Abstract
Turbulent impinging jets at three different jet nozzle forms were numerically analyzed using the SIMPLE algorithm and k-epsilon turbulent model to investigate the flow field and heat transfer characteristics. The food placed upon a moving conveyor belt cooled by series of impinging jets under a specific condition. Three semi-confined domains with different jet nozzles were established, thereby with slot, rectangular, and funnel-shaped nozzles, respectively. Based on computational fluid dynamic (CFD) calculations, distributions of the temperature and wind velocity at four critical cross-sections of domains were compared. The results reveal that the freezing rate of foods mainly relates to temperature and wind velocity. For three semi-confined domains, the impinging jet with slot nozzles produces higher exit wind velocity, lower center temperature, and a better mass flow uniformity than others, which could better improve the heat transfer performance, and could increase the freezing rate of foods.