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Abstract: Nowadays, consumers look for minimally processed, additive-free food products that maintain their organoleptic properties. This has led to the development of new technologies for food processing. One emerging technology is high hydrostatic pressure, as it proves to be very effective in prolonging the shelf life of foods without losing its properties. Recent research has involved modelling and simulating the effect of combining thermal and high pressure processes (see Denys et al. (2000) [3], Infante et al. (2009) [5], Knoerzer et al. (2007) [6], Otero et al. (2007) [9]). The focus is mainly on the inactivation of certain enzymes and microorganisms that are harmful to food. Various mathematical models that study the behaviour of these enzymes and microorganisms during a high pressure process have been proposed (see Infante et al. (2009) [5], Knoerzer et al. (2007) [6]). Such models need the temperature and pressure profiles of the whole process as an input. In this paper we present two dimensional models, with different types of boundary conditions, to calculate the temperature profile for solid type foods. We give an exact solution and propose several simplifications, in both two and one dimensions. The temperature profile of these simplified two and one dimensional models is calculated both numerically and analytically, and the solutions are compared. Our results show a very good agreement for all the approximations proposed, and so we can conclude that the simplifications and dimensional reduction are reasonable for certain parameter values, which are specified in this work. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The paper presents a model-based investigation of a metal hydride reactor applied as a solid state hydrogen storage device. The elements of a metal hydride reactor are hydrogen supply duct, internal hydrogen distribution, hydride bed, reactor shell and the flow domain of the heat transfer fluid. Internal hydrogen distribution and hydride bed are porous media. Therefore, hydrogen flows through non-porous and porous regions during its reversible exothermic absorption and endothermic desorption, respectively. The interface between porous and non-porous regions is a discontinuity with respect to energy transport mechanisms. Hence, Danckwerts-type boundary conditions for the energy balance equation are introduced. Application of the first and second law of thermodynamics to the interface reveals that temperature jumps may occur at the hydrogen inlet but are not allowed at the hydrogen outlet. Exemplarily the loading behavior of a metal hydride storage tank based on sodium alanate is analyzed. It is demonstrated and experimentally validated that only Danckwerts-type boundary conditions predict the important cooling effect of the inlet hydrogen on the exothermic absorption process correctly. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper the two main drawbacks of the heat balance integral methods are examined. Firstly we investigate the choice of approximating function. For a standard polynomial form it is shown that combining the heat balance and refined integral methods to determine the power of the highest order term will either lead to the same, or more often, greatly improved accuracy on standard methods. Secondly we examine thermal problems with a time-dependent boundary condition. In doing so we develop a logarithmic approximating function. This new function allows us to model moving peaks in the temperature profile, a feature that previous heat balance methods cannot capture. If the boundary temperature varies so that at some time t >0 it equals the far-field temperature, then standard methods predict that the temperature is everywhere at this constant value. The new method predicts the correct behaviour. It is also shown that this function provides even more accurate results, when coupled with the new CIM, than the polynomial profile. Analysis primarily focuses on a specified constant boundary temperature and is then extended to constant flux, Newton cooling and time dependent boundary conditions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: For purposes of an accurate mathematical modeling, it is essential to establish trustworthy boundary conditions. The heat transfer that occurs at the casting/mold interface is one of these important conditions, which is a fundamental task during unsteady solidification in permanent mold casting processes. This paper presents an overview of the inverse analysis technique (IHCP) applied to the determination of interfacial heat transfer coefficients, hi , for a number of alloy solidification situations. A search algorithm is used to find the transient metal/mold interface coefficient during solidification which is reported either as a function of the casting surface temperature or time. Factors affecting hi such as the direction of gravity in relation to the growth interface, the initial melt temperature profile, the wettability of the liquid layer in contact with the mold inner surface, were individually analyzed and experimental laws for hi have been established. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]