A simple approximate method for predicting center temperature of chicken wings treated at cryogenic temperature

A simple approximate method was proposed for predicting the center temperature of chicken wing treated at three cryogenic temperatures (-80degrees C, -120degrees C, and -160degrees C) in a rapid simulated forced-air freezing process (air velocity = 1.0 m s(-1)). This method used three equations depending on the period of the freezing process: (1) an interpolation equation available for the prediction of relative heat extraction was adopted for predicting the center temperature during the pre-cooling period, (2) a semi-empirical equation was developed for the phase transition period by correlating freezing point depression with moving freezing front, and (3) a well-known heat conduction equation was used for the tempering period due to small Biot numbers. The calculated surface heat transfer coefficients ranged from 19.7 to 22.1 W m(-2) K-1 for the three cryogenic conditions, and the center temperature profiles were well predicted. The predicted freezing times also agreed well with the experimentally recorded values with prediction errors of -5.81% to 10.31%.