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Model ID: 3924

A Transient Analysis of Freeze-drying

Freeze-drying, or lyophilization, is a process for drying heat-sensitive substances such as foods, blood plasma, and antibiotics. The wet substance is frozen and then through sublimation ice or some other frozen solvent is removed in the presence of a high vacuum.

This example models the process ice sublimation in a vial under vacuum-chamber conditions, a test case for many freeze-drying setups.

The model uses the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) method to compute the coupled heat and mass balances on a moving mesh attached to the advancing vapor-ice interface.

FOOD ENGINEERING: Freeze-drying is a process for drying heat-sensitive substances such as foods, where the wet substance is frozen and then, through sublimation, ice or some other frozen solvent is removed in the presence of a high vacuum. This shows the the temperature field and direction of the heat flux.

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