AN EXPERIMENTAL-STUDY OF PARTICLE FLOW VELOCITIES IN SOLID-LIQUID FOOD MIXTURES

The design of equipment to sterilise solid-liquid food mixtures contin uously requires that the flow properties of such mixtures be understoo d. Little information is available on food flows, which can consist of high solids fractions of particles of a range of densities in non-New tonian and viscous liquids. A metal detection system which can log two types of particle in the same experiment has been constructed and use d in a loop flow rig to study flows of single particles and carrot-wat er mixtures. Results can be correlated using the particle Froude numbe r; some preliminary analysis is presented to suggest that data can be correlated against 1/Fr(p). The effect of solids fraction on particle flow velocity has been investigated; greatest variations in the partic le velocity appear for stratified flows for solids fractions between 1 0-20%.