Modeling the forced-air cooling process of fresh strawberry packages, Part III: Experimental validation of the energy model

The aim of this study was to validate a mathematical model previously developed for predicting the cooling rate of individual packages of strawberries (clamshells) during an industrial forced-air cooling application. The differences between the predicted and experimental profiles of the average-fruit temperature per clamshell were less than 0.7 °C (within the limits of the experimental uncertainty). The 7/8th cooling time of individual clamshells was predicted within less than 3% of the experimental value. In addition, the local performance of the model and its capability to predict the strawberry moisture loss were qualitatively analyzed. The moisture loss was predicted between 73% and 88% of the experimental value. The predicted temperature profile of individual fruits and airflow within clamshells followed the general trends experimentally determined. Finally, the results corroborated that the transport phenomena during force-air cooling applications can be modeled by decoupling the momentum transport from the transport of energy and mass.