Modeling Flow and Deformation During Salt-Assisted Puffing of Single Rice Kernels

T. Gulati[1], A. K. Datta[1]
[1]Department of Biological & Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
Published in 2014

Puffing of biomaterials involves mass, momentum and energy transport along with large volumetric expansion of the material. Development of physics-based models that can describe heat and moisture transport, rapid evaporation and large deformations can help understand the puffing process. In this context, a fundamentals based study of salt-assisted puffing of rice is described. A multiphase model involving heat and mass transfer and large plastic deformation is implemented using FEM. The model is validated using Micro-CT images via expansion ratio of the kernel and associated microstructure development. The expansion of the kernel began from the tip of the grain and the model could successfully capture this phenomenon. Expansion ratio was found to be sensitive to intrinsic permeability of the solid matrix.