on
Fig. 3 gives
Yo= 0.435

Applications
The method has been designed so that it can be
widely applied to practical solid heating or cooling
problems. The concept of the EHTD makes these
unsteady state heat conduction processes easy to
understand. Its simplicity is illustrated in the
following example.

Example 1. It is required to cool blocks of cheddar

cheese of dimensions 0.30 m x 0.38 m x 0.56 m. The
initial temperature of the cheese is 32C, and it is to
be cooled in air at - 2 . 5 C for 22 h. The surface
heat transfer coefficient taking account of resistance
in the cheese carton wall, and in the air stream, is
13 W m -2 C-~. Thermal properties of the cheese
are k = 0 . 4 2 W m -~ C -~ and C = 3 . 7 4 x 106
J m -3 C -1. What is the temperature at the centre of
the block at the end of the cooling process?
(1) Characteristic dimension. This is half the
shortest side.
R=0.1 5 m
(2) /~ values
0.38
/~ =0.30 =1.27

0.56
/ ~ 2 =1-0- =
.30

.87

(3) Blot number

Bi=

0.42 x 79 200
=0.395
3.74 x 106x0.152

13x0.15
-4.64
0.42

(7) f~c from (6)

0 . 4 3 5 - ~c- ( - 2 . 5 )
32-(-2.5)
~c = 1 2.5C
Using the analytical solution 1~, the time taken to
reach 12.5C was predicted as 24.3 h so the
underprediction was 9.5%. Note that/~2=1.87 and
B i = 4 . 6 4 are approaching the region of likely
underprediction (/~>2, B i > 5 ) so the underprediction in this situation is not unexpected. Nevertheless the agreement is still within 10%.
Whilst the method has only been tested for regular
geometry and ellipsoidal shapes, any object that can
be approximated by one of these shapes can be
handled. The shortest thickness through the slowest
cooling point is taken as 2R, and the two axes at
right angles to this are used to estimate/~1 and/~2. If
the shape is so irregular that J~l and /~2 cannot be
easily measured then EHTD can be determined
experimentally. This would involve using Fig. 3 in
conjunction with the formula for FOil 2 t o determine
(by trial and error) the value of EHTD that gives a
measured value of Yc at a certain time. As EHTD
does not change markedly with changes in Bi
(provided B i > l ) then this value of EHTD can be
used for determining cooling times for that shape
under other conditions. The following example
illustrates these calculations.

Example 2. Chilling of sides of beef has been

(4) EHTD. Using (27) and either Fig. 5 or (28) and
(29)
W 1=0.62
W2=0.29

EHTD = 1.91
(5) Fo~/2 and N. Using either Table 1 or Fig. 1 FOil 2
(slab) can be found by interpolation as

studied by Hodgson. 9 For a 136 kg side he suggests

a mean thickness through the slowest cooling point
of 0.20 m ( R = 0 . 1 0 m). After 16 h chilling in air at
0C using Fig. 2 from reference 9, the temperature at
the slowest cooling point had changed from 38C to
9C (Yo=0.24). At an air velocity of 2 m s -1 the
surface heat transfer coefficient was 14.6 W m -2 C -1
Appropriate thermal properties were k = 0 . 5 0 W
m -~ C -~ and C = 3 . 7 3 x 10c J m -3 C -1.
(1) Bi

Fol/2 (slab) =0.411

Using (23)
0.411
F~/2- 1.9~ -0.21 5

104

Bi-

14.6 xO.10
-2.9
0.5

Fo-

0.5 x 1 6 x 3600
-0.77
3.73 x 106x0.102

(2) Fo

International Journal of Refrigeration

(3) Determination of EHTD

3 FOl/2 (sphere)
Fol/2 N

EHTD

= Fo/Fol/2

Yc is read from Fig. 3 and compared to Y c = 0 . 2 4

Guess EHTD = 1.3;

Foi/2-

3x0.136
1.3
=0.31

=0.77/0.31 = 2 . 5

Yc

=0.23

This is about 10% different, and could partly result

from the error in findng R rather than a change in
EHTD w i t h the Blot number, or w i t h the carcass
size.
Examp/e 3. Data for cooling of lamb and mutton
carcasses 6 were also analysed in this manner. For
ewe carcasses the variation in cooling rates between
individual carcasses of the same w e i g h t was
significant due to different shapes but the averaged
results (Fig. 3 of reference 6) indicated an average
EHTD of 2.1 3 for both the w e i g h t ranges studied.
There were fewer data for lamb carcasses but those
available indicated EHTD was higher, of the order of
2.5 for this shape.

Conclusions

Guess EHTD = 1.33

3x0.136
Fol/21.33
=0.307
N

= 0 . 7 7 / 0 . 3 0 7 =2.51

Yc

=0.24

Therefore EHTD = 1.33 at B i = 2.9

This value of EHTD can be used for sides of
different sizes provided geometric similarity is
preserved. N o w as carcass w e i g h t is proportional to
volume it is also approximately proportional to the
cube of the characteristic dimension. Therefore a
beef side of w e i g h t 68 kg w o u l d be expected to
have a value of R (0.5) 1/3 times that for a 136 kg
side. That is,

Uncertainties in data are often such that a prediction

method for unsteady state heating and cooling
situations that is accurate to -I-10% w i l l be adequate
for use in practice. As many of the available
calculation methods are mathematically complex,
they have not been w i d e l y applied by industrial food
engineers. The proposed calculation method is
simple to use and accurate to w i t h i n 4-12% w i t h
95% confidence for a w i d e variety of shapes. It thus
appears to meet the criteria for a prediction
procedure suitable for use by industrial food
engineers.

References

R-~0.10 x (0.5)1/3=0.079 m
Experimentally it was found that in 16 h 0 c for this
side reached 5.6C under the same conditions as
previously, (Fig. 2, reference 9). The accuracy of the
EHTD value of 1.33 can be assessed as follows:
Bi-

14.6 x 0.079
0.50

F1/2

-2.31

3x0.157
1.33
=0.354

5.6
Y= 38 - 0 . 1 5
From Fig. 3
N=3.15

10

Fo=3.15 x 0.354=1.12
11
t=

1.12 x 3.73 x 106x 0.0792

0.50

=14.5 h

Volume 5 Number 2 March 1982

12

Badari Narayana, K., Krishne Murthy, M. V. Thermal

histories of food products during processing. 5th Nat Symp
Refrign Air Condg, Madras. Paper RAC-35-76 (1976)
245-251
Carslaw, H. S., Jaeger, J. C. Conduction of Heat in
Solids, 2nd ed (1959). Clarendon Press, Oxford
Cleland, A. C., Earle, R. L. Prediction of freezing times
for foods in rectangular packages J Food Sci 44 (1979)
964-970
Clary, B. L., Nelson, G. L., Smith, R. E. Application of
the geometry analysis technique in determining the heat
transfer rates from biological materials Trans ASAE 14
(1971) 586 589
Comini, G., Bonacina, C. Application of computer
codes to phase change problems in food engineering Buff
/IR Annexe-3 (1974) 15-32
Earle, R. L., Fleming, A. K. Cooling and freezing of
lamb and mutton carcassesFood Techno/21 (1967)
79-84
Emblik, E. Temp Techn 15 3 (1977) 73-77
Haji-Sheikh, A., Sparrow, E, M. The solution of heat
conduction problems by probability methods J Heat Transf
89 (1967) 121-131
Hodgson, T. The effect of environmental conditions on
the chilling rates of meat Bu//IIR Annexe-1 (1966)
635-646
Kirkpatrick, E. T., Stokey, W. F. Transient heat
conduction in elliptical plates and cylinders J Heat Transf
81 (1959) 54-60
Newman, A. B. Heating and cooling rectangular and
cylindrical solids Ind Engng Chem 28 (1936) 545-548
Pflug, I. J., Blaisdell, J. L., Kopelman, J. Developing
temperature-time curves for objects that can be
approximated by a sphere, infinite plate or infinite cylinder
Trans ASHRAE 71 (1965) 238-248

105

13

S m i t h , R. E., Nelson, G. L., H e n r i c k s o n , R. L.

problems in transient heat transfer Trans ASAE 11 (1968)

296 302
W i l l i a m s o n , E. D., A d a m s , L. H. Temperature
distribution in solids during heating or cooling Phys Rev

Applications of geometry anslysis of anomalous shapes to

14 (1919) 99 114

S m i t h , R. E., Nelson, G. L., H e n r i c k s o n , R. L.

Analyses on transient heat transfer from anomalous shapes

TransASAEIO (1967) 236 245
14

n
I

15

9th International Cryogenic

Engineering Conference and
International Cryogenic Materials
Conference
May 11-1 4 1 982
Kobe, Japan

Cryogenics - - the key for the future is the theme for the forthcoming
ICEC and ICMC meetings.
An exhibition will also be held in parallel with the two conferences.

Papers will be presented on original research or developments in

Cryophysics, cryo engineering and materials, further datails may be
obtained from The Conference Secretary, ICEC9-1CMC Secretariat.
c/o Industrial Research Institute, 2-1-7 Shinkawa, Chuo-ku,
Tokyo 104, Japan.

E!

11)6

Revue Internationale du Froid