Numerical analysis of the three-dimensional mass and heat transfer with inner moisture evaporation in porous cooked meat joints during vacuum cooling

The transient mass and heat transfer in cooked meat joints during vacuum cooling was analyzed by a validated mathematical model. The simulation indicated that a typical cooked meat joint can be vacuum cooled from an initial temperature of as high as 74 degreesC to a final temperature of 10 degreesC within 2 h, with 8% to 9% weight loss. Simulations also show that the effects of weights, sizes and shapes of meat joints on the cooling rate and percentage weight loss are negligible. The pore size has a significant effect on the pressure distribution within the meat joints. For commercial cooked meat joints with an average pore diameter over 1 mm, the effects of pore size on the cooling rate and weight loss are also negligible. However, the cooling rate, temperature distribution, and the percentage weight loss significantly depend on the porosity and pore distribution within the meat joints. A better performance of vacuum cooling for cooked meat joints, in terms of high cooling rate and low percentage weight loss, can be achieved if the porosity is large enough and the pores are distributed homogeneously within the meat joints.