Numerical Simulation of Air Thawing and Still-water Thawing of Quick-frozen Litchi
HUANG Wenquan
WU Ziyun
KAN Qixin
XIAO Shoupeng
LI Jixing
LIU Chunyan
CHEN Yunjiao
CAO Yong
Abstract：The thawing of quick-frozen litchis in air and still-water environments was analyzed via numerical simulation and experimental verification by monitoring the internal temperature changes and thawing time.The thermal properties of litchis during thawing,especially the ice-water phase transition,were mainly influenced by the moisture content.The temperature changes of litchi during the thawing period could be accurately predicted using the numerical model.The root mean square error(RMSE)for the air-thawed group and the still-water-thawed group was 2.02 and 1.79℃,respectively.The measured and simulated thawing times for the two groups had deviations of 2.32%and 1.50%,respectively.Compared with air thawing,the thawing time of litchi peel,pulp,and core in the still-water environment was shortened by 93.33%,74.94%,and 69.25%,respectively.The larger the horizontal and vertical diameters of litchi,the higher the temperature and heat transfer coefficient of the thawing medium,and the shorter the thawing completion time,whereas the internal temperature was less uniform.The thawing rate of litchi depends not only on the heat exchange efficiency between the thawing medium and the fruit,but also on the internal thermal conductivity of the litchi fruit.In summary,after determining the chemical composition and thermal properties of litchi,the thawing of frozen litchi was effectively analyzed through numerical simulation.Thawing is also affected by the horizontal and vertical diameters of litchi and the temperature and heat transfer coefficient of the thawing medium.
Keywords：air thawingstill-water thawingquick-freezing litchinumerical simulation
Publication Date：2025-08-20
Online Publishing Date：2025-10-10(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：9( 179-187 )