Scraped surface heat exchangers
| industrial collaborators: | Chemtech International and TetraPak |
| academic collaborators: | Universities of Southampton, Strathclyde and Reading |
| initiated : | 2003/04/20 |
| last updated: | 2007/05/22 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Scraped surface heat exchangers (SSHEs) are devices used to transfer heat into and out of food substances in a quick and efficient manner, whilst retaining structure in the food. However, there is a balance to be sought, in terms of processing treatment, between final structure and sterilisation of the food. This Faraday Partnership project was directed at using mathematical models to understand the basic mechanisms that may be exploited for heat exchange.
 |
An array of scraped-surface heat exchangers |
The following problems were addressed:
- Quantification of fluid flow near to the blade tip.
- Identification of various lengthscales for flow and heat transfer analysis.
- Wear of the scraper tip.
- Crystallisation of the fluid next to the cooled surface being scraped.
- Non-Newtonian effects of foods.
Project staff and support
Michael Lee (Postdoctoral Faraday Associate, University of Southampton)Colin Please (Principal Investigator, University of Southampton)
Alistair Fitt (Co-investigator, University of Southampton)
Leo Pyle (Co-investigator, University of Reading)
Stephen Wilson (Co-investigator, University of Strathclyde)
Nick Hall-Taylor (Lead industrial collaborator, Chemtech International)
Jaana Mathisson (Lead industrial collaborator, TetraPak)
Heather Tewkesbury (Technology Translator, Smith Institute)
This project was carried out at the University of Southampton, in conjunction with Chemtech International, TetraPak and the universities of Reading and Strathclyde. It was supported by earmarked EPSRC research funding, allocated to the Faraday Partnership for Industrial Mathematics and had the working title Practical mathematical models for scraped-surface heat exchangers. Start date: September 2002; Duration: 2 years.