1

Modelling of Deep Fat Frying

by

Vinita Kumari
Entry no:2011CH70188

A REPORT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER IN TECHNOLOGY
IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
2016
1

ABSTRACT

Deep fat frying is a widely used thermal food processing phenomena from small scale
as in home to large scale as in food industries. Model to describe heat and mass
transfer during deep fat frying is necessary for process optimization and achieve
desired quality of fried products such as crispness, texture fat content color, flavor etc.
In the present work spatial and temporal profile of heat and moisture distribution
during deep fat frying of potato chip has been modeled using numerical simulation in
Matlab. The effect of frying oil temperature, thickness of potato chip and initial
moisture content on temperature and moisture profile has been investigated and
validated against experimental data from literature. Also to study the micro-level
phenomena of moisture diffusion from the capillaries inside potato chip, simulation
has been done in Fluent.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my Supervisor Prof.
S.K.Pattanayek, Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology,
Delhi, who gave me the opportunity to work in a wonderful research environment and
constant guidance in every aspect of this project work. His crucial remarks, positive
attitude and support made my project work a good learning experience.
I would like to acknowledge Prof B. Premchandran, Department of Mechanical
Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, who helped me at each and every
point whenever I needed his guidance.
I would like to thank all the faculty members, laboratory and office staff of the
Chemical Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................i
AKNOWLEDGEMENTS..ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS iii
LIST OF TABLES v
LIST OF FIGURES vi
1 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................1
1.1 Problem Statement:...............................................................................................2
1.2 Organization of report...........................................................................................3
2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE.......................................................................................4
2.1 Heat and Mass Transfer during Deep Fat Frying..................................................4
2.2Physical changes....................................................................................................5
2.2.1 Color Change.................................................................................................5
2.2.2 Texture and Crispness....................................................................................6
2.3 Chemical changes.................................................................................................6
2.4 Oil Uptake.............................................................................................................8
2

3 METHODOLOGY......................................................................................................9
3.1 Mathematical Modelling.......................................................................................9
3.1.1 Model Development.......................................................................................9
3.1.2 Assumptions...................................................................................................9
3.1.3 Governing Equations.....................................................................................9
3.1.4 Initial and Boundary conditions...................................................................11
3.1.5 Input Parameters..........................................................................................12
3.2 CFD Simulation in Fluent...................................................................................13
3.2.1 Geometry of Computational Domain...........................................................13
3.2.2 Governing Equations:..................................................................................14
3.2.2.1 Volume fraction equations:...................................................................14
3.2.2.2 Mass and Momentum Conservation Equations:...................................14
3.2.2.1 Energy and Source Term.......................................................................14
3.2.3 Input Parameters..........................................................................................15
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS..16
4.1 Spatial and Temporal profile of moisture and temperature.................................16
4.2 Effect of initial moisture content........................................................................17
4.3 Effect of thickness...............................................................................................19
4.4 Effect of frying oil temperature..........................................................................20
4.5 Model validation.................................................................................................22
4.5 CFD simulation contours....................................................................................24
5 CONCLUSIONS AND SCOPE FOR THE FUTURE WORK.................................27
REFERENCES ...284

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE NO

TITLE

PAGE

2.1

Summary of few works on convective 13

3.1

heat and mass transfer coefficient

Input
parameters
for
numerical 20
simulation of deep fat frying in Matlab

LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE NO

TITLE

PAGE

3.1

Schematic of 1D modeling of deep fat frying

17

3.2

Computational domain and boundary conditions

21

4.1

Moisture content at different location with time

24

4.2

Moisture content along thickness at different time 25

4.3

intervals
Centre moisture content with time for different initial 26

4.4

moisture content
Centre temperature with time for different initial 26

4.5

moisture conten
Moisture content with time for different thickness of 27

4.6

potato slice
Centre temperatures with time for different 28

4.7

thickness of potato slice

Moisture content with time for different oil 29

4.8

temperatures
Centre temperature

4.9

temperature of oil
Comparison between simulated and experimental

with

time

for

different 29
30

data for moisture content with frying time

4.10

Comparison between simulated and experimental

31

4.11

data for surface temperature with frying time

Comparison between simulated and experimental

31

4.12
4.13

data for centre temperature with frying time

Contours of vapor phase at different time of
simulation
Contours of temperature at different time of
simulation

32
33

4.14

Contours of pressure at different time of simulation

33

4.15

Contours of velocity in Y direction at different time

of simulation

34

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Deep fat frying has tremendous applications in food industry. It is used for
manufacturing various kinds of snack foods ranging from very low moisture foods
such as potato chips, cassava chips, banana chips, rice crackers, tortilla chips etc. to
intermediate moisture foods such as fried chicken nuggets, fried fish, meat balls etc.
Potato chips are very popular snack for several years. The worldwide sales of potato
chips were $16.4 billion in 2009 (PotatoPro., 2010). The dominating player of potato
chips in food industry is Frito-Lay, Inc. which process over 3.5 million tons of raw
potatoes to produce chips (Vreugdenhil, 2011). Apart from potato chips French fries is
also a dominating deep fat fried products produced worldwide by KFC, McDonald,
Burger King etc. Recently, a 16 fold increase has been seen in the international trade
of frozen French fries between 1980 and 2001 (FAO, 2006).
Deep fat frying also known as immersion frying is a cooking process wherein
foods are immersing in frying oil (soybean oil, canola oil, palm oil, olive oil, mustard
oil etc.) at a high temperature. The process helps in food preservation as
microorganisms are thermally destroyed and reduction of enzymes and water activity
on the food surface prevent their growth. The temperature of frying oil is between 150
0

C to 200 0C depending on the desired properties (crispness, color, and flavor) of the

food product and thermo physical properties (thermal conductivity, viscosity, specific
heat etc.) of the raw food and the frying oil. When the food products come in the
contact of the surrounding hot oil, evaporation of water due to high temperature takes
place. The evaporated water escapes away from the food towards the
oil and finally into the atmosphere. The water lost is replaced by the
frying oil to some extent (Bouchon et al., 2009). During the process
various physical and chemical changes happen inside the food product and also in the
frying oil. The physical changes of the food sample include change in texture, color
and crispness development (Koerten et al., 2015). The chemical change occurs due to
reaction of starch (gelatinization) with cooking oil which imparts flavor to the fried
food product. Physical changes occur due to reduction in moisture content

2
(evaporation) as a result of convective heat transfer from the surrounding hot oil to the
surface and conductive heat transfer inside the food material from the surface to the
centre(Vitrac et al., 2003).

1.1 Problem Statement:

Deep fat frying is a poorly understood unit operation because it involves
various coupled mechanisms such as unsteady heat and mass transfer in addition to the
physical changes and chemical transformation of the food product as well as the frying
oil. Complexity of the process also increases because of the involvement of the four
phases (oil, water, vapor and solid matrix) and porous structure of the food product
and the resulting pressure driven capillary phenomenon. Variation in thermo- physical
properties of the food product as frying progresses also adds to the difficulty in
understanding the transport processes occurring during deep fat frying.
Fat intake is a major nutritional problem of deep-fat frying because it leads to
obesity and other negative effects on human health due to excess oil consumption. In
recent years reduction in the fat content of fried foods has been a major research area
leading to many researches to have food products that have reduced cholesterol and fat
levels. Since oil absorption is also related to the loss of moisture from food product, it
is necessary to understand the various transport mechanisms of moisture loss
occurring during deep fat frying.
Deterioration in the quality of frying oil with increasing frying cycle is also a
problem in food industries as very high quantity of oil is involved and leads to noneconomic process. Understanding the kinetics of the moisture diffusion is of main
interest so as to know the time required for frying to achieve desired final moisture
content in the fried product and also to reduce the frying time so as to decrease oil
absorption.
In the present work we have determined the moisture kinetics and temperature
profile inside the food product. Modeling has been done in Matlab and effect of
various parameters such as frying oil temperature, thickness of the potato chip, initial
moisture content on temperature and moisture profile have been observed. To see how

3
the moisture diffuses out of the capillaries inside the potato, simulation in Fluent has
been done and flow profile has been observed.

1.2 Organization of report:

Chapter-1 introduces the phenomenon of deep fat frying and the problems
encountered during the process.Chapter-2 discusses the literature on the theory of
heat and mass transfer and the physical changes which happen during deep fat
frying.Chapter-3 describes the mathematical modeling of the drying process in
Matlab and Fluent simulation of the boiling of water in capillary to observe the
moisture diffusion out of capillary. In Chapter-4 Matlab model has been validated
against published experimental results and flow profile of boiling in capillary have
been discussed.Chapter-5 concludes the present work and scope of future work.

CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
This chapter describes the literature review on heat and mass transfer during
deep fat frying and the physical and chemical changes in the food product and in the
frying oil, associated with it.
2.1 Heat and Mass Transfer during Deep Fat Frying
Deep fat frying is an unsteady unit operation as steady state is never achieved
because the evaporation condition changes as the moisture content and temperature of
the food product change. It involves four stages (Farkas et al., 1996):

Initial Heating: Energy transfer from the surrounding hot oil to the food surface
by convection and thereafter heat flows from the surface towards the centre by
conduction.
Surface Boiling: Moisture loss from the surface by evaporation resulting in

crust formation.
Falling rate: Growth of the crust region resulting in decreased heat transfer

and consequently decreased moisture loss.

Bubble End point: All the free moisture inside the food product gets

evaporated and moisture loss ceases.

Mass transfer coefficient and convective heat transfer coefficient are the two
important parameters to be determined during deep fat frying. Heat and mass transfer
coefficients change during the different stages of frying process and depend on
parameters such as viscosity of frying oil, its temperature, initial moisture content and
food properties like shape, size, porosity etc. Frying is a turbulent process because of
the oil agitation and bubble formation. Convective heat transfer coefficient depends on
direction of bubble flow, its velocity and frequency and intensity of oil agitation [23].
As moisture content of the food product changes various changes occur that affects the
bubble formation and hence the convective heat transfer coefficient. These changes
include surface (sample) roughness, wetting angle, presence of nucleation sites,
sample pressure etc.[12] Various works have been reported in literature for the
determination of convective heat and mass transfer coefficient and few of them have
been described in Table2.1

Table2.1 Summary of few works on convective heat and mass transfer coefficient
Method

Parameter

value

and Reference

governing equation
Finite element simulation of the hm=9.3x10-8Toil-8.6x10-7d-

[13]

frying process using COMSOL 1.9x10-7T+2.1x10-6T2-6x10-6

h = 4x10-6-7.2x10-6m/s
and data from experiments on m
(Toil=1500C-1800C)
moisture change, temperature in
the product
Experimental determination by h=300-1100 W/m2k
dM H vap
immersing frying of potato discs
h= dt A(T oil T s )
Laboratory method of deep frying hmax= 710-850 W/m2k

of potato samples
hA Toil-

T s =M C p

[17]

[12]

dT
dM
+
dt
dt

Indirect method by using metal hmax=443-750 W/m2k

h A m
pieces of geometry similar to
T mi T exp (
)
m V m C pm t
potato and recording temperature
TmT 0

and using Newtons Law

[9]

Experimental determination using hmax=3617W/m2k(Toil=1500C)

h =4517W/m2k(Toil=1700C)
controlled one dimensional frying max
hmax=7307W/m2k(Toil=1900C)
methodology.

[31]

2.2Physical changes
During deep fat frying a number of physical changes are observed in the food
product such as its texture, color, crispness, flavor etc.
2.2.1 Color Change
Color is a very important indicator of fried products. The market acceptance of
a fried product is mainly based on the color. It is mainly defined in L*a*b units, where

6
a* define the degrees from green to red, L* defines the luminance or lightness (0 to
100), and b* defines from blue to yellow (-120 to 120), [18]
The color of the fried potato chips is influenced by the frying time, frying temperature,
initial conditions, and pre-treatment of raw potato chips [1]. The color is a resultant of
Maillard reaction during frying. When amino acids react with reducing sugars the
chips acquires or changes its color [22]. The effect of high temperature on the final
color of the chips can be reduced by the usage of vacuum frying [28] . Another way to
control the color is by blanching of food products before frying [6].
2.2.2 Texture and Crispness
The attractive taste of deep fried products, is due to its crispy crust as seen in
French Fries. Crust formation occurs due to difference in the evaporation rate at the
product surface which is faster as compared to the moisture loss rate inside the food
product,While the food surface and layers adjacent to it is transformed into a crispy
structure while the inner region remains soft and moist [41]. Crust formation and the
texture of the fried product is dependent on the porosity of the food and pore size
distribution inside the food .The crust also plays a dominating role in determining the
oil absorption during and after the frying process. XRT(X Ray Tomography)
measurements reveal that the decrease in moisture content leads to the development of
a brittle crust and increased porosity [36]. Higher temperatures of frying oil increase
the thicknes of crust and also porosity, which is the result of high rate of water
evaporation through more pores. An increase in frying time, or reduction in moisture
content lead to the formation of bigger pores. Experiments on Texture analysis show
that increased porosity and thicker crust enhances the crispy texture because the brittle
crust weakens the surface layer [34]. In addition to the crust structure, crust
composition also plays an important role in determining crispness. Very high
temperatures of frying oil can lead to crust which is tougher and have rubbery
properties. It can be explained by degradation of sugar and thus increased glass
transition temperature at high temperature.
2.3 Chemical changes
Deep fat frying involves moisture loss, and also loss of carbohydrate, vitamins,
proteins and other components from fried food product and gain in fat content by oil

7
uptake from frying oil [9]. Therefore, both fried food and oil influence each other and
together lead to the occurrence of various complex chemical reactions which cause
change in the properties of both frying oil and the fried food. Major reactions are
hydrolysis caused by moisture present in the food product, decomposition reactions
due to very high temperature of the oil, oxidation reactions due to presence of air.
Hydrolysis and oxidation reactions lead to the formation of monoacylglycerol diacyl
glycerol, free fatty acids, oxidized monomers, dimers and polymers and also volatile
compounds like aldehyde, ketones, hydrocarbons and sterol oxide. Apart from this
polymerization, cyclization and rearrangement reaction also take place, leading to the
formation of dimers, cyclic monomers and various trans and cis isomers.

2.4 Oil Uptake

According to experimental observations oil uptake is considered to be a surface
phenomenon. Research works performed on potato slices which show that oil uptake
occurrs during the cooling period post frying [28]. The experiments using dyed oil
show that only during the final stage of frying, the amount of dyed oil is very high in
the food product. Therefore, oil is not absorbed by the product during frying, but gets
sucked in from the superficial oil layer when the product is taken out from the fryer. It
happens because depressurization occurs during condensation of water. It depends on
the adhesion properties of the food product and frying oil. There are conflicts among
researchers on this topic because some of them think that not all the amount of oil gets
absorbed post frying, instead a small amount gets absorbed during frying. Bouchon et
al. (2003) observed that some oil which is called structural oil gets absorbed during
frying. It depends on the rate of moisture loss and total frying time.

CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
We have first solved the deep fat frying using continuum approach in 1d.
Subsequently, this problem is solved in more detailed manner as follows. We took a
pore, which is dipped into a liquid. The wall of the pore is maintained at a high
temperature of 180 0C
3.1 Mathematical Modelling
The mathematical modelling of deep fat frying in one dimension (1D) has been
done in Matlab software to predict the moisture and temperature profile inside a slice
of potato as frying progresses.
3.1.1 Model Development
The physical problem includes a slice of potato of thickness 2L. During frying
heat transfer occurs due to convection from surrounding hot oil to the surface of potato
slice and due to conduction from the surface towards the centre. At the same time
moisture diffuses out from the centre towards the surface and gets convected away. In
this way the system involves a coupled mechanism of simultaneous unsteady heat and
mass (moisture) transfer.

Toil
X=L

X=0

Toil
Figure3.1: Schematic of 1D modeling of deep fat frying

2L

3.1.2 Assumptions
To simplify the problem the following assumptions were taken while modeling
the deep fat frying process

The potato slice is a continuum or homogeneous structure and not a porous

structure.

The potato slice is assumed to be a slab of infinite length and heat and mass
transfer occurs only along its thickness.

Uniform initial temperature and moisture distribution inside the potato slice
throughout its thickness.

Absorption of oil during frying is neglected assuming the oil absorption takes
place during cooling period

Moisture content of oil remains zero throughout the frying process.

Any shrinkage of the potato slice during frying is negligible.

Temperature of frying oil remains constant throughout the process.

Diffusivity of moisture is constant during frying and is dependent on frying

temperature of oil.

All other physical properties such as thermal diffusivity, thermal conductivity,

and density of potato remain constant during the process.

3.1.3 Governing Equations

Moisture transport (x=0 to L)
(1)
M
2 M
=D
t
x2

(1)

10

Energy Transport (x=0 to L)

T
2 T
= 2
t
x

(2)

(2)

3.1.4 Initial and Boundary conditions

At t=0, moisture content M= Mi, Temperature of the potato slab T=Ti and the
frying temperature is the temperature of oil= Toil
Due to symmetrical nature of the potato slab, at the centre of the potato slice(x=o)
there is no temperature and moisture gradient so the boundary condition at the centre
becomes
At x=0

(3)

M 0T
=
=0
x
x

(3)

At the frying surface the flux of water vapor is due to the difference in moisture
content at the surface and in the surrounding oil. It is assumed that the vapor is
convected away by the surrounding oil. Heat transfer at the frying surface is due to
temperature difference between surface and the surrounding oil. Some heat is also
absorbed by moisture due to its latent heat of evaporation. So the boundary condition
at the frying surface becomes
At x= L

(4)
T
M
D w
=h(T sT oil )
x
x

(4)

M
=h mv ( vs oil )
x

(5)

D w

(5)

11

Where

vs

and

oil

represent the volumetric water vapor concentration at the

frying surface and in the surrounding oil.

(6)

oil =0

(6)

(7)
vs =

pv

Pv Mv
R T

(7)

represents the vapor pressure at the frying surface and is considered a function

of moisture content and temperature at the surface and data from Farkas et al. was
used.
ln

Where
Ts

pv
=0.0267 M 1.656+ 0.0107 e1.287 M M 1.513 ln ps (T s )
p s (T s)

(8)

(8)

ps (T s ) represent the vapor pressure of pure water at the surface temperature

(9)

and is calculated by the Antoine equation for water:

ln ps ( T s )=16.5362

3985.44
T s38.9974

(9)

3.1.5 Input Parameters

Input parameters used for numerical simulation are listed in Table 3.1
Table 3.1 Input parameters for numerical simulation of deep fat frying in Matlab
Parameter
Water density(

value
1000

unit
Kg m-3

Potato density(

800

Kg m-3

8.5x10-10
0.015

m2 s-1
m s-1

Moisture Diffusivity
Mass transfer coefficient(hmv)

12
Heat transfer coefficient(h)
Thermal conductivity(k)
Thermal diffusivity(

250
0.21
7.65x 10-8

W m-2k-1
Wm-1k-1
m2 s-1

Thickness(L)
Heat capacity(Cp)
Latent heat of evaporation()
Initial moisture content(Mi)
Potato slab temperature(Ti)
Frying oil temperature(Toil)
Frying time

0.0005
3.43x103
2.43x106
0.5
20
160
100

m
J kg-1 k-1
J kg-1
g water/g moist sample
0

C
C
s
0

3.2 CFD Simulation in Fluent

The results obtained from mathematical modeling for moisture and
temperature profile inside the potato chip during deep fat frying deviates from the
experimental results reported in literature. This may be due to the assumption of the
potato slice as a continuum neglecting its porous structure. Moisture inside potato is
present inside capillaries in the form of free water which diffuses out during deep fat
frying driven by pressure difference. To study this phenomenon of capillary diffusion,
Simulations have been carried out in the commercial CFD software ANSYS FLUENT
14.0.0 using the built-in VOF method and contours of temperature, pressure and gas
phase have been observed.
3.2.1 Geometry of Computational Domain
Symmetry

Heating walls

Adiabatic wall
Outflow

13

Figure 3.2: Computational domain and boundary conditions

It is assumed that capillary is present just near the frying surface so the
temperature of heating walls is equal to the temperature of the frying oil because
thickness of the capillary is very less. The two big domains in Figure 3.2 represent the
bulk outside capillaries. Walls adjacent to the capillary are assumed to be adiabatic to
avoid any heat loss. Top and bottom walls are given the symmetry boundary condition
to represent infinite bulk phase in that direction. The simulation has been performed in
two dimensions (2D) and equally spaced uniform grids have been used to save
computational power and time. Initially a thin film of vapor has been patched on the
inside of capillary walls to initiate film boiling. User defined function has been used to
incorporate the source term for vapor phase.
3.2.2 Governing Equations:
Volume of Fluid method is used to model the flow simulation when two or
more phases are involved. In each cell or control volume, sum of volume fractions of
all the phases, two phases (liquid water and water vapor) in the present case is one.
The fields for all variables such as temperature, pressure and other properties are
shared by both the phases and represented by volume-averaged values. Depending
upon the volume fraction values the variables and properties in any given cell is either
represented by vapor phase or liquid phase or a mixture of both the phases.
3.2.2.1 Volume fraction equations:
l+ v =1

(10)

= l l + v v

(11
)

=l + v

(12
)

Where

represents the phase and subscripts land v denote liquid and

vapor phase respectively.

and

denotes effective density and

viscosity of the fluid in the domain at any given point of time.

14
3.2.2.2 Mass and Momentum Conservation Equations:

( v ) + . ( v v ) p+ . [ ( v + v T ) ]+ F
t

(13
)

(14
)

1
vl )
( ) + . ( v v v v ) = S +( m lv m
v t v v
v

S denotes the source term for conversion of liquid to vapor and

m
vl

m
lv

represents rate of liquid to vapor and vapor to liquid formation.

3.2.2.1 Energy and Source Term

T
Cp
+ v . T = .k T S v hlv
t

S v=

k v v +k l l ( T . l )
hlv

(15
)

(16)

Where Sv represents the source term for vapor phase

3.2.3 Input Parameters
The input parameters used for the simulation were physical and thermal properties of
liquid water and water vapor. Surface tension effect has been included with =0.07
N/m. Contact angles between walls and fluid is taken to be 30 0. As the geometry of
computational domain is vertical, so the effect of gravity has also been taken. The
initial temperature of the entire domain is 25 0C. At t=0 the fluid confined in the
capillary is exposed to the heated walls which are at temperature of 180 0C. Initially
the entire domain is assumed to be at atmospheric pressure.

15

CHAPTER 4
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter discusses the results of the mathematical modeling done in Matlab and the
CFD simulation and their explanations as why they are occurring and also the validation of the
results against experimental data has been done.
4.1 Spatial and Temporal profile of moisture and temperature
Spatial and temporal profile of temperature and moisture are shown in the Figure 4.1,4.2
and 4.3.In the beginning the moisture content remains constant for few seconds and thereafter it
decreases with time as heat penetrates inside the potato chip and moisture diffuse out and gets
evaporated. Initially the temperature inside the chip increases fast and then becomes constant
after few seconds. This can be due to large temperature gradient between the surrounding oil and
the potato chip in the beginning and thus strong driving force, but as temperature increases inside
the chip the driving force gets weaker and ultimately zero when the centre of the potato chip
achieves the temperature of the frying oil.

Figure4.1: Moisture content at different location with time

16

Figure4.2: Moisture content along thickness at different time intervals

4.2 Effect of initial moisture content

The effects of initial moisture content on sample temperature and moisture loss are shown
in Figure 4.3 and 4.4. The centre temperature decreases with decrease in initial moisture content
because in a food having higher moisture content, evaporation is high which result in decrease in
the energy flow to the centre. Moisture loss increases with initial moisture content due to
increase in water vapor flux as a result of increased surface and internal evaporation.

17

time(s)
Figure4.3: Moisture content with time for different initial moisture content

Figure 4.4: Centre temperature with time for different initial moisture content

18
4.3 Effect of thickness
The effects of thickness of the food sample (potato chip) on moisture loss and
temperature are shown in the Figure 4.5 and 4.6. With decrease in thickness, the resistance to
heat and mass transfer decreases and gets reflected in the temperature and moisture profile of the
food sample. For a thinner sample distance for heat flux from surface to the centre gets reduced
and hence temperature increase more rapidly as compared to a thicker sample. As temperature
increases more rapidly so the evaporation of the water inside the sample is fast and hence
moisture loss also increases in the case of thinner sample

Figure 4.5: Moisture content with time for different thickness of potato slice

Figure 4.7 Centre temperatures with time for different thickness of potato slice

19

Figure 4.6: Centre temperature with time for different thickness of potato slice

4.4 Effect of frying oil temperature

The effects of frying oil temperature on the moisture loss and temperature of potato slab
are shown in the Figure 4.7 and 4.8. Moisture loss increases with increase in oil temperature due
to increased evaporation as a result of increase in temperature gradient. Temperature of the
potato slab increases with increase in oil temperature but this change is very less as compared to
the increment of oil temperature.

Figure 4.9 Centre temperature with time for different temperature of oil

20

Figure 4.7: Moisture content with time for different temperature of frying oil

Figure 4.8:Centre temperature with time for different temperature of frying oil

21
4.5 Model validation
Figure 4.10, 4.11and 4.12 show the comparison between experimental and simulated
moisture and temperature variation with time. Moisture content decreases with time as expected
in both cases due to evaporation of the moisture. The simulated data is in quite good agreement
with the experimental data. The deviation seen can be due to the assumption of potato as
continuum throughout the frying progress which is not true in case of experiment. Potato is a
solid porous matrix having many capillaries and moisture evaporation takes place through
capillary diffusion phenomena. Another reason could be that frying is a moving boundary
problem in which evaporation front moves towards the centre of the potato slice as frying
progresses leaving behind a crispy structure called crust. In the simulation moisture vapor flux is
assumed to diffuse constantly from the surface. The data for experimental surface temperature is
in good agreement with the simulated data. However, simulated centre temperature deviated
significantly from experimental data. Centre temperature profile matched till the temperature
reaches 100 0C and after that deviated to a great extent. Simulated centre temperature profile
observed shorter period of temperature stability after reaching 100 0C as compared to the
experimental data. This could be due to change in thermophysical property of the food material
as frying progresses due to changing moisture content and temperature of the food sample. Also
during experiment there may be some error in measuring temperature due to heat loss through
gap between thermal probe and the food sample.

Figure 4.9: Comparison between experimental and simulated data for moisture content

22

Figure 4.10: Comparison between experimental and simulated data for surface temperature

Figure 4.11: Comparison between experimental and simulated data for centre temperature

23

4.5 CFD simulation contours

Contours of vapour phase, temperature pressure and velocity obtained from the fluent
simulation have been shown in figure 4.12,4.13,4.14 and 4.15. The contours show that as
pressure develops in the capillary region vapour film expands gradually both in upward and
downward direction. In this way mositure inside the pore or capillary is completely
evaporated.Contours of temperature show that temperature increases very slowly as compared to
increase in vapour phase which should not be the case because vapour formation shoud occur
above 100 0C

Figure 4.12 contours of vapor phase at different time of simulation

24

t=0.0016 s

t=0.0079 s

t=0.0035 s

t=0.0113 s

t=0.0055 s

t=0.0256 s

Figure 4.13 Contours of temperature at different time of simulation

t=0.038 s

25

t=0.0016 s

t=0.0079 s

t=0.0035 s

t=0.0113 s

t=0.0055 s

t=0.0256 s

Figure 4.14 Contours of pressure at different time of simulation

t=0.038 s

26

Figure 4.15: Contours of y directionCHAPTER

velocity at different
5 simulation time interval

27

CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION AND SCOPE FOR THE FUTURE WORK
One dimensional model has been developed using Matlab software to study the heat and
mass transfer during deep fat frying of cylindrical potato chip. The model considers the transport
of water and water vapor and neglects the transport of oil. The results obtained have been
validated using available experimental data from literature. and were found in good agreement
with each other. Increasing oil temperature, reducing initial moisture content, and reducing
thickness can increase the moisture loss and centre temperature of the potato slab. To match the
experimental data to more extent simulation can be done by considering deep fat frying as a
moving boundary problem. Also as frying progresses, formation of crust occurs having thermal
and physical properties different from that of the inner core region. Determining these properties
experimentally and using these properties in simulation can give good results.
CFD simulation can be carried forward to achieve expected results by considering hot oil in the
domain surrounding the capillary and using physical and thermal properties of oil and raw potato
as input parameters. Modelling of fat uptake can be done by using multiphase porous media
model in Fluent in combination with volume of fluid model which can give the contours of
different phases- liquid oil, oil vapor, water vapor and water at different simulation time .

28

REFERENCES
[1] Abedullah GA. Effect of pre-drying, blanching and citric acid treatments on the quality of
fried sweet potato chips, American journal of food technology. 2014.
[2] Achir N, Vitrac O, Trystram G. Simulation and ability to control the surface thermal history
and reactions during deep fat frying, Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process
Intensification.2008;47:1953-67.
[3] Alvis A, Vlez C, Rada-Mendoza M, Villamiel M, Villada HS. Heat transfer coefficient
during deep-fat frying, Food Control.2009 Apr 30;20:321-5.
[4] Baumann B, Escher F. Mass and heat transfer during deep-fat frying of potato slicesI. Rate
of drying and oil uptake, LWT-Food Science and Technology. 1995;28395-28403.
[5] Bouchon P. Understanding oil absorption during deepfat frying, Advances in food and
nutrition research.2009;57:209-234.
[6] Califano AN, Calvelo A. Adjustment of surface concentration of reducing sugars before
frying of potato strips., Journal of Food Processing and Preservation. 1988;12(1):1-9.
[7] Chen Y, Moreira RG. Modelling of a batch deep-fat frying process for tortilla chips, Food
and Bioproducts Processing.1997;75:181-90.
[8] Cho IK, Kim S, Khurana HK, Li QX, Jun S. Quantification of trans fatty acid content in
French fries of local food service retailers using attenuated total reflectionFourier transform
infrared spectroscopy, Food chemistr.2011;125:1121-1125.
[9] Costa RM, Oliveira FA, Delaney O, Gekas V. Analysis of the heat transfer coefficient during
potato frying ,Journal of Food Engineering.1999;39:293-299.
[10]

Dobson G, Christie WW, Brechany EY, Sebedio JL, Le Quere JL. Silver ion

chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in the structural analysis of

cyclic dienoic acids formed in frying oils.Chemistry and physics of lipids;1995; 75:171-82.
[11]

Farid M, Kizilel R. A new approach to the analysis of heat and mass transfer in drying

and frying of food products, Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification.
2009;48:217-23.
[12]

Farinu A, Baik OD. Heat transfer coefficients during deep fat frying of sweetpotato:

Effects of product size and oil temperature, Food Research International.2007; 40:989-994.
[13]

Farinu A, Baik OD.Convective mass transfer coefficients in finite element simulations of

deep fat frying of sweetpotato, Journal of food engineering. 2008;89:187-194.

29
[14]

Farkas BE, Singh RP, Rumsey TR. Modeling heat and mass transfer in immersion frying

I, model development, Journal of food Engineering.1996; 29:211-226.

[15]
and

Gkmen V, enyuva HZ, Acar J, Sarolu K. Determination of acrylamide in potato chips

crisps

by

high-performance

liquid

chromatography,

Journal

of

Chromatography.2005;1088:193-199.
[16]

Houhoula DP, Oreopoulou V, Tzia C. The effect of process time and temperature on the

accumulation of polar compounds in cottonseed oil during deepfat frying, Journal of the
Science of Food and Agriculture.2003;83:314-319
[17]

Hubbard LJ, Farkas BE. A method for determining the convective heat transfer

coefficient during immersion frying, Journal of Food Process Engineering.1999;22:201-214.

[18]

Krokida MK, Oreopoulou V, Maroulis ZB, Marinos-Kouris D. Color changes during deep

fat frying, Journal of Food Engineering.2001;48:219-25.

[19]

Krokida MK, Oreopoulou V, Maroulis ZB. Water loss and oil uptake as a function of

frying time, Journal of Food Engineering.2000 Apr 30;44:39-46.

[20]

Lee J, Lee S, Park K, Choe E. Spinach (Spinaciaoleracea) powder as a natural food-

grade antioxidant in deep-fat-fried products, Journal of Agricultural and Food

Chemistry.2002;50:56645669
[21]

Lojzova L, Riddellova K, Hajslova J, Zrostlikova J, Schurek J, Cajka T. Alternative GC

MS approaches in the analysis of substituted pyrazines and other volatile aromatic

compounds formed during Maillard reaction in potato chips, Analytica chimica
acta.2009;641:101-109.
[22]

Marquez G, Anon MC. Influence of reducing sugars and amino acids in the color

development of fried potatoes, Journal of Food Science.1986 ;51:157-60.

[23]

Mildner-Szkudlarz S, Jele HH. The potential of different techniques for volatile

compounds analysis coupled with PCA for the detection of the adulteration of olive oil with
hazelnut oil, Food Chemistry.2008;110:751-761.
[24]

Mossoba MM, Milosevic V, Milosevic M, Kramer JK, Azizian H. Determination of total

trans fats and oils by infrared spectroscopy for regulatory compliance, Analytical and
bioanalytical chemistry.2007;389:87-92.

30
[25]

Mossoba MM, Yurawecz MP, Roach JA, McDonald RE, Flickinger BD, Perkins EG.

Analysis of cyclic fatty acid monomer 2-alkenyl-4, 4-dimethyloxazoline derivatives by gas

chromatography-matrix isolation-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Journal of
Agricultural and Food Chemistry.1996;44:3193-3196.
[26]

Ni H, Datta AK. Moisture, oil and energy transport during deep-fat frying of food

materials, Food and Bioproducts Processing.1999;77:194-204.

[27]

Overton SV, Manura JJ. Analysis of volatile organics in cooking oils by thermal

desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, Journal of Agricultural and Food

Chemistry.1995;43:1314-20.
[28]

Pedreschi F, Moyano P, Kaack K, Granby K. Color changes and acrylamide formation in

fried potato slices, Food Research International. 2005;38:1-9.

[29]

Pedreschi F, Segtnan VH, Knutsen SH. On-line monitoring of fat, dry matter and

acrylamide contents in potato chips using near infrared interactance and visual reflectance
imaging, Food Chemistry.2010;121:616-620.
[30]

Roman O, Courtois F, Maillard MN, Riquet AM. Kinetic study of hydroperoxide

degradation in edible oils using electron spin resonance spectroscopy, Journal of the
American Oil Chemists' Society.2012;89:1409-1417.
[31]

Sandhu J, Parikh A, Takhar PS. Experimental determination of convective heat transfer

coefficient

during

controlled

frying

of

potato

discs,LWT-Food

Science

and

Technology.2016;65:180-184
[32]

Tangduangdee C, Bhumiratana S, Tia S. The role of moisture movement and crust

thermal property on heat and mass process during deep-fat frying, International
communications in heat and mass transfer.2004;31:73-84.
[33]

Ufheil G, Escher F. Dynamics of oil uptake during deep-fat frying of potato slices, LWT-

Food Science and Technology.1996; 29:640-644.

[34]

Van Koerten KN, Schutyser MA, Somsen D, Boom RM. Crust morphology and crispness

development during deep-fat frying of potato, Food Research International. 2015;78:336342.

[35]

Van Loon WA, Linssen JP, Legger A, Posthumus MA, Voragen AG. Identification and

olfactometry

of

French

chemistry.2005;90:417-425.

fries

flavour

extracted

at

mouth

conditions,

Food

31
[36]

Vauvre JM, Kesteloot R, Patsioura A, Vitrac O. Microscopic oil uptake mechanisms in

fried products, European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology. 2014;116:741-755.

[37]

Vitrac O, Dufour D, Trystram G, Raoult-Wack AL. Characterization of heat and mass

transfer during deep-fat frying and its effect on cassava chip quality, Journal of Food
Engineering.2002;53:161-76.
[38]

Vitrac O, Trystram G, Raoult-Wack AL. Continuous measurement of convective heat flux

during deep-frying: validation and application to inverse modeling, Journal of Food

Engineering.2003;60:111-124.
[39]

Yldz A, Palazolu TK, Erdodu F. Determination of heat and mass transfer parameters

during frying of potato slices, Journal of food engineering.2007;79:11-17.

[40]

Zhang Y, Dong Y, Ren Y, Zhang Y. Rapid determination of acrylamide contaminant in

conventional fried foods by gas chromatography with electron capture detector, Journal of
Chromatography.2006;1116:209-216.
[41]

Ziaiifar AM, Achir N, Courtois F, Trezzani I, Trystram G. Review of mechanisms,

conditions, and factors involved in the oil uptake phenomenon during the deepfat frying
process, International journal of food science & technology.

32
[42]

Abedullah GA. Effect of pre-drying, blanching and citric acid treatments on the quality of

fried sweet potato chips, American journal of food technology. 2014.

[43]

Achir N, Vitrac O, Trystram G. Simulation and ability to control the surface thermal

history and reactions during deep fat frying, Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process
Intensification.2008;47:1953-67.
[44]

Alvis A, Vlez C, Rada-Mendoza M, Villamiel M, Villada HS. Heat transfer coefficient

during deep-fat frying, Food Control.2009 Apr 30;20:321-5.

[45]

Baumann B, Escher F. Mass and heat transfer during deep-fat frying of potato slicesI.

Rate of drying and oil uptake, LWT-Food Science and Technology. 1995;28395-28403.
[46]

Bouchon P. Understanding oil absorption during deepfat frying, Advances in food and

nutrition research.2009;57:209-234.
[47]

Califano AN, Calvelo A. Adjustment of surface concentration of reducing sugars before

frying of potato strips., Journal of Food Processing and Preservation. 1988;12(1):1-9.

[48]

Chen Y, Moreira RG. Modelling of a batch deep-fat frying process for tortilla chips, Food

and Bioproducts Processing.1997;75:181-90.

[49]

Cho IK, Kim S, Khurana HK, Li QX, Jun S. Quantification of trans fatty acid content in

French fries of local food service retailers using attenuated total reflectionFourier transform
infrared spectroscopy, Food chemistr.2011;125:1121-1125.
[50]

Costa RM, Oliveira FA, Delaney O, Gekas V. Analysis of the heat transfer coefficient

during potato frying ,Journal of Food Engineering.1999;39:293-299.

[51]

Dobson G, Christie WW, Brechany EY, Sebedio JL, Le Quere JL. Silver ion

chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in the structural analysis of

cyclic dienoic acids formed in frying oils.Chemistry and physics of lipids;1995; 75:171-82.
[52]

Farid M, Kizilel R. A new approach to the analysis of heat and mass transfer in drying

and frying of food products, Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification.
2009;48:217-23.
[53]

Farinu A, Baik OD. Heat transfer coefficients during deep fat frying of sweetpotato:

Effects of product size and oil temperature, Food Research International.2007; 40:989-994.
[54]

Farinu A, Baik OD.Convective mass transfer coefficients in finite element simulations of

deep fat frying of sweetpotato, Journal of food engineering. 2008;89:187-194.

33
[55]

Farkas BE, Singh RP, Rumsey TR. Modeling heat and mass transfer in immersion frying

I, model development, Journal of food Engineering.1996; 29:211-226.

[56]
and

Gkmen V, enyuva HZ, Acar J, Sarolu K. Determination of acrylamide in potato chips

crisps

by

high-performance

liquid

chromatography,

Journal

of

Chromatography.2005;1088:193-199.
[57]

Houhoula DP, Oreopoulou V, Tzia C. The effect of process time and temperature on the

accumulation of polar compounds in cottonseed oil during deepfat frying, Journal of the
Science of Food and Agriculture.2003;83:314-319
[58]

Hubbard LJ, Farkas BE. A method for determining the convective heat transfer

coefficient during immersion frying, Journal of Food Process Engineering.1999;22:201-214.

[59]

Krokida MK, Oreopoulou V, Maroulis ZB, Marinos-Kouris D. Color changes during deep

fat frying, Journal of Food Engineering.2001;48:219-25.

[60]

Krokida MK, Oreopoulou V, Maroulis ZB. Water loss and oil uptake as a function of

frying time, Journal of Food Engineering.2000 Apr 30;44:39-46.

[61]

Lee J, Lee S, Park K, Choe E. Spinach (Spinaciaoleracea) powder as a natural food-

grade antioxidant in deep-fat-fried products, Journal of Agricultural and Food

Chemistry.2002;50:56645669
[62]

Lojzova L, Riddellova K, Hajslova J, Zrostlikova J, Schurek J, Cajka T. Alternative GC

MS approaches in the analysis of substituted pyrazines and other volatile aromatic

compounds formed during Maillard reaction in potato chips, Analytica chimica
acta.2009;641:101-109.
[63]

Marquez G, Anon MC. Influence of reducing sugars and amino acids in the color

development of fried potatoes, Journal of Food Science.1986 ;51:157-60.

[64]

Mildner-Szkudlarz S, Jele HH. The potential of different techniques for volatile

compounds analysis coupled with PCA for the detection of the adulteration of olive oil with
hazelnut oil, Food Chemistry.2008;110:751-761.
[65]

Mossoba MM, Milosevic V, Milosevic M, Kramer JK, Azizian H. Determination of total

trans fats and oils by infrared spectroscopy for regulatory compliance, Analytical and
bioanalytical chemistry.2007;389:87-92.

34
[66]

Mossoba MM, Yurawecz MP, Roach JA, McDonald RE, Flickinger BD, Perkins EG.

Analysis of cyclic fatty acid monomer 2-alkenyl-4, 4-dimethyloxazoline derivatives by gas

chromatography-matrix isolation-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Journal of
Agricultural and Food Chemistry.1996;44:3193-3196.
[67]

Ni H, Datta AK. Moisture, oil and energy transport during deep-fat frying of food

materials, Food and Bioproducts Processing.1999;77:194-204.

[68]

Overton SV, Manura JJ. Analysis of volatile organics in cooking oils by thermal

desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, Journal of Agricultural and Food

Chemistry.1995;43:1314-20.
[69]

Pedreschi F, Moyano P, Kaack K, Granby K. Color changes and acrylamide formation in

fried potato slices, Food Research International. 2005;38:1-9.

[70]

Pedreschi F, Segtnan VH, Knutsen SH. On-line monitoring of fat, dry matter and

acrylamide contents in potato chips using near infrared interactance and visual reflectance
imaging, Food Chemistry.2010;121:616-620.
[71]

Roman O, Courtois F, Maillard MN, Riquet AM. Kinetic study of hydroperoxide

degradation in edible oils using electron spin resonance spectroscopy, Journal of the
American Oil Chemists' Society.2012;89:1409-1417.
[72]

Sandhu J, Parikh A, Takhar PS. Experimental determination of convective heat transfer

coefficient

during

controlled

frying

of

potato

discs,LWT-Food

Science

and

Technology.2016;65:180-184
[73]

Tangduangdee C, Bhumiratana S, Tia S. The role of moisture movement and crust

thermal property on heat and mass process during deep-fat frying, International
communications in heat and mass transfer.2004;31:73-84.
[74]

Ufheil G, Escher F. Dynamics of oil uptake during deep-fat frying of potato slices, LWT-

Food Science and Technology.1996; 29:640-644.

[75]

Van Koerten KN, Schutyser MA, Somsen D, Boom RM. Crust morphology and crispness

development during deep-fat frying of potato, Food Research International. 2015;78:336342.

[76]

Van Loon WA, Linssen JP, Legger A, Posthumus MA, Voragen AG. Identification and

olfactometry

of

French

chemistry.2005;90:417-425.

fries

flavour

extracted

at

mouth

conditions,

Food

35
[77]

Vauvre JM, Kesteloot R, Patsioura A, Vitrac O. Microscopic oil uptake mechanisms in

fried products, European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology. 2014;116:741-755.

[78]

Vitrac O, Dufour D, Trystram G, Raoult-Wack AL. Characterization of heat and mass

transfer during deep-fat frying and its effect on cassava chip quality, Journal of Food
Engineering.2002;53:161-76.
[79]

Vitrac O, Trystram G, Raoult-Wack AL. Continuous measurement of convective heat flux

during deep-frying: validation and application to inverse modeling, Journal of Food

Engineering.2003;60:111-124.
[80]

Yldz A, Palazolu TK, Erdodu F. Determination of heat and mass transfer parameters

during frying of potato slices, Journal of food engineering.2007;79:11-17.

[81]

Zhang Y, Dong Y, Ren Y, Zhang Y. Rapid determination of acrylamide contaminant in

conventional fried foods by gas chromatography with electron capture detector, Journal of
Chromatography.2006;1116:209-216.
[82]

Ziaiifar AM, Achir N, Courtois F, Trezzani I, Trystram G. Review of mechanisms,

conditions, and factors involved in the oil uptake phenomenon during the deepfat frying
process, International journal of food science & technology.