Design considerations for heating or cooling of materials in vessels

Many food manufacturing processes employ agitated-type systems for heating or cooling of materials. In the thermal design of such systems the designer is faced with a considerable variety of design information and the data are often inconsistent. The deficiencies of existing design methodologies are discussed and the significance of mathematical representation of the physical system in facilitating valuable design information is highlighted. This will yield a more accurate design and hence a better control of the desired products in terms of quality and homogeneity.