ANALYSIS OF ACCURACY IN THE NUMERICAL-SIMULATION OF THE FREEZING PROCESS IN FOOD MATERIALS

Simulation of freezing in foods is difficult due to the inherent nonli nearity of the numerical problem. In this study, a technique was prese nted and used to assess the accuracy of the Crank-Nicolson and the two -step finite difference methods in solving this nonlinear problem. Ove r-all, the accuracy of the two-step method was higher than that of the Crank-Nicolson. These numerical methods were also implemented to simu late one-dimensional freezing experiments. The results of the two-step method again exhibited better agreement with the experimental data th an the Crank-Nicolson results. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Limited. All rights reserved.