Analogue simulation of heat transfer in the thermal processing of food

Abstract

The computation of the solution of the differential equation of heat conduction for infinite slabs, infinite circular cylinders and finite cylinders using resistor - capacitor networks and analogue computing circuitry is discussed and extended. The solution for the finite cylinder case is generated by the novel method of electronically manipulating the solutions for the infinite slab and infinite circular cylinder cases. The technique is rigorously derived from the separation of variables technique of solving partial differential equations. A novel method for accurately simulating cases where the heat transfer coefficient at the surface of the body is not infinite is described. A method of solving convolution integral equations continuously with the increase of the upper limit of integration is derived. This method is particularly useful for analogue computing and simulation applications.