RESEARCH CONSIDERATIONS IN PRE-COOLING AND NUMERICAL SIMULATION FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS AT FEAGRI/UNICAMP

This work discusses the arguments which lead to the choice of implementing one of the two types of finite difference methods, explicit or implicit, in the numerical simulation research of physical processes.
The example of pre-cooling strawberries is used once it was the first Master dissertation to use this methodology at the College of Agricultural Engineering.
In this case, one-dimensional mathematical model using Fourier’s law in spherical coordinates and under initial and boundary conditions based on previously conducted experiments, was considered.
Taking into consideration theoretical advantages and disadvantages, it can be verified that the explicit method is far slower, as it needs to be carried out satisfying the criteria of stability.
However both methods give results with the same precision.
The implicit method is avoided by most beginner researchers, due to its perceived complexity.
However it is suggested that the explicit method is to be used, especially together with a bidimensional model, which is still being developed.

V International Postharvest Symposium

M. Amendola, D.C.Z. Pirozzi

numerical simulation, pre-cooling, postharvest technology, mathematical models, strawberries, scientific computation

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2005.682.213