THREE-DIMENSIONAL NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF OHMIC HEATING IN FOOD

Authors

  • Gylles Ricardo Ströher Universidade Tecnologica Federal do Parana
  • Gabriel Paludeto Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná, Brasil
  • Cosmo Damião Santiago Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná, Brasil
  • Leandro da Silva Pereira Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná, Brasil

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.66104/6965rv11

Keywords:

Thermal Food Processing; Numerical Methods; Finite Differences.

Abstract

This work presents three-dimensional numerical simulations of ohmic heating in a homogeneous medium, using a system of coupled nonlinear partial differential equations that describe heat conduction, electric field distribution, and thermal energy generation. The approach adopted considers the dependence of electrical conductivity on temperature. The governing equations were discretized using the Finite Difference Method with second-order approximations in a uniform mesh, using a fully implicit scheme. The analyses revealed an almost linear temperature increase, with greater intensity in the central region of the domain, where there is a higher electric current density. Volumetric heat generation was also concentrated in the center, following the gradients of the electric potential. The results obtained were consistent with previous studies and reinforce the reliability of the model for applications involving rapid, uniform, and controlled heating in conductive systems.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

[1] ALKANAN, Z. T.; ALTEMIMI, A. B.; AL-HILPHY, A. R. S.; WATSON, D.

G.; PRATAP-SINGH, A. Ohmic heating in the food industry: Developments in

concepts and applications during 2013–2020. Applied Sciences, v. 11, n. 6, 2021.

Dispon´ıvel em: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/6/2507.

[2] BURDEN, R. L.; FAIRES, J. D. An´alise num´erica. 2. ed. S˜ao Paulo: Pioneira

Thomson Learning, 2003.

[3] DE ALWIS, A.; FRYER, P. A finite-element analysis of heat generation and

transfer during ohmic heating of food. Chemical Engineering Science, v. 45, n. 6,

p. 1547–1559, 1990. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0009-2509(90)80006-Z. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0009-2509(90)80006-Z

[4] GIULIANGELI, V. C.; STR ¨OHER, G. R.; SHIRAI, M. A. Comparison of energy

consumption, color, ascorbic acid and carotenoid degradation in guava (Psidium

guajava) pulp during conventional and ohmic heating. Journal of Food Science

and Technology, v. 60, p. 222–232, 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-

022-05607-w.

[5] GUO, W.; LLAVE, Y.; JIN, Y.; FUKUOKA, M.; SAKAI, N. Mathematical

modeling of ohmic heating of two-component foods with non-uniform electric

properties at high frequencies. Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies,

v. 39, p. 63–78, 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifset.2016.11.005. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifset.2016.11.005

[6] HAYAKAWA, K.-I.; NONINO, C.; SUCCAR, J. Two dimensional heat con-

duction in food undergoing freezing: Predicting freezing time of rectangular or

finitely cylindrical food. Journal of Food Science, v. 48, n. 6, p. 1841–1848, 1983. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2621.1983.tb05098.x

[7] ICIER, F.; ILICALI, C. Temperature dependent electrical conductivities of fruit

purees during ohmic heating. Food Research International, v. 38, n. 10, p. 1135–

1142, 2005.

[8] JAEGER, H.; ROTH, A.; TOEPFL, S.; HOLZHAUSER, T.; ENGEL, K.;

KNORR, D.; VOGEL, R. F.; BANDICK, N.; KULLING, S.; HEINZ, V.;

STEINBERG, P. Opinion on the use of ohmic heating for the treatment of

foods. Trends in Food Science & Technology, v. 55, p. 84–97, 2016. DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2016.07.007. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2016.07.007

[9] KNIRSCH, M. C. et al. Ohmic heating – a review. Trends in

Food Science & Technology, v. 21, n. 9, p. 436–441, 2010. DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2010.06.003. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2010.06.003

[10] LIMA, M.; OLIVEIRA, G.; SILVA, F. Numerical analysis of ohmic heating in

food products. Applied Thermal Engineering, v. 123, p. 1345–1354, 2017. DOI: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2017.05.137

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2017.05.123. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2017.05.123

[11] MAM´EDIO, R.; STR ¨OHER, G. R.; SANTIAGO, C. D. Simula¸c˜ao num´erica

bidimensional de aquecimento ˆohmico est´atico. In: Anais do Congresso Bra-

sileiro de Engenharia Qu´ımica em Inicia¸c˜ao Cient´ıfica (COBEQ-IC), 2024.

Dispon´ıvel em: https://proceedings.science/cobeq-ic-2024/trabalhos/simulacao-

numerica-bidimensional-de-aquecimento-ohmico-estatico?lang=pt-br.

[12] PALANIAPPAN, S.; SASTRY, S. K. Simulation of ohmic heating of

foods. Journal of Food Engineering, v. 14, p. 221–236, 1991. DOI: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-4530.1991.tb00093.x

https://doi.org/10.1016/0260-8774(91)90030-5.

[13] PALANIAPPAN, S.; SASTRY, S. K. Electrical conductivity of selected foods

during ohmic heating. Journal of Food Engineering, v. 15, p. 241–255, 1992. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-4530.1992.tb00155.x

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0260-8774(92)90009-D.

[14] PATANKAR, S. Numerical heat transfer and fluid flow. CRC Press, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1201/9781482234213

[15] PEREIRA, R. N. C.; JUNG, E. P.; MINIST´ERIO DA INTEGRAC¸ ˜AO

E DO DESENVOLVIMENTO REGIONAL. Aquecimento ˆohmico

e bioeconomia. 2023. Dispon´ıvel em: https://www.gov.br/int/pt-

br/assuntos/noticias/201caquecimento-ohmico-e-bioeconomia201d-e-o-tema-

da-proxima-tercas-tecnologicas-lives. Acesso em: 15 dez. 2025.

[16] PLETCHER, R. H.; TANNEHILL, J. C.; ANDERSON, D. Computational fluid

mechanics and heat transfer. CRC Press, 2012.

[17] YE, X.; RUAN, R.; CHEN, P.; DOONA, C. Simulation and verification of ohmic

heating in static heater using MRI temperature mapping. LWT – Food Science

and Technology, v. 37, n. 1, p. 49–58, 2004. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0023-

6438(03)00133-6.

Published

2026-02-19

How to Cite

THREE-DIMENSIONAL NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF OHMIC HEATING IN FOOD. (2026). REMUNOM, 2(02), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.66104/6965rv11