Modeling of rice hydration using finite elements.

Abstract Great effort has been devoted towards developing models that describe cooking processes. A difficulty towards developing such models arises from the fact that during cooking, the physical properties and quite often sample geometry are time dependent. In this work a finite element model describing cooking of rice and water uptake using a Fickian diffusion model was developed, assuming axisymmetric conditions. Effective diffusivity was considered a function of moisture content. The numerical model compared favorably with experimental results. The value of the effective water diffusivity was estimated to be in the order of 7 × 10−10 m2/s, by minimizing the error between experimental and numerically predicted results. The effect of grain size on the cooking was also investigated using the model. Cooking time, i.e. the time to reach about 70% moisture content (wet basis), appeared to be a strong function of the initial size distribution.

[1]  Edo Gerkema,et al.  Magnetic resonance imaging of single rice kernels during cooking. , 2004, Journal of magnetic resonance.

[2]  S. H. Lin,et al.  Water uptake and gelatinization of white rice , 1993 .

[3]  C. Suárez,et al.  Water absorption and starch gelatinization in whole rice grain during soaking , 2007 .

[4]  D. R. Martin,et al.  Modelling the hydration of foodstuffs , 2005, Simul. Model. Pract. Theory.

[5]  Mika Fukuoka,et al.  A new non-Fickian diffusion model for water migration in starchy food during cooking , 2001 .

[6]  Vincenza Calabrò,et al.  An analysis of the transport phenomena occurring during food drying process , 2007 .

[7]  R. Gustafson,et al.  Finite Element Analysis of Nonlinear Water Diffusion During Rice Soaking , 1984 .

[8]  M. Maeda,et al.  The change of moisture distribution in a rice grain during boiling as observed by NMR imaging , 1997 .

[9]  A. Datta.  Porous media approaches to studying simultaneous heat and mass transfer in food processes. I: Problem formulations , 2007 .

[10]  J. J. Bimbenet,et al.  Modeling of moisture profiles in paddy rice during drying mapped with magnetic resonance imaging , 2002 .

[11]  V. Guillard,et al.  Controlling moisture transport in a cereal porous product by modification of structural or formulation parameters , 2007 .

[12]  P. Fryer,et al.  Diffusion and reaction in whole wheat grains during boiling , 1998 .

[13]  S. Rafiee,et al.  Study of hydration kinetics and density changes of rice (Tarom Mahali) during hydrothermal processing , 2007 .

[14]  José Miguel Aguilera,et al.  Food dehydration and product structure , 2003 .

[15]  R. Paul Singh,et al.  KINETICS OF WATER DIFFUSION AND STARCH GELATINIZATION DURING RICE PARBOILING , 1980 .

[16]  Vaios T. Karathanos,et al.  Comparison of Two Methods of Estimation of the Effective Moisture Diffusivity from Drying Data , 1990 .

[17]  N. Sanjuán,et al.  Modelling of broccoli stems rehydration process , 1999 .

[18]  I. Sam Saguy,et al.  New approach to model rehydration of dry food particulates utilizing principles of liquid transport in porous media , 2005 .