Modeling heat transfer for phase transition during pressure assisted thawing treatment

The thawing time of ice and freezed Salomon fish during high pressure assisted thawing process was evaluated by computer simulation using a finite element and the results were compared with those under atmospheric pressure. The apparent specific heat method was adopted to treat the release of latent heat. The effects of different factors on the high pressure assisted thawing process were analyzed. The time reductions of different sample dimensions were estimated and the temperature contour of thawing at different conditions was obtained. The results showed that the temperature gap of phase transition was the main factor, which could shorten the thawing time. Moreover, a second order relationship was obtained between pressure and phase transition time.