Convective Heat Transfer to Canned Liquid Foods in a Steritort

Heat transfer coefficients to canned Newtonian and non-Newtonian liquids were determined in a Steritort. Dimensionless correlations of the form, NU_D= A₁ (Gr P_I)^A2+ A₃ (ReD Pr L/D)^A4 correlated well the data. The diameter of the can was the characteristic dimension and the properties of each fluid were evaluated at the average of its initial and final temperatures. The contribution of free convection was significant (44 - 97%). The data with non-Newtonian fluids were correlated using the generalized Reynolds number (Re_D?), and the Prandtl and the Grashof numbers based on the apparent viscosity in Re_D?. It appears that the mechanism of heat transfer was also changed by conduction in the case of a 0.75% sugar gum solution whose consistency index of the power law model was about 0.9N sⁿ/m² at 6°C.