CFD modeling of industrial cooling of large beef carcasses

• Numerical modeling of beef carcass cooling using a 3D shape model was reported.
• Local convective transfer coefficients values vary about 10 fold on the carcass surface.
• The source term in the heat conduction equation was predicted by a glycolysis model.
• Heat production is significant during the first 5 h of cooling.

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed to predict the changes in temperature and pH distribution of a beef carcass during chilling. The model was solved using the 3D geometry of the carcass side obtained by digital scanning and including post-mortem reaction kinetics. Carcass temperatures at various depths and sections were measured during a chilling experiment of a single carcass in commercial chiller conditions for model validation. The temperature predictions agreed with the measured temperature profiles at different positions inside the carcass, with excellent prediction in deep positions of the hindquarter as compared to near surface positions. The simulations unveiled large difference in cooling rates and pH evolution between different parts of the carcass that could lead to differences in meat quality by heat shortening. The model can be used to study the effect of relevant cooling parameters on the rate and uniformity of cooling and meat quality.