Using a computer software (ANSYS) for the thermal analysis by finite element method, a computer simulation was carried out concerning temperature changes in loin ham in the thermal treatment process and these analyzed values were compared with the measured ones. Preparing a 1/8 division model of loin ham, thermal analyses were performed with a tetrahedral thermal solid 10 nodes 3-D space and element numbers of 1781. Thermal conductivity, density, and specific heat of the material used were 0.495 (W/m·K), 1.075×10
3 (kg/m
3), and 3.537×10
3 (J/kg·K), respectively. In this thermal analysis, following results were obtained: the analyzed values were about 2°C higher than the measured value in drying process, about 6°C higher in smoking process, and about 2°C lower in cooking process. It revealed that, in drying and smoking processes, latent heat was taken off by evaporating the moisture of loin ham by heating and resulting in lower measured values than the analyzed ones. The thermal analysis of meat products using ANSYS is considered to be effective as a technique to know changes in their internal temperatures, however, it is desirable that further development will be carried out taking the accuracy of physical properties and latent heat into consideration.
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