Simulation of Salt Diffusion in Pork using 3D Imaging

R.B. Schüller, A. Aastveit and B. Egelandsdal - Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway

A 3D transient diffusion simulation was carried out in COMSOL Multiphysics assuming that the exterior of the piece of meat was exposed to a saturated Sodium Chloride solution for 72 hours.

Firstly, a typical piece of pork belly side was CT-scanned and, using ScanIP, three different domains were identified. The 3 objects were meshed simultaneously in ⁺ScanFE resulting in either a mixed tetrahedral/hexahedral mesh or a pure tetrahedral mesh. The resulting mesh was then modeled.

The study has illustrated that Simpleware and COMSOL provide a very efficient tool to handle mass transfer simulation for real-life problems, which can be very useful for the food processing industry.