Numerical simulation of thermal sterilization heating process of canned fruits with different shapes based on UDM and RDM

Abstract The random distribution model (RDM) and uniform distribution model (UDM) were used to simulate the thermal sterilization of canned fruit. The RDM was established with the radiation function, and the stability of RDM results was analyzed by simulating temperature change during thermal sterilization and determining the sterilization parameter F value of the slowest heating zone (SHZ). The performance of the distribution models in simulating thermal sterilization heating process of canned fruit with different shapes was studied using the UDM and RDM of canned yellow peach (hemispherical shell), pear (sphere), and coconut (cube). Simulation results were compared with experimental results. The flow field and temperature field distributions were used in analyzing the influence of fruits shape on the accuracy of the models. The simulation results of different RDMs were consistent with the temperature change and F value, indicating that the RDMs had stable simulation results. When the contact between two types of fruit was a point, the UDM can be used in the numerical simulation of thermal sterilization. When the contact was a non-point, the RDM was more accurate in simulating thermal sterilization. This study provides constructive suggestions for the simulation of thermal sterilization of canned fruit with different shapes.