Simulation model for analisis of thermal processes in thermo-insulating food packaging

Abstract

The contribution deals with the creation of mathematical model and its implementation in MATLAB environment in the form of simulation model, which is proposed mainly for analysis of thermal processes in thermo-insulating food packaging. The mathematical model of heat transfer in food packaging is described in the introduction of this paper. It is basically a thermal tank, where the wall heat capacity is significantly lower than the thermal tank content heat capacity. All three kinds of heat transfer convection, conduction and radiation is used. The heat flow from environment to the wall, in our case packaging, as parallel heat flow of convection and radiation is under consideration. The heat transfer by conduction through the packaging layers is in direct contact with the content of thermal tank. The processes of heat accumulation and phase transition of wax are taken in account beside the heat transfer processes, which occur in food packaging. In this article, the implementation of mathematical model in MATLAB environment in form of m-function is shown. The graphical user interface (GUI) as additional module provide comfort user-friendly environment for input and simulation setting. GUI ensures running simulation under different conditions and the presentation of simulation results in the graphical form, data form, respectively. To the simulation model the database of thermo-physical properties of packaging materials is supplemented. The information about name, thermal conductivity and thickness of packaging layer are saved in file format CSV. In the paper verification of model based on experimental measuring is done. In conclusion the different ways of simulation model applications are described and the examples of some concrete simulations are shown.